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ローゼンメイデン 
Alright, this was really really good stuff. And it underlines that all the little conveniences, plotholes and a lackluster angst arc of the presumed main character notwithstanding, Otome can change gears and revert to greatness in no time, because the overall foundation of the story is still quite sound. This was a very exciting ride, and backed with the power of some new Yuki Kajiura pieces, I felt treated to 30 most enjoyable minutes. Here's the reward:
Episode Rating: ++
I remember when a good friend of mine laughed at me for thinking even for a second that Aoi might be dead. After all, LAA (Law of Anime) 23
states that nobody falling off a cliff can possibly die. He was sooo right. And while it's nice to see the true regent of Windbloom recover, I can't help but wonder why LAA 23 feels so silly to me. This cliff? A bandage on part of the head? Please...
Arinko-Sergey showdown. I was laughing when regardless of using the old "stop making excuses" line, he was still not telling Arika the critical element - her connection to Rena. You all know that I wasn't fond at all of this strange Arika-Sergey linkup, and it remained awkward and uninspired to me till the very end - so I'm glad it's finally spelled out and over. Points for Arika that now, when she's regained her senses, she realizes Nina's cut. And we finally learn that Sergey wasn't quite as clueless as he seemed over all the time. He does know what drives Nina, but in this case he's to blame for letting the forbidden desire rot and fester, causing this outburst of pain. My my...
A word about Sergey, who is being slammed hard left and right: I don't hate him, I simply can't. He's been trying his best to help Arika and Nina, but he was eventually trapped in a web of conflicting loyalties out of which he couldn't escape anymore. It's understandable to finally pick the side with Nina on it, and trying to act accordingly, even though it clearly doesn't make him happy. What could he have done instead? Very difficult to tell, other than addressing the Nina issue earlier. But that alone is insufficient for me to condemn him.
The Arika-Valkyrie fight felt very strange, and I finally figured out why. It's because Arika is still depicted as confused and helpless. THIS is backfiring badly lately, because it makes the identification with the supposed heroine much more difficult. Normally, even though the hero may be cast into situations (s)he's unprepared for, once battle is forced upon him/her, (s)he is capable and determined. That's the normal anime credo. However, Arika isn't shown like that at all. Instead, she's getting her butt kicked badly and has only a single brief "good" scene throughout the fight. Again, normal anime credo is supposed to show the heroine fighting bravely and strongly, only eventually succumbing to superior numbers. Why Sunrise continues to screw up the identification with Arika, only the lord knows. And maybe not even he does. I suspect the scriptwriter doesn't, either.
Sooo Tomoe has finally gotten waay over the cliff and reveals her rotten insides and ambitions for everyone to see. Kinda unsightly, but we need a medium boss to defeat, so there we are. On the plus side, it's making Miyu's entry all the more sweeter ^_^
Mashiro continues her strong showing of the latest eps when she realized that she's supposed to be captured, because if their goal was to kill both, they could have done so, killing Arika with the Otome-link as a sideeffect. What she does NOT realize is that it's obviously only Sergey who tries to take them alive, because the Valkyries are about to kill Arika for real.
Like Arika, Nina also feels clear remorse over what happened. When Nagi nastily offered to give permission for Nina to kill Arika and Mashiro, she doesn't jump at it - just the opposite. Her look was full of sorrows rather than anticipation. It felt very in-character to me: Hidden under her polished shell of the hardassed elite student, Nina has a kind and caring nature - this has been proven with many small details time and time again. She can be murderous in her rage when she loses it due to her obsession, but when her head works within normal parameters, she is no killer at all.
Enter MIYU, amusingly the "Merciful" Intelligential Yggdrasil Unit this time. I've got to admit that it felt damn good seeing at least HER kicking the badgirls' vicious butts. And that to the sound carpet of the first time airing of what's one of the best Kajiura pieces ever, "Sei Otome no Inori - The Prayer of the Holy Maiden". It's a piece I find particularly amazing, because it picks up the wonderful sad leitmotiv from "Hinageshi no Hana no you ni" (which I'm sure all of you remember from Aoi's sacrifice scene), and transforms it into a very dynamic and determined-positive battlehymn which in my personal opinion even outclasses Mai HiME's famous "Mezame". These two pieces alone would have been sufficient to justify my CD order for the second OST, but they work even better in boosting Miyu's entry, even though Sergey shot the music short. It will definitely become the piece of choice during the end run ;)
Verrrry interesting things Miyu said. First of all, sticking to Sergey that Schwarz was tampering with Rena Sayers's corpse had quite an effect on him. It's not quite clear if his shock was linked to hearing about her death (he repeated "Corpse??") or about Schwarz was doing with it. However his helping out the tilted Tomoe got him some pointed reward. Also, Miyu's hissed statement that "this person" (almost certainly Rena) ordered her to destroy "them" (most likely Schwarz and cronies) as Miyu's primary order proves that our earlier theory of a yet-fairly-unknown "Arika faction" were correct. There's some backstory still to be uncovered here, and I assume that we'll learn about it from Miyu. Looking forward to it alot!
We're not through with terminal poking yet! Gakutenou making a Fia shashlik sat very well with me too, especially the subsequent sparking of Argoss of Carlteya. Let's not dwell too much over the fact that it WAS a bit over the top how easily Aswad made short work of at least half a dozen Otomes in no time without visible difficulties or losses of their own, and just declare that these evildoers deserved it *cough*
Back to Nina playing the harmonium. Enter Bond mode once more and don't wonder who was actually singing Mashiro's stanza (I kinda doubt it was Aoi ^_^;) or how the harmonium actually operates, I have the bad feeling that this and especially the Harmonium's universal power to grant wishes is beyond logical approach anyway. To my horror, I begin to suspect that this is gonna become the "reset button" for Erstin. It will probably become Arika's motivation to use it like this if she ever learns about it.
