A lot of good points there, and thanks for providing those translations :)

As for the writing on the window..I was worried for a second she was writing yu(ri) (my god, nooo..!) Yu(ichi) makes more sense, but wonder why she didn't write it in kanji. Would that have been too obvious to the viewer?

And..Midori-sensei isn't out of the woods yet. She's yet to regain consciousness. I'm hoping for a speedy recovery, but we'll have to see.

Well that picture you use definitely makes it a lot clearer there are six pillars. It will be interesting to see if it is because of Natsuki, Mashiro or because of Alyssa. It could be any of those three. Everyone else can be ruled out as already counted or definitely not out of the picture.

Still personally I'm rooting for the pillar to be because of Alyssa. I'm also personally rooting for Miyu to be the one to kill Reito. Strange how now that she's back, I'm ready to cheer her on instead of dreading her. In any case hopefully some good will come out of her revival. Not sure what Mashiro expects Miyu to be able to do through.

As for the "twist for the world reset", I sorta think that "Mai-HiME" will turn out to be a true Magical Girl show, in which the real enemy is hatred and conflict. Just like the Child's (Children) gain their powers from a HiME's caring heart, and her desire to protect her MVP, I suspect that the Obsidian Lord feeds off the anger of the HiMEs as they fight, and their despair as they are defeated. (I.e. he's a bit like a Mazoku from "Slayers").

So the way to break out of the HiME trap will be for some remaining girls to refuse to give into hatred and anger, and refuse to fight against each other. For instance, say that Mikoto and Mai are the last two standing. However, Mai has come to understand that she cares for more than just one person. So she refuses to fight Mikoto, and forces Kagutsuchi to remain still and be defeated rather than hurt Mikoto, Then Mikoto becomes the winner of the carnival. Mai, however, is revealed to be Mikoto's true MVP, becomes the new Obsidian Lord, and uses "his" powers to resurrect the greenlighted MVPs.

Incidentally, if Alyssa's defeat created one of the pillars, the final conflict against whatever is going to bring global destruction could come when there are two HiME's remaining, rather than just one...

Hmm, but regarding the 6th, apparently when Takumi died hers was only the 2nd pillar, which means either 1. inconsistancies or 2. something we dont know (like Mashiro counts as one or sooomething) 3. lack of clarity (e.g. the 3rd pillar that would be Alyssa's would actually be 'round the back... in other words what you said)...

I'm going with 1, for every single MVP death except Fumi's they've shown the pillar going up, and it just seems odd to me that they won't show Alyssa's because she got a LOT of battle time compared to Fumi and a lot of weepie time too. Also, she does have an MVP and shows the requisite green sparkles thingy, but my theory is that one cannot genetically modify their way into the Festival... Otherwise Nagi would approve of Alyssa, wouldn't he?

With 3, I suppose it is possible since the pillars don't go in a normal order. Actually it probably makes more sense so I guess it's true. so what you're trying to say is that it's Akane (#1), then Akira (#3) next to it, then Fumi's (#4) and Alyssa's on the other side (#2). On the other side of Akane it's Yukino (#7) and then Midori (#6)

As shown in these pics:
1. Takumi kicks it in ep 20 - http://s05.imagehost.org/0877/ep_20_akira.jpg [Akane, Alyssa [?] and Akira]

2. Midori is defeated in ep 23 - http://s05.imagehost.org/0877/ep_23_midori.jpg [Akane, Alyssa, Akira, FUMI and Midori]

3. Haruka goes bye-bye in ep 23 - http://s05.imagehost.org/0877/ep_23_yukino.jpg [Akane, Alyssa, Akira, Fumi, Midori and Yukino]

I personally think there are still are 12: Mai MIkoto Natsuki Midori Nao Akane Haruka Shizuru Yukariko Akira Shiho Fumi and then the 13th is always the previous HiME, so Mashiro'd count.
It just doesn't seem to click that Alyssa is one of the real 13, but oh well...maybe it could be. What I can be sure of though is that I simply caaaaaaaan't wait for the next episode.

Doncha just love Shizuru's SEED look.

And dbm, I wish it was that not all of them would die (I don't want Natsuki to go!!!) ...

But unless sources are not to be trusted then it maaay not be the case. I want Duran Duran back! World Reset! Cheesy but who cares.

Look at these two pictures, and you'll hopefully see what I'm basing my Alyssa theory on. This is the shot when Gennai died in ep20 (by then, Akane and Alyssa had lost)

http://www.earth-alliance.org/Memento/Mai_HiME/23/Gennai-pillars.png

There's a second pillar raised behind the middle one, and we can barely see the round top. Now look at the same picture once more when Midori lost in ep23:

http://www.earth-alliance.org/Memento/Mai_HiME/23/Midori-pillars.png

We can see that the pillars were near-perfect cylinders (check the 6-pillar frame I used in this description), but the middle one are actually two - or a very strangely deformed one.

Otherwise, there would have been new 2 pillars in the few minutes between Midori's and Yukino's defeat, and I really can't think of any reason for that.

I vote 'No' for world reset. Cheese is good on pizza, not on dramatic TV shows. dbm has a point in that the ending is likely to focus on the feeling/emotion aspect rather than the action aspect (so I would hope..), but I don't know about the reset idea.

As for the pillars, I wouldn't discount Alyssa being one of them. She's not *supposed* to be, but we all know that genetic engineering can have oft-unintended side effects :) How is the gateway supposed to 'know' that a HiME is real or not? Are they connected at birth, or at death/defeat? That'd be the deciding factor, ne?

