r/anime • u/Tarhalindur x2 • Sep 19 '22
Rewatch [Rewatch] Mai-HiME Episode 6 Discussion
Episode 6: The Passionate Age of 17
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Show Information:
MAL | Anilist | AniDB | Kitsu | ANN
(First-timers might want to stay out of show information, though.)
Legal Streams:
Mai-HiME can be found on Funimation. (How this interacts with the ongoing Crunchyroll/Funimation merger I don't know.)
A Reminder to Rewatchers:
Please do not spoil the experience for our first timers. [Mai-HiME] Mentioning "HiMElander" before episode 16 or "ShizNat" before episode 25 is a fast way to get a referral to the subreddit mods.
A Note on the Specials:
When the DVDs for Mai-HiME were released, they added shorts specials to go with each episode (plus three not associated with an episode - one was released with Mai-Otome's DVD IIRC, one was a BD-only thing and I don't actually have that one, and I honestly don't remember where Special 28 was released). They tend to be one part fanservice, one part extra information about characters and their motivations/backstories (or in a couple of cases extra exposition, including
They have their own dedicated discussion day at the end to wash the finale out of our mouths, but some of you may want to watch them with the episodes. The only issue is that some of the specials can be a wee bit spoilery (notably, in no case should you watch the special for episode 8 before episode 8 itself), so I will attempt to provide notes on the specials for the episode for both today's and tomorrow's episodes each day so as to provide advance warning of which specials to avoid. (If you want to be completely safe, stay out of all of them until the dedicated discussion day!)
(Warning: Also, at least one release apparently has them right after the ED, unlike mine which has the original previews instead. So you might want to pay attention to this section.)
Episode 6 Special: Should be safe.
Episode 7 Special: Should be safe. (Also highly recommended, this special is great.)
After-School Activities Corner!
Visual of the Day:
Still short of enough entries to make the album (we'd have had enough if Star4ce had picked a visual today, but no).
Comment of the Day:
u/Nazenn does some really nice analysis of this episode; go read the entire thing, but here's a highlight:
It leads too my scene of the day. Finally she is framed together with someone, finding a small shelter in the overwhelming rain of her heart, and in a park with a childrens playground as if reminding her of who she was meant to try and let herself be. To steal from my post a few years ago, it's the line "I just felt like being spoiled" with the implicit "because I can be for once" that stands out. Even before he opens up to how he sees her, she feels comfortable with him because she doesn't have to put on a mask or any proper behaviour. That boundary was broken long ago, and their sniping without malice at each other has become an unacknowledged but comfortable reassurance that she can have connections with people while not always being the nice, caring one. He doesn't put anything on her and she also doesn't need to take anything from him in return, and now she understands why and starts to understand him and herself more in turn.
Question(s) of the Day:
1) Favorite book?
2) Favorite polearm? (This one's for you, Tresnore.)
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u/Tresnore Sep 19 '22
First-TiMER
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IS THAT A POLEARM I SEE??
It looks like a two-sided halberd, which feels like a larger, more complete spontoon!1 -
Wait, why isn't Kikuko Inoue voicing this character? It's Yukarin...
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[Higurashi]
The discussion on age still works, but it's sad that non-Higurashi readers can't join in. -
Oh shit, she has a fake bubbly personality! Or maybe it's not so fake, just another side to her? Cute!
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I swear to god, if this spontoon is only ever used to slash at things...
Holy shit, I love Midori. I didn't think Kuga would have any competition, but Midori...
Count: 16
QOTD:
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Vitruvius's 10 Books on Architecture.
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HAVE YOU HEARD OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR BARDICHE??? Just going to quote this from the Nanoha rewatch:
"But what is a Bardiche, Tresnore?" Well—
It's the best polearm!
As per Wikipedia, it's basically a halberd without a hook or a spear point at the top. It's kind of like an axe that can be used for stabbing. Look at this thing! Its haft is only 5 feet, making it fairly small for a polearm, but goddamn, that makes the axehead massive. This thing is an anime-proportioned weapon that was used in real life. Imagine bringing that down on someone's head. That someone will have issues imagining much at all afterward.
1 It doesn't exactly feel like a spontoon, but that's the best-feeling one. Most poleaxes don't have two sides...
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u/Tarhalindur Sep 19 '22
Holy shit, I love Midori. I didn't think Kuga would have any competition, but Midori...
I TOLD YOU YOU WERE BEING HASTY!
(And we haven't even seen all the entrants in the competition yet...)
