My~ZHiME (My-Otome) thread VIII

[Rogueman_8]

that time again and we're almost at the halfway point of the show. no episode this week due to holidays iirc. anyways, as always, discuss all that is HiME related and be careful w/ spoilers so others won't beeatch.

Here are the 3 official sites relating to the show:

Official Site (http://www.my-zhime.net/)
Biglobe's Otome site (http://character.biglobe.ne.jp/special/mai_zhime/)
TV-Tokyo's site (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/maiotome/)

2nd poll ended yesterday, results aren't up yet.
3rd Challenge is kinda difficult for those who have no basic knowledge of reading or writing JPN. Plus there's prizes, though i'm guessing it won't work w/ those overseas /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif.
link (http://character.biglobe.ne.jp/special/my-zhime/special.html)

here's the link to the previous thread. (http://forums.animeondvd.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1223494&page=0&view=colla psed&sb=5&o=&vc=1)

[something]

First, my impressions. Then I'll read the 3897123 posts made about this episode and other things in the last thread, and address them in a separate post.

Alright, this episode was awesome~. Arika is so cute her in outfit, although only from the waist up... that super wide dress thing was rediculous /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif And, as usual, ARIKA IS AWESOME! I think she's so great because she just DOES things, and ACTS great, and the show doesn't spend countless hours psychoanalyzing her and giving her long and borign internal monologues. We get to see that she just is what she is, and she is absolutely not lacking in depth at all because of it. Instead, she's just that much more enjoyable.

Anyways, Mashiro and Takumi... Interesting! They had a fun little dynamic going on there, and Takumi really put her in her place at the end, knowingly or not. It was a bit of a reality check that she really needed.

Nina's elbow jabs and uppercuts to Arika when Arika fell out of character were hilarious XD As was everyone pretending to be everyone else /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif And Chie hitting on Aoi! And Nao teasing Akane! XD

So! The Akira/Takumi/Mai dynamic wasn't identical to what any of us were guessing. Akira was a stand-in, yes, and Takumi is the prince, but Mai's whereabouts seem to be rather unknown at the point. Natsuki's reaction and her picture from back when they were students were verrrry interesting, and I can't wait to see where that goes.

All in all an awesome episode for comedy, action, development and ARIKA!

[something]

I hate putting multiple replies in one post, but the other thread is ready to be locked, so bear with me!

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
I want to know how Arika shoves all that hair into her braids.

[/ QUOTE ]

The same dimensional vortex all of Mii's (Popotan) hair goes when she puts it into those little buns. I kinda feel like many anime characters pack their hair so densely that it might collapse and create a black hole.

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
Also on a side note. I wonder how many people will misspell Akira as Arika or vice versa in future posts.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hah, seriously, I have to very closely reread each sentence I mention them in just to make sure, and I'm sure I still miss some.

[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:
Now that I think about it, what I want to find out is just how Chie & Aoi know each other in this series. So far their acquaintence/friendship hasn't received any explanation. I mean, it's not as if they come from the same country...

[/ QUOTE ]

Their love transcends all boundaries of space or logic. I <3 Aoi, and I'm happy for her to get more screentime in Otome than she did in HiME.

Edit: and in general -- NO OTOME NEXT WEEK = SAD! >_<

[Lego]

So from what happened in episode 12, and towards the end, does Mashiro like Tak? It sure seemed that way in the episode, with Mashiro sulking when Tak leaves.

[stfram]

[ QUOTE ]
Lego said:
So from what happened in episode 12, and towards the end, does Mashiro like Tak? It sure seemed that way in the episode, with Mashiro sulking when Tak leaves.


[/ QUOTE ]

Mashiro was sulking because Tak has been the only person who has straight out told her of what her subjects are enduring, while she lives in a life of luxury.

Everyone else would talk behind her back, but would never do the courtesy of telling her directly, and in fact making the problem worse by trying to gloss things over. Remember how Sergei was complaining about the expense of the birthday party, while they are facing financial difficulties and unemployment?

It was an eye-opener for her, something that was desperately needed, IMO.

[Lego]

Ah, I was going by the pictures as I usually do, so that part I missed. I wonder if Akane will go down in flames like she did in Hime, since the next episode seems to be about her. Although should could become Kaz's Otome.

[stfram]

[ QUOTE ]
Lego said:
I wonder if Akane will go down in flames like she did in Hime, since the next episode seems to be about her. Although should could become Kaz's Otome.


[/ QUOTE ]

I fear for her, and dread the upcoming episode, because I like her character. It looks like from the preview she takes a shot at Shizuru (I could be wrong, but the shocked/horrified look on Shizs' face points to bad things, along with the hole in her hair. A warning shot?).

She could become his Otome...but that would solve problems and create others. Otome really can't have a "fully developed" relationship with a male. Maybe they could stay chaste until the political situation stabilizes?

Looks like she seeks advice from Nao, though. That could be good...

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
stfram said:
I fear for her, and dread the upcoming episode, because I like her character. It looks like from the preview she takes a shot at Shizuru (I could be wrong, but the shocked/horrified look on Shizs' face points to bad things, along with the hole in her hair. A warning shot?).

[/ QUOTE ]

I do have to wonder what it all means. The creators DO like to be deceptively manipulative (in a good way) with EVERYTHING, from their website to their next episode previews.

And it can't get too serious because we know that, high ranked as Akane is, she can't touch Shizuru.

[Fencedude]

The best part of the preview was "I don't want to hear that from you Akane-san"

Anyway, that preview is WAY too disjointed to make any conclusions about who took that shot at Shizuru.

Making any premature conclusions is not a good idea.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:And it can't get too serious because we know that, high ranked as Akane is, she can't touch Shizuru.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well it's possible Akane may have snapped. Alternatively it could actually be someone else attacking Shizuru. This includes people we have not seen in action yet and completely new characters.

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:

And it can't get too serious because we know that, high ranked as Akane is, she can't touch Shizuru.

[/ QUOTE ]

They are setting Shizuru up for a fall.

She's doing too well, and has routinely trounced everyone who's come near her.

But I don't expect it to happen in 13, I do however think there is a good possibility of it happening in 14. At the hands of everyone's favorite android.

And if it does, I'll be insanely happy.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
They are setting Shizuru up for a fall.
She's doing too well, and has routinely trounced everyone who's come near her.
But I don't expect it to happen in 13, I do however think there is a good possibility of it happening in 14. At the hands of everyone's favorite android.

[/ QUOTE ]
I agree, she'll hit a wall eventually, but not against Akane.

[ QUOTE ]
And if it does, I'll be insanely happy.

[/ QUOTE ]
It'll certainly make things interesting, at least /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:I agree, she'll hit a wall eventually, but not against Akane.

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps Mai will be the one to own Shizuru and force Natsuki to actually activate her robe?

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
Perhaps Mai will be the one to own Shizuru and force Natsuki to actually activate her robe?

[/ QUOTE ]

That would certainly be interesting, as it would play into the Natsuki/Mai dynamic in a rather novel way. Then that would mean Mai shows up already in 13, but we'll see.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:Then that would mean Mai shows up already in 13, but we'll see.

[/ QUOTE ]

Assuming Shizuru even gets owned in 13. I mean sure her hair is ruined and she's seems shocked, but that may end up being the worst thing the person does to her in 13.

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:I agree, she'll hit a wall eventually, but not against Akane.

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps Mai will be the one to own Shizuru and force Natsuki to actually activate her robe?

[/ QUOTE ]
This is most likely. Considering she's so far has been the most powerful of characters, the odds of Shizuru making it to 26 is practically nil.

Either that, or expect Shiz to go from good to evil somewhere down the road. She could be the silloetted otome (with the huge sword) seen in the opening. Then again, that could also be Akane if she goes from good to evil instead.

Edit -- I will lay good odds that the silloetted otome is Akane. I think we're out of returning HiME characters, and all of the pearls' vents and the silloetted otome's are purple. And for the longest time, Akane is being set up for the fall. Only other characters I think the silloetted otome could be is Shizuru (if she turns evil) or Natsuki (we've yet to see her in her robe).

[Jigen_Daisuke]

My-Otome: The Lingerie Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheLingerieEdition.jpg)

My-Otome: The Hot Spring Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheHotSpringEdition.jpg)

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
ArseneLupinIII said: My-Otome: The Hot Spring Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheHotSpringEdition.jpg)

[/ QUOTE ]

In this battle between Nao and Shiho, I'm siding with Nao. After all if she removes the towel then it's all good. /images/graemlins/noseblee.gif

[ayareiko]

Here's what I'm guessing when I look at ep. 13 preview more carefully. But first, some points:

A) This'll be a Akane centered episode, but with a heavy dose of Kazu-kan too.
B) Whoever took the shot at Shizuru catches her by complete surprise. Question is both "Who?" and "Why?".
C) We see Arika, not Akane, defending Kazuya. Who is attacking, and why?
D) When we see Akane take off at the end of the preview, Kazu-kun, Shizuru, and someone I can't make out are on the steps. However, Shizuru isn't in her robe, so this would take place before the shot.

On the subject of point B, the only one who would shock her like that is any of the Otome. Considering the focus of the episode is on Akane, it could very well be her. Furthermore, Kazu-kan is heavily featured too, I wouldn't be surprised that he's going to be the trigger whatever sends Akane off the deep end. Which leads to point C. One theory, Kazuya is involved with someone else, and the love Akane is obviously not returned and she retailiates by attacking him. Another theory, Kazuya is harmed in some way, and Akane blames someone else, herself, or both and goes mad in the process.

[bobma]

[ QUOTE ]
ArseneLupinIII said:
My-Otome: The Lingerie Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheLingerieEdition.jpg)

My-Otome: The Hot Spring Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheHotSpringEdition.jpg)

[/ QUOTE ]

Nice artworks indeed. /images/graemlins/noseblef.gif Too bad the 2nd pic hasn't Shizuru in it, though I guess the others wouldn't have such relaxed expressions then. Well, maybe except for Chie. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
ArseneLupinIII said:
My-Otome: The Lingerie Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheLingerieEdition.jpg)

My-Otome: The Hot Spring Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheHotSpringEdition.jpg)

[/ QUOTE ]

You are god, although there are so many more characters that could have been in the first one, heh. Erstin wins though~

[stfram]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:
[ QUOTE ]
ArseneLupinIII said:
My-Otome: The Lingerie Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheLingerieEdition.jpg)


[/ QUOTE ]

You are god, although there are so many more characters that could have been in the first one, heh. Erstin wins though~


[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, no kidding...she looks very content in the first pic. Nina apparently doesn't like the attention, hence the frown, and Arika is clueless regarding all the innuendo as usual. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[Dagger]

[ QUOTE ]
ArseneLupinIII said:
My-Otome: The Lingerie Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheLingerieEdition.jpg)

My-Otome: The Hot Spring Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheHotSpringEdition.jpg)

[/ QUOTE ]
*saves*

I very much like Chie's expression. Not to mention the epic battle between Shiho and Nao. Although I've gotta confess that it took me at least a minute to recognize Tomoe, in the first pic. Er... that is Tomoe, right? /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

[TheGreenMan]

[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:
[ QUOTE ]
ArseneLupinIII said:
My-Otome: The Lingerie Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheLingerieEdition.jpg)

My-Otome: The Hot Spring Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheHotSpringEdition.jpg)

[/ QUOTE ]
*saves*

I very much like Chie's expression. Not to mention the epic battle between Shiho and Nao. Although I've gotta confess that it took me at least a minute to recognize Tomoe, in the first pic. Er... that is Tomoe, right? /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Natsuki, I believe.

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
TheGreenMan said:
[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:
[ QUOTE ]
ArseneLupinIII said:
My-Otome: The Lingerie Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheLingerieEdition.jpg)

My-Otome: The Hot Spring Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheHotSpringEdition.jpg)

[/ QUOTE ]
*saves*

I very much like Chie's expression. Not to mention the epic battle between Shiho and Nao. Although I've gotta confess that it took me at least a minute to recognize Tomoe, in the first pic. Er... that is Tomoe, right? /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Natsuki, I believe.

[/ QUOTE ]
No, he's talking about TLE pic, that is Tomoe.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:No, he's talking about TLE pic, that is Tomoe.

[/ QUOTE ]

<Insert Dagger is female comment>. In any case one thing to note is Tomoe and Natsuki have different eyes colors. So once one looks at both images, it's easy to tell it can't be Natsuki in the first image. Either way the most important factor is this. Tomoe is hot. Her figure is better than I thought.

[TheGreenMan]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
[ QUOTE ]
TheGreenMan said:
[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:
[ QUOTE ]
ArseneLupinIII said:
My-Otome: The Lingerie Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheLingerieEdition.jpg)

My-Otome: The Hot Spring Edition (http://usera.imagecave.com/ArseneLupinIII/My-Otome_TheHotSpringEdition.jpg)

[/ QUOTE ]
*saves*

I very much like Chie's expression. Not to mention the epic battle between Shiho and Nao. Although I've gotta confess that it took me at least a minute to recognize Tomoe, in the first pic. Er... that is Tomoe, right? /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Natsuki, I believe.

[/ QUOTE ]
No, he's talking about TLE pic, that is Tomoe.

[/ QUOTE ]

*Squints* I guess. The hair looks black, unless my monitor is f'ed up.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
TheGreenMan said:
*Squints* I guess. The hair looks black, unless my monitor is f'ed up.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's just dark. Nina's hair looks black there too. Besides, it's all Corals so they wouldnt put Natsuki in there with the others. And the hair is uneven like Tomoe's.

[TheGreenMan]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:
[ QUOTE ]
TheGreenMan said:
*Squints* I guess. The hair looks black, unless my monitor is f'ed up.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's just dark. Nina's hair looks black there too. Besides, it's all Corals so they wouldnt put Natsuki in there with the others. And the hair is uneven like Tomoe's.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, you're right. Reminds of that scan I saw with Nao puting Erstin in a playful headlock. Nao's hair color was completely off.

[bobma]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:No, he's talking about TLE pic, that is Tomoe.

[/ QUOTE ]

<Insert Dagger is female comment>. In any case one thing to note is Tomoe and Natsuki have different eyes colors. So once one looks at both images, it's easy to tell it can't be Natsuki in the first image. Either way the most important factor is this. Tomoe is hot. Her figure is better than I thought.

[/ QUOTE ]

On my monitor her hair looks definitely dark green, so I also think it's Tomoe. And yes, she looks quite nice indeed. And anyone who steps too near and doesn't go by the name Shizuru will probably be stabbed to death with an icepick. On another note, I like how apparently the dresscode for class pictures changed since Natsuki's time./images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Dagger]

[ QUOTE ]
TheGreenMan said:
[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:
[ QUOTE ]
TheGreenMan said:
*Squints* I guess. The hair looks black, unless my monitor is f'ed up.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's just dark. Nina's hair looks black there too. Besides, it's all Corals so they wouldnt put Natsuki in there with the others. And the hair is uneven like Tomoe's.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, you're right. Reminds of that scan I saw with Nao puting Erstin in a playful headlock. Nao's hair color was completely off.

[/ QUOTE ]
If we're thinking of the same image, I'm pretty sure that's actually Akane. At least, she's wearing Akane's swimsuit. Her hairstyle looks kind of like Nao's in that particular picture, probably because it's wet.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:If we're thinking of the same image, I'm pretty sure that's actually Akane.

[/ QUOTE ]

If this is the image (http://img271.imageshack.us/my.php?image=11333496356533mc.jpg) you're thinking of. Then yes it's definitely Akane herself.

[TheGreenMan]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:If we're thinking of the same image, I'm pretty sure that's actually Akane.

[/ QUOTE ]

If this is the image (http://img271.imageshack.us/my.php?image=11333496356533mc.jpg) you're thinking of. Then yes it's definitely Akane herself.

[/ QUOTE ]

Damn. I'm 0-2!

