This is where the “Apocalypse Arc” of Revolutionary Girl Utena starts to get rough.
First, we have to watch Juri being run roughshod over; offered every single possible outcome except the two in which she can be happy.
Then there’s Akio’s seduction of Utena which, no matter how you slice it, is repulsive.
And last, while there had been a distinct hint of incest about Akio and Anthy since the beginning of this arc, in this disk it is made plain, not so much to shock us (speaking for myself, there is little else Akio can do to make himself more repulsive than he already is) but to shock Nanami. Which leads us to one of the most amazing things in the entirety of this series…when Nanami calls Utena dense.
Think about it.
Nanami has been presented to us, from the very beginning, as naive, selfish and quite dense. For her to stare at Utena in disbelief and scream “Are you dense?” is a pretty amazing moment. In three words, Nanami says, “I’m not perceptive and I just came to this place and I can see what is really going on , but you – you who have been here for a while – you’re blind and deaf and since even *I* can see what is going on you must be denser than a bag of doorknobs.”
I consider this to be one of the most profound moments in this arc.
Terrible things await, and we can feel it. Everything is contracting around Utena, like spiders just about to pull their silk tight. We can feel it, but we can’t predict it. When it comes, it’s going to hurt like no one’s business.
Ratings:
Art – 9
Story – 10
Character – 9
Yuri – 4
Service – 5
Overall – 10
I have two disks left to watch and I fear them. Only one thing drives me forward into the next disk…I’ll tell you what it is when I get there.
Quick reminder, the third Utena box set contest is still ongoing and will be until I make myself watch those last two disks. Send in your entry for a chance to win the third set plus smexy Duelist Ring!
My comment will not give away anything I believe. Well. This is still sitting in my cart. I’m still watching for your reviews of this like a hen. I honestly don’t know if I can handle watching complex male abuse of females anymore like I once did. But I still want to own this to complete my collection. And the very last episode. I want to have it. The door and ‘reaching hands’ scene, just breaks me, I remember well, but that scene means a lot to me because a girl and a lesbian can apply it to so many things. I think I said that poorly. Does that make sense?
I understand what you mean, and it’s appropriate, because in a very real way, the entire show is nothing but build-up to that single moment. Everything that happened to Utena and Anthy, past and present, separately and together, was leading them both forward to it.
In my view, the entire weight of the show is balanced on that instant, and – for me at least – it carries that weight with incredible success.