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 Top01-06-2011 10:28:18 AM

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

Re: Let's Play! Utena SPECIAL: For Power, Perhaps

I actually undertook this same project 6 months ago.

By my calculations, the calendar is borked. If the 25th of 15 years ago was on a Thursday, then the current 25th can only occur on either a Monday or Tuesday. That means that they had to go to school on a Sunday on either the 23rd or 24th, which didn't happen.


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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#52 | Back to Top08-07-2011 01:47:41 AM

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

Re: Let's Play! Utena SPECIAL: For Power, Perhaps

Holy crapzors. I forgot about our Let's Play of the Perfect Ending (whenever I get bored, I run through the threads again to make me smile or giggle). When they confront the calendar to try and stop Chigusa, one of them (Miki, maybe?) even notes that it's fifteen years old. So maybe 1996 just happens to be the canon year for the series to have happened?

Come to think, didn't the series itself start airing sometime in 1996? emot-confused I admit I don't normally keep track of that level of detail about a whole lot of things, so if anybody could double-check for me (as I type this it's almost one in the morning and I should really get to bed), I'd definitely appreciate it. emot-keke


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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#53 | Back to Top08-07-2011 03:19:57 AM

dirufacade
Ballgoer
From: Baltimore & DC
Registered: 08-03-2011
Posts: 150
Website

Re: Let's Play! Utena SPECIAL: For Power, Perhaps

Giovanna wrote:

Sweet jesus thank you. And yay for the Psyduck emote, I don't think any other fits that better. I think at times I'm surprised there's not MORE of this stuff.

Yasha and I were talking about that, that really for an anime made in the late 90s it's pretty odd for there NOT to be more KEKE OMAKE made for it. Like the SKU CHIBI special where they duel with sausages and Akio drives a bumper car. But when you consider Ikuhara's idea of omake is obvious lesbianism and implied bdsm, well....

... SKU Chibi Special?  Whatttt?


~ diru

Don't talk shit. One does not hear about Abraxas by accident.

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#54 | Back to Top08-07-2011 12:14:32 PM

Dallbun
Tour Guide to Crawling Chaos
Registered: 10-19-2006
Posts: 719

Re: Let's Play! Utena SPECIAL: For Power, Perhaps

Biokraze wrote:

Come to think, didn't the series itself start airing sometime in 1996?

Wikipedia says it ran April 2, 1997, to December 24, 1997. But it was surely in production during 1996, and the manga began in June '96. By the way, since you seem to still be interested in when the game is set...

GOGAI! GOGAI! BREAKING NEWS!

So, I'm still working on translating the script with esperknight and filler (unfortunately slowly, since I'm off on vacation right now), and I ran into an additional piece of information relating to when the game is set. You end up reading the newspaper club's article on Chigusa more or less whatever you do, but on Juri's path only, it's revealed that the old fencing hall burned down on June 25th. The game is, of course, set in the same week fifteen years later.

That still probably doesn't mesh with real-life calendars, but hey, it appears to be game canon. emot-smile

dirufacade wrote:

... SKU Chibi Special?  Whatttt?

She's just joking, and saying that she's surprised there isn't anything like that. emot-tongue

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#55 | Back to Top08-07-2011 09:11:40 PM

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

Re: Let's Play! Utena SPECIAL: For Power, Perhaps

Thank you, Dallbun. emot-keke The obsessive-compulsive details whore in me just can't sit still until it knows exactly when the game took place. Maybe I should feed it more candy until it starts mellowing out...


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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#56 | Back to Top08-07-2011 11:19:13 PM

Davine Lu Linvega
Spam Arsonist
Registered: 06-08-2011
Posts: 88

Re: Let's Play! Utena SPECIAL: For Power, Perhaps

Who's up for some analysis of the Anthy ending? I think it's an interesting contribution to Anthy's character.

After all, what makes Anthy like D-ko? When she acts wacky and inappropriate. Singing the Slippery Mambo song runs totally against the grain of the narcissistic power game that goes on at Ohtori. To Anthy it's like a ray of light piercing the darkness. Anthy's sense of humor is quite developed, especially if you buy that Chu-Chu represents her subconscious; humor is often a source of relief for the downtrodden. Anthy finds most of her amusement at other people's expense (especially Nanami), but D-ko is nothing like that. Her simpleminded goofiness must be alluring to Anthy in the face of the egotism and self-importance that surround her. Even Utena, playing prince as she does, isn't free of it.

As we know, everything that happens in the dueling arena is by Anthy and Akio's will. Utena lost to D-ko because Anthy wanted her to; she produced a squeaky hammer from her chest instead of a sword. And why did she do that? For a booty call, nothing more. D-ko wanted Anthy and Anthy let her have her for a night.

Then why did Anthy allow Utena to win her back? Because Utena is her true love and she wants to be with her? I don't think she feels that way at this point in the series. I think she let D-ko go because she liked her and didn't want to drag her further into the dueling game. One night of release, then back to the grind (no, not that kind of grind!). Utena was the dueling game's chosen champion, and as far as Anthy knew she would meet the same fate as all the previous champions. If her fling with D-ko had gone on any longer Anthy may not have been able to resist luring her into the duels as a regular participant. D-ko might also be disappearing soon because of Chigusa, but the duelist endings don't really make a big deal out of that.

Did Anthy release D-ko out of compassion? Our out of disgust toward her? Because of her obligation to carry out Akio's plan? Some combination of these things? It's never simple with Anthy.

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#57 | Back to Top09-26-2011 04:42:46 PM

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

Re: Let's Play! Utena SPECIAL: For Power, Perhaps

I remember the climax of our Perfect Ending run and the aftermath of what happened, and something occurred to me...

I don't remember much about my Wikipedia reading of a yorishiro (sp?), but if the object Chigusa chose was D-ko's father's name tag and it was broken, might it have adversely affected her father as well as banishing Chigusa? In a symbolism-laden series like SKU, I wouldn't put it past the creators to come up with that sort of thing.

Either that or I'm reading too much into it. I'm kinda hoping that, for once, I'm not. (Come on, I like to feel like I know things about the series! emot-frown Even if it's through analysis osmosis by reading what everybody else has to say.)


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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