#kozue saito

[kennycantdecide]

This is the funniest thing I’ve ever written in my life

Raiden Ei would kin Nana Daiba I said what I said

[nobbykun]

Artist - 斉藤こず恵 (Saito, Kozue) Song - 山口さんちのツトム君 (Yamaguchi-San Chi No Tsutomu-Kun) [Eng. "The Yamaguchi Family’s Little Boy Tsutomu"] Release Date - June 1976

Listen 🎶

https://rumble.com/v42a22b-kozue-saito-yamaguchi-san-chi-no-tsutomu-kun.html

My blog: Showa Music Library https://nobbykun.tumblr.com/

[animewolf38]

Update on Kozue!!!! 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th picture by @55cdfc-f7a8b8-ffffff-f7a8b8-55cd which I still owe like $80 next time we see each other I’ll pay you I swear

[biintheskywithdiamonds]

get that bag ig…. piece of shit groomer

[imasallstars]

INTERDIMENSION FESTIVAL: IDOLM@STER★♥LOVE LIVE! UTA GASSEN

Information regarding the first IJIGEN FES 2023 live has been revealed! The live will occur in the TOKYO DOME on the 9th and 10th of December 2023. This first fes will feature three branches of IDOLM@STER performing with four branches of Love Live!

The voice providers participating in this stop are as follows:

DAY 1 ONLY

IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS 　Kotomi Aihara (Shiki Ichinose), Hiromi Igarashi (Anzu Futaba), Asami Takano (Frederica Miyamoto), Yuki Nakashima (Yuuki Otokura), Yuko Iida (Kanade Hayami), Honoka Inoue (Nanami Asari), Sumire Uesaka (Anastasia), Aya Suzaki (Minami Nitta), Miyu Tomita (Akira Sunazuka), Ru Thing (Syuko Shiomi), Teru Ikuta (Natalia), Hina Tachibana (Nagi Hisakawa), Nanami Yamashita (Yui Ohtsuki) IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE 　Haruka Yamazaki (Mirai Kasuga), Azusa Tadokoro (Shizuka Mogami), Machico (Tsubasa Ibuki), Momo Asakura (Serika Hakozaki), Kotori Koiwai (Tomoka Tenkubashi), Atsuki Nakamura (Roco Handa), Emi Hirayama (Reika Kitakami), Yui Watanabe (Nao Yokoyama) IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS 　Karin Isobe (Kogane Tsukioka), Chisa Suginuma (Mamimi Tanaka), Anna Yamaki (Sakuya Shirase), Shio Watanabe (Yuika Mitsumine), Yuina Mizuki (Kiriko Yukoku), Honoka Kuroki (Amana Osaki), Ryoko Maekawa (Tenka Osaki), Noriko Shibasaki (Chiyuki Kuwayama), Yuu Wakui (Toru Asakura), Rio Tsuchiya (Madoka Higuchi), Saran Tajima (Koito Fukumaru), Miho Okasaki (Hinana Ichikawa), Azusa Shizuki (Nichika Nanakusa), Aya Yamane (Mikoto Aketa)

DAY 2 ONLY

IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS 　Ayaka Ohashi (Uzuki Shimamura), Ayaka Fukuhara (Rin Shibuya), Sayuri Hara (Mio Honda), Amina Sato (Arisu Tachibana), Tomoyo Kurosawa (Miria Akagi), Hana Tamegai (Risa Matoba), Makoto Koichi (Haru Yuuki), Asaka Imai (Chie Sasaki), Natsumi Haruse (Kaoru Ryuzaki), Misaki Kuno (Nina Ichihara), Yuri Komori (Koharu Koga), Mina Nakazawa (Yukimi Sajo), Maki Hanatani (Kozue Yusa) IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE 　Aimi (Julia), Miku Itou (Yuriko Nanao), Ibuki Kido (Kana Yabuki), Arisa Kori (Kaori Sakuramori), Yuri Komagata (Sayoko Takayama), Rie Suegara (Fuka Toyokawa), Saki Minami (Tsumugi Shiraishi), Rikako Yamaguchi (Rio Momose) IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS 　Hitomi Sekine (Mano Sakuragi), Reina Kondo (Hiori Kazano), Mayu Mineda (Meguru Hachimiya), Hiyori Konno (Kaho Komiya), Haruka Shiraishi (Chiyoko Sonoda), Mariko Nagai (Juri Saijo), Wakana Maruoka (Rinze Morino), Akiho Suzumoto (Natsuha Arisugawa), Yuki Tanaka (Asahi Serizawa), Eri Yukimura (Fuyuko Mayuzumi), Sayaka Kitahara (Mei Izumi), Rina Kawaguchi (Luca Ikaruga), Haruna Mikawa (Hana Suzuki), Rena Ozawa (Haruki Iketa)

