Mai-Otome Episode 25 & 26 (Finale)

When Sunrise hinted they would be serving us fanservice, they kept their promise without fail in the final two episodes of Mai-Otome. Never has the finale been this thrilling before, so much so that it looked as though it slapped Mai-HiME’s own right in the face. One of the main reasons for this is probably the writers’ wise avoidance of slipping in a mass reset, which was a very noticeable flaw in its predecessor’s would-have-been “perfect” ending. Furthermore, airing the concluding two episodes back-to-back seemed like a great idea to maintain the excitement level as they are clearly connected and dependent on one another to deliver the climax in an effective way. The plot did feel a bit rushed towards the end though, mainly because they have been lagging the pace too much due to excessive emphasis on the theme of teenage girls falling in love, drowning in angst, and then later morphing into emo psychos that only Sunrise can naturally create. Moreover, there were several parts which I find rather inconsistent with previous events, and they still made the same mistake of leaving plot holes as well as questions which were either left unanswered or inadequately answered. However, I would undoubtedly commend the writers’ feat in satisfactorily tying all of the separate major subplots together in the end. It was possible, although I did not imagine they were able to perform the task so well due to the nature of each subplot’s individual development. Anyway, it’s time to dish out the main course. To be honest, I don’t have a lot to remark on because the episodes are mostly all-action and not much (sensible) talk. Nevertheless, there are still certain things which piqued my interest enough to make me fork over my two cents.

WARNING: TONS of screenies coming up.


Japanese Title: 蒼天の乙女 (Souten no Otome)
English Translation: Maiden of the Azure Sky


~Highlights of the Episode~

BUTOU – First Phase

The first few warm-up butou between the Otome of the two key factions did not disappoint as an intro scene. “Rojiura no Tsuiseki” was the perfect BGM in creating the right mood and getting the adrenaline pumping for the initial battles. Of course, it would have been better it if they did show more of their actual duels instead of just using explosions and colliding lights. It’s also too bad they didn’t reveal how the side character Otome like Ein, Karla, Rosalie and Laura use their Elements to their full extent.
PS. I just realized that Aoi and Ein have the same seiyuu after pushing myself to watch the ending credit for once (I used to always skip it). And here I thought Shintani Ryoko uses only one voice for all of the characters she acted as. Hard to believe it but she sounds really sexy when she’s voicing an older woman :3. There seems to be a noticeable trend of the producer casting the seiyuus with more than one role e.g. Inoue Kikuko voices three side characters who played somewhat important parts in the series. Budget?


Calvary arrived just in time to save the rears of the defenseless army. Their entry was done quite well on the cue of “MATERIALISE”. But geez... Why are the animators being lazy on creating a totally different sequence for Mai’s attack? Having Mikoto riding on her back didn’t exactly do the job. :s


One of the more significant scenes. Mashiro has proven once again that she has what it takes to be a great leader. Despite the grim situation, her maturity in assessing the circumstances and expressing her views on how Otome should be treated were very admirable. A few episodes back during the time before the disasters happened, it would have been almost impossible to imagine that a spoiled brat like her was able to be considerate of others in the way she is now.


Aswad’s intervention was brilliant! Midori really flared up the scene with Gakuten-Ou trashing the daylights out of Tomoe. Excellent to see her and the Knights, who were initially misunderstood to be villains, working together with the heroines to liberate the country, albeit they’re doing it on the pretext of an agreement with Mashiro.


Earl’s own Atlantis

Miyu wears her HiME robe ^^! And what’s this? Fuuka Gakuen underwater? Plus, there are still Orphans? It seems Sunrise has finally disclosed the link between HiME and Otome, although this full revelation was rather unexpected despite the evident hints earlier in the series. More on this later.


This is why you should never be rude to your elders

Miss Maria shows what old age experience is all about when she easily pwned the soldiers bare-handed. I’m sure anyone who has watched the final episode knows what her real abilities are like. More on this later too.


Who said mimes can’t get brutal?

