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| Damn, the symbolism overall was absolutely crazy in this series and although some parts of it were ridiculously repetitive (and sometimes that bored me to death) I can't say I disliked the series at all. I loved it. Very nice ending. Ah, and just a comment, I always respect people's opinions at all times, but I have to say that the OP of this thread is pretty dumb for taking so much time in watching the whole series and not even trying to understand, hehe lol. |
| Yeah, well whatever. Screw this... Won't rate, since I'm blaming myself for not getting this (okay the show is to blame as well, but that doesn't automatically make it bad). Ending felt like a complete waste. After sitting through 38 episodes I expected...something. It's probably kinda like Evangelion. Felt totally screwed after watching it the first time, since I didn't get it. Then read A LOT about it and watched it again (and again, and again...) and then it made more sense and I thought it was really epic. The only problem with Utena is...I don't feel like doing all of this for this show. It just doesn't interest me enough. meh... On a side note I really enjoyed the Black Rose Arc and thought it had an awesome twist ending. Makes the fact that it was ultimately pretty much pointless even more outrageous... Edit: okay after calming down from the disappointing finale and having ten minutes to reflect on the show, it wasn't THAT complicated in the end. The basic premise of the prince and sister is actually quite simple. I think I got that. The problems I had with this show: - "Deep symbolism" is all nice and well but it was just over the top. It's fun to analyze scenes and think about a hidden meaning every now and then but this was just a bit too much (and too bizarre at times). Tone it down a bit, will you? - It was quite repetitive and therefore a drag at times. 2-3 episodes less per arc would've probably done the trick. The way it was, there were so many scenes that just didn't do much (expect indulging in symbolism, see above) and felt like padding to me. Others may not see it like this though. - The ending just pissed me off. I'm still not sure what happened, although that isn't what made me dislike it. It just wasn't satisfying gor some reason. And that's about the worst thing you can say about an ending. Although my view on this might change when (if) I see it again and read some interpretations (like with the Eva example) - I HATED Himemiya's GUTS. I can't put my finger on what it was specifically but she just annoyed me to no end. I cheered whenever she got bitch-slapped in the beginning of the show. There wasn't enough of that later on... All in all it was a good show. Entertaining for the most part (despite what I said about it being repetitive), great soundtrack and ultimately an intriguing plot (although they took their sweet time to get to the point and 39 eps just seemed a bit much). Still not sure how to rate it. After ep 38 I would've given it an 8, but that ending really wasn't all that good... |
grandy_UiDJun 23, 2012 12:14 PM
| It's been three months now since I finished this and I have to say this series has stayed with me like very few anime do. Sure there was a lot of repetition but that too contributed somehow to the surreal dreamlike feeling. In most cases the more time goes on the less I remember about the series, but there was just something about this that sticks. It makes me think of Tenshi ni Narumon which is a show I didn't expect to like from the way it looked, but I can still remember it well after 12 years or so. |
| Well! This show. It definitely addresses some interesting themes. I can't bring myself to give it a 9 or 10 right now since I had a lot of problems with the layout of the story, but I will give it an 8 for now, and maybe change my mind later. Some thoughts: I thought the relationship and contrast between Utena and Anthy was very interesting, especially Anthy. At first she seems like she might just be a shy, naive and spineless girl who doesn't know any better than to live in the situation she does, but in a way she could also stand for a certain kind of adult womanhood that is more representative of 'traditional' womanhood. She knows the negative aspects of her situation (being completely controlled by others, used for sex, etc) but simply accepts them because maybe she thinks trying to change them would be worse than simply living her life without conflict. Utena, however, represents a more youthful point of view where she thinks she can change anything if she tries hard enough. In my opinion neither of these points of view are really all that great in reality, and that is probably the point. I found Akio interesting as well. The main problem I had with him was that Utena's 'love' for him seemed to come out of nowhere. It would have been different if she really believed he was her prince from the beginning, but that didn't seem to be the case...it was as if she just decided to love him within the span of one episode. But whatever. I liked the idea that he had once been a prince and had grown up to become something decidedly not princely, though I felt like the show didn't really tell us why. Actually, in a lot of cases I felt the writers were trying to say that people tend to become more cold-hearted as they mature which...I don't agree with. Actually I think adults tend to have a lot more empathy and compassion than children since they have had more time to learn that things are not black and white and you can't expect everyone to behave the way you want. But I suppose a lot of people hold childhood up as this sort of nostalgic period of time where people are "good" and "noble". Eh...maybe it is true for some people. I think the Japanese tend to idolize youth (especially childhood) a bit too much. Anyway, fascinating show on the whole. |
