You mentioned that the power to bring the world revolution is still very vague so I feel like I should mention something about revolutions as we go into this final conflict. The Japanese term 革命 (kakumei) has most of the same connotations as revolution does in English. It can refer to both a completely new thing or it can simply mean a cycle. So what does kakumei mean in this case? Were the duelists seeking something entirely new and unique or were they simply setting the stage for everything (whatever "everything" means in this case) to start all over again? As a wise man once said: "Don't put your trust in revolutions. They always come around again. That's why they're called revolutions.” And remember the arc words of the series, the words we hear before every duel and the words say in the next episode preview: Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku/Absolute Destiny Apocalypse.
I love running into unexpected Terry Pratchett in the wild. This secondary meaning of "Revolution" gets missed in a lot of interpretations of the series but I think it's central to understanding the entire story, especially when also looking at all the different version of the story. Depending on the tradition you're starting from, there are different ways to look at Karmic Wheels, but usually to move on to the next cycle you have to either come to a deep understanding or else prove your virtue in some way. This all clicked for me even harder the first time I saw the movie, where Anthy in particular is so much more straightforward, honest, and active about what she wants, Touga is a better person from the start, and Juri and Miki flat out say "we're not ready to move on yet but we'll catch up."
I really enjoy that a character like Nanami, who's really been played like a fool for the entire show -- being comic relief, manipulated and used -- is actually the one who sees the big picture. She knows that both Anthy and Akio (who she knows is The End of The World) are playing Utena for their own reasons and that the whole "power to revolutionize the world" is not something you should go for. The whole dueling system is rigged and just a tool for The End of The World to use them. She sees all that despite being.. you know.. not the most serious character. She's gone through such a development. Coming to Utena without her posse, giving up the power and authority that student council brings etc. Also! if you haven't seen the last episodes yet I would definitely recommend watching them back to back. :)
Also speaking of character development. I do adore the badminton scene where they're all talking as friends. Jury and Mickey both showing interest in Utena, even if just as a joke, means that they're both coming terms with their issues and moving on, accepting that they can't get a magical fix and that they just have to.. you know, grow up.
The DVD box sets for Utena have booklets that include translated commentaries by the director Kunihiko Ikuhara. IKUHARA'S COMMENTARY Episode 37 Evidently, some theorize that engagement rings can be traced all the way back to ancient Rome, in the days before Christ. At the time, of course, marriage wasn’t a product of love; it was a political affair in a society dominated by men. The concept of romantic love appeared on the historical stage later. Therefore, rings weren’t “proof of love” items; they only signified “proof of contract.” During the Renaissance, military man Cesare Borgia was ablaze with the ambition to conquer Italy. One theory has it that the Borgia family assassinated its political enemies with a poison called cantarella to expand their territory of influence. I’ve known the words “cantarella” for some time, but I didn’t start to think of it as romantic until I read Ms. Saito’s manga The Flower Crown Madonna. You see, Cesare has a beautiful younger sister named Lucrezia. In this story, Lucrezia entered politically expedient marriages with men from various lands, and her husbands died of mysterious illnesses. She poisoned them with cantarella. Lucrezia loved Cesare as a woman loves a man. For her brother’s dream of world conquest, she married men she didn’t care for, and then she killed them. Lucrezia gave both body and soul out of love for her brother. What a romantic story! That’s what I thought on first reading. I also thought, “I want to take a shot at grappling with her emotions.” I think I had Lucrezia in the back of my mind as I shaped Anthy’s personality.
Ikuhara's commentary is about how he came to know the story of cantarella, but can I just say how amazing the catarella scene is? It's such a perfect distillation of everything we've come to learn about Anthy being more than she seems, that there are motives behind her actions... only for Utena to turn it around and suggest that in all the ways Anthy has harmed Utena that Utena has harmed her as well, and that it is willful on her part as well. And the sound design is top notch.
I think Nanami and Utena would be friends if they met differently. Utena's presence has begun to revolutionize the minds of all. Anthy's heart is also starting to change little by little.