[ayareiko]

For your convenience, here is a relationship chart (concept shamelessly copied from a MariMite one):

-Up to date through #12- (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/chart.jpg)

If there are any errors, please point them out. There are a couple things I'm not so sure about...

Now that I look at it... Is it me, but does Mashiro, Arika, and Rena all have the same face?

[Dagger]

Some have suggested that Mashiro and Arika might be sisters.

As for the chart, nice work! I'd make the line between Chie & Aoi red, though, and I'd add a red line or something for Arika --> Takumi. Maybe even a broken red line between Mashiro and Takumi. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

I'm trying to remember if Mikoto has any dire enemies...

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
For your convenience, here is a relationship chart (concept shamelessly copied from a MariMite one):

-Up to date through #12- (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/chart.jpg)

If there are any errors, please point them out. There are a couple things I'm not so sure about...

Now that I look at it... Is it me, but does Mashiro, Arika, and Rena all have the same face?

[/ QUOTE ]

Remove all of Tomoe's friend lines, add a dislike leading to Nina, and an Employee one leading to Miya.

Oh, and needs more Mai too.

[stfram]

[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:
I'm trying to remember if Mikoto has any dire enemies...


[/ QUOTE ]

Alyssa? /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
For your convenience, here is a relationship chart (concept shamelessly copied from a MariMite one):

-Up to date through #12- (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/chart.jpg)

If there are any errors, please point them out. There are a couple things I'm not so sure about...

Now that I look at it... Is it me, but does Mashiro, Arika, and Rena all have the same face?

[/ QUOTE ]

Remove all of Tomoe's friend lines, add a dislike leading to Nina, and an Employee one leading to Miya.

Oh, and needs more Mai too.


[/ QUOTE ]
Updated. What I'm not sure about is how Takumi's group is structured. Mainly is Iori beneath Akira in the chain of command, or are they a part of two separate branches?

I'm keeping Mai off for now since we have no idea how she'll fit into everything, aside from being Takumi's sister.

[bakafoo]

I would very much agree on this considering that judging on the previews it's very reflective of what Takumi said to Natsuki of choosing between dreams and love. Akane will mostly be the first one on-screen to go and defy. That would be the best explanation for Shizuru's rather shocked face.

Of course a wild speculation on my part involves Kazuya defecting from his country (element of the Black Valley's influence?) and Akane is forced to deal with him, with Shizuru enforcing the country's verdict on Kazuya. Emmissaries, as noted by Takumi, have been on the move already from various nations, and we already know one (or two, if you include Nagi's) is already conspiring with the Black Valley. So in a very farfetched notion, Kazuya found something he shouldn't and has now been considered as a traitor of some sorts.

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:

Updated. What I'm not sure about is how Takumi's group is structured. Mainly is Iori beneath Akira in the chain of command, or are they a part of two separate branches?

I'm keeping Mai off for now since we have no idea how she'll fit into everything, aside from being Takumi's sister.

[/ QUOTE ]

Connect Takumi and Akira with a red line, have a red line leading from Mashiro to Takumi.

Otherwise I'd say you were doing good.

If you were to add Mai you'd need a blue (maybe red...maybe) connecting her Natsuki.

And I predict that after 14 you will need to add an enemy line from Shizuru to Miyu.

Edit: Because I said something stupid.

[Lego]

Nice scans /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif


Wewt for Chie /images/graemlins/noseblef.gif /images/graemlins/noseblef.gif

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:

Updated. What I'm not sure about is how Takumi's group is structured. Mainly is Iori beneath Akira in the chain of command, or are they a part of two separate branches?

I'm keeping Mai off for now since we have no idea how she'll fit into everything, aside from being Takumi's sister.

[/ QUOTE ]

Connect Takumi and Akira with a red line, have a red line leading from Mashiro to Takumi.

Otherwise I'd say you were doing good.

If you were to add Mai you'd need a red line leading from Sergey to her, and a blue (maybe red...maybe) connecting her Natsuki.

And I predict that after 14 you will need to add an enemy line from Shizuru to Miyu.

[/ QUOTE ]
Updated again. As for Mai, for all we know, the line we'd need to use could very well be light green.

As for Erstin's chances of making it to 26, I think they've improved signifigantly due to her dropping to 30th place among the corals. She and Irina will probably play the Chie and Aoi roles for ZHiME. Tomoe is toast though, her scheming is going to catch up to her and, most importantly, she's currently 1st among the corals. That alone is practically a death sentence for her.

[Rogueman_8]

for the interested, here's a better look at akane's formal dress, her uniform and natsuki's meister uniform.

link (http://img491.imageshack.us/my.php?image=outfits6ch.jpg)

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Rogueman_8 said:
for the interested, here's a better look at akane's formal dress, her uniform and natsuki's meister uniform.

link (http://img491.imageshack.us/my.php?image=outfits6ch.jpg)

[/ QUOTE ]

You know, the fact taht there is a "II" On Natsuki's dress is very interesting. I always wondered if the "III" On Shizuru's indicated something about her pillar status, and it seems it does.

Also, is there some rule that says all Non-otome Uniform clothes suck?

Cause I mean really. Arika's dress last time, that dress Akane is wearing there, everything Mashiro owns, Nao's striped monstrosity. THe only one who has decent civilian clothes is Natsuki.

[Suwako Moriya]

I never even noticed a III on Shizuru's meister uniform. Shows how much I pay attention. Now I just need to find out who is IV and V. It's easy to guess who I is of course. Although even then such a guess may be wrong.

[Rogueman_8]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
I never even noticed a III on Shizuru's meister uniform. Shows how much I pay attention. Now I just need to find out who is IV and V. It's easy to guess who I is of course. Although even then such a guess may be wrong.

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, i'm kinda still kinda waiting on yukariko's confirmation (if she is indeed one cuz her chances are kinda high), the robe we see now could possbily be a 'instructor robe' which may be the reason for no numerals.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
Cause I mean really. Arika's dress last time, that dress Akane is wearing there, everything Mashiro owns, Nao's striped monstrosity. THe only one who has decent civilian clothes is Natsuki.

[/ QUOTE ]

Haha, yeah I've been commenting on Mashiro's horrible outfits for awhile. And yes, Akane's dress there is stupid... and yet she still manages to look cute!

[ayareiko]

Made another update to the My-Otome relationship chart (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/chart.jpg) by adding friendship lines between Miya, Lilie, and Yayoi.

In all likelyhood, I'll make a new chart soon after ep. 13. (It'll be a copy of the current chart, but with relationship lines redrawn as needed.) I have a feeling all hell is about to break loose.

- - -

You have to read this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garderobe) and get a chuckle. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:In all likelyhood, I'll make a new chart soon after ep. 13.

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh depending on when the change of focus happens and how the series progressess, you may end up having to update the chart several times.

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said: You have to read this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garderobe) and get a chuckle. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Okay then I'll never be able to look at Garderobe in the same way ever again. Ah well.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
You have to read this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garderobe) and get a chuckle. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, great name they chose there /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

And on a rather off topic note, I just preorded My~HiME Vol. 1~ YAAAAAAAAY!

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:And on a rather off topic note, I just preorded My~HiME Vol. 1~ YAAAAAAAAY!

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh compared to other "off topic" notes that's rather minor for an off topic note. As for me, I'll just pick it up in the store. Sometime after it comes out. Depends on what I have planned for march. As well as if any problems come up.

[Funkatron]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
You have to read this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garderobe) and get a chuckle. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, great name they chose there /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

And on a rather off topic note, I just preorded My~HiME Vol. 1~ YAAAAAAAAY!

[/ QUOTE ]Come on, Bandai rightstuf sale :p

lol at the meaning of the school name.

Dang: Akane pulls off that dress nicely, despite thegoofy pinhe thing at the bottom. The pic with the dropped strap...damn..

[Lego]

No "love" between Haruka and Yukino on the chart /images/graemlins/noseblef.gif? Oh well, heres hopeing for more Haruka /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif.

[Rogueman_8]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:And on a rather off topic note, I just preorded My~HiME Vol. 1~ YAAAAAAAAY!

[/ QUOTE ]

heh, i preordered that along w/ My~Otome vol. 1-3 weeks ago /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif. still, good job on the order though!

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:Heh compared to other "off topic" notes that's rather minor for an off topic note. As for me, I'll just pick it up in the store. Sometime after it comes out. Depends on what I have planned for march. As well as if any problems come up.

[/ QUOTE ]

problems? heh, what could be so problematic that would prevent you from picking it up on street date?! no excuses...jk /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif.

[Funkatron]

[ QUOTE ]
Rogueman_8 said:
[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:And on a rather off topic note, I just preorded My~HiME Vol. 1~ YAAAAAAAAY!

[/ QUOTE ]

heh, i preordered that along w/ My~Otome vol. 1-3 weeks ago /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif. still, good job on the order though!

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:Heh compared to other "off topic" notes that's rather minor for an off topic note. As for me, I'll just pick it up in the store. Sometime after it comes out. Depends on what I have planned for march. As well as if any problems come up.

[/ QUOTE ]

problems? heh, what could be so problematic that would prevent you from picking it up on street date?! no excuses...jk /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm waiting just to see if the box is truely horrid or not in person

Hey, we should designate someone as the Hime Guineau pig: Someone should sarifice thier hard earned green to buy the Hime Box, so that we don't have to(if its baD) and post pics :p

Who volanteers??

[Rogueman_8]

[ QUOTE ]
Funkatron said:
[ QUOTE ]
Rogueman_8 said:
[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:And on a rather off topic note, I just preorded My~HiME Vol. 1~ YAAAAAAAAY!

[/ QUOTE ]

heh, i preordered that along w/ My~Otome vol. 1-3 weeks ago /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif. still, good job on the order though!

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:Heh compared to other "off topic" notes that's rather minor for an off topic note. As for me, I'll just pick it up in the store. Sometime after it comes out. Depends on what I have planned for march. As well as if any problems come up.

[/ QUOTE ]

problems? heh, what could be so problematic that would prevent you from picking it up on street date?! no excuses...jk /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm waiting just to see if the box is truely horrid or not in person

Hey, we should designate someone as the Hime Guineau pig: Someone should sarifice thier hard earned green to buy the Hime Box, so that we don't have to(if its baD) and post pics :p

Who volanteers??

[/ QUOTE ]

i'm buying the box as my title shows how much i love the series. i don't really care if it's horrid cuz i'll just display it w/out the box along w/ the R2s.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Rogueman_8 said:problems? heh, what could be so problematic that would prevent you from picking it up on street date?! no excuses...jk /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

For example maybe during the time the DVD is about to come out, I end up getting extremely sick. That would be a sudden problem. Either way I still have a lot to finish. Now I'm juggling between Angel Tales, Scrapped Princess, and Sister Princess. Okay Bottle Fairy as well, but that's not hard to finish. Yes when it comes to collecting stuff I'm pathetic and slow.

[Rogueman_8]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
[ QUOTE ]
Rogueman_8 said:problems? heh, what could be so problematic that would prevent you from picking it up on street date?! no excuses...jk /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

For example maybe during the time the DVD is about to come out, I end up getting extremely sick. That would be a sudden problem. Either way I still have a lot to finish. Now I'm juggling between Angel Tales, Scrapped Princess, and Sister Princess. Okay Bottle Fairy as well, but that's not hard to finish.

[/ QUOTE ]

being extremely sick is still no excuse to stop the fan that you are /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif. as for the other titles, you have plenty of time from now till march /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Rogueman_8 said:
heh, i preordered that along w/ My~Otome vol. 1-3 weeks ago /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif. still, good job on the order though!

[/ QUOTE ]

I only ordered it now because I had an Amazon GC and their prices on everything else stunk /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif I normally only order when given a reason to, i.e. some kinda sale, espcially for something not coming out for months, because I soooo know there will be a better deal just a few weeks later, heh.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Funkatron said:
Come on, Bandai rightstuf sale :p

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm hoping they solicit a few more volumes before one of those happens. Then again, I want Scrapped Princess 5-6 anyway, so I could go for a Bandai sale now... Still, I'd like at least HiME vol 2 to be solicited before then.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Rogueman_8 said:being extremely sick is still no excuse to stop the fan that you are /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif. as for the other titles, you have plenty of time from now till march /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah well either way I'm definitely going for My-HiME as soon as possible. Although I'm still a bit undecided on getting the box. I guess it depends on the final design and other such factors.

[stfram]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
Ah well either way I'm definitely going for My-HiME as soon as possible. Although I'm still a bit undecided on getting the box. I guess it depends on the final design and other such factors.


[/ QUOTE ]

Just give in to your dark side, and get the box version. At retail we're only talking $5 or so more.

The only quibble I have is that I wish Bandai included a card like ADV did with Angelic Layer, so you could pick the size of the shirt(I prefer XXL sizes), but you can't win them all.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
stfram said:Just give in to your dark side, and get the box version. At retail we're only talking $5 or so more.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well if the box has certain characters on it, then it will be almost impossible to resist. Of course that heavily depends on which characters are actually on the box when the time comes for the final release date. Assuming the box design we see is not the final one.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
stfram said:
Just give in to your dark side, and get the box version. At retail we're only talking $5 or so more.

[/ QUOTE ]

But some people don't buy boxes in general, and lets be honest, that thing is just ugly. Paying even $5 more (it's actually $15 more at retail, btw not $5! that's $9 more at 40% off) for something that doesn't even look good is... silly. Unless someone DOES think it looks good, and also loves alll boxes... then go ahead.

I most certainly passed on the box though. 1) Don't like the look at all, 2) don't like boxes, 3) I tried to go box just once, with Scrapped, and without reliving all the drama surrounding that, lets just say I'm not inclined to trust Bandai in such matters anymore.

So there are a lot of reasons to pass on the box. Even plain old practical ones like, "boxes are annoying because then you can't split a series over two shelves".

[stfram]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:
But some people don't buy boxes in general, and lets be honest, that thing is just ugly. Paying even $5 more (it's actually $15 more at retail, btw not $5! that's $9 more at 40% off) for something that doesn't even look good is... silly. Unless someone DOES think it looks good, and also loves alll boxes... then go ahead.


[/ QUOTE ]

I should define retail as being online discounts. /images/graemlins/happy.gif But ok, not $5...I'll grant that $9 is more realistic.

That said, I bet I can find the box for around $25 without too much trouble...especially if TRSI has a Bandai sale. That isn't bad for something that will give me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

I am, of course, one of those types that generally has to have a box, regardless of the...inefficiency that can occur due to that. I just hate looking at single dvd cases on my shelving, unless of course they are things like movies and other one-shots like Akira and Gunsmith Cats. I have a separate vertical unit just for those.

[Lego]

I usually try to snag a box if it's a series that I like. Kinda like the Tsukihime, ROD TV, and GITS SAC "boxes". Although I will admit that the orange box looks "interesting".

[Fencedude]

Reposting this so its handy.

Rena Sayers: Souten no Seigyoku - Blue Sky Sapphire

Shizuru Viola: Kyouen no Murasaki Suishou - Graceful Amethyst

Haruka Armitage: Suzu no Kougyoku - Topaz of the Jewel Isles (NOT Topaz of the Bells, the Kanji used is not the kanji for "bells")

Fia Gross: Kenrei no Shimamenou - Lovely Onyx

Natsuki Kruger: Hyousetsu no Ginsuishou - Silver Quartz of Ice and Snow

Monica Jullen: Ryuusui no Toukiseki - Diopside of Flowing Water

Fumi: Mashiro naru Kongouseki - Pure White Diamond

Tokiha Mai: Enju no Kougyoku - Flaming Ruby

[ayareiko]

I noticed Akane has a unique symbol for her pearl robe, red circle with a red diamond beneath it. The other pearls only have a green circle. All corals have a red star. Initially I though this may be due to Akane being the #1 pearl, but Nina's uniform has no distinctive markings even though she's the #1 coral. I wonder if there's any signifigance to this.

