Hehehe ^_^ ...

You know, the "scientific" part doesn't really bother me. Consider it Trek-speak for Mahoro's famous "Ecchi nano wa ikenai to omoimasu" as the central guideline for Maidens. Well, at least not for the opposite sex. How Yurilicious!

Arika has definitely gained tremendously from this episode, and it shows in instantly making first friends. Nina doesn't feel eerie to me, I really pity her. She's putting the dedication to come out on top to the extremes, and since her only motivation in life seems to be winning the approval of her father, this is making her life very empty indeed. We know from episode 1 that she's _indeed_ a very kind soul, but her zealousness to excel is limiting her world tremendously. I'll be looking forward to the time when she can free herself of this burden (which I believe Sergey doesn't fully understand - I doubt that he would WANT Nina to be this way).

I'll need some more TL help and then release the full review, probably on sunday. Even though Garten made a longer entry for MO than he does "normal" entries for other animes already ;)

Natsuki's rival is Mai, guaranteed.

Rado's "companion" almost has to be Midori.

Nao is Up To Something, but I have a feeling she'll end up assisting Arika, if for no other reason than that it'll annoy Shiho.

I do not trust Tomoe one bit. She's my leading suspect for the Laundry Room Person.

The Technobabble was amusing.

Haruka was awesome, of course.

And I had something else, but I forgot.

No to Tomoe in the laundry room. I'd rather expect her to try to get closer to Arika and ally with her against her archrival Nina - that's what she's been trying to do so far, and that's the most sensible thing to do. She _could_ be sabotaging things with the intent to "rescue" Arika and thus win her favor and trust, but according to Nao the plot os to get Arika thrown OUT. Nope, not Tomoe.

It's obviously not Nina (who would never do an underhanded trick like that in the first place), so my guess is that it's either Shiho or one of her admirers ordered by Shiho. She's the only one with the explicit intention to have Arika removed, it would be in character for her, and Nao seems to keep tabs on her, so it would be logical for Nao to know about underhanded dealings of Shiho anyway.

I say it's Darth Midori

That way she can be a rival for Mai the burning scarf of justice

... who is revealed to be her sister

Oh, that would be sooooo sentai

It's Shiho, i would wager. The ribbons kinda gave it away.

Continuing from last weeks talk - as funny as I think it would be to have Mashiro turn out to be Renas daughter, for those watching out for hints after this episode there is so much that points to Arika actually being Renas daughter now that it'd take an amazing twist for it not to be true...

Of course, that doesn't mean that Mashiro is still the princess (though I expect its likely) - for all we know Nina might actually be the princess, having been adopted and all. I suppose that they'd have to have SOME reason to think Mashiro was the princess to put her in that position, but what exactly we have had no indication of.

Unless Rena actually ended up being the queen - they've not really told us much about her yet. We've been assuming the two things are mutually exclusive thus far. She did live in the castle by the looks of things, and why would a powerless ex-Otome live there? Maybe she lost her powers due to having an affair with the King.

Urgh, head still hurting ^^;

On the next episode - I don't think its Shiho, or not her admirers anyway - it would be out of character for Shiho to order someone to do it as she would be showing the petty side of her nature she tries to hide.

And one more thing!

I reckon Akane is going to lose her Otome powers before the end of the series.

^
And in addition to that, Kazuya is also going to get killed leading to the trademark
"kazu-kun!" "kazu-kun!" "IYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~~~~~~!!!!"

T_I, you're evil. You know that, right?

If they really screw her over this way once again, I'll lead an assault squad to take out SUNRISE headquarters.

Its inevitable though. Considering the "HiME Clause" Natsuki revealed, and the fact that Akane clearly has something for Kazuya, its pretty obvious.

Or they could be trying to fake us out.

The PSA no-male thing is just guaranteed to drive Natsuki and Shizuru even closer together :P

Btw, is Mai really in this world? :O And without Tate? Oh dear.

Last week's was action packed? o_O

Anyway, I'll have to wait until the fansub is out for this ep, but after this, it has one more episode to go before I call it quits.

The "no relationships with men" clause must be whats causing the higher than normal occurance of lesbianism among the Otome.