As usual, Nao-sama demos she can have wicked fun without Julia webbing her prey first. She shines the most when she beats up useless minions. :p


Gakuenchou, Back In Business

This is indeed a pleasant surprise. I’m really glad the writers are being kind to Natsuki for once by giving her the perfect opportunity to prove that she can kick @$$ too. At last, we get to see the revered Gakuenchou showing off her bike riding and shooting skills reminiscent of her counterpart’s teenage days (Ah~ The world looks sane again~). Apart from that, we’re treated to a moélicious scene of her whipping out her Element (a definite bad@$$ upgrade to her so-called tiny peashooters) for the first time and commandingly shouting that oh-so-nostalgic “LOAD SILVER CARTRIDGE!!”. ナツキかっこいいすぎる~!! However, I am slightly bothered by the fact that despite her being one of the Columns, her Element’s power was an equal match against Schwarz’s cannon whereas Arika succeeded in deflecting the laser beam back at them. Wha? Made it look as though the legendary GEMs are stronger than even the Column’s (who are said to be the most powerful Otome graduated from Garderobe). Guess power can’t beat legends after all?


Separated Souls Reunited

What? That was it? No steamy lipservice? Not even a loving and passionate embrace? Sunrise has been torturing us throughout the whole series about them and this... This is all they showed us? Dammit, Sunrise!! So cruel!! So cruel!! The sole thing to blame -> open reunion. It’s a shame that both Natsuki and Shizuru decided to be thoughtful of each other’s image and dignity because of their roles in public, so much so they had to restrain themselves in order to avoid stirring up a “WTH? Principal Kruger and her PA Viola are actually having a love affair?!” moment among the others who were watching them. Oh why did they have to meet in public? If only they had been reunited behind closed doors TT________TT. On the other hand, Natsuki looked really adorable when she had that smile on her face. This is first time we’ve actually seen her this happy, a priceless expression which is completely different from her typical personality and it’s a very obvious proof of her affection for Shizuru.


One thing is evidently clear in this scene – Shizuru’s love for Natsuki is deep... Very deep... Even to the point of willing to die for her, and this has not changed a single bit ever since the beginning. Sure, it may be an instinct of Shizuru’s protectiveness but I highly doubt her actions were motivated due to Natsuki’s role as the Gakuenchou alone. If that was the case, Miss Maria and Yukariko would have at least tried to join Shizuru in shielding Natsuki (Never mind that they were further away/not there to see what was happening :p). You don’t get people who are selflessly willing to die for their superiors unless the latter are extremely precious to them, and they have pledged their hearts to protect them at the cost of their life. I may be wrong, but I do honestly think Sunrise has established Natsuki and Shizuru as a canon romantic couple despite how subtle the hints are. The unfortunate thing is that they are frequently portrayed in situations where they had to keep their behavior in check and act professionally towards one another. This mask however, does come off when they’re alone together in an informal setting, for instance in Episode 7 where Shizuru was playing the piano for Natsuki, and during that very suggestive pool scene in Episode 9. But damn... The main problem is NOT enough fanservice!! Even after all this, we still didn’t get our compensation... That’s it!! One last chance, Sunrise!! Make sure you make up for it in the remaining DVD bonuses!! More Shiz&Nat yuri hawtness... More Shiz&Nat yuri hawtness...


A curse like no other

Nice to see Shiho wearing her HiME Dark Child robe. Here, we found out the reason behind Chie and Shiho’s meeting in the forest. It turns out that her Maki Maki Super Deluxe voodoo doll is immune to and can royally screw up anything related to the Juso no Kokuyouseki (Cursed Obsidian GEMs). Why? Maybe its curse is more powerful? It’s so hard to take this seriously but hey, it’s still entertainment. :p


The Queen of all Psycho Yuri Biatches from h3ll

Who is none other than the lovable Tomoe Marguerite. It was rather unexpected that Tomoe had already figured out Shizuru’s betrayal even before the latter revealed her plans. I was half-anticipating her to get the shock of her life and then explode in rage when she discovered the older girl had been deceiving her all this while. I guess her sharp intuition must never be underestimated... Nonetheless, despite her keeping her cool when she sensed Shizuru was only playing along, she naturally couldn’t bottle her fury upon spotting her object of hatred at the battle site. It’s funny how she still went after Arika even though she saw that Shizuru obviously chose to stand defensively in front of Natsuki instead (Perhaps she didn’t get the hint and decided to fight an “equal” opponent?).


Whoever helps out Arika will taste her wrath, Oneesama or not. I didn’t think she would go all berserk on Chie like that. Furthermore, getting interrupted by Aswad when she was about to strike Arika again made her even more infuriated.


