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ローゼンメイデン 
October 11, 2005 | 
79 Comments
Opening Theme: Dream☆Wing by Kuribayashi Minami (20MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Ending Theme: 「乙女は DO MY BEST でしょ？」 - Otome wa do my best, desho? by Kikuchi Mika and Koishimizu Ami (17.1MB, for PSP/Quicktime)
Well, what can I say? I was really looking forward to this sequel, and it definitely didn't disappoint in its strong first installment. By taking most of the old characters and placing their alter egoes into a new setting has one big advantage: You can instantly relate to them, and we'll be having a ball comparing them to their predecessors. Most of the very successful Mai Hime formula was kept: A zany mix of comedy with hilarious SD-sequences, brilliantly animated action and (without a trace of doubt eventually) serious drama to take the audience on a wild ride, but always with a winking eye taking itself not too seriously. Mai-Otome shapes up to do and be all that it seems, and maybe more. The start was definitely better than the old series!
Episode Rating: +
A medieval setting at night. Fires are burning, huge scary 'slave' mechas are attacking a castle and a raiding party of nasty-looking hooded thugs kill everyone in sight. They are searching for a princess, but she's nowhere to be found. Instead, we see a wounded young woman carrying a capsule, rushing to evade her pursuers. She reaches a river where she releases the capsule which contains a baby (obviously the Princess) and a pendant with a big blue gem, which we'll later learn to be the "Souten no Seigyoku", a stone of immense power wielded by one of the five most powerful Otomes, the so-called 'Pillars'. The (former) Otome sends off the baby with the wish to live and very sad eyes and is subsequently caught by a bunch of badguys, in her last battle.
Or so I thought initially. However, the Otome is featured in the OP, and this is usually an indication that she will appear in the anime (if my sources are correct, her name is Lena), so she obviously made it after all. The baby is obviously Arika, the main heroine. It's not quite clear yet if Lena is really Arika's biological mother after all - probably not, because it would be unusual for the mother of a princess to be an Otome. So for now I'll assume that she has rather been an assigned protector and caretaker.
14 years later. In true Mai HiME fashion a cruiser... well... floats over desert sand. Ahemm. Contrary to MH1, the passengers don't spot the weakened Arika lying in the sand, since some cute animals are to be seen on the other side of the ship. Sergey Wong (a blend of Tate and Takeda from MH), leader of the WindBloom kingdom's defence forces, is on board and seen flirting with a pretty young lady, returning from an unsuccessful investigation which probably related to the search for Arika and her pendant - talk about ironies. Swallowing her disappointment that she wasn't spotted and rescued, Arika shakes her spent water bottle and rushes after the ship.
In the next city, the second lead character is introduced, Nina Wong. Very early we learn of her extreme father complex, since she's carrying a picture of him in her pocket watch. She is flustered in a very cute way when a waiter serves a soda with ice to her, treated by another customer who - as all the other customers, it seems - holds Otomes in high regards. While she tries to politely stammer some thanks, the dried-out Arika desperately claws for her juice, causing an "accident".
We quickly learn that Nina has earned not only the looks and disposition, but also the karma of Natsuki from MH. Arika, careless, bubbly and lucky, ends up with the juice in her tummy, while Nina ends up with gooey ice on her face, in a very embarrassing position. Damn the storywriters. They knew for SURE that every blogger would capture the very misleading screenshot *cough* ... and of course, I had to do it too.
As a minor detail, Nina started off with me on a REALLY GOOD impression. Even though she was just totally humiliated in front of her beloved father by her, she'd not only rest the fainted Arika on a bench but also cover her face with her own handkerchief. The same will continue on several other occasions throughout the episode which I'm not gonna mention again - but despite her sometimes gruff exterior, she's brought up very well and very helpful towards others in general. I really got to like her quite a bit!
Scene change. Natsuki is the headmaster of "Garderobe", the Otome school. Garderobe is a funny little pun: The word is French/German in nature and describes a locker where you keep/protect your robes (guard robe). Now, with all Otomes being robe-wearers, this is a nice visual description to work with. Shizuru has been recalled by Natsuki to help her in the upcoming struggles which Natsuki believes to be near. Especially the members of the evil organization "Schwarz" (Another word-pun: Schwarz means Black in German, just like the robes of these badguys are black, and they're worshipping a dark deity. Obsidian Lord from MH, anyone?)
Natsuki expects the outbreak of hostilities with the neighboring country, especially also due to the impending inauguration of WindBloom's own princess. Fortunately, Meister Shizuru has arrived aswell to assist her, and she is reassuring Natsuki of her assistance.
