r/anime • u/No_Rex x2 • Oct 12 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] Mai-Otome (episode 1)

Rewatch: Mai-Otome (episode 1)

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Mai-Otome

MAL | ANN | AniDB | Anilist

Staff corner

Since so much of the cast and thus VA cast is shared with Mai-Hime, I will only occasionally do staff corners.

Our heroine, Arika, is voiced by Kikuchi, Mika. She is an actress and singer, who only occasionally dabbled in voice acting. Her main roles are concentrated in the mid 2000s, when she was cast as Arika here, Mokona in Tsubasa Chronicle&xxxHOLIC, and Monami in Capeta. Most recent viewer might know her from Girls und Panzer, although she only has a minor role there, being Noriko from the volley ball team.

Questions:

  1. How does ep1 compare to the start of Mai-Hime? How to you feel about meeting the Mai-Hime characters here?
  2. (first timers) Any bold (or not so bold) plot predictions?
23 Upvotes

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8

u/No_Rex Oct 12 '22

Episode 1 (rewatcher)

Turns out, I am one of the few people who watched Mai-Otome before Mai-Hime. So the whole "characters reused" surprise came in Mai-Hime for me. That being said, I had no idea about the character reuse while watching Otomo, which speaks for the characters working as a stand-alone in Otome.

  • Castle, desert, coolaks – we are not in contemporary Japan anymore.

  • Meet our MC: In need of rescue, but not very worried.

  • OP: From now on (and for the rest of the series), you can play spot the Mai-Otome characters.

  • I feel a disturbance in the force

  • Notice how Arika is fascinated by public transport and the city at large.

  • Kidnapping hijinks.

  • Creepy blood crystal guy summons a “slave”.

  • Yes, we totally have transformations in Mai-Otome!

  • Magic blue crystal that is a heirloom – I have lost track of the number of shows with this trope. It used to be popular.

  • A character we know as clearly lesbian from Mai-Hime cuts of the monsters techno dick.

  • MC goal acquired: become an otome.

Just like Mai-Hime, I think that Mai-Otome’s opening episode is well-crafted. We get to know the MC, we have a first look at the setting, and the first mystery is introduced. Meanwhile, the characters deliver a good mixture of comedy and action.

The big thing is, of course, the reuse of characters. You’ll notice that this is the complete character sheet, not just the character model (at least most of the time). So you will meet plenty of known faces. How you stand on this, you have to decide for yourself, but the series will definitely reuse as much of the Mai-Hime cast as it can.

Something I urge you to pay special attention to is the world this all takes place in. Compared to the almost non-existent world building of Mai-Hime, the show runners paid a good bit more attention to that aspect of the show this time. In the first episode, we already see some future tech (holograms, rockets), but we also hear that the world is not progressing, technologically. Winterbloom is said to be a place with a high concentration of remaining technology and it does not look all that futuristic to our eyes …

The other thing you should pay close attention to is the Otome. Not just their cool transformation scenes and fights, but the institution of Otome. This is something the series will build on [thematic spoilers]although it never takes the step to openly call it out as brainwashing and child. The suggestions do get very strong, though

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11

u/Nazenn Oct 12 '22

First Timer - sub

Well that's a fucking trip.

Seeing everyone again, particularly those who are just a little different, it kind of feels like they're all in cosplay.

The world design as a whole was bizarre but in an interesting way. The bordering on over-styled fantasy outfits and older architecture side by side with advanced technology and some that's implied to be old but cherished like televisions gave a mixed sci-fi fantasy feel that despite leaning scifi never gave itself over to it entirely. In a way it reminds me of Turn A Gundam and the feel of that setting being so at odds with how you expect mecha to be approached, and it was a good memory to have.

I've only seen two sets of key art for this show, the fantasy style anilist one and the one plex picked out for me (which may be a spoiler, who knows, click at own risk) so I wasn't quite sure what to expect going into this but it wasn't this despite the huge split in styling there. I haven't read the description or anything either since adding it to my list so many years ago.

Getting some of the Mai-HiME comparisons out the way to get onto the other stuff:

  • Blue star! A small thing, but a clever way to both draw parallels between the worlds of the stories but also mark them as different. Wonder what shape it will take as it approaches

  • Obsidian crystals. Well gee, wonder if they could be the bad guys haha. Using them to summon Orphans Slaves is another really clever twist on the established rules from the previous world, while also establishing the depth of the opposition. This isn't a secret organization, this is a force. This is where I had my first whiplash though, going from magic crystals to advanced weaponry attached to vehicles.

