(MH) Is Fumi an android?

[Tremalkinger]

This might seem like a random question, but it came up while discussing the long term plans in my fan fiction Shades of Gray with my beta, KiraDouji. I had always assumed that Fumi was an android of some sort, and Kira always thought she was a normal human.

The evidence for either argument is slim at best, because of how little screentime Fumi gets. On one hand, during the episode 'Cake Wars!', Fumi managed to catch all of the tea that Shiho spill back into the tea pot. This is clearly impossible for any normal person, but depending on your interpretation, that could mean that Fumi is either an android, or a really good maid. Also, after Mashiro is defeated, Fumi mindlessly serves Reito, her eyes colored with only a single gradiant. That effect is often used in anime for androids who are shut down, but is also used for people who are not in a good mental state.

I think that both interpretations are potentially valid, but I was wondering what the general consesus of the community was. Hence the poll.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Tremalkinger

This might seem like a random question, but it came up while discussing the long term plans in my fan fiction Shades of Gray with my beta, KiraDouji. I had always assumed that Fumi was an android of some sort, and Kira always thought she was a normal human.

The evidence for either argument is slim at best, because of how little screentime Fumi gets. On one hand, during the episode 'Cake Wars!', Fumi managed to catch all of the tea that Shiho spill back into the tea pot. This is clearly impossible for any normal person, but depending on your interpretation, that could mean that Fumi is either an android, or a really good maid. Also, after Mashiro is defeated, Fumi mindlessly serves Reito, her eyes colored with only a single gradiant. That effect is often used in anime for androids who are shut down, but is also used for people who are not in a good mental state.

I think that both interpretations are potentially valid, but I was wondering what the general consesus of the community was. Hence the poll.

Fumi is a Hime thats where she got her powers from. And she is well trin in combat as she had defeat midori before.

[SoldierOfDarkness]

She's human and a HIME. Her element is a Scythe and Mashiro is her CHILD. The evidence is right there, plain and simple.

[lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by Tremalkinger

Also, after Mashiro is defeated, Fumi mindlessly serves Reito, her eyes colored with only a single gradiant. That effect is often used in anime for androids who are shut down, but is also used for people who are not in a good mental state.

I'd have to go with the latter since Akane, Shizuru were seen in this particular state. Midori even had a small lapse while she was in her apartment staring at her TV right before Mashiro's spirit emerged.

Anyway, I back up the census and say that she's human.


--Lone Wolf

[Tatiana Razajev]

I agree with others that Fumi is definitely not an android for reasons already mentioned. Perhaps if this question was asked early enough, I would have said "maybe", but having seen the whole series I have to say no.

[kazekiri]

Nahh, she's human. Bear in mind that during the same scene we see Shizuru duck a stream of chocolate with her eyes closed. It's just a Hime thing.

[Sakuya]

MH Fumi is a just a human that's a HiME which explains the tea scene. When she became "android-like" in the latter episodes was definitely because Mashiro/Fumi got defeated by Mikoto/Reito. As a result, either:

- Fumi became like that because her Child, Mashiro, is defeated.
- She was brainwashed into serving the OL after being defeated.

[Matrim]

You do realise that the tea in that scene didn't exactly obey the laws of physics (all the fluid stayed together rather than flying in all kinds of directions, then it had the courtesy to fall down a lot later than the kettle) for comic effect? So we can't really conclude anything from it, apart from a personal opinion whether it was a fun scene or not. Mikoto jumps higher than a kangaroo, yet no one thinks she is an android. why should we single out Fumi's fast reactions?

[Lost]

Erm... I wish I didnt rashly poll Fumi as an android before reading your posts. Don't worry, Tremalkinger I too had always thought she was an Android. I suppose there was something stiff and unatural about her.. her hair? It never moved. (Then again neither does that of that Desperate Housewive, whats her name?) But faced with the plentitude of posts above suggesting otherwise, I'll say shes human too. Haha.

[felix]

Fumi was a Hime so she was human ... end of story

[KiraDouji]

Originally Posted by BlackCatXIII

Fumi was a Hime so she was human ... end of story

Devil's advocate. Does that make Alyssa not a human, or not a Hime or half not human and half not hime? I'm also powerfully curious as to who Fumi's MIP was.

- Kira

[felix]

Hime=human so Alissa=human thow half-human would be closer ...

Fumi's MIP was Mashiro ... when she got defeated only the pupet Mahiro remained (due to the fact it had nothing to do with the power of hime) ... obviosly Fumi went into shock after Mashiro went bye bye

[Lost]

Originally Posted by BlackCatXIII

Hime=human so Alissa=human thow half-human would be closer ...

Fumi's MIP was Mashiro ... when she got defeated only the pupet Mahiro remained (due to the fact it had nothing to do with the power of hime) ... obviosly Fumi went into shock after Mashiro went bye bye

Curious: If Mashiro went bye bye then how did she appear later? I dont remember seeing any pillar going up for both either. Forgive me if I'm wrong.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Lost

Curious: If Mashiro went bye bye then how did she appear later? I dont remember seeing any pillar going up for both either. Forgive me if I'm wrong.

Mashiro exists in two forms;
first, the Mashiro we see most of the time, which is a puppet possessed by Mashiro's spirit, and the spirit can become Fumi's Child.
second, the Mashiro flesh-body that was trapped in crystal since 300 years ago.

