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the low detail utena faces are so loving good. just the perfect amount of sketchy. and i LVOE saionjis texas tux. its actually (kendo content) kind of on brand for a kendo guy: the traditional kendo uniform is made of pure cotton with raw indigo dye and the pieces are meant to fade attractively (we see saionji wearing very faded hakama and a very new kendogi). so it's kind of on brand that he'd wear jeans and a trucker jacket, I like to think they're fancy schmancy denim boy pieces.
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Sep 20, 2023 07:27
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| # ? Jun 4, 2024 15:49 |
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yeah i should have been more specific with my lol. saionji's fit is ridiculous but owns hard. touga throwing saionji's precious treasure into an incinerator .1 seconds after he leaves is the real funny.
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Sep 20, 2023 07:38
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We don't really know all that much about Utena's past, do we? We have the frequently repeated sketch about the prince consoling her as a child when her parents died (and that could be changing minor details every time they show it and I'm just not paying attention to it because I've seen it ten times already) and her hiding in a coffin at the funeral, but we know nothing between that happening and her showing up at Otori Academy. Where did she come from, and who's paying her tuition? Utena has never spoken of her past beyond her encounter with the prince. Speculation: Utena never had any parents in the first place and only came into being relatively recently as another product of the same event that made Anthy the Rose Bride.
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Sep 21, 2023 04:19
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Sep 21, 2023 04:24
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oh hey it's monday let's talk about 13, 14, and 15! 16, 17, and 18 to open next monday
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Sep 25, 2023 23:51
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i have some concerns about this Ohtori Akio fellow
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Sep 25, 2023 23:52
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Oh hey, it's  ! And we get a clip show in case we'd forgotten any of the sweet sword fights from the first batch of episodes.We see Utena's face in one of the origin story flashbacks, so that's definitely not staying the same every running. I still haven't gone back to see if there were any changes before that. Anthy's brother is the acting chair of the academy? Kind of surprised the students are slapping her around as much as they are when any of them could probably be expelled with a whisper from her - he seems to care about her. Pretty sweet setup living in a planetarium. The 360-degree view from a leader's sparsely decorated main hangout is reminiscent of Gendo's office in the NERV pyramid in Evangelion, which preceded this by a couple of years. Anthy seems like she's being more than a little passive-aggressive towards Akio's fiancee. Having a bunch of dead swordsmen possess random friends and family of the Duelists doesn't seem like a great plan for success, not sure what this Black Rose gang is getting at with that idea. Their goal is plain enough, and being the Rose Bride apparently confers some benefit on the person who fills the role. They can drag swords from the chests of other people similar to how the Engaged can. The confessional booth is amusing, especially the butterfly painting on the wall that reverses through its life cycle. Midjack fucked around with this message at 01:23 on Sep 26, 2023 |
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Sep 26, 2023 01:21
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oh right i had episode notes - 13 this is just a really good clip show. introducing akio this way, and his role in the supernatural drama, is really effective. the minor key version of 'sunlit garden' kicks rear end 14 i love the psychotherapy/confessional framing of this arc. it's perfect, and perfectly executed. i think the black rose is the high point of the show in terms of being highly abstract and stylized but about very real and relatable problems, and the way that people resort to drastic measures to solve them. 'revolution' can be hosed up! i feel so bad for kanae. she's in way over her head she needs to RUN im paying attention to the stuff on the desks. lilies this time. is the kanae/anthy dynamic......is this yuri? am i witnessing yuri? insane ending sequence. this is a horror show. 15 the best part of the show returns: miki entering the pain dimension as his twin sister publicly makes out with the entire school. its badass. i loved the stuco sequence despite not understanding it. miki and kozues cutesy little room with cutesy twin beds is adorable. "the path you must take has been prepared for you" is a line you end up hearing a lot and im still not completely sure what to make of it. is it about the falsity of a solution to ones problems presented on a silver platter by an authority figure? duel music was a little different this time i think milk jugs on the desks this time. kozue just wants her brother to take care of her............. the ending sequence is nasty lol. i watched with sub and dub and the sub is definitely better for a lot of these big lines.
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Sep 26, 2023 02:17
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Ohtori Akio posted:oh right i had episode notes - There are no good clip shows aside from the Clerks cartoon. And putting important information in one is bad 
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Sep 26, 2023 02:26
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Wrong bitch.
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Sep 26, 2023 02:27
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You're right because the network hosed around with the Clerks cartoon, and aired the clipshow as the first episode instead of the second. So it wasn't even clipping things that had happened yet. There are no good clipshows.
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Sep 26, 2023 02:46
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 Kozue rules. Nephthys fucked around with this message at 09:08 on Sep 26, 2023 |
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Sep 26, 2023 09:05
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kozue ftmfw.......
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Sep 26, 2023 09:35
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Ohtori Akio posted:14 Can't believe I didn't consider that, I was only thinking of the traditional funerary association with white lilies. Also some thoughts on the previous batch, that I missed: TwoStoryHouseCat posted:Anthy: Kiiiinda an rear end in a top hat now, didn't like what we saw of her. Do I understand Saionji now? Super weird feeling, right? It's so much fun learning more and more about Anthy and what's going on inside her, and being able to look back at earlier episodes and re-examine them from a new perspective. Like, if she's acting under a sort of reprogrammable loyalty as someone else put it, and just doing what her current groom wants... what does that say about, for instance, Saionji? Does that mean he could have had an Anthy that is warm and affectionate if that's what he wanted, but he actually prefers her to be a bit scornful and disobedient, so he can get off more on slapping her around? hosed up poo poo mang
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Sep 26, 2023 14:40
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Nephthys posted:
lol i dont care for kazue (as a person, as a character she owns obv) but she really has her moments
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Sep 26, 2023 15:39
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i like the narrative structure of this arc a lot. not sure what else to add. looking forward to the next episodes
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Sep 26, 2023 15:41
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13: Clipshow, but some stuff going on there. 14: These new yaoi clones of Utena and Anthy make an interesting first impression but I don't have much to say about them yet. This is a good conceit for an arc imo. It lets us get to the heart of these characters super quickly, and stylistically the therapy elevator doesn't feel out of place. I think the flowers on the desks are meant to symbolize bullying, but I like the yuri idea more. 15: The fans are a strong bit for the student council meeting. The new shadow plays are neat, and I like Utena's advice trying to cut to the heart of the problem. I love Anthy just drinking all the milkshakes, it's so fun. I think this arc has some really strong visuals, and it's a fun way to build minor characters. In a normal show this would probably make the school feel more lived in, but somehow it kinda feels like it does the opposite. Not in a bad way though, the school just never feels real and this only amplifies that in some ways
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Sep 26, 2023 18:02
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The General posted:You're right because the network hosed around with the Clerks cartoon, and aired the clipshow as the first episode instead of the second. So it wasn't even clipping things that had happened yet. clip shows are cool when they tell us we should be trying to reframe what we've seen in a new context, and that's absolutely what episode 13 does. heck you could argue that's largely what the next two episodes are doing as well through the updated shadow plays, new musical cues, and repurposed visual metaphors. speaking of repurposed visual metaphors, my absolute favorite scene from this week is this one. it's so unsettling to see the fairy tale rose twisted into an act of violence. 
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Sep 27, 2023 02:34
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chrome line posted:I love Anthy just drinking all the milkshakes, it's so fun. lol i didn't notice this the first time. that owns chrome line posted:Not in a bad way though, the school just never feels real and this only amplifies that in some ways the way everything feels so unreal gives me major twin peaks vibes and it's one of my favorite aspects of the show so far (although for utena i think it's a consequence of all the staging + theatrical elements vs the more dreamlike nature of twin peaks).
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Sep 27, 2023 02:35
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Ohtori Akio posted:the ending sequence is nasty lol. i watched with sub and dub and the sub is definitely better for a lot of these big lines. these words will haunt me for eternity 
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Sep 27, 2023 02:36
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couple random thoughts: 1. the confessionals own!!! 2. the crematorium underworld, the (somehow scarier) planetarium in the heavens, and the student council playing pretend in between them should be a fun dynamic going forward. 3. the clipshow reframes the first 7 duels as creepy rites of passage for utena, so i'm very interested to see how these new duels end up fitting into the greater context of the show. from what i can tell from the first two: they are focused on broken relationships instead of (hopeless) goals. utena barely cares about them, maybe because she is preoccupied with pondering her confusing relationship with anthy by moonlight. 4. https://i.imgur.com/sSgqD92.mp4
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Sep 27, 2023 02:58
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Big Leg posted:these words will haunt me for eternity its hosed Up!!!
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Sep 27, 2023 04:53
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Oh yeah, that reminds me I made this.
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Sep 27, 2023 05:25
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Let's not forget the most important part of this latest batch of episodes: new version of absolute destiny apocalypse
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Sep 27, 2023 14:15
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Lol the show suddenly became a grimdark edgefest, it really bristles my Choo Choos (in the good sense of the word)
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Sep 27, 2023 18:46
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Sleng Teng posted:Let's not forget the most important part of this latest batch of episodes: new version of absolute destiny apocalypse (warning: controversial opinion ahead) i wanted them to switch to this full time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNK9wP35gZg
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Sep 27, 2023 19:17
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Big Leg posted:(warning: controversial opinion ahead) i wanted them to switch to this full time your right
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Sep 27, 2023 19:21
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Big Leg posted:(warning: controversial opinion ahead) i wanted them to switch to this full time Ohtori Akio posted:your right
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Sep 27, 2023 19:39
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Sleng Teng posted:Let's not forget the most important part of this latest batch of episodes: new version of absolute destiny apocalypse Okay yeah i thought the vocals were different.
