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Julias posted:Unless you're European i guess As a European, it seems very on point for a prince to me.  Juri and Shiori's relationship is peak tragic yuri. I love how hosed up the whole thing is. Anthy joking about her and Utena loving and it going right over Utenas head will always be funny to me. Utena is just SUCH a dumb jock.
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Oct 2, 2023 08:37
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ep 16 is just a really silly, fun time. not much I could read into it other than to clown on nanami and have some fun. ep 17 we revisit Juri's character, and while that's nice, it becomes pretty evident at this point that this season's duels feel hollow compared to the earlier ones: utena isn;t fighting for any virtue or character growth: she's just beating the villain of the week sent to kill her and Anthy. It feels like Ikuhara knows this, and is taking the piss out of it by having these duels wrap up very quickly, with no showy choreography or anything. Whether this is intentional or not, i'll leave it up to you to decide. I feel like that caries over into ep 18 too. And yeah, while the duel itself isn't really important, it feels like this episode might be a microcosm of the bigger themes in the series as a whole. It certainly feels like we are transitioning towards talking about more mature topics of sexuality at this point, having some really non-subtle gags including the banana one. Outside of that, i don't have much else to say. I forgot to mention it last time, but the change to the framing of the shadow girls and the dueling arena is nice, and especially how when the duelists are defeated, they fall into one of the body outlines signifying their defeat.
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Oct 3, 2023 01:14
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It's definitely true that the center of the character drama has shifted to the monster of the week rather than Utena herself.
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Oct 3, 2023 01:19
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This thread prompted me to watch this show around the third week, but then I loved it so much that I've raced past the current discussion. I'm gonna finish it and then rewatch and try to be on time here. It's so good. How have I never seen this? Witch from Mercury is so clearly referencing this - Miorine even has a greenhouse! The surreal visuals and the way the representation of the world forces you to give up some desire for the fiction to simulate a reality like ours makes me giddy. If I can believe that what I see is the product of an unreliable narrator, as it were, can I recontextualize events as unrepresentative but conveying the emotional weight they bear for the teller/viewer/subject??? Why roses? Are Anthy and Akio southeast Asian? Are Utena's red shorts part of the male uniform and she just skipped the trousers, or did she supply these herself?
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Oct 3, 2023 05:25
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pork never goes bad posted:This thread prompted me to watch this show around the third week, but then I loved it so much that I've raced past the current discussion. I'm gonna finish it and then rewatch and try to be on time here. It's so good. How have I never seen this? Witch from Mercury is so clearly referencing this - Miorine even has a greenhouse! The surreal visuals and the way the representation of the world forces you to give up some desire for the fiction to simulate a reality like ours makes me giddy. If I can believe that what I see is the product of an unreliable narrator, as it were, can I recontextualize events as unrepresentative but conveying the emotional weight they bear for the teller/viewer/subject??? Why roses? Are Anthy and Akio southeast Asian? Are Utena's red shorts part of the male uniform and she just skipped the trousers, or did she supply these herself? once again. i live for this poo poo
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Oct 3, 2023 06:10
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Glad to be of service, senpai
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Oct 3, 2023 06:56
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16: This is one of my favorite episodes, but I don't really have much to say about it here. I think there's more than just goofs, but not that much more 17: This is ALSO one of my favorites, but more for that good drama. I love Shiori so much, she's maybe the best sicko in the show and it's amazing. Love Juri's tragic love, love Shiori being the most toxic, her elevator scene is perfect. She's as into Juri as Juri is into her but doesn't know how to process it imo. "I love the look in your eyes when I hurt you..." 18: Mitsuru is simply not as compelling but I won't hold that against him. He's still got a good episode with some good bits. As has been mentioned this really ties into some overarching themes and gives some broader insight into the cast. The bit where Anthy implies she and Utena are loving is very funny to me
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Oct 3, 2023 08:01
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episode 16 (Operation: Oh! Anthy Himemiya is a total weirdo who keeps a cow in her backyard!) stands out to me because conceptually it's pretty similar to the episodes around it, except nanami's obsession/delusion is a personal issue and not based on a relationship. as a first time watcher i don't really know if there's a thematic or narrative reason for the placement outside of the perfectly valid 'nanami + funny = good episode' logic, but it will be cool to look back on when i have more context.
