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#black rose saga
anonymous-gambito · 1 month
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Black Rose Arc duelists be like
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dreamerslovechaos · 5 months
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*wakes up in a cold sweat* the reason the black rose arc had to be forgotten by everyone is because its foundational tenet operated on giving the Brides agency to protest against their role in the dueling system and seek to leave it, further exemplified by its final shot being that of anthy's complicitness in the dueling game. the black rose arc gives a 'voice to the voiceless' and exploits their rage against their lives into rage against the Bride - which though it furthers ohtori's system of oppression (the dueling game is built upon exploiting the internal conflicts of the duelists after all), the methodology of giving 'voices' to the Brides by allowing them to Speak Their Mind within the framework of 'self improvement' via seeking out therapy is shown to be antithetical to ohtori academy as a whole because true self actualization of the bride will mean the end of ohtori academy as a system. in this essay i will
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inbarfink · 7 months
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baltharino · 9 months
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Revolutionary Girl Utena (少女革命ウテナ) Episode 01 / Episode 14
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ghost-in-the-hella · 6 months
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Day 19: "Flowers" from the Shiptober prompt list, featuring Chloe Price and Max Caulfield from Life is Strange reenacting an iconic moment from Shoujo Kakumei Utena's Black Rose Saga. (SKU spoilers ^_^')
[Image ID: Digital drawing all in black outlines of Chloe Price and Max Caulfield from Life is Strange dressed as duelists in Shoujo Kakumei Utena/Revolutionary Girl Utena. Chloe is down on one knee, unarmed and clutching Max's raised arm. Max is sneering down at Chloe, standing up straight and yanking on Chloe's hair with one hand while holding the point of a katana to her throat with the other. End image description.]
You can watch the making of this drawing here!
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animefeminist · 2 months
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Chatty AF 202: Revolutionary Girl Utena Watchalong – Episodes 13-20
Cy, and Chiaki, and Vrai return and dive into the Black Rose Saga, the importance of the secondary cast, and Anthy’s deepening characterization.
Episode Information
Date Recorded: February 11th, 2024 Hosts: Vrai, Cy, Chiaki
Episode Breakdown
0:00:00 Intros 0:02:34 Content Warnings 0:03:09 Note on translation 0:05:05 Catching Up 0:07:00 The economic bubble 0:08:37 Filler 0:11:52 Nanami episode 0:14:22 Anthy 0:24:15 Symbolism 0:26:52 Adult content 0:29:12 Shiori 0:38:53 Wakaba 0:41:00 Saionji 0:46:30 The Onion Prince 0:53:25 The death tower? 0:55:36 Next time… 0:57:34 Outro
Further Reading
Empty Movement
Series Content Warnings List (with spoilers)
Vrai’s Utena Episode Analyses (with spoilers)
Dear Brother Watchalong
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mikka-minns · 7 months
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A rant about Mamiya and Mikage cuz they are my hyperfixation now (alongside Tokiko)
Warning for spoilers
Also mentiones of misgendering and grooming
Mikage: You will be the rose bride, Mamiya
Me: haha he Just called Mamiya a twink
Also me: even tho Mamiya suggests that he should be the rose groom since he is a guy, Mikage doesnt agree simply cuz he thinks that "bride" suits him more.
It could be because he thinks of Mamiya as too feminen to be a real man.
Could this means Mamiya is a trans man? Is that something Ikuhara is trying to hint at?
Does Mikage know this and still thinks of him as a girl in some way simply bcuz he can't see the change(the revolution) of Mamiya's gender as a real thing. Does he Just project Tokiko's image onto Mamiya and thats why he wants a bride specificly? Or is Mamiya who he projects onto Tokito? He has more emotional moments with Mamiya and is also closer to him.
Maybe he doesnt know Mamiya is trans and thats why he doesnt think its a big lead but it is a big deal to Mamiya.
Maybe Mamiya isnt trans, BUT HOLY FUCK, ITS RIGHT THERE!
Was Mikage like that even before Mamiya's death? Did he try to make him the rose bride and a tool for finding the eternity?
