Aug 17, 2016
With a name like “Mai-HIME,” you would have thought this series would fulfill all of the reader’s wildest dreams about princesses. I came in expecting to get my very own princess in a neat little box. I was disappointed. Well, to save you the disappointment I suffered, please enjoy this review.
Story
I came into this series expecting a decent harem-fighter. What I got was that, a little bit more and at the same time, a lot less.
You see, Mai-HIME’s central problem lies in its awkward pacing. Some of the earlier, less important fights last a few chapters, while later fights with significant build-up (*coughmaingirlshowdowncough*)
...
are resolved over the course a few pages. To make matters worse, the time between arcs is too short and exposition is commonly dumped before the plot quickly rolls over to the next confrontation. The problems only seem to compound during the later parts of the story, thanks to the larger cast of characters and multitude of fights occurring at the same time.
Another of the key disappointments of Mai-HIME is how quickly it tosses out ideas that, if taken further, would have been fascinating. For all the series’ predictability, there were a few twists (especially after the half-way mark...you know, the same part where the series proceeds to implode in on itself) to the ecchi-fighter formula. Unexpected betrayals and turns toward a more dark and gruesome atmosphere are, ironically, flashes of light in the dark tunnel to mediocrity. Unfortunately, these flashes are so short-lived and sudden that they blind the reader, causing the reader to crash into the wall of the tunnel. By the last few chapters, the reader has to get out of their “plot” car and trudge the rest of the way on foot, only to get to an unsatisfying ending that the reader could see a mile away.
Characters
Like the story, the characters of Mai-HIME are typical for the genre and fail to be anything anymore despite bits of potential. Mai, the titular heroine, comes the closest to achieving “greatness” thanks her relationship between her and her brother, Takumi. Takumi himself is an anchor for the series, bringing his workaholic sister and her partners out of their world of crazy fights and love-triangle shenanigans and into a world of self-sacrifice and quiet desperation. The last quarter of the series utilizes this relationship in an unexpected way, but due to the rushed pacing, the execution is ruined, destroying what could have been a major asset. Other concepts, such as the protagonist’s dark past and the secrets behind the HIMEs, are left hanging.
In other words, you know that really cool sword girl and the buxom babe with the giant robot? Yeah, you won’t get to know what they’re all about. Sucks to be you...and me.
Art
While the story and characters do frustrate me due to their wasted potential, it is art that pushes story off the edge of mediocrity. As with all manga, the art is what first pulls the reader into the world of the work, so imagine my surprise when I see that almost a quarter of the cast has the same basic design, barring a few differences. I’m not talking big boobs with an hour glass figure with just different hairstyles. Fujino and the head of Ori-HIME look like twins and the members of SEERs have got be their long-lost cousins. Barring one emotional moment between the protagonist and one of the heroines, the art never goes above average and while the Child (think: spirit animals) and weapon designs complement the characters, they aren’t anything special.
Enjoyment
The series never takes a break plot-wise, making the entire work seem like a bunch of fights thrown together. The tiny bits of goodness within, be they comedic goodness or a dose of straight-up tragedy, are steamrolled by the work’s overriding desire to be another rushed waifu war between the two lead girls, character development of other eye-candy be damned.
By occasionally shooting for something greater, the series ends up as something worse.
Overall
Due to inconsistent pacing, repetitive art style, insufficient character development and overall lack of artistic direction, Mai-HIME fails both on and off the battlefield, leaving the reader with a sub-par blob with specks of potential buried deep within. Only read if you are dying from an ecchi-fighting fix. This is one HIME I don’t think anyone should own.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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