Some words about the internal structure of the Otome hierarchy might be in order here (beginning from the lowest, ending with the highest):
Coral class (Nina Wong is the #1 ranked member of the beginners)
Pearl class (Akane Soir is the #1 ranked member of the advanced)
Meister (the qualified graduates)
Pillars (The five most powerful Otomes, all possess a special Jewel)
Both Natsuki and Shizuru are confirmed pillars, the remaining ones are still unknown. We do however know that Arika is in possession of the "Souten no Seigyoku", one of the five pillar's jewels, passed on by one of the former pillars (Lena) to her. So, two more pillars remain unknown, and it will be part of the fun to speculate who it will be. Going through the OP might give us some ideas, but let's not do this right now.
Arika regains consciousness and tries to thank poor Nina ("Not Nina-chan! Nina!") Wong. Like Arika, I also have difficulties imagining Tate/Sergey as Nina's biological father. For now I'll assume that she was adopted by him, probably from bad circumstances, and that Nina is trying her utmost to gain his approval because of that. Sergey introduces himself as the military leader of the Altai embassy and leaves.
Most of the following minutes are spent showing the hyperactive Arika totally excited by her first impressions of WindBloom. Nina can't get rid of Arika, but as I said before - even when she had the chance, she doesn't. We learn that Arika has come here to look for her mother, from which she only knows that she was an Otome - so she's trying to ask for her in Garderobe.
I consider it unlikely that Lena really is Arika's biological mother. Instead, it seems that she's the princess of the country shown in the prologue's raid, and it's more likely that Lena was assigned to protect her, and whoever found and raised Arika believed her Mother to be an Otome due to the jewel. We'll certainly learn more about this later.
Enter the third lead character, Mashiro, the soon-to-be-inaugurated princess of WindBloom. No, she has NOTHING to do with her alter ego from MH, she's a 14-year-old total brat. Arika spots her while Mashiro is pulling a Neo, and Nina and Arika have to rush to save her from her fall.
Nina is shocked to see that Arika surpassed her in her rush to save the falling Mashiro, and Arika's quick thinking with her blanket did the trick. Mashiro thanks the two girls for saving her when three palace guards rush to pick her up - as we know from a former scene, Mashiro has left the castle without permission. Mashiro accuses the guards to be kidnappers and asks for help, so when one guard reaches into his jacket (most likely to fetch some form of ID) Nina misunderstands it and makes short work of the first two.
In what I sense to be a general motif, the lucky Arika easily jumps over the third guard after pushing Mashiro to the side, and Nina finishes the job by KOing him. Just Mashiro lands in the river, soaking wet. I suspect that harm will continue to come to those AROUND Arika, just not to herself ;)
Drenched to the bone, Mashiro is led along by Arika and Nina on her way back to the palace. She is really miffed for her sorry state and continues to bitch and complain. Arika offers her blanket to clothe her, but Mashiro rudely declines. Nina had enough and is about to depart, but Mashiro won't have any of that, reveals her signet ring and orders Nina to kneel before her (which she does). Mashiro is shown in a very unfavorable light here, talking about Otomes as THINGS, which are supposed to serve her. Arika is irritated by this demeanour but also shocked to hear that Nina is an Otome after all.
In the meantime, some undercover Schwarz agent has identified Mashiro and prepares to take her out. Pricking his finger with a strange glowing crystal, he summons a "slave" from his deity, effectively a huge nasty mech looking quite a bit like an Evangelion unit. And off he is to hunt himself some princess...
Mashiro freaks out and demands protection from Nina. Unfortunately, Nina doesn't have Mashiro as her "Master" yet, obviously a prerequisite for her to summon her battle armor, the "Robe of the Heavens". On the other hand, saving Mashiro would probably gain her the favor of her father se so desperately desires, so she urges Mashiro to become her interim master.
Obviously Mashiro has been instructed in what to do to form a temporary contract, and she recites a chant and kisses Nina's earpiece. Instantly, she's able to summon her robe and get ready for action, with some wonderful Engrish "Materiarise". One day I will find out why all Japanese people I happen to meet in my life seem to have an excellent grasp of English, while the entire animation team, director and quality assurance people seem to be incompetent buffoons. A mystery, ranking directly after the enigma why advanced military mecha hardware must be piloted by young teenagers.
Not much to say about the initial "fight". However, Youko in her laboratory gets notified that Coral #1's armor has been activated, so she immediately informs Natsuki. She wonders what this could mean, but Shizuru leads her to the right conclusion: Since only one person is technically able to become her master, the missing princess must be nearby. So they set off to hunt some Schwarz slave.