DAY 1&2

AQOURS (LOVE LIVE! SUNSHINE!!) 　Anju Inami (Chika Takami), Rikako Aida (Riko Sakurauchi), Nanaka Suwa (Kana Matsuura), Arisa Komiya (Dia Kurosawa), Shukai Saito (You Watanabe), Aika Kobayashi (Yoshiko Tsushima), Kanako Takatsuki (Hanamaru Kunikida), Aina Suzuki (Mari Ohara), Ai Furihata (Ruby Kurosawa) NIJIGASAKU SCHOOL IDOL CLUB 　Aguri Ohnishi (Ayumu Uehara), Mayu Sagara (Kasumi Nakasu), Kaori Maede (Shizuku Osaka), Miyu Kubota (Karin Asaka), Natsumi Murakami (Ai Miyashia), Akari Kito (Kanata Konoe), Coco Hayashi (Setsuna Imura), Maria Sashide (Emma Verde), Chiemi Tanaka (Rina Tennoji), Moeka Koizumi (Shioriko Mifune), Shu Uchida (Mia Taylor), Akina Homoto (Zhong Lanzhu). 　Support Member: Hinaki Yano (Yu Takasaki) Liella! (LOVE LIVE! SUPERSTAR!!) 　Sayuri Date (Kanon Shibuya), Liyuu (Keke Tang), Nako Misaki (Chisato Arashi), Naomi Payton (Sumire Heanna), Nagisa Aoyama (Ren Hazuki), Nozomi Suzuhara (Kinako Sakurakoji), Akana Yabushima (Mei Yoneme), Wakana Okuma (Shiki Wakana), Aya Emori (Natsumi Onitsuka), Yuina (Wien Margarete), Sakura Sakakura (Tomari Onitsuka) HASUNOSORA SCHOOL IDOL CLUB 　Nirei Nozomi (Kaho Hinoshita), Kokona Nonaka (Sayaka Murano), Nina Hanamiya (Kozue Otomune), Kotoka Sasaki (Tsuzuri Yugiri), Kanna Kan (Rurino Osawa), Kona Tsukine (Megumi Fujishima)

[fireyfobbitmedicine]

chiho saito real homophobic for finally acknowledging Juri is gay after 20 years and then drawing Kozue and Miki kissing twice

[prfm-multiverse]

New work for Perfume! Please enjoy this trick as often as you like. We are looking forward to working with you from January onwards!

Moon MV Crew

Director : TAKCOM（CONNECTION） Assistant Director：倉光哲司 Tetsushi Kuramitsu Cinematographer：田嶌誠 Makoto Tajima (館岡事務所) 1st Assistant Cameraman：尾崎圭市 Keiichi Ozaki 2nd Assistant Cameraman：森田曜 Akira Morita 3rd Assistant Cameraman：宮崎新大 Arata Miyazaki

Key Grip：大江史也 Fumiya Oe,石井努 Tsutomu Ishii,岡田雅成 Masanari Okada,室山聖 Kiyoshi Muroyama

DIT：タキユウスケ Yusuke Taki(Kotetsu Inc.)

Lighting Director：前川賀世子 Kayoko Maekawa Lighting Chief Assistant：井上真宏 Masahiro Inoue Lighting Assistant：大谷力 Chikara Otani,工藤こずえ Kozue Kudo,樋口学 Satoru Higuchi,福田和宏 Kazuhiro Fukuda,藤井裕介 Yusuke Fujii,新田泰之 Yasuyuki Nitta,山崎達也 Tatsuya Yamazaki Production Designer：三ツ泉貴幸 Takayuki Mitsuizumi（STARBOY）

Transportaion：牧尾智史 Satoshi Makio Studio：角川大映スタジオ Studio Coordinator：山田隆久 Takashisa Yamada

Choreographer : MIKIKO (ELEVENPLAY) Choreography Assistant : SAYA, SHOKO, MAI (ELEVENPLAY)

Stylist：タケダトシオ Toshio Takeda（MILD inc.） Stylist Assistant：岡崎くるみ Kurumi Okazaki,藤田和哉 Kazuya Fujita Dressmaker：内藤智恵 Chie Naito,斎藤利保 Riho Saito Make-up : 大須賀昌子 Masako Osuga Hair : 福間友香 Tomoka Fukuma (VANITES)

Offline Editor : 前田径成 Michinari Maeda（CONNECTION） Colorist：芳賀修 Osamu Haga（Artone Film）

CG Production：Citro CG Director：竹山寛史 Hiroshi Takeyama,平川侑樹 Yuki Hirakawa

Post-Production：Khaki Compositor：水野 正毅 Masaki Mizuzo,川崎琴美 Kotomi Kawasaki,藤田智子 Tomoko Fujita Roto & paint : Taupe / Roudiez / Elephants Gate

Producer：松竹奈央 Nao Matsutake Production Manager：南水朋子 Tomko Nansui Production Assistant：橋本和佳奈 Wakana Hashimoto,足立芳洋 Yoshihiro Adachi,川久保開 Kai Kawakubo,日尾野穂乃香 Honoka Hibino,伊堂寺夏鈴 Karin Idouji,加賀美椋 Ryo Kagami Production : P.I.C.S.

