My-HiME

My-HiME
舞-HiME (Mai-HiME)
Demographic	Shōnen
Genre	Action, Fantasy, Romantic comedy
TV anime
Director	Masakazu Obara
Studio	Sunrise
Licensor	Bandai Entertainment
Network	TV Tokyo
Original run	September 2004 – March 2005
Episodes	26
Related works
My-Hime (manga) My-Otome My-Otome Zwei My-Otome 0
Game
Publisher	Marvelous Interactive
Platform	PlayStation 2

My-HiME (舞-HiME, Mai-HiME^?) is an anime series created by Sunrise, Inc. and directed by Masakazu Obara, originally premiering on TV Tokyo from September 2004 to March 2005. The show is a comedy-drama focusing on the lives of HiMEs - girls with magical powers - gathered at Fuka Academy for a secret purpose. The series is licensed for North American distribution by Bandai Entertainment and European distribution by Bandai's European subsidiary, Beez, with the first American DVD released at the end of March 2006.

Terminology

Main article: List of My-HiME terminology

Plot

Main article: List of My-HiME episodes

Mai Tokiha transfers to Fuka Academy and learns that she along with several other girls at the school are HiMEs. Initially, the girls face off against monsters and a nefarious foreign organization. But when they learn of their true purpose at Fuka Academy, the girls must fight to save the world and protect what's most important to them.

Characters

Main article: List of My-HiME anime characters

The show's cast of characters is mostly composed of students and staff at Fuka Academy, with the emphasis on the female cast. Although most of the cast is already introduced by the second episode, only a few characters are disclosed as HiMEs; the other characters' abilities and alignments are revealed throughout the rest of the series. The main characters are the hardworking, caring Mai Tokiha, the cold beauty Natsuki Kuga, and the catlike Mikoto Minagi. Other characters are shown with a wide range of personalities and relationships. Director Masakazu Obara states that he "wanted to reverse the roles that men and women usually play," placing females in the lead roles.^[1]

Related works

The My-HiME manga follows an alternate storyline at Fuka Academy. It was first serialized in Akita Shoten's Shōnen Champion and later published in North America by TOKYOPOP. An anime spin-off, entitled My-Otome (舞-乙HiME, My-Otome^?), premiered across Japan from October 2005 to March 2006. This series contains many characters based on the characters of My-HiME, but it has an entirely different storyline. A PlayStation 2 video game, Mai-HiME - The Genealogical Tree of Fate (舞-HiME 運命の系統樹, Mai-HiME - Unmei no Keitouju^?) was developed by Marvelous Interactive and released in Japan on June 30 2005. This adventure game follows a storyline different from the anime and manga series. A remake, Mai-Hime - Unmei no Keitouju Shura, was released for the PC. Two PlayStation Portable fighting games, Mai-HiME Senretsu! Shin Fuuka Gakuen Gekitoushi!! and Mai-HiME Bakuretsu! Fuuka Gakuen Gekitoushi?!, both developed by Sunrise Interactive, were also released. A trailer for a Mai-Hime movie was included in the first DVD of Mai-Otome, however this trailer was reveled to be a fake, with a release date of 20006[sic]. Fan response to the trailer was positive.

Theme songs

Main article: My-HiME soundtracks

Opening themes

• Shining☆Days by Minami Kuribayashi (ep. 1 - 25)
• Never ending Crossroad / Endless Crossroad (終わりのないクロスロード, Owari no Nai Crossroad^?) by Yuki Kajiura (ep. 26)
• Ashura-hime (阿修羅姫, Ashura-hime^?) by Ali Project (My-HiME PlayStation 2 Game Unmei no Keitouju)

Ending themes

• You were the Sky (君が空だった, kimi ga sora datta^?) by Aki Misato (ep. 1 - 14, 16 - 25)
• It's only the fairy tale by Yuko Miyamura (ep. 15)
• Shining☆Days by Minami Kuribayashi (ep. 26)
• Silent Wing by Aki Misato (My-HiME PlayStation 2 Game Unmei no Keitouju)

Insert songs

• When a Small Star Falls (小さな星が降りる時, chiisana hoshi ga oriru toki^?) by Minami Kuribayashi (ep. 15 and 26)
• It's only the fairy tale by Yuko Miyamura (ep. 7, 8, 11 and 15)
• Flower by the Shore (水辺の花, mizube no hana^?) by Saeko Chiba (ep. 16)
• Sword of the Heart (ココロの剣, kokoro no ken^?) by Ai Shimizu (ep. 16)
• Lovely Intersection (愛しさの交差点, itoshisa no kousaten^?) by Mai Nakahara (ep. 16)
• Parade (off vocal) (ep. 10 and 16)
• Fuuka Academy School Song ~Crystal's protection~ (off vocal) (私立風華学園校歌〜水晶の守り〜 (off vocal), shiritsu fuuka gakuen kouka ~suishou no mamori~ (off vocal)^?) (ep. 26)
• last moment by Yousei Teikoku (My-HiME PlayStation 2 Game Unmei no Keitouju)
• Fortuna by Yousei Teikoku (My-HiME PlayStation 2 Game Unmei no Keitouju)

References

External links

• (Japanese) Official My-Hime website
• (Japanese) TV Tokyo's My-Hime website
• (Japanese) My-HiME - Unmei no Keitouju website
• Bandai Entertainment's My-Hime website
• My-HiME (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia