Mai-HiME 10th Anniversary Watch and Discuss

[Darthtabby]

Mai-HiME's 10th Anniversary is coming up, and what better way to celebrate it than by watching the series? In honor of the series' turning ten I am planning a weekly watch and discuss of each episode on the 10th anniversary of the date on which it originally aired. This event is meant for established fans and newcomers alike -if you know someone you think would like the series, invite them to join us!

***Important Note***: Because this event is meant for newcomers as well as established fans, all spoilers for episodes that this event has not yet covered should be hidden using spoiler tags.

Discussion for episode one will begin on September 30, 2014, with discussion for each of the following episodes beginning at one week intervals thereafter (except for a one week break in late December). For a more detailed listing of episodes and the dates for on which discussion for them will begin please see the schedule below.

Note: Discussion for each new episode will begin on the specified date at 12:00am, -5 GMT (Animesuki's default time zone).

Spoiler for Episode Schedule:

1st Cour

1) A Girl's Most Important Event 2014-09-30

2) After School Secrets? 2014-10-07

3) Dance of Flames/Star's Oath 2014-10-14

4) Mischief of the Wind 2014-10-21

5) Rain - Tears 2014-10-28

6) The Passionate Age of 17 2014-11-04

7) Lost Kittens 2014-11-11

8) Precious Thing 2014-11-18

9) The Sea, The Maidens, and Natsuki's Secret 2014-11-25

10) Cake Wars!!! 2014-12-02

11) Dance of Light and Darkness 2014-12-09

12) The Smile of an Angel 2014-12-16

13) Night of the Tamayura 2014-12-23


2nd Cour

14) The Targeted Academy 2015-01-06

15) A High School Girl Soars to the Heaves 2015-01-13

16) Parade 2015-01-20

17) Deceitful Lips 2015-01-27

18) The Beginning 2015-02-03

19) Labyrinth of the Heart 2015-02-10

20) Dance of Flames/Tears of Destiny 2015-02-17

21) The Obsidian Prince Awakens 2015-02-24

22) Collapse 2015-03-03

23) Love and Friendship, Heartlessness 2015-03-10

24) Love is a Battle 2015-03-17

25) The Moment of Destiny 2015-03-24

26) Shining Days 2015-03-31

[Darthtabby]

For those of you who haven't seen the series before, here's my attempt at a low spoilers plot summary.

Spoiler for Plot Summary:

Mai Tokiha is a first year high school student who has received a scholarship to attend a prestigious private academy on the Island of Fuka along with her sickly younger brother Takumi. While en route to the island, she helps save an unconscious girl clutching a large sword and witnesses a highly destructive battle between the girl she saved and a mysterious intruder, both of whom fight with strange powers. After arriving on Fuka Mai begins to learn the truth behind why she was brought to the island –she is a HiME, one of twelve girls who have been granted magical powers. Supposedly the HiME have been gathered on Fuka to fight monsters from another world called Orphans, but as one of the less trusting HiME opines, that probably isn't their real purpose. Unsure of whether to trust her benefactors but resolving to protect her brother and her new friends, Mai reluctantly takes up the fight. But does she really know what she’s getting herself into? And does she –or any of the other HiME- truly understand what it means when they’re told they must risk the one thing that’s most important to them?

[Wild Goose]

I always kept meaning to watch Mai-HiME and always keep forgetting and never getting round to it. Might as well. Count me in!

[Tak]

Its good to see people interested in Mai-Hime Count me in, as I will start to watch by next week.

I watched this gig so many times I can memorize almost all the lines

- Tak

[Falcor]

This gives me an excuse to finally watch the DVD set I purchased a few months ago.

[Tempest35]

It's been ten years...? Wow...I still have my original fansubs of the series. I'll break them out... FOR NOSTALGIA!

This might revive the MaixNat pairing in my head.

[Tak]

*Checking older posts*

Holy crap, I used to swim in this joint.