[revindicatedbyhistory]

the chiho saito anniversary oneshot really dropped the ball with kozue because she gets reduced to the brocon cliche of "damn i wanna date my brother but i can´t do that" which like. yeah the incest is part of her deal but it´s more complicated than that and reducing it to that misses the point of both kozue and the point of the incest in utena

[hakonohanayome]

Revolutionary Girl Utena - After the Revolution, Chiho Saito

[animewolf38]

My Genshin OC Kozue Saito is so funny because:

- Ex-Fatui parents who abandoned her

- Wriothesley is her cousin

- Dating Jean AND Lisa because fuck cringe culture

- Varka is her adoptive dad

- Razor is her adoptive brother and Rosaria is her adoptive sister

- Parents were cursed by Andrius so that their child would be part wolf after killing a wolf, so she’s a werewolf

- And the most convoluted family tree you’ve ever seen

Base for werewolf form ^^

2nd and third picture (including Kozue’s design): @55cdfc-f7a8b8-ffffff-f7a8b8-55cd

[shizukais]

Shoujo Kakumei Utena DVD Covers 

[ikari-brando]

Shoujo kakumei utena by Chiho Saito (1996)

[newsintheshell]

Utena la Fillette Révolutionnaire: Apocalisse Adolescenziale, in arrivo una nuova edizione del film d’animazione

Yamato Video si prepara a tirare a lucido un’altra perla firmata Kunihiko Ikuhara.

Dopo aver iniziato la settimana con la notizia, a sorpresa, del ritorno di “Penguindrum” ad opera di Yamato Video, l’azienda milanese ci accompagna in questo weekend con l’annuncio di una nuova edizione rimasterizzata, in alta definizione, di un’altra gemma dell’animazione nata dal genio di Kunihiko Ikuhara (Yurikuma Arashi, Sarazanmai, Sailor Moon S).

Stiamo parlando di “Utena la Fillette Révolutionnaire: Apocalisse Adolescenziale”, il film d’animazione del 1999, prodotto dallo studio J.C.STAFF (DanMachi, Aria the Benedizione), che si pone come una visione alternativa all’originale serie animata, trasmessa un paio di anni prima in Giappone, con la quale condivide più che mai le premesse.

Appena arrivata al misterioso istituto scolastico Ohtori, in cui le pareti sono in continuo movimento, Utena Tenjo viene confusa da tutti per un ragazzo. La ragazza ben presto si troverà coinvolta in una serie di duelli per l'ottenimento della "sposa della rosa", Anthy Himemiya, e soprattutto del potere che essa possiede. Contemporaneamente Utena si rincontra con Toga Kiryu, suo ex fidanzato. 

Come per “Penguindrum”, anche in questa occasione verrà preservato il doppiaggio italiano storico targato Dynit. Il cast è dunque composto da: 

Utena Tenjo: BARBARA DE BORTOLI

Anthy Himemiya: ILARIA LATINI

Toga Kiryu: FRANCESCO PRANDO

Juri Arisugawa: CHIARA COLIZZI

Miki Kaoru: MARCO VIVIO

Kyoichi Saionji: SANDRO ACERBO

Shiori Takatsuki: FEDERICA DE BORTOLI

Kozue  Kaoru: GEMMA DONATI

Wakaba Shinohara: DOMITILLA D’AMICO

Nanami: YURI SHIRATORI

Ragazza ombra E: STELLA MUSY

Ragazza ombra F: LETIZIA CIAMPA

Ragazza ombra C: FRANCESCA MANICONE

Akio Otori: ROBERTO CHEVALIER

Sceneggiato da Yoji Enokido (Bungo Stray Dogs, Sailor Moon Super S) e caratterizzato dal design a cura di Shinya Hasegawa (Golden Time, Taboo Tattoo), il film ha ispirato anche un manga, racchiuso in un volume unico.

Il franchise di Utena, che comprende anche un videogioco, un musical teatrale e un’adattamento a fumetti della serie tv, nacque come progetto del collettivo artistico conosciuto come Be-Papas. Oltre a Ikuhara, Enokido e Hasegawa, ne facevano parte anche lo scrittore e produttore Yuichiro Oguro (Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei) e la mangaka Chiho Saito (Valzer in bianco, Ice Forest).