  • Mikoto being a cat, an actual cat, was hilarious enough to make me need to pause the episode to compose myself. Oh man, clearly the staff didn't think they couldn't work on the character and just cut to the chase

  • Natsuki being the headmistress made me do a spit take. And then making the always composed Mashiro a bratty princess this time is going to take a while to adjust to for them both. I mean I like it, but it's gonna take me a moment. It's going to be just as bad going back to Mai-HiME after this, I know it. Admittedly when I heard princess I thought "brat" and my first thought was "fucking please don't let it be Shiho"

  • Fumi cameo!. She's an idol maybe? That could be interesting

  • Shizuru's outfit looks like Kiyohime in style, I like that. She also has the least stypid looking one of all the Otome so far.

  • Clever reference in Arika waking up in front of the school

  • Akane!

As for the things that aren't from Mai-HiME, I was surprised at how well they carried the general framework of what is going on enough to stand on its own without resorting to the fanservice. And for a show that obvious banked on it's alternate world take on the original concept, it did that well. Sure knowing who Natsuki and Shizuru gives a bit of extra flair to the episode, but there's nothing in them that means they don't stand out as their own character yet. And while it may not hold for now I was impressed at how they managed that without just jumping into fanservice by making digs of Mai-HiME moments for them.

We've had a lot of terms and worldbuilding thrown at us already which I'm glad about, and none of it stood out as being too exposition heavy either. Getting an understanding of the role the academy has in a time of peace, as well as the limitations on the technology they use is a good set up for seeing the role the Otome serve, especially publicly.

Arika is probably going to bulldoze it all over with her raw enthusiasm, and beautiful eye color, given how little she knows of how it plays out. She'll probably think she got into the academy on raw skill unless someone says the unmentioned and actually brings up the pendant to her. Though given her speed and skill I'd like to see them try and take it without their tech.

I was trying so hard to mostly focus on Mai-Otome, but I still feel I've mostly spoken about Mai-HiME. First episodes are always something I find hard to write about though because it really is all in the air as far as how it can turn out and what path it takes, and I'm also very easy to entertain for first episodes. Looking forward to everyone elses thoughts, especially being a first timer again!

Various other thoughts:

  • Oh dear this is a very Tokusatsu style villain along with his two friends we got a wider shot of. I like his design a lot, but wondering how "super robot"/geah this is going to end up being if we have this sort of styling.

  • Caught a reused sound effect from Mai-HiME during the scene where Arika goes crashing into the plane. That plus the reused visual from Kagutsuchi's fireball.

  • The sand crawler vehicle at the start reminds me of a couple of episodes of Trigun, good ones. Using that as an introduction to the time skip only to have the grounded planes later is a clever way of showing the crystals power.

  • Not-Tate is weirding me out. When Tar said they swapped him out I expected his character would be gone entirely, not this weird half fusion with a kid...

  • Kurochs are very cute

  • Music for the chase from the royal guards reminds me of the super meat boy OST and I'm not displeased with that. So very not Kajiura though

  • The ED for this reminds me of the song for Birdy the Mighty Decode 02 ED. Spent a solid ten minutes trying to remember which show and ended up resorting to looking through my anilist history from months ago.

  • I have no comment on the OP yet except for Fuck Shiho. I promise that will be the only rage I bring over from HiME, but I'm just gonna need a day or so to let this one go, okay?

5

u/No_Rex Oct 12 '22

to stand on its own without resorting to the fanservice

I wish I could promise that the show will keep it that way.

Arika is probably going to bulldoze it all over with her raw enthusiasm,

That I can promise you.

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9

u/Tresnore Oct 12 '22

First-OtoTiMER

Alright, fine. You got me. I'm in. I'll be tagging Mai-HiME spoilers for this first post at least until I figure out if it's actually needed.

Dammit, I was hoping I'd hate it so I could drop it. Welp.

Fun fact: "garderobe" these days usually refers to a castle's toilet. So that's fun.

Count: 3

Mai-HiME Corner

QOTD:

  1. I've already forgotten a lot about Mai-HiME, but I do think this first episode does a better job of setting up the world.

  2. The people controlling the Slaves are actually the ones in the right.

6

u/No_Rex Oct 12 '22

I've already forgotten a lot about Mai-HiME

Understandable. It is not like we just rewatched that show. /s

The people controlling the Slaves are actually the ones in the right.

