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ローゼンメイデン 
February 25, 2005 | 
49 Comments
Major setup episode with several important developments. They continue to tear the lives of the main HiMEs to shreds - this time, Natsuki follows in the tragic footsteps of Mikoto and Mai from episodes 19 and 20. But there's also some silver lining on the horizon - Mashiro tells Midori that there is a faint chance to avoid the grisly HiME fate, and she is going to risk everything for it.
It's evident that the dozens of little hints and clues from the past are converging now. Yes, the show manages to continuously shock and mislead the audience, so that you can never feel "safe", but at the same time it also rewards the careful and acute viewer, because it confirms many deductions you could make in the past aswell. This episode convinced me completely that the story will not peter out in the final arc, because more and more unexplained "loose ends" from the past are now picked up and put into context, painting a bigger picture. In other words, the screenwriter knows exactly what he is doing, and he's doing a tremendous job. I can't wait for the next episodes!
A very good episode in all aspects and a welcome change after the angst- and drama-dripping last ones. However, since many many dialogues were kept intentionally vague, it will be difficult to follow raw.
Mai HiME Rating: +
Absolute Rating: +
RAW complexity: Difficult
It's still the aftermath of last episode's catastrophic battle. Natsuki is standing in the rain, soaked to the bone while she watches Akira's ninja clansmen carry her off, and firefighters try to get the fire in the destroyed school building under control. Sakomizu-sensei is standing next to her when Natsuki remarks that this mess is so big that First District won't be able to cover it up. Sakomizu retorts that they don't care anymore - with this pace, they don't have to worry any longer. Besides, in 300 years it will only be a legend again, very much like it was before. Natsuki seethes "So you'll just let everything repeat itself?"
Entering a man with spectacles and a sharp hawklike gaze, arriving out of nowhere. He remarks that the organization called the First District doesn't exist to the public. Its sole purpose is to govern the HiME festival, isn't it? Natsuki and Sakomizu look at him baffled, and he introduces himself as Mr. Smith from SEARRS, head of the intelligence section. "It's been a while, Mr. Sakomizu ... and pleased to meet you, Princess Natsuki!"
Natsuki instantly levels one of her pistols on him. Unfazed, Smith tells her not to be so upset - SEARRS no longer wishes to interfere with the current festival. Instead, his current job is to retrieve a certain piece of equipment: The remains of Miyu Glear. Natsuki is surprised and demands to know if he was the one who tried to contact her before the urgent phone call forced her to rush out of Rohrschach before (in episode 20). He confirms this and adds that he is embarrassed to admit that SEARRS lost track of Miyu's signal and wants to know if Natsuki is willing and able to help them.
Natsuki lowers the gun and demands to know what's in the deal for her. "Yes indeed... what we offer is the truth regarding your mother, Dr. Kuga. How about that?"
Both Natsuki and Sakomizu reel back as if they were punched. Sakomizu is extremely upset and urges Natsuki not to listen to Smith, who snaps at him with "be quiet, dog of the First District, this is my and her business". Natsuki peers into Smith's eyes and decides to believe him, revealing that she doesn't know the exact location of Miyu herself, but providing him with information helping him in his search. Based on that, Smith is able to draw conclusions and upholds his side of the bargain. Sakomizu panics and tries one final time to stop him, but to no avail. Smith explains:
"Dr. Kuga has been trying to sell you to us... as research data. It could have been incredible. What a shame, we already paid for you."
Natsuki almost faints on hearing this. She remembers what her capped Rohrschach contact told he before: That there were two founders of her mother's old facility - one of them being SEARRS. She weakly mutters to herself that this can't be true... but deep down she knows better.
Heartbroken, Natsuki races her bike through the rainy night. Still mulling over the latest revelations, she doesn't notice that Nao was waylaying her with a fiendish ambush: With her webbing spanned over the street, she causes Natsuki's bike to crash and the rider to fall to the ground hard. Through the broken visor of her helmet Natsuki can see Nao smirking against the bright explosion consuming her bike before she loses consciousness.
Mai dressed in only a long shirt is sitting before a warming fireplace in Reito's house. He's passing a hot drink to her and softly adds that if she needed anything, he would be there for her - if she truly needed him. After the last night of horror, Mai needs an outlet and asks him if he was willing to listen to her problems...
We should keep in mind here that almost no time has passed since episode 19! From her perspective Mai has had a bad falling-out with Mikoto after almost being assassinated by Yukino, had Takumi abducted, Akira defeated, Takumi killed by Mikoto, fought Mikoto and saw Mikoto perish in Kagutsuchi's flames - all within just a few hours! Her entire world has collapsed in the wink of an eye.
In school, Haruka is trying her best to get the chaos organized. She is angry beyond belief that in this crisis Shizuru isn't around. Midori rushes towards them and drags Yukino away - just like Natsuki did before. Haruka doesn't understand what the hell is going on here and throws another cute tantrum. Outside, Midori demands to know what happened to Mai and Takumi, and we see her eyes widen in shock when Yukino fills her in.
Outside at the cliff where Natsuki's mother died, Nao is celebrating her catch. Natsuki, soundly bound with Julia's webbing, can be seen prone between Julia's fangs. She is alive but her empty look doesn't show any response, even when Nao tries to irritate her by making trophy pictures with her mobile phone.
In fact, Nao is visibly agitated about Natsuki's total lack of reaction. She complains how boring all of this is and wonders why Natsuki isn't resisting at all. Trying to pull her out of her passive stupor, Nao cummons her claw and places one of her sharp nails directly over Natsuki's left eye, vowing to make her understand the pain of the injury she received herself. Still no reaction. Extremely enraged now she is about to snap - when a voice in her back stops her.
Out of the blue, a solemn Shizuru tells Nao that she isn't about to let her do as she pleases with Natsuki. Nao is surprised to see the council president, and Natsuki lifts her head enough to recognize her and whisper her name. Shizuru correctly addresses Nao with Yuki-san, eliciting an ironic "Oh my... I'm so famous that even the student council president knows about me" out of her.