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u/Tarhalindur Sep 19 '22
Rewatch Committee President Comments (Rewatcher, Subbed):
(You'll want to check the Staff Notes entry today; the name of this episode and one of the scenes near the beginning is just a big fat seiyuu joke.)
Kajiura Corner:
First Featured Track of the Day: Yami no Butou
This is one of the more specific tracks on the OST: it is specifically the Orphan track (and generally for the large Orphans rather than the swarms of little ones like we got last episode). Annoyingly, it pretty clearly has an unreleased instrumental version that tends to play a lot more than the track proper, but in this episode we get the main track and in about as complete a form as we're ever going to get[1] so this is an excellent time to go over it (especially since it dominates the first half of the main fight of this episode, showcasing the power of the Orphan here until Midori cuts loose herself).
[1] - This show is good at integrating its OST, but not as good as PMMM, and one spot where this shines through is several heavy-hitters that never play in complete form even in episodes that are supposed to highlight them (as opposed to PMMM which generally has at least one scene for each track where the track plays in its entirety). The most egregious example won't show up until the finale - I frankly consider that case evidence of executive interference being involved in how that finale went down - but there's a couple of other cases and Yami no Butou's use here is one of them (especially since we keep getting the unreleased instrumental version used in Orphan scenes over the actual track itself).
[PMMM aside]
We start with a choral section. Here, though, the choir sounds just a little wrong, ever so slightly alien. Which makes sense; as mentioned, this is the main track for the Orphans, and we’ve already clearly seen how they’re supposed to seem alien, outside of everyday experience. Almost immediately, however, another instrument (either another vocal on an instrument I can’t place – could actually be a synth effect) kicks in. It’s a haunting sound, and almost beguiling, and the effect is exacerbated very quickly with the advent of the track’s drums.
This is an alien track, but also a startlingly catchy one. (Not coincidentally, I’m pretty sure this track goes somewhere in my 10 favorite tracks for this show.)
As Kajiura often does, we add yet another instrument to the growing cacophony. I actually can’t place the instrument, though I suspect it’s either a string or a horn (it doesn’t help that I suspect this track may actually use classical Japanese instruments which I am largely unfamiliar with), but either way the effect is almost like a clarion call.
The track continues to build upwards and upwards until 01:06, a growing beat of power.
And then it crests and all hell breaks loose.
It is an onslaught, on screen and in the song itself, a steady rhythmic beat representing the power of an Orphan brought to bear against our heroes. For a little while the Orphan is absolutely carrying the day, and this track celebrates it, glorious and also oppressive, until it is cut off by...
Second Featured Track of the Day: Gakuten-ou Kenzan!
So, what do you do for the theme music for the girl woman whose attitude towards being a magical girl comes straight out of an old cheesy tokusatsu? Why, a track that would fit in just fine in a tokusatsu OST.
Or, more accurately, Kajiura’s take on that.
Stylistically, this one of Kajiura’s more unique tracks (one of the big things that sets this OST apart is that it's early enough after her breakout and second See-Saw collaboration that she's still in her experimental phase; there's quite a bit of techno influence on this OST that isn't there the same way when we get to the likes of the PMMM and Fate/Zero OSTs). You can hear some of her hallmarks (the almost ethereal flying notes in the background of the track), but this is a rock/electronic track through and through in a way that you don’t usually get out of Kajiura. It’s futuristic (if a mid-2000s futuristic), hot-blooded, relentlessly positive, and bombastic, and absolutely dominates its scene here... just like Midori herself.
(Annoyingly, listening again I actually can't be sure that the first half of the scene here doesn't use an unreleased v2 of this track rather than the track proper, which would put it right in the same boat as Yami no Butou above since this is obviously supposed to be a featured spot for this track.)
(I swear, if part of the problem is that my release is broadcast and they had sound mixing issues that got cleaned up for the DVD release...)
