Mai-Hime music (Upd: TV anime “Mai-HiME” / “Mai-Otome” 20th anniversary event with YK & FJ & Hanae on Sept 20, 2025)

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CloisteredFlame said:
Well he did kiss Shiho, but that was all at her request and pudh. She was the aggressive, needy one.
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Riiiiiight, I think I remember now... If I remember correctly wheelchaired Shiho guilt tripped him into it or something. Not right, not okay. At least they are both underage in HiME (like I think the first years are 16yo? so that would make Shiho like 1-3 years younger?). I don't remember feeling the same ick like in certain scenes with Sergay here. Maybe I should rewatch My-HiME again too.
 
grunty said:
Riiiiiight, I think I remember now... If I remember correctly wheelchaired Shiho guilt tripped him into it or something. Not right, not okay. At least they are both underage in HiME. I don't remember feeling the same ick like in certain scenes with Sergay here. Maybe I should rewatch My-HiME again too.
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Yeah. The age difference went from maybe 4 years to maybe 20. 😅
 
CloisteredFlame said:
Yeah. The age difference went from maybe 4 years to maybe 20. 😅
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Checked wiki and Sergay is 25 apparently so that's like a 10+ year difference not 20. ;p

Also checked what was going on in My-HiME and Shiho was 2 years below at Fuka Academy. Tate being a 1st year in High school and her being 2nd year (of 3) in Middle school.
 
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grunty said:
Checked wiki and Sergay is 25 apparently so that's like a 10+ year difference not 20. ;p

Also checked what was going on in My-HiME and Shiho was 2 years below at Fuka Academy. Tate being a 1st year in High school and her being 2nd year (of 3) in Middle school.
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That's good to know. So slightly less odd the second time round. The first time was because she called him "brother", which we later discovered wasn't the case. 😅

The shows like to play with with a bit of potential scandal then subvert
 
Yea, the obsessive "oniichan" thing from Shiho (they said they were childhood friends in the 1st episode already - I watched their introduction in My-HiME just now. XD) was probably weirder than whatever PG relationship they could've had. Anyyyyhuuu, enough with that. I'll be continuing Otome in a few moments.
 
Only on 13. Hopefully I'm done with it and the OVAs by the end of the week. XD

I actually don't think I ever watched the Kajiuraless prequel S.ifr. I have a vague memory of some skyscraper attack or whatever but that's about it.
 
CloisteredFlame said:
Good luck!

Which are those prequels? Kajiura-less?
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There were two OVA series released after My-Otome TV.

The sequel My-Otome Zwei and then later a prequel called My-Otome 0~S.ifr~. Zwei reuses Kajiura's TV soundtrack, S.ifr has a new composer.

PS. About to watch 16... I wanna say that's going to be the end of the current arc and if it is I'm calling it quits for today. The last few episodes were rough with the Sergay stuff.
 
grunty said:
There were two OVA series released after My-Otome TV.

The sequel My-Otome Zwei and then later a prequel called My-Otome 0~S.ifr~. Zwei reuses Kajiura's TV soundtrack, S.ifr has a new composer.

PS. About to watch 16... I wanna say that's going to be the end of the current arc and if it is I'm calling it quits for today. The last few episodes were rough with the Sergay stuff.
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See you at the end for a broad sweep overview!

In the meantime, I do feel the music was more integral and drove the story better in Otome than Hime.
 
CloisteredFlame said:
In the meantime, I do feel the music was more integral and drove the story better in Otome than Hime.
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Hmmmm. I don't know. (I'm only on #17 rewatch.)

I'd argue the My-Otome story itself maybe might be better (sans Sergay :|) and it has musical gimmicks with the lullaby that all protagonists somehow know and the Harmonium itself.
HiME was "merely" a Pokemon battle royale show with plenty of character drama and silly tokusatsu endings for every arc, this one has some serious real world stuff.

But would I agree the music drives (or is more intergral to) what's happening in My-Otome better? I don't know... What exactly does that mean?

When I hear Mezame I immediately have at least 5 shots from HiME in my head (dragon & fire & blood & losing-it-face). When I hear Himeboshi I have at least 2 (green fire & sparkles galore). When I hear Kokuyo no Kimi I have maybe 4 specific shots (sad rain & catfights)... When I hear Yamiyo no prologue I can hear the weird gill noises Kagutsuchi makes in my head... I really don't have much for Otome's soundtrack, even rewatching it right now... Edit: thinking about it, it really might only be MATERIALISE in the first episode that I have memories of.

