Monthly Archive for May, 2005

Mai HiME: On Devotion

Published
by
Zyl
on 16 May 2005
in mai hime
. 1 Comment


Spoilerific! Ok, huge spoiler. Miyu Glea is a robot built by the Illuminati-like Searrs Foundation and has got the unique ability to neutralise the materialising power of the HiMEs. Miyu is really M.I.Y.U. - Multiple Intelligential Yggdrasil Unit - thus adding the other big WTF Japlish acronym in this series. The other term being, of course, HiME for Highly-advanced Materialising Equipment which I very much doubt was used in the previous festival 300 years ago.

Miyu also fits my definition as a Rei clone. She’s got blue hair, red eyes and her behaviour is somewhat stiff (allowing for Alyssa exceptions). Stripey feels that my criteria are too exclusive (especially on the red eyes) and might result in a sample population that is too small for any meaningful trend analysis so we will be assembling our own sample sets for comparison. However, we are both moving at such a glacial pace that it’s almost like we are doing a PhD on the subject. (笑)



In Ep 15, the HiMEs take back the school, causing Alyssa and Searrs’ plans to go tits-up. It also gives us Alyssa and Miyu’s backstory. The latter seems truly devoted to the former, displaying a warmth and tenderness that belies her normally cold, robotic manner. It can be quite easily argued that Miyu is simply following her programming but sometimes I wonder if Miyu’s obviously strong feelings can be dismissed as the result of her code and electrons spin-states (for quantum) or electron present / not-present (for binary logic gates), then can human feelings be similarly dismissed to be a mere bio-electrical and chemical reaction in the brain and the dictates of the DNA code? Similarly, can Miyu’s AI be considered as fully sentient? Does she have the capacity for free will (if you accept that there’s such a thing)? How will this apply to other anime robots e.g. Mahoro, Cyberdoll May et al which we never seem to consider because they are the goodies?

Another HUGE spoiler here. Though Kabitzin has quite rightly observed that it’s not that surprising since “uber HiME fighting machines shouldn’t be destroyed because of immersion in freezing water!” She is booted up just in time by Midori and gives rise to endless Mummy jokes. Excellent music to accompany Miyu’s boot-up and re-emergence. Yuki Kajiura does another magnificient job. The popular Ensei and Mezame conveyed the sense of loss and mysterious power awakening respectively very well but my favourite is Yamiyou no Prologue that accompanied Kagutsuchi’s first emergence in Ep 3 and Mai’s desperate suicidal blocking move in Ep 15.


As it turns out, Miyu is really the key and the only hope that the HiMEs have of breaking the endless cycle of the HiME festival. Her super-duper anti-materialiser power releases the life force of the MIPs and restores the powers of the HiMEs so they can give the Obsidian Lord and his HiME star a piece of their minds.

So Alyssa is brought back to life as well, Miyu should be happy. I wonder if Alyssa’s MIP (the previous Chairman of Searrs) also came back? If he did, would he still be Chairman or the new guy stays in place or there’s infighting in Searrs as a result? And do Alyssa and Miyu still work for Searrs? With the new Chairman and John Smith having sold the latter down the river to the Black Prince, the relationship might well have been severed.

Anyhow, in addition to my long awaited mail order Rei clone, I am also placing an order for a mail order Miyu.

Mai HiME: Nuts About Natsuki

Published
by
Zyl
on 14 May 2005
in mai hime
. 3 Comments



Spoilerific! What I immediately noticed about Shizuru Fujino was her Kyoto accent. A lot of animes have a character from Kansai but they are usually Osaka-ben speakers e.g. Ayumu Kasuga (Osaka) of Azumanga Daioh, Kero of Cardcaptor Sakura, Mitsune Konno (Kitsune) & Kaolla Su of Love Hina, Sorata Arisugawa of X and so on. The only character I can recall who spoke Kyoto-ben and then apparently not very well was Afura Mann from El Hazard. I really do like the Kyoto accent as it sounds quite refined especially when spoken by a female so please leave a comment if you, gentle readers, know of any others.


From the obligatory beach episode (ep 9), it was quite clear that Shizuru doesn’t mind having a group of fangirls fussing over her, attracted by her height, beauty, position as Student Council President, elegance and refinement (she teaches the arcane tea ceremony). Another hint about her sexual orientation can be found on her character interview on the official website. When asked about her likes, she responds with “I really enjoy looking at cute girls.”

As the series develops, it becomes quite clear that Shizuru has a “slight creepy crush” (cf: Kabitzin) on Natsuki. One thing that’s not clear is the basis of her attraction to Natsuki. Well, I guess we’ll just have to put it down to a love-at-first thing though perhaps the radio plays/dramas may have more info. Anyhow Shizuru can’t help but act on it as the situation demands and opportunities to do so arise. And she does quite a lot more than look.


