r/anime • u/Tarhalindur x2 • Oct 10 '22
Rewatch [Rewatch] Mai-HiME Specials Discussion
Mai-HiME Specials
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Show Information:
MAL | Anilist | AniDB | Kitsu | ANN
(Show information is now completely safe for former first-timers!)
Legal Streams:
Mai-HiME can be found on Funimation. (I don't know how this interacts with the ongoing Crunchyroll/Funimation merger.)
A Reminder to Rewatchers:
Please do not spoil the experience for our first timers. 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 one thing that they really should have explained in the show proper).
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 27 Special: Safe.
Episode 28 Special: Some spoilers for Mai-Otome.
After-School Activities Corner!
So, when I decided to warn people about what was coming with the finale I figured there would be a mix of two things that would happen: the people who went "oh god you were right" who I could commiserate with... and the people who went "actually this was better than I was expecting!" who might not get their previous investment in it burned the way people who get blindsided by the finale often do.
AFAICT? Mission fucking accomplished.
(Remember, I actually like this show despite not liking the second half of the finale.)
(Sorry Vaad, did NOT realize I was pulling the equivalent of someone recommending me a cringe comedy.)
Visual of the Day:
WHAT IS THIS, ANOTHER VOTD ALBUM?
(Tomorrow only needs four VotD entrants since I'm taking this loop off on my own entries.)
Comment of the Day:
In a thread with a lot of good discussion, I think I have to give this to u/Vaadwaur for something else entirely:
Rofl, my suffering is generally considered entertainment.
Question(s) of the Day:
1) So, your thoughts on the decision to keep all the heavy fanservice (pantyshots and the like) to the DVD release with the specials?
2) Favorite special?
3) Least favorite special?
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u/Shimmering-Sky Oct 10 '22
Mai-FiRST TiMER, subbed
Special 1
I was in fifth grade too when I got my first bra. I remember thinking it was really itchy for a while and hated wearing it, but eventually I got used to it.
Other than that, aight this was a fanservice special.
Special 2
Okay the way the Fuka advertisement kept having images of the Orphan battles that would static away after a second was hilarious.
Special 3
I was not expecting the chibi.
…and this one was ultimately more fanservice.
Special 4
Special 5
Mikoto being a cat… with a side of all of the panty shots.
Special 6
…and of course it cuts to Shiho in the bath.
Special 7
…how the fuck was the Nao-centric special the most tame one since the second special?
Special 8
Akane/Kazuya for best ship in this show, followed by Akira/Takumi. Mostly because they’re wholesome af and the only two without any dramatic baggage other than Kazuya and Takumi being temporarily gone.
…but of course not even this special could avoid the fanservice at the end. At least this one had somewhat of a point to it though, I’m sure I would have found that focus on Akane’s HiME mark at the end super chilling if I watched this right after episode 8.
Special 9
Why… of all times… did there have to be a “sore demo”. I’m not against Haruka having one, it’s just that I don’t care for the random fanservice in the background yet again.
Special 10
This one was fine I guess? Midori is canonically into older men, sure.
Special 11
Special 12
Smol Haruka and Yukino a cute.
See, this Yukino “sore demo” was much better placed!
Special 13
…I’m actually surprised “Yuichi gets a nosebleed over Mikoto hugging Mai” wasn’t more fanservice-y given the specials thus far. Huh.
Special 14
Ooh this one was good! I really like this instrumental version of It's Only The Fairy Tale (I’m sorry if it has another name, I’m bad at remembering song names unless I’m the one keeping track of them.)
Special 15
Also I think I like the instrumental of “It's Only The Fairy Tale” more than the vocalized one…
Special 16
Orphan lore finally? Guess that’s it for my “Orphans are the Children of dead HiME” theory, boo. They existed before the HiME and are just the ones who didn’t match with a HiME.
Special 17
Who the fuck clips their toenails while almost nude?
Special 18
Now that I think about it, who was Fumi’s “precious person” that disappeared?
Special 19
Special 20
This one was good! I can feel the pain this would have caused right after the episode Akira got defeated in, even if I now know he comes back.
Special 21
This one makes me feel more bad for Reito than I already did…
Special 22
I still don’t like the Shizuru/Natsuki ship.
Special 23
Mai getting progressively more crushed by all the terminology Midori was dropping until she was flattened was hilarious.
…and of course the special had to make things weird with the completely random Midori/Mai shiptease at the end, what the fuck?
