Wow, nekkid Reito and skimpy Natsuki. This series will do anything to attract audiences.

Interesting episode...looks like 20 will be a major action episode, like episode 20 of HiME.

Check out Tomoe's new earring...

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/3032/bscap1080gt.jpg

ROTFL. The expression on Yayoi's face is priceless.

Maki maki maki maki maki MAKI MAKI MAKI

Is the Yayoi expression party that I'm guessing is:

Shiho: Try it!
Yayoi: Okay... Whatever this is...

Or are they saying something else?

Chie's letter contained the following line:

"Artificial Z-HiME known as Valkyries"

Interesting, no?

How did Mikoto turn into a cat?

It feels good to be wrong it looks like ep 20 is going to be A Great Escape. Now that we know why Smith has been defiling Rena's corpse (let's just hope he didn't go Tanzler) for what is Sergei planning to do about?

Forgive me if I am wrong, I don't know much Japanese, but if the minister of the interior planned the coup and declared Mashiro to be the "true" princess as Rado says then it is likely that Arika is the true heir of Windbloom. After all wouldn't creating a puppet that had no legitmate claim to the throne be easier to control? If Arika is indeed the true heir then does that mean that Rena was a surrogate mother (maybe the King and Rena had thing going on) or was she simply the best nanny in the whole kingdom?

I guess we'll have to wait to see if Natsuki's undergarment collecting habits carried over. Does Jabbal also remind anyone else of Sand Worms?

-All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king."

"Archduke Nagi governs Garderobe unjustly. And he recruits applicants of artificial Z-HIME called Valkyrie"

"I'm going to volunteer _____________and let you hear if find____"

Looks like Chie's going to volunteer for the Valkyries...

That might end up being a bad idea on her part...

How did Mikoto turn into a cat?

Huh? I always assume that she's just a cat in this universe. Are some people still hoping that she'll turn into Mai-HiME's Mikoto?

Ah, it looks like the body count will continue. Although I wonder who's going to feel sorry for Chie? So far the victims have been character that is 'weak/powerless' so to speak so viewers feel pity for them. But Chie is anything but weak.

*cries for Mai and Mikoto (Sword wielding maniac version)*

...less talking...more @$$ kicking!!!

(MAKI! MAKI! MAKI! MAKI! MAKI! MAKI!)

OK, here's the full sentence from Chie's letter:

To President Chrysant

Now, Archduke Nagi governs Garderobe unjustly.
And he recruits applicants of artificial Z-HiME
called 'Valkyrie' on the campus.

I'm going to volunteer (?in?) 'Valkyrie', and let
you know if find more..............

Given that Aoi is probably dead wouldn't it be romantic if Chie as follwed her in death? Still I think Chie should be fine she has already figured out what Nagi the Nefarious is planning, and it would appear as though Smith has only recently developed his new toy.

It seems doubtful that Smith has worked out all the kinks and despite calling themselves scientists they have yet to make any strides on their own. Schwartz and Aswad don't seem capable of technological advancement, but rather rediscover and copy what they find without any true understanding of the underlying tech. Hence the problems over breaking into the mausoleum and the harmonium. Furthermore Smith was only able to create his prototype after stealing them gribbly notes.

I hope Chie will be fine, since its always good to have a spy in the enemy's midst. Like the Isrealis had when the took the Golan Heights from the entrenched Syrians.

-If 'pro' is the opposite of 'con', what is the opposite of 'progress'?

Forgive me if I am wrong, I don't know much Japanese, but if the minister of the interior planned the coup and declared Mashiro to be the "true" princess as Rado says then it is likely that Arika is the true heir of Windbloom.

Well, from what I can make out from the episode, Arika herself is rather violently opposed to that idea. Plus, as others have said, the fact that the show is so heavily insisting that she is the true princess that it's much more likely to be a red herring.