To add: I love the My-Otome soundtrack, I just don't think there's much that my brain connects it with when it comes to the anime. But hey, if you or anyone else has a more visceral reaction to My-Otome music in the anime itself than me, that's fantastic.

And I'm also not yet done rewatching. XD
 
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grunty said:
Not sure if Midori is serious saying she's 17 or that she ages slowly
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I think she said she's unable to age due to the effect of the disease and the tech she's on.
grunty said:
Something went wrong with the casting here, how was it a good idea to have one actor voice two separate enemy Otome? Even if this fight was quick
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Yeah, I noticed that too. Strange...
grunty said:
But would I agree the music drives (or is more intergral to) what's happening in My-Otome better? I don't know... What exactly does that mean?
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Higher stakes, a more harrowing story. Too much repetition for me in Hime, in terms of where the tracks were placed some of the time.
grunty said:
HiME was "merely" a Pokemon battle royale show with plenty of character drama and silly tokusatsu endings for every arc, this one has some serious real world stuff.
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Yep!
 
CloisteredFlame said:
I think she said she's unable to age due to the effect of the disease and the tech she's on.
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Ya, few scenes later. I'm live blogging in that post. It's funny cause Yukari Tamura is one of the "forever 17" seiyuu.

CloisteredFlame said:
Higher stakes, a more harrowing story. Too much repetition for me in Hime, in terms of where the tracks were placed some of the time.
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Plenty of BGM repetition in Otome, too. Anyhow, happy for everyone that likes My-Otome more than I do. :D

I'm on #23 and I have no patience for Sergay or Nina. The entire Tomoe subplot is infuriating for going on this long. At least Arika and Mashiro seem to be progressing in these final episodes.
 
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Done. Over the top faservice aside, I think the show was great in the first half at setting up gloom and doom by keeping some politics in play and always reminding the Otomes of their actual role in this world but then the conflict aspect in 2nd half was kind of "eh". Apart from that, I loathe the Sergay, Nina (and Arika) dynamic. LOATHE. It's a much more prominent aspect of the show than I remembered.

I probably will rewatch Zwei just to remind myself if they are all really working to make the world "better" but ignore S.ifr again.
 
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grunty said:
but then the conflict aspect in 2nd half was kind of "eh"
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Yep. It got all messed up and lost the tension and sense of strength in the different factions. At the end it became a kind of Marvel Avengers spectacle and Nagi
grunty said:
I think the show was great in the first half at setting up gloom and doom by keeping some politics in play
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You really felt the factions were stronger at the start, but a stronger writer would have managed the 2nd half better to keep the stakes high. The tone shift with Mitoko (girl, not cat) and the Black Valley and other elements, affected the sense of intrigue. There were too many elements that just came out of the blue and a lot of things weren't explained sufficiently to give them weight when they came into play. Also, almost no known character died again.
grunty said:
I loathe the Sergay, Nina (and Arika) dynamic. LOATHE.
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Yeah... The story straddled the line, definitely, hinting and taking things to the line but always stopping short. Sergay stopped at the point of taking advantage of both of them even when they willingly offered, but the writer always let us assume that he had done it before subverting later.

Looking at the broader context, Nina and Arika were 15, right? So, just about to hit the age of consent in Japan. I could see that was why the "all-consuming first love" theme was so emphasized as a pivotal plot point for both of them and in the story (also reflected in Akane's desire to pursue her love instead of becoming a Meister).

Nina and Arika's love stories might be seen as a crush for a teacher or something (he served as a mentor to both of them) amped up to a 100% under dire circumstances. You can see that the 17-year-old Midori in comparison was always painted as a young adult.

Nina and Arika were beginning to realize their latent powers and destiny and coming to terms with their heritage (who their mothers/parents were). This was also juxtaposed with their friendships, self-actualization/selfishness, and so on.

Sergay wasn't really needed in the story except as a first-love interest and amplifying factor for their desires/powers. They both reached their full potential in part because of their intense focus on him.
 
I don't think there's anything you can say to make the Sergay thing less prominent in the show or less icky for me. :-P

Glad I rewatched the show 20years later. I don't think I will ever feel the need to do so again.
 
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