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ファイト／ステイナイト 
January 29, 2005 | 
27 Comments
Are you playing chess? Episode 17 clearly reminded me of a very typical scene from a chess evening: The last match is over (episode 15), you have gleefully celebrated your victory, and suddenly your opponent tells you "Not so fast, one more match. Loser picks up the tab" (episode 16). What happens in this episode describes the aftermath of Nagi's HiMElander revelation, and how our heroines deal with the implications. The chessboard is cleared and all pieces are set up again, preparing for the upcoming conflict.
For normal anime viewers, this episode is unspectacular, therefore I can't give more than a so-so (o) rating. For Mai HiME fans who know the series pretty well and like to speculate what's going to happen now, this episode is a treasure chest, warranting a (+) verdict. I wouldn't want to watch it RAW without good Japanese knowledge however, since there's very little action you could deduce the contents from.
Mai HiME Rating: +
Absolute Rating: o
RAW complexity: Difficult
Unlike before, I won't make a play-by-play summary of the episode. The sequence of events isn't too relevant, since the episode is about as introspect as it gets. In fact, it would probably make the result more confusing to the reader. Therefore, I'll extract all relevant informations and compile them for all main characters. Additionally I'll try to show where important references to past events should be made, and what we can conclude or speculate for the future, turning this blog entry into some kind of attempted analysis. I hope you'll find it worthwhile anyway ;)
Athena already wrote a wonderful summary with good translations of the key points, and I hope that she won't mind me quoting them here. Also, major thanks to Takemi Ikazuchi (abbreviated TI from now on) again, who was my second source of information. I sure wish I could speak Japanese... anyway, let's begin.
Mashiro/Fumi
Both appear before the "elders", obviously a selection of very old women concealed by a curtain. They commend Mashiro on winning the battle against Searrs, but they also note that trouble is underway: "The star comes closer, and the world is beginning to waver. We shall not let things come to pass as they will it. We shall guide the HiME and succeed in our quest. The Kokuyou's prince shall soon awaken. The more tears of the fighting maidens, the greater the joy of the prince."
Athena makes the caveat that "kimi" (prince) doesn't specify the gender, but based on the revelations later in the episode I'm willing to stick out my neck that it denominates a prince indeed - namely Reito. For more details read his entry.
In the preview, Fumi is revealed to be the 10th HiME, since she's facing off with axe-wielding Midori with a scythe of her own, poised to protect Mashiro.
It is very difficult to predict what their roles are. TI has an interesting theory about Mashiro, but he should rather explain it himself. In any case, Mashiro has been very scrupulous and very protective towards the HiMEs. Whatever her real role is - keep the Meifu Ojousama (Queen of the Underworld) remark from Alyssa in mind - I doubt that she is an "evil" character.
Nagi
He has been delivering a part of his chilling HiMElander tale to our heroines last episode, but he is putting some extra poisoned cherries on top in this one: They have no other choice but fighting each other, since only the one HiME outlasting all others and her child will be able to stop the impending catastrophe of the HiME star - but she will also gain tremendous powers. But they shouldn't worry too much, after all it's only their children who are going to fight...
Here, Natsuki receives the phone call from Akane in which she learns that their most precious person is going to die should they lose. She challenges Nagi on this, and he confirms that this is truly going to happen. But they shouldn't be so surprised, because he had warned them of this in the first place... oh, and no suicides please: If a HiME dies, her Child and her precious person are killed as well.
Finally the HiMEs realize fully what predicament they and especially their most loved ones are in. According to Nagi, they have to fight, since otherwise the HiME star will destroy the world. But if they do, all their loved ones will die, with the only exception of the sole victor. So they will fight with their fullest desperation, since this is the only slim chance to save their most precious person.
It should be noted that Nagi seems to be utterly delighted about the upcoming HiME battles. But what drives him must be something else than sadism, because in ep7 he interrupted a possible battle between Natsuki and Nao. What is his own capital in this? What does he gain? What is his role? I only feel certain that he is going to be an opponent in the end, possibly the end boss.
Akane
Akane has finally woken up briefly, but she's still only a shadow of her former self, almost a shell. It's still a good thing that she seems to be recovering slowly. I doubt that she will play a major role for the rest of the anime, but I have this slight hope that she might do something which is ultimately tipping the scales against the "bad guy", whoever that may be. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Midori
What an interesting episode for Midori! We even get to see a photo including her most precious person, Professor Sasaki, who is sending her an email with some material which she requested from him, and who expresses that he is very eagerly awaiting her thesis. Careful viewers will recall that in ep7 the school nurse Kyouko remarked that Midori should not go for older men - and Sasaki is looking like 60. Still, Midori's look and reaction back then and right now prove that he's very dear to her.
Investigating her material, Midori remarks "It seems that the impossible is really happening". When she locates Mai, Mikoto and Yukino for a small HiME conference, she cautions them not to panic over Nagi's revelations, since they could not tell whether or not they would be lies - and if they were not, if there was no other way to avert the catastrophe than fighting. Instead, Midori insists that everyone should rely on the common sense of the other HiMEs not to start any infighting. I for one hope VERY MUCH that her efforts will bear fruit and a different solution can be found. As the preview proves, she's even willing to threaten Mashiro with her axe in order to get some answers. For a HiME of Justice to do so, she needs to be pretty much desperate already, though.