- - - - -

LOOPHOLE ABUSE AT ITS FINEST!

Spoiler for Official couple! Yum!:

- Tak

[Darthtabby]

Going by Animesuki’s default forum time of -5 GMT, it is now 12:00am on September 30th. Time to get this show on the road.

Episode One: “A Girl’s Most Important Event"

I’m not going to say a whole lot about this episode to begin with, as I prefer not to dictate what direction the discussion will take. I may have to provide more of a sense of direction in the future but my hope is that discussion can flow freely the way it does in threads for currently airing shows.

I do however want to share a quote about this episode from an English language interview that director Masakazu Ohara did for Wizard Magazine.

In Japan, there’s a genre of anime called bishojo, which revolves around beautiful young girls, and there’s always a demand for new stories. Right from the first episode, I wanted to shock the audience with dramatic effects that usually aren’t seen in bishojo anime. I wanted viewers to see it start and think “I have no idea how this is going to turn out.”

So yeah, this episode is intended to be a hook for the audience. It also introduces several important characters, most notably Mai herself. You don’t actually meet much of the show’s regular cast this episode (unless you count the flurry of brief cameos in the final scene), but many of the ones you do meet are pretty important.

Also, the preview at the end of this episode has some fun with the fact that the literal meaning of the term moe is "burning."

***Reminder***: If you are going to discuss events that happen in future episodes, use spoiler tags!

[Tak]

A Girl's Most Important Event 2014-09-30

Usually a girl's most important event has to do with relationships, but in this case... its getting to school. Go figure.

Spoiler for Tate, behaving in a very healthy manner.:

Spoiler for Yes, we all know what you were looking at. Very healthy, indeed!:

That bra is pink with laces, I can just see it!

Spoiler for A pair of .22lr pistols, are they supposed to be intimidating? :p:

Spoiler for A sword that cuts through anything and not a katana!:

Spoiler for This is the start of a beautiful relationship.:

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

the fact that the literal meaning of the term moe is "burning."

Not quite.

燃える: Is to burn.
萌える: Is to sprout.

They are both pronounced moe.ru

The common character used to describe moe in the anime fandom is the latter, 萌え moe, which literally means to sprout. How this came into existence is anyone's guess given no definite theory exists.

- Tak

[Darthtabby]

Heh, wish someone had corrected me on that earlier. But I take it the two words are pronounced the same way?

Any chance I could get you to put those images in spoiler tags? They're a little dominating as they are. I realize it's a less than ideal solution since we're also using the spoiler tags for actual spoilers, but using a spoiler tag and labelling as Episode 1 Screenshots (tag spoiler=Episode 1 Screenshots) is probably the best solution we've got.

Edit: Just realised we've actually got a separate "Images" tag for hiding batches of pictures.

[Tak]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

But I take it the two words are pronounced the same way?

Yesh.

- Tak

[Tempest35]

Ah, Tate, I've actually missed you. And I'd TOTALLY stare as well - I mean, Shiho can't provide that sort of service.

[Tak]

I think Shiho was made to be hated. She got worse in Otome.

Unfortunately for Tomokazu Seki, Tate's VA... he spilled the beans on Mai Hime, and lost himself a role in Otome...

How very sad

- Tak

[Tempest35]

I don't care what anyone says, Sergay = Tate but that's for another time.

About Shiho... she just wasn't cute - at least for me she wasn't. Still, so much nostalgia... #_#

[Tak]

She wasn't just unattractive, she was irritating and hateful in HiME, then got worse in Otome. I have to admit I wished her erasure many times.

- Tak

[Darthtabby]

Shiho definitely isn't one of my favorite characters, but I don't hate her. I can definitely see why she's one of the more disliked character in the show however.

It's interesting to note that Mai and Tate seemed to be off to a good start until Tate started gawking at Mai's wet t-shit clad chest.