The first Mashiro was defeated as a child, so only Fumi's pillar rised up. Then Miyu dematerialised all the Pillars, so Mashiro-the-crystal was freed as well as the MIPs, and she used that chance to get all the Himes back and used them to destroy the Hime Star, which weakens Obsidian Lord enough for Mai to kill him.

[Tatiana Razajev]

Speaking of Mashiro, I consider the ghostly Mashiro that appears in front of all the HiME to be the MIP Mashiro herself. Using magical powers of whatever to be in multiple places at once.

[WhereAmI]

Originally Posted by Matrim

You do realise that the tea in that scene didn't exactly obey the laws of physics (all the fluid stayed together rather than flying in all kinds of directions, then it had the courtesy to fall down a lot later than the kettle) for comic effect? So we can't really conclude anything from it, apart from a personal opinion whether it was a fun scene or not. Mikoto jumps higher than a kangaroo, yet no one thinks she is an android. why should we single out Fumi's fast reactions?

Have to agree, I mean you are trying to tie it to "reality," which isn't possible, I mean that would mean you would have to question the whole premise of the story: girls given the special ability to "materialize" weapons from nowhere, and call on huge "mythical" beasts that do their bidding.

As for the whole tea thing, even though I can't name any off the top of my head, I could have sworn I have seen this "technique" used in other anime series.

Also given that Miyu was clearly presented as an android, I don't see the relevance in making Fumi an android, but not making clear to the audience. Also while Miyu's character needed to be an android, in order to make sense of her actions in the series, making Fumi an android would only confuse the Fumi (unless they changed the story to include some relevence to her being an android). I hope this paragraph makes sense (usually in my head it does, but when I put it in writing, that isn't always the case).

[Tremalkinger]

Originally Posted by Matrim

You do realise that the tea in that scene didn't exactly obey the laws of physics (all the fluid stayed together rather than flying in all kinds of directions, then it had the courtesy to fall down a lot later than the kettle) for comic effect? So we can't really conclude anything from it, apart from a personal opinion whether it was a fun scene or not. Mikoto jumps higher than a kangaroo, yet no one thinks she is an android. why should we single out Fumi's fast reactions?

Mikoto jumps high because she's feral and a good fighter. Mai summons a huge phoenix/whale because she's a HiME and the lead character. Fumi has fast reflexes because she's... ?

Your answer is either 'a really good maid', 'an android', or something I haven't thought of. But don't act like its cut and dry, because there's no proof that anyone can point to, as far as I know.

The most convincing argument for 'human' so far is that she was a HiME, so she must be human. I think that this argument holds some water, but isn't necessarily definate. I would have thought Miyu would be Alyssa's MIP, but instead it was Alyssa's father. This would seem to indicate to me that androids exist outside of the Festival, and can't be green misted. If that's the case, then its unlikely that androids can be HiME. But that's all speculation.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Tremalkinger

Mikoto jumps high because she's feral and a good fighter. Mai summons a huge phoenix/whale because she's a HiME and the lead character. Fumi has fast reflexes because she's... ?

Your answer is either 'a really good maid', 'an android', or something I haven't thought of. But don't act like its cut and dry, because there's no proof that anyone can point to, as far as I know.

The most convincing argument for 'human' so far is that she was a HiME, so she must be human. I think that this argument holds some water, but isn't necessarily definate. I would have thought Miyu would be Alyssa's MIP, but instead it was Alyssa's father. This would seem to indicate to me that androids exist outside of the Festival, and can't be green misted. If that's the case, then its unlikely that androids can be HiME. But that's all speculation.

If Fumi is an android, then there is no reason why she can't fight on her own without Mashiro. The fact that she was removed from the combat group as soon as Mashiro-Child was KOed, means she has far from superhuman abilities.

The tea-catching is a classic gag used in numerous animated and live-action shows. Fumi is a servant to a demi-goddess. She needs to know her craft well.

Anyway, you can believe Fumi is an android all you like. It's your right to believe what you want. But to convince others around you that Fumi is an android would need far more than just "she can be".

Absence of evidence is not proof. Fumi isn't more likely to be an android than any other backgroundless characters in Mai Hime.

[SoldierOfDarkness]

I believe at the end of 26 the subbers provided a biography of each character, it didn't list a blood type for Miyu (Gee I wonder why) but it listed one for Fumi so clearly she is human. Of course they could be making it up but they got all the stuff on there so I don't see how they could've made it all up (height, weight, everything). But if I'm wrong and they made it up do feel free to correct me.

I just don't see how the heck you've concluded Fumi is an andriod, it's just ridiculous.

[Matrim]

Apart from the obvious explanation - for comic effect, Fumi probably has fast reflexes for the simple reason of being a good fighter - she won against Midori after all. Which I think is just as good, if not better explanation than Mikoto jumping high because she is feral and good fighter - no one can jump that high in reality, while with the tea behaving as it did it seemed possible for someone to catch it without having superpowers.
And yes, the absence of evidence is not proof. You have to try to prove convincingly that Fumi is an android, not the other side in the argument to prove that she is not or that she is human. She is assumed to be human until proven otherwise.