And yet again Nina sees and misunderstands things, yet again she loses it completely, but this time her "thing" becomes eeeeeven bigger. Is the anime world really so penile-size-oriented? Their last weapons looked semi-tolerable. THIS is only getting ridiculous. You're supposed to swing this airliner wing at a foe? Gimme a break please! Of course, Miyu's Artemis isn't inferior in any way, and so we get yet another turning-the-battle-into-a-draw explosion which also serves as a convenient excuse to keep the enemies apart and alive at the same time *sigh*. Ah well.
Next time we're obviously treated to Mai goodness and the obligatory onssen episode. Good going! It's time to learn about the backstory of the Arika faction, and with it, (I assume) what was REALLY behind the raid in the past, and which caused this entire mess. And then, on to the liberation of Windbloom and Garderobe!
Dear Sunrise, please don't mess it up. Mai Otome won't become a real masterpiece, but it can still be salvaged to a way-above-average action comedy. Don't let your fans down!
Garten's impression:
This is certainly an exciting episode. First of all, Natsuki seems to be worried that the power of the Harmonium maybe enough to cause the war between the 12 countries. But I say bring it on if it means that the series will become more exciting. The next thing that's on everyone's mind is the mysterious cat Mikoto that appear all over the place. The symbol on their foreheads so far are: cross, crystal, and a crescent moon. The series also finally reveals the consequences of going stray while using the new robe that John Smith created. The problem is, apart from Chie, I doubt anyone else will care if the rest perish. If Irina, for example, had been drafted to become one that will be another matter entirely. But so far the Valkyries are consisted of a bunch of bitter and bitchy sorority sisters. No one is going to cry if they go sparkly. And I doubt Chie is going to bite it when Aoi actually survive a fall that would have normally killed a normal person like her.
But enough nitpick. I kind of enjoy the episode mostly due to the nostalgia value. I am kind of unsure now if this series still has connection with Mai HiME since MIYU's abbreviation is actually Merciful Intelligential Yggdrasil Unitj. It's amazing how easiy she defeats Tomoe and Nina though. Even Nina's super weapon is still no match size-wise in comparison to Miyu's Artemis. Moving on to other characters, Tomoe was a good antagonist for Arika and her mannerism in some ways remind me of the old Suigintou. I do wonder what will happen if she dies though? Will she be assimilated into the suit or will she sparks off like the rest. Speaking of sparking, good-bye Fia, we barely know you and ouch, that must be very painful. But who still remembers Fia when the preview for next week's episode shows Mai and Mikoto? That means next week's episode the girls get to relax in Onsen while the rest of the world killing each other. Yes, that's the kind of world that can only exist in this series.
I have to admit, I laughed a bit at Arika and Sergay's argument about Nina's feelings.
Props to Rie Tanaka in this episode! Tomoe was nothing short of EVIL. I mean I was cheering Miyu on to kill her, but man, Tomoe has been an awesome villain. I could literally feel the craziness blasting out of my computer screen.
I feel badly for Nina, but she always assumes the worst of Arika, and that's pretty stupid on her part. If anything, Arika is very supportive of Nina. Nina is just too damn insecure to realize it.
I'm hyped that Tits and Loli are finally returning.
And YAY for Aoi, but it makes me sad that it's highly probable that Erstin won't be returning.
You have to admit - since she went evil, Tomoe's been a lot more fun to watch, and seems more attractive to boot. Plus, we get to see Miyu-vision when she selected a course of action (which, for some reason, reminded me of a video game's menu system), Dark Nina, and a preview which included a half-clothed Mai.
That, and her Dark Chef of the Sith entrance towards the end was fun. :D Now did Aoi lose an arm there, or is it just me?
Comatose Aoi = blatant injured Asuka rip off from End of Evangelion.
It's worth noting, that they used a bit of "Duran Shoukan" from Hime at the end of the ep.
Tomoe the Arrogant leader of the dreaded Valkyries of Artai. After that demonstration of Artai's Valkyrie power I found myself wishing I could mod ace combat.
Spoiler starts
Stupid Sergei saving a thrid rate leader, Tomoe had a 4 to 1 advantage and had the sun to her back. Nevertheless she still failed to defeat Arkia convincingly, bloody amatuers playing with their prey.
Go MIYU kick Tomoe and all of Nagi's lackeys in the teeth. Kudos on stabbing that idiot Sergei, that shameless brute trying to get both mother and daughter, another and his own no less. You heard it right major moron Rena's being defiled for Nagi's sake.
Sergei you son of a silly person, your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries. I fart in your general direction. Tis a shame MIYU didn't rip out your gonads so you can't pollute the earth.
C'mon Chie, Smith's tech is an imperfect travesty created from stolen notes and built by people who recite litanies of activation before pushing the button labled "on." Time to hand Artai's butt to Aries on a steel tin.
Spolier ends
Remeber Mai while you relax in the hotsprings that there can only be one highlander err.....Dark Chef of the Sith.
This episode is gooood!!!
While many puzzles have been solved, it also introduced new ones.
SPOILER STARTS
First thing what is the harmonium used for? A means of teleportation?
The shadowed Nina doesnt look like the winged otome means that Mikoto's the most likely one.
At last we get to see an otome's death and the effect on the master.
How is Aoi's survival from the plunge is probably not the main concern now.
The appearance of SEARRS in Miyu's system raised another question about this series relation to Mai-HiME. Or is Schwarz an evolution of Searrs also? Again how is Miyu related to Arika (or vice versa)?
About Mikoto, did the human Mikoto woke up in Mai's place when Nina slashed her apparition? What's with the other two Mikoto cats?
