Arika Yumemiya has traveled far in search of her goal: the prestigious Garderobe Academy. At this school, young girls are trained to become Otomes, protectors of royal leaders throughout the lands. While attending Arika makes plenty of friends, but some enemies know something about her past that she does not. Nevertheless, her spirit and determination will keep pushing her forward. --- Adapted from it's predecessor, Mai-HiME, this series is not a direct sequel, but an alternate universe setting featuring some of the Mai-HiME cast (though with different personalities).
Story & Characters
As I've only seen 6 episodes of My-Otome, this review will only be a preview of the series. I'll probably write a more
complete review when the series concludes.
For those people expecting a sequel to My-HiME, they will be sorely disappointed. Otome features many of the same
characters as HiME, but in an alternate universe, playing different roles. Many of the personality traits carry over,
however (i.e. Yukino and Haruka are still together). The afro dude also makes a return appearance.
From what I can tell so far, the story centers around Arika Yumemia. She is a simple girl (with a simple mind) on a
search for her mother. She finds herself in the country of Windbloom, a place where advanced technology lines the
streets. There is hint that the planet is an extension of a future Earth, and much of the technology developed was
destroyed during a great war (Windbloom was apparently spared, or victorious, whichever).
Arika's only clue to her mother's identity was that she was an Otome. As one may guess, Arika wants to be an Otome. They
are great warriors, extreme magic users, and very graceful. Unfortunately, Arika is none of those. In fact, her best
trait is that her hair can tell you exactly what she's thinking.
At this point in time, it's hard to tell where the story is going. In this sense, it was similar to the plot development
of My-HiME. After six episodes, we've only come to learn about most of the characters, the school, and the "big
picture" plot. Most of the other mysteries have yet to be uncovered. There has been some character development in
so far, but it hasn't been anything spectacular. As in My-HiME, the opening episodes feature one episode that is
extremely ecchi and downright perverse. There has already been passing mention of a panty thief. There was also a
tentacle monster.
There isn't anything spectacular at this point in time, but I'm curious as to see where the story will go. I'm also
hoping that Arika will become less annoying. It's intrigued me so far, as well as provided me with some good laughs.
Rating: 5
Art
Otome's art style takes a lot of cues from My-HiME. Character designs remain unchanged, as well as much of the set
design. There aren't any surprises on this front. There hasn't been much in terms of effects so far, so nothing has
totally blown me away so far. At the same time, it isn't bad and doesn't cause me to cringe or want to turn it off.
Rating: 6
Sound
Otome features the same voice cast as HiME. All of the actresses reprise their respective roles in the new universe.
That being said, the acting is good. Each character maintains the same charm (or lack thereof *cough*Shiho*cough*) as in
HiME and anyone who has seen the previous series will feel right at home with the new versions of each girl.
Moving on to the music, Kajiura Yuki returns as the composer of the series' score. Her unique style adds a distinct
flavor to the series. However, the music so far isn't up to the same dramatic level as in some of her past works. Some
of the score feels recycled from My-HiME, which helps link the two together. I'm still waiting for some of the more
powerful pieces to come along, as those are the ones I liked from HiME.
The opening and ending pieces of the series are decent. The opening theme is catchy and can grow on you. The ending
theme features a duet by Arika and Nina. Personally, I wasn't a big fan of the ending theme.
Rating: 6
Presentation
Thus far, My-Otome hasn't completely impressed me. It's a fun show to watch, but doesn't contain much content. I'm
interested to see where the story will go, as well as what other twists are in store. Who knows, perhaps the second half
of the series will pick up in much the same way HiME did. I certainly hope so. At this juncture, Otome is entertaining
at best. There's been a lot of fan service and suggestiveness about the nature of the characters.
Coincidentally, My-Otome is also an interesting play on words. Where "hime" was Japanese for
"princess," "otome" is the Japanese for "maiden." As My-HiME could be read as "my
princess," My-Otome could be read as "my maiden." This reading also seems play into the responsibilities
of an Otome.
Since there's often questions about my numbers, here's a brief explaination of how I score (I also think the letter
grades aren't terribly representative):
1 - "I'd disown this if I could"
2 - "not the worst thing, but getting there"
3 - "could do much better"
4 - "acceptable"
5 - "not bad"
6 - "average"
7 - "pretty good"
8 - "great"
9 - "whoa"
10 - "the pinnacle of human achievement"
Rating: 6
Final Verdict
5.67 (average)
Reviewed by kawaiiguy, Nov 24, 2005