And *surprise surprise*, Shizuru is not just a token Kyoto-ben speaking character but has got full supporting character status as a HiME. She intervenes, at first in secret, in order to protect Natsuki. Cool weapon. Love that starting pose with the guan dao, a weapon invented by Guan Yu of the Three Kingdoms era who is now venerated as Guan Gong, patron saint of war and literature. The hydra/chthonian-like Kiyohime also takes the cake for being a big bad monstrous Child but will probably get owned by Kagutsuchi if it ever came down to it.



As the HiME tragedy unfolds, Shizuru’s facade of control, calm and refinement starts to crack as she indulges in a little bitty bit of innocuous Natsuki lurvin’. Oh, a little kiss can’t hurt, right? No one knows, even Natsuki who’s zonked out most of the time. Apparently she didn’t hear the sound of herself slipping down that slippery slope. What really crossed that moral line was that her actions were taken without Natsuki’s consent and took advantage of Natsuki’s current weakness. Thus the horror of being found out, the pain of losing Natsuki’s trust and then outright, horrified rejection eventually shatter, what was afterall, a very strained and vulnerable teenager’s mind. Definitely the runner-up to Chikane Himemiya for Most Violent Reaction Of Repressed & Unrequited Love. I’m always a sucker for characters with unrequited feelings (and a bonus if they eventually do get their girl).


In her delusional state, Shizuru deals out considerably death n’ destruction, defeating Yukino’s and Nao’s Childs. It is during the rather one-sided fight with Nao and Julia that Natsuki, through another one of Nao’s epiphany-causing utterances, that she comes to realise that Shizuru’s love, while creepy, had saved her from becoming even more of a delinquent than she already was. Ironically it is Natsuki’s acceptance of Shizuru as her Most Important Person that allows her to defeat Shizuru which also sacrifices herself in the process.


Really got to hand it to Natsuki for forgiving Shizuru and then trying to get used to Shizuru’s now very public displays of affection. Also Shizuru should really thank Nao for sparking off Natsuki’s acceptance of Shizuru’s feelings. Not killing her was a good start. Adopting her in their own little “White Rose family” (cf: Fencedude’s title of the left screencap) would also be nice.

In all, interesting character with the public/private dichotomy, the Kyoto accent, cool Element and Child and, of course, yuri. Next, Miyu Glea!

Mai-HiME: Nao’s Tangled Web

Published
by
Zyl
on 13 May 2005
in mai hime
. 0 Comments

Nao Yuuki (voiced by Yuuka Nanri, vocalist for Chariot of Dawn) is one of my three favourite characters (besides Shizuru and Miyu) from the very entertaining Mai HiME so this post is a bit of a character shrine. Short note on the ending first. Kabitzin of Sea Slugs! anime blog has reported, in his typically succinct and witty style, on Ep 1-24. Fencedude has many screencaps and summaries for Ep 25-26. On the ending, I agree with a lot of what Fencedude has said so logically and eloquently. A few minor quibbles here and there but it was a good and satisfying ending.

On the surface, Nao looks like a cute, sweet young girl and she actively cultivates this image among the gullible (usually guys), helped by her beauty and her intelligence. But she’s a survivor - mentally tough, resourceful and cunning. I do agree with Kabitzin that she gets a rather raw deal in the series - she gets framed, injured, picked on and nearly killed in cold blood at her nadir.

Nao is a victim of her own efforts to secure herself against the outside world. She trusts no one else, resulting in everyone else having little trust in her. She’s easily framed as the prime suspect when things go wrong. Her pride, anger and bitterness then further compound the problem by ruling out any effort at rapproachment. She fights hard and employs strategems but her powers are simply too weak against HiMEs like Shizuru (who is also in my top three). Lesson: Everyone needs friends.

Interesting character also because of her backstory. Around primary school, her whole world was turned upside down when her family home was burgled and only her mother survived albeit severely incapacitated. She was packed off to an orphanage and probably only could continue schooling because the HiME scholarship. As a result, she has an extremely cynical view of the world and coupled with her intelligence, she makes the most accurate, cutting and politically incorrect remarks about the heroine, Mai - about her non-altruistic motivations in taking care of Takumi and the very real threat of Kagutsuchi if it came to a HiME battle royale. But the truth always hurts most.

In the end, I was really glad that she got a happy ending. Good to see that she was still up to her scams and had the wit to persuade Alyssa and Miyu to help her. With her mother returned sans injuries, she definitely has one less thing to worry about. She might also be starting to become friends with Natsuki whose empathy and mercy saved her life in Ep 24. Not sure if Shizuru will see her as competition! Haha! - Zyl

Chariot of Dawn

Published
by
Zyl
on 12 May 2005
in gundam seed destiny and loot
. 6 Comments

More gloating over loot procuring during the 2005-04 Tokyo trip and also preparing info relevant to my forthcoming Mai HiME post on Nao Yuuki.

