Tokkan Report post Posted April 12, 2014 Conversely though, she doesn't appear to be that popular; she only has 15 pieces of fanart on Pixiv tagged with her name, while BlazBlue as a whole currently has 27376 images. If popularity determined who became playable, Kokonoe would've been playable back in CS and Jubei would also be playable by now. Hmmm, actually the weird thing is by your logic with fanart, Celica wasn't really all that popular until she got a boost from both the Drama CD/Manga bonuses for the portable versions of CSII and her VA's appearance on BuruRaji. Kazuma was actually more popular than her fanart-wise back in the day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leiopelma Report post Posted April 12, 2014 If popularity determined who became playable, Kokonoe would've been playable back in CS and Jubei would also be playable by now. Hmmm, actually the weird thing is by your logic with fanart, Celica wasn't really all that popular until she got a boost from both the Drama CD/Manga bonuses for the portable versions of CSII and her VA's appearance on BuruRaji. Kazuma was actually more popular than her fanart-wise back in the day. There is of course no precise link between popularity and playability, but I think it does play a role. I doubt that Kokonoe would have ever become playable for example if fans hadn't been asking for it for years. Fanart isn't an exact metric, but it is suggestive. In this popularity contest, made a few months after the start of the manga, Mai didn't even make the list. I doubt she did much better in the more recent ArcSys popularity contest, though I would be interested in hearing her exact ranking if someone knows it. Of course preexisting popularity isn't a requirement for playability; after all if that were the case no new characters would be created since they have no established fans. But if an existing character seems unpopular, the game developers might decide that adding a completely new character instead would do a better job of attracting buyers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlackYakuzu94 Report post Posted April 12, 2014 I think the reason Mai seems "unpopular" is because Remix Heart is literally her only real relevance. Like you said, Celica didn't really get popular until she got more prominent in the main series, so the same may be true for Mai. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokkan Report post Posted April 12, 2014 In this popularity contest, made a few months after the start of the manga, Mai didn't even make the list. I doubt she did much better in the more recent ArcSys popularity contest, though I would be interested in hearing her exact ranking if someone knows it. Mai wasn't even an option in that vote, and in recent vote on Bururaji A Taro ranked 20 in "which character you want as a classmate" poll. You should've seen the comments that came with, they were along the lines of: "Hurry up and appear in main story, Taro-senpai" "What about Mai-chan?" "I think he should be voiced by Hosoya." "Taro-senpai WAROTA wwwwww" "I've never read RimiHa, who the hell is this guy." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leiopelma Report post Posted April 12, 2014 Mai wasn't even an option in that vote, and in recent vote on Bururaji A Taro ranked 20 in "which character you want as a classmate" poll. You should've seen the comments that came with, they were along the lines of: Taro and Mai do seem to be the two characters introduced in Remix Heart that got carried over to the main story, if the fact they were mentioned in Chronophantasma and their appearances in Noel's flashbacks in the new BlazBlue manga are anything to go by. I think it's very likely that they'll be appearing in the final BB game, though I have no idea if they'll actually be playable. Anyone care to speculate what Mai's power up in chapter 21 will turn out to be? My guess is that it will give her much greater control over her power, thus being able to eat normal food again, and also she'll be able to use people's abilities herself when she copies them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
churchblue Report post Posted April 12, 2014 I still think Mai need a story before the next game comes out. Hence that's why she would show up in a CP extension. I mention earlier that I think Mai being "missing" is a cover up for her to evade NOL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokkan Report post Posted April 12, 2014 I still think Mai need a story before the next game comes out. Hence that's why she would show up in a CP extension. I mention earlier that I think Mai being "missing" is a cover up for her to evade NOL. Oh, churchblue, you and your wild baseless speculations always make me smile. They're just so silly and out of nowhere and sometimes make absolutely no sense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leiopelma Report post Posted April 12, 2014 I still think Mai need a story before the next game comes out. Hence that's why she would show up in a CP extension. I mention earlier that I think Mai being "missing" is a cover up for her to evade NOL. Why would she need another story at this point? Her main story has yet to even finish. And she doesn't even need to hide from NOL at this point. Her disappearance could easily be explained by the fact her father is trying to have her assassinated and her needing to hide from that thread. Or her next appearance could introduce an alternate reason; e.g. Relius locking her in his lab to study her soul. PS: Calling it now. Mori will take a page from Zhuangzi and have Mai actually be a butterfly dreaming that she's a girl. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
churchblue Report post Posted April 13, 2014 The story would explain what happen after Mai graduated all the way up to CP. Remix Heart will end soon, so make a story event for Mai in the CP is possible. Whatever happens, Mai is connected to the main storyline somehow. I do agree that Mai will DEFINITELY be a playable character along with Taro. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlackYakuzu94 Report post Posted April 13, 2014 The story would explain what happen after Mai graduated all the way up to CP. Remix Heart will end soon, so make a story event for Mai in the CP is possible. Whatever happens, Mai is connected to the main storyline somehow. I do agree that Mai will DEFINITELY be a playable character along with Taro. Gotta love these baseless assumptions. We don't even know what happened to Mai that caused her to disappear in the first place, or if its even connected to the main plot at all. Soooo... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shadow Draygon Report post Posted April 14, 2014 All the baseless drama of building Mai to be a guy trapped in a girl's body only to have it end with perma-genderbender. TO WHAT END? I ask Mori. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leiopelma Report post Posted April 14, 2014 All the baseless drama of building Mai to be a guy trapped in a girl's body only to have it end with perma-genderbender. TO WHAT END? I ask Mori. I for one welcome this ending, since the majority of genderbending manga end with the main character turning back into a man in the end. She just needs to hook up with Taro and her journey towards the female side will be complete. Are you asking why they didn't just have Mai be female to begin with? Her background (getting kicked out by her psychotic father), her inner struggles (between adapting to her current happy existence and yearning for her past position as well as worrying about the loss of her identity) and some of the plot (the attempts she made to find a way to reverse the transformation) rely on the fact she used to be a man. Remove that and you'd have to completely recreate the character. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shadow Draygon Report post Posted April 14, 2014 Mai would still have all those traits and still be a developed female character. He father problems could still be developed for "I wish I'd rather of had a son" and still had the same effect. And all the "I'm a guy hanging out with girls and it's weird" could just be summed up as "social awkward". And as for Mai's investigation in to his transformation is pretty moot as it's more about the fusion of grimoire and person that makes Mai a target and not so much the guy into girl aspect. If it had started out like that, I probably wouldn't be so hard on Remix Heart. But now, it's just dumb plot points for the sake of being as PG-13 ecchi as possible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leiopelma Report post Posted April 14, 2014 Mai would still have all those traits and still be a developed female character. He father problems could still be developed for "I wish I'd rather of had a son" and still had the same effect. And all the "I'm a guy hanging out with girls and it's weird" could just be summed up as "social awkward". And as for Mai's investigation in to his transformation is pretty moot as it's more about the fusion of grimoire and person that makes Mai a target and not so much the guy into girl aspect. Why would her father decide to kick Mai out and send assassins after her at this point rather than just giving away or murdering her as an infant? Grooming Mai as an heir wouldn't have made sense under this scenario. The transformation also adds the dynamic of trap series such as Otoboku to an extent, since Mai has to hide her true identity and fears that her friends will reject her if they find out about her deception. And again there is Mai's inner conflict over her transformation since on the one hand she enjoys having friends and not being her father's puppet and on the other hand she feels dispossessed and as if she has lost her identity. This wouldn't fit as much if Mai had been female from the beginning. As well as, dare I say it, an element of character development as Mai gradually gets used to her new form, to being around other girls and eventually falls in love with her senpai. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlackYakuzu94 Report post Posted April 14, 2014 It kinda bothers me that we're discussing the plot structure of this manga after all of these months. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shadow Draygon Report post Posted April 15, 2014 Between tentacle rape and spray on bathing suits, there really hasn't been much of a plot till now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlackYakuzu94 Report post Posted April 15, 2014 That was my point...all of this fanservice, and now it decides it wants to have a plot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rishtopher Report post Posted April 24, 2014 So I kind of skimmed all the available chapters to catch up. Quick question: Why was my able to use Kirihito assassination techniques to escape Chacha and Shiori? Did I miss something? I guess I'm more confused as to why she hasn't displayed this level of skill before. From what I read, she's unable to use abilities she's stored through her grimoire? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokkan Report post Posted April 24, 2014 So I kind of skimmed all the available chapters to catch up. Quick question: Why was my able to use Kirihito assassination techniques to escape Chacha and Shiori? Did I miss something? I guess I'm more confused as to why she hasn't displayed this level of skill before. From what I read, she's unable to use abilities she's stored through her grimoire?Uh... the answer to that is kind of a spoiler for a chapter that's yet to be released translated. Needless to say, the "Intermediary Grimoire" is not the only grimoire Mai has a part of her. This power comes from the grimoire that turned Mai into a female in the first place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rishtopher Report post Posted April 24, 2014 Ah ok, thank you , Tokkan. I'd forgotten about that detail. I read your previous post with the spoiler/chapter 22 summary in it but it doesn't bother me lol. I'll look forward to the chapters when they're translated! Glad to see the plot moving forward at a nice pace now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leiopelma Report post Posted April 24, 2014 Did I miss something? I guess I'm more confused as to why she hasn't displayed this level of skill before. From what I read, she's unable to use abilities she's stored through her grimoire? The reason she hadn't was quite simply that she didn't have the need or opportunity. Most of the time she has been unarmed and had few chances to actually show off her skills up to that point. Mai had shown that she was highly proficient in dual-wielding weapons in chapter 3 when she easily sliced that watermelon plant apart. Also when she faced Jin unarmed in chapter 15, she was able to dodge his attacks despite the fact he's an extremely skilled and dangerous warrior who was specifically trying to kill her. Mai's father had wanted his child to be a warrior, so Mai must have received combat training. The Kirihito family serves the Hazuki family, meaning it would make perfect sense for Mai to be trained in their techniques. Her abilities against Shiori were the result of training; she tasted Shiori's blood after the battle was over after all. (The grimoire did appear to be active at that time that probably gave her the precognitive abilities she displayed against Chachakaka in chapter 18.5 rather than combat skills.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rishtopher Report post Posted April 25, 2014 Ah, I see. Thanks for the thorough explanation, Leiopelma. I hope to see more of her combat prowess in the future, that scene was pretty badass. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokkan Report post Posted April 25, 2014 Looking back at that, a playable Mai would probably be very similar to the solo version of Sho Minazuki in P4U2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
churchblue Report post Posted April 26, 2014 Looking back at that, a playable Mai would probably be very similar to the solo version of Sho Minazuki in P4U2. Maybe. We will wait and see. I'm still rooting that she will be playable in a CP extension before BB4. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toxin45 Report post Posted April 26, 2014 Dude we gone over this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
