So now Anthy can draw out Utena's heart, but the converse is no longer true. It's an interesting (and, yes, hot) reversal.
How many shirtless scenes will Touga and Saionji get? All of them.
I loved the rose bush growing out of the uniform when I saw it. Then, years later, I encountered Dali's sculpture of Alice in Wonderland. I suspect this may not be a coincidence...
Oh, and that Lucifer allegory is decidedly apt. :)
...Right! I knew that was what the swords being pulled out of people's chests symbolized! I are a smart person! X3 But yes, the reversal is hot.
As well they should! Sure, they're horrible people, but at least they have the decency to give us something nice to look at!
I would doubt it indeed.
In a way, I feel a bit cheated that they felt it necessary to expressly explain the allegory...but oh well, it's there show, they can be a bit blunt with the relatively obscure symbolism.
Don't forget that the target audience (14 year old Japanese schoolgirls) are rather less likely to be familiar with the story of the Fall than those of us with a western/Christian cultural context. Strangely, a lot of much more obscure symbolism and referencing goes totally unexplained (ISTR a statue of the Bremen Town Band in the background of one scene...).
As for the heart symbolism, well, as Nanami's whole "What was it like? Did it hurt?" thing with Miki showed, it's clearly a combination of all sorts of sexual and romantic metaphors. So whilst the Black Rose Arc was essentially a series of symbolic rapes, this arc is more about seduction (which might, one would hope, produce a stronger "heart").
Agreed with oneplusme-san; it needs to be kept in mind that in Japan the reference is much more obscure. Only about 1-2% of the population claim to be Christians, and it really shows in the treatment of the religion in fiction. I'm agnostic, but I know enough to know that a lot of the manga/anime in Japan which draw from Christianity heavily would be met with a very different reaction if written as novels in the west... Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, for instance, depicts a god who was fallible and human enough to fall in love with a woman and feel jealousy towards her husband. I can see that going over very well. /deadpan
( ... )
And then there's D-Gray.Man, where the bad guys are referred to as the Noah! Yeah, I'm aware that Christianity in Japan is largely "that weird religion where the guy gets nailed to a tree, right?", just wasn't quite sure how to say that.
I imagine that if I were to do an abridged series of this scene, Akio would be all, "So Utena, did you ever take a course in Christian Mythology?" "No, why?" "No reason." XD
Indeed, those are very good points to make with regards to the duel!
And as for the inadequacy of the warnings regarding "car=sex", what I meant was that no warning could ever be adequate, no warning could ever prepare me for the sheer sex that is, Akio's car.
Which reminds me... If you've never seen the David Lynch film "Lost Highway", do so. For one thing, it's brain-mangling and awesome, and for another, you may find certain things rather familiar. :) (The image of the road to the End of the World is totally Lynchian, and the Akio Car theme is... suspiciously similar.)
How many shirtless scenes will Touga and Saionji get? All of them.
I loved the rose bush growing out of the uniform when I saw it. Then, years later, I encountered Dali's sculpture of Alice in Wonderland. I suspect this may not be a coincidence...
Oh, and that Lucifer allegory is decidedly apt. :)
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As well they should! Sure, they're horrible people, but at least they have the decency to give us something nice to look at!
I would doubt it indeed.
In a way, I feel a bit cheated that they felt it necessary to expressly explain the allegory...but oh well, it's there show, they can be a bit blunt with the relatively obscure symbolism.
Reply
As for the heart symbolism, well, as Nanami's whole "What was it like? Did it hurt?" thing with Miki showed, it's clearly a combination of all sorts of sexual and romantic metaphors. So whilst the Black Rose Arc was essentially a series of symbolic rapes, this arc is more about seduction (which might, one would hope, produce a stronger "heart").
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I imagine that if I were to do an abridged series of this scene, Akio would be all, "So Utena, did you ever take a course in Christian Mythology?" "No, why?" "No reason." XD
Indeed, those are very good points to make with regards to the duel!
And as for the inadequacy of the warnings regarding "car=sex", what I meant was that no warning could ever be adequate, no warning could ever prepare me for the sheer sex that is, Akio's car.
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