Got the Akatsuki no Kuruma (Chariot of Dawn, sometimes translated as Wheel of Dawn, definitely not Car of Dawn) single, by FictionJunction YUUKA (YUUKA is Yuuka Nanri, Nao’s voice actress) with all lyrics, music and arrangement by she of the Noir OST, the mighty Yuki Kajiura. Price JPY 1,000 (SGD 15). It’s is my favourite song from the Gundam SEED OST. It’s essentially a sad song but has got tremendous pace and was the perfect musical accompaniment to Ep 40 when the Archangel fled the Earth Military’s invasion of Orb. A scan of the lyrics can be seen here and a superb translation can be viewed at a Sg site, Waxin’ Lyrical.

See-Saw’s Anna ni Isshodattanoni (Even Though We Were Together So Much, 1st ED) and Tatsuya Iishi’s River (2nd ED) lost out to Akatsuki no Kurama for first place although I liked both. The opening strains of the former was added to the tension of the cliffhangers in the early episodes and the latter is a performance by a male vocalist that I actually (and quite rarely) enjoyed. But the secret weapon that Akatsuki no Kuruma wielded to conquer No.1 in my ranking was its poster girl, Cagalli Yula Athha (above, in her Orb military uniform), who was my favourite character in Gundam SEED. Passionate, reckless, intelligent, she’s been undercover spy, rebel advisor and guerilla fighter, chief military tactician of the Orb armed forces, heir to the heir of Orb, teenager, sister, lover, Gundam pilot and overall kick-ass character. And she’s got the most varied wardrobe in the entire cast to boot!

Evangelion Iron Maiden 2nd Vol.1

Published
by
Zyl
on 11 May 2005
in neon genesis evangelion
. 2 Comments

Fumino Hayashi’s Neon Genesis Evangelion the Iron Maiden 2nd (Tokyo: Asuka Comics, 2004-07-31, Jp language manga) is set in the alternative universe (which Stripey calls the “bread” universe in homage to the piece of toast that Rei is biting on as she collides into Shinji) imagined by Shinji in Ep 25 of the anime series and is completely different from Yoshiyuki Sadamoto’s more nuanced re-telling of the original. A doujinshi carried by a major publisher, if you will.

In this universe, Asuka is Shinji’s childhood friend who comes to wake him every morning. Shinji’s mom, Yui, is still alive as are Asuka’s parents. On a typical morning, Shinji literally runs into Rei who then turns out to be a new transfer student in Shinji and Asuka’s class with Misato as their homeroom teacher and Ritsuko as the school doctor. Touji, Kensuke and Hikari reprise their familiar supporting roles. Kaoru Nagisa is also a classmate and is rather interested in Shinji, to the point that Asuka, who fancies Shinji, feels a tad threatened.

Rei quickly puts the initial bad blood with Shinji behind her and attempts to befriend him. It’s quite clear that she doesn’t have parents and is lonely. And the six Children go off to do their Eva plug testing together. So yes, there are still giant robots but no tragic backstory and no Angels in this volume. Gendou is still an arsehole and creates angst for Shinji by hardly acknowledging his presence. Well, it’s nice to know some things don’t change.

In his honest, sincere and bumbling way, Shinji does small, kind things for Rei which touches her heart. This is how otherwise useless guys (like Bakayuki of Kiminozo) get cute (but seriously disturbed) girls. Asuka gets jealous and so hilarity ensues. But she also shows her righteous side. When some faceless female classmates covertly bully the blue-haired, red-eyed new comer who won’t try to fit in (e.g. she continues to wear the uniform from her previous school) by stealing her bad and trying to burn her stuff in the school incinerator, Asuka intervenes and goes through much trouble (and soot) to recover Rei’s possessions. A strange sort of friendship is thus formed (which the cover depicts well) but is immediately tested when Rei confides in Asuka that she is growing very fond of Shinji.

On the whole, this depiction of Evangelion did not disconcert me as much as I thought it would given how an angsty, pseudo-Christian, big robot and whiny protagonist anime was effortlessly converted into a rather happy, school-based boy-girl relationship manga (which also makes the Jp lang text easier to cope with). Having the bread universe in the original anime helped somewhat but I suspect it pandered well to my own desire for wish fulfillment - I grew to love the characters of the series and was quite appalled at how they were treated in the end. Out of unsatisfying endings comes fan fiction - ugh, that last thought just brought out the terror in me that this happy manga might warp into something akin to Jim Lazar’s The Garden of EVA.

I liked the art which was very expressive and enjoyed the light, fluffy story. Given what we know of the characters in the anime and given the new assumptions and parameters (mom still alive, everyone is less screwed up), it’s almost plausible. The antics of the Children, particularly the Shinji-Asuka-Rei threesome trio, persuaded me to get the other three volumes. Notes on Vol.2 soon!