Comments | reflections_2: Mikage Souji / Prof. Nemuro (Revolutionary Girl Utena)

sarahtheboring in reflections_2

Mikage Souji / Prof. Nemuro (Revolutionary Girl Utena)

Oct 31, 2004 22:09

Title: Frozen Time
Author: sarahtheboring
Spoilers: Up to ep 23, definitely; in comparison, spoilers up to the end of the series (though only in the last section of the essay). Only deals with the series, not movie- or mangaverse.
Email: climbingaswefall@yahoo.com
Personal site: It's in complete disrepair. All I can plug are my journal, my AMVs, and some ( Read more... )

Comments 33

blackjackrocket November 3 2004, 06:51:51 UTC

But he *does* appear in the manga. He's in a bonus story in the last volume.

You know, now I *really* want to watch the rest of the series. I should watch it all in one go and see if my brain melts.

Oh, and one more thing--it's "Juri", not "Jury".

sarahtheboring November 3 2004, 14:02:02 UTC

Oh, hell. I haven't finished the manga; I should've known. Will edit!

(Please don't start dub/sub wars with me. The translation's spelling is "Jury," and that's what I like to use.)

blackjackrocket November 3 2004, 18:11:23 UTC

dub/sub wars? That's the spelling I saw before it came out in English (ie, on fansubs and the like)

sarahtheboring November 3 2004, 18:33:14 UTC

That's what I'm talking about. You like that spelling. I like this spelling, because "Juri" reminds me too much of girls who spell their names "Staci" and "Kelli" and dot the i's with hearts. Regardless, it is a spelling used in official releases; I did not make it up.

I don't think this is the place for "fansubs are superior to all" rants. If you want to take that up with me over email, feel free.

Thread 10

lyrebird November 3 2004, 13:09:02 UTC

Wow. Thanks for writing such a detailed and fascinating essay!

I've recently seen the entire Utena anime series...and I still can't get my brain around half of what goes on. You're right - it's very tempting to dismiss the Black Rose arc as something that never happened. But your insights into his character make me want to see the anime again to pick up all the symbols - the photos he keeps of the betrayal, the coffins as a metaphor for being trapped in one's past, Mikage's relationships past and present, the way he sought to manipulate yet was manipulated in turn...it's amazing what you can find in this series if you're aware of the allusions.

sarahtheboring November 3 2004, 14:07:24 UTC

Thanks!

The main plot is even more so - and I think a lot of it is so oblique that it gets lost on a lot of viewers. I had to see the series twice and read a lot of opinions/essays on it (plus the commentary track, hooray for commentary tracks!) to get into the whole thing. And granted, I think a lot of it is intentionally odd and unexplained, to give the viewers something to think about and reinterpret.

But the idea of coffins-as-self-imposed-limitations is one of my favorites; Saionji says that, and a lot of fans ignore it because they hate him. (Shooting the message, not the messenger. ^_^;) But I think it's a fascinating idea.

Am rambling again. Oh well. Thanks for reading!

ciaan November 4 2004, 17:56:29 UTC

I think that the Black Rose Arc is essential to understanding the series. It explains a lot of the details of Ohtori- where the dueling arena came from (that tree-planting scene you mention has always seemed to me to be the start of the forest the arena is in, and I'm still convinced that Mikage built Akio's orrery), how time works, how illusion works- I don't think one can comprehend the revelations about Akio's control of the academy without seeing what he can do in the BRA. It also highlights the emotional and philosophical themes, especially good and evil, and prepares you for what will happen to Utena at the end ( ... )

sarahtheboring November 4 2004, 20:51:39 UTC

that tree-planting scene you mention has always seemed to me to be the start of the forest the arena is in

Ohhh, that is BRILLIANT. I love that idea. It makes sense.

Heck, we're never told what Nemuro & co. are doing, exactly, so the orrery makes sense too. That's a pretty cool conspiracy theory. :)

Good points about the parallels too. Illusions are very important - more important than viewers realize along the way, I think. I didn't realize it until the end myself. "This doesn't make sense" becomes "of COURSE this doesn't make sense; it's not real." Though of course the series is very impressionistic anyway, there's a method to some of the madness.
I think some of that can get lost.

But then again, part of why I like this show so much is because I like all the characters. I think that over the course of the show, you come to see into and understand and sympathize with all of them. Agreed, completely. This show does that beautifully, which is why the essays about it here should be very interesting. (And why I'm tempted to write ( ... )

ciaan November 5 2004, 00:34:16 UTC

When Nemuro burns down the building, the 100 boys are celebrating because he just "opened the way to the dueling arena." It's never explained what that means, though. It seems to make sense, until you learn that the arena is an illusion. Then it's like, wait, so how coudl he have opened the way to it? Well, by makign it appear, that is, by buildign the machine that projects the illusion.