I was just rewatching episode 14, and had a thought; castle under attack or no, why on earth would Rena think it a good idea to send the only heir to the kingdom alone down a river (which, when I went back and looked at it, actually looks much more like the opening to a sewer), protective container aside? A lot could have happened to the baby and it seems really irresponsible, not to mention risky.

Unless there was maybe someone waiting downstream to collect the baby.

The princess might have been the baby who started off with the pendant, but that doesn't mean she kept it; it's not like she could have kept someone from taking from her. Perhaps the pendant was taken from the baby princess for precisely that reason, to make it difficult to tell who was really who.

Now of course the question is, why and who would profit from having the true identity of the princess be a big mystery like this? The interior minister is dead, so any of his plans/reasons might have died with him. A child ruler is destabilizing enough on its own, never mind the question of whether she the actual ruler or not. What was the point?

On Aswald's attack fifteen years ago: all points about them being hired to take out Rena aside & the "it's part of war so we don't feel bad about it, etc., etc." I still think this episode was hinting that there might have been something more between Rena and Rad than was let on. If the only connection they had with Rena was fighting her, why were they hanging around her coffin? I doubt Aswald rustled up that coffin and drapery with the Sapphire emblem on it, and even if they did, why would they feel responsible for burying her in the first place?

Plus, when Mashiro demands to know why they helped Arika, Midori immediately glances at Rad and doesn't answer her. Rad speaks about both Rena and the Sapphire with a bit more emotion than someone whose only contact with Rena was killing her, plus there's his line from the first episode flashback about "so this is all the Sapphire can do after she's lost the power of an Otome." He sounds bitter, and it doesn't come off as the words of someone who's simply carrying out his job. And when Arika runs away at the end of the episode, he immediately moves to go after her before Midori stops him. Wonder if they've decided to follow the manga here....

It is true that there is a heavy insistance that Arika is the true heir, but it is still possible that the best place to hide her is in plain sight.

If Rena was a true loyalist to the Royal Family saving the true heir would be of some importance wouldn't it? After all the indended target is the royal family giving the child the pendant can still point towards the infant as her own. Also why would the Otome's family be targeted and it is enitrely possible that whoever was Rena's hubby (assuming that it was a nuclear family) might have run off with their child eventually. The whole down the river thing though seemingly irresponsible makes for a good reference to Moses and since the coup took place at a very high level who could Rena really trust? Hence why an Otome would be selected to protect the heir given her ties to the Royal Family.

Perhaps the woman who was reffered to as bachan was a relation of Rena's and may have been in on it. Also why then is MIYU so concerned about Arika and not Mashiro? Nagi the all knowing also said that the true heir was the key. If Nagi was utterly convinced that Mashiro is the true heir then why didn't he really turn on the seduction?

In the first ep the Minister did seem hell bent on trying to find the true heir and he did have armed guards with him. I assume that he wanted to kill off the enitre royal line to prevent any challenges to his rule and may have been ignorant of the importance of the princess, like most of the population. Having a legitimate heir under your thumb is good but if the minister felt that his grip might be tenuous then any group that mangages to capture the true heir can then crush his machinations. After all if the minister had all the means to pull of a coup with certainty why contract Schwartz and Aswad? Even if Rena was formidable she still lost her Otome powers, being around a battlefield is dangerous even if the confusion offered is invaluble.

Perhaps Rad was an unrequited lover of Rena since I do believe cybernetics prevents procreation, bitterness may have come from the green eyed monster or martial pride. Perhaps there is more to the burial, but Sailors have been doing the same service for one another, when the USN was hauling up Soviet subs they gave them a proper burial, and its not uncommon for a rescue of enemy sailors to be attempted after a battle is over, since those poor bastards are still sailors and you'd probabaly want the same done for you.

Even if Arika is the true heir, but wants nothing to do with the throne she can always abdicate.

-In wartime truth is so precious that she should always be attended to by a bodyguard of lies.

Dont know how many times this has already been mentioned.........
About the evil otome with the huge sword, (bare with me if u felt sick of hearing it)
who would it most likely be?