"In the end, all girls are like the rose bride" well if that isn't a thesis statement for the entire show i don't know what is
You mentioned that the power to bring the world revolution is still very vague so I feel like I should mention something about revolutions as we go into this final conflict. The Japanese term 革命 (kakumei) has most of the same connotations as revolution does in English. It can refer to both a completely new thing or it can simply mean a cycle. So what does kakumei mean in this case? Were the duelists seeking something entirely new and unique or were they simply setting the stage for everything (whatever "everything" means in this case) to start all over again? As a wise man once said:
"Don't put your trust in revolutions. They always come around again. That's why they're called revolutions.”
And remember the arc words of the series, the words we hear before every duel and the words say in the next episode preview: Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku/Absolute Destiny Apocalypse.
I love running into unexpected Terry Pratchett in the wild.
This secondary meaning of "Revolution" gets missed in a lot of interpretations of the series but I think it's central to understanding the entire story, especially when also looking at all the different version of the story. Depending on the tradition you're starting from, there are different ways to look at Karmic Wheels, but usually to move on to the next cycle you have to either come to a deep understanding or else prove your virtue in some way.
This all clicked for me even harder the first time I saw the movie, where Anthy in particular is so much more straightforward, honest, and active about what she wants, Touga is a better person from the start, and Juri and Miki flat out say "we're not ready to move on yet but we'll catch up."
I really enjoy that a character like Nanami, who's really been played like a fool for the entire show -- being comic relief, manipulated and used -- is actually the one who sees the big picture. She knows that both Anthy and Akio (who she knows is The End of The World) are playing Utena for their own reasons and that the whole "power to revolutionize the world" is not something you should go for. The whole dueling system is rigged and just a tool for The End of The World to use them. She sees all that despite being.. you know.. not the most serious character. She's gone through such a development. Coming to Utena without her posse, giving up the power and authority that student council brings etc.
Also! if you haven't seen the last episodes yet I would definitely recommend watching them back to back. :)
Also speaking of character development. I do adore the badminton scene where they're all talking as friends. Jury and Mickey both showing interest in Utena, even if just as a joke, means that they're both coming terms with their issues and moving on, accepting that they can't get a magical fix and that they just have to.. you know, grow up.
The DVD box sets for Utena have booklets that include translated commentaries by the director Kunihiko Ikuhara.
IKUHARA'S COMMENTARY
Episode 37
Evidently, some theorize that engagement rings can be traced all the way back to ancient Rome, in the days before Christ. At the time, of course, marriage wasn’t a product of love; it was a political affair in a society dominated by men. The concept of romantic love appeared on the historical stage later. Therefore, rings weren’t “proof of love” items; they only signified “proof of contract.”
During the Renaissance, military man Cesare Borgia was ablaze with the ambition to conquer Italy. One theory has it that the Borgia family assassinated its political enemies with a poison called cantarella to expand their territory of influence.
I’ve known the words “cantarella” for some time, but I didn’t start to think of it as romantic until I read Ms. Saito’s manga The Flower Crown Madonna. You see, Cesare has a beautiful younger sister named Lucrezia. In this story, Lucrezia entered politically expedient marriages with men from various lands, and her husbands died of mysterious illnesses. She poisoned them with cantarella. Lucrezia loved Cesare as a woman loves a man. For her brother’s dream of world conquest, she married men she didn’t care for, and then she killed them. Lucrezia gave both body and soul out of love for her brother. What a romantic story! That’s what I thought on first reading. I also thought, “I want to take a shot at grappling with her emotions.” I think I had Lucrezia in the back of my mind as I shaped Anthy’s personality.
Ikuhara's commentary is about how he came to know the story of cantarella, but can I just say how amazing the catarella scene is? It's such a perfect distillation of everything we've come to learn about Anthy being more than she seems, that there are motives behind her actions... only for Utena to turn it around and suggest that in all the ways Anthy has harmed Utena that Utena has harmed her as well, and that it is willful on her part as well. And the sound design is top notch.
I think Nanami and Utena would be friends if they met differently.
Utena's presence has begun to revolutionize the minds of all.
Anthy's heart is also starting to change little by little.
will u watch mawaru penguindrum when you done watching utena?
And Yurikuma Arashi after that one.
first