Friday, September 23, 2016

FIF#22-Revolutionary Girl Utena


When she was a young girl, Utena Tenjou met a handsome Prince who comforted her in a time of great need.  Inspired by his kindness, Utena has aspired to be a Prince, not a Princess, when she grows up.  This brings a now teenage Utena to the Ohtori Academy.  It is here that she meets Anthy Himemiya, a meek girl who is being abused by her boyfriend in the Student Council.  When Utena steps in to defend her, she doesn’t realize the road that opens up to her.  What is the Student Council and what mysterious force do they answer to?  And with Anthy free from her abusive relationship, what destiny will unfold when she becomes Utena’s new charge?

This is a title I had been told I should watch numerous times.  I’ll admit, I tried once and I came in at about the mid point of the series, watched an episode or two…and stopped cause I was super confused.  Revolutionary Girl Utena definitely feels like a series that needs to be viewed from the beginning for anything to make sense.  Just watching the first episode though, there is that sense that youre not just watching any ordinary Anime.  And im not just talking about the girl who wants a position normally taken by a man (though seriously is anyone complaining about how Utena fills out the boys uniform? Pink hair, legs for days, just saying). 

Utena is billed as an action series in many respects.  You’ve got duels, sabers and magical powers.  Still, there’s a heavy intellectual air about the plot and the artistry.  The rose covered picture frame shots seemed more like they belonged in an English Dub recap session than a normal Anime, but theyre there for a reason im sure.  Same with the really creepy doll theater where two girls talk about gossip and events about to transpire.  This series can be a potential mind frak with all of it’s storytelling devices.  That also keeps it unique in many ways.

What of the titular Utena herself?  Well besides being a gorgeous heroine, she’s got the strength and mind to back up her good looks.  She’s got the heart of a hero, jumping in without a second thought to try and defend Anthy from harm.  She could care less about what a teacher thinks of her choice of wardrobe (her looking through the hand book to tell her there’s no rule against it was pretty funny).  I can see why Ms. Tenjou is one of the most beloved and recognized female heroines in the Anime universe.  Cudos to her sword game too.  There was no doubt in my mind she’d kick green hair guys ass.

The world Utena lives in…is going to take some getting used to.  This prim and proper and highly aristocratic setting contains a ton of people I’d personally want to punch for being so smug and elitist.  Utena’s green haired opponent in the first episode (yes he has a name but I don’t remember it), slaps Anthy without a care.  I was ready for a beating to come to him when Anthy wished Utena good luck in her duel.  Now if this were Ryuko Matoi in this duel, she’d tear this student council pretty boy a really bad new one then burn the school to the ground…but how Utena handles her battles with honor and grace befits her goals to become a Prince.  As for Anthy…I hope she is more than a damsel Utena needs to rescue (even if Utena’s ok with doing that as a would be Prince).  After seeing a great number of strong female leads, Anthy’s kind of a step back for me.  But who knows, that could change.

Will I continue with this legendary classic?  I’m not sure.  My nitpicks with the characters aside and not understanding some of the pacing and storytelling decisions, it’s not a bad show from first glance.  It is strange I choose two back to back shows with beautiful, pink hair lead characters.  I don’t know, if I can find a copy of the series I’ll give it a watch in full.  Until, I’ll file this under the ‘Maybe’ category.  Though I will say if Utena does become a Prince, she’d still have my sword, bow and axe at her disposal.

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