What if Midori was an Otome?

A What If situation, like always xD

Things would have turned out differently, but what comes to my mind when I think about this what if....

...is that IF Midori was an otome...she'd be as old as Miss Maria....>>

Coz coz she'd be without the GEM that makes her a forever 17 years old right?? How old would she be? I mean, she looked like she's as old as Youko, but then again who knows....?

What do you guys think?

She is as old as Youko, and Youko's about 24ish. Midori only looks 17 because of the Aswad technology keeping her alive, and I'm assuming Youko has some nano-machines in her to combat the virus/plague... thing.

Truthfully, I don't see any situation where Midori would choose to become an Otome. She values her country and people too much.
But, to go along with it... she'd pwn almost everyone. 8) And I'm not playing favorites here - even without Otome power, only used the limited Aswad cyborg power, she was able to stop Haruka's mace with her hand PLUS fight on par with robed!Shizuru. Definitely think she'd be a column.

Then she would be visiting Youko quite often in her lab. And like Dashy said, she'll most likely be a column.

Mm... Can you see the endless possibilities??

We'll see a decisive winner to her fight with Shizuru Viola! *_* Could you imagine THOSE Dance Battles? Candy for my eyes!

Truthfully, more Youko interaction would definitely ensue. There's a chance Midori would of been more comedic unlike what we saw with the finish result. Being an Otome means hanging around Chie, Shizuru and the others. The pressure of risking the lives of herself and the Aswald wouldn't make her so serious. Nor the pressure knowing that she was almost living on borrowed time in the original Mai-Otome. Midori banter with Juliet Nao Zhang is a secret crack on my part. *_*

All in all, if she were an Otome, she would be quite powerful. Midori is a fierce fighter and tactician in Mai-Otome. I just feel her character wouldn't be the same as we remember, it would resemble her more lovable counterpart from Mai-HiME. I blame this on better company in Garderobe Academy students and faculty, as opposed to the bitter and murdering Aswald.

shezaei-neko wrote:For some strange reason I'd like to see Otome Midori hanging around Juliet. Those two would cause serious trouble. :3 Enough to make Natsuki face-palm more than once a day. X3

That would of been interesting to see. The hard working leader meets the laid back trouble making leech. :'3 The Gakuenchou could barely handle the antics of Juliet, adding in Midori would turn her world upside down...more than it already is. XD Then again, Aswald Midori is a no-nonsense gal. Maybe she can keep Juliet under control...bondage anyone? ;3

I can see Midori as one of the 5 columns actually, I don't know why but I feel like if Midori was an Otome she'd be on the 5 columns for sure

But that raises a new question, who would not be on the 5 columns if Midori was on the columns?

Midori Sugiura wrote:
But that raises a new question, who would not be on the 5 columns if Midori was on the columns?

That's easy: Juliet Nao Zhang. Nao didn't want to become one of the Five Columns to begin with. Midori would be doing her a favor by taking her place, so she can live the laid back life she always wanted.

Luu Sky Sapphire wrote:

Midori Sugiura wrote:
But that raises a new question, who would not be on the 5 columns if Midori was on the columns?

That's easy: Juliet Nao Zhang. Nao didn't want to become one of the Five Columns to begin with. Midori would be doing her a favor by taking her place, so she can live the laid back life she always wanted.

That is true, and makes the most sense

any other theories?

Ivenetta-Zweifel wrote:Well, endless possibilities on this one.

But, you know, I am sort of happy they never made Midori an Otome. We get to see her serious side that we lacked in the forever 17 teacher from Mai-HiME. It also points out her strong will and power. For Otome, they are basically equal in power, all of them get the same nanomachines, only different GEMs. It all depend on how well Otome is trained.
I don't know much about Aswad technology, but it sure as heck is impressive when you see a character like Midori who can rival skilled Otomes like Haruka and Shizuru with ease. It's not like Midori had the ability to be trained like Otome in Garderobe. To obtain that power, Midori must have gone trough hell, that alone is enough for me to admire her personality.
And there would be no person to bring Queen Mashiro back to Earth from cloud nine, so it's a good thing that Aswad Midori is Aswad Midori. It's fits the story.