And why are people surprised that Mai is around?

On scientific technobabble and Arika's chance for a boyfriend:

At first hearing Ep04 I had a flashback to the bad old days of NGE, where the scriptwriter's pulled random words from the index of a biology textbook and stuck them as labels on odd gizmos, maps and whatnot.

But MaiZHime really did some homework - the bit about nanomachines likely triggering an immune response is spot on. Both an initial allergic reaction and the possibility of long-term allorejection are highly plausible. A single event triggering development of long term immunity (rejection of the nanomachines) is also plausible. Having that trigger be sex - OK, that reeks of a plot device rather than solid biology. It's within the range of possible but not likely.

However, the no-boyfriends-for-Otome clause doesn't apply to Akira, because they've written in a huge escape clause for her. It's been well established that unlike the normal run-the-mill Otome, Akira _has_ no allergic reaction to the nanomachines. Her immune system tolerates them like old friends. (Maybe like old friends passed along in utero by a mother who for some reason had nanomachines in her bloodstream as well :-).

In fact they've written in a less biological escape clause as well, because we've seen once again in Ep04 that Akira can trigger Otome-like powers directly from the sapphire.

So my money is on Akira picking up a taisetsunahito/boyfriend somewhere along the line, and unless Mai's otouto-chan shows up that leaves - Nagi??

Well, I'm surprised that Mai might be around because she seems to already have a counterpart (Arika), who looks very similar to her in looks. For instance, Natsuki, Shizuru, Haruka, etc are very much in this world under their own names and personalities. Then we have Sergey, who looks -just- like Tate but isn't, and Arika, who has Mai's coloring, so I expected them to be Tate & Mai's "counterparts" in this world, so to speak, and not actually have them around the way Natsuki & co are. ^_^; That's confusing, but that was my logic, anyhow ..

In any case, if the nanomachines are disabled upon being invaded by *gasp* men, then Rena is no one's mother, secret or not, because she still could fight in the flashback from episode one.

Ep. 4 expect much for it to be a "fan service" episode...

Let's see...

Ep. 9-Beach Episode
Ep. 10-Iron Chef Episode
Ep. 16-Karoake/Cosplay Episode

I also think the sperms kill nano machine bogus, although the immunological respond is plausible. But the thought of Miyu hosing down some Otomes with slimy synthetic liquid to reprise her anti-Otome role is a bit unsettling. XD

On the other hand, I really don't think it is a good idea to allow Otome to have babies, because it'll cause loyalty issues. Furthermore, both Shizuru and Haruka already demonstrated that if they want to take over the world, they probably could. So it would be foolish for the politicians not to put short leash on these Otomes.

Since most Otomes we saw were quite young, my guess is that Otomes do not stay as Otomes for too long. I guess most of them eventually get married and quit to have kids. So not being able to "do it" is not much of a problem since it is not really different from a woman getting a medical degree who has no time to "screw" around. It's probably a good thing to put on the resumate. If anything, being able to fly around is probably worth it for some ladies. In the case of Akane and Kazu they probably will wait a bit or just get a lot of condom hehehe. Akane is probably 16 or so now, so even if she work 10 years as an Otome she'll only be 26, still a prime age for marriage.

Anyway, I agree with Mentar, the bald guy is bad news I tell you.

At least they're using Mai's face...

Look at the episode 5 preview, very carefully...

My main concern is how they're going to get enough screentime for everyone (fine, just for Natsuki and Shizuru in my case) considering the huge cast of characters.
I suspect the numbers are so that they have enough people to greendust/have horrible things happen to
*Evil ho ho ho's heard from Sunrise headquarters*

About arika being rena's daughter, didnt the science talk reveal that otome can't have relationships with males?

If this is true how Could Arika be rena daughter?

sorry about the two posts but I thought of something, the evil masked man said in the first episode that rena had lost the power of the otome, arika's birth would explain this.

