#hi i love utena

[vani-candy]

hi i've had this Utena parody-esque doodle idea living rent free in my head ever since i designed Mitty's work outfit, and seeing the NPC outfit DLCs utterly amped it like wild; combine that with how everyone jokes about Fang being a princess and you have me finally cracking and drawing it!!!!

(yes im working on new Swan's Treasure chapters! it may be a bit cause i want to get some drafted out in advance, to get sort of a "buffer" going so i dont fully lose my marbles as well as to satiate some of my ravenous brainrot a tad. thank you for your patience!!!)

#my time at sandrock #mtas oc #mtas builder #mtas fang #utena parody #hi i love utena #doodle #silly doodl #vani candy art #ive had this in my head for months bruh #hi im a giant weeb #oc x canon

[marlikesunicorns]

grant me the power to bring the world revolution!

#i love this pose #anthy fits akechi a bit i think #and akiren cant mind his business like utena so #shuake #goro akechi #ren amamiya #akeshu #persona 5 #persona 5 joker #akira kurusu

[transmascutena]

(a very quick and unpolished thing i wrote on the bus home today)

Utena, Anthy, and a conversation about love. Around 500 words.

---

“I loved him,” Utena says. She feels vulnerable admitting it, staring at the ceiling rather than at Anthy curled up at her side. “Not… not in the way he tried to convince me I did. But…” she sighs at the feeling of Anthy's fingers moving gently up and down her arm. “But I did love him.”

Anthy is quiet, and Utena can tell she’s waiting for her to say the next thing, the logical conclusion to this line of thought. It’s the hardest part to admit to herself, let alone to someone else. Let alone to Anthy.

She takes a breath. “Sometimes I feel like I still do.” Anthy exhales against her shoulder.

“Love is,” Anthy starts, then stops. Utena feels her shake her head. “It’s not… enough, on its own. I loved him too. I still do. I think I always will.”

Utena squeezes Anthy’s hand in the dark, and for a while they simply listen to each other breathe. “I’m not sure I even know what love is,” Utena says. “I definitely didn’t, growing up. But I wanted it, more than anything. He knew that. He offered it to me, and he knew I would do anything to keep it.”

“Family,” Anthy whispers, her mouth still pressed against Utena’s shoulder.

“Yeah. Family.”

They’re both quiet for a while, aware of the weight of the conversation. The entirety of what used to be their world, all contained in that single word.

“Do you think…” Utena starts to ask, but hesitates. She doesn’t want to say the words, and doesn't want to hear Anthy’s answer.

“What is it?”

She shakes her head. “Nevermind. It doesn’t matter.”

“Everything matters,” Anthy says simply, but in a tone that tells Utena that she doesn’t have to say if she doesn’t want to.

She sighs. “I just mean, it doesn't change anything. It doesn’t make what he did… better. But I just wonder,” and she has wondered for years now, “I wonder if he loved us too. If any of it was real.”

Anthy wraps an arm Utena’s middle and touches her scar lightly. “He did,” Anthy says, confidently enough that Utena doesn’t question it. “It was as real as anything was in that place. But like I said, love is… It’s not an inherent good.”

“No,” Utena mumbles. “And he hurt us in spite of it.”

Anthy catches Utena’s eye for the first time since the conversation started. “He hurt us because of it, Utena.”

“Oh,” Utena breathes, turning her eyes back to the ceiling. She lets that revelation settle in her chest, but doesn’t know how to feel about it. She was right that it doesn’t make any of it better. She’s not sure whether or not it makes it worse.

#grieving what somebody could have been to you / what they once were 👍 #(i'm trying to get out of my comfort zone by actually posting more of my writing on this blog please be nice to me about it lol) #also i should hope it's obvious but this isn't about romantic love. just so we're clear on that #revolutionary girl utena #fanfics #utena #anthy #utena and anthy #akio #<- his name is never actually said and he isn't there but. the conversation is about him. so. #m #don't be afraid of this world where we'll meet

[anonymous-gambito]

Saw a comic where the Prince's bride falls in love with the Little Mermaid and decides to run away with her and realized that's kinda what happens in rgu

#revolutionary girl utena #the little mermaid #anthy himemiya #akio ohtori #utena tenjou #Akio is the prince who makes the Little Mermaid dance to his whim despite her every step making her feel like she's being pierced by knives #Except in this AU he actually knows about her pain and knows she saved him but he still grew uncaring and cruel #Utena is as if he then told the church princess about the little mermaids suffering #That to be human she needed a man to love her more than than his own parents‚ love her with her whole soul and marry her #And he tells her he cannot be that man #And so she then‚ full of emotion and determination‚ proclaims that she will become that person and save her #Though Utena has a lot of similar characteristics to the oblivious Prince though #So she kinda has the role of both #Though anthy is a lot more antagonistic than the little mermaid #A lot of rgu girls act like certain fairy tale girls if they were more antagonistic #which probably works with the whole princess/witch dichotomy #though I personally haven't noticed similarities between anthy and the Sea Witch #I also see similarities of the Prince and the Little Mermaid's dynamic in Touga's and Nanami's relationship... In both directions #hans christian andersen #shoujo kakumei utena #sku #rgu #''I wrote so well! Totally gonna get a good grade in tumblr posting'' I think before I come back and notice a million grammatical mistakes

