[Mai Otome] Episode 11 Discussion/Poll [Archive]

Catgirls

2005-12-17, 15:09

Welcome to this week's Episode discussion thread.

I'll post a new Episode discussion thread every Tuesday (a few days before the show actually airs). Please do not vote in the poll until you have watched the episode. If pre-voting gets out of hand, then I'll open the Episode threads on Thursday or Friday instead.

Thread Guidelines
No telling or asking for RAWs.
NO Manga spoilers in the Episode thread. Please alert a Moderator if you see Manga spoilers. Use the http://forums.animesuki.com/images/buttons/report.gif button you see below each users name.

Keep it on-topic and discuss the episode at hand.
Discuss your expectations of the episode if not aired.
Be polite to your fellow forum members. Rudeness will lead to impotency.

Be aware that due to the very nature of these threads, current episode content will be discussed without the use of Spoiler tags. Also, since these threads go up early, unrestrained speculation about the upcoming episode will be knee-deep. If you haven't seen the Episode, I would advise you not to click into the thread prior to the Fan-sub release, or don't complain if you're spoiled.

Please remember that only moderators can start the episode discussion threads every week.

Poll

The poll is fairly self explanatory:

(*) = Poor, (**) = Below Average, (***) = Average, (****) = Above Average, (*****) = Excellent!

Timeless Enigma

2005-12-18, 14:43

This has to be one of the better episodes for me because Nina is finally the focus of the episode.

Irina's imitation of Nina was priceless, that really cracked me up.

It seems to me that Nina may have a faint idea about who's behind Arika's funding, or maybe I'm misunderstand some of the dialogue near the end of the episode.

Lith Maethor

2005-12-18, 14:52

imitation was priceless indeed... literally fell off my chair when i watched it

as for Nina knowing/suspecting... i have to agree...

on another note... we finally see Akira and Takumi (if that is what they call themselves still)

Radiosity

2005-12-18, 14:55

Yay, first post... again. Bloody crackers should be hanged, drawn and quartered (google it if you really want to know the specifics ;) ). Cough, anyway...

Loved this episode. Arika most definitely stays at #1 for my favourite coral as well as favourite character. Despite Nina generally being unpleasant to Arika (her usual self in other words, and not meaning to diss Nina - I do like her too :) ), Arika came through 100% as a friend in helping her look for the watch and pendant. And when Sergey says at the end that it's because 'September 7th is when I first met you', seeing Nina realise that she was mistaken as her eyes fill with tears was a really nice touch.

Some good Mashiro action too of course. Can't get enough of the crazy queen. Oh, and we get to hear Nina's super sexy little yelp again! :D

Good ep all round, thumbs up. A nice change of pace from the recent action too.

Preston

2005-12-18, 15:19

Ok, first post and perhaps an opputunity for a new look. Hmm.. I'll see how this looks. ****ing bastards.. who hacks a forum like this? Damn. I'm in a kind of semi-rage about that right now, so I'll keep this post breif until I can collect what I wanted to say before reading about the forum going back to January.

Ok, I really liked this episode, yes, Nina getting some major screen time (for her) made it a real winner straight away, and how everything worked out for her is a nice ending. We get to know a little more about Nagi's plans, but just confirming what was pretty obvious anyway. Hmm.. don't know what to think of the preview for next episode. Akira and Takumi back is a good thing, I guess, but I wasn't such a major fan of either of them last time round. Just a question of waiting and seeing..

EDIT: And what's with the rule of only moderators being able to start these threads? I don't really have any feelings on it, but where did it come from? Man, don't turn this into another Egosoft forum mess up. Though I'm probably being paranoid. :)

cry

2005-12-18, 15:22

this episode was really interesting. I wanna know why akira has to hide her gender again (maybe in her kingdom only boys can gouvern o_0??) is takumi still very close to her?
Is mai now an official otome from akira's country? (if so, where is she?)
the preview shows that arika will probably have to play mashiro's role until they found her, it will be fun :)

But i want more action and storyline! things go more slowly in mai otome...

Matrim

2005-12-18, 15:24

Preston

2005-12-18, 15:33

And Arika jumped thirty places in the Otome rankings, I guess in the next episode she will be number one...

That immense jump in rank was due to her commendable effot in the hike. Another jump of similar size won't be happening for awhile I don't think. I can't imagine ranks change that much during 'normal' school term. We'll have to wait until the next test or equivalent.

Winchester

2005-12-18, 15:35

Not much to say about this ep, except I felt cheated out of my pre-ep discussion by the blasted hackers. I move we flay and salt them should they be caught...

It's becoming ever more likely that it is indeed Arika who's really the princess - Nagi is pretty dead certain Mashiro isn't the real one, and there's just too much coincidence in birthdays. Also, Nina knowing about Sergei being Arika's anonymous benefactor is pretty much a given - I think she figured it out back in episode six or something. Like most big secrets, it isn't.

The next episode preview was enlightening as well - Akira's bandaged middle looks mighty familiar, so I'm pretty certain we're dealing with a girl in disguise...again.

Hey, what's the correct syntax for the spoiler tag anyway? Didn't there use to be a button for inserting them?

SP

Vallen Chaos Valiant

2005-12-18, 15:37

I didn't like this episode, it was rather boring, IMO. We laready knew about Nina's issues with Sergey and that Mashiro is as childish as you can get. In short - too much Arika and Mashiro, too little of the MH characters (not counting Mashiro, of course :)) and nothing was done about the Aswald threat. And Arika jumped thirty places in the Otome rankings, I guess in the next episode she will be number one... The only interesting question after this episode is whether Akira is male or female, if it's the latter he seems to hide his identity quite well since he is thought to be a prince. But in the preview he is shown with that band of cloth around his chest so maybe he is actually a "she".
Don't forget the option that Akira is "filling in" for Takumi as the Prince... This has been speculated around the place.

Why? Because the preview suggests that Arika might be filling in for Mashiro too!

So we would have a fake prince dancing with a fake (?) princess, and both sides hope the other won't find out...

And of course, we would get real prince Takumi ended up on a date of a sorts with real (?) princess Mashiro, out on the streets eating icecream. It would work, in a wacked out way...:D

Matrim

2005-12-18, 15:37

That immense jump in rank was due to her commendable effot in the hike. Another jump of similar size won't be happening for awhile I don't think. I can't imagine ranks change that much during 'normal' school term. We'll have to wait until the next test or equivalent.

I know, I was being sarcastic. :)

EfrainMan

2005-12-18, 15:40

Cute episode, I enjoyed it. And Arika still takes advantage of Nina's weakness :naughty:

Plus, chibi-Nina is uber cute. I almost can't stand it...almost ;)

Winchester

2005-12-18, 15:41

EDIT: And what's with the rule of only moderators being able to start these threads? I don't really have any feelings on it, but where did it come from? Man, don't turn this into another Egosoft forum mess up. Though I'm probably being paranoid. :)

It's probably due to last week, when someone started the thread waayy early and the first ten pages had no content relevant to the episode. If a mod starts them, then we won't have as many complaints about early starts as we had then...

SP

Vallen Chaos Valiant

2005-12-18, 15:42

It's probably due to last week, when someone started the thread waayy early and the first ten pages had no content relevant to the episode. If a mod starts them, then we won't have as many complaints about early starts as we had then...

SP

Anyone can start these threads, so why not a Mod? It's not like it ever really mattered...

cry

2005-12-18, 15:44

Don't forget the option that Akira is "filling in" for Takumi as the Prince... This has been speculated around the place.

i didn't think about it! yes, it could be the reason...

Preston

2005-12-18, 15:44

I know, I was being sarcastic. :)
I know, I was being provocative. :D :p

Anyone can start these threads, so why not a Mod? It's not like it ever really mattered...
Mm, point. I guess so, it's just it being enforced that I don't like. But I said 'new look'.. I must do my best to keep on topic! I'll have a long, relevant and hopefully intelligent post to make tomorrow, right now I have an avatar and signature image to make.

Xellos-_^

2005-12-18, 16:05

I just love the opening part when they show Arika in mad-neko mode running through the survival test :p

Allover a very good setup episode. While i enojy the setup episode I really hope they start the real story soon.

Befgrek

2005-12-18, 16:21

Don't forget the option that Akira is "filling in" for Takumi as the Prince... This has been speculated around the place.

Why? Because the preview suggests that Arika might be filling in for Mashiro too!

So we would have a fake prince dancing with a fake (?) princess, and both sides hope the other won't find out...

And of course, we would get real prince Takumi ended up on a date of a sorts with real (?) princess Mashiro, out on the streets eating icecream. It would work, in a wacked out way...:D

This exactly what I thought after watching the preview as well...

So, they're trying to get Mashiro to marry Akira/Takumi? Nah, that won't happen. They can't seperate Akira and Takumi, can they? Besides, Mashiro already has gotten one wedding proposal from Nagi! Damn, being a queen must be tough.

Well, it was a good/average episode. Mostly due to the comedy. Irina's Nina-imitation, Mashiro's Superman-imitation... (changing in a telephone both... though her super powers only seem to go as far as to wearing those extemely large sunglasses without being ashamed.) and Mikoto's Superman-imitation. (Sorry Mikoto, cats can't fly.)

Questions for the next episode are: Will Mai finally appear? What happened to Miyu? What will happen on Takumi and Mashiros date? And most importantly: Where the hell did all the lesbian undertones go?

Sakuya

2005-12-18, 16:31

I'm surprised they're going to keep Akira exactly the way she was. Or at least it seems like she's the same. She even has the same bandages around her chest. If she's a girl, then there's a new possibility to who the shadowy Otome in the OP is! :)

ThePuff

2005-12-18, 16:44

Sakuya

2005-12-18, 16:48

I'm still completely lost and confused about the connection between Mai-HiME and Mai-Otome. Also, maybe I'm the last person on earth to notice this, but was Arika running around in the background at the end of ep. 26 of Mai-HiME?

Yes, it has been mentioned quite a bit. :) I don't think there is any real connection between My-HiME and My Otome as of yet. We just have to wait and see. But we do know that many My-HiME characters have been brought over with some slight changes to play in My Otome. Sort of like how actors and actresses move on to play in other films. :)

Preston

2005-12-18, 16:52

I'm still completely lost and confused about the connection between Mai-HiME and Mai-Otome. Also, maybe I'm the last person on earth to notice this, but was Arika running around in the background at the end of ep. 26 of Mai-HiME?

You just amazed me. Though, since this forum went back in time to January, I guess it can't be helped. Yes, Akira is in episode 26 and yes, everyone has already seen it and discussed in to exhaustion. For the match between Mai Otome and Mai HiME, there is little, they are alternate universes and basically unrelated, there are a few returning characters, but they may have had name changes of personality changes.

Radiosity

2005-12-18, 17:00

Bah, into a second page I didn't notice... Need new eyes.

ChainLegacy

2005-12-18, 17:01

Akuma-sama

2005-12-18, 17:47

Damn hacker. *kicks*

The first half of the episode wasn't all that interesting (Irina excluded), I found, but the second half more than compensated.
Oh, and count me in the "Takumi is the prince and Akira is filling for him" group; I like that theory too much.

I'd write my hit-by-hit review, but I can't seem to be able to write right now :heh:
Or maybe the shock of the episode has passed over... oh well.

