#this is one of my favorite utena scenes ever

[gearbit]

Revolutionary Girl Utena 26 - Miki's Nest Box (The Sunlit Garden Arranged)

[ladyloveandjustice]

A Ranking of the '4 Days of Ohtori: Someday My Revolution Will Come' Revolutionary Girl Utena Game Endings

I was commissioned to do a post ranking the endings of the Revolutionary Girl Utena dating sim based on quality and enjoyment! I did a liveblog for it for it a while ago, see here. If you know nothing about the game, I think you should read it and then come back to this post. It's a fun liveblog!

I was also asked to talk about if any of the endings work out well for the main character (who I call Purple Pigtails).

Basically all of the endings aren't ideal for Perfect Pigtails. Her dad is sick enough she has to leave Ohtori to help him iirc, she doesn't ever get to reconcile with Chigusa even though she badly wanted to (it's implied she had a crush on her despite everything, but she had to basically kill her). She also knows her dad's a piece of shit now, and that both her parents lied to her. I doubt she'll ever trust them again. She may even hate her Dad now. Her family was a lie, and that's very sad. On top of that, several of the endings imply she may come back to Ohtori which is honestly not a good thing for her!!! So none of them really work out for her, but I'm going to talk about which ones work out for her the least and the most as I rank the endings.

My favorite endings of the Utena video game, from best to worst:

Juri Ending

So, after much deliberation my favorite ending is the Juri one. The fact that her response to Purple Pigtails falling in love with her is "sorry, can't just enter a healthy lesbian relationship because I am super committed to this toxic one. You know that girl I painfully pine over while starting at her in my locket? That locket I wish I could throw away? Well I'm giving you your own pining locket to torment you with MY picture. We can be sad lesbians together."

It's just so Juri. Has to spread her unhealthy behavior everywhere. I don't think she knows any other way to deal with this stuff except to put it in a locket, keep it a secret and stare at it longingly. So she assumes Purple Pigtails needs that too. It's just...incredibly funny but also incredibly sad.

Does this ending work out for Purple Pigtails? Not really, no, she has to leave her crush behind and mirror Juri's unhealthy behavior. As long as she has that locket she can never move on or find a girlfriend. I will say she's better off than Juri though, because at least her crush doesn't try to actively torment her every chance she gets. I also think she's more likely to eventually put away the locket than Juri. She only knew Juri four days and isn't quite as fucked up as her. But then again, I could see her go on a similar quest to find Juri someday, like Utena did for her prince...but I don't think Juri will ever be in the position to be what she needs, even if she's healed and moved on. Because no real princes exist.

Then again, the fact Purple Pigtails was able to leave Ohtori at all means she was able to grow up and move on herself. She's accepted that her childhood was never what she thought it was...so maybe such a quest is unlikely. Maybe she will move on pretty quickly. Or maybe being obsessed with Juri means she will be welcomed back to Ohtori soon...

Anthy ending

My second favorite ending is the Anthy ending. The only reason it's lower than the Juri ending is that the washing each other's back scene is a little uncomfortable to watch, knowing Purple Pigtails has no trouble coercing sexual favors from Anthy. Whether this is all part of Anthy's plan or not, she is likely not enjoying this...and yet it's framed fairly comedically, which feels weird.

But otherwise? God it's perfect, so wonderfully absurd, so wonderfully Anthy. Her plan here is so elaborate and there are so many layers. There's also the question of why the hell she even did all this, which is so intriguing.

The way she's so direct with Purple Pigtails, her resentment and cynicism coming out, is great. Purple Pigtails is pretending she wants her, but she only wants power.

She also actively sabotages Utena in the fight in order get with Purple Pigtails. Why?

But after that, she also sabotages Purple Pigtails, deliberately keeping her up all night with uh. possibly sex, (again, uncomfy) to ensure she'll be too tired to concentrate the next day. But she does this so PP will lose to Utena even though Utena doesn't have a sword anymore.

Anthy played PP so thoroughly, but again, why? My theory when I first played this was Anthy was feeling guilty about her inevitable betrayal of Utena and was trying to get with Purple Pigtails, only to immediately realize there's no way PP could become a prince so she goes back to Utena.

But there are a lot of options. Maybe Anthy and/or Akio needed PP to be taken out. She was upsetting their plans somehow, so she needed to be defeated so humiliatingly she'd never try to get with Anthy again. It could explain why PP eventually left in the other endings, maybe she actually hadn't moved on, maybe Akio felt she was too much of a risk (possibly by how things got so complicated with Chigusa, too much of a distraction for the duelists) and kicked her out.

Or maybe this was all to test to find out where she was a prince candidate, and she was found wanting...considering you have to order rose tea as a prerequisite, this one's very possible.

It's all so fascinating. Maybe I should have put it as favorite...ok, let's say it's this and Juri tied.

Obviously this doesn't work out at all from Purple Pigtails Perspective. She becomes a supervillain, she's humiliatingly defeated, and she very well may be stuck at Ohtori for a long time...and fact she doesn't appear in the anime implies she's no longer friends with any of them. Maybe Akio made everyone forget about her. Maybe she was so bitter she rejected them all.

Utena's ending (Romantic Version)

(As a PS... it's very obvious the girls aren't allowed to kiss on the lips in this game, likely because of outside pressure, both Saionji and Miki get lips, while Utena and Juri do the princely forehead kiss (but you could also argue it's because they are the most "princely characters...and imitating the prince kiss is 100% in character for Utena. Also kissing a girl on the lips at this point in the story would pretty much short circuit Utena. Send her into such a lesbian crisis her heart might give out)

This ending is so sweet on the outside, but then you peel a layer back and see how fucked up it is. Utena very deliberately imitates her "prince" here, and that will someday horrify her, that she imitated Akio and got another girl obsessed with princes. And obviously that's very bad for PP too, since the thesis of Utena is the chivalrous prince who will save you is a lie.

Utena's words imply they will meet again and there's not a lot of outcomes that are good for that. One outcome is that PP goes back to Ohtori to find Utena, only to find she's already gone. But then Akio has a replacement Utena, right there. I'm not sure that would even matter, with Anthy gone, there's no way he can like, use her for anything...but he might take his anger at Utena and Anthy out on her. The better option is PP finds Utena in the real world, and sees that she and Anthy are officially girlfriends and have become healthier people. That might be good for her, actually--I'm sure Utena would encourage her to move on, find her own identity, and Utena would still want to be friends. Or she could ignore Utena andsink into bitterness and jealousy.

One of the most screwed up things about this ending is that PP basically loses her individuality and has become a copy of another person. It's not great for her that she's so wrapped up in Utena that it's her identity now. It's very sad just like it was with Anthy in the manga.

So no, I don't think this ending goes well for Purple Pigtails at all. She loses who she is, becomes obsessed with something that's just a false patriarchal idol, and that makes her vulnerable to Ohtori. Her only hope is finding Utena in the real world, and Utena making up for her past mistake.

Miki's ending

It was such a chore to get to this ending, but it's worth it for how funny it is. Purple Pigtails immediately deciding she actually wasn't in love with Miki after all (hint it's because she's a lesbian hint) and just. blowing him off, pretending she has a boyfriend back home. Legendary of her, and honestly Miki kind of deserves it. From his perspective it must feel like she really played with his feelings, though.