Lots of answers, lots of questions, too little time to solve.
SPOILER ENDS
you're good!
I can't wait to see this ep~! x3 seriously >_
Aoi knows the last part of the song!?
That's really interesting. Maybe she really is the Queen of Windbloom! I think the last eps will be very interesting but also I agree that there is to short time to solve all the riddles of this show. I think it will be a harsh ending but I hope that Sunrise will not solve all in a hurry.
At this point in time, I would much rather see a cliffhanger ending, and have the Mai-Otome series wrapped up in another season. There is so much potential story left to be told, and rushing in in 4 episodes...
Why is it that everytime her father is injured Nina automatically thinks that it's Arika's fault? That girl really needs to get her head checked sometimes. And even if Sergey did try to protect Arika, it still is not Nina's business.
AT LEAST some action spins off. I don't know if I like the direction this show has taken, BUT one thing I know for sure:
>Sergei you son of a silly person, your mother was a
>hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries. I fart
>in your general direction. Tis a shame MIYU didn't rip
>out your gonads so you can't pollute the earth.
(LOL ^_^) ... same feelings here. Wtf, pointing a gun and shooting to Arika? Are you freakin' mad?
And Nina also, can't she have some tranquilizers? Xanax, Valium, BuSpar, Ativan ?
This stepfather/daughter coupling is quite lame, imho.Phuleaze.
Next we have the obligatory onsen ep (with bouncy-bouncy, of course).
You get that feeling that next episode will be a "training" filler...
Mai: "NO! NO! NO!!! How can you wipe out a city block that way...do it again!!!"
Mikoto (runs after Arika with Miroku): "MOVE IT ANT OR I'LL CHOP YOU GOOD!!!"
Any idea who could be Mai´s master?
BTW:
>Sergei you son of a silly person, your mother was a
>hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries. I fart
>in your general direction. Tis a shame MIYU didn't rip
>out your gonads so you can't pollute the earth.
That´s great. This guy has to die!
And yes Nina should stop drink double espresso every morning, it´s not good for her nerves..
I would assume Mai's master would be her brother...then again...that's Akira's role. But, you have to think about this...we never knew who was Mai's more precious person in MH...we assumed it was either Takumi or Tate or even Mikoto. I would guess we won't know who her master is either.
PS: DON'T SAY KARAOKE!!!
I doubt Sergey likes Arika... didn't he have flashbacks of Rena when Arika asked him why he helped her etc... I suppose at the end of the day....(he figures out too) that the reason he's so protective of her (or likes her) is because of her Rena-connection. It's all for Rena. -_-" Poor Arika... Poor Nina. Yeah...I'm so angry with Sergey for shooting at Arika... then again...he probably knows that she would be able to evade it and be unharmed by his attempt. On the hand...if we consider Sergey's "devotion" to Rena...he's actually quite commendable ....no?
In any case, I am really intrigued by the cats... remember when Nina slashed the Mikoto apparition, one clay cat figurine split into 2... perhaps the number of cats tallies with the number of cat figurines and it is the human Mikoto who "controls" them all? I believe the cats are important for the storyline~ >_<
No, this can´t be. Takumi was actually searching for her when he was in Windbloom, wouldn´t he know if he was her master? And Mai is not a pillar, that means that she needs her master right beside her in order to materialise.. I would say Mikoto, but too many things are still to happen.
The cats are either...
1. Extensions of Mikoto's soul...
2. Mikoto has the power to shapeshift...
3. The cats are really named Miroku.
Miyu's connection with Arika...hmph...I was just wondering...what is Rena's last name...
*possible spoiler starts*
did Miyu say "Rena Sears"? I thought I had it that way.... could it be that Rena is from some super power family? Then Miyu would be protecting Arika be'coz she's Rena's daughter.
Also...Miyu said something like...the first of her dying wish/instruction was for me to eliminate u guys? Hmph... strong link between Rena and Miyu~
And that cat which confronted Miyu...was it trying to convey some information to Miyu...or was it trying to prevent Miyu from locating Mai and Mikoto?
> At this point in time, I think a reset is likely especially
> considering what has happened thus far
Other than Erstin dying, what is there to reset? (at this point anyway)
If Aoi can survive that fall, be found, and then patched up well enough to talk, then SirGay sure as hell won't die from Miyu's little pinprick.
Although I will admit, the Harmonium being a super powerful machine that no one knows anything about and with a purpose shrouded in mystery pretty much sounds like a Way-Back Machine waiting to happen.
> SirGay. Awesome.
It's good to see Aoi still alive...but it really does make you wonder how the heck she survived a fall off a cliff.
Also makes you wonder what Mashiro will do if/when she finds out Aoi is still alive.
Mashiro will transform into the "Crystal Princess"...I don't know...although she matured...there's something not quite right about her...
I don't really see why them not changing the Ending Theme has anything to do with how the series will end up.
And as has been said...there's not a heck of a lot to reset.
(and for the record, people DO survive long falls, its unlikley, but not beyond the bounds of possibility)
"But, you have to think about this...we never knew who was Mai's more precious person in MH...we assumed it was either Takumi or Tate or even Mikoto. I would guess we won't know who her master is either."
Mai's most important person was probably Takumi, then Tate, then Mikoto, and then Reito. But, without a doubt, had Mai lost in Himelander, Takumi would have disappeared.
Off the wall predictions:
Nina will be back, riding a bigger-than-ever whirlwind. The only thing that can impede its awesome spiralling power is - MAKI MAKI!
Arika's Baa-chan was the old Queen of Windbloom's mother. That's why she knew the harmonium lullaby.
