Mai HiME - Natsuki/Shizuru and . . . You Know, the Other Ones

The Mai-HiME/Mai-Otome series of anime and manga has been one of the most successful programs to make the jump in the last few years from Japan to America. And with a female cast that heavily outnumbers the males, the opportunities for femslash are endless. Yet the star-crossed canon (depending on what you're watching) love affair between Kuga Natsuki and Fujino Shizuru has completely captured the hearts of fans almost from the beginning. So completely, in fact, that other possible pairings (not to mention the lead heterosexual pairing from Season One) tend to fade into the background or get overlooked altogether. On Thursday we'll look at the appeal of Natsuki/Shizuru, but we'll also give the Haruka/Yukino fans, the Aoi/Chie fans, the Mai/Mikoto fans, and even those Natsuki/Nao contrarians the equal time they don't always get.