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The Utena TV series is about the adventures of a young girl who dreams of becoming a prince and the mysterious happenings behind the scenes at the prestigious Ohtori Academy. It is an intriguing blend of philosophy, comedy, and shojo melodrama over 39 episodes, divided into three story arcs.
Once upon a time, years and years ago, there was a little princess, and she was very sad, for her mother and father had died. Before the princess appeared a travelling prince riding upon a white horse. He had a regal bearing and a kind smile. The prince wrapped the princess in a rose-scented embrace and gently wiped the tears from her eyes. "Little one," he said, "who bears up alone in such sorrow, never lose that strength or that nobility, even when you grow up. I give you this to remember this day. We will meet again. This ring will lead you to me some day." Perhaps the ring the prince gave her was an enagement ring. This was all well and good, but so impressed was she by him that the princess vowed to become a prince herself one day.But was that really such a good idea?
So begins the TV series Utena. The story is about a 14-year-old girl, Utena Tenjou, who is both searching for the prince that comforted her in her childhood and wishing to become a prince herself.
The story begins at Ohtori Academy, a private boarding institution which teaches all grades from elementary to high school. As 8th grade begins, Utena finds her past coming back to her as the ring her prince gave her (which bears a resemblance to the rose crest of the school) turns out to mark its wearer as a member of an elite secret society that duels under the guidance of The End of the World. They seek to possess the Rose Bride, Himemiya Anthy, a quiet, secretive girl in Utena's class who is said to be the key to the power to revolutionize the world. Utena soon finds herself caught up in it all and, as a victor of one of the duels, engaged to the Rose Bride.
Watching Utena is like watching two different storylines at the same time. The immediate one, the story of the various characters and their links to one another, is done in a way familiar to anyone who has seen a shojo show before, full of melodrama and bizarre relationships. The overarching story, on the other hand, deals with the reason behind the duels and the identity of Utena's prince. It develops very slowly over the first episodes, and yet is the driving force of the show. Try as one might, however, the two cannot be fully separated from one another. They are linked in such a way that the immediate story foreshadows and develops themes central to the overarching one. Utena is the sort of anime you can watch over and over, each time discovering something new.
The writings of German novelist and poet Hermann Hesse were strong influences on the story of Utena. Indeed, the speech recited by the student council as they ascend in the elevator to their chamber is taken almost verbatim from Hesse's book Demian. Hesse's existentialism also plays a big role in the paths the characters take, particularly Utena's own at the end.
The direction is superb. Nothing in Utena happens without a reason. It is surreal in the best sense of the word, in that everything is a symbol for something, no matter how strange it seems at first glance. Even the cryptic lyrics of the duel songs refer metaphorically to the characters and the story. Furthermore, as the series darkens in the later episodes, the direction rises to meet the challenge. No one can walk away from the last episodes without shed tears or a clenched stomach.
Utena is full of characters of many different kinds. Although some of them at first seem to be stereotypes, strange things about them soon set them apart from anyone like them in other stories. With few exceptions, the characters also do not remain static. There is a series of revelations as the story progresses, sometimes by the characters themselves and sometimes by the audience, each of which changes the way you see the characters, occasionally dramatically.
More than anything, the characters are defined by their conflicts. Most of these are internal, such as Utena's often-conflicting desires to play the princess to her prince and to be a prince herself, but through clever storytelling they often find external expressions in the duels between the characters.
You will sometimes want to reach inside the screen and choke the life out of some of the characters, but you will never be bored with them.
Utena is a fairly low-budget television series, and it shows. The art is stock shojo, with big eyes, long legs and gravity-defying hair, and most of the animation won't blow you away, either. Ritual also plays an important part in Utena, which results in a lot of re-used footage. In short, don't want Utena for the animation. Watch it for the story.
I have only seen Utena subtitled. The first story arc has been subtitled by Central Park Media, and the quality of the translation is pretty good. The Japanese voice acting is, for the most part, very good. Everyone's voice matches their character, particularly the soft beauty of Anthy's and the deep rumbling of Akio's. Nanami, on the other hand, sounds like the stereotyped anime bad girl, all squeeks and 'o-ho-ho-ho' laughs. In the style of fellow small, furry things Mokona and Pikachu, Chu-Chu's vocabulary comprises solely his own name.
The background music is very good, usually matching the mood of the scene perfectly and managing to sound good on its own, while at the same time not taking your attention away from what is happening.
The music during the duels is very unusual, a sort of avant-garde metal with seemingly nonsensical choral lyrics. For the first story arc, it has a very accoustic sound, but as the series progresses the instruments are replaced with heavy-sounding synthesizers.
Finally, the opening theme is one of the most memorable in anime. Sung by Masami Okui of Slayers fame, it is the sort of song to which you will soon find yourself singing along, even if you have no clue what the Japanese lyrics mean.
I especially liked the way themes from Hesse's novels were integrated into the story while remaining fresh and original. I also liked the way Jury was portrayed. Of all the characters, she seemed the most real and human to me, despite her coldness.
Gratuitous Anthy-slapping. The silly character of Chu-Chu seemed really incongruous in several otherwise serious scenes. Finally, only the first story arc has been released in the US. The remaining 26 episodes and the movie can only be found as fansubs or the like.
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Average User Rating for this Review :
 5.0 (From 4 comments)
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