Revolutionary Girl Utena, Volume 2, Disk 3 provides a whole lot of food for thought, doesn’t it?

So, first of all, let look at the final of the puppet duelists for the Black Rose, Nanami’s henchchick, Keiko. Like Wakaba, Keiko’s story hurts. It hurts, because she’s not one of the beautiful people and not one of the chosen. She’s a real person, with big gaping flaws, but we can’t quite hate her, or dismiss her, as we might Tsuwabuki, precisely because, like Wakaba, her dreams are so mundane. Anyone might wish for a moment alone with their idol. It’s a dream that is dull as dirt. As a result, when Nanami is horrible to Keiko, we feel it. When Yuuko and Aiko are horrible to her, it’s especially unforgivable.

And, at last, we reach the core of the Black Rose story, and the illusions with which Mikage has wrapped himself. The story, however one looks at it, is at best, creepy and self-serving. At worst, it’s possible the single most depressing illusion in the entirety of the series. There was a young, sickly boy, Mamiya and his sister Tokiko and Mikage became obsessed with their memory…but it’s not Mikage at the center of the manipulation, we learn incontrovertibly. It’s not just Akio, as we might have suspected. For whatever reason  – and at this point I’m inclined to think that Anthy’s line about lying to one’s self for love is the first honest thing she’s said in this series – Anthy is involved. In the first arc, we thought to ourselves, “She is merely being used.” But when Akio tells us that Anthy does not exists at the school, we have to wonder how much of everything is her doing. Akio has social engineering skills and he apparently wields the power, but then, we have to ask ourselves now…what is Anthy?

At the end of the arc, we get a completely different kind of clip episode, highlighting Nanami’s duplicity and ego. It’s very hard to like her at the end of this arc. It’s important to remember, yet again, that Nanami is about 13. She may pretend to be grownup, but…it’s clear now and will become even clearer later, that she’s basically clueless about people. This will also become very, very important towards the end.

Here at the end of the Black Rose Arc, we’re no closer to understanding any of what’s going on, or are we? We know several things; Akio is manipulating the situation, even as far as Utena and Anthy’s relationship. We know that he has all but abandoned the Student Council, except as tools, and we know that whatever is going on, Anthy is the center of it, in one way or another.

And we know, although she truly does not yet understand this, that Utena is the only sword that can cut through this Gordian knot.

The third and final arc is on our plate and I find myself tense about watching it. In fact, I’ve been kind of avoiding it for the last few years.

In the extras Ikuhara gives us some answers as to why there is an apparent strain of lesbianism in the series. His answer is cogent – for him, making Utena and Anthy “lesbians” is a visual symbol of otherness. But that only explains some of what’s going on, really, the stories of incest and male homosexuality that are either hinted at, or explicitly stated. I’ve said for years that Utena is a series that is exactly like any other high school, on steroids, and in this case the sexuality is stand-in for all the many things that make us different. For once I think Ikuhara did a good job of answering really crappy fanboy question. Dudes, there were *way* more than just lesbians in the series.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 10
Character – 9
Yuri – 3
Service – 3

Overall – 9

Revolutionary Girl Utena, Volume 2, Disk 2.

This is where it gets really good.

Up to this point, the Black Rose arc has seemed superficially similar to the first arc. Kanae’s rage against Anthy seems overreacting, but we really don’t know much about Kanae or Anthy, and hey, we’re all creeped out by the portrayal of psychoanalysis in the form of Mikage’s Freudian elevator. And Kozue…we’ve written her off multiple times already. She’s not jealous of Anthy, just of her brother. Bro-con, ho hum.

But. Now. Shiori is here. Shiori, who sought to hurt Juri, to tarnish her shine, because she was too perfect, too shining. Oh yeah, fandom loves to hate Shiori.

But look at it from her side for a moment. Haven’t we all had a friend who is popular, talented, attractive and haven’t we all wanted, just once, to be better than them in something? Remember this particular moment of jealousy and pain. It will be back. In the meantime, we suffer as Juri tortures herself over feelings that one day won’t be so torturous. We all want desperately to be the one to tell her it’s okay.

