Killing The Prince in Adolescence of Utena | Backlog Bop
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
- Revolutionary Girl Utena is about toppling systems of oppression--finding the power to see a different future and make it so. It's follow-up film, Adolescence of Utena, stays true to this spirit in its condensed retelling of the original story. With a wildly different narrative wrapped in even more symbolism and metaphor, here I attempt to unpack what it all means, offering my interpretation to the Prince, the power to revolutionize the world, and of course Utena turning into a car. Enjoy!
SPOILER WARNING for both the end of Revolutionary Girl Utena (TV) and the film Adolescence of Utena
This video was edited by MrNiesGuy! You can find him on Twitter (@MrNiesGuy) or check out his channel here: / channel
If you'd like to vote on what series I cover in the next Backlog Bop, support my Patreon page here: / jackuts
Special thanks to Clark Cavender, John Reinbold, Ilya Smirnov, Dan, Henri Taarisen, Philip Geiblinger, J. Cleaver, Donny Southa, Scott Simonson, Brandon CouBrough, CatXD, R125R11, Ben Thompson, Gustavo Chau, Kavaran, qwerty23131, Peter Savelyev, Anders Nyhammer, Astralius Kard, Julian Fischer, Giancarlo Navas, Maximilian Bessert, Matt Wismer, Uri Lifshitz, Therja, tincho37, Jack Eaton, Costanza Lo Cascio, Branden Matthews and all my other Patreon donors!
Please subscribe if you enjoyed the video and feel free to follow me on Twitter (@JackUTS). Thanks!
Fun fact, the Wakaba car has a japanese new/inexperienced driver decal on it. The student council are almost ready to leave but need a bit more growth till they're ready for the exit ramp. ;)
wow thanks for sharing!! i love finding out details like this, like the meaning's behind all their individual names etc :)
that symbol is actually called a 'wakaba' which means new/first leaf!
Utena and Athy’s dance scene was one of the most literally and figuratively beautiful scenes I’ve ever watched
My favourite scene in anime, maybe even in fiction
Revolutionary Girl Utena could easily be a "literary classic" of anime. The layers of (non-pretentious) complexity it contains are just stupefying. Thanks for such a great video!
no
+Ryo Sato Utena :D
I would absolutely fail on theach test if this ever became part of classics and lessons xD
Utena is the pinnacle of what 90s anime was doing at its best: critique of otaku and anime culture, a beautiful representation of the auteur’s ideas on society and its norms, mental health and psychological examinations of sex and gender. It is my fave anime of all time, tied with Evangelion, but I wish more people talked about it more
Yep, just like Lain and Eva, the creators didn't need a manga to be based on, it was all original and the manga and other media just expanded the universe. ❤️❤️ Cheers from Perú
Utena is a timeless speech of coming of age anime
Yay. Another positive viewpoint of Adolescence since alot of people dismiss it outright without reason.
I've been a fan of Utena since high school and an episode was tacked on to the end of a VHS fansub a friend loaned me. I've seen this movie many times and now as a grown adult I think it is both a re-telling and a sequel at once. Anthy is definitely more free and aware in this version of the world, its like she's the one saving Utena this time.
This is a really well thought out interpretation of the movie. I was always a bit irked by people who dismiss it, even some fans of the original TV series. However, a shortcoming is that despite possibly a standalone, I don't think the symbolism comes through quite as meaningfully if you haven't seen the original series.
This is a great example of explaining complex themes in a simple manner, without losing any of their essence.
It saddens me that This video ths far, only has 3k views. Utena is good even in the eyes of the anime community, but not alot of people want to talk about it like we do neon genesis Evangelion ;-;
Utena has far more depth than NGE quite honestly.
While it's true theres not a lot of discussion of Utena in the mainstream anime community if you know where to look for it there is a lot of good analysis.
Probably because Evangelion has EoE and the rebuild movies made in a relatively recent time? And unfortunately the last Utena movie was in 1999
So its good show
It's the distinct lack of memes I bet. We dont have any "hur dur get in the fecking robot" meme happening 😭
A great look at one of my favorite shows. The optimism of adolescence of utena is why I love it so much.