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Sep 28, 2023 00:18
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the creepy visuals in this arc own a lot
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Sep 28, 2023 05:11
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we have exited the shoujo zone and are barreling towards twin peaks imo
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Sep 28, 2023 05:16
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Ep 16 felt like the last Fun Whacky hurrah. Isn't this also around the time the dub changes the pronunciation of Anthy's last name???
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Sep 28, 2023 06:50
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Episode 14 is such a big tonal change for this show. I knew it was coming and it still surprised me.
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Sep 28, 2023 23:21
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EP 13 is a clip show. You've gotta do what you've gotta do sometimes when it comes to television anime on small budgets. With that said though, it's good to have this quick summary for all of the events so for going into the next arc, while also giving just a tiny bit of insight into Akio Ohtori/Dios(?). Also, would you look at that, he looks like the prince who helps Utena. It's also not lost on me that he shares the same name as the academy, Ohtori. The next two episodes seemingly set up the main framework for this arc, which as other posters have said, is pretty cool, having it framed as a confessional in a falling elevator, where the person confessing is urged to fall deeper and deeper into despair so they can be easily manipulated to do Mikage's bidding. Speaking of Mikage, his name seems really on the nose in terms of symbolism: kage, can be read as shadow or silhouette, and mikage can be read as "a spirit of the dead, a phantom". Lastly, the boy that Mikage wants to make the rose bride...is that just Akio putting on a girl's voice? They both look almost exactly the same  And yeah, it's seems obvious at this point that there is some sort of really gross incestuous relationship between Anthy and Akio, Doesn't seem very becoming of a prince to me!
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Sep 30, 2023 17:28
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Unless you're European i guess
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Sep 30, 2023 17:29
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I'm gonna open things up a little early this week so that I don't forget again. Let's discuss episodes 16, 17, and 18! The next block of episodes are 19, 20, and 21, and they will open Monday, October 9. If you're just joining in or have fallen behind, please feel welcome to discuss earlier episodes too. Every episode has something more to talk about.
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Oct 2, 2023 06:06
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It's been nice to see minor characters appear as Black Rose duelists when they initially seemed like they'd be one-hitter backstory props. They're all kind of bad at swordfighting though; Utena dispatches them in under a minute. Speculation: the basement boys are gathering data from each successive Black Rose duelist to create the Ultimate Swordfighter. We're at the halfway point and Nanami still sucks.
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Oct 2, 2023 06:43
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Here are my notes. Really good block. 16 Another Nanami episode, an iconic one. The opening, where Anthy is watching late-night infomercials, is very important I think. But I won't say how. A large number of perfect little moments I didn't remember. The comedy of the cowbell reveal, the marimba Sunlit Garden, that throwaway shot of Nanami doing ikebana with a cowbell on, the dream of Touga sending her to be slaughtered. The show kicks rear end. 17 This is really good yuri. The metamorphosis of love under pressure into cruelty.......... I particularly liked the bird flying into the closed window, and it reappearing on the desks. Pretty self explanatory but vivid. The smash cut to Utena baring her heart for Akio is brutal lol. Girl....run......... Shiori's duel outfit is gorgeous. 18 This one's good as a serious story about the overarching show plot. You hear a bunch of different characters comment on what it means to be grown, and how all of them want to be grown or even think they're grown. (None of them are grown). Mitsuru gets a beautiful little arc of not carrying the loving printer so much. The clips of film Mitsuru watches in the theatre feature a guy who's a dead ringer for Battler Umineko. The shots of the three fanboys giggling while Anthy and Utena discuss what being grown up is like are great. I love the various choruses. I love the gimmick of this arc where people steal someone else's heart sword, and it's particularly good seeing Mitsuru, who has gone prodromal, holding a scimitar and parrying dagger which are way too big for him. It works visually and to sell what this episode is all about. The desks have chocolate in little bear holders on them this time...I didn't actually pick up what that's about. Perhaps I am not getting the Themes of chocolate. Mitsuru's line that sums up to "you can't just get older, you have to murder the next older guy" owns.
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Oct 2, 2023 06:51
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Nanami is epic bitch............
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Oct 2, 2023 06:52
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| # ? Jun 4, 2024 15:49 |
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That's the indirect kiss chocolate!
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Oct 2, 2023 07:19
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