The prologue was hilarious, though; "It's so big and white... Can I lick it?" "ah--" "What the hell are you two doing?!"
LOL. Doesn't beat "I'm Durhan... lick lick lick", but it's pretty good ;)

Only thing... "When we find [the real princess], we can take control of this world"... :twitch: wtf?
And wouldn't it be funny if it turned out to be Nina after all... XD

Matrim

2005-12-18, 18:00

Only thing... "When we find [the real princess], we can take control of this world"... wtf?

It's obvious - the creators of the show want to assure the fans that the whole "who is the princess storyline" is really important and not only included in order to give the fans the opportunity to write theories about it. :)

I'd love to be Nina but I think an even better option would be Mashiro - everyone doubts it and in the end she turns out to be the real princess. Of course, one could ask why the hell in a country that's the leader in technology they obviously haven't heard of DNA tests but let's just leave it at that.;)

Mich666

2005-12-18, 18:17

The things that will happen in next episode are pretty clear from ending preview:

Arika will have to pretend she is the queen because Mashiro is missing. She will meet prince of Jippang - prince Akira. But real prince is Takumi who will be enjoyoing the day with missing mashiro. And Akira seems to be a girl after all ^___^

Radiosity

2005-12-18, 18:18

Maybe they do know of DNA tests, but simply don't have the original royal family's DNA to test against. All sorts of things can be lost during war, thanks to random destruction caused by shots flying wide or whatever (probably even more so when a super-powerful being like an Otome fights another super-powerful being).

Juju

2005-12-18, 18:27

<whines and kicks her connection> I'm missing the last two eps...seems like I'm missin' a lot?

Vallen Chaos Valiant

2005-12-18, 18:30

It's obvious - the creators of the show want to assure the fans that the whole "who is the princess storyline" is really important and not only included in order to give the fans the opportunity to write theories about it. :)

I'd love to be Nina but I think an even better option would be Mashiro - everyone doubts it and in the end she turns out to be the real princess. Of course, one could ask why the hell in a country that's the leader in technology they obviously haven't heard of DNA tests but let's just leave it at that.;)

Don't forget, they lost the ability to produce aircrafts.

The "superscience" exists in this universe only in pieces, with major, but simple, pieces missing.

If they can't even make planes, what makes you think they can have DNA testing?

Matrim

2005-12-18, 18:33

Nothing in particular, it's just a bit too convenient not to be able to do a DNA test and end the cotroversy about the the princess.

Mysticmidnightmaiden

2005-12-18, 18:36

Wow! It's good to be back, though I wish to go "Shin"zuru on the nutjobs the hacked the 'Suki forums. But enough on threats and immaturity:

The things that will happen in next episode are pretty clear from ending preview:

Arika will have to pretend she is the queen because Mashiro is missing. She will meet prince of Jippang - prince Akira. But real prince is Takumi who will be enjoyoing the day with missing mashiro. And Akira seems to be a girl after all ^___^

I'd most definately have to agree with you here. I'm absolutely pumped to see Akira-kun again (and especially thrilled to see her cross-dressing again!). But remember, this IS a show by Sunrise, known to show unreliable episode previews (think Mai-HiME death scenes). Knowing them, they may kill off Erostin-chan or Akane may loose her powers.

Oh, wait. THAT'S Ep. 13, my bad.

(Still praying that her predictions won't come true)

EnseiSong

2005-12-18, 18:43

Aww man... I have to re-register today....

A good ep for Nina.... I hoped to see more of her past when I saw the preview, yet in the end it didn't happen.

Although I thought is kinda random Sergay just happen to be there where the bird droped the watch thing, lol. I know he had help... but is a bird!! It fly everywhere, how did he know which one it suppose to be?!

Diodati

2005-12-18, 18:52

Akuma-sama
Mai got Hacked too O_o
:heh:

I though it was an ok episode, it was funny, but it had less 'memorable' moments than some of the episodes before. But I'm soooo happy Akira is back, and not ''really'' male.

I like the idea of Takumi and Mashiro both sneaking off from their duties but fate has them spend the day together anyway. The preview of them together looks cute....but...if you were sneaking around away from your duties would you wear clothes that had the national symbol on them? That's about as covert as wearing flashing lights. And also, if they go down the route of Takumi and Mashiro, where does this place my darling Akira. Bah, I'm not too bothered really, the relationship worked in HiME as Takumi was half dead all the time.

And yeah I'm going to put it, so curse me, Shizuru's line about always being by Natsuki's side made me very mushy, almost to the point where I'm petrified she couldn't be more doomed. And what, no blush from Natsuki? 'cos she probably already knows you will Shizuru.

Nothing in particular, it's just a bit too convenient not to be able to do a DNA test and end the cotroversy about the the princess.
Well it is, but it's probably less convenient than Takumi just happening to walk by as Mashiro is knocked unconscious by Mikoto (let alone that they may be Prince/Princess), that Nina's pendant just happened to fall into a passing boat, and then just happened to get stolen by a crow which subsequently, out of all the places in the entire city, landed right at Serg's feet. He didn't even need to walk more than two steps.

But such is the world of Otome I guess.

Oh, wait. THAT'S Ep. 13, my bad.

(Still praying that her predictions won't come true)
Heh, deep down do we all sense something very bad for unlucky 13...

Catgirls

2005-12-18, 18:59

EDIT: And what's with the rule of only moderators being able to start these threads? I don't really have any feelings on it, but where did it come from? Man, don't turn this into another Egosoft forum mess up. Though I'm probably being paranoid. :)
It's not that big of a deal. Focus on the show and worry less about who starts the thread. I'll be starting the Episode threads for now on to keep continuity. What's important is chatting about the episode/show and getting the forums back in shape.

Let's not make it an issue out of it. Frisky lesbians in short school uniforms kicking ass is way more important right now.

Cheers. :)

Juju

2005-12-18, 19:06

Frisky lesbians in short school uniforms kicking ass...

:p I absolutely concur ;)

Now, being a new fan to this series - just a question for you die-hards. Why is there rumor-mongering about Shizuru's seeming demise in later episodes? What would validate that...?

Matrim

2005-12-18, 19:17

And yeah I'm going to put it, so curse me, Shizuru's line about always being by Natsuki's side made me very mushy, almost to the point where I'm petrified she couldn't be more doomed.

I really hope you are right. After all, some of the characters will probably die in the series and if I had to choose I'd choose Shizuru right after Arika.
*runs for his life pursued by a crowd of Shizuru fans*

Well it is, but it's probably less convenient than Takumi just happening to walk by as Mashiro is knocked unconscious by Mikoto (let alone that they may be Prince/Princess), that Nina's pendant just happened to fall into a passing boat, and then just happened to get stolen by a crow which subsequently, out of all the places in the entire city, landed right at Serg's feet. He didn't even need to walk more than two steps.

Well, I didn't say these events were any less convenient, did I?:) But they are not that important for the plot as the identity of the princess.

Mich666

2005-12-18, 19:25

Heh, deep down do we all sense something very bad for unlucky 13...
hey, there will be new OP and/or ED in ep13, ....or it will be ep14? :heh:

and the name of ep13 is Towards the Red Sky ;-)

frodo1701

2005-12-18, 19:29

Even with all the loss, I'm glad we're up and running again. SERIOUS withdrawl:eyespin: I echo all the various opinions on the hacker's punishment if caught.

Now to more important matters.

Sergey knew Arika's birthday without her telling. She didn't even realize it had come until she reads the note. Did Rena actually have a daughter on that day? Or, does he believe she is the real princess.Both? I also find it interesting that someone told Arika that Sept. 7 was her birthday.(her grandma?)After all, she never personally knew her parents.

The things that will happen in next episode are pretty clear from ending preview:

Arika will have to pretend she is the queen because Mashiro is missing. She will meet prince of Jippang - prince Akira. But real prince is Takumi who will be enjoyoing the day with missing mashiro. And Akira seems to be a girl after all ^___^

I'm wondering how Arika would successfully pose as the queen. I mean one step out into the city right now and Mashiro's face is plastered everywhere for her birthday!:eyebrow: I do think Takumi may be the real prince though.From the opening, I'd say Mai is the Otome for this family so her appearance probably is't too far off.

duster_Fukku

2005-12-18, 19:31

hey, there will be new OP and/or ED in ep13, ....or it will be ep14? :heh:

and the name of ep13 is Towards the Red Sky ;-)

Really? The Gundam Seed style?!:O
God, hope it will be awsome!! Where did you get the news?

Lith Maethor

2005-12-18, 19:32

Let's not make it an issue out of it. Frisky lesbians in short school uniforms kicking ass is way more important right now.

note-to-self: do not read forums while drinking... bad for monitor

EDIT: and to make the post actually relevant... count me in with the akira posing as prince in takumi's place crowd... it sounds far fetched enough to be the truth

lone_wolf

2005-12-18, 19:40

Really? The Gundam Seed style?!:O
God, hope it will be awsome!! Where did you get the news?

The news was from the character designer's site as he had mentioned on his BBS that he was currently working on artwork for the OP. I don't recall him mentioning anything about the ED but I guess would make sense to change that as well....consistency.

--Lone Wolf

Mich666

2005-12-18, 19:43

Really? The Gundam Seed style?!:O
God, hope it will be awsome!! Where did you get the news?
and ep15 is named Crying Arika ^_^ The real story awaits! :D

atua

2005-12-18, 20:06

Don't forget the option that Akira is "filling in" for Takumi as the Prince... This has been speculated around the place.

Why? Because the preview suggests that Arika might be filling in for Mashiro too!

So we would have a fake prince dancing with a fake (?) princess, and both sides hope the other won't find out...

And of course, we would get real prince Takumi ended up on a date of a sorts with real (?) princess Mashiro, out on the streets eating icecream. It would work, in a wacked out way...:D

Yep, that's pretty much the way that I think the next ep is going to pan out, with Akira as the Kagemusha prince of Jipang, and Arika playing the same role for Windbloom. The preview gave way too much of the plot away...

As for the current ep, I found the plot direction that Nina "Elektra" Wong is heading increasingly disturbing. I didn't think she'd actually confess about her feelings to Arika. Sergey is a decent character, and I've liked him up to this point, so I really don't want to see a Nina/Sergey/Arika love triangle develop here. :(

Radiosity

2005-12-18, 20:18

hey, there will be new OP and/or ED in ep13, ....or it will be ep14?

Well, being as there is a break between eps 12 and 13 while Christmas and new years happen, I'd guess they'll add the new OP to ep 13 for when it starts airing again. Makes senes to me :)

The preview gave way too much of the plot away...

What happened to the policy of posting preview comments like this in Spoilers? I didn't bother watching the preview for a reason, but have still had it ruined by people not using Spoiler tags.

ChainLegacy

2005-12-18, 20:41

So, if Takumi is the prince, does that mean Akira is his otome? I was kind of hoping Mai would be...

Matrim

2005-12-18, 20:54

Why should Akira be an Otome? If she was someone was bound to recognize her, the Otomes are quite few in number and around Mashiro there are bound to be people from Guarderobe.

TBox

2005-12-18, 21:17

How did you figure this out? It seems so plausible that it must be what will happen next episode!

Just for anyone else who is curious, some evidence:

First, Takumi has on his robe a very prominent three flames wheel. It's the first we've seen it in the series outside the OP. Akira's robe (as ohikosama) has two of these three flame wheels, as well. Hence, Takumi is related to Zipang. (And Mai as well?)

Second, it's revealed that Akira is concealing her gender in the preview. It's hard to believe that a country that's concealing the gender of their supreme commander in chief (On a permanent basis) would arrange an omiai... it'd give the game away... hence, Akira is posing as a prince in addition to as a man.

The rest seems to me to be narrative causality... two people, both faking, who in the climax are exposed to each other (followed by much laughter)... a person, trying to avoid their destiny, rushing to meet it instead. We've seen it so many times, we've come to expect it. The plots themselves are nagging. I keep feeling that I should be able to find a play or two by Shakespeare or someone with the same general threads... but I've looked, and I can't.

The short answer is we've all watched too many romantic comedies.

You know, it took me three tries to sign up again. Silly character recognition tests.

Andy00

2005-12-18, 21:51

Akira doesn't have an earring, though, does she?

No earring = Not an Otome.

We've seen the three wheel flames before, btw. On the Harmonium Organ.

Other observations. Spoilers?

Sergei CHOSE Nina's birthday? And it happened to be the same as Mashiro's and Arika's? He knows more than he's saying.

....I'm confused. Sergei Artai's Defense Minister isn't he? Why does he and his assistant refer to Windbloom's Mashiro as their Queen?

Notice next to Nina's and Mashiro's birthday, there is a picture of an ant. (Arika) Did Sergei have something to do with naming Arika? (She said she didn't know who gave it to her in an earlier episode....)

...and Sergei knows Arika's birthday when ARIKA even forgets it. Yep, he's in it up to his eyeballs.

Nina seems to know what this means. (Or maybe she thinks Sergei WISHES Nina were Arika?)

So the question is, why did Sergei choose Mashiro's and Arika's birthday for Nina? His reaction of "Oh yeah, I should have remembered the Queen's birthday, it's the same as Nina's!" doesn't SEEM to indicate he copied Arika's...but he had the ant symbol in the book. GAH! ...also, his reaction to "naked Arika" was that she was like Nina. (IE, hands off.) So what we see of his thoughts doesn't seem to indicate he's consciously manipulating them. Maybe he's being controlled himself?

"Nina! Why are you so angry?" "I'm not angry. :snarls:" To be honest, that's how Nina usually acts. <g>

"This reminds me of the first time we met!" Ah, Arika realizes that too.

Little blonde homeless kid reminds Nina of her pre-Sergei situation.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Aaahhh, so that's why the plot had Arika jump up in rank. To welcome the prince.

Arika's learned her lesson about Otome disrobing. She's been paying attention! (Getting blasted by super-arrows does wonders to the learning process...)

I wonder if the street-waif will ever show up again.

...Arika talks to crows, expecting an answer back. This is not the first time she's shown affinity to birds. (and squirrels like her too.)

Brilliant disguise, Mashiro. No one will ever recognize you. :snorts:

It's Takumi! And he's...dragging an unconcious Mashiro into a low-visibility alley! Dude...that doesn't look good. Granted, it's Takumi. He's about as threatening as an english muffin.

Arika: ...you like Serg...er...Major Wong THAT WAY? :cue Dueling Banjos: (Japan has a weird complex about adoption. Speaking as an adoptee, I think I can safely say I've never wanted to hurl myself at siblings or parents in lust.)

"Grandma says getting something important from someone important is important!" ....well...yeah.

I don't believe Sergei's story about him meeting Nina on September 7th, thus that being her birthday. ....the thing is, I don't think he's lying. Implanted memory or something?

Curious, Arika seems to "sense" something. Mashiro's unconcious state?

Qbi Sannin

2005-12-18, 21:54

frodo1701

2005-12-18, 21:55

You know, it took me three tries to sign up again. Silly character recognition tests.

I feel much better now. It took me only two times.:D

So, if Takumi is the prince, does that mean Akira is his otome? I was kind of hoping Mai would be...

Akira isn't an Otome. she doesn't have an earring. I think Mai is Otome to this royal family based on flame crest she's wearing in the OP.

Ronin Aquila

2005-12-18, 22:02

Quote:
Originally Posted by duster_Fukku
Really? The Gundam Seed style?!:O
God, hope it will be awsome!! Where did you get the news?

Hey, at least unlike Seed Destiny, this series dosen't use repeat footage from the last season. :heh:

Cyz

2005-12-18, 22:24

Akira is a he this time around hmm?

Radiosity

2005-12-18, 22:27

How would Nagi finding the princess make him have control of the world? And also...did ANYONE else notice that scene where Arika clutched her chest at the end when Nina was hugging Sergei? Was that heartbeat supposed to be of a jealous kind...a sick kind...or a love kind?

Mashiro is Queen of the country that contains the Otome school, I'd imagine that would be something of a grand prize to whoever could control it. Since Mashiro is - apparently - a fake, therefore if you find the 'real' princess, you have an instant foothold in that country (forced/ arranged marriage and so on).

The Otome school may be like an independant state, but remember Nina's reaction upon finding out that Mashiro was the princess in episode 1? The Otome are there to serve the kingdom, though I imagine Natsuki would have something to say about being ordered to take over the world ;)

And I believe the heartbeat would be an indicator of Arika suddenly realising that she feels something (not necessarily love/ lust!) for Sergey.

Akuma-sama

2005-12-18, 22:31

Of course, Akira could also be Arika's new romantic entanglement, to complicate things further between her, Nina, Sergei, Erstin and Mashiro.

...Hey, if Mai had her Harem... :heh:
And Shizuru. 'nuff said.

I'm thinking TBox is dead-on; it fits with what we see of the preview. What I'm mostly wondering about is how Akira/Arika will react to learning about one another...

And I know it doesn't apply to the original Japanese names, but they broke two unofficial character-making rules with those two names: Never, ever have two characters with the same letters in their names, and never have two characters with names starting and ending with the same letters.
Eevr raed taht atricle aobut teh barin bieng albe to raed any wrods as lnog as teh frist adn lsat letetrs saty teh same?
...writing that, there seems to be some exceptions. Oh well XD

How would Nagi finding the princess make him have control of the world? And also...did ANYONE else notice that scene where Arika clutched her chest at the end when Nina was hugging Sergei? Was that heartbeat supposed to be of a jealous kind...a sick kind...or a love kind?

I don't think it was a romantic heartbeat. I think it was her connection to Mashiro acting up. Maybe, at the time the hug happens, Mashiro just got pwnt by Mikoto's incredible bulk--
oh no, wait, Sergei's watch. Scratch that theory.
Maybe Takumi is doing something... unmentionnable to Mashiro? XD

About that, why the hell did Takumi drag Mashiro in that alley anyway?

Kieli

2005-12-18, 22:31

Akira is a he this time around hmm?
Akira is still a she....merely posing as male as per her previous role in Mai HiME.

Gage

2005-12-18, 22:32

And I believe the heartbeat would be an indicator of Arika suddenly realising that she feels something (not necessarily love/ lust!) for Sergey.

I thought that at first, but I wonder whether it is part of the bond between her and Mashiro. We do know that if an Otome dies, the King/Queen she's bonded to dies as well. Maybe they mirror eachother in other ways as well, and she's experiencing part of something that Mashiro is experiencing?

bluegarden

2005-12-18, 22:40

i think that she realized that she has feelings for him, it was a jealous heartbeat, she saw him hugging nina

Nightengale

2005-12-18, 22:41

Earrings can be removed, so it's not an impossible scenario.

I'm starting to fear Nina's character development. I used to thought that Sergey was half her life, but now I'm thinking Sergey is her entire life.

And I'm betting that knife lookalike thing behind Takumi will reveal his true identity.

Kieli

2005-12-18, 22:45

i think that she realized that she has feelings for him, it was a jealous heartbeat, she saw him hugging nina
I disagree....her expression was not one of jealousy but confusion. I believe that Arika's pendant somehow links her Mashiro (if she is indeed destined to be Mashiro's Otome) and if Mashiro is even perceived to be in danger, I'm sure the pendant's function is to make her aware of it. They DO share a life bond now, after all, as their contract is still in place.

Nightengale

2005-12-18, 22:53

I disagree....her expression was not one of jealousy but confusion. I believe that Arika's pendant somehow links her Mashiro (if she is indeed destined to be Mashiro's Otome) and if Mashiro is even perceived to be in danger, I'm sure the pendant's function is to make her aware of it. They DO share a life bond now, after all, as their contract is still in place.

Considering Mashiro is in no way placed in any danger despite that evil-looking drag into the dark alley by Takumi, unless Takumi turns out to be a Black Valley somebody or something, I doubt that's related to Mashiro.

I'd place my money on the confusion heartbeat seeing Nina and Sergey. I don't think it's love, maybe a longing feeling for a father? Since Arika clearly doesn't know hers, or even a role model she can take as a father.

coefficientX

2005-12-18, 22:53

This is a pretty boring episode to me too. Nina'a father complex is just too bweeeeah. :uhoh: It's not like i dislike Sergay but it is so sad to see someone so cool to fall for a so much older guy. I'm willing to bet that the love for Sergay is because he is the first person ever to treat Nina nice. And Nina is still immature enough to differentiate between a real romance love and admiration/grateful love.

And Shizuru's confess... It's pretty clear that her MIP is Natsuki and she loves Natsuki in a romance way. ;) But how does Natsuki really feel for Shizuru...? WE SHIZNAT FANS NEED TO KNOW!!! :p

And also...did ANYONE else notice that scene where Arika clutched her chest at the end when Nina was hugging Sergei? Was that heartbeat supposed to be of a jealous kind...a sick kind...or a love kind?
Haha, Arika to love Sergay? Eeeks.... no way!
Since Arinko is connected to Mashiro by a contract, I'm thinking it's either Mikoto's thump or Takumi trying to revive Mashiro (the heart pumping way).

Yeah and i agree the most interesting fact of this episode is whether the bandage on Akira is a breast tape or not. Haha...never ever speculate too much on a preview by Sunrise! :p

Kieli

2005-12-18, 23:06

Considering Mashiro is in no way placed in any danger despite that evil-looking drag into the dark alley by Takumi, unless Takumi turns out to be a Black Valley somebody or something, I doubt that's related to Mashiro.
I never said that Takumi would be the one who is dangerous to her. She's outside of the castle, without protection of any kind, save for Mikoto. It could simply be that.

I'd place my money on the confusion heartbeat seeing Nina and Sergey. I don't think it's love, maybe a longing feeling for a father? Since Arika clearly doesn't know hers, or even a role model she can take as a father.
I wouldn't. It doesn't even make sense for that even to be happening. I would expect something like that to have happened when she was alone with Sergey after he saved her life. To speculate something like that is out of place. There's no reason for it. And clearly the writers wanted us to hear the heartbeat for some other logical more germane reason rather than a wasted scene. We've been given no other indications to support this theory. Arika hasn't been pining for a father, she and Sergay barely get along. She hasn't even remotely shown any indication that she wants what Nina has. So why bring this sudden change out of thin air?

Her connection to Mashiro is the safest bet. Whatever her feelings for Sergay or Nina, I doubt she would even equate them with longing for a father. Her past efforts have been more focused on locating her mother. It simply makes no sense for her heart to go all "doki doki" over that domestic scene. As we're clearly being set up for something important to happen with Mashiro's escape from the castle, it makes more sense for Arika to truly understand the bond between Otome and Master by showing a deeper sort of connection between the two. Their lives are connected by contract. Up until now, we've only been given a superficial explanation for what that means. This heartbeat could be a lead-in for a deeper understanding of the Master/Otome relationship.

THAT makes more sense to me.

Forever

2005-12-18, 23:59

JayF

2005-12-19, 00:08

IF takumi was evil:

AFter takumi does the unthinkable...

Mashiro: You bastard! SObz

Takumi: Well then. You have no choice but to marry me unless you want this AV broadcasted everywhere. Soon I will rule over this land and gauedrobe. All those virgins at the palm of my hands! Muhahahaha

Of course if Takumi still had his heart disaease, then it'd be like this.

Takumi tries to do the unthinkable, but halfway through stripping Mashiro...

Takumi: Uh oh, forgot my medication again.

Takumi dies, and next episode we find Mai going Psycho Sister on Windbloom and Garderobe.:heh:

roan

2005-12-19, 00:20

there's supposed to be a new op or end coming soon.
one of the lines - うしなうものは何も無い
sounds foreboding.

Akuma-sama

2005-12-19, 00:35

Oh, I get it! Takumi is the Obsidian Lord this time around!

And in the next Mai- series, probably named 舞婆HiME (or Mai Obaba), Mashiro will be a guy...
[/mangajokes]

Nightengale

2005-12-19, 00:40

Oh, I get it! Takumi is the Obsidian Lord this time around!

And in the next Mai- series, probably named 舞婆HiME (or Mai Obaba), Mashiro will be a guy...
[/mangajokes]

Notice the thing behind his back? Looks auspiously similar to Midori's twin blades.

I'm not surprised if he pulls out a O.M.F.G gem with the words, I Am The Prince of My Motherland.

Diodati

2005-12-19, 00:51

I'm not surprised if he pulls out a O.M.F.G gem with the words, I Am The Prince of My Motherland.
Heh for real? I can't tell if you're being serious. It would certainly be interesting, Takumi with physical prowess, let him take down all the Otome!

I really hope you are right. After all, some of the characters will probably die in the series and if I had to choose I'd choose Shizuru right after Arika.
*runs for his life pursued by a crowd of Shizuru fans*
Yeah you run! Nah I remember you saying before the forum went down. It broke my heart that time too. ^_^ Matrim doth protest too much (about his secret Shizuru lurve) me thinks *runs for her life pursued by Matrim*

If she came first on that poll thingie, then she may last longer than I thought por defecto.

and the name of ep13 is Towards the Red Sky ;-)
Heh I can't believe they would 'flag' an episode as obvious as that. Maybe it's a red (excuse the pun) herring.

I found the plot direction that Nina "Elektra" Wong is heading increasingly disturbing. I didn't think she'd actually confess about her feelings to Arika. Sergey is a decent character, and I've liked him up to this point, so I really don't want to see a Nina/Sergey/Arika love triangle develop here.
I found it weird too. Sure it explains why Nina has been so aggressive (that she 'doesn't just view him as her dad), but the relationship sways between protection, obsession and figurative incest. And the fact that it's been implied her feelings started as young as nine, is quite unnerving, ewww.

However I doubt it will form a love triangle with Arika as a 'willing' participant. Most of Nina's hostility comes from Arika being Rena's daughter. ''Why did you have to be that woman's daughter'' etc. So in a way we have a Nina / Sergs / 'the memory of Rena' triangle. And Nina kinda loses on all counts here, because it's unlikely she'll ever be able to beat an idealised memory from Serg's youth, nor be seen anything more than a daughter.

I disagree....her expression was not one of jealousy but confusion. I believe that Arika's pendant somehow links her Mashiro (if she is indeed destined to be Mashiro's Otome) and if Mashiro is even perceived to be in danger, I'm sure the pendant's function is to make her aware of it. They DO share a life bond now, after all, as their contract is still in place.
Woooah, there's a lack of ShizNat under your name, I barely recognise you anymore! Hmmm that scene was structured kinda weird. Arika was genuinely happy for Nina, and I thought the sound was more from the pendant rather than her 'heart'. So yeah I'll happily go with the idea it may be about Mashiro. Or maybe even whoever gave her the pendant.

Shigan

2005-12-19, 00:59

I'm not surprised if he pulls out a O.M.F.G gem with the words, I Am The Prince of My Motherland.

I'm sorry if you are being serious but ...mmmfmfmfmfmBWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!! XD XD XD

Well well, Arika's super raise in their classranking was hardly unexpected since she is the maincharacter, plus her Godzilla performance under the re-take hike. :D

Does anyone but me get the feeling of that Nina's dream in reality isn't to be the world's strongest otome and remain virginal all her life? O_o

Nightengale

2005-12-19, 01:04

I'm sorry if you are being serious but ...mmmfmfmfmfmBWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!! XD XD XD

Well well, Arika's super raise in their classranking was hardly unexpected since she is the maincharacter, plus her Godzilla performance under the re-take hike. :D

Does anyone but me get the feeling of that Nina's dream in reality isn't to be the world's strongest otome and remain virginal all her life? O_o

Of course I'm joking, but I wouldn't mind it being true. And O.M.F.G stands for Obsidian Materialization Field Generator. XD

Nina's pro-dream is clearly to be his dad's girl. Something in her dream world, and she knows it. I think her secondary dream is to be her dad's otome, so she can be one with him, technically. You see her frown when Nagi said she might be Nagi's otome? Clearly shows she wants Sergey, not Nagi.

Radiosity

2005-12-19, 01:54

And O.M.F.G stands for Obsidian Materialization Field Generator. XD

Smoothly done ;)

asthalanthil

2005-12-19, 02:40

Yoz, regarding the heart thump... I like the theory that it's due to Mashiro becoming a landing cushion for Mikoto.

However, I can't help but remember the 'Product of Black Valley' (gosh doesn't that sound just like oranges???) theory as well as Miyu seeing her with Alyssa-hair.

What if she really is a construct, breaking down? She did take *too* readily to those nanoprobes, I think.

By the way, Gakuen-chou! Stop taking Shizuru-sama for granted! Is that all you say or do after such a declaration :nono:

Mentar

2005-12-19, 02:47

Preston

2005-12-19, 02:49

Frisky lesbians in short school uniforms kicking ass is way more important right now.

Right answer. :)

In regards to that heartbeat I thought Arika's heart was going to stop and we would finally get rid of her. Damn, no such luck. But I really, REALLY don't want another contender for Sergei. One is bad enought. But, Arika really is the best person when it comes to screwing stuff up. Figures. But seriously, I doubt it is anything to do with Sergei. That would be too... crap and unconnected, honestly. Arika hasn't been made out to be the type that just gets an entirely RANDOM crush on someone simply because they hugged someone she knew. Could be anything, and I have a few pretty random theories, none of which have got really any basis justifying them. At the moment, I find Kieli's theory the most likely. I mean, such thoughts from Arika would be very, very random.

And O.M.F.G stands for Obsidian Materialization Field Generator. XD
Owned.

ltorivia485

2005-12-19, 02:50

Hey does anyone know who is the father of Arika?

lone_wolf

2005-12-19, 02:57

Hey does anyone know who is the father of Arika?

It hasn't been mentioned in the Anime. In the manga it has but then again we're not sure if it's true:

Rado *claims* to be her father in the manga

--Lone Wolf

Retsoor

2005-12-19, 03:58

>> I disagree....her expression was not one of jealousy but confusion.

Arika is barely fifteen years old, and considering her naivete, she hardly seems capable of pulling a jealous face out of the blue. I do believe she feels more than fondness towards Sergei and thus has a confused face, because she has never experienced such feelings before and does not know what to think about them, or, does not even know what they are.

>> To speculate something like that is out of place. There's no reason for it.

If anything, there is no reason to think the heartbeat was caused by the link to Mashiro, since she was down for the count. Unless of course Takumi had ulterior motives in dragging Mashiro to a secluded alley and Mashiro found out that she rather enjoyed the ride.

midnightlumina

2005-12-19, 03:59

*shrugs.... Darth Rado the sith....lol

muppet

2005-12-19, 04:04

Did anyone else notice just how much Nina really knew? I think she knows that Sergey is interested in Arika because she may be the real princess. I got the distinct feeling that Nina wants to be more than she is... Maybe she's began to believe that she was the real princess? That may seem silly, but it seems like she wants to be his everything...and if that turns out her being what he's searching for then that's what she'll be. Perhaps that was a big reason she was so shocked about their birthdays being on the same day. Now that there's someone else that could be it she doesn't like it. Anywho, I'm just throwing that out there.

Matrim

2005-12-19, 04:34

No way Arika has a crush on Sergey, that would be like the dumbest plotline ever. OK, not the dumbest but dumb enough.

And I really, really doubt Shizuru is going to be the first to die. Since when do the strongest characters die first?

However I doubt it will form a love triangle with Arika as a 'willing' participant. Most of Nina's hostility comes from Arika being Rena's daughter.

I think Nina is in for a big surprise when (if) it turns out that Arika is not Rena's daughter. I'd like to see her expression then. ;)

Vallen Chaos Valiant

2005-12-19, 04:47

Or if Rena is still alive somewhere...

Nah... They won't use that soap-opera plot device, would they?

Anyway, thus far most of the anger Nina has is directed at Rena. Unfortunately Rena's dead, and her supposed daughter Arika is too nice a person to hate (except for Tomoe, who is a psycho).

Hence Nina couldn't find a way to express her frustration... Sergay's heart is occupied by a dead person, and Arika's presence alone would make it impossible for him to ever forget Rena no matter how long time passes.

On another point... Since we know for a fact the "grandma" is dead, at least to Arika, who do you think she would be? A nobody? A former Otome who survived the last war like Maria? If a former Otome picked Arika up alone with her pendant, she would likely know who that pendant once belonged to.

And from the way Otomes get produced, we might get a whole lot of failed, quit, or married Otomes out there in the world. Not too far fetched for Arika to meet one...

Nightengale

2005-12-19, 05:31

Nah... They won't use that soap-opera plot device, would they?

VCV, You do know that you're talking about a Mai series, don't you? In all honesty, a soap-opera plot device is more plausible than anything else. Doesn't have to be "Rena is still alive somewhere" scenario, but you're giving the Mai Otome writers too much credit.

But yeah, I'll agree with the failed Otome thing. But I still think that Arika's grandma is one weird Otome, if she is one. Her teachings don't seem to fully reflect the grandious noble image of Otomes.

piccolo

2005-12-19, 05:34

Sergey knew Arika's birthday without her telling. She didn't even realize it had come until she reads the note. Did Rena actually have a daughter on that day? Or, does he believe she is the real princess.Both? I also find it interesting that someone told Arika that Sept. 7 was her birthday.(her grandma?)After all, she never personally knew her parents.
Which brings us back to the crazy theory - the one that was criticized to death - that Sergay really is Arika's father. Although the age difference between Rena and Sergay suggests otherwise, Sergay does seem to know more about Arika than anyone else.

As an intern at court, it wouldn't be too difficult to remember the birthday of those born while at court. (Negate the above theorem. Ara-ara...) It may explain why he can remember Arika's birthday so well. And the fact that he CAN'T remember Mashiro's birthday - being on the same day - may add fuel to the fire that Mashiro really isn't the queen. But that's faulty thinking too since the Queen's birthday would've been recorded. So why wouldn't he remember the Queen's birthday, having been at court at that time. Has SUNRISE created a contradiction? Or am I reading too much into it all?

piccolo

2005-12-19, 05:54

Mich666

2005-12-19, 06:39

Which brings us back to the crazy theory - the one that was criticized to death - that Sergay really is Arika's father. Although the age difference between Rena and Sergay suggests otherwise, Sergay does seem to know more about Arika than anyone else.
but hey, he had to be about 10 years old :twitch:

Anyway that Arika heartbeat seems to be something more and I don't think it is related to Mashiro or Nina... Rather it seems that the harmonium and/or the star are calling her...

Befgrek

2005-12-19, 07:47

but hey, he had to be about 10 years old :twitch:

Anyway that Arika heartbeat seems to be something more and I don't think it is related to Mashiro or Nina... Rather it seems that the harmonium and/or the star are calling her...

Agree, it's possibly something like that. The heartbeat thing doesn't seem to involve any emotions whatsoever, besides Arika's confusion. If it was love for Sergay, she should at least blush or feel some pain (heartache) or something. Same thing if Mashiro is in danger. Wouldn't she feel "Shit! Mashiro is in danger!" rather than "???" if that were the case? An instrument or a celestial body trying to speak to you, now that would at least trigger a "???"-reaction from me. ;)

And about Arika's birthday... I don't think it's strange Sergay know it. He seems to think she's Rena's child, and since we know how Sergay felt towards Rena, it's not that unbelievable he knows when she had a child. Especially if her having a child is connected to her losing her otome powers. What surprises me more is that ARIKA knows her own birthday. Who is that obaachan person really!?

kari-no-sugata

2005-12-19, 08:36

Darn hackers. (sys-admin, please harden the box a bit this time). I decided to create a new user-name, though maybe I'll go back to using the old one if the users are recreated properly.

Anyway, my thoughts on ep 11 (and why are people discussing future eps, including titles, in *this* thread - there's other threads for that). Some of this has already been discussed, but here is what I was thinking before the forums came back:

1) Akira and Takumi both have *that* particular logo, which we also see on the fire Otome (ie Mai) in the OP. So obviously Takumi is from Akira's country too - it looks to be the country's symbol (particular since it's cliche old Japan style). I wonder why Takumi was in Wind Bloom before Akira arrived though? Anyway, it looks very likely that Mai will be from the same country. I'd imagine she's still Takumi's older sister too.

2) Akira is either being raised male, and is the real prince, or is a stand-in for the real prince. Given that Akira was a ninja before, maybe he's being a "kagemusha" (body double) for the real prince. I wouldn't be surprised to see Akira join Guarderobe later. Anyway, so if Akira isn't the real "prince", who is? Well, Takumi quite possibly. That's how these things probably go...

3) If Takumi is the real prince (good chance), and Mai's still his sister (good chance), then Mai would be a real princess. That also means she could be refered to / addressed as "Mai-hime" (princess Mai) :D

4) I hope Mai isn't the king's Otome though - ie Otome to her own father. That'd be creepy. It'd be better if Mai's a "Pillar" but on loan to the country for stability reasons (until the country gets another Otome).

PS Anyone notice that the dress Arika is wearing in the ep-12 preview is the same as the one Sergay sent her? (the pattern is the same anyway). Seeing her go bright red was interesting...

Also, in Sergay's diary, you see "Queen's birtday", Nina's birthday, and an ant :D

PastPrime

2005-12-19, 10:55

Or if Rena is still alive somewhere...

On another point... Since we know for a fact the "grandma" is dead, at least to Arika, who do you think she would be? A nobody? A former Otome who survived the last war like Maria? If a former Otome picked Arika up alone with her pendant, she would likely know who that pendant once belonged to.

It wouldn't surprise me if Rena did turn out to still be alive somewhere, in captivity. A bargining chip for when her daughter finally appears.

I think that Arika's grandmother was a former Otome. She might even be the one who killed Miss Maria's senpai.

PastPrime

2005-12-19, 11:14

And about Arika's birthday... I don't think it's strange Sergay know it. He seems to think she's Rena's child, and since we know how Sergay felt towards Rena, it's not that unbelievable he knows when she had a child. Especially if her having a child is connected to her losing her otome powers. What surprises me more is that ARIKA knows her own birthday. Who is that obaachan person really!?
I think that the raid was a planned for contingency and Arika's escape planned, including someone to pick her up from the stream. It may be that Arika, Mashiro, and Nina were really born on the same day and were all three in the castle when the raid happened. Sergey may have adopted Nina because he recognised her mother in her, just as he recognised Arika. Just because they only showed Arika's escape doesn't mean that it was the only one. And there had to be a big reason for the Black Valley and the Black Letter to join forces. Something like the three babies who would someday play the Harmonium being at the castle. And that would make it necessary to get all three to safety, not just the princess, since all three are required for the Harmonium.

Radiosity

2005-12-19, 11:27

3) If Takumi is the real prince

For some reason, I read that as "3) If Takumi is the real princess"

Made me chuckle :)

Starks

2005-12-19, 11:45

The shit will hit the proverbial fan soon enough...

Rakshasa

2005-12-19, 11:52

On another point... Since we know for a fact the "grandma" is dead, at least to Arika, who do you think she would be? A nobody? A former Otome who survived the last war like Maria? If a former Otome picked Arika up alone with her pendant, she would likely know who that pendant once belonged to.
Mai? *hides under a rock*

Obsidian penguin

2005-12-19, 12:13

About Arika, Nina and Mashiro's birthday :
September, and the precious stone associated with the month of September is Saphir (what a surprise).

But if you look at the other characters, using their Mai-HiME data, things don't match : Shizuru is born in December and amethyst is February's stone.
Things would match for Mai if her stone is a ruby.

Another comment : we can see that Mashiro and Mikoto have a common thing : they tend to forgot an essential principe : gravity (Ep 1 for Mashiro and 11 for Mikoto). Is Newton unknown on this planet ?

And more seriously, about the ending : we can see something in the cast. The only characters having their names written in Kanji are Takumi Tkiha and Akira Okuzaki, all the other are written in katakana.

Shigan

2005-12-19, 12:14

Or if Rena is still alive somewhere...

Nah... They won't use that soap-opera plot device, would they?

*Looks back at T3H AWESOME SENTAI MAHOU SHOUJO vs SAURON RESET that was Mai-Hime's ending*

Nah, they wouldn't :rolleyes:

Xellos-_^

2005-12-19, 12:29

It wouldn't surprise me if Rena did turn out to still be alive somewhere, in captivity. A bargining chip for when her daughter finally appears.

I think that Arika's grandmother was a former Otome. She might even be the one who killed Miss Maria's senpai.

It wouldn't suprise me either.
Remeber the old rule for writing. "If you don't see the body then they ain't dead."

Catgirls

2005-12-19, 13:28

Catgirls, one question. You wrote:

> However...I would like any speculation beyond the current episode to be
> enclosed in [spoiler] tags, and if you want to ramble on about ending theories,
> future episodes, etc., please post your thoughts in this thread: [My Otome]
> [SPOILERS] Future Episode Synopses/Series Predictions

Could you please elaborate on this a bit, and maybe rethink that?

One of the beauties about Mai Otome is that NOBODY has spoiler knowledge to distribute, with the sole exception of "next episode summaries" in Newtype. I could perfectly understand in demanding spoiler-tags for those, but when it comes about what you expect to happen next, simply extrapolating from what we just saw, is this really something to hide? I'd have said that this is what most of the discussion is all about? ^_^;Good point. I'll take that out of the thread rules. I'm flexible. I'm not here to inhibit conversation in any way. I'm a fan just like you.

I only ask that people with knowledge of future events use common sense and not spoil the show for others. If you have an idea and you think it might contain spoilers, use your best judgment.

On a side note: if anyone has any further questions or comments about the Thread Rules or Mod related activities, please don't post them in this thread. Feel free to send me a PM so that we don't derail the thread. My office door is always open. Thanks.

Cheers. :)

piccolo

2005-12-19, 13:52

It may be that Arika, Mashiro, and Nina were really born on the same day and were all three in the castle when the raid happened. Sergey may have adopted Nina because he recognised her mother in her, just as he recognised Arika. Just because they only showed Arika's escape doesn't mean that it was the only one. And there had to be a big reason for the Black Valley and the Black Letter to join forces. Something like the three babies who would someday play the Harmonium being at the castle. And that would make it necessary to get all three to safety, not just the princess, since all three are required for the Harmonium.
I completely agree with the Harmonium threesome. Perhaps Sergay heard her sing her lullaby?

However, this episode shows a little of what Nina remembers. And if she was born on castle-grounds, how then did she end up living on the streets - forgotten? I am not denying a threesome connection - for there is one - but wonder as to how Nina ended up on the streets and in the Hospital where Sergay found her nine years later. Just what happened in those nine years?

I don't expect an answer as I realize that there might not be one just yet - unless someone knows something about future episodes and wishes to place that in 'spoiler' tags. Either way, this is just food for thought. Something to think about.

Xellos-_^

2005-12-19, 14:17

Just realize something.

Althought just about everyone think Arika is Rena's daughter, yet no one made any mention that Arika could be the missing princess. So that would mean that Rena's daughter is NOT the princess. So the princess and Rena's daughter are 2 seperate person.

So if Arika is Rena's daughter then she can't be the princess. That just leaves Mashiro and Nina.

Also who is Arika's father?

- Rado before he was turn into a borg?
- Sergy the little pimp :twitch:

I don't which would distrube me more:

Rado to Arika, "I am your father and you are grounded." :heh:

or

Sergy who got Rena preggy at age 10 or 13 or what age he was back then :twitch:

Matrim

2005-12-19, 14:22

lone_wolf

2005-12-19, 14:23

Xellos-_^

2005-12-19, 14:54

Well, if they...

(spoiler tags just in case *sigh*)
...follow the route of the manga, then perhaps Rado could end up as her father. He seemed to be older that Midori and Youko in that picture so it's possible.

So does that make Midori her stepmother :eyespin:

But Sergei....nah....only an eleven year difference.

--Lone Wolf

And thats a problem :eyebrow: :p

PastPrime

2005-12-19, 14:55

I completely agree with the Harmonium threesome. Perhaps Sergay heard her sing her lullaby?

However, this episode shows a little of what Nina remembers. And if she was born on castle-grounds, how then did she end up living on the streets - forgotten? I am not denying a threesome connection - for there is one - but wonder as to how Nina ended up on the streets and in the Hospital where Sergay found her nine years later. Just what happened in those nine years?

