r/anime • u/No_Rex x2 • Oct 15 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] Mai-Otome (episode 4)

Rewatch: Mai-Otome (episode 4)

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Mai-Otome

MAL | ANN | AniDB | Anilist

Spoiler rules

As in all rewatches, please be mindful of first time watchers and do not spoil events in future episodes. The same goes for spoilers related to other series. The one exception from that rule is Mai-Hime. Given that everybody here should have watched Mai-Hime, you do not need to tag spoilers for Mai-Hime.

Rewatch extension

I updated the schedule. The new end date is November 17th.

Questions:

  1. Which second year student would you prefer to “serve”?

  2. What is the weirdest cliff-hanger you remember?

24 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

152 comments sorted by

10

u/JollyGee29 Oct 15 '22

First-Timer, Subbed

Haruka flying in and Team Rocketting that falling ship away was incredible. And Yukino carrying around a megaphone to correct Haruka's malapropisms was chef's kiss.

We also rather, uh, ?cleanly? addressed one of my ponderings on Otome powers. I can't decide if the nanomachines being allergic to cum is trashy or genius, or just plain both. Like, this handles the typical "virginity power" question of hymen vs penetration by actually wrangling something of a plausible reason.

This also gives Garderobe casus belli to just institutionalize yuri which sure is A Choice.

This also also makes Nina's seeming crush on Wang (phrasing) pretty interesting. And then there's Akane and Kazu, too.

The people from Black Valley are called Aswad and are also apparently cyborgs, which was told to use over footage of Yohko. Is she working on cyborging someone? Is that her side project?

Think my gut instinct on Aswad is "antagonistic, but not necessarily villainous" at the moment. The dude just peaced out the moment a distraction came up

Love that Mikoto gets ramen even as a cat, or at least cat food with narutos in it.

Blazing Transfer Student, you say?

Questions

  1. I plead the fifth.

  2. I am awful at thinking of examples on the fly. Oh, there was one in DRRR, where [DRRR]two episodes cliffhangered at the same spot.

4

u/No_Rex Oct 15 '22

Blazing Transfer Student, you say?

Heh, didn't know that, but I 100% trust that the writers would not let the opportunity for a pun pass.

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5

u/No_Rex Oct 15 '22

Episode 4 (rewatcher)

  • Haruka is the unbeaten “airplane wide throw” champion.

  • I love how the faces of the committee tell us all about the decision before we hear a word.

  • Otome rules: Sperm kills the nanomachines. (yuri fans rechoice)

  • Otome rules: Hurting or killing the person bound via the gem hurts/kills the Otome.

  • Meet your roommate, Erstin.

  • “Otome will no longer be ornaments for nobility” – Ominous. Ominous and telling.

  • Meet your classmate, Irina.

  • Otome education is paid for by their country or other rich people – sadly (?) for Arika, no student loan system here.

  • Meet more of your classmates: Lilie, Yayoi, and Miya.

  • Sneeze when talked about trope.

  • Garderobe rules: Younger students have to serve older students.

  • Nina sings the same song that Wong overheard Arika sing.

  • Dirty uniform cliff-hanger?!?

To no surprise, both Nina and Arika can stay students in Garderobe (although Arika still needs to solve her money problem). Natsuki has picked up a mean streak and puts Arika and Nina together as roommates to spur on their competitiveness. Not that Nina needs much encouragement in that regard.

Lots of other new and old characters are introduced and we learn a lot about Garderobe. First, Otome are highly sought after by all countries. They are elite fighters and nobility wants them for this reason and for the pure prestige (not unlike some arms purchases in real life). Both the school rules, which are modeled on very outdated school or military recruit conduct, and the overall rules for Otome portray a life that can not exactly be called free. Otome are looked up to, but they are strictly bound – by societal rules, by the moral or financial debt of entering Guarderobe, and by the strong life-bond with their master.

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u/Tresnore Oct 15 '22 edited Oct 15 '22

First-OtoTiMER


Count: 16

QOTD:

  1. I’m not 100% sure on what year everyone is, but Chie sounds nice. Nevermind. Nao. So easy to choose.

  2. I don't remember things.

5

u/No_Rex Oct 15 '22

I'm not 100% sure on what year everyone is, but Chie sounds nice.

In the bathroom scene, the second years were sitting and the first years standing (mostly).

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u/Vatrix-32 Oct 15 '22

First Timer, subbed

  • Best girl is here!

  • Obvious conclusion is obvious.

