[Mai Otome] Episode 12 Discussion/Poll

[Matrim]

I don't think there will be an evil overlord this time. But even if such a person exists it won't be Sergey, IMO.
But I really hope it will be more of a faction struggle than a conflict between the good guys and the forces of evil.

[Akuma-sama]

I'M hoping it'll be a HiME-style battle between the good guys and the good guys
with 14 episodes to go, there's more than enough time to set the explosives (already started; look at Akane next episode!) and blow them up

[Ronin Aquila]

WHOA NELLY!! For a 14 year old girl like Mashiro to:

Spoiler:

Have S&M fantasies

.... you would be hard pressed to believe that she'll grow up to be a queen that won't be a sadistic tyrant.

[piccolo]

Originally Posted by Tempest35

Well, normally, Nina wouldn't hit anyone or be that familiar to anyone. Anyone BUT Arika. It must be for the tickling - I find that Nina's very prone to Arika's ticklies and pokes but Arika, likewise, is very prone to getting whacked by Nina.

It might be refreshing for Nina to be able to hit someone who annoys her since she IS Sergey's daughter. She's been prim and proper for 6 years now. Although she might abuse it once in a while... And if anyone can take Nina's hits, its Arika. It's not like Arika has the backing of some grand estate or country who'll go to war because of something like this occuring. ^^ At worse, she'll recieve a scolding from Sergey and that will be worse than dropping a nuke on her head...or tickling her.

I think it's kinda refreshing to see Nina pick up some of Arika's bad habits. To hit a royal princess? Not that Arika really is, but that is the impression to make. Hitting the 'queen' really does provide one with the wrong image, no matter how much Arika needed correction - for she does!

[piccolo]

By the way, I am sort of curious when the real action begins. We've had the tantalizing taste of Arika's power in ep 7 and prior, but since then... nothing! Blah! Her pendant hasn't reacted once, not even while she was drowning and Sergay has to haul her out of the water.

Spoiler:

I can't help but think that she no longer possesses the blue saphires. Partly because I don't believe she has the power to manipulate higher matter, like Miyu does, and therefore won't be able to replace the red stones in the earring with the stronger saphires. (She will need Miyu for that...)

The other reason is hypothetical. Once the pendant adopts an Otome, the stones can't be placed within again while that person is still an Otome. I don't think Miyu was able to place them within the pendant. But I could be wrong.

[asthalanthil]

Mixed feelings about Ep. 12... It was fun and got in some strong moral/political dilemmas but still left me wanting more. As if it couldn't decide whether to be fun or nostalgic or preachy, tried for all and bombed a little. But it gets a few pluses because we actually find out more about Mai.

I really liked it when Shizuru activated Arika's earring with sort of an encouraging grin in Ep. 12. She really is so much more defined in Otome than Hime. You see her mentoring and interacting with people other than Natsuki and seeing the little details that make characters interesting.

NATSUKI! Go do the same! There's mold growing on you, for goodness sake!

But I am rather concerned that she chose not to tell Natsuki that the 'prince' was actually a girl. She didn't choose to not tell it in a joking manner, she chose not to tell it with a rather serious expression on her face.

If they set her up to go rogue, I think I'll just cry But seriously, that pedestal they've got her on is just waaaaaaaay too high.

Nina being sadistic? Nah! I think the bashing was there for comic relief. That uppercut... da best! Disregarding the bashing, she was actually quite nice to Arika, a change from her cold speech. Brings to mind Erstin's comment that Nina is actually quite a nice person.

Can't wait for the next one... Who dareth to maketh holes in our Amethyst Goddess' hair??? DIE!!!

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by asthalanthil

!

But I am rather concerned that she chose not to tell Natsuki that the 'prince' was actually a girl. She didn't choose to not tell it in a joking manner, she chose not to tell it with a rather serious expression on her face.

If they set her up to go rogue, I think I'll just cry But seriously, that pedestal they've got her on is just waaaaaaaay too high.

I think it is just Shizuru wanting some quality time with the fake prince. That girn she had on when she saw through Akira's disguise should have told you that.

Edit: Could someone confirm this, i was re-watch Ep10 last night and at the end nagi was talking about his borther who married one of those nose girls. i assuming he meant a otome. So if Static-subs's translation is true Nagi has aolder brother who married a former Otome. Could this Otome be Mai

[Tempest35]

Goodness, I hope not. We have to find out just how old Nagi's brother is to speculate on that...Just for that I'm gonna rewatch it myself.

[Preston]

Originally Posted by asthalanthil

Nina being sadistic? Nah! I think the bashing was there for comic relief. That uppercut... da best! Disregarding the bashing, she was actually quite nice to Arika, a change from her cold speech. Brings to mind Erstin's comment that Nina is actually quite a nice person.

