This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)

#51 | Back to Top11-22-2006 03:52:57 AM

Marin
ex-was_ohtori_akio
From: Australia
Registered: 11-15-2006
Posts: 31
Website

Re: If you like Utena, then..

This may sound far fetched but I adore Utena and I do think that Fancy Lala was incredibly enjoyable as it taps into the little things in life the same way Utena does.

X also seems like a good recommendation, just don't watch the movie! lol


Picutres of LIve Action Akio [or I like to think so ;) LoL]

www.modelmayhem.com/marin

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#52 | Back to Top11-22-2006 05:30:11 PM

bella
Atlantean Singer
Registered: 11-04-2006
Posts: 581

Re: If you like Utena, then..

was_ohtori_akio wrote:

X also seems like a good recommendation, just don't watch the movie! lol

X/1999 is very good, but the movie and the series are WORLDS apart. The series is filled with all this great stuff. Twisted romances and incest, death, gore, the apocolypse. It takes the book of revelaitons and puts an interesting spin on it, but it's very much based on that version of the end of the world. And in the manga there is much more gore. Lots of people are disembowled or ripped into pieces, but it's in a pretty way. Clamp is good at making gothy pretty stuff. I recommend the X series and manga to anyone who loves SKU for all its dark parts.


Happy Holidays Everyone! :3

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#53 | Back to Top11-22-2006 06:06:50 PM

A Day Without Me
Still Drunk in the Morning?
From: in the tulip garden!
Registered: 11-17-2006
Posts: 1584

Re: If you like Utena, then..

Someone mentioned Boogiepop Phantom... man, I remember I watched that with weeks between each episode and it pretty much broke my brain - I'd recommend it, though.

I've heard a lot of people say that Melody of Oblivion is like Utena, except the main character is a boy. I've really been meaning to check it out.

I have much love for Princess Tutu. I adore stories that turn fairy tales completely upside down (I REALLY loved the book Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister). Although, if you actually read the original fairy tales, you realize that they never needed much inversion to start with... we just have Disney to thank for our warped view of fairy tales.

I really liked St. Luminous Mission High School, which as I remember was quite mind-bending at points like Utena. It takes place at an all-girls' high school where girls have been mysteriously vanishing, quite literally into thin air.

And if you enjoy having a broken brain, you really gotta check out Cat Soup - nothing can really compare at all with it, it's just so surreal and out there. Describing it makes it sound foolish, though - a female cat loses her heart, and so she and her younger brother set out to get it back, and travel through all these extremely bizarre places.

Shadow Star NaruTaru, which shares the trait of looking like its innocent with Utena, has enough moral ambiguity to sink an island. Manga is a bunch better than the anime, though, which suffers from being too short to tell the story. Its similar to Utena in that we have kids who are battling each other mostly behind the scenes, although in this case they are using "dragons" to fight each other. The kids are mainly younger than in Utena, but its a really dark series.

Finally, I'd like to recommend Jigoku Shoujo, which is nothing like Utena, except for doing an excellent job of showing humans as being quite flawed and humanity as being capable of very awful things. The premise is simple enough: people who are being tormented by someone or have had their life ruined by someone can access the Hotline to Hell (Jigoku Tsushin) and type the person's name in - Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl) will appear and give a doll to the person that has a red string around its neck. Pull that string, and your tormentor will go straight to hell; however, once you die, so will you. I really enjoyed it, and the artwork is to die for. Its second season is currently airing in Japan.


"I'm bringing paxil back. (Yup)
My HMO might just pick up the tab. (Yup)
I got the tremors and I need a nap. (Yup)
I gave my rent check to them Pfizer cats."

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#54 | Back to Top11-22-2006 06:48:35 PM

Frosty
Everyone's Best Friend
From: United States
Registered: 11-16-2006
Posts: 1269
Website

Re: If you like Utena, then..

A Day Without Me wrote:

I have much love for Princess Tutu. I adore stories that turn fairy tales completely upside down (I REALLY loved the book Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister). Although, if you actually read the original fairy tales, you realize that they never needed much inversion to start with... we just have Disney to thank for our warped view of fairy tales.