Awesome episode. It's interesting how there seems to be a meta-commentary, at least for myself, when it comes to this entire festival. It was once said that the more misery the girls endure, the happier the Obsidian Lord will be. Well, I'm kind of enjoying the episodes the more they become depressing and dark. Does that mean I'm as bad as Obsidian Lord? And should I feel bad that I actually laugh when Nagi laughed himself silly? :P

Having said that, I wish that no one will die at the end of the series, well maybe Shiho. I mean so far no one has died. They just turned into tiny green particles that disappear somewhere. I don't even want Reito to die because it's obvious that he's been possessed. And besides, I've been enjoying his stint as the evil overlord.

I get the impression that the green energy of each person are stored inside the pillar of the losers. I think it's possible that if Crystal Princess/Mashiro really was Fumi's MIP then she is currently trapped inside that pillar as well. Maybe Miyu's purpose is to destroy the pillar and set Mashiro free to battle the Obsidian Lord for the second time. Watch as my prediction turns completely wrong.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to watching next episode since it'll have that hallucination-induced alternate world. I love Evangelion alternate world and I think I'll like this one as well.

Nice write-up as usual, but a couple semi-important mistranslations are present:

"Nagi wants to know if Reito planned all this, but he says that he merely told Shizuru the whereabouts of Natsuki's enemy"

They did not say this. Here is what was said in that scene:
Nagi(seeing Shizuru): Oooo, scary! (to Reito) It happened just as you predicted!
Reito: Nagi, go tell her(Shizuru) the locations of Natsuki's enemies. And ask her why First District is called First District.
Nagi: Yes sir! ...say what?
Reito: I've come to fully understand after 300 years, that this world is useless. However, as long as those old women(from ep 17) exist, the same things will most likely keep repeating themselves. The future needs to be created by a young man.
Nagi: Hey, are you the Black Prince? Or are you Kanzaki, no, Minagi Reito?

"Ishigami: What are you looking at! Don't look at me like that! Am I not the man who hurt you? Hate me, damn it! You can't fight anyway!"

First part is fine, but he doesn't say "You can't fight anyway!" He says "You still have some fighting left to do [for me]!"

hrm, in shrine thing, the 6 pillars have formed a complete circle so for the remaining 5 pillars yet to be raised...where would they go?
i really liked how the writers contrasted Haruka and Shizuru...yup yup, poor Natsuki...Yukino?...er, Fuka's going down yup...
since Natsuki doesn't have a child to destroy...the only way for the final hime standing idea to work is if she dies...or Shizuru's child rit? and if Shizuru saves her again...
the next episode looks like a filler...and only 2 more episodes after that to finish it all off...bleagh, a filler now?!?

Man...I watch too much tokusatsu because Mai-HiME is playing out exactly like Kamen Rider Ryuki...sheesh.

Our official line up now is...

Mai -> Ryuki
Natsuki -> Knight
Mikoto - Ouja
Fumi -> Zolda (2nd One)
Midori -> Raia
Fujino -> Verde
Nao -> Scissors
Yukino -> Gai
Akane -> Imperer
Shiho -> Tiger
Yukariko -> Femme
Alyssa -> Alternative
Mashiro -> Odin

...now they just need a "Ryuuga" character...but that is just like saying Mai has an evil clone...and with the episodes...I doubt that happening.

The 6th piller can be Natsuki's "memory" of her mother. She lost her ability to call Duran, so he's good as gone; plus I don't see her picking up a new MVP anytime soon.

I see one of the following endings...not saying they'll happen, but considering how unpredictable this series is...you never know...

The Reset (The Annoying Ending)

Mai uses the power of the Red Star to reverse time to bring back everything to normal and maybe wipe out any memory of the HiME Battle, etc. etc.

The Ludicrous Ending (The Very Very Annoying Ending)

It's all a dream...and this never actually happened...it's all a dream...(or filmed or put on a stage, something like what Big O did).

The Cliche Happy Ending (The Generic Ending)

Mai uses the Red Star's power to bring back all the victims of the HiME Battle and everyone celebrates with all smiles.

The Set Up to a Sequel (This might happen)

This usually gets an unclear, unfulfilling ending, which either doesn't happen or sets up for Season 2...retitled..."Mai-HiME: the Another"...okay, so I based the title off the game...sue me...it's just an example.

The Hero's Sacrifice (The Ending that's 65% of the time executed the best)

After defeating Reito, Mai uses the power of the Red Star to restore all that was lost (MVPs, etc). Everyone runs to Mai in celebration, but then Mai falls to the ground, has some last words, and dies in the arms of Mikoto, Tate, Natsuki, and the rest. She disentigrates like an MVP/Child death. Mikoto then shrieks her name into the sky; afterwards, it gets into an epilogue by Mikoto (or Tate)...something likE..." Mai never wanted all this sadness. She knew if she won the HiME Battle she'd be able to set things right. In the end, she got her wish..." Then, you see everything is routine and everyone is happy. Then, something like Mikoto, Tate, and Natsuki do something like drop flower into the ocean or tie a ribbon to the stone in memory of Mai...something weird like it.

What about the Saikano ending?

Everyone dies except Mai-chan. She resurrects Takumi-kun with the powers given her, but he can only live on in spirit. He wants to pass on, but she forces him to stay with her.

Audience cries (and/or shouts 'foul!'). Roll credits.

Dunno..could happen. I think (hope?) we'll end up with a 'good', 'fulfilling' conclusion. No guarantee it'll be the one we *want*, but if it's well-executed (i.e. not cheesy) I won't complain..

