waifu wrote:

Aw, it's too bad I can't see most of the fanart. :C

Yup.

I remember reading this thread before, though. It's an interesting thought, how it could still work if we genderswapped them. After all, Utena trying to be a prince is a big deal because she's going against the grain, so being a girl is a big part of her character. Normally I don't like it when a female character's gender is such a big deal, because then she ends up becoming a FEMALE character more than a CHARACTER, and that... seems to happen a lot. :x I feel like Utena is well-done enough to get away with that, however. If male!Utena and male!Anthy still acted the same as their series counterpart, then Anthy would be the gender-subversive one (and the comparison to Shinji amuses me, but I can see the similarities... I guess he would be like a craftier Shinji )

Last edited by Lurv (01-16-2013 02:25:28 PM)

Wow, those look great! Nice job!

That's some lovely artwork.

Interesting concept, SKU really lends itself to gender swap but oddly enough I find it difficult to imagine how it would work with some characters. It amuses me how Mikage would probably look basically the same. I suspect Juri's issues would not change much if she were a boy, as long as Shiori was one as well. In fact, they might be a bit worse as male!Juri might have an extra onus of guilt over his sexual desire for male!Shiori.

At first I could not see how Anthy/Akio would work out with switched genders but I actually think it might work and be absolutely terrifying. I imagine it a bit, but not quite, as Last Exile's Dio and Delphine's extremely awful relationship. Dio is a little brother who is more than just explored by his extremely cruel and downright vicious older sister, the level of abuse is such that despite his usual upbeat personality and the fearless way he readily jumps into aerial combat, the moment he sees Delphine's rose petals (oh yes, roses here as well) scattering in the wind he has a complete emotional breakdown. Would this make Lucciola Utena, or would Claus be Utena...but I digress.

The one character that I do not think I can imagine as being the opposite gender is Utena. Despite, or perhaps because, Utena is defined by taking on a traditionally male role as prince, I cannot see her as being a man without compromising everything that is Utena. I also would have zero tolerance for her naive ways if she were a man, it would come too close to the typical shounen hero template who barges into people's relationships with the most simplistic of attitudes.