[teethss]

eit's fucking hilarious overall but to this day my favorite part is that zenn took a single look at tyril and right away was like "this guy NEEDS to learn about naruto"

#even if tempest #t #tyril in a serious moment “my entire clan was killed off... i am the last living member” #zenn in his mind “oohhhhh my god holy shit hollyy shsittttt” #also love to believe that the novel crius wrote was just straight up utena #i fucking love eit man

[heartslobbf]

[ID: eight shots from the anime ‘revolutionary girl utena’ with extracts of black text edited onto them. the first is of young utena silhouetted in her princess dress before her parents’ graves, framed by pink roses. text reads: ‘what is the family?’

akio’s tower at night. text reads: ‘so deep runs the idea that the family is the exclusive place’

utena and nanami sharing the bed in akio’s tower, nanami with her back turned to utena. text reads: ‘where people are safe,’

anthy and akio feeding kanae a slice of apple in the planetarium. she appears not fully conscious. text reads: ‘where people come from,’

touga staring out of a window in akio’s tower, his face obscured by his hair and a cactus held to his bare chest. text reads: ‘where people are made,’

utena and akio standing by three coffins, one of which is open and contains utena’s younger self. text reads: ‘and where people belong,’

anthy, naked and curled in on herself inside her coffin, as light streams in on the right side of the frame. text reads: ‘it doesn’t even feel like an idea anymore.’

anthy standing at the ohtori academy gates in her pink outfit, smiling. text reads: ‘let us unpick it, then.’ /end ID]

revolutionary girl utena (1997) / sophie lewis, abolish the family: a manifesto for care and liberation

#look at my thesis on utena and family boy #and yes. the shots from in the tower are purposefully from in the tower :) #revolutionary girl utena #rgu #web weaving #shut up daisy #ok to say a little more; my post i made about rgu and family recently explains all of this honestly #but like. where people come from as kanae is so interesting bc it’s like #that is HER home. her family that the man that comes to kill her has married into. so yeah lots there #my touga choice is. interesting and i have a lot of thoughts about it but tldr family is v detrimental as a concept to him #and has defined his persona for soooooo long in such a toxic way #safe i think is obvious. sad #where people belong!!!!!!!!!!! love that one :) #and anthy. waugh. anthyyyyyyyyyyyy

[xbuster]

My rewatch of Revue Starlight has absolutely been enhanced by having seen Shoujo Kakumei Utena in between now and the first time I saw it. The inspiration is undeniable.

This scene from the end of episode one interests me in particular.

It's easy to see the parallel here, Karen holds Junna in a manner similar to how Utena holds Anthy when pulling out the Sword of Dios. The interesting part is that they're thematically opposite. When Utena pulls the Sword of Dios out of Anthy, it signifies the beginning of a Duel. When Karen catches Junna at the end of the Revue of Passion, Karen's sword is already drawn, Junna's cloak falls to the ground, and the Revue is over.

Of course, the Revues are very similar to Duels. The girls transform their clothes and manifest weapons. Each Duel and Revue has a unique song to represent it. The participants must knock something off the breast of their opponent to win. However, I think using imagery from Utena like in this scene was meant to contrast it to Revue Starlight.

I'm going to repeat myself a bit here, but everything in this scene mirrors Utena in the sense that it's in reverse. The sword of Dios is pulled at the beginning of the Duel, Karen catches Junna at the end of the Revue. In Utena, the purpose of this scene is for Utena (the hero) to draw her sword (her means of winning), in Revue Starlight, the purpose of this scene is for Junna (the opponent) to lose her cloak (her lose condition). The girls in Revue Starlight are even facing in the opposite directions as the girls from Utena.

This was done in episode 1 of Revue Starlight and to me, the purpose is clear. To introduce the concept of Revues by evoking the imagery of Duels from Utena, but then subverting the expectations of the viewer by reversing that imagery's meaning.

Shoujo Kakumei Utena is about Utena Tenjou learning to connect with someone she had tried to protect from the nature of the Duels and freeing her from her fate.

Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight is about Karen Aijou forcing herself into the Revues trying to reconnect with her childhood friend who will free Karen from her fate.

This scene was meant to tell us that these stories are opposites.

