Comments on: Mai Otome 16

By: Kurogane

Kurogane — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 15:21:40 +0000

I do watch Otome on a regular basis, but I’m not blogging it regularly, due to the fact that I have nothing much to add, and there’s like a few hundred anime blogs out there that blog Otome, which are much better at it than me, from Mentar’s detailed essays per episode to Chalcahuite’s discourse on the Otome-verse. I can’t hope to match up to their fanboyism on Otome.

I’d rather not waste energy on Otome and concentrate on less-exposed series’. No use in redundancy right :). It’s only at times when I have something to say, only which I blog it, like my disappointment with Otome’s direction now and all. I still harbour hope that the later episodes will prove me wrong.

Otome hasn’t failed…. yet. It’s only on a downward spiral now. This post is just a honest rant from my feelings on Otome now.

By: mercyz

mercyz — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 15:01:09 +0000

That I must agree. Well, I’m a completist, if there was ever such a word. And then boy, are they lucky they’ve got viewers like me around.

“… So far there are too many questions and too few answers.”

to Matrim: Agreeably, the plot’s way too twisted. But I sort of thought it was more of the fact that it was poor planning rather than being too contriving. In an earlier entry, I believe I read that they’ve tried too hard to draw parallels with the HIME universe. Perhaps that’s the root of the problem. But like I said before, I’ve spent too much time doing the whole guessing game and so I guess I won’t be able to stop. =P

“… it was more on the action part that got me.”

to Kurogane: Otome’s actually more action-packed in comparison to HIme. This however, could be considered one of their pitfalls as they turn the story into a circus because of the excessive number of events that seemed to be happening at the same time.

Scrolling back, I realise that I’m a die-hard fan. Despite your numerous illuminations of Otome’s failings, I still wish to continue the series. Haha, maybe it’s just the NatsuShiz addiction that I can’t get enough of. Ep 15 and 16 were dry for me as there was just too little of the two.

Anyway, enough said. Just wanted to know if Kuro’ll still be blogging on Otome. Am prepping for negative response but hoping for an affirmative as blog entries have been a weekly staple.

By: Kurogane

Kurogane — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 17:49:23 +0000

We should be thankful of that, really.

By: T_I

T_I — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 17:45:59 +0000

Oh c’mon now. I don’t see Chiaki Morosawa or Fukuda anywhere on the staff list.

By: Matrim

Matrim — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 14:13:29 +0000

Judging by GSD and Mai-HiME the last thing we should expect is a satisfying ending.
I don’t really care who is the real queen because the whole story is absurdly contrived and it seems like such an artifical plotline. I mean how the hell wouldn’t anyone be sure how the baby princess looked like and whether it’s Mashiro or not? They have photographs, advanced medicine technology etc.
So far there are too many questions and too few answers. All that would have been bearable, though, if the new characters weren’t either annoying or boring.

By: Kurogane

Kurogane — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 13:20:54 +0000

mercyz: Well, I actually never cared about the story or the loopholes. In fact, I’ve been watching this raw all this while and I never darn cared about “who’s the real princess?” or “who the heck are those cyborg guys?” because I’ve been through so many animes that I can probably predict ahead what’s going to happen and who’s this and stuff.

The problem I feel is the presentation now, which has totally gone to the dogs. The hiking exam was really the start of the decline :(. The recent events are really boring to watch, IMHO.

I wouldn’t trust on the ability of the writer(s) to pull this off successfully. Their track record includes Gundam Seed and Seed Destiny, which I’m sure we all know what a trainwreck it is. In fact, Mai HiME also really barely pulled it off for me on the story part, it was more on the action part that got me.

By: mercyz

mercyz — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 11:23:45 +0000

erm… and whoever Plant42 is, just wondering if you’ve lost your way. Tag on RC’s Shakugan review if necessary. I’m sorry, but comparison between anime’s just so futile. Sigh. For the record, I watch both, and both have their strong points as well as their failings.

By: mercyz

mercyz — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 11:19:19 +0000

Though I agree with the many on the list that Otome is turning into a huge gaudy and confusing circus, I must say that what keeps me going against this wave of backlash is the fact that Sunrise has left too many holes uncovered. Fact is, I still want to know who is the true queen (although the hypemetre’s dropping – OP juxtaposed Rena’s image onto Arika in battle; how more obvious can you get?), how will Sergey and Arika turn out; if Rena’s still alive, Mai’s role in this seeming Greek Tragedy. I mean, after spending so much time with Otome as they flesh out their characters, wouldn’t you want to know how they end up?

Give the show a chance: it’s probably just a snag the plot has to work through, given that writers did make a colossal error by introducing far too many loopholes in this one, as compared to Hime’s plotline. Though my guess would be that the show might have to shortchange itself on some of the subplots it has introduced, like the story of Miyu; or Nagi’s and Sergey’s history.

And seriously, Arika’s kinda cute. Minus the vermicelli pigtails. But then again, that’s another story. (I humbly await thy violent objections.) XD

By: Matrim

Matrim — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 01:45:25 +0000

Finally some people who share my sentiments about the big disappointment that Otome has turned out to be (so far). I don’t want it to be the same as HiME, I just want to be able to watch it without cringing due to the stupidity of the plot and the extremely annoying nature of some of the characters (Arika for instance). Whatever dramatic events unfold in the coming episodes I don’t think they will have much impact on me since I don’t care at all about most of the characters. Some (Nao for instance) are cool (mainly because of the pleasant Mai HiME memories) but that’s pretty much it. The big drama of MH might have started in episode 16 but episodes 1-15 are in my opinion many times better than the same episodes in Otome. And yes, the Sergey-Arika relationship could have hardly been more annoying.

By: Anime Adoru

Anime Adoru — Sun, 29 Jan 2006 23:28:42 +0000

I mostly agree. I initially got totally hooked on the series, and every episode was better than the one before, until after the hiking exam, when they couldn’t increase the suspense any longer. The episodes since then have been pretty mediocre; while good plot development, it all seems a little bit thrown together. Every episode left me with a “but the next one will get back to the level of suspense and drama of the first ten episodes” feeling, never to be fulfilled. Right now, facing episode 17, I’m thinking exactly the same, and I worry I might be disappointed again. Yeah, that Gundam Seed style new opening is good, I think, but it doesn’t inspire confidence in new original development and drama, sigh. Why is it so difficult to create a series that is just good??