Miyu came on the colonization ship - that blue star in trailing orbit with the moon. The harmonium will provide transport back to it, where various bits of lost technology can be retrieved. Not, however, until Arika shows up to open it with the secret password, "Open Sardine!"
There will be a reset, but it will only pull in the former Otomes whose frozen-water tombstones lie under Garderobe. The whole lot of them will then fly off into the sunset on some grand quest.
Chie and Aoi (in a wheelchair) will end up running Garderobe, which for some reason is renamed Fuuka Academy.
Nagi will escape end up unscathed and laughing. That one's a sure bet.
" did Miyu say "Rena Sears"? "
Bubx, that's Rena Sayers. Her name is written below a photograph of her that chibi little Nina saw in eps 3. Cant say whether she's related to any faction or not. Bcoz there's too many possibilities. Man, i can even create multiple fan fiction or RPG for that.
For example, Aoi is the true heir of windbloom while Arika is the clone. Aoi is of same age as Chie which makes her older than Arika by about 6 - 12 mths (or more). Also both look almost alike same as in the flashbacks the old lady remembered when they were babies.
Anyway dont take this e.g seriously. I doubt this will happen since the series already coming to closure. I'll take it as my personal fanfic.
Oh anyone notice the pic of Mai with beaten-up Natsuki in their battle robes in the Sunrise Zhime website? So KA-WA-IIIII !!!!
I don't really see why them not changing the Ending Theme has anything to do with how the series will end up.
I was going to say that because in most cases, when graphic artists create a form of audio/visual projects such as movies, advertising, and in this case, anime, they don't just slap a bunch of music and pair it with any image/story they can find. They usually want the music to represent the emotion that the story is trying to tell. But then I remember that this is Sunrise and they never got particularly bothered whether or not the overall image of their story matches with the other elements such as music (ie. Mai Hime OP), so yeah, it's probably my foresight to think that way.
As for reset, we haven't even gone to the end and it feels weird that not that many characters actually die. I personally find it rather disappointing. Especially for a series that involves large scale global conflict like Otome. Yes, there aren't that much to reset. But the emphasis on Otome, as far as I can see, apart from who is the real princess, is actually the friendship between the 4-5 girls in the series. I personally don't know how things will get better between them when there is always a reminder that they have inadvertently caused the death of one of their friends.
That's a really good point Garten. If there happens to be a reset, and Erstin is revived, I see Arika and Nina rekindling their friendship and forgiving one another. However, if Erstin stays dead, I doubt any of the girls can remain as friends, besides Arika and Mashiro.
It might be interesting if they carry over this conflict in a third Mai-series...where they retell the story of Nina and Arika's falling out (while including Erstin's death), yet further develop their rivalry.
Cats
Aside from Miyu completely owning everything and its mom, I can't say I was that pleased with this episode... Then again, I have been waiting for Mai for a long time, and, finally, she's in the next episode! That sort of dims down the excitement of 22 in comparison to 23.
Ah, finally - the return of real tension and action (as opposed to random-monster-threatening-stupid-plot-device-person tension).
Miyu officially rules now - I'm not sure there's anyone who could give her a decent challenge at this point - maybe Shizuru or Mai. Calling her "Merciful" doesn't really fit with the amount of ass she kicks in this episode, though. I'm looking forward to some explanation on where she came from in the next ep (regrogrammed Miyu from HiME?) and finding out what Mai's been up to - who, by the way, looks afwully chipper for someone who became a hermit over a broken heart. I do hope the momentum keeps up, but they can fit a little backstory in, too. The three M's deserve that much.
Sergay had it coming, whether or not her survives (he shouldn't, but that doesn't mean he won't since Aoi pulled through somehow).
RE: Training filler - actually I wouldn't mind seeing M & M whip Arika into shape a bit - someone needs to screw her head back on since she seems incapable of doing it herself.
Someone really needs to sit Nina down and explain that the world does not revolve around her. Sometimes the people you care about don't do exactly what you want all the time and may even do things you don't like! This does not give you a reason to go psycho and start killing people, especially when you don't even know what's happening. Bah.
I've had almost complete reversals on all the main charcters - I started out liking Arika, Nina, and Sergey and hating Mashiro, but Arika's angst, Sergay's waffling and recent re-commitment to blind loyalty, and Nina's self-centered-ness are pissing me off while Mashiro's complete reversal from the spoiled brat has won me over.
Last question: How did Arika & co. end up with Mai and Mikoto? I'm assuming via Miyu somehow (especially given the cat-Miyu meeting early in the ep), but why? Are Miyu, Mai, and Mikoto all part of the same faction?
well it's obvious they won't answer all our questions in bout 3 more eps but lets hope they answer atleast the main ones..
just wondering something myself. Is Mai and Arika has some type of relation, same with mikoto and nina, or is just the fact that the producers are lazy at making new characters. Because they seem to look the same when ever they go crazy. The shadow version of mikoto sorta looks like Nina when she goes berserk. And it's sorta been confirmed that nina may be the guardian of something, much like how mikoto was the guardian of mai. Another thing i seem to notice is nina goes insane and sorta demonic everytime her father even gets scratched, much like what mikoto was whenever mai was hurt in mai-hime..
anyway thats what i just think.. lets see how the story unfolds in just 3/4 eps!
Precisely that's 2 episodes plus a 45 min (double) final episode. Of all series which ended in a double final episode, only Fafner (from what i have seen) have managed to pull an excellent finishing. Seed Destiny Plus couldnt make it. I hope Mai Otome can finish this properly at least.
