Mai-Otome Episode 22

Japanese Title: ホロビノウタ (Horobi no Uta)
English Translation: The Song of Destruction


Wow... I mean WOW!! This is definitely one of the most riveting episodes since Ep 17. A very well-rounded combination of rapid plot progression and intense action, this is probably what Mai-Otome should have been about since the beginning. Okay, maybe not from the beginning but at least keep the level consistent towards the last few episodes :p. With the Harmonium mystery almost solved and majority of the characters making their moves in the big fat Earl political chess game, things may just end on a grand note for everyone in the finale. I’m kind of conflicted now about whether there would, or rather should be a reset in the final episode based on the various events which transpired in the latest development. I’d love to see Ers-chan return but with the recent comeback of a certain “dead” person, slugging in a reset now looks like a bad move and it may end up dulling the series overall. Furthermore, lets hope Sunrise will remember to fill in the plot holes this time because it would be a shame to repeat the same mistake of leaving fans in the dark about certain issues again. Right, we’ll leave those as future discussions and focus on Ep 22, an installment which pretty much needs raw action alone to deliver ample fanservice. Story? Of course the story is important but I was too engrossed in the fights like almost everyone else. ^^


~Highlights of the Episode~

Mikoto Triplets?

Eh? Three Mikotos? That’s strange... Never knew Mikoto had siblings to begin with. It’s fairly obvious that all three have different symbols on their forehead and one of them does not wear an earring. Where did they all come from? Where did Mashiro get her Mikoto? She must have picked up the kitten from somewhere. Fundamental question now would be, how are they all related to the human Mikoto and why did they only appear now at very coincidental places during the “right” time (In front of Miyu as well as on top of Natsuki and Nao’s jeep)? What roles do they play in all of this? Surely they’re not there only to greet the Calvary troop?


Look who came back from the dead

Aoi is alive!! ALIIIIVE!! And so the Anime Law of Cliff Deaths has been preserved. Nobody actually dies until you see them go splat. I’m glad she didn’t permanently get killed off from the series but of course I find the initial situation way too exaggerated. How the heck did she survive a plunge like that? Did she hit a few ledges on the way down and that lessened the impact of the fall :p? Or maybe this happened (Huge props to the artist for that cute fanart ^^). With that aside, she may be the final key to unlocking the Harmonium’s true powers, although we’re still uncertain as to whether she really knows the song or if she is even willing to give that vital piece of info to Nagi.


Tossing feelings aside for work

Besides Nina’s nut case of course. Imho, her character has grown the least out of the three main protagonists. She may seem more mature when it comes to her decisions in her service to Artai, but she’s still all about explosion whenever something concerns Sergay. I may be wrong, but I attribute her personality to the circumstances she helplessly gets pulled into. Unlike Arika and Mashiro, she hasn’t been given a chance for her character to properly develop. All of the situations she’s been in so far pretty much required her to wait on Nagi and execute his orders, nothing more. Nonetheless, I assume the writers have something big planned for her because she started showing signs she’s gradually taking an independent stand, and she seems suspicious of Nagi’s intentions. On the other hand, I find Arika and Sergay’s relationship rather interesting given the positions they’re in. Both admitted they were attracted to each other albeit in different aspects, but they threw away any personal feelings they had and decided to act professionally according to what has been expected of them. Due to the current state of affairs, this could be the best way for them to mend their possible friendship later on, not only between each other but also with Nina. Furthermore, I believe Sergay made the right decision in staying true to what he has decided for himself from the beginning, and that he’s committed in helping Rena as well as anyone who may be related to her. Because of that, he had his own agenda and it’s likely he would betray Nagi again after learning Schwarz has been misusing Rena’s body to produce the Valkyrie GEMs. Overall, Sergay’s character have been fleshed out well by the writers, along with Mashiro and Arika’s. Lets just hope he wouldn’t die any time soon.....


Harmonium pieces assembled

It was revealed that only one person is needed as the Player while the Protector is the Robe and the Song is..... That song. During the earlier episodes, it never came into my mind that two of those roles needed to activate the Harmonium are not even physical beings at all, although it became quite evident as the series progressed. Intriguing... Then what about those two empty seats? Setting that aside, we have a basic grasp of what the Harmonium is capable of – granting one’s heart’s desires. However, it’s still lacking in full power without the final stanza of the song. To obtain that, they need Aoi to cooperate if she knows it but I have a feeling they’ll make Mashiro spit it out first. Wonder who will get to utilize the true power of the organ at the end, and what will they wish for... Geez, anything but a reset I hope...


