Well, I just wrapped up the first 13 - a little lackluster of an "ending" but I am still excited for more, especially with Rym's enthusiasm.
So far so good, but OH MY GOD am I tired of seeing the same footage.
The first thirteen episodes are effectively a different show. Notice the change in tone at the very end of all that? Starting with fourteen, the show is going to take a 90* turn into some dark territory. ^_~
While her walking up the stairs is badass (I can't get enough of that song) but the whole elevator "We must break the shell" speech gets a little tiresome.
I plan on watching the series twice, so I'm learning to deal with it.
That speech is pretty important to the show. There's a reason they drill it deeply into you. (Plus, I love the scene where Touga is just sitting in his room a broken man listening to the speech play on an old victrola).
What I like most about utena is that when you watch it a second time it changes completely, you notice the slight sarcasm and expressions from some characters that you would not notice unless you knew what happens at the end of the series.
There are four versions of the song, two from the show and two from the movie. ^_^
I know this was posted back in February... but the anime music geek and the Utena geek within me both will not let inaccurate information stand. ^^;;
There were actually three versions of the song in the TV series - the original version (Student Council Arc), the industrial version with the weird robot guy voice (Black Rose Saga), and the version with Banyuu Inryoku/Universal Gravitation (Akio/Cars Saga onward). There was only one version in the movie. Also, there are a couple other mixes of the song that never appeared in either the series or the movie, which you can read more about in ohtori.nu's Audiology section: http://ohtori.nu/audiology/apocalypse.htm
The version of the song that Rym played in the podcast was actually "Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku 2," which appears on Utena OSTs 5 and 6, and was from the live action musical. As ohtori.nu says, "It is the Industrial Mix of the song WITHOUT the male vocal track that sounds like a robot."
...Okay, that wasn't exactly the best third post to make, but like I said, I'm a big anime music geek. XD;;
So, I'm finally watching this, partially on Rym and Scott's recommendation, partially on Someone Else's, and I just have to ask.
Is slapping Anthy around a required course at this school? At the end of the year, do report cards go home with comments like "Joey Joe-joe did very well in math, science, and phys ed, but he just couldn't slap around Anthy Himemiya to our satisfaction"?
Is slapping Anthy around a required course at this school? At the end of the year, do report cards go home with comments like "Joey Joe-joe did very well in math, science, and phys ed, but he just couldn't slap around Anthy Himemiya to our satisfaction"?
Are you kidding? It's a pre-requisite to even being accepted to the school.
Is slapping Anthy around a required course at this school? At the end of the year, do report cards go home with comments like "Joey Joe-joe did very well in math, science, and phys ed, but he just couldn't slap around Anthy Himemiya to our satisfaction"?
Are you kidding? It's a pre-requisite to even being accepted to the school.
Is slapping Anthy around a required course at this school? At the end of the year, do report cards go home with comments like "Joey Joe-joe did very well in math, science, and phys ed, but he just couldn't slap around Anthy Himemiya to our satisfaction"?
Are you kidding? It's a pre-requisite to even being accepted to the school.
Unless you're awesome like Utena, of course.
Oh, she slaps the other cheek, or so the genre says.
Since we're posting relevant Utena links anyway, I'd like to point out a link to a thread on the Rose Garden forum. If you've ever wanted to play the Utena Sega Saturn game but couldn't because you either didn't have a Japanese Saturn/emulator or you couldn't read Japanese, then there's now a translated Let's Play! of the game there for you to read. The game was played by letting forum members vote on each choice, followed by the thread leader posting a translation of whichever path the majority picked. So while it may look like a long thread (40+ pages), you can skip over most of the voting if you like and just read the translation posts. This kind of schizophrenic democracy predictably lead to a bad end, but it was pretty fun all the same, and still gives a sense of what playing the game is like.
A second attempt to play the game is in progress, this time with more guidance and a focus on getting a better, more plot-relevant ending. It's better to read the first thread before going into that one, though, since it spoils how many points each choice gets you and mentions things that happened in the previous playthrough.