I can't say how she ended up on the streets unless her pickup was missed or the person who picked her up died shortly afterward. But the flashback she had when she was drowning, when she first saw Arika, would seem to indicate that Rena may have put her in a capsule like Arika's. Given all the misdirection in these series, if Mashiro does turn out to be a fake princess then Nina will probably be the real one that everyone is hunting.

TBox

2005-12-19, 16:57

Being somewhat familiar with the joys of transliterating Mandarin, I was very suspicious of "Zipang." I find the "Zi" troubling. Given the very un-japanese -pang ending, I keep wanting to read it like Chinese, where the closest spellings in pinyin are zhi or zui... zhi sounds like "chi" and zui is like tsui in Mandarin, but Jackie Chan pronounces it chui (You pick this stuff up in strange places...) And the -i vowel is famous for its (Um, what do the experts call it?) palatalization in Japanese. ta, chi, tsu, te, to.... sa, shi, su, se, so. Just what katakana do you use to get a firm Zi, anyways? My dictionary says it's じ, pronounced "ji"

And what is chipangu in Chinese? Japan. (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Japan)

In short, while it's obvious that Zipang is the japan-kagemusha, I think they're being pretty blatant with the naming convention.

It'd be like a British fantasy cartoon naming some kingdom Angleland. Not subtle at all.

It's not that I think anyone doesn't believe that Zipang is a japan-clone, it's that some people toss the name around like it was as vague as "Wind bloom," instead of a blatant self-insertion.

Am I making sense here? Is this so obvious that no one's felt the urge to mention it before? Then why do I get the impression some people haven't caught wind of it yet?

Kieli

2005-12-19, 18:15

Woooah, there's a lack of ShizNat under your name, I barely recognise you anymore! Hmmm that scene was structured kinda weird. Arika was genuinely happy for Nina, and I thought the sound was more from the pendant rather than her 'heart'. So yeah I'll happily go with the idea it may be about Mashiro. Or maybe even whoever gave her the pendant.
:eyebrow: I'm not sure I even know how to take that. I may be a ShizNat flag waver, but I CAN converse about other topics, you know. I might even go so far as to agree with your opinion about the pendant. It very well could be the pendant warning Arika about something. Guess we'll have to wait until Sunrise decides to throw us a bone on that one.

DeuceTrick

2005-12-19, 18:21

Am I making sense here? Is this so obvious that no one's felt the urge to mention it before? Then why do I get the impression some people haven't caught wind of it yet?

I thought it was pretty obvious, yeah. I'm not very well-versed on the particulars, but back during the Age of Exploitation... I mean Exploration, Portugal called the area "Zipang," which was a corruption of what the Chinese called it. No one at the time was very interested in what the natives had to say about this, so it evolved into the modern name, Japan.

DeuceTrick

2005-12-19, 18:24

:eyebrow: I'm not sure I even know how to take that. I may be a ShizNat flag waver, but I CAN converse about other topics, you know.

You have had that Shizuru/Natsuki icon for what seems like a very long time-- it's become a shorthand for recognizing you on these boards. I think that's all that was meant by the statement, so I'd hold off on getting offended for the moment. ;)

Kieli

2005-12-19, 18:26

You have had that Shizuru/Natsuki icon for what seems like a very long time-- it's become a shorthand for recognizing you on these boards. I think that's all that was meant by the statement, so I'd hold off on getting offended for the moment. ;)
Wasn't offended.....well yes I was a little but I was more, shall I say, concerned about being pigeonholed as a possible ShizNat psycho. Hmm...now that I think of it, that might not be half bad :D

kazekiri

2005-12-19, 18:26

Also who is Arika's father?

- Rado before he was turn into a borg?
- Sergy the little pimp :twitch: The first appears true in the manga, assuming Rad isn't lying. Ch. 19 features an attempt to get Arika to come to the Black Valley so it may be the case (though I should point out that Rena doesn't seem to exist in the manga). I don't know about Sergei though, he was pretty young back when Arika would have been born. It's always possible that the father is someone we've never heard of before.

ChainLegacy

2005-12-19, 21:20

Also, in Sergay's diary, you see "Queen's birtday", Nina's birthday, and an ant :D
Hahaha, I didn't notice that, I just watched it again, hilarious.

bluegarden

2005-12-19, 21:54

Crack theory:

-Arika is the missing princess, she has that jewel, that the baby princess was carrying.

-Nina is rena's daugther, you can see that in the flashback, of the episode in wich she almost drowned, she saw rena's face

-Mashiro is a fake princess

i agree with a theory that was posted before. The three babies were in the castle the night of the attack, because there are the chosen ones to play the sacred piano:p

Akuma-sama

2005-12-19, 22:10

Sakuya

2005-12-19, 22:23

WHO THE HELL IS ARIKA'S GRANDMOTHER DAMNIT! It would all be clear if that was explained...

Maybe they won't show her at all as was the case with Mikoto's grandfather in MH? Well, they did show him but I still don't get what he is and why he told Mikoto to do what she did. :heh:

USCPharmacist

2005-12-19, 22:39

I have a crazy theory, what if arika's memories are all fake? If people believe she is some kind of genetically engineer otome, then it is possible the creator send her to do some spy work on Garderobe. The Arika we know is just a surface personality that we be purged when the real Arika wakes up. I also think Miyu is link with Arika, cuz she mentioned she knew everything about Arika. Maybe that wasn't a figure of speech.

Then again maybe the floating baby touched the Secondary and splited into 3 person ehehhe, so Nina became Madlax, Mashiro became Margarite, and Arika became the doll:heh: :heh: :heh:

And I is the krazy mofo

Catgirls

2005-12-19, 22:41

I have a crazy theory, what if arika's memories are all fake? IHmmm...that's kind of an interesting thought.

*ponders*

kazekiri

2005-12-19, 23:24

...If Arika really is Rena's daughter as is constantly hinted, and her grandmother therefore Rena's mother (from whom Rena herself learned it?), then why do Nina and Arika know different verses? One thing to remember is that we have no evidence that baa-chan is really related to Arika. Remember that Arika doesn't know her mother's name. I imagine that if granny was really related to Arika, she'd have mentioned her daughter's name at some point. Actually, this just made me realize something. Garderobe must keep records of its members, right? Why doesn't Arika just ask who the Souten used to belong to? Natsuki and Shizuru know she's got it, if they don't know about Rena I'm sure sombody could look it up.

Kieli

2005-12-19, 23:31

I have a crazy theory, what if arika's memories are all fake? If people believe she is some kind of genetically engineer otome, then it is possible the creator send her to do some spy work on Garderobe. The Arika we know is just a surface personality that we be purged when the real Arika wakes up. I also think Miyu is link with Arika, cuz she mentioned she knew everything about Arika. Maybe that wasn't a figure of speech.
You're probably not too far off, knowing Sunrise.

Then again maybe the floating baby touched the Secondary and splited into 3 person ehehhe, so Nina became Madlax, Mashiro became Margarite, and Arika became the doll:heh: :heh: :heh:

And I is the krazy mofo
You've been taking that "Better Living Through Chemistry." mantra to heart again. :heh:

Akuma-sama

2005-12-19, 23:39

Actually, this just made me realize something. Garderobe must keep records of its members, right? Why doesn't Arika just ask who the Souten used to belong to? Natsuki and Shizuru know she's got it, if they don't know about Rena I'm sure sombody could look it up.

I'm fairly sure Arika wouldn't want to bother the school principal with her little needs, and I'm thinking that information isn't exactly easy to get.
Besides, FINDING her mother doesn't seem to be her priority at the moment; in episode 1, that was probably her goal, but right now she's dead set on becoming an Otome, so finding her mother is riding on the back seat.
I'm pretty sure the next time she'll see Rena's picture, she'll connect the dots, though; her Meister robes are the same, if pink, as Rena's.

And Pharmacist, sampling your goods is not good for you. :heh:

PastPrime

2005-12-20, 01:10

I'm fairly sure Arika wouldn't want to bother the school principal with her little needs, and I'm thinking that information isn't exactly easy to get.
Besides, FINDING her mother doesn't seem to be her priority at the moment; in episode 1, that was probably her goal, but right now she's dead set on becoming an Otome, so finding her mother is riding on the back seat.
I'm pretty sure the next time she'll see Rena's picture, she'll connect the dots, though; her Meister robes are the same, if pink, as Rena's.

I think she realized who Rena was the first time she saw the painting. She recognized the earring color. She will probably, at some point, ask Mashiro the name of the Otome in the painting.

piccolo

2005-12-20, 02:12

Wait a minute.
Mashiro, Arika and Nina all know different verses of the same song. We know that.
We know Arika learned it from her Grandmother. We know Mashiro probably learned it from one of her maids or something, and Nina from Sergei, who most likely learned it from Rena.

...If Arika really is Rena's daughter as is constantly hinted, and her grandmother therefore Rena's mother (from whom Rena herself learned it?), then why do Nina and Arika know different verses?

But if you think that Nina is Rena's daughter, Mashiro is the fake princess and Arika the real one, then Arika would know Mashiro's verse, as that's what her grandmother would have sung to her.
Here's my theory:

It is unnatural to learn different stanza to a lullaby, and not have them overlap. This was done on purpose. Put together, it is the song that makes the organ work. It is also the only guarantee that it must be them together, and no other.

Sergay did not teach Nina the lullaby. As he told Arika, he does not know the words. Plus a 9-year-old is not usually soothed by singing a lullaby to. Remember, Sergay has been with Nina for only six years.

Because I like Mashiro, I almost don't like the idea that she is not the real princess/queen. She may be the fake princess and left behind in the castle for others to find, like a decoy. Or she was left to be found so that people think she's not the real princess.

Personally, I don't know. But I do know that a thief and not the staff finding the real princess is suspicious. Whatever this thief was doing, if he ended up with a baby in his hands then what happened to the third baby?

I, too, think that there were three births that year at court.

And that there is yet some scandal to be uncovered.

Sian

2005-12-20, 03:44

Err..isn't it rather obvious that the real princess cannot be the daughter of Rena because Rena was not a Queen?;) So obviously anyone who thinks that Arika is Rena's daughter assumes that she cannot be the princess since the two things are contradictory.
As for her father, I think Arika is artificially created, who knows she might be Rena's clone or something like that. Although Rado being her father would be an interesting twist.

well ... to be a princess not both your parents need to be royal ... only one of them ... though then your a bastrad child ... but still ... you would be a princess if your dad was the king no matter if your mom was merried to him or not :) ... i still cling to my theory about that the queen was unable to get childen because of stess and then allow her otome to nulify the contact by getting a heir to the throne, which caused that she didn't have the stess anymore andgot pegent as well and she and the otome gave birth the same day ... and the Otome (Proberly Rena) got twins ... then Arika and Nina is Rena's daughters and Mashiro is the Queens daughter ... all three is princesses, and all is 'happy' ...
And then they filled a proficy of that 'if three princesses was born on the same day the organ would play' ... or something like that ... and therefore they seperated the kids and after that got attacked because black letter and black valley got a clue of what happened ...

Far fecthed yes ... but not complety unlogical :)

Boy Adoru

2005-12-20, 04:39

Sian

2005-12-20, 04:47

not from the same mother ... two of them is rena's childs and the 3rd are the queens ... and then they are scattered because of that they (king, queen and those close around them) know that they are the organ players and to keep them safe

and they aren't monozytgotic twins but dizygotic twins. ... which means that you don't have to look anywere near the other

Vallen Chaos Valiant

2005-12-20, 04:48

Are you saying that Nina, Arika, and Mashiro are triplets from the same mother and father? To confuse the viewership, they all got face surgery right after birth, after which they were scattered around the world? Mission accomplished, I'd say.

Well, the classic plot device to explain what happens would be "destiny".

Or to be even more clique, there would be a prophecy of some sort, saying that the chosen three shall one day gather and bring the human race back to greatness... or some other sort of gobbledygook.

If it's good enough for Scrapped Princess, it's good enough for Mai Otome, I say.

not from the same mother ... two of them is rena's childs and the 3rd are the queens ... and then they are scattered because of that they (king, queen and those close around them) know that they are the organ players and to keep them safe

and they aren't monozytgotic twins but dizygotic twins. ... which means that you don't have to look anywere near the other
In that case, doesn't it defeats the purpose of having Rena bearing the King's child, if the Queen is fertile?

And isn't it down right dangerous to sacrifice what is essentially the ARMY of the nation, as in the King's Otome's fighting ability, for a child? There would be other, just as trustworthy women in the court willing to perform this task who won't otherwise put the nation at risk.

To have a successor for the royal family is a matter of succession, but to lose an Otome as powerful as Rena is a matter of national security.

As such, the loss of Rena's fighting capability was almost certainly what caused Shwartz and Aswarld to attack their castle. I still fail to see what in the world would make a king decide losing his Otome's powers was anything but a bad idea.

Sian

2005-12-20, 04:59

In that case, doesn't it defeats the purpose of having Rena bearing the King's child, if the Queen is fertile?

well

which caused that she didn't have the stess anymore and got pregent as well

it is a semiknown fact that stress can make one unable to bear a child

Vallen Chaos Valiant

2005-12-20, 05:04

well

it is a semiknown fact that stress can make one unable to bear a child
As I edited in my comment above, trying to have a baby is one thing, but sacrificing an Otome's powers for it is no joke.

Sure, Rena might be a trust-worthy woman for this, but isn't there other women in the court they can trust? Remember, they would lose their main source of national defence for this... And they DID get invaded.

I do hope they didn't get themselves killed and gave much suffering to the others in the castle just because they want a baby bad enough to leave the nation defenceless... That would be down-right irresponsible for rulers to do such a thing.

Tempest35

2005-12-20, 07:10

Sian

2005-12-20, 07:20

$10k question ... why does Arika have the amulet that we see on the baby?

Vallen Chaos Valiant

2005-12-20, 07:40

Yes but let us remember that the rulers of these nations are still human, and human nature will do the most illogical things if they think that there's a good enough reason for it. ^^

And for some reason, I'm leaning towards Nina being the child that Rena sent off, only because it would throw everyone off. Her circumstances are not that different from Arika's as a whole and Nina has the image of Rena's shadowed face in her mind while Arika doesn't have a clue. That and other than using Sergey, what better way to mess with Nina's head than to reveal that 'that woman's daughter' is none other than herself? ^^
Well, if it comes to that, I would find it amusing if this is the case because :

If Nina is Sergay's biological daughter, she would get REALLY upset.

If Nina is not Sergay's biological daughter, and she tries to make a move on Sergay, would Sergay feel bad about it? Dating the daughter of the woman he loves would be... emotionally problematic for him, to say the least.

Yes but let us remember that the rulers of these nations are still human, and human nature will do the most illogical things if they think that there's a good enough reason for it. ^^
That is not the point; the point is there is no good reason for Rena to be the chosen bearer of the child, if all they wanted was a child fathered by the king.

Something like this has to be planned, and I could not be convinced that there would be any scenario that can make Rena the chosen bearer of the child. There is no way for Rena to be the only trust-worthy woman of the right physiology who is willing to perform this task. Why her? There is just no way she would be the one chosen.

ranchan13

2005-12-20, 10:40

$10k question ... why does Arika have the amulet that we see on the baby?The only viable reason, she was the baby placed in the river in the first episode. That doesn't mean she is the real princess however. She could still be Rena's daughter, given the Souten to mislead the attackers away from the Princess, who is likely either Mashiro or Nina.

Isn't it possible that Arika was always a stand in for the Princess?

PastPrime

2005-12-20, 11:07

Personally, I think that Arika's grandmother knew exactly who Arika was, and was telling her the truth when she said that her mother was an Otome. I think that means that she is Rena's daughter and not the Princess. However, it is possible that the Queen had also been an Otome. Gunderobe is in Windbloom. Maybe the eventual Queen and the Prince (at the time) had an "Akane - Kazu" type relationship and ended up eloping. Or, perhaps it was arranged that he marry her older sister and, due to unforseen events, she ended up fulfilling the contract. They made it look too much like Arika was the Princess, so she probably isn't. They made it look like Mashiro is not the real Princess, so she probably is. If not, then Nina would be the most likely candidate. By making it appear that Mashiro was a fake it would make her safe from further attacks, for a while at least. As for Arika's father. The apparent similarity between Sergey's feelings for Rena and Nina's feelings for Sergey gave me an idea. Perhaps, 14 years ago, Sergey's father held the post in Windbloom that Sergey now holds. He met, courted, and married the King's Otome. That would make Rena Sergey's stepmother and Arika his sister.

Retsoor

2005-12-20, 13:12

>> The only viable reason, she was the baby placed in the river in the first episode.

Wasn't that Nina? At least she hazily remembers Rena when she released the baby on the river. I'd say that makes her the princess. While it is likely there were two other girl-children that were sent away simultaneously, it is more probable that the royal offspring would be the charge of the royal Otome, even if a former one.

That'd give some interesting development between Artai (to which Nina is sworn) and Windbloom (to which Arika is sworn).

As to how Arika has the +5 Sapphire is anyone's guess. It is possible that Arika's supposed grandmother met the two children but Nina was later lost.

Xellos-_^

2005-12-20, 13:18

>> The only viable reason, she was the baby placed in the river in the first episode.

Wasn't that Nina? At least she hazily remembers Rena when she released the baby on the river. I'd say that makes her the princess. While it is likely there were two other girl-children that were sent away simultaneously, it is more probable that the royal offspring would be the charge of the royal Otome, even if a former one.

I don't think that was Rena. I think the person who Nina remembers have a different hair color then Rena and was wearing a different set of clothes then Rena did at the beginning of ep1.

Retsoor

2005-12-20, 13:34

>>I don't think that was Rena.

The clothes are slightly different, the white part on her chest is missing in Nina's memory, but since the clothes are otherwise identical I presume this is a mistake. Hair colour is hard to tell, but Nina's memory isn't exactly high in definition and the moon shadows Rena's head. There is also a darker patch in her hair that could be the hairband she was using. Circumstancial evidence aside, she looks just like Rena.

Preston

2005-12-20, 14:27

If Nina is not Sergay's biological daughter, and she tries to make a move on Sergay, would Sergay feel bad about it? Dating the daughter of the woman he loves would be... emotionally problematic for him, to say the least.

This, particularly, had me rolling my eyes. Sergei dating Nina is really not going to happen, he doesn't think of her as anything more than a daughter, and never will. We know this from episode 10 when Sergei remarks about Arika 'this girl is as young as Nina', which pretty much shows he is never going to think sexually about his adopted daughter. I also think that you've got the end of the stick when it comes to Nina's feelings for Sergei, but I will need further clarification from future episodes before making an argument of it. I also doubt she is Sergei's biological daughter, just, well, it wouldn't be a plot line that would be of an advantage to Sunrise to make.

That aside, a very interesting post was made earlier about who, logically, was who in the princess, Rena's daughter and ant queen department. Very interesting, some great insights there. That was the way I saw it, I always thought that Mashiro was probably the real princess just because Sunrise is making such a big deal of making her appear the fake. I also think Nina is Rena's daughter. Though I never, ever saw Arika as some kind of biologicaly engineered Alyssa decendant, more of another link in a chain. Her as Nina's 'twin' sister I consider a possibility, making her also Rena's daughter, however unlikely it may seem.

kazekiri

2005-12-20, 17:05

>> The only viable reason, she was the baby placed in the river in the first episode.

Wasn't that Nina?It's possible that Rena saw to getting both Arika and Nina out if that figure in the flashback was her. The idea that the baby we see in episode 1 is Nina is problematic for one really big reason: The baby had the Souten, in the present Arika's got it. I'm not sure how you could work that out without things getting really convoluted.

Tempest35

2005-12-20, 17:27

I know this gets away from the entire 'Princess' question but...Time for some questions about the guys (other than Sergey).

Will Takumi actually impress Mashiro enough that she begins to like him? Not 'suki suki' type like but as someone who doesn't toy around with her like Nagi does. I swear, Takumi has that 'total nice guy' bit down to a 't' and Nagi's just the opposite. ^^ They can have a lil fun with that - Mashiro trying to decide between the two - a Bad Boy vs Good Boy type thing. Of course, AKIRA might have something to do to help 'sway' her decision. ^^
Might Nagi actually feel threatened with his position with Mashiro to let a lil jealousy out?
Knowing him, he might pretend it all just to see what he can learn from her reaction... -_-

Qbi Sannin

2005-12-20, 18:15

Mebbe Rena gave Nina the jewel when she saved her...the crib turned over...which would explain her underwater dream. The jewel fell onto the bottom of the ocean and Arika's grandma picked it up or found it? Arika is Rena's daughter so when grandma found it she gave it to Arika. And Mashiro is...well I think she is the real princess. I guess I just want her to be.

killerdog

2005-12-20, 18:28

Can Any One Tell Me Where I Can Go To Download Episode 10 And 11 AND 12 Of Mia Otome I Really Want To See Them

piccolo

2005-12-20, 18:33

Great insights.

It's the reason I keep coming back to see what else has come about. One comment earlier on mentioned the girls being siblings. Half-sisters, of sorts. Never quite thought about that. Plausible, but not probable. After all there is mention of only ONE princess and not two or three. Sergay would've heard the rumours if there were more, and SUNRISE would've played with it by now.

No, at this point we truly don't know whether or not Mashira is real or not, and whether or not she is made to appear as a fake just to keep us guessing. But wouldn't it be interesting though, although highly unprobable, if Arika was the real princess and Mashiro the Otome's daughter, and that the sacrifice was made to keep the future of the kingdom intact? So Arika, the real princess, wishing to become an Otome, gives up her role as queen and lets Mashiro have it. Hmm... Perhaps I am opening a pandora's box here.

All speculation, this is.

piccolo

2005-12-20, 18:35

Can Any One Tell Me Where I Can Go To Download Episode 10 And 11 AND 12 Of Mia Otome I Really Want To See Them
Please do not ask for links on downloads in these forums. Read the forum rules first before submitting such questions. In the future, why don't you Google your query?

Catgirls

2005-12-20, 19:05

Can Any One Tell Me Where I Can Go To Download Episode 10 And 11 AND 12 Of Mia Otome I Really Want To See ThemYou can find the fan-subs of Episode 10 & 11 (along with 1-9) just off the main AnimeSuki (http://www.animesuki.com) web site:

- http://www.animesuki.com/series.php/686.html <-- AnimeSuki's BT index of Mai-Otome.