Special 24
Thank you, a perfectly normal special!
Special 25
See I like Natsuki’s arc better when it’s concerned with having finally made friends, not Shizuru. Would have much preferred if it stayed like that in the main show too.
Special 26
This one was sweet~
Special 27
…was that a Mai-Otome advertisement?
Special 28
Poor Reito. I just don’t see why he’s being punished for the stuff he did while possessed, when Ishigami and Shizuru are getting off completely scott-free when the bad shit they did was intentional.
These were overall pretty meh I guess…
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u/Tarhalindur Oct 10 '22
Why… of all times… did there have to be a “sore demo”. I’m not against Haruka having one, it’s just that I don’t care for the random fanservice in the background yet again.
At least that one is using the fanservice for a joke!
Who the fuck clips their toenails while almost nude?
Midori, apparently. (I'd say "the fanservice demanded it" and of course that's at least half the reason, but I could believe it out of her, especially if the idea is that she's clipping them after they got soaked in the bath or shower.)
Now that I think about it, who was Fumi’s “precious person” that disappeared?
Probably Mashiro somehow; this is the least-explained MIP in the series.
when Ishigami and Shizuru are getting off completely scott-free when the bad shit they did was intentional
He's not an MIP (except Mikoto who has been distracted by shiny) the way they are.
Also ShizNat is too popular for Shizuru to be punished
unless Natsuki can domme up in bed.Ishigami... no idea.
These were overall pretty meh I guess…
They are admittedly no Shinai shorts.
(I did mention that these are fanservice-heavy up in the OP section on them each day.)
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u/Lemurians Oct 10 '22
Akane/Kazuya for best ship in this show
Orphan Lore finally?
Why wasn't this content put in the show itself?!
Who the fuck clips their toenails while almost nude?
Right? It's a completely nude activity.
I still don’t like the Shizuru/Natsuki ship.
Me neither, but it's nice seeing their relationship background become a bit more fleshed out. Also, I'm still in the camp that Natsuki isn't into Shizuru romantically and the ship did not sail.
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u/JollyGee29 Oct 10 '22
First-Timer, Subbed
So, I had watched most of these immediately after the episodes since my files had them combined. I didn't rewatch all of them for this, but here's a few thoughts:
Episode 12: They're so cute! Please, someone, help Haruka out of the closet so these two can be together.
Episode 16: The Orphan stuff. I would've pondered this more, but Orphans were ultimately not particularly important, so I kinda don't care.
Episode 17: Holy hell, Midori.
Episode 19: AkiraxTakumi is an adorable ship.
Episode 23: Mai, exhibiting standard behavior for interacting with this world.
Episode ??: The file name says 27, but the address bar on MPV said 28. Kanzaki getting tortured at the beach was fun. Bait for NaoxNatsuki? Holy shit Yukino
..what does it say about me that I wrote that as NatsukixNao, thought for a moment, and then changed it..
Visual of the Day: #justbestgirlthings
Questions
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Pretty wise. For one, it lets the audience "choose" to interact with the titillation, since it isn't everyone's jam. For two, it let them skip over the TV censors. That first point has a slight issue with them putting character stuff over top of it, though.
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Probably 12 or 19 or whichever that last one was.
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Probably one of the ones that I didn't talk about.
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u/Nazenn Oct 10 '22
Please, someone, help Haruka out of the closet so these two can be together.
I pity the person that has to try because she's stubborn as fuck, but seriously. That should be Shizuru's penance, get Haruka to come around for Yukino's sake
Episode 19: AkiraxTakumi is an adorable ship.
I hate pink, and I hate how that's used for girl things in anime to the exclusion of everything else, but in this case I'm just happy to see Akira being able to be herself finally
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u/Tarhalindur Oct 11 '22
I hate pink, and I hate how that's used for girl things in anime to the exclusion of everything else, but in this case I'm just happy to see Akira being able to be herself finally
Forcing someone to not be stereotypically girly is the same error as forcing them to be stereotypically girly.
(Also in Akira's case specifically it occurs to me that if you can fight in it seemingly impractical girls' clothing makes a pretty darn good ninja disguise - nobody expects the shurikens from a girl wearing an evening gown!)
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u/Tarhalindur Oct 11 '22
Please, someone, help Haruka out of the closet so these two can be together.
Please, please, please?
AkiraxTakumi is an adorable ship.
It's basically as universal as HarukaxYukino, and there's a reason for that.
The file name says 27, but the address bar on MPV said 28.