* NON VUOI PERDERTI NEANCHE UN POST? ENTRA NEL CANALE TELEGRAM! *

Autore: SilenziO)))

[FONTE]

[wintersky94]

Revolutionary Girl Utena: After The Revolution By Chiho Saito (Review) Part 1. (⚠SPOILERS!!)

.Okay so back in 2018, I had ordered the original Japanese manga and held it for a while until the Viz English version came out last October 2020. I gotta say, Ms. Saito's artstyle has evolved over the years and I fell in love with her work even more! Okay, don't read this review for those who haven't read this manga if you don't like spoilers.

Okay, let's get started.

"After the Revolution" consists of three short stories that give us an update on the Student Council members who are now Ohtori Academy Alumni. We can tell that these stories pick up after the anime. The first one focuses on Touga and Saionji, the second one focuses on Juri, and the third one on Miki and Kozue. The similarities are them all encountering the disturbing memories of Ohtori Academy (i.e., Akio's Paintings, The sword of Dios, and Anthy's abuse at the hands of her own brother) and uncovering secrets they are trying to find their own Revolutions. In this book, Utena's the new Dios, now! It was nice she got to keep her boyshorts uniform with the princely epaulets, but I would've liked it better if she had an outfit that was similar to Dios' just like in her final confrontation with Akio. That kind of outfit would have made Utena more princely and fully bloomed (matured).

I. After The Revolution- There's an auction taking place and everybody is bidding on a Picasso nude painting. Among those bidders, we see Touga and Saionji outbidding each other...on telephones! Not gonna lie, I didn't know that's actually something you could do at an auction. I've gotta research some more.

So Touga wins the auction and the painting belongs to him. After the auction, Touga and Saionji cut eyes at each other for the first time in years, and Touga, being the playboy that he's always been, has a new gal on his sleeve. Touga recognizes Saionji but he seemingly doesn't remember him. Saionji tells him that he's a Galleriste hired by a client to do a job and Touga said he was also doing the same. This could mean that these two either own an art gallery or operate at an art gallery. Saionji points out that Touga has always been flirting with different women to which Touga responds that the woman he's with doesn't understand Japanese. The unnamed lady took offense to that and insisted that she did understand Japanese. Saionji expresses his displeasure at Touga as they part ways. Boys will be boys, they always say. Geez, Touga would be better off being a Gigolo than a Galleriste. Maybe he is a Gigolo, this art thing must be his side job. I mean look at him, he has the looks, the charm, anything that a girl would want in a man. So why not have Touga be a Gigolo?

NOTE: (*Did I forget to mention that Chiho Saito had a manga called "Gigolo"? Think of it as "Two Broke Girls" but with guys. It's about these two broke rich guys that are desperate to get back into the game by looking for more rich women. I sure can't wait for more of her work, besides Utena, to get serialized. It's like she's received the same treatment as Naoko Takeuchi. They both have a manga that became a worldwide phenomenon while their other works get overshadowed by the most popular manga they've ever created. Which is a shame, really. Oh well, can't win 'em all, I guess. Enough of my rambling. Let's get with the program!*)

Now Touga is in the middle of a business call with a client. Ya' know, just doing some galleriste stuff and then he receives some daily mail but the envelope that stood out the most was the one with the rose seal. Sound familiar? He opens it to reveal a cryptic letter that said: "You who seek the Revolution, Return to the academy". Okay, so imagine being an adult years after you've graduated (escaped) from Ohtori Academy only to find out that you have to go back to that twisted world full of messed-up fairy tales and people getting manipulated by a rich handsome chairman whom everyone looked up to as an ideal prince when he's really the Prince of Darkness, The End of The World. What would you do? You mean to tell me that I have to go back to that crime scene of a school, after being taken advantage of mentally, physically, and sexually by "The End of The World"?? By the looks of this, I could already tell that Touga has forgotten about the shady biz behind the ritzy, glitzy school and the duels that took place. To be honest with you, this would've been called "Surviving Ohtori Academy". If I was one of these main characters, let alone a female main character, this would reopen old wounds with me.