I like your thinking! Having Aswad Midori be who she is certainly develops the character of Midori Sugiura a lot more. Seeing her be serious after seeing her be playful in Mai-Hime shows that she is not a one dementional character, that she can step up to the plate when necessary and bring what she has to the table. Not only that but Aswad is also very badass : D

Making Midori an Otome would of been too obvious. Mai-HiME Midori would of jumped at the chance to become an Otome. Defenders of truth, justice and all that.

Oh wait. Otome are our Weapons of Mass Destruction...only prettier.

In retrospect, Sunrise brilliantly gave new life to the Midori character while characters like (and I'll shoot myself here again for the sake of being "neutral" and "PC") Shizuru Viola remain very similar to their previous incarnations. Did I wish the old school Midori was back with her drunken sentai ranger ways? Who wouldn't, right? But it's always healthy self-treatment to be open to new ideas.

Nop! Sober Midori is wicked scary! Imagina her with Otome powers! Once upon a time... Earl WAS a planet...

Luu Sky Sapphire wrote:Making Midori an Otome would of been too obvious. Mai-HiME Midori would of jumped at the chance to become an Otome. Defenders of truth, justice and all that.

Oh wait. Otome are our Weapons of Mass Destruction...only prettier.

In retrospect, Sunrise brilliantly gave new life to the Midori character while characters like (and I'll shoot myself here again for the sake of being "neutral" and "PC") Shizuru Viola remain very similar to their previous incarnations. Did I wish the old school Midori was back with her drunken sentai ranger ways? Who wouldn't, right? But it's always healthy self-treatment to be open to new ideas.

I always pictured after the series her and Yohko sat down for a drink together

CaptainVonCookie wrote:Nop! Sober Midori is wicked scary! Imagina her with Otome powers! Once upon a time... Earl WAS a planet...

Now what makes you think *I* would do any damage to the planet?

Yes, Cap. Enlighten us with your pirate knowledge. >:3

My piracy consists in very innocent lewd activities. I'm afraid I can't help you here!

Mai Otome Midori with otome powers... War all around! She didn't get to destroy everything because Otome's powers could fend her off. Midori would be a rebellious Otome bringing about world's destruction in her pursuit for equality! She means well, but would be used as a political tool to open war on Garderobe by ambitious empires.

CaptainVonCookie wrote:My piracy consists in very innocent lewd activities. I'm afraid I can't help you here!

Mai Otome Midori with otome powers... War all around! She didn't get to destroy everything because Otome's powers could fend her off. Midori would be a rebellious Otome bringing about world's destruction in her pursuit for equality! She means well, but would be used as a political tool to open war on Garderobe by ambitious empires.

That does it. I'm running a background check on you. First District style, bitches.

When you put it that way, Midori Sugiura really doesn't fit in the Mai-Otome universe. Mai-Otome is a very political series at the core (with the surface being a zero to hero story for Arika and Mashiro). There's no shades of gray in Midori's book, being the biggest babyface in the series. "The Good Always Triumph!" is her philosophy, one that will not stand to discuss matters in a committee.

Ice Silver Crystal wrote:._. erm, wouldn't midori only accept an Otome robe just to study and harness it's power for the aswald?

Yes, of course! Not that they'd learn much from a robe. Schwartz must of given them bodies of dead Otome before, or collecting a few themselves since Aswad have battled Otome for years on end. Their true prize is directly at Garderobe, a place they couldn't break into without powerful help...

all I'm thinking is if midori was an otome she would be one rebelious otome 0.0 I can't really see her following rules and regulations and defiantly not following the order's of a master. she does things her own way (here's something maybe midori was an otome but then something happened and she was banned) all I know is a free midori is an awesome midori.

PuppyHaru wrote:all I'm thinking is if midori was an otome she would be one rebelious otome 0.0 I can't really see her following rules and regulations and defiantly not following the order's of a master. she does things her own way (here's something maybe midori was an otome but then something happened and she was banned) all I know is a free midori is an awesome midori.

