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Mai Otome
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Animation - 8.8 |
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Sound - 9.0 |
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Story - 8.2 |
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Character - 8.4 |
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Value - 8.1 |
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Enjoyment - 8.9 |
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Average - 8.6 |
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Why is it so hard to review the Mai titles? I want to give it higher ratings. I did enjoy this series, I'm just not that sure on how many other people would.
First, if there is a connection between Mai HiME and Mai Otome (and there likely is), from all available info, I'm guessing it goes something like this: Sears Foundation gets Nagi's help and obtains the technology of the HiME. They then conquer the world and initiate a golden age which lasts for a thousand years during which mankind explores the galaxy and colonizes other worlds. Apparently, a conflict called the War of the Twelve Kings brought an end to the golden age and nearly wiped out all human life. This story takes place a thousand years later on one of the colony worlds of earth. The rest is explained in the series itself rather clearly.
Let me start by saying that if this series had better animation, a more realistic aesthetic, far fewer attempts at moe, different styles for the otome armors and if Arika had a better character design I might have given this series all 9s and 10s. It's not that the animation is "bad" so to say, but most of it was totally out of sync with the better parts of the series. in short, they should have taken themselves just a tad bit more seriously from the beginning and never have had a derivative fantasy setting. In fact, whenever a derivative fantasy setting is featured, it pulls the res of the anime down and makes it hard to take seriously. then there's how armor seems to constantly resemble maid outfits and/or look like crap. Arika's character design is also crap and so are several scenes in the first half of the series.
Aside from all of that, I loved this series. Even if the armors look like crap, the fight sequences were well animated and thrilling to boot. The sound track is engaging and appropriate. Arika may not be a very interesting character, but interesting things happen to her and she is very sympathetic. She is also surrounded by enjoyable and well-developed characters with their own lives and quirks and of then, their own motives. Though some might see the re-use of character designs from Mai HiME as a rip off, many of the character personalities have changed dramatically and the new characters are generally far more likable than their HiME counterparts.
Also while many of the episodes in the first half of the series contain or are comprised of basically worthless scenes, the second half really picks up the pace and the conflict in the second half is first rate. This is, of course, because the main villain of the series is Nagi (the quasi-demon out of Mai HiME) who is probably one of the best villains in all anime. His knack for getting people to betray each other and/or serve him is astonishing and really spices up this series as it did Mai HiME. In fact, as the series goes on, it becomes darker and more interesting with each episode. I have to say, it impressed the hell out of me. Still, I can't help wishing that the first half were more worthwhile. Oh well, the ending will leave you feeling food abut the series, and the second half definitely has much replay value, and I have to recommend it, perhaps even more highly than Mai HiME.
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| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| My Otome is a 26 episode anime released in 2005. It is a spin off of the popular My Hime anime series, and is without a doubt every bit as impressive as My Hime.
From a graphical and animation perspective, despite the noticeable lack of CG, My Otome is excellent. The character designs, background details, and the occasional fan service are all highly enjoyable to look at. The difference when compared to My Hime is small, especially since most of the characters are reused.
My Otome excels in its audio, with brilliant theme songs, background music, and voice acting. The OST is in my opinion not as impressive as My Hime, but it is still very well performed, and worth getting. The only possible disappointment would be the fact that some music is not used frequently enough throughout the anime.
Similar to My Hime, the storyline of My Otome covers a wide range of genres, all executed to very high quality. My Otome is less dramatic than My Hime, mainly due to the surreal settings and the fact that it is less willing to kill off its key characters. Some actions of characters at later stages also seem inappropriate, and some of the themes appear to be overly unrealistic and childish. However, the storyline of My Otome is still extremely gripping, and definitely stands out when compared to most other anime.
The characters featured in My Otome are mostly carried over from My Hime with slightly altered names and set in an alternate setting. This makes My Otome pleasant for viewers who enjoyed My Hime, and due to the extensive character development, new viewers won't be alienated from the anime.
Since most characters are carried over from My Hime, the combination of excellent character designs and top quality voice acting from My Hime are also present in My Otome. But, due to the less dramatic storyline, viewers will not be as engaged with the characters as they would in My Hime. Nevertheless, My Otome features a highly impressive cast of characters compared to any anime.