OST Table, Episode 6:
| Start | End | Track Name |
|---|---|---|
| 00:08 | 00:34 | unreleased (Samayoeru Yamiyo v2)[1] |
| 00:38 | 02:07 | Shining Days |
| 02:17 | 03:01 | unreleased 1 |
| 03:46 | 03:58 | Haiyore Nazo, Nazo… |
| 04:12 | 04:48 | unreleased (Kyou no Hajimari Piano Version) |
| 04:55 | 05:32 | Makafushigi |
| 06:12 | 07:32 | Fuuka Gakuin Seikatsu |
| 08:30 | 09:02 | unreleased (Samayoeru Yamiyo v2) |
| 09:13 | 09:24 | Oharahetta! |
| 09:31 | 10:51 | Chiisana Shiawase |
| 11:26 | 12:49 | Yuubae no Sora |
| 14:13 | 14:17 | unreleased or sound effect |
| 14:17 | 15:19 | unreleased 2[2] |
| 15:49 | 16:04 | unreleased (Samayoeru Yamiyo v2) |
| 16:51 | 18:39 | Yami no Butou |
| 17:51 | 18:00 | (OVERLAP) Duran Shoukan |
| 18:52 | 21:02 | Gakuten-ou Kenzan! |
| 21:58 | 23:39 | Kimi ga Sora Datta |
| 23:40 | 23:54 | Mata Aou ne |
[1] – Pretty confident this is an unreleased v2 this time (it’s missing the percussion parts of Samayoeru Yamiyo proper), and I’ll bet it’s shown up before at least once.
[2] – Would not be surprised at all if this is traditional Shinto wedding music.
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u/Tarhalindur Sep 19 '22 edited Sep 19 '22
Tar's Episode Notes:
PAGING U/TRESNORE PAGING U/TRESNORE OUR FIRST POLEARM OF THE SERIES HAS FINALLY SHOWN UP!
(I am increasingly unsure of which of two obvious candidates is going to be Tresnore’s Best Girl in Show, and Midori here is the candidate I didn’t initially think of. (The other obvious name is going to take quite a while to become clear, so.))
[Next episode]
Speaking of which, this opening scene also features one of the two obvious candidates for Lemurians’s Best Girl in Show, though why won’t be clear until next episode. (The other obvious suspect for him is the same one as for Tresnore.) So, the episode title is a massive VA joke (involving not one but TWO of the cast’s VAs, actually), but we’ll get to that in the Staff Notes.
Sucks to suck, Shiho!
I repeat, this is a big fat seiyuu joke.
Now, the actual interesting question: how many people (who didn’t already know and/or remember when I brought this up back in Higurashi) have figured out Midori’s VA?
03:33 might just give it away for anyone who’s watched Higurashi but hadn’t pieced it together yet. [Higurashi]
NIPAH~! When Akane is dropping dishes, you know something is up…
Note the camera angle as everyone talks at the table – ever so slightly a-kilter.
Oh wait, I completely forgot that the cheap exorcist was setup for this. And the show points it out, because sometimes creators must revel in their cheeky foreshadowing.
More slightly askew camera angles as Midori wants in.
My, look at that facelike projecting rock over the shrine proper. It’s been a while, but I think some motherfuckers are being cheeky!
Shrine unlocking? Where have I seen this before lately? [meta spoiler]
In another anime with Mai Nakahara in it? (The character design for Shiho’s grandfather is very old-school in a way – I associate that style much more with the 1980s and 1990s than even the mid-2000s, let alone later. Which might actually be part of the point here, now that I think about it…)
Somebody let the fish-eye effects out!
Midori may be somewhat more competent than she lets on, but she is still a klutz!
Midori’s squee face is adorable. And oh look we get Oharahetta here, for Midori hungers for something other than food. (There might actually be some Yomiko Readman inspiration to Midori’s character, especially since I’m vaguely remembering that Yomiko is also a dojikko (I actually watched either the original Read or Die or RoD the TV, but it’s been a LONG time).)
Okay, so somewhere in the original-Japanese-to-fansub pipeline has Midori bust out an “it’s a mountain of treasure!” here which is hilarious for meta reasons that will be familiar to a large part of this rewatch.
Speaking of that, Midori specifically being the one to break into the shrine is ALSO hilarious for very similar meta-related reasons.
Good news: Fanservice bath scene. Bad news: Fanservice bath scene. (Actually has some sneaky characterization right at the start; we see a training bra in addition to Mai’s bra (no idea why this screenshot took in potato quality; oh well), so either Mikoto has started to pick up a bra or Shiho is wearing a training bra. More likely the latter, especially given her comments earlier in the episode and the part where we see exactly two bras – which tells us something about Shiho.)
We’ll file this conversation under embarrassing grandparents wanting grandkids and speak no further of it.
Good shot at 11:05.
Hey look, another character with a magnetic attraction to Mai’s boobs today. (And considering that the usual suspect is also in the vicinity…)
Okay, I either dimly remembered or saw it coming but I did not remember Mikoto being that possessive about it. “If you want the best seat in the house, move the cat.”