Welcome back, Akane-chan! The poor initial victim of the MH series gets compensated this time: She is the top-ranked member of the Pearl class and gets handpicked by Shizuru to assist in the fight. When Natsuki assigns her to rescue Nina and the Princess, she looks quite a bit apprehensive, but a soothing touch by her beloved Shizuru onee-sama - who is assigned to deal with the slave - steels her resolve. And off they launch from a hilarious but very cool limousine!
It's about time to talk about the Soundtrack, created by Yuki Kajiura. Unlike some of her recent works (Madlax, Tsubasa) her background score doesn't overpower the episode. I immediately recognized her style in the original piece during Mashiro's rescue, but HERE she really has some fun with her newest battlehymn: Just like Mai Otome in general is a totally crazy mix of mutually exclusive settings (Medieval fantasy meets Dune meets Blade Runner in the sun), this hymn is a crazy mix of different styles: On a pulsating beat of percussions and orchestral pizzicato strings we have a base riff of e-guitars, tubular bells and a distant background chorals, she lays _opera voices_ with full tremolo! This is so wrong on so many levels, and yet it works oh so well. And the more often I hear it, the more I marvel of the multilayered harmonies embedded. One thing is clear: Kajiura-sensei had fun when she wrote it. And she didn't mind at all doing it in a way which simply ISN'T ALLOWED.
The fight is going badly for our girls, and they are trying to flee the slave's fireball barrage by hiding in a glider. Arika is literally thrown through the plane, and the Otome jewel she had hidden below her shirt is pulled out into the open, to the shock of Nina and Mashiro - especially when the jewel starts glowing, starting up the glider, which takes off, dragging the slave with it.
Very typical for the girls, Arika is confused and wonders if this is all a dream, Nina more reasonably wonders if the glider activation has to do with the glowing jewel, while Mashiro simply marvels how small the people on the ground are looking - after all, they're quite a bit above the ground. But suddenly the jewel stops glowing and the glider stalls, about to drop to the ground like a stone.
Fortunately the Otome cavalry just arrives on the scene. With her trademark MH-chainsaw-bardiche, Shizuru cuts the glider in half like a wiener bun. Somebody wondering it this wasn't a little bit risky? After all, the girls were inside? Ah what the heck, this is the Mai Universe ;)
Mashiro has fainted, and while the girls fall to the ground, Nina proves smart again by grabbing on the two other girls to keep them together. But obviously, her Coral Robe is insufficient to keep all three of them afloat.
Once more, Arika's jewel starts glowing, giving Arika the ghostly outline of a robe too, and at the same time breaking their fall. Nina's eyes are getting bigger and bigger until the jewel darkens again and they continue to plummet down...
Fortunately, Akane has appeared on the scene and catches the falling girls - she with her Pearl Robe is obviously capable to carry them all. It should be noted that "Akane-oneesama" has a very friendly and unassuming entry, unlike how most other "top students" carry themselves. I'm just waiting for them to wish each other "Gokigengyou" ^_^ ... anyway, VERY pleasant. I hope that Mai Otome will compensate Akane a bit for her fate in the original series. She's definitely worth it.
One observation should be noted: The OP contains one evil-looking black Otome in the nightsky, wielding a very nasty-looking sword, with a purple-glowing robe. So far, Akane is the only Otome with purple, and her hairstyle WOULD match. Still, would she end up being an antagonist? After this episode, very unlikely, but how likely was what happened in MH? I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Not much to be said about the Shizuru-Slave showdown. Contrary to the very unassuming Akane, Shizuru is brimming with confidence. The way she offed the slave deserves mention too - without a trace of effort, but making sure that the monster's crotch gun is sliced into multiple beer coasters. I can so hear the shoujo-ai boards go all "Kyaaaaa! here ^_o
Sergey makes a very strange comment here, when he remarks that this was the first Otome battle for 50 years. Then what happened 14 years ago? We can assume that he might have meant "...in the WindBloom kingdom", but even this would make Shizuru a total rookie, since she's still very young. Instead, she carries herself as if she eats a platoon of slaves for breakfast each day. Hmmmmm....
By now, Akane has dropped off all other girls in front of Garderobe, where they are greeted by Natsuki, who immediately spots the "Souten no Seigyoku" around Arika's neck, just like Sergey, who also arrives at the scene. Arika sees Shizuru descending from the sky like an angel, gets some major "kakkoiiiiii" shivers and decides that she just HAS to become an Otome too...
