10/10 Baka-Raptors agree... best couple ever
Since the recent Mai-HiME Blu-Rays were released to the world, I’ve been rewatching this classic (am I allowed to call it that yet?) series from 2004. Not to be confused with it’s vastly and increasingly inferior ‘sequels’, the original Mai-HiME still ranks as one of my favorite animes ever. Coupled with the DVD extras following each and every episode and a new director’s cut final episode, this was a pure joy to watch.
Although not as cute as almost everyone else in the show, you still gotta love Mai!
Produced by Sunrise (makers of Gundam) and set in modern day Japan, Mai-HiME centers upon the story of Tokiha Mai, a young high school student, who along with her sickly younger brother Takumi receive a scholarship to enter the prestigious Fuka Academy. While on their way to the school, Mai encounters two girls – Mikoto and Natsuki – who with their sword fighting and ‘load silver-cartridge’ using powers try hard to kill each other. It is then that Mai discovers that she has super powers of her own. Even from the first episode, the story starts off with a bang, and doesn’t let up until the finale.
Blending multiple genres including MAGIKAL GIRL, high school hijinks, drama, comedy, action, robots, student council goodness, and emo face distortions, Mai-HiME was one anime that did it all, and indeed paved the way for future genre-bending shows like Code Geass as well. The sheer number of intricate plot twists and conspiracies in the show made it one of the funnest shows around to follow. In fact it was the amazing blogging world interest in this show that was one of the biggest factors that really got me into blogging in the first place. I’ll never forget how closely everyone followed this show week by week. The weekly predictions were really fun to follow made the show even more enjoyable. This show was also notable for having an extremely accomplished cast and if nothing else it’s two main characters set us up for Strawberry Panic! which is always a blessing.
Ohhhhh Takumi, making fun of you was such a fun weekly sport
Mai-HiME has been remembered for many things – Takumi’s godawful clothing selections, the super ‘bright’ colour palette, the over-the-top characters, Shiznat, and one of the best mindf*ck plot twists of all time. Still, because so much depended on the plot twists and plot revelations I wasn’t so sure that I’d still enjoy this show on a re-watch. Not only that, but the HiME sequels (even with their vastly inferior storylines) had much prettier pictures and I wasn’t so sure I could go back to the original.
In the end I was not disappointed, but was in fact very happy to be once again reacquainted with this series. Perhaps one of the biggest ‘surprises’ for me, was realizing how little the entire Shiznat thing fared for most of the show. Perhaps it’s because of Mai-Otome which really pimped that to the max. There was something really great about seeing just how creepy that relationship was and seeing how absolutely and completely deranged Shizuru was. Not to mention a Maki-Maki-less Shiho who was much more of a real character that you could feel bad for was good. I also remember hating Takumi a lot more when I originally saw this show, but now that I know what ends up happening, I actually kind of cheered for the guy (ignoring his unfortunate clothing choices).
One of the more refreshing elements of this show was that even though it features mostly female leads, and does feature every single anime stereotype character in existence (boobs girl, glasses/quiet girl, tsundere girl, super student council president girl, etc), none of it was that over the top, but rather just served as a way to differentiate characters neatly and succintly. Seeing a show in the pre-Moeblob era is something I miss dearly as Mai-HiME reminded me with every episode I watched. As well, even though we had a lot of female leads and there was a good amount of fan service, the fact that the main character wasn’t that good looking (massive boobs aside) is also somewhat of a relief in a strange way. Tate Yuuichi, who seemed pretty useless the first time around, was also a character I really liked on this second viewing as well. In general, I just really liked how ‘realistic’ all of the characters were. From their personalities, to their motivations (even Shiho’s onii-chan complex had meaning), to their reactions to the evolving plotline and to how they dealt with their problems was just really, really well done.
As for the massive mid-show plot twist:
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Natsuki agrees... this show is #1!
Overall Mai-HiME was and is one of the most memorable shows I’ve ever seen. From beginning to end I was very entertained, and even though I knew how it was to play out, it still managed to surprise me in many ways and keep me on the edge of my seat. For that I have to say well done!
Two last things. When I originally saw the show, I was not so happy with the ending:
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The other of course was:
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Okay I lied… one final thing. While going through some old blog posts, I realized that both Kabitzin and Zyl posted on my first post about Mai-Otome 4 1/2 years ago… coincidence? I think not. Guess one cannot fight destiny after all.
This post was written by...
Epi – who has written 193 posts on Sea Slugs! Anime Blog.
As a huge fan of all things mecha, high school and tsundere, I've been writing for SSAB! since the summer of 2009, although my love of anime spreads through all genres. I'm not as witty as some, but I aim to bring comprehensive and well-written anime reviews out there for you all out there to enjoy!
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Here’s proof of Mai-HiME’s enduring legacy: for the past five years, my apartment’s wireless network has been named Duran. The passphrase is loadsilvercartridge.
The rewatch value of pre-rampage Shizuru is through the roof. Her expressions are priceless. The screenshot you posted above was something I totally didn’t pick up on during the first watch. Was there (serious) speculation as to Shizuru’s true nature while the series was airing? I didn’t watch the show until Otome started airing.
The screenshot I posted is actually from one of the later episodes (19 I think) when it is already somewhat clear about Shizuru’s intentions. I think back then, most of the early theories were on whether Takumi was gay or not rather than on our lovable student council president.
Personally Mai Hime is definitly over rated, the series sets some kind of record for forced plotlines.
The Himes unite during the sears arc? Several himes go insane for little reason, and the nun becomes a slave because she was raped.
How bad of a writer do you have to be to steal one of the most overused hentai plots just to move your plot forward? Also the ending is to put it bluntly the worst ending in the history of anime, never before has an ending been more out of place, never before has an ending pretty much just ignored everything that happened the last arc. I mean I can understand making things as you go along but to change the entire feel of the show at the last second?