[DiGiKerot]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
I noticed Akane has a unique symbol for her pearl robe, red circle with a red diamond beneath it. The other pearls only have a green circle. All corals have a red star. Initially I though this may be due to Akane being the #1 pearl, but Nina's uniform has no distinctive markings even though she's the #1 coral. I wonder if there's any signifigance to this.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the zig-zags on Ninas leggings (and in a couple of other places on her uniform) are green rather than the normal Coral colour (Arikas, conincidently, are pink since she is the 51st student enrolled).

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
I noticed Akane has a unique symbol for her pearl robe, red circle with a red diamond beneath it. The other pearls only have a green circle. All corals have a red star. Initially I though this may be due to Akane being the #1 pearl, but Nina's uniform has no distinctive markings even though she's the #1 coral. I wonder if there's any signifigance to this.

[/ QUOTE ]

She's PEARL NUMBAR ONE, which is a very prestigious position, thus she gets the ultra special white dress and white robe.

It seems Nina and Tomoe get different color highlights on their dresses for being CORAL NUMBAR ONE and CORAL NUMBAR TWO, but their robes don't get anything special.

Arika gets pink highlights because she's ZE MAIN CHARACTER

[ayareiko]

Obviously, all hell is gonna break loose somewhere down the road. The big question is whose side will Arika be on. In theory, she could ally with anyone.

What we have is a fued bwteen the three major non-national entities; Garderobe (or the Pillars, depending on your POV), Aswald, and Schwartz. Gut feeling tells me the three-way fued will only end with the complete and total destruction of two of the three factions. Plus, all seem neutral in regards to any of the nations, making the whole thing even messier.

Other various wild cards yet to be played---

What is the "the shocking truth" behind Aswald and Garderobe and how will Arika react to it?
Whose side will Arika ultimately be on, Garderobe or Aswald?
What are Schwartz's goals anyway?
Who is the rightful heir to the throne of Windbloom? And would Mashiro give up her position if it's not her?
How will Mai play into the grand scheme of things?

[Fencedude]

Hmm...I think you are missing a faction.

Specifically Miyu.

Miyu's a MAJOR wildcard in all of this.

My going theory is that Miyu, Mai and Rena are all in on something together, and Arika is the key to it all.

Arika's past is also very, VERY suspicious.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:Who is the rightful heir to the throne of Windbloom? And would Mashiro give up her position if it's not her?

[/ QUOTE ]

Heck some wonder if the "real" heir herself would want to actually be the queen. For example if Arika is the "heir". Would she decide to become queen or just refuse it instead?

Still here is a question for you to consider. Was the heir actually named before "Mashiro" was found? Because if the official name of the heir is Mashiro, but "Mashiro" is not the heir. Then I could imagine a scene where for example Arika or Nina is found out to be the queen and everyone starts calling her Mashiro. Naaaaaaaah.

[bobma]

Since there's no episode this week I went ahead and tried my hand at translating the teaser for ep 13, where Arika rambles about various things related to the episode, from her point of view. Maybe that'll help the discussions along till next week:

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Congratulations, Akane-sempai!!
It's sooo great for you to become a Meister-Otome. Such an honor!!
...um, Akane-sempai, there's something I'd like to ask.
About myself, you know, Irina-chan says there's something strange.
Even when there's cake and you have no appetite.... it IS strange, isn't it?
Or even though your favourite dish is nowhere in sight you feel like the worlds upside down.
It's the first time in my life I felt this way....
Youko-sensei said that it's an illness even God couldn't cure.
Awww, how come this is uncurable?!
That's rather bothersome.
"To become an Otome, no matter what", thats what my dream is....
What is this? This painful feeling in my chest...?
...L..love? What is love?
Akane-sempai, about love, have you experienced it?
Eh? Just from thinking about that person you chest begins to throb and even hurts?!
Aaaah, how can I cure this, please tell me!!!!
</span>

If anyone spots some glaring errors and wants to correct me, it's more than welcome, I'm still learning. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[Lego]

Hmm, looks like Akane will become <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Kaz's Otome </span>. Should be interesting to see who Arika likes /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Lego said:
Hmm, looks like Akane will become <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Kaz's Otome </span>. Should be interesting to see who Arika likes /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

No, she won't.

Kazuya is a part of the Kardean royalty, Akane is the new Otome for the leader of Florince, the country she is from.

And just to further the DORAMA, that war 50 years ago Maria told us about was between Kardea and Florince.

[Lego]

Ah, that makes sense(to early heh). I wonder if it'll turn into a Romeo and Juliet thing between Akane and Kaz.

[stfram]

[ QUOTE ]
Lego said:
Ah, that makes sense(to early heh). I wonder if it'll turn into a Romeo and Juliet thing between Akane and Kaz.


[/ QUOTE ]

Or it could start another war.

Maybe they both flee, and then the school is forced to hunt them down in order to prevent a war between those two countries.

"You had your prince purposely seduce our student, which robs us of our defense against your country!"

[Suwako Moriya]

Here would be an interesting twist. What if in fact there is no true heir? In other words say the King and Queen couldn't have any children. However Rena herself has a child and they decide to pretend the child is the heir. I know it's a bit far fetched, but it would be an interesting twist. Although even I know such a twist is not likely to happen. It's just something that came to mind for some reason. Perhaps I'm bored.

[ayareiko]

D'oh! Why didn't I realize this in-reference earlier...

Haruka Armitage is voiced by Ryoka Yuzuki, who played Naomi Armitage in Armitage: Dual-Matrix.

Wanna bet Haruka's family name is a reference to Ryoka's old role.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:Wanna bet Haruka's family name is a reference to Ryoka's old role.

[/ QUOTE ]

It would not surprise me if that was actually the case, but it could also be a coincidence. I can't say for sure, but it would be kind of nice to find out how each name was chosen. Although for all I know they may have pulled each new "family" name out of a hat. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ayareiko]

Scanning through the nationalities, I came up with this list. I have a feeling it'll come into play eventually:

Windbloom: Mashiro+, Aoi, Sakomizu
Artai: Nagi+, Sergay, Tatsuhiko, Nao*, Nina*
Areis: Yukino+, Haruka**, Chie*, Irina*
Kardea: Argos+, Fia**, Kazuya, Shiho*
Florince: Rosalie**, Akane*
Annan: Erstin*
Lutecia Remus: Miya*
Lutecia Romulus: Yayoi*
Jipang: Takumi, Akira, Iori
Non-aligned: Garderobe, Aswald, Schwartz, Miyu, Arika*
Unknown/Uncertain: Mai**, Tomoe*, Lilie*

+ Nation's Leader
** Meister Otome
* Pearl/Coral Otome


The above list is subject to change in case of errors and new info. There are a lot of characters seen, but not named.

[DiGiKerot]

One of the doujin game circles have announced an SD HiME fighting game (http://nijigen-kobo.com/hime/index.html). Not really anything to see yet, or any idea of dates (next Comiket I'd imagine), but it does look damn cute /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[Suwako Moriya]

Heh now that's a doujin game, I have to consider trying. Of course the hard part is deciding how strong each HiME should be given that some HiME were underused battle wise.

[TheGreenMan]

[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
One of the doujin game circles have announced an SD HiME fighting game (http://nijigen-kobo.com/hime/index.html). Not really anything to see yet, or any idea of dates (next Comiket I'd imagine), but it does look damn cute /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I've got to get a copy of that.

[Lego]

[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
One of the doujin game circles have announced an SD HiME fighting game (http://nijigen-kobo.com/hime/index.html). Not really anything to see yet, or any idea of dates (next Comiket I'd imagine), but it does look damn cute /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

That looks like fun. Now only if they have Haruka in it /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ayareiko]

Here's another factiod to wrap your brains about:

Mashiro's last name in Mai-Hime is Kazahana (風花)

Break her last name into its principle parts; namely "kaza hana" ("風 花").

Guess what "kaza hana" (somewhat) translates into English: <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>wind bloom</span>.



And knowing is half the battle.

And while you're here, and if you got the money to spend... Wanna consider giving this Ravenous Beast (http://www.hlj.com/product/CMS65047) a home?

[Lego]

Hmm, taking a look at the 2ch pics for Episode 13, this looks (http://img462.imageshack.us/img462/6708/1136479196095eb0b3gz.jpg) interesting (http://img462.imageshack.us/img462/4064/11364792057993aeb0zw.jpg) .

[Rogueman_8]

yeah, interesting story of the Fire String Ruby. That cap showing that book of the 2 Mai silhouettes has me interested. particularly the one on the right. It's probably brances (or maybe not /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif). anyways, episode looks great w/ a lot of drama and angst it seems like. Tomoe coming more into play is a plus for me. and as mentioned before, the battle w/ Remus' &amp; Romulus' Meisters in ep.14's otome no S.O.S looks awesome.

[Fencedude]

Anyway, good job Akane, screwing over Rosalie that way.

Go go go!

Anyway, fun episode, Nagi was being EVIL.

Next episode the countries of Romulus and Remus go to war over...something, and we get to see just how fricking strong Meister's REALLY are.

I think that explosion may have been from the Two Meister's fighting, not a satelite beam.

Oh, and apparently Mai's "spirit" is "sleeping" in a forest...so I guess she'll just have to Mezame in a few episodes...

[DiGiKerot]

Hmmm, change of avatar, R8? I take it that means Hisayuki has updated his frontpage again...

[Dagger]

Man, this whole episode was one giant apology to Akane. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

I loved it, though, sappiness and all. Akane got to be extremely cool (I like her a heck of a lot now, but ironically the events in this episode probably mean that she'll be written out of the show for a while!). Meanwhile, Kazu-kun got to act like a Meine Liebe reject.

--I kid, I kid... he was also quite cool, although they really overplayed his big cape-tossing entrance at the end. I get a kick out of how the men are usually forced to watch on the sidelines during battle in Otome; it's such a refreshing change from the norm. Anyway, the art &amp; animation were high-quality even by Otome standards; I enjoyed Shizuru's expressions, particularly when Tomoe called out to her and when Arika tried to raise the subject of love with her. It's nice to see her show a tiny, tiny bit of underlying regret/sadness.

I'm wary about the whole Arika/Sergay angle--but hey, Sergay's coolness has been continuing unabated, so I'm not going to complain yet. And it's perfectly understandable that someone of Arika's age and innocence would have a crush on him (her reaction at the end of the episode was hilarious, heh).

The Mai sequence was amusingly Utena-ish. Anyone want to bet that Sergay has a brother named Tate? /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

EDIT: Also, hooray for Chie as the new Pearl Number 1! And for Nao, for reluctantly being bumped up to Number 3.

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:

EDIT: Also, hooray for Chie as the new Pearl Number 1! And for Nao, for reluctantly being bumped up to Number 3.

[/ QUOTE ]

I feel so sorry for Chie, she's got to deal with both Shiho and Nao being on the DISCIPLINARY committee.

Thats just not fair.

[Lego]

[ QUOTE ]
I feel so sorry for Chie, she's got to deal with both Shiho and Nao being on the DISCIPLINARY committee.

Thats just not fair.


[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe she can get Aoi to help her /images/graemlins/noseblef.gif /images/graemlins/noseblef.gif

[Dagger]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:

EDIT: Also, hooray for Chie as the new Pearl Number 1! And for Nao, for reluctantly being bumped up to Number 3.

[/ QUOTE ]

I feel so sorry for Chie, she's got to deal with both Shiho and Nao being on the DISCIPLINARY committee.

Thats just not fair.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, but Shiho and Nao will essentially cancel each other out, leaving her free to go maid-chasing. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:Man, this whole episode was one giant apology to Akane. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh that's the perfect way to describe it. Plus I'm sure the staff behind the anime were thinking about those were making predictions about Akane based on HiME. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif Still I'm kind of glad the episode went in the direction it did. Especially concerning Akane. It's also good she got a decent role in Otome in general.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said: Yeah, but Shiho and Nao will essentially cancel each other out, leaving her free to go maid-chasing. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

As I told people before the true Otome War is Shiho vs Nao. Also they can't cancel each other out. There must be some way to make sure Shiho wins out over Nao and defeats her. Because we all know that logic dictates since I like Shiho, she must win out.

[Nork22]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said: Yeah, but Shiho and Nao will essentially cancel each other out, leaving her free to go maid-chasing. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

As I told people before the true Otome War is Shiho vs Nao. Also they can't cancel each other out. There must be some way to make sure Shiho wins out over Nao and defeats her. Because we all know that logic dictates since I like Shiho, she must win out.

[/ QUOTE ]
Umm hell no. Majority says Nao will win. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

As for the episode, it just made me go "awwwww..... what a great lovey=dovey episode this was".

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Nork22 said:


As for the episode, it just made me go "awwwww..... what a great lovey=dovey episode this was".

[/ QUOTE ]

Just in time for the GIANT FUCKING EXPLOSION signifying that everythings going to go to hell real fast...

[DiGiKerot]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
[ QUOTE ]
Nork22 said:


As for the episode, it just made me go "awwwww..... what a great lovey=dovey episode this was".

[/ QUOTE ]

Just in time for the GIANT FUCKING EXPLOSION signifying that everythings going to go to hell real fast...

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't help but think that it would have been a far better way to kick all that stuff off if Shiz had her head blown clean off by that sniper /images/graemlins/sweat200.gif

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:I can't help but think that it would have been a far better way to kick all that stuff off if Shiz had her head blown clean off by that sniper /images/graemlins/sweat200.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

It would have been quite a shock for the strongest Otome that we've actually seen in action to go down that easily. Yeah I know Natsuki is probably stronger. Same for Mai, but it's not like we've seen either in action in the actual series.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Nork22 said: Umm hell no. Majority says Nao will win. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I declare the Majority officially wrong because I'm always right. Now if you excuse me I need to rig everything in Shiho's favor. I mean even the odds. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
[ QUOTE ]
Nork22 said: Umm hell no. Majority says Nao will win. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I declare the Majority officially wrong because I'm always right. Now if you excuse me I need to rig everything in Shiho's favor. I mean even the odds. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
The only thing that would help you is your own makimaki doll. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[something]

Woo, watching 13 now! I think this episode sets to rest whether or not an Otome getting intimate with a guy will kill her or her master (in case anyone was still wondering after the last episode)... Since the one who they wanted to replace with Akane with was actually retiring and getting married. It's nice to see that they can do that, and that they're not necessarily slaves for life.

And oh man.. Arika is getting so worked up about Sergey /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif This lethargic Arika is not the Arika I know! Cheer up Arika XD Heh. The scene with her and Youko was funny XD

Hmm, Akane and Mai, kindred spirits! Heh, it's nice to get some more background on Mai, although Akane is taking center stage now. Hmm, Nao as one of the top three.. Hah! That will be great, I'm sure Shiho will have something to say about that /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

Ahaha man, Kazu-kun was so funny at the ceremony, Mr. Party Crasher! Ah with his fancy cape and his pimpmobile, he's like a new man XD

So, 13 wasn't the episode where the shit hit the fan just yet, but 14 may well be it, or at least will get that ball rolling, I think. I do think 13 removes any doubt that Akane is the shadow Otome from the op though, although what she and Kazu-kun will do now, I don't know.

And this is disjointed because I posted as things in the ep jumped out at me =P But I'm done it now.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:
Man, this whole episode was one giant apology to Akane. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

And I loved it for that XD Hopefully she doesn'y get screwed over hardcore later on to compensate, but it was really quite fun to see things work for her, at least for now.

[ QUOTE ]
Meanwhile, Kazu-kun got to act like a Meine Liebe reject.
--I kid, I kid... he was also quite cool, although they really overplayed his big cape-tossing entrance at the end.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wahaha, it was perfectly cheesy XD Kazu-kun rocks!