My main concern is how they're going to get enough screentime for everyone (fine, just for Natsuki and Shizuru in my case) considering the huge cast of characters.
I suspect the numbers are so that they have enough people to greendust/have horrible things happen to
*Evil ho ho ho's heard from Sunrise headquarters*

They did it in HiME, I don't see how this will be any different

Well, I'm surprised that Mai might be around because she seems to already have a counterpart (Arika), who looks very similar to her in looks. For instance, Natsuki, Shizuru, Haruka, etc are very much in this world under their own names and personalities. Then we have Sergey, who looks -just- like Tate but isn't, and Arika, who has Mai's coloring, so I expected them to be Tate & Mai's "counterparts" in this world, so to speak, and not actually have them around the way Natsuki & co are. ^_^; That's confusing, but that was my logic, anyhow ..

But Arika and Mai are NOTHING ALIKE. They are so totally different. And they look nothing alike.

"sorry about the two posts but I thought of something, the evil masked man said in the first episode that rena had lost the power of the otome, arika's birth would explain this." But she fights right after she sends Arika down the tunnel of water, so it's still impossible, unless those powers were very limited ones that can be utilized without the nanomachines.

"But Arika and Mai are NOTHING ALIKE. They are so totally different. And they look nothing alike." Well, in comparing the characters again, I admit the coloring is more off than I had first thought >_> I suppose my concern is that the first season was named Mai-HiME, it being rather Mai centric.. if Arika isn't Mai, is the second one called Mai-Otome out of continuity rather than it actually being around Mai? Of course, I assumed that "Mai" meant the person, not the dance. In any case, in my assuming parallel worlds, I also assumed that if nothing else, the main character would stay the same. Very possibly wrong >_>

But if Mai really exists! I would be VERY HAPPY because I like her better than Arika (not that the latter isn't a, er, sweet girl). Although I still wonder if Tate will or won't exist ^^ given that he DEFINITELY has a counterpart.

But if Mai really exists! I would be VERY HAPPY because I like her better than Arika (not that the latter isn't a, er, sweet girl). Although I still wonder if Tate will or won't exist ^^ given that he DEFINITELY has a counterpart.

MAI IS IN THE SERIES.

SHE IS IN THE OPENING

However, the no-boyfriends-for-Otome clause doesn't apply to Akira, because they've written in a huge escape clause for her. It's been well established that unlike the normal run-the-mill Otome, Akira _has_ no allergic reaction to the nanomachines. Her immune system tolerates them like old friends.

Yeah, but so far Arika has show less than no interest in men, and if anything has shown a great interest in women...

If anything, *when* Mai shows up, it will be something like a highschool reunion between her, Sergey, Natsuki & Co. Who else can be Natsuki's 'rival'? ^^ b I'm looking for a certain 'triangle' to form and Sergey's gonna be mixed up in it. XD No, it doesn't involve Natsuki really, but hey, if it happens, it happens. Happened in the manga (which was kinda surprising).

Arika's nice n all but she's definitely no Mai. Mai actually agonized over putting her wishes above those of the others in MH but Arika's got that 'knock em out' attitude, even if it's sugar coated.

Sergey's interested in Lena, I can't imagine him caring one bit about Mai.

But yes, Mai is defintiely Natsuki's "rival".

I don't know...there's a definite age difference between Sergey and Lena - Sergey doesn't look a day over 14 when the 'invasion' happened and Lena was at least 19-20 at the time. If anything, it could still be his childhood crush working, leading him to find out about the disappearance of the Sapphire Pillar. Now, if something happens between them in the present day, well, they're both adults. Poor Ni~na-chan though. ^^
Sergey obviously knows all the Pillars personally, I'm very interested to see what kind of a role he'll play out aside for keeping tabs on Arika through Nina and for causing grief to Natsuki ^^. I wonder if Shizuru will tease her about it - Sergey seems like one of the few men able to get under Natsuki's skin in that way, and likewise.

On another note in setting up the Five Pillars, let's say that Natsuki is indeed one...(this is NOT set up to power ranking either :p)

Amythest = Shizuru
Topaz = Haruka
*Ruby= Mai
*Diamond = Natsuki
Sapphire = (prev) Rena (now) Arika

* = jewel guesses.
They could have an Emerald color but that wasn't shown in any clip whatsoever so 'x' to that idea, for now. I'll close the door on it but I won't lock it just yet ; this IS Sunrise we are dealing with. :p

"MAI IS IN THE SERIES.

