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

#26 | Back to Top12-27-2006 06:24:21 PM

Suyo
Tenjou Tilter
From: Washington
Registered: 10-23-2006
Posts: 82

Re: How I Became a Duelist

A friend of mine and I were looking at the anime selection On Demand
and saw "Revolutionary Girl Utena" (I actually imagined something along the lines of Hiyao Miyazaki's "The Grave of the Fireflies") >_>;;;;

Being bored, my friend and I decided to watch it

Noe, usually, we cannot stop talking no matter what kind of movie we're watching..
but this shut us up
the whole thing, quiet.. we understood NOTHING ><
we watched it a second time and took notes ;O
then got my other friend to watch it...
his words when it ended: "what the.. what the hell was that!? they turned into cars? WTF?!" ;O
Then the series came On Demand and the movie made more sense ;O
then I was addicted and could stop watching
then I went to Sakura-con (i was naturally high after entering the building) and immediatly spent mine (and borrwed a few dollars) for the first arc boxset............. then for my birthday, i got the other boxsets ;O I love utena...


May those who accept their fate be granted happiness. May those who defy it be granted Glory.

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#27 | Back to Top12-27-2006 08:25:42 PM

KissingT.Kiryuu
Hentai Hero!!!
From: Somewhere and Nowhere
Registered: 10-20-2006
Posts: 4090
Website

Re: How I Became a Duelist

A friend of mine showed me the opening and ending, and tried to explain the ending to me saying that He (Dios) was trying to play two girls at once (Utena and Anthy) and i thought to myself..." Uh...ok??" so i found the movie and was like.... "what??" and then i found Ohtori.nu.. and i was saved, then got the series and finnally was enlightned!

I never trusted her to tell me about any anime ever again....


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#28 | Back to Top12-27-2006 10:14:15 PM

Xu Yuan
Sunlit Gardener (Finale)
Registered: 10-19-2006
Posts: 190

Re: How I Became a Duelist

Actually her dedecuction's arent; that far off, Dios (or at least his power...) is sleeping within anthy, and Utena embodies his will, not to mention her attitude, so saying that Dios is Utena and anthy, is not far off at all.

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#29 | Back to Top12-27-2006 10:32:04 PM

mercurynin
Flourishing Verderer
From: Honolulu, HI
Registered: 10-21-2006
Posts: 638

Re: How I Became a Duelist

I was in my favorite Japanese pop culture-junk store one day browsing the DVDs and came across a box with a pink-haired girl holding a sword on it.  "'Revolutionary,' eh?" I thought to myself.  "Revolutionary how?  French?  Russian?  Anyway, looks like shoujo, which means I have to give it a shot."  I'm sure I did more research and such, but that's what sticks out in my mind when I think of how I first got interested in the series.


You know our hearts beat time out very slowly.  You know our hearts beat time -- they are waiting for something that'll never arrive.

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#30 | Back to Top12-28-2006 11:12:34 PM

silver moon
Wakaba Wrangler
Registered: 12-28-2006
Posts: 12

Re: How I Became a Duelist

I saw an AMV for the movie (I didn't know it was the movie at the time) and thought that I had to find out more about it because it was pretty and had people pulling swords out of each other.  A little while later, I saw the box for it at Best Buy and finally discovered the title.  After that, I bought the first tv series dvd and have been hooked ever since.

Last edited by silver moon (12-28-2006 11:14:44 PM)

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#31 | Back to Top12-29-2006 02:09:36 AM

Iris
Queen of the Video Box
From: The whispers of twilight
Registered: 12-28-2006
Posts: 2124

Re: How I Became a Duelist

Wow, I feel like a real Revolutionary Girl baby!
I just finished watching all of it and the movie yesterday, and absolutely fell in love.  I related on so many levels I thought I was going to explode.
I was introduced to anime when I was 14 by a girl that wanted to be a prince.  In so many ways she was like Utena, going as far as when she was little, she decided that she wanted to be able to save a princess!  We dated for a while, and I found myself becoming doll-like, personality-less, without color.
Eventually we both found the Akio to change us, except for she turned into a Princess, like he wanted.  I still manged to excape from my coffin, but she wasn't.  I suppose she's happier that way, but she'll always be my prince in my memmories.
I don't think an anime could exsist that's as similar to me as this one.
I even found out my dad isn't my father the same way that Namine thinks Touga isn't her brother!