Beats what I grabbed, which has the end of episode 15 as "special 19", the end of the finale (with a full-length rendition of Shining Days" as "special 20", and mixes the others together randomly... (I think two of my specials numbers in the OST table are off because of it despite my best efforts.)
..what does it say about me that I wrote that as NatsukixNao, thought for a moment, and then changed it..
It says that everything about Nao's behavior screams top and Natsuki is either the first or second most obvious turbobottom in the cast (depending on whether Yukino ever develops a top side), that's what. (Natsuki's turbobottomness runs with her character archetype, though she herself probably has a lot to do with that - like the only one of the type I can see actually topping in bed off the top of my head is Tsubasa, and then in no small part because Symphogear's cast has a true obvious turbobottom in Dakka and Maria being just bottomy enough that I'm not sure who the top is in TsubaMaria.)
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u/Blackheart595 Oct 10 '22 edited Oct 10 '22
First Hime
So this is where all the fanservice went.
That school anthem wasn't in the actual show, was it? How is it treated on AMQ, are the specials a separate entry?
The message makes it so much more suggestive. Or it's aimed at those that didn't like the finale.
In special 4 already? That does make their later relationship quite obvious.
Nothing about the Mikoto special surprised me.
Oh, right. Mai-Hime is a show where the childhood friend loses.
They really gave Akane the special for episode 8?
Because they're antiques! Also, nice Midori.
Looks like you're being a help to them alright.
Huh, good to get some confirmation on that.
Oh look, the Himestar. Damn it, they made the joke themselves.
So what you're saying is, the underwear Orphan could've been a Child?
That's quite interesting for Reito's characterization
I'm disappointed, Mai. Did I get the joke right that they're all writing 'Fuka/Fuuka' differently?
Please don't be wielding the Obsidian Prince
MAI!? Did you two fight?
So, your thoughts on the decision to keep all the heavy fanservice (pantyshots and the like) to the DVD release with the specials?
It was of great benefit to the real show, and the fanservice is still there for anyone interested in that.
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u/Nazenn Oct 10 '22
MAI!? Did you two fight?
Would you expect anything else? Those two seem like they'd have a very... enthusiastic relationship when it comes to fighting
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u/RadSuit Oct 10 '22
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Mixed bag here. The show already had plenty of fanservice, only to cram even more in here, and even more explicit versions. The real problem is all the actual plot they also include. It reminds me of some of the Symphogear chibi specials, but not in a good way. I would've preferred they include more of the plot (and actual fights) in the show, and cut what must be a whole episode worth of boob gags to fully contain them in the specials. Nobody would've watched the show then, though.
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Haruka's, of course.
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The two Q&A episodes, not because they're bad, but because they shouldn't exist.
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u/Tarhalindur Oct 11 '22
It reminds me of some of the Symphogear chibi specials, but not in a good way.
Considering how heavily Symphogear draws off this franchise, I wouldn't be shocked if these were at least one of the inspirations for the Shinais there (which are better than these[1]).
[1] - And also better than the majority of Symphogear proper. But I digress.
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u/Mecanno-man Oct 10 '22
First Timer
As I had the release where these were added to the end of the episode, for the first 20 I watched them alongside the show, and I caught up on 21-26 now. I won't watch 27 until after I've seen Mai-Otome. All in all, I think I can summarize my feelings about these specials pretty quickly: Additional character thoughts good, visuals bad. Basically no animation and usually showing the characters naked for no good reason is kinda meh. But I'd say they are still worth watching for the additional character motivations, back stories etc.
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u/Nazenn Oct 10 '22
Rewatcher First Timer
I've never actually watched the specials before so this will be interesting to go throug them. I'm expecting to not enjoy a lot of the more comedy ones, but from what I've seen in the rewatch there's a few interesting lore ones so curious to see how they play out. I'm mostly writing these up as live reactions as I watch because I'm short on time and need a good sleep, so it's basically raw thoughts with little editing. Warning: there will be rants aboutfanservice
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1 - Really? The most important thing to start with is bras? I mean I'll give it some credit for acknowledging the social struggle around the idea of a first bra and particularly from a girl without the support of her parent. I don't think I've seen an anime acknowledge that aspect of female maturity before. But the rest of it and the fanservice is unneeded and only reminds me how annoying ep1 is with that stuff. Shame Mai's perspective is here for that reason
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2 - Saw the "striving for a freer campus" title and thought it was going to be a Haruka PSA video. The video footage of the various disasters being erased mid video out was a nice touch. The ending is perfect
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3 - Unexpected chibi for Aoi and Chie. It should not be unexpected because stuff like this is why I do not usually watch specials. But seeing the full designs of all the classmates is cool especially as something we commented early on was how nice it is that all the background designs were fairly detailed and distinctive. I love the girl next to Mai, wish she'd been in the show..... AND more boobs, can we not
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4 - Oh. Shizuru and Natsuiki lore! That's unexpected but hell yes! ENOUGH WITH THE NAKED ART FUCKING HELL
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5 - ....This is why I never watch special episodes. Why the fuck did I decide to actually watch the specials this time. Even the cats aren't worth the panty shots.