Again, Midori's age difference manifests. Yes, she can be totally over the top with her corny Miss Justice shenanigans, but she is the one HiME who knows best what's going on, and what should be done. However, there is one problem for her: The anime is called Mai HiME, not Midori HiME. Therefore, I fear for the worst. I suspect that Midori will be the one trying hardest to avoid the inter-HiME battles and try her utmost to find alternatives - and ultimately sacrifice herself on this path when the drama kicks the HiMEs into the dust at their lowest point, as the final katharsis is prompting Mai to succeed her and her ideals.
I hope that I'm wrong, because she's grown very dear to me. But I don't see Midori surviving this. I just don't.
Yukino
We see Yukino how she's accessing some video files via computer which show Akane's defeat and the following death of Kazuma. She never looked particularly cheery in the past, but she has never been shown as downcast as this time. Well, I can't really blame her - her chances to win any battle by brute force are next to nil, since her child doesn't really seem to possess any combat skills, and her gentle nature is totally incompatible with such an approach either.
I think that her precious person is obvious: Haruka, who she's been nurturing a crush on which seems very real and romantic in nature. How would you feel if you're intelligent enough to realize that you have no chance to win and just have caused the death of the person you love? Haruka and her child are huge assets as team players, but worthless as deathmatch participants.
There's a very bittersweet scene which shouldn't be omitted: Haruka finds Yukino who had been locking herself in (presumably to make sure that Haruka doesn't accidentally find out what she's researching). The rash and blatant Haruka is noticing that Yukino is having big worries and hints that Yukino should share them with her. Unfortunately, this is the one thing she really can't afford to do.
Though the prospect is looking bad, I believe that both Yukino and Haruka have good chances surviving all this. I don't see them involved in any immediate fights, and I rather expect Yukino's ability to become important in the resolution.
Akira
Poor Akira. So Takumi happened to find out about her "secret" in the last episode, and now the teachings of her father require her to "silence" him. In other words, kill him. So Akira pins Takumi down, summons her element, and... well, this bugger actually says "It's okay. Kill me if it helps you". Takumi states matter-of-factly that if it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be alive anyway, and he doesn't want to suffer any longer. Besides, it would also be better for Mai if he was dead...
All this causes Akira to relent and rather rescue Takumi instead of killing him. She even goes so far as to feed him his medicine mouth-to-mouth when he can't take it the normal way. Takumi is dumbstruck and demands to know why. Breaking down in tears she curses him, that she always hated how quick he always was to give up and wanting to die, and she holds him, sobbing.
Let's face it, Akira is no killer. She's always been playing the rough boy, but she has a caring nature and very obviously likes Takumi. I wouldn't expect him to be her most precious person (I'd predict her father to take the hot seat), but she is aware that Takumi and Mai are good people. How could she kill them? The conflict is tearing her up inside, and she doesn't know what to do.
Akira is shaping up as Takumi's romantic interest, so I don't see her dying. At the going rate she will rather become his bodyguard and caretaker.
Nao
Outwardly, Nao is the HiME who took the news of the battle royale the easiest. "So all I have to do is to defeat all others, is that it?" - still, when she's by herself, she's biting her nails in apprehension. This nervous behaviour and her intense vow to herself not to lose are uncharacteristic for her. It's not the hope for power and fame which drives her, she is scared. I doubt that her fear is about Julya, her spider child, therefore it must be about her precious person who is still unknown.
I also haven't picked up any clue to really speculate who this could be - with the very faint connotation from ep7 in which her reaction indicated that her maiming of men is some kind of revenge. TI has speculated that she might have a sister who was attacked and maybe raped by molestors, so Nao is on a personal crusade to avenge her. If this is the case, it's very likely that this sister is on the hot chair, and Nao will try her best to protect her.
Nao is the only character with the exception of Shiho (see below) who I would consider capable of attacking other HiMEs with the intent of defeating and if necessary even killing them. However, I don't see that the anime is going to take this route, at least not to the bitter end. Unless an alternative path to victory is found soon, she is a very likely candidate to die. And if we get into full speculation mode, I would not be surprised if she would ambush Natsuki sometime soon - and maybe trigger the 12th and final HiME to reveal herself coming to Natsuki's rescue? Time will tell. In a way it's a shame, because she and Natsuki are so very much alike. I'd like them to become friends till the end ^_^
Natsuki
Natsuki got very little airtime in this episode, so there's relatively little to say about her. After she was able to get the nastier parts of the truth out of Nagi due to the phone call with Akane, she retreats to the cliff where her mother had the car accident, and we see her brooding. I one scene she mumbles "My most precious person..." and the scene switches over to Shizuru right away ^_^
There have been multiple little bits of clues that Shizuru very much likes Natsuki, and unless my gaydar is totally off, Shizuru harbors romantic feelings for her. The reverse was much more unclear, even though Natsuki was shown to blush, thrown off by Shizuru, fairly often. By now I'm willing to commit that Shizuru is _indeed_ Natuki's most precious person, just like the scene cut indicated.
As one of the main protagonists, Natsuki will survive till the last ep, and almost certainly till the end. It is almost impossible to predict what she is going to do next, but I do not see her ambushing other HiMEs in order to win the deathmatch.
Shizuru
Almost certainly the 12th and final HiME. I've been willing to make this call a few episodes ago, and I've never been more convinced of it than now, after the famous scene change. Always controlled, always watching, always waiting until the very last moment to act, and then doing what's necessary - that's been her all along. I expect her to do just the same in the upcoming conflict.