From my own observation, there are 2 possible choices. Tomoe or Nina.

Why Tomoe? Bcoz she was wearing the purple crystal earring, she could either summon a slave/child or become a hybrid otome.

Why Nina? The Black Diamond is a legend. So it should have a hidden power just like Souten no Seigyoku. Ok, imagine Nina's green covering robe burst out to form those huge wings, and her kunais transform into that enormous sword.........Possible?

These are my opinions though. What's yours?

Its almost definitely Tomoe.

I severely doubt it'll be Nina, the robe and everything is just ALL wrong.

wow the whole hitch a ride thing got carried over to mai otome too. although natsuki seems much more shy about it now.

hehe i love mai otome hehe i love it soo much!! cant wait for the final battles of the thing hav ya guys heard of it? by the looks of it,, it seems guud

Mikoto is something like a ghost. (Look back at ep.7) She will apear again. When trouble is developing into serious crisis, Mikoto will show her true form.

Mai? No special roll is assignt to her. She will only apear as a memorie of the past. The true power of the Ruby of the Flaming Jewel.

Miyu is indeed the protector of Arika. The former Sears foundation will not make the same mistake that they made 300 years ago.
(Look back at Mai-HiME ep. 15) "Will the next one be in 300 years? Oh well, for us Sears, it'll be a short time."

Rado mentioned that "To us Aswad, a fight is sacred, so as long as its for one's own destiny, we will respect even our enemies remains". So that explains why he wanted to give her a proper burial.

The winged Otome..... I'm thinking it could be Tomoe, since she gets a new earring......

As for Mai, I'm still waiting.... I hope she'll play a greater role than just a memory of the past. (Come on, the whole show is called MAI otome for crying out loud!!)

As for Mai, I'm still waiting.... I hope she'll play a greater role than just a memory of the past. (Come on, the whole show is called MAI otome for crying out loud!!)

Only as a connection to HiME.

Or have you not noticed that THIS SHOW IS NOT ABOUT MAI!?

Yes, I would like to see her too, but damn I'm getting sick of people acting like she has a god given right to be of incredible importance.

anyone remember than smith said that arika's robe was not brought out to full power yet??(esp 17) and if thats true than if the full power is brought out will it be more powerful than the black diamond?? any ideas?

It's because they wont make it Arika-Otome. It sounds wrong and weird, A-Ri-Ka then Otome doesn't connect rightly. And they probably want to grab the HiME fan's attention to the new one.

In the beginning theme song, they show a brief glimpse of Rena fighting slaves that then fades to a shot of Arika fighting. The robe changes from being blue on Rena to pink on Arika (by the way, I like the blue robe much better). I'm wondering if that is also a hint as to the full power of the robe.

A couple of other things I wonder about.

How is Nina truly involved in this, as in, what is her history? We know she was an orphan that Sergey adopted, but at that time I doubt he would have done that out of the goodness of his heart. He had to have some ulterior motive to get Nina to be his and Nagi's ally. Plus, she is part of the three in order to make the Harmonium work, which means she has some other connection with Arika and Mashiro. I'm wondering if Nina is a direct descendent of Fumi's? The ultimate black diamond reacting to her is also very interesting. It most likely means that she has had some connection to it in her past, most likely blood related. The blue sapphire reacted to Arika at the beginning whenever she was in danger or in moments of tension. It never lasted long, but it lasted long enough. I'm thinking that this is from some spillover of Rena's will to protect Arika. I'm wondering if there is a similar case with Nina.

Who is this grandma of Arika's that took care of her for so long without telling her anything? How is Miyu connected? Did she know Rena and was asked to look after the child, or is she a friend of the "grandma?" Also, what was with the entire glowing hair that Miyu saw when she looked at Arika is episode 8?

I also think that the entire Arika being the true princess is a red herring. Even if she was the true princess, she'd never do anything about it. She'd just hand the job back over to Mashiro so that she could continue being an otome.

