Mai-HiME 3
The fight continues from last time.Some rings of fire form around Mai. Nagi says they're her "Element" the proof of being a HiME. Mikoto shows up to help her fight, but that's not quite enough to slay the creature. So Nagi tells Mai to call upon her "child", who protected her and saved her from drowning after the ship went down. So Mai summons her "child", a firey phoenix (Ed: or maybe dragon would be a better description as Mentar suggested in the comments).. and it gets rid of the monsters, but it overdoes it just a bit, burning a solid path of trees completely down and leaving quite a mark on the island.
The next day Mai is summoned to see the director of Fuuka Academy. And it turns out to be the girl she saw earlier, Mashiro. Mai was brought there for a reason (of course)... because she's a HiME she can defeat the monsters that have appeared from somewhere, the "Orphens". Mai objects at first, but Mashiro allows her to decide on her own what to do...
And after that there's some amusing moments with Mai and Mikoto ;)
Half fighting, half story development this time. I suppose that'll be the pattern. And there's still much to be found out in terms of story. What's with Mai remembering her mother again this episode?
Mai-HiME isn't my favorite of the new stuff, but it has been enjoyable these first few episodes. Mikoto's swordfighting is still pretty awesome to look at. Next time there looks to be *much* fanservice for those who like it, judging from the preview ;)
Now that's what I call firebreathing ;)
Phoenix? I'd have considered this a dragon, but I guess that would be fighting over semantics.
I can only say that while my head agrees that this isn't objectively the best anime running right now, it's certainly the one I _enjoy_ most. I'm having SO MUCH FUN here.
Why? Because the characters are going strong. Mai is very likable and interesting. Bake-neko Mikoto is a hoot and had the best comedy parts so far. Natsuki is cool and intriguing. Yuuichi is at the very least able to hold his own and throw sparks when pitted against Mai. And I can't stop giggling when Haruka throws her next tantrum, this time about the little - uh - fallout from Mai's battle.
This is a winning combination. Great characters, good action animation, and Yuki Kajiura is starting to work her magic too ...
Clear winnah case here. I've booked the whole package.