But the hitting.. uh.. sorry.. 'reminding' was being kind. Just think what Arika could have done without Nina's little hints to stay on course for impersonating Mashiro. God knows what Arika would have done had she been left to her own devices. And that bit at the end where Arika forgot to bow to Takumi and Arika, and Nina put her hand on Arika's head in an attempt to get her to bow was just.. cute.

The last few episodes have seen the start of an excellent friendship. One that will no doubt be torn apart in the final episodes of the series.. unless.. unless both of them get a reality check. For Arika, that dreams hardly ever come true, and stopping a war on ones own is about the most far-fetched thing ever. For Nina, that she really has no chance with Sergei (and hopefully realises she doesn't like him in that way either) and that following him and indirectly Nagi like a sheep isn't going to get her anything but dead.

[KoroshiyaX]

About the next ep preview, it would be pretty interesting if the person that offs Akane (should it happen, the white background is a big premonition already) turns out to be Miyu. I know she is acquainted with Arika, but perhaps she still has ulterior motives.

And it could happen if you think about it, who else would be able to stand up to 3 otomes at once. Plus it'd just be like Hime deja vu.

[Tempest35]

*chuckles* If her competition ends up being none other than the infamous Tokiha Mai herself, I think that Nina will have no choice BUT to accept defeat. ^^ Hrrrm, then again...this is Nina we're talking about...

I'm starting to think that the hitting is Nina's way of getting Arika back for the tickling. ^^ Also the way that her voice had that light banter tone when Arika collapsed onto the bed and the two were talking kinda cements the idea that Nina feels more comfortable with Arika than anyone else, despite the fact that she still thinks suspicious things of Arika whenever Sergey's involved. ^^

As for the women that Nagi mentions his brothers marrying at the end of Ep 10, I think its a referance to MH's First District old women that were running around. Well, anyone over 18 is 'old' to Nagi so...

[Shigan]

Also, I kinda doubt that Nagi's older brothers are still alive since he did mention to Sergey something about "taking care of them too". My my, did Sergey become Nagi's royal assassin to rise in the ranks me wonder? He did mention something to Arika about that "reality and ideals can be quite different".

[piccolo]

Originally Posted by Tempest35

... the way that her (edit: Nina's) voice had that light banter tone when Arika collapsed onto the bed and the two were talking kinda cements the idea that Nina feels more comfortable with Arika than anyone else...

I completely agree.

Arika is someone who accepts a person for who he or she is, no matter what the rank. In fact, she seems to be one of the few who see beyond the rank - intentionally or not - and treat the person as she would like to be treated. It is one of the reasons she can be so frank with Mashira, and Mashira keeps running to her when Arika screws up. It is also the reason why Nina is warming up to Arika and why her silence w.r.t. the agreement comes at such a cheap price. Definitely a friendship brewing...

[Mentar]

Friendship brewing? ^_^;

Let me put it this way, there's gonna be HELL to pay on the day Nina finds out that Sergey is Nina's sponsor. And let's not be fooling ourselves, the day WILL come.

Not to say you're wrong, they DO get along quite alright, but Nina's complex is a terrible weakness which will rear its ugly head to bite her. And Arika will be the one she will focus her hurt on.

[Preston]

Originally Posted by Tempest35

*chuckles* If her competition ends up being none other than the infamous Tokiha Mai herself, I think that Nina will have no choice BUT to accept defeat. ^^ Hrrrm, then again...this is Nina we're talking about...

I'm starting to think that the hitting is Nina's way of getting Arika back for the tickling. ^^ Also the way that her voice had that light banter tone when Arika collapsed onto the bed and the two were talking kinda cements the idea that Nina feels more comfortable with Arika than anyone else, despite the fact that she still thinks suspicious things of Arika whenever Sergey's involved. ^^

As for the women that Nagi mentions his brothers marrying at the end of Ep 10, I think its a referance to MH's First District old women that were running around. Well, anyone over 18 is 'old' to Nagi so...

Please don't think that I was showing bias towards Nina for getting the top position, whereas I would love to think that she could end at the top, Arika is far more likely to get there, perhaps simply because Sunrise has given her so much good luck and power, much misplaced in my opinion, and this seems to be there for the long run. Arika is just going to get better and better, even when she doesn't intend it.

Man, that hitting was intended as comic relief, you people are thinking too much of it. Arika isn't one to just take the punches for any reason, we know this, she stands up for herself and what she believes in, however ridiculous and unlikely it may be.

