My-Hime Volume 7
by Pedro Rodriguez
Note: Due to several spoilers in this review, several portions have been highlighted to blend in with the backgrond. To view these portions, simply highlight the review.
As we reach the climax of "My Hime", the show begins to tie everything up. Beginning where the last volume left off, Mai Tokiha has gone off to confront Yukariko Sanada. However the nun uses her child to hypnotically entrance Mai in her ideal world. The plan is foiled when Yuichi Tokiha finally catches up to Mai in order to set things right. The plot continues as the two narrowing escape the church, and they are confronted by Shiho Munakata at the old playground. All speculations behind Shiho's secret is finally put to rest.
Meanwhile, a second story arc begins to develop with Natsuki Kuga in the middle of it all. While she is still Nao Yuki's web, Shizuru Fujino comes to her rescue and obliterates Nao's child without a second thought. As fate has it Natsuki reaches the playground halfway through the subplot just in time to witness the end of the previous story arc. The first story arc did the best job in tying things up and overall story telling. It also gave Yuichi a chance to show how much he has grown as a character. They also gave Natsuki a chance to show how she has changed, espescially when you see her appreciate the magnitude of Yuichi's grand exit.
The rest of Natsuki's part of the play was almost as good, and it picks up with a hell of a bang. About halfway into the second episode, she slams her bike into the Student Council's office where Shizuka is enjoying some tea. The end result is a chase around the school, followed by a battle between each other child. It comes to a climax as Natsuki settles their true feelings towards each other. On the positive I liked how the staff allowed Natsuki to mature first before her moment with Shizuka, however I'm sure fans were hoping to see it all go down from a different angle.
The final battle also has some give and take. The action scenes can be dramatic if not entertaining, like always neither side holds back as they both throw down their biggest cards. It's just too bad that it couldn't have been any longer. Yuichi Tate looks pretty cool when he comes back from the dead, this reviewer was hoping that he would show us what he's got. The ordeal between the other hime is brief as well. Here was another chance for the series to end in one last hurrah, but it was also really short. Then there is the other matter at hand. Like before many times before, the Obsidian prince is one step ahead of Mai and company; it looks like they don't have anything left in their arsenal to level the playing field. How this is resolved? Basically by playing the oldest trick in the schoolyard: Bend the rules. Think back to when you were a kid, if someone hits you with their pretend sword of fire, what do you do? Tell them "I have a magical cloak that protects me from fire attacks!". "So Tate has been killed off and Mai can't summon Kagutsuchi? That's okay I'm going to summon my him anyways! Ha ha!". Still while a lot of the resolution came from convenience, the premise of the show - which consisted of drama action and fanserve - was kept in tact.
The animation staff has done an excellent job in keeping the show's quality at a steady level. The quality of the animation is about average when it comes to mid and wide shots, but the close up of the faces are well detailed. The girls especially have this look that is mesmerizing, and as always the show dedicates a small amount of time to provide us with a modest (if not abundant) portion of fan service. If anything Hirokazu Hisayuki really did a stunning job in the character designs, and hopefully we will be able to see more of his work in the future.
The final box set for the series is pretty tight. The enclosed case with the picture of the school is a distant cry from the box that came with the first volume. Still newcommers will have to decide between getting the swell box with the last DVD, or the swell t-shirt with the first DVD. The quality of the English voices is hard to critique. As it was in the entire series, the voices can sound too stiff at times, almost like they are pushing it too hard, but it's difficult for this reviewer to say how it can be improved. Extras include the director's cut of episode 26. It's nothing that monumental though, basically what happens is several more minutes are added to the ending credits sequence, where you how everyone is doing after the show. Also the credits themselves have been pushed further back well beyond the added footage.
In the end the show had a moderate combination of drama, action, and eye candy. There wasn't anything too original about any of this, nonetheless it was entertaining; also some of the designs (especially the dramatic close ups) were topnotch. If there is one thing that makes it stick out from the rest of the crowd, is the fact that it took time after almost every episode to pure fan service, if for any reason because they can. If you still can't get enough of this series, Tokyo Pop just released the manga version of the series, which looks to be riskier than the anime. They also have a title called "My Otome", an alternate reality/sequel to the original series. Hopefully fans will get an anime series out of it over here as well.
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