Archive for the ‘Mai-Otome’ Category
February 9, 2006 – 12:55 am
For some reason, domestication perhaps, these two weren’t terribly exciting in Mai Otome. Natsuki, the somber Headmaster of Garderobe, and Shizuru, her loyal second-in-command.
Then came ep 17, when the brown stuff hit the fan, we incur much destruction and, yes, death, betrayal, angst, fury, tragedy… blah blah… But you know, I only had eyes for Shizuru and Natsuki :D
Shizuru - cool and collected and competent as ever, she’s apparently an excellent fighter even without her robes. And dang, they stuck the good artist on her for this ep, she looked awesome oozing ultra kyoto style as she tells Natsuki to beat it while she handles the riffraff.
Natsuki - much talk, no action for 16 eps, and sadly not much here either (it’s hilarious to hear her complaining in the voice over for the ep 18 preview!). All the same, I really like this Natsuki a lot. Probably has to do with the fact that she’s no longer a 16-year-old kid with some messed up emotional baggage and attitude to match, heh.
In any case, these two rule, and have waaaaay too little screen time.
On a plot-related note, I guess the writers are trying to match the emotional whammy of Mai-HiME, but it’s not doing much for me. I was shocked when Kazu-kun bit the dust, flabberghasted when Mai’s Child went ballistic, and completely, completely postal when Shizuru pulled the nasty. I have no idea what it would take to equal that in Mai Otome. It’s just not quite serious enough, even when it’s being serious, if you know what I mean.
Enough, just give me more of Shizuru and Natsuki being cool.
Not too excited by Natsuki’s transformation, Shizuru’s “Materialize!” was much cooler :D
I want a poster of Shizuru…
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December 18, 2005 – 8:04 pm
Character roundup on Mai Otome! (up to ep 11)
First of all, it’s great to see all the old faces back. The cast is growing and growing by the episode, and while some - like John Smith - are pretty much the same, others - like Midori and Akira - are very different! Mai Otome, as an anime in and of itself, isn’t terribly appealing to me. I don’t much care for the plot nor for Arika as the lead (although she definitely wins over Mai… maybe). But, as a full-budget AU fan-anime, woo boy does it rock!
Anyway, the reason I’m writing this up is because, for some reason, in the preview of ep 12, Akira rocks! Midori’s kinda interesting as a whack Sentai ninja leader (so what’s the connection with Youko, eh? smirk, nudge), Shizuru kicks ass when she fights but is boring in her interaction with Natsuki, except for that teeny wheeny really hentai scene, Nao is awesome as the ultra competent bad girl. Wow, who woulda thunk…
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November 18, 2005 – 10:49 pm
Dude, last week I laughed my head off on the pure whacked hentai fan service, this week, I am in awe with the creators for making cutesy girls in battle as cool as transforming robots.
After all my previous bashing of Sunrise, I must grudgingly admit that these guys are damn fast learners. Or, you may simply attribute this to the power of the creators when they are finally given free reign with story and budget. In any case, brilliant episode. Great action, great character dev (I actually like Arika and Mashiro now!) and nice tidbits of Shizuru and Natsuki.
The best part must be Arika powering up in her Blue Sky Sapphire otome suit, and then materializing a massive double-ended spear and launching a lightning attack complete with countdown sequence! Awesome, simply awesome! I loved the Masami Obari anime fight choreography of the 80’s, Detonator Orgun to be precise, and this just tickled my fancy just right. Good thing I don’t already have a predisposition for jailbait ala Arika, otherwise I would be head over heels after that fight!
Too much coolness, and just the right smidgeon of Natsuki/Shizuru domesticity, and some feelgood bonding with Arika and Mashiro. And, toss in Miyu’s cameo, dang, I think this is shaping up to be one of the better series in the last couple of years.
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