Tsuwabuki’s episode is probably sadder than the others. Nanami is so very immature and yet, to Tsuwabuki, she is a mature, alluring adult. He’s right on that awkward cusp of maturity when at least some of the girls around him already “get” it, and there he is, flailing to figure out what “it” is. I was talking to a high school teacher just recently – we were discussing how at 14 or 15, you meet a teen and you just know, instantly, if they will ever fully mature. Some people don’t. Tsuwabuki will be 20, then 30, then 40, etc and he’ll always wonder what he’s not getting, until he convinces himself that everyone else around is just a snob, or a jerk or something. He’ll grow up attractive, have girlfriends and talk about he “doesn’t get women.” I always feel bad for Tsuwabuki.

And then we come to Wakaba. Remember Shiori’s jealousy? We don’t care about it. We don’t like her. We think she’s a petty jerk and can go to hell. Wakaba suffers from the exact same thing. But we like Wakaba. She was Utena’s first rescued princess. When we learn that her joy comes from something other than herself it’s hard, to learn that it comes from…him…is intolerable. When she stands before Utena on the dueling ground, undoubtedly we have the same stricken look on our faces as Utena does on hers. This isn’t an enemy, or some tangential person…this is Wakaba, a friend. It’s worth noting that this is the first time Anthy begs Utena to take the sword from her and this is the first time that Utena does not. She defeats Wakaba with the sword she wields…with his sword. And it is notable that Wakaba is the first of the Black Rose arc duelists to actually attack Anthy, despite their statements that they would kill the Rose Bride.

I love this duel more than any other duel in the series. Wakaba says everything we always wanted to say to that shining, perfect friend. How nice for you, we so desperately want to say, the way the world always gives a crap about you. But I’m not like that. I have to remain average and no matter what I do I will never be special. We may hate Shiori, but we can’t hate Wakaba.

And we hate that self-absorbed, moron Saionji. In the first episode he was presented as cool, popular and powerful. Now, he’s a fool, as Mikage says and we loathe him for it.

The hierarchy has changed, irreparably. Touga, supplanted by Akio, Nanami, Miki and Juri, half-heartedly holding the center, Saionji at the bottom of the pile. Where do Utena and Anthy fit on the grid? Keep watching to find out.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 10
Character – 9
Yuri – 6
Service – 3

Overall – 9

I will insert a note here referencing Alan Harnum’s Flesh Eaters for Shiori page, because if I don’t, both Alan and Sean Gaffney will try to explain it in the comments and you’ll be confused and probably distressed. This has got to be the oldest still-living Utena injoke on the Internet.

By the time you reach the third disc of the Revolutionary Girl Utena Student Council box set, you’ve already developed your ideas about what you think is going on. My ideas and yours may not be the same, but they are all valid. The show is consciously constructed to allow all our ideas to be valid. Now we, as viewers, have to allow each other’s ideas to be valid, too.

I’m going to tell you some of the things I think are going on (bearing in mind that while I know what is going to happen, I wont be talking about that – just what is happening on this disc. What I would REALLY like is to hear what you think is going on in the story. What are your thoughts about The End of the World – no spoilers, remember, just based on this first arc! – or about Touga, or the duels, or Anthy, Utena, whatever.

Okay, so here I go.

The disk begins with Saionji doing something very stupid, and being expelled for it. I have this belief that, in some way, all the members of the Student Council, by becoming members of the Student Council, were essentially consenting to being manipulated by the End of the World.

Which is why I personally find it hardest to watch Nanami being screwed with. She did not give this consent. Miki is innocent, but not unbsubtle. Nanami is a child. She is driven by delusion and fear and has no place in the duels. That Touga offers her up to them was, in my opinion an unforgivable crime.

Up to this point, it would be natural to think that Touga is the master manipulator here. He seems, to Utena at least, to be in control. It’s only at the end of the arc that we and he see that he wasn’t in control at all.

The last two episodes were as amazing as I remembered them to be.

In episode 11, Utena find herself stripped of her confidence, her purpose, her very self by Touga, who uses his good looks, his masculinity and his position to turn her into a “normal” girl, who needs a prince to rescue her.

And most important IMHO, is that in response to losing the duel Utena says simply, “Please don’t take Anthy away from me.” She would give herself up…but not Anthy.

In episode 12, Wakaba slaps some sense into her, by making her realize that “normal” is not normal for Utena. Utena challenges Touga to a rematch to regain herself – the self that wants to be a Prince, not be rescued by one. She defeats Touga without help from Dios or an enchanted sword – she defeats him with nothing but her determination and will. To awesome music. To regain Anthy. NOT to regain the Rose Bride, but to get Anthy back.

