Revolutionary Girl Utena

Original Title: 少女革命ウテナ
Romanized: Shoujo Kakumei Utena
Literal:

Plot Synopsis

One day, as a young orphaned girl mourned her parents, a prince appeared, comforting her and telling her to always maintain her inner strength and nobility. He gave her a rose crest ring, telling her that it would someday lead her to him. Of course, this fairy tale is a little different--that girl, Utena Tenjou, was so impressed that she decided to become a prince herself. And become a prince she does--she comes to her high school, Ohtori Academy, in a boy's uniform, plays basketball with the best of them, and is admired by the girls and envied by the guys.

Other than that, though, Utena is leading a pretty normal life... until she meets Anthy Himemiya. Though she only intended to give Anthy a hand, Utena becomes involved with the members of the Student Council as they duel over who will posses the Rose Bride--Anthy Himemiya--and with her, the Power to revolutionize the world... whatever that may be.

Review

Rating: 4 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2006-07-29

Although stylistically shoujo anime, Revolutionary Girl Utena is more like Sailor Moon meets Lain. It offers a unique combination of heavily symbolic coming-of-age fairy tale, layered psychological study, and religious allegory. Don't let the colorful and silly initial episodes fool you--the series goes dark and strange places throughout its run, and while it's far too idiosyncratic for some, its storybook style and endless layers of symbolism will prove engrossing for fans of cerebral shoujo and allegorical fables alike.

The whole series has the look and feel of a fairy tale. The settings are grandiose, from huge promenades at the school to the massive dueling arena, and almost everything seems to be taken from the pages of some fancifully illustrated children's book. The story has a fairy-tale theme as well; mysterious letters, duels over the Rose Bride, and a group of diverse people, each searching for power to attain a different goal. Even the formulaic way the stories are told has harkens to classic fairy tales--repetition in a TV series is usually due to of lack of originality or budget, but in this case it is very much an artistic decision, with each of the three seasons repeating a subtle but meaningful variation on a theme.

The art of the storytelling is quite impressive. The series is constantly dips into flights of artistic fancy that are both refreshing and interesting to watch. For example (and this is also an example of the repetition), each episode in the first season has its halfway point marked by a sort of surreal shadow puppet show symbolizing whatever the theme of the episode's story is. Other arty touches are everywhere--the stylish duels, an odd knife-throwing scene during a conversation, and repeated use of stylized rose borders overlaid on the screen, almost like the illuminated border of an old manuscript. Things like these, coupled with the artistic settings, give the series as a whole a whimsical, storybook feel.

This alone would make Revolutionary Girl Utena worth watching, but it's not the end of the story. Providing a contrast to the storybook setting and artistic flourish is Utena herself, very much a headstrong and lively normal anime girl. There are, similarly, always touches of the mundane--studying, eating dinner, going to class--throughout the story. This contrast is fun, but more importantly it brings a touch of reality to the fairy tale.

It also allows the characters to be more than just their storybook facades. This is quite important, because Revolutionary Girl Utena is more than anything a story of self discovery and a series of character studies. Without somewhat believable (and likable) characters, all the symbolism and art in the world won't make that work.

On that note, Revolutionary Girl Utena is as heavy on symbolism--both subtle and not--as it is on artistic flair. Everything from the clothing to the settings is representative of something, and the whole story is a carefully constructed allegory. But not an obvious one: Part of the fun is figuring out just where it's all headed. Much like Serial Experiments Lain (stylistically opposite but similar in concept), the story definitely seems to be going somewhere, but that destination is shrouded in mystery, and you're left guessing at what's really going on. That, along with all the marvelous artistry of the story and the intriguing characters (Anthy in particular is so much more than is visible on the surface) kept me coming back and wanting more.

Now for the bad news. The biggest issue is that some of the early stories are just kind of silly. I can accept it up to a point, particularly in a series as over-the-top as this one, but when an episode ends in a boxing match with a kangaroo, it's just gone too far. Thankfully, the bad stuff is pretty concentrated--the few clunker episodes keep to themselves, and are all in the first season.

The cute little monkey-thing, Chu-chu, also feels a little too much like a marketing gimmick to me. He is a significant part of the story and an expected bit of comic relief, but having him present in some of the more serious scenes is unnecessary at best.

The bits of silliness in early episodes are particularly odd since the series eventually becomes dark and sexually charged enough that it's not really even appropriate for viewers of the age you'd expect to enjoy that sort of thing. The thematic change from "childish" to "mature" is very much a part of the progression of the story and characters, but the series was quite successful at portraying innocence without resorting to the goofy bits that I'm complaining about.

The one other complaint I have is that, for those not accustomed to shoujo style (or who dislike it), Revolutionary Girl Utena suffers from something of an overdose, particularly early on. This isn't necessarily a negative, however; the series uses every shoujo cliche to its advantage. The over-the-top drama and soap operatic themes characteristic of shoujo are a near-perfect fit with the larger-than-life world of duels and ballrooms in which it is set.

Visually, I've already mentioned the storybook style; detailed but loosely painted backgrounds and fanciful settings. The distinctive character designs are classic shoujo with thin, leggy physiques and sharp, angular faces, and are quite attractive. There is a little less variety in the costumes than you'd expect, since everybody is wearing school uniforms (creative ones, but still uniforms) for the most part. The animation is impressive for a TV series of the vintage, with fine action sequences and quality character animation. Of particular note is the opening sequence--there's some really cool looking stuff there. The series makes heavy use of re-used animation (every season features several sequences that are nearly identical in every episode), but for once it feels as much like an artistic decision as budgetary constraint. Further, subtle changes in these repeated parts are symbolically significant (definitely don't zone out).

