A Tale of Two Shizurus

 If you're familiar with the Mai-Hime and/or Mai-Otome series, you may know of a character named Shizuru, whose surname is Fujino in Hime and Viola in Otome. The two characters share a name, and certain personality traits, notably their closeness with Natsuki. While Shizuru Viola is somewhat more popular than Shizuru Fujino, in my opinion, the latter is a better character.

Shizuru Fujino

Shizuru Fujino is the student council president of Fuuka Academy, as well as a third-year in its high school division. She's two years older than Natsuki Kuga, whom she met while in middle school, and is the only friend Natsuki has at the start of the series.

Shizuru and Natsuki's backstory is elaborated upon in the sound dramas, post-episode bonuses and "Natsuki's Prelude," a prequel story. It's revealed that at the time Shizuru met Natsuki, Natsuki's mother was dead and her father had abandoned her, making her a bitter and cynical girl who was driven to get revenge against the First District for her mother's death, and believed she had no need for friends. Shizuru reached out to Natsuki, leaving a great impression on her; at the start of the series, Shizuru is the only one who calls Natsuki by her first name(generally a sign of close friendship in Japan).

Natsuki's Prelude elaborates a bit on Shizuru's backstory. Natsuki had sought out information on the school for her investigation, so Shizuru had run for president, defeating the rather unpopular Haruka in a landslide. She then used her influence as president to give Natsuki the information she needed, but never told Natsuki why she ran.

Other supplemental materials, and dialogue late in the series reveal that Shizuru is actually in love with Natsuki, but believes that her feelings are As the HiME Carnival- a deathmatch between the main protagonists- begins in earnest, and Shizuru fears that Natsuki may die, she's brought to the breaking point, but also begins to wonder if her feelings might just be returned someday.

Fast-forward to late in the series, when Natsuki, unable to use her HiME powers and cornered by a vengeful Nao, ends up being saved by Shizuru, who reveals herself as a HiME. Shizuru then saves Natsuki and sends Nao plummeting off the cliff (albeit non-fatally). Shizuru takes Natsuki to a safe house, and treats her injuries, revealing that she'd always known Natsuki was a HiME and had secretly helped her at times, but never told her so as not to make Natsuki worry. Natsuki then confides in Shizuru why she is unable to use her HiME powers- the realization that her mother betrayed her- and Shizuru simply listens.

Now here's the controversial part of Shizuru's character. Haruka and Yukino track Shizuru down to call her out on neglecting her student council duties. During the conversation, Yukino not only accuses Shizuru of kissing Natsuki while she was asleep moments ago, but also implies that Shizuru raped Natsuki while she was asleep some time earlier. Shizuru replies by mocking Yukino, enraging Haruka, who, for no apparent reason, assumes that whatever Yukino said happened was consensual, and calls Shizuru and Natsuki disgusting. The latter part causes Shizuru to slap Haruka in retaliation. Natsuki, having overheard the conversation, appears before Shizuru, and recoils when Shizuru touches her, sending Shizuru over the edge. Shizuru then challenges Yukino to a rather one-sided fight, resulting in her defeat and Haruka's death (the loss of a Child results in a HiME's most important person dying, and Haruka was Yukino's best friend). Shizuru leaves the despondent Yukino alone, and sets out to destroy the First District. All this shows that Shizuru is mentally unstable, and willing to go to somewhat questionable lengths for Natsuki.

Some time later, Nao captures Natsuki once again, this time intending to lure Shizuru out. Shizuru comes and defeats Nao, resulting in her mother's death, but Natsuki prevents her from finishing Nao off, having come to realize what Shizuru means to her and regained her powers. Shizuru then reveals that she's destroyed the First District. Considering that the First District serves the Obsidian Lord(the main antagonist of the series), and Nao had previously been an antagonistic figure (albeit one whose tragic past had been revealed),  it can be more difficult to sympathize with them than with Haruka and Yukino.