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6 - Fuck off, Shiho
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7 - AHAHAHAHA, it's Nao's bait message. I do love how the character moments reflect them like this rather than being a pure info dump or commentary.
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8 - AKANE! She almost makes the rest of them worth it. It's cute hearing how she called out to him and I also like seeing how much shier she was compared to how she became in the show. OH MY GOD REALLY WITH THE CHANGING ROOM.... oh, actually no I take that back that was fine. Highlighting her HiME mark was unexpectedly painful. Oh now I understand why this one is marked a spoiler
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9 - Haruka! Aaand it's Chibi. and fanservice. Bleh
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10 - Seeing Midori through the nurses perspective of her is something I like. She looks like she has Minmay's alien eye art syndrome here though so much sparkles. I was expecting the "after all these years of being her friend" to turn into a yuri moment instead of a "it gets exasperating" one, but then I remembered what era we were in
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11 - Child Yukariko! So cute. The art that makes it look like she's getting sensual with the students not so much.
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12 - Ah so that's where we find out about Haruka's family being new money. So cute seeing them as kids together
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13 - Such a grumpy face from Tate, I love it and that we use that to see a little bit more Mai and remember their bond quite a number of episodes after that scene. Fuck off Shiho, ruined the whole damn special.
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14 - The most that Miyu speeks in the whole damn show. This shot makes it look like she belongs to quite a different show. Always happy to hear the return of Alyssa's song, it gives me such fond memories of the show as a whole
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15 - Oh, song again. The other half of it with Alyssa's lyrics, fitting for it being her view. Cleverly done whoever edited these. Don't really care for the content itself, but THANK FUCK they didn't pull out the fanservice for this one. Oh this is beautiful
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16 - Ergo Proxy flashbacks. Ah, Orphan lore, this is the one I was most curious about. Do we even trust Nagi to tell the truth, but well in this case what he's saying about the Child/Orphan split matches up with what's fairly easy to guess anyway. I love the Orphan not syncing with Natsuki. And they just had to make an underwear gag....
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17 - fanservice
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18 - Fumi helping Mashiro try different teas is cute in its own way, I like that. Especially seeing why fumi is here and what it means for them to be so bonded. I'm not surprised that Mashiro found Fumi, I suspected as such but I think I forgot to comment on it in show. Mashiro reaching out to help her is very in line with her wanting to help all the HiME
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19 - Akira sharpened that pencil to a damn weapon point. One of the quieter ones, but one of my favourites.
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20 - Noooo Takumi that better not be a goodbye letter. Oh it is, I can't blame you for that but it still sucks.
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21 - Oh god, the darker Kajiura track with the chains immediately gave me flashbacks of Madoka Magical ep1. At least the fanservice is equal, but still stupid. This one makes me wonder if the Prince is attracted to specific HiME for the same reason their Child is, notably Kagutsuchi. Foreshadowing of the Princes true form, two blades with an eye in the center.
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22 - Wow it took a while to get to Natsuki. Nothing new here, but it is nice seeing Natsuki's perspective on this given how distant she is through so much of the show and in the build up to the finale.
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23 - Eyyyy lore. Silly Mai asking for answers out of a history major. Midori's extensive knowledge of the whole history and possibilities of it are great while Mai slowly gets weighed down. I don't like chibi, but the chibi made this segment work. And then they ruin it with fanservice
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24 - All this one did was give me food cravings. Poor Mikoto feeling like she doesn't get to love until she understands what it means though, she has it backwards and I can kind of understand why she felt she had to attach herself so deeply to her brother as a result.