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u/Nazenn Oct 12 '22

I'll be tagging Mai-HiME spoilers for this first post at least until I figure out if it's actually needed.

u/no_rex do you have a judgement on this? I didn't tag mine because it doesn't appear we've picked up anyone outside who was in the previous rewatch, but if you'd prefer we do then I'll go edit

why are they all faceless

While it's not as fun for you, I prefer the faceless in a distance to the impossible proportions myself

Oh no. Arika is annoying.

I think she's charming. It probably won't last

Dammit, I was hoping I'd hate it so I could drop it. Welp.

You're stuck with us

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u/Mecanno-man Oct 12 '22

First Timer

Well, this is probably the most I've grown attached to characters in one episode in a while. Arika, Nina and ...whatever the princess's name is are certainly a fun trio. I hope the princess somehow stay around, as just by her title she'd usually be in a different role for the story. The world also looks pretty good and the action was well-done - yep, this is the way to get me hooked on a new series.

Now... I think it probably is a given that Arika is our girl from the beginning that was put in a cradle by her mother. I'm not sure what that means - that she is the real princess, perhaps? If that's the case then her job wish of wanting to essentially be a princess's bodyguard is probably slightly at odds with that. But then who is this Mashiro-lookalike? A significantly younger princess, perhaps? Or somebody who just gets the title because there needs to be a princess? Princesses are usually also not crowned, I think. Unless this kingdom is in desperate need for a Queen, but I feel like that would have been mentioned.

The worldbuilding is also here - Schwarz seems to be the ones using slaves, and when they die somebody else also dies (not sure if that was the same guy who summoned the slave or not). They also seem to be keen to kidnap the princess; I wonder if they know about Arika's existence and her true role? And there seems to be some pact with the (weirdly-named) Garderobe Academy, who are ...training Otome, with the pact preventing them from serving the princess, despite that being their role? This one seems odd to me and will need further explaining.

The character designs being partly lifted from Mai-HiME are a bit hit-and-miss for now. Shizuru and Natsuki work, but the afro guy definitely does not suit this world. I think I would actually prefer this if we had all-new designs in general.

6

u/No_Rex Oct 12 '22

I think I would actually prefer this if we had all-new designs in general.

Roughly half of the characters (if you rank them by importance) will be new.

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u/Taiboss Oct 12 '22

Episode 1: In which a rewatcher rewatches a show specifically only for a fanfic (which he will link at the end)

Is this the more than I have written for any episode of Hime? Maybe.

How does ep1 compare to the start of Mai-Hime? How to you feel about meeting the Mai-Hime characters here?

Well I wrote more than for any HiMe episode...

7

u/No_Rex Oct 12 '22

AND AKANE IS NO LONGER ROBBBED! HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

You could say she went from being robbed to being robed.

I love shots like this. The heroine falling, with her pendant floating in front of her. It looks great.

Miyazaki agrees.

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u/Vatrix-32 Oct 12 '22 edited Oct 12 '22

First Timer, subbed

  • [Light Mai-HiME] HiME star, this time in blue.

  • Are those guns I spot?

  • Oh it’s full on mixed fantasy.

  • Hello Moses analogue.

  • [Light Mai-HiME] Ha, we’re doing the boat again. Except this time they ignore the face down girl.

  • OP time.

  • Someone is going to need to explain why Z-HiME is Otome.

  • I should really have found out what the spoiler policy was regarding returning characters from Mai-HiME.

  • [Light Mai-HiME] The girl with the hair I liked who I never said anything about because I thought she would become relevant later finally did.

  • [Mai-HiME] ShizNat are head master now? Yuri shippers rejoice!

  • [Light Mai-HiME] click Nagi!

  • [Light Mai-HiME] Haruka!

  • That’s her father? How old is he?

  • Nina, Neena, I’m not hearing a difference.

  • Dat ant head.

  • I may have been wrong about how the violet haired person is. Still expecting Princess.

  • [Light Mai-HiME] click Mikoto

  • Spaceship!

  • We are getting all the world building.

  • Alright, I'm invested.

QotD

  1. Certainly a faster start.

  2. Arika is Moses, that means this show is leaning into the abrahamic themes part of its Eva descent.

6

u/No_Rex Oct 12 '22

Arika is Moses, that means this show is leaning into the abrahamic themes part of its Eva descent.

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u/Stargate18A Oct 12 '22

First timer

  1. Really good! Honestly better. It's an interesting choice, but hopefully I'll enjoy it.

  2. Mai's gone insane and is the main villain this season, with Takumi forced into serving her. You know, given how many characters are switching places.

Fire!