After some reflection, Natsuki sets out to settle matters with Shizuru while leaving Mai to handle Mikoto. During the fight, Natsuki reveals her Child, Duran, which has grown from a somewhat normal-sized robot dog to a building-sized giant on par with Shizuru's Kiyohime, and says that its size is due to the strenght of her feelings for Shizuru.

During the fight, Shizuru pulls Natsuki in close for an embrace, Natsuki surprises her by kissing her on the lips. Natsuki then tells Shizuru that she hadn't trusted anyone for a long time, but Shizuru was the first to reach out to her. Natsuki says that she can't reciprocate Shizuru's feelings the way Shizuru wanted, which is a somewhat ambiguous line, then says that she loves Shizuru, too. Natsuki then commands Duran to fire at Kiyohime at point-blank range, destroying Kiyohime and causing both Shizuru and Natsuki's deaths.

If you're aware of the controversial ending, you'll those deaths aren't permanent. Natsuki and Shizuru are revived along with everyone else soon afterward, and Shizuru weeps tears of remorse, apparently just having come to her senses. Natsuki comforts her, and they destroy the HiME Star together, helping win the final battle.

The story ends with Shizuru going on to college, while Natsuki is faced with a lot of work if she wants to avoid making up a year. Their relationship is as ambiguous as that of most of the other characters, but a passage in the art book implies that before long, happiness will visit the two of them.

Shizuru Viola

Shizuru Viola is one of the Five Columns, five Otomes who serve as a regulatory force for other Otomes. She also serves as Natsuki Kruger's assistant in the latter's role as headmistress of Garderobe Academy, a training school for Otomes. The main thing to know is that Otomes have sisterly bonds between the Pearl Otomes(second-years) and the Coral Otomes(first-years) who serve as their room attendants, which are meant to serve as a substitute for the love of a man (something that is forbidden for an Otome).

Shizuru and Natsuki's backstory is included in supplemental materials. As the top Peral Otome, Shizuru seemed like the best possible pick for Natsuki to serve under, but she did something to offend Natsuki, causing Natsuki to rebuff her. Natsuki, however, realized with Mai's help that she was placing Shizuru on a pedestal, enabling her to make up with Shizuru and become her room attendant.

Throughout the series, Shizuru's relationship with Natsuki doesn't really change, since the main focus of the story is on Arika and Nina. At the end of the series, after Shizuru escapes from the villains' captvity and fights alongside Natsuki in the final battle, they essentially go back to the way they were before, and the same happens after Shizuru gets petrified in the final battle of the Zwei OVA series. In a sound drama, it's revealed that Yukino, a long-time friend of Shizuru and Natsuki who possesses an excellent intelligence network, isn't entirely sure what kind of relationship they share. For all Mai-Otome is fanservice for Shizuru/Natsuki shippers, it doesn't do all that much with their relationship.

Comparison and Conclusion

Given the choice between Shizuru Fujino and Shizuru Viola, the obvious choice would be the later, which has all of Shizuru's best traits but none of her worst ones, right?

Not necessarily. While Shizuru Fujino has done some rather terrible things, she also has a character arc in which she comes to grips with her feelings for Natsuki. It leads her to do terrible things, but Mai-Hime is often about how the HiMEs' love for others brings out the worst in them as often as it brings out the best in them.

Shizuru Fujino's friendship with Natsuki Kuga is also more touching than Shizuru Viola's with Natsuki Kruger. In the former case, Shizuru gives the rather cynical and bitter Natsuki reason to trust others again, which Natsuki expresses in the second-to-last bonus feature. Unlike her HiME self, Natsuki Kruger had already befriended Mai before meeting Shizuru, whereas Natsuki Kuga didn't become friends with Mai until nine episodes into the show, after fighting together on multiple occasions. As such, Natsuki Kruger has less of an arc than Natsuki Kuga does, and Shizuru plays less of a role in her life.

In the end, Shizuru Fujino's love for Natsuki Kuga, combined with the circumstances she was in, led her down a dark path, but also changed Natsuki for the better. This not only fits Mai-Hime's themes, but also shows why the Shizuru/Natsuki relationship is so compelling, something Mai-Otome failed to capture.