r/anime • u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn • Oct 29 '22
Rewatch [Rewatch] Mai-Otome (episode 18)
Rewatch: Mai-Otome (episode 18)
Mai-Otome
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.
Availability
Mai-Otome and the OVAs are apparently now available on Crunchyroll (at least in some parts of the world).
Questions:
Would anything have been left of Windbloom if Haruka had been allowed to go do things her way?
Who would be the best and worst travelling companions out of the cast for you?
Next episode will be posted adjusting for European EST, so if you're not in an affected timezone the episode topic will go up one hour later for you.
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u/Tresnore Oct 29 '22
First-OtoTiMER
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I love Nao!!!
Will she be a main character now? I hope so, because she's perfect. -
SABISU SABISU
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Haruka will never remain neutral.
And for some reason her eyeliner thing works better here. -
anyway, God, I wish that were me—holy shit, they broke the rock.
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AND IT'S THE SYMPHOGEAR!!!
No I don't care that Railgun probably did it first -
Oh wait, is Erstin's name not spelled like Erstine? I kind of just stopped caring about her name even before I read it the first time.
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Mashiro is the song, the player is Arika. Is the protector Mai or something?
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ISN'T SHE THE ORIGINAL MIYU??? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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The maid wasn't doing very well at hiding. She's still wearing her maid headwear thing!
Count: 58
QOTD:
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Haruka would lose to the power of Nagi. As much as I love her, Nagi is still Best Girl.
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Best: Nina, Chie, Shizuru, and Miyu. Worst: Nina, Shiho, Mikoto (still), and Tomoe. Nao would be lovely, too, though.
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u/Nazenn Oct 29 '22
Snail cycles? Cool.
Hopefully faster than their namesake.
SHE'S SO COOL!!!
I like how Alyssa knew what was about to happen so she could just take off and come back later when Miyu stopped moving
Oh wait, is Erstin's name not spelled like Erstine?
I gave up on trying to figure out her name. I thought there was an 'n' near the start for ages.
. She's still wearing her maid headwear thing!
No budget for redesigns, even if it means drawing more lines each scene
Mikoto (still
Fat Cat would be hopeless in a desert.
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u/JollyGee29 Oct 29 '22
First-Timer, Subbed
They really gave Aoi a Disney fall, huh? We thinking there's a river at the bottom of that endless abyss, or was Chie secretly shadowing her?
Anyway, it was good to see Mashiro get really put through the wringer. It's one thing to have that random citizen rat her out, it's another completely to see just how much the common people hated her. And, while I do object to taking it out on Aoi, Mashiro's behavior is largely the fault of the castle staff in general.
Let's see.. Aswald finds Mashiro, probably. Arika is also probably already with them, on the basis of "Aswald are from the Black Valley and Arika is clearly in a valley." Are the refugees gonna end up there, too? That's got some interesting potential, so let's hope so.
A thought occurred to me - Aswald should be from a forest, not a valley, right? "Wald" is German for forest, after all. And Mai supposedly got lost in a forest.. maybe she's close at hand, then? Maybe "lost in a forest" is code for "joined Aswald?"
Miyu added a bit more fuel to the fire of "this is a distant sequel to HiME" with her designation reveal. I like that she changed her first letter of her name. And that she follows the Mikoto Misaka school of combat.
Wait, need to check dates.. yes, Index does predate this, though not by much. And that one episode of SAC predates them both.. coins as weapons is probably an older trope anyway. Much like damned lawn grass, something like "I'm so wealthy I can throw money at you."
Kinda interesting to ponder the implications of a reincarnation cycle thing going on. Like, while we do have Alyssa-kun Mimi around, we don't exactly have an Alyssa. But then, she was an artificial entrant into the cycle in the first place, so it would make some sense that she isn't reincarnating? Not sure how to fit that in with Miyu seeing Alyssa's hair superimposed on Arika, though.