This episode had a wonderful scene which underlines her subtlety and smart humor: Kendo-captain and Natsuki-fanboy galore Takeda comes to the student council room which is empty with the exception of Shizuru. She remarks that Natsuki wasn't there, throwing off Takeda who immediately becomes defensive and insists that he didn't come for HER. Playing on, she makes a surprised face and continues "So you have come to see me? How bold!", prompting Takeda to nearly freak out before he explains that he wants Tate back. (This is related to a scene in ep4 where Takeda complains to Reito that he wants Tate back for the kendo club - and Reito recommends to him to go complain to Shizuru directly. However Takeda mutters that Shizuru was very good at disappearing). Tate however has some much more pressing troubles to deal with than that though, as Shizuru points out...
Multiple clues from the earlier episodes establish that she feels a big fondness for Natsuki, which became especially clear in Shizuru's reaction in ep16. Therefore I feel fairly confident in declaring Natsuki her precious person. If I was the storywriter, I'd reveal Shizuru in a scene where Natsuki is about to lose a fight against Nao who successfully ambushed her, coming to Natsuki's rescue. In any case I expect her to come in as the latest HiME, and only where it's making a decisive difference. I also see her on the survivor's list, maybe even as eventual romantic interest for Natsuki.
Yukariko
Like Yukino, she is totally out of place in any HiMElander deathmatch. Her nature is even more pacifistic, and while she and her child seem to have limited combat abilities, she will not last long, because she won't WANT to do it. Protect someone if it's unavoidable, sure. But attack someone? No way. She didn't even participate in the SEARRS battle. Appropriately, she is praying to god, wondering if she was forsaken. And despairing about her fate.
There are certain indicators that Ishigami-sensei is indeed her precious person. And there are some more indicators that he totally doesn't deserve it. When he offers Yukariko a coffee to calm her down, it seems that it has been tampered with, because after drinking it she falls asleep on the sofa, and we see Ishigami ogle her with some scary eyes. In the next preview he seems to move in trying to force her, so he looks to be an ugly slimebag.
Yukariko is giving me strong Akane vibes. Which means that I'd fully expect her to be attacked in battle, her child defeated, and thus eliminating Ishigami-sensei. It would allow for demonstrating new viewers what kind of thing would happen when a HiME child is killed without touching the "core" HiMEs. It would also be relatively "acceptable" to the viewers since Ishigami-sensei kinda deserves it. I suspect that she's gonna pick up the ex- to her HiME in no time.
Mikoto
Well, maybe I was wrong - the one least affected by the news is probably Mikoto after all. Her naive-oblivious nature makes the danger too intangible for her to notice. She reacts to immediate threats, but she doesn't worry about situations.
Her primary motivation has always been to protect those she cares for - and that's Mai and Yukino. In the HiME conference she's telling those two not to worry, since she will have their back in any case ^_^ ... which she is proving in a hilarious way while she's walking with Mai, causing her to tell Mikoto to cut it out.
Mikoto is a very special case, because she doesn't seem to possess a child, and her element Miroku isn't something she summons, but which is materialized all the time. I guess that means that in order to defeat Mikoto, you've got to kill her. Good luck with that. It should also be noted that her ani-ue and most likely precious person is probably Reito, who also seems to be the "Obsidian Prince of Kokoyou" the elders and Nagi announced.
Characters like her don't die, even in Sunrise productions. I'm sure that she's going to survive it all to tell the tale.
Tate
You need to know, I really used to like Tate in the beginning. But lately I find it more and more difficult to do that. He's got some major issues with hurt pride and misplaced half-cooked loyalty, and right now he's making things much worse instead of better. His intentions are good, but his methods are idiotic.
Later in this episode, while still caring for Shiho in an admirable way, he's running into Mai, so the two of them have a little tete-a-tete on the hospital roof. There he explains to her that for the first time he realized how hard this HiME business really was. While rushing to school he learned the hard way that he couldn't do anything to help, but by abandoning Shiho he caused her harm. This is what he truly regrets and so - even though he considered Shiho a nuisance sometimes - he wants to be there for her.
Unfortunately, this KimiNozo-style rejection of Mai is not really truthful, because instead of simply committing to Shiho true to his word, he lies to her claiming not to have talked to Mai in the first place. He gives in to his feeling of guilt, but he isn't really prepared to follow up on it. And by doing so, he is just going to cause Shiho even more pain - and almost certainly triggered Shiho's attack.
He's not a bad guy, but right now he's messing up horribly, again and again and again and again. Unfortunately, I still see him ending with Mai somehow. Maybe the storywriters will come up with a twist to make me like this deal. They better.
Shiho
Ah, Shiho. The character almost everyone has learned to hate by now, but I still can't really summon up this kind of emotion towards her. Yes, she's immature, and yes, she's unfair and arguably vicious, and now she's even about to add attempted murder to her list.
Yes, I'm fairly certain that Shiho was behind the apparition in the white shiromuku (bridal gown) attacking Mai. So far no HiME had the power to become transparent herself, so I assume that the apparition is just a manifestation of Shiho's power. There are several reasons why I'm fairly certain that it's Shiho, the biggest one being the scene in ep6 where she shows Mai the shiramoku her grandfather kept for her, and which she intends to wear for her onii-chan. The scene must hold some significance, and bridal gowns are something rare. There's also the crow connection - when Shiho sees Mai leave, we see and hear crows - just like immediately before the apparition and her monster crow threatens Mai. Finally, TI mentioned that "Inakunachae!" is a very childish way to express your intent to kill someone. Shizuru, the only other alternative, would use different words. And besides, she would have no motive. Shiho does.
In a way it's one more of Tate's blunders which caused this outcome - because he lied to Shiho yet again about not having met with Mai before. Shiho doesn't know that he actually more or less dumped Mai for her, so she's obviously burning with jealousy. The look in her eyes after she heard Tate's lie was really scary.