The blue star also has me interested. I wonder if it is connected to the power of the blue sky sapphire or if it has something to do with the power of the Harmonium.

So many questions. We'll just have to wait and see.

I think this might be an unpopular opinion, but I must be the only one who thinks Arika is a much better lead than Mai was. Don't get me wrong. I love Mai. I love her cute haircut, her large boobies, her cool little fire wheels, and her I've-just-gone-insane-and-I'm-going-to-destroy-everything mentality, but the characterization and development of Arika is superior. But, oh well, I like both girls. I just think Arika commands a presence that's equal (if not better) to Mai's.

deadpill: you are not alone.

Haha!! Your name says it all.........

Hmm........In eps 19 the Jabbal that the Aswad killed is still in the infant stage.
I wonder if the one arika and mashiro got swallowed is the great big father/mother?
In that case the only one who can destroy it is probably arika alone.........

And finally we'll get to see Fia in action........

For some odd reason, I'm getting a vibe that Nina is the child of Rena (they certainly look alike), and Arika is the daughter of Queen Windbloom. I can't really explain why, but the more I think about the backstory the more it just feels 'right'. The raid on Windbloom happens, Rena continues to serve her nation as a pseudo otome - saving Princess Arika by drifting her down the river to another trusted servant. She dies, and Nina grows up an orphan.

A few years later Sergey is looking for the true queen to expand Nagi's power, and during the process he comes across young Nina who is a potential at the time.

The more I rewatch the episodes the more it just feels right.

You might have a point there, about Nina beeing the daughter of Rena. The reason is still unclear though, but it does make an uncomfortable lot of sense. (in a way)

I like the way you put that - "uncomfortable lot of sense." It also explains why Serg would take her in (other than some inherent goodness factor).

I don't think Sergey thought Nina was Rena's child. Since he thought that it was Arika for a while.

On an unrelated note: If you are a treacherous interior minister, and you just offed the king and queen, and the princess has gone missing. What would you do? Is it...

1) Commence a serious search for the real princess, and when you find her, put her on the throne
2) Grab some random child and pretend its the princess, knowing that when the pyramid of cards collapses, you will be already dead.
3) Try and pass off your own child (possibly illegitimate, and preferably unknown to everyone else) so that your bloodline will rule Windbloom for all eternity (or until the next treacherous interior minister comes along

Hmmm... what could it be?

The Song, The Player, and The Protector....

*shudders*

...man...if Nina, Arika, and Mashiro turn out to be "half sisters"...I'm going to throw up...

Arika is the protector, Mashiro is the song and of course, Sergey is the playah. =D

...and if Arika turns out to be Sergei's biological daught...I'm gonna throw up even more!!!

It's been a sucker punch...a b*tchslap...and a backhand...yeesh...

I've been watching past episodes, and I'm 99% certain I'm right. When Sergey talks to the old woman in Ep. 14 she says that Rena gave her child to a trusted colleague and then put the princess (with pendant) in the capsule. Thus, she sent the princess (Arika) down the river to a trusted person to raise. Rena then goes off to die.

Later, something happens with her friend and Nina becomes an orphan. Meanwhile, Nagi learns of the story and realizes how much power his weak nation can gain by having strong ties (or better yet, total control) of the real princess. Sergey finds Nina and adopts her because there's a strong chance that she is the princess. She gets enrolled at Galdenrobe, so if she's the real princess then it's a win for Nagi, and if she's not then they gained an Otome. Win/Win situation, totally Nagi-esque.

...And now Sergey got stuck between two girls with immense history and power, and it blew up in his face. Nagi has his ultimate Otome with the black diamond. Even without knowing who's the real queen he expanded his power in Windbloom. In turn, Schwartz is getting.... whatever the hell they want.

This entire story will click into place when the Harmonium is explained. It's the key to what both Nagi and Schwartz is after, and will explain what it was that they wanted 15 years prior. It will have something to do with the blue HiME star, and have something to do with the great war 300 years prior. Until then, they're just filling in minor details.

