This show is absolutely fantastic. It goes well beyond the Anime conventionality of the "monster battle of the week", with a huge and diverse cast of characters, deeply moving drama, and some great humor thrown in too. This show ranks among the very best in dramatic animation by far, and is addictive to watch.
The story begins with 15-year-old Mai Tokiha heading off to the Fuuka Academy with her brother Takumi. The boat is attacked in the night by a mysterious girl named Natsuki. Natsuki has a strange power to materialize hand-held flash pistols and summon a mechanical monster named Duran. Natsuki attacks Mai, but a mysterious power comes from within Mai to protect her. As Natsuki fights, the boat breaks apart. Mai is sucked down into the sea. The next thing she knows, she is waking up in the courtyard of Fuuka Academy unharmed, with a trail of singed grass behind her and no memory of how she got there from the sea.
In the successive episodes, Mai learns that she is a "HiME", a maiden blessed by a star which only HiMEs can see, and she has the power to manipulate higher-order matter. As a series of strange monsters called 'Orphans' attacks the Academy, it is up to Mai and the other HiMEs to save the world from them.
The show begins fun, exciting, and light-hearted, with some very good action in the battles with Orphans, and spectacular animation and music. Another high point is the boy-girl humor, which ranks as just about the most hilarious I've seen. This is the general mold for the first ten episodes... humor, character introduction, and a monster battle to cap it off. At episode 11, the first set of 'big bosses' show up, and try to steal the power of the HiMEs for themselves. The result is amazing action and some very touching moments.
Then, at Episode 17, everything changes. This is where Mai-HiME turns from being a fun and enjoyable anime into one of the most intense dramatic shows ever. Everything the main characters know is ripped to shreds bit by bit, and the world comes crashing down around them. These episodes have amazingly intense and complex emotion, and the way in which everything falls apart is so believable. I have never felt so much emotion while watching an animated show.
Another of the great parts of this show is the wide and diverse cast of characters. Almost every possible personality is in this show, including the butt-kicker, the devoted big sister, the gossip queen, the quiet sidekick, the lost kitten, the femme fatale, and the bratty little sister. It is handled surprisingly well. Even though there are over ten characters who could be considered 'main', I found it surprisingly easy to keep track of them all. The show does a wonderful job handling the enormous cast, and each of them are well thought out.
Plain and simple, if you like anime you MUST watch this show. The last ten episodes rank as one of the greatest moments in anime history in my opinion. Since first viewing the fan subs about six months ago, I have watched the series from start to finish no less than four times. It is simply amazing, worth re-watching, and slightly addictive! Check out the DVD's, and enjoy the show!
