Mai-Hime or Mai-Otome, Which do you like more?

[Xuki]

Mai HiME was an awsome anime and when I heard about Mai Otome, I thought that the sequel wouldn't be as good as the first one. But after I've watched it, it totally turned my views around. So...I voted for both equally.

Spoiler:

I would've voted for Mai HiME if the ending was Mai x Reito

[astrallionheart]

Animeacademy reviews:

Mai Hime - 87%

http://www.animeacademy.com/finalrevdisplay.php?id=512

Mai Otome - 70%

http://www.animeacademy.com/finalrevdisplay.php?id=579

[X207]

mai hime was better.

[Hunter Nin.]

I voted for Otome... HiME was a better anime though; better production, designs, pacing and action but well I just never liked it that much. Otome on the other hand was just FUN! I never had that much fun watching HiME, it was just way too angsty and I never liked any of the characters in it. I just found myself thinking they were a bunch of idiots so it was no where near as enjoyable as Otome for me. I really hated Shizuru so much in HiME and if I was Natsuki I would have just wasted everyone from Searrs / First District right from the word go. Also, why didn't anyone just call his bluff and say "Fuck you! Let the world end then!" I mean if the world ends then surely that would be problematic for Nagi and the Obsidian Lord too right... They could've at least tried "Tell us everything you know about HiME and everything you're planning or we'll let the world end." Even if the result would just be that they'd get decieved again like the fools they are. I seriously wish Haruka was a HiME so she could've just told the Obsidian Lord to go fuck himself or something, and then went on to beat the crap out of Shizuru.

/rant haha I'm sorry about that

[Naked Fish]

Originally Posted by Hunter Nin.

"Fuck you! Let the world end then!" I mean if the world ends then surely that would be problematic for Nagi and the Obsidian Lord too right...

The Obsidian Lord is an evil spirit that just roams around as he pleases until he takes a vessel. I doubt that the destruction of the world would bother him as much as it would mortal people such as Mai and co.

I seriously wish Haruka was a HiME so she could've just told the Obsidian Lord to go fuck himself or something, and then went on to beat the crap out of Shizuru.

Psh, you did notice how Haruka stands for morals and justice, right? And that she's headstrong? Now why she may yell expletives at the Obsidian Lord (granted she even gets to meet him- only Nagi, Mashiro, Mikoto, Mai and Smith did. He's not exactly wandering around the school.), I doubt she'd just then leave the premesis. She'd take on him and Mikoto and then, if she's good enough to beat them, Miroku and OL the giant eye sword thing. Whatever the hell it was. Yeah, good luck with that.

One of the large points in HiME is that many of them were practically forced to fight through a series of well planned scenarios put in place years ago. Why does it matter anyway? They won in the end.

[Hunter Nin.]

What I was really getting at was that they were far from forced to fight considering the ones with the "real" power were the HiME as they held the fate of the world in their hands. Forget the expletives, those expletives were just representative of not conforming to the Obsidian Lord's plans which in my opinion they should have looked into in more detail before diving head first into a battle royale. The only reason they "won" was down to luck, love or something equally rediculous... Actually I think it was solely down to the Director... Either way, most of the HiME just got in the way by acting like a bunch of morons. That's just my opinion, maybe I should watch it again but I'm pretty sure the only ones who did something remotely constructive were Natsuki and that red haired teacher.

[Naked Fish]

Everybody acts like a moron when they've got power in their hands and their utterly pissed off. Finding long lost brothers, younger brothers dying, losing your eye unjustly, being ousted as a lesbian when you have such a high position- this may just make you a little emotional. I've never been smart when emotional, or clever. Just damn pissed off and irrational. Rage isn't rational at all, I don't think many of the HiME were thinking 'Hey, let's look into this OL guy, check out what it's all about'. And the one who was (Midori) just plainly had a crap Child. Too bad. She lost.