Because it doesn't exist, Miki!!! It was never real!!!!

She does say she "likes younger boys" after this, but that's just what she's telling herself. Someday she'll realize. Hopefully.

I think its interesting that Miki is the only one in this game who explicitly actually has feelings for her. He is able to move on from his sister (sort of. I mean at the very least iirc he never compares PP to Kozue that I can remember. Which is HUGE for him), but none of the rest can move on past their obsessions.

I actually think this works out pretty well for PP. She's not too attached to Miki, so she's unlikely to go back to Ohtori, and it doesn't break her heart to leave him, she's still herself, and I think she'll be able to move on.

Touga Ending (italicized since I haven't seen the whole route)

I haven't fully watched this route, so I don't know what it takes to get there. If I did it might affect my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. But while this ending is so mean and horrible, it is also so darkly funny. Touga distilled. He's such a asshole that it is impossible to get any thing positive from your ending with him even in a dating sim, and that's amazing. You think you've won but you lost. You lost the second you decided to date Touga.

Basically, Touga promises he will write PP every single day, and he will come visit her too, and she's ecstatic.

And then he goes and burns her address, calling her stupid, because of course he fucking does. Thus PP is totally ghosted, left despairing and wondering why.

It is also very interesting he's the only love interest she does NOT get a kiss from, unexpected since Touga has not problem kissing girls he does not give a shit about. Either he just, genuinely hates her guts THAT much or he's ---

ahhh shit. I just looked it up. You can have PP have sex with him. In fact you have to actively avoid it if you don't want to. So that's why he doesn't need a kiss. Her already got what he wanted. That actually makes this ending so much more heartbreaking, a lot of girls place a lot of importance on their first time, and PP was treated so cruelly with hers. This goddamn prick.

It is horrible, but it is exactly what I'd expect Touga to do (esp since this is set so early in the story) and I think it's incredible the game was so true to his character that you just get a straightforward unhappy ending when you date him. The others at least APPEAR a little happy, though they're quite sad when you think about them for long, but the game makes no pretenses with Touga. It just goes "no, you got nothing good out of this relationship, this man is trash, he played you like he does everyone"

Obviously this is pretty sad for Purple Pigtails, who gets manipulated and ghosted, and, depending on your choices, gets to have the lovely experience of a horrible older boy manipulating her, fucking her, and throwing her away at the tender age of 14. But, assuming she is able to move on (I hope so?) this might be happier than others for her in the long run (especially if she avoids having sex with him). Touga ghosting her means he won't be able to torment her further, and that's better than any other option with him. Unless, of course, she goes back to Ohtori to get an explanation...

Perfect Ending

I do like the perfect ending bc of the funny interactions the council get in--Juri teasing Miki about liking older girls and Miki getting extremely flustered, Touga being so fucking annoying especially when he insists on calling Saionji BEST FRIEND over and over until Saionji is like "can you shut the fuck up''...

The goodbye with Utena is fairly generic though, just the tiniest bit gay. One thing that is interesting for this ending is PP wanting to learn fencing.

It's ambiguous who she's talking about here, she could even mean Chigusa despite the fact she's deader than dead, or it could be "we don't know which person she's most attracted too ooooh".

As far as working out for Purple Pigtails? She escapes romantic trauma, which is great for her, but she seems really determined to go back to Ohtori in this one, and as has been said many times, that is not good for her.

Akio Ending

I considered rating this higher bc it's so funny how PP calls Akio on his bullshit.

But there's the fact that PP's particular Akio ending is even more uh, rape-coded than any other Akio car ride, IIRC? It's not only the fact she's underage, but she actively begs Akio to stop. But of course that motherfucker doesn't listen.

It's honestly so sad so that kind of ruins any fun. Which doesn't make it bad, but i don't like thinking about that part.

This is the second worst ending for PP. Just like the Black Rose and Anthy endings, she's still at Ohtori and has no friends, but there's the sexual assault aspect on top of that. She will be so traumatized, and on top of that she lost humiliatingly, while Akio basically called her worthless.

Saionji ending

Saionji's ending is both kind of boring and vaguely interesting. (And I'm ranking it like this on the assumption Saionji never hit her, which I assume he didn't from the Youtube comments. While he would definitely be cruel to a gf in multiple ways if she stuck around enough, I think it's possible the only person he would physically abuse while dating is Anthy. which is. something to analyze.) Saionji is (blessedly) silent during most of this ending. only saying "I owe you a lot" when he gives her the present (implying she's been kind of for caring for him, wet pathetic dog that he is, which does fit with the snippets I've seen of this route and echoes his relationship with Wakaba)

Saionji does give her his little leaf (apparently the only present he's capable of making?? like if he can carve this leaf he must know how to carve other things, right??? maybe it's just the carving he's best at) but PP knows he's too obsessed with Anthy (and Touga. the obsession with Anthy is just an extension of an obsession with Touga lets all be honest here) to return her feelings and they're both pretty honest and open about things. But THEN she claims she'll come back and make him look her way someday.. AND THEN she just plants one on him out of nowhere. Girl, you forget about consent!

Honestly Saionji just seems extremely confused and freaked out about it, even his expression afterwards, which makes me feel bad for him, something I'd never thought I'd say in my life. It's kind of interesting to see him like that. But...it doesn't stand out too much other than that. It's kind of just like. okay girl. calm down.

This one does not work out perfectly for PP since she seems pretty determined to come back to Ohtori and make Saionji love her, which is definitely never going to happen. But she doesn't lose her identity, doesn't get a pining locket, Saionji is surprisingly nice to her, unlike Wakaba she knows she doesn't have a chance right now, so she wasn't hugely disappointed...so it could be worse.

Utena Friendship Ending

Basically the same at the perfect ending, except we never get to see any fun interactions between the group. Boring.

Black Rose Ending

This one claims PP is obsessed with books, which has never come up in the game before, so it feels out of nowhere and like it wasn't properly developed. There's not much to dig into, when there should be. And her defeat is basically the same as the Akio endings, so it doesn't add much.

(Utena is being so mean here!!!! You know she's brainwashed why are you being an asshole about her skill!)

One the worst endings from PP's perspective, her mind is messed with, she literally has no friends, and she's stuck at Ohtori.

Game over

Obviously a Game Over is pretty boring. The game just ends. Bye.

I think PP would disappear from the world in the game over ending, just like Chigusa wanted. So this is the worst ending for her, she not only dies. she's erased from existence. At least in the other endings she gets to live.

(also I think either this one or the perfect ending are canon for the anime. The game over ending makes a lot of sense, since they would all forget PP and all that happened with her ever existed, and that would be the explanation for why she's never mentioned in the anime. But the more optimistic take is that the perfect ending is canon, and nobody ever mentions her because she just doesn't come up.

So there's my favorites ranked from best to worst.

NOW let's rank the endings from worst to best for Perfect Pigtails!

Game Over (she dies)

Akio Car Ending

Black Rose Ending

Anthy Ending (it's possible for her to have friends in this one)

Touga Ending (provided a) he has sex with her and b) she is unable to move on from what happened. Without those two factors though, it's under Utena's in the long run)

Utena Ending

Juri Ending

Saionji Ending

Perfect Ending

Miki Ending is the best one for her, weirdly! (Or at least my interpretation of it. She got out unscathed and has no desire to return to Ohtori!)