Most importantly, at that moment, Anthy is *surprised.* That alone is worth watching the final episodes for.

When the episode (and the first arc) ended, I began spontaneously applauding. Again. As I have every time I have watched this series.

It’s gonna be a long, long, few weeks before the next set arrives!

Thanks again Nozomi/RightStuf for making it possible to watch this remastered version.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 10
Character – 9
Yuri – 4
Service – 1

Overall – 9

The music video for “Revolution Rondo” blew my mind more than anything else in Utena ever has. It was filmed in New York City, which was just…entirely unexpected.

Here’s an interesting aside. On Twitter today I mentioned that what I would love to see is a ridiculously high budget live action version of the moment Utena draws the sword from Anthy. Just that scene. At which, a very good friend of mine from way back mentioned that there is a rumor of a pitch in Hollywood for an Utena movie…and that Variety is supposed to be doing an article about it next month. I guess we’ll see if that article ever happens…. Thanks for the heads up, Rob!

Now it is your turn – what are some of your thoughts on this arc?

Once again a Prince steps in to give me a night off! As you may know,  I don’t listen to anime dub tracks. ( And in the case of Revolutionary Girl Utena, with Mitsuishi Kotono, Kawakami Tomoko and Hisakawa Aya in the Japanese voice cast, there is nothing that can convince me to listen to it, sorry.) Luckily, Okazu Superhero and long-time Friend and Supporter of Yuricon, Eric P has gallantly kneeled before us and offered his services as a dub reviewer! Thank you so much Eric!  The floor is all yours…

Before we get started, and so everyone knows, this is a review of the English dub by itself, and not as it is compared to the original Japanese acting (which I have watched). Alright, now let’s get started:

After getting the whole Utena Central Park Media set through a special mailing order for just $100 back in the day, I didn’t know what to expect diving into this series. I watched the first episode subbed for about seven minutes or so, before I decided to start all over and switch to dub. It was not because I disliked the Japanese voice acting. Everything about Utena within those seven minutes—its opening theme song, its animation, artwork, tone, atmosphere, characters—charmed and enchanted me from the get-go. The problem was I felt reading the subtitles distracted me a little too much from taking in the full experience. So the English version was what I watched first, and at the time it worked for me—the mostly low-key acting fitted the story’s weird, surreal tone.

With RightStuf’s re-release I watch the dub again for nostalgia (and for this review), and by now I can acknowledge its flaws. It is a mixed bag, with few weak links sprinkled throughout that gives it a feeling of flucating. It hardly mattered for me the first time since I was so invested in the story and the magic. But for any viewer with high expectations, it could be those weak links that would turn them off and make even the stronger performances sound less strong. The best (worst?) example would be the English voice for Nanami. When talking plainly, she sounds like a spoiled rich girl probably would, but after a short while she comes across too flat in too many moments.

Thankfully the two lead characters, Utena and Anthy, get well-suited English voices. Rachael Lillis as Utena is sufficiently spot-on, and Anthy’s voice by Sharon Becker has a kind of charm to it for me; I always liked how she said “Miss Utena.” There are still points where it seems like the ADR director and the actors were looking at the imagery, interpreting it as vaguely low-key, and were directed accordingly. Unfortunately that does not always work. In the scene where Anthy calls out to Utena during her duel with Miki, the restrained tone just doesn’t fit well at all. Speaking of Miki, while he is not acted badly, his voice still an example of one of those dub voices sounding far older than he’s supposed to be (although , in my opinion, all the characters look like they are in their early 20’s, even though they’re supposed to be 13-15). Fortunately for some, fan-favorite Jury receives a cool-sounding voice. Saionji, the wife-beating creep, sounds suitably creepy, and the shadow-girls sound as mysterious and strange as they come across in the animation. But, without a doubt, the single strongest performance is Toga as voiced by Crispin Freeman, the future veteran of many stellar roles, among them including Alucard from Hellsing and Kyon from Haruhi Suzumiya.

In the end, the dub feels dated, which some may either find oddly charming or off-putting. But, no matter what, the series itself remains as multi-layered and wonderful as it always has been.

It was actually kind of hard determining the final ratings, so here goes…

Ratings:

Overall –  I dance between 6 and 7 on this, so I’ll give it a 6.5

Erica here: Thanks again Eric! Much obliged.