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Shoujo Kakumei Utena (Revolutionary
Girl Utena)
"Once upon a time, there was a girl who wanted to be a prince . . . " Utena's mother and father passed away when she was very young. Emotionally devastated and disillusioned with the ephemeral qualities of life, she refuses to leave their graves, intending to die with them. Fortunately, a prince comes to her rescue and convinces her to continue living. He tells her to be strong and never to lose her noble heart. Bidding her farewell, the prince gives Utena a ring bearing a rose signet and promises that this ring will one day lead her back to him. Absolutely smitten with her prince, Utena keeps his advice close to her heart. However, instead of deciding to become the ideal princess, she takes it upon herself to become a prince just like him. Now a junior high school student at the Ohtori Academy, Utena chooses to wear the boy's uniform and adopt male mannerisms. Her athletic prowess makes her a favorite amongst the other girls, who worship the ground she walks on. At the academy, Utena discovers
that she isn't the only one with a rose signet ring. Each of
the student council members (Touga, Saionji, Juri, and Miki)
wear one. These rings, which mark them as Duelists, were given
to them by a person known only as Ends Of The World. They duel
for the hand of a girl named Anthy, known as the Rose Bride.
It is said that whoever wins her and The first thing that caught my eye about "Utena" was the nifty character design. They all sport the traditional anime body type---normal torso, normal arms, normal thighs, and shins that go on forever. But the hair, oh, the hair! Flowing and billowing in a non-existent breeze, it defies all the laws of gravity, physics, and common sense. The rest of the animation is also excellent. For example, the scene where Utena enters the dueling arena is absolutely breathtaking---rushing water, a spiral staircase, clanging bells, the works. The dueling arena itself is very surreal---a large, circular platform miraculously suspended in midair, with the castle said to hold eternity (a very good CGI) suspended upside-down above. All the little details of shoujo anime are there---the bubbles, the floating roses---and are incorporated beautifully. Comic relief abounds in this series, normally in the form of Wakaba (Utena's overly energetic best friend), Nanami (Touga's obsessively jealous younger sister), Tsuwabuki (Nanami's devoted follower and servant), Chuchu (Anthy's pet monkey-mouse) and, of course, shadow girls A-ko and B-ko, who surface every once in a while to make humorous yet insightful comments on the action. The episode "Curry High Power" is one of the best examples of the humor of the series, especially the ending. Be warned, however, that the relationships between the characters get a little . . . interesting. There's homosexuality (both outright and implied), incest (once again, both outright and implied), and, last but not least, a lolicon hentai (that's japanese for "pervert with a lolita complex"). For the most part, these matters are handled tastefully (providing that's possible), but it can still be a bit unsettling for the viewer. There is also some female fan service, so don't be entirely shocked if a male character's shirt flies open for no particular reason. WARNING: In the following section, I had to include some huge spoilers to better explain my take on this series. Remember, you have been warned. I'd like to avoid receiving hate emails or therapy bills. ^_^ Later on in the series, it's
revealed that Utena's prince convinced her to The other characters are also seeking something eternal, which they hope to find in the castle above the dueling arena. Each of them hopes to find something in particular---Juri, the power to believe in miracles; Miki, his "shining thing"; and so on. However, when Utena reaches the castle, she discovers that both the castle and the academy are nothing more than illusions, manipulated by Akio, the academy's deputy trustee chairman and Anthy's brother. Once upon a time, Akio was Utena's prince, but Anthy's selfishness caused him to become evil. Finding her prince an illusion as well, Utena recalls her original mission and succeeds in rescuing Anthy and escaping to the outside world. I loved that all of the characters
were hoping for something eternal. In real life, that seems to
be what everyone wants. Something beautiful and wonderful that
will never die or fade away. Unfortunately, "Utena"
doesn't offer much hope in this department. Everything thought
to be eternal is Why does Utena have to end up princeless, with nothing left to hope in but her own self? It's a shame that such a beautifully done series that builds up so much hope and expectation has to end on a sour and disillusioning note. Sub or Dub? Ahhh . . . the classic anime
question. Subtitles can be a pain to read, especially when the
dialogue moves quickly. You might also end up having to watch
some scenes more than once so you can take in the dialogue and
the animation. However, then you have the benefit of hearing
the characters' voices as they were intended to sound. Dubbing
can be annoying because many American voice actors just don't
put the same oomph into their characters that the Japanese ones
do. That, and there tend to be a lot of run-on sentences so that
all of the dialogue can be fit in. Besides, let's just face it:
American voice actors just can't do battle cries and screams
of deep emotional pain the way the Japanese voice actors can.
However, American voice actors are really good making the "ahahahaha"
sound that many characters make after being hit on the head with
a mallet or a bokin. In the end, it's all a matter of personal
choice. However, with the large amount of battle scenes (and
the fabulous Japanese voice actor who does Touga's voice), "Utena"
subbed is heavily recommended. |
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proves
themselves worthy will be given the power to bring revolution
to the world. They will also be permitted to enter the upside-down
castle above the dueling arena, the castle said to hold eternity.
Utena is drawn into these duels when she attempts to protect
Anthy from the contemptuously abusive Saionji, the current possessor
of the Rose Bride. Will these Duels bring Utena back to her prince?
Who is Ends Of The World? What really lies in the castle said
to hold eternity?
continue
living by showing her something eternal. I had hoped that perhaps
he had shown her something beautiful, such as eternal love, but
that didn't exactly happen. Instead, he showed Utena eternal
pain and suffering: Anthy, pierced with a thousand swords as
punishment for the crime of selfish love. This terrible sight
motivates Utena to become a prince so she can rescue Anthy.
eventually revealed as illusion. Even
Anthy's "eternal" pain and suffering comes to an end.
Everything beautiful is exposed as ugly. The prince whom Utena
had come to love and rely on so much was dead from almost the
very beginning; all that remained was his evil counterpart. In
the end, all Utena had left to rely on was herself. Not exactly
the stuff that happy endings are made of.