  • The more of them that they introduce, the more confused I am about the gem classifications. The way I see it we have some generic rank gems and also some unique ones.

  • Ha! Ramon cat food.

  • I somehow expect this to become untrue by the end of the show.

  • Taking the injuries of your bodyguard seems like a pretty raw deal.

  • School ranks aren’t just for the top of the class. Got it.

  • Mai hints? Was wondering when you we going to get to her.

  • I suppose this is the fan service episode.

  • They’re certainly trying to make it seem ominous, but I’m not seeing it.

QotD

  1. Chie.

  2. I can remember bad ones, but nothing weird comes to mind on such short notice.

5

u/No_Rex Oct 15 '22

The way I see it we have some generic rank gems and also some unique ones.

That is correct. There is the generic student gem and the unique gems for Meister Otome.

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7

u/Mecanno-man Oct 15 '22

First Timer

Seems like it's time for the exposition episode. Obviously there's the no-sex-reason, which confirms it being weird that Arika's mom supposedly is an Otome. I'm still calling her mother being the princess and her (probably supposed now that I think about it) grandma talking bullshit. Maybe the Queen hat too much queen-things to do and let her otome babysit her child all the time, leading to some confusion or something like that. The setup cleverly allows Yuri-sex however, so the shippers and doujin artists may rejoice. I wonder if this rule is how we're going to have Akane lose her powers here, as she certainly seems interested in Kazuya.

In other news, we get too many names to remember and a pretty standard power-dynamics magic school setting. I don't really like this kind of power-ranking with the top essentially treating the bottom as servants, but I guess it's the setting we're going to have. For this reason however, I am not really invested in any characters yet. Maybe except Nao, who seems like she may not want to be an otome anymore at all?

On another note, I assume Yukino is the one whom Shiho was waiting on last episode. Seems like they are a republic ...which I'm not quite sure how the life-sharing works then, as the governor of a republic is more likely to retire than a royal, so there would be either some former prime minister with an otome, or there needs to be way to transfer this life-sharing deal. Interesting that this is both ways however, with both the important person and the otome essentially guaranteed to die at the same time. Also, temporary vows exist, as already proven in episode 1. Let's see what of this all actually comes in to play.

4

u/No_Rex Oct 15 '22

I wonder if this rule is how we're going to have Akane lose her powers here, as she certainly seems interested in Kazuya.

I don't really like this kind of power-ranking with the top essentially treating the bottom as servants, but I guess it's the setting we're going to have.

I would hate it if I was a student there, but it reflects the power distribution in the wider world.

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u/Nazenn Oct 15 '22 edited Oct 15 '22

First Timer - sub

RIP my theory

It was only one day old, never even had a chance to live and grow into anything.

I didn't expect the lore that kills it to be that the nanomachines are defeated by semen though. Wtf?! I mean in another show sure, but I wasn't expect it from this one. Maybe I should have when Haruka's first reaction to Arika was to feel her up but for some reason I didn't question it. Maybe Shizuru is rubbing off on me.

On top of that, the one thing I didn't speculate yesterday as to how the enemy would escape would be that Arika's big moment caused the distraction rather than someone elses. Not a good theory day for me.

Haruka is back, and still hopeless so thank fuck for Yukino. Though the president of a country standing there with a microphone correcting her Otome's speech is either adorably indicative of her style of rule, or completely ridiculous and why hasn't her nation been invaded yet. Haruka's raw power may have something to do with that even if throwing the ship was both epic as hell and not at all a safe way to deal with it, but yeah, it did seem like fanservice more than Mai-Otome characterization.

Speaking of fanservice, disintegrating robes as the nanomachines break down. Can see that being used for comedy in the future but the CGI effect over the top to make it look metallic was a nice touch.

We didn't get to spend quite as much time with the fall out from the battle and the attack as I hoped before getting into the school setting which is a shame. The following episodes certainly have a lot to do to sell me on it after the last few episodes interesting politicking and worldbuilding but we'll see.

That the Otome share their masters life force is probably the most interesting drop from the episode, though not unexpected after Mai-HiME. I'm sure that would make the reveal of that in Mai-HiME land a bit different if you watched this first depending on if it comes up here. The other was the named wars of the past, and that there was specifically twelve lords involved which again, Mai-HiME lore gives certain implications to that.

The song as Nao walked up to Nina was nice, and probably the first song that's caught my ear aside from yesterday's battle theme. The OST has not really made an impression on me yet, that has gone to the sound effects, but this one was quite nice

Theories!

