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

#1 | Back to Top10-19-2012 10:29:37 PM

Juli_Revolutionary_Bat
Wakaba Wrangler
Registered: 10-19-2012
Posts: 13

Anime like Utena?

Shoujo Kakumei Utena is the best anime iīve ever seen (or manga iīve ever read). I can say that it changed my life, my way of see and think, also my way of acting. I belive that it helped to finde myself. But... however, i like watch anime and if i compare one with Utena... well...emot-rolleyes  i didnīt find nothing that is even close to SKU... so i wanted to know if you know some good anime, with a style similar to Utena.
:3
Well... thanks!
(and sorry if iīm annoyng) emot-dance

Last edited by Juli_Revolutionary_Bat (10-19-2012 10:31:18 PM)


Utena: And someday, together we'll-
Anthy: Someday... together?

Someday together we'll shine.

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#2 | Back to Top10-19-2012 10:39:14 PM

satyreyes
no, definitely no cons
From: New Orleans, Louisiana
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 10328
Website

Re: Anime like Utena?

Welcome to IRG, Juli!  emot-smile  You've posted this thread to General Dissection, but the thread is about Utena, so I'm moving the thread to the Shoujo Kakumei Utena subforum.

I have never seen an anime that is like Utena.  Some people say that Princess Tutu and Puella Magi Madoka Magica are like Utena; I haven't seen those shows, so I don't know.  Utena's director, Kunihiko Ikuhara, also directed a recent anime called Mawaru Penguindrum.  I like Utena a lot better than Penguindrum, but I guess that's the show I would give the "Most Like Utena" award to.  You might also want to look up an older show called Oniisama e.  Oniisama e is a fantastic show with a lot of the darker interpersonal elements of Utena, though it doesn't have the supernatural elements.

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#3 | Back to Top10-19-2012 11:05:12 PM

Juli_Revolutionary_Bat
Wakaba Wrangler
Registered: 10-19-2012
Posts: 13

Re: Anime like Utena?

satyreyes wrote:

Welcome to IRG, Juli!  emot-smile  You've posted this thread to General Dissection, but the thread is about Utena, so I'm moving the thread to the Shoujo Kakumei Utena subforum.

I have never seen an anime that is like Utena.  Some people say that Princess Tutu and Puella Magi Madoka Magica are like Utena; I haven't seen those shows, so I don't know.  Utena's director, Kunihiko Ikuhara, also directed a recent anime called Mawaru Penguindrum.  I like Utena a lot better than Penguindrum, but I guess that's the show I would give the "Most Like Utena" award to.  You might also want to look up an older show called Oniisama e.  Oniisama e is a fantastic show with a lot of the darker interpersonal elements of Utena, though it doesn't have the supernatural elements.

Thanks, I'm so sorry I'm so embarrassed!!! emot-gonk  I'll pay more attention next time


Utena: And someday, together we'll-
Anthy: Someday... together?

Someday together we'll shine.

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#4 | Back to Top10-19-2012 11:35:34 PM

satyreyes
no, definitely no cons
From: New Orleans, Louisiana
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 10328
Website

Re: Anime like Utena?

Please don't be embarrassed! emot-smile  We were all new once.

Any other suggestions?  What anime remind you of Utena?

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#5 | Back to Top10-20-2012 07:50:30 AM

Atropos
Atropos Turretslayer
From: Hampden College
Registered: 10-22-2011
Posts: 907

Re: Anime like Utena?

Neon Genesis Evangelion is basically Utena for boys. emot-tongue

Last edited by Atropos (01-31-2013 06:14:42 AM)

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#6 | Back to Top10-20-2012 08:56:04 AM

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

Re: Anime like Utena?

Welcome, Juli!

If you're looking for a fantasy action series where strong female, androgynous lead that pwns the guys - with everyone being depicted as emotionally intricate and real - then Legend of Basara by yumi tamura is just the thing (Sarasa and Cha-Cha reminds me so much of Utena and Juri, and have similar dynamics between them too).   However, the anime only cover the first few vols of the manga, so you need the manga to know what's gonna happen next.


(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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#7 | Back to Top10-20-2012 10:13:21 AM

Lurv
Pained Growlithe
Registered: 05-25-2012
Posts: 520

Re: Anime like Utena?

satyreyes wrote:

Some people say that Princess Tutu and Puella Magi Madoka Magica are like Utena; I haven't seen those shows, so I don't know.

Having seen Princess Tutu (which is one of my favorite shows), I would say it's like Utena junior. emot-tongue It's much more child friendly than Utena, but it still has some darkness to it, and the story and characters are good. emot-smile

Madoka is darker I would say. I think my favorite thing about it (besides the music) is how it often kept me on my toes. I've already talked about it in the PMMM thread on this forum though.