Agreed. If this series ends on a good note, this series will be put on my top 5 for animes.

Man, everyone's hating on Yukino and Haruka. Cut Yukino a little slack. Not everyone can be courageous, strong, and make all the right decisions. If nothing else, appreciate her as a foil for Mai and Natsuki's strengths. I for one liked Yukino and Haruka (who really grew on me as the show progressed) and will miss them from here on.

Alternatively, the authors could outthink us random internet fans and come up with something completely different - and since the story's constantly twisting out of everybody's predictions, I wouldn't be too surprised.

Agreed...all I ask for is for them not to end the series with an incomplete ending that leads to a reset....

(this weill end up resulting in vast number of oddball fanfics...which doesn't bother me much, but still...)

PS: Yukino and Haruka didn't bother me much. I think Yukino was probably the only one, besides Mai, to get really close to the now crazed Mikoto. Yukino possess that childish, carefee aspect that Mikoto also has. Haruka was the comedy aspect of the duo...I mean...geez...attack a tank head on...LMAO. Haruka manage to do or say the stupidest things at the wrong time, I guess that's why I like her so much. While she acted more of the leader role, I saw Haruka more of the sidekick of Yukino rather than the other way around.

wao - you wrote "I wish it was that not all of them would die (I don't want Natsuki to go!!!)" Remember it's not the HiME's that die, it's their MVPs. When I suggested that Mai & Mikoto end up being the last ones standing, I didn't mean to imply that the remaining girls had died, just that they had been defeated (and their MVPs disintegrated.) (Though I guess if Shizuru gets defeated then Natsuki's in trouble.)

Garten - you wrote "I mean so far no one has died". Alyssa died. Joseph Glear murdered her by injecting her with some sort of poison at the command of the Searrs Foundation. (So, even if Midori didn't reset Miyu's "master", I doubt Miyu will still be loyal to Searrs.)

Personally, i liked the Yukino-Haruka chemistry very much. I'm going to miss it terribly. You people that dig the two into the ground should be ashamed of yourselves. *shakes head in disapproval*

But on another note, what's all this fuss about the Mai Hime opening song, anyhow? Sure, it may be too carefree for the show as it is now, but honestly, have none of people watched Narutaru??

"Shining Days" started with the whole deception aspect of the show, that's what made MH so intriguing.

dbm, oops. I forgot that Alyssa died in the hands of Joseph Glear. Well, I'm afraid there's no helping that one. But for the rest of the people, there's a possibility that they can still be revived.

As for Yukino and Haruka, I don't actually hate them. In comparison to some of the 'monsters' in this series, their mistakes are comparatively miniscule. They had no idea that Shizuru will go insane like that.

And oh, before I forgot, I have to say that I really like the scene between Tate and Natsuki in the hospital. Maybe because it's been awhile since I last saw two people talk normally without looking too angsty or try to kill each other. Either way, I really like the friendship vibe between the two and I think it's one of the strong points of the manga that the anime finally decides to incorporate. It's also nice to see Natsuki still capable of smiling despite what has happened so far.

My strategy is to be open to all kinds of endings. Also I'm more concerned about what happens before the ending than the actual ending. Ie I'm more concerned about the possible idea of what HiME will face what HiME than I am about whether or not Mai will reset everything.

The "sixth pillar is Natsuki/Duran due to her loss of faith to Natsuki's mother" theory has a time problem. If this was the case, Midori's pillar frame should already have one more pillar. That's the thing.

Either after Midori's defeat _2_ pillars went up till Yukino's demise (so Natsuki's pillar had to go up in this short timeframe - with no reason why it should), or the sixth pillar was at least partially obstructed from view from before. That's what I believe, see the circle mark I added to the Gennai pillar pic.

Either way I'm definitely leaning towards one of the pillars being Alyssa. After studying the image again and again I'm completely convinced the scene after Akira was defeated had three pillars and not two. Of course my eyes could be tricking me, but I have to believe them.

Can you guys tell me hime and mvp
examples

1st - akane = forget
2nd - akira = takumi
3rd -

dbm the thing is, that even if normally it's their MIP and not the HiME themselves that go, Natsuki is a special case cos once Kiyohime is gone, that's the end of Natsuki.

The MIP of the defeated HiME are so far.... Akane -> Kazu. Alyssa -> Daddy. Akira -> Takumi. Fumi -> Mashiro/child/something. Midori -> Professor Sasaki. Yukino -> Haruka.
For non defeated hime:
Mai -> Tate. Natsuki -> Mother (???). Shizuru -> Natsuki. Shiho -> Tate (probably). Yukariko -> Ishigami. Mikoto -> Reito.
We don't know Nao's yet.

I hope we at least have a great ending as deserved of a series this great! I recently caught a glimpse of the manga and realised the oh so many differences! Couldn't there be Another HiMe? :P An anime series which will closely follow the manga. I can't satisfy my Mai HiMe lust! -_-"

Well, I 've only got one question: What will become with Shiho and Mai? Who is Shiho's MVP anyway? Is it Tate? Does this mean that even if Mai goes for the HiMelander finals (^_^) she 'll most likely end up killing "the love of her life" (bleh! how corny V_V) ?

There are still 7 hime left, and 3 more episode to go. Wow.. this means 2 hime must die in order for the final completion of a victory hime. Next to go: Nao and Yukariko. Still have no idea on how Shizuru, Natsuki and Shiho child to die??? And left, Mai and Mikoto.