Speculation: Nina might get to position number two, but in her first battle in her.. uh.. meister robe (?) will go against Arika and get completely beaten. At this rate anyway, things might end up differently if she doesn't do as Artai wants (yes, I know it's a country, just using it as a general reference to Sergei, Nagi, and whoever else indirectly below).

Who knows if Mai will be the most powerful one out there, she was younger than Shizuru, and a coral when Shizuru was a pearl, so, if a balance is to be maintained, Shizuru must be more powerful, or at least equally powerful as Mai. Thats unless Mai has gone all dark side on us, and got herself a huge amount of power that is the 'get rich quick' package of the 'dark side'. If she did go and desert the Otomes, I expect she will have been picked up by either Shwartz or Aswald, unless there is another 3rd party out there that we have yet to encounter.

Originally Posted by piccolo

I completely agree.

Arika is someone who accepts a person for who he or she is, no matter what the rank. In fact, she seems to be one of the few who see beyond the rank - intentionally or not - and treat the person as she would like to be treated. It is one of the reasons she can be so frank with Mashira, and Mashira keeps running to her when Arika screws up. It is also the reason why Nina is warming up to Arika and why her silence w.r.t. the agreement comes at such a cheap price. Definitely a friendship brewing...

Or perhaps Arika just doesn't know better? Friends in such a competitive lifestyle are not just friends, but a way of reducing the competition. The more friends you have, the less the amount of people willing to take you on without a thought. Of course, Arika's more innocent method of thinking is better that this, but she isn't on the same wavelength as a lot of the other Otomes. Erstin is like her, but knows the reality. Arika wants to help people. She loves helping people. She sees Nina as a person that does need help, and she is quite right.

Arika is a good influence on people. Her attitude is one that people like Nina would really benefit from getting used to, and perhaps changing their own attitude slightly to match. I, however, don't think Arika intends to give half the help to, for example, Nina.

Let's face it, beforehand, Nina wasn't comfortable with anyone other than Sergei, and wasn't a very socialable or agreeable person. Stuck up might be the correct term. Being coral number one, and remaining in that position with ease, is going to make a person stuck up. And then Arika came along, and Nina hated her at first, which is what any person like Nina would have done. Then she started to get used to Arika, her tolerance levels certinely rose. She then started to like Arika, which is a pretty major step for the Nina of episode number one. (Quite ironically, I had a distinct dislike for Nina in the first episode, and saw far much more in Arika, even though I found her deadly annoying.)

Yes, I can see a friendship between those two in the future. Improvements to both Arika's and Nina's character could be made, and the other holds the key to the improvement the other has to make. Thats a fantastic base for a friendship.

Ok, and when you say 'Mashira', don't you mean 'Mashiro'? Unless there is a character I have missed out somewhere.. I mean, the 'a' and 'o' keys on a keyboard arn't exactly close to one another..

Originally Posted by Mentar

Friendship brewing? ^_^;

Let me put it this way, there's gonna be HELL to pay on the day Nina finds out that Sergey is Nina's sponsor. And let's not be fooling ourselves, the day WILL come.

Not to say you're wrong, they DO get along quite alright, but Nina's complex is a terrible weakness which will rear its ugly head to bite her. And Arika will be the one she will focus her hurt on.

I think Nina has a few theories about who exactly is Arika's sponsor. You can tell this from.. uh.. episode 11 was the birthday one, right? When Arika recieved all those presents, and was reading out the card, you could see Nina's mind at work just before she stormed out the room. I don't think there will be hell to pay when Nina gets definite proof. I think it will be more a selfish crying fit from Nina, some words she doesn't mean aimed at Arika, some pathetic punches perhaps, Arika feeling sorry and quilty, she hugs Nina, they collapse on the floor, Nina cries for a bit, but eventually she accepts she could never keep Sergei to herself. That moment will do her much more good than bad. I really can't imagine anyone holding a serious grudge against Arika, she is just too disgustingly likeable.

This complex is going to hurt Nina more than anyone else. She needs to deal with the fact she can't have Segei. She needs to categorize her feelings for him correctly, and she doesn't know how to do this at the moment. She can't tell the difference between intense admiration and love. We can see from the last few episodes that Nina's complex has taken a significant shot or two at the possibility of a good frendship between Nina and Arika, and the friendship just strengthed itself because of it. Nina let Arika comfort her, usually she would have taken the selfish route and gone and sulked in her room on her own. We saw some of that in episode 6 when she was told Erstin had performed CPR on her, and all Nina did was lie down and cry. It's moments like that that no matter how much you like a character, you hate them for that moment. I felt damn sorry for Erstin there, as you could see she noticed.