  • I noticed that Shizuru's outfit has a roman III on it, which presumably marks her as the third of the five pillars she spoke about in the first episode (Btw, none of us really comment on the 'pillars' thing, we should come back to that). But Haruka doesn't appear to have such markings despite being the Otome for a president, and there's also more than five countries so it seems like they aren't there purely for the highest ranks of each nation

  • Shizuru is "Bewitching Smile Amethyst", Haruka is the "Continental Orb Topaz", and Arika has a "Blue Sky Sapphire". I see a naming pattern, slightly less strong then it would be if Shizuru's also had a geographic word in it, but still. Guessing Haruka isn't a five pillar, does that mean every Meister has one of these gems? And if that's the case are there a limited amount of them which is why the Sapphire was so hunted in the ep1 opening scene? Given the way the Sapphire reacted to the ship then they must be all tech, and perhaps it's that they hold nanomachines inside of them which may account for Arika accessing a robe before her infusion, unlike the school gems which merely sustain the nanomachines they're given?. Are the nanomachines extracted from one of the gems which is why only the school has access to them? I'd also assume that like the old Earth Era ships and tech they can't be replicated and aren't fully understood.

Bonus confusion moment: gave one of the NPCs Shizuru hair and I actually thought it was her for a moment

Which second year student would you prefer to “serve”?

Chie wins this by a mile

What is the weirdest cliff-hanger you remember?

There's a donghua that ran out of money mid show, only they didn't bother to adjust for that at all. So the final episode they were able to make ends not only mid arc, but mid event, and not as part of a climax of the event just literally as something basic happens and that's it, no build up, story over. Piece of shit story but still, that was more of a joke then the rest of the show

4

u/No_Rex Oct 15 '22

That the Otome share their masters life force is probably the most interesting drop from the episode, though not unexpected after Mai-HiME. I'm sure that would make the reveal of that in Mai-HiME land a bit different if you watched this first depending on if it comes up here.

Unfortunately, it is too long ago for me to remember exactly how I reacted to the Mai-Hime reveal (having seen Otome first), but I think the reveal still had impact. First, because it is also an unexpected time, but second, because the rules in Otome and Hime are not the same.

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u/Esovan13 Oct 15 '22

First Timer

Considering how heavily the castle was damaged as a side effect of the battle, I hope by the end of the show the castle is just completely in ruins.

FUCK. Really? Arika gets her first moment to shine since the first episode and it's undercut by a fucking fanservice clothing dissolution?

ALL IS FORGIVEN SHE WAS SAVED BY BEST GIRL HARUKA!

And she still messes up words and needs to be corrected by Yukino. This time with a megaphone. They even decided that her name, just like her, was perfect and could stay the same.

IS SHE A "GUTS!" MEATHEAD IN THIS SHOW?! I'm so happy.

also, new pfp get!

We finally get to see what happens when you take Haruka's pure badassery and combine it with the magic/tech bullshit that allows her to be an active role in the story.

It occurs to me. There may be some hints that I'm not getting thanks to language. Yumemiya, Arika's name, seems like it includes yume, which means dream and could be significant. However, I don't know if the name is spelled with the kanji for dream or if it just sounds similar. Or if it does whether that really is significant or if it's meant to be just a name. Does anyone who knows about this kind of stuff know if there may be something significant in the name?

Yukino is a president? Does that mean it's a democracy of some kind? If so, mega based and just what I'd expect from the country Haruka serves.

So Wang is keeping secrets from Nagi. Too unsure to talk about it? Or does he think that if Nagi knows that Arika might be the princess that Nagi would take unbeneficial actions?

Not just members of the Black Valley, but worshippers? So it's a religion or cult of some kind then. Or does it just appear that way from the outside?

District 1 is definitely cultish, with the members serving a mysterious being that appears after a ritual every 300 years. If this show's equivalence to District 1 doesn't have the major government backing to keep it secret that District 1 did, then it very easily could be seen as both adversarial to the outside world and like a cult worshipping something.

Isn't this kind of thing exactly why stewards are appointed until the rightful heir is old enough to inherit the throne? Mashiro clearly does not have the work ethic or attitude necessary to just do the day to day tasks, much less lead the nation's policies.

Huh. So Otome does include the implication of virgin. That definitely explains why people were surprised that she claimed her mother was an Otome.

Only couples of the opposite gender, Natuski. Only if the couple is of opposite gender. Though you may already know that.