(P.S. More Erstin! Geek girls are teh hawt!)

Could it be that:
The song: Has to be sang by Nina and Arika.
The player: Mashiro
The protector: Miyu

I came to this Idea when I listened to the song: Hoshi ga kanaderu monogatari

You can hear very clearly that it is sang by first Arika and then Nina.

Nina and Arika both know a different part of the song. It would't suprise me if they were destined to sing the song together.

I can't really explain why I chose Mashiro to be the player but since Nagi is running a search for her + she has some connection with the Royal Family + The Organ activated when Mashiro pressed a key on it. (could be just coinsidence though)

As for Miyu. Well she IS the protector of Arika isn't she. I mean she made that pretty clear in ep 8.

Well that's my exlpaination. If anyone had a better one, let's hear it.

Arika, Nina and Mashiro sang different parts of the song. Nagi wants to find Mashiro because he wants to get the last part of the song, which he presumes Mashiro to know. And this poses an interesting question, "How would living in the Windbloom castle allow Mashiro to obtain the last verse of the song?"

If Mashiro wasn't in any way related to the royal family, and thus didn't get Rena (or the Queen?) to sing the lullaby to her, how could she have known it? If she had known it from Aoi or other servants, then why not get it from Aoi or Sakomizu, etc?

I like the idea of Mashiro being the direct descendent of Fumi. Moo ha ha ha ha ha. Although I have no evidence whassoevah! Cos it has to be asked, who did Fumi give birth to? (Maybe she gave birth to Nagi >o>;;)

In the ED Single, the song is sung by the 3 girls..... arika, nina and mashiro.

It would be DARNED STUPID to include a character that's not going to appear in BOTH of the Openings.

Or have you not noticed that MAI APPEARS IN BOTH OPENINGS?

Yes I know that Mai is probably going to play only a small role in this series but I'm getting damned sick of people telling me this series has nothing to do with her and her name only serves as a connection to HiME.

slightly off topic....

I really like the way how Sunrise has changed the names of a few characters in a way that still resembles their "Hime" counterpart....

Yukino Chrysant (菊川雪之 Kikukawa Yukino)(always my fav character, so she gets to go first :D)
Her last name is literally, Chrysanthemum, chop the end and there you go...

Shiho Huit(宗像詩帆 Munakata Shiho)
Her new last name is "Eight" in French
Yatagarasu (八咫烏) don't think its a coincidence her child's name use to have the "eight" in it too...

Akane Soir (日暮　あかね Higurashi Akane)
Still means "evening", just its now French

And of course, there's the infamous brat that turned serious...
Mashiro Blan de Windbloom (風花 真白 Kazahana)
風-> Wind 花-> Flower... => Windbloom

Sunrise is obviously getting tired... and eventually... we have
Chie Hallard...from Harada o.o
Aoi Senoh... from Senou o.O!
and the Mai and Takumi that they didn't even bother with...

So.. yes... that's all the resemblence i can find...
If someone can tell me how Haruka and Nao's new names came to be, that'll be great too.

OH, and yeah, Shizuru probably got Viola becuase... um.. lets see ... Kiyohime was purple???

Their names have basically been changed to suit their new nationalities. Windbloom and many of it's surrounding countries are more European than Asian. So most character surnames reflect that.

Mai and Takumi retained their old surnames as they originate from a country which seems to be a lot more Asian customs (and is located in the "Far East").

I think it's also cool that the Meistars are named after jewels.

Greacefull AMETHIST
TOPAZ of the Bells
RUBY of the flaming jewel
Ice silver CRYSTAL
The blue Saphire of the sky

You should google it up. The stones really match the characters. (and I don't just mean the collor)

Did you totally miss the entire GEM thing before?

They are named after gemstones.