Hey thanks, I have that book "Confessions..." and I can't wait to read it. I agree, I found a book my mother had, which belonged to her grandfather, Fairytales. 1898 was the date inside. In any case, those stories were nothing like the cutesy stuff Disney peddles off today. I remember a story about a brother and sister who went out picking mushrooms, and they decided to eat some too. Because they picked a poisonous variety, they died.

A Day Without Me wrote:

Finally, I'd like to recommend Jigoku Shoujo, which is nothing like Utena, except for doing an excellent job of showing humans as being quite flawed and humanity as being capable of very awful things. The premise is simple enough: people who are being tormented by someone or have had their life ruined by someone can access the Hotline to Hell (Jigoku Tsushin) and type the person's name in - Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl) will appear and give a doll to the person that has a red string around its neck. Pull that string, and your tormentor will go straight to hell; however, once you die, so will you. I really enjoyed it, and the artwork is to die for. Its second season is currently airing in Japan.

I like the premise in this one. It reminds me of the DeathNote. My friend just brought me the entire collection back from Japan, which I could not understand because I neither speak nor read Japanese. But she told me it was so popular over there, all the comic stores had the posters up, and they were making, or did make a movie. In fact, in these manga books I have, they have an advertisement for the movie version. Anyway, the "rules of the death note" were written in English. Bizarre rules, such as, "you cannot make a death note for a person under the age of 4". Interesting, but I see this series is out in US bookstores so I'll have to find out more.

My recommendation would be Angel Sanctuary. The main storyline involved a brother and sister who are in love with each other, but it's because their are angels inside of their bodies. Put their as punishment from God for beginning a rebellion, so the angels were sentenced to live lives of tragedy. In some ways, it might be too plot driven, with not enough emphasis on the characters...but the chars that are developed are done amazingly well. And the artwork is visually stunning.


Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that. / You forget some things, don't you? / Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.

Hat Mafia Member: The Scissors

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#55 | Back to Top11-23-2006 05:59:28 AM

Tamago
God of Comedy
From: Minami Goushuu
Registered: 10-17-2006
Posts: 14280
Website

Re: If you like Utena, then..

Hinotori wrote:

Most yaoi/yuri/TS doesn't get released in english, so it can be pretty hard to find. Luckily I have the moral fibre of an ovulating hyena.

Thats a shame, its a pity that there are no Australian companies that are willing to do the translations for manga/anime from Japanese to English as in some regards, an Australian company would be more liberal than an American one on certain subjects.

I must admit I would like to see an Australian dub of a Japanese anime or even better, start a dubbing company over here in Oz and hire from the large number of Japanese exchange Uni students to do the English dub thus keeping more of the Japanese feeling even in the dub.

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#56 | Back to Top12-23-2006 09:31:06 PM

Scortia
Rose Bride
From: Louisiana
Registered: 12-23-2006
Posts: 116

Re: If you like Utena, then..

Noein and Gankutsuou both have a great deal of substance in comparison to Utena.  Gankutsuou has class, so much class, and its origins are from classic literature: "The Count of Monte Cristo"... but in a sexy futuristic colorgasm sort of way.  Noein is just a great mindfuck.  It's scientifically as confusing as Eva but deep down its more about dealing with the complexity that comes from straight up human psychology.

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#57 | Back to Top12-23-2006 10:07:31 PM

dollface
Postmistress Elf of Subtext
From: North Carolina
Registered: 11-17-2006
Posts: 5086
Website

Re: If you like Utena, then..

I'd recomend Serial Experiments Lain. Great for surreality and computer addiction, because we all know we have it. And this might not be exactly like SKU, but I quite enjoy Elfen Lied. It's one of my favorites. Described as "A terrifying portrayal of grotesque humanity." I consider Elfen Lied to be fairly surreal. It's definately good for violence, sex, and creepy children. Whenever I see Mariko, or when Lucy has her flashbacks, I simply melt into my seat. Children are too frightening.

Manga-wise, Angel Sanctuary is always good for incest and plot twists. While AS is so much more than that, SKU-wise that's mainly what you can relate. AS is the only manga that has ever moved me to tears. I have literally soaked my pages crying. If you want your mind blown and your heart broken, this is the manga for you.