WOW. Tomoe’s mental stability is now WAY off the insanity scale. I’ve never seen a female psychopath this persistent and h3llbent on killing someone before. Even Fujino Shizuru’s reaction wasn’t as extreme as this, although I must say the Kaichou’s actions dealt far greater damage than her emotional outburst. This is, without a doubt, one of the best scenes in the entire episode. Watching Tomoe completely releasing her emotional pent-ups was an enjoyable treat, and we have her dead convincing contorted face and seiyuu to thank for that.


The poor girl lost to Arika at last. She even managed to scream and threaten Arika until the very end before she fell and went splat... Or so we thought. Despite how ridiculous her survival was, I’m glad she’s alive at the end. We get to see her comedic side for once, although her being a wild lunatic was amusing enough on its own. After listening to Tomoe screech her last lines in the series, I can safely say her seiyuu takes the cake for the best vocal performance of the entire cast. Tanaka Rie was damn friggin’ FANTASTIC in this episode. Even though her part was minor in Mai-Otome, I personally think Tomoe is her best role yet due to her character’s wide spectrum of personalities, and that she was able to push her talents to the extreme. She has never captured me to this extent before, even when she acted as Chii, Lacus/Meer, Mariel or any of her other major roles. The only ones whom I thought were on par were Suigintou and Yomi (Azumanga Daioh). She just has this special ability to make anyone sound hot and sexy, no matter how detestable the character is. I doubt I would have enjoyed watching Tomoe as much if it wasn’t for her, so mad props!


A tearful reunion and farewell

Another heart-wrenching event. It’s obvious what Arika needed to do but it’s undoubtedly painful for her to consider destroying her own mother after finally being reunited with her for the first time in many many years. She has indeed grown far stronger than before, and her hesitations have considerably dampened after her heart-to-heart talk with Mai and Midori as well as her own understanding of things through experience. The last few scenes of Rena appearing at the end were really touching but that skin hugging scene just kicked my mood out the window :s. Great to see Arika rightfully inheriting her mother’s original Robe though. She genuinely looks better in Rena’s garb than that pink fluff piece...


That’s the end of Part I for the series' finale. An awesome episode overall compared to previous ones. Episode 25 probably packed the most action or perhaps the largest gathering of characters for any given situation. With only Godzilla Nina left, we can brace for the ultimate showdown in the final episode.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Japanese Title: Dream☆Wing ～夢の在処 (Dream☆Wing ~ Yume no Arika)
English Translation: Dream☆Wing ~ Dream's Whereabouts


~Highlights of the Episode~

BUTOU – Second Phase

Shizuru, Nao and Sala with serious faces looked really cool, and we have the latter two materializing for the first time! Too bad the animators decided to be lazy again and left out the good parts. Well, at least there’s the Column Sentai Team to look forward to, 4 out of 5 members for now.


I thought they would do something more useful besides trying to push Godzilla Nina back. Wait... Can they even push her back? o.O


In spite of everything, the Otome have their revenge for being starved of action. Haruka actually had a few amazing scenes in her short rampage, perhaps a stress-relieving session for making her the butt of jokes in her earlier duels with Midori and Aswad. However, not as impressive are Sala and Maya’s performances. Columns? Seriously? They did too little when it comes to a demo. Even Pearls could do what they did.


HiME <-> Otome = ???

Goodness, this has gotten damn confusing. Truth or merely fanservice? There have been loads of hints in the past about how Mai-HiME and Mai-Otome are linked, from Arika being the descendent of Alissa to the latest revelation of an underwater Fuuka Gakuen and the activation of the Red HiME Star. Arika’s identity was disclosed by Miyu, the invincible android who has claimed that she’s been alive for centuries, so we assume she’s the same person, only that somewhere along the line her system was switched from ‘Multiple’ to ‘Merciful’ and she managed to get herself a magical canary who probably is the reincarnation of the human song bird. Speaking of which, what about the ex-HiME characters? Does this mean they are their predecessors’ reincarnations as well? If that is the case and this is actually Earth whose name was changed into Earl due to some circumstances, then it would make the whole HiME connection valid. However, as usual, the writers did not elaborate nor did they clarify the details very much, which proved to be one of the major flaws in their plot. As a result, the audience is once again left in the dark about the reason behind the occasional hints which link the HiME and Otome worlds. I’m still very reluctant to accept the whole “reincarnation” and “centuries have gone by” theory because I see the Otome world being an alternate parallel universe to the HiME one as a more plausible hypothesis. Although we did get many hints about the connection, the characters’ explanation on them were not strong enough to support the idea, and neither did simply showing a relic from the past provided a satisfactory answer. The only way Sunrise can get out of this confuddled mess is if they tell the whole story in the OVAs, the series’ spin-off which hopefully would clean up all the uncertainties left behind.