Somehow a 'tragic to happy ending' reset always seems to turn me off. Sigh.............
its just annoyin how they squeezed it all together.. i mean, next episode is because going to have all the character just talkin in a bath probably and not really fighting or making any sorta difference in the story.. AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD THEY BETTER SHOW MAI AND MIKOTO FOR MORE THEN 2 seconds, like what they have been doing for the past 3 episodes.. those damn producers keep making the viewers think that mai will be the centre of the episode but in reality she only appears for 1 second.
SPOILER BELOW.. well maybe...
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The shows eps will probably go as follows..
23 - Rest time for the characters. Arika meets with mai and learns more about the history of Otome. Basically right at the end she will leave mai and mikoto to head towards Garderobe.
24 - Arika and Mashiro arrives at Garderobe and watches in dismay as basically otomes are fighting each other much like in the war which occured years ago. She meets with midori and they chat. we probably learn here more about the 3 other otome pillars and Rene Sayers (the meister to the queen who was said to be dead) probably appears.
25/26 - Big ass battle which leads somehow to miyu leader her power or arika somehow gaining super dupa powers which easily outmatch nina's, powers of the pure white diamond most probably, with this she basically taps nina and beats her.. finally near the end a 1vs1 battle occurs with nina and akira with all the remaining characters including mai watching below. Somehow out of all this chaos nina and akira stop fighting and forgive each other (much like gundam seed), something magical probably happens and a few dead people probbaly come back to life, then for the last few minutes everything returns to normal either with all the students of gaedorem all learning as if nothing happen. Of course nina and arika have disappeared and it is unknown what happen to both.. well something strange like that maybe..
anyway thats what i think roughly what will happen. please excuse my grammer since i wrote this in bout 1minute.. thanks
It's rare that you experience an ending that is 100% to your liking, is it too sad, you want it to be happy. Is it a sad-to-happy reset, you are indeed a bit disappointed as Anrad says. Personally I'm always looking for a hopeful ending, something in the lines of Ceres.
Mai Hime was too much of a happy reset to really appreciate, not only did everyone get revived, but they also forgave each other for their extreme behaviour on a whim. How they could all go back to being like that was a turn-off.
yeah they basically all worked together to defeat the bad guy even though they were killin each others loved ones a second ago. oh well, thats anime for ya. The way this show is goin it may have some sad ending.. seen many sad scenes already, especially the blond girl erstin betrayin and dyin in front of arika.. sad. :(
Hey i knew Aoi was still alive. I kinda geussed it from last episode. You know when Chie was with somebody on the sickbed. I think other people would have geussed it too(i didn't read the others comments). But this was a very interesting episode. Can't wait to see Mai in the next episode.!!!
and finding out what Mai's been up to - who, by the way, looks afwully chipper for someone who became a hermit over a broken heart. I
I'm actually thinking that the "Legend of the Fire String Ruby" is just a cover story to prevent people from finding out why Mai REALLY disappeared.
This was an enjoyable episode to watch with a helthy dose of action and drama (I thought the closing in of the hurricane was well animated to say the least.)
Anyway, I hope they can keep up the level of quality for the last 4 episodes or at least finish it off in some OVAs.
Or even, keep fingers crossed for a 3rd MAI series!
Geez. So much Sergay hate here. Someone give him a break. Why is it always Sergay that gets bashed? I don't think I've seen him do anything yet that makes me hate him. Wasn't it just a few episodes ago everyone was cheering for him when he rescued Arika from rapists and then chose not to kiss her? Well, to me, every scene so far I've emphasized with him and understood his choices. Honestly, in this episode's scenes, he reminds me of German officers in 1945: trying to protect their family while knowing they're doing wrong.
Well, that won't stop the hate, but I guess I needed to justify him to myself. Whatever. Feel free to fart on him...like the silly kids you are. ^.^
Back to the point, I too am not sure whether Miyu from Otome is Miyu from HiME. My gut tells me she is, and that she has only been reprogrammed. I think the Searrs loading screen makes it highly likely there is some connection. Sure, Searrs might be a completely different organization in Otome, but since they've never been mentioned as such, I think it's another hint to a HiME/Otome link.
The only thing that really bothered me in this episode was how the animation dipped slightly during the Arika/Valkyrie fight and Arika awakening with Mikoto and Mai over her. Every time there is a nuclear explosion, Arika awakes up surrounded by new people who are other players in the story. Once, I'll accept since it did fill in some needed info on Aswad, but twice is a bit much for me, even if it did include Mai's awaited return.
--SPOILERS--
Ah, and nice twist this episode. Here I thought the Harmonium needed the N/A/M trio to activate, not just the song. Wow. And there is a fourth stanza? How does it come into play? And the Harmonium's power is to grant the player's wish? If I read that right, then it's kinda nifty.
And yes, Nina's sudden psycho-shit on Arika was a bit much here too. I enjoyed the scene, but that's twice they've used the same event (Sergay being hurt) to have Nina snap. I was wondering if perhaps her berserker attitude fully unlocked the Harmonium's power. All the magazine scans I've seen so far mentioning Nina also note the "Dark Power" of the Harmonium in her profile. The Ultimate Black Diamond reacted to her hatred and jealousy in episode 17 and then again, it resonated with the Harmonium to materialize her Robe this episode. To me, that just screams "link!" between the three.
AW.. poor Sergay... damn that must hurt.. the wound i mean* and btw i think when he thought of REna while admiting hes feelin we said* something about him having to stop making excuses.. what i think he means is the he thought he was attracted to Arika because of Rena... but it like an excuse .. he must still care about Arika likewise Arika about him, and i could tell he was suffering when he had to point that gun at her... Damn it Sergay scare the ArcdUKE over,and get with the program man . Dont Die SergAY.
