Mashiro Blan de Windbloom
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Mashiro Blan de Windbloom (マシロ・ブラン・ド・ヴィントブルーム Mashiro Buran Do Vintoburūmu?) - The princess (and later Queen) of Windbloom in the My-Otome series and serves as another main character along side with Arika Yumemiya and Nina Wáng. She is the complete opposite of her counterpart character from My-HiME where she was mature and wise. In this series, she is arrogant and rude.
There are doubts on whether she is the true ruler - doubts which prove correct when the true ruler of Windbloom is discovered by Sergay Wáng. Mikoto is her pet. Her bratty personality is largely a result of growing up spoiled and then starting to have doubts that she is really the princess. Has a love-hate relationship with Nagi, leaning more towards the 'hate' end of the spectrum. Her personality makes a 180 degree turn compared to the My-HiME incarnation.
She first met Nina and Arika when she was evading her palace guards by attempting to jump to the next building's roof. Fortunately for her as she failed and fell, the two rushed to her aid and believing the guards to be bad men, help her escape. Immediately Arika, who was raised in the country, was completely clueless to Mashiro's bad tempers and arrogance, even when she showed them that she was the princess in which Nina apologized for their ignorance.
As time passed, Mashiro still kept her bratty personality and pushed the people around her harder and harder. Especially with her birthday coming up in which she increased the taxes to get more money to help rebuild her castle and with the festivals and as Sergay Wáng noted, the city was suffering from increasing unemployment. However, bits and pieces of her past was revealed and when Mashiro was young, she was completely spoiled as a child and her behavior was made worse when rumors spread that she was not the true princess. From time to time however, Mashiro would run all the way to Garderobe just to laugh at Arika's attempt to become an Otome whenever she messes something up.
During an emergency, she formed a contract with Arika and the two are now locked into it. While the two still hold some hatred for each other, the contract between the two brought them closer as their lives have been bound to one another. This is where Mashiro's personality starts to change a bit as she becomes calmer and more mature. When the prince of Zipang came to visit, she escaped and bumped into Takumi, who was disguised as Akira. Takumi showed Mashiro the realities of the city and she was appalled by the poverty that plagued her city and this snapped her as she found herself to be a useless queen. The fact that the rumors didn't help out either. On Chie's advice, Aoi brought Arika to talk with her and eventually the two poured out their feelings. Nevertheless, the two agreed to become the best queen and Otome anyone has ever seen. As Mashiro has said, she herself has been reborn.
This however came a little too late as Schwarz had taken control of the castle and built a cannon on top which attacked the city. It was later revealed that Mashiro was blamed for this act even though she was clueless.
After the fight between Nina and Arika, Mashiro ended up walking towards Aries with the homeless people seen earlier in the series, including Mimi. After the people find Aoi and demand to know where Mashiro is, Aoi spots her but refuses to tell. Her death acts as an agent to mature Mashiro further, who runs away into the desert alone. She found herself in the Aswald village. In episode 21 she took up the responsibility of becoming WindBloom's queen again after Mimi died. When she was brought to the Black Valley, upon Natsuki's advice Mashiro asked Mai Tokiha, Takumi's older sister, to help her train her to be a better queen of royalty so she could be a better master for Arika. To Mashiro's chagrin, Miyu, who seems to know everything about everyone, doesn't know where Mashiro came from or what her true past is, but hints that Mashiro might be a descendant of Fumi, the original Otome and current Shinso. During the final battle, her leg is broken and put in a wheel chair until her Coronation. In the end, she finally becomes Queen of Windbloom and keeps her promise to both Midori and the poor people of Windbloom.
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[edit] Contracts
At the moment, Mashiro has made two contracts. One with Nina and the second, which would be her last, with Arika.
- During episode 1, a SLAVE attacked Mashiro and on Nina's advice, she acted as an interim master to allow Nina to fight in her Coral robe.
- In episode 7, another SLAVE comes after Mashiro in which the Sapphire Gem protects the two by blasting the SLAVE. With the SLAVE temporarily out of action, the GEM released its two gems so both Mashiro and Arika can make a contract. With the Sapphire robe, Arika easily defeats the SLAVE but in the fight when she is injured, she sees Mashiro injured as well and remembers Natsuki's words; once a contract is made, an Otome will be sharing her life with her master. If she falls, so does her master and vice versa.
The GEMs are removed later on to avoid suspicion, but when Schwarz attacks and puts Shinso Fumi, the master Otome, out of commission, the GEMs are returned and Arika fights again as the Blue Sky Sapphire.