There should be no doubt about her most precious person. In a way, this is going to protect her - because if she was going to lose, Tate would turn into green-glowing lights, and I simply don't see this happen. Maybe this is why her child doesn't seem to be all THAT threatening so far - she'll be more of a nuisance than a real dangerous enemy. Which would be consistent with her role up to now. She mustn't die, and she mustn't lose. She must willingly hand Tate over to Mai in the end, there is no alternative to that which I can see.
Mai
Nagi's revelations left a huge impact on her. Later in the episode she answers the question about her most important person herself - with Takumi. Her pacifistic nature makes her worry about the implications of the upcoming fight. In the HiME conference she remarks that there are unknown HiMEs yet, and so she poses the question what happens if they were actually hostile. I guess she'll be among the happiest HiMEs if Midori manages to find an alternative way to avert the impending catastrophe.
Her meeting with Reito this episode was very interesting. Not just because Reito managed a cute blush in response to seeing her panties, but also due to her reaction when he apologized for more or less forcing his feelings upon her without consideration, not realizing that Mai was interested in Tate. Again, she was playing the "whaaaat? Nononono!" game we know all too well from Tate, but she eventually got a grip on herself and replied more reasonably that this wasn't exactly the time to mess with feelings - when she suddenly got a phone call informing her that after all this time a donor for Takumi was found!
Takumi is and remains the cornerstone of her world. Her life revolves around him, so to say, and losing him would probably cripple her emotionally. Therefore I see some huge clouds coming up if Takumi doesn't overcome his current defeatist attitude. Finding a donor was the first good bit of news for Mai in quite a long time. I hope that Takumi doesn't taint it, but I'm almost willing to bet on the opposite.
Then Mai's showdown with Tate was another prime example of doing the wrong things out of the right intentions, though it was clearly not Mai's fault. She took the rejection in admirable grace, and accepting it with a smile and a good luck was the best she could do. However, her constant denial of her own feelings is a huge problem she needs to overcome one day. When she cried while passing the playground where Tate comforted her in a tender moment back in episode 5, there wasn't "something in her eyes", as she lied to herself. On the other hand, she might just have to force this kind of positive self-denial on her in order to keep going. Still, it was a heartbreaking moment.
As the lead heroine, Mai will survive and win - that much is clear. Therefore, Takumi is safe from this end. He should also eventually come around, so things are peachy in the long run. Now if only she wouldn't end up with Tate...
Takumi
Before I get too long-winded here, too: Grow up, you wimp. You're only a burden to your sister if you continue to slump - and if you die, there's no telling what will become of her. So get your act together and get healthy, will you?
Besides, Akira is a cutie, regardless of her coarse voice. She's also not afraid to kiss, so brush your teeth and go for it! She's actually the second hottie you're freaking out. Not bad for a worm. Oh, and please develop a better fashion sense, okay?
Takumi is safe.
Reito
Kanzaki-senpai was a really nice and interesting fella throughout the entire series. Very much like Shizuru, he is more than meets the eye at first, he's very smart and collected and capable. With his "player" reputation it was always a major question if his interest in Mai was genuine or serving some sinister purpose from a hidden agenda. When I saw him blush in this episode, I was certain that his feelings were genuine. And then...
We already had the elders talking about Kokuyou's prince, and then Nagi remarks that this "obsidian lord" would "awaken" any minute. Scene change to Reito in his obsidian school uniform picking up Mikoto's ani-ue charm with a very strange look on his face. Is he going to be the one who is gonna enjoy the desperation and suffering of the fighting maidens?? Anything is possible, because we're told that he "awakened". Who can tell if this is the Reito of old?
I'm willing to bet that he is also Mikoto's ani-ue, the brother she is searching for. Also keep in mind that in ep7 he was the one to rescue Mikoto from death, regardless of the fact that he always denied having a little sister. He also always treated Mikoto with kindness, even when she was a bit of a nuisance.
I have no idea where this will lead. I do NOT see him end up with Mai however. He might even turn into _the_ end boss, if the prince is as sadistic as the elders seem to make him. He always was one of the most interesting characters, and he continues to be one.
Review
No, I'm just kidding. I know I overstayed my welcome. Sorry for making you read all this, I'm amazed you got this far. My next entry will be shorter. Honest ^_^
Raww Le Kleuze.. er... Reito as the final boss, seems kind of fitting if you think about it. Blast Sunrise for using the same seiyuus (even if they *are* good) as the same archtypes! ;)
Very nice entry and I agree with your statements, especially about Tate. If he's really destined to end up with Mai, I hope he gets his act together soon. As it is now, I'd be rather unhappy with that outcome. I'm going to set up a lone example and root for Reito to somehow go against his presumed dark destiny and end up with Mai. BTW provided that he really is Mikoto's big brother, who better than him to end up with Mai from Mikoto's viewpoint. ;)
As for the rest, I really hope Yukino and Haruka make it out ok. They're just too cute together. Actually they've replaced Akira and Takumi as cutest couple, because Takumi is just too wimpy and started to get on my nerves recently. That and his clothing style is bad enough to replace the Hime star as #1 crisis whenever he's on screen. Now if only Natsuki and Shizuru had more scenes together...
Great read. I can't wait for more eps cos I really am more interested in the Tate character - I find his character faults more tolerable to me than Shiho's and I think he's a really nice guy down there anyway. Only nice guys can stick with people like Shiho. >_>
And moyism, how do you know Evil Reito is actually a FAILED CLONE OF THE REAL ONE?!?! I really like Reito - but not with Mai... I think he's best either with someone like Shizuru or just on his own. He is so damned cool. I LOVE his seiyuu! TOTALLY!