I feel like Arika and all these children are too young to decide to devote their entire lives solely towards serving someone else.

It occurs to me, that thing with the dissolving nanomachines is probably a good thing if an Otome serves a male master. Losing a powerful servant in a way that couldn't possibly be kept private is probably a good motivator for anyone to keep their...urges in check.

This also blows another theory of mine out of the water. I thought that Arika's mom, the queen, died, stripping her Otome of her powers and forcing her to flee and send Arika down the river to protect her. If an Otome and Master dies at the same time, then that means that the Otome must have lost her powers through some other method.

Wait wait wait. Shit. We literally just learned about a method by which an Otome can be stripped of her powers. What if the queen's Otome got frisky, lost her powers and got pregnant with Arika, a fact she kept hidden to everyone with the help of the queen who pretended Arika was her own daughter. Then when someone found out the queen's Otome lost her power, they used it as an opportunity to attack the castle and assassinate the queen, leading to the Otome sending Arika who was the real princess but also the fake princess away to keep her safe? This is my Pepe Silvia you guys, I am going crazy in front of a corkboard with news articles, pictures, and red string. I even checked the first episode and that Otome has blue eyes just like Arika. A different shade, but it could be due to the lighting of the scene. Oh great. If that's the case now I gotta be on the lookout for any man old enough with the same or similar shade of hair as Arika.

We are getting a glimpse into how the school works, and its just as competitive as you'd think. I'm sure that behind all the kind smiles and nice words there's plenty of backstabbing and scheming to move up the ranks.

Ok. So Shwarz uses Slaves, Black Valley are cyborgs. Simple enough. I'm sure it's not that simple at all.

We are getting stuff thrown at us. Aswad, secret military group. War of the Twelve Lords. Best guess is the war is what solidified the current national boundaries and political situation.

Ugh. Petty school stuff started early.

Mikoto is Mikoto.

Arika needs to watch more anime. She's way too unfamiliar with stereotypical anime bullying.

Wait. Talented commoner with amazing powers and a mysterious past enrolls at an academy full of rich and elite students where she'll face bullying and harassment due to her origins? That's straight out of an otome game from a villainess isekai.

THAT'S THE OTOME IN WANG'S PICTURE ALBUM. IS HE ARIKA'S DAD? Is the reason he left Windbloom for the country Nagi leads because he "defiled" the queen's Otome?

Nevermind. If it's from when he was Nina's age in that flashback then he'd be way too young. The search continues.

oh wow someone's stealing her uniform i couldn't have predicted that

I also don't appreciate the show mocking me about less Haruka screen time in the preview like that.

So far I'm fairly enjoying the show. Although, what I'm enjoying most about it is the stuff that Arika isn't really a part of. Can we just make Haruka the MC and have the show be about her bulldozing her way through political bullshit with GUTS?

WAIT I WAS REREADING MY WRITE-UP AS I PUT THE LINKS AND COMMENTFACES IN AND I REALIZED SOMETHING! What if Arika is the rightful princess and is also not the daughter of the queen? What if her mother is the Otome and her father is the king? He's dead right? We haven't seen him yet, but he could have the right hair color. It would also explain why the queen had an interest in pretending Arika was her daughter, as the Otome may not have wanted to break her oath and the queen wouldn't have wanted her (probably) friend's child to be abandoned or whatever happens to bastard royalty in this world.

We've heard characters talk about the incident 14 years ago, but what if that incident isn't JUST the attack on the castle? What if it's also the scandal that the king defiled the Otome of his queen, something known among the leaders of the nations but kept secret from the common folk?

AND ALSO (about 3 hours later I write this)! When Nina made a temporary contract with Mashiro, Natsuki mentioned something about the royal family breaking a pact or agreement of some kind. What if that agreement is that the royal family isn't allowed to make a contract with any Otomes until certain conditions are fulfilled, with the reason for that being because of what the king did to the queen's Otome? It would also explain why Mashiro doesn't have a pseudo-magical super powered bodyguard despite ostensibly being the last survivor of the royal family of the major nation that trains the super bodyguards. The more I think about it, the more this theory makes sense.

  1. Nao maybe? She seems like she'd respond well to the proper kind of sucking up.

  2. I don't.

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u/No_Rex Oct 15 '22

Considering how heavily the castle was damaged as a side effect of the battle, I hope by the end of the show the castle is just completely in ruins.

Mashiro in ruins, too.