Anyways, Touga goes to revisit his old Alma Mater, the now-defunct Ohtori Private Academy. He saw a bunch of auditors wheeling out boxes of rare items to possibly sell them or something. He couldn't go through the entrance of the academy so he took the other way in. Touga runs into Saionji yet again as they had both received the same letter. So the Student Council "Frienemies" began the search for the Revolution that the letter mentioned. Touga mentioned that The Revolution was a painting that belonged to Akio Ohtori, the former chairman who was also a famous artist. Twenty years after the chairman had killed himself, the value of his work had increased. He even explained that a painting of the chairman's younger sister, Anthy, was sold to a winner at an auction but the painting disappeared before the winner could collect it. Oooh, scary! So Touga finds a portrait of the chairman and his sister, then they get a surprise visit by none other than the man himself, Akio Ohtori! (*cue Phantom of the Opera theme song*)

The dead chairman appeared before them in all his ghostly wickedness with the Akio car behind him. He asks them, as a favor, to keep his painting, The Revolution safe because he didn't want anybody to have it. Akio didn't disclose the location of the painting but he said that if Touga and Saionji did what he asked, then they can have his whole art collection. Then he showed them a will he wrote years ago before he died. When Touga asked who wanted the Revolution, Akio tried to tell them but a sword flew right through him. Was Akio trying to say it was the Rose Bride that wanted the painting? Maybe, maybe not. So Akio's spirit disappears and Saionji and Touga were trying to figure out where that sword came from and next thing you know, a storm came and knocked them into a flashback memory of the day they lost their families as little kids. Touga wakes up in a hospital and sees Saionji crying and saying everybody was dead. Touga wanted to know where his sister was so he gets out of bed to go look for her. Touga calls out for his sister, Nanami while they look around the hospital. Then they see a trail of rose petals that lead to a door and find a room with three coffins. A little girl, none other than Utena, was inside one of those coffins mourning her parents. Touga notices the Rose seal on her finger which Utena reminded herself that she can't die yet because she saw a girl (Anthy) that literally has the world on her shoulders. She declared that she's going to become a prince and save her and revolutionize the world. Saionji tells Touga that the castle was falling on them.

The two awaken back in the present and realized they both had the same dream about Utena. Then Touga gets a call from an artist named "Rime" much to Saionji's disgust. "Rime" called to tell Touga he's finished with his piece and Touga arranged to see it in person. Saionji is against it saying that "Rime" has a criminal history of pedophilia, kidnapping, and sexual abuse! That's gross!! 🤢🤢🤢Touga, of course, disagrees and says it's in the past, and Saionji counters that "Rime" has no redeeming qualities whatsoever and he changed his identity and ran an art school to collect more children. Despite showing him evidence, Touga still believed that we should separate the art from the artist, which is pretty tough to do given the circumstances that someone we look up to turns out to be a terrible person underneath.

(It has been an ongoing debate over the years, it's become the new "chicken or the egg". What do you think, ladies and gents? Is it possible to separate the Art from the Artist?)

Saionji is a bit perturbed with Touga supporting someone like that and pulled a sword on him saying he doesn't deserve The Revolution. They clash swords causing the all too familiar dueling arena to appear and they are wearing their dueling uniforms. This began to ring some bells with the frienemies and they duke it out some more. Then all of a sudden, the bells were tolling and rose petals began to shower them. The castle appears once more and a familiar pink-haired girl appeared before them. It was none other than Utena Tenjou in all her princely goodness! The way she descended from the sky was almost similar to Dios when he came to her. It turned out that she was the one who sent them that letter. She gives Touga a rose ring and uttered yet another cryptic message, "The power to revolutionize the world".

Once again, Touga and Saionji woke up and realize that Utena was the same little girl they saw in their previous dream. Touga gets a little teary-eyed at the fact that Utena had fulfilled her goal to become a prince. He tries to hide it from Saionji, though. Thanks to the rose ring that Utena gave Touga, they begin to put two and two together and use the Sword of Dios that was lodged in the wall as a key to Akio's Sex Dungeon-I mean Secret Chambers. There, they finally get a good glimpse of The Revolution, which is a framed painting of Anthy naked in a bed of roses. (Oh No... *has Adolescence of Utena flashback*) Then, Akio's spirit rematerializes for the last time to take back his precious Revolution. And this time, he's armed. He aimed his sword at Touga but Saionji took the hit for him. As Akio prepares to do away with the two, Touga slips the Rose ring that Utena gave him and prays to Prince Utena for the strength to revolutionize the world. He picked up the Sword of Dios and, with his newfound strength, knocks Akio's rose off, and the wicked spirit of Akio Ohtori was no more. Touga checks on Saionji to see if he's okay and begins to help him up. Touga's ring was gleaming and they notice that the ring was reacting to the painting. The painting of The Revolution had changed from naked Anthy to Anthy and Utena together. Then the painting disappeared. As they leave Ohtori, Touga believes that the reason they were chosen was that she needed help in rescuing Anthy from her brother and escape his world and that was the meaning of having the power to revolutionize the world.