Here, we have one more little Nina scene worth mentioning. When her father Sergey arrived, she immediately greeted him, visibly eager to receive some praise for having rescued the princess. Unfortunately, Sergey is immediately distracted by the jewel discovery, so Nina ends up ignored again. The sad and slightly hurt way she looked away at Arika underlined once more how much she reveres her father - just as it shows that yet again she is out of luck around Arika ^_^;;
Mentar's Impression:
A very powerful start into the new season. It's clear that whoever wrote the storyboard for Mai Otome doesn't care ONE BIT about creating anything "realistic" or consistent. We have a wild mix of tons of different styles all thrown together for good effect, and tell you what: It works. It really works so far.
I assume that the plot will progress in the old Mai HiME style: The next few episodes will be mostly character introduction mixed with crazy comedy and a touch of fanservice. Heck, they even repeated the "Moe moe" jokes from MH1 preview. I wonder when serious drama will hit us for the first time - it was episode 8 in the first season. Any bets when it will be for Mai Otome?
More of that, please! I'm going to love to overanalyze and speculate the hell out of the show (BluWacky was right there), and I guess I won't be alone. Riiiiight?
Garten's Impression:
In general, I think it's an okay episode overall. I like it a lot mostly due to the animation and the bright color scheme. Kajiura Yuki's BGM also helps a lot in creating a tense atmosphere. The ending theme, is also quite fun to listen to in that JPop kind of way. As for storyline, well, it's the typical Mai Hime action-packed first episode. There seems to be two to three main plots here: the extermination of the castle inhabitants that happened 14 years ago, the search for the girl with the pendant, who seems to be Arika, and the mysterious organisation who has the ability to summon the monster/Slave. Of course all three plots are co-related to each other. Character-wise, Arika is a rather annoying protagonist in comparison to Mai and Mashiro completely loses her cool and grace from Mai Hime. Dare I say that she looks like a guy?
Admittedly, the OP sequence is very spoilerish. I can already see Miyu and someone who seems to be similar to Mai.
BTW, did you spot the easter eggs?
There is an easter egg? I don't think I've spotted it. Speaking of hidden things, did you notice the shot of young Sergei at the start of the episode? Well, it looks like him anyway. I wonder what's his role in the series? Mai's apprentice in evil doing?
About the two most notable mysterious characters in the opening:
http://www.fencedude.com/Images6/Flame_Otome.jpg
Flame Otome - 95% probability of being Mai. Note the flames, the hair and the purple eyes.
http://www.fencedude.com/Images6/Shadow_Otome.jpg
Shadow Otome - NOT Flame Otome, note the purple on the wrists and waist, compared to the orange on Flame Otome. Judging by the hair and the fact that her markings glow purple, I'm calling her as being Akane.
Also worth noting, in the opening scene and in the ending there is a small blue star glowing next to the moon.
Otome Star?
So is My-Otome a prequel to My-HiME, an alternate universe type of thing, or what?
FreedomBlack, alternative universe.
Aah, this certainly brings back memory. I remember how we all used to debate about the plot points of Mai Hime here.
I love how merciless the bad guys seem to be at the beginning of this episode. The Otome girls look really good. Arika is actually far more tolerable than I thought she will be. And I love how Nina is as cool as Natsuki. Sergei actually looks cool as well. Hope he doesn't end up becoming like Tate though.
The OP and ED are rather disappointing though. ED song is okay but the visuals are lacking. The OP's visuals and songs are equally bad here.
If Tate is Nina's father, then who is Nina's mother? Natsuki? Or some random girl we'll never see?
My guess, mixing a bit from the manga and scenes from the OP is that Nina is a orphan that Sergei found. It would sort of explain the cut he has on his forehead and the OP scene where his arm is reaching out to the screen (presumingly to Nina). I think that's part of the reason why Nina is trying so hard to be the best "daughter" to Sergei, even though he seems pretty laidback. She's wants to repay his kindness back ;)
... would also make the scene of Nina looking at the pendant with the photo of her and Sergei a lot more understandable.
Who knows though, I'm most likely 99.9% wrong. LOL
Things are definitely looking up. I think that the best part of Mai Hime was arguing with my friends after/during each episode on various plot points. I really hope that Otome, which seemed disappointing to me at first, can at least provide enough to be great for yakking about :)
Well I don't think they counted as easter eggs but I kinda feel so. The first one is the shot of Tate(?)/ young Sergey in the opening. Second is Fumi on one of the holograms in the city when Nina and Arika are walking together.
hey where do u all dl the anime?
Aah I couldn't help but smile when seeing all the returning characters :) Especially the gardener.
Fencedude, I can't believe I missed that o.O You're right, there is...
