Why do you like Mai Hime/Otome?

[NLTD]

I've lurked here for a while now, since before the hack, and I've been wondering what makes people like Mai Hime and Mai Otome?

I'm not sure why I like it myself, but something about it keeps me watching, and getting more involved with every episode. I only started watching Mai Hime after it was over, after somebody recommended it to me. I've never found anime particularly interesting, and only watched the a few episodes of odd series before loosing interest, but I've been following Mai Otome religiously.

As I said, just something I've been thinking about :P

[omegastar]

It's just plain different from other animes. You got action, love, drama, and shoujo-ai packed togheter, plus the designs are not your usual uber-cute character (Shakugan no Shana just pisses me off at the exaggerated designs).

[CaiSter21]

i think the main reason why ive been so addicted to the whole mai-hime/otome series is because of the cool costume designs.

[Lith Maethor]

in order of appearance (and significance)

mikoto, natsuki, nao, nagi

never tate or mai though... (in hime, i like sergay)

[ZeusIrae]

Just like omegastar,
I like the mix,there's action,drama,comody and .......shoujo-ai.Never underestimate the power of yuri
And i like the mechas.

[Ronin Aquila]

In no particular order

Kajiura Yuki's Music, Beautiful and Hot Leads, Ferocious Combat, Sympathetic and Heroic Characterisations, Comedy, Pathos, Heroism.

[xat]

The music // it's fun to make karaoke to the theme songs. Encoding each episode, while time consuming, is also pretty fun As for the content itself; the music, the ethos, and the cuteness :3

[Ek9]

Nothing beats the plucky hero with special powers.

Mai Hime had a good plot with almost no filler episodes. Death too, you can't beat the death of major characters. The music was also a major draw. Mai Hime clearly had a good writer who took the framework from the manga but, wasn't constained by it. The manga is a pale shadow of the anime.

Mai Otome is pretty weak in comparison. 15 episodes of filler before the plot really gets going. It's not bad, it just suffers in the comparison.

[JanthraX^]

it has that addictive effect, probably for the reasons already posted above but im too slow too realise it. I think the storyline is a draw too, twists and turns!

[Matrim]

I can't really explain why I like Mai HiME so much, I was pretty surprised myself. It's so addictive and I don't know why. Some likely reasons:
- Interesting plot with a lot of twists. Drama that actually managed to move me and make me sad.
- Humour. It made even arguably filler episodes like episode four or nine interesting.
- Lots of beautiful female characters who for a change don't spend their days fighting for the attention of one male character who happens to be a moron. OK, let me clarify - most of them do not spend their times like that but the exceptions just serve to prove the rule.
- Amazing music . In fact I started watching it because Yuki Kajiura composed the music and it seemed that I was right to do so.
- Using cliches in such a way that most of them didn't actually annoy me. In that respect it's very different than Otome.
- Interesting characters which developed a lot considering the limited time. Great voice-acting.
- Nice animation, notably the design of the characters and the Childs. And unlike Otome the clothes were not ridiculous.

[Mephisto2k]

I started watching mai-otome only because ive seen mai-hime and it was ok, nothing outrangeous but really ok.
At the beginning i thought it was some sort of childs comedy with lots of fanservice and childish characters in useless situations.
However now that I watched episode 16,17,18 it became one of my favourite ongoing series and i cant await to see how it goes on.
Theres so much awesome stuff going on.
So many wonderfull sad and dramatic turning points only in the end of episode 17. There are the conflicts between love and becoming meister otome; and the conflict the queen is going through, being hated by everyone because of her ignorance, blindness and selfishness; the conflict of the friends fighting each other; the conflict of the country being taken over; The destroyed robes, and just so many mistories and plottwists.
All in all mai-otome changed for the better with the recent episodes and became just awesome.

[Evan]

I watch mai hime n mai otome is purely because of the girls especially Natsuki-sama~

Haha,actually this is a very nice anime for fanboys like me.

And the OP n ED music are just too great.

[The Bloodlust Kid]

I manage to continue watching it because I thought it was funny.

Bonus points for the series not dragging too much with filler in between *coughnarutocough*

The music is pretty damn good too.

As for the characters, Haruka is the main reason why I want to see how the whole series goes.

[Yazakura]

Unpredictable plot! Always leaves me begging for more! Sweet music too!

[Tempest35]

I suppose that the appeal of Mai HiME was that it drew you into itself. It wasn't just one or two main characters that the story focused on but nearly twenty or so individuals that each got character development in meaningful ways that didn't slow down the main plot at all. Sure, it had Mai, Natsuki, and Mikoto as the main girls but the other HiME and even the regular students around Fuuka Gauken were not ignored.

At first it seemed as if the CHILD combat encounters were what was going to be the highlight of Mai HiME but it proved everyone deliciously wrong in that respect. Relationships between people of various backgrounds and situations were the main focus and SUNRISE did a marvelous job in portraying and fleshing them out to where you actually cared about these girls as if you would your own friends.

Of course, the entire plot - sub-plots included - were drawn up and tied together beautifully. Hints thrown throughout the series were given closure and tied up neatly for the most part. It was a solidly written plot that ranks as one of MY top 5 plots in anime ever.

Of course, there's Yuki Kajiura...anyone who calls him or herself 'otaku' knows that Kajiura-sensei has a flavor and sound to her music that just meshes with the show and seems to amplify the scenes twice over. It's hard to imagine Mai HiME, or even Mai Otome for that matter, without Yuki Kajiura doing the sountracks.

Hee hee, and my favorite part - the CHILDS! Each one had their own personalities and quirks that made them enjoyable to watch in battle. C'mon, who didn't gasp when they saw Kagutsuchi emerging from the flames and then procced to nearly nuke the island with its own version of the Dragon Slave. That stamped Kagutsuchi as my favorite Child for all time right there.

Man, so many reasons, so little time. My stomach's growling so I better call quits right now.

[Abbott]

I started watching Otome because I really enjoyed Hime. I enjoyed it at first because it had characters I already knew in it, so it was easy to get into. But now I love it because of the story and the music. Very impressive on both accounts.

[IchiKyo]

Watched Mai HIME, Found The Terms of Mythologie very Good, found Yuki Kaijura like a goodness, Found Characters are very cute, found the Story Very Good
Watched Mai Otome, because i love Mai HIME... Even if i don't like very much the 14 episode (Except i love Irina apparition XD) , i being love watching them when 15 appears more good and now... Very Good.

[Presea]

I like Mai-hime and Mai-otome because of the drama and story. Also, the characters are well done, and the music is just beautiful *thanks yuki*

Anyways...the plot is always surprising as is the ending.
I remember the ending of Mai-hime...it looked like it would have a bad ending, but then...everything is ok luckily.

I still hope there is a major twist in Mai-otome...like...a living Aoi :P

[KanaKaishou]

Mai-Hime was fillerish for about 13-ish episodes, then got good
Mai Otome was fillerish for about 15 episodes, and 15+ have been excellent.

The "surprise" is what's important in both.

[djmaca]

Character Impact... especially the recently deceased Aoi.... can't wait for Mashiro to go mad and start to spill blood....