| I can't help but feel something terrible happened to Utena, but it didn't feel to have a sad air in it so maybe she is alive somewhere. |
| Some episodes were way too repetitive and the fillers were never funny in the first place. Recaps were unnecessary. At some point, it became a drag for me to go through one episode without pausing it and doing something else. 6/10 because the "TRUTH" was awesome. I pretty much had no idea what was going on after Black Rose arc |
| Even when I was in crowd, I was always alone |
| I watched the last episode almost an hour ago, and my mind is still reeling. I hate the feeling I get after finishing a series, but that ending floored me. I can honestly say that I loved this series. Even the filler episodes were entertaining - totally worth the time it took to watch. I get the feeling that the school is all in Akio's head. It's his world and since he's moved on and pretty much forgotten Utena, everyone else has as well. Still, it broke my heart to see that Wakaba had nearly forgotten her. I wonder if Akio even knows what the revolution is. He didn't seem to understand, even as Anthy (subtly) explained it to him. I don't think Utena died, either - she managed to break free of Akio's world. She matured, and therefore had no place in that world where no one ages or grows up. |
| Amazing series and probably the most feminist anime out there. |
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| I just finished it! I really enjoyed the last third of the series and flew through it tonight because I wanted to know more about it. To be honest, there were a lot of parts in two-thirds of the series that were a bit of a drag. I think this will be something I will watch later and appreciate more now that I understand the complete core meaning, but I can't help to say that some of these episodes caused this to be less than brilliant. I have a feeling this will be one of those anime that I will want to discuss more, think about and let everything soak in. I plan on watching the movie soon to see a different side of the series. (I heard that Utena x Anthy relationship was a lot more apparent whereas they were more friends than anything in this.) I keep teetering between a 7-8. I would say 7.5 Good anime, but the story could have been planned better for someone going through it the first time. Also, Utena is my favorite character of the series. I'm not one to go for the central character, but I couldn't get enough of the prince ideas that surrounded her. |
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| Jesus Christ that was amazing. Awesome anime ^.^ |
| 11 months after watching it, I'm adding it to my favourites... time just makes me appreciate more what I've seen here. |
| A lot to ponder but a great ending to a truly great show. The pacing and buildup was especially good, and it laid super solid foundations that paid off in spades. This and Penguindrum are two phenomenal works and I can't fucking wait for Yuri Kuma Arashi now. |
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Wyvern-Ventrue said: What totally ruined Utena for me was how she suddenly "fell in love" with Akio. First of all that was not love, it was pure attraction; he was hot, he was nice to her and she liked him, that was it. But that's exactly what first loves are, finding someone pleasing to look at and talk to. But still, I thought Utena was more normal? I thought that she would never go for a guy with a fiance, she could be attracted to him, yes, but nothing more. And if the guy starts making moves on you while still being engaged then...isn't that a signal to reconsider and think that maybe the guy you thought was so cool is in fact a jerk? isn't that the normal reaction? Well I thought that's how Utena would react anyway and I was disappointed. That's totally the normal reaction, but Utena is not a normal girl. Since she was a child, she's lived longing for this prince that she met. Her entire image and self-identity has been defined by this one person. And now she thinks she has met him, he's showing this interest in her back, it's sort of her dream come true. She might go so far as to think she is fated to be with him because of the ring and all, meaning the fiancee thing is less of a big deal. Either way, Utena isn't just going to easily admit that the most important part of her life may not actually be straight out of some fairy tale like how she sees the world. And remember, she's 14 years old during the show, and clearly lives life like it's some fantasy story. It's not hard to see how she could easily be taken advantage of. Wyvern-Ventrue said: Akio's motivations were so all over the place and plain crazy and most importantly, he abused his sister both mentally and sexually Akio had exactly one goal: get back the power that he lost from the days when he was a real prince. That's pretty much literally all he cares about, and he moves toward this goal with sexual manipulation. Everyone he slept with in the show(which was quite a lot of people) had a purpose for him in his game. Sleeping with Anthy was very important for him, because he needed her to think he loved her, that he would save her from her suffering. He also needed her to be the obedient rose bride that enticed people into the dueling game, so that he could find candidates