[ QUOTE ]
I'm wary about the whole Arika/Sergay angle--but hey, Sergay's coolness has been continuing unabated, so I'm not going to complain yet. And it's perfectly understandable that someone of Arika's age and innocence would have a crush on him (her reaction at the end of the episode was hilarious, heh).

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh, yeah, I don't know what to make of it. He's certainly much too old for her for one, and of course Nina would probably kill herself (just when I'm finally liking her a lot!) XD Still, Sergey is an awesome character so I have far less problem with it than I did with Mai and Doucheface.

[ QUOTE ]
EDIT: Also, hooray for Chie as the new Pearl Number 1! And for Nao, for reluctantly being bumped up to Number 3.

[/ QUOTE ]

I seriously want an episode that's nothing but Nao and Shiho competing and Chie just watching and laughing XD But maybe as an extra of some sort, because I'm hoping the show goes into hardcore story mode now, as HiME did around this time.

[Lego]

[ QUOTE ]
Woo, watching 13 now! I think this episode sets to rest whether or not an Otome getting intimate with a guy will kill her or her master (in case anyone was still wondering after the last episode)... Since the one who they wanted to replace with Akane with was actually retiring and getting married. It's nice to see that they can do that, and that they're not necessarily slaves for life.

[/ QUOTE ]

Looks like Kazue wanted to do a little more then kissing during that scene /images/graemlins/noseblef.gif

[bobma]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:
And oh man.. Arika is getting so worked up about Sergey /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif This lethargic Arika is not the Arika I know!


[/ QUOTE ]
And she has yet to realize who her secret benefactor is. I think it'll be... let's say "interesting" when his cover finally gets blown up.

[ QUOTE ]

Hmm, Akane and Mai, kindred spirits! Heh, it's nice to get some more background on Mai, although Akane is taking center stage now. Hmm, Nao as one of the top three.. Hah! That will be great, I'm sure Shiho will have something to say about that /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
What I want Nao to say in front of Shiho is "Ah well, ok. Now that I'm Trias I might as well go for the top spot." /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[ QUOTE ]

I do think 13 removes any doubt that Akane is the shadow Otome from the op though, although what she and Kazu-kun will do now, I don't know.

[/ QUOTE ]

Huh? Did you mean to say that ep13 is proof that Akane isn't the shadow otome with the big ass sword from the OP? If so, I agree.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Bobma said:Huh? Did you mean to say that ep13 is proof that Akane isn't the shadow otome with the big ass sword from the OP? If so, I agree.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah it's definite now that Akane won't be the Shadow Otome. So that's one candidate down and well however many left to go. I'm having trouble remembering who was guessed to be the Shadow Otome besides Akane.

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Bobma said:


[ QUOTE ]

I do think 13 removes any doubt that Akane is the shadow Otome from the op though, although what she and Kazu-kun will do now, I don't know.

[/ QUOTE ]

Huh? Did you mean to say that ep13 is proof that Akane isn't the shadow otome with the big ass sword from the OP? If so, I agree.

[/ QUOTE ]

I wouldn't go quite that far. I think there is still some possibility.

But its entirely possible things will be clearer when the 2nd OP airs with episode 14...

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
[ QUOTE ]
Bobma said:Huh? Did you mean to say that ep13 is proof that Akane isn't the shadow otome with the big ass sword from the OP? If so, I agree.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah it's definite now that Akane won't be the Shadow Otome. So that's one candidate down and well however many left to go. I'm having trouble remembering who was guessed to be the Shadow Otome besides Akane.

[/ QUOTE ]

As I said, I wouldn't go that far.

I don't think Akane's recieved a free pass quite yet.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said: I don't think Akane's recieved a free pass quite yet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah you just had to go and ruin the mind set that the eternal mission to make Akane suffer has finally ended. Still it's true that with 13 episodes remaining there are still more chances to ruin Akane's life. Either way as for the Shadow Otome. Hopefully we'll know eventually and who knows maybe episode 13 will turn out to be misleading in some regards.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Bobma said:
Huh? Did you mean to say that ep13 is proof that Akane isn't the shadow otome with the big ass sword from the OP? If so, I agree.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe "removes any doubt" was really bad wording and what I said came out of nowhere given the rest of my post, but I do think it's her. As Fence says, I don't think she gets a free pass just yet. I do think she will become a Meister eventually (and the purple lights come into play of course), but I wouldn't even begin to know under what circumstances. Maybe it seems oxymoronic, but I DO feel like she'll make it out of the series OK, and even think Kazu-kun will live... However, looking at the pic of the shadow Otome again now, it does look pretty mean... I dunno =P

How all this will happen? I don't know /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif But I just really think she's the shadow Otome now, unless we're going to meet that one in relation to the coming battle, perhaps. Dunno why I said it removes any doubt though, stupid wording on my part.

In any case, it should get interesting. I really don't think Akane is out of the story yet... I just hope she remains reasonably happy.

[bobma]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
I wouldn't go quite that far. I think there is still some possibility.


[/ QUOTE ]
You're right. Nothings final yet, but I think both Akane and Kazuya can't wait to start the "de-otome-zation process" as soon as possible. Unless of course the writers are more sinister than we thought and everything including Kazuya was a ploy by someone to get their hands on "the genuine article".

Something that's still puzzling is, that shadow otome seems to be from the pearl class (purple lights, as opposed to yellow meister lights), but with a highly customized exterior (wings, twin tails, sword), as if the nanites went haywire. Nobody from the current known pearl class fits the bill for that kind of extensions, not even Shiho who's funny crazy not evil crazy, so maybe we see pearl Tomoe who finally went postal?

[ QUOTE ]

But its entirely possible things will be clearer when the 2nd OP airs with episode 14...

[/ QUOTE ]
I fear the best thing we'll get out of the new OP is more ambiguous stuff to speculate about. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Bobma said:
[ QUOTE ]

But its entirely possible things will be clearer when the 2nd OP airs with episode 14...

[/ QUOTE ]
I fear the best thing we'll get out of the new OP is more ambiguous stuff to speculate about. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Things I do expect from the new opening:

Aswald being shown more prominently
Mai being unsilhoetted
Nina's theorized Meister Robe
Natsuki's robe

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Bobma said:I fear the best thing we'll get out of the new OP is more ambiguous stuff to speculate about. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe so, but my main interest is in seeing what type of mood the new opening ends up setting for the series. I'm quite sure it won't set the same mood as the original opening. I mean if it were to then the new opening would be a waste of time. I'm kind of hoping for a partially sad opening theme.

[stfram]

[ QUOTE ]
Bobma said:
Unless of course the writers are more sinister than we thought and everything including Kazuya was a ploy by someone to get their hands on "the genuine article".


[/ QUOTE ]

Oooh...nasty thought there.

Of course, the ruler of Florence can't be too happy to see the investment that his country made get spirited away by a prince from another country (Cardair?). So, he orders his current Otome to take them both out.

Or maybe they live happily ever after. Nah. The writers need to sow discord and grief. /images/graemlins/devil.gif

[pianocello]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:
[ QUOTE ]
I'm wary about the whole Arika/Sergay angle--but hey, Sergay's coolness has been continuing unabated, so I'm not going to complain yet. And it's perfectly understandable that someone of Arika's age and innocence would have a crush on him (her reaction at the end of the episode was hilarious, heh).

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh, yeah, I don't know what to make of it. He's certainly much too old for her for one, and of course Nina would probably kill herself (just when I'm finally liking her a lot!) XD Still, Sergey is an awesome character so I have far less problem with it than I did with Mai and Doucheface.



[/ QUOTE ]

I still prefer Arika to be involved in some yuri.....

[lone_wolf]

[ QUOTE ]
stfram said:
[ QUOTE ]
Bobma said:
Unless of course the writers are more sinister than we thought and everything including Kazuya was a ploy by someone to get their hands on "the genuine article".


[/ QUOTE ]

Oooh...nasty thought there.

Of course, the ruler of Florence can't be too happy to see the investment that his country made get spirited away by a prince from another country (Cardair?). So, he orders his current Otome to take them both out.


[/ QUOTE ]


Well, that might not be possible since his most recent Otome retired to get married.


--Lone Wolf /images/graemlins/sweat200.gif

[ayareiko]

Final Chart as of Episode 12. (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/chart.jpg)

Revised Chart as of Episode 13. (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/chart13.jpg) (Erstin's and Irina's "soeur" ties are cut.)

The "Balance" of Power. (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/chartpowers.jpg) I expect this one to get a whole lot more complicated very, very soon.

One thing to note; Miya (Tomoe's bitch) is from L. Remus. Lilie (Tall, dark-haired one) and Yayoi (The short daydreamer) are from L. Romulus. So much for the trio...

I believe this is the first time we saw a Coral that wasn't from the Star class. Early in the episode, we see a couple of Corals with a Moon logo instead.

[stfram]

[ QUOTE ]
Lone Wolf said:
Well, that might not be possible since his most recent Otome retired to get married.


[/ QUOTE ]

I read that as she isn't able to get married until after a replacement has been secured.

Remember, her master has the ultimate say, she can't just tell him "I'm retiring, seeya later!"

The way I look at the whole political situation: no country would be caught dead without having the protection of an Otome, and that even a temporary void opens a massive gap in their defenses, a gap that could be exploited by a ruthless opponent.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
stfram said:Remember, her master has the ultimate say, she can't just tell him "I'm retiring, seeya later!"

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey maybe that will be the angle they screw over Akane with. The Otome that wanted to retire blames "Akane" and decides to take revenge. Okay revenge is not the right word, but you get the idea.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
I still prefer Arika to be involved in some yuri.....

[/ QUOTE ]

I JUST DIED OF SHOCK.

=P

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
Revised Chart as of Episode 13. (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/chart13.jpg) (Erstin's and Irina's "soeur" ties are cut.)

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh, I love how Akane and Kazu-kun are just off in their own little world there at top right.

[mellowrg2]

I think you should use another texture for the background

[lone_wolf]

[ QUOTE ]
stfram said:
[ QUOTE ]
Lone Wolf said:
Well, that might not be possible since his most recent Otome retired to get married.


[/ QUOTE ]

I read that as she isn't able to get married until after a replacement has been secured.


[/ QUOTE ]

Really? Does it mention it on the website? Because I don't remember seeing that there? Of maybe I wasn't looking at the right section?

--Lone Wolf

[Suwako Moriya]

Actually wait come to think of it. Episode 13 tells us that an Otome can retire even if she has a master. However what about the contract between the Otome and the Master? How does the nullification of it work? I mean if you watch episode 13, Akane was about to make the contract with the guy. So that can mean only one of two things. The previous contract has to end before the new contract can begin. In which case the previous Otome is already cut off. Or it means that until a new Otome is chosen the previous Otome is still connected. Which means the previous Otome is still bound until she's replaced.

[lone_wolf]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
Actually wait come to think of it. Episode 13 tells us that an Otome can retire even if she has a master. However what about the contract between the Otome and the Master? How does the nullification of it work? I mean if you watch episode 13, Akane was about to make the contract with the guy. So that can mean only one of two things. The previous contract has to end before the new contract can begin. In which case the previous Otome is already cut off. Or it means that until a new Otome is chosen the previous Otome is still connected. Which means the previous Otome is still bound until she's replaced.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yup! That's what I had thought as well. I mean the guy can't have a contract with 2 meisters at the same time can he? Most likely not.

--Lone Wolf

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
Actually wait come to think of it. Episode 13 tells us that an Otome can retire even if she has a master. However what about the contract between the Otome and the Master? How does the nullification of it work?

[/ QUOTE ]

Didn't someone say in one of these threads that Natsuki was able to nullify contracts? If so, then it seems like it's not a huge deal to do so, really.

[DiGiKerot]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:
[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
Actually wait come to think of it. Episode 13 tells us that an Otome can retire even if she has a master. However what about the contract between the Otome and the Master? How does the nullification of it work?

[/ QUOTE ]

Didn't someone say in one of these threads that Natsuki was able to nullify contracts? If so, then it seems like it's not a huge deal to do so, really.

[/ QUOTE ]

Its mentioned earlier in the series - the episode where Arika and Mashiro are trying to keep their contract a secret in a really obvious fashion - from what I remember, in a conversation between Natsuki and Shizuru in regards to the situation.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:Its mentioned earlier in the series - the episode where Arika and Mashiro are trying to keep their contract a secret in a really obvious fashion - from what I remember, in a conversation between Natsuki and Shizuru in regards to the situation.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah yes that would be episode eight I believe. I'll double check. Hmm it seems that basically Shizuru asks Natsuki if she'll force them to nullify the contract. Natsuki simply decides she's going to let things play out and that it may be fate. Of course knowing anime it probably is fate.

[ayareiko]

It appears the 2nd OP single will include the entire song that Arika, Nina, and Mashiro each know a part to. The lyrics:

目覚�を待�国�　む������
�����ょ�胸�　宿る��り
星ã?«ã?ªã‚‹ã??ã?¼ã?†ã€€ã?‚ã?—ã?Ÿã?Œè¦‹ã?ˆã‚‹
æ„›ã?™ã‚‹ã?²ã?¨ã‚ˆã€€å¾…ã?£ã?¦ã?¦ã?Šã??ã‚Œ

ã?“ã?“ã‚?ã?®çª“ã?«ç«‹ã?¤ã€€ã?•ã?*ã‚?ã?®æ¨ªé¡”
�も���ょ�夢を　守る��り
星ã?¯ã?Ÿã?*ã?²ã?¨ã‚Šã€€é?¸ã?¹ã?¨å‘Šã?’ã‚‹
æ„›ã?™ã‚‹ã?²ã?¨ã?Œã€€ã‚?ã?Ÿã?—を呼ã?¹ã?°å¤‰ã‚?ã‚ ‹

ã?†ã‚‹ã‚?ã?—ã??ç«‹ã?¡èˆžã?†ã€€ã?‘ã?Œã‚Œã?ªã??ç¾½
背è²*ã?„ã?¾ã?—ょã?†å¾¡å*?ã?®ã€€å‘½ã?®ã?²ã?‹ã‚Š
星��る���　生�れ���ら�
æ„›ã?™ã‚‹ã?²ã?¨ã?«ã€€ 抱ã?‹ã‚Œã?¦ã?*むれ

If there's anyone who knows Japanese, could you translate this? I have a feeling it'll show some insight on what's to come as I have a sinking feeling it's this series's counterpart to HiME's "It's only a fairy tale".

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
It appears the 2nd OP single will include the entire song that Arika, Nina, and Mashiro each know a part to. The lyrics:

目覚�を待�国�　む������
�����ょ�胸�　宿る��り
星ã?«ã?ªã‚‹ã??ã?¼ã?†ã€€ã?‚ã?—ã?Ÿã?Œè¦‹ã?ˆã‚‹
æ„›ã?™ã‚‹ã?²ã?¨ã‚ˆã€€å¾…ã?£ã?¦ã?¦ã?Šã??ã‚Œ

ã?“ã?“ã‚?ã?®çª“ã?«ç«‹ã?¤ã€€ã?•ã?*ã‚?ã?®æ¨ªé¡”
�も���ょ�夢を　守る��り
星ã?¯ã?Ÿã?*ã?²ã?¨ã‚Šã€€é?¸ã?¹ã?¨å‘Šã?’ã‚‹
æ„›ã?™ã‚‹ã?²ã?¨ã?Œã€€ã‚?ã?Ÿã?—を呼ã?¹ã?°å¤‰ã‚?ã‚ ‹

ã?†ã‚‹ã‚?ã?—ã??ç«‹ã?¡èˆžã?†ã€€ã?‘ã?Œã‚Œã?ªã??ç¾½
背è²*ã?„ã?¾ã?—ょã?†å¾¡å*?ã?®ã€€å‘½ã?®ã?²ã?‹ã‚Š
星��る���　生�れ���ら�
æ„›ã?™ã‚‹ã?²ã?¨ã?«ã€€ 抱ã?‹ã‚Œã?¦ã?*むれ

If there's anyone who knows Japanese, could you translate this? I have a feeling it'll show some insight on what's to come as I have a sinking feeling it's this series's counterpart to HiME's "It's only a fairy tale".