I don't really mind the ending of the series. It is already one of my top 5. Really like the soundtrack very much. :P

I wonder if the story has one final blow in store for Shizuru. Now that Natsuki is captured by Nao, I guess it's Shizuru to the rescue again. Let's pretend that in a twisted kind of way, Natsuki is Nao's MIP (just look how Nao is obsessing about getting Natsuki). Shizuru defeats Nao -> byebye Natsuki -> Shizuru, meet Total Breakdown. It's a fast way to get rid of 3 HiMEs. Of course this would be a rather pathetic way for Natsuki to go, considering she's one of the main trio, so I hope there some chance of survival for her. Looks bad for her though, since there's still her link to Shizuru/Kiyohime as MIP.

I have to agree with Momento about there being a pillar for Alyssa. The more I look at the pillar rising after Akira's defeat, the more that it looks like there were two pillars there already, shown at an angle that would make it appear as one if you didn't look closely.

I am almost certain that Nao is her own VIP. Throughout the series her aspect has been a rather obvious NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) character.

One more ending possibility I'd like to add...(like it's gonna happen anyway)...

"All Hell's Breaking Loose".

Mai betrays Reito and uses the red star to restore all the Childs...all the HiMEs (including Alyssa) getting into a big ass battle...Reito resurrects destroyed Ophan to take on the HiME leading to the academy getting torn up...think of it as the Ladies version of that huge Gundam Battle from G Gundam...yeesh

I wouldn't be surprised if Reito, in fact, wants Mai to be the surviving HiME.

Even though he said in a previous episode (I think 22) that he has no regrets because he has Mikoto, if the last HiME becomes his -bride-, I don't think that he truly intends for Mikoto to be the last one standing.

Plus, I don't see why he would've gone to the trouble to comfort Mai otherwise, unless he truly did want her (in one way or another).

Kinda ironic - Mai will be fighting for the sake of keeping her most precious person (atm, Tate), and if she wins, she's supposed to become someone else's bride. >_>;

there's always the possibility that mai will be the last hime standing and tate will duke it out with reito to be the king of hell.

also, for those of you who don't have ep 23 and are interested i've uploaded it on "you send it."

I'm just curious as to what exactly it takes to defeat Kagutsuchi? After all he has the power of resurrection which has already been displayed twice before in episode #15.

I agree with "oldcrow" regarding Nao being her own MVP. If Julia gets the axe, she'll start greenlighting and will get confused as to what the heck is happening... she'll give us the old "why is everyone picking on me" look before flaming out.

Also, will they show Kiyohime having a trace of Diana's powers? Kagutsuchi was shown having a laser like ability after he defeated Alyssa's child.

Finally, they may not be able to defeat Kagutsuchi, but as Ishigami has plotted before they can make Mai to be unable to summon him a la Natsuki. An unsummonable child is just as useless as a defeated child.

My predictions for the next battle: Shizuru defeats Nao for good this time. Mai comes out of her trance realizing that things in her trance are too good to be true and defeats Yukariko.

Except for Shiho and Shizuru, everyone had a good showing. Haruka is the most kick ass MIP --- she didn't wimper and die like the others; even in death Haruka awesome. If she were a Hime, she'd be such a bad ass.

Miyu, my favorite, is back too :) . Midori, 2nd favorite, also showed real maturity.

Mikoto seems to be coming to her senses. Nao's redemption is near as we find out about Sister's deceptions.

Speaking of sister, I have brought out my bottle of wine in anticipation of the death of Ishigami the pervert. Seeing Vrus' hypnosis of Mai, this is one time Tate's interruption may be welcome ---- or maybe Tate will wait until Mai is winning and will call her name :-I . (I'm still pissed about how he endangered Mai in episode 22 by calling her name during a fight). Tate and Shiho belong together for both being so annoying.

I find it weird that there are six pillars up. They showed the green sparkles-disappearing thingy for all HiMEs so far (that have been defeated) and if I remember correctly, only Akane, Akira, Alyssa (I think she should be included in the original twelve as her father also disappeared), Midori and Yukino. That's only five HiMEs, if you include Fumi then there are six defeated but if Fumi is included then there are more than 12 HiMEs. I don't think Fumi ever summoned a Child and if she was defeated then wouldn't Mashiro disappear (assuming that Mashiro is Fumi's MIP since it makes the most sense to me)? If I remember correctly, Mashiro is tied up and hanging somewhere.

Fumi's summons her Child in 21. It's bit complicated through. Mashiro herself is a spirit inside a puppet/Child (??). When Mashiro stands up and the new being appears to face Mikoto. That's Fumi's Child. However it seems Mikoto defeated Fumi. As for why the puppet body is still there. Who knows?

In the case of Alyssa. She's a fake HiME. She's not one of the 12 HiME. Rather than fake, she's artificial. So a pillar need not be raised for her in the story. Mashiro meanwhile is the Crystal HiME and not part of the 12.

The 12 HiME are Mai, Mikoto, Natsuki, Midori, Nao, Akane, Akira, Yukariko, Yukino, Shiho, Fumi and Shizuru. Well in any case as of 23. Only five of those HiME have been defeated for certain. However there are six pillars. Thus the mystery is of course why. There are multiple theories as to why this would be. Heck it could just be us making a mistake. Heck it may in fact be nothing more than an animation mistake. Only time will tell.

It was mentioned that Mashiro died a long time ago, so it'd be my guess that her spirit somehow resided in one of Fumi's doll. Whether that is Fumi's Child I'm unsure. It seems entirely too "human" compared to the other Children. Is Fumi immortal or something? If she knew Mashiro 300 years ago, she should be dead by now.