Shizuru is unaffected by the sarcasm and sympathetically remarks that Nao must have had a sad past, hasn't she? Nao is surprised and taken aback, and Shizuru makes an educated guess that she must have been abused as a child, causing all this behaviour. However, this gentleness is lost on Nao. She answers that it was rather something else, poses the rhetorical question if Shizuru was trying to counsel her - and then raises her claw against Shizuru inquiring if she's aware what she is getting herself into.
The animators are delivering a masterpiece here. We see Shizuru's eyes narrow by a millimeter and the edges of her mouth point upwards the slightest bit - and suddenly Shizuru's whole expression changes from her usual open-oblivious-harmless mask to a look of cool and controlled confidence which says "I do know. Do you?"
Natsuki is visibly worried about her and whispers "Shizuru", but quick-minded Nao is picking up the altered vibes emanating from Shizuru immediately and drawing the right conclusions. "I see... so THAT'S how it is. Interesting!" Shizuru states that she doesn't really care what Nao is trying to do - she herself has only one thing to take care of: She will protect Natsuki! Said and done, she summons her element, which is looking like a bardiche.
With a shocked and incredulous look, Natsuki is observing the confrontation. Shizuru is a HiME too? Once more, Nao demonstrates her considerable taunting skills with "Aaah, so the rumors are true. So isn't it you who needs the counseling rather than me?" Then she attacks. Summoning her webbings, she catches and immobilizes Shizuru's bardiche, smirking over her successful move. Shizuru regards her coolly and whispers a lone word: "Kiyohime"
Behind poor Nao the ground breaks open and Shizuru's child rises from it, literally tossing Nao and Julia around like little plastic toys.
Natsuki is ripped from Julia's grasp and drops to the ground while we see Julia fall off the cliff in a high arc.
Meanwhile, Mai has obviously finished telling Reito her story. She is lost and doesn't know what to do. Reito kneels down behind her and pulls Mai into a comforting hug, sympathizing with her pain. Then he encourages her by telling her that she mustn't give up yet. After all, there is still hope. The winner of the conflict will be granted great power! And besides... isn't there somebody she already loves? Softly petting her hair, he lets her cry out. He finishes with the remark that if it's for the sake of their most precious person, anyone can become a demon.
Beautiful blendover to Nao, bruised and lying on the ground barely conscious as she reaches out to her mobile phone which ironically still shows the shot taken from the helpless Natsuki - and Shizuru steps on it, crushing it to pieces. Then, the camera pans upwards, revealing a demonic Shizuru with her gigantic octopus-snakelike child behind her. The contrast between the usually gentle and controlled Shizuru to this HiME who is emanating an aura of rage and death is chilling. Finishing their completely one-sided confrontation (I'm hesitant to call it a fight), Shizuru's extends her bardiche to a chain-like weapon and slices the entire clifftop off on which Nao had been lying, causing it to shatter and fall down into the sea far far below...
Back in the mansion, Reito tells Mai that he has to leave. Just when he is about to pass the door, Mai stops him to thank him, which he accepts with a smile, and then he is gone.
Outside, Nagi is waiting for him. Awww... you missed a good chance (to score with Mai, as he's implying). Reito retorts that you cannot own a person with flesh alone. Nagi accepts that with one more of his famous smirks - and he kneels down in front of him, humbling himself before the true Obsidian Lord!
Scene change to a beautiful mansion somewhere remote. Natsuki regains consciousness, with bandages applied and lying on a white futon. Shizuru is there, calming Natsuki that they are the only ones there at this place, which only high-ranking student council members know about. She explains that she has been keeping her HiME status a secret from Natsuki in order not to worry her. But nothing of this is really important, she says, what counts is what happens now. Shizuru makes clear that she is going to take care of Natsuki, and it doesn't matter to her if that even means neglecting her council duties for her.
Natsuki has a very vulnerable look in her eyes on hearing this. We should keep in mind that the night has been terrible for her too, with all that happened to her. Nevertheless, she seems very touched by this and barely holds back some tears. She admits that whatever happened, she is very glad about Shizuru's support. And we see Shizuru reach out to her to dry her tears with a handkerchief.
On the bottom of the cliff, we see a badly bruised Nao who is coming to and trying to cope with her bad shape. In a stark contrast to Natsuki, she is all alone and gasping a bitter "Why is EVERYONE picking on me?" complaint into the sea, before a cold wave washes over her.
Nao continues to be an intriguing character for me. She is just evil and aggressive enough not to score too many sympathy points with me, but at the same time I feel real pity for her. Unlike others, her self-imposed isolation is causing her revenge drive to backfire time and time again, and I find it hard to ignore that she WAS framed in the first place. She's a smart and quick-minded person. If she had some support, she could be perfectly fine and come around. But who could be this support? I continue to hope that some positive twist will give her a chance to get back on track. I like her too much to want to simply see her lose and perish. She's a brilliant multilayered character - whoever invented her deserves a raise.
At the dawn of the next morning, Shizuru, who has obviously been watching over Natsuki all the time, rises to go outside. Before she opens the door, she assures Natsuki once more that she likes (suki) her and that she'll protect her at all costs. When she turns to leave, Natsuki responds with "me too", causing Shizuru to stop and look back. "I like you too", Natsuki repeats with one of her rare slight smiles, and Shizuru accepts it with a smile of her own, walking outside to have a look at the beautiful sunrise. After closing the door however, Shizuru's face is looking sad and troubled. "But your 'suki' and my 'suki' are different" she whispers into the wind.
Rarely is the difficulty of a proper english translation of "suki" as fittingly demonstrated as in this key scene - because it's usually something between "liking" someone and "loving" someone. Here, Shizuru's "suki" clearly expresses love. But she is aware that for Natsuki, it's more along the lines of liking someone and NOT requited romantic love. Nevertheless, I wouldn't count out yet that things might develop in this direction. Because earlier, unknown to Shizuru, Natsuki has insisted many times not to hold anyone dear to her. This "suki" admission does account for something in my eyes. On the other hand, my gut feeling tells me that there's a high chance for a tragic ending for this tender romance seedling. I'll continue to root for these two. And compared to them, I'm totally indifferent right now to Mai's love life.
