[Anime] Mai HiME
Oct. 3rd, 2004 11:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsSo, I was obviously in a very fanservicy mood this morning when I went to watch the new anime series Mai HiME. The title appears to be a multi-layer pun; "HiME" is supposed to be an acronym, "High Advanced Materializing Equipment", but the title can be read as "Dancer" or "My Princess," depending upon how much English you put on the Japanese.
The opening episode gives hints of what's to come. I'm not sure if I'll be watching this series seriously or not. We have Shiho, who apparently can see a red star, even in the daytime, that her brother can't see at all, but he believes her when she says she can see it. They've taken an overnight ferry to some large island where they'll both be going to a new boarding school. Along the way, they spot a body in the water of a young girl, whom Shiho rescues because she's apparently the only person on the ferry who knows CPR (the crew, which might have known, is incapacitated by... well, story items). Rescued girl was holding really big sword, which gets lost in the fighting. A few hours later, a chick with very ornate guns and body armor comes to get rescued girl, and Shiho discovers that her mouth-to-mouth contact with mystery girl has given her magical powers. Much pretty, well-drawn combat ensues. There's a lot of fanservice here; Shiho does most of her awkward fighting in her school uniform (her day clothes having been ruined in the rescue), which has the classic too-short skirt effect. And the "wet clothes" effect has more ecchi humor thrown in. And the end credits has, well, more fanservice.
I really want to like this show, but I can't help that it reminds me of Gatekeepers 21. That's not a terrible indictment of the show; Gatekeepers 21 was fun (although I'm told that since I've never seen the original Gatekeepers, I have no idea how much of a botch the second series was). It seems to be a bishoujo action with comedy and a dramatic emotional ending all glued together by an overworked soundtrack.
Like I said, Gatekeepers 21. But with even better art.
The opening episode gives hints of what's to come. I'm not sure if I'll be watching this series seriously or not. We have Shiho, who apparently can see a red star, even in the daytime, that her brother can't see at all, but he believes her when she says she can see it. They've taken an overnight ferry to some large island where they'll both be going to a new boarding school. Along the way, they spot a body in the water of a young girl, whom Shiho rescues because she's apparently the only person on the ferry who knows CPR (the crew, which might have known, is incapacitated by... well, story items). Rescued girl was holding really big sword, which gets lost in the fighting. A few hours later, a chick with very ornate guns and body armor comes to get rescued girl, and Shiho discovers that her mouth-to-mouth contact with mystery girl has given her magical powers. Much pretty, well-drawn combat ensues. There's a lot of fanservice here; Shiho does most of her awkward fighting in her school uniform (her day clothes having been ruined in the rescue), which has the classic too-short skirt effect. And the "wet clothes" effect has more ecchi humor thrown in. And the end credits has, well, more fanservice.
I really want to like this show, but I can't help that it reminds me of Gatekeepers 21. That's not a terrible indictment of the show; Gatekeepers 21 was fun (although I'm told that since I've never seen the original Gatekeepers, I have no idea how much of a botch the second series was). It seems to be a bishoujo action with comedy and a dramatic emotional ending all glued together by an overworked soundtrack.
Like I said, Gatekeepers 21. But with even better art.
