I could agree more then what is stated in the review. My-Hime is indeed a superb anime to watch, but the actual storyline paces up only after the 10th episode. The earlier episodes are more of the introduction of the characters. The typical BGM of Yuki Kajiura is strong here, and blends perfectly with the series. What upsets me the most is the ending. Not memorable at all !!
My-HiME tv Review
Mai Tokiha is just an ordinary high school student struggling to balance the trials of school with the tribulations of love. She is a recent transfer to Fuka Academy, a prestigious school where students have a significant deal of autonomy; apart from classes, taught by various lecturers, the students have a great deal of freedom, doing what they will under the aegis of the Student Council. However, strage occurrances recently have shown that things are not as they seem at Fuka. Why have creatures -- "Orphans" -- started appearing around the school, and what are HiMEs? What exactly is the secret of Fuka Academy?
Credits: shinsengumi
Story & Characters
<b>Intro:</b>
Mai Tokiha is an ordinary 15 year old girl with a not so ordinary life. What's with that red star in the sky only
she can see, and that strangely shaped birthmark on her chest?
One day,Mai and her chronically ill brother Takumi, transfer to the prestegious Fuka Academy, hoping to start a new,
more normal life. All seems to be well on the boat trip to Fuka, until a girl holding a sword is found floating in the
water. Soon, things get out of hand as the boat and the girl are attacked by another girl sporting a skin tight
motorcycle suit, who magically materialises a pair of pistols and a robotic dog. She soon turns on Mai, who is somehow
able to defend herself. As the boat sinks, Mai dives into the water after the sword-girl and miraculously finds herself
the next morning on the academy lawns, a trail of firey destruction leading from the water. Just what is going on here?
Mai soon discovers that she, along with the two girls she encountered on the boat is a HiME (Highly advanced Materialising Equipment -hime also means 'princess' in Japanese), capable of magically materialising weapons called elements and a guardian creature, called a Child. Each HiME posesses a unique element and child. Mai learns that she and the other HiMEs must fight the monsters known as Orphans which appear frequently around the academy in order to protect themselves and the people around them. However, as Mai and friends fight on, they begin to discover the true meaning and destiny a HiME and the mysterious workings behind the scene at the academy, which is more than what it seems....
With the exception of the rushed and absolutely ridiculous (in my opinion) ending, I absolutely loved the story behind
this series, which is nothing much but comedy, fanservice and action in the beginning, but quickly progresses into
something darker, more mysterious and very emotional after episode 10. The story is written in such a way that we get to
see quite a bit of each character's past, present, relationships and personality - we learn enough to find each
character loveable (or hateable) in their own unique way - there's something for everyone. In addition, My HiME is
one of the few series I've watched where the romance scenes have made me want to cry - in addition to featuring
mountianloads of bishoujo and action, the drama is some of the best I've ever seen. In this respect, the story does
get somewhat depressing during the later episodes as the plot thickens and the vilians are revealed, but this just
compelled me to watch more. The series also introduces a intriguing set of plot twists and revelations late on which are
sure to surprise and keep you hooked (provided you don't watch the episodes too hard or often ^^)
Even if you're not a big fan of the whole magical girl set-up, I would still reccomend watching this series, just
for the characters and drama.
PS: As a fan of this series, I was rather dissapointed by the ending which was, as I previously mentioned, completely rushed and ridiculous ending which really didn't take advantage of the excellent tension and atmosphere built up to that point. Just be aware....
Rating:
Art
The character designs for My HiME were just about as unique and diverse as the personalities of the characters
themselves, not to mention very cute and colourful. The designs for each HiME's element and child were also very
well done. While some do look a little strange, or like they've been drawn from a series like Zoids or Pokemon,
Director Masakazu Ohara and SUNRISE can definately be praised for some very unique and memorable designs. Pretty much
the same thing can be said for the Orphan monsters. While the minor ones look very generic, early on, whole episodes are
based around the HiME girls taking down a larger and more unique orphan which is particularly tough or elusive.
The series also features some very well designed and well rendered environments - the Academy in particular, stands out.
The glass domed lobby, flower garden and various facilies definately make it look like a school I'd want to
attend.
The artwork, however, does not stand up to some of SUNRISE's other recent series, in particular Gundam SEED DESTINY. Ocassionally, characters, in particular, their faces will look blurred, or otherwise distorted or perhaps just poorly drawn from that angle. However, that's just a minor quibble which is far from something that stopped me enjoying this series
Rating:
Sound
This is one of the areas where My HiME really stands a cut above the rest. The OP, Shining Days, by Kuribayashi Minami (Chrono Crusade, Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien) is a suitably perky and fast paced techno piece and the ED, Kimi ga Sora datta by Aki Misato is a suitably slower and more emotional song which also gets the job done well.