I don't think Nao will last so long only to be defeated and be killed off herself. I bet she serves a greater purpose. Maybe she likes Shizuru. Won't that be a shocker. Shizuru dies, Natsuki goes as well.

Really irritated with Mikoto, even though she seems like a victim/ plot device. Think she needs to die.

HiMEs aren't killed. Not including Alyssa, who cannot be considered a real HiME anyway, there have been NO HiME deaths. ONLY deaths of the MIP, which we will shortly discover aren't really deaths and/or they will be brought back in some manner. Mark my words.

I doubt Shizuru or Nao will make it to the final battle. They will either defeat one another, or Nao will defeat Shizuru and then be defeated by Mikoto. I can't see any of the secondary HiMEs like these two getting any more than one victory. Nao might last the longest up until the final battle between Mikoto and Mai before being defeated. Shizuru might end up slaughtering a bunch of First District guys if she doesn't go straight to Nao. I predict her defeat will be somehow the fault of Natsuki as her combat power is too high to be dealt with by Nao or anyone else besides Mikoto or Mai.

I keep entertaining this notion that the VIPs that have disappeared become the Children (or perhaps the Childrens' souls) of the next festival cycle. If this happens every 300 years, the Children have to come from somewhere, and if their natures are already somewhat known by some (like Nagi, for example), then it might be that which makes the current incarnation of a Child is a combination of the current Hime's emotions regarding her VIP along with contributions from the previous VIP 'core' entity. Fashioning the reborn Children is perhaps done by the 'bride Hime' in preparation for the next cycle. I see the orphan-childen and the Hime-children being the same, except the orphans have no souls.

Then again, I could be completely wrong.

I think Mashiro was raised for the previous Kokuyou no Kimi in the same way Mikoto has been raised for Reito. She says something along the lines of "You did it again," when she sees Mikoto calling him brother.

I don't know what Shizuru has to do with First District. Wasn't it Natsuki who was obsessed with them? Or is it saying that Shizuru will take on First District on Natsuki's behalf.

I think that Shizuru will have to battle Mai because their childs are more evenly matched. Mai may take her out since she's gone out of control.

Can the sixth pillar possibly belong to Natsuki? Does the MIP always have to be a living, breathing person? It seemed Natsuki cherished the memory of her mother above all other things. I don't think it'd be far off to say that she fought all that time to protect that very memory. But when she learned about the truth, that effectively killed any reason for her to protect that memory, thus eliminating her Child as well.

... I'm probably completely wrong. That's more likely ^_^.

OK, after watching the "yesy" fansub I'm pretty sure that the number of pillars will be key to the story. Midori's letter to Mai is translated as -

"Underground... do you remember the place with the poles? Those go up each time a HiME falls and her most precious thing perishes. When the poles total eleven; that is, when one HiME is finally left, the last door will open."

At this point it looks like there will be eleven poles when two HiME are left. Perhaps we will see and ending twist like there is in the movie "And Then There Were None" in which the Obsidian Lord finds he has miscounted his victims? I also think that, at some point, Mai will reject the whole idea of a single most precious person, and admit that she cares for lots of people, and refuses to choose among them.

It looks like Reito/OL is going to have Loki set Shizuru up to take out the First District in the next episode or two. Guess he's as sick of the status quo as Mashiro was, but wants to sieze more power for himself rather than put and end to the "carnival" altogether.

Haruka comes off as a bit homophobic IMHO.

I'm getting a little worried that everything can be wrapped up in three episodes. We still need resolve the Shiho/Mai/Tate situation; have Shizuru fight Nao and then the First District; find out what happened to Natsuki's mother, possibly enabling Natsuki's powers to be restored (and maybe even enhanced); have Miyu do something pivotal; reveal the true purpose of the First District and the carnival; resolve the Mai X Yukariko fight; possibly have Mashiro return; and only then can the overall story come to a resolution. Is there enough time?

No one has been discussing Miyu too much. Midori did not reset her memories; Miyu was staring at the pond where she "died". Do we think she'll seek revenge on Mai for killing Alyssa?

Natsuki hates the First District people, right? And so does Reito/Obsidian lord? Therefore, if he tells Shizuru that those people are Natsuki's enemies, wouldn't he get a bonus point for having Shizuru destroy the people he hates anyway? (Or does he not hate the First District people? Bah, can't remember).

Anyways, Shiho needs to go away and disappear. She's an annoying pre-pubescent. I hate annoying pre-pubes. And I especially hate those with ugly hair and annoying voices! GRAH!

So how are they going to make her White Bride thing go away? Don't tell me Shiho is a hime too. Well, it'd be good, because she'd be destroyed since we all know Mikoto and Mai will be the last fight.

No, the First District _is_ Reito's own organization he is leading. He orders Nagi to tell Shizuru the locations of the other HiMEs in order to promote the carnage.

And sure, Shiho is the White Bride HiME with 99.9% certainty.

I've got a feeling that what little we see in the previews for episode #24 is just that. The illusion will only last a short while and the rest of the episode will be devoted to building up the cresendo for the next two. There's a lot that still has to be taken care of and I can't imagine an entire episode dedicated to Mai's perfect world.

Reito tells Nagi to inform Shizuru about the location of "Natsuki-san no teki" (the enemy of Natsuki-san), and in the same breath adds that he should tell her why the First District is called that -- presumably this will mean something to her when she hears it. Nagi is clearly suprised at that last part, which seems to suggest that the enemy he was reffering to would be the First District. Of course Nao also falls into that category. Reito then adds that nothing will change and that the future should be with young men, etc.

