[Sell Me On...] Revolutionary Girl Utena

AbsoluteDestiny · Post by **AbsoluteDestiny** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 6:44 pm

J-0080 wrote:lots of things that other people didn't say

quit it

J-0080 · Post by **J-0080** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 6:50 pm

AbsoluteDestiny wrote:Have muh babies.

azulmagia · Post by **azulmagia** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 6:54 pm

Since we're into quoting:

Celestial age.
Prehistoric sea.
Erosion. Accumulation.
3 billion years.
The birth of life
The age of land
Cambrian. Oldovian. Silurian. Devonian
DNA Molecules Bacteria. Colony Life.
Triassic. Jurassic. Cretaceous.
Lycophodium. Selaginella.
Trilobites Castropolia.
Belenmite. Ammonite.
Rose of the sea.
Lilly of the sea.
Apple of the sea.
Bud of the sea.
Angel of the sea.
Mirror of the sea.
Doorway of the sea.
Shimmer of the sea.
Carboniferous.
Permian.
Paleozoic.
You in the sea.
I in the sea.
The paleozoic era in my flesh
Living on and on
Closer and closer to death
The endless store of the paleozoic
Like a whale. Like a dolphin.
Like a sea.
I travel down into the depths of the sea
Down through the history in the depths of the sea
And at the bottom I find myself
Ammonite!

Seriously, I am a big fan of Utena. Love at first sight. How could one not love a series as weird as this, as beautifully drawn as this, as well scripted as this, as unfathomable as this, as veiled lesbianism as this?

I could probably quote the chick speech as well...

SarahtheBoring · Post by **SarahtheBoring** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 9:00 pm

TaranT wrote:I only watch it to see the shadow girls.
Not really, but they were an interesting twist in storytelling.

I enjoyed the first release of 13 eps, but the subsequent Black Rose arc seemed tedious to me. Very repetitive, same episode plotline over and over.

Much love for the Shadow Girls. 8)

Yeah, the Black Rose arc is the same story six times in a row.

And then one somewhat different one to end it off. Actually, I daresay you could skip the whole arc and still follow the story when it picks back up again in ep. 24 or 25. And this is from someone who likes that arc. But yeah, the BR arc mainly fills in some more characterization for the Council in a roundabout way, and adds some more subplots. And it hints about some things that happen later in the series. But IIRC, not that much happens on Utena's end.

I still need to watch the last two DVDs; hopefully the story moves forward in those.

Last two in the Black Rose arc, or last two in the series?

The main plot starts to move more quickly around ep. 25, with "Their (?) Eternal Apocalypse."

If you're two discs from the end of the series (which is 39 eps, btw) and thinking nothing has happened yet, um...

I don't know what to tell ya.

It might be worth checking out some more AMVs, too. Utena is not over used (is it?), but it is used quite a bit.

It's used a lot; people keep telling me that in reviews.

But hey, you have more to pick from to watch; it doesn't hurt you unless you're making vids.

Recommendations for series-based vids:
Love Is Flowers
Bury My Lovely and Everybody Wants to Rule the World (classics, I tell you! especially BML)
I've always been fond of Excalibur as a summary of most of the first arc
For an idea of what the last arc or so is like, check out Roseate Nocturne; Deluge, that team's other vid, is a combination of movie and series and is even more spoilery, so I'd recommend that if you've already seen the series...

And if I'm forgetting something, smack me

But that'll give anyone an idea of what the series looks like.

TaranT · Post by **TaranT** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 4:47 am

I was confused: I recently bought the last two DVDs, but the last episode I saw was #23. So, I've got five DVDs to watch to finish this one.

As for Utena AMVs, can't ignore the classic Bachelorette. Nor the oldie-but-goodie, Liquid Petals.

koronoru · Post by **koronoru** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 4:51 pm

SarahtheBoring wrote:Guys? I don't know what you've been hearing, but there's less lesbian action in the series than in the average episode of Pokemon.

I have got to start watching more Pokemon.

SarahtheBoring · Post by **SarahtheBoring** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 7:15 pm

TaranT wrote:I was confused: I recently bought the last two DVDs, but the last episode I saw was #23. So, I've got five DVDs to watch to finish this one.

As for Utena AMVs, can't ignore the classic Bachelorette. Nor the oldie-but-goodie, Liquid Petals.

Those are both from the movie.

I was skipping movie vids, because everybody knows those.

23 is the end of the Black Rose arc, so things should start moving after that.

Fungie½ · Post by **Fungie½** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 7:53 pm

Being a major Utena fan (I've done a couple AMVs to it and have cosplayed as Miki), I'm totally standing with Sarah on this whole lesbian thing. Utena and Anthy are rather good friends. I have a very good friend of mine who is male and while I am bi, I don't constantly make out with him. We have slept in the same bed together (like Utena/Anthy) and have held hands, but that doesn't make us a couple! If you think Utena is some major lesbian orgy, save your money and go find some fanfics. You won't find it on the DVDs.

Utena, in my opinion, is a show that just takes reality and clashes it with a huge "What if". There is no show like it. We're approached with Utena, a girl who while young lost both of her parents. A man came to her and said, "Don't cry, you can be strong someday." Utena vowed to be a prince and so she moved to Ohtori Academy. There we meet the student council (Touga, Saionji, Juri, Miki and later Nanami) and the quiet and trapped Anthy. Anthy is the "prize" that is received by winning a duel. She is trapped into this because of her brother Akio. Utena vows to protect Anthy from these people, and they form an eternal bond. While their bond is tested many times, it never breaks. But just like Anthy is a pawn on the chess board for Akio, he plans on making Utena one. He tries drawing her in, and does it work?

The movie, in my opinion, should be watched after the TV series, since the ending is a bit different. The artwork is lovely and it's overall very good.

I can't recommend the show enough, so go ahead and try it out! ^-^

J-0080 · Post by **J-0080** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 8:03 pm

Fungie½ wrote:I have a very good friend of mine who is male and while I am bi, I don't constantly make out with him.

Maybe you should.

ryuu_hime13 · Post by **ryuu_hime13** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 8:07 pm

Was that really necessary, J dear?

I'm curious about seeing Utena now...from what I'd heard, I'd assumed it was just some lesbian orgy type thing, but I guess I was wrong. I like animes with intricate plots. I'll definitely have to give this one a try.