And maybe you should watch it again, because only a small few knew of the OL. Manipulation isn't just plainly obvious- otherwise the OL would've just walked up to them and yelled at them to kill each other. Repeatedly. With a megaphone.

On the other hand, some were just selfish and overreacting. Shiho for one was just a damn brat. Nao, I think, had reason to be pissed. I would be too. But it sure is stupid to attack Takumi- Mai had nothing to do with it. Like I said, when you're pissed you're not always rational, and some people (shiho) are never rational in the first place.

I understand how you found Otome more 'fun' than HiME, that's a matter of preference so there's no argument to make there. But this:

Originally Posted by Hunter Nin

The only reason they "won" was down to luck, love or something equally rediculous...

Even moreso the case in Otome. Nina wielded a giant tornado thing, flew into space (what was with that?) and then fought Arika who had only just gotten her new robe recently, and gave in due to love of friendship? And overcame the crazy Harmonium? Correct me if I'm wrong on this scene, my otome episodes are at a friends right now. But, for all this apparent "powah" the harmonium wielded, that sure was a weak fight to overcome it. And then a weird re-entry to the planet. That was ridiculous.

If you can't tell yet, I enjoyed HiME a lot more than Otome. I think I wrote something in this thread somewhere. For supposedly powerful Otome, we sure didn't get to see any good fights. What's the point of their powers if I don't see them in action against each other?

[Hunter Nin.]

Only a few knew about the Obsidian Lord but they all knew about Nagi... I mean surely some of them must have been curious as to who the hell he was. And you're right, not many of the HiME were thinking "Hey let's look into this OL guy, check out what it's all about." Which is my major gripe with the show, I think at the very least some of them should be thinking "Hey let's look into this Nagi guy, check out what it's all about."

Otome on the other hand was rediculous... every last scrap of it. It just never took itself too seriously so with Otome I can just brush things off and say well it was okay for them to do that because it looked cool or it was okay for them to do that because it was funny. I don't even think the creators took it seriously.

HiME on the other hand is much deeper and takes itself much more seriously so I will always find myself asking why!? WHY!? WHY?!

EDIT: To whomever gave me negative rep for this... No I wasn't dropped on my head... No I wasn't raped... And I don't see how my responses have been childish in the slightest. It's my opinion and if you have something to say about it then say it, that's what forums are all about. What you shouldn't do is insult me or my mother without offering anything constructive.

[Naked Fish]

Originally Posted by Hunter Nin

Otome on the other hand was rediculous... every last scrap of it. It just never took itself too seriously so with Otome I can just brush things off and say well it was okay for them to do that because it looked cool or it was okay for them to do that because it was funny. I don't even think the creators took it seriously.

But that's what I hated about it. Everytime it seemed to get serious, a joke would come along that I almost always found unfunny. It's not that I don't have a sense of humor, I just thought that by the later episodes the humor was innappropriate for the atmosphere they were IMO half-arsedly doing.
I didn't like the main characters, in fact I hated them all. And the plot never seemed to click with me. Either make a humor story or a drama story, but don't make a drama story suffer because you can't resist a few jokes. I think Mai, Mikoto and Natsuki were just better protagonists. Also, Nina had a blimp shaped head. There! I said it!

Uhm, negative rep? I didn't think your responses were childish. Negative rep for an opinion is what's childish.

[yellowkaiq]

hime was superb, and the opening and endings were masterfully done. The music all fit in pretty perfectly. I saw Otome only as a similar storyline, but I would've liked hime better no matter what.

Also, a lot more fanservice in hime

[ginseng]

Sorting the pecking order between these two series turned out to be much harder than what I first thought. In Mai-Hime the Hime tournament was of course the main attraction, but somehow it totally failed to overthrow that one series (=Battle Royale). The first and foremost change I'd do to it would be throwing away the middle part of the series and start the Hime fights as soon as character introductions were done. As what comes to Mai-Otome, in some ways I appreciated the setting and character relationships more - though the 'yuri-undertones' that were turned into 'yuri-smacked-in-the-face-with-a-fish-undertones' might have influenced this opinion.