[/ QUOTE ]

Umm...we actually covered this back several topics ago, that song is on the ED single too.

[Lego]

I'm still interested in the book they showed in episode 13. It sure did look a lot like Mai and Tate/Sergei from the book. Is it just a story, or is it a hint on what happened to Mai?

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:I have a feeling it'll show some insight on what's to come as I have a sinking feeling it's this series's counterpart to HiME's "It's only a fairy tale".

[/ QUOTE ]

A lot of us have the same feeling. Although the true meaning to the words in the song may not be obvious until the final episode. Of course the fact Arika, Nina and Mashiro each knows a different part of the song is probably more important than anything else.

Still I thought the song was called "It's only the Fairy Tale". Speaking of which it's been awhile since I listened to that song. Maybe I should study up on the song again for the fun of it. Okay so I just want to hear Alyssa Searrs sing again.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
Still I thought the song was called "It's only the Fairy Tale". Speaking of which it's been awhile since I listened to that song. Maybe I should study up on the song again for the fun of it. Okay so I just want to hear Alyssa Searrs sing again.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was actually considering making a post in this thread asking people how well they thought Alyssa's song fit Otome. A friend of mine listened to it again recently after having seen some Otome, and flat out said "this was written about the Otome"... Naturally I disagree, it's "about" the HiME more than anything (caus, you know, it was in HiME /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif), but there are of course many parallels between the two. The line that sticks out, of course, is "They've never been allowed to love in this cursed cage," and I think the more fantasy-tinged atmosphere of the song is what makes him think it's more suitable to Otome.

Of course he said this having not seen the most recent episodes, where it has become apparent that being an Otome isn't quite as dire in terms of love than being a HiME was. Oh sure, it's easier initially for a HiME to love. They won't lose their powers. They aren't told they can't love. Love and HiMEing could coexist, right? If anything, the important person is what motivates them to fight on. However, in loving someone, you put THEIR life in danger more than your own. Oh sure, when the HiME lost they became nearly comatose empty shells of humans, but they didn't die. Overall though, well... we saw what happened when the shit hit the fan there.

Otome seems less brutal towards the one being loved, in that they can't, well, have sex with the Otome and all, but they don't die just because they are loved by an Otome. The Otome is the one who has to risk losing their power, but they don't die either. Otome even leaves the lesbian loophole to be exploited, should a character (coughErs-chan~cough) be so "oriented". And as we've seen, you can stop being an Otome, but you couldn't stop being a HiME.

There does seem to be that whole thing with your master whom you contract with having their life tied to yours or something, but that's a job, not love (not that it couldn't be though) =P

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Lego said:
Is it just a story, or is it a hint on what happened to Mai?

[/ QUOTE ]

A hint? I thought they were pretty much explicitly saying what happened, albiet with a bit of a literary twist. Nina herself said it happened only a few years ago, so yes, it's definitely what happened to Mai, more or less.

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:
[ QUOTE ]
Lego said:
Is it just a story, or is it a hint on what happened to Mai?

[/ QUOTE ]

A hint? I thought they were pretty much explicitly saying what happened, albiet with a bit of a literary twist. Nina herself said it happened only a few years ago, so yes, it's definitely what happened to Mai, more or less.

[/ QUOTE ]

Which makes me think someone will be taking a trip to the Sprite Forest soon, and the Fire String Ruby will awaken.

*starts playing Mezame*

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:Which makes me think someone will be taking a trip to the Sprite Forest soon, and the Fire String Ruby will awaken.

[/ QUOTE ]

Let me put it this way. If you see Yuu err I mean Sergei in a forest during an episode preview, I'd be very suspicious.

[Suwako Moriya]

Well Alyssa's song may fit part of Otome, but that's possibly only because Otome borrows ideals from HiME. However in the end Alyssa's song is about HiME not Otome. I believe that the song is simply saying that deep down the HiME believe they can't escape their fate while describing this said fate.

Of course obviously Mashiro decided that fate really sucks and went with the ******-slap Lord Kokoyou plan. I'm still surprised that while everyone else seemed to be losing it, Midori seemed to be able to stick to her own morals and convinctions. She's truly impressive because of that.

[Lego]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
Well Alyssa's song may fit part of Otome, but that's possibly only because Otome borrows ideals from HiME. However in the end Alyssa's song is about HiME not Otome. I believe that the song is simply saying that deep down the HiME believe they can't escape their fate while describing this said fate.

Of course obviously Mashiro decided that fate really sucks and went with the ******-slap Lord Kokoyou plan. I'm still surprised that while everyone else seemed to be losing it, Midori seemed to be able to stick to her own morals and convinctions. She's truly impressive because of that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Even after(Hime spoilers regarding the last couple episodes) <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Midori got KO'd by Mikoto, she seemed to have "her wits about her". I liked Midori for that. Maybe it was because of her being a little older. </span>

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Lego said:Even after(Hime spoilers regarding the last couple episodes) <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Midori got KO'd by Mikoto, she seemed to have "her wits about her". I liked Midori for that. Maybe it was because of her being a little older.</span>

[/ QUOTE ]

I've decided to change the thread title to indicate this is spoilers for the full series of HiME because I'm not in the mood to randomly mark parts of my post. In any case back to the discussion.

Even more amazing is the fact Midori is the only HiME that sacrificed her own MIP for the sake of the greater good. I mean she literally used her CHILD to protect Miyu, despite the fact it meant she'd lose her MIP. She was taking a huge gamble for a plan that ultimately could have failed.

Especially since Midori did NOT erase Miyu's memory at all. She never programmed a new master for her. Meaning that not only was she risking her MIP for the sake of another. She was also trusting that very same person to do the right thing.

In the end if not for Midori, Lord Kokyou's plan would have probably succeeded. It's like I've said. The story of My-HiME is ultimately Mashiro vs Lord Kokoyou with Midori, Miyu, and Alyssa being her three most important weapons for screwing him over.

[Rogueman_8]

about mai, as mentioned before, i'm very interested in the pic shown here (http://img469.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mai7br.jpg). Story's told and it shows her disappear in a pearl uniform (we know pearl from the design and poster), yet in the next page (or previous page if we're reading JPNese style) the uniform is a meister uniform. Also mentioned before is the things behind her, as i said, most likely branches, but i may be thinking too hard in that it may be something else. anyways, that meister silhouette was just of interest to me in relation to the story told by nina this episode.

[Rogueman_8]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
In the end if not for Midori, Lord Kokyou's plan would have probably succeeded. It's like I've said. The story of My-HiME is ultimately Mashiro vs Lord Kokoyou with Midori, Miyu, and Alyssa being her three most important weapons for screwing him over.

[/ QUOTE ]

/images/graemlins/relief1.gif it disappoints me you don't mention mai or mikoto. clearly, everyone played a important role in his defeat. mai obviously played a more important role (moreso than miyu and alyssa) for screwing him over (directly), being the lead and all of course, but it was also she who decided destiny/fate of whether having LK succeed or fail and the fact she blew away LK. Mention of Mikoto is cuz she fucked him up pretty good (directly).

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Rogueman_8 said:
/images/graemlins/relief1.gif it disappoints me you don't mention mai or mikoto.

[/ QUOTE ]

Please don't misunderstand me. It's not that I don't think the two are important in terms of the defeat of Lord Kokoyou. Both are extremely important. However I just don't consider the two direct tools of Mashiro's plan. At least from what I remember about the series.

The reason I consider Miyu and Alyssa direct tools is the whole thing is highly suspicious. Yeah suddenly Mashiro decides to repair Miyu. Miyu goes to the lake in 23. Yet instead of killing herself again to be with Alyssa, she seems to be searching for Alyssa and following her voice she sees the flame near the pillars.

Of course then again it has been awhile since I've seen HiME. Perhaps Mai herself is in fact part of Mashiro's plan and thus should be considered one of Mashiro's most important weapons in terms of screwing him over. Actually I guess you could say everyone was part of her plan due to her "Life 2" thing.

Still what about Ishigami? I mean after all it was him that ultimately revealed the identity of Lord Kokoyou to Mai. I mean we shouldn't forget about his valiant efforts to save everyone. Forget the others, he's the true hero. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[cregbr]

As we move into the second half of the series, where the plot will be thicker, the pace faster and the surprises more unexpected, here are some of the questions and speculations that I have from the first half of the series:

<font color="blue">(1)</font> Who is the real princess?
This is one of the first questions presented, and the obvious candidates are: Arika, Nina and Mashiro.

At this point, I would handicap the race as follows:
Arika: 3 in 8. She, being the main character, has been hinted at being the princess from the get-go based on the presence of the pendant. However, that being the obvious answer, it would be unlikely to be the right one /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif
Nina: 3 in 8. I can see this playing out with Sergay having found the real princess years ago and hid her in plain sight by having her be his adopted daughter. She also has the hair and eye color that most closely match the king and queen based on what we've seen.
Mashiro: 1 in 8. She looks nothing like the king and queen and the circumstances under which she was presented as the true heir are highly suspect. I think she will end up being some pawn of Schwartz in some fashion.
None of the Above: 1 in 8. Probably less actually since the Tolstoy principle is likely involved, but cannot be ruled out as yet.

<font color="blue">(2)</font> What baby did Rena release in the stream?
There are two obvious answers, the princess or her own child. We know that Rena had retired and was in fact un able to Materialize anymore, so had had initimate relations with a man at some point in the recent past. My speculation is that the real Princess is Rena's child. If the Queen were for some reason unable to have a child, they would most likely try to find an appropriate surrogate, and given the level of love, trust, etc. that exists in some Master/Otome relationships, I don't think Rena being chosen is all that far fetched.

<font color="blue">(3)</font> Is Rena dead?
When last we saw her, the castle was being attacked by Schwartz, but she was found and surrounded by Aswald. It is quite possible that she was taken prisoner rather than killed at that time.

<font color="blue">(4)</font> Who was the cloaked figure overlooking the bodies of the fallen King and Queen?
My bet is Midori, but this question may be unanswered within the series.

<font color="blue">(5)</font> Who is the Otome with wings in the OP?
My guess at this point is that the Otome is an Aswald, possibly Midori. If you look at her shadow, you will see the tails look like Lumen's whips. Midori also uses a sword as her primary weapon(s). The tattered wings and overall demeaner seem different than a standard Otome. Finally, in Ep. 10, Shizuru and Natuski were talking about Aswald's abilities with the Nano-machines, but that they couldn't materialize yet.

<font color="blue">(6)</font> Who are all the pillars?
We know Natuski and Shizuru are, but who are the other 3? Yukariko is likely to be one since she seems to be able to Materialize at will and has no apparent master.

<font color="blue">(7)</font> Who are the Song, the Conductor and the Protector?
The likely candidates are again Arika, Nina, and Mashiro, mostly based on them being the primary focus characters of the show. But even if they are, which one is which? My current guess is that Mashiro is the Song, Arika is the Conductor and Nina is the Protector, but I have only a little confidence in these guesses.

<font color="blue">(8)</font> Who is Miyu and who is she working for?
She has obvously been either watching over or at least monitoring Arika for a long time. Who has her doing this and why?

<font color="blue">(9)</font> Who is Granny?
In my opinion, Arika was being groomed to be an Otome from early in her childhood. While natural ability can carry a person far, Arika's ability exceeds what I would reasonably expect from a beginner. It would be an appropiately twisted plot point if she turned out to be Rena (see question 3 above).

<font color="blue">(10)</font> What is the blue star?
It is prominently apart of many shots and a source of contemplation for some. What is it? My guess is that it is some piece of technology left over from the original colonists' arrival, and the Harmonium is involved with interacting with it.


There are other questions of course and I hope some of them will be put forth by others with their hypotheses as well.

In any case, I am enjoying Otome much more than Hime. I like that many of the characters are more mature (Natsuki, Shizuru, Haruka, etc.). I like that the back story is more coherent. I'm not a big fan of the "because it's fate" explanation for the driving force of a story. While Otome has another 13 episodes to screw up, the reason for the up coming battles and conflict are based on the coming together of believable forces.

Kamina

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Kamina said:
<font color="blue">(7)</font> Who are the Song, the Conductor and the Protector?
The likely candidates are again Arika, Nina, and Mashiro, mostly based on them being the primary focus characters of the show. But even if they are, which one is which? My current guess is that Mashiro is the Song, Arika is the Conductor and Nina is the Protector, but I have only a little confidence in these guesses.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe I missed something, but I'm still not exactly sure on what the difference between the Song, the Conductor and the protector is supposed to be. If I had a better idea of that then maybe it would be easier to figure out who is supposed to be who.

Still thinking back to episode 12. Where Arika pretended to be Mashiro, Nina pretended to be Arika, and finally Mashiro pretended to be Nina. What may seem to be a simple joke could be a clue of what role each of the three is supposed to be in reality.

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
Kamina said:
As we move into the second half of the series, where the plot will be thicker, the pace faster and the surprises more unexpected, here are some of the questions and speculations that I have from the first half of the series:

<font color="blue">(1)</font> Who is the real princess?
This is one of the first questions presented, and the obvious candidates are: Arika, Nina and Mashiro.

At this point, I would handicap the race as follows:
Arika: 3 in 8. She, being the main character, has been hinted at being the princess from the get-go based on the presence of the pendant. However, that being the obvious answer, it would be unlikely to be the right one /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif
Nina: 3 in 8. I can see this playing out with Sergay having found the real princess years ago and hid her in plain sight by having her be his adopted daughter. She also has the hair and eye color that most closely match the king and queen based on what we've seen.
Mashiro: 1 in 8. She looks nothing like the king and queen and the circumstances under which she was presented as the true heir are highly suspect. I think she will end up being some pawn of Schwartz in some fashion.
None of the Above: 1 in 8. Probably less actually since the Tolstoy principle is likely involved, but cannot be ruled out as yet.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'd adjust the odds to:

Arika 1:4
Nina 1:2
Mashiro 1:16
Other 1:4

I'd bet it would be Nina, with either Arika or someone else second.

[ QUOTE ]

<font color="blue">(2)</font> What baby did Rena release in the stream?
There are two obvious answers, the princess or her own child. We know that Rena had retired and was in fact un able to Materialize anymore, so had had initimate relations with a man at some point in the recent past. My speculation is that the real Princess is Rena's child. If the Queen were for some reason unable to have a child, they would most likely try to find an appropriate surrogate, and given the level of love, trust, etc. that exists in some Master/Otome relationships, I don't think Rena being chosen is all that far fetched.


[/ QUOTE ]

Unlikely, sort of. If we assume for the moment Nina is the real princess, and Arika is Rena's daughter, who is to say they ultimately could be half-sisters. (Adjust the names around to suit your tastes.)

[ QUOTE ]

<font color="blue">(3)</font> Is Rena dead?
When last we saw her, the castle was being attacked by Schwartz, but she was found and surrounded by Aswald. It is quite possible that she was taken prisoner rather than killed at that time.


[/ QUOTE ]

She's likely dead. Aswald is unlikely to have taken prisoners, and she didn't look like she was going to be taken alive anyway.

[ QUOTE ]

<font color="blue">(4)</font> Who was the cloaked figure overlooking the bodies of the fallen King and Queen?
My bet is Midori, but this question may be unanswered within the series.

<font color="blue">(5)</font> Who is the Otome with wings in the OP?
My guess at this point is that the Otome is an Aswald, possibly Midori. If you look at her shadow, you will see the tails look like Lumen's whips. Midori also uses a sword as her primary weapon(s). The tattered wings and overall demeaner seem different than a standard Otome. Finally, in Ep. 10, Shizuru and Natuski were talking about Aswald's abilities with the Nano-machines, but that they couldn't materialize yet.