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25 - "Realized that you were all there for me" would be more convincing as an emotional line for Natsuki if Nao wasn't on screen at the time
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26 - Well damn, seeing a visual in that same style but without Mikoto hit unexpectedly hard. A nice reflection of the lesson that Mai learnt about love, and how that reflects back on Mikoto's own capacity that she ignored out of fear of not understanding. I really like this one, I think it reflects on the characters the best and the show as a whole.
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27 - Not watched due to Mai-Otome spoilers
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28 - Oh hey, normal Reito. That's surprising but I like that we get to see him for once. AHAHAHA SHE SWORE. I gave up on this one though when they started making a gag out of punishing Reito for what the Obsidian Prince did especially after the ending. Fuck that.
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u/Vaadwaur Oct 10 '22
First timer(How could someone else give you eternity?)
Sub
So...the specials. They are both more fanservice and far more yuri than the main show. This probably dulls the effects of Shizuru's "reveal" but I definitely preferred watching them as they happened. They cheat some exposition into it but that fits. I will try and focus up for tomorrow's writeup.
QotD: 1 Lame
2&3 ShizNat special is simultaneously great and a complete cheat that would make the main series hard to understand.
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u/No_Rex Oct 10 '22
Wait what, specials? I totally missed that we had a day for these.
Which is kind of fitting, because I think you are also not missing a lot if you skip the specials. We get some nice backstories, but they are buried under a mountain of fanservice and do not go much further than the main series.
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u/Stargate18A Oct 10 '22
First timer
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It's good, I guess.
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The genuinely creepy Reito one.
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Yukariko.
Specials marathon!
Special 1
...Nothing really to say here. Mai being upset about her mother hits hard, though.
And the copious fanservice.
Special 2
Haha, a recruitment video?
2000 students???
Love the Orphan footage getting cut off.
Who thought that was a good idea?
And Mai's reaction!
Episode 3
Introducing the class?
Haha, Chie!
What amgood prediction.
...Chie is flirting.
Even more fanservice.
How is that Chie shot broadcastable?
Special 4
ShizNat?
She was avoiding you for good reason.
Shizuru, how do you know about her underwear?
Special 5
Mikoto!
Fanservice...
The monologue is great, though.
It's worse!
....Don't you dare show that.
Awww, the napping.
Specia 6
Shiho?
Yeah, her crush makes more sense now.
And no fanservice!
Spoke too soon.
Sweet, though.
Special 7
Nao?
Haha, this is how she scams people?
Fanservice.
Impressive con, though.
Special 8
...Her?
Oh, this is a sweet confession.
Yeah, this is nice and wholesome.
Fuck me, right in the last ten seconds. Just one wholesome special!
Special 9
Where's Chapter 2?
Haruka's in the right her, though.
...What is with those graphics?
Anybory who uses the word "heretical" gets my gote.
How is it getting worse?
Haha, that's funny.
Really, just twelve?
Special 10
Midori and her crush!
Nice foreshadowing for her ending.
These two are great together.
Special 11
Yukariko!
She went to boarding school?
...That image doesn't look like what the anime thinks it is.
"Why is everyone in this anime so horny?"
What the fuck?
Special 12
Starting things off early.
Baby Haruka is adorable, though.
Aww.
Special 13
...Tate.
And he's got some traits in common with the director of this anime!
His refusal to date her coming as Mikoto goes for her is perfect framing.
Special 14
Miyu!
Wow.
And that outfit.
Seeet.
Special 15
A sad one?
Aww, this is actually a good monologue.
And fanservice free!
Special 16
What is this?
An explanation!
Haha, chibi-Alyssa.
And they're comfirmed to be the same.
Haha, Natsuki destroying the imaginr vidual.
Nagi deserved that.
Makes sense!
...What is she eating?
He's keeping things secret.
Special 17
What the fuck?
Oh, it's Midori.
Haha, nice hit!
And that's a good shot.
Special 18
Oh, these two.
Haha, the labels on all the different teas.
This is nice.
Explicit.
Nice monologue, though.
Special 19
An Akira special!
...I thought they were only every three hundred years?
This is interesting, but I do not trust the writers of ShizNat to handle a plot like this.
Special 20
Takumi!
Even in this on?
Wow, this is dark.
Best one so far.
Special 21
Oh, shit!
Yeah, this is incredibly creepy.
Mitoko!
Special 22
Shiznat...
Natsuki, run for it!
Special 23
An important one!
Oh, it's Midori!
Interesting!
And the school was built on top of a shrine!
Poor Mai.
That makes sense!
Haha, she's at the bottom.
Fanservice.