And while Takumi is kind of like a wimp, at least it's a refreshing (albeit somewhat contrived) change from the usual wimpy angsty girl vs stronger somewhat less angsty guy...
But you know, this sentence: "Haruka and her child are huge assets as team players," .... is CRYING to be rewritten, I SWEAR I read it as "Haruka and her huge assets" ... and it made so much sense ._.;;;
By the way, go go Mai for not crying and breaking down totally during the "dumping" scene! And Shiho, get lost! Raar!...zip
Quite an interesting read.
Although I'd agree with virtually everything, I disagree about Takumi. Although he *does* seem like a wimp right now, I believe that he has scads of latent potential.
First of all, Takumi's medical condition has been a central part of the storyline for the entirety of the show., leading us to believe that the manga-ka doesn't want us (the viewers) to forget about him, or, indeed, relegate him to mere 'side-character' status.
Given that it's traditional in shonen titles for sick/disabled/childish characters to gain immense power at a turning point, I have a hunch that Takumi is going to emerge later as a juggernaut.
Just my two cents :)
You know, I really hope that Tate and Mai do not end up together. Though I guess it's sort of inevitable that they will. Strangely, one of the things I really liked about this episode was the Tate and Mai scene, even though I detest Tate.
Just the whole scene with them saying "gambarre" made me think of how much they're both deceiving themselves. -_-; Since in episode 5 Tate had specifically said he thought saying that was sort of irresponsible. I thought that scene was pretty powerful anyway.
Anyway, my bets are hoping that Mai kicks the crap out of Shiho's Child and Tate gets to go bye-bye. xD; Fat chance of that happening though I guess.
Thanks for the info Mentar. I speak no Japanese but always like to see what I'm able to glean from the raws since I'm too impatient to wait for the subs. I just wait for you to fill me in about what I miss in the dialogue. :-)
I for one am done speculating on anything. I like how the remainder of the story has been setup (with the exception of Tate's character...christ he's callow) and I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the ride from here on out. This show has been a very pleasant surprise thus far and I hope that the rest of it continues to surprise.
You mentioned Takemi_Ikazuchi's Mashiro/Fumi theory, I'm the one he was discussing that with.
Anyway, the gist of it is that Mashiro is the winner of the previous HiME fight from 300 years ago, and upon winning she stopped aging. Over the last 300 years her CHILD has grown and gained true sentience, and is, in fact, Fumi. Fumi is holding the Scythe because Mashiro summoned it, and then handed it to her. Mashiro is no longer able to fight herself, or maybe she can only use her body for limited periods of time without problems, and she is still saving herself for events to come.
Currently my HiME prediction is that it is a 60% chance Fumi is the HiME, and 40% that I'm actually right and Mashiro is.
Anyway, I agree pretty much 100% with all your character analysis and "Most Precious" predictions.
And unfortunately I don't see Midori living through the series either. ;_;
David: You think so? Hmmmm....
I don't think that Takumi will ever gain something like powers to make him an active player in the upcoming conflict. It would be interesting, I admit that, but... I fail to see him don a cape.
I rather expect him to become a source of major frustration for Mai. At the going rate with his unenthusiastic defeatist attitude, she will be seriously hurt by him. At best, he'll finally shape up and have his surgery and be alright - or maybe he'll have to be rescued. But he will not actively "participate" with any powers, I think...
Let's see ^_^
Hmm, this starting to feel like Battle Royale complete with previous battle winner participating in the new battle. If Mashiro is the winner of the previous HiME fight, is it possible that Nagi is actually the previous Obsidian Prince? That will explain his power. If this is true, I think being dead or being the winner are equally horrible fate. To live an ever-lasting life where your friends and family have died is probably as bad as the fate of the HiMEs who lose the tournament.
As for characters, I've had it with Shiho. She started out funny but now increasingly she becomes one of those bitter characters like Mari from This Ugly and Beautiful World. I dislike the fact that she blames Mai for losing Tate. There's nothing uglier to me than a selfish one-sided love that she exhibits. She clearly doesn't understand the concept of loving someone and the idea that if you do love a person, then you'll want that person to be happy, even if that happiness is not spent together with you.
Tate begins to grate on my nerves as well. He could have been straight with Shiho and tells her that he can't possibly be her brother figure all the time and that he can't reciprocate her feelings. But he chooses non-committal silence and unhappiness. Well, that's exactly what he's going to get and some more unless he begins to change.
Having said that, I refuse to agree that Tate is the one to blame for Shiho's bratty behaviour. He's responsible in contributing to the situation and so does Mai. But no one tells Shiho to be a murderous brat. I believe that everyone is responsible for their own action. Tate's guilt only goes as far as what he did or didn't do. What Shiho ends up doing is entirely her own fault and her own making.
Finally, if Reito turns out to be Mikoto's older brother, I think there could be some conflict between her and Mai. This is probably the final test for Mai: the friendship that she has with Mikoto. Over time, this friendship has been strong. But how strong will this friendship be if Reito is her older brother and in some ways try to kill Mai?
Thats an interesting point about Reito and Mikoto. Its been shown that Mikoto doesn't not have a very....mature understanding of love. (see the episode with the wish ribbons) And as devoted as she is to Mai, I have the bad feeling that she would choose her Ani-ue over Mai.
"One scene she mumbles 'my most precious person...' the scene switches over to Shizuru right away^_^"
(shaking my fist right way!)