I don't think I appreciated the ending in either story. A cop-out is what both of them left me feeling... Their high points were excellent directing and good sense of dramatic plotwriting (sans the decisions with the season endings) that unravels bit by bit. Lots of good cliffhangers too.

Usually I just quit watching a series after the first disappointing episode, but I guess both of them were good enough to watch through pretty much without pausing. Lets say the yuriyuri'ism and Arika's pigtails won the vote to Mai-Otome from me... Plus they had cuter school uniforms.

[Yui_Asakura]

As long as I see "Mai-HiME" (I left it on the 13 chapter), it was great specially for the music and for the characters. But I couldn't see it to the end for a simple reason: Tate Yuuichi. For me this is the worst character of the series because:

Spoiler:

I don't see a good reason for he takes on Mai as her girlfriend at the end of the story. It's just looks that he likes her simply by her breasts.

Probably I would prefer to leave only the girls as the main characters and taking off the males.

In the other hand "Mai-Otome" it's different. More childlish and funniest than the previous series. Of course it's not possible to surpass the great story of "Mai-Hime" but at least try to be entertainment.

[Yazakura]

[QUOTE=Hunter Nin.] Otome on the other hand was rediculous... every last scrap of it. I don't even think the creators took it seriously.
QUOTE]

Then why did they bother to animate it if they supposedly never took it seriously?

It's still easier for me to like both of them. 'Nuff said.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Hunter Nin.

Only a few knew about the Obsidian Lord but they all knew about Nagi... I mean surely some of them must have been curious as to who the hell he was. And you're right, not many of the HiME were thinking "Hey let's look into this OL guy, check out what it's all about." Which is my major gripe with the show, I think at the very least some of them should be thinking "Hey let's look into this Nagi guy, check out what it's all about."

Lets take a look at Each Hime and there reaction:

Nao - completely piss by losing her eye and she wasn't thinking straight to begin with.

Akane/Akira - Taken out early in the game

Natuski - She try to find out the secret behind everything had to deal with pyscho stalker Shizuru.

Shizuru - Didn't care about OL or Nagi to begin with. Her one and only tareget with Natuski and anyone who got in her way was toast.

Sister - Weak will, was control by the rapist teacher

Shiho - Didn't even know she was a Hime

Midori - Investigate and did find out the truth but was beaten before she could do anything.

Mikoto - completely under OL's control

Fumi - She knew the truth but beatn by Mikoto

Yukino - Too weak to have matter.

Mai - Too many things happent o her at once. Once she got her equalibrium back she did look into the OL and Nagi thing.

[Yazakura]

Originally Posted by Kleo Scanti

My vote goes to both.

HiME has better plot and is more emotional while Otome is more enjoyable to watch and made with better sense of humour.

Couldn't have said so better myself. It's always less stress on me to love both of them to death! If fact...I can't really decide which one I like better. ^^;

[Suzuka]

I adored both- Mai HiME had a more solid storyline, but Otome had WAY more rewatchability and entertainment.

So I like both equally

[Lost Angel]