However, much as SKU cannot be recomended to everyone, neither can any of the things I listed. SEL has more than enough mindfucking, and can be a little over some peoples heads. Elfen Lied is TV-MA for christs sake. Blood, violence, nudity, and language are definately abound. And AS is based off of religion, or moreso, sacreligion. Incest [to the max], homosexuality, transexuality, language, violence, and reference to God as a "sick bastard" or something to that extent, are abound.

emot-dance

Edit: Typo. I can't live if I'm grammatically incorrect.

Last edited by dollface (12-23-2006 10:32:38 PM)


ah, man does not exist; ah, within the darkness; ah, the sound of the waves

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#58 | Back to Top12-23-2006 10:22:20 PM

Archambeau
Muffy, the Forums Trophy Wife
Registered: 11-20-2006
Posts: 499

Re: If you like Utena, then..

Seconding Gankutsuou, as it is probably my favorite series after Utena.  It's fairly straightforward and not really trippy, but it has amazing characters and plays out quite nicely.

Alien 9 is also so underrated.  That's one that can creep under my skin and unsettle me for hours.

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#59 | Back to Top12-23-2006 11:43:41 PM

Imaginary Bad Bug
Revolutionary
From: Connecticut, USA
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 2171
Website

Re: If you like Utena, then..

Archambeau wrote:

Alien 9 is also so underrated.  That's one that can creep under my skin and unsettle me for hours.

That's it!  I'm ordering Alien 9 the next chance I get!*  I've had my eye on that series for quite a while now.


*as soon as I order the rest of Kamichu! to fill that box. emot-biggrin


http://lh5.ggpht.com/_HERdW38xV_c/S5xZ2QVrIwI/AAAAAAAAApg/uNpckSbLgUw/s800/utenaban.jpg

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#60 | Back to Top12-24-2006 05:11:26 AM

Lightice
Azure Paleontologist
From: Finland
Registered: 10-21-2006
Posts: 1255

Re: If you like Utena, then..

dollface wrote:

And AS is based off of religion, or moreso, sacreligion. Incest [to the max], homosexuality, transexuality, language, violence, and reference to God as a "sick bastard" or something to that extent, are abound.

Don't forget the Nazi-angels and Lucifer as a good guy. emot-wink

Elfen Lied tries to mix up brutal scifi-horror, psychological tragedy and romantic comedy with varying success. It has certainly some very good scenes, but its overall quality is somewhat lacking, I think. Still, it inspired that incredibly evil yet ingenious webcomic, Nana's Everyday Life by Dan Kim, that manages to top de Sade's Justine in pure depressiveness, so I guess I'd have to be grateful to it, about that.

Lain, like almost everything from Ueda and ABe is pure genious, that is just not refutable.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is a great series in both seasons, but it's very unlike Utena - on surface it's a police-series set in the future, but it also contains plenty of fascinating social commentary of the development of information society.


Hei! Aa-Shanta 'Nygh!

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#61 | Back to Top12-26-2006 12:57:08 AM

rhyaniwyn
Myth is my Bitch
From: Tallahassee, FL
Registered: 11-09-2006
Posts: 684
Website

Re: If you like Utena, then..

I still can't think of anything that's *like* Utena, but:

I can't believe I forgot to mention Scryed.  I think it's enjoyable and magnificiently well done thematically.  A fair amount of weirdness too.

I just saw Scrapped Princess, and it was also pretty good.

And unlike most anime, they have endings that work.

(I concur with Ghost in the Shell)


http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o165/absolethe/itrg_signature.jpg

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#62 | Back to Top12-26-2006 10:31:17 AM

dollface
Postmistress Elf of Subtext
From: North Carolina
Registered: 11-17-2006
Posts: 5086
Website

Re: If you like Utena, then..

I loved GITS simply because of the Laughing Man. emot-dance


ah, man does not exist; ah, within the darkness; ah, the sound of the waves

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#63 | Back to Top06-27-2012 10:29:25 AM

eri401
Wakaba Wrangler
Registered: 06-23-2012
Posts: 13

Re: If you like Utena, then..

Ummmm....bumping a 6 year old thread because there have been a lot of new shows and manga since then.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shitsurakuen_(manga)

Shitsurakuen (失楽園?, literally Paradise Lost) is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Tōru Naomura. It follows the story of Himoto Sora, a transfer student with a sense of justice and dreams of becoming a knight. Upon arriving at Utopia Academy, she learns of a virtual reality-like game played by the male students in which they use girls as weapons in battles for status and treat them as commodities. Seeing one of these girls being abused, she steps in and unwittingly becomes the first female participant of the game.