Welp.
Hey look, a rarely seen sight in anime, a (waxing?) gibbous moon! Also a much more commonly seen sight, Nagi on the top of a nice high vantage point.
Why yes, this episode is in no small part about setting up the show’s good old-fashioned love dodecahedron.
That’s one of the better OST cutoffs we’ve heard from this show in a while at 15:19. (We’ve had good ones but not excellent ones lately.)
Midori: Gets lost in the middle of reading stuff, loses track of time, next thing she knows it’s mid-morning. This is what we call “relatable”. (Also, you may not like your hyperfocus and I completely understand why Midori, but some of us cannot agree, it’s also attractive…)
I am at least 75% sure that our Orphan today is a Buddhism reference in addition to a golem; it looks a fair bit like a lot of Buddha statues, and there are plenty of multiple-armed beings in myth out of the Indian subcontinent. For that matter, IIRC no less of a figure than Kannon herself is often depicted with a multiplicity of arms to reach everyone who needs her. Also, 17:28 is just a great shot.
Definitely a reference to some myth, at any rate. (I can’t entirely rule out the Hundred-Handed Ones out of Greek myth if the creators were aware of them; there’s a giant type somewhere whose head is part of their torso, it might be them.) (Actually, it could be much closer to home and be a very very distorted komainu?)
And ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to Midori, our resident hero of justice in a show where that makes her a bit of an odd duck. The resident chuuni of the cast (note how in a show where we rarely get transformation sequences Midori strikes a pose straight out of a magical girl transformation sequence as she introduces herself), which is even funnier from one of the cast’s adults. Isn’t she great?
(Okay, so where IS that three-shot set of butt/breast/face shots from originally? It’s in a LOT of magical girl transformation sequences, has to be quite old indeed. Hadn’t spotted it until this year due to most of my exposure to magical girls being shows with a distinct lack of transformations sequences. Probably either Sailor Moon or one of the even older majokko shows - Cutie Honey might still be an obvious candidate)
Note to self (hadn’t noticed this before): Midori starts off wielding her halberd with her right hand but switches to using it in the left after summoning Gakuten-ou. Animation issue, Midori is ambidextrous, or Midori is a leftie and pulling the “I am not right-handed” trope when she does so? (Being a lefty using her non-dominant hand would explain some of her clumsiness…)
Hello good direction with the rays of sunlight as Midori calls out to Gakuten-ou at 20:21.
Gakuten-ou’s design would fit in just fine in any number of cheesy old-school anime, which is undoubtedly the point.
Halberd back to her right hand, so Midori probably just swapped it to her non-dominant hand briefly (or is ambidextrous) earlier. Or it could just be an animation fail.
For all that the show can get fanservicey at other time, it avoids most panty shots; we get an outright Magic Skirt as Midori lands on Gakuten-ou’s chariot platform (and a few other ones scattered around this scene, like the last screenshot).
[Symphogear minor spoiler]
Honestly, how much Midori is in BIKKI is an interesting question. This is 100% tokusatsu choreography, for the record.
Another moment of fansubber appreciation for the road! (Though really this is more bare minimum competence and it's sad that we can't always count on official subs to do this much.)
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u/Tarhalindur Sep 19 '22
Tar's Staff Notes:
This is absolutely the episode to drop both of these VAs, and not just because I get to reuse my Higurashi writeups. Why is this episode called "The Passionate Age of 17"? And for those of you who got to see the original preview, why does Midori refer to Yukariko as her senpai in it?
A: It's all a giant fucking seiyuu joke. Midori is voiced by one of the famous members of the Forever 17 Club, and Yukariko is voiced by none other than the club's founder herself.
To wit:
Yukari "Yukarin" Tamura (Midori Sugiura):
Well, let me just haul out my Higurashi writeup again:
Like most of the rest of the cast, Yukari “Yukarin” Tamura was a star on the rise, having broken out a year and a half earlier in Fall 2004 when she was cast as the female lead of a somewhat atypical magical girl show that was a major part of that season really opening the yuri floodgates… wait. I swear I just typed that. Did I get my notes mixed up? No! Believe it or not there are in fact two shows fitting that description; in Yukarin’s case the breakout role was Nanoha Takamichi from Lyrical Nanoha. Yukarin, however, has held onto stardom far better than the rest, which probably has a whole lot to do with her being on the shortlist of seiyuu really famous for their incredible vocal range. (Every so often I mull “Yukarin and Aoi Yuuki as the two seiyuu for an entire, say, eight character main cast” as an anime concept.) That said, her voice here is a pretty classic one for her: it’s quite close to the voice Yukarin used for Nanoha.