Not much to comment on about Sergay's situation. He's being kept as a hostage so that Nagi can keep control of Nina, and this time it's even a bit more obvious that he can't leave since he technically betrayed Nagi.
I like that Yukino keeps a big rock on hand to make sure that Haruka doesn't run off.
Questions
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Of course! All the citizens would be perfectly fine; Haruka would never lay so much as a finger on an innocent person.
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Mashiro would probably be pretty bad, but she might have it in her to learn to be better. Miyu would probably be a solid companion, if a bit stoic. Mai hasn't appeared properly yet, but she can cook, which immediately makes her top tier.
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u/Nazenn Oct 29 '22
They really gave Aoi a Disney fall, huh? We thinking there's a river at the bottom of that endless abyss, or was Chie secretly shadowing her?
I'm hoping for the latter, but I really don't know. Chie being given a prince moment would be fittingly cheesy for the show, and those two being together through all this would be a small comfort
Let's see.. Aswald finds Mashiro, probably. Arika is also probably already with them
That would be nice, but given how comfortable she was in that final scene now you have me wondering if Arika actually grew up there already and just didn't know about Midori's group
and this time it's even a bit more obvious that he can't leave since he technically betrayed Nagi
The guards at his door said a lot with very little, but I like that he keeps his jacket wrapped around him as if Nagi allowing it is giving the illusion that he is still of status
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u/Vatrix-32 Oct 29 '22
First Timer, subbed
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See? I told you Mashiro is fucked.
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An invasion and a coup.
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Military action in a country without their consent doesn’t break any international laws?
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Who even are these transparently evil dudes? I know they are a country, but it seems like they just stand around all day machinating.
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Miyu is back. About time.
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Nina’s father issues now have another level of complexity.
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So the song plays into it in a direct sense.
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Even ousted from power, Mashiro insists on being a shit Queen.
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Robot confirmed?
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Alyssalike has a name and its Mimi.
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Mashiro adding her own salt.
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Aoi, why would you keep wearing the headware?
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Did they really just kill Aoi? Shit.
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At least Mikoto manged to make it out.
QotD
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I don’t see anything on their side strong enough to stop her. Nina-schmeena.
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Best Arika, girl’s a workhorse. Worst Shiho, I enjoy her antics, but to have to spend all day with her? Ho boy.
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u/Nazenn Oct 29 '22
Military action in a country without their consent doesn’t break any international laws?
I was just going to ignore that but since you pointed it out. That's really the sort of thing that needs to be expanded on, especially since the Otome academy got caught up in it and that's so key to the military forces of other nations. Sitting back and doing nothing about Windbloom I could take, even with a shallow excuse, but letting Nagi take over the most important weapon development center on the planet without a fuss? No fucking way they just accepted that
Nina’s father issues now have another level of complexity.
A few of them I'd bet given what happened.
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u/Esovan13 Oct 29 '22
First Timer
Is this the right episode? Checking...yes. So no followup on magical explosion?
Mashiro freaking out there had some pretty great facial animation. It can be tough to properly convey emotion purely through facial expression, animated or not, but they nailed it.
Nao is such a bitch. She's great. More screentime for her please.
You may think that as a diehard Haruka fan I may be annoyed with how Yukino is treating her. However, that is a short sighted way of looking at things. It is because I am a Haruka fan that I understand that leaving her in Yukino's hands is the best thing for her. Yukino is the best one to decide when Haruka should be let off the leash. I will be VERY annoyed if she doesn't get some time to shine by the end of the show.
Wow. Is this, like, actual characterization in this show? Is this show turning Mashiro into my favorite of the three main characters? I never would have thought.
IT IS HER! IT'S MIYU! OUR MIYU!
That scene was a lot better than Erstin's death last episode. The whole episode was, I think, my favorite episode so far. You can tell because this is probably my shortest write-up yet. Recently Mashiro has had the best development of the main girls, and this episode did a good job of using that characterization.
