Mai-HiME 10th Anniversary Watch and Discuss

[Tak]

Episode 5.

Here we go again

Not many noteworthy pics this week...

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- Tak

[Darthtabby]

@Tak -Some people view Miyu as a Rei clone.

Episode 5: "Rain - Tears"

Originally Posted by Wizard Magazine Interview with Masakazu Ohara

Up until this point, Mai’s true personality hasn’t been shown yet, and we timed its emergence in order for her to make a connection with her coworker Akane.

This is an episode I've come to appreciate more with rewatching, perhaps in part because I've come to appreciate Mai herself more and this episode is heavily focused on her. It's also an episode that takes on greater significance in light of events that take place in later episodes. I think its good to keep the events of this episode in mind when reflecting on some of the things that happen involving Mai and Yuiichi later in the series.

While there is some focus on Akane in this episode, I actually feel like it focuses more prominently on Miyu. Akane comes to prominence more in some of the upcoming episodes.

Mai's classmates are shown to be very considerate in this episode. Yet somehow it didn't occur to any of them that they should offer to share an umbrella with Mai when they were saying goodbye to her at the hospital entrance and it was obvious she didn't have any rain gear.

Also:

Originally Posted by Chie Harada

"I'm sure Mai's got a reason for what she does. Let's not pry."

What the heck, Chie? Aren't you supposed to be some kind of gossip queen?

On a culture related note, bathing together is considered a form of family bonding in Japan, but there's a certain age after which it's considered strange. Hence Mai's teasing Takumi by telling him that if he doesn't cooperate she'll "tell everyone that you insisted on taking bathes with me up until just recently."

Actually despite this being a relatively downcast episode there are several pretty funny moments like Mai having to remind the other girls not to talk about their yaoi fangirl fantasies involving her little brother when she's standing right there. (Speaking of Akira, knowing that character's backstory casts the character's actions and dialogue in this episode in a whole different light doesn't it?) I also liked Yuuichi's attempt to act cool. It was like he tried to be cool and got laughed at by Mai, but in a way that made him cool because she had been depressed and crying earlier in the episode.

Ultimately though this episode is primarily about Mai, who she really is, and what makes her tick. The constantly cheerful supergirl is a brave act: in reality her responsibilities do weigh heavily on her, and there are times when she just ends up burning out. What makes her strong, in my view, is that when that happens she's generally able to pick herself up and keep going (sometimes with a little help).

[kitten320]

Ah, sorry for not being around. am so busy that I don't even keep up with a any new shows, extremely behind with everything.

So we are on episode 5 now huh? A bit more and all of the cool stuff will kick in =P

On topic of episode 4, still makes me giggle. Poor Natsuki.

[Tempest35]

Reito was the hawt mature guy (compared to Tate) who had the mysterious dark side that a good deal of young girls find 'attractive' or alluring in some fashion. So I'm not gonna fault the youngin's too much on it. Besides, Mai gave as good as she got from Tate so he figured it was their established status quo to snark and tease each other. No reason to change so her suddenly crying like that really threw her for a loop - and also made him see her as a vulnerable girl again that he could like. Yes, men are weird.

Just looking ahead, did you want to do one of these for the Otome one as well? Cuz I'm a Mai nut and I will go nuts waiting for ep 23 of Otome.

[Darthtabby]

Originally Posted by kitten320

Ah, sorry for not being around. am so busy that I don't even keep up with a any new shows, extremely behind with everything.

So we are on episode 5 now huh? A bit more and all of the cool stuff will kick in =P

On topic of episode 4, still makes me giggle. Poor Natsuki.

Are you referring to the first wham episode? Or the episodes where we meet some of the other HiME?

And yes, watching Natsuki get embarassed is always highly entertaining.

Originally Posted by Tempest35

Reito was the hawt mature guy (compared to Tate) who had the mysterious dark side that a good deal of young girls find 'attractive' or alluring in some fashion. So I'm not gonna fault the youngin's too much on it. Besides, Mai gave as good as she got from Tate so he figured it was their established status quo to snark and tease each other. No reason to change so her suddenly crying like that really threw her for a loop - and also made him see her as a vulnerable girl again that he could like. Yes, men are weird.

Just looking ahead, did you want to do one of these for the Otome one as well? Cuz I'm a Mai nut and I will go nuts waiting for ep 23 of Otome.

Little careful with the spoilers please. I know we haven't seen many posts from newcomers to the series but I still want to keep things newbie friendly.

Spoiler:

I generally think HiME did a fairly good job of developing its cast, but Reito is one of the characters I think could have used a bit more fleshing out. His DVD special helped a little, but also helped highlight that they could have done more with him.

