Revisiting Utena and boys posing on cars

Recently I decided to watch Revolutionary Girl Utena for a second time. Now this is a special show to me because when I first watched it I was fairly new to anime having only seen Ghibli films, Cowboy Bebop and a few others like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. In other words, anime that doesn’t conform to the stereotype of big eyes and candy colored hair.

Needless to say, Utena was a shock to me. Not only did it have big eyes and hair straight out of a Skittles commercial, there was also a veritable landslide of bizarre symbolism and blatant sexuality including incest. The story of a girl who wanted to be a prince, her female “bride” and a school full of duelists vying for that bride was no less strange. I was confused but fascinated. This was anime too?

When it was over I felt as if I’d been run over by a high-speed train but, masochist than I am, I wanted more. Without Utena I don’t think I would have ever broadened my tastes and begun to watch anime that didn’t have realistic character designs. Previously I had been a fan of certain anime but not an anime fan. After Utena, the long descent into otaku hell had begun.

Now, a few years later, it’s still one of if not the strangest shows I’ve ever seen. It is also one of the most layered and interesting ones. Watching it, I don’t just feel entertained but also utterly involved – no, engrossed – in the story. It starts out light hearted and gradually becomes darker and stranger with only one or two moments in the last arc to lighten the mood (namely unintentionally? hilarious phallic imagery). The conclusion was just as emotional as I remembered it and now that it’s all over I’m left in a funk.

So what’s my point here? I’m afraid that there really isn’t one. I sat down intending to write something meaningful about this fantastic show and ended up blabbering on about my personal anime influences. Perhaps I’m finding it hard to write about because there’s so very much I want to say that it’s almost easier to say nothing at all. If I can gather my thoughts together I may write something about the extremely formulaic structure and the use of ritual in Utena if only because it’s one of the most unique aspects of the show.

Until then, enjoy this:

By the way, is Utena still popular at all? I wonder if all those girls who love Ouran High School Host Club realize that it pays homage to Utena in more ways than one. Or what they think about the fact that all the boys at Ohtori Academy could whip the host club’s asses at fencing and still be approximately 300% more gay fabulous.