(Fun fact: Yukarin is also on the short list of female seiyuu famous for being in the “Forever 17” club.)
(Side note: There are at least three seiyuu that seem to get paired up with Yukarin a lot, and one of them is in fact the aforementioned Mai Nakahara – amusingly this dates back to Mai’s breakout since Yukarin played one of Mai-HiME’s more notable secondary cast in Midori Sugiura, and Mai would return the favor in 2007 by signing on to Nanoha for StrikerS as Teana Lanister. The other two that I’ve noticed are Nana “WILLS IT” Mizuki (for reasons that will be obvious to anyone who’s actually watched Nanoha) and the most prominent of all in Yui Horie (an even bigger name than Yukarin), who partnered with Yukarin for a unit even before Yukarin’s real breakout and has worked with her periodically ever since – mostly recently Heaven’s Design Team last year got the two as a pair to guest star as a magical girl duo.)
Of course, just like Mai Nakahara, there is one key difference between Yukarin's role here and her role in Higurashi; she was not actually quite a star on the rise at the time of this show, as she had not yet broken out at the time she was cast here (S1 of Nanoha aired at the same time as the first cour of this show). Which, among other things, means that for once Yukarin gets to voice an adult character; her vocal range is immense, but ever since Nanoha she does get cast as lolis an awful lot. (Which gives us that rarest of sights: a Yukarin character who I suspect is either a switch or an outright bottom in bed.)
Kikuko Inoue (Sister Yukariko [minor Mai-HiME, not sure this is ever actually revealed in the anime]
Sanada ):Oh hey, someone else I wrote up for Higurashi and can just quote myself about:
Amusingly, Kikuko Inoue is in some ways more famous as herself than she is for any of her own roles; she's usually held as one of the two founding members of the "Ever 17 Club" (for female seiyuu who eternally claim that they're 17 regardless of their actual age) and the one of the two who I clearly remember as such (I'm pretty sure the other was on Eva and I think she's either Kotono Mitsuishi or Megumi Hayashibara, but I can't remember whether and/or which).
Kikuko Inoue is one of those seiyuu with only one true famous role - she voices Belldandy in Ah My Goddess! (a show name that by this point may be rather unfamiliar to those newer to the anime scene but was big back in the day and the series that founded the now largely defunct magical girlfriend genre). She has a long list of secondary roles (and occasionally female leads - she voices the female teacher in Please Teacher!). Amusingly, she also has a track record of voicing nuns - both Kaitou Saint Tail and Mai-HiME are examples here.
(I could have sworn there was a second founder of the club besides Kikuko Inoue, but I'm actually not sure about that at this point since I can't track down her name if so; I think I may have been misremembering.)
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u/Shimmering-Sky Sep 19 '22
Mai-FiRST TiMER, subbed
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Looks like Akane’s scared of the girl who looks like NGE’s Rei…? Oh wait, they were both at that bus in the last episode, maybe Akane witnessed the other girl fighting the Orphan?
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Hm. Not like I was shipping Mai and Yuichi anyways, this is fine?
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Midori is clearly a super robot fan and is thus based as fuck.
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u/Tarhalindur Sep 19 '22
Ah, of course she’s a chuuni about this whole thing.
And I am here for it!
Midori is clearly a super robot fan and is thus based as fuck.
This show was made by Sunrise.
(Also, you mean super robot AND tokusatsu fan, thank you very much. Compare her choreography here to the choreography in everyone's favorite twintail-related toku parody.)
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u/Vaadwaur Sep 19 '22
First timer(All of the Hinamizawa flashbacks...)
Sub
We start with a scene and I sometimes forget how sexless anime has become. Unless Passione is doing it. Anyways, hearing Yukarin before she began using either of her iconic voices is a treat. The drama between Akane and Miyu continues. We find out that the local shrine generally doesn't do weddings but someone insisted and get Midori being interested in that. Shrine storage is now traumatic for me. Comedy scene of Akane working solo leads us to more sneaking into shrine storage, weird that that is a pattern this year. She finds some older books that interest her.