The next morning, the crowd of students is standing before the ruins of the school building, discussing what might have happened here. In the student council room, Haruka and Yukino are all alone while the masses bash against the doors. Everyone is extremely worried, and some of them already had their parents prepare school transfers for them. Haruka is in a pinch and extremely annoyed. Where are all the others? Where is Shizuru, where is Reito, where is the chairman? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?
Midori is yelling at Mashiro, demanding to know what they were supposed to do now with all that happened to Mai, Mikoto and the others. Suddenly, a very concerned Fumi enters the room and hands Mashiro a formal letter in which the Obsidian Lord reqests her presence. Mashiro makes a decision and works some magic to prevent Nagi from eavesdropping. Then she fills in Midori about the real truth of the HiMEs. Unfortunately, this magic also bars the spectator from learning about it, too ;)
Midori reels in shock on hearing about it. Mashiro is talking about the "harvest festival for Ikusahimes' jewels". To refresh everyone's memory, here is the transcript from the relevant segment in the Static-Subs release, narrated by Shiho's uncle, the Shinto priest:
"This Tamayura Festival is based on the local legend of Ikusahime. About the maidens who fought for those they were affectionate of, and lived their momentary lives as they withered away. The charm at the Academy's Crystal Arena began with Ikusahimes tying their hair bands onto the tree which used to stand there. Tying it before they went off to the last battle, wishing to meet their loved one upon return."
Midori's reaction: "No way! The Obsidian Lord... the Crystal Princess... wait! So YOU are...!?!" Mashiro nods, confirming that she is indeed the Crystal Princess. She proceeds to ask Midori: "Do you still believe that we can change fate with our hearts?" Midori confirms this with a determined yes and Mashiro decides that in this case, she is betting everything on this and confronting the Obsidian Lord. Midori demands to go with her, but Mashiro declines. Instead, she is entrusting Midori with a strange-looking "Key of Awakening", to the big shock of Fumi. Next thing shown is a strange device which is looking like a life support tank, in which a long-haired female looking body is floating.
I will NOT fall into the trap trying to predict anything anymore. But it seems that this key is supposed to awaken this girl in the life support tank. Who might that be? Also, the "harvesting of Ikusahime's jewels" - it seems that Ikusahime is a collective description of the HiMEs, the "fighting maidens". It was definitely referred to in the plural form ("Ikusahimetachi"), so it obviously doesn't denominate a single person. But what "jewels" are being harvested? The jewel-like pillars in the underground cave? Any ideas welcome.
Sakumizo-sensei is receiving a call from the Obsidian Lord, summoning him to the HiME shrine for his coronation. He turns around, looking at the spot where Natsuki used to talk to him - but she isn't there. Unlike Ishigami, I still do think that Sakumizu IS genuinely trying to help Natsuki for some reason (probably being her mother). Then he sighs and calls up Ishigami-sensei to fill him in with the latest. Our most hated schemer is VERY unhappy and irritated about this development.
Fumi is serving Mashiro a cup of tea, talking about what's going to happen. Mashiro remarks that the girl (in the tank) is still in recovery. So it's not okay to entrust the key to Midori (it seems that the "defeated HiME jewel pillars" will be needed prior to that). Mashiro thanks Fumi for all she has done in a very final tone. They seem to expect that this is going to be their last battle. Fumi replies that it's no big deal at all since she's her maid. Mashiro gloomily says that this could be a trap, but they have no choice. A secret wall behind the puppet collection opens and off they are.
Nagi tells the Obsidian Lord that Mashiro and Fumi always thought about how to defeat him - but they never knew who he was. Isn't he grateful for that? In response, we see Reito's lips twist to an evil smile. At that moment Fumi and Mashiro arrive at the HiME shrine in their boat. The Obsidian Lord asks Mashiro if she is the Meifu no Ojou - the Queen of Hell.
Mashiro: "So you are the Obsidian Lord's vessel, Kanzaki Reito".
Reito: "Oh, I've recovered all of my memories. Thank you for all of your hard work for these past 3 centuries, Mashiro... no, make that... Crystal Princess".
Mashiro: "I will defeat you. To put an end to this HiME misery."
Reito: "So you put your soul into a child... you think you can defeat me with that?"
Mashiro: "Yes... for the sake of you, who I once loved, dear brother."
And she orders Fumi to summon her scythe and attack.
Fumi charges at Reito and slashes at him, but Mikoto appears, stopping the hit with Miroku and placing herself protectively before the Obsidian Lord. She yells that she won't forgive anyone trying to attack her ani-ue. Reito tells them that he merely wants to erase Mashiro's ability to summon her child. "Well then... Mikoto, my dear sister, fight for me!" Dejectedly, with a resigned "I have no choice", Mashiro stands up from her wheelchair and transforms into the Crystal Princess. Then, she faces Mikoto for battle.
The power unleashed by the battle causes rainbow-like halos to flare up, easily visible from the outside world. Midori and Mai watch them from afar.
Briefly thereafter, we see Reito walking through the ranks of First District officers, followed by Nagi who is carrying a ceremonial katana behind him. Looking up, he sees the entangled form of a puppet resembling Mashiro hanging from the ceiling, trapped in wires. He regards her briefly without emotion and continues with his coronation procedure.
"Thank you all for your work in these past three centuries. The time of Misery is near. From now on... I shall oversee the operation."
And he takes the katana from Nagi's hands.
Conclusion
Great stuff. Really really great stuff. What I particularly like to see is how old seemingly "loose ends" are slowly collected and woven into the big picture. I like to see that the Ikusahime legend is filled with some new significance and life. I like to see that SEARRS is obviously regaining a role - I could perfectly imagine them to be actually HELPFUL to the HiMEs in the final conflict. I like how the background development of Mashiro and the Obsidian Lord led to logical results. This is important to me because it reaffirms my belief that this anime will have a complete ending. The screenwriter knows exactly what he is doing. Great news!