And what about Mamiya and his eternity? He was sick and in pain when the reaserch started. If his life became eternal, neverending, would his sickness too? Did Mikage ever think of that?
Mikage Also thinks that being the rose bride will bring Mamiya some sort of pleasure. He wants to make him HIS OWN rose bride. He doesnt even think for a moment that it doesnt work like that.
As we know, the rose bride is basicaly a doll, a puppet. Being anything LIKE a rose bride will only get you suffering, yet somehow, Mikage thinks he would be doing Mamiya a favor. Similarly to how Utena thinks that by becoming a prince(Someone "destined" to use the rose bride for his own gain) she will save Anthy. But both of these are selfish actions that will only bring even less freedom to the Ones they love.
Its also worth noting how Mikage, even tho he is this big child genius, knows nothing if what he is actualy doing.
He is working for Akio ehem being groomed that is ehem
While Also ploting against his biggest, most important weapon - Anthy Himemiya.
Not to mention Himemiya was playing Mamiya this whole time.
He was made loser in this game before it even started. He too was a tool for grooming other kids at the academy since he himself was a lost cause(or at least that what he became at the end).
Mikage is only feeling real emotions when he is with Mamiya. But one emotion that he fell for the first time because of him is sadness.
Once he realised Mamiya is gone, he cried for the first time. Only then, when he allowed himself to mourn was he truly Also happy.
He was sad Mamiya was gone because he felt happy with him.
(i just got upset after seeing that scene again, so i had to rant. I will probably do a better ananysis than this, this is Just a little something)
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judedeluca · 28 days
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Black Rose Naru
Naru: You all look down on me! Ami: Usagi-chan! Naru: You, Mizuno, that Hino girl, all of you, all so special! Makoto: Usagi-chan! Naru: All in a world that people like me aren't allowed to join! Minako: Usagi-chan! Naru: You use the special gifts you were born with, and without a second thought- Rei: USAGI! Naru: -YOU TRAMPLE THE REST OF US INTO THE GROUND!!!!! Usagi: Naru-chan, I admit, I-I don't understand what's going on right now. It might just be too much for a crybaby like me to ever understand. Usagi: But one thing I do know, you're one of my oldest, most dearest friends. Usagi: Please hold on, I'm going to save you.
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no-zaku-boy · 9 months
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let's go, fellas!!!!
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anonymous-gambito · 29 days
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I've seen some people who didn't notice this, so in case you didn't notice this; this isn't merely a leaf, it has 4 little butterfly eggs in it. Which makes way more sense than it being just a leaf, though I'm sure that I (*unhinged individual*) could've found some kind of symbolism to the leaf too.
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sepyana · 11 months
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Some thoughts about RGU: Blooming Rose of Deepest Black
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I've been an Utena fan for a while but I just watched the musicals and I love them, I need to talk to people about it I'm gonna explode
All my thoughts are under the cut. We'll go character by character analysing the differences between their TV and Musical counterparts.
Utena
She and Anthy take the backseat a lil bit. She is great as always though.
Ami Noujo is quite popular, I can definitely see why. She is funny, incredibly charming and sweet. She was recast from the last musical like all the others.
She tries to set up Anthy and Miki together. Miki is less creepy about his crush so it does come off as kinda wholesome.
I absolutely adore the cheesy ass friendship song she has with Wakaba.
Her most iconic scene is definitely the one at the very end where she hugs Anthy in an almost possessive manner, saying she is here for her. And Anthy just looks like she is dying inside haha. The ominous bells and Akio in the back don't really help things either.
Not really much to say about her, she is the same as her show self.
Anthy
Yuka Yamauchi is, again, great. Anthy is somewhat different from her show version. Not worse, just different.
Musical Anthy is generally nicer(i think.??). Whenever Show Anthy is alone with Utena, she seems disinterested in the people around her. Musical Anthy compliments Miki on his piano skills, for example.
She comforts Juri during the Shiori duel. I genuinely can't tell if this is wholesome or eerie.
In the show, she doesn't care about the black rose duelists (other than telling Mikage he is cruel for making Tsuwabuki duel.) She feels guilt about the whole situation here.