SHE IS IN THE OPENING"

Yes, I realize that looks a great deal like Mai and is 99% her. I would even go as far to say that I could understand that very simple concept without such excessive caps-lock abuse.

In any case, how much of it will correspond with Mai as she was in first season is still up for grabs; as we can see, Tate has shown up in his exact physical counterpart, Sergey, and they're completely different, while Natsuki and Shizuru have maintained personalities exactly.

I personally, can't see Mai being a particularly "good" character in this series at all.

Mai is DEFIENETLY in this series, there are drawings of her, also, she is DEFINETLY an Otome. The Flame Otome to be exact. I'm almost 100% sure now. The character in the opening looks like her, her drawing corresponds with her, and finally, the fire element and the three-flamed circle that signifies her bracelets.

Natsuki is also definetly a Pillar, which one, I'm not sure. Another thing that sticks in my mind is that maybe this series, there will be city against city wars. If one of the Pillars is that Emperor's Otome, he could order her to attack the other Pillars and there is nothing they can do, they have to do as they are told. Maybe, if the Pillar's master is killed, so are the Pillars? Iunno anymore, too many possibilities.

Tate will not be in this series by the way, it would just be wrong. Sergey/Tate twins, *shudders*.

One thing I don't understand is the fact that the Shadow Otome, assuming that she is a Pillar, has purple as a colour. That however, would make her Shizuru as Shizuru is the Amythest of Grace. Wonder what that's all about? Would be good if Akane became a Pillar, I really like her. Also, I still don't want Haruka to be a Pillar, too early to know who all 5 are.

4 episodes only and so much specalations already.I believe that Mai-Otome can replace Mai-HiME as the most debated series.

On another note,i am staying away from guessing what will happen in Mai-Otome or whether is that Mai etc etc.I learnt my lesson from Mai-HiME well and it hard to guess what those nutty people at SUNRISE are thinking about O.o See what have they done to us already!?! (refer to previous posts for evidence)

Heh, isn't that what makes it fun?? ^__^ b As long as no one goes bashing needlessly or repeating stuff too many times...

Why do a lot of people hate Tate...jeez, give the guy a break. I imagine many MORE people would hate him if they (Sunrise) followed the manga storyline more closely. And Sergey's just Tate grown up. I can see Tate growing up into that kind of a guy. It's cool to see that he's become a lot more mature about most things (Way to go, flirting on the boat!). Now we'll have to see him deal with the soon to come - Nina/Lena problem.

My guess is that the 'Dark Valley' people have enough tech to build powersuits strong enough to take on a Meister Otome and that they're using the BlackLetter idiots as fodder. ^^ With all these superpowered girls flying around, small wonder some guys are getting envious and try to become stronger to take them on. Hell, I know if I was there, I'd do whatever it takes to get as strong as them.

And if I remember SS's sub, the way they presented it, it seems as if the 5 Pillars serve the School first and for most rather than individual countries. Reasoning - Some idiot ruler orders their Meister Otome(s) to attack the school for some oddball reason like sabotage and/or try to force an 'annex' into their own kingdom. Thus the reason why they have 5 top level Meister Otomes around. The 5 are still technically called to serve other countries and such but if Natsuki desires, she can recall them back on 'valid reasons' I'm sure.
Still, the Council made some stress about Shizuru unlocking herself to battle and the Council didn't have a say on it. -_- Politicians, go figure. I like Natsuki's call on that - Ask for Forgiveness, not Permission - would take way too long for those idiots to decide on anything.

Okay, that's it for me...blog on

Arakan7, if you like a character, you should just like that character without caring about what other people think about it. I personally think Tate is a perfectly fine character with a few flaws. Well, except for some of the lame and cheesy lines he got to say on episode 26 of Mai Hime. But then again everyone else is lame and cheestastic in that episode.

I notice that there is a tendency for indecisive or weak characters to be bashed around within the anime fandom. And usually these tend to be males rather than females. For some reasons fans usually are far more lenient towards female characters even if they have unpleasant personality. But all it takes for a male character to be bashed is for him to be indecisive. Take Mayama from Honey and Clover, for example. I still laugh when I remember how people quickly bashed him just because he doesn't reciprocate Ayu's feeling.

