Mai-HiME Episode 20: Dance of Flames/Tears of Destiny

Discussion thread for Mai HiME Episode 20: Dance of Flames/Tears of Destiny

This is the episode where Akira's CHILD gets defeated, and Takumi disappears, since he is the most important person to Akira. With that happened, Mai grew angry to Mikoto because she killed Takumi.

The Fire Stirring Ruby wrote:This is the episode where Akira's CHILD gets defeated, and Takumi disappears, since he is the most important person to Akira. With that happened, Mai grew angry to Mikoto because she killed Takumi.

And then Mai summoned kagutsuchi to fight with Mikoto and this was the first episode that Kiyohime apeared right?

TomoeMarguerite wrote:And then Mai summoned kagutsuchi to fight with Mikoto and this was the first episode that Kiyohime apeared right?

I'm not Ruby, but yes, that's the one. Here's the clip from that episode:

Mai Tokiha vs. Mikoto Minagi: Round One feat. Kiyohime [Mai-HiME Ep. 20]



When Mikoto takes out Gennai, the CHILD of Akira Okuzaki, Takumi vanishes in the arms of his sister, Mai Tokiha. Driven by rage, Mai summons Kagutsuchi to battle Mikoto. Remembering her brother's words, Mikoto fights back. This is a very powerful fight with great build up leading to it. THIS IS THE ONLY FIGHT WHERE KAGUTSUCHI AND SHIZURU FUJINO'S CHILD, KIYOHIME, CLASH WITH EACH OTHER!

Luu Sky Sapphire wrote:

TomoeMarguerite wrote:And then Mai summoned kagutsuchi to fight with Mikoto and this was the first episode that Kiyohime apeared right?

I'm not Ruby, but yes, that's the one. Here's the clip from that episode:

Mai Tokiha vs. Mikoto Minagi: Round One feat. Kiyohime [Mai-HiME Ep. 20]



When Mikoto takes out Gennai, the CHILD of Akira Okuzaki, Takumi vanishes in the arms of his sister, Mai Tokiha. Driven by rage, Mai summons Kagutsuchi to battle Mikoto. Remembering her brother's words, Mikoto fights back. This is a very powerful fight with great build up leading to it. THIS IS THE ONLY FIGHT WHERE KAGUTSUCHI AND SHIZURU FUJINO'S CHILD, KIYOHIME, CLASH WITH EACH OTHER!

They should of had a longer fight between Kagutsuchi and Kiyohime...
Thanks for comfirming it Luu Sky Sapphire.

It sounded like the easiest job in the world, right? Making sure none of the HiME fight just because Nagi and First District says so. Simple enough, right? Wrong. Mai-HiME Episode XX: Dance of Flames/Tears of Destiny proves that our emotions take us to the point of no return. The episodes opens with Nao attacking Takumi in the hospital. Akira rushes to his rescue, exposing her identity to Nao. Nao finds it sneaky of Akira to be impersonating a male all this time. The ninja HiME demands to know why Nao is after Takumi and Nao replies that this is revenge for what Mai and the others did. Again, Nao, you are being an idiot. Mai did not ruin your eye, Natsuki did not ruin your eye, in fact, none of "Mai's friends" ruined your eye. It was Duran. I guess blaming everyone for an accident is easier than finding the source of the cause. Swiftly, Akira carries Takumi to safety using Gennai's ninja techniques. We head over to the Rorschach Bar where Yamada tells Natsuki of a SEARRS agent that wants to exchange information with her. Mai, still moody, gets a threatening call from Nao about how she is going to kill Takumi as payback for her eye. Midori hears about Nao's hunt and immediately contacts Natsuki for assistance. At the hospital, the police investigate Takumi's trashed room and Tate grows concern for Mai and Takumi. This causes Shiho to make the ugliest face I've ever seen. LOL! Jealous-much?

You can run, but you can't hide! Nao catches up to Akira, Takumi and Gennai and immediately attacks them. Midori and Gakutenou arrive to distract Nao long enough for the others to escape. Out in the woods, Mai searches for Takumi, blaming herself that he's in this dangerous situation. She even thinks back to how her mother risked her life to save Takumi, all because Mai left him alone. Self-blame and self-pity all in one episode, Mai is certainly not shining bright as of late. Natsuki slaps some sense into Mai so she can collect herself, but just as Mai was starting to get things together, the mysterious HiME arrives. Natsuki tells Mai to run and find Takumi. Meanwhile, Takumi and Akira find a hiding place...for now. Takumi starts demanding answers from Akira on what Mai did to Nao and why she's involved with someone who these bizarre abilities to control giant monsters. Akira spills everything to Takumi about Mai being a HiME, trying to stop the others from fighting each other because when a HiME is defeated, the person most important to them dies. TakuAki moment oozes cuteness once more as Akira reveals that Takumi IS her most precious person. You should of seen Takumi's face light up! He not only accepts Akira's feelings, but he also accepts her true self. An uke girly girl. XD This is where the two of them are officially in a relationship.