The OST features a suitable mix of quirky and energetic songs for comedy. However, the greater part of it is a set of very well written pieces featuring a mix of piano, strings and choral work which really get the tone and emotion across in those more dramatic scenes almost as effectively as the voice actors and actresses do. That being said, My HiME also features an all star voice cast featuring Saeko Chiba (Azumaria Hendric - Chrono Crusade), Tomokazu Seki (Sagara Souske - Full Metal Panic!) and Naomi Shindou (Cagali Yula Attha - Gundam SEED) whch, in my opinion, was nothing short of excellent and helped to convey the characters' personalities very well.
Rating:
Presentation
As I previously mentioned, I found this series highly enjoyable to watch, and was really compelled by the
characters' unique personality and the ample cast of cute girls and (and a perverted guy ^^). The first 10 or so
episodes of this series contain no shortage of fanservice/ecchi which are incidentally a big part of the comedy which
also features heavily. There are also subtle tributes to Iron Chef and Ninja movies/anime which are also add a hint of
nostalgic humour to the series. Once again, the aesthetics and tone of the series takes quite a turn after this point,
which is gives just the same, if not more reason to continue watching.
While at first impressions, one would think Director Ohara just stole a bunch of ideas from Sailor Moon and Pokemon and
mixed them together (I know I did), after a few episodes, the series begins to reveal its own unique style and substance
which is both highly entertaining and addictive. My HiME is truly a new benchmark for anime in the Bishoujo/magic girl
genre.
Rating:
Final Verdict
7.6667 (good)
Reviewed by Fonzie, Apr 12, 2005
Comments
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Zeliard Apr 13, 2005
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shad0whunter Apr 13, 2005
yup, mai-hime has one of the best storylines in anime, in my opinion. with the exception of the ending, the whole story is complicated, romantic, dark, and saddening. actually i was hoping that Nagi would somehow also be a Hime and have his own Child, but..haihz.. well, thats that
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XDarkDestinyX Apr 15, 2005
The whole anime was wonderful to it and great, but the ending was abit rushed for the fact that there will be a My-HiME 2, and it has been confirmed. If you want more to it I'll send it over on pm.
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LunarGriever Apr 15, 2005
Wow is Mai really only 15!?!? I figured she must be atlest 17. Anyway good review, I personally think the series is more in the 8-9 range, but I like everything you said except for the part about the ending. I guess that is the major difference between us I really liked the ending. I thought it did a great job of bringing the show back to where it began.
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ximpulse01 Apr 20, 2005
My-hime has a great storyline, as for the ending, many people didn't like it, but i liked it. My opinion is that this anime should have a score of 8 or higher
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Fonzie Apr 21, 2005
Quote by ximpulse01My-hime has a great storyline, as for the ending, many people didn't like it, but i liked it. My opinion is that this anime should have a score of 8 or higher
Don`t get me wrong, I absolutely loved this anime - it`s honestly one of the best I`ve ever seen....this is my first review and I was trying to be reallistic without being overly critical of some of My HiME`s faults. I just didn`t expect the average score to turn out so low. Anyway, it`s really just the ending that killed a fair bit of my respect for this series...
Quote by XDarkDestinyXThe whole anime was wonderful to it and great, but the ending was abit rushed for the fact that there will be a My-HiME 2, and it has been confirmed. If you want more to it I'll send it over on pm.
REALLY? Please PM me with this information!!!
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tareren Apr 27, 2005
Hey, I agree that the ending sucks.... it's so...... argh, it just sucks ....
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unicorn2006 Retired Moderator May 06, 2005
Wow this was a great series. I agree with your review for the most part, although I don't know about the ending being rushed. It was a little ridiculous in my opinion, but I liked it nonetheless. ^^ It brought the series back full circle, and gave a solid sense of conclusion without too much finality.
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raxis May 11, 2005
mai Hime, what a great series!! :D can't wait for the season 2!! XD XP
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AngstSchreeuw May 12, 2005
Yup. The ending sucks. Let's all pray for a better ending of season 2, where everyone dies or something :).
Oh well, the series was a good combination of a magical girl/mecha anime, and I loved it. -
ch3rry Jun 07, 2005
Really?There's a season 2?Sorry but I only watch half of it.I'm still waiting for my friend to lend the cd to me.Haiz..
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PanZeCow Aug 03, 2005
My Hime is one of my favorite animes ever. I agree with most of what you're saying, except the artwork. The drawer was superb at changing the feeling of the person (happy sad etc.) with just one slight addition or erasing to the picture. But great review! :D
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SoubiXkaori Mar 05, 2006
Great anime! the soundtracks are well compact with the storyline. i like the anime but the manga ruin everything.
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