Tomoe Marguerite (トモエ・マルグリット Tomoe Maruguritto?) is a secondary character in My Otome who is the 2nd top Coral student in Windbloom. She is also Chie Hallard's room attendant and later on in the series becomes an antagonist. In the anime, she is voiced by Rie Tanaka in Japanese and by Tracy Sutton in English. [1]
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My-Otome
Tomoe has attempted to bump Nina from her top spot and eliminate Arika through underhanded means. Although she usually disguises her malicious intentions with an image of perfection, her vulnerability shows when Shizuru (for whom she harbors romantic feelings) is concerned. Both Shizuru and Chie are aware of her dual nature. Tomoe later leads a group of Schwarz-controlled Otome, the Valkyries. In episode 21, she strikes a deal with the occupying Artai military force and brings a captured Shizuru under her auspices; quickly taking advantage of the situation and proceeding to realize a physical relationship with the older Otome. In a fight with Arika, she reveals that her attempts to kill Arika have been because Tomoe saw her as a possible rival to Shizuru's affections. There is a definite parallel between Shizuru in My-HiME and Tomoe: they both harbor possessive lesbian feelings and are both willing to kill based on them. The writers even have Shizuru comment on how much Tomoe resembles her younger self - a fourth-wall breaking reference probably intended to remind fans of the My-HiME Shizuru's own psychotic episode. During the final battle, she injures Chie, who was protecting Arika, and comments on how everyone seems to turn against her in the end, referencing her revelation that Shizuru was only using her and had no real feelings for the younger girl. In return, Arika defeats her and her robe shatters and she falls seemingly to her death. However, it was revealed she was alive. As Sakomizu was about place her in a body bag, she quickly stands up and begins screaming at him. However, she is still hurting from her fight with Arika and winces visibly in pain.
My-Otome Zwei
In the second episode of the OVA, the presidential candidate Ishigami (the art teacher from My-HiME) gives a lacklustre but emotive speech and introduces Tomoe as his girlfriend. Tomoe, however, quickly becomes exasparated by Ishigami's antics and kicks him forcefully off the platform, declaring herself candidate. Tomoe loses her temper at the crowd, who call her, among other things, a "traitor" and "witch" before she departs, leaving the bus hijacking incident up to current president Yukino Chrysant and her otome Haruka Armitage. It is also worth noting that the credibility of Ishigami's claim on the status of his relationship with Tomoe is dubious and inconclusive, given Tomoe's treatment of Ishigami as well as her sexual orientation as portrayed in My-Otome.
GEM
Tomoe was one of the students who answered Sergay's calls to become Artai's new Otomes, the Valkyries, Otomes that use a black gem similar to the ones the Schwarz cult members use to summon their SLAVES. According to Miyu, they are known as the Obsidians of the Darkness (呪詛の黒曜石 Juso no Kokuyōseki), the accursed gems of the Valkyries. The robes act similar to the Pillars of Garderobe, but their master is Rena, whom Schwarz was using to produce their own Otomes as the body of an Otome who has given birth is required to produce Gems and nanomachines. The Valkyries carry a Halberd as their primary weapon and can transform into fighters for speed and agility. In this mode, a team of Valkyries can perform a powerful attack known as the Dance of the Valhalla. As the name of their GEMs suggests, they are cursed as they cannot betray their master as Chie, Sergay's second-in-command, found out the hard way when she stopped for a bit.
The term Valkyrie is a reference to My-HiME, where the Searrs Foundation referred to the HiMEs as Valkyries. Also, in both series, Miyu fought against the Valkyries, although her "moral orientation" became the opposite, with her being with the "evil" Searrs in HiME and working alongside the "good" forces of Garderobe in Otome.
Name origins
- A tomoe is an abstract comma-like shape of Japanese origin. The earring that holds Tomoe's Valkyrie GEM onto her ear is shaped like a tomoe. Her hairstyle also seems to replicate the tomoe shape using her head.
- Marguerite comes from the French word for pearl and is also the name of a type of daisy.
References
- ^ My-Otome DVD Ending Credits