---

And those are my rankings! I hope everyone who read this far enjoyed the rambling.

[threecheersforinking]

My Favorite Character from each of my Favorite Anime

Hi! I’ve done a few separate posts about my top 10 anime and my favorite anime characters, but I decided I’d combine those ideas into one post and try and pick out my favorite character from each of my favorite anime. This is going to be hard because I know I have multiple favorites for most of these, but I will do my best. Let’s go!

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood- Hohenheim

I usually cycle between Ed, Hohenheim, and Mustang being my favorite character, but recently it’s been Hohenheim. I think he’s both under appreciated and misunderstood by the FMAB fandom. Long story short, I love characters riddled with guilt (not sure what this says about me lol). If you’re interested, I’ve already written a whole post about how much I love him!

Revolutionary Girl Utena- Utena

I always shift between Utena and Anthy being my favorite, but I really have loved Utena from the start. I find it very compelling how she hides her internal anguish behind her cheerful, positive persona.

Toradora- Taiga

I’ve already written so much about Taiga (in this post, spoilers) so there’s not much else to say besides that I’m the number 1 Taiga defender. I love her, she reminds me of myself in some ways, she’s great. I think she’s the perfect example of a ‘flawed’ protagonist.

Chihayafuru- Chihaya

Chihaya is such a ray of sunshine, comic relief, and a total fuck up, and yet she is an incredible karuta prodigy and the protagonist of the show. She is also one of the most realistic neurodivergent-coded characters I’ve ever seen. I think it’s fun how she defies expectations as well; she has the appearance of a beautiful cool model, but as soon as other characters talk to her they realize how much of a nerd she is.

March Comes in like a Lion- Hina

There are a lot of sub-plots and semi-important characters in this show, but the side character that I was always the most interested in was Hina. I think the way she is so open about her emotions is inspiring, and as she goes through hardships it’s nice to see how she matures while also maintaining her cheerful attitude.

Your Lie in April- Tsubaki

I haven’t watched this anime in a long time, but I do know that when I first watched it my favorite character was Tsubaki for sure. Her unrequited love plot line was heart wrenching and compelling.

Love is War- Ishigami

I also cycle between a few favorite characters in Love is War (I adore both Shirogane and Kaguya of course) but at this point in the story in the anime, Ishigami is my favorite. I think he is such a realistic portrayal of an insecure, awkward teen, and I love how noble and selfless he is behind the scenes.

Haikyuu- Kageyama

What else is there to say, truly? I loved Kageyama the second he was introduced. His dynamic with Hinata is what makes the show, and his stubborn, cold personality is something I tend to be drawn to when it comes to my favorite kinds of characters.

Madoka Magica- Homura

Sayaka is a really really close second, but after finishing the series for the first time I couldn’t get Homura’s story out of my head. Her determination and willpower are honestly unmatched, and each new watch of the show makes me appreciate her more.

Monster- Dieter

I feel like Dieter may seem like an odd choice for a favorite; as you may expect, Tenma (many people’s favorite I’d assume) is probably a close second for me. But I think I liked Dieter so much because he was proof that love and support are capable of saving even the most traumatized individual. He was so cute and I loved how much he loved Tenma.

If you made it through this whole thing, thanks for reading! Also, I highly recommend watching all of these, I’ve linked my spoiler free reviews in the titles if you haven’t watched them and are interested in finding out more.

Thanks for reading!

-threecheersforinking

[sweetchcolate]

I'm curious. What are your top 10 favorite shoujos of all time? (LN, Anime, Manga) Can you rank them from: I'll always love them and I'm very invested with them; to I like them, but I'm not very invested?

(why is it that the second someone asks me for anime recs or listing my fave series, I suddenly forget every series i ever read/watched lmao it is a curse)

Just as a reminder, these are series I either watched recently or remember at the top of my mind because of sheer popularity. Also, my bad in advance if it turns out some of these aren't shojo but shonen (reason I didn't include Skip&Loafer, for example).

With that out of the way, my top 10 fave shojos in order (that I would and have rewatched multiple times):

Revolutionary Girl Utena. A classic. It's got it all: the esthetics, the slightly surreal aspect of the world, the trope deconstruction, tackling rarely addressed issues (such as patriarchy, heteronormativity, the changes puberty brings to a teenage girl, etc.) as well as some... more sensitive ones (there's a reason there's so many trigger warning lists for RGU). Also, the music SLAPS.

SAFT (both anime and LN). Just look at my Sugar Apple Fairy Tale tag. I've liveblogged every episode of this show since I learned of its existence. I was looking forward to the previews. I fell into this head first and it was some of the best experience I had with a series! It was right up my alley: sunshine hardworking girl winning over the people around her thanks to her kindness and optimism + grumpy stoic traumatized man who becomes softer and grows thanks to her set in a semi-fantasy Europe-based world. I liked that both Anne and Shall had to deal with discrimination (Anne as a girl in a male-dominated industry, Shall as a fairy in a human-led society) and how the later LN volumes address those issues (instead of fairy slavery and sexism being just background lore). The show can be really pretty when it wants to, and the music is also very nice.

7th Time Loop (both anime and LN). Just like with SAFT, I'm obsessed. The anime is doing such a good job adapting the source material at a good pace, the quality is great, and the VAs are killing it. The LN also has very tight writing: the author has an eye for adding details that seem unassuming/offhanded at first, but end up being crucial. Rishe's and Arnold's characters and dynamic are phenomenal. Just look at my 7th time loop tag

Akatsuki no Yona (the anime/early corresponding manga arcs).

My Love Story with Yamada-kun at LVL 999.

Ouran High School Host Club (the anime). I'm a sucker for romance, but where OHSHC got me is with its humor. The first episode is a classic, and I will always love the light bulbs scene as each member of the host club figures out Haruhi is a girl. Tamaki is a riot, the perfect blend of goofy, perceptive, and introspective. He deals with some serious issues, but he never lets them drag him down or, at the very least, affect his precious ones. What's great about OHSHC too is the character growth in the second half of the show. The series lures you in thinking it's just a comedic slice of life high school romance only to hit you with some real feels when it reveals its characters' backstories, fears, and reflections.

My Happy Marriage.

Kimi ni Todoke.

Ones for a cute ride: Lovely Complex, Kamisama Hajimemashita, Akagami no Shirayukhime, Donten Ni Warau

Ones I've watched that were good, but lost interest in (mostly due to being too long or me catching up the latest release and not keeping up after): Skip Beat, Fruits Basket, Sailor Moon (the 1990s anime), Niehime

Ones I remember watching but won't ever watch again because I've outgrown the target demographic: Special A, Shugo Chara, Tokyo Mew Mew, Fushigi Yugi, Itazura Kiss

Ones I heard good praise for and want to check someday: Rose of Versailles, Basara, Colette Decides to Die

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

I humbly ask if you have any zoyalina fragments or thoughts you're willing to share....im literally dying of thirst in the desert that is ao3....

Sure I have Zoyalina thoughts! So there are two primary modes of the ship that I’m interested one.

One is the teen rivals to lovers era. I love specifically the focus on them being co-victims of the Darkling that are set against each other for his favor. And there being a thread of growing understanding between them even though they’re like constantly at each other’s throats. That’s generally an archetypal dynamic I enjoy a lot, but with them specifically, it’s kind of like Utena/Anthy to me but make it way more antagonistic? Idk it’s fun!