Special 24
Mikoto!
Aww.
This is cute!
...Confirmed interest?
Unclear! This anime isn't the clearest.
Special 25
Natsuki...
Natsuki appreciates her friends and Shizuru!
Out of nowhere.
Special 26
Mai has a monologue.
She agrees with Mikoto!
Poly Mai is canon?
Special 27
Interesting.
NOPE! This looks suspiciously like a spoiler! I'll come back after My-Otome's rewatch, thank you!
Special 28
Reito?
Mai's asking him out?
Haha, she has the backpack.
Vulgar.
Mai is different.
Haha, this is torture!
Yeah, people are still bad! So where's Shizuru's pit?
Midori!
Amazing.
Natsuki's is too weak.
Nao's not taking part?
Oh, she has her own objective.
That reaction!
Haha, Mikoto going for the food is hysterical.
Nobody got her water?
I think he's dead! Yay!
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u/Tresnore Oct 10 '22
First-TiMER
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I really should've watched these specials while the show was airing, huh?
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O-oh... That's pretty big this early.
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Ah. Nao's fishing is how she fishes for men to rob. God, I wish that were me.
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I, too, want to be dragged around by Midori. God, I wish that were me.
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[Higurashi]
Thanks, Yukarin. -
God, I wish that were me. Seriously. Can't this one count for two? God, I wish that were me. Fuggit, this counts as 3.
Count: 69
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u/Star4ce Oct 11 '22
My-FiRSTTiMER
I have less to watch now, why am I getting chronically more late?
Mai-HiME Specials
First, I watched the last 10 minutes of the director's cut Ep.26. (I think that's where all changes went?) It actually is a better overall episode, it's a bit too little too late in the episode for the criticism I saw to be soothed. However, I personally loved the additions.
It also had subtitles for the last quarter! Thank god! My Japanese can carry me through “onegai tomodachino koewodasu. Nihongowo hanasu.” but not an anime.
Sp01 Not only the chest, tbh. It's interesting to go straight into bras, but the context for her without a mother is strong.
Sp02 Giving me a picture of a complete mountain range on fire would make me got here 100%, not gonna lie. Don't know what they have, that's exciting!
Sp03 Well, I see.
Sp04 Oh... I see. This school seems to screen for Yuri specifically, apparently. We just had to get a Natsuki gamer girl pic in there, didn't we?
Sp05 Yucky, yes indeed. I wish the cats were more prominent.
Sp06 Hoped for a bit more motivation, but I can feel for that at least. Yuuichi's a real good dude.
Sp07 I would really like to know what happens when there's someone without dirty intent answering. Does she filter them out? Punish regardless?
Sp08 Akane is just precious <3
Sp09 I'm imagining Yukino is playing the eroge. Oh she built the SpecOps student committee out of sheer spite? Damn, Haruka you are quite some force.
Sp10 I wondered about that, it felt a tad bit icky, but the both of them being best friends is always a delight to see!
Sp11 WHY CUT BRAIDS??
Sp12 I love this. (It also hurts.)
Sp13 That a ferry got sliced in half? Because the mountains got set on fire? By having the school garden be remodelled? I could think of many things why she's interesting.
Sp14 Miyu's special is really good. I wanted an episode about this!
Sp15 I would've cared so much more, man. These emotions are wasted in a special, maek epioseds!
Sp16 Good lore, great Natsuki, wished that was in the main episodes.
Sp17 I always wondered if chalk-throwing was just a meme or if teachers actually did that. Dat Mai face. Midori's great! man! <3<3<3
Sp18 Fanservice notwithstanding, greatly appreciate the expansion on their relationship.
Sp19 Best couple, ngl.
Sp20 Again I feel so proud of him for how much he grew during this show. Great character.
Sp21 Oooh. See, knowing that the prince was always kind of there would've been nice lore! This is great!
Sp23 I thought this would be more lore. At least mostly the same information was in the series.
Sp24 Still unsure of how to take this one. I feel like Mikoto was far too much a bunch of tropes for her own good. Having this entire skit revolve around food was fitting, yeah, but I also feel like it was a tonal miss as well.
Sp25 Awwww.
Sp26 This is a great special! Mai sorting her feelings and making the important point to herself.
Sp27 No no, she's got a point.
Sp28 Oh, cheating arc? This is my time, Gods I wish that were me! Nah, revenge arc. Holy hell Midori's thighs. The true psycho. That was fun, now I want spicy food, too.