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#32 | Back to Top12-29-2006 05:08:35 PM

KissingT.Kiryuu
Hentai Hero!!!
From: Somewhere and Nowhere
Registered: 10-20-2006
Posts: 4090
Website

Re: How I Became a Duelist

Actually her dedecuction's arent; that far off.

its not the same at all! so Dios has his power in anthy and utena controals it...what she ment was he was sleepin around with both of them emot-gonk

whats up with that!?


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#33 | Back to Top12-30-2006 12:26:41 AM

Yasha
Bitch Queen
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
Registered: 10-15-2006
Posts: 6031
Website

Re: How I Became a Duelist

I guess I should chime in...

I actually saw SKU and thought it looked absolutely ridiculous when I was in the video store here, and the whole Sailor Moon connection didn't do anything to endear it to me. With a roll of the eyes, I completely dismissed it.

Then my brother (who is the closest thing to a real prince I've ever seen) told me he had this movie for me to watch one day. I dragged my feet over it once I found out that it was SKU, but I took the time to ask around about the movie. Anyone who'd seen it warned me off, comparing it to the end of Eva (show and movie), and saying that my head would explode and that I shouldn't watch it because I would die in horrible agonies of confusion. Now, for those of you familiar with Cats, the musical, this is my soul mate. *grins*

When you let me in, then I want to go out
I'm always on the wrong side of every door
And as soon as I'm at home, then I'd like to get about
I like to lie in the bureau drawer
But I make such a fuss if I can't get out

So naturally, I really wanted to see the movie then. I had to prove that I was macho. There was no way a movie was going to confuse me to the point where I couldn't pull an interpretation out of it! (To my credit, at the time I hated all of Eva except for the end and the movies, because I couldn't remember the characters at all but I could understand the themes and emotions touched on in the ending. Also, serial experiments lain was my favorite anime.) So I did the unthinkable and approached my brother, telling him I wanted to see the movie.

Well.

That was an eye-opener. I watched it, and then I watched it again right after it had finished playing. I've only ever done that with three movies-- Adolescence Apocalypse, The Last Unicorn, and Blood: The Last Vampire. I was hooked. The rest, I guess, is history-- watched the series, decided I liked it more, held myself back from devouring all the analysis on EM, finished the series, finished the analysis on EM, met Gio, came on board when she retook the site (her friend would have let it die anyway, I don't feel guilty about taking it back), and well here we are with this nifty forum.

Neat, huh? emot-smile


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#34 | Back to Top12-30-2006 01:07:51 PM

BioKraze
Faceless Master
From: Yuma, Arizona (USA)
Registered: 11-26-2006
Posts: 8282

Re: How I Became a Duelist

Yasha wrote:

The rest, I guess, is history-- watched the series, decided I liked it more, held myself back from devouring all the analysis on EM, finished the series, finished the analysis on EM, met Gio, came on board when she retook the site (her friend would have let it die anyway, I don't feel guilty about taking it back), and well here we are with this nifty forum.

Neat, huh? emot-smile

Indeed it is. Thank Akio that we have people like you and Gio to keep the Utena world turning on its axis!

Lots of etc-loveetc-loveetc-love from us all!


Roses have thorns to stop those who would dare deny their right to live.
Razara's Postulate: For every lover of lesbians out there, there is an equal and opposite attraction to Dippin' Dots.

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#35 | Back to Top12-30-2006 05:18:00 PM

Yasha
Bitch Queen
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
Registered: 10-15-2006
Posts: 6031
Website

Re: How I Became a Duelist

Thank you, dear. You're a sweetheart.


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#36 | Back to Top12-31-2006 07:10:54 PM

Raven Nightshade
Someday Shiner
From: Louisiana
Registered: 12-17-2006
Posts: 2925

Re: How I Became a Duelist

Okay, my story isn't nearly as exciting.

Sometime during my freshman year of college, I came across the man I would always refer to as my dealer. I was sitting outside watching a couple of guys play Magic (It was 9pm-ish and I was bored) in a valiant attempt to understand what was going on. My dealer comes along with his giant box that he always carries and starts playing with them. Eventually, he starts a conversation about anime. I wasn't an anime virgin, having watched a lot of Sailor Moon(the gateway drug of anime) and Anime Week on the Sci-Fi Channel, but I was still fairly newbie-tacular. Anywho, after he starts talking about a bunch of series that I'd never heard of, and openly admitting that I'd never watched Ranma, he decides bring me to his place to watch anime. Upon my arrival, I find that he has shelves and shelves of series on VHS....because he's a fansub distributor! emot-dance

Next thing I know, he's put the first tape of Utena in the VCR and I was hooked.


Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever gonna make it home again.
It's so far and out of sight.
I really need someone to talk to and nobody else
Knows how to comfort me tonight.

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#37 | Back to Top01-04-2011 08:38:29 PM

Xenjn
New Student
Registered: 01-04-2011
Posts: 8
Website

Re: How I Became a Duelist

The last post to this thread was 2006...it's not 2011 and I'm pretty sure I'm at least fashionably late but...

I got into Utena recently (like 5 months ago, less, even) after seeing an AMV on youtube, it was for the movie, actually. But I thought I'd watch the series first. And poof! Yeah....emot-tongue


*~We're All Mad Here~*

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#38 | Back to Top01-05-2011 09:25:10 PM

HonorableShadow
Thorn of Death
From: Ohio
Registered: 11-03-2006
Posts: 482

Re: How I Became a Duelist

It's sad, but it's such a long time ago that I don't remember what originally got me into it.  I got into Utena in 1999  I think. I was around 11 back then. I assume one my friends told me about it?  I remember looking at the Utena Encyclopedia and being like "omg there's a pink haired guy in this!" (My 11 year old self was obsessed with anime men who had pink hair.) So of course I had to watch it and I fell in love with the enitre series.


I'll show you a sight you've never seen before.

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#39 | Back to Top01-05-2011 11:26:27 PM

Like_Autumn
Network Ninja
Registered: 07-18-2007
Posts: 639
Website

Re: How I Became a Duelist

I came for the femslash. I stayed for the crazy symbolism, the intriguing characters, and the kick-ass online community. poptartpoptart


Number 1 Shadow Girl Fan

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#40 | Back to Top01-06-2011 09:40:37 PM

Saito Hoshikawa
Thorn of Death
From: Satan's armpit in Texas
Registered: 12-27-2010
Posts: 481

Re: How I Became a Duelist

Aw lawdy.


About in 7th grade, I was relatively an online anime-fanatic, with devout fangirlings in Mermaid Melody, Cardcaptor Sakura, and several others that showed on Adult Swim in 2006-2007.  Around March/April 2007, I learned of Utena by way of surfing through Wikipedia. I ignored it a few times after reading about one or two sentences of the article.

Then came mid-to-late 2007. Our school had gotten a grant for the students to use laptops in school, and we were able to take them home. Around the first six weeks of the school year, I had gotten into the habit of going to Youtube instead of doing homework, and I found a AMv by the name of AMV - Various - Anime Can Can. That AMV had a few clips of Utena in it, and once again, I found myself led back to the Wikipedia article. After reading about it a bit more, I decided that I should try an episode, even if it did seem a bit mature for someone my age (I was about 13 or 14 at the time). So I watched the first episode.

I had no idea that Saionji was such a woman-beater. I never thought of the fact that swords would come out of girls' chests. And I would never think that roses had so much of a god-damn influence in a World Revolution. Utena friggin' screwed with my mind on the first episode. And when I was done with that. Yep, I was doomed to become a student at Ohtori.

And then I found The SKU Compliation video and continued watching the series up to the end of the Black Rose Arc. And thus, I became a Duelist. XD


"Whatever all this is, it needs to not be a thing at all."

Being a ghosty piece of shit with no standards since 2014 (maybe earlier).

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#41 | Back to Top01-07-2011 11:25:13 AM

poetoffire
Mikage Mistruster
Registered: 01-27-2010
Posts: 65

Re: How I Became a Duelist

I've been a devout Princess Tutu fan for a few years, and back in May 2007 discovered TV Tropes and promptly spent like a week doing nothing but clicking and clicking and clicking.

Time passed.  I went through phases of forgetting TV Tropes existed and bludgeoning my brain with it.  I just kept hearing how similar the two series were, in fan communities and on forum threads.  So, in December 2008 I sat down with my 11-year-old little brother to watch.

I thought it was the weirdest, most proudly out-there thing I'd ever seen.  By the time Miki came into the room to see Touga with his shirt half-open I was rolling on the floor and declaring I LOVED THIS SHOW HOW FREAKING CRAZY CAN IT GET!

Then I went ahead and watched the last two episodes of season 1 without my brother, so he stopped just in time for it to get really dark and sexual.  I still won't let him watch it until he's at least 14.

I became entranced, and had to pick my jaw up off the floor again and again.  I remember in January, watching the last episode at 6:00 in the morning before I had to leave for school, crying.  For reference: I've never cried at any other anime or movie, music, book, you name it.  The only non-real-life thing that had made me cry before was live theater.

So I sort of went from thinking everyone involved was on LSD to sobbing, and it bamboozled even me how something could make me feel that much.