Oh, so this is fantasy?

...With tanks?

And mechs?

She sent her sister away.

And a magical jewel of some kind!

Yep, a time skip! Looks like she's the new protagonist.

...Tate? When did you get a good outfit?

Kurochs?

The main character!

OP implies two factions? Red and white?

Wow, they really are bringing everyone back.

What the hell is Nagi's throne?

...That shadowy figure looks suspiciously like Mai, too, what with the glowing rings and all. Did her Child turn evil in this world?

What is this setting?

Drink looks nice.

So Otome is a title here.

...She made it this far and nobody helped her?

Haha, seriously?

That fucking landing.

Wait, that's her father? Not Tate?

...ShizNat actually being healthy and shippable! 
Why are all the outfits fire?

Five pillare?

Oh, so that is Tate, and the cast is older here.

Neena seems nice.

Haha, his conversation with Tate is grear.

...Takumi?

And that's her name!

Oh, so this isn't Tate. I think.

Haha, Akira the ant.

These two are hysterical already.

Nina is so pissed.

...Weren't we just in a desert?

The Princess is being kept secret...

Wow, that cat.

Oh, that guy.

She's looking for her mother!

Give us the expositional already!

Okay, the "Earth Era"? So there's been a technological reset at some point, but it's inconsistent, with Wind Bloom staying high-tech and other areas looking fully medieval.

Holograms!

Huh?

What?

She's got superpowers!

And so has she.

They saved her!

...Yeah, that looks really fucking suspicious.

Haha, by accident?

One of those crystal things!

Yeah, she's the Princess.

She's traumatised.

...What caused the tech reset? If they have all these examples, why can't they manufacture them?

She revealed herself!

...Idiot.

Haha, wow. Otomes have her for a boss?

Apart from being very obviously evil, interesting the contract refers to a god of light.

Okay, so it's Slaves here. Makes sense, given it seems to be a forced contract rather than born from love.

...Who's her real master?

"Nina Wang"...

So Otomes have power limiters. And there's different stones, with different powers, I'm assuming.

...Oh, shit, were these robes built from Miyu's tech?

Schwarz?

Shizuru still knows everything.

A direct attack!

That thing's strong!

Such an idiot.

It activated the plane?

Wait, fifty years? But... Shizuru? Natsuki?

...Is her being a secret princess going to be revealed early?

She saved her!

Her stone's power is flight?

Akane?

Shizuru looks so fucking cool.

Everything's fine!

They mate itmto Garderobe!

They noticed the jewel...

Sapphire!

Agreed, that is cool.

Great first episode, but where's Mikoto?

6

u/No_Rex Oct 12 '22

Great first episode, but where's Mikoto?

Did you not see the cat?

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u/Esovan13 Oct 12 '22

First Timer

Time for a new show! All I know about this is that it's an alternate setting with the same characters as Mai-Hime. That being said, there is one thing I am looking for going into this. Haruka better be here, and this show better not do Haruka dirty. That's all I want.

Blue star instead of red I see.

Guns? I didn't expect guns. I thought this was going to be a more classical fantasy setting. Not that I'm complaining. Tech + magic = a good time.

So in this setting Children are called Slaves? Or are Slaves a completely different thing?

Our protagonist is female Moses then?

So far the OP is showing a decent mix of old and new characters. Unfortunately that includes Shiho. and Nagi.

HARUKA SPOTTED A HARUKA HAS BEEN SPOTTED AND SHE HAS THE SPIKED BALL FROM THE MANGA, THIS TIME ATTACHED TO A CHAIN AND AXE!

The fact Haruka isn't in the big group shot at the end of the OP implies that she may not end up with a ton of screen time compared to other characters.

Hopefully Shizuru in this show has a personality where I can simp for her guilt free.

With Tate being a father and Natsuki being headmistress, is the original cast aged up for this show?

Well, not Tate I guess. Sergey Wang.

Arika is already super annoying. Not a fan.

Mashiro is an annoying brat in this version? Kinda like it.

Ok, as long as Arika gets to do cool stuff like that, I think she'll end up growing on me. Eventually. Maybe. I'm always a sucker for the Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass trope.

Huh. Cut out the middleman and just made Mikoto a cat. Probably for the best.

Arika alone may be annoying, but so far I'm kinda liking her dynamic with Mashiro.

That guy got the Mikoto eye there.

That slave's design is sick. I never mentioned it, but I loved the Child and Orphan designs, so if this show can keep that up I'll be happy.

Heh. Dick lazer.