Spoiler:

Given that Tate proves capable of keeping his hormones in check elsewhere in the series, the way the show uses that gawking moment to get him and Mai off on the wrong foot seems a little contrived.

Originally Posted by Tak

Unfortunately for Tomokazu Seki, Tate's VA... he spilled the beans on Mai Hime, and lost himself a role in Otome...

I've heard about that incident, but have never been able to find out precisely what happened.

[Tak]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

I've heard about that incident, but have never been able to find out precisely what happened.

Well, the most prevailing story was that he spoiled the ending on a certain popular Japanese community website...

- Tak

[Triple_R]

Watching Mai HiME again is interesting, partly since re-watching the show makes it stand out how much anime art styles and animation approaches have evolved since 2004. Just compare it to a recent Sunrise anime, like Love Live!, and the visual differences stand out dramatically.

That being said, Mai HiME doesn't look bad. It looks pretty good, really. And the more minimalist approach here perhaps helps the action scenes, as they were exciting and stylistically strong.

Mai comes across as an engaging character very quickly. She doesn't seem particularly eccentric, but nor is she dull, and so she makes for a solid lead character.

Natsuki and Mikoto also get good introductions here, ones that nicely compliment Mai's. Whereas it's easy to connect with Mai, who comes across as a relatively normal person here, it's also good to have the much more mysterious Natsuki and Mikoto. Their strange and unexplained conflict leaves the viewer very intrigued and wondering "What's going on?!". At least, that's how I remember feeling about this episode when I first watched it many years ago. Some of this charm is naturally lost since I now know how the story develops from here, but I can still see how this was a very effective first episode for first-time viewers.

Tate and Chiyo come off as an odd pair, but then that seems to be the point, and so I'm able to appreciate the humor in it. And while the personality clashing between Tate and Mai annoyed me a bit at first, near the end of the episode I was honestly starting to find it amusing. The show seems more self-aware to me this time than when I first watched the show. I think the writers know that Tate and Mai's mutually tsundere headbutting really is a bit much, and so they're intentionally having fun with it. Mai's line about her and Tate being even after she knocks him around a bit (due to Tate's "sexual harassment" earlier in the episode) came across as very self-aware to me, and I have to admit I chuckled at it.


All-in-all, a strong start. I'm looking forward to re-watching this show.

[Tempest35]

Yeah well..

I think Tate keeps his hormones in check better afterward was because of Mai's reaction to him. It was an honest slip, really.

[Darthtabby]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Tate and Chiyo come off as an odd pair, but then that seems to be the point, and so I'm able to appreciate the humor in it. And while the personality clashing between Tate and Mai annoyed me a bit at first, near the end of the episode I was honestly starting to find it amusing. The show seems more self-aware to me this time than when I first watched the show. I think the writers know that Tate and Mai's mutually tsundere headbutting really is a bit much, and so they're intentionally having fun with it. Mai's line about her and Tate being even after she knocks him around a bit (due to Tate's "sexual harassment" earlier in the episode) came across as very self-aware to me, and I have to admit I chuckled at it.

It's Shiho, not Chiyo. Chiyo is the girl from Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun.

Mai-HiME does have a tendency to take clichés and conventions and play around with them a bit although I don’t generally think of Mai and Tate’s interactions in this episode as being a prime example of that. Though it is interesting to note that Mai was blatantly using Tate’s “sexual harassment stunt” as an excuse to justify complaining about completely unrelated issues. (To be fair his earlier behaviour was probably part of the reason she was in a bad mood, so it probably indirectly contributed to her complaints.)

One thing I find interesting is that Mai didn’t hit Tate for his “sexual harassment” the way many tsunderes would. She did hit him multiple times, but I got the impression that was less because she was angry at him and more because he was unlucky enough to be right next to her when she came out of her daze and had a panic attack.

One thing I wonder is whether Tate thinks it was Mai who knocked him unconscious or whether he realized it was someone else.