#rgu rewatch

[maggiecheungs]

REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA 🌹 EP 17: THE THORNS OF DEATH

#revolutionary girl utena #utena #shoujo kakumei utena #shiori takatsuki #juri arisugawa #utenaedit #animegifs #animeedit #oldanimeedit #juri x shiori #sku #rgu #anime #black rose arc #wlw #rgu rewatch #impalement tw #ellisgifs #hehehehe

[absolutedestinyrevolution]

1x03 | The Night of the Ball

When Utena asks Anthy to stop calling her “Utena-sama” there’s a shot of Akio’s tower: almost exactly the same shot as when Anthy finally leaves Ohtori, walking away from Akio’s tower, asking “Utena” to wait for her—finally, they are just Anthy and Utena.

Utena’s distaste for Touga is so great. Anthy’s surprise at it is interesting too, esp when Utena defends her boundaries and pushes Touga away. Anthy hasn’t had that luxury; feels like she doesn’t have that choice in her own life. Also, Touga as a precursor to Akio is very clear; so much of the rest of the show is set up in these early episodes, with certain dynamics reappearing in different and more disturbing ways the further the show goes on. Touga tries to manipulate Utena just as Akio does, but Touga is much less successful than Akio ends up being. One could see it as repetitive, but I see it as a genius use of repetition, with Utena (and Anthy) having to go through these cycles over and over again before they’re able to break out of the world they are trapped in. (It’s both the cycles of abuse and the cycles of rebirth!)

Wakaba hearing rumors about Anthy doing something bad to a popular guy > Anthy getting slapped by Keiko and her band for “ruining Saionji” > it’s Anthy getting blamed for Saionji’s actions and failure, huh! And it’s a dynamic that appears again and again and again… It’s the heart of the series, the heart of the horror at the center of Ohtori. Very much about how girls and women are blamed when boys and men make mistakes. One thing I’m realizing on rewatch is that while this dynamic is part of the patriarchy, it’s one that can occur between anyone, regardless of gender, and in a way that I’d argue is deeply connected to what the show sees as truly “growing up” and what it means to be a real adult, but I’ll expand on that more as we get to later eps.

Interesting that Nanami almost has a Utena-esque entrance, in appearing after Keiko and co attack Anthy, asking if she’s alright, a seeming offer of friendship… which of course ends up not being something kind, but actually a trap for Nanami to humiliate Anthy. The Student Council  sent a dress of Anthy to wear to the ball (and it’s a green, a color we’ve only seen associated w/ Saionji; a color that spells trouble) which Nanami uses to embarrass her. Utean is sent a dress as well, at Touga’s request—which mirrors Akio giving Utena a rose-crest ring to draw her to Ohtori and the duels, with Touga just trying to entice her to a party. And the dress that Utena wears in the penultimate ep after meeting Akio, “her prince,” is also pink, isn’t it? Touga really is the generic version to Akio’s name brand prince. Nanami’s dress is yellow with prominent purple bows/frills, drawing her connection to Anthy. And Nanami’s humiliation of Anthy—have a male waiter spray her w/ champagne that makes her dress disintegrate, leaving Anthy almost naked in front of the crowd—certainly has a sexualized symbolism; girls and women are tarnished and humiliated thru sex (or sexual assault, in this case).

#rgu rewatch

[arielluva]

never drawn their movie designs before :3

#my art #revolutionary girl utena #rgu #utena tenjou #anthy himemiya #utenanthy #adolescence of utena #finally finished rewatching the series and the movie!! #so here's their movie designs in celebration!! ive been meaning to draw these designs for a while #but yeah. finally done with my second rewatch. probably of many. #if it were up to me i would be rewatching utena a lot more than just. once since i finished it for the first time 5 months ago #i need this show injected directly into my bloodstream but instead i am just a slow tv watcher.... tragedy... #2024

[looking-for-wisdom]

one of the aspects of rgu that can get overlooked, I think, once you finish that first watchthrough and start looking at the story in a new light, is that anthy — at the very least — has already started caring for utena by the time she loses her duel to touga.

which, in fairness, is the natural and arguably correct response. because when you learn anthy has been all but omniscient the whole time, and that each act by utena to “save” her is just another diminishment of anthy’s autonomy, you begin to understand that in those early episodes, utena is a tool to her. an object of disdain or pity, maybe, if you’re going to argue that anthy thinks anything of her at all. utena is a means to an end.

and somehow, that has to coexist with the fact that anthy missed utena when she’s touga’s bride.

anthy is a tough character to read, but I think the simplest break down of her relationship with utena is that the more emotion she shows, positive or negative, the stronger their bond in anthy’s eyes. poisoning her cookies is an act of care. stabbing a sword through her chest is a love confession. because for a character like anthy, who’s natural state is ambivalence, any deviation is an expression of affection the only way she knows to express it.