Of course, the whole thing fails in a lot of ways to make logical sense. If the arena is an illusion, then isn't the gate at the end an illusion? And the coffin? And all of it? So what really happens?

I always run into these problems when trying to say "what really happened" because it all breaks down somewhere on a rational level. But it works so very perfectly on an artistic and emotional level.

Silly viewers.

I sorta want to write some essays for this community myself, though I shouldn't.

sarahtheboring November 5 2004, 14:03:33 UTC

When Nemuro burns down the building, the 100 boys are celebrating because he just "opened the way to the dueling arena." It's never explained what that means, though. It seems to make sense, until you learn that the arena is an illusion. Then it's like, wait, so how coudl he have opened the way to it? Well, by makign it appear, that is, by buildign the machine that projects the illusion.

*facepalm* Oh, right. Oh, that's awesome. ...and that much more ironic/tragic that Mikage's life was ruled by illusion.

Of course, the whole thing fails in a lot of ways to make logical sense. If the arena is an illusion, then isn't the gate at the end an illusion? And the coffin? And all of it? So what really happens?

I always run into these problems when trying to say "what really happened" because it all breaks down somewhere on a rational level. But it works so very perfectly on an artistic and emotional level. I've always considered this what I keep calling a glass-staircase ending, because I can't think of a better name for it. (the phrase ( ... )

Thread 5

kessie November 4 2004, 18:45:19 UTC

I just recently watched the Black Rose Arc (last weekend, actually - I'm 9 episodes off the end... at last) and you've just helped me a bit because, dear god, was I confused. @_@ I think one of the most endearing (and frustrating) things about Utena is that it's so complex and full of vague endings and completely mind-boggling. I wanted to desperately underatand Mikage/Nemuro and I remember thinking at the end of the arc, "So... he was Nemuro... and he's now Mikage... why?...and he's not aged a day... and Mamiya is...?"

So, thanks. You've helped me understand Mikage a LOT better, as well as lessened my confusion. Very well done essay, too. :)

sarahtheboring November 4 2004, 20:56:34 UTC

Yaaay, my work here is done! Heh.

It is confusing. When I finished it I read essays like the ones linked at the end here, and went back and watched a few (okay, more than a few) more times over time after that, and pondered and made some vids and THEN felt like I had most of it figured out. The whole series is like that; it doesn't really explain itself, and it lends itself to thinking things over afterward. Which I like.

So thanks, I was hoping it would make even a little sense.

kessie November 5 2004, 16:03:20 UTC

It's great for fic fodder though. You can be as surreal as you want and no one can say you're off your head (much).

I know. I mean, I stopped at episode 29 or 30 last Sunday night, it was 3pm, and I was just lying on the couch, trying to figure out what I'd just seen and how it made sense. I love anime and manga that make me think, and Utena is the best one for that alone. :)

sleepdebtfairy June 24 2006, 06:44:48 UTC

Oohhh, I love this. ♥ (late comment, I know) Reading essays like this reminds me how much I love Utena.. and about earlier comments in this post, I agree. Logic isn't the fun part.. the emotions and all the crack-symbolism is the best. It makes me wish I spent less of my day/life being logical, and more being emotional. It's more fun that way. :3 ( ... )

sarahtheboring June 24 2006, 17:59:46 UTC

Aww, I'm tickled that somebody remembers it or found it. ^_ ( ... )

sleepdebtfairy June 25 2006, 01:29:10 UTC

((Wow, I must have missed that photo. Oo; *wants to re-watch that part now*))

It's so weird because as Nemuro he was extremely logical and not social at all.. really a lot like a computer. When he's Mikage you can see a striking difference. He's still quiet and logical, but a lot more laid-back and social.
((Argh, going off-topic from what I was trying to say..)) But it's strange because one of his first real emotional social interactions is betrayal, and he wants to preserve that.

No problem! ^^ Hehe, I'm an Utena-newbie. So every time I go back and find all of these old discussions I wish I got into the series earlier.. (although I probably wouldn't have gotten it if I did)

sarahtheboring June 25 2006, 04:27:37 UTC

I think it's when he's giving Utena the "precious memories" speech. (capped from AMV)

Yeah, the contrasts between the two are one of the most interesting parts of this sidestory to me. Whether forming that persona was some kind of reaction, whether it's a polar opposite, a hidden side, things like that. (it's late... I am not particularly sense-making.)

Well, it's not a new series, and I think the first wave of online fandom was mostly on listservs or newsgroups. It's more of a "classic" now - there's nothing brand-new to be up on, so nobody expects you to be. It's much easier to be a newbie in a "closed" fandom (meaning nothing new is coming out) than something new, I think. That's my theory, anyway ( ... )

Thread 12