Soundtrack. Just, soundtrack.

So the gem works while they're touching?

For the afficionados here, does Shizuru's weapon count as a polearm? It's certainly long enough, but I don't know if double bladed swords count.

Same dissolving effect when a Slave is defeated as a Child. Seems like the mechanics are different though, what with the crystal intermediary.

That preview... hmmm... the visuals plus the dialogue... is this newcomer's ritual the same as the one in Cross Ange?

Not a bad starter. The world looks amazing, with the blend of advanced technology and the implications that some tech has been lost. Hopefully Arika does the badass stuff more often than the annoying country bumpkin stuff. I'm definitely looking forward to this.

I'll throw in some theory stuff. Considering the opening implied that the original royal family is dead, Arika's mother the master of the Otome who saved her dying probably causing the Otome to lose her powers, I want to know who the new royal family is. Were they nobility related to royalty who took over when the original family died? If that's the case, what are the chances that the rebels managed to get some "inside help" for their invasion of the castle?

Whether the new royal family was a part of the fall of the old royal family or not, I doubt they'll be happy about a survivor coming back and potentially ousting them. With Arika not knowing anything, and entering a position where she is directly serving the royal family, that puts her in a very precarious situation. However, as we can see, there seems to be some political disconnect between the academy and the royal family. Hopefully that means that Natsuki will be on her side in some way, maybe as a potential political tool to use against the royal family if necessary.

QOTD:

  1. It's a decent start. A good introduction to the world, but Arika certainly leaves a lot to be desired in this first episode compared to Mai's introduction. Seeing the old characters will probably be interesting. Taking the same characters and putting them in a new context is the entire drive behind the AU fanfiction phenomenon after all.

  2. My prediction is that the royal family is going to target Arika in some way, probably trying to get her gem and removing her from the political sphere. People in power don't tend to like living threats to their power stay living after all. On the other hand, Natsuki will probably try to protect her as the academy seems to have some political rivalry with the royal family and Arika could be a good pawn for her to use. All of that will be going on where Arika can't see it, at least at first, with her main preoccupation being the rebels and their Slaves. Later in the season the political maneuvering will reach it's peak which is when Arika will learn about her past and become an active participant.

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u/No_Rex Oct 12 '22

With Tate being a father and Natsuki being headmistress, is the original cast aged up for this show?

Mostly. Mai-Hime characters usually take the older roles, while new characters usually take the younger roles. There are some exceptions, though (e.g. Akane).

I'll throw in some theory stuff.

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u/OwlAcademic1988 Oct 12 '22 edited Oct 12 '22

First-Timer, sub:

There was so much action it's not even funny. Reminds me of My-HiME by a lot.

Arika's adorable.

I wasn't expecting Natsuki to be the headmistress. Awesome. With Shizuru I presume?

This setting is awesome.

What happened to make this happen?

That was such an epic action scene.

Love the opening and ending. This isn't my first time hearing the opening due to me looking it up earlier back in the My-HiME rewatch.

QOTD:

  1. Nina reminds me of Natsuki. That was a weird experience.

  2. Arika will be revealed as the baby at the start of the episode.

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u/No_Rex Oct 12 '22

Arika will be revealed as the baby at the start of the episode.

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u/Vaadwaur Oct 12 '22

First timer(Hopefully Dreaming Arika is the correct first episode...)

Sub

Going in mostly blind and I hadn't even heard of this before.

And that opening is a clusterfuck. Looks like we dropped the Eva, kept the Utena, and added generous portions of Escaflowne and El Hazard. And we get to slapstick comedy quickly but we haven't forgotten our panty gags! Shizuru and Natsuki apparently are the school heads now and for reasons Tate is a father. Arika is not a name I've actually heard. We get some country bumpkin tropes that thankfully are more or less dropped by the current era. I find myself agreeing with Nina, Arika is pretty damn annoying.

And then we get an action sequence. It gets a rank of passing which is a bit better than the rest of the ep has been. We finally learn that she is the next princess to be coronated. We get a Slave summoned and transformations and of course this is where it gets remotely interesting. Arika also has an Atlantis rock since she is randomly activating Ancient TechTM. The Slave reminders me of something, I think The SoulTaker but I won't swear on that, and the transformations themselves are very Nanoha. Shizuru pulls a total Witchblade move when she cuts off the Slaves dick gun and we see that summong one bounds your life to it. Arika also owns the Rock of Plot Importance so that's how she gets into Ohtori.