who could open the Door to Eternity, which he believed held his lost powers. Wyvern-Ventrue said: I was so enraged during the last episodes seeing these 3 being mentally weak and sick. Won't argue with that one. Utena, Anthy, and Akio are all very mentally unstable and weak people for most of the show. But I think that's what makes them such great characters. They start out as typical character tropes: the damsel in distress, the brave prince(ss) who fights for the weak, the mysterious and handsome prince. But by the end we realize that these are just human beings who have deluded themselves into believing the world works like a fairy tale. All 3 of them were using each other in some way, to make their lives seem like that fairy tale. Utena was fighting for Anthy because she wanted to save someone like a brave prince would, Anthy was allowing herself to be used because she believed her brother (her prince) would save her, and Akio used both of them because he couldn't accept that the prince he once was was dead, and that princes can't exist in modern times. It's the genuine friendship that Utena and Anthy developed that allowed them to figure out what they truly valued in the world, and that their fantasies were just being used and manipulated by Akio, who was never either of their princes. ... these are just my opinions :) This is what I got out of the show. I love it, if you can't tell haha |
| I wanted to love it but didn't. I get all the layers of symbolism, I understand what they were trying to do. Normally I love shows like that - but not in this case. It gets an 8/10 for effort. I think people are ignoring a whole heap of shortcomings though. I think it could have been done a hell of a lot better. |
| fffffff Nanami, shadow puppets and the soundtrack get this a 5 from me, otherwise I feel like I totally wasted 15 or so hours they had SO MUCH TIME to develop a mythology we could invest in, talk about Too Little Too Late. grandy_UiD said: Ending felt like a complete waste. After sitting through 38 episodes I expected...something. It's probably kinda like Evangelion. Felt totally screwed after watching it the first time, since I didn't get it. Then read A LOT about it and watched it again (and again, and again...) and then it made more sense and I thought it was really epic. The only problem with Utena is...I don't feel like doing all of this for this show. It just doesn't interest me enough. meh... On a side note I really enjoyed the Black Rose Arc and thought it had an awesome twist ending. Makes the fact that it was ultimately pretty much pointless even more outrageous... Couldn't agree more. But with Eva I pretty much totally enjoyed it, this was a real slog. ("Well, I've seen 28 eps and it has its moments, too late to give up now...") |
BlackoutingJul 1, 2013 9:31 PM
| I bet Madoka got a lot of inspiration from this series. |
Carrottop11 said: Also the filler episodes aren't there just to be annoying and save time. They actually BUILD character instead of making people wonder later on and complain about there being not enough character development for certain characters. This, so much this. This is why Utena might be the only anime I don't mind to have the monster-of-the-week formula, in fact adds to the story and character development. Unlike most other anime using this formula, Utena uses it to its advantage. I like to think it's a reflection of repetition and equality: Everyone has problems to overcome despite social status and the nature of their problems, also could be implied Akio has been playing this game of trying to make a revolution over and over for centuries along with Anthy, and well, going in circles (Anthy breaks out of hers in the end) Almost all characters were dealt with, and all of them grow out of their shell and "revolutionize the world." Taking the symbolism literally (especially in the last episode) is the wrong way of going with this anime. |
| Girls' Revolution succeeded, at least for Anthy and Utena. Happy ending. I really liked realistic characters with realistic conflicts and problems. One of the best animation in depicting characters. Excluding some indie animations, this is the only feminist animation that exists. |
| 日本人はイッちゃってるよ あいつら未来に生きてんな |
razor39999 said: The symbolism here was well made, and I did enjoy the show overall, but I just can't forgive the several filler episodes, the silly repetitive scenes and the failed humor of most of the Nanami-themed episodes (although her final arc was very good and made her into a character and not just derpy comic relief). And the recap was also fairly unnecessary. This could've easily been a 22-26 episode show. The thing is, Nanami episodes only SEEM like fillers. There is actually some very important stuff and lots of character development in those. I won't go into details, but just try watching the way Anthy acts in those episodes...I don't believe fillers actually exist in this show. Everything is given deep meaning. |
| I feel fucked up now |
idk why I was here but I'm prob back to playing Dragon's Dogma 2 again when you read this |
| love those bells. this is probably my favorite ending Of All Time. there's so much more i understand after watching it for the second time, but i still got a little lost towards the end. although i caught the major points, i didn't completely understand some of the conversations (an excuse to watch for a third time this summer. -v-). still loved it, maybe even more than the first time i watched. |
| u gay |