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#42 | Back to Top01-07-2011 02:53:36 PM

Hoto
New Student
Registered: 01-05-2011
Posts: 3

Re: How I Became a Duelist

I started watching Utena 10 years ago, at a time where you had to mail order fansub tapes if you wanted to watch unlicensed anime... a friend and I ordered the first video [like 3 episodes] and got addicted, but we had to wait a while to finish it because it was a project that was currently being subbed and the videos were not all available... about a year later we finished the series and were all like "WTF O_O"
When we heard about the movie we thought that everything was going to be clearer....but nope, they just gave all the characters prettier hair emot-tongue

Being only 14 and having a silly teenage brain, I never looked into it more, I just really liked Touga because he was such a bishounen... then about 5 years ago I picked it up again and felt I could interpret it more.... my view on Utena completely changed, this time around I disliked Touga a lot and grew very fond of Juri and Miki as my faves.... it has become my favourite anime and I feel very close to it emot-smile

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#43 | Back to Top01-08-2011 07:51:14 AM

Neva Caruso
Tenjou Tilter
Registered: 03-10-2008
Posts: 87

Re: How I Became a Duelist

In 2005, when I was a sophomore in college, a good friend decided to hold weekly screenings of Utena for people who hadn't seen it yet (read: most of us).  I attended whenever schoolwork would let me, and although I liked what I saw, I ended up missing a lot, and was also distracted by other fannish obsessions at the time.

Two years later, she and her then-girlfriend got me involved in an Utena fan-LARP, which prompted me to re-watch. Then I started writing fanfic (among other things, that LARP was the main reason why I'm so obsessed with Ruka; his player was that epic), discovered Empty Movement and the forums, and the rest is history.  I'm currently taking my housemate through the series for the first time, and have introduced it to several other friends as well.

Utena was the first anime that I ever watched from beginning to end, and although I haven't seen many others, it is still my favorite.

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#44 | Back to Top01-08-2011 12:15:14 PM

Anthiena
Egghead
From: ...the space between your ears
Registered: 10-21-2006
Posts: 1108

Re: How I Became a Duelist

Ah, memories...

My anime fandom began early, with me catching Sailor Moon and Dragonball on cable on a rare occasion and thought it was cool. I didn't think anything until in middle school, I started watching Samurai Pizza Cats and laughing my ass off at it. I liked Pokemon cards and I thought the cartoon was passable, but preferred Monster Rancher and Digimon immensely more so. (I would go on to Medabots, Card Captor Sakura, Magical Knights Rayearth and Dragonball Z.) My biggest fandom for a long time was Tenchi Muyo. Thank you much, Toonami.

...but in 2001, my first year of high school, I joined an "Animation Club", thinking that I could possibly be learning how to animate and thought that it would be awesome. I was confused at the use of the computer room and then the popping in of tapes. Boy, did I get an education.

Sadly, I left just as they were getting into the more mature stuff... but of the anime it introduced me to I remember the following:

* Haunted Junction (Anime, sub only)
* Shinemen (The dub is even more hilarious)
* Magic Users Club OVA (...I was fourteen. So much underwear made me LOL so hard)
* Darkstalkers (...which lead me to Miyu and Hellsing. etc-love
* ...and Utena.
(I really don't remember the rest... I was on the computers a lot)

For Utena, I pulled up The Utena Encyclopedia after searching Utena and read the script along, translating loudly "Saionji is expelled" for everybody. The president explained who Akio was in a single, non-spoiler sentence. "Akio is Anthy's brother, he's very important later."

Two years went to nothing until I started drawing and writing a bit off of what I understood the ending to be. Luckily, I did not embarrass myself and actually got a gaggle of readers, which surprised me. Using pictures, I drew Rose Brides obsessively and created a next-gen plan that never went far. (Sadly. People were actually interested in the prologue I had posted, but I am glad I didn't go far.)

I began rewatching Utena sadly at the age of 22, with the first two DVDs and completed it on Youtube.

...I have been a terrible fan, not really focused, but I keep with it. I plan on ordering the re-release. (After April, when my money comes)


I stopped seeking to be sought after. That wasn't being true to myself.
I want to become someone who can exercise power. I want to become a prince. - Ikuni

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#45 | Back to Top01-08-2011 09:49:40 PM

teyhy
High Tripper
From: Ecuador
Registered: 04-27-2010
Posts: 245
Website

Re: How I Became a Duelist

I started watching Utena when I was 20. Interesting enough I was looking for a yuri anime series. I asked around if Utena was good or was it yuri and people just couldn't agree; some said that it was an awful series, other told me it was a classic, some said it had yuri and some said it didn't. I remember thinking "either it has yuri or it doesn't, what's the confusion". I only understood the confusion after I saw it, Utena practically leaves everything to interpretation.