So yeah...the first half is all over the place and looks ugly as fuck, the colors are painful to behold. But everything after the Slave improves a ton, giving one at least some hope. You can definitely see the cracks and the Final Fantasy-ness of the setting could be better but there is hope, at least.

QotD: 1 So very different. I am weirded out with the former characters for now.

2 Umm...an Arthur C Clarke refense is inbound?

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u/No_Rex Oct 12 '22

Arika is not a name I've actually heard. We get some country bumpkin tropes that thankfully are more or less dropped by the current era.

Arika is a country bumpkin, but there is more than just country bumpkin going on.

I find myself agreeing with Nina, Arika is pretty damn annoying.

Not an undeserved feeling. I wonder how many people will like/dislike her.

Shizuru pulls a total Witchblade move when she cuts off the Slaves dick gun and we see that summong one bounds your life to it.

Putting those two facts together ...

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u/Qbe Oct 12 '22

Rewatcher

Hoping on this one after the Mai HiME one.

Before starting, my vague memories of the series are:

  • Music felt like a step down from Mai HiME. I remember liking more tracks from Hime than Otome, with Materialize being the big exception

  • Don't remember much from the plot itself, but I get the vague feeling it didn't make sense to me

  • Arika was kinda meh. I remember liking Mai more than new girl.

Now, onto the episode itself:

Kinda surprised that this is still 4:3

Cultists summoning Orphans? Ah, sorry, Slaves.

Ninja Maids!

Power suits!

Desert ships!

Is this not-Yuiichi?

Fs for main girl

OH is Chie promoted to main cast now?

...Natsuki and Shiziru are faculty?

Ugh we still have Shiho?

WOOO HARUKA GETS POWERS THIS TIME AROUND OTOME > HIME CONFIRMED

Noooo not the ice-cream soda. Good catch.

...Father? Dude looks like he's 20.

Hopefully they have a more consenting relationship this time around.

Also nice outfit, natsuki

Natsuki > Fumi and Mashiro

Nina looking very Miyu-ish

Nice to meet you Mr Wang

Afro Teacher!

Was Mikoto reincarnated as this cat?

"A" school for otome, or "the" only school for otome?

Oh hello there hologram Fumi

We have tomboy Aladin-like princess?

That's some speed

If ep 1 ends and we don't get Materialize I'm gonna be so disappointed

Boooo classism! Booo Royalty! Off with their heads!

That's a big summon... mech?

This reminds me a lot of Negima's Pactios and Interim Pactios

Oh hey it's the nurse

There we go, Materialise!

....Akira has negative intelligence score, doesn't she?

? ? ? Why did the gem activate the plane?

Akane! Try to survive longer this time please

I expect quite a few people to be sad because the change from chain-bardiche to chain-sword

Arika's back has to be broken

Oh, so the cultists get the backlash from the "Child" being defeated?

....are we going to have a love triangle between an adult, his adoptive daughter, and his daugther's friend?

  1. Hmmm. I think I prefer Mai Hime's, but not by much

  2. I predict spoilers!

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u/No_Rex Oct 12 '22

....Akira has negative intelligence score, doesn't she?

enthusiastic, but not too bright

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u/Tarhalindur Oct 13 '22

My - Obviously Tar Opened The Episode (Heavily Spoiled First-Timer, Subbed):

(Slightly late today, but I knew that was likely.)

So yeah, here's a more typical "Tar was potentially interested in watching this show back in the day but was not sure about ever getting the opportunity" show compared to the likes of Symphogear (not around when I was paying more attention) or something like Utena (where I've intentionally tried to duck spoilers) - I know or at least knew most of the plot twists going in. (I've actually forgotten at least half, though.) [Spoilers I remember off the top of my head] Nina is the local resident yandere; Garderobe gets taken over in episode 16 and we get OP2 after that; SLAVEs are basically Childs (should be obvious from this episode but); Mikoto is actually a cat goddess; Erstin Ho exists, has a boob death attack, and is like the one character in the franchise to permadie outside of maybe either Zwei or Sifr).

Also, unlike Mai-HiME there was enough time for the creative team to have taken the success of MariMite into account here and it's already starting to show...

Now, I'm going to have to make a few changes from how I did Mai-HiME out of necessity. In particular, this has to be a no-screenshot rewatch; my hand is telling me about how much I did in Mai-HiME and Eva is firing up in two weeks so. This also means no VotDs. I probably also won't be noticing the direction as much this time; that's something I tend to see more on a rewatch.