And moyism, that idea's certainly preferable to the father complex theory going around xD
The masked guy we see attack the woman in the opening appears to be called Rad. Interestingly, he has the same VA as Reito. I'm more interesting in knowing if his female sidekick is a returning character though...
Based on the first episode, is this a satisfying anime? Please elaborate. Thank you.
Is Static going to sub this? Or Yesy? Anyone know?
I might be wrong, but I'm thinking it Shadow might be Mikoto in an alternate form rather than it being Akane. I mean, it's clear that Shadow is wielding Miroku.
Man...I just went over watching Toksou Sentai Dekaranger and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles...and alas...Mika Kikuchi is still the "chatterbox" she was from last time...LMAO
MO is gonna be just too wierd...but who knows...Sunrise surprised us before.
PS: All this show needs is Midori with a scarf and henshin belt...
"I might be wrong, but I'm thinking it Shadow might be Mikoto in an alternate form rather than it being Akane. I mean, it's clear that Shadow is wielding Miroku."
Well, that is certainly one of the possibilities. But that sword also has several notable differences from Miroku. And the girl herself doesn't look ANYTHING like Mikoto.
Possibilities:
Akane
Mashiro
Natsuki
Arika
Mikoto
Someone Else Entirely
I'm putting money on Akane, with Arika as my main backup.
It's possible that MO might use even characters from Mai-HiME the Another...but that's wishful thinking.................................or is it???
DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Oh no! I don't think Nina is Sergay(yellow hair man) and Natsuki's daughter...Orz
I guess that Nina was an orphan and adopted by Sergay.....
Mashiro looks like a guy, because in the manga the "new" Mashirois a guy. Maybe it's the same in the anime. Might be Mashiro son? O_O
I think the guy that kill the women in the start of the ep. is Reito.
(or aleast it's the same VA) I think that shadow Otomes are Mai and Mikoto/Akira. I want to Midori, Kazu, Alyssa, Yukino, Tate, Takumi, and
Arika to coome back.
Flopstall, according to the boards at Static-Subs, they are going to be subbing this.
moyism is right. Nina is adopted, or at least that is what the official website says.
Regarding Mikoto's identity: it's not just me, right, when the cat was addressed as Mikoto? O_O
I wonder how much of the characters are crossed over from the original Mai-Hime. After all, Natsuki and Shizuru kept their names (and their personalities), while Mashiro and Mai are completely re-named .. and, well, different.
Note: did anyone else think that there was no romantic byplay between Sergei and Arika? I was expecting one, just since it would parallel Tate/Mai, but ... :O
Kylara -
Mikoto's identity can be seen at the official web site-nyo:
http://www.my-zhime.net/character/mikoto.html
cclragnarok, the first time I've been right in years! Yah! :)
Kylara, almost all the Mai-HiME characters have their first names intact but the last names are different. It's also pretty much a flip of a coin at this point on whether or not the returning Mai-HiME cast's personalities are the same. I wouldn't mind some differences personally.
And yes, the cat is addressed as Mikoto ;)
In your Dream Wing and Otome wa do my best, desho? Downloads, the Dream Wing link leads to the ED and the Otome wa... leads to the Dream Wing DL.
BlackenedTears, thank you for the correction. I just changed the download from the Quicktime only version to the PSP/Quicktime version but I didn't notice which one I uploaded first. D'oh!
So, to make up for it, I present this image as a speculation game:
Preview for 2nd episode
Just don't take it too seriously though. For all we know, it could be a ruse planted by the animators.
Also, I haven't been bothered to check this but judging from his voice, Sergei's VA seems to be the same VA for Reito from Mai Hime. So if what some people here have said about the masked character's voice sounds like Reito's, does that mean that Sergei = masked character? Surely it couldn't be that obvious?
Nah, Sergay Wang has a different VA to Rad or whatever he is called. Also, is that Sergay or another Tate look alike hanging out the window at the beginning?
According to the ending credits the woman fleeing with Arika in the pre-opening sequence is called Rena Sayers (my romanisation, the surname def. isn't Searrs, though, before anyone says anything). The character design apparently comes from a character also called Rena from one Cyber Formula series Hisayuki did designs for, so its not just HiME they are pulling stuff from (I've seen art suggesting Haruka may have originally come from CF as well, but I've never managed to determine if it was fan-art or not...)
Garten, that image speculation thing is making me incredibly nostalgic. Of course, last year we thought a guy was a girl(which was true) and this year we think a girl is a guy. I'll be a bit disappointed if she's a he though.
I think the scarf around Mashiro's neck is even more suspiscious.