I watched the Utena movie the other night and really enjoyed it. I can understand why Scrym wrote it off, but I still think it has a lot of things going for it. It's beautiful, it's short, and it does a great job at playing off of your expectations from watching the TV series to create genuine surprises. I definitely think Rym and Scott were wrong to say that it should be avoided entirely. In my mind, it is without a doubt worth watching if you watched the TV series.
I maintain that there is depth to that movie. I think that Scrym are too harsh on it. Also distinctly and seperatly from its thematic content and production values, it is good because Anthy x Utena = WIN WIN WIN.
It also maintains the cyclical nature of the Utena series quite well. Utena is essentially the same basic story told fourish times and the movie adds a fifth. I think the ending of the movie also helps to expand on some themes presented at the very end of the series, specifically Utena's disappearance and Anthy setting out on her own.
Admittedly though, the exploitation of Utena and Anthy's relationship was something I did not really dig. I like how their relationship in the show was kept platonic. It didn't need to be anything more, because it was still enough to provide the symbolism needed to show Utena taking on a male role. The way the movie put them in a romantic relationship just seemed cheap.
I've seen Utena three times, but I'm showing it to my brother. We're at the beginning of the Black Rose Saga and every other episode he tries guessing things about the plot. His favorite is guessing who Dios is. On three occasions he has stated that he believes Dios is actually Chu-Chu. Food for thought.
Have any of you checked out the Utena Gallery at Empty Movement? The storyboard of episode 3 is so neat to look at. I wish I could read what was in all those notes. I was especially intrigued by the panels that were 'crossed out'.
Have any of you checked out the Utena Gallery at Empty Movement? The storyboard of episode 3 is so neat to look at. I wish I could read what was in all those notes. I was especially intrigued by the panels that were 'crossed out'.
Comments
Black rose saga.
Car/Akio saga.
Apocalypse/end of the world/finale saga.
If I remember well those are the sets/arcs of Utena.
Can't find it here.
So far so good, but OH MY GOD am I tired of seeing the same footage.
I plan on watching the series twice, so I'm learning to deal with it.
There were actually three versions of the song in the TV series - the original version (Student Council Arc), the industrial version with the weird robot guy voice (Black Rose Saga), and the version with Banyuu Inryoku/Universal Gravitation (Akio/Cars Saga onward). There was only one version in the movie. Also, there are a couple other mixes of the song that never appeared in either the series or the movie, which you can read more about in ohtori.nu's Audiology section: http://ohtori.nu/audiology/apocalypse.htm
The version of the song that Rym played in the podcast was actually "Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku 2," which appears on Utena OSTs 5 and 6, and was from the live action musical. As ohtori.nu says, "It is the Industrial Mix of the song WITHOUT the male vocal track that sounds like a robot."
...Okay, that wasn't exactly the best third post to make, but like I said, I'm a big anime music geek. XD;;
Is slapping Anthy around a required course at this school? At the end of the year, do report cards go home with comments like "Joey Joe-joe did very well in math, science, and phys ed, but he just couldn't slap around Anthy Himemiya to our satisfaction"?
Let's Play! Utena for the Sega Saturn
A second attempt to play the game is in progress, this time with more guidance and a focus on getting a better, more plot-relevant ending. It's better to read the first thread before going into that one, though, since it spoils how many points each choice gets you and mentions things that happened in the previous playthrough.
Admittedly though, the exploitation of Utena and Anthy's relationship was something I did not really dig. I like how their relationship in the show was kept platonic. It didn't need to be anything more, because it was still enough to provide the symbolism needed to show Utena taking on a male role. The way the movie put them in a romantic relationship just seemed cheap.
Utena PP cards. I have over 20 of them.
Utena 9 card postcard set with art by Chiho Saito:
I have no idea what to do with these.
To his credit, he has had correct theories, but they are way less entertaining.