Also MaSHIRO is becmoing one of my faveorite Characters.. shes changed so much
p.S. CAn' t wait to see Mai and Mikoto
I just realized that I might have liked this story a lot better if Sergei was someone else, closer to Arika's age (like 18-21 I mean.. in her age range at least!) and with completely different looks. I wish that Sergei showed up around the time Mai did or in the background, at least, and the basic livelihood of that relationship remained. I agree with all of the characters new posts except Sergei's. Or, I don't know, if you are going to retain Natsuki/Shizuru relationship, and build on it more, i can understand. If you retain all old relationships except Mai's, then I can't help but be twitchy! I don't mind if it's side-story hanging out in the background... but X[
I wish I could actually view this as more of a next generation type of story in the full sense, not in the "Sergei, I know you have not had sex in a while, I understand. Mai has been missing in action, so you're not getting any. But minors are ILLEGAL! Bad pervert! No hentai for you!" XD
Older men are sexy, Arika, but not if your best friend is calling him Otou-san! EWWW! EWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!
*goes to wash her brain*
...
That and if Arika had better character build-up. Yes, it's daunting in comparison to Mai-HiME's angsty Battle Royal fight-to-the-death, but it could have seriously stood on its own legs after I saw the first few episodes. The fact that Arika was never a consistent character totally threw me off of the Arika-fan band-wagon. I lost respect for her more and more as time went on. Mashiro was the complete opposite. I REALLY detested her character in the beginning, but she's a great character now. I wish they put more thought into Arika.. she had SO much potential!
Nina... I at least can understand her "Father complex" but I think I would have understood it better if Sergei told her to call him "Older brother" (but I guess this is their way of cracking at it without being too obvious, though I'm thinking it is now backfiring in that it isn't really convincing). Kinky as it sounds in bed, you really DON'T want to go for your "dad" that is fatherly to you in ANY way... EWWWW!!! I think having Sergei as Nina's older brother figure that "sometimes" acts like dad is more convincing... even Utena never messed with father-daughter relationship. I mean, it's just wrong!
It would have been a nice twist to the good ol' days if they kept that the same, but am I the only one not seeing Sergei and Arika's characters meshing on any level?! After all, Arika doesn't really even know Sergei! She has just has met him on and off here and there. And can you imagine a "supposedly" complicated man like Sergei falling so easily for an OBVIOUSLY uncomplicated child like Arika? She does NOT act like a woman in any sense of the word... unless Sergei has a thing for girls........
*tries really hard not to think on this*
EWWWWWWWWWW!!!
It's just like one of those stories where the writers seem to want to push you really hard in a direction that's not very convincing...
I don't know, I'm half hoping the writers/characters will come to their senses before the end of the show and that they end up liking OTHER people that are in their age range and who their personality, views, hopes, dreams, and goals in life actually go in similar directions. That's the definition of all good relationships anyway.. unless we are suddenly just following our hormones and liking random people just-because... *looks at Sergei doubtfully* Well, he'd be less of a man for it, but at least I can understand it in Arika's case since she is just a child still.
I wish the reason for their attraction is not just because it's a cute/romantic/risque/taboo type of deal....
And they really could have made this show great character build-up since the country IS going to war. The story-line is just not as tight as last time and neither are the characters themselves. Arika had plenty of chances to show herself as older and more mature due to her circumstances and the sudden choices she had to make *points at Mai-HiME* I don't see that as a valid excuse. Mashiro managed to do it on the story plot-line, so I really don't see how Arika failed unless they didn't plan it well!
@Trelane22
I don't so much hate Sergay as hate his stupid loyalty to an obvious menace and his inability to be honest with his daughter. And yeah, it's great that he saved Arika from the rapists, but the scriptwriters had more to do with that than him - and besides, Nao was clearly about to rescue her anyway. Likewise, good for him for resisting his pedophile urges (though having them in the first place is a strike against him). If he'd finally decided to make a stand against Nagi back in ep. 17, I'd have respected him. But instead, he goes back to being Artai's loyal Northern Hound. Perhaps he still has some hidden motives left, but that's wearing thin.
Look, I can understand his actions, but understanding them doesn't mean I like or approve of them. Understanding why someone screws up doesn't change the fact that they screw up. I hope that getting gut-stabbed and finding out that his allies have been abusing the corpse of his . . . well, whatever Rena was to him (still unclear) will wake him up and get him to re-evaluate his priorities a bit. He's got a lot of potential (in my eyes), so seeing him fall short is all the more frustrating to watch.
Oh, and I was bashing a large section of the cast, not just Sergay. I'm also emphatically not a kid - though the silly part is debatable at times.
Just to clarify: I like Sergay as a character myself, but I too don't agree with his actions. I'm not very clear on Sergay and Nina's relationship, but he did mention before that the reason he adopted her was for his country's sake, for her to become Nagi's Otome eventually. That was what he said in episode 17, and I'm prone to believe him. I think his position as Nina's "father" developed later, but without adopting her for Artai's sake, their relationship would never have been. With the sole exception of him taking a hit for Arika, Sergay has been a loyal solider through and through. (Sidenote: His sponsoring Arika was something of his own accord, and it doesn't look like he had any idea he'd be forced to choose between Nagi and Arika down the road.)
In the end, Sergay is pretty unaware of what's going on. He doesn't know Nagi is going to use Nina to activate the Harmonium; he doesn't know Rena's corpse was being desecrated as the Valkyries' Founder; he didn't know of Schwartz's invasion of Garderobe and Artai's "rescue"; hell, he didn't even know Artai and Schwartz were allying until Yamada tuned him in to it. Maybe it's Nagi not trusting him from the start, but he's been kept in the dark of many of the things that the viewers take for granted. If he had known all of these things beforehand, before he'd chosen sides, he'd likely have sided with Arika and Windbloom's faction instead. What of Nina then? And there's where I think Sergay makes a reasonable choice. With no clue to the truth and with Nina's life being linked to Nagi's, he chose to protect her and "did what he had to do," in his own words.