Recognition of the self through the other (derogatory)

Then the other dynamic for them I like is kind of chivalric devotion esque, really leaning into Alina as a saint or queen and Zoya as kind of her champion. My fave general interpretation of Zoya, regardless of ship, is that of a zealot, the acolyte who runs from cult leader to cult leader. She’s so defined by being the Darkling’s favorite in the first book and being really cruel about keeping that favoritism. And idk I’m just obsessed with her turning on him bc her aunt was killed as opposed to having a moral objection. Like the implication is that she was terrifyingly ride or die. So I feel like that falling out would leave a void that she might turn to Alina to fill, plunging her into this bewildering sort of all consuming pining and devotion, that is harder to deal with because Alina had been both a peer and a rival so recently.

Meanwhile Alina, the most incurious and insecure POV ever, is like “damn, Zoya is so loyal to the Cause, despite hating me personally”

Anyway I also have a scene fragment I can share that is supposed to slot into a late game Unmaking chapter, but I’m unsure if it’ll make it in, so I’m cool posting it.

[moistvonlipwig]

top 5 most formative ships?

oh INTERESTING.....most formative. hm.....how to define most formative!

Elphaba/Glinda was, to my memory, one of the first ships I actually got invested in and read fanfiction for (if you've never read the fics of Frances aka Ridiculous Mavis then you are missing out!!!). I actually never saw the musical but I did listen to the soundtrack (I first got intrigued actually at summer theater camp when two girls sang "What Is This Feeling" for a talent show and I was like. Ummm. Anyone else get a bit of a gay vibe???) and I read the first two parts of the book and kind of skimmed the rest because the rest is a mess LOL sorry Greg. Nice to know that Ariana Grande & Kristin Chenoweth are Gelphie truthers as well, that wasn't on my bingo card for the movie's rollout.

Gen/Attolia aka maybe my favorite enemies-to-lovers ship ever??? I have a lot of nostalgia for the Queen's Thief books because I read them with my mom who was a huge QT fan and was active in the Sounis LJ community for the books and loved Gen/Attolia (she was a big shipper lol, she loved Spuffy too). So I've always felt very fond of them. I re-read the books recently since the sixth book came out and they just won my heart all over again. INVENTED enemies-to-lovers actually!!! No other YA fantasy romance is doing it like them. (Sidenote, I was going through the Sounis archives sometime last year looking for discussion on The Queen of Attolia and I found this fascinating take on one of the key Gen/Attolia scenes by a guest poster and then someone was like 'Wow, your takes are so cool, who are you?' and they were like 'Yeah haha I should make an account! But you can call me [my mom's LJ handle].' Like I was sitting there thinking wow, what a great Gen/Attolia take, and it was my mom's take!!!!! Truly, I was reaching across time and space to hear her thoughts on Queen's Thief shipping, and that is, I feel, what she would want.)

Utena/Anthy because Revolutionary Girl Utena was and is such a formative show for me and they're at the very center of it. Like. Aughhh. I don't even think I can talk about it I just need everyone who hasn't seen Utena to go watch Utena right now and then You Will See.

Angel/Cordelia because getting into Cordelia/Cangel fandom really did change my fannish life and, if I'm being honest, my intellectual life in general. I mean, I joined Tumblr specifically to follow a bunch of Cordelia fans and Cangel shippers, lol. And honestly, even though many (though not all!) of those people have left Tumblr, I owe a lot of the way I think about and analyze media to several of those people and their analyses of Buffy and Angel. (Fun fact about Cangel, I actually started shipping them after "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" -- I did not enjoy Bangel and I thought Cangel would be more entertaining -- so you can imagine the feeling of delight and vindication I got when I looked up the Angel spin-off a while later and saw that he and Cordelia were going to end up falling in love.)

I think for this last one I'll say Seven of Nine and the Doctor from Star Trek Voyager -- I have no idea what I'd think of that ship now, since I haven't rewatched the show in so long, but I really liked them a lot as a kid (like Gelphie, it was one of the first ships I regularly read fanfic for). Their friendship-that-could've-been-a-romance was one of the elements that kept me emotionally engaged in thinking both about Voyager as it was and Voyager as it could've been. Voyager was one of the first shows that really made me think about how much I wanted to Fix It, and while D/7 wasn't the biggest part of that, it was one of the reasons that I cared enough to think about it, if that makes sense? And that impulse led me to thinking more deeply about Star Trek, and television, and what goes into telling a story in general.

[continentaltheater]

2, 10, 17 & 20 for the RGU ask

2. Favorite episode (bonus: favorite scene in it)

Well to start I think in a show like Utena my favorite episodes and scenes have to be the ones that left an impression on me.

For a bit of context, I watched the whole show with a friend and neither of us had seen it before so we were all just constantly pausing to give each other our thoughts.

Back to the question, I think my favorite episodes are Her Tragedy and The Romance of the Dancing Girls simply because of how well tied everything felt. It was like domino fall and everything was in the right place and the tension of certain parts were perfect. And of course I really was missing more tension with Nanami specifically, seeing her be the only apparently normal person in the room for once was refreshing.

But what stayed the most with me about those episodes were the phone calls. During all of them I kept saying how annoying they were getting and who on earth could be the girl behind them, then on the last call my friend said that she thought it could be a play on Nanami herself as a child calling for her brother and I agreed. Then Nanami asks who is the person behind the call, the tone shifts and the voice says “The End of the World”

I died there and never recovered.

10. Favorite scene from the movie

Might be a bit too sappy but the dancing scene has never left my mind, obviously other scenes impacted me more, like the reveal of Touga being dead or the whole Akio thing, and the whole car thing.

But my favorite will always be the dance, everything from animation, music, lighting, reflections, the flowers with the water. Everything is beautiful and it really is what I was left wishing from the dance in that one episode in the party, but this time with budget and I just have to watch the scene whenever I'm feeling down.

17. Post-canon headcanons

Nanami in the last episode of the show is the last day before leaving the school. Her and Touga go no contact and they have to say a last goodbye, they hug, a real hug for the first time and never contact each other again for their own sake.

Touga then asks Saionji for help cutting his own hair and Saionji keeps the bow Touga used during Kendo practices and they take their last year in the academy sharing a dorm so Touga doesn’t live in his parents house anymore.

Nanami maintains contact with her old friends for a while but in her new school she starts her new life from zero and makes friends again but she no longer feels the need for them to be servants. She even learns how to cook, she’s actually really good at it.

As for Utena, when he recovers he starts using masculine pronouns, cuts his hair and keeps playing basketball. I think he would do that even before Anthy finds him tbh.

Anthy I think would be interested in crops, instead of flowers and roses she would like to prepare food and actually learn how to cook and when she gets healthy enough even start practicing sports like she said she wanted to in that curry episode.

20. If you've ever made fanart or written fanfiction for the show, which piece do you like the most? Alternatively, feel free to shout out someone else's work

I have tried writing utena fanfiction for a while but I’m still not confident enough so I’ll go with my fanart

The first one is this Utena and Anthy one, based on the painting of La Belle Dame sans merci of Frank Dicksee. I gave UTENA the armor and weapon she uses in the opening and Anthy and longer version of the dress she wore as a child and the stairs in the last episodes. The poem is about a fairy condemning a knight after seducing him and just went with it. Plus the swords ofc

The other one I would choose is my Touga and Akio one. I did put a bunch of details that I didn't think most people would care about, it was just for fun.

