Mai-Hime ep 25
How ironic that the ending we all desperately wanted should taste of ashes.
Natsuki and Shizuru, yes they did kiss, yes Natsuki did express her love for Shizuru, yes they did die (or rather, go sparkly) in each other’s arms… And yet, I found little joy in the situation.
Natsuki is straight; she made it clear that she did not feel that way for Shizuru. So in the end, you have a situation where Shizuru is still crazy and obssessed with Natsuki, and Natsuki is a loyal friend of Shizuru to the very end. I do not deny Natsuki’s sincerity of feeling, but the kiss and the expression of affection and love… if you take yuri-based pleasure in that, you’re reveling in nothing but “service” stemming from an unnatural situation.
Seriously, the above scene would not have happened if 1) Shizuru wasn’t a murderous rampaging rapacious obssessed psycho,; 2) they had to green-sparkle to save the world, and this was the only way to do Shizuru in; and 3) there’s no need to deal with the consequences of said event, since they are green-sparkled.
Get what I mean? It happened, because it had to happen that way. It didn’t happen for love or romance. I argue that this conclusion is far less a natural outshoot of the characters acting in character than it is simply scripwriters forcing the outcome.
That’s why I can’t take real pleasure in this. Then again, I suppose I would have been more upset if Natsuki didn’t accept Shizuru and Shizuru didn’t go out in peace. Ah well.
Dammit, we need a separate series for these two!!
“DURAN! LOAD SILVER CATRIDGE!!” Way to go Natsuki, you frickin’ rock!!! :D
4 Responses to “Mai-Hime ep 25”
Someone on animesuki forum said that somewhere in ep 25, she says to afro sensei that she can’t see herself loving anyone or having romantic feelings for anyone. I think that would make her asexual not straight but since u have already seen ep 25 u can tell me if she said it or not.
By mai hime fan on Mar 25, 2005
Well, it’s true that she told the Afro Dude, “I don’t ever want to experience (romantic) love!” which was in response to him telling her stuff like love is what keeps us going in life, and that even Shizuru did all that because, “She was in love with you.”
Later, she tells Shizuru that, “I am unable to have the feelings you would like from me.” So she never says she’s straight… but I can’t believe someone as compassionate as Natsuki would be asexual. Of course, you could argue that Shizuru’s obssessive love has traumatized the way Natsuki views romantic attachments, and she will never allow herself to fall in love.
It’s open to interpretation, but the way I see it there are a few possibilities:-
- Natsuki is asexual and will never love anyone
- Natsuki cannot love Shizuru back in a romantic or sexual sense, although she might be gay
- Natsuki cannot love Shizuru back, because she’s straight
Personally, I think it’s the third one, because when Natsuki said it, it gave the impression that she couldn’t ever love Shizuru that way… not that she couldn’t love her now (thereby keeping the possibility open that perhaps in the future she might).
By No Make Girl on Mar 25, 2005
I don’t think she will… cause it would be weird, after the whole “i can’t love u that way” if they ended up together but then why would they bother and do all those pics of them together and the omake (i think) of the 2 dvd with Shizuru telling how they met and how she fell in love, while everybody knows that Mai will end up with Tate (unless something happens to him or between both of them or if all MIP’s stay dead) and she rarely appears with him. The same with Akira and Takumi ( the diference is that they’re my 2º favourite couple in the series, so i hope that they get together in the end.
sorry for bothering u.
By mai hime fan on Mar 26, 2005
Hmm, personally I think it’s because Tate’s a putz and Shizuru and Natsuki rock, but that might be just me :D
But seriously, I agree that it would be very strange if Natsuki suddenly fell in love with Shizuru later. It’s too convenient, cheapens it I think.
The reason Shizuru and Natsuki got so much screen time, I think, is because Mai-HiME is centered around themes of love, and the writers wanted to develop the themes they represent (forbidden unrequited love and true friendship) properly. Since they were not straightforward, the setup was more difficult than, say, Mai and Tate who we could tell in about 10 seconds to be mutual but denied affection. As for Akira and Takumi, I think they were the most “normal” couple, and considering how not normal Akira’s situation was, that’s saying a lot about how twisted the patterns of “love” in Mai-HiME are!
I for one am glad for all the extra Shizuru and Natsuki material. The anime really didn’t do the back story and progression much justice, and I think the writers figured they had to fill in the gaps or we would all be scratching our heads and going, uh… so why are Shizuru and Natsuki friends, and why the heck is Shizuru so important to Natsuki anyway?
Or maybe the writers are also Shizuru and Natsuki fans too ^^
Ah, I could talk about these two forever, so it’s not a bother at all! Thanks for dropping by this page!
By No Make Girl on Mar 27, 2005