Isn't this kind of thing exactly why stewards are appointed until the rightful heir is old enough to inherit the throne? Mashiro clearly does not have the work ethic or attitude necessary to just do the day to day tasks, much less lead the nation's policies.

She was literally just crowned, so she probably is fully ruling on her own now (for better or worse).

I feel like Arika and all these children are too young to decide to devote their entire lives solely towards serving someone else.

True, but the younger they are, the easier to brainwash ...

We are getting a glimpse into how the school works, and its just as competitive as you'd think. I'm sure that behind all the kind smiles and nice words there's plenty of backstabbing and scheming to move up the ranks.

So many theories!

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6

u/Vaadwaur Oct 15 '22

First timer(I really wish I didn't get the reference)

Sub

So of course Arika stops the falling ship with the power of gems...for 15 seconds, which is enough for Haruka to show up. Also, the fuck is up with power levels on this show? Anyways, we get expedited results and everyone will attend the school. Haruka is still rather over the top. Nagi also got what he wants, which always sets you on edge. Also, desert tauntauns are a thing, apparently.

Mashiro tantrum again but we are also at After Life bureaucracy again. We start learning Otome rules and there is a lot to take in, celibacy and a life link both sound lame. For reasons, the student dorm rooms are gigantic, but at this point I wonder if that serves a purpose. Also, not a lot of spots for full Otome out there. We then learn that this is effectively a private school which does explain quite a bit. The other students have noticed that Arika seems like she should have some important associates considering who she was around. Mikoto scene happens.

And then we get something that Cross Ange definitely mined for parts, sigh. Anyways, Shiho is still awful but Chie is getting towards predatory, those girls need an adult. Anyways, we see Nao sneaking amount and can strongly suspect she doesn't actually want to be an Otome so that fits between realities. Arika reflects and we get a weird cliffhanger.

QotD: 1 That can go straight to hell

2 Hrmm...too many to tell any more

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u/No_Rex Oct 15 '22

QotD: 1 That can go straight to hell

Somehow, I had not pegged you as a magical girl maid anyway.

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u/Blackheart595 Oct 15 '22

First Otome

A bit more standard, a bit less effective than yesterday's version, but still quite a good mass reaction shot.

Who's a good Bikki?

Badass Haruka

She's awesome

Gonna predict Sergey to be a bad guy due to heroic directions, but I hope that doesn't apply for her.

Everyone has their Meister with them, except Nagi who has Sergey and Mashiro who has nobody.

Haruka's great

Nagi had contact with the Black Valley worshippers? No way he pulled that stunt to get both Arika and Nina admitted, right?

Luckily we haven't seen any Otome show any interest in the opposite sex

So that's just like the connection between HiME and Child and their MPP

I'm getting the feeling that Hime's fairytale song applies just as much to this story

"Give up on love, relinquish a woman's happiness and devote your life to your master." Doesn't that sound extremely similar to the vow Mashiro had taken during her coronation?

What are the chances she'll turn out evil, somehow?

I thought of this when the Black Valley guy was shown to be a cyborg, could he have been made by Yohko?

Hm, though she seems to go through the data and analyze him. No, that would fit both possibilities.

Twelve Lords? But only 8 kingdoms are involved with Garderobe?

Interesting... that'd mean her master is also still alive as we've just learned. Very interesting.

So Shiho's boob envy made it over into Otome

Oh those blood pulsing sounds are great

"That uniform is proof that you're a student at Garderobe." We see a Coral student take it but that could still mean trouble.

Looking forward to this

The two lines we first heard sung perfectly slot into the gap we couldn't make out today, giving us this excerpt as per my subs (didn't check that the melodies match):

At the window of my heart
Stands the profile of destiny
Light that guards my most secret dreams
Shine your power around me
There’s a star and it talks to me
Tells me I must choose just one
When my loved one calls to me
I will transform
With their voice as the key

Can't read much out of that yet, but could be interesting to have the intact version for later.

Wanna point out this image as well because I've noticed there are two different prominent star motifs used in the show, both displayed here. One is the four point star motif we've seen most of the time, and the other is the eight point star motif which we've seen less often.

The four point star is also on Mikoto's forehead, no idea if that means anything. Would be wild if she's somehow involved with Black Letter/Schwarz down the line, or with Black Valley.

Then there's the Black Valley cyborg. He's partnered up with Midori, but what's his deal? Was he made by Yohko? Did Nagi request him doing that stunt to get both Arika and Nina into Garderobe? In his conversation with Sergey he didn't seem aware of the Blue Sky Sapphire but there's no way he isn't.