If appearances could kill...

How hideous can Robes actually get :p? Although I must say, it suits Shiho very well. On to another topic, I’m not sure what to make of her Maki Maki attacks. I don’t know whether to laugh or pass it off as a lame joke in an otherwise serious situation. But no matter what it is, Shiho remains a source of genuine comedy to me. She amuses me to no end, even if her antics have become dry halfway in the series. Ask me whether I would pick HiME Shiho or Otome Shiho, it’s definitely OTOME SHIHO all the way!!


On the same subject of Robes

See Nao and Shiho’s faces? That how I literally felt upon seeing Akane’s new Robe. Nekomimi undisputedly goes FTW but I can’t say the same for her garb. It looks too... Odd. Luckily for her, Maya’s garment (or lack thereof) still wins hands down for the fugliest Robe in Earl award. What was Hisayuki-sensei thinking?


Caught in the Black Widow’s web of charm

HAAAAWT. Never mind the dreadful Robe, Nao can easily shovel dirt on Spider-Man any day with her flair and bad@$$ Element upgrade. Unfortunately for us, that’s the only action scene we get to see of her as the Fourth Column *Shakes fist at animators*. On the other hand, I enjoyed her usual spat with Shiho and her straightforward sarcastic remark at Akane still being a pure “maiden”. “Tte- Anta mada Otome na no?” LOLZ~ We lurve you, Nao-oneesama! :3


Nano-machines – Infinitely better than plastic surgery

Oh my freakin’ gawd. That’s Miss Maria?! O.O
WOW. Talk about looking seriously hawt when you’re over fifty. Not only do the Robe’s nano-machines make her look younger, it even rids her of her grey hair! Wish she’d stayed like this until the end of the series. LMAO when Natsuki and gang had that “WTF” look on their faces. Absolutely priceless.


Another tearful reunion

All hope for yuri is not lost yet as Chie and Aoi are here to save the day! Great to see them being less ambiguous about it this time around.


Ultimate Showdown of Fate

Can’t believe they’re still arguing over an ex-lolicon who’s hanging onto a thin thread of his life, but that seems to be the sole reason of Nina’s resolution to fight. Arika makes the right decision in changing the subject to what it means to have dreams and ideals.


Arika finally succeeds in getting through to Nina after having strived relentlessly ever since the latter broke under pressure due to a jealous rage. I’m glad Arika’s effort bore fruit in the end, seeing that Nina was more than willing to accept her offer of friendship and reconciliation. It’s strange yet wonderful how she can always reach someone’s heart no matter what the circumstances are and she doesn’t give up until she succeeds in doing so (Apart from psycho lesbos). Nina realizes what Arika was trying to convey to her all this while – the freedom to experience love and have dreams, atone for her mistakes and start over. It’s cliché yet this is probably the best way for her to learn to let go of the intense burden she started shouldering so long ago.


Unfortunately for Nina, the Harmonium decides to be selfish instead and starts consuming her. Despite not being a veteran seiyuu, Koshimizu Ami totally wipes the floor with her stunning voice-acting here. Props to her very convincing performance ^^. Anyway, this turnout isn’t surprising but still unexpected in a understated way. Nina’s true identity due to the Shikkoku no Kongouseki is revealed to be the Dark Otome we saw in the first Opening. Wonder if the previous owner was like that too. Maybe that’s why Miyu wanted to destroy that GEM as soon as possible. Once again, Arika is confronted with another painful decision but soon makes up her mind to take down Nina with the Sword of Akatsuki. Of course, she’ll have to do it the Sunrise way like all of their characters who wield long pointy weapons.