maarika said: Best ending I've ever seen. If you feel confused about it then you'd probably need to watch it again. I didn't get it at all when I first saw it but after watching it several times over and reading about what everything means (there's A LOT of symbolism), it all made sense. It certainly was worth delving into all the info and discussions about it. It's beautiful and touching, and I've never seen anything quite like this. Also, to answer the above question, no, Utena did not die. The central theme of the series is that of childhood and adolescence,and the perception of reality/illusions. Utena's desperate attempt to save Anthy and still failing at the end made her realise that she couldn't become a prince. But it wasn't because she didn't qualify but because she realised that she was pursuing and illusion. Princes and princesses are nothing more than fairy tales. Anthy, coming to the same realisation was able to walk away (she could have left any time if only she had realised). Coffins are an existential motif in this series (here's my semi-philosophical take on it). They don't mean death but rather non-existence. You see Utena as a kid in the coffin because she didn't want to continue living. Or, to put it into more philosophical terms, she had no reason or motive for her existence because she realised everyone would die anyway. The reason you see Anthy in the coffin (and that's where she's been all along) is because she could not see past the life she had been living (as the Rose Bride) up to that point. Utena's efforts to open the coffin is where Anthy realises that she's just a person like any other, and that she CAN do something to change her life. The reason Utena was not able to save her was because no one else can choose how someone lives their life (or if they can make such a choice, then it probably won't have positive results). Hopefully that clears some things up. Now I understand because of you, of course I was expecting a huge hug and kisses with both Anthy and Utena but I kind of like it, it worth somehow. |
| This has got to be one of the best last episodes and endings I've seen in an anime yet. |
| Too deep for me. I fail to see its brilliance without reading desperately what the explanations after watching the series. I probably should rewatch this someday, if I have the energy. |
| Brilliant! 9/10 from me. I'll sleep on it, may be a 10. |
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| The overall feel of this show was amazing. I loved the animation, the setting and the absurd music. It's something you probably won't see again in modern animation. It's a shame this series had enough episodes to tell the story in a decent manner, but I feel fucked over either way. Many things left unexplained - which is fine to add to the symbolism and mysteriousness but really, I feel like there's so much more they could have done. Great buildup to the end though. I'm gonna have to sleep on it. |
| Great ending. I totally called Himemiya being inside the coffin as opposed to say Utena being inside. Good stuff. |
"There is nothing outside of yourself that enables you to get better. Everything is within. Seek nothing outside of yourself." ⛩️  |
| Well, there we go. The ending was quite nice and I liked how Utena literally freed Anthy from her coffin. This series had more and less interesting parts, but overall I liked it a lot. One big gripe I have with it that there was a LOT of fluff in the writing that could have been just cut off without any real damage to the character development or pacing. The fights started to repeat themeselves somewhere in the 20's, but the individual stories everyone had kept me interested. The comedy episodes, although very funny, were also somewhat out of place in this show. I'm not sure if I'm a fan of the strong feminist implications the last episodes had with Utena beating the 'horrible playboy' Aiko either. Still, a solid, well directed show with a nice mysterious atmosphere and many touching character backstories. 8/10 |
cupcJan 11, 2015 8:11 AM
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| The ending was really unexpected. I was expecting a normal, happy ending like a usual fairy tale but got something a little different. The part where Utena was reaching for Anthy's hands when all the swords were falling down was so dramatic and emotional I had to let out a few tears. ; // n //; (forever shipping Utena x Anthy) So technically if Akio didn't die, then Utena couldn't of had died either. I really hope in the end Anthy will find Utena. This anime was amazing. 9/10 Not sure if I'd watch again though. There was a lot of filler episodes and recaps, some episodes even seemed pointless, but they did build up to the plot. The ending episodes were amazing though, and it was what made me bump up the score of the anime from a 7 to a 9. |
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| I'm speechless...Just feel bad for Utena seriously |
| There are a number of words I would use to describe Utena: weird, funny, thought-provoking, metaphorical, and most of all, FABULOUS. So glad to see that Anthy is free from her torment and is living her own life. Even though Utena wasn't able to save Anthy, she made Anthy realize that she could save herself. And now that they're both free from Ohtori Academy, they can find each other again and live together without being defined by roles and, most of all, without the manipulative Akio. The low point of the series, for me, was around episode 15-20. That was when entire episodes were composed of the exact same format and involved seemingly random minor characters to boot. The episode named Miki's Nest Box (ep. 26) was pretty weak as well, as it also followed said format and revealed nothing new about the characters involved. However, the show did so many things well and definitely deserves a rewatch in the future. |