She still has her laugh from the first musical! Giving her this almost condescending laugh is a fun take on her character. She almost dies of laughter when Utena asks if the projector is her brother. I love her so much it's unreal. I will talk about her a lot more if I do a white bud post.
Akio
Speaking of her brother, Akio is also here.
Yu Yoshioka is definitely a standout. His mannerisms and posture show Akio's character brilliantly. It's pretty exaggerated, that's expected from a stage play. I think he is my favourite in the musical.
Akio acts really disinterested in what's happening. He has an air of superiority around him. He carries this vibe for the whole musical.
He is always slouching a bit. He walks slowly, he has one of his hands at his pocket at all times. It really gives him this aloof vibe. There is more but. Someone else can analyze Akio's body language way better than I can.
One thing he does is push people in and out of scenes. Mikage and Mamiya also do this. It shows them being "puppeteers" really well. The most unsettling one is after the first song, as characters are leaving, when he forcefully holds Utena's arm so she can start her scene.
He holds Tokiko's head almost forcefully has he kisses her. Really unsettling.
He also always seems to be standing a bit too close. His scenes with Utena are the best examples of this. Anthy (and Mamiya) also has some scenes like that.
This Akio is less friendly then the one we know. They also toned down the incest stuff. Interesting changes for sure. This musical is mostly for people who have already watched the show, so they have decided to show Akio's actual nature earlier.
Akio sometimes says a character's line with them. It's a cool way to show how he is the puppet master of the story.
Wakaba
Yume Takeuchi absolutely crushed it in the first musical. She continues to be amazing here. I cannot stress enough how much I love Wakaba in this.
She seems sadder in the musical. Almost like she knows her moment od being special will not last long...
Her black rose duel is absolutely heart wrenching. The student council and the school body taunting her during the battle is horrible. My girl doesn't deserve this. Crying and shaking.
Her after the duel scenes are expanded upon. After the battle she goes missing for a few days. During that time, she was making stew for Utena but couldn't perfect it so she took a few days off. I'm sure she is really tired (both mentally and physically) even though she doesn't remember what happened.
And then they have this cheesy song I mentioned before. You could argue it doesn't fit Utena but I enjoyed it. Wakaba even makes Anthy join in too.
It's a minor scene but, I find it absolutely hilarious how she screams upon seeing the exam schedule so hard Utena thinks something happened to her. If I saw English and Math were in the same day I'd scream too. This is right after Mamiya stabs Kozue btw.
They have the prince giving Utena the rose ring and Saionji giving Wakaba the hair clip at the same time. Wow they really did that.
Her elevator scene is my favourite. She is letting it all out. Screaming and crying and the venom in her voice whilte talking about Anthy and Saionji. It's so much.
Saionji
The most pathetic cringefail man in all of Ohtori. I like Tsubasa Yoshizawa's performance overall.
I didn't pay much attention to him. They don't really change anything about his scenes. (Except for the Wakaba duel)
I will give him this, he is pretty funny. His scenes are funny but also seeing saionjeans dancing in ensambles is just. so fucking hilarious to me.
Kozue
Marina Tanoue's acting was okay. Good stuff.
She comes off as a bit more awkward here. Which makes a lot of sense imo. She is messing around with boys a lot but she is only 13. Her awkwardness show up in her hookup scenes too. The boys are a lot more touchy with her.
They toned down the incest in favor of Kozue just wanting to protect Miki. Incest is still there but their relationship is not the same.
She is our first black rose duelist instead of Kanae. Kanae is not that well written in the show so this was for the best.
Miki
Bit of an unpopular opinion, I liked Natsuki Osaki's performance in the first musical. Yuta Higuchi's performance is better but I also like the first Miki too. I am not the biggest Miki fan but the musical definitely made me warm up to him more.
Wow the pedo teacher is so much more creepy here. Seeing real people play these scenes makes them feel even worse. He is a lot more touchy here and Miki actually reacts to him.
I like the part where he is playing music on the side during Nanami's song it's kinda cute.
