Overall, most of the characters want the power to revolutionize the world. This is an intentionally vague and confusing concept, but what it means is that, for whatever reason, the character feels unhappy with the world, and wants to change it so that it better suits them. This becomes more apparent during the second arc, where the side characters are constantly told "you need to revolutionize the world". At first, this seems absurd that this is the solution to their problems, but when you look at them, it makes sense: everyone feels miserable in the world they're in, so they try to change that in unhealthy ways. And it makes sense that they feel the need to "change the world" in order to solve their problems, as a lot of the shows themes (and thus, the sources of their problems) deal a lot with sexism and homophobia. These are not problems caused by single characters, but societal problems, as even the nicest characters usually have some internalized sexism or homophobia. This is one of the few shows I can say that you just CAN’T gender-flip them without changing the entire show, as those societal problems are what make them who they are. This show is good to watch if you want an intricate deconstruction of some of the ideas ingrained in society, and you might end up realizing you have your own internalized problems as well.
The characters are all amazing, and even the minor characters left an impression on me. For example, I initially saw Wakaba, the “hyper best friend”, as an annoying side character, but she ended up becoming my favorite character in the series, despite only having one episode fully to herself. I suppose this is why fans tend to debate on the motives and morality of the characters so much, because there's so much to take away from them. There's only one real "bad guy", the rest of the characters are just some very messed up, pitiful teens. Even Saionji and Nanami, who are shown early on as antagonists, ended up being extremely pitiful. Heck, even the “bad guy” has some fascinating parallels to the protagonist, and there is still a sense of tragedy with them, despite it being clear that they’re a monster, and this tragedy doesn’t take away from the horror, but rather emphasizes it. Not only that, but, without spoiling much, it turns out no one's really a "saint" either, not even the seemingly innocent Utena and Miki. Anthy, especially, is probably the most complex women ever put in anime, although it’s not really apparent until near the end, as she intentionally hides her inner feelings. Again, this is probably why she’s one of the most divisive characters in the fandom. At the risk of sounding a bit pretentious, the characters almost seemed Shakespearean. This is the strength of their fight scenes, as none of the swordfights feel shallow. Every fight feels like it has a point, and it’s when the characters’ feelings truly shine through. The music that plays during fights emphasizes this.
I must address how this applies to the main character, Utena Tenjou herself. Again, without spoiling much, she screws up. A lot. She tries to be heroic, but being a confused fourteen year old, she doesn’t really know what she’s doing. And it’s pretty evident early on that she’s one of the characters who struggles with internalized sexism and homophobia. And yet, she’s still the hero. She does things that most shoujo protagonists would never do, and would likely be vilified for, but it’s still made clear that these actions do not make her a monster, but a human being. In fact, having a black and white “good or evil” mentality about people is another one of the themes of the anime, and it shows how dangerous that mentality can be.
Still, these themes and characters may not be for everyone. I'll admit this anime is not for the faint of heart. It can potentially be triggering, and it's definitely not for small children. If you want to watch a more straightforward shoujo series with characters you can always root for or hate, you probably won’t like this show, as no one is innocent. If, for whatever reason, you prefer straightforward villains instead of really pitiful, morally ambiguous people fighting or the embodiment of society’s problems manipulating everyone, this is not the show for you.
Some people criticize the reusing of animation, especially in the "Utena walking up the stairs" sequence. I actually really liked this. Repetition has its place in art, and the point here is: 1. it's a ritual set up by a guy who sees himself as God and 2. Everyone is trapped in their situation, which is WHY they're fighting. When they stop fighting, it's a sign they've finally broken free, and will move on. Meanwhile, they're stuck fighting and trying to solve their problems in rather unhealthy ways. Even Anthy, who isn't a fighter, is stuck attending these duels. Besides that, the imagery is beautiful.
There is also Touga's egg speech he says before student council meetings. Aside from being an intimidating speech, it shows their motives for all of their planning and fighting. Again, they’re unhappy with the world. They feel trapped. And they need to break free, so they’ll do whatever they can to do it.
The series is rife with symbolism. For example, roses, associated with tragedy, are everywhere, and every duelist has their own rose whom the opponent must impale in order to win. These roses are different colors depending on the duelist, so one can have a lot of fun analyzing the meanings of rose colors and how they fit the characters. Even their "soul swords" are each different and symbolic. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. If one doesn't like symbolism and allegory, this may not be the show for you.
It’s definitely a show that has a lot of re-watch value. Not as much as, say, Yuri Kuma Arashi, but a lot. There’s plenty of subtle foreshadowing and you won’t be able to catch all of the symbolism at first. Every time I watch the show, I catch something completely new. You’ll find seemingly innocent scenes tragic or horrifying once you know what it meant to the characters, and you’ll find seemingly helpful actions horrible when you know what the character was REALLY thinking. You also probably won’t get the point of most of the duel songs the first time through, but reading the lyrics, even though they’re often abstract, and, to be quite honest, bizarre, they help show parts of the characters and what they’re thinking (the lyrics of Juri’s first duel theme is especially poignant). It’s a fairly long series, though, and if you’re not a fan of re-watching shows, again, this may not be the show for you.
Still, if symbolism, re-watch value, mature themes that are STILL relevant after all these years, and morally grey characters are your thing, you should give this show a watch.
