Search - My Hime: Anime Legends Complete Collection on DVD

Amazing anime, one of those hidden gems.

T. Wenzoski | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | 10/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have seen a lot of anime from a lot of different genre, and My-HiME stands out from the rest as one of the best anime I have seen. I will not give away any details to make sure not to spoil anything, but this anime has it all. It has teenage drama, action, mecha, lots of types of humor, really sad heartfelt moments, a great plot and really good character development. It also has a great soundtrack that fits most scenes perfectly, from soothing piano, to fast paced technoish battle songs, to some eerie tracks that just add to certain moments.

Now for those of you who don't like mecha, this isn't typical mecha, the ones in here are companions to the girls called HiME, not battle suits like most anime of that genre. While they do play a crucial role in the series, the series isn't centered around fighting, it's more about the emotion.

The series can be split into 3 sections. The first 7 episodes might seem a bit slow moving, but this is good as this anime has a lot of characters. These episodes each focus on a few of them so that the viewer gets to know a bit about them, get a feel for them and what they are like so that you will remember them as they appear later on. The story spends enough time with almost all the characters, and involves them with each other so that you actually want to know what happens to everyone, not just the ones that the story spends a bit more time with.

At episode 8, the anime dives deep into it's story. It starts to get really involved with it's intense, somewhat dark plot full of lots of unexpected twists that'll keep you watching.

A little while later things really change, but I won't say any more about that.

Overall this anime was a perfect balance of everything for me. I will admit that it has a few elements that some may not like (the ending being one of them), but it's impossible to please everyone. I personally enjoyed My-HiME from beginning to end. I call this anime one of those hidden gems because it never really got noticed here in North America, partly cause of the way it was released over here and the fact that they skipped the box set release after the single DVD's came out, waited two years, then released this Anime Legends box set.

I would also like to note that there is a an anime related to this. It's called My-Otome. I would not call it a sequel as it does not involve any of the events from this one, but for the most part all the same characters return with slightly different looks, some slightly different names, but in a more technologically advanced world with a whole new adventure. Some call this an alternate world spinoff, but there are little easter eggs in the series and it's OVA sequel and prequel that suggest that it's far off in the future and that the main characters are distant descendants of the ones in My-HiME. My-Otome has one big difference however in it's presentation. While the returning characters retain their attitudes more or less in this series, most of the brand new characters have more immature and childish attitudes than in My-HiME. It has a lot more silly and child-like humor which can get a bit annoying so that when the story gets serious way later on, you don't really have the same in-depth feel for each character. The story isn't as dark in My-Otome either, which is good for itself because the transition from it's happy silly nature to a dark plot would be way too awkward of a change for the viewer.

Nevertheless My-Otome, it's sequel My-Otome Zwei, and prequel My-Otome 0 are all worth a watch. Still I feel that even though the Otome series seems to be getting a lot more attention, My-HiME was still the better series in almost all aspects."

One of the BEST Anime Series I've Seen

Jemiella Ayala | Atlanta, GA USA | 02/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My-HiME is, in my opinion, almost as good as Evangelion. The series is about a girl named Mai Tokiha trying to start a better life with her brother Takumi at the private school Fuka Academy. However, its difficult when you find out that you're a HiME, one of the battle princesses that must protect the school from monsters called Orphans. So much for a better life!!
The series mixes up almost every aspect of an anime; drama, romance, angst, action, yuri, suspected yaoi, death, and a little bit of fan service in between. (The extras after the credits)
This is one of the first anime that I found so emotional that I indeed shed a tear!! The portrayal of the characters are very good (both Japanese and English voice actors) and they were very convincing.
Every character in the series is connected, and every character develops throughout the series.
It DID start off a bit slow, but it went into its plot at the 5th or 6th episode. And it definitely became more serious and full of twists after episode 8. The ending may not be up-to-par for some people, but the series as a whole is AMAZING. One of the best in my opinion.
I reccomend this anime to anyone. I showed this anime to a person who thought he'd never get into it (my boyfriend) and now everytime he comes to my dorm room, and we have nothing to do. "Lets Watch My-Hime!!"
A Hidden Gem of Anime."

Great Anime! Great Price!

Shoujo Otaku since 1997 | 09/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the best new animes to come out in recent years, MyHime (or Mai Hime) is a masterpiece of writing and animation. Many anime series have pacing issues, episodes stuffed with filler to make the series longer - not this one. The plot, which is rich, complex, and emotional, comes at the viewer at just the right pace. Episodes are never wasted, although occasionally the writers attempt to lull the audience into a false sense of 'filler episode'. Often, these episodes prove to be pivital to the plot, some major event happening during an otherwise calm or peaceful day.

