Mai-Otome Episode 19

Japanese Title: 宿命の17歳 (Shukumei no 17-sai)
English Translation: 17 year-old of Fate


Looks like Sunrise is back with their strange yet creative episode titles. It seems they used “(^^;)” before. Ah yes... It was Mai-HiME’s Episode 6 with a more or less similar title - もえる十七歳(^^;), which translates to “Burning 17 year old”. I’m sure fans recall that. Regarding this week’s ep... It’s still quite low-key. There’s no action but we did get some decent insight into the personalities of several of the series’ main players. Majority of the content is focused on the lives of the Black Valley descendents and the Aswad Knights’ motives for pursuing their goals. Other than that, minor plot details include the current activities of Nagi and his gang of diabolical minions; and the future implied actions of a few supporting cast, namely Chie as well as Tomoe. Furthermore, the writers treated us to a lot of info by having most of our speculations about Aswad and the incident 15 years ago answered. Even though nothing much happened, this episode was well written for explanation imho. It seems quite necessary to take a back seat for a while and fill the audience in on the many holes which were created over the course of the series. With the numerous depressing events in the past two episodes, this is probably the best way of reducing the tension without deviating too much from what is important. It also gave the writers more opportunities to develop the personalities of the protagonists further and flesh out the minor ones a bit to make them more 3-Dimensional. Yes, Mai-Otome is still going strong at this point...



~Highlights of The Episode~

Will friendship bring them through the storm?

At last, the members of the Sapphire Team meet again. I was wondering how these two would react when they were reunited now that the both of them had heard the new revelation – Arika being told of a role which never came across her mind and Mashiro having her worst fears confirmed. It definitely turned out to be one interesting setup. Mashiro, as we’ve seen, took in Sergay’s claims better than expected. Instead of screaming all unfairness in the world at Arika’s face, she absorbed the truth in a very composed way, even quietly helping Arika to come to terms with the same possible certainty about her identity. Mashiro was obviously bitter but what really captivated me was her level of maturity in dealing with it. Perhaps it was the refugees’ hatred towards her which helped her change her perspective of things. After witnessing the sufferings the poor went through, she has come to a better understanding of what she greatly lacked before and this seems to have shed light onto her selfish and ignorant behavior in the past. Aoi’s sacrifice and death turned out to be the pinnacle reason for the transformation of her personality. For the first time in her life, Mashiro realized her spoilt attitude could bring dire consequences, enough to either mould her into a better person or break her completely. In this case, it’s still the latter but it is very possible she will learn to appreciate what others have given her and use the opportunity to shoulder her responsibilities as Windbloom’s queen well if she gets to be one at the end. She’s already showing signs she’s capable of making sensible decisions, for instance chasing down and calming an emotionally fragile Arika. The last few scenes were a sure win for me. I really like how Mashiro was willing to throw away her own needs for once and start thinking about other people’s predicaments. Arika on the other hand, broke down and brashly turned against everything she used to believe in such as her naïve declaration in using her privileges to prevent wars from ever happening. Reality really slapped her hard and it is understandable for her to crumble like that after watching a close friend die right before her very eyes. She thinks the power of an Otome is the sole cause of casualties and decided to abandon it all together just so she wouldn’t lose those dear to her anymore. However, as irresolute as she may be at the moment, Mashiro is there to support her and relive her dreams. We can expect the Dynamic Duo to return in the next episode and kick some Schwarz @$$ later on. Arika and Mashiro have unquestionably come a long way and it will take much more than two wavering hearts to destroy the friendship and loyalty they have with one another.


Misunderstood Black Knights

I always get that warm fuzzy feeling every time I see Midori ~^^~. She’s strong, dangerous and fearless, yet gentle and compassionate to those she cherishes. It’s evident she deeply cares for her people, and her role as the Black Valley descendents’ leader couldn’t have suited her better. Many of the initial misinterpretations about the Aswad Knights were clarified once she explained their reasons for invading Windbloom. It turns out they are seeking a cure for the illness they are suffering from and based on what Midori claimed, Garderobe’s nano-machine technology has the potential of possibly eradicating it once and for all. I guess I was partially right in speculating that Rado and the other three used to be humans and were transformed into cyborgs due to some horrible incident; in this case it’s the mysterious illness. What I’m pondering on now is how they contracted it. Why wasn’t Yohko affected? Did her ostensibly early separation from the other Black Valley people make any difference? Or does she have the illness as well just that she didn’t reveal to us about it? Anyway, from Aswad’s point of view, their goals are never malicious to begin with. They only want to find a way to help their people survive and have established several methods of achieving it, albeit they seem a little cold-hearted in doing so. Nevertheless, I feel their story is appropriately defensible and that they rightfully deserve a shot at being heroes later on.


