Retsgip’s Anime Blog

- Ratings -

Mai-Hime: 9.1/10

Mai-Otome: 8.9/10 (was close)

First, I’d like to mention that both Mai-Hime and Mai-Otome were entertaining and both pretty well made. They were both filled with action, romance, comedy, and a rather unique plot. I enjoyed watching both series and recommend everyone watch them both at least once.

As for which one I liked more, I’d have to say Mai-Hime. I’ll go over a little bit why in my pros and cons of each series.

- Mai-Hime -

Pros:

Characters. I really enjoyed every single character (maybe besides Shiro) in this series, my favorite of course being Natsuki. The thing I enjoyed most about the characters is that they all changed in some way throughout the series. This was due mainly to the fact that their loved ones started dying, but it still showed character development and that’s what I noticed most. You might ask, “How do they manage to develop nearly 30 characters in a 26 episode series?” and I wouldn’t really be able to tell you. I’d just tell you: “Watch at see for yourself.”

Music. There was a good all-around usage of music from my perspective. I love the theme songs for the major characters (Duran Shoukan kicks ass). A lot of songs were placed really well to give the scenes a memorable feeling to them. It was rather enjoyable in that aspect. I currently have most of the OST on my ipod, which I use to help me take naps between classes.

Atmosphere. God there was a beautiful atmosphere flying around in Mai-Hime. Once “shit hit-the-fan” I couldn’t get up from my chair until I finished the series (no food/sleep/bathroom breaks). There’s no way they could have done anything differently to make the atmosphere any better. The fact that you lost your loved one upon losing your child made for some pretty juicy drama. Most of the fighting was done at night or in the rain, creating a sort of gloomy environment to accent the depressing feeling. And every time someone lost, you felt like your heart was being ripped out in front of you. It was amazing.

Cons:

Plot. I’ll admit that the plot was unique in its own way, but some of it was a little out of control. The very last episode, for example, was just too cheesy for me. After effectively killing everyone off and creating this beautifully dreadful atmosphere, they bring everyone back to life. Wtf?! Retarded! I’m sure I would have been disappointed if they didn’t go to such measures, but still I think it’s cheesy. I was reading around, and it seems the ending was hit or miss with a lot of people. I guess I’m sort of right in the middle. Also, the fact that Tate shows up right on time (somehow knows where Mai is) or is always around at certain times just makes it a little unbelievable. It’s the “small world” effect that anime usually portrays, making it seem like they live in a world with lots of coincidences. I just had a hard time stomaching it.

Favorite Mai-Hime Characters:

Natsuki:

Why did I(we) love Natsuki so much? It’s simple. She ride’s a motorcycle, has an attitude, wears these hot leather outfits, uses guns, has an awesome theme song, and is downright sexy. Did I miss anything? Some would probably add in the lesbian part around here, I guess that works too. I think I’m sort of into the confident/independent type, that done rely on anyone to help them do something with their life. I thank God every night that Natsuki was created in the anime world. (The picture above is one of my favorite scenes of Natsuki’s minus the hitchhiking scene)

Mai:

Mai was the tragic hero of the show. You kind of love her for who she is, but then hate her for her faults. The very first time I watched Mai-Hime awhile back, I didn’t like her at all. But when I re-watched the series so I could watch Mai-Otome, she was ranked way higher on my list. I think mostly, my heart went out to her every time she lost a friend or loved one. She had some crazy emo shots and seriously flipped her lid. I think she past the point of insanity a few times, making her that much more crazy to me. You were the “best dancer Mai”, without you the series would have been boring that’s for sure. Props. Mai wins the emo face award for this series.

Nao:

Oh Nao. If only a man could tame you, he’d probably be in heaven. Nao seems like the craziest character at first with her “no good” attitude and shady activities, but others like Mai and Shizuru leave her in the dust later on in the series. I did enjoy what she added to the series, always being the scapegoat for everyone’s feelings. You never really knew what her motive was or what side she was on until it happened. She’s kind of kinky too.

Shizuru:

She’s mysterious. You know something’s going on because she’s featured a lot, but you don’t really understand why until she reveals herself. You can kind of tell early on that she has a “thing” for Natsuki, which kind of makes you wonder how that came about or where it may lead. This question is answered at the end, in a big epic battle between her and Natsuki. I wonder if this pair was strong enough to be remembered for ages to come? We shall see. I think people just like the blatant lesbian-ness of it all. I also absolutely love her crazy robot mode. It’s kind of scary but at the same time, kind of badass. She gets the prize for the scariest character in the series. Grats Shizuru.

Random Easter Egg: The very last episode of Mai-Hime at the very end of the episode, you get to see Arika from Mai-Otome walking around. Intended? I’m pretty sure it is.

- Mai-Otome -

Pros:

Characters. If you loved the characters in Mai-Hime, you’ll most likely love them all over again in Mai-Otome. The way each person is portrayed reflects almost directly back to their personalities in Mai-Hime. At first I found it a little confusing but then I found it enjoyable to see them all in a different setting. They even beefed up a few of the characters, which was nice in its own way. Seeing as the characters were first developed in this series, I hold Mai-Hime responsible for all the character traits that are introduced. Although, we get to see a few new stars, which helped carry this anime out of mediocrity. Most of the new personalities that were introduced went well with the old ones.