I already knew back then that the author was going to turn things around to show how things are not as it appear because by episode 16, Ayu finally realises that Mayama isn't stringing her along but rather he is not interested in her beyond as close friends. Ever since then, the number of people who bashed Mayama decreased exponentially. Although not completely gone because some people just can't except that Mayama don't actually like someone as pretty as Ayu. But that's just goes to show that different people find different things to be interesting.

But unfortunately, not all authors are good at showing the other side of the perspective and usually left the character to its own device. So unfortunately some characters will get bashed just because they don't respond in a particular manner towards another character or a situation. So what can you do in that case? Create your own place where you can voice your own opinion freely. In my case I decided to create this blog. This way, I can say whatever I like about a series/a character. If people like it, that's good. If they don't, they can say why they dont' like it. But if they're being annoying, I can boot them out. There's no two ways about it.

Not saying that anyone on here was needlessly bashing, I guess I over-generalized in my last post. Apologies around - don't want to make this into something it's not. ^^;

about -Rena is Arika's mother or not- issue
and the fact that -Otome can't have baby-

if i remember it right, Rena didn't use any Otome-like power after she send baby away
just plain and normal weapon, right ?

maybe there's something like Rena is former Otome/Pillar -> Marry with King of Windbloom -> losing Otome power but she gave birth to Arika

Mai is in the series. If you look at the preview for episode 5, you'll notice that there's a poster of Mai (unmistakable) right behind Haruka posing and some posters of other otomes. So she's definately in the series and definately an otome.

I loved Haruka's entrance! She's such an intensely dynamic character filled with silly moments.

"Dream Wing" has completely grown on me. I think it's a much better opening than "Shining Days."

Hehe, managed to snap a pic of Mai in her Otome outfit. =D

http://brandonatreyu.net/branny/mailives.JPG

Series is getting interesting! Liking Nina less, less, and less, every episode. I like how they made Yukino above Haruka in this series. Role reversal! =D

With every passing episode, my animosity towards Arika and my apprehension about the series as a whole, is growing.

Don't get me wrong, it was cool to see Haruka show everyone who's the boss when it came to tossing stuff around. But with all the poorly vieled shoujo-ai wank with the plot is killing it for me. (the whole 'you either live as an Otome or a regular girl/lesbian' schitck = tactless)

With any luck, one can only hope that Midori(?) and Rado are the ones right in the right and the whole Otome deal's a sham in some way I can't figure out. Kinda like the whole 'Anti-Orphan' deal in Mai-HiME.

Oh yeah and blowing stuff up would help too.

Another strike is that there's still no Mai to be seen. Yes, I've seen the pics and all, but we've yet to see her in action. It is just my opinion, but Mai was a lot less irritating that Arika is (*Sings* ~If she only only had a brain.~) And it's also obvious that she has no qualms about crushing the dreams of others in order to achieve her own. Gee, what a great main character.

*Is clearly in the minority here -_- *

Another strike is that there's still no Mai to be seen. Yes, I've seen the pics and all, but we've yet to see her in action. It is just my opinion, but Mai was a lot less irritating that Arika is (*Sings* ~If she only only had a brain.~)

But this is ARIKA's show. Mai will be in it, and probably have a decently large role, but its not going to be her show.

And it's also obvious that she has no qualms about crushing the dreams of others in order to achieve her own. Gee, what a great main character.

I find that rather refreshing. Sometimes you have to crush someone else's dreams to achieve your own. Yeah, it kinda s*cks, but the alternative is that you don't achieve your dream.

It's how it works in the real world.

Besides, I don't think that Nina has any qualms about crushing Arika's dreams either. she's declared the rest of the Coral Star class as her 'rivals'. It's easier to crush a rival's dream than a friend's dream so that's why she's probably aloof from everyone in the first place.

Speaking of rivals, I hope they show some action between Haruka and Shizuru. The fighting kind of action, mind you. And if they show that, they GOTTA show Natsuki vs Mai. Even if it's a flashback...^^

Don't forget, Fencedue, it's Mai's name in the title, so nyeah! :p All kidding aside, you're right. It is her show and I'm going to have to bite the bullet and live with it.