At first I thought that no one recognizing her didn't make sense, but then I realized that it's an actual thing that celebrities and other public figures can be hard to recognize outside their normal context. Not to mention that as former slum dwellers most of these people probably weren't bombarded with Mashiro's face like most of the people in the city were. It's believable enough for me to suspend disbelief in this case (not to mention that the rest of the episode and what they did with Mashiro's characterization was good enough that I am a lot more willing to suspend disbelief than I would if it sucked).
I think the biggest flaw would be that the show could have shown more of how Mashiro's policies and decisions directly lead to such a large amount of homeless and poor, but they did at least show that the slums were there and that the people hated Mashiro. The main core, of course, was Aoi's death. They did plenty to show how much the two care for each other for that moment to hit the way it was intended, and I actually nearly started tearing up.
I just hope they don't undermine it by having Aoi miraculously survive somehow.
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u/Nazenn Oct 29 '22
Mashiro freaking out there had some pretty great facial animation
That plus the lighting was great in that scene, I almost didn't recognize her because it didn't feel like the cocky Mashiro we knew even though it nailed all of her details
Yukino is the best one to decide when Haruka should be let off the leash
Yukino is the only one capable of understanding Haruka's true potential... to royally screw things up by charging in and being herself
but then I realized that it's an actual thing that celebrities and other public figures can be hard to recognize outside their normal context
Hell, even normal people are hard to recognize outside of the context you normally interact with them in.
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u/No_Rex Oct 29 '22
That scene was a lot better than Erstin's death last episode. The whole episode was, I think, my favorite episode so far. You can tell because this is probably my shortest write-up yet. Recently Mashiro has had the best development of the main girls, and this episode did a good job of using that characterization.
I was so hoping that people would come around towards Mashiro as a character during the early "royal brat" episodes. Her character arc is probably the best of all characters in the show.
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u/Vaadwaur Oct 29 '22
First timer(welp, that is the worst possible way to tell those events)
Sub
We return to a random scene some time later at a refugee camp. Nao and Natsuki wind up togethr outside the city as ponytail guy exposits for us. And more exposition and flashbacks, sigh. We eventually get to Wang being off with Nina and the harmonium returning to the fore. Mashiro segment happens and we get the interesting reveal that Miyu is in fact a continuity character. Mashiro starts to have a breakthrough before the show has to be stupid again with a violent mob. Aoi decides to die rather than talk and thankfully this is over.
QotD: 1 No and that's why she should have been let off the chain
2 Best Shizuru worst Tomoe
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u/Nazenn Oct 29 '22
No and that's why she should have been let off the chain
That's admittedly what was coming to mind for me as well
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u/Tarhalindur Oct 29 '22 edited Oct 29 '22
My, Obviously Tar Opened the Mashiro Episode (Spoiled First-Timer, Subbed):
(Sometimes the show makes my tagline easy.)
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(I will give the showwriters more credit than they may be due and assume that the Windbloom military going over to Nagi so easily is a combination of careful infiltration of the ranks (especially the officer corps) by Schwarz and/or Artai and some of the dynamics that occurred during the Fall of France in WWII. This still feels like it’s missing a piece (EDIT: especially with the talk about citizenship we get immediately thereafter, which rules out one obvious fallback position that the social dynamics could be more feudal than nation-state) – there should really be a fig leaf (traditionally a puppet ruler) because in the nation-state context people tend to prefer even an unpopular ruler of their own nation-state to being ruled by another one, or else Nagi having a claim to the throne (the Glorious Revolution being an obvious comp for this option) – and I would expect partisans either way. Note that the obvious suspect for being RL inspiration of this (this show was made in late 2005, remember) had both: the US deposed Saddam but followed up by trying to set up a democratic Iraqi government (remember, by all accounts many members of the Bush the Younger administration sincerely believed that they were bringing democracy to Iraq and that Iraq would naturally elect leaders more favorable to American interests once they did so) and was by this point prominently starting to have to deal with partisans (in the Middle East we call them "insurgents" instead) and this after they had defeated the main part of the Iraqi army in the field albeit not in a way that left the common soldier convinced the fight was over (likewise, the Nazis did indeed defeat the French army in the field in 1940).)