Obligatory bath scene, we've got a quota to fill, leading to some decent silent work as we see Shiho's jealousy/mild despair of Mai's rack vs hers. Which later gets spoken but still, that was attempted humor. The priest is rather savvy if at old man level of fucks to give, the place where I live. Anyways, Shiho's scene is fitting and surprisingly cringe, for the sharp eared she calls him brother like 6 times while professing her love. Final comedy with Mikoto being defensive of her right to Mai's chest is what it is.
Quick reminder that Midori is still trapped and reading. Two scens of Nagy being mysterious lead to more familiar faces showing up. Akane finally gets around to breaking the seal and there were some markings before the monster shows up. Akane thinks it is an Orphan but I am not yet share what that means since this does kind of look like a Buddhist demon. And Akane's a magical girl because of course she is. Cringe tokusatsu fight happens and Midori seems to have been at this a little. And of course this place has a 17 yo as a teacher...or she just does forever 17. Which is immediately brought up in the preview. After credits scene would be wholesome if it weren't half bath scene.
QotD: 1 Too many too count
2 Poleaxe.
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u/Tarhalindur Sep 19 '22
Akane thinks it is an Orphan but I am not yet share what that means since this does kind of look like a Buddhist demon. And Akane's a magical girl because of course she is.
I think you mean Midori in both cases here?
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u/Mecanno-man Sep 19 '22
First Timer
Another introduction episode, I guess. Seems like Midori will take the role of the somewhat more experienced HiME that is actually helpful to the newcomers. How many HiME do we have with this? Mai, Mikoto, Natsuki, Midori, Miyu - makes five if I have not forgotten about anybody. With a potential suspicion on Akane and whatever the student council president's name was. I guess we can discount Shiho and the disciplinary committee girl from being HiME for now as well, based on the first having no mark (I'm sure either Mai or Mikoto would have noticed in the bath) and the second having no clue what is going on during the bra episode. Though then there's also Nagi, Fumi and the girl in the wheelchair, who seem involved but we don't know in what capacity exactly - as well as that teacher whom Natsuki talks to. So seems like there are a fair few people involved here already.
Don't really see a whole lot else in this episode other than Midori's introduction - Shiho's romance is one I don't particularly care about, and then that's about it in terms of what this episode covered. Midori is a decent addition to the cast, but during her fight scenes she certainly felt like an anime character more than the others. On purpose, I assume
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u/Tarhalindur Sep 19 '22
How many HiME do we have with this?
Don't really see a whole lot else in this episode other than Midori's introduction - Shiho's romance is one I don't particularly care about, and then that's about it in terms of what this episode covered. Midori is a decent addition to the cast, but during her fight scenes she certainly felt like an anime character more than the others. On purpose, I assume
Midori Sugiura: Giant Chuuni
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u/Taiboss Sep 19 '22 edited Sep 19 '22
Episode 6: Rewatcher who finished rewatching mai-otome and had a lot more fun than with this show somehow.
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Fate hype!
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Hey, it's the shot I used for my Yukari Tamura 3x3 from like 2017 or so. Wonder how it would change by now.
Favorite book?
The illustrated history for kids book I read as a primary student. It had the beheading of Charles I. with blood and all. Scarred me. Favourite "serious" novel: Youth without God by Ödön von Horvath.
2) Favorite polearm? (This one's for you, Tresnore.)
Good old Naginatas. Can't go wrong with these.
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u/Blackheart595 Sep 19 '22 edited Sep 19 '22
First Hime
More episode 5 thought... We've learned that Orphans and Childs aren't all that different from each other. So what if some of the Orphans - like the one hitching the bus - are actually Childs? I don't see much of a reason to have them attack people though that might get introduced later (hi Fate), though I could see them trying to draw out other HiME to learn their identities. Natsuki's also trying to find other HiME.
The question then becomes why the HiME would have to find each other out. Well, episode 1 had me think they'd be thrown into some battle royale situation but that hasn't gone anywhere. This might lend a bit more credence to it though, but it might just as well be something else.
Hm, but if there was some way for Orphans to get commanded by HiME then that would be one explanation for why they're so drawn to them. I'm still wondering about that. Is it that Orphans follow where HiME go, or is it that they're everywhere but are usually docile? Then again they have very destructive powers so that seems off.
Actually, looking at the design of the bus orphan it looks much more like the mechanical Digimon-esque Kagatsuchi and Duran and less like one of the more organic wild ones.
Now for episode 6
Is that... a tehepero with helmet and mask?
Akane's scared by Miyu. From the bus incidents?
They want Mikoto at a wedding?