The absolute destiny apocalypse!
MOKUSHIKUSHIMOKUKUMOSHIMOSHIIKUSHIKUMO
I’m so relived this movie was explained in a way I could understand, this movie was visually beautiful as well as it’s original show, and it was obviously full of symbolism but if you watch the movie without thinking about what it truly signifies, then the movie won’t make any sense, so thank you for explaining this to me
I knew absolutely nothing about this anime before watching this video, but after watching this, I feel like I know even less
Powermen The Animated Series watch it then
This video kinda requires watching it, I mean, iot refers very specifically to characters and scenes !
Renan Haddad I'll do it later
Lol saaame I'm so confused
LMAO
Thanks for such a great and interesting video! Revolutionary Girl Utena is truly a masterpiece. Now I'm 17 and it's been three months since I watched it fully, and I think that was exactly the right time to put such a great message to my teenage mind. It inspires not to be afraid and, you know, to break the earth's shell, if even only for yourself and only in little things.
Firstly I laughed at the pretentious images of the duels and of the academy, but it stars to make sense, grows on you. All the symbolism of the show is a gigantic topic to discuss and I hope to see more videos on this amazing anime. Thank you🌹
I really like the movie and i would love it if it weren't for the blaring absence of basically the whole Mikage Seminar arc. Other than the elevator Utena encounters Touga in and (arguably) all the black cars that came after Anthy after Shiori went down, I saw nothing from it. That's really disappointing since i love the SHIT out of that arc since it's really nice foreshadowing for what would eventually happen to Utena (doing all the duels and realizing they need to grow up and move past them in order to be freed into the adult world, subsequently being erased from existence at
Ohtori Academy).
Plus, I feel like Nanami was done SO DIRTY with her screen time. She seems to draw lots of parallels to Anthy (having their prince be their brother who ends up manipulating them) and I feel like they could've accentuated that in the movie. Maybe they could've shown her failing to cope with her "Brother"'s death or they could've shown her being a good example, being princeless and free to do what she wishes. Or maybe her not being in the movie (minus the Cow thing) is supposed to represent her already having moved on from her childhood. We may never know man.
This motivated me to watch Utena -- even though I've been spoiled. What you said in this video seems pretty cool! And Utena is already in my PTW for a long time, so thanks!
Nyoman Soniati you should check out the show but not the movie.
Bruce Banana, stop spreading your evil!
I would say watch both, because, though I like the movie, I feel the symbolism is a little lost if you haven't had the series to really understand what all of the symbols mean.
That being said, just yesterday I watched the movie for the first time with a friend who has never seen either, and he greatly enjoyed the movie and was able to understand the basics of the story, until the carwash scene. He didn't get the symbolism very well, but it was still an enjoyable time.
In short I'd say watch the series first, but if you want to experience the series in a way that won't take a very big time commitment you can go for the movie
I LOVE this movie, much more than the TV series even, so it's really nice to see someone giving it the attention it deserves. Great analysis.
Revolutionary Girl Utena is truly wonderful masterpiece to behold
UTEENNNAAA!!!!!
I always saw Adolescence Touga as representing how the only ideal prince is a dead prince. Only the dead can be ideal. Touga died before "growing up" and corrupting the vision he presents
i'm much more fond of the tv series, personally, but i enjoyed this video regardless :) it's a shame utena doesn't get as much attention as nge and such
No one ever talks about 6:09 where Anthy is an inanimate doll until Utena is near. Super creepy!!
Just realized that Redline made a AoU reference with the car breaking apart at the end
I see Adolescence as the next Karmic Wheel. The next revolution, if you will.
The prince is dead, and Utena has to mourn him and say goodbye - I think she felt at the end of the series that she had failed to live up to her own ideals and to free anthy, not knowing what would happen after, so being able to let that idea of a prince go was necessary for her.
