Mai-HiME
Title: Mai-HiME Genre: Comedy, Romance, Action, Fantasy Rating: 5.5/10
Review: I want to start by apologizing if this seems more like a rant than an actual review, but this anime really killed it for me. Mai Tokiha transferred to a special academy because her brother and her received a full ride scholarship. For a while she had seen a red star in the sky that no one else seemed to notice. She thought nothing of it until she found out the truth behind the academy, why she was accepted, and her destiny. HiME (Highly-Effective Materializing Equipment) each have their unique skills, weapons, and Childs (summoned mecha basically). The HiME fight against monstrous creatures known as Orphans and the evil organization Searrs Foundation. There were some good aspects like the art, action, and soundtrack but the overall story was poor. The characters were very far from likable, and so many parts of the anime were never explained. I did watch the anime till the end, but really wished that they stopped it half way through. The characters just seemed to get worse and worse. I don’t know if it is my jaded attitude but every character seemed so whiny about everything, or tried to make really deep meaning in light subjects. The main character Mai is also dense and can’t seem to get her act together, getting really hurt by every little thing but faking a smile. The story was very predictable, and there is a very clear distinction between good and bad. Without trying to give away too much of the story I can tell you now that you that the creators never gave you a clear explanation for multiple, supposedly “big issues”, such as motivation, foundations, and character attitudes. Character development to me seemed really poor, and none of the characters actually changed. I give credit that some came to realizations but I was so tired of them at that point I didn’t even care. And like I said it was all predictable, by episode 16 you will probably already see the ending coming. The action scenes were pretty cool, and that is probably what kept me watching. Comedy is hardly noticeable so I probably should take that off the “genre” section, I didn’t laugh at least. The romance that supposedly takes place in this anime just made me cringe. The main character’s romance was a joke, and the support characters had more “creepy” romances than genuine. Soundtrack during fight scenes were pretty epic as well so that added quite a bit to the anime’s overall rating.
Final statements: The anime is predictable, corny, and characters are just irritating. If it weren’t for the cool soundtrack and epic fight scenes I probably would have scrapped this anime early (and if I didn’t plan on writing a review on it). The first half the anime was worth watching, but it went downhill fast and hard. Avoid watching.