Mai Hime is one of the few series where I felt the adaptation was better. The people’s behaviors are explained, the people who where evil don’t get a happy ending, and the feel of the show stays consistent.
When I originally saw the series, I believed that the ending completely ruined the show… but on second viewing it seems to fit in pretty well actually. Besides no ending is as bad as Evangelion episodes 25-26, or anything with the words Gundam SEED Destiny.
Gundam Seed Destiny didn’t become a different series during the last episode, it just had bad fight scenes, and a couple of stupid characters. It didn’t bring everyone who died back to life, nor did it ignore the actions the characters took since the hime fights began.
Hey, look, a blog dealing with how to kid yourself and alienate readers! How convenient!
I shall return for more of your witty insight!
Mai HiME is definitely one of the great anime classics. And in a way, I believe that it was one of the shows which really pushed the blogging world out into the open. The debates on the various blogs were raging to and fro with theories, predictions how things are going to turn out… it was great!
The real slap in the face was episode 8, when for the first time, a character died. I remember watching the screen flabbergasted with my mouth wide open. Hello? Wasn’t this a easygoing fun ecchi action comedy? And now they’re killing a (pleasant) character?
It deserves extra kudos for breaking several unwritten rules. For example by killing off Takumi, a character who – due to his relation to the lead, his sickness and his kind disposition – should have had an impenetrable plot armor. In the exceptional episode 20, which I would easily rate in the top 10 anime episodes ever, where really _everything_ went to hell in a big chain reaction.
I can understand why people were irritated about the total reset in ep26, but until then it was a wild ride. And lord knows how much I miss _original_ drama animes which are NOT mere reproductions of novels, mangas etc.
Episode 20 was definitely the best in the show. As I said further up, I personally really hated the ending when I first saw it, but on a second viewing it really does fit in quite well and I like it quite a bit. Seems like Kabitzin thought so too 5 years ago
http://www.seaslugteam.com/2005/06/07/mai-hime-review/
Not too many of us old-time bloggers/blog readers are still around, so good to see someone else remembers those heady days Mentar!
Mai-HiME (or My-HiME if you so choose) is still one of my favourite series and also takes the prize for one of the best underwear focused episodes I’ve seen. That the sequels were so poor is monumentally disappointing, I’ll never find out if they ever linked Otome and S.iFR to HiME as I gave up at the end of Otome. Sad really when the end of HiME holds such promise with all of the fleeting glances of the star and the Obsidian Prince’s domicile.
The clincher for me however is the characters, the switch from younger (12-14) to an older cast (16-18) really allowed for a lot more development: Natsuki and Shizuru remain one of the best couples – same sex or otherwise – in anime; whereas Mai is a do-gooder without being preachy.
Solid stuff, may have to look out the Blu-Ray release, what sort of resolution are they? Standard 4:3 480p?
The screenshots above were from the Blu-Ray. 4:3 and 480p I guess. I don’t think it really needs to be any better, as the original wasn’t even that nicely animated anyway (vs. the super details seen in the Evangelion re-release a few years ago).
While I saw Otome Zwei, I couldn’t bring myself to finish SiFR because it was so ridiculously bad.
Omg omg! My heart skipped a beat, seeing a Mai-Hime post in 2010 sent me into a long mental nostalgia remembering all them facial distortions. Love this show, whenever I think of anime I think of Mai-Hime. It had impacted me so much in 2004 that afterward it started to be synonymous to anime. Lovely show. Waiting for a show of this caliber to happen, been waiting for a long time……
I have to agree, all the characters down-to-earth personalities really opened up the to show to a lot of people. Their feelings, movements and mannerisms were so subtle, it really made the roller coaster in the end that much more engaging. As Mentar has mentioned, episode 20 is an almighty beast. Wow the emotion Mai(and Mai Nakahara) showed in that episode was so raw so real so..heart-wrenching. I still have that episode on my drive, testimoney to how good the episode was. Ahhh whenever I get into a discussion of Mai-Hime I run my writing into a blob of nonsensical fanboy plundering!
I really like Mai-HiME, particularly because I liked Mai as a character and for the over the top plot twists.
Heh, you know Mai-Hime was a pretty good show when a post about it 5-1/2 years later still brings out trolls from the woodworks.
Anime classic? If Haruhi Suzumiya gets that moniker and it’s 2 years younger, then sure, why not? If we just treat those Otomes like some bizarro Sunrise-version Endless Eight, terrible mistakes soon to be forgotten in the mists of time, then we’re set.
Hahaha brings up the trolls and fanboys actually
If we were to focus on bad sequels though, it’d be much easier to just focus on Sunrise shows…
Gundam SEED Destiny, Code Geass Season 2… oh man Sunrise is so good at really bad sequels!
This show was waaay better the second time through precisely because you knew the overall plot. You only really get to understand the loads and loads of details and foreshadowing then. Episode 4 (I think? The one with Nao and Mikoto robbing people) has Midori spoil one of the big reveals but does it in such a way that you really don’t clue into exactly what she said until you see it again. Plus the added implication that she knew just about everything from the get-go makes you reevaluate her actions throughout the rest of the show.
And I loved Mai. She was so… normal. Her reactions (and breakdown) made so much sense.
Definitely an all-time favorite.
When I first saw My-HiME, I said it was “good”, but not “great”, because I felt let down by the ending, but so many years later, I’m prepared to have another look at that impression, because time has treated this anime well. Numerous other series have tried since, but there are only a handful that have managed to mix action, moe, melodrama and a rollercoaster plotline as well as My-HiME. In my weaker, more fanboy-ish moments, I almost consider the possibility of contemplating calling it “ground-breaking”.