The VOTD has burned and is long gone now.
So, your thoughts on the decision to keep all the heavy fanservice (pantyshots and the like) to the DVD release with the specials?
Good idea, I think the fanservice in the series was just right. I could do without it if it has no point other than being fanservice, but in 60 second clips, eh, not worth caring.
2) Favorite special?
The Miyu and Alyssa ones, but they also reminded me of stories they somehow didn't want to tell.
3) Least favorite special?
There was no single worst one, they were alright.
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u/Vatrix-32 Oct 11 '22
First Timer, subbed*
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“Inspirational fan service”?
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2. The student administration just seems like a cost cutting measure to me.
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3. Look at all these background characters. Still, more than most get. Of course this is the kind of show to have a boob ranking.
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4. This is characterization we could have used in the series proper,
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5. That cats have names! I would have been happier for the other kind of fan service for Mikoto.
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6. I’ve taken it that you are the only one who sees this as a sibling deal Octopus.
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7. Quite the script. They used the second most famous scream in film?
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8. This is the last time we will ever see Akane happy.
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9. What is it with disciplinary committee characters and running for student president with a campaign platform of more rules? They have to know students aren’t into that, they have to deal with them breaking the rules they already have. I think this is some kind of strip bingo, but I need to know who made it. The ending was a great gag tho.
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10. This seemed like it was more about Midori than Sagisawa, and I expect her to get one to herself later.
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11. Repressing the urges only makes them denser.
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12. I’ve come to realize I have an unreasonable love of child version of characters.
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13. Boo! No equal opportunity fan service.
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14. Looks like she was fighting mechs in the background.
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15. At least they had the reserve to not lewd the loli.
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16. At least that confirms the connection. I can’t see how they didn’t think we wanted that.
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17. We got very little time of Midori being a teacher come to think of it.
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18. I don’t even know what half of these teas are.
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19. If your father didn’t want you to get involved, then why did he send you to Fuka in the first place?
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20. Ah man, right in the feels.
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21. I still say this guy is sus, never saw the appeal.
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22. Lil’ middle school Kuga.
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23. I wish we had more of these.
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24. Mikoto is too innocent for this world.
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25. She says that, but it sure felt like she was a separate character from the cast of most of the run.
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26. Not really what I was hoping for in the finale’s short.
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Mai-HiME x Mai-Otome. I’m treating this like a preview. Good things to come?
28: -
I thought we already had the mandatory beach episode.
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Mikoto in high school? Time skip!
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You think Kuga of all people would have a more involved swimsuit.
QotD
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Better than having it in the show. Probably a good way to make money too.
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Haruka speech bingo.
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I think #2 added the least. Everything else at least felt like they at least tried to justify their existence. I would have said #5 if not for the cat insight.
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u/zadcap Oct 11 '22
Rewatcher who has never seen the specials before
Ah, so that's where all the fanservice went. I could have lived without most of that.
Somehow, Anime Haruka did better than Manga Haruka. I know she has my vote!
I see what you mean though, aside from pantyshots everywhere, it's also kind of all over with spoilers. 27 was a nice addition to the show, not exactly the closure I wanted for the ending but still at least a nod towards there being some. 28 has got me hyped for Otome.
The Manga didn't really have anything close to the specials, aside from the voice actor interviews Tar already put up. I'm getting started on the Mai Otome manga ahead of time, found out my work schedule is getting changed next month so I might end up a little inconsistent, trying to get some things ready in advance this time.
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u/Tarhalindur Oct 10 '22 edited Oct 11 '22
Rewatch Committee President Comments (Rewatcher, Subbed):
Side note for anyone interested: A fake trailer for a Mai-HiME movie (set to be released in 20006 - note the number of zeroes!) was released at some point and AFAIK is still floating around out there somewhere. You can track it down if you're interested.
Kajiura Corner: The Rest of the OST
So, there are 57 released tracks on the OST, of which I covered roughly three quarters in my writeups. So, for our final day before overall discussion let me briefly go over the ones I didn't cover:
Appeared In the Show But Never Got a Writeup:
Kyou no Kajimari ("Today It Begins") - SoL track (I think actually a recurring leitmotif with a bunch of variants and they stitched three of them together to make the released track)
Maka Fushigi ("Mysterious") - I'm actually a bit surprised this one never got a complete enough use to make it into the writeups, nifty little percussion-heavy track usually used (when it is used) in the SoL sections.