Hiding an adam's apple perhaps?
Or is it just a red herring.
if you've followed the manga through chapter 10... well.. no comment. :)
Remember, The manga and anime for these series have almost nothing to do with each other.
And there was a magazine article a week or so before the first episode aired that said explicitly that the Anime Mashiro was female, unlike the manga mashiro.
Of course, they could be just messing with our minds.
If you look at her tube top thing, there is clearly SOMETHING under there. She's not totally flat.
perhaps, but the anime promo explicitly said that UNLIKE the manga, Mashiro would be a girl... they even apologized for that
of course, it could be another red herring
ah, hadn't heard that. but true enough the mai hime manga vs. mai hime anime had a huge number of differences.. only the very basic premise was similar..
Very likable characters on the very beginning. I was so thrilled to see characters from Mai-Hime in these series again. First impression was (without reading the summary): Whattha.....cosplay!?
But it's getting exciting to see what's next.
OMG Shizuru was sooo cool! My mouth gaped wide open while watching her scenes! And her attitude wasn't that much different from the psycho-b***h state she reached in Mai-HiME. LOL! Her voice is haunting me still! Oh and why didn't you people like Arika? I found her so sweet and silly. Way preferable to Mai! Arika is a happy-go-lucky girl which will come to know of great power me thinks ^_^
off hand arika's voice [and character for that mater] was a bit annoying.. my opinion will probably change once i've gotten used to it though. won't be the first anime i've ended up liking that had a loud mouthed heroine. ^^;
Which is kinda what Mika Kikuchi's character was like in Dekaranger. ^^
Which was okay because it was the usual schtick for Pink Rangers in Sentai with an exception of a few.
XDD i actually know someone called Sergei... I'll never look at him teh same way again...
Yay, the full review! It was worth waiting for too!
Personally, I'm thinking that Rena may actually be Arikas mother. At the beginning of the show I think she has probably retired from being an Otome (she isn't wearing a GEM for one), and the shot from the OP may well be little more than a photograph Arika has or finds during the series. Of course, the shot at the end of the OP has Arika wearing Renas blue GEM, so I guess
I think the Shadow Otome in the OP has long hair rather than Akanes short mop (its pretty hard to see, though - its hard to work out what is part of the wings and what isn't). I stuck my guess in for it being Natsuki in her Meister robe over on AoD, and I'm sticking with that.
I also think the IDs of the Pillars will be far too easy to guess - from the next episode preview I'd speculate that the Pearl Otome use the same red-colour GEMs as the Corals, and since we've already seen five GEMs of different colours...
Drat! I totally missed the little joke that there was no rescue aboard ship in the beginning, this time around. I knew there was something about that opening sequence I was missing. Gah!
We've got Shizuru and Natsuki. I'd lay good odds on Haruka being another Pillar; She looks baddass enough in the OP. As to a fourth, I think Mai. That almost _has_ to be her in opening and it would be a really cool plot twist for her and the MO equivalent of Reito to be antagonists together.
The character designer recently confirmed on his BBS that Flame Otome is indeed Mai.
Like anyone really will be surprised by that.
I still hold that Shadow Otome is Akane, but really we have no idea at all.
Well, according to the characters Mai wasn't supposed to be Mai Otome, but at the same time I miss her so. It wouldn't be such a twist if she was the Flame Otome because we're all expecting it, however, if she were to be a villain I think I'd enjoy that, especially because it's a twist of her "good-girl-saving-brother" attitude of MH.
Also, if the Pearl Otome's ALL have purple, then that too would leave the Shadow Otome open to being anyone of the Pearl Otome's. Speaking of Pearl Otome's, I'm quite happy Akane is in so early and I hope she stays, I like her character here for some reason. I wasn't that keen on her in MH but maybe because she was overshadowed by Midori and was mostly used as a way to show us what happens when a Child dies.
Speaking of Childs and such, do you think they'll make a reappearance? What about their elements? I know that Shizuru has her WhipChain Beriduche thingie, whatever you spell it, but I hope Natsuki still has her guns! I loved those guns.
I also don't think Mashiro is going to be a boy, she does have a very boisterous and tomboyish attitude and her cool demeanour reminds me of Syaoran from Card Captors. Nonetheless, I like Mashiro, she has pretty hair, XD.
I really enjoyed watching Shizuru and Natsuki talking together, remembering the stuff that happened between them in MH just made me giggle, XD. I wonder if there will be anymore pairings in this series? It's quite fun to watch them manipulate the characters into new roles, like watching past lives being reborn. Although, if they manipulate Natsuki, Shizuru or Akane I swear to God I'll cut them. God, so many possibilities! I'm almost hooked already, but I found the start to MH better than this one. I can wait for Episode 2 of MO, but I had to watch Episode 2 of MH straight away.