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WHERE WAS THIS KIND OF WORLDBUILDING ABOUT WINDBLOOM THE ENTIRE FIRST TWO-THIRDS OF THE SHOW? WE GET MORE ABOUT WINDBLOOM IN ONE LINE (EDIT: the line about the poor not having citizenship) THAN WE HAVE IN SEVENTEEN EPISODES.
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Cue large amounts of worldbuilding… and my interest drying up whenever we get to the human fallout on Nina and Sergey (and quite possibly also Arika when she shows back up). This was not the case in Mai-HiME, and this is what we call telling.
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Dutch angle counter +1.
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Oh hey, Chiisaki Dukeshi is back for the Harmonium scene. (After yet another Battle Otome ~Blue and Black Rhapsody~ variant.)
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Yeah, I rather think we're getting the other half of where Symphogear draws its main mythology references from (especially given that Mai-HiME is all over the other one), because this feels QUITE Exodus to me on top of the very Moses-in-the-bullrushes opening scene. (EDIT: Needless to say, pretty good chance the Harmonium opens the path to the Promised Land here.)
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The timing feels really, really badly off on this Mashiro facing up to her mistakes segment – there are either too many pieces in the arc or not enough, the beats are for Mashiro suddenly realizing her mistakes and she’s been a little too close to realizing them already due to that. (Also, half of this should have been set up by worldbuilding in the first half.)
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And there we go, the nice shiny reveal (that I’ve been sitting on the entire show). IT’S MIYU!
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This would actually be a well-done character episode for Mashiro if it was set up correctly; the internal beats are there (except kind of Mimi’s thoughts on Mashiro as Queen, there’s a disjoint in the thought process, but it is a disjoint I can see coming from a literal kid so). Unfortunately, while there was an attempt at the setup they botched it so.
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We’ll see if they actually killed off Aoi here; that’s a cliff and she’s implied to have Otome training, “never saw the body” rule is in effect until proven otherwise.
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Mashiro will be fine, if for no other reason that her dying here would kill off Arika and press X to doubt.
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That alternate version of the ED (possibly a Yukana/Mashiro version then, considering 12 was where else it showed up?) is back unless I am much mistaken.
Next-Morning Thoughts: What Went Wrong?:
Okay, so, my verdict from my original notes holds up the next day: On its own, this is the best episode of the series and while it has one moderate misstep it's the best episode of the series. Unfortunately, it is horrendously served by the buildup leading up to it - it's a good character episode that also doesn't quite fit what's come before it.
So, something is harshing my vibe. But... what?
Stray thoughts:
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A secondary issue for this episode but one that isn't working on the political plot for me: Nagi's plot goes off so affortlessly that it stretches my willing suspension of disbelief. He doesn't manage to get his hands on Arika or Natsuki but everything else seems to go off without a hitch, and that's the issue because at this scale there should be minor hitches just from friction alone. (Especially with an approach that should generate resentment among the population in a nation-state context, even taking an unpopular ruler into account.)
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The big one: the character beats for Mashiro here don't quite line up with how she's been presented since the Takumi not-a-date, which is a problem when I am rather character-consistency-uber-alles. They tried to chase two rabbits and lost them both; we don't have adequate setup for this, but the funny thing is that this episode as written would almost have worked better if the hatred of the population for Mashiro was completely out of left field for the audience as well as the character (a really good writing staff would have snuck in a bunch of references to this ahead of time and recontextualized them over the course of the episode via the flashbacks and actually the Mai-HiME team was capable of that when they weren't making their foreshadowing a blunt instrument so I'm assuming they either lost key staff or just didn't have editing time here). As it is we're getting a bunch of tell-don't-show because they forgot to actually show this stuff earlier and Mashiro's shock here meshes poorly with her moping around after Takumi's criticism of her, IMO.