Well either way we look at it. Shiho is at least partially to blame if not completely to blame for the whole mess between Tate, Mai and herself. She does definitely have flaws, but then again that may be part of the reason I like her. I guess I've grown to like characters that can have flaws and be emotional. Besides the progress of her character is probably the main reason she is becoming more major in the story. So yes even as a major of fan of her. I can agree that is her fault and she has problems, but darn it I like that about her.
As for Mikoto. Yes it's plausible that Mikoto may chooses her brother over Mai. Still a few problems are present with this whole situation. Especially if they go the route that every HiME loses her child save one and that means Mikoto must loser hers too. If they go by the route the main wins. If Reito is the Prince and Mikoto's brother that would cause a serious problem.
If one were to assume Mai would win then Reito would vanish once she kills Mikoto's child or well someone else kills Mikoto's child. Hence forth the Prince wouldn't even be there for the sake of the final part. Simply because Mikoto would have doomed him. Thus the problem is how to work around it? Make it so Reito is not the Prince? Make it so Reito is not Mikoto's brother after all? Reito is so bad-ass he can put himself back together just fine.
In general not just Reito. Same would apply to any other male who is the most important person if he is the prince. In reality the only person who would be safe from this is Takumi if he were to be the prince since unless a plot twist happens Mai is not going to lose her child.
Still it's possible if they want to be twisted they could make it so Mai actually loses her child in the end. I mean before the HiME battle is over of course. If Mikoto were to win then the whole Reito mess I mentioned would not really matter. As he'd still be alive to take on his duties as the prince itself. If anything Mikoto probably does have the largest chance of winning besides Mai. Just a gut feeling, but ah well.
Shizuru will be quite interesting to see. Plus if she is Natsuki's most precious and Natsuki is her most precious. You'd effective eliminate two children and two people once of them dies. Ie Duran vanishes, Shizuru vanishes, her child vanishes and then Natsuki vanishes. Even worse if the two somehow decide to fight each other and one of them wins. It would also make it impossible for either of them to win. Heck this is the same problem people once talked about with Haruka and Yukino when it was being considered that Haruka may have become a HiME in the anime as well. And that if both of them were each other's most important person. Still if this same ideal and problem holds true for Shizuru and Natsuki, we'll get too see this take hold in the anime just with different characters.
As for Mashiro and Fumi. Anything is possible since previews can be misleading. The only way to know for certain is to see Mashiro or Fumi cause the weapon to materalize. Still if Mashiro/Fumi is the winner of the previous fight and became immortal. It could stand to reason that all of them have lived past lives. Perhaps over the course of 300 years the 11 losers are reincarnated for the process to start over. And if the winner of the previous tournament loses the next one perhaps she may in fact lose her immortality as well. Of course it's also possible that the winner of the previous tournament does not count as HiME in the new tournament. However I can't say for sure.
Of course as expected I'm hoping that they are not misleading us and Shiho is the White Kimono HiME. Even if it means giving her more flaws and making her a villain. At least it gives her a role. Of course no matter how strong or weak of a HiME she is, she's not going to win the fight. So this means Tate is probably doomed if they go with the idea of all children but one remains. Unless they find a way to make it so Shiho's most important person is not Tate so someone else dies instea of him. If she gets her ass kicked by Mai then fine. However I'd like for her to at least be a HiME in maybe three episodes or so before Mai defeats her so she can have decent screen time as a HiME. Still hopefully 18 will clear things up about the White Kimono HiME. I'd hate to see them play around with it too much.
One thought about how the HiME's might escape their "deathmatch". Each 300 years, 12 of these HiME's are born, and are forced to fight & destroy each other so that the winner will gain the powers of the others and be able to defeat this red-star thingy, right?
But this time 'round, there were 13 HiME's: the 12 "natural" ones plus an artificial, very powerful HiME: Alyssa. Who has already been defeated by Mai. Might the addition of the extra "accidental" HiME - even one artificially constructed - increase the overall power of the HiME faction and make it unnecessary for all but one to be defeated?
About Yukariko - has she accepted her CHILD yet? ISTR that Mai had to "accept" Kagutsuchi, but I don't think Yukariko has ever done anything like that. During the vampire-Orphan attack she shoots few "element"-arrows and scares the vampire away, while her CHILD, Vrus, hovers nearby, insubstantial. And if she *hasn't* accepted Vrus, she could still escape the HiME's fate. Similarly for Mikoto - has her CHILD even appeared yet? If not, and so she hasn't accepted a CHILD, is her most precious person on the line?
Interesting idea. You still run into the problem of how the power is distributed. If it does not happen until one HiME is left then Alyssa will make no difference for them beyond Mai being stronger of course. Because Mai won't get power from her until everyone else is defeated. Still if this is a cycle that repeats time and time again. Maybe just maybe Alyssa's power will be enough to stop the cycle completely. Ie she could give Mai the boost in power she needs in order to end the cycle.
What if Fumi is both Mashiro's most important person and her child? What I mean is perhaps when the winner well wins the child and most important person become one and the same. After all if the previous winners fights in the new match she is going to need her powers. 300 years is a long time. If the most important person dying causes the child to die then long before this happened, Mashiro would have lost her HiME power. This is of course if you believe Mashiro won 300 years ago. So I'd wager something would make the most important person as immortal as the HiME would be. So in other words the child and most important person become one and the same. So when Mashiro won her most important person Fumi gets merged with her child. An off the wall theory, but it would not surprise me if it became true.
I knew that Garten would give (Anime-) Shiho a whack *grins* ... since he complained to me about whacking Tate and defending Shiho .
