fabricatedlunatic said:
MercenaryRaiden, alone, bravely soldiering on to the end.
/salutes
I haven't joined in because I don't remember enough of the show and DAT ENDING meant I couldn't face going through it again, but I have been reading your thoughts and reliving the show that way. That gigantic arse ilmaestro has been sighted at Eurogamer, so I'll be sure to give him a virtual slap for abandoning his own simulwatch.
Haha thank you, to be fair despite all the early interest I'm not sure whether this was the best time for a simulwatch. I'm looking at my own schedule here and I take pretty much a month off combined, which is more than the total of the whole simulwatch. Obviously I didn't plan on becoming horrendously ill but I did plan on the work that knocked me out for about 2 weeks. That also affected me pretty badly, I noticed about 7 episodes ago that I was leaning more on just reporting on the episode itself and not putting in my opinion on anything. I enjoy these simulwatches as I'm not a great writer and I do like to challenge myself. But this time has been rather poor, all excuses aside.
I've been looking forward to rewatching the final episode because of
that ending. I did not enjoy it the first time around, although my views were a lot more rigid back then. I would quite like to jump straight into Mai Otome but...I don't know whether I'd want to do that, as I remember the quality of some elements of Otome being highly suspect compaired to HiME, and I'm also not sure if I'd want to simulwatch it, time commiting and opinion wise.
Plus I still haven't finished watching the Idolm@ster which is just ludicrous! And so, not holding anything back for this finale, without further ado...This is going to be a big post!
Episode 25 - The Moment of Destiny (
I think they spelt Deus Ex Machina wrong here. COUGH.)
One thing I forgot to mention in episode 24 is how forced I felt Tate's death was in regards to Mai. For me it was just one step too far. They were reconstructing Mai's character over the back of about 6 or 7 episodes and then throw it away again right before the penultimate episode. It felt like drama for drama's sake. Yes, I liked the way it was done but it just felt...Too much. (The more I read of that the more it doesn't make sense but...I can't put it into the words I really want to say.)
But I suppose that the strength of Mai to now push on and deal with that is what's being highlighted here. The talk between her and Natsuki on the school grounds, and at Mai's flat, also highlights to me how much Natsuki's character has grown, especially over the last few episodes. She understands and realises that she was pushing away the people that she cared most about. Her sacrifice against Shizuru was indeed brave and a good personification of that new attitude towards life. It's telling that throughout the last episode or two Natsuki has known that she wouldn't survive the fight with Shizuru, even if she won. The final scene with her and Shizuru was beautiful in it's own way and really well done.
I'm interested in that I don't have a high opinion of Mikoto. The things that she's done haven't been of her own volition, having been under the power of the Obsidian Prince, yet I can't bring myself to feel much sympathy for her. I want to say it's because her character wasn't shelled out that much, but it was. She's just a very...Plain and simple character. And whilst there are a lot like that in this series, thanks to its huge roster, I just feel that other characters stories are better - despite the fact that Mikoto's is more pivitol than most. I find myself appreciating her character more in this rewatch then I did during my first watch.
And slightly hypocritical here, despite the fact that I've laid blame to fast pacing over the past two episodes I have appreciated the build up that this episode provides. Before the first half we very clearly get the battle lines drawn for Natsuki vs Shizuru and Mai vs Mikoto. It reminds me of one of the first scenes in anime that I saw which has always stuck with me, Noir episode 25 where
Mirielle stands before the place that will become the battleground between her and her long time friend Kirika, with yet again Yuki Kaijura's brilliant soundtrack and an absolutely haunting vocal version of Canta Per Me, setting the scene for that episode ABSOLUTELY PERFECTLY.
And so Midori did not wipe Miyu's memory, trusting her completly. And despite the anime foreshadowing Mai vs Mikoto, it's actually Miyu vs Mikoto! But again, pacing issues cause me to question this! After that short opening fight the next thing we see is the raised pillar of Mikoto's defeat! Obviously this was debunked when Mikoto shows up towards the end. But this throws up so many questions, most importantly - who the blue bloody hells pillar IS that?! It feels forced for the sake of a conclusion that's, quite frankly, rushed and almost a debacle.
Don't get me wrong though, I still love this episode. The final one? Ehhhhhhhh.....
Episode 26 - Shining Days
Wild Mashiro appears! Mashiro uses Deus Ex Machina! It's super effective!!!
sigh. It STILL leaves a bitter taste, even now. Don't get me wrong, I still love this series to bits and I still feel like this was a good episode AT POINTS, but man. You just RETCON everything? That's just so...Ugh!