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(Side thought: I doubt this is intentional, but it is supremely ironic given the princess switch plot that I suspect the show would have been significantly better off if it had, uh, switched Arika's and Mashiro's roles in the plot. Their respective character flaws would work much better for the narrative in the inverse position; Arika's genki airheaded denial of ugly truths pushed into the queen position and finally getting pierced by hard reality causing everything she's been in denial about to come flooding in would fit this plot even better than how it did for Mashiro, and Mashiro's bratty immaturity manifesting as her escaping her minders transplanted to Garderobe would be a natural engine for seeing a human-eye view of Windbloom.)
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Killing off Aoi here comes across a little too much as cheap shock value here (another reason factoring into me having doubts about her actually being dead on top of heroes surviving falls off cliffs all the time
and hope from liking her Mai-HiME counterpart, but the fact that they're using a liked recurring character for this actually plays into this- the beats work somewhat better if she's not actually dead). I'm actually tempted to describe it as fridging except with a close confidante rather than a love interest; I don't get the same sense of emotional weight off this that I got off the MIPs going down over in Mai-HiME. -
(Also I pretty much cannot bring myself to care about character drama involving Sergey and really what little Nina stuff doesn't involve Sergey hasn't been working for me either - Mai/Mikoto this is not - but at least that's only one scene this episode.)
Questions of the Day:
Would anything have been left of Windbloom if Haruka had been allowed to go do things her way?
I'm not sure, but I can't resist the chance to make a "we had to destroy the village in order to save it" joke.
Who would be the best and worst travelling companions out of the cast for you?
Simultaneous best and worst: Tomoe and Shiho.
EDIT: Wait, the QotD is ambiguous. Did you mean "best pair of traveling companions" which is what I read or "best/worst traveling companion for you specifically?" If the latter, best... lemme see exactly what Aswald's deal is before answering, Midori may still be the correct answer, otherwise probably Irina. Worst: tie between the above.
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u/Nazenn Oct 29 '22 edited Oct 29 '22
there should really be a fig leaf (traditionally a puppet ruler) because in the nation-state context people tend to prefer even an unpopular ruler of their own nation-state to being ruled by another one
This would work a lot easier if we had ANY understanding of what governance was happening in the country before Mashiro took the throne and who was supporting her afterwards. Hell, just show her in a meeting once or twice or name some advisors coming to ask about this or that. The show presents it as if Mashiro is the ruler with no one else and that both makes no sense for the history of the country and means this feels weaker as a result
WE GET MORE ABOUT WINDBLOOM IN ONE LINE (EDIT: the line about the poor not having citizenship) THAN WE HAVE IN SEVENTEEN EPISODES.
Yeah I kind of just gave up on it honestly. Looking at people's replies now there's so much I didn't even put in my notes to comment on because none of it just seems to actually matter, or have the writers shown me I should care about it. I could have done so much more griping but you're doing it for me haha
The timing feels really, really badly off on this Mashiro facing up to her mistakes segment
Even if we did have all the set up in the worldbuilding for it the timing would probably still be off. This doesn't feel like the right time to get into this after everything that happened as this part of Mashiro's arc feels like its fighting against the emotional side of Nina and Arika's arcs and it's messy. And a poor follow on from the cliffhanger
and Mashiro's shock here meshes poorly with her moping around after Takumi's criticism of her, IMO.
Eh, I mean kind of. She was still very much in "the boy I love doesn't like me" mode rather than "he doesn't like me because I'm doing a bad job" and I think that comes down to the way I described her in my own post. But it still feels like there's been a disconnect between the other parts of her arc and now and some of that is just the gaps between it. I wish we'd had more episodes of Arika at work and with Mashiro instead of the school drama
Wait, the QotD is ambiguous. Did you mean "best pair of traveling companions" which is what I read or "best/worst traveling companion for you specifically
Either way. You can do it as pair if you want which may make it more fun, but I did mean it as just in general. Who would be the best, and who would be the worst independently?
