This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)
YamPuff wrote:
OK for anyone who has read/is reading the manga, can you share some non-spoilery information with me? Is it completed or ongoing? How similar/ dissimilar is it to the anime? Worth a read? Would it be good to read the manga alongside the anime, or would that spoil things? I aware the questions I'm asking are all highly subjective, but I would like someone's POV.
Please do share.
Greetings, new here.
I have read the first volume of the manga, it has chapters 1~8 I believe. It is still ongoing, and I really wish I could find scans of it, so I don't have to wait 8 months in between volumes.
As far as to how different it is. It is completely different. Incredibly different. Which is what Ikuhara requested of the manga artist, Morishima Akiko.
There have already been some big revelations in the manga, that I don't feel comfortable saying due to spoilers, but then again, it's so different I have no clue if these revelations will even be in the anime. Characters have very different back stories, different relationships, and show up in different orders (8 chapters in, and no sign of Sumika anywhere.) I would say it is more blatantly Yuri than the anime as well.
I would absolutely recommend it. It being so different is really its best selling point to me. The main problem is finding it. I've only seen the first chapter fan translated.
Last edited by occultangle (02-19-2015 06:49:15 AM)
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occultangle wrote:
YamPuff wrote:
OK for anyone who has read/is reading the manga, can you share some non-spoilery information with me? Is it completed or ongoing? How similar/ dissimilar is it to the anime? Worth a read? Would it be good to read the manga alongside the anime, or would that spoil things? I aware the questions I'm asking are all highly subjective, but I would like someone's POV.
Please do share.
Greetings, new here.
I have read the first volume of the manga, it has chapters 1~8 I believe. It is still ongoing, and I really wish I could find scans of it, so I don't have to wait 8 months in between volumes.
As far as to how different it is. It is completely different. Incredibly different. Which is what Ikuhara requested of the manga artist, Morishima Akiko.
There have already been some big revelations in the manga, that I don't feel comfortable saying due to spoilers, but then again, it's so different I have no clue if these revelations will even be in the anime. Characters have very different back stories, different relationships, and show up in different orders (8 chapters in, and no sign of Sumika anywhere.) I would say it is more blatantly Yuri than the anime as well.
I would absolutely recommend it. It being so different is really its best selling point to me. The main problem is finding it. I've only seen the first chapter fan translated.
Thanks for the info!
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I just read the first two chapters of the manga and I agree that the yuri element is more blatant. And yes, it is very, very different from the anime.
These are some mild spoilers but I'll tag them anyway, better safe than sorry: [Apart from no Sumika, up to chapter 2 there is no Lulu either. Instead of being obsessed with killing bears Kureha is a normal high school girl and a bit of the typical shoujo heroine although she does describe herself as 'invisible' and has dreams about being threatened by man eating bears and of Ginko as a bear princess. Kureha is the shy, blushing type here and absolutely idolizes Ginko.
Ginko is also very different, in the manga version she is also a transfer student but in one month she becomes super popular with virtually everyone and is very well loved. Like in the anime she clearly loves Kureha a lot but in this case Kureha is so obviously head over heels with her that the relationship is more of the 'cannot spit it out' type than anything else. That and the fact that Kureha seems to be so innocent that she does not understand her own attraction toward Ginko]
One thing I do like better about the manga so far is that the presence of human boys is not entirely ignored so that gender interaction is covered. [There is even a flasher who appears a bit out of nowhere and a male student council president who goes solve the situation. And later Kureha has a dream that connects him with the Bear Judge, in said dream she also claims to love Ginko who then asks her if she can still love her despite her being a girl, which is an approach I really liked.]
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In regards to Lulu in the manga: [She shows up in chapter 4, but again, while her personality is similar, her relationship with Ginko is entirely different.]
There are some really big things revealed in the manga around chapter 6 or so. I'm really wondering if they will be the same in the anime or not. If there is anyone who isn't planning on reading it, but wants to know what they are, tell me, and I will hide it with spoilers.
Also, this:
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I'd like to read the manga myself but only managed to find two chapters. Where are you reading it? I'm fine with RAWs, I can read enough Japanese to understand them.
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I imported the first collected volume. It has the first eight chapters, and there are probably 3 or 4 more that have been published since, in a magazine called Birz.
I have tried googling for scans like crazy, but no luck, except for those few fan translated chapters.
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Ahhhhhhh I need to know what happens in the episode 9 preview omgggggg.
I liked the line 'Open up your boxes and show my your precious things.' IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
Interesting that we finally see [a man...in a sense? Unless that was like, a women dressing as a man? Or a guy with a penchant fr high heels. Even the pink haired Sexy Bear Judge was manlier. Shabadadu.]
Also: judge bears with opera glasses. I wish I had an friend offline who watched this with me so we could randomly yell Shabadadu at each other.
Last edited by YamPuff (02-23-2015 12:59:36 PM)
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YamPuff wrote:
Ahhhhhhh I need to know what happens in the episode 9 preview omgggggg.
Me too! I'm really curious about Lulu and her game there. I liked this episode, the boxes theme. Also, the compromising pictures of Ginko and Lulu.
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Some thoughts and questions on episode 8
[- Wasn't there a fairy tale that had heel clicking in it or something as some kind of magical plot device? I really can't remember, does anyone know??
- So how do babies appear in this lesbian world???
- Who was that fabulous Takarazuka-esque person really??? I don't know what gender we were supposed to assume them to be.
- Who got shot? (If anyone at all?) Lulu? Yuriika? Kureha? Ginko seems least likely to me for some reason.
- Yuriika's story was so sad. ;_; And messed up.
- Now we know at some point before the Day of Severance that humans and bears did coexist peacefully.
