Name: Mai-Otome
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Year: 2005
Rating: Recommended
Arika Yumemiya has no memory of her past, her only clue is a necklace and a desire to become like her mother, an Otome. Gualderobe Academy is a prestigious school where girls are raised to become Otomes, a bodyguard that serves her royal master. A world where nanomachines allow females to become Meister Otomes, (highest ranked otome) great power can be possessed by those known as the protectors of royalty. Hence a battle’s outcome may be turned by one individual. In the kingdom of Windbloom where Akira has gone to search for her mother, she meets Nina Wang a top Coral Otome student and Windbloom’s heir to the throne, Mashiro. The series follows Akira’s search for her past as she develops friendships in the academy. Though her past is blurred she isn’t the only one who has doubts about identity. There is a wide gap between the wealthy and the poor, though Mashiro is said to be the legitimate successor questions soon arise as to who she really is. Although the series isn’t a direct sequel of Mai-HiME many of the original characters appear in Mai-Otome with a different personality and role.
There is allot of fan service within this series, it could be said that this sequel was made just to appease those Mai Hime fans who just wanted more. The animation is quite good as expected but the soundtrack has taken a dive. Although the background music isn’t as good in this series the story line would appeal to those who enjoyed Mai Hime. The appearance of recognizable characters in a different series does lift the overall enjoyability of the series, especially if the characters were from successful animes just like in Tsubasa Chronicle. The alternate universe that the characters have been put in does reference the previous setting and it is these references that kept my interest. Although a different series it isn’t completely detached from the original.