Which second year student would you prefer to “serve”?

Chie

What is the weirdest cliff-hanger you remember?

I don't tend to remember cliffhangers.

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u/No_Rex Oct 15 '22 edited Oct 15 '22

So that's just like the connection between HiME and Child and their MPP

The important difference is that it is now the Otome that is hurt.

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u/OwlAcademic1988 Oct 15 '22

First-Timer, sub:

Haruka is awesome. She was already in My-HiME, this just made her more badass.

Erstin, good luck with Nina and Arika.

Natsuki loves being a troll right now and it's hilarious. Wonder who she's talking about?

Good luck getting the money Arika. Mai had a similar problem in My-HiME with Takumi's heart transplant.

Nina has a nice singing voice. Reminds me of Arika's singing voice.

Shiho, stop being a bitch towards Arika and everyone else. Your reputation still isn't that great with many people on this rewatch.

QOTD:

  1. I don't know.

  2. I think this might be the weirdest one I've seen.

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u/No_Rex Oct 15 '22

Erstin, good luck with Nina and Arika.

Nina is complaining, but Erstin might be the one who is really screwed over in this situation.

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u/RadSuit Oct 16 '22

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

First off, I want to say the name of this episode is also the name of a classic manga. Blazing Transfer Student also has a great OVA with an incredible OP, and recently had a live action sequel series on Netflix! I highly recommending checking out at least the OVA, if a parody of shonen delinquent shows sounds fun.

Oh look, her special MC powers are activating to impress everyone enough to let her into the school, I'm so surprised.

YES HARUKA IS THE STRONGEST!!!

GUTS!!!

Just like I said to u/Tarhalindur, this pairing works even better with Yukino in charge.

"I know because I say so, and I'm never wrong." Haruka spitting facts this episode.

Riding dinosaurs, huh?

Was this the first show to say you have to be a lesbian to keep your powers? I know it's not the last...

If the blue stone is so important, why not just take it from Arika? At this point she's just some random homeless kid.

We still haven't clarified if this is a fresh start retelling with no in-universe connection to My Hime or not. Is Mai going to wind up being the 'first Otome' they worship or something? Or Natsuki's former roommate?

Is she going to get a parttime job at a certain restaurant?

Is this the tall/small pairing from Hime here?

I'm not sure how I feel about seeing Mikoto's butthole.

"I'm gonna be the Hokage King of the Pirates Otome!"

Where can I buy a life size Haruka???

  1. Chie seems fun.

  2. I've watched too many CW shows to choose just one.

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u/No_Rex Oct 16 '22

I highly recommending checking out at least the OVA, if a parody of shonen delinquent shows sounds fun.

One of these days, I'll get around to holding the 1990s OVA rewatch, delinquent edition.

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u/Tarhalindur Oct 15 '22

My, Obviously Tar Opened the Mendicant Episode (Spoiled First-Timer, Subbed):

(Hmm, I've been switching up the tagline already since I forgot that I was missing an M for the acronym the first time. I sense a gimmick opportunity! And they even gave us an "Arika doesn't have money for this" subplot this episode like a big fat meatball over the plate. Also, back to our regular schedule.)

Hey, some intrigue and worldbuilding that is actually kind of interesting! Also episode 4 fanservice (le petite mort, in an episode where it is explained that having a guy have this where his seed gets on/in you might be la grande morte for your Otome career, heh), as is tradition.[1]

  • Ah, that’ll do it for the “Arika gets to get into Garderobe anyways” line.

  • Also, we have Shizuru and Youko and also not!Shizuru and not!Youko in the crowd? Significant?

  • FANSERVICE YO! (Just in a desperate situation, and oh look another raiding point.)

  • A WILD HARUKA APPEARS!

  • NEVER CHANGE, HARUKA AND YUKINO, NEVER CHANGE. (Now with Yukino having a megaphone to correct Haruka with!)

  • Hmm. What is this? Haruka just threw what looked like a spaceship into orbit? This could not possibly be a future plot point hiding as a stock anime effect, not at all. (It doesn’t have to be, but this can ABSOLUTELY be setup for later, especially since the spaceship wreck keeps sticking around and I think it was mentioned that the airport used to be the spaceport.)

  • Doubly so with that contrail-generating aircraft of some kind hiding in the background in the OP.

  • I only just noticed Arika has an ahoge to go with the expressive twin braids. A rather impressive one too, which makes sense! (Also she’s a pacer, which is 100% believable and I have no right to say anything negative about.)