And its "Topaz of the Jewel Isles"

For Haruka's last name's origin:

Haruka's CV, Yuzuki Ryoka, performed in a movie called Armitage: Dual Matrix as a character called Naomi Armitage. Maybe that was where it came from.

In the Rena flashback, her baby (or at least the one not being sent down the river) is smiling for no reason.

Out of Arika, Nina, and Mashiro, which one smiles for no reason?

The two posters above me, please pick a screen name! One anonymous poster is bad enough. When there are two, it's hard to tell if you are the same person or two different individuals. If you can post that long, then I'm sure you can come up with one simple screen name which you can use over and over again.

"In the Rena flashback, her baby (or at least the one not being sent down the river) is smiling for no reason."

In the 3 or so months I've been reading these comments, I have seen many, many stupid theories. But this one takes the cake.

What the fuck?

no matter what anyone says, whats the point of reacting so rudely? its seriously counter-productive to any discussion...

but anyway, thanks for e review, as always :)

Okay i'm confused can someone explain to me why Aswad need akria and mashiro to cure thier problem?....

I'm hoping to see what happens to those Artifical Z-otome. I'm betting considering the OP that there are 4 of them. And that teaser for ep20 suggested tomoe and 3 others.

3+1 = 4

So I'm thinking those four are going to end up being those errr.. black pointy breasted driods? Maybe.

Ah well.. I want that Mitoko cat stuffed doll i saw in that Mai Hime movie preview lolz...

Okay i'm confused can someone explain to me why Aswad need akria and mashiro to cure thier problem?....

Midori said that Aswad is after "that one great power", ie the Harmonium (it's what they were seeking in the raid 15 yeards before as well, although they could not find it). In that case, they almost certainly need Mashiro and Arika (and one more person) to activate it; note that Nagi is also looking for Mashiro, presumably for the same reason.
However, there is no evidence that Aswad knows about the song, player and protector: when Midori asks Arika and Mashiro to help them, she only mentions the power of the Souten no Seiryoku and the power of a Meister Otome, which means she wants Arika to fight alongside them. Whether Midori is hiding the truth about the Harmonium or is simply unaware of it, we cannot tell.

um.. i'm not so sure that is what midori was asking. they want the saphire gem and arika, to be able to study the nanomachines that help heal most sickness and make it. thus giving the people of aswald a cure. (remember midori said they tried to do it before but without a proper subject they were only able to do a 'cheap' imitation ) (the green gem in her hand).

The imitation was made from a captured gem; why would the outcome be different if they used the same process again?
Also, if they just wanted to study nanomachines they could have simply captured a student otome (they had a chance to capture Arika herself during the field trip, and tried to kill her instead).
Finally, Arika's reaction would not make sense if all they wanted from her was to sit in a lab.

I don't think the 'Mai' in Mai HiME and Mai Otome have anything to do with Mai. I think they meant for the 'mai' to mean 'dance'. Thus: Dancing HiME, Dancing Otome. It's like how Nagi says to "Dance on the blood of Fuka." in HiME and how the duels are called 'butou (dancing fight)' in Otome.

oooo i c, so both party's (nagi's and aswad) need the three keys(Arika, Mashiro and the 3rd person)to open the power of the Harmonium. So weather or not Arika jions aswad or not will make a big diff in the story........Thanks Lac..

Ah well, just hope to see Mai again ;)

About the smiling baby theory, I think that MOST babies smile and laugh most the time (except the times when they're crying or sleeping).

Mai and Takumi retained their old surnames as they originate from a country which seems to be a lot more Asian customs (and is located in the "Far East").

Mai and Takumi are from a country called Zipang -- Zipang was the name used to refer to Japan in Europe during the Middle Ages. It's derived from the Chinese name for Japan.

I find myself not really emotionally connected to Arika -_-;; I like Nina and Mashiro fine, but really not emotionally connected to Arika at all...

And I just want to see Mai-chan again! WAH!!!

Even if it's a little part, I want to see Mai-chan again!!! >_