Sunrise sure love their characters skewered

Ouuuuch..... All I have to say is Fia got it really really painful ^^;;;. This seems to be a very noticeable trend among Sunrise series which have blatantly common traits with one another, like say... Mai and Gundam (Pft... As if we didn’t know that already). Many of their characters typically have long pointy weapons and someone MUST get impaled. It’s amusingly inevitable! Back on the topic of the episode, the Aswad Knights are undoubtedly very formidable opponents. As stated before, their REM technology is damn potent to the point of giving Midori powers which are of equal level as a Meister Otome’s. Really enjoyed watching her little scuffle with Fia despite it being only a few minutes long. It’s about time the writers let her get back into working up her skills again. The cyborgs did not have much of a problem killing a few Meisters themselves and sic-ing their Slaves on the latters. To think that all four of them had problems dealing with Shizuru despite ganging up on her at the same time. :p


Tomoe’s real face

Whoa... This incident just reinforced my reasons further on why I love and enjoy watching Tomoe so much. She’s too interesting. And damn H-A-W-T. Villainy suits her perfectly. She finally gets the ideal opportunity to show her true colors in all of her evil psychotic sekushii-ness without holding back. She was so absorbed in relishing every single moment of the Butou when she was taking out her jealousy on Arika in raging full force; seeing how much she tried to control her nature in public when she was still a Garderobe student, only to freely let everything loose when the time has rightfully come for her to do so. Sunrise did a fantastic job in changing her from a fake innocent angel to a full fledge devil with an insane disposition. I mean who else is able to wear a face like this?


And later, this in over a span of a few seconds?

I know I may sound biased but I think Tanaka Rie was absolutely AWESOME in this episode. Her voice acting talent is unquestionably one of the best in the current industry and she knows how to make fans acknowledge that. The way she effortlessly varied her tone from that of sweet politeness to pure malicious lunacy, with the latter clearly being reminiscent of Suigintou’s old glory days was brilliant, an impressive feat expected from an A-list seiyuu no doubt. I had fun listening to her act as Fia as well but I’d definitely pick Tomoe any day considering how mentally unstable the younger girl is. I just love watching evil girls go on a wild rampage. It’s too bad she has to wear a sucky TAURUS reject for a Robe. Shame... :p


The real deus ex machina

Miyu. Kicks. @$$. She certainly didn’t disappoint in what looks to be her first real battle in the series (with total Tomoe pwnage). Kajiura Yuki’s “Sei Otome no Inori” playing in the background made her arrival and duel scenes all the more overwhelming and dramatic. It’s great to see Miyu fighting for Arika. It was slightly weird at first because HiME fans are probably quite used to perceiving her as one of the antagonists but her role switch in Otome worked out for the better. There were a lot of nostalgic references to her previous counterpart ranging from her various battle modes to even Artemis which has been re-modeled as a golden sword. Speaking of which, “Merciful”? What in marshmallow’s name is that? “Multiple” was so much more fitting ^^. Anyway, based on what she told the Valkyries, it seems safe to deduce that she knew Rena personally and she was ordered to destroy whoever was using Rena for the wrong motives. Apart from that, one of her objectives also involves eradicating the Shikkoku no Kongouseki which piques my curiosity as to how much she actually knows about any other speculations revolving Arika and her real identity as well as the other factions. Well, we still have to continue to wait for further revelations but I guess Ep 23 did a good job at clarifying what really happened (in the past).


The return of more HiME goodness

No points on guessing who those two shadowy figures are. Heck, we’ve waited for 22 episodes and we only get to see them for a few seconds? At least we were briefly treated to the ever-so-famous “Duran Shoukan” in this scene. ^^


Moving on, the next episode is mostly about talk or rather important revelations on why things turned out the way they did now. Moreover, it’s an onsen episode (Payback for leaving that out in HiME?). Oh, and how could I leave out the preview?
Tomoe: This Robe is wonderful, isn’t it?
Miyu: No.
Tomoe: I’m so excited that my chest is about to burst.
Miyu: I don’t think they’re that big.
Arika: No, you shouldn’t say that. Don’t tell her the truth.
Miyu: I understand. Ah, so pretty. Ah, nice body.
Tomoe: I’ll definitely KILL YOU!!
Tanaka Rie wins through and through! ^^


~Entry by Dav~