Mai-HiME Episode 19: Labyrinth of the Heart

Discussion thread for Mai HiME Episode 19: Labyrinth of the Heart

Remeber the part when Mai was at the beach alone at night time?
I forgot why she was so out of it.

I thought she'd be alittle glad that Takumi was trying to be more independant.
And then she had the nerve to take it out on Mikoto (who had no clue what was going on in the first place).
That made me think: what was Tokiha's problem?

Bluholic711 wrote:Remeber the part when Mai was at the beach alone at night time?
I forgot why she was so out of it.

I thought she'd be alittle glad that Takumi was trying to be more independant.
And then she had the nerve to take it out on Mikoto (who had no clue what was going on in the first place).
That made me think: what was Tokiha's problem?

Mai was going through a lot of personal conflict about the Carnival, what she wants to do in life, Tate, etc. She was so at war with herself that she could of killed someone if she were pushed hard enough. To be fair, she did warn Mikoto to not fight the other HiME. Yes, I'm aware Yukino tried to pull a fast one first, but Mai calls what she sees.

Oohh, I understand.

I still felt bad for the cat girl.

I thought I'd ask.
That was not her finest hour, was it?

Bluholic711 wrote:Oohh, I understand.

I still felt bad for the cat girl.

I thought I'd ask.
That was not her finest hour, was it?

Not in the slightest, blu. But that works for Mai Tokiha when you look at it from a character perspective. Mai is not perfect; she's only human. The effective yet basic structure of a good vs. evil storyline went accordingly for Mai-HiME. The heroine has a drawn out low-point before she bounces back and wins the day. Damn, I love this series.

Wow, nice comment on that.

I never thought of it that way.
I assume it was just Mai being stupid, giving in to Nagi's plans, and then going catanoic at the end.
Now I am seeing Mai in a different light.

Bluholic711 wrote:Wow, nice comment on that.

I never thought of it that way.
I assume it was just Mai being stupid, giving in to Nagi's plans, and then going catanoic at the end.
Now I am seeing Mai in a different light.

Haha, it's subjective. I only call what I see; you can always come up with your own explanation for Mai's actions or the other HiME for that matter. :3 Makes discussion more three-dimensional, rather than contain limitations.

I would agree with you.

Mai was indeed at war with her inner demons.
She was angry, scared, confused, hurt and frustrated with the fate that she was forced to live with. That was probably why she acted they way she did on that particular episode. Mai was fed up with everything, even Mikoto, her sworn sister/friend.

She was in a point of her life where she almost felt like giving up cuz everything she ever had suddenly became lost to her.
At the end, Mai was so out of it that it was almost as if we were looking at Shinji Ikari of Evangelion. -shudders-

That's what I think anyway.

Bluholic711 wrote:I would agree with you.

Mai was indeed at war with her inner demons.
She was angry, scared, confused, hurt and frustrated with the fate that she was forced to live with. That was probably why she acted they way she did on that particular episode. Mai was fed up with everything, even Mikoto, her sworn sister/friend.

She was in a point of her life where she almost felt like giving up cuz everything she ever had suddenly became lost to her.
At the end, Mai was so out of it that it was almost as if we were looking at Shinji Ikari of Evangelion. -shudders-

That's what I think anyway.

Ugh, Shinji is a slightly different, more unique case. And I don't mean that in a good way, he had serious issues with self-loathing. Mai is more realistic because she goes through what all young girls in the prime of their years go through: Finding their place in the world. She's been looking after Takumi for so long without catering to her own happiness. When Takumi wanted her to let go of his hand, he pretty much "released" her. Looking after her brother was what she was best at, her only reason for living. Not good at all, but fortunately, she made a lot of great friends and is talented enough to do more than Takumi could ever dream of doing.

yukino pissed me off soooo bad in that eisode. i loveeeee her but she was trying to beat mai and thats not cool. and mikoto saved tokiha so i say......BACK THE EFF OFF MAI!!

Mai-HiME Episode XIX: Labyrinth of the Heart takes us back to Mai Tokiha reflecting back on the battle with Nao. We see a flashback with Mikoto checking to see if Nao is okay or around, but Aoi shakes her head. Either she's gone or doesn't want to speak to anyone. Can you blame her? The girl lost an eye, but come on, it was accidental! Now I have to complain about this next scene as it's lazy writing on the part of Sunrise. Why in the holy mother of fack would they make Midori and Fumi's battle off-screen? In this scene, we see Midori reflecting back to her encounter with Fumi. The first thing we see? HER LOSE! WHAT!? Worse is seeing Fumi without any sign of damage or exhaustion; as if she easily defeated Midori. After Midori's loss, Mashiro approaches her and asks if a person can change her destiny. Implying that she also doesn't favor the Carnival, despite going along for the ride with all these jokers who blindly follow the Obsidian Lord.

Next, we get a little back-story on Yuuichi Tate. He was an ace fighter and assistant captain of the Kendo Club in junior high. Right before the national tournament, he suffered a knee injury and just lost interest in everything around him. Instead of the goofy Tate we all know and love, he became very angst-filled; to the point where nobody would talk to him. Shiho is the only one who stuck by his side, it's normal that he'd want to look after her now. Tate blames himself for what happened to Shiho, knowing she may never walk again. He feels he has a heavy responsibility to her, so rejoining the kendo club with Takeda is out of the question. There's a cute scene that follows with Haruka showing concern for Yukino. Haruka may be pushy and loud, but she's very likable in the long run. She cares deeply for people close to her. In this case, the only person close to her.

