I finally found my dream. So call me reckless or whatever, but I'll do it.
-Arika Yumemiya
2005 series, which at first glance appears to be a Mai-HiMEElseworld.An indeterminate time in the future, on a distant colony world that has almost but not quite forgotten about Earth, the rulers of the various nations are accompanied by super-powered bodyguards, girls called Otome (Japanese for "maiden") who are turned into fearsome weapons of war by training and nanotechnology. But the Otome are not just weapons — they are superstars, worshipped by legions of fans and envied by thousands, and every little girl wants to be an Otome.But only one place in the world turns ordinary girls into Otome — exclusive Garderobe Academy in the desert-locked city-state of Windbloom. Only here is enough of the old technology left to create the nanomachines that grant the Otome their powers. And here, fourteen years ago, a rebel slew the king and queen, leaving behind an infant princess to take the throne.Enter Arika Yumemiya, fourteen years old, orphan, and determined to become an Otome just like the mother she never knew — the mother whose name she never learned, and who left her two powerful legacies: a mysterious pendant, and one other that not even Arika is aware of. Fueled by a combination of bullheaded determination and complete ignorance, Arika wins her way into Garderobe, only to find that getting in was only the easiest of the trials before her. In the process she meets (if not quite becomes friends with) Nina, one of the most promising students at Garderobe, as well as Mashiro, the young princess who is about to be crowned queen of Windbloom.Meanwhile, forces not seen since the last great war are on the move again, sending agents into Windbloom — some to sow terror with the magically-summoned mecha-like beasts they call Slaves, others to kidnap or assassinate Mashiro, and others still with more obscure goals. Some of Windbloom's allies seem to have ulterior motives not entirely in keeping with their friendly appearance. And there are rumors that Mashiro is not the true heir to the throne...Virtually the entire cast comes from Mai-HiME, although many are changed slightly and some (like Alyssa) have undergone considerable mutation. Even some environmental aspects are carried over, such as the Rorschach Cafe. Later events heavily hint (but never state outright, so it is subject to debate) that this is the future of Mai-HiME and Miyu is the same android from the first series, although Miyu's acronym is different. The focus of the show is quite different, though — most of the core cast were little more than background extras in the earlier series. While the show's plot and character development are enjoyable in their own rights, there is much fun to be had in spotting and identifying each one.Mai-Otome is every bit as fun a ride as its predecessor, and in spots is strongly reminiscent of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Highly recommended.Followed in 2006-2007 with Mai-Otome Zwei, a four-episode OVA. A three-episode prequel, named Mai-Otome 0~S.ifr~, has also been released, featuring Arika's mother, a young Miss Maria, and two canon immigrants from the Alternate Universe novel series Mai-HiME Destiny.Has an attendant manga, which actually started first and was produced at the same time. Opinion over that one remains divided. Keep in mind that it was never meant to be a direct adaptation, and they were just given the same concept.Available in North America from Bandai Entertainment for English-speaking viewers, although it's inexplicably retitled My-HiME Z: My-Otome.For more information on the characters themselves, please direct your attention to the Mai-Otomecharacter sheet.
Aristocrats Are Evil: Grand Duke Nagi and King Argos of Cardair certainly don't have the best interests of the world in mind.
Attempted Rape: Arika nearly succumbs to this, until Sergey and Nao show up.
Authority Equals Asskicking: Among the Otome, the Meisters get all of the most powerful weapons, GEMs, and spiffy-looking costumes. Holders of this position are usually of high status - heads of state or members of the royal family.
Beach Episode, lightly subverted: The beach turns out to be the starting point of a grueling survival test. Everyone besides the students (and Shiho, who loses a straw draw and has to hold down the fort), however, is enjoying themselves until the time comes to evaluate the students' meals.
Beam-O-War, subverted: The beams from Natsuki's BFG and Schwarz's Wave Motion Gun collide, but one of them is knocked off course and disables the Fumi system a second time.
Body Count Competition: Haruka requests one with Shizuru just before they battle an army of Slaves.
Break the Haughty: Attempted by Shizuru and Chie with Tomoe, but it doesn't work. There's also Mashiro, whose entire character-arc is basically one giant Break the Haughty.
Catch Phrase: Shiho's "Maki maki!", part of her Running Gag. Other characters (mostly Chie) conk her over the head later for doing it during "serious" events.
Character Development: Used well with Mashiro, who starts as a bratty and reckless princess, and emerges from the story's central conflict as a confident leader and much less of a jerk.
Cool Ship: Ultimate Desert Dreadnaught Suzushiro. Essentially a submersible battleship that floats on/dives into sand. Haruka enjoys being The Captain a little too vocally. Unfortunately does not get to see much screen time...
Dark is Not Evil: The Aswad dress in all black and are capable of summoning Slaves, but their leader is actually benevolent, if somewhat confrontational.
Every Episode Ending: The closing theme song fading in. There are a few different versions of the fade-in, depending on the mood at the end of the episode.
