Benetnasch Eta Mime
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Benetnasch Eta Mime is a character from anime-only Asgard chapter of Saint Seiya, the classic hit series by Masami Kurumada. Along with Ghost Saint Lyra Orpheus and Silver Saint Lyra Orphée, Mime is one of the three characters who utilizes a lyre as means of offense and defense. Mime is part of Hilda's seven chosen warriors of Asgard, and his main star is the Benetnasch Eta.
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[edit] Statistics
- Star: Benetnasch Eta
- God Robe: The Lyre
- Techniques: "String Requiem", "String Nocturne"
- Seiyuu (1987-1988): Yuji Mitsuya (三ツ矢 雄二)
[edit] World-views
In many ways, Mime's personality is similar to Andromeda Shun's. Both abhor bloodshed but fight readily when necessary. Unlike Shun, Mime is more pessimistic; whereas Shun participates in battles with the hope of bringing peace to the world, Mime misanthropically believes the world unworthy of such idealism. This pessimism stems from his tragic past; he was raised by the man who killed their parents.
[edit] Casualty of Tragedy
When Mime was still an infant, a large, formidable man invaded the loving homes of his parents and brutally killed them. The man, Folker, saw that the couple had a child, and decided to nurture it as his own. Growing up, Mime was kept unaware of the truth, but nevertheless resented his "adoptive father" for the terrible living conditions he put him through. Folker, a warrior with a considerable reputation with the general public, had wanted to train Mime into becoming as skilled a fighter as he himself was. However, Mime would often use his leisure time playing the lyre instead. Many a times had Folker displayed displeasure at his "son's" hobby, which he felt took time away from Mime's warrior training.
The young, teenaged Mime eventually found out the truth of what had happened between Folker and his biological parents, and he confronted his "father" about the matter. Shockingly, instead of expressing remorse for the event in question, Folker opted to taunt Mime with the truth. A physical confrontation followed, and Mime, using the power of the cosmos for the first time, murdered his "father" in pure animalistic rage.
Unfortunately, Mime would soon discover that his caretaker did truly cared for and loved him. The fact of the matter was, the man had no intention of murdering Mime's parents that fateful night; he had been ordered to kill the father, but at the last moment spared his life when he realized his target had a family to care for. As Folker turned to leave, Mime's biological father saw this as an opportunity to strike. Folker had no choice but to retaliate. The blow to Mime's mother was accidental -- at the last second, she had jumped in front of the punch that had been meant for her husband. Folker, overcame with guilt of what had taken place, immediately adopted the infant Mime and vowed to raise him as a man that the country would be proud of -- a God Warrior. When the infant Mime was struck with a fever, it was Folker who did not hesitate to risk his own life to wade through the harsh Asgard blizzard storm to find medicine for the child. During the final moments of his confrontation with teenaged Mime, Folker silently wept and asked his "son" for forgiveness.
After Mime had understood everything, he himself was in so much anguish that he buried all knowledge of this fact deep into his heart. It wasn't until Phoenix Ikki unveiled it with his Genma Ken that Mime remembered the real truth of the situation. From his teenaged years and throughout adulthood, Mime deluded himself into believing that Folker was a monster who deserved his hatred and loathing.
[edit] Morbid Requiem
Like Lyra Orpheus and Lyra Orphée, Mime uses a lyre to accompany his attacks. As with all musical fighters, the melody that Mime plays serves a vital role to his attacks. When battling Shun, the music was used as a distraction to mask Mime's murderous energy, which rendered the chains of Andromeda ineffective (the chains will only damage enemies with a readily high level of it).
Mime's patented move is the "Stringer Requiem," a masterful melodic technique that allows him to manipulate his cosmos in many ways. At its most basic, it is a lightspeed attack similar to Leo Aiolia's "Lightning Plasma," where Mime will unleash an unseen number of punches at his opponent. A slightly complicated varient allows Mime to send the strings of his lyre to entangle his opponent however he chooses. With the opponent trapped, Mime can then shoot cosmos energy through the wires and onto the opponent for extra damage. Last but not least, "Stringer Requiem" offers Mime the ability to cast after-images (and even illusions, should he so choose) of himself to confuse the opponent.