Anthy is able to exercise her agency openly and live much more freely but is still inside the system until Utena provides a vehicle to escape it. I think a big part of her growth this cycle is admitting she enjoyed parts of her role in the last cycle - the old corrupt system made her a victim but also gave her power over the duelists.
Touga got to live out the ideal of the prince that Utena inspired in him at the end of the show. Juri has moved from cynicism and hopeless immobility to idealism. The Kouru twins are honest and open (naked) with each other. Saionji - well Saionji still needs to work on his shit, I guess. But he's at least no longer bound to competition with Touga I guess - Touga let his own cycle of abuse stop with him.
Nanami, being the youngest, hasn't made it to this wheel or level of consciousness yet. She's still an animal.
And I think we're meant to understand Shiori as The Witch, here. She, Anthy and Utena are the only ones who can see this ghost of Touga. She's got her own familiar now (the little crocodile). She's a woman working actively to undermine other women for the sake of a man - a role Anthy played in the series.
Revolutionary Girl Utena - Gravity of Love Enigma (1999 AMV)
that's how i found out about this Movie.
surprisingly someone got that too and uploaded it on TH-cam.
Thank you so much for discussing this series. It's one of my favorites of all time, sadly it's not as popular as others. This was awesome.
Are you going to do a video on the series? This video had some really excellent analysis, and I'd love to see your thoughts on the series itself. I think that the film, while still excellent, was a bit overambitious for its runtime and didn't quite have the same depth and impact as the series. I'd love to hear what you think of the way Anthy is portrayed in the anime, as well as the Black Rose arc, which seems to stump most people attempting to analyze it.
I recently watched the series and movie for the first time, and I was kind of like "What the hell? What are these trying to say?" But after hearing your explanation, I look at the final scene again in the movie and think it's so beautiful. Utena and Anthy heading into the adult world together with nothing, but at least they're free, you can't get much more satisfying than that.
Loved it!! Utena - as a lot of great art - can be tricky to explain and carries as many interpretations as viewers... but I would say what it is about more than anything (even adolescence and the struggles / victories of women) is revolution and empowerment of the self. Utena / Anthy at the end of either the series or film could be anybody.
I watched this Utena for the first time in middle school and I can’t get over how beautiful the show and the movie were. But tbh I could watch it a million times and not understand anything past the base message.
I am totally lost but it sounds amazing
excellent videos.sinceramente never completely understand serie and film of Utena, but now after watching video I understand better.Thanks
I love it! Is really difficult to find cool videos like this about Utena.
duuude thats some complicated stuff
1st person to give the car scene some sense. Thanks!
The is anime is definitely ahead of its time
really well argued essay! i wasn’t sure what to make of this film particularly in terms of its reconfiguration of akio and touga, but this interpretation reconciles it really well.
Wonderful essay on Utena!
I would love to hear your thoughts on some other older shows like Akira or Armitage (or not so old like wolf children or patema inverted). You offer such unique and interesting views and have given me a lot to think about especially with shows that I have already scene but not put so much thought into the viewing. I love it!
This is very unrelated to this video, but please watch Maquia! I feel like you would really enjoy it! Though with all the hype surrounding it, you probably have already seen it XD
best analysis i've seen so far, it's pretty concise
Thank you for a great video on one of my fav fiction worlds ever
Wow, that was a great analysis.
Excellent analysis 🌹
Hey since you did utena can you PLEASE talk about penguindrum. Thanks!
I love your video! I wish that this series would be more popular because it is perfect. Suscribe!
at least I'm not the only one that needed help understanding what is going on
Revolution is the power to imagine the future. Damn.
The best explanation I have ever heard!!!
Wow! This is outstanding!
You have an instant subscriber!!
Thank you for this video!
Thank you for this video. I understand the movie so much better now.