The Japanese acting is topnotch and well cast. Although it's not the kind of role I've heard her in before, Fuchizaki Yuriko (among my favorite voice actresses) does a fine, subtle job as Anthy, and Utena is full of infectious energy. The student council is mostly quite good, with one exception: Although Hisakawa Aya is a skilled actress, she's not known for her portrayals of boys. She does a good job dramatically as Mickey, but whenever he's talking to Utena or Anthy he sounds too much like a girl. Not a major issue, but kind of a shame.

The English dub is generally well done, and the casting fits quite well. Utena sounds a little less spunky than she does in the Japanese, but turns in a good performance in general. The real standout, though, is Anthy--her voice and acting fits the mysterious character perfectly.

Finally, no discussion of Revolutionary Girl Utena would be complete without bringing up the music, which is masterful. The background music throughout the series fits perfectly with the fairy tale feel: Grandiose, classical music evoking everything from the beautiful schoolgrounds to a fanciful ballroom. The music also plays a significant part in the story; each duel is accompanied by a unique and appropriately apocalyptic chorus hinting at... something. Two early episodes also center around Mickey's quest for feeling in his piano playing. Rounding it out, the opening and end themes are much more standard but still unusual and catchy anime themes, completing the mix of tradition and art that is visible throughout the series.

In all, Revolutionary Girl Utena is a unique piece of anime. The story is a tale of self-discovery and exploration of the darker corners of the human heart told through a mix of down-to-earth characters, mysterious forces, and grand fairy tale themes. The whole thing comes packaged in a whimsical, artistic, beautifully constructed world filled with fantastic places and storybook images. It might sound like another magical girl series, but there is so much more to it, and I'd recommend almost any anime fan at least give it a look.

Related Recommendations

The most similar series in concept and symbolic construction is probably Serial Experiments Lain, though it looks and feels almost exactly opposite in every way. Boogiepop Phantom also has a bit of the same themes of the dark recesses of the human heart, though is otherwise entirely different. For notably darker shoujo with a similarly broad appeal, check out Tokyo Babylon and the related X.

US DVD Review

The DVDs are horribly inconsistent, something USM has taken inordinately long to remedy. There are apparently plans to (finally) release a complete re-done set sometime in 2006.

The first season is crammed onto two discs produced much earlier than the other two four-disc-per-season chunks. While they are among the best of USM's early DVDs (I assume as a result of Software Sculptors' involvement in them), the video quality suffers noticeably and they are not up to the same standards as USM's newer releases, or the rest of the series.

The second two seasons (Black Rose and Apocalypse Sagas, respectively) are roughly standard for more recent USM TV releases, and with 13 episodes spread out over four discs the video quality is quite good. Each of the three seasons is available as box set, with the first season, Rose Collection, including the movie as well (which does not fit anywhere with the TV series--it's a retelling).

As for those first discs, unlike most early USM DVDs the subtitles don't seem like a complete afterthought, although the video was clearly produced by sticking both dubbed VHS volumes back to back (including the English credits repeated in the middle of the disc, and again at the end). It was also, I believe, the first of USM's DVDs to include a basic list of the Japanese cast on the Jacket (a big step up from nothing at all), and the first to use a transparent case so you can read the back of the insert through it.

The subtitles are notably uneven. On the negative end, since the video track comes straight from the dubbed tapes all the songs in the story have hardcoded subtitles; the subtitles on the opening and end themes are hardcoded a few times, and the rest are picked up by the subtitle track, if it's on. On the positive side, the subtitle track during the story is remarkably good; multiple colors are used well, and they're courteous enough to move the subtitles to the top of the frame on occasions when the action is taking place down at the bottom.

Extras are more or less limited to clips of the different duel songs throughout the series.

Content Guide

There is very little explicit material of any sort, but the series has heavy undertones of mature themes and sexuality. USM calls it 13-up, which is certainly appropriate (if anything a little lenient) for the later parts.

Violence: 2 - Some very serious swordfights and frightening moments, but largely bloodless.

Nudity: 1 - Very little.

Sex/Mature Themes: 3 - There is nothing explicit, but later parts develop heavy mature themes and sexual undercurrents.

Language: 1 - Nothing significant.

Notes and Trivia

In addition to the 3-season TV series, there is also a 5-volume 1996-7 manga series by Chiho Saito (available in English from VIZ); a 1999 movie adaptation, Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Adolescence of Utena (the original subtitle title was "Adolescence Apocalypse"); and a single-volume manga adaptation of the film (also by Chiho Saito) published the same year.

Interestingly, the manga version was essentially a simultaneous production with the TV series; though the concept was developed for TV, each was written more or less independently. The movie, similarly, is a more or less standalone retelling of the TV Series, although it is notorious for making no sense to those unfamiliar with the series and not much more for those who are.

Other spin-offs include a Sega Saturn game and an all-female stage production (though not by the famed Takarazuka troupe, who would have seemed a perfect fit, and indeed did a stage adaptation of The Rose of Versailles).

Availability

Available in the US from US Manga Corps on hybrid DVD, currently as three box sets: The first, Rose Collection, contains the first 13 episodes on two discs plus the movie, while the second two, Black Rose Saga and Apocalypse Saga, each contain 13 episodes spread across four discs. The DVDs were all originally available individually but are no longer sold that way. Was previously available on subtitled and dubbed VHS, 3 or 4 episodes to a volume, now out of print.

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