Mai-Otome 0~S.ifr~ - Episode 2

It's been an age since we covered the first episode of the horrendously named Mai-Otome 0~S.ifr~, so I can only apologise for any lack of continuity down to the fact that I can't remember much about that opening instalment of this OVA.


However, I do remember somewhat enjoying that first episode, which makes the rather confusing mish-mash that jumps all over the place which is episode two all the more annoying. Yes, we get to see what happened to Rena after her defeat at the end of part one, and we find out more about Sifr's kidnap and the reaon behind it, but somehow I found it rather hard to care about any of this, although I can't quite put a finger on why. Altogether it feels like they've tried to cram far too much into a single half-hour episode, although again I'm left wondering if I simply have inadequate memories of Mai-Otome (and indeed Mai-HiME, which is now being linked to this universe for some reason as a distant ancestor to the current batch of characters) to really do the show justice.

Overall though, I simply found myself yawning my way through the episode - At the end of the day, it felt far too much like it had been thrown together at the last minute to tick off as many checkboxes as possible, from a franchise that required more careful preparation and explanation of its major plot points. Episode three is almost guaranteed to offer more by virtue of being the final episode of this OVA, but it shouldn't be too difficult to top what felt like a hugely half-baked, run-of-the-mill offering this time around.