Okay, to be honest: It's not that I'd really like her. But at the same time I do pity her quite a bit. So I'll try to explain why I'm more lenient in judging her than most people are.
First of all, I like that she is both genuine and honest. She is totally open about her intentions and she says what she feels. She also confronted Mai very early on about it - and face it, she DID receive Mai's blessing and supposed support. Now the thing is - WE as omniscient spectators know that Mai tried her best to fulfil her (well-meant but foolish) promise, but Shiho does not. From HER point of view, the very person she admired all the time and who promised to root for her took away her onii-chan behind her back. It's a logical consequence, and I can't blame her for that.
The second part is that Tate is handling her completely wrong. First of all, he doesn't take her seriously and deals with her on a solid basis. He has been lying to her repeatedly - he even ridiculed her for speaking the truth while he was lying about the time the vampire attacked them. And, in my eyes his worst crime, even though it was yet again made with the best intentions, he formally decided "for" Shiho, but at the same his commitment is bogus. He's giving in to feelings of guilt, but he fails the conviction to act on his promise. When will Tate grow up and deal with Shiho honestly?
Does all this excuse (presumably) Shiho's attack on Mai? No, but there's one extra detail: I think that the apparition isn't Shiho herself. I would not be surprised if the apparition was Shiho's _dream_. Reason: So far no HiME has been able to make themselves vanish - therefore I think the apparition is only part of her power.
Think back - It's late at night. Shiho is still in the hospital (she won't have the time and nerve to travel to her grandfather's temple to get and don the bridal gown to come back and attack Mai). It's always been her dream to wear the gown for her onii-chan. And in her mind she'd certainly love to "inakunachae" Mai. Is she consciously doing this?
I fail to see Shiho as a killer. I think she's _dreaming_ this. Just a suspicion, but I still think this is no conscious attempt of murder. But who knows, I might be wrong ;)
She's horribly immature and wrapped up in her dreams about Tate. She never grew up in this aspect, and nobody made her - Tate should stop to humor and BS her and make her face the truth to MAKE her grow up. But I still have doubts that Shiho in her right mind would go so far as trying to kill her.
You think she would?
Heh, that is one interesting theory, Mentar, one that tries to justify Shiho's action. But no brownie points for her from me still even if the entire thing is simply a dream manifestation of hers. Murderous intention is still a murderous intention regardless of the form it takes. Plus, some people, myself included, have the ability to control their dreams. This is called Lucid Dreaming.
This means that I can indirectly control several aspects of my dream and often can achieve a set of desired results in my dream. For example, I'd have a nightmare about say...being in a city surrounded by Zombies. Oh shush, it's the result of being exposed to horror films when I was too young. However, I'll always able to 'ensure' that I will survive the ordeal while other people in the city may not.
Yeah, I realise it sounds ridiculous but I'm not making this stuff up. Sometimes, I am even aware that I'm dreaming. In the sense that I'm unconsciously aware that I'm experiencing a dream and nothing harm can befall me. All of the things that I said have been scientifically researched so this is do happen to people in real life.
If one applies this real world finding to the fictional world of Mai Hime then technically, Shiho is partially aware that she wants to kill Mai. It's also possible that she also has the ability to control that dream, to achieve a set of desired results. A part of the pleasure in Lucid dreaming is the fact that you have the feeling of controlling something and yet, there will be no social or physical consequences to your actions.
However, Shiho's dream seem to have an effect in reality. On its own, you can called this dream a vengeance fantasy. But in this case, Shiho seems to be able to manifest that fantasy into reality. So at the end of the day, her desire to kill Mai is accountable. If, for example, her enemy had been someone less powerful like say, Akane, and she manages to kill her, how do you think she will react the next morning if she finds Akane dead? Feeling guilty? Satisfied with the result? Either way, the feeling will simply prove that she had a desire to kill someone and that desire manifested in the real world.
Yes, she may have the desire to kill Mai, and she may even have a dream about doing so, but that does not mean that under normal circumstances she would EVER act on such an urge.
Unfortunately for her, her powers seem to be acting on their own, maybe as a form of self defense similar to how Mai's first activated to defend her from Duran in episode 1.
Shiho's current problems are a combination of her inability to grow up, and Tate's inability to deal with her honestly. Unfortunately if something like this continues, she may wake up one day and discover that Tate is gone for good.
Well regardless of whether or not one completely blames Shiho. This whole dream thing brings up the question of whether or not Shiho will become a HiME officially as in her real self attacks Mai, helps Mai or whatever. It would be something if Shiho's dream self manages to lose and gets Shiho's child killed. She'd probably wake up with a scream. She'd lose her most important person and her powers. Effectively even in her dreams Shiho would lose to Mai.
In my opinion, based on your thoughts, the final HIME round will be between Mai and Mikoto (with your all "brother/prince" stuff)...
The idea of the "astral form shiho" is nice (and probably the right one...), but i doubt that Mai is going to kill Shiho or her child... She'll probably run away.
Just a question... Natsuki mother is dead in the manga. But is she in the anime? Natsuki standing on the front of the sea and saying "Mother" doesn't mean that she's dead, but maybe that she only miss her (according that her mother is hiding somewhere...)
A friend translate for me the preview text on the official site for episode 18 and 19 (traduction which doesn't mean anything to me...). Takumi is going to have an medical operation, the last HIME will become an "uber HIME", and Sister is going to put herself in trouble (her "lover" going mad... "i want you bal bla bla...).
If she accepts her love for teacher i-don't-remember-his-name, maybe she'll be able to free Vrus, her child. And if she does that, she'll get into the HIME competition. And it's going to hurt for her ass...