Better still is the price. Slimmed down from around $150.00 to collect the disks individually, this $50 set is well worth the price (especially when many 13 episode series sell for a similar price).

MyHime is one of those "something for everyone" animes, mixing mechs, mystic powers, and high-school romance in a fashion reminicent of classics like Escaflowne. Give this series a chance and I promise it won't disappoint.

"

Beautiful Trainwreck

Aion | England | 11/20/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"My-HiME fits the description of 'beautiful trainwreck' better than any other anime I've watched. It starts out as a high school slice-of-life series, with a lot of ecchi humour, even the 'monster of the week' battles providing far more in the way of amusement (a panty/bra stealing creature, for example) than danger. Then, in the last twelve episodes or so, the drama side gets going, which results in it turning into a less gruesome version of Battle Royale, with robots added on top. The two differing sections of the story do end up blending well together - the first part providing time for viewers to become attached to the characters - but it was certainly strange to see a light-hearted anime take such a dark turn...

If nothing else, you have to praise the visual and audio aspects of the series. It has lovely art and very good animation, the character designs (the faces, short skirts, big breasts and super model female cast) and bright colours unsurprisingly reminding me of Code Geass. The soundtrack is mostly stellar, too, with the music Goddess known as Yuki Kajiura pulling out one of her overall weaker (compared to her best work) but by no means poor collections of music. Even the English voice acting impressed me, Mai's voice fitting her fiery yet loveable and cute personality like a glove... However, where My-HiME falls short, and what makes me class it as a trainwreck, is its story.

Put simply, the story is about a group of twelve girls and their loved ones. Each of the twelve girls (referred to as 'HiME') has a different power, some being elemental and others being the ability to use weapons, and each can summon a mecha/monster (referred to as a 'Child' if it obeys a human and an 'Orphan' if it doesn't) to fight with them. Mai, the female lead, moves to the prestigious Fuka Academy (which accommodates elementary-high school ages, and has dormitories for both genders), along with her younger brother at the start, and there she meets and interacts with the other girls with powers and her new classmates.

Sadly, there isn't much actual plot covered in the 26 episodes. The first half focuses heavily on characterization, fan service and comical goings on. The second half focuses on characterization and battles, each battle resulting in a new death. In between all of this, not a lot beyond the basic premise of the story gets a look in. This resulted in very little of the plot making sense, and the final episode was a failure (partly) because of this.

Why were the 'Child' and 'Orphan' creatures in existence? How could they be summoned by certain people? What was the character reminiscent of Kaoru from Evangelion (Naji)? Why did the HiME ritual occur every 300 years?

None of the above questions, or numerous others I have, receive answers within the series. When the final episode rolled around and the world was saved from destruction in predictable fashion, I was left with a blank expression on my face, reflecting on the many questions without answers and with disappointment in the place of the answers I desired.

Apart from its production values, what saved My-HiME, for me at least, was the quality of its characterization. Over the course of the series, you learn all about Mai. Her relationship with her brother is explored and plays a major role, and as a result of an involving love quadruple I came to care about her as a person, as well as her likeable main love interest. And, though the other cast members didn't get anywhere near as much time because of the amount of them - the number reminding me of Negima's never-ending character list to begin with - enough of the personalities and back-stories of those that mattered got covered for me to become emotionally involved with many of them. The characters laughed and cried, and I was able to feel their emotions; never feeling disconnected.

But, switching back to the story, the final episode almost ruined the good that came before. If you're the sort of person that cringes when you see deus ex machina twists, your face won't be a pretty sight after finishing the anime because it's practically non-stop deus ex machina in the last episode. Without wanting to spoil too much, what happened at the end of My-HiME is equivalent to every emotional, heart-wrenching moment of a story being made worthless, destroying any attachment one has to the many moving scenes included. Even though I enjoyed what came before immensely, I felt like time slowed down at the end - it was a sad way to end such an absorbing title.

To sum it up, Sunrise know how to please anime fans; men/otaku in particular. They keep the skirts high, the chests large, the comedy amusing and are masters at pulling away at the heart strings of viewers with dramatic action, or just plain old fashioned drama. They know how to make up for what would normally by anime ruining flaws. If not for the poor excuse of a story and even worse attempt at an ending, if only for enjoyment alone, I'd be rating it higher, but it wasn't to be. Instead, I'll give it a solid 8/10, thinking of it as something of a guilty pleasure."