In the beginning, I truly enjoyed Mai-Otome. Compared to its predecessor, I felt the show got off to an excellent start, eschewing a half-season’s worth of filler for red meat story and honest to goodness character development. But now? Eh…
I’m worried the writers may be trying too hard to top Mai-HiME. They’ve clearly stuck to the same, “All is not what it seems,” script, but it feels as if an extra layer of obsfucation has been added. There were moments in which Mai-HiME was difficult to follow, but never did I find myself as confused about alliances, motivations, and the “purpose” of story events as I am with regard to Mai-Otome. And, with so many characters and factions to keep up with in the first place, I worry I’m fighting a losing battle.
The inherent problem with Mai-Otome, I think, is that it’s not particularly well-focused. That is, the primary focus of each episode - Arika, her classmates, and life within Garderobe - have little connection to the greater plot unfolding in the background. Occasionally, we’re treated to a snippet of revelation - a cryptic comment from Nagi here, a battle with some baddies there - but, for the most part, the show is squarely focused on things far more trivial. Next thing you know, Mashiro’s castle is a giant weapon of mass destruction, and a swarm of mechanical hornets are attacking. Huh?
Granted, Mai-HiME pulled some similar stunts, but it took care to provide enough information that, once the shit hit the fan, the viewer wasn’t left scratching his head in complete confusion. As unfortunate a chapter in the story the “Alyssa blows up the world,” arc was, it provided a nice transition from light to dark, fluffy to serious, trivial to significant. Mai-Otome, on the other hand, has failed to make that transition. We’ve even been denied our “Akane Moment” - excepting, of course, Akane running off with Kazuya to lay waste to some nanomachines (and a lovely moment I’m sure it was). No, sixteen episodes in, and we’ve gone straight from final exams to the brink of war.
It’s possible I’m being too hard on the show, I’ll admit. The wonderful start might have inflated my expectations. Still, Mai-Otome is rapidly headed into trainwreck territory - and not the sort of trainwreck that’s a joy to watch.
Oh, and Tomoe? Schedule some time with your therapist, honey.
I know what you mean in the sense that how mai-hime first showcasesed an enjoyable school life, and then crushing that beleif in pool of HiMe tears and blood. I’m hoping Otome doesn’t do the same. I like how there’s a plot twist, but I don’t want there to be too much drama in the series only to have it demeaned by a cheesy way out to get a happy ending. Don’t get me wrong, I want a happy ending. But I’d like it happen gradually and if possible in a plausible way.
I always wondered what someone would think about Mai Otome if they hadn’t seen Mai HIme first. As it is, Otome feels too cameo-tastic [even though the design reuse is supposed to be part of the draw...] and very “forced” for some reason, as if the writers are trying too hard to please their existing fans.
Welcome back (^_^) Now to add you to my links’ page.
Welcome back ;)
And to address your fears: Episode17 has just aired. SUNRISE has heard you.
You mean Arika, Nina, and Ers-chan finally get down to “business?” C’mon, girls… the nanomachines won’t mind!
Mmm…I can’t say I agree with your points. There’s a reason that Otome has spent so much times on just the characters and their interactions with each other, so that when it all hits the fan, we care about what happens to them and understand why they make the choices they do.
17 is a good example of this. It was as bad as episode 20 of HiME in terms of shaking the characters down to their core, but without the previous 16 episodes and everything that came with them, it would have been much harder to feel anything.
Also, I think Otome has done a better job than HiME of providing background as to how and why the powers are what they are. We have fairly well defined rules for the Otome and their masters, and while the exact details of how they originated are unclear, their current source is well known.
And finally, Otome seems to rely less on OMG SHOCK! moments, and more on how everything that came before leads inevitably to what happens next, with the occasional twist of course.
I feel pretty clueless asking this, but was this flying foursome picture a piece of promo artwork, or did you use Photoshop? I only say this because Ers’s hair looks kinda…odd. Anyhoo, the sight of them all lined up like that is kind of creepy…bad memories of Flame of Recca, where everyone basically had the same face but different hair plopped on.
I suppose my concern is that 16 episodes of character development (and not very extensive character development, if you ask me) is a bit much for a 26 episode series, especially when the underlying story is so complicated. I would have liked to have seen more of the maneuvering that’s been going on in the background all this time.
As for the characters themselves, the fact that they’ll soon be pitted against each other isn’t all that surprising (with Mai-HiME, it was a bit of a surprise), and it’s not as if Arika’s (apparent?) true identity wasn’t telegraphed from the first episode (even though the show took 14 episodes to explicitly say so… I hope the writers weren’t waiting to hear our collective gasp), so I can’t get all that excited by the turn promised in the new OP. And the plot unraveling in the background? I’d like to think it’s something interesting, especially given the political aspect, but as presented, it’s just silly and tacked on. The show spent so much time beating around the bush that I’ve stopped caring about the bush.
And if Nina and Arika actually end up fighting over “Otou-saaaaama’s” love, I might have to break out the hard liquor. That plot thread doesn’t work for me at all.
The show’s a big mess. Sure, Mai-HiME was a mess, too. But it was a charming mess, at least. Otome’s just a stinky mess.
Oh, and Ender… the “Flying Foursome” image is just a piece of fanart that’s been floating around. There’s actually a giant animated GIF of all the girls running… with Erstin adorably out of step.
I added the “Are we there yet?” comment, though.
Mmm…well, I want to see your opinion after episode 17.
Its hard to accurately compare HiME and Otome, since HiME has ended and you have the advantage of Hindsight.
Also, I don’t think Arika is really who or what they want us to believe she is. Its too obvious.
Stinky mess? Okay, now I have to agree with Fencedude, stinky it ain’t. Maybe I’ll try a Mai HiME/Otome comparison one day, but these will be the bullet points:
o Storywise, Otome is objectively better. Multiple storylines are interwoven and decently motivated, also there are more factions with their own interests. Hime was more simple and straightforward in this aspect.
o Animationwise, Otome wins aswell. I’ve recently rewatched HiME, and the difference is very visible.
o Soundtrack, the nod goes to HiME, even though some interesting new pieces are introduced lately. But Mezame and Ensei are hard to beat.
o Characters: I believe this is what Jeff means with “unfocused” - the named cast is twice as big in Otome, while HiME was universally seen as having a crazy cast to begin with. This means that many characters remain only a rough sketch on Otome.
o Impact: Until episode 17, I’d have said that HiME was clearly more exciting, and seen overall it probably is, because nobody knew what to expect. However, in the last ep, Otome proved that it can deliver aswell, and deliver in a great way. The fact that the story was more carefully crafted gives me hope that the FINISH will be stronger this time.
All things considered, a fairly close race so far. Let’s see how we think about it in the end.
Honestly, I was more towards Jeff’s opinion on MAI-Otome, albeit not SO pessimistic….I mean, the plot was starting to annoy me a little - BUT, I’ve just seen ep.17 and now I’m happy camper again ^_^ …. Mai-Otome now delivers the goods: unexpected betrayals, flashy power-ups, some unwindings of the plot, heart-breaking stories, massive amount of tears. I’m much more satisfied now….