After evading a mass barrage of lightspeed blows from Mime, Ikki realized that Mime's speed was comparable to even that of Gold Saint Gemini Saga's -- in fact, the Phoenix would mention that if he hadn't previously fought Saga and gained the proper experience, he probably wouldn't have been able to dodge Mime's assaults at all. The ability to use lightspeed attacks was (as mentioned by the Gold Saints several times in the past) one of the criteria for Gold Saint level power, suggesting Mime is definitely one of the stronger God Warriors.
[edit] Murderous Intentions
When Mime first encountered Shun, he was able to see that the Andromeda Saint shared a similar philosophical view with him; that, they both detest fighting. Mime was able to take advantage of this and attack Shun psychologically, by questioning his morality and mentality. Mime was almost successful, as Shun could not counter the set of questions that Mime had set on the table. This tactic was only foiled when Shun's older brother, Ikki, took it upon himself to telepathically respond to Mime's comments.
Nevertheless, a physical battle ensued between Mime and Shun, and the god warrior's speed and power proved to be too much for the bronze saint. The Andromeda was swiftly defeated after his Nebula Storm technique failed. As Mime prepared to land the killing blow, Ikki finally intervened physically. The Phoenix and the god warrior traded several warm-up blows, with Mime having the better of the exchange. Soon enough, Ikki was able to hit Mime with his infamous Phoenix Genma Ken, the illusional fist that allows Ikki to manipulate his opponent's mind as he pleased. Ikki revealed the hidden memories of Folker that Mime had concealed within his heart. This enraged Mime to the point where he was finally able to release his true murderous energy -- it had been missing since his initial exchange with Andromeda Shun, even after Shun had decoded the fact that Mime had masked it with Stringer Requiem.
Ikki and Mime battled with all their might, and although Ikki is no slouch, it was becoming more and more evident that Mime was the more capable fighter. The Phoenix was able to match and dodge Mime's lightspeed fists, but still fell victim to the Stringer Requiem's entanglement attack. With Ikki in his grasp, Mime tortured the bronze saint with his desolate melody. The wires began to choke and even cut into Ikki, and by this point, Shun could not bear to see his older brother in such a predicament. Using his chains, the Andromeda halted a death blow from Mime just in the nick of time. However, as soon as the chains came into contact with Mime's arm, Ikki demanded that Shun withdraw them. The Phoenix had vowed to free himself from the god warrior on his own. After burning his 7th sense for the first time since the battle of the twelve temples, Ikki managed to snap the strings of Mime's lyre -- as well as destroy his own Phoenix Bronze Cloth. Ikki then unleashed his signature move, the Hou Yoku Ten Sho, and landed the much-needed critical blow on Mime, damaging the god warrior as well as completely shattering his lyre to pieces.
Ikki stated that, while Mime was the stronger fighter of the two, he was able to overcome the odds because of a mental difference in their cosmos -- whereas Ikki's cosmos was full of hope and trust for the future, Mime's cosmos was polluted with hatred and despair. Grabbing himself off the ground, Mime abandoned his god robe and challenged Ikki -- and his beliefs -- one last time in hand-to-hand combat. After all, if Ikki's claim that he was stronger because of a mental difference is true, then he should be able to defeat Mime once and for all. The Phoenix accepted. At this point, Mime purged his own cosmos with the hatred he had held on for years, and Shun was the first to note that the god warrior's now-pure energy was even more powerful than before.
Ikki and Mime summoned their cosmos, then exchanged blows. Both scored a hit on each other at the same time. Ikki was the first to wince in pain, but he was the ultimate victor. Mime confirmed that Ikki's cosmos was just as the bronze saint had claimed to be, and expressed a hope that, should they reincarnate in the near future, that they would meet again not as enemies, but as friends. As Mime fell to the ground, he recollected his childhood days with Folker shortly before breathing his last breath.