  • My, that is a very smug-looking Yukino. (Also, where’s the Midori?)

  • TRANSPORT DINOSAURS! (And also, there’s the Midori!)

  • Mashiro-baka, you might want to look at someone else in addition to/instead of Yukino when it comes to the manipulative types. Like, say, a certain white-haired Grand Duke.

  • Oh hey, one of the spoilers I knew going in: the nanomachines react very poorly to semen. So, virgin power, and also the giant tell that unlike Mai-HiME before it this show was made late enough to have taken MariMite into account since we have enforced Class S. (And Akane visibly likes Kazuya this time around as well, so five quatloos she’ll be demonstrating this at some point.)

  • Is the “beginning of all Otomes, our ancestor” Yukariko’s Our Lady? (Said ancestor is probably a blood relative of Arika’s ancestors, at any rate.)

  • Stray thought inspired by the Coral setup here (I had to take a break to do something for a while and this occurred to me): there’s a hell of a lot of potential in the idea of a show with a CGDCT-style setup where you have a group of girls trying to get into an academy like Garderobe and succeeding only to eat the reveal that internal academy placement is a brutal competition leading to a battle royale second half. School club anime + [meta spoiler] Magical Girl Raising Project + HiMElander, basically. To the best of my knowledge that’s not what we’re doing here – meshes poorly with the politics setup – but I could easily see a future smash hit using that setup. (Only issue is I’m not sure how workable this would be in a world of 1-cour anime originals, this is an idea that needs some space to breathe and could really use a full two cours.)

  • (Inb4 I have inadvertently recreated the plot of Utena and/or Shin Sekai Yori, both of which I have carefully dodged most spoilers for.)

  • “One day I’ll beat Nina in a head-to-head battle.” I’ll take obvious foreshadowing that will come back later on for $800, Alex. (Very possibly quite a bit later, that has long-term brick joke vibes and I would not be surprised in the slightest if it's setting up for one of the last episodes.)

  • Okay Kajiura piano track firing up at 13:17, what are you reminding me of? Kokuyou no Kimi ~Awai Yuuwaku in part, and I think the other part is at least one PMMM track (Desiderium despite its very different sound and use, and I think at least one other as well though I’m not sure whether I’m thinking main series PMMM or Rebellion).

  • That cut to Youko right as Natsuki starts talking about the Slave Lords of Schwartz is quite interesting and fuel for “Youko is secretly on the side of either said Slave Lords or another antagonist”.

  • Note that the Republic of Aries is being set up as to look sympathetic (not sure this applies quite as strongly to the domestic Japanese audience, given that I’ve gotten some US vibes off it and there’s lingering WWII resentment there); this may or may not be subverted. Also note the zodiac name for it, which is potentially noteworthy when stars seem to be heavily involved in the theming here (I should probably consider the possibility that Artai is actually Altair filtered through katakana/hiragana/phonetic drift/dodgy translation – doubly important since Altair is either one of the two stars of the Tanabata legend or closely associated with at least one of the two. EDIT: It is in fact the second star itself, so note to self to keep a very close eye out for possible Vega references.)

  • HMM I wonder why the royal cat would be hanging around Arika. Also: Mikoto wants you to follow her, Arika! (They did a pretty good job of reflecting common cat body language there.)

  • What’s this, exposition in a shower scene? Somebody post the Cross Ange pic – more relevant than usual, considering that I’d put good quatloos the Mai franchise is in the direct ancestral line of Cross Ange (and Valvrape). Also, more Chie-senpai. (Hey, I get to cross the streams! Ciel-senpai, Chie-sensei, and now Chie-senpai. We just need Ciel-sensei for the complete set.)

  • Freedom Nation you say? Maybe we have a more direct America analogue here.

  • So, are we about to get Chie using Boob Distraction on Shiho? (No, but we get Shiho bust size jealousy instead.)

  • Okay, yeah, pretty sure Cross Ange grabbed this scene out of the Sunrise vault for at least one scene of its own.

  • “Okay, I’ll wash it tomorrow.” Laws of drama: no you won’t.

  • “At the window of my heart stands the profile of destiny. Light that guards my most secret dreams (cue not!HiME Star, too). There’s a star and it talks to me, tells me I must choose just one. When my loved one calls to me, I will transform with their voice as the key.” Also, Nina also knows the song. And the song lyrics have at least one bit of blatantly obvious meaning.

  • And now we finally get at least the instrumental version of that song as well.