Alright let me try and get my reactions across a bit better, as the above reads like some kind of flame baiting that you'd expect on the internet. I'm not against a happy ending, far from it. I infact love it when the hero or similar protaganist suceeds from the throws of despair and saves the day. But lets take a look at something more modern, say
Gurren Lagann. Did they retcon episode 8 with
Kamina's death? Nope. They built up Simon because of it. They gave him a fleshed out story to carry on after that event. Even at the VERY END of the series where
Nia dies they don't retcon it. I know we're talking about two very different studio's and productions here but one feels like they knew what they wanted to achieve, where as the other studio it seems ran out of steam with their ideas and where they wanted to go. With Mai they set up a very similar situation in that two of her loved ones have died and that she is overcoming both of their deaths. And then they just make a method where everyone comes back to life and defeats the bad guy with the power of love.
I feel a bit annoyed with myself actually for making that comparison, because it doesn't feel that fair! I don't want to make it sound like I'm being overly negative towards this but that's the way it's coming out. I must admit that knowing what was coming probably prepared me a lot better for everyone's revival. I did feel that everyone's loved ones coming back was quite sweet, although counter balanced by everyone teaming up being ridiculously cheese. Mai's coming to terms with her feelings whilst fighting Mikoto was also well done, yet again it felt a bit forced to just shove it into a 24 minute block.
Still, as far as the actual episode goes it does do a lot of explaining. Alyssa's was the other pillar (Er...did...we not see only ONE pillar before the HiME festival began after Alyssa's death...?) and all of the bigging up of Tate's skills in Kendo was used in a cool effect, as he used Miyu's sword arm (...er...) to fight Reito. He did get to look pretty awesome at the same time. And so the spirit of the Obsidian Prince actually possessed the body of Mikoto's brother, obviously down to the work of Nagi. The design of the possessed Obsidian Palace was pretty cool, as has the design of all the childs really.
Although having everyone go against the HiME star set to that background music again? I don't know what it is but the two times that song is used I just cannot take things seriously! It is so...I don't even know! The apology from Shizuru was pretty funny though, although I still think that's also down to that music.
And to be fair, despite what I feel about the Deus Ex Machina, I did enjoy the final minutes going through everyone with their happy ending, even if it was a bit of an injoke! Kazu's glinting eyes and sparkling teeth were hilarious, as was the lovey dovey with Akane, Haruka passing down the gauntlet whilst still making simple pronunciation mistakes was great (And another reason I adore her character!) Miyu and Nao as nuns was just brilliant for so many reasons, and in general it reminded me of that feeling I had a few episodes ago where I'd be really interested in a slice of life set in this universe with these characters. Although without the melodrama would it be that good...?
Thinking about it now that it's over, it isn't the ending that I have a problem with. It's the way it went about achieving that conclusion. It felt too rushed and finished up for conclusions sake. Whilst there weren't a huge amount of plot holes left open I would have liked some more explanation and development. Although, knowing what was coming did help because there were often a few times where Mai said if she'd win the festival then she'd "bring Takumi back." I just don't think they explained enough about the implications of the HiME star and winning the fesitival.
Although I wasn't sure if I was going to be done with Mai-Hime tonight. As part of my adoration for this series I used to buy a lot of paraphernalia belonging to it like art books and figures. There was one thing I really wanted to show off - The second Mai Hime fighting game for the psp - Senretsu! Shin Fuuka Gakuen Gekitoushi. It's not huge or exciting but there was a reason why I was waiting so late to show it. I needed the full HiME roster to be revealed before I could fully show it off spoiler free. Unfortunatly I forgot that Shiho's reveal was REALLY BLOODY LATE into the show, so much so that I thought her reveal was BEFORE Shizuru's, but alas. It's nothing to write home about and it's pretty geeky but...It's not something I've played in years. I don't have it ready now as I needed time to set it up and with my illnesses and work I just haven't had that time! So i'm unsure if i'll ever get around to showing it off but...It was ridiculously broken. Haruka being the hardest to unlock character, whilst also being a joke character, WAS RIDICULOUSLY STRONG despite not being a HiME user AT ALL. Heck even Midori was broken far more than most of the hidden characters, although Dark Mikoto and Super Natsuki were...geez.
So yes, once again I thank whomever this is reading my random drivel. I feel like my writing REALLY went downhill with this one thanks to circumstances out of my control. I did get unsure about continuing on with this on my own but...I kind of take the blame for it not starting up much in the first place. I had such enthusiasm for this yet I wasn't even here the weekend it started. I do wonder if someone had started up with their opinions on time whether this would have gone ahead more successfully, which had I been here would likely have been me even just to get the ball rolling. But still, even on my own it was fun just to sit down and rewatch something I adore after all this time, that I likely wouldn't have the drive or impotus to do if there wasn't these posts keeping me going. So thank you reader, and also thank you Mai-Hime for still standing the test of time, even if some of your reveals are sullied a little bit by knowing what's coming. For that I still give you an:
8/10
Edit: OH MY DAYS. This post is a LOT longer then I thought it would be. Er...ah....Dang it!
If I could give you a cookie for making it all the way to end of my crazy rantings - then I would!