I believe the main fact that makes My Otome seem less impressive than My Hime is its more fictional setting, making viewers less able to relate to the anime. As a stand alone anime, My Otome is brilliant. Personally, I cannot wait to watch the next season of My Otome, and I would strongly recommend this to any viewer who is looking for a funny, dramatic, or simply enjoyable anime, and I believe this is a must watch for everyone that has enjoyed My Hime.
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| Average |
9.2 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| I watched Mai Hime first and never considered watching Mai Otome, but went ahead and watched it anyways. For a spin-off, I actually enjoyed this series more than the original Mai Hime! Mai Otome features more action, better animation, and the girls look a lot better! (Not that I was looking or anything...) Each character from Mai Hime is seen again in Mai Otome, some just have different personalities than before. Anywho, if you like an action/fantasy with some mecha and love-romance, I strongly recommend Mai Otome!
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Haihaine |
(2007-05-29 16:36:24) 2007-05-29 16:29:49 |
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| Average |
6.8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| I don't know if you should consider this a sequel to Mai HiME or not, but it's really very hard not to. After all, they decided (for some reason) to use just about every single character a second time, and add a new main character. I guess that's fine, but it felt pretty odd at first. Especially since the personalities aren't consistent with the original series. Also, the story progress in a similar fashion, with an introduction arc, happy-happy arc and not-so-happy arc. Instead of using Pokémon Transformers, however, they enhance the Sailor Moon feeling with their Otome Robes!
The animation is good, although I'd say it's slightly better in HiME. I adore the artwork, however, and can't help to give it a nine in this department. The voice acting is, of-course, just as good as it was in HiME. However, I feel that Yuki Kajiura didn't quite outdo herself this time. IMO, she's by far the best anime composer in Japan, but I wasn't quite as carried away as I usually am by her work (meaning it was just very good).
As for the story, I wasn't all that impressed. Mai HiME got the drama just right, but this time around, the events and character's decisions felt very random at times. I truly hate it when things get melodramatic, and I felt several times that the creators wanted to bring forth drama a bit too much. It just didn't make sense. As for the actual main story, it failed to engage me all that much for some reason. Mainly because I didn't get what the heck was going on. A lot of things later on in the story felt extremely random, and the ending was terrible. And not even terrible in a forgivable way, like HiME, but in a plainly bad way.
As mentioned before, the cast looks and sounds just like in HiME. However, personalities have been altered a bit. I would say for the worse, actually, and most of all, the further in the series you came, the less did their actions make sense. What was one of the strong points of Mai HiME is, sadly enough, one of the weak points of Otome. I also didn't like Arika very much. I've never liked those "stupid but strong" main characters (Gon, Goku etc.).
In the end, to me Otome just seems like a way to earn some extra cash from HiME's popularity. There's more fan service, more drama (but less realistic) and the same cast. It had its good moments, but they were overshadowed by an inconsistent plot and random character development. There's not much in Otome to go back to, and most of the 5 value-points goes to Kajiura's effort.
If your melodrama treshold is high, and you can bear with a somewhat spontanous story, you might enjoy this anime more than I did. To me, it will always just be an insult to the great show Mai HiME was, because let's face it: it is a God damn sequel.
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haineko |
(2007-01-02 22:25:38) 2007-01-02 22:04:23 |
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| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| absolutely loved this anime, it's definitely one of my all time favorites. Nagi is one of my favorite anime villians and Natsuki is my ultimate fav anime character. I watched this one before I watched Hime which helped alot because it really sucked me in to the whole story of Otome and introduced alot of the characters that arent the main ones in Hime. i would recommend this anime in a heartbeat because it definitely has everything from action to romance and everything in between.
Although many people think that this is the second season to mai hime, they are extremely mistaken. Mai Hime and Mai Otome are two completely separate things. The only similarity between them is some of the same characters. Mai Otome is not a continuation of Mai Hime and should not be considered the second season in any way.
