A spiritual sequel to Mai-Hime, Set in either a far future or alternate reality from the previous show, Mai-Otome centers around Gualderobe Academy in windbloom kingdom, a school that trains young women to become Otome, bodyguards to royalty and nobility, who serve with perfect grace and have the power to single-handedly destroy armies. Arika Yumemiya has traveled there to find out the truth about her mother, a former Otome who died soon after she was born. It soon becomes her dream to become an Otome and follow in her mothers footsteps, but the competition is feirce, and many seek to take advantage of the young queen of Windbloom and seize the technology of the otome for themselves.
Featuring many of the characters from Mai-Hime in supporting roles, Mai Otome, manages to be stand out from its predesessor despite covering very similar themes of power and responsability. The plot is more sweeping and the setting grander, covering the fate of nations, and the setting is very reminisent of a JRPG, lots of fudal fantasy-esqe countries with an odd mix of high and low technology. If I was honest, I would say that Mai-Otome is the better of the two shows, as it's plot is far better constructed, and flows better through the episodes of the show. That said, I think you gain a better apriciation of them from watching this after having seen Mai-Hime. However, the both come very highly recomended.
Long ago, a race of beings known as the Golden Tribe, sent out a telepathic message into the depths of space, to the other races, who were still young. "Come, from the planets you were born on, here into space and join us." Three races answered. The Golden Tribe called them the Silver Tribe (a race that would directly study under the precursors), the Bronze Tribe (a race of sentient insects) and the Heroic Tribe (a race of giants). The Heroic Tribe quickly annihilated themselves save for five individuals, who were subdued by the Golden Tribe, transformed into gemstones, and implanted into members of other Tribes.
In time, when the Golden Tribe chose to undertake a journey to another galaxy, there was a last race which answered their call. The fourth race was Humanity; they were named the Iron Tribe. In the present day, Humanity has been decimated and driven from Earth by the Silver Tribe and their Bronze Tribe slaves. Battle-weary and on the run, they receive a new source of hope from their discovery of a Nodos — young human boy name Age, who contains the fifth surviving Heroic Tribe member, Bellcross. This does not sit well with the Silver Tribe, who redouble their efforts to destroy the upstart Tribe of Iron. They too possess Nodos, four to the Iron Tribe's one.
Inspired by the myth of Heracles, transposed into a Sci-fi setting, Heroic Age is an action packed anime which gives Gurren Langan a run for it's money in terms of scale, but als has a surprisingly philosophical bent, as well as a sentimental streak. Despite being a typically simple and optemistic anime protaganist, Age manages to paradoxically show how a single individual with the power to unleash incredible amounts of destruction can also be wholly innocent and have the best of intentions. some of the artwork is a little bit extreme, if the costumes that the female characters wear were any tighter they would probably show what they ate for lunch, but never the less this scores A strong recomendation, for the space battles alone.
Picking up the thread.... it's time for me to share with you the anime that have been influencing me lately! (*thunder rolls and people scream*)
Ouran High School Host Club
Ouran High School is a prestigous establishment where only the richest can afford to send their children to be educated, so scholarship student Haruhi Fujioka is something of a fish out of water.
Searching for a quiet place to study, Haruhi stumbles upon the Host Club, a social society set up by a group of bored students where females can come to take tea and be entertained by one of the club's six handsome student gentlemen. Knocking over an expensive vase and left with no hope of being able to pay for it, Haruhi agrees to work as a Host and pay the tab that way, subsequently discovering a natural talent for providing young ladies with sparkling company.
But something isn't quite as it seems.....
Ouran HSHC is a send up of romantic anime, poking fun at the cliches and conventions of the genre, but stands up on its own feet and entertains on its own merits. A mix of comedy and drama, it's actually quite difficult to explain to someone who hasn't seen it, which makes it extra lucky that production company FUNimation have put the series up on youtube!