Well, that's the end of this review of the first short story of "Revolutionary Girl Utena: After The Revolution"! Whew, what a ride that was. We have Touga and Saionji, two former student council members with an interesting taste in art, Prince Utena, who is the new Dios working her way up to save Anthy, and we got Akio Ohtori, the dead chairman (or genius loci) that haunts Ohtori Private Academy trying to hold on to what little power hs has left while guarding his painting of his NAKED SISTER!! This lead me to believe that sometime before his death, he painted her while she was drugged or that's what he thought (The Adolescence of Utena). That picture made me uncomfy, like "I-touched-wet-food-in-the-sink" kind of uncomfy. Though, I liked that Touga channeled his inner Ghostbuster and sent Akio on his way. But why was he crying after seeing Utena as a prince? Anyways, Part 2 will come up if I feel up to it.

~Until Next Time, My Friends! 💖☆*: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

[cviperfan]

Okay so partially motivated by how many references there were in SPoP and largely bc it's been in my backlog for years and I remembered the whole thing got uploaded to youtube a while ago, I finally got around to watching Revolutionary Girl Utena for the first time so time for some hot takes

2 clarify I did see the movie about around 2000 which was my introduction to the series, and I did see like 1 episode back in anime club (over a decade ago now tbh) but for the most part I went into this with only a vague sense of the ending and offhand knowledge of a few of the weird comedy episodes so this was mostly a blind watch

Before getting into #spoilers I will say that this ended up being an easy Top 5 and that it's definitely still worth watching (fair warning for the very frequent rape and incest (and sometimes both)), especially if you've somehow also avoided most of the context of this show like me, and it really is one of the rare Nothing Else Like It kind of show (though it has roots in older shoujo like Rose of Versailles and modern stuff like Revue Starlight have picked up its lede)

Okay spoilers from here on

I really only kinda have vague memories of the more knightly take on Utena from the movie so Series!Utena having this powerful Dumb Jock Energy threw me

Like she's out here invoking the Air Bud Rule from minute one

This bit where Akio is going on about some Important Life Lesson thing and she's just fuckin

crab walking im

what a hero i love her

I have always kinda been more partial to shoujo than shounen bc the sense of like emotional urgency and the heightened exaggerated feelings are just more compelling to me narratively and what Utena does spectacularly is really drive that to fucking 11 and it permeates every aspect of the show

Like the melodrama of it all is so shameless and it's so committed to letting its visuals and music drive the mood and emotional intensity of its stakes that they kind of speak for themselves and demand to be taken on their own terms rather than having clear or rigid interpretations

Like it's kind of a situation of "yes most of what you're seeing ties into the show's bigger themes and characterization but also you can just vibe to the spectacle as well" like even when it's not on the Dueling Arena there's a theatricality underlying everything that pairs perfectly with the spirit of shoujo even as it... not necessarily contradicts it, but challenges it in some ways and also wants to coexist with it?

And I think that's the interesting thing how it wants to tackle some of these arch concepts tied into the genre while also being deeply intertwined with it.  Like it really is a Product Of Its Time in so many ways but it also feels somehow timeless and transgressive in others even now?

Like part of me would be interested to see a remake that took into account 23 years of conversation about how much perceptions of gender and sexuality have changed but at the same time would it lose some essential part of itself in that transition?  idk potentially

Also lbr a hypothetical remake wouldn't even attempt to revise anything it would just redo it thus making it pointless

So I know this has been a thing that's been brought up before but seeing it play out dang RGU and NGE really are just companion pieces to each other huh

Subverting the themes and narrative arcs of their respective genres, mysterious quiet girl who's directly the key to everything, the ritual of action setpieces rendered as Actual Ritual in the story, banger OP, comphet ruining everyone's lives

Also they really don't have much in common comparatively but I'm definitely seeing pieces of Utena in Kill la Kill too?  Particularly how Mako's arc feels like a fleshing out and expansion from the archetype divergence Wakaba got in that one ep (I can't believe klk was the utena/wakaba au fanfic)

Speaking of which damn he is a sleazy bastard and a gross predator but ngl Akio can Get It he and Ragyo are basically the same character and I guess this is just my type apparently???? oops

Like I'm recognizing how like really awful he is but also you really can't blame Utena for crushing on him he is super hot and charming

aside i lost it at the audacity of "well even tho i am a man like twice your age (AT LEAST) and took advantage of the situation and also i am clearly not the type to take no for an answer since you didn't reject me you're basically just as bad as me" bruh

The Black Rose Arc is... interesting bc like it borders on superfluous with how it resolves and yet the introduction of a "monster of the week" type power rangers element specifically built to expand on the secondary cast is a pretty inspired choice

again my primary point of introduction to the series was the movie which is basically a remix of the Student Council arc so when I got to 12 I was like wth are they gonna fill the rest of this with? WELP

What I really like about it is that usually this kind of setup-- the 'character is faced with their dark inner thoughts they shy away from and they become a short-term enemy' deal-- ends with the char in question coming to terms with this and overcoming it to become a better person

but here it's just like... they lose and then they just gotta... sit with that, forever.  Like it doesn't really change the status quo of their relationships w/ utena or the others but it does just stick around for them and now the audience knows that about them too.  like sometimes you just can't take that shit back.