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Solitaire |
(2007-01-30 07:13:38) 2007-01-01 21:19:25 |
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Unfortunately, Mai Otome is a series that doesn't deserve to be called a sequel to a great series such as Mai HiME. For a "real" Mai HiME fan, the "sequel" should at least be good enough due to the reappearances from many beloved characters from the first season. While Mai Otome is not a direct sequel, it's still imo just a horrible attempt of a marketing ploy by Sunrise. Mai Otome, is set in an alternate universe apart from HiME. Even though the two are completely unrelated, I refer to it as a sequel just because it's a lot easier. While Mai Otome doesn't live up to the great reputation that is Mai HiME, if you ignore the fact that it's related, the series will turn out to be a pretty good one.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Since I made a Mai HiME review, it would be a waste if I didn't make a Mai Otome one as well! So...
Mai Otome is well known for being a sequel to Mai HiME, and together they're known as 'Mai Series' and stuff. Well don't take 'sequel' literally, actually, since Mai Otome is not a sequel to Mai HiME. It's just a different story that has a few things in common. I can't say I really understood what's the plot connection between the two anime, after all, but that doesn't matter very much, since that's only a 'hint' at the later episodes of the anime and doesn't affect the main story of Mai Otome at all. Mai Otome is a great standalone series, no matter if you've watched Mai HiME or not, so I won't recommend watching Mai Hime first.
Mai Otome takes place in a different universe/dimension than Mai HiME. In this dimension there are a handful of girls known as 'Otome' and they are your peacekeepers. Or not? They're actually politician and other important persons' guards. But what's more is that they are puppets of those persons after all. So the conflict between Otome won't take long time to begin... Anyway, those Otome are trained in a school, where a big part of the story takes place. That school has, like Mai HiME, many kinds of girls, from pretentious ones to cute and loveable. Moreover, there are some characters (their design, name and even personalities for some of them) that existed in Mai HiME, as well, but they got no connection with the previous ones (with a single exception, but I don't wanna spoil!).
Mai Otome's storyline is developed over a pure romance that I find really touching and attractive myself. The objective of the series is true happiness and freedom of choice that I find rather sweet.
Its soundtrack is not close to the perfection Mai HiME's one is, but it is very very good. The animation, character design and stuff are similar to Mai HiME, which can only be good of course since it was awesome.
If you liked Mai HiME, watch. If you haven't watched Mai HiME, watch this AND Mai HiME, no matter which one you watch first, that's up to you.
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| Average |
5.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
4 |
| OMG! What a disaster! After the somewhat long but worth it Mai Hime, in comes its younger but terrible sister Mai Otome.
In some sense, Mai Otome could have done better if it was actually a direct sequel from the first, but no, this series is terrible with the fact that the story is very very confusing, it had a considerable amount of plot-holes and loose-ends, very terrible character development and a plethora of bad action and comedy. There are a few scenes of delight in this show, most of the highlights do come from the usual 'Where's Wally' aspect of finding those old Mai Hime characters, i find myself shouting and pointing at the screen 'Hey, thats Mai!' or 'Hey, Thats Miyu!' etc' But really, aside form that there is a very very small sense of satisfaction from this series.
The story is terrible, very very confusing to the point that the creators must have decided to include extra badguys and enemy factions to create an almost 'deus ex machina' effect for the story. Instead of slowly and steadily plodding out a good plot, the story felt too sudden, poorly explained and ultimately too confusing for its own good. Sure Mai Hime's story wasn't great but at least the twist at the end and much more delightful cast of characters made that worthwhile.
And speaking of characters, *sigh*, the main character Arika is pure annoyance, a very generic, happy-go-lucky but stupid in her own foolish way little girl who hopes to acheive happiness all around her, but oh noes! She can't do that because she fell in love etc etc etc.. really, it just smelt of pure stupidness. And Nina is not really any better, as the series went on, she got more and more crazy and angsty to the point which i wanted her to die.
Ok, i may be harsh on those two, but at leats several good faves from the first series came back to lighten to mood up, Natsuki, Mai and Miyu (in particular) made the series slightly worth watching if anythign (thogu hi really question the point of Mai in this series.. really question it)
Overall, if you were expecting a Mai Hime sequel, be disappointed, severely disappointed. If looking at it as a new anime POV, you will be disappointed, severely disappointed. The biggest problem i've had with this show was whether to associate Mai Hime with this, and in the end.. it doesn't really matter. Mai Hime is superior in every aspect, including the OST.
4.5/10
Grade: D
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jwan |
(2006-07-20 22:52:35) 2006-07-16 15:55:13 |
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| Average |
10.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| mai otome is the sequel to mai hime. mai otome is a great sequel and delivers the good action characters and yuri as the first series did . i would like to mention that most of the characteras from the first series are here with some minor personality tweeks.
animtion- the animation was very nice smooth and had some very nice color especially in the design for the students uniforms..the backgrounds were good especially how the castle was done lthe design for the slaves were good and very similar to the first series .
sound- ther oppening was very nice and upbeat but not better than mai himes shooting star.the sound effects were aslso good and the seiyuu was the same from before except for on the new charrcters arika niina irina ernstein.
story- again this has taken a slight change ibn the the old mai hime plot now there are young girls known as otome who have earings opn there ear who need to be kissed on the ear by there master and contractor top summon here robes.there is also the thing that the otome cant get in contact with y chromosomes(cough).but for the most part they are still fighting nagi.
character- i love the cast once again and was happy to see most of them back with different personalities. but ill first start on the new characters . arika is a young girl who wants to become a otome because they are cool strong and she wants to help people.she is a very good and strong character who reminds me alot like mai.nina wong is the next new chqracter she is very strong and smart but is also doesnt want to get to close even though that what happens. the next new cast member was erbstien who was my favorite ,who was there roommate.next there was irina who was oner of there fiends and hung out wuith them alot and also tomoe a new evil.now to the old cast akane and kazuya seem to have a stronger relationship and akane seems to not be as shy as she was before and she has a bigger roal thisa season.haruka finally shut up and became a good characetr and instead of yukino protecting her with her hime power its harukas tuirn to protect yukino and now she is a otome.natsuki my favoritwe character from the first series came back and is now the headmaster of the school and seems strong as she was inthe first series but she seems to have calm down abit but i still love her. shizuri is also back and has a bigger roal and her natsuki seem to have somethin going there as in the first season. shiho ios also there but shes not annoying but a crazy pyscho who has a vodoo doll and she turns peopler to death ...lol. mikoto ,mai,arika,takume are also all back and we finally get to see arika and takumi kisss.nap is there and is as bad ass as ever and hasnt changed at all except they gave he a nick name julia.
enjoyment- all in alll thjis is a good sequel and doesnot disapoint even though mai hime is 1000 times better mai otome si still very good.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Firstly, it only has the same charactersas Mai hime, and same characters and same personality. Its a different story completely and something like Last exile+naruto+bleach. It is ok, but the story has jumps in some areas and lots of things which have not been made cleared.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.3 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| I can't write anything about this series that could accurately describe my feelings of and towards it, if I or anyone can, they should be novelists or something. I tried to write somehing yesterday right after i watched it but i just kept crying instead. This was the best anime/anything I have EVER seen.
I rarely "update" my opinions about my favorite anime, but now kannazuki no miko finally got knocked away from the 'best'-spot.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Ich muss sagen das mir Mai HiME alles in allem recht gut gefallen hat, auch wenn die Serie einige Schwächen aufweist die am Ende dafür sorgten das mein Urteil nur “leicht überdurchschnittlich“ ausfiel. Mit Mai Otome legt Sunrise nun den Nachfolger nach, den man allerdings gar nicht als solchen bezeichnen kann denn außer der Tatsache das die Figuren aus dem “Vorgänger“ auch in Mai Otome wieder präsent sind haben die zwei Animes kaum etwas gemein. Mai Otome entfernt sich deutlich von den Grundkonzepten die Mai HiME inne hat und legt eine Storygrundlage vor die komplett auf eigenen Füßen steht und gar nicht mal uninteressant daher kommt. Es stellte sich mir nun nur die spannende Frage ob Sunrise aus den Fehlern gelernt hat die noch in Mai HiME begangen worden sind, denn auf langweilige Fillerepisoden voller plumpem Fanservice und Holzhammercomedy die sich fast über die gesamte Hälfte der Serie ziehen hatte ich absolut keine Lust. Glücklicherweise