[/ QUOTE ]

We're rapidly running out of options... It can't be Midori, she's using the REM system. My money is on Tomoe.

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">(6)</font> Who are all the pillars?
We know Natuski and Shizuru are, but who are the other 3? Yukariko is likely to be one since she seems to be able to Materialize at will and has no apparent master.


[/ QUOTE ]

Watch 13. Mai is revealed as a pillar too. I think it's safe to assume she's still an Otome. The question is, who is she loyal to? Appearently no nation nor Garderobe has a clue as to her whereabouts. And Aswald would want nothing to do with an Otome. That leaves only Schwartz, a group we know nearly nothing about.

Yukariko and Maria are probably the other two, given what has been said about the role of the Pillars.

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">(7)</font> Who are the Song, the Conductor and the Protector?
The likely candidates are again Arika, Nina, and Mashiro, mostly based on them being the primary focus characters of the show. But even if they are, which one is which? My current guess is that Mashiro is the Song, Arika is the Conductor and Nina is the Protector, but I have only a little confidence in these guesses.


[/ QUOTE ]

It will be Nina, Mashiro, and Arika, given the complete song has a part for each character. Though the question is what role? (And what the heck does each role mean anyway?)

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">(8)</font> Who is Miyu and who is she working for?
She has obvously been either watching over or at least monitoring Arika for a long time. Who has her doing this and why?

[/ QUOTE ]
Either a true neutral, or she's possibly a part of the Schwartz faction. All things considered, Schwartz is noticely understaffed. I have a feeling someone else is going to be revealed as a (possibly higher-ranking) member of Schwartz. My bets are Mai, Miyu, or both.

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">(9)</font> Who is Granny?
In my opinion, Arika was being groomed to be an Otome from early in her childhood. While natural ability can carry a person far, Arika's ability exceeds what I would reasonably expect from a beginner. It would be an appropiately twisted plot point if she turned out to be Rena (see question 3 above).


[/ QUOTE ]
Unlikely. If Granny and Rena were the same, I would've expected Sergay to have noticed something familar as to what Granny has been telling Arika as things Rena had once said to him.

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">(10)</font> What is the blue star?
It is prominently apart of many shots and a source of contemplation for some. What is it? My guess is that it is some piece of technology left over from the original colonists' arrival, and the Harmonium is involved with interacting with it.


[/ QUOTE ]

I say an ordinary star. Unlike HiME, no character has eluded to (or even noticed) it yet.

[stfram]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">(7)</font> Who are the Song, the Conductor and the Protector?


[/ QUOTE ]

It will be Nina, Mashiro, and Arika, given the complete song has a part for each character. Though the question is what role? (And what the heck does each role mean anyway?)


[/ QUOTE ]

Arika is the Protector, because Mashiro is her master, and she directly protected Mashiro from harm.

I'll say that Nina is the Conductor, due to her intelligence and other abilities.

Mashiro is the Song, mainly because I cannot imagine her in any other role.

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
stfram said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">(7)</font> Who are the Song, the Conductor and the Protector?


[/ QUOTE ]

It will be Nina, Mashiro, and Arika, given the complete song has a part for each character. Though the question is what role? (And what the heck does each role mean anyway?)


[/ QUOTE ]

Arika is the Protector, because Mashiro is her master, and she directly protected Mashiro from harm.

I'll say that Nina is the Conductor, due to her intelligence and other abilities.

Mashiro is the Song, mainly because I cannot imagine her in any other role.

[/ QUOTE ]
That assumes they'll stay in those roles. It's a possiblity that may not happen.

[cregbr]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
[ QUOTE ]
Kamina said:
<font color="blue">(7)</font> Who are the Song, the Conductor and the Protector?
The likely candidates are again Arika, Nina, and Mashiro, mostly based on them being the primary focus characters of the show. But even if they are, which one is which? My current guess is that Mashiro is the Song, Arika is the Conductor and Nina is the Protector, but I have only a little confidence in these guesses.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe I missed something, but I'm still not exactly sure on what the difference between the Song, the Conductor and the protector is supposed to be. If I had a better idea of that then maybe it would be easier to figure out who is supposed to be who.

Still thinking back to episode 12. Where Arika pretended to be Mashiro, Nina pretended to be Arika, and finally Mashiro pretended to be Nina. What may seem to be a simple joke could be a clue of what role each of the three is supposed to be in reality.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not exactly sure either frankly. The Protector is the most easily understandable. The Conductor could be a musical conductor or could be an electrical/nano-machine conductor. The Song is completely opaque.

I think it is worth noting that all three of the principals have sung songs with the same melody: Arika in Ep. 3 while waiting for her body to get used to nano-machines, Mashiro in Ep. 7 after smacking Arika in the face, and Nina in Ep. 4 the evening after Arika is enrolled at Garderobe. The song might have something to do with that.

Kamina

[ayareiko]

Redid the chart showing how each faction and nation are tied to one another (currently not much). Here is the new version as of Ep 13. (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/powercircle.jpg)

Also made a similar chart, but added all the siginfigant characters to show what nationalities they are. Here is the current edition as of Ep 13. (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/nationalties.jpg)

These'll probably get a whole lot more interesting in the next couple of episodes.

[Fencedude]

Tomoe needs to be added to the "neutral and unknown" category

Why is she in the Windbloom category?

[Rhodes]

shouldnt arika be with windbloom now that she and mashiro are so tight.

[cregbr]

[ QUOTE ]
Rhodes said:
shouldnt arika be with windbloom now that she and mashiro are so tight.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe these are origination relationships, not current alliances/relationships. I think a MariMite style chart of how all the characters relate to each other would be very interesting, although horribly crowded /images/graemlins/happy.gif

K.

[wrex]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
Also made a similar chart, but added all the siginfigant characters to show what nationalities they are. Here is the current edition as of Ep 13. (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/nationalties.jpg)

These'll probably get a whole lot more interesting in the next couple of episodes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Those are great charts. /images/graemlins/happy.gif But a few things:
I thought Airies, Windbloom, and Garderobe were allied
Shouldn't Mai be with Zipang since she's Takumi's older sister?
Feud is spelled F-E-U-D

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
wrex said:

Shouldn't Mai be with Zipang since she's Takumi's older sister?


[/ QUOTE ]

Her current alignment is unknown...assuming she's even active at the mement.

[wrex]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
[ QUOTE ]
wrex said:

Shouldn't Mai be with Zipang since she's Takumi's older sister?


[/ QUOTE ]

Her current alignment is unknown...assuming she's even active at the mement.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, according to Aya Reiko, he/she said, "(I) added all the siginfigant characters to show what nationalities they are." So, we don't know her alignment, but shouldn't her nationality be with Zipang?

[cregbr]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
[ QUOTE ]
Kamina said:
As we move into the second half of the series, where the plot will be thicker, the pace faster and the surprises more unexpected, here are some of the questions and speculations that I have from the first half of the series:

<font color="blue">(1)</font> Who is the real princess?
This is one of the first questions presented, and the obvious candidates are: Arika, Nina and Mashiro.

At this point, I would handicap the race as follows:
Arika: 3 in 8. She, being the main character, has been hinted at being the princess from the get-go based on the presence of the pendant. However, that being the obvious answer, it would be unlikely to be the right one /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif
Nina: 3 in 8. I can see this playing out with Sergay having found the real princess years ago and hid her in plain sight by having her be his adopted daughter. She also has the hair and eye color that most closely match the king and queen based on what we've seen.
Mashiro: 1 in 8. She looks nothing like the king and queen and the circumstances under which she was presented as the true heir are highly suspect. I think she will end up being some pawn of Schwartz in some fashion.
None of the Above: 1 in 8. Probably less actually since the Tolstoy principle is likely involved, but cannot be ruled out as yet.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'd adjust the odds to:

Arika 1:4
Nina 1:2
Mashiro 1:16
Other 1:4

I'd bet it would be Nina, with either Arika or someone else second.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'll go with your odds as well. I had forgotten the scene where Nina seemed to remember Rena looking down at her with the moon in the background.

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

<font color="blue">(2)</font> What baby did Rena release in the stream?
There are two obvious answers, the princess or her own child. We know that Rena had retired and was in fact unable to Materialize anymore, so had had initimate relations with a man at some point in the recent past. My speculation is that the real Princess is Rena's child. If the Queen were for some reason unable to have a child, they would most likely try to find an appropriate surrogate, and given the level of love, trust, etc. that exists in some Master/Otome relationships, I don't think Rena being chosen is all that far fetched.


[/ QUOTE ]

Unlikely, sort of. If we assume for the moment Nina is the real princess, and Arika is Rena's daughter, who is to say they ultimately could be half-sisters. (Adjust the names around to suit your tastes.)


[/ QUOTE ]

This possible, although this leaves us with the other question of where and how the other baby was saved and taken. I'm also not sure that it has been established conclusively that Arika is Rena's daughter. All we have is the circumstanstial evidence based on her posession of the pendant.

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

<font color="blue">(3)</font> Is Rena dead?
When last we saw her, the castle was being attacked by Schwartz, but she was found and surrounded by Aswald. It is quite possible that she was taken prisoner rather than killed at that time.


[/ QUOTE ]

She's likely dead. Aswald is unlikely to have taken prisoners, and she didn't look like she was going to be taken alive anyway.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'd agree that it's likely, but it is unconfirmed. After spending too much time reviewing that initial sequence, we have Rena drawing her knives to defend herself and Rad drawing is staff into an aggressive position, but with no motion towards her. As for not taking prisoners, capturing an Otome, even a retired one, would be wealth of information for study and could have contributed to Aswald's progress in using the nano-machines.

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

<font color="blue">(5)</font> Who is the Otome with wings in the OP?
My guess at this point is that the Otome is an Aswald, possibly Midori. If you look at her shadow, you will see the tails look like Lumen's whips. Midori also uses a sword as her primary weapon(s). The tattered wings and overall demeaner seem different than a standard Otome. Finally, in Ep. 10, Shizuru and Natuski were talking about Aswald's abilities with the Nano-machines, but that they couldn't materialize yet.


[/ QUOTE ]

We're rapidly running out of options... It can't be Midori, she's using the REM system. My money is on Tomoe.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure the ability to generate a robe is intimately tied to being an Otome. It is possible that the Robe is an optimal configuration for manipulating the nano-machines. Even the REM system uses a gem to activate the powers, it's just not stable.


[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">(6)</font> Who are all the pillars?
We know Natuski and Shizuru are, but who are the other 3? Yukariko is likely to be one since she seems to be able to Materialize at will and has no apparent master.


[/ QUOTE ]

Watch 13. Mai is revealed as a pillar too. I think it's safe to assume she's still an Otome. The question is, who is she loyal to? Appearently no nation nor Garderobe has a clue as to her whereabouts. And Aswald would want nothing to do with an Otome. That leaves only Schwartz, a group we know nearly nothing about.

Yukariko and Maria are probably the other two, given what has been said about the role of the Pillars.


[/ QUOTE ]

I did watch 13 and I believe Mai was offered the position of pillar, but I think she disappeared before being installed. Additionally, given the importance of Garderobe, I wouldn't think they would leave a Pillar post derilict for very long, unless Pillars must use specific gems. I also doubt Maria is a pillar mainly because she is likely too old to be able to endure the rigors of combat.

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">(7)</font> Who are the Song, the Conductor and the Protector?
The likely candidates are again Arika, Nina, and Mashiro, mostly based on them being the primary focus characters of the show. But even if they are, which one is which? My current guess is that Mashiro is the Song, Arika is the Conductor and Nina is the Protector, but I have only a little confidence in these guesses.


[/ QUOTE ]

It will be Nina, Mashiro, and Arika, given the complete song has a part for each character. Though the question is what role? (And what the heck does each role mean anyway?)


[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know beyond making some pretty wild guesses based on the meanings of the words. The critical information we're missing is what is the Harmonium and what is it for? It's known to many (possibly all) of the factions and is considered very important. When we have a better clue regarding it, I think the three roles will be better defined as well.

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">(8)</font> Who is Miyu and who is she working for?
She has obvously been either watching over or at least monitoring Arika for a long time. Who has her doing this and why?

[/ QUOTE ]
Either a true neutral, or she's possibly a part of the Schwartz faction. All things considered, Schwartz is noticely understaffed. I have a feeling someone else is going to be revealed as a (possibly higher-ranking) member of Schwartz. My bets are Mai, Miyu, or both.


[/ QUOTE ]

I hope not. I am quite enjoying that so far none of the returning characters from Hime have been portrayed as truely villainous. Even Midori, as leader of the Aswald, can be viewed somewhat positively if you agree with her assertion that Garderobe hoarding the old world technology is bad for the world. So far, the only definite evil is Schwartz and if Nagi continues to deepen is relationship with them he is likely to be drawn into their darkness.

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">(9)</font> Who is Granny?
In my opinion, Arika was being groomed to be an Otome from early in her childhood. While natural ability can carry a person far, Arika's ability exceeds what I would reasonably expect from a beginner. It would be an appropiately twisted plot point if she turned out to be Rena (see question 3 above).


[/ QUOTE ]
Unlikely. If Granny and Rena were the same, I would've expected Sergay to have noticed something familar as to what Granny has been telling Arika as things Rena had once said to him.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not so sure. I don't think Sergay had a close relationship with Rena; I think it was more of an admirer from afar. Therefore, he would be less tuned to the specifics of Rena's advise. Additionally, Granny's words are being returned through the veil of Arika's memory and word choices which would further reduce recognition.

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">(10)</font> What is the blue star?
It is prominently apart of many shots and a source of contemplation for some. What is it? My guess is that it is some piece of technology left over from the original colonists' arrival, and the Harmonium is involved with interacting with it.


[/ QUOTE ]

I say an ordinary star. Unlike HiME, no character has eluded to (or even noticed) it yet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ordinarily I might agree with you, but it has been highlighted in many, many shots in the series so far. The Tolstoy priniciple applies here as well (If a gun is shown in Act I then it should be fired before the end of Act III, if a gun is fired in Act III then it should be present in Act I). If the star is insignificant then why is it in the background at all?

K.

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Kamina said:


[ QUOTE ]
<font color="blue">(8)</font> Who is Miyu and who is she working for?
She has obvously been either watching over or at least monitoring Arika for a long time. Who has her doing this and why?

[/ QUOTE ]
Either a true neutral, or she's possibly a part of the Schwartz faction. All things considered, Schwartz is noticely understaffed. I have a feeling someone else is going to be revealed as a (possibly higher-ranking) member of Schwartz. My bets are Mai, Miyu, or both.




[/ QUOTE ]

I'm giving odds of 1:2 that Miyu is infact the same Miyu from HiME.

I can't provide any PROOF of this, but if they are going to establish any links to HiME, she is the ideal place.

Also, I really really REALLY want her to kick Shizuru's ass. I'd get so much joy out of seeing that.

Anyway, I think Miyu is her own faction, possibly aligned with Rena.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said: Also, I really really REALLY want her to kick Shizuru's ass. I'd get so much joy out of seeing that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well maybe if Shizuru finally gets her ass kicked that will force Natsuki to actually transform and do something herself. I'm not sure what I want to see more. Shizuru get owned or Natsuki actually fight herself.

Still wait if HiME and Otome are in fact connected. Ie not just alternate universes. That could mean "reincarnation" exists in this series in some form. Especially if Otome takes place in the future of HiME.

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said: Also, I really really REALLY want her to kick Shizuru's ass. I'd get so much joy out of seeing that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well maybe if Shizuru finally gets her ass kicked that will force Natsuki to actually transform and do something herself. I'm not sure what I want to see more. Shizuru get owned or Natsuki actually fight herself.

