Azure Flame Reloaded

Apologies for not posting for a few days; some idiot (not me) forgot to pay for the internet this month. They said it didn’t need to be done, but it was- a prequel to the greatest trainwreck of all time, Mai-Otome 0. And thus, in true Azure Flame tradition, we could not merely let the [...]

It’s been a long road, getting from there to here…and sadly, it is by no means over yet. As Mai- threatens to become a mega-franchise to rival the greats, we learn that Zwei is not the end, but merely the beginning of a spate of spin-offs and cash-ins that could last until we are all [...]

NATIONS OF THE WORLD Wind Bloom Once a significant world power, Wind Bloom has lost status over the generations thanks to a number of ineffectual rulers, but nonetheless retains much of its influence on the world stage thanks the existence of Garderobe within its borders. The previous king and queen were considered capable rulers with [...]

Foreword This is not Mai-Otome as you saw it onscreen (and for that you must be thankful); this is Mai-Otome as it should have been, and hence much has been liberally changed whilst retaining the essence of the original. OTOME An Otome is classified as any woman injected with self-replicating internal nanomachines that enable her [...]

I have to admit that I have been terribly wrong about Mai-Otome. How could I, holder of a degree in physics, possibly understand its depth and complexity as well as the random grammatically challenged flamers who came to my blog to comment? Indeed, I totally failed to grasp the deeper implications and cutting social commentary [...]

Chie tries pulling a plot out of her magical hat. A lot has happened over the last three months, but I’m sure most will agree that events worldwide, personal and anime-related must all pale in comparison to the release we’ve all been waiting for- the second episode of Mai-Otome Zwei. In episode one, a mysterious [...]

For my last few Otome articles, I’ve repeatedly said that I don’t have much more to say about the franchise. Now seems as good a time as any to admit that that never seems to be the case; until the day when I can play as Mikoto in my own isometric battle game, there will [...]

I’ve never been stuck for things to write about Mai-Otome- indeed, some might even venture to claim that I have already said enough about it. Nonetheless, such claims are not enough to deter me, and so the time has come to turn my sights to the recently completed Otome manga. As I wrote in an [...]

No, I haven’t done anything as insanely foolish as attempt to rewatch the series; however, lengthy as it was, I’ve come to feel that my first rant about Otome just didn’t quite cover everything. And so it is that I return to the stage of Otome ranting to present you with the second part, entitled [...]

Spoiler warning: this rant will unashamedly give away the plot for the entirety of Mai-Otome and most of HiME. In October 2005, life seemed good; a sequel to Mai-HiME had begun airing in Japan, and it seemed to be all anyone could talk about. Fans of the original were looking forward to bigger and better [...]