Utena's relationship to queerness, having heard about it tangentially for years but seeing it play out now is also interesting bc while in the grand scheme it doesn't feel necessarily any more ahead of its time than something like Cardcaptor Sakura there is a casualness to it that's distinct

Like for the most part it's either kind of the tangential fluff that even then was part of shoujo as a standard but then there's also stuff like the Akio/Touga or Touga/Saionji hinting or Kozue's casual pass at Anthy in addition to the maintext Juri/Shiori push-pull and ofc the subtext-but-maintext Utena/Anthy threads

I wanna take a moment to talk about Juri bc of how kind of in the spirit of the show itself it plays things both with and against the grain with her

Like she's a Tragic Lesbian which is nothing new but usually this character type (and Distinctively Lesbian characters in general) in anime/manga tend to be portrayed as being very predatory, invasive and either played for laughs or to repulse the audience, so the degree of empathy RGU shows her in 97 is rare to see even now.  

Like there is a "safeness" to her bc of how unattainable Shiori is (though their arc ends in a decidedly ambiguious way), but it doesn't really feel like she's getting the short end of the stick over the more straight-leaning characters bc arguably all of the relationships here are defined by an aspect of chasing the unattainable, echoing Utena's own quixotic search for her Prince, and her choosing to remain closeted feels realistic *especially because* of the surrounding context of how heteronormative the world she exists in is.  Like the character is aware of that and is navigating it in a way that feels honest

Speaking of which it's interesting how the reveal of Juri's pining for Shiori in Ep 7 echoes the bigger reveal of Utena/Anthy bc of how it plays up this heterocentric love triangle or at least it seems to be but then the cards are on the table and no that's really not what it is at all, and it feels significant that after spending most of the series naively oblivious to Juri’s feelings and what she wants out of a relationship with Shiori that Utena finally Gets It in Ep 37

Is it a coincidence Juri actually gets to be the one to point it out? No

Speaking of triangles big ups to the Ruka/Juri/Shiori one honestly bc of how hard it commits to the unknown third result of a LT where absolutely no one comes out happy and it actually works even with the handicap of Ruka basically coming out of nowhere just for these two episodes

Like all three of them want the one person who's absolutely never gonna love them back and that's just rough buddy and isn't that kinda the show in a nutshell

So the thing that struck me about Utena/Anthy and how it plays out is how subtle it really is.  And that does make sense bc while f/f teasing/subtext again was part of shoujo before it's quite a different thing for the heroine to ultimately reject her 2 male love interests and choose a life with her female best friend, esp in nineteen ninety seven

Like I think you can argue that Ep 12 feels like The Moment where What Their Relationship Is, Definitely shifts and that possibility is suddenly there, and then it doesn't come back in a big way until the ending but there are tiny glimpses throughout where you can see that working in the background if you’re really paying attention

Small things like Anthy's flashes of unspoken jealousy, Utena fretting over her even when she's in bed with Akio, and part of that is coming from going in with a knowledge of what the endgame is and keeping an eye out for it.  I can hardly imagine being a viewer during the og broadcast and then ep 34 comes and suddenly the intent is made clear and our understanding of the inciting incident gets all flipped turned upside down

And to a modern viewer I can get coming into this for the first time and being frustrated at just how close to the chest it gets played, but that's also kind of the only way it gets to happen at that point in time?  But I think it ultimately is effective and vital to their individual arcs and dovetails nicely with the themes of the show

Like I remember hearing that original manga creator Chiho Saito was pretty against their paired ending, but with a lot of convincing from Ikuhara ultimately came around to it, and it's hard to imagine the anime's ending working any other way and being nearly as impactful

And there is something really beautiful about the bucking against the established idea of yuri relationships being a childish concept that gets left behind in order to 'grow up' actually becoming the impetus of their own journeys into adulthood and eventually back to each other, and it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed that for this Bold Step and declaration for the future that RGU takes that while yuri is more common than ever it largely continues to exist within the realm of schoolgirls and something to be left behind in adolescence like for RGU’s faults and shortcomings it saw this world of possibility in moving forward, while the genre largely elected to stand still