This was very beautifully told and really good ❤️❤️❤️♥️💗♥️💗💗💗 I love the movie as well as the series ❤️❤️❣️❤️
Is that tony hawk pro skater music I hear! O:
I found the ending of the series confusing, perhaps shocking but I love it
hell yeah
Interesting to see the interpretation overcoming the "petriacial system". I personally never say either serie or movie thogh i heared both are pretty good. Good storrytelling needs personal comflict and overcoming obstacles unless you go into slice of live. Seems from your description Utena does a good job in using good storrtelling.
As soneone she havent seen this i got the question. Is the concept of the prince bad? Does he needs to be overcome by anybody? Freedom and choises do not equall personal happyness especally in a non Black and white seting. Anyway glad to hear that there is another good anime. If anything this vid made me interested enogh to look for a copy despite not being a fan of the artstyle.
Sascha Wagner to answer your question: yes, the concept of the prince is “bad“ and should be overcome: where there are princes, there are damsels in distress too.
You should definitely watch this, Utena is my favorite anime of all time :)
Well i did a little non spoiler research. My questions atm are atm:Whats the point of the academy seting,(In what skills or characterforming tehy engage to arceive what goal). If the Rose bride is so sought after why is dueling the qualification to get hold of her. If its feudal sociity i can kind of understand that the damsel in distress has little to say since nobility usally had little freedom when it come in selecting their parters.
And no im not looking for aswers ,-). The premise is intriging enogh to take a look at at.
WATCH THE SHOW!
What is the point of trying to understand something that you are not actually going to look at? You are not going to understand it without watching it!
Anthy is a representation of the role women are expected to play and the psychological and physical damage that causes. She gets passed around to whoever is strongest, which is decided by the duels. As the Rose Bride, she is nothing but a prize and a tool, not a human being. It's similar to how, in a lot of movies and shows, the hero ends up with the girl he likes at the end of the movie, even if she wasn't interested in him to begin with. In RGU Anthy is literally handed over to the winner, but it's the same concept as the hero in other movies getting together with the girl he likes after he's saved the day. This story does not take place in a feudal society. The setting is a high school, but it's super surreal. It's based on classic fairytales and examines how harmful the outdated morals of these stories are when placed on modern people.
I don't understand why they haven't made another movie of Utena? I can't believe that was the ending.
hey random question can you do a review on weiss kreuz knight hunters and knight hunters etunity, takahito made, i feel they are underratted and deserve a bit more exposure and a full break down to why. The dark plots, backgrounds, lesson of no good vs. Evil but perspective of being a evil to annihilate worser evil so on. Personal dweeby loving request!
I love Weiss Kreuz too!
Love utena!
Right, that series has a movie... To the Ptw!
IM LAUGHING AT HOW UTENA TURNED INTO A CAR WKDNWODNQJD
say under the scope please review the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya.😸
Muy bueno!
I didn’t understand does the prince AKio Othtori and prince Mamiya Chida the same ? Because in the move they said that there is no prince himemiya just create it , but in another seen they say that he dead . and touga is dead , so way they can see him ? and way utena said to himemiya that she the cause of her brother’s death ?
Can anyone explain to me
Lama Z in the movie Akio is a different person then Dio. Yes Amathy did created Akio. The movie give a poorly explaintion because wants you to read the manga or watch the show to understand it. Movies shouldn't that.
okay thankx
Adolescence of Utena is not canon sequel
Hello, could you enable caption ??? Please.
This is a great video until you realize that like half of it's literally regurgitating the director's commentary track. Contextualizing what Ikuhara said there is cool and valuable because most audience members are too dumb to do that themselves, but unless I'm the dumb one and was not paying attention, this video presents all of what it says like it's composed mainly of original insights.
what us the outro song?
Have you read the manga? I found it to be pretty disappointing... it's nothing compared to the anime series and movie.
Ashley F The manga does suck, but I thought the Adolescence manga was pretty great
I found it disappointing compared to the series, but I think as a standalone story it was pretty decent. It just didn't have the depth of the show.
Where did you find the Adolescence manga? I've been looking forever but I've only ever been able to find it in Japanese.