Apart from my interpretation of Akio being at least 40, and being with his shirt open. They are both in the car at night. The constellation on the background is the one for the Dragon as Touga fits into the role of the dragon in both the play and the trope itself. The big bad in the first arc revealed to be a servant to the actual big bad.

He stares at both Akio and the viewer and hold his own camera. This camera is worse compared to Akio in the show, he owns a professional one to use for his photos with Utena and Anthy, that's why in the text I put ‘If you keep up like this you will get a better camera'. If Tough keeps imitating Akio he will truly end up like him.

[ethanhuntfemmefatale]

Given your username I kinda want ur thoughts on Ethan Hunt And Gender. Bc I'm always thinking about Ethan and Gender.

OUGH arc thank you for asking this I am literally constantly thinking about Ethan hunt and gender. Ethan’s relationship with masculinity is insane (as you’ve spoken to eloquently before, he uses it as a persona! It’s not even one of his favorite ones!) His gender is sooo personal to me because it feels crazy close to my own feelings about gender and the way I experience it.

Thoughts on the eternally developing thesis of Ethan Hunt and gender:

In my mind (I can say this to you arc cause you know RGU) Ethan hunt experiences gender in the same way that Utena does. His gender is more “prince” than “man” or “woman”—he identifies as a protector. Which is traditionally stereotyped as a masculine thing, but he approaches it in a way that doesn’t feel clearly gendered. I don’t think that gender is something he thinks about in relation to his own private self. Gender is something he uses, to play into expectations, to influence people’s opinions of him, etc. Ethan generally doesn’t think much about his identity outside of spywork (in later movies) and as a result by 4,5,6,7 he settles into a natural state that feels very ungendered to me, although he takes on gender when he has to, with varying degrees of comfort. (The John Lark performance clearly doesn’t sit well, despite Lark being—in behavior if not in backstory—fairly spot on the action hero stereotype.) Ethan seems most insecure in his gender during the movies where he’s searching for an identity that isn’t “agent of the IMF” (read: prince). He tries on “doting husband” in MI3, and “homme fatale” in MI2, and neither of them totally…feel secure. He’s trying to do something, and he’s very good at becoming different people, so he pulls it off, but it means he’s subtly Performing all the time. In MI2 and MI3 I feel like that subtle performance of gender adds to this sense of anxiety, this sense that Ethan is trying really hard in all the scenes he’s in, and it creates an extra element of stress that wears on me through the films. In Ghost Protocol, he grows his hair out, and he seems at ease in his body. Ever time I see the opening of that movie I just feel this overwhelming sense of relief. He’s not trying to be a certain kind of guy anymore. Arguably, he’s not trying to be a guy at all.

This goes well with Ethan’s whole “priest in the shadows” thing. He doesn’t have a societal role to play outside of “wandering protector”. And that’s comfortable for him! He likes that! Whenever he has to fit into the world things get weird, and he puts on masculinity like a suit to help him out with that. But on his own he’s something different.

I have endless thoughts on this but I’ll stop here for tonight cause I have to go to bed. Tomorrow I might post an addition about MI1 ethan and gender because that’s a whole other can of worms (highly influenced by his relationship with jim and Claire imo.) Thank you so much for this ask<333

[number1villainstan]

For the Utena ask game: 2, 3, 9, 11?

2. favorite episode (bonus: favorite scene)

Cop out answer, but I'm genuinely not familiar enough with the show to have a single favorite episode. I've only watched it all the way through once, and I'm still in the middle of a second rewatch (it's a group rewatch, the Utena Weekly thing that's going on on the Empty Movement forum). That being said, I really like Wakaba's second episode in the Black Rose arc, and the Tale of the Rose episode in the Akiopocalypse arc. And Nanami's two parter (also in the Akiopocalypse arc).

I love the scenes of fake domestic bliss between Wakaba and Saionji in the BR arc for entirely selfish shippy reasons--they're so damn bittersweet, a taste of what could have been, and you hope desperately that this can keep going even though you know that it can't, even though you know that it's only able to function because of the choking secrecy and play-pretend. Even though you know it's gotta come crashing down around their ears.

Tale of the Rose doesn't have one specific favorite scene for me, but I really like this episode because it does genuinely so much heavy lifting in the context of the show. It gives you two different versions of the same story, and both of those versions give you so much information, both directly and indirectly, about the world of Ohtori, how to decode its symbols, what Really Happened when Utena was a child, how the systems of Ohtori function and what their basis is. I called it the 'lore climax' on my first watchthrough, I think? And I stand by it. Because holy shit. The first half is a great little play, but the second half is like the Flashback To End All Flashbacks.

Nanami's two parter in the Akiopocalypse arc--probably my favorite scene in that episode is right after Nanami 'loses' the duel. It's such a wild emotional ride to see her get hit with a car and then still be standing. Still be on her own two feet. I genuinely think I might have been close to crying from triumph during my first watchthrough when I watched this scene.

3. favorite arc

Oh man, I almost wanna say the Black Rose arc? It's definitely the weakest of all the arcs, but it's got more focus on a lot of the characters that I'm drawn to more than I'm drawn to Utena (rip Utena, you're a great character but you're just not my type). Specifically I'm thinking the focus on Wakaba and Mikage's whole deal. Akiopocalypse is also a solid contender, because of how much it fleshes out Anthy (another of my faves) and also how well it ties all of the themes of RGU together. Seriously, RGU is like a masterclass in how to tell a story and it's going to be influencing my writing for ever and ever.

9. favorite aspect of the show to analyze/read analysis about

FUCK IF I KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS SHOW IS SO DAMN GOOD I CAN'T CHOOSE

I think my favorite thing to analyze (not necessarily read analysis about) used to be Saionji and his relationship to and position in the systems of Ohtori? But I'm not sure if it's that anymore. At this point I'd probably read literally any analysis ever about anything about this show.

11. favorite and/or most interesting relationship (doesn't have to be romantic)

hhhhhhh DEFINITELY Wakaba/Saionji. It's definitely A Ship but IDK if I interpret it as strictly romantic, but I've definitely written for it (go check out setting down roots for a look at a post-Ohtori possibility for them. Although it was one of the monthly short pieces that was only one draft, so it doesn't cohere quite as well as I would have liked it to, especially on the symbolic side). They have SO MANY PARALLELS (to me). They could have broken down Ohtori themselves if Ohtori's systems hadn't doomed them from the start. They're an intensely tragic pair but only in the specific circumstances that canon put them in. I go crazy over them every time.

the ask game is here

[myths-tournaments]

Awful Characters Round 1 Part 4 (1/8)

Propaganda under the cut!