[/ QUOTE ]

BOTH

[Dagger]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
[ QUOTE ]
Mimi Masuko said:
[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said: Also, I really really REALLY want her to kick Shizuru's ass. I'd get so much joy out of seeing that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well maybe if Shizuru finally gets her ass kicked that will force Natsuki to actually transform and do something herself. I'm not sure what I want to see more. Shizuru get owned or Natsuki actually fight herself.

[/ QUOTE ]

BOTH

[/ QUOTE ]
Hear, hear. Stop letting Shizuru hog the spotlight, Natsuki! We all know you're really much cooler. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:Hear, hear. Stop letting Shizuru hog the spotlight, Natsuki! We all know you're really much cooler. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

In othe words, Shizuru thinking she's bad-ass because she's level 60 gets owned by Miyu. Thus forcing Natsuki to show her level 99 awesomeness. Of course if Miyu is the same one from My-HiME then it's like that Miyu is level 250. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
I'm giving odds of 1:2 that Miyu is infact the same Miyu from HiME.
I can't provide any PROOF of this, but if they are going to establish any links to HiME, she is the ideal place.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ehhh.... Whether or not it's possible, I hope it doesn't happen. Any significant links to HiME would just feel really cheesy and forced. Ok, fine, maybe they might pull it off if they go that route but... I'd just rather they don't try.

[Suwako Moriya]

Well regardless of how cheesy a connection may be. The idea that the two series could in fact be directly connected brings up an interesting discussion. Now then I believe this much. If Otome is connected to HiME then Otome has to take place in HiME's far future. Second in the word of HiME/Otome, reincarnation must be possible. Thus this could explain why "HiME" characters appear in Otome in new forms.

Also remember in My-HiME the group known as "Searrs" was studying HiMEs and ended up devloping their own artificial HiME. A HiME that despite being fake was officially counted by the festival and thus had a pillar raised for her. So what am I getting at? It's possible that even with the HiME star destroyed, Searrs continued its research into the powers of a HiME with whatever data it could still use after the star was destroyed. Thus the said research may have lead to some of the stuff we see used in Otome. Yes I know the said theory is far fetched because it requires the two series to be directly connected. However if the two series are directly connected, I have a strong feeling that Searrs' research into HiMEs will in fact play a huge part in the back story.

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
wrex said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
Also made a similar chart, but added all the siginfigant characters to show what nationalities they are. Here is the current edition as of Ep 13. (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/nationalties.jpg)

These'll probably get a whole lot more interesting in the next couple of episodes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Those are great charts. /images/graemlins/happy.gif But a few things:
I thought Airies, Windbloom, and Garderobe were allied
Shouldn't Mai be with Zipang since she's Takumi's older sister?
Feud is spelled F-E-U-D

[/ QUOTE ]

Tomoe is with Windbloom since my alternate source (http://www.fuuka-gakuen.net/) currently says so. I'll update when I get better info.

From what I gather Ep. 1 and Ep. 10, Garderobe is treaty-bound to be neutral.

Akane and Kazuya would have been attached to Florince and Cardea repectively, but considering their actions in 13, I doubt they'd be welcome in either country.

Arika is still a neutral. She's still looking for a way to break the contract with Mashiro, but she's gotten a little sidetracked for now.

We have no idea what Mai is doing. She could be anywhere and possibly allied with anyone (or no one).

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:

Tomoe is with Windbloom since my alternate source (http://www.fuuka-gakuen.net/) currently says so. I'll update when I get better info.


[/ QUOTE ]

Mmm...never seen that site before.

*looks through the character section*

Well, since I agree with everything else they have in there, I'd say they are probably right about Tomoe being a Windbloom native, though I really wish I knew what their source was.

*bookmarks*

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:

Tomoe is with Windbloom since my alternate source (http://www.fuuka-gakuen.net/) currently says so. I'll update when I get better info.


[/ QUOTE ]

Mmm...never seen that site before.

*looks through the character section*

Well, since I agree with everything else they have in there, I'd say they are probably right about Tomoe being a Windbloom native, though I really wish I knew what their source was.

*bookmarks*

[/ QUOTE ]

Now that I think if it, with Tomoe a Windbloom native, I wouldn't doubt she'd be shooting for the role of the Queen's Otome. Just wait 'til she finds out that spot's already been filled.

[Fencedude]

I'd put Tomoe as aiming towards being a Pillar like Shizuru-Onee-sama

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
Kamina said:
[ QUOTE ]
Rhodes said:
shouldnt arika be with windbloom now that she and mashiro are so tight.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe these are origination relationships, not current alliances/relationships. I think a MariMite style chart of how all the characters relate to each other would be very interesting, although horribly crowded /images/graemlins/happy.gif

K.

[/ QUOTE ]
I did do that. Posted it a few posts back.

The Otome-verse circa 12 (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/chart.jpg)

The Otome-verse circa 13 (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/chart13.jpg) /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Rogueman_8]

for those interested, official site (http://www.my-zhime.net/) updated. nothing special imo really. front image is now the dvd cover of vol.1. the 2nd poll winners are up (erstin &amp; shizuru). the rest can be seen here (http://www.my-zhime.net/event/entry.html). Products page update w/ more swag that doesn't interest me much. Story updated w/ synops of ep.14 &amp; 15 along w/ a screencap as usual. characters don't seem to be udpated from the last time i checked (yesterday).

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Rogueman_8 said:
for those interested, official site (http://www.my-zhime.net/) updated. nothing special imo really. front image is now the dvd cover of vol.1. the 2nd poll winners are up (erstin &amp; shizuru). the rest can be seen here (http://www.my-zhime.net/event/entry.html). Products page update w/ more swag that doesn't interest me much. Story updated w/ synops of ep.14 &amp; 15 along w/ a screencap as usual. characters don't seem to be udpated from the last time i checked (yesterday).

[/ QUOTE ]

That poll had some exceedingly odd results.

[Rogueman_8]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
[ QUOTE ]
Rogueman_8 said:
for those interested, official site (http://www.my-zhime.net/) updated. nothing special imo really. front image is now the dvd cover of vol.1. the 2nd poll winners are up (erstin &amp; shizuru). the rest can be seen here (http://www.my-zhime.net/event/entry.html). Products page update w/ more swag that doesn't interest me much. Story updated w/ synops of ep.14 &amp; 15 along w/ a screencap as usual. characters don't seem to be udpated from the last time i checked (yesterday).

[/ QUOTE ]

That poll had some exceedingly odd results.

[/ QUOTE ]

true but ya gotta be happy that nao represented /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif. i'm pretty content w/ Natsuki, Midori and Tomoe representin' as well, since i constantly voted for them /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif.

[DiGiKerot]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
Now that I think if it, with Tomoe a Windbloom native, I wouldn't doubt she'd be shooting for the role of the Queen's Otome. Just wait 'til she finds out that spot's already been filled.

[/ QUOTE ]

If Tomoe is from Windbloom, I reckon <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>she IS the Queen, or at least should be</span>...

[Dagger]

[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
Now that I think if it, with Tomoe a Windbloom native, I wouldn't doubt she'd be shooting for the role of the Queen's Otome. Just wait 'til she finds out that spot's already been filled.

[/ QUOTE ]

If Tomoe is from Windbloom, I reckon <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>she IS the Queen, or at least should be</span>...

[/ QUOTE ]
Oooh... now that would be a fascinating twist. Moreover, I don't think I've seen anyone mention something even vaguely along those lines yet. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>I mean, other names have been put forth as options (even Aoi, jokingly), but not Tomoe.</span> +10 for originality. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[DiGiKerot]

[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:
[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
Now that I think if it, with Tomoe a Windbloom native, I wouldn't doubt she'd be shooting for the role of the Queen's Otome. Just wait 'til she finds out that spot's already been filled.

[/ QUOTE ]

If Tomoe is from Windbloom, I reckon <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>she IS the Queen, or at least should be</span>...

[/ QUOTE ]
Oooh... now that would be a fascinating twist. Moreover, I don't think I've seen anyone mention something even vaguely along those lines yet. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>I mean, other names have been put forth as options (even Aoi, jokingly), but not Tomoe.</span> +10 for originality. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, to be fair, I have read the spoilers coming out of Japan this week, which does confirm that <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Sergay discovers that the real Queen is a Garderobe student, which does cut the choices down significantly. The Pearls are too old, if it was Nina I'm sure the spoilers for the later episodes would have read significantly differently, so out of the remaining Tomoe seems the most likely to be, and if she is from Windbloom it just makes it all the more likely.</span>

[Lego]

While I don't know the general story behind the episode, I'm happy that Haruka and Yukino are in it. Having more Haruka (http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/9485/113708407546511a61vp.jpg) and Yukino (http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/7330/1137084054789520b9zo.jpg) is always a good thing /images/graemlins/noseblef.gif /images/graemlins/noseblef.gif

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:
[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
Now that I think if it, with Tomoe a Windbloom native, I wouldn't doubt she'd be shooting for the role of the Queen's Otome. Just wait 'til she finds out that spot's already been filled.

[/ QUOTE ]

If Tomoe is from Windbloom, I reckon <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>she IS the Queen, or at least should be</span>...

[/ QUOTE ]
Oooh... now that would be a fascinating twist. Moreover, I don't think I've seen anyone mention something even vaguely along those lines yet. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>I mean, other names have been put forth as options (even Aoi, jokingly), but not Tomoe.</span> +10 for originality. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]


Well, to be fair, I have read the spoilers coming out of Japan this week, which does confirm that <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Sergay discovers that the real Queen is a Garderobe student, which does cut the choices down significantly. The Pearls are too old, if it was Nina I'm sure the spoilers for the later episodes would have read significantly differently, so out of the remaining Tomoe seems the most likely to be, and if she is from Windbloom it just makes it all the more likely.</span>

[/ QUOTE ]

Going that route, <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>only a couple names remain top contenders; Tomoe and Arika. Nina is possible, but, as you say, unlikely and Arika really wouldn't do anything for the story. I wouldn't be surprised if the later half involves a Windbloom civil war with a Tomoe-faction vs. a Mashiro-faction. However, look for Mashiro, Arika, and Nina to go into exile first (for obvious reasons).</span>
I just noticed something. Rewatching episode 12, Tomoe has blue vents. A possible candidate for the siloetted otome?

[cregbr]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
[ QUOTE ]
Kamina said:
[ QUOTE ]
Rhodes said:
shouldnt arika be with windbloom now that she and mashiro are so tight.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe these are origination relationships, not current alliances/relationships. I think a MariMite style chart of how all the characters relate to each other would be very interesting, although horribly crowded /images/graemlins/happy.gif

K.

[/ QUOTE ]
I did do that. Posted it a few posts back.

The Otome-verse circa 12 (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/chart.jpg)

The Otome-verse circa 13 (http://membres.lycos.fr/ayareiko/images/maihime/chart13.jpg) /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

But the comments! There have to be the pithy comments like the Marimite one! /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

K.

[mellowrg2]

Can you please use a different texture for the background, Aya.

[Ingraman]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
I'm giving odds of 1:2 that Miyu is infact the same Miyu from HiME.

I can't provide any PROOF of this, but if they are going to establish any links to HiME, she is the ideal place.

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course Miyu(Otome) is the same as Miyu(HiME). You're just not supposed to say that out loud since it ruins the required suspension of disbelief (after all, Otome is just a _very_ elaborate and well-funded school play being put on by the students and faculty of Fuuka Gakuen).

;p

You didn't know? ^_-

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Ingraman said:
[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
I'm giving odds of 1:2 that Miyu is infact the same Miyu from HiME.

I can't provide any PROOF of this, but if they are going to establish any links to HiME, she is the ideal place.

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course Miyu(Otome) is the same as Miyu(HiME). You're just not supposed to say that out loud since it ruins the required suspension of disbelief (after all, Otome is just a _very_ elaborate and well-funded school play being put on by the students and faculty of Fuuka Gakuen).

;p

You didn't know? ^_-

[/ QUOTE ]

ZOMG!

[lone_wolf]

[ QUOTE ]
Ingraman said:
[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
I'm giving odds of 1:2 that Miyu is infact the same Miyu from HiME.

I can't provide any PROOF of this, but if they are going to establish any links to HiME, she is the ideal place.

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course Miyu(Otome) is the same as Miyu(HiME). You're just not supposed to say that out loud since it ruins the required suspension of disbelief (after all, Otome is just a _very_ elaborate and well-funded school play being put on by the students and faculty of Fuuka Gakuen).

;p

You didn't know? ^_-

[/ QUOTE ]


LOL

Well the first the time use of the word


<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>*Child* in episode 14, I really wouldn't be surprised if it was the same Miyu. </span>

--Lone Wolf

[stfram]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
[ QUOTE ]
Ingraman said:
[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
I'm giving odds of 1:2 that Miyu is infact the same Miyu from HiME.

I can't provide any PROOF of this, but if they are going to establish any links to HiME, she is the ideal place.

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course Miyu(Otome) is the same as Miyu(HiME). You're just not supposed to say that out loud since it ruins the required suspension of disbelief (after all, Otome is just a _very_ elaborate and well-funded school play being put on by the students and faculty of Fuuka Gakuen).


[/ QUOTE ]

ZOMG!


[/ QUOTE ]

Good lord, that's an evil theory! I wouldn't be surprised in the least if it actually pans out this way.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Lone Wolf said:
Well the first the time use of the word

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>*Child* in episode 14, I really wouldn't be surprised if it was the same Miyu.</span>

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah yes when I heard her say that in episode 14, my mind started to read a lot into it. In fact I'm probably reading too much into the statement. However not like it matters, there are still 12 episodes left in which to show us the true meaning behind multiple elements to the story. Oh yeah I was hoping 14 would have the new opening, but it doesn't. Ah well.

[pianocello]

[ QUOTE ]
stfram said:
[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
[ QUOTE ]
Ingraman said:
[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
I'm giving odds of 1:2 that Miyu is infact the same Miyu from HiME.

I can't provide any PROOF of this, but if they are going to establish any links to HiME, she is the ideal place.

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course Miyu(Otome) is the same as Miyu(HiME). You're just not supposed to say that out loud since it ruins the required suspension of disbelief (after all, Otome is just a _very_ elaborate and well-funded school play being put on by the students and faculty of Fuuka Gakuen).


[/ QUOTE ]

ZOMG!


[/ QUOTE ]

Good lord, that's an evil theory! I wouldn't be surprised in the least if it actually pans out this way.

[/ QUOTE ]

Imagine the ending in ep. 26. Arika defeats whoever the main villain. He/she falls dead. Suddenly we hear a lot of clapping in the background. Villain gets up and does a curtain call with Arika as it is revealed that the entire series was just a school play put in school a few months after the ending of My:Hime.

[TalonG4]

Now that I've seen half(supposedly) of this series, I have a few words to say. This is actually a more enjoyable show to me then Hime. I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe because of the more original setting, maybe because the male lead is actually likable or maybe because the female lead is much more likable. Don't get me wrong, I liked Mai but Arika is just awesome. Nina is probably my favorite character however just because she is such a grouch. Her seriousness enhances her cute moments even more. Suffice to say that there aren't any characters I truly dislike. Of particular note, I really like the developing friendship between Arika and Nina, they're the perfect odd couple and desreve their own sitcom. Of course, it's probably only a matter of time before all the shit hits all the fans in the world at once (especially with Arika realizing her feelings at the end of ep. 13) and Nina and Arika going for each others throats in a total smackdown. I hope it doesn't come to that however, because female friendship is beautiful thing. /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:
[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
Now that I think if it, with Tomoe a Windbloom native, I wouldn't doubt she'd be shooting for the role of the Queen's Otome. Just wait 'til she finds out that spot's already been filled.

[/ QUOTE ]

If Tomoe is from Windbloom, I reckon <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>she IS the Queen, or at least should be</span>...

