My Otome

[dreiser]

All right. For at least over a year I've heard people gush about My HiME and My Otome but it's only been within the past week that I've watched all of both series. Well, that's a lie. I haven't watched the My Otome prequel My Otome​ S.ifr yet but it just finished downloading so I'll do that today.

Anyway!



Like most people who enjoy yuri romance in anime my favorite thing in My HiME was the overwhelming angst and bad ass nature of the Shizuru/Natsuki relationship although that came way late in the series. They are truly awesome in My Otome and in particular Meister Otome Shizuru Viola the 3rd Column of Garderobe Academy and the Bewitching Smile Amethyst is shown to be greatly awesome. I mean, just look at the huge ass title she has! lol. That amuses me for some reason. Poor Natsuki doesn't get nearly as many fight scenes as Shizuru to show off her coolness I'm afraid.

But as much as I love them as a couple my favorite pairing, which had less screentime than Shizuru/Natsuki I'm afraid, had to be Brigadier General Haruka Armitage the Meister Otome of Aries and the Continental Orb Topaz and President Yukino Chrysant. I think the romantic nature of their relationship got one upped as Shizuru/Natsuki's did in My Otome. It's more subtle in My Otome but Shizuru/Natsuki are a confirmed couple and Haruka/Yukino seem much the same to me. Though they don't have drama cds backing them up. Haruka is used a lot in the anime as a comedic figure but she's a genuine character and whenever those two show up they never failed to make me laugh or just make me happy. They're hands down my favorite pairing for the series and I'm thinking of writing a fanfic for them which explains the development of their relationship in My Otome. Somehow there's an extra classical element of romance to the fact that Haruka is Yukino's Otome who is charged with protecting her and if Haruka gets hurt in battle so does Yukino and if one dies so does the other.

I refuse to read the manga for either series as what I've ascertained from it they fuck both storylines from the anime, which I quite enjoyed, completely to hell. Plus there's the fucked up crossover between both universes which is lame to me. I don't need to see two versions of the same character interacting with each other. That's just creepy and stupid. Keep the universes separate, imho.

Part of the reason I liked both series, and My Otome in particular, were the fight sequences. Both series reminded me of Magical Lyrical Girl Nanoha in how great the fight sequences were and I think both My HiME and My Otome are part of this great new trend of well done and different magical girl series. I like how the new series in this genre are thinking out of the box with how they develop the magical girl powers.

The fights are made more bad ass by the music. The song Materialise plays during a quite a bit of fight sequences and I think it's quite kick ass. Another song I love isn't from the actual My Otome series but rather from the PS2 game. Though it is played in the background of two episodes. That's the song Valkyrja. The music really adds another depth to the fight sequences and the series in general. Overall the music for both My HiME and My Otome is really epic and brilliant.

So! That's the end of my ramble. I still need to finish my fanfic for The Tudors with Jane Seymour/Mary Tudor but I really want to write a fanfic of decent length, at least fifteen chapters, for Haruka and Yukino in My Otome. I love them that much.

Comments

[allaine77.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, there's a ton of bad S/N fics. Especially bad AU S/N fics.

I'll admit, Haruka didn't mean as much to me in HiME. I think I first liked her because Yukino did, and I loved their reunion in the final episode best of all. So cute. It probably made a big difference that Haruka was an Otome instead of just a Key. It made her a rival to people like Shizuru and Natuski, instead of a nuisance. So instead of Yukino being the only person who seemed to like her, Arika is starstruck upon their first encounter, and she's one of the most beloved people in Aries. And she should be protecting Yukino, not the other way around.

I was very relieved that Nina's return in Zwei didn't mean a rehash of the Sergey thing. (Plus, if she still was an Otome, that had to mean she wasn't in a sexual relationship with him.)

Definitely the ending was better on HiME. For me the most memorable part of the ending of Otome was their reactions to youthful Maria. But it was a thrill to see people like Natsuki and Nao working together (if you can call cutting her pants off that), instead of at each other's throats.

I'll see if I can turn anything up on the Garderobe thing.

Sincerely, Allaine

P.S. Best power ever - sticking your fist in your hat and punching the guy ten feet away :D

[dreiser.livejournal.com]

I don't know about the key stuff, I haven't read the manga. The storylines sound really muddled from the both anime series which I quite enjoyed so I'm avoiding the manga.

Haruka wasn't given a lot of opportunity to be liked in My HiME, imho. We knew why Yukino liked her when we got a glimpse into their past but other than that she was a peripheral character who just annoyed the main characters. It didn't give her a lot of chance. My Otome does what My HiME should have done with her character, I think. I also like how My Otome improves Yukino's confidence, she's much more take charge in that series which is also why I prefer their characterizations in My Otome to My HiME.

I'm amused by Haruka's relationship with Sara Gallagher too. Sara has that same fond bemusement when she talks to Haruka that Yukino does. Makes me wonder if Sara was Haruka's heya-gakari when they went to school.

Chie is amusing but it's hard to take he seriously with the little magician's outfit. It reminds me of Zatanna on Batman. lol. Lena Sayers is the designated Otome bad ass. Sifr was worthwhile just to see her fight.

[shanejayell.livejournal.com]

Whoops, wrong vid. *fixes*

[dreiser.livejournal.com]

I've seen it already. Thanks though! It's very cute.

[shanejayell.livejournal.com]

*lol*

I was really PO'ed it was left off the DVD release here. Liked Haruka telling Shizuru not to get pervy with the kid....