Mai and Mikoto overhear Takumi and Akira talking on a park bench. Takumi tells Akira about Mai's always been there for him since their mother passed away. He admits that lately he's come to realize that he's been a huge burden on Mai's life. Both him and Mai can't have a life they can call their own if this continues. What's more troubling is knowing so much money spent on his surgery that has a small percent chance of success. He once again wonders if his life is worth living. His sister's happiness weighs on him so much that it's unbearable. Akira scolds him, saying if he were a real man, he'd go through with the surgery. Yet another cute moment surfaces as Akira admits that he wants Takumi to live. Literally, the life returns to Akira's face knowing someone else cares for him. In my opinion, they were a few seconds away from confessing their feelings. Damn cat!!! XD

On their way back, Mai is reeling from what Takumi said about her optimism and support weighing down on her. It bothers her so much that she snaps at Mikoto's excited reaction to Akira being a HiME. Mai's stress level is through the roof, I wouldn't piss her off right now. Shizuru heads back into the council room only to find Natsuki taking a nap. SHIZNAT MOMENT STRIKES AGAIN! Shizuru playing with Natsuki's hair is just too gay for me to handle. Natsuki wakes up (with a little drool on her mouth :3 ) and tells Shizuru not to get too close to her. OUT OF THE WAY, TAKEDA! YOU ARE IRRELEVANT!

Meanwhile, Mikoto runs into Reito and the two discuss Mai. Mikoto feels bad about the whole situation, letting Reito know she is important to her. Reito takes advantage of this by telling Mikoto that if she loves Mai that much, she will do whatever it takes to help her. Anyone new to series knows where this is going. Later that night, Takumi discovers Akira's sketchbook and sees that she's been drawing him a lot as of late. These two are so adorable, I swear! The cuteness doesn't last long when Takumi succumbs to his illness again. Mai is seen at the beach, unable to understand why Takumi would consider her a bother. She also comes to the conclusion that if Akira is defeated, Takumi will disappear forever. Yukino appears as does a barrage of text messages on her phone that say she is the weakest HiME of all. If she doesn't do something, Haruka will surely die. Yukino attempts to kill Mai, who she considers the most dangerous of all the HiME (thanks to Nao's mouth an episode earlier), only to be saved by Mikoto. Mikoto's desire to protect Mai fuels the power in her CHILD/sword, Miroku enough to slice Diana's tentacles (Yukino's CHILD) to pieces. She then sets her sets on Yukino herself, but is saved by Mai at the last second. Diana isn't destroyed, so Yukino leaves on Mai's orders.

This scene is heart wrenching as Mai questions Mikoto on why she attacked Yukino. No matter how many times she told her NOT to fight the other HiME, Mikoto does it anyway. Mikoto tells Mai that she likes her and Yukino, yet she attacked Yukino? Furthermore, Mai questions if Mikoto even understands what it means to love someone. She calls Mikoto and nuisance and wants to remain alone. Mikoto's crying and the shot of her leaving footprints on the sand is emotional as Hell. Mai gets a phone call from Akira and meets up with her at the hospital to check on Takumi. Thankfully he's okay, but he drops a bombshell that Mai needed badly. He tells her that she needs to be more honest with herself. Asking her what she really wants out of life. Takumi decided what he wanted in life with the operation and Akira, choices he's making on his own. It's time Mai did the same with her own life, without Takumi dragging her down. That's the sad element of Mai's character here, she lived and breathed Takumi for so long, she doesn't know what she wants out of life. She should be happy that he's getting the operation, so why does she feel like shit? I'd like to think Mai struggles with issues many people go through in reality. Finding your place in the world, self worth and all that jazz. If being Takumi's sister, working a part time job and being a cook is all there is to Mai Tokiha, she has a right to feel depressed. I wanted to embrace her the second she screamed "I don't know what I want out of life!" It's very heartbreaking to see one of the most iconic and kick-ass characters in anime history, hitting such a personal low point. Just proves to you that nobody is perfect. Mai is already oozing more humanity than everyone portrayed in Man of Steel.

(I promise, that was my last Man of Steel jab! =P Not my fault the film sucked. )

We meet up again with Tate as she takes Shiho for a walk. It's sad seeing Shiho in her wheelchair, not being her usual energetic self. The moment she spotted Mai on the swing set, she asks Tate if he's being nice to her because he feels guilty about her injury. Tate says no as expected so Shiho uses her trump card by demanding him to kiss her. She wants him to prove himself with a loving gesture that's real and not fake. Mai witnesses the kiss and runs away, hoping the pain won't catch up to her. The episode ends with Mai eating alone, bathing alone and sleeping alone. Realizing that everything she took for granted is gone.

This episode was even darker than the previous entry. There weren't any fights, but the characters themselves are beginning to go downhill. Everyone is at their low point, even minor characters like Chie and Aoi feel powerless to get Mai's mood up again. This is setting up one of the best episodes in the entire series. If you thought Mai hit rock bottom, you've seen nothing yet.


+ Excellent story
+ Characters are at their low points
+ Emotional
+ Takumi and Akira are THIS close to a relationship
+ Back story on Tate

Let me first state that during the Shizuru-playing-with-Natsuki's-hair scene, it didn't really surprise me when I first saw the show, since I already heard of ShizNat then.

Irrelevant sob story:

Oh and this episode really makes me want to decapitate Shiho  Sure all the HiME had problems, but Shiho imo was being the most unfair and hypocritical  What can I do about it, though  Love stinks!

You're always so good at understanding the needy outcast archetype, Nymph. Why not Shiho? XD

:3 I know that Shiho loves Tate and that she can't control her feelings, it's not hard to control bitchiness >_> Love triangles suck, yes, but damn, Shiho could've at least be thankful that Mai tried to support her -_-