The conflict is resolved once and for all without any regrets on either party. The best thing that came out of this is Nina has completely buried every ounce of the animosity she used to harbor towards Arika, and she is grateful to the latter for releasing her from her emotional pain. Touching and sad at the same time that both Arika and Nina will be separated most likely for good after finally settling aside their differences. A bittersweet ending to what would have been the rekindling of their lost friendship.
PS. I’m all for yuri but that interstellar nekkid hugging scene was rather disturbing. AND they survived re-entering the planet’s atmosphere nude? Oh wait... Lets think of it this way.
Arika: Hey, I got my new Robe by hugging my nekkid mommy! Think of what it can do for us!
So that’s how they survived! Sunrise, you are brilliant. :p


Starting over again

WTH?! I can’t believe lolicon master Sir Pimpy Gay is still alive. A bullet to the brain and what was the result? Only amnesia? At least turn him into a cabbage, that would have been more credible. Oh ya... I keep forgetting this is Sunrise. Leaving that aside, guess this is just about as cheesy as a reset could get, and it’s a good thing this is the only reset in the series. Besides that, I’m glad Sergay didn’t do the unthinkable and Nina gets the chance to renew her relationship with him without any fear of “family ties”. That certainly makes the view on their rapport less awkward than before. It’s still a happy ending no matter how one looks at it.


Finale

The war is over, peace is finally restored, and everyone joins forces with Windbloom to maintain a cooperation treaty. Despite the shaky plot development, it seems like an ideal ending to the saga. The best part of it? No reset! A far more believable conclusion in which the characters who have died stay dead unlike its predecessor’s (But I still miss Ers-chan). As much as I love Mai-HiME, its finale simply sucked. Those who went green-sparklie came back from the dead, fine. Those who were physically killed in a realistic way e.g. shot dead, got resurrected, WTH? Geez... I don’t hate Alissa but she should have remained in her frozen grave; same goes with a certain lolicon pimp. Lets continue with Mai-Otome’s. Even if it’s considerably better than Mai-HiME’s, it still has its own noticeable faults. It’s weird that Nagi’s sentence turned out to be a rather comedic case which is more or less similar to the previous series. He got away as a servant for Mai, nothing more, unless of course, Mai turns out to be a wicked hard-core slave driver, which I’m sure she is :3. Come to think of it, what was Nagi’s primary goal anyway? Annihilate the Otome system? That was it? All this big talk about war + world domination just boils down to eradicating the Otome? Not very diabolical after all, which rather dulled his so-called evil nature. It initially looked as though he had some really complicated scheme but it seemed we overestimated him. Furthermore, I’m slightly disappointed that they cut/rushed Mashiro and Aoi’s reunion, so much so the emotional impact of Aoi’s “death” earlier has dramatically diminished to something which Mashiro doesn’t even seem to care about now. It would have been better if they did a quick shot of Mashiro being overjoyed that Aoi is alive; it’s fine even if they didn’t include any dialogue.


Even so, I couldn’t be happier for Mashiro who has reclaimed her throne as the Queen of Windbloom. Among all of the characters in the series, she has visibly grown the most based on how different her personality was at the beginning compared to now. Never mind that her last attempts at threatening Nagi with a tiny dagger looked ridiculously lame. The important aspect of it is the strength of her character’s heart and will. Even though she knew the odds were hugely against her, she’s resilient enough to recognize the importance of the role that was placed on her and Arika. She understood that many of her people were depending on them for liberation from Nagi’s tyranny, and she refused to give up because of that reason. Those are the perfect traits befitting of a country’s leader and Mashiro flawlessly displayed them until the very end. As for Arika, she’s right where she needs to belong, serving as Mashiro’s Otome. Regardless of the sometimes agonizing experiences she went through, she also stood steadfast and fought her very best to get to where she is now. She started off as a rather shallow character who seemed to have only idealistic dreams, but after discovering for herself the importance of actually pursuing instead of only visioning them, her new-found motivations helped give her personality more depth and dimension. In the end, she did succeed in ending a war like she claimed she would, and helped Mashiro create a country where everyone would be happy. “二人 は DID THEIR BEST” indeed.


At last, we have reached the end of a long journey. It wasn’t an epic one but memorable nevertheless. Of course it entirely depends on one’s own opinion of the series but personally for me, it has been enjoyable. There were more good than bad aspects overall and I felt it finished satisfactorily. It could have done better but we’ll just leave the OVAs to make up for it.


~Entry by Dav~