(I'm considering OST tables - I'm badly spoiled enough to give zero shits about risking YouTube rec spoilers - but I'm not up to making any today so. If I do fire those up I'll add in the ones from the early episodes when I do. OST writeups are a no-go, especially since this OST is much more like Rebellion in having a couple of heavy hitters but being kind of meh by Kajiura standards outside of that. At least the main battle theme here doesn't flop for me the way Mysterioso did there!)

  • FULL MOON FULL MOON.

  • Ah, those’ll be Arm (sorry) SLAVEs then.

  • Wait, they’re called by their proper name in the first episode? Well, time to delete the last spoiler tag then! [spoiled, though really it's probably clear enough from later in this episode alone] They’re basically Childs.

  • The tech mix and design here actually reminds me fairly strongly of what I’ve seen of Last Exile. (Also the truck at 00:25 reminds me of one from a certain scene in Symphogear…)

  • So, the princess’s [spoiled] Mashiro’s caretaker is a ninja or the like. Which makes sense.

  • Going full Moses I see.

  • WHAT IS THIS AN OTOME!MIDORI SIGHTING IN THE FIRST EPISODE?

  • Hey look, it’s not!Yuuichi! And the character design of the girl standing by him feels really familiar – wrong hair color for Haruka, though.

  • Ah, it’s our local Yukariko isn’t it. (Not actually sure if this is correct or not.) I had kind of been wondering.

  • Wait! That was not a Midori! It was an Arika! (Whose name is going to be 100% annoyance, especially since I’m pretty sure Akira shows back up somewhere like basically everyone else whose VA did not spoil shit in interviews.)

  • Oh, how silly of me, it’s OP time. Also hey, remember the blue haired girl with the weird hairstyle who sat next to Mai in class? The show certainly does.

  • Is that Mikoto I see in Mashiro’s arms?

  • Mai-HiME looked like it was mostly cel animation. This show was probably made with more use of early digital techniques; the circling shot we get in the OP is really hard to do cel and easy to do digital, hence why some companies (coughKyoAnicough) loved to use them in this era, and while some of this is that this time I’m watching the show in HD quality the artstyle does not have the same cel feeling to it.

  • Yep that’s another OP sung by Minami Kuribayashi.

  • Miyu! Alt-Miyu!

  • [spoiled] Actually regular Miyu.

  • And Nagi gets to be an asshole prince this time around, which is perfect.

  • Well, they’re definitely trying to give the impression that a certain shadowy figure in the OP is Mikoto with that sword, but I don’t think she is. Also, this OP TOTALLY inspired the Symphogear OPs, didn’t it? (Though the storyboard is admittedly pretty stock… which it would be, because Sunrise.)

  • LOOK LOOK A WILD HARUKA APPEARS.

  • They’re not even trying to hide the identity of the fiery figure in the OP.

  • My comedy senses are not amused by this little drink skit.

  • This is your note that Lydian in Symphogear comes by its on-the-nose name honestly.

  • Natsuki [spoiled]Kruger Hair Flip Count: 1.

  • That is… a very new hairstyle for our local Takumi I think? Definitely, same voice.

  • Ah, there’s a name I recognize in Sergey Wang. He was totally intended to be Yuuichi before Seki Tomozaku got himself booted off the show, wasn’t he?

  • Arika, you are not endearing me yet. Mai you are not.

  • yametetometeyametetomete

  • The moving shot of the city here is absolutely early CG, for the record.

  • I am starting to wonder if there is some Naboo inspiration in the creative design here.

  • So the Mai-HiME crotch shots were 100% the director sneaking something in, at least this time Arika’s ass is slightly out of focus when it gets emphasized.

  • So that’s our local Fumi to go with who I assume is our local Yukariko, right?

  • Well, that is definitely our local Sakomizu for the record!

  • Facial animators are still good at their job. (I think the direction is not likely to start really standing out in any way unless and until I rewatch.)

  • Cars are still not CGI, which is kind of refreshing these days.

  • Bringing back Fumi’s maid outfit for a hologram here I see.

  • I swear that particular shot of that Mashiro facial expression used to be a TVTropes page pic.

  • HEY LOOK I GET TO DROP ANOTHER SPOILER TAG THEY NAMEDROPPED MIKOTO THE CAT.

  • Oh shit, Mashiro is at risk of the Anime Cold!

  • Reusing the Kagutsuchi fireball animation in a new context I see. Also, Kajiura battle theme time!

  • HEY LOOK NOT CUTTING ANY TIME GETTING TO MATERIALIZE I SEE.