[/ QUOTE ]
Oooh... now that would be a fascinating twist. Moreover, I don't think I've seen anyone mention something even vaguely along those lines yet. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>I mean, other names have been put forth as options (even Aoi, jokingly), but not Tomoe.</span> +10 for originality. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, to be fair, I have read the spoilers coming out of Japan this week, which does confirm that <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Sergay discovers that the real Queen is a Garderobe student, which does cut the choices down significantly. The Pearls are too old, if it was Nina I'm sure the spoilers for the later episodes would have read significantly differently, so out of the remaining Tomoe seems the most likely to be, and if she is from Windbloom it just makes it all the more likely.</span>

[/ QUOTE ]

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>After seeing 14, the list now drops to one character, Arika. Unfortunately for her, she's gotten herself into one hell of a pinch. </span>

As for Miyu, I doubt she's the same Miyu from HiME. And what the heck is Tomoe planning now? Dammit, Thursday can't come soon enough!

As for the PSP game... /images/graemlins/stunned0.gif Looks like it may be pushed back again. The Mai-ZHiME website now list it with a release "date" of January or February 2006. /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

[Funkatron]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:
[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
Now that I think if it, with Tomoe a Windbloom native, I wouldn't doubt she'd be shooting for the role of the Queen's Otome. Just wait 'til she finds out that spot's already been filled.

[/ QUOTE ]

If Tomoe is from Windbloom, I reckon <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>she IS the Queen, or at least should be</span>...

[/ QUOTE ]
Oooh... now that would be a fascinating twist. Moreover, I don't think I've seen anyone mention something even vaguely along those lines yet. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>I mean, other names have been put forth as options (even Aoi, jokingly), but not Tomoe.</span> +10 for originality. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, to be fair, I have read the spoilers coming out of Japan this week, which does confirm that <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Sergay discovers that the real Queen is a Garderobe student, which does cut the choices down significantly. The Pearls are too old, if it was Nina I'm sure the spoilers for the later episodes would have read significantly differently, so out of the remaining Tomoe seems the most likely to be, and if she is from Windbloom it just makes it all the more likely.</span>

[/ QUOTE ]

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>After seeing 14, the list now drops to one character, Arika. Unfortunately for her, she's gotten herself into one hell of a pinch. </span>

As for Miyu, I doubt she's the same Miyu from HiME. And what the heck is Tomoe planning now? Dammit, Thursday can't come soon enough!

As for the PSP game... /images/graemlins/stunned0.gif Looks like it may be pushed back again. The Mai-ZHiME website now list it with a release "date" of January or February 2006. /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Tomoe Probably hired those thugs. She wants Arika out of the way so she can be top dog innline for Meister-dom at Windbloom. Or so I think.

Messed up way to end an ep: Arika about to be "deflowered"

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Funkatron said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:

As for Miyu, I doubt she's the same Miyu from HiME. And what the heck is Tomoe planning now? Dammit, Thursday can't come soon enough!

As for the PSP game... /images/graemlins/stunned0.gif Looks like it may be pushed back again. The Mai-ZHiME website now list it with a release "date" of January or February 2006. /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Tomoe Probably hired those thugs. She wants Arika out of the way so she can be top dog innline for Meister-dom at Windbloom. Or so I think.

Messed up way to end an ep: Arika about to be "deflowered"

[/ QUOTE ]

Those thugs were <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Hired by Tomoe, using Miya as a proxy.</span>

As for Arika, <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>I still say its FAR too early to definitively call her as being the queen, there's just too many unanswered questions. And why exactly was her hair glowing in MIYU-vision? Also, if Arika's the queen...who's Rena's daughter? Nina...or maybe Tomoe?</span>

And about Miyu...<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>I think this episode reinforces the possibility that Miyu is the M.I.Y.U. from HiME.</span>

[Funkatron]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
[ QUOTE ]
Funkatron said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:

As for Miyu, I doubt she's the same Miyu from HiME. And what the heck is Tomoe planning now? Dammit, Thursday can't come soon enough!

As for the PSP game... /images/graemlins/stunned0.gif Looks like it may be pushed back again. The Mai-ZHiME website now list it with a release "date" of January or February 2006. /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Tomoe Probably hired those thugs. She wants Arika out of the way so she can be top dog innline for Meister-dom at Windbloom. Or so I think.

Messed up way to end an ep: Arika about to be "deflowered"

[/ QUOTE ]

Those thugs were <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Hired by Tomoe, using Miya as a proxy.</span>

As for Arika, <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>I still say its FAR too early to definitively call her as being the queen, there's just too many unanswered questions. And why exactly was her hair glowing in MIYU-vision? Also, if Arika's the queen...who's Rena's daughter? Nina...or maybe Tomoe?</span>

And about Miyu...<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>I think this episode reinforces the possibility that Miyu is the M.I.Y.U. from HiME.</span>

[/ QUOTE ]

Look at the ep again and notice the hair color of the 2 babies. The one with the neklace has black/grey hair

I sense red herring Shenanigans

[Fencedude]

[ QUOTE ]
Funkatron said:

Look at the ep again and notice the hair color of the 2 babies. The one with the neklace has black/grey hair

I sense red herring Shenanigans

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly.

We really aren't any closer to actually knowing who is the real queen and who is Rena's daughter. And we probably won't be till Rena herself shows up.

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
We really aren't any closer to actually knowing who is the real queen and who is Rena's daughter. And we probably won't be till Rena herself shows up.

[/ QUOTE ]

So you're certain that Rena is not dead. ALso there is the possibility that the person revealing the dramatic story is a liar. Interesting enough reading Random Curiousity's blog the Baby that Rena hands off is supposed to be her own while the one in the capsule is supposed to be the Princess.

Now this is the funny part. When Rena hands off the baby, they show a close up and the hair is kind of brown. However when Rena looks at the Baby in the capsule the hair is black/grey like Funkatron said.

One of the biggest things we need to remember is this. It was 14 years between the scene where we saw Rena send the baby off with the Sapphire Necklace and we saw Arika end up with it. A lot can happen between then. Including the Necklace being stolen from the said baby.

[SlavikCC]

Just finished with episode 14 and DAMN, I want to freakin' watch the next episode! The next episode is going to be even crazier...

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>
Tomoe is obviously the one who planned to destroy Arika's dreams to be an Otome. From the previews, lots of scenes of Arika crying... /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif and more of Mashiro crying too?

Meanwhile, Sergei was/is infamous for his wrath that Yamada was saying? We'll see his wrath when he comes in to rescue Arika... but what could be unraveled for Nina?

Also note the night vision video that John Smith and Nagi was watching and they're mass-produced childs. They look the exact same as Nao's Julia and Shiho's evil bird thing childs. With everybody come crashing down, Aswald, Nagi's gang, Mai's disappearance, the Windbloom Queen revelation, a new world war that would bring every nation to kill each other and so much more... My-Otome is going to be one hell of a ride.
</span>

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
Funkatron said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:
[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
Now that I think if it, with Tomoe a Windbloom native, I wouldn't doubt she'd be shooting for the role of the Queen's Otome. Just wait 'til she finds out that spot's already been filled.

[/ QUOTE ]

If Tomoe is from Windbloom, I reckon <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>she IS the Queen, or at least should be</span>...

[/ QUOTE ]
Oooh... now that would be a fascinating twist. Moreover, I don't think I've seen anyone mention something even vaguely along those lines yet. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>I mean, other names have been put forth as options (even Aoi, jokingly), but not Tomoe.</span> +10 for originality. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, to be fair, I have read the spoilers coming out of Japan this week, which does confirm that <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Sergay discovers that the real Queen is a Garderobe student, which does cut the choices down significantly. The Pearls are too old, if it was Nina I'm sure the spoilers for the later episodes would have read significantly differently, so out of the remaining Tomoe seems the most likely to be, and if she is from Windbloom it just makes it all the more likely.</span>

[/ QUOTE ]

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>After seeing 14, the list now drops to one character, Arika. Unfortunately for her, she's gotten herself into one hell of a pinch. </span>

As for Miyu, I doubt she's the same Miyu from HiME. And what the heck is Tomoe planning now? Dammit, Thursday can't come soon enough!

As for the PSP game... /images/graemlins/stunned0.gif Looks like it may be pushed back again. The Mai-ZHiME website now list it with a release "date" of January or February 2006. /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Tomoe Probably hired those thugs. She wants Arika out of the way so she can be top dog innline for Meister-dom at Windbloom. Or so I think.

Messed up way to end an ep: Arika about to be "deflowered"

[/ QUOTE ]

If you look at the preview, it's obvious the Sergay that saves her, or at least finds her. Question is, how much "damage" is dealt to Arika before he shows up. My guess, in almost typical ZHiME fashion, he'll likely be there before the opening credits roll, showing up almost immediately after the first flash of the camera went off.

Miya looks like she's on the brink of cracking too. I wonder how much longer she'll hold before she turns on Tomoe (or when Tomoe decides to dispose of her). I'll bet episode 17, 16 if Nina catches wind of Tomoe's latest scheme sooner rather than later. Now that I think of it, why does Tomoe want Arika taken out? It's not as if she's a threat to her rank. Shizuru may be a part of the equation, but I doubt it's the whole story.

[Funkatron]

[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
[ QUOTE ]
Funkatron said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:
[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
Now that I think if it, with Tomoe a Windbloom native, I wouldn't doubt she'd be shooting for the role of the Queen's Otome. Just wait 'til she finds out that spot's already been filled.

[/ QUOTE ]

If Tomoe is from Windbloom, I reckon <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>she IS the Queen, or at least should be</span>...

[/ QUOTE ]
Oooh... now that would be a fascinating twist. Moreover, I don't think I've seen anyone mention something even vaguely along those lines yet. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>I mean, other names have been put forth as options (even Aoi, jokingly), but not Tomoe.</span> +10 for originality. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, to be fair, I have read the spoilers coming out of Japan this week, which does confirm that <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Sergay discovers that the real Queen is a Garderobe student, which does cut the choices down significantly. The Pearls are too old, if it was Nina I'm sure the spoilers for the later episodes would have read significantly differently, so out of the remaining Tomoe seems the most likely to be, and if she is from Windbloom it just makes it all the more likely.</span>

[/ QUOTE ]

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>After seeing 14, the list now drops to one character, Arika. Unfortunately for her, she's gotten herself into one hell of a pinch. </span>

As for Miyu, I doubt she's the same Miyu from HiME. And what the heck is Tomoe planning now? Dammit, Thursday can't come soon enough!

As for the PSP game... /images/graemlins/stunned0.gif Looks like it may be pushed back again. The Mai-ZHiME website now list it with a release "date" of January or February 2006. /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Tomoe Probably hired those thugs. She wants Arika out of the way so she can be top dog innline for Meister-dom at Windbloom. Or so I think.

Messed up way to end an ep: Arika about to be "deflowered"

[/ QUOTE ]

If you look at the preview, it's obvious the Sergay that saves her, or at least finds her. Question is, how much "damage" is dealt to Arika before he shows up. My guess, in almost typical ZHiME fashion, he'll likely be there before the opening credits roll, showing up almost immediately after the first flash of the camera went off.

Miya looks like she's on the brink of cracking too. I wonder how much longer she'll hold before she turns on Tomoe (or when Tomoe decides to dispose of her). I'll bet episode 17, 16 if Nina catches wind of Tomoe's latest scheme sooner rather than later. Now that I think of it, why does Tomoe want Arika taken out? It's not as if she's a threat to her rank. Shizuru may be a part of the equation, but I doubt it's the whole story.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think she knows about the contract between Arika and Mashiro; heck, everyone seems to, despite thier trying to hide it. So, in getting her out of the way, she can be next in line for Windbloom's Meister Otome

[ayareiko]

[ QUOTE ]
Funkatron said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
[ QUOTE ]
Funkatron said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Dagger said:
[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
[ QUOTE ]
Aya Reiko said:
Now that I think if it, with Tomoe a Windbloom native, I wouldn't doubt she'd be shooting for the role of the Queen's Otome. Just wait 'til she finds out that spot's already been filled.

[/ QUOTE ]

If Tomoe is from Windbloom, I reckon <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>she IS the Queen, or at least should be</span>...

[/ QUOTE ]
Oooh... now that would be a fascinating twist. Moreover, I don't think I've seen anyone mention something even vaguely along those lines yet. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>I mean, other names have been put forth as options (even Aoi, jokingly), but not Tomoe.</span> +10 for originality. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, to be fair, I have read the spoilers coming out of Japan this week, which does confirm that <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Sergay discovers that the real Queen is a Garderobe student, which does cut the choices down significantly. The Pearls are too old, if it was Nina I'm sure the spoilers for the later episodes would have read significantly differently, so out of the remaining Tomoe seems the most likely to be, and if she is from Windbloom it just makes it all the more likely.</span>

[/ QUOTE ]

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>After seeing 14, the list now drops to one character, Arika. Unfortunately for her, she's gotten herself into one hell of a pinch. </span>

As for Miyu, I doubt she's the same Miyu from HiME. And what the heck is Tomoe planning now? Dammit, Thursday can't come soon enough!

As for the PSP game... /images/graemlins/stunned0.gif Looks like it may be pushed back again. The Mai-ZHiME website now list it with a release "date" of January or February 2006. /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Tomoe Probably hired those thugs. She wants Arika out of the way so she can be top dog innline for Meister-dom at Windbloom. Or so I think.

Messed up way to end an ep: Arika about to be "deflowered"

[/ QUOTE ]

If you look at the preview, it's obvious the Sergay that saves her, or at least finds her. Question is, how much "damage" is dealt to Arika before he shows up. My guess, in almost typical ZHiME fashion, he'll likely be there before the opening credits roll, showing up almost immediately after the first flash of the camera went off.

Miya looks like she's on the brink of cracking too. I wonder how much longer she'll hold before she turns on Tomoe (or when Tomoe decides to dispose of her). I'll bet episode 17, 16 if Nina catches wind of Tomoe's latest scheme sooner rather than later. Now that I think of it, why does Tomoe want Arika taken out? It's not as if she's a threat to her rank. Shizuru may be a part of the equation, but I doubt it's the whole story.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think she knows about the contract between Arika and Mashiro; heck, everyone seems to, despite thier trying to hide it. So, in getting her out of the way, she can be next in line for Windbloom's Meister Otome

[/ QUOTE ]
Still, that doesn't explain why Tomoe targeted her from the start, even before Arika made that contract.

[Fencedude]

I think Tomoe is wrapped up in the Rena's daughter/True Princess situation.

Because I don't think Arika's either, despite having the pendant.

Tomoe might be one of them however...

[Suwako Moriya]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
Because I don't think Arika's either, despite having the pendant.

[/ QUOTE ]

Honestly the more I think about it the more the evidence for her being the princess in that scene makes no sense. The very scene that's supposed to prove she is the princess also has evidence for her being Rena's daughter. In a sense the evidence for the two choices kind of cancels each other out.

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
Tomoe might be one of them however...

[/ QUOTE ]

If Tomoe turns out to be the princess then we're all doomed. Wait would being the Princess or being the daughter of Rena being worse? I guess it depends on how powerful Rena was and if this is an anime where the daughter/son ends up just as good or better than the mother/father.

[Fencedude]

Figured it was about time for a new thread (http://forums.animeondvd.com/showflat.php?Cat=&amp;Number=1251863&amp;page=0&amp;view=colla psed&amp;sb=5&amp;o=&amp;fpart=1).

So could someone lock this please?

[Gatts]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
Figured it was about time for a new thread (http://forums.animeondvd.com/showflat.php?Cat=&amp;Number=1251863&amp;page=0&amp;view=colla psed&amp;sb=5&amp;o=&amp;fpart=1).

So could someone lock this please?

[/ QUOTE ]

ok