Well it's never really said flat out whether or not Natsuki's mother is dead, but it is heavily implied that she is. However there is still the old ideal of misleading scenes. Of course if she is alive in the anime this may come into play later.
Mai would be reluctant to kill Shiho's child or any Child based on the way she is. In fact if she learns the White Kimono HiME is Shiho, she may find even harder to do so because of the thought process. Guilt over her role in the whole Shiho mess. One can tell she feels guilty regardless of who is to blame. And if she figures that "Wait Tate may be Shiho's most important person"and she still wants Tate, she may be afraid to kill Shiho's child because she'd lose Tate. But then Mai would also fear for Takumi. She'd be forced to choose her brother over her potential boyfriend or vice versa. Of course this is assuming Mai is good at figuring out at the very least who some most important people are. It's probably going to be easier for her to figure out Shiho or Mikoto than it will be for her to figure out say Nao.
Talking to Nao... Is she just nervous about the fight or is she confuse cause she doesn't realise already who her "most important person" is? I'm confuse with the way the HIMEs can free their CHILD... Do they have to know who their "chosen one" are or accept their love for them?
I doubt that there will be a "final round". There might be 1-2 initial HiMElander rounds, but then it will end. Midori will find an alternative way to stop the catastrophe, I'm certain. Therefore, I also don't see a final match between Mai and Mikoto - though I could indeed imagine a showdown with Reito as evil end boss and Mikoto realizing that he is ani-ue, with cruelly conflicting loyalties. Still, she is so devoted to Mai that I rather see her forsake ani-ue instead of her.
Garten: Interesting thing about Lucid dreams, but I've done some VERY strange things in dreams which I wouldn't do at all in real life ^_^ ... so if YOU try to kill someone in your dream, it might have deeper meaning. But Shiho ain't you... *no, don't hit me!*
Sage: Nao isn't the kind of character who spreads her love and devotion generously. My gut feeling says that there's some female she really cares for, a sister or something like this. And Nao knows )or at least suspects) that she knows who is now threatened by her HiMEdom.
>>so if YOU try to kill someone in your dream, it might have deeper meaning. But Shiho ain't you... *no, don't hit me!*
Well, now you've done it!! :P Okay, my turn. While I don't subscribe to generalisation, if a person tries to kill someone in their dream, then it does have deeper general meaning regardless of who they are. It generally means that the person is too cowardly to confront the person they have trouble with in real life and chooses the convenience of a dream to visualise their revenge fantasy. It doesn't matter who the person is, whether it's me or another person. When this happens, the person desires revenge at their basic human level and chooses the safest outlet to do so. Of course, this does not mean that the person will kill someone in real life but that desire is there. That was what I'm talking about. Yes the action is probably not there yet, but the desire to kill Mai exists within Shiho, assuming that person was Shiho to begin with, of course.
But we're getting too far. Let's track back a bit to begin with. First, we still don't know if it's a dream or not. We're just assuming that it is a dream without any kind of solid evidence. There's a possibility that is actually her ability - to create an apparition of herself. If that's the case, then it means she's committing the action to kill during that scene instead of imagining it.
Now, supposedly it is a dream as you suggested, there are two types of dream this one could be:
The first one is the best/safe one. It means Shiho has revenge desire for Mai but the entire thing only plays out in her actual dream. As in, her dream does not manifest itself in the real world. In other words, the Mai that we saw at the end of this episode is not the real Mai but the Mai in Shiho's revenge fantasy. In this fantasy, Shiho imagines herself using her HiME power to kill Mai. The next episode, Shiho will awake and probably feel ashamed of what she dreams about, no big deal, things blow over. If that's what you're referring to, then I'll agree that Shiho gets a jail pass card...partly :P (well, she has to keep that murderous intent in check).
But are we sure this is the kind of dream she had? First of all, Mai still looks depressed here and Shiho had no way of knowing this. So why would she imagine Mai being depressed? If that's the case, it's possible that this 'dream' is not a normal dream. It's not even Lucid dream anymore. It's like an OBE (out of body experience). Shiho's dream somehow creates something that tries to kill Mai in the real world. Of course, one can make an argument that she doesn't really intend for that dream to become reality. We'll probably find that out next week. But you said it yourself in the recap that Shiho looks scary when she realises about Mai talking to Tate. Scary enough that she wants to kill Mai if she has the ability? What if she does have the ability as exemplified in this episode?
Anyway, my point is, if you have a desire to kill someone and you still have a conscience, then you'd at least realise that desire is wrong no matter how entertaining/safe that thought might be and even if it's "Just a dream". And if the person that you wished to die ends up really dead, who do you think will be the first on the suspect list? It's the person with the most grudge/murderous intent towards the victim. Sometimes "it's just a dream" is not a good enough excuse for an attempted murder, especially in a Mai Hime kind of world, where supernatural ability is the norm.
Well it's possible that the HiME Battle may not play out completely. That in the end it won't be a case of one remaining HiME left. Still the only question is what can they do to prevent the problem in the first place? Hopefully Midori will find a solution. Although for a joke, they could make it so Midori's solution is akin to making the 11 remaining childs into some sort of Super Robot. And thus this Super Robot defeats the HiME Star to some epic hotblooded tune. Okay maybe not, but it would be a fun Omake to see.
It is iteresting to read these old reviews. Some times you are so totaly right about what will happen, and some times you are so totaly wrong
Mai is strong on the outside,but weak on the inside.
That ghosty lady is Shiho,I Swear It!
kfhalovihalkjvhs
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