As for Arika crushing the dreams of others, you are also right, but what bugs me about it is how oblvious Arika seems to be. It was obvious from this that she and Nina were going to be rivals, yet, she just can't seem to make the connection that she's going to be causing her 'friends' misery for a goal of which she only has a vague understanding of. It's like, she lives in this strange little fantasy where everyone lives happily ever after when reality proves such a thing otherwise. Seems her granny didn't teach her much because she's got a nasty habit of repeating it ad nauseum. :p

Complain much? Yes, I do. Thank you, it's what I do best. :)

Trivia: Only half of the corrals can be promoted to Pearl.

Half of them will get their dreams crushed by another either way

A cool episode. But what I don't understand is why no one bothered to help Arika hold up the stupid plane when there were other Otomes around. Shizuru is dealing with Rado, so I assume that she just stepped out just in time to see Haruka charge in.
One guess is that the Otome were not granted permission to help. Another is that Otome power levels are different, and if an Otome would try to do something beyond their ability (like holding up a plane), their robe will disintegrate, or may impair their effectiveness in the future.

Im going to say this much about the Mai vs Ariko question: Gundam Seed Destiny, Kira vs Shinn.

Beyond that, I wont even try to speculate on the story line. But what really gets me is the fact that powerful Otomes have a weakness to common male bodily fluids.

In theory, if the enemy fired darts tipped with said fluids, or even just hosed them down with it with modified water guns, then these powerful otomes would go down hard.

Its like a huge gaping flaw in an otherwise solid fighting machine. If I were a villain, it would probably be the first thing I exploit.

It would also make for a lot of bad jokes where the villain who brings such weapons says something like: "Ha! It took my men a whole week to, um, make these."

@windam
Remember that the Otome who were watching the battle were just in normal robes. As normal Otome, without a permanent or temporary master, they are unable to perform attacks like the rest. Arika's robe was activated under Shizuru as a temporary master. Of course, Nina or Natsuki could have helped, seeing that Nina's robe was activated and Natsuki can activate her own robe with Materialise.

Unfortunately, I actually really took to Haruka. I prefer her in this role and I'm starting to believe she is a Pillar due to her being named as the Topaz of Bells. However, maybe Master Otome get the names of Gems? They did say when they reach Master Otome they receive Gems that link them to their Master... interesting concept... If this is true, then it shatters all the thoughts about Natsuki and Rena sharing the Sapphire Pillar theory. It's amazing the amount of speculation you can have.

I'm starting to dislike Nina now... although my opinions change every episode, (example: Haruka). The series hasn't grabbed me yet, but now that Arika is finally enrolled, it'll only be a few episodes before the serious stuff hits. Also, I don't think that Arika is that ready to crush everyone's dreams, she's too naive to even realise what she's doing until she's done it.

Im going to say this much about the Mai vs Ariko question: Gundam Seed Destiny, Kira vs Shinn.

Please don't bring that up. Totally different situation. I'm not happy with how Destiny turned out anyway.

"Mai's" name is not necessarily in the title. The title is such to provide a link to the previous series.

Beyond that, I wont even try to speculate on the story line. But what really gets me is the fact that powerful Otomes have a weakness to common male bodily fluids.
In theory, if the enemy fired darts tipped with said fluids, or even just hosed them down with it with modified water guns, then these powerful otomes would go down hard.
Its like a huge gaping flaw in an otherwise solid fighting machine. If I were a villain, it would probably be the first thing I exploit.

I felt it was rather implied that the sperm has to go up the uterus for it to count. And this is hardly the first series to have such a condition on the powers of a female character.

If this is true, then it shatters all the thoughts about Natsuki and Rena sharing the Sapphire Pillar theory.

*blinks*

What theory? I've never heard THAT. Thats moderately ridiculous. Besides, Pillars don't have human masters.