#shoujo kageki revue starlight #shoujo kakumei utena #karen aijou #utena tenjou #hi i love revue starlight now #me watching it for the first time: 'yeah it was fun but i'm not in love with it' #me watching it now: 'i understand everything now and this is a masterpiece'

[baltears]

movie touga makes me so beyond insane. the way he got to inhabit the role of the doomed prince exactly like dios did in the series and died in the same senseless sacrificial way while someone he loved begged him to save himself. the way he suffered and suffered and was so brutalized and still somehow stayed gentle enough to drown for a girl he didnt even know. a version of touga that held onto his kindness and nobility and never turned bitter and hard in order to survive. so he died.

#🙈 #utena #touga kiryuu #worst boy on campus #theres ofc more to say here about how he stayed trapped in this stupid gendered dichotomy btwn dominator (destroys) / prince (is destroyed) #but personally i do read the film as related to the series canon and like. imo this is who series touga wanted to be ultimately #he wanted to suffer the same agonies and then be utena's hero and die stupid and tragic and loved #he wanted to hold her in the chapel and tell her how much he cared instead of walking away completely unable to comfort her #but series touga just couldn't be that person. his life already happened a different way #he didnt want to survive. deep down he just wanted to be good and die. LIKE A MORON #i just. GOD. IT'S SO STUPID. BUT I LOVE HIM SO MUCH #fucking idiot who lacks the imagination to conceptualize himself surviving outside of patriarchal norms so he just wants to die for a woman!

[doritofalls]

re: deconstruction is worthless without love and care for the source material. that's largely why i feel like madomagi fails at being a genre piece in all ways except visually. urobuchi is a competent writer, and madomagi is a good standalone exercise in deconstruction when viewed independently, but its clear underhandedness towards the magical girl genre and young women as a whole makes it lack the kind of heart even the most mid magical girl show has, even with the ending sentiment being somewhere on the kind side.

#like... i love madomagi and the og ending but my man gen doesn't think shit of his genre and it clearly shows #when you take a look of how utena vs madomagi treats very similar concept (even with utena #not being a strictly genre show) #the difference is night and day #mcfly.txt #i do think... theres a lot of heart from the side of the creators but not gen lol

[oblisker]

unhappy birthday to saionji, the most loser guy to ever exist

#affectionately i hope he drowns in acid #i’ll buy him a cake to smash it across his face #love that guy #kyouichi saionji #revolutionary girl utena

[rainedroptalks]

Getting back to watching rgu and I nearly forgot how much I hated touga. I am not exaggerating I hate hate hate HATE him

#ramblings #liveblogging #raine watches rgu #rgu #my blood is boiling as we speak. love nanami tho shes funny #utenas just trying to say thanks for that one time he helped her and his ass is acting she’s just looking for any excuse to come see him #she’s not dude please stop talking #he’s fun to watch but if I ever saw him irl I’d attack like a rabid dog

[muchadorks]

Day 22 of Trying to Convince @itmustbek8 to Watch Revolutionary Girl Utena

(without context)

It's both wonderful and strange, and the company that licenses it has it on Youtube for free, so...

Are you convinced yet?

#revolutionary girl utena #honestly no pressure though #i had so much fun putting these together #and there are plenty of things i didn't even mention #like akio's stupid ponytail/mullet thing and his ridiculous hair bauble #and saionji's exchange diary #and the fact that despite not being a musical it definitely has more original songs than Dance With Devils (and they're all BOPS) #on a serious note you may want to check the trigger warnings if you need because this show can get... intense #i just hope more people find it and love it because it is beautiful and bonkers in the best ways

[musicalyeetreblr]

Rei Taylor is a stronger woman than me for trying to set up Claire with thane

If I was in the dating sim with my favorite villainess

I would immediately kill my love rivals

#like with touga and v it’s on sight #y’all like what u mean touga #from utena ? #yes #I think chigusa from the sega game is absolutely beautiful #I hate v not because I think he’s evil #no I actually think he’s very moral #I hate him because he’s too close to my woman #i probs sound weird huh #jkjk #his self sacrificing would probably encourage it tbh #that’s a reallly uncomfortable thought #mystic messenger #revolutionary girl utena #rika kim #sanjouin chigusa #touga kiryuu #jihyun kim #v mysme #i’m in love with the villainess #watashi no oshi wa akuyaku reijou #rei taylor #rei oohashi #claire francois #thane bauer

[transmascutena]

thinking about how akio sees his younger self in utena and wondering if there's any fondness there. doesn't change the horror of what he does to her obviously but i do wonder