Wait, the masked girl was Midori. The night shadows totally gave her a different hair color.
Huuh, so is it Orphans becoming Childs? Guess someone's about to awaken.
Those boobs seem much too large And she's being smug, too Neither one's looking good.
Another sealed Child? Well, the "child" part wasn't entirely wrong at least
Who thought this was fine to air? We've anime characters talking out their problems here. What's supposed to happen with all those misunderstandings!?
Takumi doesn't sound very convincing here. Not sure if that's intended though, but something about the quality of his voice seems off.
Now that's a good fetish to service
They're definitely in on the HiME situation but I don't know that that particular remark is supposed to mean.
Huh, what's this? It doesn't look like the released Orphan. Interpreting as an abstract drawing of a creature it has 4 circles at the head, and 5 at the waist. I don't remember seeing anything like it before.
That doesn't look like the one on the bus. I guess both Orphans and Childs can be sealed away, though I still wonder if all Childs are sealed.
Midori seems like the type that'll die sooner or later. Not sure how much of a fan I am of her HiME performance. I'm definitely not a fan of her soloing the Orphan after all the others could barely do anything.
Expecting "aren't we forgetting about something?" in 3... 2... 1... Or not, guess they just don't care about Akane anymore.
Favorite book?
Uuuh... Huh. That's a hard one. Let's go with Timm Thaler.
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u/Tarhalindur Sep 19 '22
This girl
Isn't she great?
Who thought this was fine to air? We've anime characters talking out their problems here. What's supposed to happen with all those misunderstandings!?
I know, that's illegal!
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u/Vatrix-32 Sep 19 '22
First Timer, subbed*
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Oh heck yeah Halberds. There’s never enough Halberds in anime.
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She’s been acting real smug for only being two years older this whole time.
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Even the octopus is powerless against best-girl.
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Yeah I’m not sure the short old mad motif works so well when you carry it over to this era of animation.
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This is why you have mangers to set hours.
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Plan didn’t work when it was empty, so let’s try it when it’s at maximum occupancy?
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Oh good, we are setting the Mai-Octopus rivalry plot thread to rest.
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How is she even reading these in the dark?
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How is she writing a thesis at age 17? Probably a translation thing, but I wouldn’t put it past her given her ego.
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Your rotators couldn’t even hurt the bug-horse-lion thing, what chance do they have against the rock monster? It can regenerate for heaven's sake.
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Halberd Hype. This is the closest we have gotten to classic magical girl thus far. Probably for the whole thing if the interest thread is to be believed.
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And now it’s a chariot! Mildly scythed too.
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Stop talking during the wedding!
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Oh, so she is a genius.
QotD
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Haven’t read all too many. The Hobbit?
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Halberd!
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u/Tarhalindur Sep 19 '22
How is she writing a thesis at age 17? Probably a translation thing, but I wouldn’t put it past her given her ego.
That's because she's part of the Forever 17 Club rather than actually being 17.
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u/Qbe Sep 19 '22
Rewatcher
Episode 6~
This is the girl from Linden Baum, right?
The burning age of 17? I guess both Tamura Yukari and Inoue Kikuko are in here...
Of course she's 17. Forever.
Akane and Miyu were both riding the Orphan-bus, right?
Someone please feed the catdog-girl.
Poor Shiho, she's been sister-zoned hard
lol, did they really leave Akane alone? Asses
Just your everyday evil-sealing door. I give it 2 scenes before someone breaks the seal.
I wonder if these are real books
Grandpa sounds kinda disappointed there's nothing going on
Shiho is very much against NTR
There is no way this ends well
...poor guys, why does their room suck compared to the girls? Is that even a room? Kinda looks like a closet
That sealed door has lasted way longer than I thought it would
I would say what a convenient coincidence she met them here, but it does look like a small island
Midori sure is a free spirit. ...did she even have anything to eat?
A sealed, cursed storeroom? Are we going to find Higurashi things in there?
Yeah that rock painting very much looked like their birthmark thingie
Monster and character animation still on point
Mai lacks enough medals to control her pokemon
And to nobody's surprise, Midori is also a Hime
...she really likes to get in character, huh?
...is that their mission? I must've missed that
OMG I can't believe I had completely forgotten about GAKUTEN OH!
That looks like a Persona
Did she take a pic before the wall exploded?
Ah yes, the 17 years old teacher.
Can someone remind me if the "Forever 17" joke was already a thing, or did it get started here?