Meanwhile you have delusional Ishigami trying to talk Yukariko into an elaborate plan to have Nao kill Mai, so they wont have to worry about Kagutsuchi. With no Kagutsuchi, Ishigami is confident that Yukariko will win the Carnival with flying colors and he...*holds back laughter* will become the new Obsidian Lord...*LAUGHS LOUDLY* Did this ass clown really thought he could pull that off? What a moron. Back at the dormitory that got hit by Yatagarasu's beam earlier, Shizuru is seen evacuating all the students. Natsuki shows up to "borrow" Yukino from Haruka in order to use her powers and guide Mai to Takumi. Mai arrives at the scene where Akira and Gennai are being double teamed by Mikoto and Yatagarasu. Gennai is destroyed at the hands of an enraged Mikoto (thanks to the Obsidian Lord's power), leaving Takumi to dissolve into green sparkles.

This next scene is just maddening. One of the best fights and overall emotional scenes in the entire series. Mikoto walks up to Mai after Takumi passes away and oh my g-o-d, the look on Mai's face. The way she stood up with her lifeless body swaying from side to side. She asks Mikoto..."why"? "Why did you do it?" Mikoto acts as if she doesn't know what Mai is talking about, which is true considering the Obsidian Lord's power drove her to kill Gennai. Not that it matters anymore as Mai enters into a furious rage that scared me. Mikoto comes to the conclusion that she indeed did defeat Akira and made Mai pissed in the process. Natsuki runs towards the battlefield as a concerned Shizuru watches. The energy beams by Kagutsuchi destroy Diana's monitoring spores, exposing the battle to the Fuka students in the distance. Mikoto uses her ground attack on Mai and Natsuki, only to have it shattered by...a CHILD!? This CHILD is different from all the others...could it be? The CHILD even starts attack Kagutsuchi for a bit.

Let's stop for a minute here. Now most of you know this new CHILD is obviously Kiyohime, Shizuru's CHILD who's making a premature debut. To this day, I still think that a Mai and Kagutsuchi vs. Shizuru and Kiyohime fight would of been amazing. However, it wouldn't of happened within the context of the story. Mai and Shizuru virtually have nothing to do with one another. The only reason they crossed paths for such a brief time is because Natsuki's life was in danger. Still if I had to place my bets on a winner, it would have to be Kagutsuchi. I just don't see Kiyohime pulling off everything Mai has accomplished and will accomplish in later episodes.

Back to the episode, Mikoto gets an open opportunity to finish Mai off, but Natsuki calls out to her by saying "You said you liked Mai!" Mikoto realizes what she had done, even shedding more light on the death of her grandfather in a flashback. It was in fact Mikoto who ended her grandfather's life; he tells her to show no loyalty to anyone except her older brother...the Obsidian Lord?! Dun dun DUUUUUUNNNNNNN!!! I don't know if it was overwhelming sense of guilt or not, but Mikoto doesn't move a muscle when Kagutsuchi unleashes it's powerful blast at her. Natsuki cries out for Mai, but Mai just walks away in agony. Losing her brother and killing Mikoto is too much to bear. She has nobody left except one person (Tate) who may or may not love her in return. The episode ends with Reito abruptly showing up to comfort her.


One of the most overused words when giving praise to great fictional works: UNBELIEVABLE. This episode just erupted into emotional action sequences and unexpected deaths of very likable characters. Sunrise didn't give any sense of hope for Mai Tokiha as she faces one tragic event after another. Very well done episode in every regard.

+ Intense
+ Great build up to Mai's rage
+ Takumi and Akira enter into a relationship...
+ ...only to have the illusion of happiness end.
+ The only time you'll ever see Kagutsuchi and Kiyohime square off on camera.

Now this was when shit really got real for me, and this was also when Mikoto was about to get kicked off the #1 favorite character rank, but not because it was possible that Mikoto "killed" Takumi. To be perfectly honest, when I first saw this episode, I KNEW Mikoto didn't kill Gennai. I had a feeling it was that damn Edgar Allan Poe's raven wannabe of a Child. I knew it was all a misunderstanding, but regardless, I was close on shedding a tear or two during one of the greatest TakuAki somewhat official canon scene, and when Takumi turned into gay Twilight sparkles

Irrelevant:

Nymphetamine wrote:

Irrelevant:

How could I forget Mezame! Yuki Kajiura is a genius among geniuses. Every track is a perfect reflection of the HiME, their MIPs and villains.

The episode that made me fear Mai Tokiha for life.

hildebrant wrote:The episode that made me fear Mai Tokiha for life.

The girl is more than just a HiME. She's a force of nature.

 

Luu Sky Sapphire wrote:

hildebrant wrote:The episode that made me fear Mai Tokiha for life.

The girl is more than just a HiME. She's a force of nature.

 

I just felt a chill go up my spine at this thought. Of her getting her powers back and her pet coming back into her life. Fear her Yuuichi. Fear her and run.

hildebrant wrote:
I just felt a chill go up my spine at this thought. Of her getting her powers back and her pet coming back into her life. Fear her Yuuichi. Fear her and run.

If only Tate did see her that day. Even then, I'm sure he wouldn't fear her. Can't fear who you love, even at the height of her fury. O_o;

Luu Sky Sapphire wrote:

hildebrant wrote:
I just felt a chill go up my spine at this thought. Of her getting her powers back and her pet coming back into her life. Fear her Yuuichi. Fear her and run.

If only Tate did see her that day. Even then, I'm sure he wouldn't fear her. Can't fear who you love, even at the height of her fury. O_o;

yes