Maybe this is a sign that I'm really obsessed with this particular series, but one question I find interesting to ponder is what Yuiichi would have done next if Mai hadn't started crying like she did. I actually rather doubt he would have just walked off and left her to fend for herself with no raingear. I think he probably would have offered to let her use his umbrella, though he might tease her about it or put some kind of condition on it ("Well, maybe if you ask nicely, then I'll let you..." or some such. Though I'm not sure that she would accept that sort of condition. ).

I also find it interesting to note that he actually doesn't understand everything that led to Mai's little breakdown. He knows she's dealing with trying to take care of a sickly younger sibling, but he doesn't know about all the pressure she'd under with the HiME thing (especially with Natsuki going and dropping the whole First District thing on her this episode).

I have no plans to run an event like this for Otome, but if this does prove successful and someone else wants to try to run a similar event for Otome then I have no objections.

[Tak]

Originally Posted by Tempest35

Just looking ahead, did you want to do one of these for the Otome one as well? Cuz I'm a Mai nut and I will go nuts waiting for ep 23 of Otome.

I am not going to lie, I am a massive Otome fan. So much I can memorize the script!

- Tak

[Tempest35]

Tate's the kind of guy who does things wholeheartedly right there in the moment. I like that kind of honesty.

[Darthtabby]

Originally Posted by Tempest35

Tate's the kind of guy who does things wholeheartedly right there in the moment. I like that kind of honesty.

So does that mean you think he meant it when he told Mai she shouldn't expect to get under his umbrella?

I really ought to be able to come up with a better topic of discussion for this episode that this.

Actually, I guess I can add another cultural note. I seem to remember reading something to the effect that many Japanese people are against organ transplants for religious reasons, and because of that transplants are not very common there. That's probably a factor in why Mai is trying to get Takumi an operation overseas.

[Tak]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

Actually, I guess I can add another cultural note. I seem to remember reading something to the effect that many Japanese people are against organ transplants for religious reasons, and because of that transplants are not very common there. That's probably a factor in why Mai is trying to get Takumi an operation overseas.

Even today, people who prepare the dead (for funeral) are looked upon in a more peculiar manner. Traditionally, those were jobs of the Burakumin, or the castouts in Japanese society, and handling the dead is not seen as clean.

On the other hand, there were also cases where evaluating someone who was brain dead for organ transplant had been mishandled, to the point where heart transplant was once prohibited for at least 15 years.

- Tak

[Darthtabby]

I wonder if that's a contributing factor in why the Japanese have been developing robots to help in the removal of dead bodies...

Anyway, the bottom line is that Mai trying to get Takumi a heart transplant overseas isn't really so far fetched. Supposedly Japan only carried out twelve heart transplants in 2008 (though its worth noting a new law that was designed to facilitate more transplants was passed in 2009) and it's still common practice for families to send their children overseas if they require a transplant.

[Darthtabby]

Episode Six: "The Passionate Age of 17"

Originally Posted by Wizard Magazine Interview with Masakazu Ohara

Midori’s something of an antagonist for Mai when they work together, but she’s also a catalyst for Mai getting to know herself better. We also introduce Midori in the typical way of establishing a Japanese comic hero. It all ties into the way each HiME has a different power and a different thought process that connects to that power.

Midori is actually one of my favorite HiME besides Mai and Natsuki. She's a lot of fun. The thing with her claiming to be seventeen is an in joke by the way. The voice actress who plays her, Yukari Tamura, is a member of the "Cult of Seventeen Year Olds," a group of voice actresses who claim to be seventeen when they're obviously much older.

While this was generally a pretty light hearted episode there's actually a lot of things that tie in to later developments. We see hints of Nao's nocturnal activities, the wedding kimono Shiho inherited from her grandmother makes an appearance, Mai is reluctant to summon Kagutsuchi, and of course Akane is shaken by the sight of poor socially awkward Miyu. One could even consider Mai's noting that Takumi is looking for some kind of job an early hint of his desire to be more independent.

Speaking of jobs, who on earth thought that asking Mikoto to serve as a shrine maiden at a wedding was a good idea? That's just a disaster waiting to happen.

The scene with Yuiichi saying "I hope they're not doing this just to tease us" when he and Takumi are listening to the girls molest each other in the bath is one of the reasons I find his gawking at Mai in the first episode a bit contrived. He had no trouble keeping his hormones in check this episode. I was pretty amused by him teasing Takumi about having a sister complex.

Midori's reappearing in her frilly waitress' outfit is the closest this series gets to a transformation sequence. Though if you think about it, she went and took the time to change clothes while Mai, Natsuki, and Mikoto were fighting for their lives. Also I love the way those three just look at each other like "what?" after Midori's "justice, love, and friendship!" speech. I don't think she quite got through to them.

And of course the episode end with Midori replacing the still recovering Mr. Sawada as Mai's homeroom teacher. The reactions of the students in the class are kind of amusing. I bet Chie had a field day with her arrival.