Doh, pressed the wrong button and didn't finish with my comment. XD
Wheelock, I wasn't saying anyone here was a kid, just the attitude was kinda childish. When I read the comments here, I'd just come from another forum, and they were also calling for Sergay's blood. "Serves a pedophile right! Hope he dies a painful death!!11111oneone lolololol" and so forth. It was getting rather annoying.
If I unintentionally insulted you, I apologize. I was frustrated and a bit angered. ^^;;
Alright. Forgive me for posting in the wee hours of the morning and having bad grammar but, I felt like I should address some of the things going on in the series. I never saw Mai Hime so take it easy on me with comparisons to it.
Alright my first point being that why is everyone going so hard on Sergay ? I mean sure he seems to be the bad guy in a bunch of instances but he is what plot people would call the tragic villian I suppose. He has a sad story and there are reasons for him doing what he did. Maybe he will redeem himself in the end and maybe not. Sure the whole Sergay x Arika pairing to many people is creepy but then again there are far worse out there.
Second I was wondering if the blue star had anything to do with the series and usually after watching many animes you get a pattern for things and how plots end. But, this one threw me off that it really doesn't seem to be anything special. Again we still have a couple of episodes to go on this.
Tomoe I think makes a better villian than Nina at this point who seems to throw a tantrum each time her father is wounded . I think they did great with the relationship that was here between them though and I am VERY aggitated with Nina at this point since she should have had more trust in Arika. But, then again from someone that steals your drink in the first episode you just have to have it out for her the rest of the time right? Those are about the rest of my rants that I wanted to get off my chest.
Sergey is there to capture Mashiro and Arika. Reasons well known to Nina, those two just don't like the idea of being in the company of Nagi and his underlings. Resistance is expected and Sergey is a soldier, so getting wounded is part and parcel of the job.
If Nina expects Arika to not hurt Sergey when fighting in self defence just because he saved her before is really stupid.
I don't think Nina is mentally stable right now.
In fact, I'm POSITIVE she isn't.
She isn't psychopathic like say...Tomoe, but she definitely has many, many unresolved issues.
Unlike Arika and Mashiro, who after episode 17 had opportunities to grow beyond what they were, Nina's been stuck right where she was at the end of 17. She has yet to work things out for herself, and as long as she serves Nagi, she won't be able to.
I want to clarify that I don't hate Sergei, and I don't think THAT many people hate him as much as they hate the heavily hinted Arika/Sergei relationship. He's a tolerable character, from where I stand, and I'm apathetic to his fate - so if he dies I won't be sad to see him go and if he lives I would equally not care about his existance. I just think that for those who are watching Otome and has seen Hime, he is a character that is hard to swallow and the creators did not help his transition by putting him where they had decided put him. I don't have anything against him as a character, just the relationships he's managed to have with the girls and women in his life. I think he would have been a much better character if they did not insert the "sexual" tension between Arika and him. I think he would have been a better character if he had more reason to be around then to cause conflict between Arika and Nina as he blindly stumbles around on the path that Nagi has set for him. I don't hate Sergei, I am disappointed with him. I really had high hopes for him and I think most people who has seen HiME and liked Tate also expected more from Sergei's character...
Am I placing a lot of expectations on this show? I definitely am. But that's what happens when it is a SEQUEL. Not only that, the first few episodes for Otome was GREAT! I had high hopes for it! I thought it was going to rock my world and I was completely willing to let the secondary characters take the stage that they didn't have time for when they did HiME. I can totally understand that they would want that since the writers focused only on Mai, Natsuke and Mikoto for the majority of HiME.
In reality, I dislike Arika a lot more right now than Sergei. She was going great the first few episodes than it just all went tumbling down.
;___;
I think mai is gona train arika to kick some fucking slave asss!!!! as for the dragon otome in the 1st them song??? who the hell!!! it seems to be that the dragon otome possesses miroku ( hint: Mikotos element or child... i never understood that!!!). But for some odd reason im thinking its nina in the ultimate black diamonds true powers.... For instance, John smith had told arika she hasn't the full potential of the Souten no seiyuku... So therefor leading that her real robe is that of her moms... Then leading that Nina's robe is yet of the coral status type.. As they tap into the true power i bet Nina will have wings and that sword... Check out her element its close enough.... I dont know..
As for MIYU, i think she is from mai hime story.. Rena Sayers probally found her somewhere. She probally hitched a ride with the Earthians on there arrival on that planet... I dont know,... Seeking the "GOLDEN MILLENIUM". I mean i they only said it has been 300 years since the earth days... Not only that Reincarnation is in place here too. In eps 19 or 20 i think Midori was saying that "They suffer because of there past life". For instance, REITO SAMA!!! well whatever i have togo to work....
Wait i hope Mai becomes the savior and finds an Earthian artifact such as Kagutsucchi. And becomes the Dragon Queen!!!!
Whacked theory:
--Otomés are himes that combine themselves with their child (the robe) through a gem.
--Aswald, otoh, still leave the child as a summons. I guess they also use gems (Midori does).
--Schwartz uses both techniques, but they use artificially created children/robes. Power comes from crystals and not gems.
The thing is, it seems the children are locked within stones each time. But the harmonium breaks the stones. So my idea of the reset is that the harmonium will be used to destroy all the stones and set the orphans/children free. They will again be able to choose freely their own Himé's. As they did in MH on earth. No more regulation of who gets the power through technology, every-one can get a himé now.
RESET happened.
Dope!!! i like your theory.... It makes total sense!!! i should've figured that out.... they should make an OAV series and totally reconstruct their robes and whatever. It would be tight....