All of this appears to suggest Shizuru may not go straight to Nao but instead go murder a bunch of First District people. But then again, if she knew what was happening with Natsuki right now she would obviously put that on hold to go deal with Nao first.

What might happen: Shizuru gets the targeting info and hits the First District HQ wherever that is -- is about to wipe out the old boss-women but then is informed about Nao and Natsuki and go runs off. OR she is met and defeated by Mashiro there. Or maybe she does go straight to Nao. Who knows.

Again, First District _is_ his _own_ organization. Why would he have any interest in seeing it endangered by Shizuru? And why would Shizuru have any interest in fighting FD, except for her promise to take out anyone and anything opposing Natsuki?

Reito has an interest to get Shizuru at other HiME's throats, but that's it, IMHO.

Mentar:

While First District would seem to be Reito's organization to command at the moment, I reckon that, for most of the three-hundred-year cycle, while the Obsidian Lord is waiting to be reborn, the old ladies we saw admonishing Mashiro run the show. The fansubbers have translated his exchange with Nagi as

Reito - Nagi, tell her [Shizuru] the location of Natsuki's enemies. And why the First District is called the "First District".

Nagi - Roger... Huh?!

Reito - Waking up after 300 years, I finally understood. This world is hopeless. But as long as those hags are there, it will just be a repeat of history. The future should be made by the new generations.

It seems pretty clear from this statement that Reito is setting Shizuru up to destroy those old ladies, so apparently he doesn't yet have total control of the whole First District, Carnival, and associated powers.

I just want to add that his actual statement referred to "enemy" in the singular, not plural. However that could be Nao or it could be First District people. I think the writers were being deliberately vague, but the added statements about the First District seems to suggest that this is what he meant.

Alyssa wasn't killed by Mai, Alyssa's Child (Artemis) was. Alyssa was killed by Father Glear, so I don't see Miyu seeking revenge on Mai for Alyssa's death.

BTW, since Haruka is a HiME, and she died because Yukino lost, it's technically impossible to kill Haruka's child isn't it ?

Haruka was no HiME. She was an ordinary girl, and just happened to be Yukino's Most Valued Person.

Okay. I'm really confused on several things:

1. Where was it established that Shiho is a HiME?
2. Who was Midori's MIP?
3. Why can't Natsuki summon Duran? He was never defeated.
4. What happened to Fumi's child?
5. How can Miyu help this fight?

If somebody could clean this mess for me, I'd be very happy.

Marlin -

To answer some of your questions.

1. While it hasn't been proven that Shiho is the final HiME, it has been very strongly suggested that the ghostly "Bridal Gown HiME" is projected by her subconscious while she is sleeping. Evidence: the bridal gown looks very similar to one previously shown in Shiho's grandfather's shrine, which she is planning to use some day; her complaints to Tate about having "bad dreams" while she is asleep (and, being hospitalized, she naps during the day); at one point crows are shown on the windowsill outside her hospital room just before the Crow-Child makes an appearance; the Bridan Gown HiME's reluctance to attack Mai on the bridge in the presence of Tate; and Shiho's Jekyll-and-Hyde jealosy over Tate's possible feelings for Mai.

2. It is strongly suggested that Midori's MVP was her college professor and thesis adviser, who previously sent her information about Mashiro. He has never actually appeared onscreen, however Midori has discussed him and has a group photo that includes him. (I think his name has been mentioned, but I've forgotten it.) That's the photo that catches fire when Midori is defeated.

3. Natsuki can't summon Dhuran because, currently, there is no one who is important to her. It was previously stated by Nagi that the Child's grow from a HiME's desire to protect the people who are precious to her. Natsuki, after learning of her mother's plan to sell her to Searrs, feels she no longer has anybody to fill that role. (Left unclear is what happens when a HiME's MVP dies, but she still cares for many other people. Ishigami thought the death of the "primary" MVP would disempower the MiME, but I'm not so sure.)

5. Miyu's sword-arm has the ability to cancel a HiME's power to materialize objects, and thus can cut through a Child or an element, destroying it. (In a previous episode it was mentioned that a female researcher developed this technology for Searrs, and I speculate that researcher might be Natsuki's mother.) Miyu also has superhuman strength and speed. Thus she appears able to defeat most HiME's.

Well, O, technically you're right. But if Mai did not kill Artemis, then Alyssa would have succeeded in having "him" blow away the Academy. SEARRS would not have considered the project a failure, so Father Glear probably wouldn't have killed Alyssa. I think Miyu can still blame Mai for Alyssa's death, in a roundabout way. Therefore, since Miyu is retaining her memories, revenge might be on the menu.

Okay. I'm pleased as to most of your answers, but it still remains to question:

1. What Fumi's child was / is (we never saw it).
2. Not only that, but who was Fumi's MIP? Mashiro isn't human (or like somebody else said, she may be the previous ruling HiME). It doesn't make sense to me that Mashiro would be that MIP because we clearly see her body strung up in the cave (and the body should disappear).
3. We can't deny that Alyssa counts towards the 12 HiME because a pillar was definitely raised for her. If we say the pillar wasn't raised for her, but another HiME that is still 13 : Mai ; Mikoto ; Natsuki ; Nao ; Akane ; Midori ; Yukariko ; Alyssa ; Akira ; Yukino ; Shizuru ; Fumi ; White Robes (possibly Shiho). Can we write off that there should be 13? Is it possible that the girl in white robes isn't a HiME? Or possibly some kind of creature like Nagi?
4. Lastly, I stated my question about Miyu incorrectly. What can Miyu destroying HiMEs help with except to complicate things? I can only forsee problems if Miyu starts entering into fights. Most of all, we don't know where her loyalties lie.
5. And just for kicks, who could possibly be Nao's important person? Herself? No, that's not possible. A HiME's Child draws strength from others, not the HiME, right?