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Mashiro's second name, Blan, comes from blanc, which is French for white (Mashiro in itself means pure white in Japanese). Additionally, Windbloom is an English translation of Kazahana (風花), the surname of her My-HiME counterpart.
- Mashiro's "Princess"-status might be a reference to her "Crystal Princess"-title given to her by the Obsidan Lord in My-HiME.
- Her little "wheel chair" phase might also be a reference to her My-HiME counterpart, who was always in a wheel chair save for the time she turned into Fumi's Child.
[edit] Manga
In the Otome manga, the real Mashiro Blan de Windbloom is apparently assassinated in the first page of Chapter One and the "Mashiro" in the rest of the manga is in fact a boy, who cross-dressed as the princess in order to escape an all-boys school -- where the other students used to harass and abuse him -- and join the all-girls school of Garderobe with hopes of having a better life.
"Manshiro" (as he's called by fans[1][2]) first appears having just arrived in Wind City, where he proceeds to bump into Arika. With the assistance of the prime minister of Windbloom, Sergay August Taiki, Manshiro makes it into Garderobe and is taken there by bus, where he meets Nina. However, Arika, who came along, unintentionally blows his cover and he learns the hard way that the real Mashiro was a target of Schwarz's assassination attempts, a danger he must now face too. It is here that he first uses the Blue Sky Sapphire. He eventually makes it to Garderobe, where he meets Erstin and is placed in the same class as Arika and Nina. Although only the school administration is aware of his situation at first, his secret is eventually exposed to all three friends of his.
He is proficient in sewing, as he demonstrates by helping Nina with her sewing work.
As a young male, he naturally has juvenile tendencies, as demonstrated when he fantasised about Nina undergoing bondage in one chapter and misconstruing groans from her as a result of masturbation. However, as the story progresses no more of these are seen.
During a Schwarz agent's infiltration of Garderobe, Manshiro is bathing when Juliet Nao Zhang (who regularly sneaks into the school via the bathroom that was assigned to him) encounters him unexpectedly. Nao accidentally sees his penis and attempts him with an offer of sexual intercourse, but proceeds to beat him off before they can copulate and she ties him up before escaping. He is eventually rescued by Natsuki and Shizuru.
It is learnt that Nagi and Mashiro were engaged to be wed, much to Manshiro's horror. Although he initially tries to tolerate the sadistic behaviour of the Duke of Artai, he finally snaps and acts on his strong sense of self-righteousness by punching Nagi after the Duke whips Nina.
Facing the severe reprimands of the adults, he runs away from Garderobe and takes back his old male persona. Upon helping a street urchin, he is set upon by other street rats, but Nina saves him without knowing that he was the one being looked for. As she leaves for the Artai embassy that was besieged by Schwarz, however, the wig that Manshiro had used to assume the late princess' identity fell out and Nina becomes the second person to learn of his secret. After a brief explanation of the truth to Nina, Manshiro uses the power of the princess to put a rescue effort into action and heads to the Artai embassy, where he confronts Lumen. It is here that the Blue Sky Sapphire's Meister Robe ver 1.0 is first used. In the aftermath, Nagi thanks Manshiro for his help in protecting the Artai embassy and the adults forgive him for his earlier transgression.
During the Garderobe open house event, Manshiro protects Erstin from the accidental trespassing of Takeda, earning her gratitude.
Concerned for Arika's ever-poor grades, Manshiro goes to "spy" on her to find out the truth and learns that she has to take multiple jobs in order to pay for her education at Garderobe.
The weapons exhibition in Windbloom draws delegates from around the world and it is through the aftermath of a robot going amok that Manshiro meets Alyssa Kruger, Natsuki's younger sister, and Miyu. They are in Windbloom to promote the usage of their MAID androids as substitutes for the Otome. To prove the worthiness of the MAIDs, Alyssa pits Miyu against the Otomes and the android wins. Alyssa asks him, as the "princess", to make the choice, but he attempts to stall for time by hiding. Trying to force him to make up his mind, Alyssa sends Miyu to offer him a "taste of pleasure". However, Miyu's carelessness in forgetting to lock the door allows Arika, Erstin and Nina to walk in on the compromising situation and nothing ends up happening.
The next day, a desperate Natsuki orders Arika, Erstin and Nina to engage Miyu in combat. However, before a victor can be declared, Schwarz interferes, ending the battle. Manshiro is briefly abducted by Rad, but the Schwarz cyborg lets him go free when Arika catches up, claiming to be her father at the same time.