I think one of the Pillars could be Haruka
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/4744/bscap0462gm.jpg
Of course Haruka is going to be one of the Pillars - aside from looking completely kick-ass in that highly distinctive costume, if you go a few frames onward from that capture you'll notice he GEM is a rather distinctive yellow colour...
I'm not so certain about Haruka as a pillar. She could be a regular Meister, too.
Well, the thing is we don't know what a regular Meister LOOKS like.
The only ones we've seen in their battle outfits are Shizuru and Haruka.
It's clear now that what we have is Sunrise trying to make its own Sakura Taisen, which this new set had been obviously very heavily influenced by. Also its late-night otaku-ness shines through with visual refrences to genitilia (on the Slave), the ice "cream" on Nina's face, etc.
Sakura Taisen?
You mean Tate will transfer into that school and become the first male otome ever?
... even more, he'll be elected captain and lead the girls to victory with his oh so impeccable male charm and wits?
Nah, I don't think so. Maybe in the manga.. but not here
What would be interesting to see...I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but...I can really see...
-Midori, Akira, and Yukino make up a special squad of Otome...Investigation, Infiltration, and Survaillence...
-Miyu as a dark otome rather than a robot or a slave.
-Mikoto taking human form and turning back into the sword wielding maniac we know and love...but this time either a white katana (from Another) or the blue Miroku the "Queen of Hell" wielded...
HiME-Sentai all over again...^^
No, it'd be like...well let's see...last year was...
"HIghly Advanced Materializing Sentai HiMEranger"
...this year is more...
"Generable Enigmatic Matrix Sentai Otomeranger"
PS: ...and maybe perhaps Kamen Rider Otome as well...
I would like to ask about this "Mai Another" some of you are referring to. What is it? I mean, is it really planned, as a manga series or an anime to follow any of the two Mai Hime titles? Is it based on the events of the past (like when Mashiro was back then the Flame Hime?) For example I haven't seen Mikoto with a white katana anywhere... Or is it the story of the first manga, which was completely different in story to the anime? (And to me it was awful...) :P Anyone who can clear this up, thanks a bunch!!!
I like Shizuru this way :) I really was not a fan of her in Mai-HiME, but she looks more...uhm.. better here.
Aniway, Arika is really funny I think. The trio of them is a good one for humour
One thing I don't like is the old-fashion costumes, like the 'father' of Nina had.
I do like the battle-costumes of the otome, they're great!
Hey. I liked the preview :) beautiful screenshots too!
~Neesha
"I would like to ask about this "Mai Another" some of you are referring to."
Its the My~HiME Video Game. Unrelated to both the TV series and the manga storylines.
I got the feeling the first episode was paying too much attention to Shizuru in particular, as if she is going to take on a central stage this season. Kind of like Natsuki in the last series.
I wonder if the staff now see Gundams everywhere they go and in everything.
Also makes one wonder how much tokusatsu Sunrise has been watching lately.
mmm.. i don't really know if anyone noticed it... but in the OP there was dark shadowy dude on a throne.. does it remind anyone of Nagi from MH?
Nothing dark and shadowy about it, that _was_ Nagi. Nagi Dai Artai if I remember correctly.
I wonder if Nagi will have the whole "Xellos" mentality in this series.
Does anyone know what the symbols on the official character profiles mean? I thought they represented Otome rank (Corals all have one design, Shizuru and Natsuki's are the same) but Akane has a different pattern from the rest of the Pearls. If I get the ranking system correct, does that just mark her as Garderobe's top student? If so, it's a big step up from her role last time (go Akane!)
I'm praying...that Akane "survives" after episode 8...
"I would like to ask about this "Mai Another" some of you are referring to. What is it? I mean, is it really planned, as a manga series or an anime to follow any of the two Mai Hime titles? Is it based on the events of the past (like when Mashiro was back then the Flame Hime?) For example I haven't seen Mikoto with a white katana anywhere... Or is it the story of the first manga, which was completely different in story to the anime? (And to me it was awful...) :P Anyone who can clear this up, thanks a bunch!!!"
"Mai HiME the Another" is a PS2 video game...Mikoto wields a white katana in the game compared to the black claymore she wields in the anime and manga.