Ummm....

Madoka, of course, is the next best thing to come out in recent years.  Another girl-fighting, horribly dark revision of the magical girl genre.

Last edited by eri401 (06-27-2012 10:31:48 AM)

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#64 | Back to Top06-27-2012 10:48:11 AM

Scoluron
Rose Bride
From: Portland, OR
Registered: 11-03-2009
Posts: 114

Re: If you like Utena, then..

eri401 wrote:

Madoka, of course, is the next best thing to come out in recent years.  Another girl-fighting, horribly dark revision of the magical girl genre.

Second on Madoka.  Very fun twist on themes for me.


"Himemiya! I've misjudged you!" "My image of you is ruined."

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#65 | Back to Top07-01-2012 10:59:54 AM

20mensou
Wakaba Wrangler
Registered: 06-26-2012
Posts: 19

Re: If you like Utena, then..

eri401 wrote:

Ummmm....bumping a 6 year old thread because there have been a lot of new shows and manga since then.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shitsurakuen_(manga)

Shitsurakuen (失楽園?, literally Paradise Lost) is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Tōru Naomura. It follows the story of Himoto Sora, a transfer student with a sense of justice and dreams of becoming a knight. Upon arriving at Utopia Academy, she learns of a virtual reality-like game played by the male students in which they use girls as weapons in battles for status and treat them as commodities. Seeing one of these girls being abused, she steps in and unwittingly becomes the first female participant of the game.

Ummm....

Madoka, of course, is the next best thing to come out in recent years.  Another girl-fighting, horribly dark revision of the magical girl genre.

Ooooh I need to get my hands on that manga.

I'd recommend Android Kikaider, because it has similar themes of identity and different kinds of love.

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#66 | Back to Top07-15-2012 02:13:34 AM

icarus
Wakaba Wrangler
Registered: 07-31-2011
Posts: 18

Re: If you like Utena, then..

I think you guys would probably like Natsu e no Tobira or The Door Into Summer. I mean, just look at it:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12085667/natsuenotobira.jpg

It's an hour long film from the early eighties dealing with the transition from adolescence to adulthood (though in a much more direct and literal way than SKU) via themes like homosexuality, suicide, the destruction of innocence and the first stirrings of lust as well as the intersection of all of the above - all amongst billowing clouds of roses, o'course. Very dramatic and theatrical, with an emphasis on intensity of emotion, but, being as short as it is, it works.

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#67 | Back to Top07-15-2012 10:10:09 AM

gorgeousshutin
Bare Footman
Registered: 04-11-2012
Posts: 1325
Website

Re: If you like Utena, then..

If you guys like meaningful anime/manga, how about Please Save My Earth - 6 OVAs, story followed by a 21 vol manga?  The plot is thick, the main characters all gorgeously developed/presented, the entire thing just unbelievably engaging.

And, being that PSME lacks in the way of blatant wish fullfilment and/or banal elements, the title remained largely obscure despite its exquisite sincerity. 

Now that's a quality anime/manga series right there.


(SKU/MPD) Seinen Kakumei Utena (Completed as of May 12, 2018) / (PSOH/SKU) Revolutionary Human Leon (Updated to Part 4 as of Oct 31, 2017) / (NGE) The End of Hedgehog_s Dilemma (Updated to Part II Chapter 6 as of May 17, 2016) / (BananaFish) Medusa (Updated to Chapter 3 as of Mar 1, 2016)
http://archiveofourown.org/users/gorgeousshutin/works or https://www.fanfiction.net/u/3978886/

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#68 | Back to Top07-15-2012 12:29:23 PM

Nova
Phoenix Down
Registered: 05-02-2012
Posts: 535

Re: If you like Utena, then..

gorgeousshutin wrote:

If you guys like meaningful anime/manga, how about Please Save My Earth - 6 OVAs, story followed by a 21 vol manga?  The plot is thick, the main characters all gorgeously developed/presented, the entire thing just unbelievably engaging.

And, being that PSME lacks in the way of blatant wish fullfilment and/or banal elements, the title remained largely obscure despite its exquisite sincerity. 