ist das der Fall denn die Story wurde dieses Mal von Anfang an auf die Länge der Serie zugeschnitten und man hat erfreulicherweise darauf verzichtet Story- und Charakterentwicklung mit belanglosen und inhaltlich stupiden Episoden zum Stillstand zu bringen. Zwar hält sich die Story in den ersten ca. 13 Episoden noch vornehm im Hintergrund aber immerhin merkt man dass sie stetig vorangetrieben wird. Es ist zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch nichts übermäßig spannendes in Sachen Plot zu sichten aber dennoch sorgen kleine Hints darauf das sich noch etwas Größeres anbahnen wird immerhin für Motivation und dafür dass man dem Anime die Stange hält ohne nervös am Schalter zu nesteln der den Media-Player ausschaltet (Mai HiME lässt grüßen). Das Hauptaugenmerk von Mai Otome liegt in der Anfangsphase aber auch weniger darauf die Story voran zu treiben sondern darin dem Zuschauer die Charaktere vorzustellen, ihre Beziehungen zueinander darzulegen und mit so manchem Flashback Fragen aufzuwerfen die ihren Werdegang interessant machen. Dies gelingt zumindest bei ein paar Figuren auf sehr zufrieden stellender Basis und im Hinblick auf die vielen emotionalen Höhepunkte im späteren Verlauf der Serie ist dies auch immens wichtig, denn sobald der Hauptplot ins Rollen kommt fängt auch das Dramakarussell an sich immer schneller um die Charaktere zu drehen. An dieser Stelle kommen wir auch zu dem Punkt in dem Mai HiME die Nase vorne hat, denn auch wenn Otome sich sichtlich bemüht die Figuren mit dramatischen Erlebnissen tragisch zu machen so gelingt es der Serie leider nicht ganz das hohe Niveau zu erreichen das Mai HiME im letzten Viertel in dieser Hinsicht darbot. Trotzdem heißt dass nicht das Otome nicht in der Lage ist mit zu reißen. Eine regelrechte Achterbahnfahrt der Emotionen bleibt in Mai Otome zwar aus aber dennoch gibt es auch hier ein paar tolle Szenen die mir sehr nahe gegangen sind. Auch die Story die von Episode zu Episode an Spannung gewinnt und mit ein paar gelungenen Twists für Abwechslung sorgt ist positiv hervor zu heben. Unterm Strich muss ich am Ende sagen dass mir Mai Otome etwas besser gefallen hat als HiME, einfach weil die Schwächen dieses Mal nicht so eklatant sind und sich auch nicht so extrem Spaß hemmend auf die Serie auswirken. Mai Otome ist sicherlich nicht gänzlich ohne Fehl und Tadel aber macht vieles richtig und vor allem besser. Ein sehr unterhaltsamer Anime der besonders Fans von Mai HiME ansprechen wird und auch für solche die in Sachen “Mai“ Neuland betreten ist hier ein Blick empfehlenswert.
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trebors |
(2006-05-09 18:38:45) 2006-04-30 19:40:45 |
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| Average |
10.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| An awesome anime that you will enjoy.I love mai-hime so is this.
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|
| Average |
7.5 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| The definition of an Otome proves an interesting one upon exploration: their duties are to protect and serve royal and political dignitaries in addition to providing insight in how to best protect and serve their country's interests. In some manners, they are heroines to girls everywhere with their distinguished adherence to ettiquette, their beautiful garbs, and their special powers and privileges.
Yet, an Otome's life is anything but grandeur and spectacular, especially considering the painful sacrifices and contradictions an Otome must face in her realm of duty. And that's exactly what makes Mai Otome work in terms of it's level of resonation.
Granted, I wouldn't say Mai Otome is a high caliber series, but it works to establish its story, relationships, and character framework. What takes away from it is that it tries to touch base on a few premises and it comes out in a cliched resolution. Also, I think this series tends to have more shoujo orientations with regards to the conflicted realms of love and sacrifice in the latter half of the series, while in the first half it appeals to all audiences, with some crude jokes and action sequences that a shounen population may appreciate more.
Animation and Sound are excellently done, for the most part. The story, while innovative at first, somewhat takes a dive because it settles for a cliche and unexplained senario towards the end; yet, I think looking at the overall series, it can be somewhat enjoyable, considering at least you can tell at about half point that the series will take a more dramatic turn and it doesn't seem as abrupt or undeveloped. Characters are crafted in a mix, some very well and others just for nostalgic value, considering this is an indirect spinoff to Mai-Hime. (Mai and Mikoto really don't have that much influence in this series, whereas in the former they were among the primary focal characters...but at least you realize what sort of roles they play in this alternative universe.)