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#8 | Back to Top10-20-2012 05:29:14 PM

Decrescent Daytripper
Best Disney Princess
Registered: 04-09-2007
Posts: 2791

Re: Anime like Utena?

Nothing's a carbon copy of Utena, but there are shows with similarities, certainly.

Anything involving Ikuhara or Yoji Enokida, for example, share a lot of common tropes or tendencies with Utena. The original late-night Eat-Man is similarly elliptical in its pacing and storytelling. Utena was also definitely part of a wave of Deconstructing/repositioning anime taking on different genres and loads of older works. The movie, Terra E and the television show The Rose of Versailles share similar design and characterization aesthetics. The scarier parts of Utena aren't a million miles from the Vampire Princess Miyu OAV series.

Last edited by Decrescent Daytripper (10-20-2012 05:33:18 PM)


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#9 | Back to Top10-20-2012 06:53:28 PM

Juli_Revolutionary_Bat
Wakaba Wrangler
Registered: 10-19-2012
Posts: 13

Re: Anime like Utena?

Thanks you all for the warm welcome and the recommendations! I will search about those animes you passed me! emot-dance

This place is amazing! i didnīt expected answers so soon :3


Utena: And someday, together we'll-
Anthy: Someday... together?

Someday together we'll shine.

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#10 | Back to Top10-20-2012 07:14:25 PM

BlackBeforeRed
Acknowledged Smart Person
From: The Nightosphere
Registered: 07-09-2010
Posts: 178

Re: Anime like Utena?

There isn't really anything like it. A few things that are similar but nothing that's the same. Princess Tutu feels like it has a similar ideology and message, but it is a tad more idealistic and a hell of a lot more child friendly, and Madoka is less metaphorical and more straightforward. The feel of the show is really what separates it from most other anime, the way Ikuni directed it, as well as how it was written by Enokido. Not to mention there was probably a lot of influence from staff that we don't know as much about. That's why the "feel" of the show is only ever close to being recreated in shows like Penguindrum or Star Driver where staff that were involved with Utena bring their personal style with them. I see Utena as a once in a lifetime kind of scenario, the right people got together at the right time, and had the right ideas. It's something that can't be recreated, lightning doesn't strike twice as they say

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#11 | Back to Top10-20-2012 08:04:42 PM

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

Re: Anime like Utena?

BlackBeforeRed wrote:
I see Utena as a once in a lifetime kind of scenario, the right people got together at the right time, and had the right ideas. It's something that can't be recreated, lightning doesn't strike twice as they say

emot-gonk but true.  There are creative forces at work beside Ikuhara and Enokido that make SKU the unique gem it is, and I cannot imagine BePapas regrouping after all these years (no matter how much I wish for it to happen) emot-frown


(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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#12 | Back to Top10-25-2012 11:02:01 AM

Elin I.
Wakaba Wrangler
From: Uppsala, Sweden
Registered: 10-25-2012
Posts: 15
Website

Re: Anime like Utena?

I'm going to second the recommendations of Star Driver and Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Star Driver has the sexual undertones, a similar structure, many similar themes and a similar message, although the overall tone is much ... lighter? more optimistic? If Utena makes you want to break free from the things that hold you back, then I guess Star Driver rather makes you want to enjoy life without holding back. Not that Star Driver doesn't have its tragic or dark moments, but I'd say Utena is darker.

PMMM is ... hard to talk about without spoiling it, really. Darker in tone than Utena. More straightforward, but may also make you go WTF more often. Themes familiar from Utena: friendship and love, the thing you want most in the world and are willing to fight for, sacrifice, idealism vs. cynicism (especially re:selfishness), etc. If you look closely, there's quite a bit of feminism in there too.
_ _ _

Apart from those, you might enjoy Ouran High School Host Club for the visuals. It's got TONS and TONS of roses. emot-smile

Oh, and lots of Utena fans on Tumblr also seem to be fans of Sailor Moon. I've neither watched nor read it, though, but I have to say the manga looks pretty good, and I'd probably want to watch the original Japanese dub of the anime - because it seems to have some of the same things I like about Utena - if it weren't so hard to find where I live.

OH! And Simoun! You've got to try Simoun! The overall feeling is pretty different from Utena, but it's got the queerness, relationships of variously dubious healthiness, a lead who is very reminiscent of Utena herself and, well, cool battles. I mean, it's about priestesses fighting a war by drawing symbols in the sky with their aircraft which are powered by their pilots' love for each other! And it's not nearly as cheesy as that sounds. It might not be your thing at all, but I'd really recommend giving it a try.

(Edited: Fixed some errors.)