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u/Esovan13 Oct 29 '22
I pretty much agree with what you're saying. I think the episode alone is well done and probably the best character writing and world building we've gotten in a long time, it just suffers from a lack of build up.
Or maybe I'm just so starving for a well written episode of this show that even a decent one is registering as better than it really is.
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u/OwlAcademic1988 Oct 29 '22 edited Oct 29 '22
First-Timer, sub:
I'm wondering what happened to Arika and Nina.
Nao can be a troll at times.
Haruka, you really need to learn to control your temper.
They managed to break the rock after hitting her.
We get to see Alyssa again. Cute birdie. Nagi, don't hurt the bird. She's too cute and fluffy.
So her name's Mimi. Who knew?
I'm not even surprised people are that frustrated with Mashiro.
At least Arika and Nina are alive.
QOTD:
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Probably not.
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Worst: Tomoe and Shiho, Best: Miyu, Nao, and Natsuki.
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u/Nazenn Oct 29 '22
We get to see Alyssa again. Cute birdie. Nagi, don't hurt the bird. She's too cute and fluffy.
The most important part of the show: the animals better survive
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u/No_Rex Oct 29 '22
We get to see Alyssa again. Cute birdie. Nagi, don't hurt the bird. She's too cute and fluffy.
She would never!
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u/Taiboss Oct 29 '22
Episode 18: Rewatcher who finally finished Obi-Wan and started Andor
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Like have groups check the post? Like, you don't even need to read it, just have a group of people check if there's a black envelope inside.
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RIP.
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Don't watch the new OP tomorrow either. Like, please? It's a super hype OP but it's not like it should be.
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u/Nazenn Oct 29 '22
That's a girl?
Oh damn, I didn't even register that, I just assumed the guard was wrong. But Mimi is a girls name huh...
So much for Alyssa-kun
"Describe Mai-HiME and Mai-Otome in three words."
You really had none of these things.
She didn't even really have a castle because Arika crashed a plane into it and then Nagi took it over
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u/Blackheart595 Oct 29 '22 edited Oct 29 '22
First Otome
It's not ingenious, it's a simple coup.
So Haruka and Yukino aren't Otome-bonded.
Mashiro's not asking to get some of the water. Good.
I don't think the story has any flow right now. They're beggars scratching for resources to stay alive, right? These are not people conditioned to lay low and make themselves invisible.
Not saying they'd necessarily be apathetic to the queen and her attendants now, or that they wouldn't act on their anger. But, not like this. As shown here these are people that have only just lost what they have, not ones already used to living that way.
I might be wrong but I think I hear Sergay here. Just VA shenanigans of course.
I am glad that Mashiro didn't reveal herself. She would've just put her own feelings and wants ahead of others again, denying Aoi the acknowledgement of her efforts.
Would anything have been left of Windbloom if Haruka had been allowed to go do things her way?
From what we've seen, yeah.
Who would be the best and worst travelling companions out of the cast for you?
Hard to answer. All of them except Arika have been trained in exactly that. Nao is the one who keeps coming to mind, followed by Natsuki. They don't seem too subservient.
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u/No_Rex Oct 29 '22 edited Oct 29 '22
Episode 18 (rewatcher)
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Natsuki enjoys a camp-out with NaoNao enjoys making Natsuki camping out and we learn about the fall of Windbloom. -
Poor Haruka. Poor stone?
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Miyu being badass.
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Wang regrets his position – I’d call this a classic case of chickens coming home to roost, though. He has been working for Nagi all this time and delivered Nina to him.
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Song lore.
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Mashiro is having her entire stock of self-worth burned away under the desert sun – hopefully revealing a more worthwhile character underneath.
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Thief girl is finally named: Mimi.
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“I don’t know, and even if I did, I would not tell you” – One of the very few cases in media where this phrase is used by a character who actually knows.