Nanami
I can't believe they casted the actual Nanami Kiryuu to play herself. Ok fr real tho, Arisa Suzuki is amazing in this.
I'm gonna get burned at the stake for this but I don't like most of the Nanami episodes. I actually really like Nanami being the comic relief, the jokes just don't land for me... But I did actually like the cowbell song she has. She has a cowbell song. She has a co-
I personally found her talking to Juri and Miki part more funny.
There is a scene where she takes Miki's watch and accidentally stops all three of them in time so Wakaba can have her part talking to Saionji. Laughed out loud at that part.
She is exclusively comic relief here. There isn't much she can do outside of that anyways. Touga is not in this and her story line so dependent on him.
Juri
Riona Tatemichi please take my hand in marriage thank you
Juri is the same personality wise as her TV version, other than being slightly gayer. This is a musical after all.
There is a scene where is imagining dancing with Shiori (Shiori also has a scene similar to this).
Juri and Shiori actually kiss??!? It's pretty brief because Utena and Dios slashes their kneecaps. Oh, yeah, during the duels whoever's sword the duelist is using shows up.
I love that instead of working together they end up knocking off each other's roses. That's so in character for them. Also hilarious.
Shiori
Fuyuna Asakura. She might be the best actor in the musical. Because wow, wow. She is a sickeningly sweet type of character. One that turns out to be horrible.
She is way more cartoonish but I don't think that's a bad thing! It's so fun watching her on the stage do her thing. People who didn't like TV Shiori might like this version more. Shiori is one of my faves, I was already primed to like this version of her too.
Each black rose duelist has a scene where they are stabbed by the black rose. Strangely, Shiori is the only person to not scream during it. It just goes to show how little of a push she needed.
She is a lot more shocked about learning she is Juri's crush. The whole situation feels even more tense than the TV version.
My favourite moments of Shiori are in the Akio arc. I don't like Ruka's character, I think he made Juri's story line worse... Buuut I liked watching his dynamic with Shiori. Hopefully we'll get to see Fuyuna Asakura again if another musical happens.
I loved how they handled the Juri/Shiori story line. It's one of my favourite side plots.
And that leaves us with the boys of the black rose. I am gonna talk about them the longest:
Mamiya
I think Mamiya is underrated as hell in this. I haven't heard people talk about the musical but when they do they don't mention him all that much. Yohdi Kondo works so well as him.
He is a lot more active compared to his TV counterpart, If that's the right way to put it. We see him do stuff. He stabs the black rose duelists. He and Mikage work together to make plans more compared to the anime. He is the one responsible for putting Juri's locket in the vase. I appreciate them being more like a duo.
He comes off as a lot more intimidating here too. Him not looking like a 13yo plays a big part, but his mannerisms play a role too. The Kozue scene shows this really well.
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What I most like about him though, is how they show Anthy and Mamiya being the same person. They replace each other from scene to scene constantly. My favourite example is when he takes her place when she is playing the piano. Mamiya is behind her when they're both on stage. They circle around each other at the start too.
He moves around in a similar way to Anthy. He is a lil bit scary in the same way Anthy is. Anthy is my favourite character so i definitely enjoy this a lot.
Also have I mentioned the fact that Akio and Tokiko fuck on his bed. While Mamiya is talking to Mikage in the rose garden, we see the shadows of Akio and Tokiko in a loving embrace on top of his bed. I hope that is not literal. Because if they actually fucked on that bed that would be insane. There are a few ways to interpret this.
There is a theory about how Mikage seeing those two is preceded by Mamiya's death. I think it's true because it doesn't make sense to me how that was enough for Mikage go set the fire. We know Mamiya is dead by this point. He is completely codependent on those two emotionally, he would not take seeing Tokiko with a man right after (maybe a month? Who knows) Mamiya's death well. Merging the imagery together makes a lot of sense.
I didn't think of this at all before but the "Imagine me & Utena" podcast (It's a pretty good podcast!) pointed this out: this is suppose to hint at Mikage and Mamiya's relationship. The sexual/romantic side of their relationship is sort of hinted in the anime and the musical. I could see this being true. This is a really important moment for Mikage. In the anime, we see the cursor point at the leaf during it. You can't have that in the musical. You could have this though.