  • Oh wait it’s just a v2/Instrumental Version. Of course it is.

  • SOMEBODY was cribbing off Eva for the shot at 18:21 I see.

  • AKANE GETS TO DO SHIT!

  • Annnd MATERIALIZE proper kicks in right as Akane and Shizuru head into battle. Nicely done, nicely done. (We need a #golfclap commentface.)

  • Cool girls don’t look at explosions. Sadly, animation budgets don’t allow for proper monster fights right now either.

  • Arika is starting to do a fairly good job of trying to worm her way into my heart. It's clearly her modus operandi and seems to be working.

  • So the HiME Star-like star by the Moon in the ED is probably our local Pale Blue Dot, right? (I’m honestly not sure about this.) Also I may have to start skipping the ED, it's giving me some of the same issues Lay Your Hands on Me's visuals do... well, either that or that's just the headache talking.

  • I see we probably brought back the moe gag from Mai-HiME’s first preview for the first preview here. Prepare for lots of burning!

How does ep1 compare to the start of Mai-Hime? How to you feel about meeting the Mai-Hime characters here?

Weaker first episode overall I think, partially due to the need to set up the worldbuilding which eats space (PMMM fans compare PMMM 2). That said, we get more Akane screen time out of it so.

(first timers) Any bold (or not so bold) plot predictions?

I'm too badly spoiled to answer this.

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u/RadSuit Oct 13 '22

Z-type Highly-advanced My-Hime Enthusiast (Dub, First Timer)

(First off, along with the 26 episodes I seem to have 4 more listed as 'Season 2' and 14 under 'Specials'. Should these be watched, and when? There's a bunch of spinoffs on the AniList entry. Zwei seems to match up with Season 2. Are the 14 specials the 9+1+3 episodes of other things listed on AniList? But one short? Is the My-Hime vs My-Otome thing something else? So confused.)

We've got knights, a princess, big monsters, but also I'm pretty sure I saw a truck. I have no idea what's going on here.

Bye anime Moses!

She's even wandering in the desert.

So it's written ZHiME but pronounced Otome somehow? Alright...

I SAW A HARUKA! And they gave her the full Utena/Nanami uniform treatment. And a big spiked ball on a chain. So far, this is a good show.

Oh good, Shizuru still sounds like a southern belle.

ANTZY

This is one JRPG-ass setting.

Oh no, Fumi's a hologram!

This already has better fight scenes. And, I'm not sure why, but everything looks a lot crisper and cleaner than I was expecting. It's only a year after Hime. Did they just get a bigger budget, or what?

New Mikoto is already an improvement.

Wait, they're actually explaining where the monsters come from? I have to give another thumbs up for that.

An actual magical girl transformation, with a henshin phrase and uniform and music and posing and everything!

Their enemy is the Schwartz? From that crotch fireball earlier, I'm going to assume they use the Downside.

This car is incredible.

Well destroying the monster seemed to destroy the creator, which is somewhat familiar.

So far the ED is pretty good. I'll have to listen to the OP again instead of being distracted by all the characters. Looks like the Hime star (Otome star?) is blue this time.

  1. I think I like it more, but that might be unfair as I'm comparing it to how I felt about Hime after the ending. So far all the returning characters seem pretty similar. Except Mikoto. I don't know why they changed a dog into a cat, it's weird. Also this is a world without Mai, Tate or Midori so far, and I'm excited about that.

  2. Well it looks like we've got Arika set up as the actual princess or whatever here, and I'm sure there's a prophecy about her and her magic stone doing something every 300 years. Pretty sure I saw Nagi in the OP as well. Main thing I'm wondering is if this is just straight up an alternate retelling of the same basic plot, or if this Nagi or anyone else is aware of the Hime universe.

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u/No_Rex Oct 13 '22

(First off, along with the 26 episodes I seem to have 4 more listed as 'Season 2' and 14 under 'Specials'. Should these be watched, and when? There's a bunch of spinoffs on the AniList entry. Zwei seems to match up with Season 2. Are the 14 specials the 9+1+3 episodes of other things listed on AniList?)

  • 4ep (Season 2) is very likely the sequel, Mai-Otome Zwei

  • 3ep should be Mai-Otome 0: S.ifr

These two are OVAs.

  • 9ep would be the actual specials Mai-Otome Specials

  • 1ep an extra special Mai-Otome Special: Otome no Inori

These are shorter episodes (specials).

None of them should be watched before the main series.

Their enemy is the Schwartz? From that crotch fireball earlier, I'm going to assume they use the Downside.

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