[Tak]

I have yet to see a Japanese shrine with talisman in real-life. They do have interesting ancient artifacts, though.

- Tak

[Darthtabby]

What do you mean by talismans in this case? The paper seal things that were on the doors?

Also do you know if any of the books Midori goes wild over finding in the shrine's storage room are real? Or are they all just made up?

[kitten320]

I would say I was referring to both :P


Can't say I was massive fan of Mai Otome, I still can't accept how different some of the characters act. Back in the time, it took me months after watching HiME before I finally gave Otome a try. Still gutted that Otome got all those OVAs and stuff and HiME only one short, 5 minute long extra. Still hating on Sunrise for fake movie trailer -_-

And yeh, Midori is always fun to watch as well^^

And oh, next episode should give us some insight on future events

[Tak]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

What do you mean by talismans in this case? The paper seal things that were on the doors?

Also do you know if any of the books Midori goes wild over finding in the shrine's storage room are real? Or are they all just made up?

Some well-entrenched shrines would have artifacts from hundreds of years ago, and the larger ones would possess national treasures. So books like that (though not specifically those books), aren't out of the ordinary.

There are many, many shrines in Japan, but those that comes with stairs, in the middle of a forest or in a more-or-less remote location are actually quite rare. Most shrines in Japan are also very small as they are often part of a major city. While Japanese people aren't religious in the Western way, a lot of people do attend shrines for blessing, whether it'd be for business, education... etc.

Spoiler for For example, the Yasukuni shrine would have this...:

- Tak

[Darthtabby]

Episode 7: "Lost Kittens"

Originally Posted by Wizard Magazine Interview with Masakazu Ohara

This episode is the antithesis of the previous episode. Nao’s actions show that not all HiME have noble intentions. I wanted to make it clear that they aren’t all heroic types.

While this is Nao's introductory episode, as a big Mai fan I find what happened between her and Mikoto in this episode rather interesting. I vaguely remember someone (possibly a blogger) describing what happened as being like a single parent struggling to deal with a rebellious child, and I think that's actually a pretty good description.

As for Nao herself

Spoiler:

I think the reason she hates Mai so much is because Mai is so committed to taking care of her younger brother while Nao was abandoned by her relatives after what happened to her mother. To Nao, Mai represents everything her relatives should have been for her, but weren't. Either that or Nao is so jaded by her relatives' betrayal that Mai's genuine care for brother seems fake to her.

Of course, it's loath at first sight for Natsuki and Nao. It's interesting to note that their voice actresses (Saeko Chiba and Yuuka Nanri) are supposedly friends in real life. They actually formed a singing duo for a while.

I like the way that Midori was able to tell that Nao was faking being sick pretty much immediately. Midori may seem like a goofball, but she's actually pretty sharp.

Nagi's replying to Midori's drunken "If you carry on with this foolishness, you'll definitely regret it when you meet someone you really like" by saying "That's pretty good advice, Midori" is rather darkly humorous in light of next episode's events.

[Highman]

Wow,just wow! I can't believe someone did this thread for HiME 10th Anniversary Discussion. Well since I haven't been late to the party,I hope to have the time to watch it with you guys & gals together whenever time available for me. All I can say thank DT for creating this thread and keep the fans interested on more Mai-HiME and speaking about HiME.

Spoiler for Last Month:

During an New York Comic Con panel,Sunrise mention that s8 is still interested or in planning of a 3rd Mai-series for next year. But,since Funi acquired HiME/Otome blu-rays they wanted to expect huge sales in the West that garner and progress more Mai-projects in the near future. Don't know when Funi will release HiME/Otome blu-rays for next year. It's safe to say that Sunrise is working on 3rd Mai-series and with that Funi will announce for release in that month. Keep doing what are doing for this 10th anniversary and to onwards on another new Mai-HiME series for next year.

[Tak]

A third season? Could be something to look forward to.

I still like Otome better than I do HiME, but Symphogear had superseded that series since.

Shame, they need to return.

- Tak

[Highman]

Originally Posted by Tak

A third season? Could be something to look forward to.

I still like Otome better than I do HiME, but Symphogear had superseded that series since.

Shame, they need to return.

- Tak

HiME should return and continue from the original left off after the Carnival. Have arcs with MiKO, Otome but not bridging the gap with HiME/Otome stuff and other new antonyms elements that would be added in for new HiME series. All I want is a true and direct sequel to Mai-HiME and continue it from there.


In my opinion,Symphogear was the Nanoha instead of calling it the Mai-HiME of the following seasons.

[Tak]

Originally Posted by Highman

In my opinion,Symphogear was the Nanoha instead of calling it the Mai-HiME of the following seasons.

And Nanoha is very comparable to Otome. Notice I said Otome was superseded by Symphogear as my favorite magic girls flick.

- Tak