Last edited by Elin I. (10-25-2012 11:25:26 AM)


Tell me no more stories and I'll tell you no lies / No-one wants to hurt me but everybody tries / And if you think that I've been waiting for my planets to align / It's time you go on, get your things, get out, get out / I'm doing fine
--Emilie Autumn, "Rose Red"

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#13 | Back to Top11-18-2012 09:32:26 AM

gumi27
New Student
Registered: 11-18-2012
Posts: 1

Re: Anime like Utena?

Tenshi ni Narumon is like reverse Utena

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#14 | Back to Top01-08-2013 08:07:57 AM

NyxStardust
New Student
From: Nacogdoches,Tx
Registered: 12-17-2011
Posts: 2

Re: Anime like Utena?

I recommend watching Neon Genesis Evangelion and Serial Experiments Lain. I personally have always thought that Evangelion and Lain were Utena's Shonen and Seinen Cyber Punk twin brother and sister.


Himari Takakura: This girl's life has been temporarily extended using my powers. However, everything comes with a price! I am taking the price for her life.
Shouma Takakura: Wait! What price...?
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#15 | Back to Top01-13-2013 03:06:59 PM

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

Re: Anime like Utena?

NyxStardust wrote:

I recommend watching Neon Genesis Evangelion and Serial Experiments Lain. I personally have always thought that Evangelion and Lain were Utena's Shonen and Seinen Cyber Punk twin brother and sister.

I think you got inside my head for that one. That's how I've always felt about them.

I watched Lain while drunk once and it gave me a nosebleed. True fact.


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#16 | Back to Top07-21-2013 03:33:20 PM

stardusty
New Student
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: 07-21-2013
Posts: 1
Website

Re: Anime like Utena?

Sorry to resurrect this topic, but I had to chime in. Melody of Oblivion has the same Writer, Character Designer and Art Director as Utena. It also has similar thematic elements of adulthood and adolescence.

I'm only halfway through the series (I started it years ago and loved the initial episodes, not to mention the killer opening song. I recently just got around to purchasing the rest on dvd.) but honestly am now kind of bored by it. The plot moves at a snails pace and the characters aren't really doing it for me anymore.

Also I must agree there is something about Tenshi Ni Narumon (I'm Gonna Be An Angel! in the US) that is very Utena-like. It's very silly, surreal and weighed down by strange, mature themes. Was the entire thing ever localized?

Last edited by stardusty (07-21-2013 03:35:16 PM)

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#17 | Back to Top09-30-2013 10:31:49 PM

Decrescent Daytripper
Best Disney Princess
Registered: 04-09-2007
Posts: 2791

Re: Anime like Utena?

Rewatching the early eps of SKU, I realized this time how much of Cutey Honey is revisited in Utena, down to her spinsterly antagonist who can't catch up, dead (by car crash?) parents, hero-crush status amongst the other girls, and the "more naive than she seems" trope. Pretty sure Cutey Honey did the dissolving dress revenge plot, too, but that is a weirdly more common than you'd think 1970s Japanese plot.


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#18 | Back to Top02-25-2015 11:42:36 AM

Sweetgm2
Juri Jeerer
Registered: 02-16-2015
Posts: 40

Re: Anime like Utena?

I also feel that the newest anime Yuri Kuma Arashi reminds me of Utena.

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#19 | Back to Top02-27-2015 05:02:00 PM

Sparky
Touga Topper
Registered: 01-31-2015
Posts: 58

Re: Anime like Utena?

Mawaru Penguindrum and Yuri Kuma Arashi are the obvious answers. Rose of Versailles influenced Utena a good deal and is thus pretty similar too.

Princess Tutu is definitely very similar and almost matches Utena in terms of complexity. On the flipside of that Kill la Kill is basically Utena if it were a shonen and stripped of all complexity, not that it isn't still fun.

These are all I can think of right now.

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#20 | Back to Top02-28-2015 08:24:19 AM

Yams
Nest Boxer
From: Crystal Millenium
Registered: 02-13-2007
Posts: 973

Re: Anime like Utena?

Sailor Moon is a difficult series for me to 'recommend'. I love it but very subjectively. Objectively, it isn't very 'good', with poor animation, very repetitive battle sequences and a lot of silly cheesiness (this gets the truer the earlier on in the series you go). And yet it is one of the very few anime I regularly rewatch. I can't really say it's nostalgia. There's just something about it. When it's good it is good enough to make up for all the bad you had to sit through.