For for a proposition. If Shiho is a HiME, Tate is the only person that can be her MIP. This means that Tate can't be Mai's MIP. The only other person that could be Mai's MIP is Reito. Is it possible that Mai could intentionally lose in order to destroy Lord Kokuyou?

Now another idea. Shizuru's MIP is Natsuki. That much is clear. I think everyone agrees that Natsuki hasn't lost just yet. But what would happen to Natsuki if Shizuru lost? It doesn't make sense to destroy two HiMEs with one stone.

"It was previously stated by Nagi that the Child's grow from a HiME's desire to protect the people who are precious to her."

OK, that just answered all questions about MVPs.

Mai will never lose the ability to summon Kagutsuchi from MVPs getting dusted. Why? Because she wants to protect EVERYONE.

I'm downloading 24 right now :D .
Happy weekend to me ... this beats toonami ;)

In answer to some of your second set of questions -

1. Fumi's child is shown here. It appears briefly in ep 21, and fights Mikoto:

http://www.sunrise-inc.co.jp/my-hime/web/character/child/m.html

Basically, rather than reincarnating as a human being, Mashiro reincarnated as Fumi's Child, apparently in the hopes of defeating the Obsidian Lord by combining her own power with a Child's power. However, most of the time, when Fumi hasn't actually materialized the Child's body, Mashiro's spirit somehow inhabits a doll. That's the doll you see hanging against the wall in the underground chamber at the end of ep 21.

2. Don't know.

3. We'll see. My understanding is that there are supposed to be exactly 12 "natural" HiME's, with Alyssa being an artificially created thirteenth.

As for the Bridal Gown HiME being something other than a HiME, it would be very poor writing to introduce an entirely new type of being so late in the storyline. I'd recommend Occam's Razor here: assume she's a HiME until there's evidence to the contrary.

4. I think Mashiro's plan was for Miyu to take out the Obsidian Lord, but to do that Miyu must first get past Mikoto. Also, it's possible that the Obsidian Lord has HiME-like powers of his own. Remember he told Nagi that there was no point in defeating Mashiro himself as long as Mashiro was in the body of a Child; his words suggest that he is powerful enough to have fought Mashiro.

5. Don't know.

Also, why can't Tate be the MVP of two different HiME's? It's my impression that a Child draws its strength from a HiME's desire to protect her most precious person, not from that person him/herself.

Just watched the ep24 raw. Didn't really understand it but I couldn't wait for the fansub to come out. lol. Anyways without giving out much all I can say is this: We finally see our first HiME casualty and it's not who you might think (actually it probably is lol).

I know everyone is assuming that Tate is Mai's MIP and most likely you're right but I think it's wrong to have Tate as Mai's MIP. I think most of the time, a character's first encounter with another character is very important. Let's go back to the beginning.

Mai:
It makes more sense that Mikoto and Mai are each other's MIP. The first time Mai saw the red star was the same moment Mikoto appear. Mai and Mikoto also shared their first kiss. Ha ha...Mai said it, not me. (I'm assuming it's Mikoto's first kiss also since I don't see her going around kissing anyone) Mai also saw the little pink tattoo on her breast symbolizing the Hime power after the kiss. The first time Mai's powers appear was when Mikoto was unconscious and Mai tried to save her by blocking Duran's attack. Hime gains power from protecting their MIP. I think after meeting Mikoto Mai's MIP switch from Takumi to Mikoto without realizing. Mikoto and Mai don't have an I'm in love with you relationship but they have a cute bond that hold stronger in my opinion. Similar to her love for her brother or a best friend love because I know for sure that my love for my mother is a lot stronger than my love for my boyfriend. Who is to say that romantic love is the strongest love in the world? It's about your bond and connection with the individual that makes them your MIP.

Tate:
Err...let's see, during their first encounter he was looking at her breast and she was offended. Has nothing to do with Hime nor was she in love with him at first sight to gain her powers right away. Shiho said on episode 6 that she is worried that Mai will take her onii-chan away because her onii-chan likes girls with big breast. Their relationship just doesn't work for me. The only first and common thing that Tate and Mai have in common is (I got caught with someone else) Mai almost kissing Reito and Tate actually kissing shiho.

Mikoto:
Being raised by Jii, Mikoto was taught not to love anyone but her brother Lord Kokuyou. LOL...in actuality, she loves everyone as she ties ribbons after ribbons during the tamayura festival. I think that might be an important factor in the end. Mikoto's love for Mai is truer than her love for her brother. If Mai defeats Mikoto, wouldn't Mai disappear? I agree that Reito wants Mai to be the last Hime standing so that she can become his bride but if Mikoto looses to Mai and Mai disappear, then wouldn't Lord Kokuyou plans be ruined. Does he need the last Hime to be his wife in order to rule the world?

I have a few theories on Mai and her MVP.

Call me crazy, but I dont think she has one. I think she's unique in that she doesn't have that burden to tie her down. In you trace the route of the series, Tate can't be her MVP because she got Kagutsuchi before really developing any feelings for him. Mikoto is about the same, since Mai has affection for her, but certainly not more ( at the time ) then she had for her own brother.