You're both idiots.
Given we have four episodes remaining, I'm 99% certain there aren't any big out-of-nowhere surprises of that nature awaiting us.
Sergei knows perfectly well that a Meister Otome can't be killed with a gun (hello? they're supposed to be able to defeats *armies*); he shot her as a distraction to get away, and as a way to show her that he really is the enemy now. But when the Valkyries did the combined attack on her, he was worried that they were actually going to kill her - something that was not in his plan. And when Miyu was about to kill Tomoe, he shot at her sword to stop her - and once again paid the consequences.
In other words, he keeps doing what he has been doing for the entire series: always trying to manage the situation at hand in order to reduce damage as much as possible, but lacking any overall plan. I'm not sure that I could do better if I were in his shoes, though.
In other news, Arika has won back a lot of points after her slump in the "angst arc". Action is where she really shines, but her attitude in general is much better now.
To those who say that "Miyu owned Nina": I saw no corpse. The only aftermath we know so far is that Arika, Mashiro and Miyu are all fine, but we saw the exact same thing when Arika and Nina collided (huge explosion, Arika and Mashiro survived), and Nina was unscathed.
Well, I hate Sergei.
Nagi has purpose. Nagi knows what's going on. He chooses the path he walks on. He may be evil, but he's worthy of respect.
Serg? He's whiny, clueless and lacks conviction in any sense of the word. He continually tortores himself and acts like he's some kind of martyr but all he is doing is endangering and hurting those he claims to care about. Even when he says he is being honest is still lying to himself. He can't decide what he wants so he flip-flops back and forth and betrays just about everyone at some point, including himself. Get a clue and jump off a climp, save everyone the trouble of your screw ups.
Anyway, I expounded at length a couple reviews back about him and won't do it again here. But this episode cemented by feelings on this guy.
(It's interesting to me that there are more posts from people who ask why people are hard on Sergei than there are actual posts of that type.)
Re: Harmonium
The Ultimate Black Diamond is the Protector?
Nina is the Player?
The 4th Stanza is also very similiar to the first stanza from what I can tell.
Am I the only one getting confused here? Is Nagi screwing around and twisting the rules?
I wonder if the harmonium would work for Arika now. Before when she activated it, she wasn't a Meister, which means she couldn't fulfill the role of the protector. Just a speculation.
>You're both idiots.
>
>Given we have four episodes remaining, I'm 99%
>certain there aren't any big out-of-nowhere surprises
>of that nature awaiting us.
Oh, that is just a theory of what would happen if Arika gets behind the harmonium in the last episode.You know she can't play piano. So having her play the harmonium could very well cause the apocalyptic "reset" that would destroy all crystal and hime technology on the whole globe.
I don't find it that much "out of no-where"... less out of no-where than the Hime Ranger ending of Mai Hime with the Crystal Princess >_>...
But yes, the theory is stupid as I also believe that the harmonium may be a transportation and observation device to the ship (and elsewhere, depends on the player) instead of the crystal shattering side effect it had on coral gems (bad / secondary quality gems coming from a corpse >_>).
No I do not feel an idiot for
(a) I stated the theory was whacked out. Claiming its uselessness up front.
(b) As useless a theory is, I feel it must be shared as other theories might spring up that could be more accurate.
(c) Putting Arika behind the harmonium, I believe that she still could play it wrongly enough to destroy the Hime star (ship) and all gems/crystals ... releasing a rain of technological debris on the planet and forcing a technological "reset"... without reviving dead people. (Erstin, Mimi & King of Cardair & Fia, Sergei?)
This would be a semi acceptable happy ending.
But
(d) I don't believe this will happen, as Mai will prolly end the series as Mashiro's Otome while Nina may die, or Sergei may have a change of heart, one or the other.
Talking about the harmonium, perhaps it can really grant one's wishes. watching the episode again, Nina's wish is probably to see Sergei again, and that transport her to the desert. Im not sure whether she did play the organ or just punching in random notes.
Another thing im puzzled about is what happen to the 3 valkyries (excluding Tomoe) when Miyu repel their finishing attack. Did they died vapourised or just blasted out of sight?
Wow, we share a lot of similar views on the Sergey/Nina issue. Nice to know I wasn't the only one -- I was starting to feel like an outcast on AnimeSuki's forums. =)
Great review as always. Cheers!
"He's been trying his best to help Arika and Nina, but he was eventually trapped in a web of conflicting loyalties out of which he couldn't escape anymore."
Why he "helps" them (and Nagi) tho can be consistently traced to selfish desires. In the dating world we refer to a person who exhibits this type of behavior as a "player."
I just watched this episode and...
man, I LOVE this series! XD
And here comes Miyu, our savior of the day! (well, she wounded Sergey but he won't die anyway ;) Ok so the real princess IS now Nina - she resembles the king and the queen too much now that I notice it (look at the hair-colour) and Arika is Rena's daughter...Although Mashiro seems now to be nobody but I guess at the end people will scream to let her stay the queen ;D [sort of super happy-ending ^^] Furthermore I think that Nina will use the harmonium along with Arika and Mashiro to end the war and maybe the history of Otome.
And Miyu was really cool this time! Look how she only used 50% of her strength (or whatever I understood that) to slash Tomoe, the ultimate psycho girl(->MAN, What was that of a performance!?O_o), to her knees! But what happened exactly to them? Are they somehow dead or tranportet by someone or how did they survive??? And next one is Mai returning!! And Mikoto!!!
Questions over questions, I can't wait to see the finals XD !!!!!
(...sorry for my bad englisch..but this is just Tooooo exciting XD)
this episode was tight....hahahaha but i'll hmm miyu is kinda kool bcuz i like her personality..anywayz luv this anime much!!!
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