"Father.. Mime will be seeing you soon. I was unable to carry on your will as a God Warrior, but.. but Phoenix.. they will be able to protect Asgard.. and the world."
[edit] Notes & Trivia
- Benetnasch Eta Mime is considered a non-canon character, as the series creator Masami Kurumada had no part of the Asgard saga.
- Mime's name is pronounced as "Me-Meh".
- The infamous piece of lyre music that this character plays actually debuted with Ghost Saint Lyra Orpheus, from the first Saint Seiya feature film. However, because of its heavy use during the Asgard episodes, fans have largely come to associate the piece with Benetnasch Eta Mime instead.
- The name Mime is based on the Norse mythological character, a dwarf who attempts to acquire the Nibelung ring. In the mythologies, Mime was killed by Siegfried, his foster son -- an ironic reflection of the events that took place in Benetnasch Eta Mime's past.
- In Saint Seiya, the God Warrior known as Dubhe Alpha Siegfried is hinted as the actual Siegfried of mythological times. However, he has absolutely no relation to Benetnasch Eta Mime, except for the fact that they are both god warriors serving under Polaris Hilda.
- Yuji Mitsuya plays both Benetnasch Eta Mime and Lyra Orpheus; however, Lyra Orphée is played by Hiroshi Kamiya. Mitsuya also plays Gold Saint Virgo Shaka.
- When Ikki fought Alcor Zeta Bud, he comments that he was actually hiding in the shadows and witnessed the entire battle between Ikki and Mime, and hence he was able to beat Ikki very easily at first.
- Benetnasch Mime was easily one of Phoenix Ikki's toughest opponents in the series. As is the case with movie Orpheus, Ikki's Illusional Demon Fist did not have the effect he had hoped, and instead infuriated Mime as Ikki's attack only managed to unmask grim memories buried deep within the God Warrior's mind.
| Saint Seiya characters | |
|---|---|
| Bronze Saints | |
|
Pegasus Seiya | Cygnus Hyoga | Dragon Shiryu | Andromeda Shun | Phoenix Ikki Unicorn Jabu | Lionet Ban | Wolf Nachi | Bear Geki | Hydra Ichi |
|
| Silver Saints | |
|
Lizard Misty | Centaurus Babel | Auriga Capella | Kerberos Dante | Crow Jamian | Hound Asterion | Whale Moses ("Kaitos Moses" in the anime) | Cepheus Daidalos | Perseus Algol | Musca Dio | Canis Major Sirius | Hercules Algethi | Eagle Marin | Ophiuchus Shaina | Lyra Orphée | Sagitta Tramy Tarantula Arachne | Lotus Agora | Pavo Shiva |
|
| Gold Saints | |
|
Aries Mu | Aries Shion | Taurus Aldebaran | Gemini Saga | Gemini Kanon | Cancer Deathmask | Leo Aiolia | Virgo Shaka | Libra Dohko | Scorpion Milo | Sagittarius Aiolos | Capricorn Shura | Aquarius Camus | Pisces Aphrodite |
|
| Asgard God Warriors | |
|
Phecda Gamma Thor | Alioth Epsilon Fenrir | Benetnasch Eta Mime | Megrez Delta Alberich | Merak Beta Hagen | Mizar Zeta Syd | Alcor Zeta Bud | Dubhe Alpha Siegfried |
|
| Poseidon's Marinas | |
|
Sea Horse Baian | Scylla Io | Chrysaor Krishna | Lymnades Casa | Kraken Isaac | Siren Sorento | Sea Dragon Kanon Mermaid Tetis |
|
| Hades' Specters | |
|
Wyvern Rhadamanthys | Griffin Minos | Garuda Aiacos Harpy Valentine |