Throughout the series, whatever important feelings she develops for anybody comes after she gets Kagutsuchi. This could be just simply an oversight in explaination such as the Child can be acquired without a MVP, or an MVP can change. But those things aren't stated. If an MVP can change, then they'd have had Sister Yukariko do something cool like off Ishigami because her new MVP was an unborn child she was carrying, or something. Interestingly enough, if Sister's MVP was God.... heh

Anyway, for the second interesting tidbit on Mai we have to go back to the episode where she destroys Artemis. The reason I find this importnat is that the resoultion was very vague. Did she die? Did she not die? Was she ressurected somehow? Or did she just lapse into a comatose state similar to what happened at the end of episode 1, where she forgets what happened between leaving the sinking ship and appearing on the campus grounds? Im not saying she did die or that anything really mysterious happened, but she and Kagutsuchi or just Kagutsuchi have done some fairly amazing things, beyond the other HiMEs, at least twice now.

If she did die, or something fantabulous happened (such as Nagi stopping time and going to get her), then her MVP would have vaporized. But nobody went anywhere. See the confusion?

When you trace what Mai herself has done from ep 1 to ep 23, something doesn't quite add up as "normal" for her and her Child. Call it a gut instinct, but I seriously dont think she has a MVP, and because of that, her powers are greater. She's doing this for herself, deep in the back of her mind, and her Child is only there for herself, because she has been the perfect sister that everybody (including herself) would expect her to be, she never had a chance to form a bond with anybody, really. In a way, Mai has been a rather fake-ish persona for most of the show, and only now are we getting to see her true self. Because of that, can she really have formed the kind of relationship necessary for an MVP before she acquired Kagutushi?

I can somewhat agree with this proposal. In episode 23 Natsuki said that Takumi was not Mai's closest person because he as Akira's closest person. Mai's MIP HAD to be somebody else. Kuga made that very clear. So it can be inferred that two HiME cannot share the same MIP.

*spoiler starts*

Therefore we have no idea who Mai's important person is due to events in episode 24. Tate cannot be Mai's MIP.

*spoiler ends*

As for Mai's journey back to the earth between episode 15 and 16, I agree that it is safe to assume that Kagutushi ferried her back like he did between episodes 1 and 2. In episode 2 Nagi even comes out and says that Mai has a lot of promise and that she is also his favorite.

Yeah, I can see you point there. If two HiMEs were to share the same MVP; If one child dies wouldn't the other one?

No. There is no such rule. These are the only three, laid out by Nagi in ep17:

1) If a HiME's child dies, the HiME's MVP greensparks.
2) If a HiME herself dies, her child and her MVP go with her
3) The winning HiME can avert the HiME star catastrophe and gains tremendous (unnamed) power.

Ishigami-sensei added another theory in ep20:

4) If a HiME's MVP dies, she loses her ability to summon her child

In the case of Mai, that gloriously backfired.

There is no rule preventing someone to be the MVP for more than one HiME, and there is no rule that child or HiME would perish if a MVP bites it (otherwise Mai and Kagutsuchi would be goners already)

Who is Natsuki's MVP?

>>Who is Natsuki's MVP?<<

Wait and see, child, wait and see.

Frankly nobody knows. Who's Mai's? Who's Nao's? Who's Mikoto's?

The best part about this series is that it keeps you guessing. There are some obvious things that happen, and some not so obvious things that surpirse you. Since they're purposely being vague about several of the HiME's MVPs, I would imagine that those mysteries will take a bit more time to come to light.

You find out who Nao's MIP is in episode 24. It was quite a shocking episode though. Loved every piece of pie given to me.

Shizuru is the best!!! though she did become scary...but she's still the coolest....i hope she doesn't die or totally lose it T_T

>>Natsuki said that Takumi was not Mai's closest person because he as Akira's closest person. Mai's MIP HAD to be somebody else. Kuga made that very clear. So it can be inferred that two HiME cannot share the same MIP.

I don't think that is whaty Natsuki was saying. I think Natsuki said that since Takumi disappeared and Mai could still summon her child, Takumi could not have been her MVP.

Also when trying to figure out Mai's MVP and saying it couldn't have been Tate because of the bad first meeting...I think that their relationship built over time and she gradually switched to him. I greatly doubt her power stems from Mikoto. I think that at the time that her power first flared, Takumi WAS her MVP and then it switched to Tate.

Think about it. Akira knew about her power for a long time, which is why she was pretending to be a male. How could her power have ALWAYS come from Takumi? It's impossible. He also gradually became her MVP. Probably before she met Takumi, it was her father that was her MVP.

oh hey...well i'm surprise that u guys haven't put up the ep. 24. I just watched it and had to say that it was the best one. *spoiler starts*
(it was surpirsing that Tate died because Shisho was defeated by Mikoto. so that just proves that Tate is her MVP. Too bad for Mai, because she knows that Tate is her MVP too...but wasn't able to tell him. He disappeared into green sparks right infront of her. That was the dramatic part..:(...almost made me cry...lolz...*end of spoiler*) well..i do agree with Pajee..."loved every piece of pie given to me"..

Sorry, I had no real time to sit down and write it up this weekend. So it was delayed a bit - gimme a break please ^_^

It's up now though.

One more HiME down,how pitiful.Poor Shiho,Tate will never come because Natsuki tell the HiME business,thanks to her.

omg!! it so made me cry in this episode ...it was really awesome but i'm wanodering y does mai love tate i dont like his attitude....and mai's anger gets out of control..