For anyone who hasn't seen this yet:
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5136/11292213320472lo.jpg
Sometimes I wonder who has the more "Kamen Rider" in her...Mai or Midori...*shrugs*
So Mai is obviously going to be a Pillar then. Now I find this concept interesting because if we take Natsuki and Shizuru was it? as Pillars and then take Mai (Flame Otome) and the Shadow Otome as Pillars, that leaves just one Pillar left... Now we'd ASSUME that would be Arika. Unless they do an extra "fake" Pillar or something like Alyssa from MH. So if we look at the 5 pillars being Natsuki, Shizuru, Mai, Arika and Shadow Otome that means that Haruka can't be a Pillar, unless of course she is the Shadow Otome.
I can see the plot twist being the Flame and Shadow Otome's fighting the other 3 Pillars or something. We'll soon see!
Scary as it may sound...I see Mikoto taking "human form" in episode 15 or so.
I don't think Shadow Otome is going to be a pillar. We know they have unique jewels and SO looks like she's got a regular red one and the purple bands of a Pearl class Otome. I think the fifth Pillar is Haruka, she's got a unique jewel and battle outfit..
No one seems to have noted that when Arika (or her GEM?) briefly seems to partially materialise an Otome Robe, she is wearing what looks like the bracelets and anklets that Mai had in MH. Also, while we're on the subject of 'easter eggs', check out the bird on Miyu's hat in the OP, it's been deliberately shaped to look like Alyssa.
Personally, I'm less interested in whether or not the Otome in the opening scene was Arika's mother, and more interested in finding out the reason she had 'lost her powers'. She still has the ear stud, so she should have something left, but the way he speaks to her indicates she doesn't. I'm wondering if, assuming that she does turn out to be Arika's mother (it *is* possible, you know - her father could be the one with royal blood) they might be heading towards a 'must be a virgin to use the power' plot point. It would kind of fit, especially given that it's one of the meanings that the word Otome carries. I can also see this being heavily exploited if it turns out to be true, especially given the way the series seems to be geared more towards the whole otaku demographic.
Is it Swartz, Schwarz, Schwartz, or something else? I've now seen three different spellings of it in this context, and I'm pretty sure all are valid. Does anyone know if there's an official line here? Also, I had assumed that they were talking about Bizzaro-Reito when they mentioned the name (the obvious Obsidian = Black = Schwartz connection), but after reading here it would seem that this isn't the case.
"http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5136/11292213320472lo.jpg"
Hmm... is it me or does that outfit Mai is wearing seems more similar to Akane's than to Shisuzu or Haruka's?
Just a personal speculation, it seems as the rank goes up, the more clothes Otomes will wear. Nina for one does not have her arm and legs fully covered; Mai in the pic above and Akane has their arms fully covered and not their legs; Shisuzu and Haruka on the other hand has complete coverage and some unique cutomization.
On a completely differen issue. I have a feeling Alyssa is going to be the bird that is standing on Miyu's giant hat in the op.
Odd, as well done as it looks, I can now say for a fact that I have discovered a main character that I actually HATE more than Nagisa from every one of those old Iczer series. Judging from all the fanservicing going on, I'm already feeling apprehensive about the quality of the story.
I'm still going to wait and see, don't get me wrong, it's just that whenever we have an overly perky main character that has about the same level of smarts as Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi and Mihoshi from Tenchi Muyo, drenched in yurilicious fanservice... well, I get rather hesitant.
Now, my major complaint: Where the crap is Mai? The series is called *MAI*-Otome, not Arika-Otome. Bah!
hm. Anyone else noticed that someone VERY SIMILAR to Arika runs behind Mai, Mikoto and Natsuki during the ed @ MH ep 26? :) I was like wtf when I saw that after watching Otome ep1. :|
hell... I'm really curious about those high pillar.. 5 of them allright
-natsuki and shizuru is already confirmed as a pillar
-arika.. well her crystal may be a special one but maybe she's just a regular maester.. but as a main role character she's probably just one of them
-what about yukariko?? is she just a regular maester too??
-i assume nina won't reach higher then regular maester
-mai.. looking on the OP sequences, she have the powers of those pillar.. eliminates all hordes of slaves with ridicilously ease
and lastly i do really hope akane took a major part on this series.. not ended pathetically like on the MH.. i want her to be the shadow otome!!!!
I just rewatch Mai-Hime... the last scene of chapter 26 where Mai tells Mikoto and Natsuki to come on... Arika is runs behind them and looks at the screen... Just Something I would never have noticed untill now...heh
I dont know why but I really started off not liking Nina. Hmm..dont kno why mightbe because in mymind only Mai can have Tate. Which I think is the best last name in the world. And so far since it IS called MAI-Otome. Wheres Mai?
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