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| Gotta say, that was quite an overrated series full of so much of the unnecessary. Could easily have been completed in, what, 20 episodes or something. IMO it would have been much better served as a shorter, OVA series than what it ended up being, or at least a 2 cour TV at the most. That said, it wasn't bad, I'm stuck between rating it a 6 or a 7, I think I'll leave it at a 7 since in time I'll feel less disappointment and will see it in a better light. In terms of the director's works, Penguindrum is leagues better than this. I guess I got my hopes up since I enjoyed that so much. It just had way too much repetition, and the characters themselves were pretty uninteresting, and since this series was a lot about the development of said characters, that also contributed to my not feeling that this was that great in the end. I did enjoy the ending though, but it wasn't enough for me to say this was a great series since there was more average than good. |
antonnnFeb 26, 2015 7:01 AM
| loved this series. somehow the ending felt complete yet incomplete at the same time. I feel satisfied with it but when I really think about it, where is Utena??? how is Anthy going to find her? I still have so many questions, wish there was a sequel or something to explain some things. and she was only gone a few months and yet everyone already forgot her? hmm.. well I'm going to watch the movie later and hopefully it explains some things |
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| Well that was an exciting ending. For me it felt like Utena taking the swords instead of Himemiya to free her and Utena becomming the rosebride for her, which made me think Himemiya leaving like a real asshole move. But on the other hand, she cant do anything about it anyways other than to take her place again. Overall the anime was very artistic and even though it repeated many things (i guess because of not that high production value) it was quite nice overall. Recaps are ALLWAYS unecessary. Artstyle and soundtrack were both very nice. The silhouette girls are awesome. I especially liked the part after episode 10 or so, when utena really wanted to save Himemiya to make her just like a normal girl and then just getting crushed to learn that Himemiya only wanted to be a normal girl cuz Utena wanted her to be like that. It was such an emotional moment. 2 episodes after that everything was forgotten and went back to normal again, which was very disappointing -.- The portagonist of this show was quite nice used at the start... the fish out of water character who learns everything about the world, but since she later on doesnt even want to know more about the mistery and the audience already knows far more than her, she became uninteresting and even naive in her believes for me. At the black rose arc, nearly every side character was more likeable than her. The last arc was also too much romance for me. And the ending maybe a little bit too open, but then again, it does make for a nice work of self-interpretation :) |
| Very nice breakdown of the anime, Grungehamster. First watching an anime i normaly dont tend to see everything as symbolism and try to figure out the reason behind it in the story itself. So I thought that the rosebride served some kind of purpose, but it might as well be just some kind of self-made prison. I also think of the goal Akio and the others, bringing revolution upon the world is also only an illusion. That with revolution, they ment change in their lifes, which can not be brought upon by others but you yourself have to change it. Thats why Akio is stuck in this school and waits for the right prince to bring revolution, which will never come. Also, about the prince in Utenas memories. Its implyed that the rose duelist dont age and that makes sense with what i said before, that Akio waits for revolution since a very long time. So the prince in her memories also has to be an illusion. Maybe from the prince Akio was a long time ago, or like you said a not existing one. What i really dont like about the ending that they suddenly tried to accomplish such a great friendship between Utena and Himemya. I didnt really think of them to be that close during the anime. Wakaba and Utena seemed in my opinion, way closer, especially since they knew each other for a longer time, which implys they mabye got through a few things together. Himemiya on ther other hand never showed much of any emotions and only seemed to be saved by Utena out of pity. Not out of love or friendship. But maybe you could see Himemiya as a part of Utena psychology. The part that needs someone to be rescued, the part that hold Utena back and the part that finally got its eyes open, like you said, through the opening of the coffin, to move on. |
| Good show. My favourite part was the Nanami episodes. |
| Would have given it a 10/10 but the ending left alot of stuf unresolved. Oh well 9/10, amazing series. Wished it had an actual conclusion though. |
| Wow, I actually almost started getting emotional. Anyway, this final episode was really great, but while I enjoyed the whole show, it was pretty repetitive and didn't really get truly compelling until the last 7 episodes. 5/5 for the episode, 7/10 for the show. Far better than Madoka Magica, at any rate. |
D-ohnutsOct 10, 2015 8:47 AM
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