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| I'm not very fond of open endings so at first I was frustrated, but reading all the interpretations made me reflect on that and realize that, well, this ending being so different from what I expected doesn't mean it's bad. Funnily enough, it also made me realize that I actually got most of the symbolisms correctly, and the only thing that was truly bothering me was the lack of a true closure for Utena's character which I guess is actually the point ? After all, she's always stood out to me as a subversion of the classic protagonist with a savior complex as she never truly understood what was going on, constantly ignored warnings from other characters but also from the very situation, kept ignoring all the times characters were calling her out even when they were right for doing so, and overall just came off for a long time as a character who was simply being used as a tool without realizing it while the rest of the cast was getting more and more developed. Her ending just showcases it : she tried to be a prince without understanding what it truly meant, forcing herself into a role she never understood, thinking she had to be a certain way for specific reasons without being able to move on the way the other characters did... And at the end of the day, she failed because of that, but this doesn't mean this is truly the end for her : simply, maybe this whole time, she needed to be "saved" as well and now she can let Anthy "save" her. Plus, que didn't even truly fail : simply, instead of literally saving Anthy, her actions guided her into deciding to stand up for herself and become her own person. That's a very unexpected way of handling a main character but it's actually pretty fascinating. As for the rest, it was a great show ! I didn't find any arc to be bad and I don't think I disliked any episode, even if I initially didn't like the Nanami episodes all that much her character grew so much on me I found myself thinking back on them a lot more fondly. And that's true for the rest of the cast as well, most of them had such a great development ! It was awesome to see them try, fail, and ultimately achieve to move on from their trauma, from those who hurt them, from the situation that was harming them, and ultimately from their past selves that were afraid of stepping out of the coffin. Akio was also a great antagonist, very complex and intriguing to the point I can't say I have fully understood his character, but that's part of why I'll most likely do a rewatch someday, I really want to understand everything I need to understand about his character. On top of that, the art direction was great and there were a lot of ideas I just loved, like the shadow figures or of course the "Stairs/Elevator" sequences. Overall it really was a great show that really knew how to use symbolisms and subvert expectations in a way that makes sense for the story and its themes, I can't say I'll do a rewatch right-away because that's still 39 episodes which is a lot but I'm really planning to in order to understand everything. After a bit of thinking, I feel like it'd be unfair to give it less than a 10/10, it was pretty amazing. |
FafetteMay 26, 3:11 PM
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It’s really good. I will now spend more time thinking about what it all meant than what it took me to watch the entire series Feeling a strong 7/10 |
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