BELOS

So, he is a horrible person, I will not deny it, he willing went into a realm of demons, ignored any possible chance that his upbringing as a witch hunter could be wrong (different from his brother Caleb), and had a years-long plan to commit genocide to every witch, palisman and living being in the Boiling Isles. I'm not going to say he's a "misunderstood poor babygirl". But the fandom just completely HATES anyone who ever sees Belos as anything other than an irredeemable monster! I personally really like his character, he's a really compelling villain, who (despite the haters saying otherwise) has a nuanced underdeveloped backstory of how he was raised on the witch-hunt era, and the betrayal he felt when he saw his brother abandoning everything they stood for as witch-hunters for Evelyn, the witch Caleb fell in love with. He clearly regrets killing Caleb since he makes MULTIPLE grimwalkers of him to try to keep Caleb with him, he's haunted by Caleb's ghost, the moment he saw Hunter (his most recent grimwalker) with Willow, his first reaction is screaming Caleb's name, he is way more than just "evil incarnate" (which is one of the problems I see in the finale of the series, but that's another story). Does this means I think he should be redeemed? No, of course not. But I don't blame the people who do, it could be an interesting plotline outside of canon, and I have seen some good ideas for how this could work! BUT HERE COMES THE FANDOM… I don't know specifically about Twitter users (deleted my account years ago, Goddess bless), but people hate Belos so passionately on Tumblr and Reddit and in YouTube videos that I would be surprised if Twitter of all places was more open to people loving Belos. I decided to search and check some places and I found people on the anti belos tag here on Tumblr that were calling people who wanted a Belos redemption or made Belos Redemption AUs literally ABUSE APOLOGISTS, I wish I was kidding! There's posts of people just liking Belos in general filled to the brim with hate in the notes. Again, I get people not liking Belos, he is a genocidal tyrant (not fascist because not every totalitarian character is fascist), but nothing excuse this amount of hate because of a FICTIONAL WITCH-HUNTER!

he is the worst guy one could ever imagine honestly like he’s literally a fascist so uh he really doesn’t have any redeeming qualities as a person. but as a character? oh boy. he’s soooooo interesting like. he makes you wonder what’s going on inside his head AFTER the episode where you see what’s going on inside his head. and the caleb ghost scene. oh my GOD the caleb ghost scene

NANAMI

Literally killed a kitten and yet is so iconic you can’t not love her

[neonmetro]

HAI....SO LIKE,, OPINIONS ON MAHOU SHOJO.......... PERSONALLY IM A DIE HARD FOR IT

I've been into it since I was like 5. My parents have videos of me dancing to the music of like Precure and stuff....WHICH IS LOWKEY EMBARRASSING BUT WHATEVER

Favorite Magical Girls series 👀👀

I personally REALLY like Precure, madoka magica, and card captor sakura, and tokyo mew mew ( BUT OBVIOUSLY MORE ) I WOULD LOVEEEE TO HERE YOU RANT ABOUT YOUR LOVE FOR IT 💞💞💞💞💞💞

-Paris anon

I LOVE MAHOU SHOUJO!!!!!!!!!! i have SO MANY THOUGHTS ON IT YOU HAVE NO IDEAAA!!!!

it's so good. the tropes are so funny and endearing (the running to school toast thing is the most iconic thing ever) and its SO NICE TO HAVE A BOTH EPISODIC YET CONTINUOUS STORY LINE... I LOVE MAGICAL GIRL OUTFITS ITS PEAK I FEAR

i grew up on shit like sailor moon (good lord this changed the trajectory of my life forever), kitchen princess, pichi pichi pitch mermaid melody, and shugo chara (oh my god i am obsessed with shugo chara you have no idea) so um. so far my favorite is sailor moon + shugo chara but i really have to watch utena and cardcaptor ... those will probably make it on top

SAILOR MOON'S CHARACTER DESIGN/DRESSES ARE GENUINELY SOOOO AGUGHGHGHG i love the inbetween pages for mahou shoujo especially like. naoko takeuchi's fashion sense is genuinely peak (like i said i love her dresses especially)

i don't really remember all that much about kitchen princess? but it was cute i liked the food and how much the main character liked hokkaido and flan but i also read it out of order bc UGH OTHER people want to read it TOO (art style is so cute though augh)

PICHI PICHI PITCH LEGIT SHAPED MY ENTIRE CHILDHOOD EXCEPT IT WAS JUST THE FIRST VOLUME BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW PIRATING EXISTED AND I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO GET MORE VOLUMES SO I JUST REREAD THE FIRST VOLUME OVER AND OVER AND OVER i got the book at like a bookstore used and it was just peak to me at the time (i tried going back to it. genuinely cannot get past it now i fear)

shugo chara.

FUCK I AM SO OBSESSED WITH SHUGO CHARA THE CONCEPT OF EGGS AND HOW HAVING YOUR DREAM EGG BROKEN AND LEAVING YOU BROKEN IS SO DEVASTATING AMU IS A LITERAL 5TH GRADER AND SHE GOES THROUGH ALL THIS SHIT i love you utau peach pit cannot make me hate her. her arc of having her talent abused because she's just that desperate to save her brother is so devastating, AND TADASE. MY GOAT. MY KING. YOU CAN RULE THE WORLD I BELIEVE IN YOU SEKAII ITEEE his arc is also just so bad. his grandma dies. his dog dies. his adoptive siblings leave him. now he wants to rule the world so everyone in the world can be happy because he will carry their burdens FOR THEM FUCK ITS ALL JUST SO GOOD!!!!

its definitely one of the mangas i can actually go back on and read it it holds up so well and the art style is just so cute (they got a new reboot and it was AWESOME UNTIL THAT FUCKING CAT BOY SHOWED UP (unfortunately sometimes mahou shoujo is just connected with that cringe))

I STILL NEED TO WATCH PRECURE, CARDCAPTOR, AND TOKYO MEW MEW (shields my face as i'm getting tomatoes thrown at me) I KNOW I KNOW I'M SORRY

I DO HAVE A LOT OF PRECURE TOYS FROM WHEN MY MOM WENT TO JAPAN AND BOUGHT THEM FOR ME... plus a bunch of magazines i loved shifting through when i was a kid

i also did watch precure glitter force and that was. uh. well it was interesting. (um. i mean it was. partially good. i. i liked the character designs and art.)

i did watch princess tutu and that was just so fucking good. i love fairy tales and i love toxic lesbianism and some empty ass guy and his toxic yaoi with his best friend

i'll be real. madoka magica scarred me because i saw the mami scene but then i went back to it when i was like 15 and cried over homura and the last few episodes of the main series and look at me now mentally ill and gay and i have homura as my google pfp

i have Thankfully grown as a person and i now understand the hype behind madoka magica and i need every single person on this fucking earth to watch it it is the biggest influence on novaturient ever i love the concept of witches and magical girls and that FUCK ASS CAT KYUBEY HIS IS AWESOME

soul gems are so pretty. i got these perfumes in my room that look exactly like them and i put them up and i think wow... this is just like madoka magica

i have no idea how to end this post. thank you for enabling to ramble about mahou shoujo i am so glad there are people just as insane as i am about this genre

[fujoreads]

Weekly Update (18/8/2024)

Hello hello, everyone! I was supposed to have published this a few hours ago as it's Monday here already, but alas! This will be a shorter post, just updating what I've been up to this past week :)

Surprisingly, I haven't touched a book besides finishing The Unwomanly Face of War. It was such an impactful book, and I think it mentally prepared me to finally watch Come and See which has been on my movie bucket list for years now. The things told there are brutal and will make you cry for these women who gave so much for their motherland only to be ignored after the war is over. Definitely a new favorite, 4 stars.