And I believe it was mentioned somewhere that Natsuki is the "Something or another Diamond"

i think natsuki's rival is arika's mother. they all seem to know about her diamond and she always says "like me and her back then"

i suspect that hooded person to midori so bad cuz of her bangs.

i noticed in the epi 5 preview, mai was shown in a pearl class uniform on a poster. i guess mai is in it afterall. =)

Hmmm, if Natsuki and Arika's mother were indeed rivals...that would mean that Natsuki will have to be in her 30's. ^^; Knowing and seeing someone with something important and being rivals with them are two totally different things.

Bare minimum age of entering the school seems to be 14.
2 years to go through classes - give or take - also allowing for the 2 years of schooling to be included into the 14 years of the past events. Oh yeah, most of the Meister-level Otome appear to become such at 18-20 years old. So that means that Natsuki's anywhere from 28 to 32 years old. ^^;;;

Since Natsuki is most likely a Meister Otome, that'd put her at least 14 years old when the Blue Heaven jewel disappeared. She'd have to be 18 at the time to have been a 'rival' of Rena's.

For another comparison...Sergey looks to be the same age as Natsuki. He appears to be 13 to 14 when the attack on Wind is going on. Nina looks to be around 3-4 years old in her early memories of going through the album and in the one photo, Sergey, he looks to be about 14 with Rena, already the Sapphire Pillar, around 18. 14 years old plus another 14 years would make him 28 also. With a four year difference between him and Rena, she'd be 32 by now.

Pillars serve the school as well as their individual Masters. Natsuki 'recalled' Shizuru so I think that if a Meister Otome becomes a Pillar, their contract, if if can be called that, is most likely altered to allow service to the school should the current headmaster call for them. They are also recognized as the strongest Meister Otome of that generation. It would make sense that evey 10-15 years or so they change Pillars.

i noticed in the epi 5 preview, mai was shown in a pearl class uniform on a poster. i guess mai is in it afterall. =)

I wonder if EVERY SINGLE PERSON will be compelled to point this out. WE KNOW ALREADY.

Anyway, something I don't remember anyone mentioning is that Mai's uniform is the same as Akane's, indicating that she was the top ranked Pearl for her year.

In theory, if it is the immune response which is required, to kill nano-machines, then any break in the skin which delivers male bodily fluids into the Otome is sufficient to trigger such a response. Hence darts coated with such fluids would be enough.

However, if it is the actual fluids which shut down the Nano machines, then hosing the Otome down will work. (E.g. the suit is made from nanomachines) But that is unlikely to occur in this show: if a villain hosed them down with male bodily fluid, this show might be bumped up to R-15 or something.

On a related note, if it is an immune response, then in theory, males could carry and use nano-machines, and since males don't generate immune response to male bodily fluids, their nano-machines won't shut down from that. But if it is a direct weakness, then males cant carry nanomachines.

The subs I have don't make the situation 100% clear though. But if males were able to carry and use Otome power, then it might lead one to wonder why only females are Otome.

I vote for "we're thinking too hard"

Tabun na....^^;

R-15...? They might as well call it 'Mai-Hentai' #_#
Anyway, it sounds as if it's both the y-Chromesone AND this 'PSA antigen' that breaks down the nanos.

Well, I was going to give this one more episode, but after watching ep 4, I realized I just can't stand this show. Hope you guys enjoy it, ja ne.

I have a random theory.

Darth Reito.. err... Rado is Arika's father, and what he was searching for in the throne room was his pet cat, Mikoto.

@FenceDude
I don't believe Natsuki has ever been refered to in the show as the "Diamond anything". The only place I have ever heard her being referred to as the Diamond something is the comments made here. As for the Natsuki/Rena both being the Sapphire Pillar theory, it was a theory that was speculated here. That Natsuki may NOW be the Sapphire Pillar due to Rena possibly losing her powers and the fact that she wears blue.

In addition, it also seems that Pillars do have Master's because, when looking at the screenshots of Episode Three, when Shizuru activates her robe, it connects to F.H. Meaning, it should connect to her Master.

http://www.earth-alliance.org/Memento/Mai_Otome/03/B53.jpg

Just for the record, while Natsuki's title hasn't been stated in the series yet, her GEM is known as "The Silver Crystal/Quartz of Ice and Snow" (氷雪の銀水晶 - Hyousetsu no Gin Suishou) according to an official sketch. Rather similar to Duran's power, I guess. My two cents. ^__^

In addition, it also seems that Pillars do have Master's because, when looking at the screenshots of Episode Three, when Shizuru activates her robe, it connects to F.H. Meaning, it should connect to her Master.