I also like that the Alternative (tm) to the HiMElander has been confirmed and set in motion. I would really have disliked to see the carnage to the bitter end and then have a cheesy "reset button" effect to convince the audience that it's a happy ending after all. This Alternative will leave the door open for enough drama, I'm SURE of that - but it will also enable a decent happy ending without being too corny and artificial.
Shizuru rocks. I love that she is finally getting some decent airtime. Her controlled and just all-around smart way of dealing with issues is very appealing and impressive. I hope that the show will give her the extra screentime which she was denied in the beginning. And I wish her the _best_ of luck in her Natsuki endeavour. Besides, Kiyohime was fun to watch. Clearly the most gigantic child of all by far ^_^
So many schemers with hidden agendas. Ishigami-sensei won't stop now. And I have a very very difficult time buying that Nagi is only a devout lackey with no ambition of his own. This is gonna make for an explosive combination and lots of treacherous backstabbing.
The show managed the feat to tell the story of 6 hours in 3 episodes without having a single boring minute. How awesome is that? If I could, I'd pay some major bucks to download and watch the final episodes now, right away. What a great great show. If it doesn't falter in the end - and I don't see this happen anymore - Mai HiME is definitely going to end up in my personal eternal top5 anime ranking.
Little things: interesting to see Mashiro's weapon had the same kind of markings on it as Miroku (only in blue)....Reito's and Mikoto's eyes are drawn/colored exactly the same (never bothered to notice before). It was no shock they're siblings, but I feel like I should've seen it a long time ago.
The puppet thing at the end was curious to me. You're given the impression it's supposed to be a defeated Mashiro but it looked really odd.
REALLLY want to know who/what is in that medical tank (or whatever it is)
Lastly, can't wait for Mikoto's necklace to get ripped off and see how she reacts. And I must say, poor Fumi..we hardly knew you. :-(
Random thoughts of the ep:
- I *so* have a feeling the person for the "Key of Awakening" is Alyssa (maybe Miyu?). Watch as I'm going to be totally off about it, but the hair clued me in on this guess. Plus, they can't let such kick-ass characters like Alyssa and Miyu go to waste ;)
- Still a bit confused about Reito, Fumi, and Mashiro. Between the relationship of Reito (or more exactly Obsidian Lord) being Mashiro's brother... and Mashiro's body (Crystal Princess to doll thingie)... and who/what exactly Fumi is. Totally lost! need clarifcation on it all...
- agree about Shiruzu... she was just awesome, period!
- How can you forget to mention about Tate's 2 minute appearance? For some reason, after him hearing that Mai wasn't back yet, I have a feeling he might *actually* do something important in the near future.
Forgot a couple things....am I the only one a little annoyed at how they carted Akira off? It had this air about it that felt like, "She's served her purpose to the show and now you'll never see her again." Are we supposed to get the impression that ALL the defeated hime's become catatonic shells like Akane?
Re: Tate...he is King Wuss until he grows a spine or does something to prove otherwise...which, admittedly, I hope is soon. Until then, less is more.
Also in total agreement about Shizuru...her element is wicked cool! I want one! :-D
Great summary once again. Shizuru rocked my world. I think the key to awakening is Akane because she the same length hair and because she was defeated and all it would take time for her to recover and thats why "its not ready" and she's in a life support tank. But once again speculation is futile in this series but it would be great is akane has a new role in the series. Shizuru x Natsuki please get together finally (not just for possible yuri), I think hey are the best couple in the series. But great episode i hotp ethe ending is not too tragic
This is really wild, it just keeps getting deeper and deeper! I managed to figure some things out, but there's still some things that are not clear. I had figured that the Obsidian Lord was Mashiro's brother, after all the situation with Reito/Mikoto hinted at that big time. What I find odd is the comment about the Crystal Princess into the soul of a child (Mashiro) and the fact that the Obsidian Lord seems to also be a seperate "soul". Given how almost everything that's happened so far has at least some signifigance, I'm sure this is important. It seems to be indicating there are two souls in each, Reito/Obsidian Lord and Mashiro/Crystal Princess.
I suspect that the key Mashiro gave to Midori is highly important and something the Obsidian Lord needs for whatever vile plan he's got. I also think Mashiro knew she'd fail, and gave the key to Midori to put the alternate plan into action. An interesting note: while we can't see the girl's face (the one floating in the water), doesn't she look a lot like someone else we know -- namely Natsuki?
Negi's a bit of a mystery, but I think he's Mashiro's brother, he's the only non-HiME we've seen with powers other than Mashiro. We're almost certain Mashiro has been around since the last HiME festival 300 years ago, and there are hints that Negi has been as well. Personally I think he was the Obsidian Lord's vessel last time. Of course that raises the question of why the Obsidian Lord's soul left Negi's body...
Given all of the above it would appear that _normally_ the Obsidian Lord's sister is the last surviving HiME. Since the show's title if Mai-HiME there's a good change Mai will not be the ultimate loser. I suspect her relationship to Mikoto is going to be key here, she may end up with stronger loyalties to Mai than her ani-ue. At least she might if that charm doesn't control her....
Another interesting thought: Reito does seem to hint to Mai that the ultimate "winner" of the HiME-lander battle may be able to bring back their loved one. Fumi's power, and her comments about being Mashiro's maid along with Mashiro's age and condition (handicapped) make me wonder if Fumi was Mashiro's MVP. Perhaps the "winner" not only can bring back a loved one, but turn their loved one into an immortal, sort of a quasi-Child. That would explain quite a bit about Fumi.
Gotta love it, everything you can think of leads to more questions, I think this show's going to be one of the seminal classics of anime. :)
I have a few questions. Didn't Mashiro call Reito her brother? Does that mean Mashiro and Makoto are sisters? When Reito stated that Mashiro put her soul into a child, does that mean Fumi is her CHILD with a soul? Or that she put her soul into a "kid" to create I dunno Makoto or someone else like the girl in the tank? Or are the two one and the same? What is Natsuki a Princess of? Okay, so that was a LOT of questions ^_^
Sorry for the double post but I just had to add this:
Wouldn' t you hate to be a normal person going to school at Gakuen Fuka right now? ^_^
THIS THING IS CONFUSING AS HELL...WHO DA HELL IS THE GOOD GUYS AND BAD GUYS...OR IS EVERYONE GREY!!!