Outfits. Okay, I’ll admit it. Their school uniforms are sexy, beyond any reasonable or legal means. I liked all the different levels of uniforms as well. They even wore the “classic” school swimsuit also. That whole pool scene was very…interesting to say the least. The only outfit I had a problem with was Arika’s materialized outfit. I didn’t like the pink and the design was just hideous, I was so damn happy when she finally “leveled up” to the blue outfit.

Shizuru pwnage. I guess Shizuru was a hit in Mai-Hime so they made her the main badass in this series. She’s got a good attitude, but for some reason I just never liked her a whole lot. I liked her when she was crazy though.

Lesson. I enjoyed the life lesson they tried to portray in this anime. Mai-Hime didn’t do a very good job of portraying any sort of lesson to be learned, but Mai-Otome was stressing friendship. Arika’s attitude towards everything was basically to be happy and make friends. Everything and anything can be solved without violence, through friendship.

Cons:

Plot. I think I enjoyed Mai-Hime’s plot more than Mai-Otome. Otome seemed totally outrageous in everything that happened. They tried a little too hard to write a mystery into the story, and there were way too man BIG coincidences. Minor coincidences like someone you like walking by while you’re undressing or something is fine (it’s all I could think of, gimmie a break), but like these huge plot coincidences I was never a fan of. The general idea behind it wasn’t bad, but I think they just went about it in the wrong way.

Music. Although I like the Materialize song, that was pretty much all I liked from the OST. I just didn’t feel like the music really connected with the artwork or the story as well as it could have. I never had any strong feelings towards any of the scenes, so I blame that mostly on the music.

Not enough Natsuki. C’mon, she barely did anything the whole series! So disappointing. At least work in the lesbian angle (even though that’s not the reason I like her) or SOMETHING. I needed more motorbike, sexy leather, guns, and flowing blue hair. Sigh.

Favorite Mai-Otome Characters:

Nina:

Nina was way too hot for her age. Natsuki at least looks older, but Nina was just pedophilia waiting to happen. Ask Sergay, he knows what’s up. But basically, Nina was like the Sasuke of this series, except in female form. That’s just hot. Plus she looks good in any outfit.

Arika:

I didn’t like her that much, but maybe it was just the way she was drawn. I’m not sure. She had a decent personality, kind of like Naruto in the way that she makes friends. I was waiting forever for her to finally do something (like in Naruto). I was getting some pretty bad flashbacks of Naruto fillers.

Haruka:

I enjoyed Haruka a lot more in Mai-Otome than I did in Mai-Hime. Maybe because they finally gave her an appropriate amount of screen time? I don’t know, but she definitely lightened up the series and made it a little more comedic. Arika wasn’t doing enough for me to find the anime funny, and Haruki did a good job making me laugh because of her attitude.

Miyu:

They made Miyu out to be badass again. I liked her outfit this time around though. Nice touch with the bird familiar and her clothes. She was like the Kakashi of this series. Pretty much just a badass character who helps save the world. Not much was wrong with her and I always enjoyed when she showed up in any scene.

Random Easter Egg: I liked the Natsuki remake of the “hitchhiker” scene(ep. 19 mai-otome). I laughed pretty hard when it happened again. Little things like that make you appreciate both series and the similarities between them.

- Final Thoughts on Both -

Overall, I think these two go together rather well. Definitely watch Mai-Hime before picking up Mai-Otome. They fluff out the original characters a lot better in Mai-Hime and it helps you appreciate their roles in Mai-Otome.

In terms of characters, it’ll be hard to find another anime that has anywhere near this amount of characters. I’ve never seen so many characters in my life that each have their own personality and mannerisms. The number of characters is what impressed me the most while watching both of these series. The good thing about Mai-Otome is that they have no need to develop the Mai-Hime characters, and can add even MORE characters to the list. It feels kind of like high school or something, where you know everyone.

When comparing the stories of both anime, I’d probably say Mai-Hime was better because it came first. Mai-Hime also seemed to have its own unique feel to it. If you noticed, I compared Mai-Otome characters with Naruto characters. This is because I felt like Mai-Otome took Naruto’s theme and ran with it. I actually enjoyed Mai-Otome a lot more than I enjoyed Naruto, but that’s probably because they did a better job fleshing out their characters.

I will admit though, Mai-Otome delivered a good amount of fanservice and chuckle moments. It was way more light hearted than Mai-Hime and felt like it had more “real life” situations also. In truth, I can’t really say which one I enjoyed more. If I wanted something a little more serioues, I’d watch Mai-Hime. If I wanted to watch a something a little more fun, with a little more fanservice and cutness, I’d watch Mai-Otome.

One thing I also noticed, which kind of disturbed me, is that nobody important dies. This goes for both animes. In Mai-Hime, everyone important got brought back to life. In Mai-Otome, pretty much nobody important dies in the end (Minor Exception: Erstin Ho who ends up being an enemy). Even Tamoe, who turns out to be rather a nuisance, didn’t even die. I think that’s stupid. Killing off characters isn’t a bad thing, in fact, I feel it makes for better anime.

I’ll definitely burn both of these animes onto DVD. They’re worth keeping and may well turn into classics for a certain group of people. I doubt either were watched as much as shows like Evangelion, but I know some people who really enjoyed both Mai-Hime and Mai-Otome. In the end, I enjoyed them both and had a fun time watching them both through the wee hours of the night.

-Retsgip