Lydia M I bought it a couple years ago. It was still in print at the time. You could try ebay. I doubt the demand is very high so it probably won't cost much
When you consider that the original manga author (Chiho Saito) wrote Juri as a straight woman first and vehemently rejects any interpretation which suggests Utena to be bi or the friendship she holds with Anthy to be romantic... it makes sense that the manga would be underwhelming.
Revolutionary Girl Utena is still Ikuhara's best work while Mawaru Penguindrum is subpar and Yuri Kuma Arashi is plain trash, can't wait to see how Sarazanmai turns out it'll probably end up becoming trash like YKA as well.
You really don't read enough into his works if you can condemn the 2 other ones like this, they are, like utena, rooted deeply in emulating and dismantling conventions, with a different genre focus.Neither is any less meaningfull than utena(though one could say that YKA was a little too on the nose)
IMO Mawaru Penguin drum was almost as amazing as Utena, but yeah YKA is shit.
No, the box episode was absolutely brilliant.
LEAVE MA GAY BEARS OUT OF THIS!!! it did well even when having less episodes than his other works.
Disagree. Mawaru Penguindrum was seriously good - still not as good as Utena duh but still really good! Although it was really flipping dark in places and perhaps unnecessarily so. And as for YKA, for the first five episodes i was convinced it was trash but i kept watching because it was Ikuni, and whilst it wasn't on the same level as the others i did think it was nicely turned out and had an interesting ending. Also Lulu's episode was brilliant FIGHT ME.
I think this video was more beautiful than the actual movie/series.
It's just an intepretation, I genuinelly find it insulting to the artists behind the show and film.It is a good video though.
You do you. It's my opinion 😂
But it's an absolutely attrocious one, it's like saying that the explanatory notes in complete works of Edgar Alan Poe are more beautiful then the poem they are attached to.
I didnt understand shit :(
I think the movie is real bad because can't stand on is own.
That's an absolutely absurd stance to take, the movie is a continuationg of a series. Is Empire Strikes back reall bad because it depends on a previous movie ?
Boo Machine no, this own thing and all characters are different personality and background then the show and manga. This retelling of the show and manga. This poorly written movie. The pacing is to fast, characters are one dimensional, and I find metaphors hollow.
Bruce Banana ... how ? The show literally ends on Anthy going to look for Utena in other worlds. It's a retelling and a continuation, you don't get to say that the characters are one-dimensional, and also say that it doesn't stand on its own, they are liket hat because it relies on the bloody show. The metaphors are similar, but more pronounced.You are also focusing on incredibly arbitrary parts here.
Hollow how? They are both very obvious, but in way rather subtle(Utena transforming into a car vs the significance of the princes being dead)
It's much like saying that End of Evangelion is bad because it doens't stand on its own. That is to say, it is a non-sensical statement.
Boo Machine the show is well develop but not the movie. In the movie starts Utena being more shy and more irrational then the show. Utena in the show is not shy and not irrational by her emotions. Akio and Dio are two different person in the movie, and the show they are one person. Tongua is less playboy than the show and he knew and dated Utena when they are young. He died but in the show he still alive. He never dated utena or knew her when he was young expect in the church by one day. Jury is bi or straight in the movie because she flirts with Mike. She is jealous that Utena dated Tongua because in the manga she loves Tongua when they are children and he saves her when she almost downing. The movie expects you to know that because of the manga. Movies shouldn't do that to understand characters motovions. Amathy is more sexual and open about stuff then the show version. The school is complete different then the show. None of characters are flesh out in the movie. I felt two hours to flesh out the characters in the movie then 85 min. End of Eva is not a retelling of the show but ending to the series. Adolescence Of Utena is retalling of the entire show and the manga which means has to stand on is own feet. The metaphors hit your face a lot then make it subtle compare to the show.
Boo Machine you seem you don't understand what is retelling. A retelling is " tell a story again or differently". The movie utena is not continue of the show, so is own thing. Please next time look up retelling or other vocublary words when you making claims with people.
Utena and Athy’s dance scene was the most literally and figuratively beautiful scene I’ve ever watched