- Yuriika says her love is different from Reia's. Was her love sexual unlike Reia's? Or was Reia really straight and went on to have a baby and live a typical straight life? (except there are no clues on who was Kureha's dad).
- Goddammit, Ikuhara! ]
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Maarika, are you maybe thinking of Wizard of Oz?
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My god, [the whole obscuring what was said with the sound was genius. I've seen this kind of thing done for jokes, but not for serious plot things - not like this.
As for the man, he definitely was very much a mixed-gender-cues kind of person. I can't tell if that's significant or just a fun character design.]
Last edited by Arale (02-23-2015 09:52:14 PM)
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I swear, when that thunder struck, I shouted, "Ikuhara you son of a bitch!"
So annoying that it will take all four remaining episodes before we finally learn the truth...
[What is Ginko's actual relationship with Reia?]
[- So how do babies appear in this lesbian world???]
[Well, when a mommy and a mommy love each other very much... No, the mechanics still don't seem to work.]
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Episode 8:
[The gender ambiguous-looking character seemed even weirder to me as s/he sounded a hell lot Noto Mamiko to me. I thought that Yuriika had eaten Reia, turns out I was right at least about one thing. That finale nearly killed me, let's just hope next week's episode will finally reveal what Ginko did to Sumika and what her sin is. Also, who left Lulu that letter, I wonder? Yuriika?
And it's so weird how the flashback goes from 'school lesbian' to 'oh look, she's got a baby now' without any guy even being alluded to. Reia seems too happy for the guy to have died or left her so what gives? Sperm bank?
And I bet the giving of the pendant thing was misconstrued by Yuriika entirely. Reia tried to explain her action but it was too late.
All that 'putting people in boxes' made me think of Mouryou no Hako.]
Last edited by Nocturnalux (02-23-2015 10:22:57 PM)
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Oh yeah, I also thought it was odd how [the new character didn't get a name. The show has made it a point to introduce every character with a caption giving their name... the fact that it didn't happen for him seems potentially significant, like his name would spoil something.]
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[I'm willing to bet next week (or in a week after that) we're going to get some flashbacks from Reia's perspective. It's happened with every other character, so I'd be surprised if we didn't get an episode about her.
So, some more thoughts on "boxes" here. Sanetoshi thought boxes kept you from truly being able to form a connection with another person, that you were trapped in a box called self. The guy in this anime thought boxing things up was the only way to keep something precious - which would incidentally prevent whatever was in the box from making a connection and becoming sullied. Yuriika felt like an empty box and only someone else could fill the void and yet it didn't work for her. ]
Edit: Apparently next week's episode is going to be 8.5 instead of 9.http://www.yurikuma.jp/news.html#n047 What does it mean? Recap episode?
Last edited by HonorableShadow (02-24-2015 01:00:31 AM)
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HonorableShadow wrote:
Edit: Apparently next week's episode is going to be 8.5 instead of 9.http://www.yurikuma.jp/news.html#n047 What does it mean? Recap episode?
Oh no, not one of those.
Well, their description makes it sound more interesting than a simple recap. They're saying it's a special, with an introduction to the series by the three main voice actresses, a conversation with Ikuhara and Bonjour Suzuki, a special ending, and an episode 9 preview.
It sounds cool, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.
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HonorableShadow, I think that's what I must have been thinking about. Thanks!
Nocturnalux wrote:
[The gender ambiguous-looking character seemed even weirder to me as s/he sounded a hell lot Noto Mamiko to me. ]
Yeah, that character was voiced by Noto Mamiko.[ And he was only named as "kare" ("he") in the credits.]
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[- So how do babies appear in this lesbian world???]
And omg I love Lulu so much
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Flah wrote:
I swear, when that thunder struck, I shouted, "Ikuhara you son of a bitch!"
I didn't shout it, but I did think it.
Snow wrote:
[- So how do babies appear in this lesbian world???]
Things are starting to make sense.
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Arale wrote:
I've seen this kind of thing done for jokes, but not for serious plot things - not like this.
"Ritsuko Akagi. I truly..."
Anyway, that was an awesome episode. I'm ridiculously happy just to hear Mamiko Noto once again. [Yes, even when she's playing a man in high heels. Is there anything wrong with me? ]
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Some more info about 8.5
http://www.animate.tv/news/details.php?id=1424072122
http://anime.webnt.jp/report/view/3989
The voice actresses look really cute in their cosplay!
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They do look cute, I wish I could find larger pictures of them. But, those articles actually aren't for 8.5. They are from a live event that was held before episode 6 aired.
The description on the official website says an "introduction" to the series by those three girls. I can't say for sure, but I am sadly imagining that will end up meaning they will basically be narrating a recap (probably in character, over the animation.) Though on the other hand, it does sound like there may be interviews with Ikuhara and Bonjour Suzuki (they use a word that means discussion or conversation).
If it is actual interviews, I would be very happy, but I fear it is going to be basically a boring recap. And it brings up another question, does this mean there will really only be 11 episodes plus 8.5, or will there still be twelve. The website still has individual spots for episodes 1~12 and not one for 8.5, but I don't know.
Last edited by occultangle (02-24-2015 10:23:02 PM)
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Ah ok, thanks for clearing that up! Someone on another website had posted them and said they were about 8.5 and since I can't read Japanese I took their word for it.
I really hope it doesn't take up the slot of one of the 12 episodes. That's what I was worried about when I first heard about it. It's already such a short series.
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I'm going to assume if they went to the trouble of labeling it 8.5, that means they're leaving room for 9.
I hope.
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Ah, teen Yuriika seemed like a perfect candidate for a
...and everything could have turned out differently.
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