Fake Defector: Chie joins the Valkyries to keep an eye on Tomoe, but finds out that they have a system in place that prevents her from disobeying orders.
First Name Basis: Much more common in this series than in Mai Hime, as characters who would otherwise use last names tend to use first names, or titles in more formal situations.
In the Name of the Moon: Subverted by Haruka: She shouts a dramatic "kick-your-ass" speech and leaps into battle before Yukino gives her permission to use her Robe.
Intimate Healing: Arika on Erstin, then Sergey on Arika, and Akira on Takumi, all within the span of two episodes.
I Was Quite a Looker: Maria used to be hot back in her days as an Otome, as evidenced by her appearance in Sifr.
Law of Chromatic Superiority: Averted, at least in theory. The first years wear a red dress, second years get dark grey, Meisters wear a wide variety and the said-to-be-strongest Lena wears blue.
Limited Wardrobe: Apparently, the Corals have to wear their school uniforms everywhere, even out in the woods.
Loads and Loads of Characters: The show reuses almost all characters from Mai Hime as secondary characters (which are a lot), plus adds a whole bunch of new, original characters. Interestingly none of the characters feel as superficial as some in Hime because Otome has a plot complex enough to give every character a meaningful role in it.
Moment Killer: Kazu and Akane are interrupted in a motel about to commence an evening of love when Cardair/Chaldea's royal guards barge in to carry the former off to his new life as king. Mahya Blythe later appears to apprehend Akane for her "misdemeanour". Mai-Otome Zwei continues in a similar vein with Mahya making moment killing something of a speciality.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The girls pour some salt in order to kill the monster in the pool in Episode 6... but it turns out that they used sugar instead, and it instead turns into a massive monster. Everyone assumes Arika got the wrong bag, but Tomoe had Miya had switched the labels.
Nothing Is the Same Anymore: Done surprisingly effectively, to the point of virtually abandoning the previous milieu of the show, complete with a new opening animation and opening song.
Onee-sama: Several characters, but exemplified most by Akane and Shizuru. It's something of a replacement for sempai at Garderobe.
One Steve Limit: Averted, seeing as there are two characters named Mikoto: one is a cat, the other is a goddess.
One-teacher school: while there are a few other adults in Guarderobe, Yukariko is apparently the only teacher, and she teaches all subjects, from PE to embroidery to chemistry.
Parental Abandonment: Most of the cast, notably, Arika, Nina and Mashiro, have lost their parents. The few characters that have their parents alive (such as Akane) only have them mentioned off-screen.
Pay Evil unto Evil: Shizuru screwing with Tomoe's head, then tossing her the first chance she got, would have been a majorKick the Dog if Tomoe hadn't done literally everything in her power to make sure she had it coming.
Nao deals with the thugs who tried to rape Arika by tying them to the back of a boat and dragging them through Windbloom's canals.
Phlebotinum Overload: The Robes are susceptible to breaking down if they sustain too much damage during a battle.
Also possible if the Otome draws too much power for the Gem to handle, as shown in episode 4 and Mai-Otome 0~S.ifr~.
Post Episode Trailer: And in them, all the characters are aware of their roles in Mai-HiME - to the point of jealousy of another character getting to use her CHILD. A lot of the Mythology Gags are in these, such as an almost word-for-word re-enactment of the Mai Hime trailer in which Yukariko takes Midori's claim to be 17 at face value.
Precocious Crush: Tomoe's desire for Shizuru begins when the former is a child, but it doesn't get squicky until Tomoe's about 15, when she starts doing actual harm to people she thinks are stealing attention from Shizuru. It culminates in her sexually manipulating Shizuru and forcing herself on her.
Right Behind Me: Nao complains about not wanting to join "The Old Ladies' Military Club". Maria, one of the "Old Ladies" is of course walking up as she does so.
Right in Front of Me: Takumi criticizes Mashiro's decisions as queen without realizing that he's speaking to her. He later apologizes for being overly harsh, but his words hit close to home.
Ring of Fire: Mai's, erm..."explosive" ultimate attack.
Schoolgirl Lesbians: At one point or another, Shizuru, Chie, Natsuki, Tomoe, and possibly also Miya. By implication, most of the Otome at Garderobe, if their Onee-sama is of that mind.
Spoiler Opening: Both of them, especially the one from episode 16 on (though that one jumps the gun because the big twist is revealed in that same episode. Oops.)
Suspiciously Specific Denial: When Shizuru is helping Arika study in episode 8, she casually asks Arika if she heard the loud noise throughout the city the other day. Arika claims she didn't, then also says she didn't hear an organ playing either.
Teen Genius: Irina, who's already studying advanced information and biological engineering in high school (she borrowed the book from Erstin, but still...)
Was It All a Lie?: Tomoe asks this after Shizuru refuses to join her. Shizuru admits to lying to her in order to teach her a lesson about toying with people's emotions. To say the least, the message didn't get through.
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