Anime about magical girls in high school are certainly nothing new. It seems that every year we get subjected to a couple of series that follow the same standard path with the same boring cast of characters. What happens when Sunrise Inc. gets their hands on the project though? It breaks the mold, that's what. If you're familiar with the company then you know that they are pretty much a division of Bandai and have been behind several successful shows. We're talking about stuff like Cowboy Bebop, Witch Hunter Robin, Outlaw Star, and Dirty Pair, so you can already tell the type of pedigree that My-HiME (pronounced He-May) has to start with.

The series ran for twenty six episodes in Japan and is scheduled to be released on seven DVDs here in America. The first volume has hit the streets a little while ago and features the first four episodes. I have to admit that after seeing some trailers for the show and reading about the concept; I had some high expectations. At its core this is a show about a bunch of girls going to school who also fight monsters in between their home work. The twist here is that the show is loaded with fan service (IE: ample boobage and naughty jokes), features a ton of action, and is downright hilarious at times. Yes, My-HiME works hard to reshape your preconceptions and luckily it's successful.

The whole idea behind the show is that there is this school where a lot of weird stuff is always happening. The Fuka Academy is run by students for students, but there is something else going on behind the scenes. It would seem that there are monsters known as Orphans all over the place just begging to get their butts kicked. The HiME (Highly-Advanced Materializing Equipment) are a group of female students with the power to craft weaponry from thin air and summon creatures (called Child) into battle. The HiME are identified only by a tiny symbol on their body and their ability to see a red star next to the moon.

The show focuses on a young girl named Mai and her brother Takumi. In the first episode they are riding a ferry and are on their way to Fuka Academy for the first time. The ferry encounters a young girl floating in the water clutching a sword and brings her on board to resuscitate her. Mai seems to be the only one around that actually knows CPR so she gets to work immediately. The girl comes to and Mai notices that she has the same "birth mark" on her body as she does. Mai also happens to notice the mysterious red star in the sky, but doesn't really think anything of it.

Later that night a speeding boat rushes into the picture and a strange person boards the ferry searching for the young girl. Mai witness the two materialize weapons out of thin air and begin fighting right their on the ship. The battle is intense and it gets even more ridiculous as the aggressor summons a metallic tiger-like thing into the fight. Eventually the ship gets literally sliced in half and Mai is caught in the center of it all. Unwittingly she finds herself casting fire from her bare hands and the next thing she remembers is waking up on the Fuka Academy's front lawn.

As the realization sets in for Mai that she is a HiME she has more and more questions about their nature. In the episodes here we get to see Mai explore her new powers and also get a glimpse into the world of Orphans, Children, and the mysterious Fuka Academy. Each of these four episodes was great with some well scripted events and witty dialogue. There were more than a few cliché fan service jokes and references but for the most part they were hilarious. I particularly liked the episode that featured an Orphan that had a fetish for stealing women's underwear.

For a new series and a first volume, this is a very fine start for My HiME. The four episodes here were rich enough in every department that I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. There is a load of action, a bunch of humor, and a lot of mildly naughty fan service. If the future volumes for this anime hold up as well as this introductory one then we're looking at a great show here. I'm going to recommend it for now and we'll see where My HiME goes when the second volume comes out.

With a recent production date My HiME offers some very nice visuals within its 1.33:1 presentation. The image is crystal clear with no noticeable aliasing, grain, or artifacts of any kind. Typically the grain arrives in a transfer that features a lot of dark scenes and such, but this anime in particular is about as colorful as it gets. Artwork and animation is top notch with very fluid movement and some very attractive design.

Two stereo tracks are featured prominently on this release with English and Japanese getting the language treatment as you'd expect. The quality is fair with mild diversity in the audio direction but neither track has a lot of depth. Voice acting for each track is generally well done and acceptable so at least that's not an issue. I didn't hit any technical snags while I was watching either and found the volume pitch to be spot on. English subtitles are included on the disc as well.

If I had to use one word to describe the extra content for My HiME it would be "sad." Aside from some trailers the only feature is a promotional video for the show which is shown in Japanese without any English subtitles. What's up with that?

With a first volume as strong as this one is My HiME looks like it has the potential to be an uproarious and action-packed show. There were so many elements that clicked in these first four episodes that I was drawn in almost immediately. Sure the conceptual well of high school girls with magic powers dried up a long time ago, but the fresh spin that seems to be going on here looks like it may break the rut that the genre has been stuck in. I'm really looking forward to the second volume of the show but for the time being I'm only going to recommend this release; at least until we see where the series goes.

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