Natsuki’s memorable days of hitch-hiking h3ll

*Chokes on her green tea* ZOMG!! Sunrise, you TWIT!! What kind of friggin’ crack were you smoking?! This scene alone gave me a heart attack far worse than Erstin and Aoi’s deaths combined!! Yes, we have Natsuki doing her famous hitch-hiking no-pose! Yes, we have Nao doing a Nao thing with her nail file! Yes, we have a pants-less Natsuki embarrassingly trying to hide her goods! And yet... Why don’t I seem to get the real humor here? Oh, I think I know why... Coz Shizuru isn’t the one who’s pulling Kruger’s pants down, dammit :p! Okay, I’ve ranted enough and now on to the proper comments. This incident almost made me fall off my chair, obviously from shock. Even though Nao is very competent in pulling hilarious stunts, I did not expect her to do that to Natsuki. While some might be grateful for the fanservice, I personally found this scene very..... Odd. Still sidesplitting funny, but odd... Sad to say, even to the point of wishing that Nao should have come up with a more creative idea of getting the uptight Gakuenchou to hitch-hike “properly”. Mai’s provocation was better in the sense that it succeeded in forcing Natsuki to do something which was totally out of her character in an original way. That worked. This somehow... Didn’t. Yes, we know what Nao did was so like her but I had a feeling she’s much more capable of suggesting an idea which would be ingenious yet not cliché at the same time. Indecent exposure just didn’t click with me. I guess the only thing which would have compensated for this is to have Shizuru pop out from that truck, rush to her beloved’s side to help cover her up and go “Natsuki dear, I appreciate that wonderful sight but honestly... I want you to flash only for me :3” Well, the Yuri Meister is currently locked away in a cell, no doubt being starved of some Natsuki lurving. No chance of that truck dream happening... But anyway, I still think Nao-sama deserves an ovation for being the second person to succeed in shaking the Gakuenchou’s iron confidence. Oh yeah, check out Lang’s fanart of Natsuki’s pants-less dilemma. It’s not surprising if Shizuru actually behaved like that behind the scenes ;p. Absolutely brilliant! Lang is undoubtedly one of the best artists out there and her works are definitely worth a look! ^^


Calvary in the most unexpected form?

Now what is Tomoe really up to? She seems desperate enough to see Shizuru; she even went as far as to bribe the guard with money just so she could check on how her dearly loved Oneesama was doing. Despite all of the horrible things she tried to do to Arika in the past, I still don’t view her as an actual malevolent adversary like Schwarz. She’s just letting jealousy blind her from doing what’s rational, that’s all, although I do agree she overdid it most of the time ^^;. Nonetheless, if she said she’s going to rescue Shizuru, then I’m still placing my faith in her to actually accomplish something positive. I love the “kanarazu” in her words. It sounded honest :). However, I am worried about the approaches she planned on taking to rectify the problem. In the preview of Episode 20, it looks like she has agreed to be a test subject for the new GEMs. Whether it’s for Shizuru’s sake or her own, I’m boldly hoping she’s doing it to deceive Schwarz and ultimately end up helping Shizuru escape. And of course there are the hidden risks... Will Shizuru accept Tomoe’s aid and finally give her the attention she craves all this while, or will she refuse Tomoe’s offer and indirectly push her in crossing the line to true villainy?


Another martyr looming near...

We are all fearing for Chie’s life now. That letter looks like it could bring about bad consequences for her. Most of the words are smudgy but “乙HiME”, “Valkyrie” and the oh so ominous “volunteer” came up. I’m assuming she’s going to play espionage for Yukino to find out what the new GEMs’ potentials are. Definitely not good... And has she found out about Aoi yet? I can imagine the heartbreak she would go through once she learns about that incident.


Voodoo at a time like this?

As usual, Shiho never fails in her role as one of the main sources of Otome’s comedy. Poor Yayoi and Lilie getting dragged into the Maki Maki mess with their oddball Oneesama. Ah, insanity sure is great.


Escalating tension

Things are not looking well for father and daughter. Nina is forced to suppress her feelings of daddy-con love for Sergay, and follow what she has decided for herself when she accepted the Shikkoku no Kongouseki from Nagi. She’s obviously very frustrated with her father, yet she compels herself to hide those embittered feelings behind the mask of a professional. Her behavior towards Sergay, acting all happy and pretending nothing has changed between them, proved that her internal conflicts are extremely hard to bear. This becomes noticeable when Sergay volunteered to search for Arika; anger was immediately written all over her face upon hearing his mission proposal. Nina is clearly resentful of Arika, no doubt still accusing her of stealing her Otousama. A Butou between them in the near future is surely inevitable if they meet again, an incident which may happen very soon. Of course Sunrise will find some ways of reconciling the two but the question is... Under what circumstances? With Sergay now on his way to pick up Arika, it’s unmistakable Nina’s hatred towards the latter would start piling to an incredible degree and there’s no way she’s going to let Arika go without letting her taste raw fury.


GEM Piracy

This is definitely an intriguing concept... An Otome who has given birth seems to be the perfect candidate of some sort to produce Coral GEMs. So Fumi actually had a child before and she is now used as the womb for creating new GEMs. Ever since Schwarz has learnt of her secret, they’re trying to replicate the process by using Rena’s body as their vessel. For what purpose? Are they planning on making an army of Otome of their own? Whose objective is this? Nagi or Schwarz? Based on their conversation, it seems Nagi is the one who is behind the idea of introducing a new breed of warriors, people so-called “Valkyries”. It’s still uncertain why he’s doing this. To expand Artai perhaps? He has mentioned before he wants to rule Earl and I assume this is the quickest way to achieve that twisted goal. As for Schwarz, it’s not clear on how long they plan on following Nagi. Even though it may be vague at the moment, it looks like they have a somewhat different intention, and I wouldn’t be surprised if either one betrays the other later on.


LOL The preview is cute. The conversation between Arika-Midori-Yukariko is almost exactly the same as the one between Mai-Midori-Yukariko in HiME’s Episode 7 preview, only this time Midori sounded more bad@$$ and Yukariko used Engrish against Arika :p. Next episode we have Fia Gloss display her worthy Otome prowess, but against who? Carlteya may be fighting Midori and Aswad for all we know because of the letter they received. Perhaps it’s an indication of their contract annulment. Or it could be they’re proposing to team up against those Schwarz creeps, an event which many of us are hoping for. Whatever it is, we can only wait until tomorrow to receive more fanservice from Sunrise. Bring on the action...
PS. I’m still backing Arika’s claims about her mother! ^^


~Entry by Dav~