My voice goes for Otome definitely. It had something that the broody Hime completely lacked - pure naiveté in a good sense. Characters in Otome are sincere and pleasant to watch, they are pure and yet the story is not too childish or lacking in being dramatic enough.
My Hime, however, is very "constructed", - leaves a much stronger soap opera feeling mixed with an ongoing impression that both girls and boys there have their ongoing menstrual period. Despite great drawing and music it fails to move one, does not offer solutions and does not pose situations that need to be resolved, instead giving a straightforward "go with the flow" development of the whole series. The characters just behave exactly like they would had they been really the celluloid dolls, which Nagi was bragging about.
I do realize this is largely my personal impression in words here rather than solid dissection of the series, but I do that enough in the university - with anime I prefer to enjoy what I see (even if it is a melancholic kind of pleasure). With Hime there isn't much to enjoy simply. Furthermore, for numerous problems there are no solutions or cathartic resolutions given. It would of course be highly naive of one to use anime as a source of wisdom for everyday problems solution as much as from a dating simulator game to be able to get a girlfriend... but it should debate and offer solutions to its microcosm, which one could take as useful metaphors. Otome does have it, Hime just has a bunch of frustrated teenagers with their love-u love-u problems, who for some reason are linked with a bunch of bio-mechas...
As for the endings - both are by far not perfect.
With Hime - pathetic "let's make it all work out... no matter how, let's just make it so it works out... screw any problem solving... just make some massive battle, some sort of end of the world thing and then just make it work out..."
With Otome, however, the ending is much more interesting - it is unsettling and leaves one with far more things to think about:
- Sergey's case, unlike many see it, is not such a flop - we do not know, how much he has recovered, will he ever remember anything, will he even be able to move by himself... Consider surviving a brain damage like that - you'll end up with more than amnesia, most likely. (of course it can be solved on a light-hearted note of Otome narative and he'll just get fixed somehow - it's a fairytale after all)
- Nina left with him. What will she do? How will she tell him of the past? It is clear that she has grown older, - so will she lie about who they are? Will she be tied for life to a half-brain dead person?.. In showing an "easy solution" authors exactly hint at how there is no easy solution to it in real life.
- Arika... Quite frustrating actually stupidly flying around, almost killing a crowd with that silly decoration "lol, omigosh, how funny"...
- Mashiro now really does think about the people, as you can see from the "castle decoration continued" mode of rule...
---
And think about the end of Hime, what questions is one left with? Will the Natsuki get laid with the lesbian one after all?.. Honestly consider, what anime leaves you with... Love-u, love-u...

So, both animes definitely have a lot of work put into them, yet the first one FOR ME fails in being enjoyable (on various levels) as well as does not offer anything useful to think over, despite being more "serious" compared to the series that followed.
Btw, I watched firstly 8 eps of Hime, then whole Otome, then the rest of Hime.
...
Registred on the forum specifically for this post.

[4ran]

I did not like Mai Otome at all, while Mai Hime is my favorite anime EVER ... I vote for my Hime.. I hope if a third season cms it won't be something like mai Otome.

[Moonshine]

Both equally, I say. Each was uniquely different, and both had great and poor aspects. Just depends on what you're looking for, really.

[Skyfall]

ARGH i had just spent 20 minutes typing and in the end my net spew out an error and i lost everything i had written down. OMGWTFBBQZOMGLOL$^%%$#......

In short: Hime takes the cake. Otome could have been better but failed. It suffered from paceing problems. If it would have been 36 episodes it could have surpased Hime. Somewhat lack of action in this essentially magical girl show. Lack of romance (personal preference, doesnt take anything away from the show). Tho they allready lacked time to put down everything they needed so i can understand the introduction of the plot device "Otome loses her power if she has sex" to avoid any ample amount of romance.

Endidngs sucked for both series. Hime ending was lame and completely ruined the feel series had created. A happy end for the sake of having one. Lets just bring everybody back makeing all the drama meaningless and everyone is happy go lucky. Tate gaining swordsmanship skill nearly on the level of our local demon lord didnt help either.

Otome end is as overly cliched and predictable as humanly possible. Complete lack of tension during the final battles. Heck, lack of said battles Failed to get me attached to characters and failed to make me feel sad where i was suposed to feel saad. Anything remotely sad was Ers death and Nina reading the letter she left behind. Why didnt they send in Miyu to beat the crap out of anything that came their way is beyound me. Tomoe surviveing a couple of hundred meter fall and crash in to a building = LOL.

Thats it, im pissed atm from losing 20 minutes worth of typing and i have no motivation to re-type everything i did.... all in all Hime was better despite the utter BS of an ending. otome could have been better if it would have been 36 episodes long. Final arc was rushed as hell.