Overall, I enjoyed this series and I'd recommend it to those who don't mind a primarily action series with a focus on comedy and drama. Very little romantic developments here, but they're still of note because they play a key role in the story sequence and conflict.
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isokana |
(2006-04-22 18:14:55) 2006-04-22 18:07:15 |
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| Average |
7.8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| Mai Otome is Mai Hime all grown up. Hime didn't know what it was, Otome knows it exactly. The results are mixed.
Part of the charm of Mai Hime was that it kind of ran around and I never knew when it would hit me. It did many times and made the viewing quite enjoyable and surprising even if it crashed a big rock in the end. With Otome I already knew what pattern the running had and could dodge the crashes thus making it a less impressive to watch.
So where does the Otome run? What it is for the first part is a girl school comedy/drama deluxe. Main character Arika is aiming to be an otome, kind of an unstoppable fighting machine and diplomatic advisor at the same time. Kind of a nuclear missile with peace agreement attached. To be an otome you need to be a girl and attend a special school. Not so surprisingly Arika manages to get in with incredible luck and meets some influential people at the same time. We follow her school life that isn't always so easy. This was the better part of the series. Arika is a likeable person (for some): she's eager, honest, naive, a little lost. It's fun to follow how she gets by difficult situations posed by the training or other students. While there she gets a lot of friends of which Nina and Erstin are the most important. Nina is a serious girl, quite the opposite compared to Arika. But they both share the same passion to become an otome. Different personalities, same goal equals a lot of clashes and fun. There's also the question Sergay (I know, worst name ever), Nina's foster father, who she love without bounds. Unfortunately he shows a considereable amount of interest toward Arika. Erstin on the other hand is a quiet, modest person who doesn't share the otome fever. She's the one softening the friction between Arika and Nina. These three form nicely functioning trio whose growing friendship sets the base for the whole story. There are a lot of other students but these three are the soul of the series, others just flesh the story out. But almost all the characters share a common feature: they have a familiar design and personality from Mai Hime. A great deal of fun comes from spotting old characters in new roles. And who could say no to some more Natsuki/Shizuru pairing. There's few other yuri themed affairs going on in this girls' school so the male audience shouldn't be disappointed.
After the story has gone through a lot of exciting and fun stuff in school, the big wheels start to roll. Politics come into play and suddenly things aren't so rosy anymore. This is where Otome loses to Hime. Hime's dark part was incredibly intense clash between characters. Now there is actually only one clash between Arika and Nina. There's also a clear enemy that needs to defeated, not everyone against everyone. I don't mean that it would be particularly bad, just regular. The dark part gives some of the character nice development. What happens to Arika and Mashiro and we learn about Nina is well executed if, again, regular. I especially loved the Shizuru/Tomoe scheme. Shizuru rocks, plain and simple.
Production-wise Mai Otome doesn't differ much from Mai Hime. Animation look very good and otome fights are spectacular. The world is colorful and pleasing to the eye. Music isn't Kajiura's best work but better than in your average series. It works quite well for a fights and emotional scenes plus the opening, ending and insert songs are nice.
Mai Otome offers a lot of excitement and fun but lacks the edge that would make it very good. I felt a bit bored at times. Its story is much more solid than Mai Hime's but at the same time it lacks the refreshing twistiness Hime had. If you found Mai Hime a bit too confusing and irrational maybe Otome suits you better (not meaning Otome would be particularly rational...)
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Ed |
(2006-08-22 18:59:11) 2006-04-19 10:09:01 |
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Ah! What a great anime! Yes - that's a very generic description of just about any animation, but just hold on for one sec.
Mai-Otome is the not-so-related sequel to Mai-HiME with the good ol' characters and a few new ones.
After seeing Mai-HiME, this anime was an absolute blast to watch. It's always exciting to see the characters that I know and love take on different roles in different situations. Some characters keep their quirky behavior, others change completely. I adored this anime, and watched it all in 2 days (wow). That's 6 gigabytes of bliss right there on my computer, and it's not gonna go away anytime soon.
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| Average |
7.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| It would have been a good anime, if Mai Hime would have been awefull. Its no where close to Mai hime, but in itself, has some good points
The first part has a very diffrent tone then the second part, just like the Hime series, but the lack of Childs/Slaves (only the bad guys and aswald have em) makes the entire 'cool big monster' factor fall away (Kagutsuchi, i miss you).