Speaking of reading! I finished 2 more Visual Novels, and dropped another. The DNF goes to The Fruit of Grisaia—it had everything to be good and keep me hooked, but the reliance in anime archetypes had me bored out of my mind. So sorry to all the Grisaia fans! Anyway, during the first days I also finished Sexcalibur: Knights of the Pound Table, which was another dumb smut, and one I deeply hated having to read. It was so lazy and in my humble opinion, not sexy at all. Would have DNFed it but I did end up skipping a lot of H-Scenes by the end of the game. 2 stars.

The other 2 VNs were Queen of Moths and un/FRAGMENT. Two very short reads, perfect for a weekend session! Queen of Moths is more of a Pixel Art Horror game. It plays a lot like those older point and click games but, as short as it was, it still makes you tense and ready for a scare. I enjoyed it! 3 stars. un/FRAGMENT. is another short game, more of a linear story this time. It was made for Nanoreno, so the dev only had 5 days to make everything. It was only 10-minute long and had the dev more time to develop the story more, I think it would have been a pretty decent work. The art is pretty nice, and the reveal was not all that bad, although my emotional connection to the character's feelings suffered from my short exposure to the story.

I also started Needy Streamer Overload and it's been so fun! It's definitely keeping me past my screen time limit but it's been a while since I've been this addicted to a game. It's somewhat dark and if you're not in a good space mentally, I wouldn't recommend it. I'm almost done with all the 22 endings! I can't wait for another game from the same devs called Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis to release. I'm SO excited for that one specifically, since I can properly relate to the protagonist's struggles more (though that's not a good thing, necessarily LOL)

As commissioned by @diowatcher, I've been watching Serial Experiments Lain and I'm currently on episode 6. It's getting extra trippy right now, and I'm enjoying it a lot! The opening is so gooooood, I can't believe I had never heard it before. I've also been listening to the opening to Revolutionary Girl Utena and aagh it's so good! I'm adding it to my anime list.

And finally, I watched the 2020's The Boys in the Band yesterday. It was SO GOOD!! I had no idea this was a cinema adaptation of the Broadway revival, but it makes so much sense; it reminds me of the Falsettos stage revival, though that one doesn't have a movie adaptation, as far as I'm aware.

Anyway, it was truly a queer movie—as depressing as ever. It was an open ending too, ugh! I have a love/hate with queer works, as they have only started to become a bit more lighthearted these past years. I love these darker stories, but they also leave me bleeding (figuratively.) This is going to my favorites!

And that is all for last week! Let's see what this one brings us~

[fanaticsnail]

https://youtu.be/tyPv7QyuZl0?si=QGUgUBRZ-CROnF_7

This is few of my favorite openings and anime. I love Revolutionary Girl Utena. I was gonna send it with my female Law request, but I was very busy. Despite that, female Reader keeps mistaken female Law as cross-dresser for comical scene.😊

Hey, love! I see all of your requests in my ask box, and I'll do my best to condense all of my responses into this single answer. You have so many ideas and thoughts, it's beautiful!

I'll add a little page break so I can spend some time answering all of them.

Pokemon au: I see how much you've enjoyed thinking on the Pidough with Law, and all of the other match ups with Luffy and the like. Your ideas are spectacular, but I truly don't know enough about Pokemon nowadays to do it justice in a fic. I wouldn't want to write something and it not be accurate, and I feel like you'd know much more about it than I do. You're more than welcome to take a crack at it! I'd love to see more Heart-Pirate interactions, particularly in the Corazon Lives au idea you gave.

Body Swap: I feel like it would be fun to play with Law having his soul swapped into someone else. Give him a taste of his own medicine, so to say (Nami/Sanji, Tashigi/Smoker). It would be fun to write what that would be like, having Law be grumpy and cranky about not being able to switch back without asking for help. In saying that, I don't think I'd be comfortable enough to write this just yet with the backlog of WIPs I have currently.

Ghost Rosinante: I have been thinking on this for a while. A devil-fruit user with the ability to communicate with the departed was my first thoughts as soon as you said it. It would be similar to a medium ushering them into the afterlife when they've completed their unfinished business. But what happens when his unfinished business goes from needing to see Doflamingo's empire fall beneath the power of Trafalgar Law and his Nakama Luffy... And turns into wanting to see the Medium find romance... And then turns into Rosinante falling in love with them, and physically cannot leave that plane because he is so in love with them. Just rambling thoughts, don't mind me.

It would also be fun to talk to Ace - or have Luffy ask to communicate with Sabo not realising he's still alive just yet!! I would see this reader maybe being picked up by the Straw-Hats or Kid-Pirates and use them as a way to get to where Rosinante is asking them to go.

Nami talking to Bellemere, Usopp talking with Banchina, Zoro talking with Kuina - Kid and Killer talking with "Victoria" (I know it's only hinted at that they named their vessel "Victoria Punk" after a childhood friend, but I would fully lean into that).

Femme Law: I am absolutely writing a femme heart-pirates fic. It's in my WIPs, and it is going to be so fun. While I was intending for it to mainly be Shachi and Penguin, I feel like Law might want to participate from afar - a little bit of exhibitionism / voyeurism smut with the Femme Heart Pirates.

You're the Cure Part 2: I feel like I could make a part 2 of the pollen fic, but it would likely be more of a "what are we" or "what does that make us" rather than smut. I have a few romantic Law ideas in the works, so I think I would rather leave this fic as is and focus on the others first.

Heartbeats: Okay, let me start by saying this was only ever meant to be a cute little One-Shot for a mutual's mother's day present. I am very, very happy that many people found it interesting and pleasant enough to ask for multiple parts. Pregnancy is not something a lot of people enjoy reading about, and I was very nervous writing it for such a beloved character. I will be incorporating your cravings idea into the part 2, alongside your suggestions for having Sanji, Penguin (and likely Killer also) prepare some food for our pregnant pirate. It will be as detailed as I can be, trying to keep it light and fluffy with a little bit of angst in between. I don't think I will put smut in this fic because I like a healthy balance of sfw and nsfw on my page - and the majority of my Law fics are nsfw. Gotta put the balance there somewhere!

Now that I've said all of that in this reply, I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you for interacting with me in my ask box. It has been a joy getting to know how passionate you are about the one-piece universe, alongside your ideas regarding plots for fics.

Welcome to my page and I really appreciate the time you've spent commenting, liking, reblogging, and sending me asks. The best part about fandom is how everyone interacts with one another, and I am thankful that you took the time to send me all of your responses. Brings joy to my day every time I get a little blip in my inbox. Love you, sweetheart 🖤🖤

[wondrousmay]

Hello~ Up for a new scenario? ^^

Suppose the acquaintance in the previous ask becomes an incredibly precious person to you—someone who loves you, respects you, and won't judge you for your differences. Suppose they ask you to recommend anime that *you* personally are very much in love with no matter what other people think or say about the show. What title(s) would you give? (i.e., what is/are anime you love that may not be everyone's favorite but it's yours and is/are anime you'd only ever recommend to someone you trust to the highest degree because you know they'd enjoy it, too?)

(Note: this is entirely for funsies so please feel free to opt out or to take your time! ☺)

Thank you for this thoughtful question! I managed to narrow down 5 shows that shaped my overall anime experience!