MAN THIS ANIME GIVES ME A HEADACHE...
*takes an advil*
...me likes...best sleeper hit in my book...just goes to show that in all that Fan Service, there's something legit to the story...
^___^
*collapses*
PS: If it ends in a "reset"...I'LL HAVE A COW!!! I've dealt with that one too many times already...end with something like...quote unquote..."NO ONE ACTUALLY DIES...IT'S ALL A DREAM..."
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!
*dies from cardiac arrest*
Maestro4k , wait... either I read your comments wrong or... dunno. Anyway:
- Thought it was pretty clear that Mashiro was referring to Reito as her brother. So I'm a little lost on how you think Nagi might be her brother instead?
- I'm still going on the guess it's Alyssa in the tank and no one else. Another reason I have for this is the SEARRS agent asking about the remains of Miyu and the like... could be hinting at something better there. So are you saying that it might be Natsuki in the sense it might be her mom, or something else entirely?
- I do agree with your guess that Nagi might have been the last Obsidian Lord last HiME festival, as I was vaguely throwing that idea in my mind too. It would make sense too, since First District or/and the next OL would need an "guide" just in case... and who's better than the previous one right?
Nooo~ So Shizuru did jump back into the burning building to get her uniform. Bleh. I was really hoping it was Haruka too... Neverless, I loved this episode. Even when it was answering some questions, it was dripping with new mysteries.
After Mashiro's defeat you see a doll resembling her. I was wondering if Mashiro was in fact a human-like doll and not human. The mansion has a lot of dolls, and Midori's past confrontation with her concerning the death of a girl name Mashiro. Could she have died but her spirit lived on? I don't know after this episode.
My big question is why did Mr. Smith refer to Natsuki as "princess?" If Natsuki is princess, then does that make her mother queen? Queen of what? And who was King? I would not be surprised if the girl in the tank was Natsuki's mother. And I wonder if Midori will fill the rest of the HiMEs in on what Mashiro told her.
well pajee, my guess it's a play on words. Since "hime" does mean "princess" in english. Odds are Mr. Smith was just being sarcastic to Natsuki
Moyism, that is possible. However, my insides are twitching at Reito and Mashiro's conversation, especially at how Mashiro ignored Reito's question if she is the Queen of Hell. It could be that Mashiro has been hiding the true Queen of Hell in that tank, and if the person in the tank is Natsuki's mother, then it would be understandable for Natsuki to be a princess.
But then I'm probably just reading it totally wrong... ^_^
I like to add something to what Hephador said about the little things , and by chance, isn't that Mai's elemental symbol on Mashiro's left breast?
Or maybe her ears were from Duran?.. ^_^
arrgh! how long must i agonize and wait for the subs.. seems like Static-subs have their hands full at the moment.. *sigh* *groan*
Sowwy for the double entry, but I've been contemplating what Maestro has said and came up with couple of hypotheses.
Mashiro and Fumi are definitely in a Hime-Child or Hime-MVP relationship. Reito and Mikoto are biologically siblings. Obsidian Lord has possessed Reito. That means Crystal (tokyo? *snark*) Princess is also a higher being who has possessed Mashiro. And Mashiro and Reito aren't siblings. The beings that have possessed them are siblings. Seeing that Fumi is the one who really summons an element, it could be said that Mashiro is/was Fumi's Child that upon merging with Crystal Princess gained respect from Fumi. You can see this from Mashiro ordering her around. As for the girl in the tank, it could be one of the four Hime's that were put out of comission. But Akane got moved to a hospital, and Akira should be with her people. That should leave Alyssa or Miyu. But I don't think Miyu perished... just dissappeared with Alyssa. Btw, have you noticed that the Hime's who have lost their Childs and MVPs so far have names that start in A?!? Such is my brilliance! Muahahaha *cough* *choke* only kidding ^_^
Oh yeah, does Mikoto have a Child...? I don't remember it. And Natsuki's eyes are very similar to Mashiro's... I'm so in love with Natsuki's shot from the PS2 game promo. Where she's got her back to us but looks back at us with her skirt slightly turned up ;) *nosebleed* But mostly I love her fluttering tresses. *melt*
Hephador: You probably didn't notice before because Reito's eyes aren't normally yellow.
The part about Reito being the Obsidian Lord as well as all this soul transferring stuff has me wondering now though--maybe it's not that Reito is Mikoto's brother; maybe it is more that the amulet he's wearing is the Obsidian Lord's soul.
I think that body in the Stasis pod is either Mashiro's original body, a clone of that body, or a body created to house her soul.
I doubt we've seen the last of the Crystal Princess...
anyone want to explain wth this is:
http://img182.exs.cx/img182/416/snapshot200502251654145lg.jpg
A Ninja carrying a tanto blade
I agree that the body in the Stasis Pod is somehow related to Mashiro. The Crystal Princess along with Fumi probably escaped. Heck they may have even pulled a Nagi or Bridal Gown HiME and just simply vanished from sight. It could happen.
Moyism that image is hard to make out. Considering the fact you can sometimes see holes in it as the Ninja rolls it around makes me wonder if it is in fact a flute. Although most likely it could just be a scroll. The curious part regardless of what it is this. The Ninja seems to be studying it. Either it is a scroll on it that has orders that aren't too pleasant. Or it could in fact be some mysterious object the Ninja found.
Either way on the left you can see holes in the object and on the right you can see what looks like a mouth piece. So more or less it could actually be a flute. Maybe like Mikoto's so called element which never vanishes but sometimes loses it's form. The same thing could happen to Shiho's element. So it's either one of three things. A flute, a scroll or some cermonial item. Hopefully this isn't the last we've seen of Akira. It would be nice if she came back and the Ninjas could even help her. I mean sure she has no HiME powers, but there are other ways to fight. I think.
Sorry for the double post, but never mind what I just said except for the Mashiro part. Ah so that's what the object is. It's just a Tanto Blade. I see now. So I guess the Ninja was looking at it because he was thinking about Akira's defeat and everything else.