A mysterious admirer sends gifts to Arika and asks to meet with her. Suspicious, Manshiro watches as Arika meets with the man, who is revealed to be Kazuya and proceeds to take her to an amusement park. His suspicions are proven right when Kazuya takes her to a hotel and attempts to mate with her. Manshiro attempts to stop him, but is hindered by a tentacled SLAVE. Fortunately for Arika, Manshiro and their companions, Akane arrives and disposes of her former lover.
Arika leaves for the Black Valley in search of the truth about her parents. A worried Manshiro is approached by Mikoto, who not-too-gently leads him, Nina and Erstin to the Black Valley as well. There, Rena Sayers, who is in a mentally unsound state, mistakes him for Arika, who is quick to take her rightful place back.
The brief happiness of the mother-daughter reunion is shattered when Cardair forces attack the Black Valley. Rena, who recovers her mental faculties, instructs him to formally make the contract with Arika, which he does. With the power of the Blue Sky Sapphire's Meister Robe, Arika makes quick work of the invaders, but Cardair's Scale Sisters Otome trio attempt to use a sneak attack on Manshiro to get rid of Arika. Rad/Reito takes the wounds for him, beseechs him to be a good monarch and self-destructs, eliminating the threat.
Galvanised by the death of Reito, Manshiro argues with Cardair Emperor Takumi XIII and pits Arika against Akira in Otome-vs-Otome single combat. However, before a victor can emerge, Garderobe interferes and Manshiro receives another reprimand for his actions.
With Rena taken to Garderobe for treatment and the Black Valley's inhabitants being brought to Windbloom, Manshiro is about to leave the Black Valley as well when Midori gives him an enigmatic warning about Sergay. However, he is unable to do anything about it.
Back at Garderobe, Manshiro finds himself urgently needing to urinate and does so in a nearby forest, unaware that Erstin is in the proximity, leading to the girl finding out his true sex. She proceeds to intrude into his bathroom, where she gingerly attempts to wash him. This is interrupted by a violent infiltrator. Luckily, Erstin gets over her androphobia in time to Materialise and defeat the infiltrator. Afterwards, she "gains permission" from Natsuki to move into the room occupied by Arika, Manshiro and Nina.
The time comes for Manshiro to be coronated and various VIPs like Takumi XIII, President Kruger and Nagi are invited to the ceremony. Before the crown can be laid on Manshiro's head, however, an assassin interrupts.
Manshiro and Arika flee through a hidden passage leading underground. President Kruger orders Miyu to go after them, while Takumi asks the same of Akira. The two pursuers reach Manshiro, but do battle due to their conflict of interest and Manshiro gets away. However, the path leads to a large underground chamber where Midori's warning about Sergay comes true, showing him to be the true villain rather than Nagi who was maligned for sending the assassin.
In a surprising twist, Sergay reveals the "real" Mashiro to be alive. This Mashiro wears a pendant shaped like the HiME crest and uses a wheelchair.
According to Sergay, she was born with great magical power which would be dangerous if uncontrolled and her earlier "death" was a deliberate "suicide" that would allow her to refine the control over her power to potentially world-changing extents. This power is shown to be the resurrection of Fumi. With the aid of the Otomes' Shinso, Mashiro revives Mai Tokiha, who proceeds to easily defeat Arika and Nina. Mashiro then orders Fumi to remove herself from the Shinso Statue, disabling the Otomes' ability to Materialise while Windbloom military forces advance on Garderobe.
Manshiro and his retinue manage to escape Mai's attack with the help of Midori and the now-friendly members of Schwarz. In a slum, they link up with Erstin. Leaving behind Arika, who is affected by repressed memories of the razing of her hometown, Manshiro heads towards Garderobe, but his group is stopped by guards. Before any harm can come to him, however, Haruka and Yukino arrive and deal with the guards, giving transport into the Garderobe campus grounds.
Within, Manshiro and his group meet up with another group consisting of Natsuki, Shizuru, Akira, Yukariko and Miss Maria. Manshiro, Nina and Erstin go with Natsuki towards the Shinso Statue, taking care of some members of the Windbloom military in the process. However, they soon find that Mashiro has placed another obstacle in their way. She has resurrected Natsuki Kuga in an attempt to bolster the efforts to stop Manshiro. The revived HiME attacks, but Kruger draws her attention and distracts her, allowing Manshiro to pass. He is reluctant to leave Kruger behind, but Nina persuades him to move.