And the easy to grasp, natural progression, is that she starts at zero on the scale of caring utena exists, and moves towards the other end of the spectrum as the show continues, coming to a head in the finale.

but it doesn’t work that way. by all accounts, anthy shouldn’t be missing utena by the end of the first arc. utena has steamrolled her the entire time, deciding what she needs without consulting what anthy wants. it’s not dissimilar to any other duelist.

it’s fascinating that their interactions during that arc meant something to anthy. it’s necessary, of course, for utena to realize she cares for anthy but it didn’t have to be reciprocated.

but it is, and in that we find fantastic juxtaposition: anthy does not care about utena as much as utena cares for her — not at this point. she’s not even really at a point that she’s frustrated with utena. if she feels guilt over how upset utena was after the duel, she doesn’t show it. and knowing what we know about the rest of the show, we can’t really blame her. utena is another cog in the system and anthy sees right through it.

and, at the same time, she’s grown to care for utena. she’s become accustomed to her presence and when it’s gone, she misses it. she’s never missed a duelist before. so, somewhere in all of utena’s misguided actions and sometimes outright disregard for what anthy wants, anthy sees something.

It’s not as simple as anthy not liking or caring about utena at the start and then they come to understand each other over time. there are interruptions in the pattern — moments of connection that occur regardless of where they are on the path to mutual understanding. and that’s what makes it so complicated and so interesting. there are no absolutes. there’s no saying that utena’s aim to be a prince and save anthy was hopeless, because somewhere in the midst of all that they were bonded together. perhaps in spite of it, perhaps because of it, perhaps a bit of both — that’s the sticking point.

their relationship is a melting pot of contradictions, but none of them can be removed and still lead to the same ending.

there is no pinpointing the moment anthy began to care for utena. she always does, in a fractured sort of way. you see it throughout, in bits and pieces.

#rgu #revolutionary girl utena #I need to do my annual rewatch I’m sure I’m forgetting things

[septembermorningbells]

like yeah exactly for the role of the Prince to exist women have to constantly be endangered and you have to break the system instead of feeding into it but they are literally not ready for this conversation yet LMAO

#grace rewatches rgu #revolutionary girl utena

[burning-kanso]

— Day and night turning in on each other

— A time-gilded lost paradise ⚔️

#digital art #artists on tumblr #revolutionary girl utena #shoujo kakumei utena #rgu #rgu fanart #rgu utena #rgu anthy #anthy himemiya #utena tenjou #my first rgu fanart that is NOT stylized as a stained glass #can barely contain the uncontrollable desire to rewatch Utena again

[visismu]

trapped in the Fabergé egg

alternative version:

#just in time for her bday! #I need to rewatch rgu again I miss her so much.... #revolutionary girl utena #anthy himemiya #rgu anthy

[sol-shines]

my favorite thing about revolutionary girl utena is that finishing it changes you fundamentally as a person and both you and the characters will be haunted by the narrative and its impact forever. my second favorite thing about revolutionary girl utena is that one episode where nanami nearly gets her shit rocked by a renegade boxing kangaroo on school property

#^ WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN. BTW. #in all seriousness tho what a fucking masterpiece of a story. can't wait to rewatch and dissect it obsessively all over again #i have so many thoughts and none of them coherent So. lost to the void they shall be #rgu #revolutionary girl utena #sol speaks

[mothidocandart]

i need every media I like to feel like a fever dream actually. If I don’t watch it/read it/listen to it and go “what the fuck was that” then it’s not my favorite media

#Rgu #Revolutionary Girl Utena #wktd #we know the devil #Mabel podcast #serial experiments lain #Ena Joel g #House of leaves #the satanic verses #Also the what the fuck value makes for great rewatch material

[rose-reads-visualnovels]

the great thing about the revolutionary girl utena finale people don’t usually talk about is that one scene where all the council members promise they’ll get out of ohtori - and thus their coffins - when they’re ready. it’s great because it gives us the viewers hope for ourselves.

it’s easy to come out of utena realizing a few internalized hang ups you never grew out of. it’s a whole other thing to actually do something about it. these obsessive vices are so comfortable in their routine, even when it’s obviously unhealthy to keep going. being stuck in a rut of your own making fully aware of what you’re doing.

but utena never really scolds you too harshly about it in the end. it tells you, take your time. one day you’ll be strong enough to stand up and leave. people may help you get there, but you will leave with your own two feet.

it ends, not with every issue resolved and all the characters fully developed, but it ends with the promise that they will. and the camera is nice enough not to stalk them through it as they work out the kinks

#not a liveblog #rgu #revolutionary girl utena #I was rewatching some things instead of reading umi #not capitalizing anything in this text post against all my instincts bc I think it flows better in the usual tumblr text style

[maggiecheungs]

REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA 🌹 EP 37: THE ONE TO REVOLUTIONISE THE WORLD

#utena #revolutionary girl utena #kunihiko ikuhara #animeedit #oldanimeedit #anthy himemiya #utena tenjou #utena x anthy #shoujo kakumei utena #anime #sku #rgu #utenaedit #utenagifs #ellisgifs #rgu rewatch #:(((((((( #queue

[absolutedestinyrevolution]

1x02 | For Whom the Rose Smiles

Love how the book that Wakaba is reading (where a heroine has always loved a certain man, he rejects her, and another, better man instantly appears) both illustrates Wakaba’s immaturity in clinging to a story like that, and foreshadows Utena’s arc over the show—she’s always loved her Prince (or so she thinks), but it’s Akio who appears before her in his place, the prince turned devil…

The egg monologue never gets old. Also how it foreshadows the very end of the series, in Utena cracking the world’s shell to free Anthy stuck inside.