On another subject. Speaking of Miyu. I wonder if she'll have another role to play in the series. Or if gathering her remains is just more or less a quick after thought to show that Searrs doesn't want any of their secrets discovered at all by the general public. Hmm if Miyu is still functional even after being frozen that long it will be quite impressive. I don't think much time has passed between episode 15 and episode 21. Maybe a week or two at most. I don't know. I'm not that good at keeping track exactly.
Princess = HiME, just like Nagi refers to Mai as "My/Mai Hime (Princess)", Mr Smith refers to Natsuki as Princess
And as far as I understand
Mashiro = Crystal Princess's/Queen of Hell's soul in the body of Fumi's child (the doll)
Obsidian Lord = a separate entity (soul - note his eye colour changed) in Reito's body
Crystal Princess & Obsidian Lord = siblings
Reito & Mikoto = siblings
I guess the girl in the life support tank could be the Crystal Princess's true (recovering) body and Nagi might be the body of the previous Obsidian Lord or a child.
Anyways, I really enjoyed this episode. I hope there will be a happy end for Shizuru and Natsuki, their interaction is always something I look forward to the most. And if Natsuki doesn't die there is also a good chance this won't end in tragedy (if Shizuru dies, Natsuki would die too as her MVP). I also hope things work out for Reito and Mikoto. Mikoto was not necessarily controlled by the pendant during her fight with Fumi, since IMHO both care genuinely for each other. Mikoto's frequently going berserk because of the pendant makes me wonder if Reito is similarly being controlled by the Obsidian Lord with his pendant.
Aaahhh! Too many things to remember in this ep. I must think more about it.
On another note, remember the 24th of March because the 2nd soundtrack will be released on that day.
Arg.....said I wasn't going to do this anymore but I will put forth two theories...one is more of an expansion of something Sudou wrote....
The body in the tank: could be Mashiro/Crystal Princess' real body. My reasoning being that the puppet looking thing we saw hanging at the end of the ep was sent by Mashiro desguised by illusion but then exposed after her presumed defeat by Mikoto. After all, we've seen her use a puppet decoy before (Ep. 15) and she does have that huge doll collection (possible symbology). And besides, I get the impression she's supposed to have some decent amount of power. I just don't buy that she would be easily defeated by Mikoto (especially with Fumi there as well). So that's a possibility.
Theory #2: After seeing Mashiro's weapon with it's markings that were so similar to Miroku's, I'm beginning to subscribe to the idea that Miroku is niether Mikoto's element OR her Child. I think Miroku really belongs to Reito/Obsidian Lord but he's having Mikoto use it (and controlling her with teh pendant) for a couple of reasons. First, so he doesn't have to do any of the fighting/dirty work. And second, to keep Mikoto from using her true powers as a Hime. Possibly because he feels he will be Mikoto's MVP and should her Child be defeated, he would die. Which would set up a really interesting dynamic of Mai potentially having to destroy Mikoto's Child, to kill Reito, to prevent the rest of the 'Suffering' (as I think Negi or someone termed it) from happening. This is assuming that it can't happen without the Obsidian Lord.
All of this is prolly wrong. But it's just something I couldn't help but ponder as I went through today. And if I have to ponder it, then damnit, someone else has to ponder it too! :-P Damn this show for being so good!! I swore I wasn't going to do anymore of this kind of thing. Grrrrrr. lol
Argh, just noticed. I meant to write Nagi could be 'the previous body of the Obsidian Lord' instead of 'the body of the previous Obsidian Lord'.
Very interesting episode. My interpretation of the whole situation is that Obsidian Lord and Crystal Princess are the souls that currently inhabit Reito and Mashiro's body. I'm probably wrong about this but it seems the Obsidian Lord and Crystal Princess have been jumping from one body to another.
I am not sure if Obsidian Lord actually ever used Nagi's body or not but it seems to me that Mashiro is just a doll (as in Fumi's 'Child' thus explaining why Nagi burned a doll a few episodes ago. It seems he wants to emphasise the nature of Crystal Princess's current body).
Anyway, I don't have anything else to add apart from this new spoiler for episode 23 from Animage magazine. Please be aware that my translation skill is rather screwy so there might be a few mistranslations.
*spoiler starts*
After escaping Mikoto's attack, Midori leaps into a room and tries to awaken Miyu from her casket. But while she's there, Mikoto summons/flings six gigantic metal bars, forcing Midori to summon Gakutenou to protect the casket.
*spoiler ends*
YES~! I was right... sweet. That just made my day for some reason.
... and yes, I'm VERY petty and shallow =P
Thanks to your translations Mentar, I was able to understand this episode better.
I sure hope it works out well for Shizuru and Natsuki. Who knows, maybe Natsuki does love Shizuru but she thought it's a one sided thing. Or maybe Natsuki will love Shizuru later. We can't have Natsuki dying can we? ^^
I'm not even going to try guess what happens next now, just watch as each ep becomes avaliable and hope for the best for our favorite couple.
Moyism: To answer your questions:
1. I think that both Mashiro and Nagi are from 300 years ago and they were human siblings. But that the Obsidian Lord and the Crystal Princess are siblings as well. So Mashiro/human is Nagi's sister, and Mashiro/CP is Reito/OL's sister. That make more sense?
2. I remembered the image wrong, so I'm going to say I believe it's probably Miyu now (based on hair color/length mainly), but I think there's still a possibility it might be Natsuki's mother. (Which was what I was thinking originally.)
3. Yeah, not only that it's pretty obvious now that Mashiro in some form has been around for 300 years, but she and Nagi have some similar characteristics (their hair color's fairly close, something I always thought was odd). The other reason I think this is because of Reito/Mikoto. He's the vessel for the Obsidian Lord, and the OL seems to be controlling Mikoto through that pendant. Also the fact she was apparently _trained_ to kill someone she cared for is quite odd. Given that we have the HiME-lander thing going on it's like her Grandfather knew she'd end up fighting a friend. I have a feeling that training is what allowed her to survive the attack in episode 20.
