Inspired watching #1
Revolutionary Girl Utena (1997) & Adolescence of Utena (1999)
Episode count: 39 & 1 film
A young girl, who met a prince when she was very young, was given a ring by him so that they may meet again one day. The girl was so impressed by him that she decided to try and be a prince herself, one day.
The girl, Utena Tenjou then attends Othori Academy, in masculine prince-inspired attire and and still carrying the prince’s ring, and meets a quiet and strange girl named Anthy Himemiya, who is getting bullied and abused by other students. Seeing this, Utena then challenges the opposing students to a series of duels to protect Anthy, who is also known as the “rose bride”while there are talks about a mysterious power to “revolutionize the world"…
With it’s excellent character design, breaking down barriers of gender roles and human sexuality, a great and diverse soundtrack, with some stunning visuals and iconography, Utena wasn’t anything I expected, but that was a good thing. It kept me intrigued and I really had no idea where the show would go, making me want to watch more.
Utena is very much a strange show with many quirky and comedic moments that make it stand out, while also having mature romantic and psychological themes which helps make it a show that is not overtly dramatic, but also not putting comedic moments in inappropriate areas either.
The show is also a wonderful re-imagining/deconstruction of the magical girl genre, placing it in a fairy-tale inspired setting with the usual tropes of transformation, magic, and feminine roles warped and with psychological themes discussed in the show as well. It really is a show that you have to really pay close attention to though as the story progresses.
I really loved the artwork, the imagery, and the relationship between Utena and Anthy, and some of that inspired the comic’s artwork and some of the characters as well, but more on art ^w^ .
The Adolescence of Utena movie has left fans mixed, but I personally loved it.
Important things to note for the movie! This is a completely alternate retelling to the series, and resolves around a specific theme that is told almost entirely by symbolism, but even though this is an alternate retelling, it is still good to watch the show first before the movie, if you are interested in it.
That’s all I have to say, hope this was interesting :3