The entire love affair between Sergay and the two main females leaves me kinda dumbfound, ok, hes probably the only male with reasonable screen time, but still, doesn't feel right
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Animation: this series, is just like mai-hime very colourful and bright, it even surpasses hime in that point. The costumes are just cruel, but somehow funny and entertaining to look at.
The animation style is above average, but the colourful design and the effects make the series an eye candy….with some flaws in a few episodes but that’s not really destroying the style.
Sound: The music is more or less a remix of the hime ost. Kajiura Yuki did a great job with this one, too. The music fits totally into the mood of the anime. The seiyuus are well chosen, too. I don’t have to complain too much about the sound....
Story: The first 15 episodes are necessary for the relations between the characters and for the character development….but it is very episodical and it gets very boring sometimes….The romance part of the story…well….I am not really into this romance theme…but even IF you like romances would be boring because this whole love setting can be seen nearly everywhere and is nothing special…unfortunately is this story part the main point for the conflicts between the characters. The story starts to get better and harder in the second half of the series it is quite good actually, but its conversion is miserable, the morale is nothing new and some character developments are too predictable, so it ends slightly above average!!!
Character: This is the strong part of the otome. The series contains many characters used in hime as supporting ones, so the main things are up to the new characters. But the supporting characters do the more interesting things and it is of course more entertaining watching the old ones…in new (…yuri…) action^^.
The male character are weak this time, actually there are only a few, their personality are not as strong as the female’s
All in all the characters are greatly designed and have mostly unique personalities.
Value: Well…the value…it is hard to judge that. The moral is nice and maybe educating but it is nothing special and was used a lot before. Strong value are in the relationships between the characters. The development of the relations is really the more fascinating part, together with the characters…..Hime was just more epic and more serious about the plot
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Enjoyment: Actually I really enjoyed Mai-Otome. The humour is unique, but mostly destroys the serious parts of the story. I really loved all these cats^^. Not to forget the yuri aspects of the series, quite juicy! In addition all these allusions to Mai-Hime were wonderful.
If you enjoyed Hime you will definitely like Otome because of that.
All in all Mai-Otome is an enjoyable series, with many flaws in the storyline, but still enjoyable…and highly recommended if you are into girly action…^^
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Bonci |
2006-04-13 03:39:37 |
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| So this series just ended a little while ago, and as expected, people write reviews with great enthusiasm right after watching the last episode, which I think greatly effects the review.
So let's get into it:
Animation: just as in my HiME, animation is good, I still like the style, but it's nothing special.
Sound: Kajiura Yuki did it again. Great music. As for the seiyuus and effects: good, nothing more to say here.
Story: maybe the fun part here was a bit longer than necessary. The real story starts a bit late, tension is nowhere near it's predecessor (Mai HiME). I know I shouldn't be comparing it to other series, but the creators left us no choice with selecting half of the character from Mai HiME, not to mention that some of the jokes are almost the same as in Mai HiME. Anyway, story isn't that interesting and exciting here, but still has a lot of very good points.
Character: half of them the same characters from Mai HiME (marketing?). Good job here too. Character development is one of the main points in this series, serious emotions, hard decisions.
Value: rewatch it? Nah, I'd rather rewatch Mai HiME over and over, much better. Mai Otome smells of marketing too much. Big weapons 3 times larger than the girl herself... why, oh why? Normal sized weapons are enough.
Enjoyment: well, good show, I enjoyed, but it's nowhere near Mai HiME (again).
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Mai Otome is probably one of the best anime churned out by japanese animators in 2005. Mai Otome is best enjoyed after you have seen Mai HiME in the first place.
The animation and sound was clean, detailed and has a refined-feel to it. In particular, the special effects during the transformation sequence of Otome was really well-done.
The story and characters hold distinct elements of its prequel Mai HiME. It is all the more enjoyable for anime fans who have already watched Mai HiME. While Mai HiME had a overall sadder feel to the story, Mai Otome has been done with a much more cheerful approach.
I can't really go into specifics as to why this is so, since I would then make this look like a spoiler. I'll just say that I've throughly enjoyed Mai Otome. Go see for yourself to find out why!
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