I’d forgotten about the “Utena moves into a new dorm w/ no one else” plot that starts the series, before she moves into Akio’s building. It frames Utena as different from the rest of the students w/ in the narrative, and it also isolates her in-universe, before Akio even starts directly manipulating and grooming her. And Anthy plays her role, as she has to… Interesting that when Utena asks why Anthy she is the Rose Bride, she responds w/ “Why do you always dress as a boy?” Utena says she likes it, with Anthy saying that’s why she’s the Rose Bride. Complexities here w/ how Anthy might be hurt by the Rose Bride role, but she knows how to play it and how it will hurt her; easier to deal w/ anticipated hurts than to risk something new and different, as we see play out in the finale (until everything works out).

Utena’s early naivete is so fascinating, because she’s both wrong and right: the duels are ultimately meaningless, used to trap students at Ohotri in an endlessly repeating cycle, but it was only by going thru the duels that Utena got to the place where she could free Anthy.

I’d been neutral on Chu-chu on previous watches but I’m finding him cuter this time around. The idea that he’s standing in for Anthy’s unexpressed feelings really adds a depth to his character: him uniquely warming to Utena, or him warning Utena that Saionji was after Anthy. In this light, the very end of the ep takes on even more resonance, in Utena saying she won the duel not for Anthy but for Chu-chu. Given Utena’s journey thru the show of learning more about Anthy the real person, not just the image she projects, and how that real love inspires Utena to keep moving towards Anthy in the finale.

Speaking of the Saionji – Anthy scene, there’s a great dissolve where the lamp light becomes Anthy’s face—because she was the light of the world all along, not Dios or the prince. There’s another dissolve between Saionji and a pillar when he says she devoted herself to him completely when they were engaged—phallic symbol, ahoy. (Also it foreshadows Akio’s tower and his and its prominence thru the rest of the show; if Saionji is an immature misogynist, then Akio is its mature form.) If Utena doesn’t get that the Rose Bride is forced to sleep w/ the people she’s engaged to, we as the audience do… which then anticipates Akio/Anthy later on. There’s also how Anthy is embodying both ‘the madonna and the whore’ in her role; Anthy plays the prim, sweet, sensitive bride, forced to clean and take care of the home, and she has to sleep w/ the person she’s engaged with, and theoretically that could be a lot of people, if she was passed back and forth thru duels. Or in the language of the show, the Rose Bride vs. the Witch.

Utena saying how she’ll just lose to Anthy must be a slap in the face for her… And of course Utena can’t do it when it comes down to it in the actual duel. As Saionji says, he “admires her courage” when Utena “put the rose above her own life,” which is again foreshadowing to the climax of the series in Utena saving Anthy by not avoiding the swords of humanity’s hatred, and not allowing Anthy to take them on in her place. “The one who loses their rose loses the duel.” Interesting too how Utena does ‘lose her rose’ in the finale, her Anthy sleeping from her grasp at the end. But isn’t that the ultimate fate of the Prince, to be faced w/ failure? Because one can’t live up the Prince ideal; what matters more is how one deals w/ that reality.

Utena doesn’t just get Saionji’s rose, she cuts his sword in two!! Another phallic symbol taken down.

#rgu rewatch

[oh2bloved]

Marcanne, but make it utena

#im currently rewatching utena and my hand slipped #babe wake up i finally drew marcanne after ages #i miss rgu very much:( #this is how i cope #and btw #HAPPY PRIDE MONTH GUUYSS #amphibia #my art #amphibia marcy #marcy wu #amphibia anne #anne boonchuy #marcanne #frog show #utena #rgu #amphibia fanart

[dragoncrocs]

#dont think i posted this here yet #was rewatching shiori juri eps and had to get it out of my system #revolutionary girl utena #juri arisugawa #shiori takatsuki #rgu #sku #my art

[septembermorningbells]

one of the most insane dynamics on the show tbh… Self recognition through the other but it turns you into mortal enemies bc it’s a part of yourself you hate

#grace rewatches rgu #revolutionary girl utena

[bloodraven55]

#SODOMU NO YAMI HIKARI NO YAMI KANATA NO YAMI HATENAKI YAMI #sorry i’m doing an utena rewatch and this song is altering my brain chemistry again #revolutionary girl utena #rgu #shoujo kakumei utena #sku