#akio and utena #m #long ramble in the tags sorry: #the thing about akio is that he's so evil bit he's also so human #he has feelings. i just don't know what they are (if anything) toward his victims #he loves anthy at the very least i'm sure of that. even if he hates her too. just like she loves and hates him. the lines are blurry. #and i just. i have to wonder whether any of that extends to utena at all. we know anthy at times feels similarly about utena and dios #(and akio by extension.) the simultanious love and resentment. so it's not too unlikely i think. #like. even though he never had anything but bad intentions in getting close to her #i'm not sure it's possible to do everything he did and feel nothing #not that he has any meaningful amount of guilt or remorse for it. i don't think that. #and i obviously don't think he “loved” her in any of the ways she might have thought he did #but did he not care at all? did he not feel any kind of fondness or sympathy or just. idk. pity? for her? #whatever the case it wasn't enough to reconsider having her killed so you know. how much does that actually matter anyway #idk. i think about it a lot. how abusers are rarely entirely indifferent toward their victims #the role he's playing in her life is so fucked up but it IS a role he's playing and i wonder how much he you know... internalizes it? #how much does he believe the illusion of family that he invites her into? because akio DOES often buy into his own illusions. #(similarly i think it's possible that akio is fond of touga too. their mentor-protégé relationship is horrible and abusive #but that doesn't make it less real. you know? maybe real is the wrong word.) #when he talks in episode 25 about wanting utena and anthy closer that's obviously so he can continue to groom her #but is there something genuine there too? i don't know. #again. it obviously does not make anything he does better or even different. but it is interesting to think about to me. #on the other side of that coin does seeing his own past youth and naivete and desire to do good that he (maybe) once had #reflected back at him through her mean anything? #is there resentment there? that she is what he couldn't be? or more likely he just thinks that idealism is stupid. #either way it's something he wants to take from her. anyway ramble over. #i talk a lot about utena's feelings toward akio (familial vs romantic love and the way the two are intertwined in fucked up ways) #but not much the other way around. probably because utena is actually a sympathetic character whose feelings the show very clearly #wants you to analyze and think about. #which is... less true for akio i think. though he's still a complex character with complex motives. he's just harder to get a grasp on.

[thisseethingcoast]

Can't believe it took me this long to realize Utena was referencing Faulkner

#revolutionary girl utena #Miki's stopwatch and everything is just a big ol reference to Quentin Compson and it took me watching a video essay about James Franco's #horrible movie adaptations to reven remember the plot of the sound and the fury since reading but barely comprehending it in highschool #like holy shit #its his whole fucking character #the sound of the fury #MIKI I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE #miki kaoru #i love postmodernism but i hate postmodernism #Quentin Compson #even* #his sister has a penchant dor climbing trees and a disregard for 'proper' behavior

[fellhellion]

genuinely don’t mean this in a condescending way, but i think it’s really valuable when building ur lit analysis skills to learn to sit with uncomfortable actions characters take and dwell on the implications of those actions. What kinds of people they were when making them and who they’ve become because of those actions. It’s a more comfortable reading to think they didn’t commit those actions at all certainly, but when context clues point more favourably to the idea those actions did happen, I think it’s valuable to dwell on what that means.   

Thinking specifically of the reading that nanami rev gal utena doesn’t kill the kitten here, and I can completely understand why someone would want to read that scene as having not been real, but dwelling on the idea it most likely is tells us some really interesting things about Nanami. 

Even at a very young age (she’s 13 in the show and this takes place prior), she’s deathly afraid of losing her brother’s love to something else, giving context to just how deeply her fears of being replacable run. 

She tapes the box shut and lets the river carry it away, not directly taking the kitten’s life <- She doesn’t want to directly harm an innocent, dependant creature (hm paralells) but she doesn’t want it to take something she’s scared of losing. She operates with a sense of plausible deniability (to like, a 10 year old’s mind or however young she is) to her sense of guilt.

But she lurches forward when she starts to see the box start to tip over the edge of the river and the kitten’s head starts to emerge from it, and you can tell via her expression she’s horrified and guilt ridden by what she did, that this wasn’t an act of thoughtless cruelty, it’s something she feels awful about. 

What can you read in how this experience has affected her when we see how determined she is to care for the egg she believes she unwittingly brought into the world, to the point where she actually defies Touga and refuses to abandon it.  

#i genuinely dont mean to blast op but i just think theres so much of value to be gleaned from genuinely grappling w what is the most likely #answer to the question of did nanami kill the kitten #also like. the entire pattern of behaviour that is nanami hurting other people in an attempt to ensure touga only has her #because nanami KNOWS deep down even if she cant acknowledge it for a lot of the show that hes turning into someone who would HURT her #because his own pattern of behaviour operates on emotional insincerity (and his whole arc his about moving towards emotional sincerity) #of course she's scared and feels like she needs to ensure he loves her. even as a part of her feels like a calf being led to slaughter #tunes talks utena #long post