And it really speaks to either the timelessness of the show or how much the queer experience has remained constant that even with a tragic ending, that hope, or rather the promise of their reunion, feels bold and defiant and genuinely uplifting even now

Like the moment where just before they reach out to each other one final time, and their voices as children speak out to each other, as if finally fulfilling a promise they barely remember, I really did just start ugly crying

Lastly some assorted closing thoughts--

-Touga?  Punk.  Guy really takes advantage of Utena's whole prince thing to manipulate her, ends up losing to her in the rematch and then fucks off to mope for like AN ENTIRE SEASON then pops back up "oh yea im in love with her literally nothing else about my behavior has changed tho" like lmao you tried i guess

-Also i know Touga's design is p stock standard bishounen ojou-sama type but god this is all i can think about when I see him

- Green Touga Saionji is a bitch-ass motherfucker but like he at least tried more than anyone else so uh that's something I guess?????

Like the guy clearly has some unresolved feelings about Touga so i'm inclined to be sympathetic bc wow poor choice my dude but also... bitch-ass motherfucker

-Nanami really went through this thing for me where it's like... she's a brat and a shitty person but it's also hard to really dislike her bc she does get what she deserves most of the time and also she gets kinkshamed more than most of the cast despite none of them really having a high ground over her lol

-Miki did nothing wrong (aside from like the implied incest but that's also like... half the relationships in this show uh)

sidenote I can completely see the notable excess of Incest Subtext/Maintext being intended as like... A Thing to comment on how common it is within shoujo and also tying in to like the bigger themes of Growing Up bc the idea that you’re chasing after your own damn siblings betrays some freudian inability to mature or whatever but tbqh it doesn’t always feel like the show knows the line between commenting on this and indulging in it and RGU is very indulgent by its own nature so I really can’t blame people put off by the show as a whole bc this is an area where RGU is largely indistinguishable from its genre peers

-Juri really did nothing wrong tho also props for having the best duels

-FUCK SHIORI THO for eel 

so obviously i have not seen the show up to now but I've been in yuri circles for a long time so I knew about Juri/Shiori and my perception of it had always been "oh it's one of those kinda messy with complicated feelings" kinda ships where the drama is a big part of the appeal and that's true but like

the actual nature of it I did not realize up to now and OH SHIORI'S REALLY THAT BITCH HUH

So not only does she date that one anonymous guy specifically to spite Juri unaware she doesn't actually like him BUT THEN WHEN THEY GET REUNITED SHE'S JUST LIKE LOL IT DIDNT MATTER BUT HEY WE COOL RIGHT *AND THEN* when she finds out about Juri's feelings she's like HELL YEA I CAN HANG THIS OVER HER HEAD FOREVER FUCK HER

***AND THEN*** when she gets some karma after Ruka dumps her ass she airs her dirty laundry out in front of EVERYBODY like Juri hasn't been dealing with this shit like an absolute champ the whole time like?????

Like ok i get that there's the sad longing drama there and usually that's my jam and the show itself seems to end on kind of an ambiguous note and the follow-up manga from this year seems to leave it as kind of a "maybe" but I'm sorry get Juri a better GF 2020 she deserves better

I saw some Juri/Wakaba going through the tumblr tag for the show and honestly that's some big brain shit I'm here for it

Also now knowing exactly how this dynamic operates it really makes that Jasper/Lapis reference pic one of the SU crew drew of them read very.... interestingly???????? (tho Lapis' design reads a lot closer to Kozue and that's probably a closer personality analogue too)

-I love that thing in ep 37 where the whole SC is just very casually like hey utena if the whole revolutionizing the world thing with anthy doesn't work out uhhh call me im free haha just kidding unless...? lmao

-I'm pretty uninclined to try to pin precise sexuality HCs to characters for series this old where the ambiguity is part of how its danced around like partly coming from my own experience I'm inclined to read Utena as bi but that really is just coming from me?

But on the other hand literally every time a guy is like "i love you utena come be happy with me and we can love each other forever" she's like "k" after having left them on read for a day and disconnects from them entirely so lesbian going through comphet is a pretty valid read i think lol

-Lastly I think it’s pretty interesting but validly frustrating how fast and loose the show’s relationship with dream logic and non-traditional storytelling really is like when the shadow girls show up I was like “oh this is a greek chorus thing and it’s meant to reflect on the themes of the episode” (or uh in the case of exactly Ep 29 to break from tradition and explicitly tell us what a characters deal is lmao) but then no actually turns out they’re actually real characters who exist within the show too fuck you

ANYWAY I really did love this show and felt like I got a lot out of it despite it being pretty infamously hard to decipher but the ways it's inscrutable appeal to me specifically so very happy with this I'm gonna be thinking about it for a while