|
R1 DVD Reviews
|
|
Written by maehara
|
|
Friday, 18 November 2005 00:00 |
 I think Revolutionary Girl Utena takes the
award for the longest gap between my starting the series and finishing
it, although that's ony partly due to the years spent in Licensing
Hell™ by the 2nd and 3rd story arcs. It's finally finished,
however - and I'm still none the wiser to what End of the World was all
about. ::aargh!::
37 - The One Who Brings the World Revolution
After catching Anthy and Akio up to no good, Utena tries to carry on as
usual, but it's not easy for her. Akio soon realizes something's
not right with her, but Utena's not ready to talk about it just yet -
although he does realize that she's no longer wearing her duellist's
ring. Meanwhile, the rest of the duellists have received farewell
letters from End of the World, while Utena receives a slightly
different letter - if she goes to the duelling arena, she'll finally
get to meet her prince. Suddenly, everyone seems to want to give
her advice...
38 - End of the World
Utena pays one last visit to the duelling arena, where her prince is
waiting for her - Akio, although she's not surprised. Utena wants
to know why he's been manipulating her and the other duellists the way
he has, and why he's been using Anthy, but it seems he has other plans
for her now that his role in events has been revealed. For Utena,
though, her goal remains unchanged - to free Anthy from the curse of
being the Rose Bride, even if that means drawing her sword against the
prince she's been determined to meet again for so many years. But when
it comes time to duel, it seems Anthy has decided to side with her
brother...
39 - And Someday, Together, We'll Shine
Utena learns the meaning of betrayal when Anthy runs her through with
her own sword. Despite that, when it comes time for Akio to open
the Rose Gate and release the power of revolution, the sacrifice of the
Rose Bride is required. Despite her recent betrayal, Utena's not
willing to watch her "friend" be treated in such a way. Where
Akio fails in breaking the seal on the Rose Gate, Utena's determination
to save her friend stands a chance of succeeding...
39 episodes, and no happy ending, as it seems at first glance that
Utena fails to
'save' Anthy. The "where are they now" sequence shows she didn't
return to school after her final visit to the duelling arena, and while
all her
friends are still at Ohtori, they're slowly forgetting who she
was - except Anthy. When Akio starts putting End of the World and
the duelling contests back into action again, she finally has the
courage of her convictions and
turns her back on Akio and Ohtori to go and search for Utena.
That gives the series some
closure, but there are still a number of issues left hanging, and if
memory serves me the movie doesn't tie everything up either. I'll
admit that's a bit of a disappointment.
In general, though, Utena has been a show well worth
following. Sure there's a lot of stock footage used and at leat
two-thirds of the episodes follow a rigid, predictable pattern - but
it's done with a healthy dose of style that keeps you wanting to watch,
even if some of the symbolism does end up going right over your head.
It's also a show that's pretty much unique. Only Melody of Oblivion (aka Revolutionary Boy Bokka to some fans, thanks to the similarities) has tried to take a similar style, and didn't quite match up to Utena's high standards. Well worth watching.
|