On to other stuff:
As far as the doll stuff, I don't think Mashiro's the Child, I still think she was the HiME and Fuma is either a living personification of her old Child, or is her MVP with special powers. I think Nagi was toying with her as she is a doll in the sense that the Crystal Princess is still with her and largely/partly controlling her. In the same sense Reito is a doll for the Obsidian Lord now. (This is really starting to remind me of Ayashi no Ceres...) Nagi doesn't seem to have been controled by the Obsidian Lord over the past 300 years, so he wouldn't be a "doll" per se, so he could be rubbing that in as well. (It'd fit his personality, I wonder if being in contact with the OL 300 years ago made him the way he is now, or if he was always this way. Reito seems to be fairly nice at heart, so the OL may be corruptive.) In any case I hope we haven't seen the last of Mashiro, she's cute and seems to be unhappy with her roll in all this, she's good at heart.
I wonder if her being in a wheelchair is symbolic somehow. Perhaps she was injured fighting the Obsidian Lord 300 years ago. Actually this is kinda FFX-ish here, there Sin kept coming back after being defeated by a summoner, but it always came back. So far the Obsidian Lord always returns, and apparently the winner of the HiME-lander battles ends up forced into living to oversee the next coming of HiMEs. That would explain Mashiro's power, wealth and control of Gakuen Fuuka. (I'm sure with her and Fuma's powers acquiring a considerable amount of wealth over 300 years wouldn't be hard at all.)
I'm still trying to work out how Mai and her Child's phoenix-like powers work into things. That couldn't have been just for show, there has to be a reason to it. Right now I'm thinking that the Obsidian Lord wants a HiME other than his (human) sister to prevail. Reito's interest in Mai does not appear to be just Reito's, but also the Obsidian Lord's. He already has control of a powerful HiME (his human sister Mikoto) so why does he bother with Mai? Nagi gave us a sarcastic hint I think when he indicated that Reito could have just had his way with Mai. I think whatever it is the Obdisian Lord's ultimate goal is it _requires_ not only a HiME other than the biological sister, but the one controlling Kagatsuchi (sp?). Mai and her Child are effectively immortal as long as the phoenix-like powers continue. I don't think those are guaranteed though, when Mai went to save everyone from Alyssa's child, she and her Child were of one mind -- stop that attack. We saw last episode that Mai and her Child are not of one mind, and in fact we saw it way back in ep 15 (I think that's right) when Kagatsuchi went orbital to destroy Alyssa's child without Mai's consent. I would not be surprised to find out Kagatsuchi can be killed when his HiME's not in agreement/full control of him. I think the OL wants that phoenix power, to make him immortal on earth. Perhaps he hopes to gain it by producing a child with Kagatsuchi's HiME. Also he may be controlling Mikoto to _stop_ her from defeating Kagatsuchi. In that case Mashiro would have been like Mikoto now, but somehow she broke free of the control and destroyed Kagatsuchi, thus causing the cycle to repeat.
I have no clue what they might do to stop the cycle permanently, and how the HiME star factors into all this. I suspect the star's the key missing element we need to know about to make everything suddenly make sense. Hmm, actually I do have a clue, perhaps it entails stopping the in-fighting and banding together to destroy the HiME star.... Kagatsuchi certainly could reach it now.
OK, enough speculation, i could go on for a while still. ^_^;;;
Oh, I don't translate myself, thanks for that go to Takemi Ikazuchi ^_^ ... I only summarize.
I so decided NOT to go into speculation mode anymore, but I can't help it, the series is too addictive.
After reading through most of the replies, I'm beginning to like the idea that the tank girl is the _true_ form of the Crystal Princess better and better. Not just that the picture very much looks like her, it would explain several things:
1) Why Mashiro had the key. This is her own project.
2) Why Fumi reacted in such a shocked way, remarking that it was too early. Mashiro is putting herself in great danger with it, but she was "betting everything" after all.
3) Why the tank has this strange blue light. To hide the fact that the girl inside has blue hair.
4) Why Reito made a remark whether or not she believed she could defeat him in this form. It seems that she needs a different form to have a real chance - her REAL form.
5) Why Reito decided not to kill her. The screenwriter wants the "princess to be saved". Rescuing Mashiro will become one of the final tasks.
In summary, I start to suspect that Mashiro's gamble didn't fail - it's just beginning.
Garten:
Your spoiler confirms who's in the support tank.
Also, the scene in this episode where they show the tank, Mashiro says "mamonaku shuufuku ga kanryou suru hazu." This means "the repairs should be completed soon." Shuufuku is repair. It's a word used for objects(Miyu), not human beings.
The way Momo put it, it's making alot of sense. Hmmm.
With Miyu in it, 1), 3), 4) and 5) could still apply. And if we remember Miyu's abilities....
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to ep23. Unfortunately, the summary kinda sounds as if this would be Gakutenou's last ride.
Midori losing to Mikoto...ehh...not way I'd like to see Midori go.
Well the summary does give the impression that this may be a major fight for Gakutenou. However for some reason it doesn't make me think it will be its last ride. I guess it depends on how Midori uses her Child when she summons it. A lot can happen in an episode. Midori's chances of losing her Child are just as good as her chances of not losing her Child.
As for the idea of Midori losing to Mikoto. I'm not certain if it's a good or a bad thing. However regardless Midori is the type of character who would work best with a final battle that is like a blaze of glory. Or maybe not. I can't say for certain completely.
Ooh, so it IS Miyu. That's nice then. I think we can kind of rule out it being Natsuki's mother.
Wouldn't it be freaky to see Miyu come back with Mashiro's soul? Freaky indeed... Well, Miyu is a mechanical puppet...
And I'm pretty sure Midori will lose to Mikoto. Dammit, she has to!
Here's what I think, I think that "Mashiro" never really existed, it was just a doll and the crystal princess's soul just inhabited it. Also I think that after the battle was done and the princess lost, the obsidian lord took her soul out of the life less doll. That's what I think! (As crazy as it might sound!)