Also: the last season. Sailor Stars. etc-wankgirl

Elin I. wrote:

OH! And Simoun! You've got to try Simoun! The overall feeling is pretty different from Utena, but it's got the queerness, relationships of variously dubious healthiness, a lead who is very reminiscent of Utena herself and, well, cool battles. I mean, it's about priestesses fighting a war by drawing symbols in the sky with their aircraft which are powered by their pilots' love for each other! And it's not nearly as cheesy as that sounds. It might not be your thing at all, but I'd really recommend giving it a try.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i232/YamPuff/51B4UWE5R6L_SS500__zpsutpwoypp.jpg~original

Simoun. Is like. Oh my God. etc-jurishlick Paraietta.


http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i232/YamPuff/im%20holllowz_zpsx9ddh2gp.png~original

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#21 | Back to Top03-01-2015 06:27:04 PM

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

Re: Anime like Utena?

YamPuff wrote:

Sailor Moon is a difficult series for me to 'recommend'. I love it but very subjectively. Objectively, it isn't very 'good', with poor animation, very repetitive battle sequences and a lot of silly cheesiness (this gets the truer the earlier on in the series you go). And yet it is one of the very few anime I regularly rewatch. I can't really say it's nostalgia. There's just something about it. When it's good it is good enough to make up for all the bad you had to sit through.

Also: the last season. Sailor Stars. etc-wankgirl

The key to Sailor Moon being a recommendable series in relation to SKU is that it's where Ikuhara came from. (Re)Watch the series bearing in mind that he had a hand in it from the beginning, even though he didn't have full control until episode 60. There are so many things in SKU that were clearly came from Ikuhara's time on SM, especially given that parts of SKU itself started off as the plot of the SuperS movie using Uranus and Neptune.


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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#22 | Back to Top03-03-2015 12:59:25 PM

Yams
Nest Boxer
From: Crystal Millenium
Registered: 02-13-2007
Posts: 973

Re: Anime like Utena?

Raven Nightshade wrote:

YamPuff wrote:

Sailor Moon is a difficult series for me to 'recommend'. I love it but very subjectively. Objectively, it isn't very 'good', with poor animation, very repetitive battle sequences and a lot of silly cheesiness (this gets the truer the earlier on in the series you go). And yet it is one of the very few anime I regularly rewatch. I can't really say it's nostalgia. There's just something about it. When it's good it is good enough to make up for all the bad you had to sit through.

Also: the last season. Sailor Stars. etc-wankgirl

The key to Sailor Moon being a recommendable series in relation to SKU is that it's where Ikuhara came from. (Re)Watch the series bearing in mind that he had a hand in it from the beginning, even though he didn't have full control until episode 60. There are so many things in SKU that were clearly came from Ikuhara's time on SM, especially given that parts of SKU itself started off as the plot of the SuperS movie using Uranus and Neptune.

Perhaps that why my favorite seasons are S and Stars. etc-love I loved Ikuhara even before I knew him.


http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i232/YamPuff/im%20holllowz_zpsx9ddh2gp.png~original

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#23 | Back to Top03-03-2015 01:31:46 PM

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

Re: Anime like Utena?

YamPuff wrote:

Perhaps that why my favorite seasons are S and Stars. etc-love I loved Ikuhara even before I knew him.

Oh, Ikuhara wasn't involved with Stars at all. He left after SuperS and started working on SKU.


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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#24 | Back to Top03-03-2015 11:47:40 PM

Karuka
Electric Apocalypse
From: Planet Uranus
Registered: 06-27-2014
Posts: 160

Re: Anime like Utena?

interesting how nobody so far hasn't recommended Rose of the Versailles(berubara)
also Oniisama e
it is a darker version of berubara with characters looking exactly like those from berubara but with different personalities
Oscar for example is a drug addict, smoking, masochistic, suicidal

Last edited by Karuka (03-03-2015 11:47:56 PM)


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#25 | Back to Top03-04-2015 04:17:17 AM

Yams
Nest Boxer
From: Crystal Millenium
Registered: 02-13-2007
Posts: 973

Re: Anime like Utena?

I don't know, everyone recommends Rose of Versailles but I didn't find it very engaging. A lot of people who like SKU also like Wolf's Rain, which I found a bit boring and GOD did I want to kill that flower girl. Rahxephon is also a common recommendation for Evangelion/SKU lovers, but again, to me, boring and very bland characters. All comes down to personal taste in the end, of course.

Raven Nightshade wrote:

YamPuff wrote:

Perhaps that why my favorite seasons are S and Stars. etc-love I loved Ikuhara even before I knew him.

Oh, Ikuhara wasn't involved with Stars at all. He left after SuperS and started working on SKU.

Oh, cool! school-sherlock Didn't know that. I am curious how involved he was in SuperS, as I think it's the weakest entry in the Sailor Moon series, especially weak in what I think of as 'Ikuhara' touches.

Last edited by YamPuff (03-04-2015 04:21:38 AM)


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