Episode #12 isn't out yet (fan-sub usually shows up on Saturday or Sunday) and please don't ask for the RAW. Thanks.

multani2842

2005-12-20, 19:13

Then about Takumi: don't you think that his knife is identical as Midori's saber. I mean they got both the same white color it's really strange. So perhaps he is part of her group or her relatives.

Akuma-sama

2005-12-20, 19:38

The main problem here is that we have two "missing" girls, and three candidates.
Seeing as Arika has the Souten no Seigyoku, there's very little doubt that Arika is the baby we see in episode 1. Whether she is Rena's daughter or the real princess is up for grabs.
Nina's flashback hints that she is the other missing girl. Still, it's a wonder she was abandonned to live in the streets of Altai; perhaps her equivalent of Arika's venerable, wise and idiom-rich grandmother died in the attack?

And Mashiro... many things seem to hint she's just a random girl picked from the streets, but!, the harmonium definitely needs the three of them, and obviously their verses of the song (I won't let myself believe the song isn't important).
Which brings me back to the song, as mentionned in my last post.
Someone, somewhere, learned the song from somewhere else than Windbloom castle and the people there. 'cuz there's 2 missing girls, 2 sources for the song that we know of, and 3 found girls and verses.
We're missing a puzzle piece here.

Edit:
Takumi and Mashiro will be... interesting. Aoi's reaction might be funny, too; remember her reaction to Takumi in MH? :p
Hn... Takumi+Mashiro+Nagi love triangle... if someone had told me I might be seeing this developping back in the MH days, I would have pointed them to the closest asylum. Or told them I have a nice tropical island near Ivujivik to sell them.

ranchan13

2005-12-20, 20:15

The main problem here is that we have two "missing" girls, and three candidates.
Seeing as Arika has the Souten no Seigyoku, there's very little doubt that Arika is the baby we see in episode 1. Whether she is Rena's daughter or the real princess is up for grabs.
Nina's flashback hints that she is the other missing girl. Still, it's a wonder she was abandonned to live in the streets of Altai; perhaps her equivalent of Arika's venerable, wise and idiom-rich grandmother died in the attack?

There is no doubt in my mind that Arika was indeed that baby in the first episode, and I like to believe you that Nina may be the real missing Princess, though that makes Mashiro an insignificant spec in the entire theme of things.

My theory is that Nina, as Princess was kept as the daughter of the Otome, Rena, Rena's daughter, likely Arika, was used as a stand in for the real Princess, so that if anything happened to her, the Princess would be safe.

After the castle was attacked, we learn that the Princess went missing, however, with 3 girls in the picture, some things don't add up. Mashiro, the Queen we know, was returned to the castle by a bandit after the Princess went missing. I have to wonder if perhaps this bandit found baby Nina and then in an attempt to control power in the kingdom, gave them Mashiro instead. This bandit may well have planned to one day show up with the real Princess, Nina, and use her to gain power, however he likely died and left Nina with nothing, leading to her being found by Sergei at age 9.

I dunno, just a theory

Kawakanai

2005-12-20, 20:46

Hi. First post. Ever.

A long time forum lurker though.

I was wondering what anybody thought of the homeless kid who lifted Nina's pendant? Think the kid might re-occur?

The reason I bring it up is Arika seemed pretty surprised that the kid outpaced her (much like Arika did to Nina in Episode One). Also, the kid seemed to have the same 'hairstyle' as Miyu's bird Allysa.

BTW, a lot of us usually don't have the time to post (during the semester), but I for one always came here for my Otome fix after watching the latest ep and wanted to say it was sorely missed when this hacker crap happened. I guess with the reset, I thought it might be time to contribute, though there are some pretty good speculations (the whole Arika/Nina/Maeshiro princess thing) so it can be intimidating to chime in. :cool:

multani2842

2005-12-20, 20:53

Quote:
i think that she realized that she has feelings for him, it was a jealous heartbeat, she saw him hugging nina

I disagree....her expression was not one of jealousy but confusion. I believe that Arika's pendant somehow links her Mashiro (if she is indeed destined to be Mashiro's Otome) and if Mashiro is even perceived to be in danger, I'm sure the pendant's function is to make her aware of it. They DO share a life bond now, after all, as their contract is still in place.

What about a 3 possibility: the pendant starts to remind his true master Nina.

Kieli

2005-12-20, 20:55

What about a 3 possibility: the pendant starts to remind his true master Nina.
Whoa, how would THAT work?? :twitch:

Maceart

2005-12-20, 21:00

I think the kid was there just as a filler to advance Nina's character development.

Anyways, I really hope Mai will come in around episode 13 or 14... c'mon, all the other characters from HiME already appeared.

Tempest35

2005-12-20, 22:59

Hnn, think Mai will show up once the true plot of Mai Otome surfaces - the one concerning the Dark Otome?

Probably will have to do with the info that John Smith lifted from Midori. Combining nano-tech with the Black Krystal's power to produce ... whoa, now that I think about it, that's kinda scary on its own. Someone who can summon the combined power of a Slave an Otome via nano-tech...
...Otome...Tomoe....0.o?

kazekiri

2005-12-20, 23:15

Hnn, think Mai will show up once the true plot of Mai Otome surfaces - the one concerning the Dark Otome?Well, we've already got Dark Lord of the Sith Reito so I suppose anything's possible...
Probably will have to do with the info that John Smith lifted from Midori. Combining nano-tech with the Black Krystal's power to produce ... whoa, now that I think about it, that's kinda scary on its own. Someone who can summon the combined power of a Slave an Otome via nano-tech...It's called manga Midori, she uses Gakutenou as an extra Robe
...Otome...Tomoe....0.o?Doesn't work in Japanese unless you chop the syllables up and rearrange them. I'm inclined to say it's a coincidence.

Kawakanai

2005-12-20, 23:28

Hnn, think Mai will show up once the true plot of Mai Otome surfaces - the one concerning the Dark Otome?

I've been wondering what the Mai in Mai Otome refers to with Mai nowhere in sight. I had thought it refers to the Meister status, but maybe it does refer to Mai. I mean, why didn't they name the series Arika Otome since the focus of the series appears to be on Arika this time? :heh:

If she does show up around ep 13 or 14 and the plot hits the fan, it would seem Sunrise is making Mai a harbinger of bad things in this series (whether or not she's the cause of it herself) to show up early in the 'second act' of the story.

Sakuya

2005-12-20, 23:31

I've been wondering what the Mai in Mai Otome refers to with Mai nowhere in sight. I had thought it refers to the Meister status, but maybe it does refer to Mai. I mean, why didn't they name the series Arika Otome since the focus of the series appears to be on Arika this time? :heh:

"Mai" can mean "dance". Otome's battling are referred to "mai-butou" which can mean something like "dance match" or in this case, the subs translates to "performance".

In Mai HiME, the title is a pun where Mai is the main character's name and it also means "Dancing Princess" because "hime" means "princess". As to why it's a dancing princess, I don't understand. But Nagi does comment on Mai's "dancing" once in a while. :uhoh:

lone_wolf

2005-12-20, 23:35

Akuma-sama

2005-12-20, 23:55

So Mai Otome is Dancing Maiden.
...and Mai-3, Mai Obaba, is Dancing Grandma. Yup. :nodnod:

Kawakanai

2005-12-21, 00:21

"Mai" can mean "dance". Otome's battling are referred to "mai-butou" which can mean something like "dance match" or in this case, the subs translates to "performance".

In Mai HiME, the title is a pun where Mai is the main character's name and it also means "Dancing Princess" because "hime" means "princess". As to why it's a dancing princess, I don't understand. But Nagi does comment on Mai's "dancing" once in a while. :uhoh:

So is "Mai Otome" the 'Dancing Virgins'? :)

Perhaps there is a pun in the second series title as well with the 'Meister Dream' line in the OP song? Considering all of the double entendres in the previews for the next eps, the creators of the show must also be cheeky about the title of show.

Thanks for the info Sakuya. :cool:

EDIT: DOH!- Just realized that the title can also refer to 'dancing princesses', one of the main plots of the series: who is the real princess? And do they have to play musical chairs with that big organ in the basement to find out whose the real one?

piccolo

2005-12-21, 02:34

... there are some pretty good speculations (the whole Arika/Nina/Maeshiro princess thing) so it can be intimidating to chime in. :cool:
Please don't be intimidated and feel free to contribute. Singular points of views only create tunnel-vision. It's always good to hear from people who think differently and come up with alternate points of view, or additional info that we missed - even if they're wrong. Frankly, we might all be proven wrong at the end...

Boy Adoru

2005-12-21, 05:09

kazekiri

2005-12-21, 05:35

piccolo

2005-12-21, 15:12

Funny, nobody mentioned what I thought was obvious from the way the episode was cut at that moment. Arika's heart beat exactly when Akira and his ship arrived at the port and were ready to disembark. Arika's facial expression was one of surprise/confusion, so it didn't hurt her or anything, it was just something she noticed and couldn't make sense of.
I thought of that as well, but dismissed it as a bad cut within the Anime editing. I really could not find a reason why we should associate those two events together, unless her Pendant can somehow detect the presence of other Otomes. (I'm guessing that Akira is most likely an Otome for the prince seen talking to Mashira in the preview of ep 12. The reason I am stating this is that I am assuming that the flame triad symbol binds one to the other either in loyalty or vows.)

The reaction I connected with Mashira. But then the preview of ep 12 shows a healthy Mashira, so that may not be it either. Maybe the association was with Mashiro getting hit on the head, but the delay between that event and her pendant reacting makes me wonder. Or maybe it wasn't her pendant at all, but her heart, and that that is somehow connected to the contract. Didn't we hear a heartbeat?

On the other hand, maybe something happened to her gemstones. We really don't know yet whether or not they're in her pendant. We just all assume they are. Perhaps Miyu still has them. Either way, since they were removed, we never again saw a glimpse of her pendant.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Tempest35

2005-12-21, 16:41

In Mai HiME, the title is a pun where Mai is the main character's name and it also means "Dancing Princess" because "hime" means "princess". As to why it's a dancing princess, I don't understand. But Nagi does comment on Mai's "dancing" once in a while. :uhoh:

He most likely meant the fighting as 'dancing'. Still, kudos to the Sunrise staff for keeping that lil running theme going, even though it's pretty subtle - "Dancing" = "Fighting".

Ronin Aquila

2005-12-21, 19:27

Much like how Shizuru was complimented on "a fabulous dance" after she vanquished the slave in Episode 1 of Mai Otome. ;)

PastPrime

2005-12-22, 01:08

I thought of that as well, but dismissed it as a bad cut within the Anime editing. I really could not find a reason why we should associate those two events together, unless her Pendant can somehow detect the presence of other Otomes. (I'm guessing that Akira is most likely an Otome for the prince seen talking to Mashira in the preview of ep 12. The reason I am stating this is that I am assuming that the flame triad symbol binds one to the other either in loyalty or vows.)

I got the impression that it was connected with the "Prince" arriving too, especially since that was where they were supposed to be. I thought that it was some type of premonition. And given that Akira is about the same age as Arika and Mashiro the chance of her being an Otome is virtually zero.