Violet Evergarden: I talked about this before but Violet Evergarden was the show that got me back into watching anime. The structure of the show feels episodic but the overall narrative focuses on Violet and her character journey to discover the meaning of “love” as well as to rediscover herself. It’s a wonderful character-driven story with many tearjerker scenes! While movie (which is the final installment in the series) is controversial, I do think Violet’s journey is still worth it.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: a wonderful character-driven story focusing on the Japanese art of rakugo. This show has a really well-written and complex cast of characters. It's a sign of wonderful writing when the story made me fall in love with a character slowly as the show progresses. At the beginning, I felt indifferent to Yakumo but by the end of the series, he's now one of my top favourite characters. His character is complex, with layers of contradictions which fascinates me. The rest of the cast were fantastic too. Yakumo, Sukeroku, Miyokichi's stories are deeply entwined with Yotaro and Konatsu's and this generational connection is one of my favourite aspects of the story.

The Twelve Kingdoms: A stand out isekai story that puts a lot of the current isekai to shame! I wrote a review here so check it out for my full thoughts!

Revolutionary Girl Utena: I was reluctant to watch this show because of its reputation as a show full of metaphors and subtext. I’m glad that I gave it a chance because this show is a life-changing experience. It’s the type of show where you will discover something new every time you rewatch it. However, I think this show is not for everyone especially with how it deals with many sensitive topics.

BanG Dream!: This show is really special to me because it led to many wonderful encounters and experiences! The story is a really simple one: it’s about a high school girl starting a band with her friends. The heartfelt character writing captured my heart. I will always recommend this show for people who enjoy a good slice of life/music story!!!

[exilley]

1, 12, 22, 24 for rgu?

the character everyone gets wrong Saionji, in the sense that no one lends his character any room to breathe. People have a very "my way or the highway" attitude about interpreting his character and how he develops and it does a disservice to their overall understanding of RGU's core themes. He is as much of a raging misogynist as Touga and hurts those around him in pursuit of the Bride's power. He is also someone who was coded into that niche of violence by being given a glimpse of "eternity". As well, he feels uncomfortable being forced to embody that role. And etc. He has more multitudes than the audience tends to give him credit for.

the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them EASY. TSUWABUKI. His whole character is about the gendered and hierarchical socialization that young children experience in the process of being indoctrinated into indelible myths about the world around them. Aside from being intertwined with Nanami's character, the symbolism of him wielding two blades in the dueling arena, the way his Black Rose episode so poignantly illustrates the helplessness and frustration of being dismissed, ignored, and berated without being provided any explanations for the casual cruelty he witnesses is so satisfying to watch. Characters who are as young as Tsuwabuki are hardly ever written with such nuance and it's like a breath of fresh air every time he's on screen. I love him dearly and I love the conclusion for his overall arc, his relationship with Nanami having stabilized into something a lot healthier combined with the general ambiguity surrounding the show's final scenes... anyway. Long story short Tsuwabuki deserves more attention

your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores The final scene of Miki's Next Box, particularly the part where Kozue looks over her shoulder to deliver that one-liner before the ending card concludes the episode. That really terse exchange between them is probably one of my favorite bits of dialogue in the whole of Utena, actually.

topic that brings up the most rancid discourse I can't think of any discourse that could happen *in* this fandom, at least, of the unhealthy moralizing variant. Most people are generally well-adjusted about the show and its writing. That being said, there is a minority demographic who apparently hate the franchise's guts because of some unconscionable depictions of India in the show (giving the dialogue its due; it is perhaps the series' weakest point). There is a slightly more vocal minority who don't like Utena just because they're annoyed with the fanbase and are tired of constantly being recommended the show. I don't have anything deeper to say about these topics other than people are free to think what they want about Utena and I don't have any say in what they do/don't engage with. I'd rather spend my time on people who do care about its merits and discuss it in good faith.

[cyphyree]

Now that you've finished utena and it's movies, what was your favorite part? Did you think the movie was a sequel? A retelling? Something else? Some scenes in utena are gonna stick w me till I'm in the dirt n id love to know if you had any like that :33

--

Omgosh!!!! This series 😭😭😭💖 ok bear with me im gonna have a LOT to say affgugyyythh endgame spoilers for Revolutionary Girl Utena the show and movie below

--

Fave parts of the show (in no particular order)

The third transformation scene when Anthy and Utena go to the arena together, badass, just one of the sequences ever

Utena's dorky lil stretches <3

The poisoned tea and biscuit scene

Badminton with Utena, Jury and Miki, along with Nanami ;_;

Miki's stopwatch. Still parsing out what it means but the animation and soundwork is so satisfying

The entire final act of the last episode wrecked me

Wakaba being there for Utena to help her snap out of her depression

Subsequent Utena vs Wakaba battle that breaks my heart into itty bitty pieces

The exploration of Utena's identity, and how she matured from "pretending to be a prince and the misconceptions of what that meant" to ultimately "being a prince"

Jury's backstory with Shiori and how it was visualized

Fave parts of the movie (in no particular order)

SHORT HAIR UTENA!! IN HER LIL BERET!!

The architecture of Ohtori is so cool

Love the opening sequence, especially when it pans up abruptly to the scene with Utena and her prince in silhouette

THEY KISS.

The partner drawing session

The dance <3

Chasing Anthy through the weird corridors of Ohtori after Jury's Duel

The farewell between Utena and Touga (how did they make me like Touga and Utena's relationship)

When they escape together from the maw of the castle in an explosion of roses, and the Shadow Girls guiding them and cheering them on turned out to be Utena and Anthy themselves!

THEY KISS!! AGAIN!!!!!

I actually love how obtuse and playful and surreal the series is, but in a way that's very intentional and gives you all the puzzle pieces to put together what's happening. After finishing the show I felt like I knew what it was about because the themes were so well visualized…… and then I watched one (1) youtube analysis video that made me realize that my understanding has barely scratched the surface of ANything lol. I was kinda embarrassed about it ngl, but I guess RGU is just one of those shows that do require multiple watches. I really, really do love how it's got multiple layers. I'd be happy if I could create a story that's half as clever and nuanced.

The movie was such an unexpected banger. I was told by a friend beforehand that the movie was a retelling+sequel hybrid. After watching it, to me it feels like an alternate version of the story that runs parallel to the one in the anime. Like…… a metaphor for the intention of the show, does that even make sense? I don't think the events or characters themselves are necessarily "canon" in a literal sense, but the philosophies and underlying character motivations are. I definitely see why everyone's like "oh the movie will clear up the themes of the show!! It's great!!" and I love how it clarifies the show by being 250% weirder LMFAO.

I also thought that the absurdity of "your girlfriend turns into a freakin car you drive towards freedom" was going to take me out of it, and it did at first. I was mostly scared for Utena because um that was a scary process, but tbh for the entire ending I had this huge smile on my face. And it was emotional for me even though it's ridiculous!! And that's because it's emotionally resonant!! And it metaphorically confirms for me that, even though Utena was in despair in the last moments we see her in the show, the endings of both the show and movie are ultimately fulfilling and---dare I say?---happy! Because both of them were wrung through the crucible that tore apart their identities, and they ultimately learned and grew, despite how hard and painful it was!

I'm also just so, so, so glad how lgbtq+ the characters and narrative are, and how neither show nor movie shied away from it (I was nervous that the movie was going to retroactively step back, but no, they made it GAYER). And plus how.... tactful and considerate they were when dealing with and visualizing heavier themes. Even the movie was very frank and intentional when portraying nudity. I appreciate that a lot.

What a masterful show. It's going to haunt me forever probably :)