Whoa.. long post..

[Mentar]

Originally Posted by Preston

I think Nina has a few theories about who exactly is Arika's sponsor. You can tell this from.. uh.. episode 11 was the birthday one, right? When Arika recieved all those presents, and was reading out the card, you could see Nina's mind at work just before she stormed out the room.

Yes, but NOT because of the potential connection of Arika's benefactor. Rewatch the scene, the connection which freaked her out was that when she learned about Arika's birthday, she concluded that it was due to Sergey's infatuation with Rena that he chose Nina's birthday to be the same. All of this had nothing to do with "ojii-sama".

Nina shows no interest towards this anonymous guy yet. With her flaring jealousy towards Arika, you would expect her to monitor VERY closely what Arika receives from him, if she really suspected Sergey to be the benefactor. But she doesn't, not at all. Therefore, I do NOT see that Nina suspects Sergey to be behind the sponsorship. But I guess we'll see for sure when the news breaks to Nina.

I don't think there will be hell to pay when Nina gets definite proof. I think it will be more a selfish crying fit from Nina, some words she doesn't mean aimed at Arika, some pathetic punches perhaps, Arika feeling sorry and quilty, she hugs Nina, they collapse on the floor, Nina cries for a bit, but eventually she accepts she could never keep Sergei to herself. That moment will do her much more good than bad. I really can't imagine anyone holding a serious grudge against Arika, she is just too disgustingly likeable.

Okay, the bet is on . My prediction is that Nina will learn about this in the worst possible moment, and it will cause a _huge_ rift between her and Arika (who will be freaked aswell, though in a different way). I expect the show to at least temporarily pit Nina against Arika in bitter hostility from Nina's side. And the revelation will be the opening shot triggering the mess.

[Preston]

Originally Posted by Mentar

Yes, but NOT because of the potential connection of Arika's benefactor. Rewatch the scene, the connection which freaked her out was that when she learned about Arika's birthday, she concluded that it was due to Sergey's infatuation with Rena that he chose Nina's birthday to be the same. All of this had nothing to do with "ojii-sama".

Nina shows no interest towards this anonymous guy yet. With her flaring jealousy towards Arika, you would expect her to monitor VERY closely what Arika receives from him, if she really suspected Sergey to be the benefactor. But she doesn't, not at all. Therefore, I do NOT see that Nina suspects Sergey to be behind the sponsorship. But I guess we'll see for sure when the news breaks to Nina.

Oh, I picked up on that alright, I am not blind. I just find it likely that a suspicious person like Nina would pick up on Arika's benefactor being Sergei, or at least consider it.

Originally Posted by Mentar

Okay, the bet is on . My prediction is that Nina will learn about this in the worst possible moment, and it will cause a _huge_ rift between her and Arika (who will be freaked aswell, though in a different way). I expect the show to at least temporarily pit Nina against Arika in bitter hostility from Nina's side. And the revelation will be the opening shot triggering the mess.

Alright, I'm up for this bet, since in my mind its a given that I would win. I don't think it would create any sort of rift, since Arika is jut the kind to bridge them. Like I said, no one, no matter how set on it, could hold a grudge against Arika for long. I mean, she would probably make up for it unintentionaly anyway. I welcome the moment Nina recieves absolute proof. Contractictions, a huge rift is rarely temporary. I didn't quite catch the meaning of the last sentence, could you elaborate?

[Anime Adoru]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Could someone confirm this, i was re-watch Ep10 last night and at the end nagi was talking about his borther who married one of those nose girls. i assuming he meant a otome. So if Static-subs's translation is true Nagi has aolder brother who married a former Otome. Could this Otome be Mai

I somehow had missed that too from Doremi's translation and wondered over it when watching Static Sub's. I read it to mean these are just annoying wifes (in Nagi's opinion) and not Otomes. Probably playing some politics at home, making Nagi's life more difficult. Not sure this will play over into the main story here (though since it is brought into the story, it probably will :-) I doubt Mai has anything to do with it.

[Tempest35]

Ooooh, toughie, I don't know which side to bet on...yet. I'll decide after ep 13. If and when Nina does find out about Sergey's sponsorship of Arika, it's probably gonna be mulled over by the fact that Sergey admits to it himself. Won't stop the fact that Nina might want to fight Arika over it (one of those much needed head-clearing fights). Nina will have to come to grips with the fact that she does like Arika herself, despite wanting Sergey. ^^

[Matrim]

Like I said, no one, no matter how set on it, could hold a grudge against Arika for long.

I beg to differ. Character bashing aside, how about Tomoe or Shiho? They don't seem to be liking Arika more as time passes.