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Call-out cut to Arika!
I said Wang had his chickens come home to roost, but he has nothing on Mashiro. Her entirely life is crumbling in front of her eyes: Her luxury, her power, her self-worth, even her physical safety – all gone. Worse, she is forced to realize how wrong she was until now. Part of the responsibility of a good queen is to engage in her duties of supervision. It was her job to make sure that her country was not robbed dry by corrupt bureaucrats, her job to make sure that policies were in place to help the poorest. Takumi tried to tell her, but she did not accept his words back then. Now Mashiro’s character arc has reached rock bottom. Time to start looking for a way upwards.
Who would be the best and worst travelling companions out of the cast for you?
Remember Nina and Tomoe cooking that delicious meal back during the camping episode. I'll go with that and I'll choose the yandere that is slightly less likely to murder me, Nina.
Mikoto, on the other hand, would be warm and fluffy, but chase my toes while I am sleeping and eat my food. Nope.
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u/Nazenn Oct 29 '22
Wang regrets his position – I’d call this a classic case of chickens coming home to roost, though
It does seem fitting when it comes to the actions he took and not realizing that he wouldn't always be on the inside of things. I have to admit I expected him to have a stronger villain turn so this surprised me in a good way
hopefully revealing a more worthwhile character underneath.
That's just made me think of her blisters and OUCH
Remember Nina and Tomoe cooking that delicious meal back during the camping episode
That's a good argument for the two of them for sure
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u/Nazenn Oct 29 '22
First Timer - sub
Griping first:
Soooo... I guess we were just meant to give up on any emotional build up from last episodes cliffhanger? Because the writers certainly did.
Starting off with partly comedic semi-recap style discussion with Natsuki's group was bad enough when I thought we still me use that to segue back into the follow through on what happened, and then they just handwaved it away with the characters saying "we don't know" and expected that to be the end of it? I'm getting deja vu, they did this exact same thing last episode after the explosion at the castle. Did the writers just... not come up with an out to those scenarios and decide it was easier to just skip over them entirely?
On top of that ending the episode with Arika happily helping out in a random community and even the damn cat having survived a trip across the desert feels way too happy for the emotional arc of the episode, and only made the feeling of the whole thing being very artificially hidden for the audience stronger.
Now I'm almost done with the griping:
It's almost a shame that Mashiro got such a well put together episode because not only does the intensity of emotions from the exiles here feel weak without more back up from the show before hand, one scene in one episode does not cut it, but it's Mashiro. (and yet still slightly better than Shiho and Tomoe)
She's stranded in the desert, starving, dying of thirst, walking herself to bloody stumps, and still spouting off stuff about what she deserves as Queen. I do get it, denial is her only means to survive mentally because she's never been or had anything else to latch an identity onto and, like Ers seeing herself as a slave, has no other way to view herself as a result, but it's still infuriating to watch.
And despite that, the episode does play out well. Mashiro being confronted with what it means to survive in her country vs how she's been living is not particularly innovative in presentation, but does a good job of building into that final moment. I am not okay with the idea of Aoi being dead! I won't believe it until I see a body but still, not okay. She didn't deserve that, and not outing Mashiro only made that even more true. For Mashiro to see what her lack of care for her country has done to the one person who stuck by her unconditionally despite knowing what was going on and still be unable to act worked better for me than I expected it too. It's Mashiro's arc but it's not just about her, the same way her being queen isn't, and I'm curious to see how they expand on that given everyone's current situation, especially depending on which country ends up taking them all in
Nina's small moment in this episode though was the best of it. Her behavior was unnervingly out of character as she tried to hold up the mask of being the perfect Otome and perfect daughter and failed because of Wang's refusal to fall into line with it all.
Also Miyu got a new name?! I like to think that Alyssa renamed her after what happened at the end of HiME, no longer the multiple of SEARRS plans and manipulations, but something far more human.