Renton Thurston lives a normal life, learning to be a mechanic at his grandpa's garage. He spends his free time learning to 'Ref Board' (a sport that involves surfing through the air on strange particles known as Trapars) and dreaming of becoming a member of the counter culture group known as Gekko State. His life changes for ever when one of their members, a strange young girl named Eureka crashes into his room on a giant mecha called the nirvash. She's come to collect a device called the Amita Drive, so that she can unlock the Nirvash's true power, but it seems only to work when both Renton and Eureka are piloting it together. It soon becomes clear that the fate of the world rests not on their ability to pilot the Nirvash, but rather on the strength of their relationship and there are many hurdles to overcome and secrets to be discovered before they can face their true feelings for each other.
Ok, so imagine that studio Ghibli made a 50 episode long anime involving giant, sky surfing, transforming Mecha. If that is not enough of a recommendation for you well, I'll try to elaborate. This show, while it has a lot of the hallmarks of most mecha shows, really stands out in my mind by placing the relationship of the two main characters front and centre. It's really charming to see them grow through their adolescent attempts at getting attention into a mature relationship, and even the secondary characters are given an opportunity to grow to a far greater extent than I’ve seen in other shows of its type. The animation is top notch throughout the show, equal attention given to the action sequences and the daily life of the characters. The show is quite gently paced, and exposition can be quite slow in coming, but the characters unwillingness to explain what is going on to Renton becomes a major plot point over several episodes. All of the relevant plot points are explained by the end (thank god) and there is at least one clever twist where a minor Item that we've seen throughout the entire show becomes of vital importance in the shows final episodes.
Joined: 21 Aug 2006 Posts: 1924 Planning: Pathfinder Society
Location: Great Sutton
Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 12:05 pm Post subject:
So, anime-types, I have a 3 year old daughter who adores My Neighbour Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service; are there any less well known films or series that you know of that would be suitable for this age? _________________ Matt / paz
Joined: 21 Aug 2006 Posts: 1924 Planning: Pathfinder Society
Location: Great Sutton
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 11:53 am Post subject:
Heather and I took Hannah to see the new Studio Ghibli film Arrietty at FACT yesterday (although Hannah only managed the first hour and a bit). The film is astonishingly beautiful, even compared to its predecessors. The sound effects and music are fantastic, and the English dub is just that (not American!). The story is a little slow at points, but I certainly don't regret going to see it. _________________ Matt / paz
Joined: 05 May 2011 Posts: 16 Playing: Dark Heresy
Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:28 pm Post subject:
I think the 'Cat Returns' was another Ghibli, which although doesn't have quite the ingenuity of some of the Hayao Miyazaki efforts it's at least not weighed down by a message as brought to you by the Friends of the Earth. It's got a flying cat in a suit as well...and a flying crow staircase.
Not sure 'Paprika' got that much of a showing, but it's fab, by the chap who also brought us the 'best anime evur' which is 'Perfect Blue'.
Madoka Magica Full title translated as Puella Magi Madoka Magica or Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica alternately.
Madoka Kaname is an Ordinary Middle School Student with a working mother, a stay-at-home dad and a close circle of friends. Other than a strange dream about a black-haired girl fighting off a huge monster in a ruined city, her life is a peaceful one. Then, one day, that black-haired girl, Homura Akemi, transfers to their class.
Things begin to change when, after school, Madoka hears someone's voice calling out to her. This voice belongs to Kyubey, a small cat- or ferret-like creature. She and her best friend, Sayaka Miki, then find themselves in a bizarre dream world where they witness an upperclassman, Mami Tomoe, transform into a magical girl and save them from otherworldly monsters. Kyubey then asks Madoka and Sayaka to become magical girls, too. The process is very simple - Kyubey will grant them a wish (any wish, no matter how small) and in exchange, they will sign a contract with him, which will allow them to become magical girls...
Too bad things simply are not as they seem to be.
This Anime is possibly the best anime I have seen in years. Beneath the traditional premise is a show with such depth that you start to wonder how they fitted so much into the 12 episodes of the show. The plot is tight and mysterious, but the steady stream of revelations and twists keep you hooked until the end, which resolves to a breathtaking finish. The animation is also top class, mixing different styles togeather to create alien landscapes and layered with symbology that only becomes significant with subsiquent viewing. My recomendation would be for any Anime fan to hunt this down, and avoid spoilers wherever you can, because this is really something that you want to go into as clean as possible.
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