I also found it funny how Akio's shadow wakes up Mamiya lol.
Mikage
He is the closest thing the musical has to a protagonist. He is in most of the scenes, directly or indirectly. So we spend a lot of time with Hidenori Tokuyama, and I am really torn on him. I'm not really sure if it's his fault either. Mikage is a really subtle character, it's always the little things with this guy. That kind of personality is hard to translate onto stage. You can't see his change in expression when he sees Tokiko and Mamiya talk. You can't see he has a picture of Mamiya on his desk etc etc.
He gets better as we get to the end. Mikage gets a lot more unhinged towards the end, less "subtle" if you get what I mean. Don't get me wrong. I like Hidenori Tokuyama a lot. I just can't connect with him all that much.
There are some notable changes done to him. Mikage as a character always stood out to me from the other men in the show. His much shorter stature is the obvious thing (I don't care about that being represented tbh, he is shorter than Akio and Saionji, that's all you need) but another thing is how he is not violently misogynistic like them. He still is misogynistic, he uses the internalized misogyny of the girls to make them hate Anthy instead of the man in their lives. He would not be able to do what he did without exploiting the harmful systems of Ohtori. He could definitely be interpreted incel-like with his relationship to Tokiko and Mamiya. I guess he is just not as obvious about it? He doesn't show interest in any of the girls. He is obsessed with Tokiko but doesn't even realize she is walking past him. This is pretty noticeably changed in the musical.
He straight up hits on Utena. It's incredibly uncomfortable (as it was meant to be). With Tsuwabuki gone, all of his victims are women. His crush on Tokiko is shown a lot more. It's a lot more sus. I don't see this as a negative change. I like Anime Mikage more but I see the value in making him feel closer to how the other men are.
There are some more minor differences.
Sometimes when he says his lines, Akio says it along with him. For example during his talk with Saionji,
Saionji:  And what do you want from me in return?
Mikage:  Good question...
Mikage:  There's one item that I want from you.
Mikage:  A trifle, really...
There is more of this in the exact same scene btw.
His mannerisms are a bit different too. In the anime, he is approachable but you can tell there is something weird with him. In the Musical, you can tell he is obviously trying to manipulate you. He isn't as charismatic as his TV version. And I kinda like that honestly. It makes it easier for me to connect Nemuro and Mikage in my mind.
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inbarfink · 9 months
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kabaretdoll · 9 months
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playlist for the Black Rose Duelists
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mskoreodyssey · 1 year
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Revolutionary Girl Utena - Dueling Parallels - Utena vs. Akio [Pt1] [Pt2] [Pt3]
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[Episode 23] Mikage
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[Episode 7] Juri
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wintersky1994 · 2 years
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Rose Bride Shiori from Revolutionary Girl Utena ✨🌹🤺👑 (u‿ฺu✿ฺ)
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animefeminist · 1 month
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Chatty AF 203: Revolutionary Girl Utena Watchalong – Episodes 21-27
Vrai, Cy, and Chiaki return to cover the conclusion of the Black Rose arc, the beginning The End of the World, and Akio being both the worst and relentlessly sexy on convertibles.
Episode Information
Date Recorded: March 12th, 2024 Hosts: Vrai, Cy, Chiaki
Episode Breakdown
0:00:00 Intros 0:01:03 Content warnings 0:02:08 Feelings 0:05:59 Keiko 0:09:46 Mikage 0:22:45 The End of the World Arc 0:29:02 Akio 0:32:36 Cycles of abuse 0:35:49 Kozue and Daddy Longlegs 0:41:30 Anthy and Utena 0:45:17 Nanami 0:49:10 Touga 0:56:34 Ohtori’s OSHA compliance 0:59:12 Outro
Further Reading
Empty Movement
Series Content Warnings List (with spoilers)
Vrai’s Utena Episode Analyses (with spoilers)
Dear Brother Watchalong
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