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Oct 3, 2023 08:24
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the use of shadows and negative space in this arc so far owns a lot.  
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Oct 3, 2023 08:28
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Ohtori Akio posted:Nanami is epic bitch............ this. respect the cowbell nerds https://i.imgur.com/B2pK3W2.mp4
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Oct 3, 2023 08:33
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Big Leg posted:episode 16 (Operation: Oh! Anthy Himemiya is a total weirdo who keeps a cow in her backyard!) stands out to me because conceptually it's pretty similar to the episodes around it, except nanami's obsession/delusion is a personal issue and not based on a relationship. as a first time watcher i don't really know if there's a thematic or narrative reason for the placement outside of the perfectly valid 'nanami + funny = good episode' logic, but it will be cool to look back on when i have more context. I will say that there is not an unimportant episode of Utena (maybe one). Everything is thematically or narratively relevant. Nephthys fucked around with this message at 09:57 on Oct 3, 2023 |
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Oct 3, 2023 09:53
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Ohtori Akio posted:Nanami is epic bitch............ That's right
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Oct 4, 2023 00:08
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ep16: what the gently caress is this ep17: Agreed that the fights are ending way too fast, I thought they'd be the focus but feels like something bigger brewing
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Oct 5, 2023 20:42
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I agree the fights are super short, but gotta save time somewhere, and I'd rather shorter fights over nixing the character development. Maybe they could have shortened the elevator a little, and had the traumas/grievances become more apparent during the duels?
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Oct 5, 2023 20:49
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the elevator is essential
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Oct 5, 2023 20:52
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Absolutely agreed. Just workshopping ideas on how to extend the duels.
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Oct 5, 2023 21:24
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i think it's neat that utena is more invested in talking with the shadow play troupe about the legal age to donate blood than she is with the duels currently. i'm sure it's way healthier that she now confronts her insecurities by having personal conversations with this guy:
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Oct 5, 2023 21:53
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kind of a toss up who's the worse therapist between him and mikage
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Oct 5, 2023 21:55
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Ohtori Akio posted:kind of a toss up who's the worse therapist between him and mikage i'm tired of these perverts. they just hide in the darkness instead of proving their point by slapping people or having sex with miki's sister
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Oct 5, 2023 22:01
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what if we made a cartoon entirely out of villains
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Oct 5, 2023 22:14
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I demand more elevator sequences, a longer staircase walk w/extended version of absolute destiny apocalypse, and 3x more student council gags
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Oct 5, 2023 22:48
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Sleng Teng posted:I demand more elevator sequences, a longer staircase walk w/extended version of absolute destiny apocalypse, and 3x more student council gags seconded. also a multiple act shadow play
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Oct 5, 2023 22:51
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a 2d action utena game where the staircase is done with cute parallax/background tricks would kick rear end and satisfy my need to repeatedly walk up an endless staircase
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Oct 5, 2023 23:09
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Ohtori Akio posted:a 2d action utena game where the staircase is done with cute parallax/background tricks would kick rear end and satisfy my need to repeatedly walk up an endless staircase Not talking much because I cannot avoid spoilers. Just dropped in to say I never thought I’d associate Utena with NES/C64 Ghostbusters.
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Oct 5, 2023 23:12
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Ohtori Akio posted:kind of a toss up who's the worse therapist between him and mikage Mikage is the better therapist. Say what you will about his methods, most of his patients are better people after Mikage induces a tantrum.
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Oct 6, 2023 06:56
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"Your only option is to revolutionize the world" is sound therapeutic advice IMO
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Oct 7, 2023 14:33
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If nothing else he certainly gets to the heart of the matter very quickly
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Oct 7, 2023 15:41
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Ep 16: no notes, total perfection, everything proceeding as planned.