I'm a noob, so don't pay too much attention to this. But, I think that Mai's most precious person is Reito (not because she loves him, but because it is destined that way) and in order to defeat the Obsidian Lord, she either a)kill her self or b) have her child killed. Which is why the show is called Mai-Hime. Plus Mai's child saved her and Mikoto in the first/second episode without being properly summoned. Maybe it is because the Obsidian Lord needed her alive. I mean Mai need to do something huge in the end for the show to name after her. I hope I'm wrong, because I like Mai and I want her to live and have a happy ending.
I just watched all the episodes at a sitting yesterday, so please forgive me if my intiution on how things are supposed to be is unsophisticated (i.e. call me a newbie).
From what I've seen so far, I'm thinking that there are two ways to defeat the Obsidian Lord. 1) By evolution or survival of the fitest the strongest hime can fight him or 2) the Himes have to realize that fighting together, they can collectively take down the Obsidian lord.
In episode 16, the Nun says something about how it is easier to break one arrow than three arrows. It was during the time when Midori was trying to unit the girls. Given that Mashiro has been supportive of Midori's efforts to unite the himes, I think that is the alternate path that Mashiro refers to when she talks about changing fate with the hearts.
Since the SEARRS group has decided to wait another 300 yrs to try again, I suspect that given the current trend the Himes will fight to the draw in the final encounter - the result of which will be the Obsidian lord and the Crystal princess' conciousnesses will be dispersed until they fight again in 300 years. Unless Mai and Midori wise up and finally put the fight to rest. This series may have an ending like Blue Seed.
I think Wao is on to something. Crystal Princess can probably inhabit Miyu's mechanical body. But I guess there are nanobots in the tank with her. I don't know how dunking something in liquid repairs it :p Although, aren't there plenty of other Child's to choose from already w/o waiting for Miyu's body to repair?
P.S. Hephador, leopard print briefs.
Haha, wierd thought came up. I'm wondering if Kagutsuchi's Sealing Sword has any significance to the storyline. It LOOKED like it can become small enough for someone to wield when it's not in Kagutsuchi, and now that Reito has a sword too for some reason...
You have a good point Rava. I've always wondered if someone was suppose to remove the sword from Kagutsuchi. It looked like it really hurts whenever it opened or closed its mouth.
Maybe for Mai to gain complete control over Kagutsuchi is for her to wield the sword?
Dang, guess I'm late again, but just wanted to throw in my votes on a few things, seeing how things are going....
1. The main reason SEEARS couldn't find Miyu was because Mashiro already stashed her away, which means she has Alyssa stashed away somewhere as well. This is why when she left Midori the key, she added that whether she uses it or not is up to her, since Alyssa and/or Miyu may not join their fight as readily. So, my vote is that the person that is recovering is Alyssa. Miyu never got damaged in the first place. Which brings up an interesting question. We know that HiME's lose their special someone when their child is defeated, but do they lose their basic HiME abilities too?
2. The current Mashiro that we see is a puppet and has been a puppet. Her original body probably withered away over the years and centuries and projecting her soul into her original child was probably the only way to survive. Biologically, Reito probably is not her brother anyways. However, Reito inherits the memories of her brother from 300 years ago. So, Mikoto should be his biological sister, while personality-wise (soul-wise) Mashiro is his sister.
3. As for the ultimate prize of this festival, that's up for grabs, but it should turn out to be a double edge sword. If Reito told Mai that she still has hope, that means there's something there at the end of the line for the last HiME standing.
i have an odd feeling that tate's going to contribute something positive to the ending. they showed some scenes about his bamboo stick fighting skills so maybe he'll jump in and save someone using a sword of some sort. maybe the writers will revert back to the manga and have him join with mai to create a new/powerful child after he confesses his love - going to be hard since shiho's in the way.
either that or he's a dead man...... god i hate reito
i wished there was an edit button so i can add this to my previous post...
----
manga spoiler and highlights that possibly will be addressed or be tied into the anime series:
the searrs want to use the obsidian lords power.: so don't jump on the bandwagon about searrs being good guys just yet
searrs created PRINCESSES: alyssa, and shiho (i think). also alyssa and natsuki are related to each other kuz the sears cloned her by combining dna from natsuki and a chairman.
nagi was said to be an orphan servant to the obsidian lord. so that may or may not make him a previous container of the lord.
----
live or die i think tate's actions will play a large role in the end. since tate's past about kendo was brought up along with a scene of reito having a ceremonial samurai sword i'll be anticipating a sword fight between the two.
reito is either the obsidian lord without full strength or a high ranking orphan servant. that bastard must die.
lastly, he's trying very hard to get mai to like him. maybe once he becomes mai's important person then his strength can be released?
Where does one read these manga?
i just want to say thanks for posting these episode reviews. i can't really bare to watch the anime anymore because it has somehow consumed my entire life. i dwell daily on who is next or what will happen.
but secretly i have to know. so i come here. perhaps after i find out the ending i can go back and watch it.
I'm confused about the story. What I hope is that this anime would have a happy ending. My happy ending would be everybody coming back to life. So the lovers could be together like Akane-chan with kazu-kun, n I hope Akira with Takumi( they are sweet). I know a lot of people would prefer to have Mai with Tate but I hope Mai to be with Reito. He doesn't seem to be a bad person. I feel that he's a victim afterall n his in control of the true mastermind. Also certain part if the anime I feel that Tate also have a little feelings for Shiho.( when Shiho was rushing towards Tate in the Jap Traditonal costume, he look... u know and even drop his sweet)...
Haiz.. Maybe this anime should come out with a few endings and allowed each person to have their own decision.
You know, I was thinking, if it does turn out to be Miyu in the life support tank and she is awakened, do you really think she would be very happy when she wakes up? After all she might go after Mai to avenge Alyssa. Just thinking...
where can i watch the anime? it seem to be really hard to find...
wow...didn't know that mshiro was a princess crystal anwayz didn't even know that mikoto was going to protect reito ...anwayz natsuki and shizuru's relationship are going to get a lol bit more exciting hehe....but reito ruling ahh doesn't seem like it..l..but mai whats going to happen to her???
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