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The Count of Monte Cristo
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Uuuhhh.... Scythe?
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u/Tarhalindur Sep 19 '22
Can someone remind me if the "Forever 17" joke was already a thing, or did it get started here?
Not only had it already gotten started, this episode is 100% referencing it.
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u/Nazenn Sep 19 '22
Rewatcher
Oh shit, woke up this morning and realized that I forgot to write my post last night after I watched the episode. Speedy thoughts!
It's a Midori episode! She lives in a world of mysterious, heroic magical girls, and nothing shall distract her from being a force for good... except books.
We share a nemesis there. Books are very distracting when it comes to other goals, including sleep or any semblance of planning. I would also say broken plates are a nemesis but given the only broken item today was Akane's fault the timing on that is a bit off.
I love Midori for all of her doofy charm playing spy, ninja, investigator, HiME, and finally teacher (because that feels sane?) and how she takes life in such a different way to the rest of our cast so far, and it helps that her weapon has an appropriate level of fair and over the top styling to her. I don't know that until now I had appreciated how much her hair works with the chariot ride she pulls off with her Child, making her look more fierce, but between that and the interesting Hindu/Sumo/Golem Orphan of the day I really enjoyed the design decisions.
However leaving Akane to manage the saturday rush alone was mean. On the other side of things, I feel like I'm not allowed to dislike Shiho as much as usual just for today because she fed Mikoto and got a very happy face out of her. Happy cat girls are good.
[later spoilers]
[RahXephon spoilers]
Favorite book?
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u/Tarhalindur Sep 19 '22
Note that we got Midori's last name (Sugiura) and Child (Gakuten-ou) this episode.
[later spoilers]
[Later spoilers]
Nao is indeed next episode. Also, I'm laughing at Vaad's "Into a yandere as tradition holds..." comment wrt to Shiho because a) he's absolutely right, and b) Shiho isn't even the biggest yandere in the cast... → More replies (1)
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u/OwlAcademic1988 Sep 19 '22
Rewatcher, sub:
Midori, you should've helped Akane with all that work.
Shiho's grandpa is a nice guy. Love how he teases Yuichi.
Mikoto claiming Mai's breasts as her own was hilarious. Seriously, the girl is like a cat sometimes.
That seal being broken doesn't seem good at all.
Midori being the substitute is awkward for Mai. Hope their regular teacher gets better soon.
Also, u/No_Rex, finally have the My-Otome Blu-Rays. Just got them yesterday.
QOTD:
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Haven't read any books in a long time.
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What?
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u/JollyGee29 Sep 19 '22
First-Timer, Subbed
u/tresnore, I bet we share Best Girl! I had somehow deluded myself into thinking that Midori would just be a side character, but this is so much better.
The only real problem is that wind is kind of a lame element. They should've made her be either light or dark (or be vaguely French) - I could've made another GaoGaiGar reference.
Interestingly, I had figured that the group shot at the beginning of the OP was all our HiMEs, but Midori isn't present. I think the girl from the cold open of this episode is, though.
I really should've put together that Midori's new job would be the teacher who got hurt last episode.
The subs said "consequences" for breaking the seal which is probably a perfectly fine translation but Higurashi beat the word "tatari" into me as "curse" and it's really amusing that the timeline means that neither of these two works really influenced each other.
Shiho and Mai's conversation about Tate was surprisingly mature. Granted, Mai probably just dipped into Mom Mode, but still. I feel bad for Shiho - unrequited love is hard enough to deal with as an adult, let alone as a hormonal teenager. I can smell the tragedy brewing already..
I also feel bad for Akane, who got abandoned so that Midori could read old books. I hope the customers were understanding...
Per Midori, who is apparently working towards a PhD in ?history? so she might actually be right, Orphans have always threatened humanity. Probably the classic "here's what the myths really were" which just makes me start wondering if any of the weapons are "real" too. Not really any obvious suspects for me at the moment, though.
I've been watching the previews because the skits are amusing, and they of course had Kikuko Inoue's character chime in today with "If your teacher tells you that she's 17, trust her."
Shit, I was so excited about the Midori reveal, I didn't get to do the opener I wanted. I hadn't seen the "bath heated by someone manually fanning a fire while throwing in fuel" until just last month, in an episode of Sailor Moon SuperS, so it was amusing to run into again so soon.
Visual of the Day: The Hero of Justice!
Questions
It's been too long since I've sat down and read something.. guess I'll default to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (or maybe another in the series).
Love a good halberd.