Manshiro arrives at the base of the Shinso Statue and Nina volunteers to sacrifice herself to become the new core. Before that can happen, though, Duran appears and attempts to pounce at Manshiro. Erstin gets in the way and uses a grenade on it, damaging it and herself severely in the process. Nina kisses him and then runs towards the Shinso Statue, but a massive fireball shoots down from the sky and she is nowhere to be seen afterward. Mai, Mikoto and Kagutsuchi return, the Child being the source of the attack, and Manshiro seems doomed, but Arika suddenly returns and strikes Kagutsuchi, saving Manshiro.
Arika briefly does battle with Mai, but the REM's usable duration runs down. Mai uses the opportunity to attack Manshiro, but Rena appears and knocks him aside, saving him. By linking hands with Arika per Rena's instruction, Manshiro enables the Ultimate form of the Blue Sky Sapphire's Robe to be unlocked. With this newfound power, Arika finally defeats Mai, who beats a hasty retreat. Nao appears with Nina, who has been injured but can still recover, whereas the blow Rena took for Manshiro is a mortal wound and she is dying. As per request she had made of Nao earlier, Rena is placed in the Shinso core, sacrificing herself to become the new Shinso.
With a new Shinso in place, the Otome can Materialise once more, which they waste no time in doing once Manshiro approves of it, and Mashiro's plans for a quick victory are foiled. In response, Mashiro revives the rest of the HiMEs from the My-HiME manga, as noticeable by Haruka Suzushiro being a HiME and Shizuru Fujino being absent. She also sets up a mental trap in the ruins of Fuuka Academy's "Crystal Palace" for Manshiro, which he fell into, and tells Nina and Arika they would have to fight each other and have one win in order to free him.
The trap brings Manshiro back to his old boys' school, where he is abused and tormented with a vision of Nagi being the master of both Arika and Nina. However, Manshiro is able to escape thanks to the help of HiME Yuuichi Tate's spirit, gaining the Sword of Akatsuki and Pure White Diamond at the same time, the symbols of true royalty. It is here that Manshiro gives his real name to Yuuichi, but the readers do not actually get to know what it is.
Manshiro, having come to accept the various identities he had taken on to be all truly himself, kills Mai by stabbing her with the Sword of Akatsuki, freeing her spirit. Yuuichi instructs him to win for their sakes. Having seen Mai killed and freed by Manshiro, Mashiro tries to order Fumi to kill Manshiro, Arika and Nina, but Fumi does not obey.
It is here that Sergay abruptly blurts out laughing and reveals the true histories of both Mashiro and Manshiro. He reveals them to be twin siblings and the heirs to the Windbloom throne. A prophecy claimed that Mashiro would bring great disaster on the world. It was one that the emperor and empress disregarded, choosing to bring her up themselves. At the same time, to forestall the possibility of their upbringing failing and Mashiro still bringing chaos, they gave Manshiro to Rena to care for. He also showed that he was the ultimate mastermind, manipulating even Mashiro to his ends and showing the Ultimate Black Diamond implanted into his chest while taunting Manshiro about the truth.
Mashiro attempts to kill Sergay with her magic, but he commands Fumi to kill her and the former Shinso impales Mashiro on her scythe.
As she lies dying, Mashiro rejects Manshiro's concern and goes into denial, refusing to acknowledge him as her brother. She drops a locket that contains a photograph of Emperor Yuuichi, Empress Mai and herself, taken at an earlier time, before disappearing. As this happened, Sergay gloats that she was only a puppet kept in existence by Fumi's Highly-advanced Materialising power, then orders her to Materialise.
Arika and Nina are no match for the extreme skill and power of the Otomes' former Shinso, but they and Manshiro are saved by the timely re-appearance of Erstin and her Meister Robe. Drawing on the power of all three girls, Manshiro uses the Trinity Lavias Strike, wiping out Fumi and the resurrected HiMEs as well as mortally wounding Sergay.
However, Sergay tricks Manshiro into coming near and attacks him grievously while stealing the Pure White Diamond. He transforms into a monster while Manshiro lay dying. This was not the end, though, because the purified spirits of Mashiro and Fumi appear and send him back to the land of the living. Gathering the power of the Otome, Manshiro Materialises a Robe and attacks Sergay, finally killing the villain.
The Robe breaks apart once Sergay is dead, leaving Manshiro naked and struggling to conceal himself, but it is no longer of consequence and he is accepted by the Otome. Arika asks him who of the trio he loves the most, but he refuses to answer the dangerous question.
All the way to the end, his true name is never revealed to the readers. It seems likely to forever remain a mystery.