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Oct 7, 2023 19:14
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Cephas posted:"Your only option is to revolutionize the world" is sound therapeutic advice IMO i've been saying this
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Oct 7, 2023 21:22
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i think it's generally ok to propose radical change, but it creates a vulnerable moment for the person doing that change where they are open to suggestion of what that change will be. that's why mikage can say things that sound right but have horrible consequences: he tells people under stress that something has to change, then suggests to them it obviously has to be X deeply harmful radical change. he sucks in a subtle and really interesting way
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Oct 7, 2023 21:30
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I'm still catching up to the thread as a first-time watcher. I'm glad I waited because I wouldn't have appreciated it as much when I was younger. (I wasn't giving Rose of Versailles the respect it deserved). It's a treat how I'm retroactively recalling references in other anime. I'm hard-pressed to remember a running gag that had me howling with laughter as much as Nanami's trip to India in episode 6.
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Oct 7, 2023 23:57
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Is it subtle, though? Mikage sucks like the guy who tells you his exes are crazy and you call them crazy too. I'm so mad at this show lmao. It's very good.
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Oct 8, 2023 07:47
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i mean, it's subtle to the high schoolers he is manipulating. nothing in this program is actually subtle
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Oct 8, 2023 07:53
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let's talk about episodes 19, 20, and 21!
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Oct 9, 2023 05:48
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saionji season
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Oct 9, 2023 05:48
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Episode 20 is probably my favorite episode and one of the best in the series imho. Perfect encapsulation of the arc's thesis (how much the duels and the obsession with the rose bride doesn't take place in a vacuum and how much bystanders are harmed as well), a Wakaba focus episode, and an absolute gut-punch of an ending. 10/10
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Oct 9, 2023 14:21
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19 - Again, I appreciate the efficiency of exploring characters we've already seen rather than just throwing new people at us every episode and revisiting the love letter Saionji publicized is also good. Mikage doesn't take just anybody to be a puppet even if they have legitimate beef. 20 - Utena refuses to take up a weapon against Wakaba but unsurprisingly beats her anyway. Knew we'd see Saionji back at school. He's really thoughtless to Wakaba for sheltering and feeding him, kind of a through line for him. Seems like he's back for good so I'm assuming we can look forward to watching him pick fights with Utena and slap Anthy around again. Is there anything limiting the frequency of duels, or could someone with superior endurance like Juri just spam challenges at Utena nonstop until she just falls over from exhaustion? 21 - You know what I needed? Another episode showing how awful Nanami is. The Chu-Chu huffing his own farts in the sleeping bag thing seems like an animator doodle that they decided to put in the show because why not? The revelation that the Harpies only hang around Nanami because they want to get with Touga isn't that much of a surprise. I feel like Mean Girls does this better. We've gone a few episodes without seeing Utena's origin story sketch and with half the student council offline the elevator has been out of rotation too. Anthy doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot these last several episodes though Akio directly tasking her to monitor Utena is some heavy-handed foreshadowing. We still haven't explained the upside down castle. Utena's one liners at the end of the shadow plays are fun.
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Oct 9, 2023 20:54
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Ep 19 - The guy being so boring that Mikage just stops the elevator and tells him to piss off is great. Dudes trauma is too vanilla for rooftop swordfights.Midjack posted:20 - Utena refuses to take up a weapon against Wakaba but unsurprisingly beats her anyway. Knew we'd see Saionji back at school. He's really thoughtless to Wakaba for sheltering and feeding him, kind of a through line for him. Seems like he's back for good so I'm assuming we can look forward to watching him pick fights with Utena and slap Anthy around again. Is there anything limiting the frequency of duels, or could someone with superior endurance like Juri just spam challenges at Utena nonstop until she just falls over from exhaustion? I believe at some point in season 1 there was a chart showing that each duelist has 1 shot at beating the current holder of the Rose Bride. Saionji got to challenge Utena after losing and Utena got to challenge Touga after losing, so it has pretty much kept to this rule I think. Mikage is explicitly going outside of the usual dueling system, but as we've seen he's also limited in how many duelists he can find and is either unable or unwilling to use people Utena has already defeated. Also, I doubt any duelist could outlast Utena. Nephthys fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Oct 10, 2023 |
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Oct 10, 2023 16:37
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EP19 THAT TWIIIIIIST wakaba noo
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Oct 10, 2023 20:08
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TwoStoryHouseCat posted:EP19 THAT TWIIIIIIST wakaba noo it gets me every time. oh i should post my episode notes...
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Oct 10, 2023 20:14
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