Mai-HiME 

A group a school girls discover that they have been given the ability to materialize weapons and control robotic beasts called Children to stop an evil organization from their plans of domination. Meanwhile, a darker plot thickens.

Stars:

Carol-Anne Day, Caitlynne Medrek, Wendy Morrison

Cast

Series cast summary:
Carol-Anne Day	...	Mai Tokiha 26 episodes, 2004-2005
Caitlynne Medrek	...	Mikoto Minagi 26 episodes, 2004-2005
Wendy Morrison	...	Alyssa Searrs / ... 26 episodes, 2004-2005
Jordan Schartner	...	Yuichi Tate 26 episodes, 2004-2005
Victor Atelevich	...	Yamada 15 episodes, 2004-2005
Ethan Cole	...	Reito Kanzaki (English version) / ... 12 episodes, 2004-2005

Storyline

A group a school girls discover that they have been given the ability to materialize weapons and control robotic beasts called Children to stop an evil organization from their plans of domination. Meanwhile, a darker plot thickens.

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Plot Keywords:

girl | loss of sanity | unnecessary guilt | beating | memory | 

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Bandai Sunrise [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

30 September 2004 (Japan)

Also Known As:

My-Hime

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mai-HiME Project,Sunrise

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Shizuru mentions that she met Natsuki during her first year of middle school (Shizuru being in third year of middle school), but however Shizuru is seen wearing a high school uniform, technically making her being in first year of high school and making Natsuki being in her second year of middle school.

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Quotes

Mai Tokiha: [using a megaphone] Hey, you out on raft 14, come back closer to the shore. You're too far out. You can play safe and still have fun, remember.
[sighing to herself]
Mai Tokiha: Well, I guess it's not like I have anything better to do during summer break anyway
[Mai hears someone screaming and uses her binoculars to see why. A big fish is suddenly rushing towards the shore, passing by some scared people]
Mai Tokiha: [confused] Huh?
[the fish hits the sand, and then two legs ascend from the bottom of the fish]
Mai Tokiha: [...]

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Connections

Referenced in Yuki Kajiura Live (2008)

User Reviews

The most fun I've had watching anime in years.

This show is absolutely fantastic. It goes well beyond the Anime conventionality of the "monster battle of the week", with a huge and diverse cast of characters, deeply moving drama, and some great humor thrown in too. This show ranks among the very best in dramatic animation by far, and is addictive to watch.

The story begins with 15-year-old Mai Tokiha heading off to the Fuuka Academy with her brother Takumi. The boat is attacked in the night by a mysterious girl named Natsuki. Natsuki has a strange power to materialize hand-held flash pistols and summon a mechanical monster named Duran. Natsuki attacks Mai, but a mysterious power comes from within Mai to protect her. As Natsuki fights, the boat breaks apart. Mai is sucked down into the sea. The next thing she knows, she is waking up in the courtyard of Fuuka Academy unharmed, with a trail of singed grass behind her and no memory of how she got there from the sea.

In the successive episodes, Mai learns that she is a "HiME", a maiden blessed by a star which only HiMEs can see, and she has the power to manipulate higher-order matter. As a series of strange monsters called 'Orphans' attacks the Academy, it is up to Mai and the other HiMEs to save the world from them.

The show begins fun, exciting, and light-hearted, with some very good action in the battles with Orphans, and spectacular animation and music. Another high point is the boy-girl humor, which ranks as just about the most hilarious I've seen. This is the general mold for the first ten episodes... humor, character introduction, and a monster battle to cap it off. At episode 11, the first set of 'big bosses' show up, and try to steal the power of the HiMEs for themselves. The result is amazing action and some very touching moments.

Then, at Episode 17, everything changes. This is where Mai-HiME turns from being a fun and enjoyable anime into one of the most intense dramatic shows ever. Everything the main characters know is ripped to shreds bit by bit, and the world comes crashing down around them. These episodes have amazingly intense and complex emotion, and the way in which everything falls apart is so believable. I have never felt so much emotion while watching an animated show.

Another of the great parts of this show is the wide and diverse cast of characters. Almost every possible personality is in this show, including the butt-kicker, the devoted big sister, the gossip queen, the quiet sidekick, the lost kitten, the femme fatale, and the bratty little sister. It is handled surprisingly well. Even though there are over ten characters who could be considered 'main', I found it surprisingly easy to keep track of them all. The show does a wonderful job handling the enormous cast, and each of them are well thought out.

Plain and simple, if you like anime you MUST watch this show. The last ten episodes rank as one of the greatest moments in anime history in my opinion. Since first viewing the fan subs about six months ago, I have watched the series from start to finish no less than four times. It is simply amazing, worth re-watching, and slightly addictive! Check out the DVD's, and enjoy the show!