Nearly every character in Utena is developed in interesting and often unexpected ways. This series deconstructs is all about deconstructing clichés. And pretty much everything is done for a reason. I admit, some elements (like Anthy's doormat status) were a frustrating for me at first, but nearly every detail has a purpose.
And...you'll probably find yourself muttering 'WTF' quite a few times while watching this. I know I did! However, it is one of the best series I have seen and I think you'll like it.
Cool, I was expecting that sort of thing, but it just seemed really noticeable that Utena's characterization seemed more nuanced right off the bat. Then again, she's the main character, so that's not exactly a bad thing.
Yeah, but from the looks of things, it'll be the good kind of WTF, instead of the irritating kind.
The Shadow Play Girls are the crackiest Greek chorus ever. (And I love the way they manage to leap instantly from plain silliness to subtle poignancy and back again before you can notice.)
The great fun with Utena is that, even watching it for the nth time many years after first seeing it, there are always new things to see and new bits of symbolism to speculate over. The first few episodes are a little iffy, but once it's done expositing it's almost unceasingly awesome.
(sorry for being late, my internet was broken yesterday!)
Go watch the movie, and then your brain shall break ;P I watched it first, and it was so pretty that I couldn't even be mad at it for breaking me.
I'm not very far ahead of you, but it already looks like the rest of the characters are developing more.
But even though her goal is to be a prince, she still firmly self-identifies as female, which I think is a very interesting characterization.
Agreed? I don't seem to have anything much to say, I just keep getting diverted by random babbling in my head about gender identity in fiction.
They're really stylized, with everyone being built like stick figures, and you really need the technicolor hair to be able to tell them apart at a glance.I guess everyone varies? I was actually surprised at just how easily I could recognize everyone after that LSD trip... I mean the movie, yes! ^^; I'm hoping to get some inspiration, actually- I'm working on character designs which need to be shoujo style, yet I haven't drawn shoujo in so
( ... )
You know, if I watch the Utena movie, and it doesn't break my brain after all the hype, I'm going to have to demand my money back.
That's good to hear.
Gender identity is also something that's very interesting to me; you can blame that one on The Evergreen State College.
Well, I guess that after reading One Piece and watching Simoun, seeing something as '90s' as Utena's animation and character design, it's kind of a culture shock, so to speak.
(Well when we're normally so up to date it does stand out!)
Oh, eek! I don't think you're likely to make it out entirely intact, but...do I really have to refund you if you do?
In my case, you can just blame it on fiction ^^;
Ah. You know I grew up on the 90s stuff and still haven't really moved into the 2000s properly- I'm always a little confused when people talk about a series being dated ^^; It's your newfangled shiny animation which gives me culture shock! I swear some studios just show off their abilities to get brighter colors, regardless of whether it looks soothing to the eye or not... *grumblegrumble* ;P
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And...you'll probably find yourself muttering 'WTF' quite a few times while watching this. I know I did! However, it is one of the best series I have seen and I think you'll like it.
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Yeah, but from the looks of things, it'll be the good kind of WTF, instead of the irritating kind.
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The great fun with Utena is that, even watching it for the nth time many years after first seeing it, there are always new things to see and new bits of symbolism to speculate over. The first few episodes are a little iffy, but once it's done expositing it's almost unceasingly awesome.
Reply
Go watch the movie, and then your brain shall break ;P I watched it first, and it was so pretty that I couldn't even be mad at it for breaking me.
I'm not very far ahead of you, but it already looks like the rest of the characters are developing more.
But even though her goal is to be a prince, she still firmly self-identifies as female, which I think is a very interesting characterization.
Agreed? I don't seem to have anything much to say, I just keep getting diverted by random babbling in my head about gender identity in fiction.
They're really stylized, with everyone being built like stick figures, and you really need the technicolor hair to be able to tell them apart at a glance.I guess everyone varies? I was actually surprised at just how easily I could recognize everyone after that LSD trip... I mean the movie, yes! ^^; I'm hoping to get some inspiration, actually- I'm working on character designs which need to be shoujo style, yet I haven't drawn shoujo in so ( ... )
Reply
You know, if I watch the Utena movie, and it doesn't break my brain after all the hype, I'm going to have to demand my money back.
That's good to hear.
Gender identity is also something that's very interesting to me; you can blame that one on The Evergreen State College.
Well, I guess that after reading One Piece and watching Simoun, seeing something as '90s' as Utena's animation and character design, it's kind of a culture shock, so to speak.
*mulls along with you*
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Oh, eek! I don't think you're likely to make it out entirely intact, but...do I really have to refund you if you do?
In my case, you can just blame it on fiction ^^;
Ah. You know I grew up on the 90s stuff and still haven't really moved into the 2000s properly- I'm always a little confused when people talk about a series being dated ^^; It's your newfangled shiny animation which gives me culture shock! I swear some studios just show off their abilities to get brighter colors, regardless of whether it looks soothing to the eye or not... *grumblegrumble* ;P
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