Midori would be using the Otome powers to in the most liberal ways possible! Helping the poor, taking down enemies that are protected by stupid politics and...basically everything she was already doing as Aswald leader. She'd definitely be banned and wouldn't have access to her abilities until the contracts were broken in the finale of Mai-Otome (thanks for unlocking that HiME Star, Miyu).

She'd be a strong Otome. Regular Midori can hold her own against Shizuru Viola, so imagine if her abilities were increased a hundred fold?

Badass.
Can totally imagine her defying the orders of her master for the sake of justice.
Or maybe she'll become one of the 5 pillars.
It'll be a hilarious mess if she and Ahn Lu gets drunk together at some otome party  

hufflepuffor wrote:
It'll be a hilarious mess if she and Ahn Lu gets drunk together at some otome party  

Oh lady fumi, I'd love that. Aswald Midori getting drunk would be a perfect nod to Midori Sugiura of My-HiME. So far, the only similarity (aside from looks) is the leadership skills.

Off-topic, but you should get an avatar and signature, Huffle!   Like the rest of us cool kids.

Bumping an old thread as this is an interesting idea.

In my opinion, there are both pros & cons associated with the idea that Midori attended Garderobe. She has nanomachines, which must've come from somewhere. The Aswad can't produce them, or else they would be using them to alleviate their curse, having ascertained that Garderobe's nanotech is the only possible cure for the affliction. In Episode 19, Midori pretty much says that her nanomachines are in danger of going haywire and that the REM system they've developed based upon the GEM (one possible source being the Lofty Crimson Jade, which, though pretty much destroyed, was recovered by Shirow in Sifr). There's never any suggestion that the Aswad managed to steal a batch of nanomachines either (the closest they came was during the raid on Wind Bloom, though the focus of that attack was Fuka Castle, with Garderobe presumably left untouched). As such, the conclusion that Midori's nanomachines came from Garderobe seems pretty much inescapable.

However, the other side of the coin is that Midori's condition only manifests at the age of 17, whereas she would've attended Garderobe between the ages of 14 & 16. If her body was full of nanomachines, supposedly the cure for the disease, wouldn't her condition have been cured? There are ways round this: as opposed to, say, Rayte, who was forced to become one of the cyborgs, Midori remains an organic human, so the nanomachines may have alleviated her condition to some extent. Additionally, the nanomachines were not specifically programmed to cure the Aswad curse and some reprogramming would likely be needed before nanomachines capable of doing so were produced.

There's also the question of how long nanomachines would last in someone's syetem before denaturing. There's no mention of Miya being purged of her nanomachines and Arika is given a bagfull before her combat against Nina in Episode 3 despite there being no guarantee that she'd become eligible to be given a GEM. By AR 330, Midori's nanomachines, if they came from Garderobe, would be around a decade old. Another issue is the prohibitive cost of a Garderobe education: where would Midori find the money to pay for her to attend Garderobe? Clearly, state support and family money are out of the question, and I get the impression that Midori would be far more suspicious of a mystery patron than Arika, and very keen to learn their identity & motives for furnishing their support.

With regards to the other question, Midori as an Otome? Judging by the fight in Episode 10, she'd be nothing short of spectacular. She brushes off a frontal assault by Haruka (she who throws the carcasses of planes into space as easily as most people skim stones on a pond) before fighting Shizuru, very probably the most battle-capable Otome of her generation, to a standstill - despite her REM being so primitive compared to a GEM that she is unable to materialise an Element or Robe. If Midori became a full-fledged Meister, I think without any doubt that she'd be among the greatest Otomes ever to stand astride the planet Earl, the greatest since Lena Sayers herself.

All of which leads to more tantalising possibilities: perhaps she did attend Garderobe but the academy's authorities, apprehensive about the possibility of this matchless combatant from the cursed Aswad, the sworn enemies of Garderobe's technological monopoly, engineered a situation in which she could be expelled. Maybe that would mark the point where a young, idealistic Midori, more similar in outlook to her HiME counterpart, gave way to the more cynical & hard-bitten badass who went on to lead the Aswad during their greatest hour.