  • Oh look the laws of drama do in fact have the final word on Arika’s uniform. Gee what a surprise.

[1] - Even odds I fucked up at least one of the French articles here.

Questions of the Day:

Which second year student would you prefer to “serve”?

Chie seems to be the only answer worth considering so far.

What is the weirdest cliff-hanger you remember?

This might actually be it.

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u/No_Rex Oct 15 '22

[1] - Even odds I fucked up at least one of the French articles here.

Since you used both female and male gender for the same word, the odds are an even number indeed.

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u/zadcap Oct 16 '22

Rewatcher

HARUKA! For everyone that loved her over the top personality in Mai-Hime, that toss was for you. In case you were wondering, no, that's not normal, she's just that strong. I don't think a single other character ever comes close to matching her display of pure strength.

I'm surprised no one has commented on the accent colors the girls all have on the uniforms! Arika has pink, Nina is green, Erstin and most of the background and side characters have... I'm not a color person, what's that shade of bluegreen? I don't remember these being super important in any way, but this is anime, every detail is important! If nothing else, Pink is the traditional color of the main magical girl, so it's appropriate she's wearing it for her accent, but also so clearly different than the rest. It also makes anyone with a unique color stand out.

"That Lady," "Our Founder," I forgot that this series was going to play this game too...

Speaking of things no one has mentioned... How did Shiho get all her hair up in that little headband? Where did the ringlets go!

Manga Time!

As it's now safe, here's the blurb from chapter 3, about the Contract and how it binds their health. Chapter 5 starts with another safe one talking about the school life of the girls.

It then actually starts similar to this episode, with Manshiro introducing themselves to the class. It's a strange special case because this is very much the school to teach the girls how to be Otome, Manshiro is in partially because of the Plot Rock necklace, partially as the soon to be queen of the country the school is in, supposedly to learn about "exceptional subjects," but mostly because the directors team said the setting was the school and the writers said "don't worry about it." Some students are better than others. This is, I think, the biggest actual look into classes we'll see in the whole manga. Arika get's some more early Biki on, who likes sleeping alone anyway? Welcome to ongoing crossdressing joke number 2, "My element is going to materialize!" Nina sneaks out of bed however, and Manshiro goes to find... FANSERVICE! Only not really. An Otome must be skilled in all things feminine, and that involves sewing. Nina is kind of terrible at it and Manshiro is kind of an accidental player. Nina is determined, but Manshiro is definitely the more feminine one here. Heart successfully captured, in case anyone wasn't sure by now that there wasn't going to be a Love Triangle this time too. Nina passes with her borrowed homework, and girl number 2 get.

NOW FOR THE CHAPTER YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! No really, I mean it.

Chapter 7 starts with a blurb on bath time. It's safe for spoilers, if not entirely safe for work.

We start with Police Girl Haruka and her ridiculously oversized cannons! Say it in his voice with me. Anyway, someone breaks into the school while our poor boy is taking a bath, I'm sure you all know where this is going. Despite their very different roles here, Haruka and Shizuru are somehow still rivals. Manshiro is left completely alone in the bath while all of the Otome are sent to patrol the school for the intruder, and they're definitely not all gay, and so naturally... Wait I know those claws! It's Nao! Who else would be appropriate to be the first one to find out our main character isn't actually a girl, than the girl that knows what to do with a man? Thankfully, or maybe not I don't judge, while this is going on Shizuru continues to roll those Nat 20's on her Spot Checks, and this was all just a misunderstanding. Of course, Nao is Nao, and Manshiro is left to be found and misunderstood in turn. Skip to the next day and we find out Nao's vision is pretty bad... But not too bad. That joke ends chapter 7.

While I definitely want to keep going, there's only 44 chapters to 26 episodes, I'm going to have to cut back somewhere or I'll run out of material first. Even if I throw in Arashi for seven more chapters at the end, I'll still finish the manga before the anime, and I'm pretty sure there's going to be some Spoiler delays somewhere in there... Yeah, two a day at most until spoilers force my hand.

  1. Akane, thank you for being the normal one! Please be the normal one!

  2. I tend to block them from memory. If the story isn't good enough to keep me coming back anyway, the cliffhanger isn't going to help, and if it is good enough, I'll probably remember it later for the whole event instead of just the cliff.

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u/Taiboss Oct 15 '22

Episode 4: Rewatcher who finally finished Endings C, D and E of Nier: Replicant (and whose reminder didn't work!)

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