Note I said they don't have "Human" masters. From what I understand the Pillars directly serve the "supreme being" of this world. The "Shinso" they have referenced on several occasions.

And the "D" isn't capitalized!

Arakan7 wrote:

> Hmmm, if Natsuki and Arika's mother were
> indeed rivals...that would mean that Natsuki will >have to be in her 30's.

I think it's a _lot_ more likely that Natsuki's rival was Mai. Think about for a minute, think about how they're keeping MH relationships between characters to one degree or another and you'll see how it makes more sense.

>Since Natsuki is most likely a Meister Otome

She's a Pillar. Full stop. That was confirmed before the show even aired.

I already know about the Natsuki/Mai rivalry, I was just giving Jeannie the benefit of the doubt with what they said about Arika's mother being Natsuki's rival. Not saying that Mai is her mother either...^^; Not possible.

And what's wrong with calling Natsuki a Meister Otome?
Isn't being a Pillar just means that you're among the top 5 strongest Otome? The show doesn't seem to be focusing on who's a Pillar persay for right now, but I suppose that will change soon enough, especially if more of those Black Valley cyborgs come to play.

Mrr...that Jewel has me confused about something...I'll wait until Ep 5 to ask about it though.

Am I the only one to think that we have already seen Mai in the series. In the episode 3, there are 2 bad guys, the one who battles with Shizuru and another one. I'm personnally sure that it's Mai.
Look : 3 ' 17

The "no sex" or give up your otome powers forever really bothers me. Ugh. It's like such a restriction against women. HOW BORING!!! I definitely oppose this in the storyline!

What better way to ensure loyalty to their "Masters" by removing the possibility of a love interest? Any loyal Otome, believing this to be true, will shy away from such involvements.

I postulate that the "nanomachine" issue is actually either fabricated by Garderobe or, if it is true, it may very well in fact designed by them on purpose. Whatever they profess about the technology, it is unlikely they have not developed some knowledge concerning it, given how extensively it is used and how it is basically the reason Otomes can exist.

About the Pillars, one thing that strikes me is that apparent ability to act autonomously, whether they have a Master or not. Strength aside, it suggests they are above and beyond the rules of the other Otome.

This is a little early in the series for me to comment, but I'd thought I'd contribute my two cents worth. No male bodily fluids allowed entrance to the uterus? Condoms springs to mind, either male or female. Or coitus interruptus. Is it specific to sperm? I'm sure that some men would be willing to make the sacrifice and become eunuchs.

Who says that Garderobe is the only institution to have access to that specific nano-technology? And if they do, it's not impossible that it can't be duplicated with a similar system or effects, whether magical or otherwise.

What happens to the girls that have potential, but washout due to circumstances beyond their control, or simply weren't feeling chipper enough on the final exam? There would a certain percentage that would feel some resentment. If the nano-machines actually trigger some latent power, then this power could be tapped through other means.

And for those who want descendants without losing their powers - test tube babies, and surrogate mothers.

In Mai-HiME, if I remember correctly, it was that love-bond that somehow triggered the HiMEs' powers, and that the loss of the Child causes the disappearance/death of the loved one. Here, the relationship seems a little more direct. So if I wanted to defeat an Otome, all I would have to do is kill off their master, without having to face them (long range sniper rifle comes to mind).

Haruka was one of my favourite characters in the original series, and I'm glad to see her back, but I miss her turbulence.

Cheers

http://japan.medscape.com/viewarticle/473181_4

One interesting bit - TRALI (Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury) syndrome results from antibodies from women who have been pregnant (and thus, their bodies continue to produce them) violently attack certain tissues in males. Maybe a reaction along these lines was responsible for the old Mai OTOME issues with male material? The same antibodies have a... similarly bad effect on the nanomachines? ;)

Ah, I love digging up old threads.