re: Revolutionary Girl Utena

[samatethecookie]

I finished Revolutionary Girl Utena last night, and I have some thoughts.


Positives
. It's been awhile since I've watched an anime that had a lot of complexity with the characters and their relationships as this one did. You can never get bored watching the characters bounce off each other.

. It definitely defies specific gender roles. Utena got to be the prince at the end, even though it's possible she never got to realize that for herself. And Anthy having the freedom to tell her brother "fuck you, I'm leaving" and walk away from everything has to be the sweetest payback ever.

. I actually thought the relationship between Juri and Shiori was the most interesting, and I ended up sort of shipping them near the end. Obviously I didn't want them getting together through the course of the show, but I can see it happening after they mature and deal with their issues. Juri needs to stop putting Shiori on a pedestal, and she should become her own person separate from her feelings for Shiori. And Shiori needed a taste of her own medicine to realize she couldn't use Juri as an excuse for her own insecurities.

. Ahhh, Utena and Anthy. So sweet together. Utena really wanted to help Anthy. Not because she was going to gain something out of it, but she genuinely wanted to free Anthy from her suffering. And Anthy learned how to be her own person with real feelings through Utena; even after she betrayed Utena and endured the suffering as a Rose Bride in place of her brother, Utena still rescued her, and Anthy finally realized she needed to leave

Negatives
. The sibling incest was just weird. Not because it's incest, but because it was all over the place. Touga/Nanami, Mickey and his sister, and Anthy with her brother. By the time it was revealed that Anthy and Akio were in a sexual (and abusive) relationship, my reaction was basically, "Wow. Big fucking surprise. /sarcasm" It was just a little too distracting for me.

. Nanami wasn't endearing to me at all. It kind of pissed me off that she was the subject of so many filler episodes. Not because I didn't like her, but because I really wanted to take her seriously and it's hard to do that when the series itself doesn't seem to feel that way about her either. (And any love I had for her was ruined when I learned she drowned a kitten because her brother Touga was paying attention to it instead of her. What the hell, Nanami.)

. Some things in the second half of the series was just too silly. Touga and the other men posing in Akio's car, the characters randomly going shirtless, the fanservice, how Akio started drinking an alcoholic beverage while Utena was trying to open the gates near the end...it was just really distracting (though not as bad as the incestuous relationships) and it made it difficult to take any of their scenes seriously. :\

. It was annoying that the green-haired guy, whose name I constantly forget, never seemed to get his come-uppance after abusing Anthy. Yes, he got expelled from the academy, but then he was able to come back as though nothing ever happened. I didn't expect anything terrible to happen to the guy, but I wanted something more for Anthy's sake.

. I'm still confused why Anthy stabbed Utena in the back for her brother. Wasn't she unhappy in his grip? PLEASE EXPLAIN, CANON.

. So. Mickey and his sister were going to have a step-mother. Who looked oddly enough like Anthy. EXPLAIN, CANON. WHY WON'T YOU EXPLAIN.

So. Yeah. Overall, it was good, but I'm not sure if I'd call it one of my favorite shows. It could've been, but a lot of factors really bothered/confused me.

Comments

[evilwildlex.livejournal.com]

The manga is rather different than the anime - Nanami, if I recall correctly, only appears in a photograph with Touga and is mentioned as being his little sister. Juri's also not a lesbian in the manga - she's the one kind of obsessing over Touga. Shiori doesn't exist in the manga. There is no black rose saga...yeah. The manga is only 5 issues. ^_^;;;;

It's a fun but odd show.

[samatethecookie.livejournal.com]

Isn't Miki also in love with Utena in the manga instead of Anthy? I owned the first two-three volumes and I recalled Miki kissing Utena in one scene, but I barely remember the details. And the manga also set up a backstory for Utena and why she began attending the academy that lead her to Anthy.

It's odd, but it's really one of the first shows to make me stop and think about it, or try to make some sense out of it. I think I understand it now that I've reflected on the characters' actions, such as Anthy's, and read other fans' interpretations of her actions, but I still think it's far from being a favorite of mine. There's a lot of factors that still bug me.

[evilwildlex.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's a very interesting show, especially when you look at all the symbolism in it.

For a minor fangirlish thing...I personally adored the effort they put into giving each of the main duellists their own fighting style.

I will say right now that if you think the anime was messed up....the movie is so much more fucked up. XD It's got a lot of symbolism for elements within the series...which has a lot of symbolism in itself. Also, Utena turns into a pink racing car at one point. O_o And Anthy drives her.

But it does have one of the most gorgeous animated scenes I've ever seen in it, so yeah. Just....yeah, be prepared for the WTF if you ever decide to watch it.