Anyhow, I read the manga and then saw the anime... and understood about 20% of the whole anime. I think I understood so little of the series because I was so enthralled with Tenjou Utena that I didn't see any other character; so focus was I on Utena that I thought Anthy was an angel of light emot-rofl all the way until the second time I saw the series. Anyways. I found this site read your thoughts saw the series again and understood it better, by that time I was officially hooked.


Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - H. Berlioz.
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad133/teyhy/for%20fo/Untitled-1copy.jpg?t=1280266589

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#46 | Back to Top01-10-2011 06:14:47 PM

BalamiyaVardihi
High Tripper
From: New Jersey
Registered: 12-16-2007
Posts: 243

Re: How I Became a Duelist

In middle school I had two friends who were practically joined at the hip: Nick and Allison. They were the sweetest people in the world. They were HUGE Utena fans, and they introduced me to the anime.

I can't thank them enough for that.


Twirling round with this familiar parabol
Spinning, weaving round each new experience.
Recognize this as a holy gift and
Celebrate this chance to be alive and breathing

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#47 | Back to Top01-23-2011 01:57:41 PM

Trench Kamen
Eternal Eschatologist
From: Los Angeles, CA
Registered: 12-08-2006
Posts: 903
Website

Re: How I Became a Duelist

Huh, I must have missed this thread first time around.

I saw the Utena VHS at the local comic book shop back in--I think it was 1999. I was 11. This was back when CPM had only released the first thirteen episodes. This particular shop was the only place in Amarillo you could rent anime at the time, and they rented a ridiculous amount of fansubs (illegal, I know, but this was before high speed internet and widespread access to this stuff; this was a godsend to me). I was plowing through Fushigi Yuugi and MKR at the time. Utena looked interesting, and, since "from the creator of Sailor Moon" was splashed across the front, I was even more intrigued.

So I developed my wild, crazy obsession with Utena at that age.

I was always a deeply cerebral kid, already struggling with gender roles and the nature of 'reality'. I devoured fansites, and ended up being introduced to my favorite author--Hermann Hesse. I read Demian sometime in junior high school, and loved it. I finally found a website that would send me the fansubs for the rest of the series on VHS--I still have them.

I was Utena for Halloween that year. I had a crappy costume thrown together from an altered collared shirt, some red trim, etc, and a ratty wig from the costume shop. I wish I could find some pictures. Of course, NOBODY knew who I was, and that disappointed me. When I tried to explain what I was "noble woman prince", I was thinking in metaphorical terms, but the people who asked me... were not. And this is an incredibly conservative part of the country I was living in.

Last edited by Trench Kamen (01-23-2011 01:58:32 PM)

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#48 | Back to Top05-02-2011 10:24:59 PM

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

Re: How I Became a Duelist

Wow, this is kinda an old thread, but I'll talk about how I became a duelist. I go into the series rather recently, in Spring 2009 when I was 19 and still a college freshmen. A friend of my roommate was talking about the series and recommended it to me. I was also curious because this girl had mentioned the sword coming out of Anthy's chest.

Then I looked a the wikipedia article for the show a little bit and decided to watch it because of the implied yuri. So I went to veoh.com and watched the episodes online with questionable legality. I also watched the movie online. I really liked the series and especially the movie, even though they were a bit confusing.

And last summer in 2010 I re-watched the whole series on youtube because the re-mastered version was up on youtube for a while before Right Stuf picked up the rights to the series. I've also seen the movie several times and I think it makes more sense now. I love the series, since I have an account here and like to talk about it.

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#49 | Back to Top05-03-2011 07:09:16 AM

randomprojects
Juri Jeerer
Registered: 12-07-2009
Posts: 42

Re: How I Became a Duelist

I got into the show relatively recently as well - early 2009 - when I was a high school senior. I've wanted to watch the series for AGES before that, but never got the chance to sit down and finish it emot-frown I saw the description for Utena and was really attracted to it because I like to examine portrayals of gender roles, and I thought it was a very interesting way to highlight those issues. I'm so glad I checked this masterpiece out, and has been trying to convert others to watch it ever since. (Alas, my plan of getting my mother - a gender studies professor - to watch it with me was met with lukewarm success. She thinks it's boring - we're into half of the Black Rose Arc already! emot-gonk)

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