Now that's a quality anime/manga series right there.

PSME is awesome, that is all.

[spoiler]Also, the way S. K. Utena takes the idea of teenaged angst feeling like the end of the world and then literally turns it into the end of the world, PSME takes the idea of teenagers feeling like weird aliens and literally turns them into weird aliens. Me gusta![/spoiler]

Last edited by Nova (07-15-2012 12:30:34 PM)


I have left this forum. If you wish to contact me, ask Ashnod or Satyreyes how I may be reached.

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#69 | Back to Top07-15-2012 12:47:24 PM

gorgeousshutin
Bare Footman
Registered: 04-11-2012
Posts: 1325
Website

Re: If you like Utena, then..

Glad to see a fellow PSME fan here, Nova!

I so, so, want to see a reboot of the anime into one that encompasses the entire story!


(SKU/MPD) Seinen Kakumei Utena (Completed as of May 12, 2018) / (PSOH/SKU) Revolutionary Human Leon (Updated to Part 4 as of Oct 31, 2017) / (NGE) The End of Hedgehog_s Dilemma (Updated to Part II Chapter 6 as of May 17, 2016) / (BananaFish) Medusa (Updated to Chapter 3 as of Mar 1, 2016)
http://archiveofourown.org/users/gorgeousshutin/works or https://www.fanfiction.net/u/3978886/

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#70 | Back to Top07-15-2012 02:05:34 PM

CausalityStar
Caretaker
From: Idaho
Registered: 09-12-2010
Posts: 215

Re: If you like Utena, then..

Scoluron wrote:

eri401 wrote:

Madoka, of course, is the next best thing to come out in recent years.  Another girl-fighting, horribly dark revision of the magical girl genre.

Second on Madoka.  Very fun twist on themes for me.

Yeah, I'm going to third Madoka Magica. It's a brilliant, dark deconstruction of the magical girl genre. Also, if you're an art history fan, don't be surprised if some of your favorite works pop up. Not to mention, this show has a ton of parallels and references to Faust, so you'll probably enjoy those references if you're familiar with the story. And if you're not familiar with Faust, that's okay because being familiar with that story isn't necessary at all to enjoy Madoka. But, if you're curious the Madoka Magica wikia lists the Faust references. DO NOT visit that wikia if you have not watched the anime yet, there are major spoilers. http://wiki.puella-magi.net

As for the actual plot, Madoka looks like a cute moe show about cute girls with cute magical girl costumes. Don't let that fool you. There are a lot of dark secrets to being a magical girl in this show that get gradually revealed as the plot progresses. The magical girls also have to fight these monsters called witches, which are these scary acid trip creatures. I would recommend watching at least up until episode three of this series before deciding you don't like it because in that episode something shocking happens to clue you into the fact that this isn't a typical magical girl show. And then after that, just watch the whole series emot-keke Unfortunately, I can't tell you too much about the plot without spoiling it and giving away the best secrets in the series.

The best thing is you can watch this show for free and legally on hulu or crunchyroll.com
I would recommend cruchyroll.com so you don't have to watch so many ads.

We also have a Madoka discussion thread here, which contains spoilers: http://forums.ohtori.nu/viewtopic.php?id=3078

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#71 | Back to Top07-15-2012 05:43:52 PM

gorgeousshutin
Bare Footman
Registered: 04-11-2012
Posts: 1325
Website

Re: If you like Utena, then..

Since a lot of people like girl power anime/manga here, has anyone ever watched The Legend of Basara by by Yumi Tamura?

The anime only cover the first couple volumes (somewhat briefly), but the manga is a lot more detailed and comprehensive.  It's not quite as good as PSME or SKU due to its straying off into too many subplots (though the complexities in characterizations - even that of the side characters - are stunning), but it comes very, very close.


(SKU/MPD) Seinen Kakumei Utena (Completed as of May 12, 2018) / (PSOH/SKU) Revolutionary Human Leon (Updated to Part 4 as of Oct 31, 2017) / (NGE) The End of Hedgehog_s Dilemma (Updated to Part II Chapter 6 as of May 17, 2016) / (BananaFish) Medusa (Updated to Chapter 3 as of Mar 1, 2016)
http://archiveofourown.org/users/gorgeousshutin/works or https://www.fanfiction.net/u/3978886/

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