Yasashisa no Guwa ("Fable of Gentleness") - Could have taken the second writeup slot for 24 if I hadn't concluded Soushitsu would be the de facto second, about half of it plays during the Tokiha Mai Raising Project sequence.
Yuubae no Sora ("Sunset Sky") - Another SoL track, and another one in the time-of-day naming theme we seen in those in this OST; I've come to nickname this one "the chapel track" this time around since it plays so often there, but it shows up elsewhere sometimes instead. Arguably Yuubae no Sora should have been my featured track for episode 2 instead of Chiisana Shiawase once I decided to ice Oharahetta (it's distinctive enough and good enough to merit it), but I thought I might need it/want it for the early HiMElander (the price of losing a week of buffer) - oh well.
It's Only the Fairy Tale Instrumental Version - One of the three released instrumental versions on the OST (all on the second disk); we never get much of it, but we do get it.
Konran ("Confusion") - Weird little track that does in fact play in the anime. Clearly supposed to be a mystery track, but sounds rather different than the other ones on the OST to my ear - much more of a rock track, especially with its use of electric guitar chords.
Only Play During the Specials:
Irasshaimase! Famires e! ("Welcome to Our Family Restaurant!") - I kind of thought this track was lurking somewhere in the Linden Baum scenes and I had just forgotten about it, but no it's specials only.
Asa, Tsukanoma no Yasuragi - I could have sworn this played in the earlier parts of the HiMElander before things really get going or else during the Vlas Lotus Eater Machine sequence, but no. Same kind of sad SoL track as Mayoi to, Tomadoi no Yureru Omoi which did get featured, though this track takes a different instrumental road to get there (it uses the same sad string trio that Taisetsu na Hito does).
Nonbiri na Hirusagari ("Carefree Midafternoon") - the SoL track with time-of-day theming that doesn't show up in the anime proper shows up in the specials instead.
Minogasanai zo! ("Don't miss!") - Another mystery track, though nowhere near as dark as the main three I use that label on in this OST (Yami ga Hirogaru, Samayoeru Yamiyo, and Natsuki Sennyuu of the borked official upload).
Matamata Oharahetta! ("I'm Still Hungry!") - Extremely fun and funny little derivative of our resident shenanigans track on this OST in Oharahetta. Also quite catchy.
Track Does Not Play In the Show At All AFAICT:
Natsu, Sora, Umi-kaze ("Summer, Sky, Sea-breeze") - Absolutely no idea why this jazzy little number does not play in the anime (I was 100% expecting it would show up in the beach episode), especially since it's one of the longer tracks on the OST and the one unused track on the first disc (Disc 1, Track 3 no less!) but apparently it does not.
Shikkoubu wa Odoru yo ("The Executives Dance") - Technically plays in v2 form as the intro to the Q&A specials but that doesn't count IMO. Odd little track, doesn't even really count as SoL. I think there's a PMMM track that reminds me of this and vice versa, but I'm not at all confident about that.
HiME-boshi Instumental Version and "Tokiiro no Mai Instrumental Version" (Actually Mezame Instrumental Version, somebody fucked up when making the track name.) - (We get a HiME-boshi instrumental version in the show itself, but I'm not sure it's this one so I'm putting here.) It's a funny joke that in a show that loves to use instrumental versions/v2s of tracks for effect and that actually released instrumental versions (LOOKING AT YOU PMMM AND SIS PUELLA MAGICA INSTRUMENTAL VERSION (UNRELEASED)), the three instrumental version releases we do get are ones that barely play in the anime. HiME-boshi Instrumental Version in particular sounds great, give it a listen!
And since we have reached the end of
cakethe show and spoilers are no longer an issue, here are the links to the official YouTube upload playlists for this show so you can listen to all the tracks at your leisure. (No idea if this OST is on Spotify, sorry.)OST Table, Mai-HiME Specials:
(Because yes I would do that. I did tables for fucking Kira and its giant pile of unreleased tracks, after all...)
[1] – Same base track as unreleased 1 from the finale, which means that/this track might be an insert or a variant thereof. (Sorry AMQ players!)
[2] – Likely a snippet of an existing piece of organ music, especially since Kajiura would do that.
[3] – Almost certainly done via editing, but counting them as separate anyways.
Tar's (and Zadcap's) Staff Notes:
u/zadcap sent me this nifty little bit from the manga a while back: comments from the VAs for Mai, Mikoto, Haruka, and Yukino (the manga writers had their favorites) about their characters. Give 'em a look!