uhhh i LITERALLY dont remember how i first came across utena. I remember reading its whole tv tropes page, gathering that it was p gay, and deciding to watch it. then it took over my life during the homestuck gigapauses and now im here.
i like it for basically the exact same reasons i like homestuck and view them as different versions of the same core story p much: stories about escaping from the cruelty and misery imposed by an inherently flawed systemic structure, designed by a demiurgic patriarch. queer coming of age stories included included in the combo meal. v good
Hey guys! This time we’re starting a short, 5 episode Mini-series on
various parallels between Steven Universe and Revolutionary Girl Utena.
These are two amazing shows and thinking about one has made me
understand the other better several times now, so I hope you all enjoy!
Here we talk about Utena’s basic premise, Ruby and Sapphire, and Pink
Diamond-the Shadow cast over the story.
Let me know what you all think,
and as always, Keep rising.
“Aphrodite of Death (Reminiscence)”, “Suspicion” and “Eien no Himitsu”
from the Utena OST. This video, and all pictures and footage used, is a
critique and is covered under “fair use” under section 107 of the US
Copyright Act 1976.
i don’t honestly know if it’s majorly inaccurate, but I remember them messing up at least one joke in a way I really didn’t like. I don’t think super highly of it, but in all fairness I don’t think I’ve watched it all the way through, either. Let me know what you think of it if you finish it through the dub–just know I don’t personally vouch for that version
All I can really say in terms of assurance is that the POC who’s “content to be servile” is one of the most complex and nuanced characters in fiction imo, and most of those other characters don’t slack far behind.
My friend recommends ep. 4 as the beat that got him hooked. I’d say give it til 7 because that’s where my favorite character arc comes into focus for the first time.
That said, I know I talk Utena up a lot here and I am completely genuine about it but I also feel a certain obligation to make something clear.
I can’t promise you’re gonna like Utena, because Utena’s not a show for everyone. It happens to speak to my sense of aesthetic visually, so it’s got one up on me that might not work for you at all. But thematically and content-wise it just really, really is not for everyone.
Because Utena deals almost exclusively with themes of abuse–social abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse. It’s a show about fucked up people hurting each other in fucked up ways. It explores the complexities of incest and incestual abuse quite a lot.
As an incest survivor that’s always been interested in archetypes, apocalyptic imagery and stories about abuse’s effects on human psychology-largely due to personal reasons-all of that naturally proves pretty resonant to me. It might be absolutely horrific to some other folks, and just kinda boring for others.
I think the way its handled puts it on about the same level as Homestuck, in some ways. But Homestuck focuses on more systemic and physical/fantastical violence, in a lot of ways. It’s rarer that it gets into more explicitly sexual territory.
Utena, on the other hand, is visually a lot cleaner-it’s pure shoujo, no blood or gore to be had, most of its conflict rendered symbolically and through character performance.
But the subject matter it deals in is just closer to social, grounded reality, and the kinds of violence it deals in are I think more likely to be…personally triggering? So I really can’t be sure everyone will enjoy the experience. I just know I’m a big fan, processing stuff through it did me a lot of good, and the story gets better the more it adds to the layers of interpersonal drama and symbolic meaning.
Let’s go on living our lives bravely, with style. (Just a long long time) And even if the two of us should be separated, (Let go of me) Take my revolution.
Flying through Storytelling 