Mei (Galactik Football)
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Mei is one of the main protagonists in the animated series, Galactik Football. Although she wishes to play the offensive position of a Striker, she plays as the Snow Kid's Defender, next to her team mate Thran.
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[edit] Past and Present
When Mei attended the try-outs for the Snow Kids, she was accompanied by her mother, a rather forceful and over-competitive woman. She originally hoped to play as Striker, her mother's wishes since Mei would receive more media attention from playing an offensive position.
Regardless, Aarch sets Mei's challenge as defender. At first, Mei refuses to participate arguing that she came here only to try out as a Striker, but when the timer flashes up for under fifteen seconds Mei takes the chance to redeem herself, expertly tackling any virtual player approaching or gaining possession of the ball. Aarch and Clamp were both impressed by her skills and toughness, despite her spoilt appearance.
Mei makes the team easily as a Defender, and no longer complains about her place. It is only after the Red Tigers' match when she sees Tia and D'Jok surrounded by journalists that her ambition to become a Striker strengthens. Her mother, also present at the time, manages to convince Mei into charming D'Jok, having noticed Micro-Ice's obvious crush on her. By doing so, Mei manages to drive D’Jok and Micro-Ice's friendship apart, resulting in Micro-Ice's dropping out of the team and accompanying the Pirates' Leader Sonny Blackbones.
After his eventual return, Mei rethinks her place on the team and begins to happily accept herself as a successful Defender and gradually, works up the courage to stand up to her controlling mother.
[edit] Personality
Mei lives life glamorously and is envied by many, especially Tia, her room-mate and new best friend.
When Mei makes her fast appearance in the series, she is portrayed as a spoilt, beautiful, flirtatious and ambitious character. Due to her mother’s coaxing, Mei starts to believe that her place is as Striker, and works to gain this position by playing Micro-Ice's emotions for her against him.
Feeling guilt-tripped when becoming Striker after Micro-Ice leaves the team, she soon learns during a match against the Shadows that playing offence is harder than what she had previously been used to in defence. Upon Micro-Ice's return, Mei is only to glad to go back to being the Snow Kid’s tough Defender.
Despite her negative perspective during the first few episodes of Galactik Football, Mei is a trusting and supportive friend. In the middle of the series, Mei's mother manages to set up Mei with dozens of commercial deals and contracts soon after the Snow Kids' victory against the Shadows, enabling them to compete in the Galactik Football Cup tournament.
Nearing the end of the series, exhaustion from both training and the commercials gets to Mei, stressing her out during the most crucial point of the tournament. Despite what Mei is going through herself, she still takes time out for Tia, offering advice and reassurance to her.
[edit] Family and Friends
Mei's mother is portrayed as a pressurising and overly-competitive character who seems to make it her own goal to make her daughter a supermodel, despite Mei's own wishes. It is after all, her mother's idea that Mei should charm D'Jok to pit him and Micro-ice against each other to become Striker. Although she knows this is morally wrong, she goes along with it, her ambitious side taking over.
As a part of her plan, she spends more time with D'Jok making Micro-Ice jealous of his best friend. When D'Jok gives Mei his bracelet, something of high value to himself, she proudly presents it to Micro-Ice who immediately leaves to confront D'Jok about the matter. Stubbornly, Micro-Ice leaves the team although upon his return Mei's relationship with him becomes closer and the two are able to be trusting friends.
Up until then, Mei and Micro-Ice's relationship consisted of him flirting with her resulting in him being insulted or ignored. Despite the way he was treated, he still pursued her out of self-confidence. Now as close friends, Micro-Ice is the one who sticks by Mei and helps her stand up to her mother. In turn, Mei helped him charm Zoeleene, a girl that now played the role of Micro-Ice's second crush seen in the series.
However, Mei's friendship with Micro-Ice isn’t the only significant event in the series. Tia and Mei's usually hostile relationship begins to slowly sort itself out over time as the series progresses. At first Mei's only views of Tia was from a room-mate's point of view, and when she was confronted by Rocket in one episode, she answered Are you joking? Tia's the most secretive person I've ever met!... Next to you of course. As Tia opens up more, Mei's friendship with her begins to grow and during the last few episodes of Galactik Football, the two begin to rely upon each other more than ever for support and reassurance, although it is mostly Mei who offers the advice to Tia.
Mei's relationship with D'Jok is more gradual than Tia and Rocket's. At first, Mei's feelings for him are powered only by her desire to be a Striker, but slowly she begins to become genuinely attracted to him. Before and during the final GF Cup match against the Shadows, Mei begins to confront D'Jok more than often with Micro-Ice's encouragement although he is concerned more for his father's safety. Even though she knows nothing of how D'Jok was blackmailed into making the Snow Kid's lose the GF Cup Final, she stands up for him when the other players turn on him, believing he is betraying them, like Sinedd had previously. Before, D'Jok's feelings for Mei had remained somewhat hidden, although in the final episode when the Snow Kids are victorious, he thanks Mei for her support and kisses her.
