This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)
Episode 24.
We have just finished an epic story arc and right after it we get that. I know that recaps and clip shows are standard practice in TV anime, and I know that the SKU had an infamously low budget, but the other two recap episodes in this series at least introduced us to some important plot elements. Episode 13 introduced us to Akio, and everyone who's seen this show can remember episode 33. This episode is just pointless filler.
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I think episode 8, The Great Curry High Trip, would have to be my least favorite.
Well, that and any other episode that makes Saionji look like an idiot.
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I second episode 24. I actually skipped that episode when I first watched the series. Didn't see the point and wanted to move on with the actual plot.
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BlackRoseVixen wrote:
Well, that and any other episode that makes Saionji look like an idiot.
You know I love the guy to pieces and would maybe bear his angry angry little children.
But are there any episodes where he doesn't come off as an idiot?
My least favorite has to be episode 3, the ball one. That episode singlehandedly turned me off from Touga so hard I didn't even care when he became interesting later on.
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BlackRoseVixen wrote:
I think episode 8, The Great Curry High Trip, would have to be my least favorite.
Yeah, that's another episode I don't like much. The plot just seemed too silly for this series. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that SKU has to be 100% dark and serious all the time, but this episode was just stupid. Also, I'm kind of bugged by the fact that in this episode (and in other shows where characters switch bodies,) they somehow keep their own voices. Even as a kid, I knew that wouldn't be possible unless they also switched vocal chords. Plus, it would've been entertaining to see each other's seiyuu trying to imitate the other character's mannerisms.
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I've always found episode 26 to be pretty boring.
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I found the episode of Narami vs Utena kind of grinding my gears and also, the episode where Mikage burns down the 100 duelists was horrible.
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The one where touga was boxing with a kangaroo. Wtf '._____.
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What's interesting is that my least favorite episodes are not always the same as the episodes I would cut from the show if I had to choose. Case in point: episode 19, aka The Song of the Fallen Kingdom, aka Tatsuya's Very Own Episode. I love it to death. I love that we take a guy who's a total nonentity, and spend a whole episode developing him into a moderately complex character, illuminating the mains only in the reflected glow from his spotlight. That's a virtuoso move, and encapsulates the brilliance of the series nicely. But if I had to cut three episodes, episode 19 would obviously be one of them, because almost every other episode is indispensable. It's kind of weird the way that works out.
For my least favorite episode (and also the one I'd cut before episode 19), I'd agree with Priscilla and pick 24. It doesn't give us much that's new. Even this episode, though, I can appreciate; we knew Tsuwabuki was a little off, but we didn't know he was a complete nutjob until now!
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I think 24 gets the axe for me not only because it's a filler/recap episode that unlike the others doesn't give us much of anything new or insightful in terms of plot, theme exploration, character development or even foreshadowing, but because it is the only filler episode that didn't make me laugh. Nanami's Egg? Curry High Trip? The Cowbell? All had me lolling.
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Don't hate me, but all the recap episodes can get lost. I fastforwarded through all the repeated stuff and played the new footage. I think I outright skipped Mitsuruu's one until the second watch through, which I fast-forwarded through. I had patience for 33 because I knew, y'know, was going to happen.... but I still fast forwarded.
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I would also say episode 3 ( excluding Utena's "I'm normal" speech which makes me lol every time I see it) as well as 24. I didn't like the student council arc as much as the rest of the series, but it is necessary, and makes the rest of the show better. I just don't like to rewatch it
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Giovanna wrote:
My least favorite has to be episode 3, the ball one. That episode singlehandedly turned me off from Touga so hard I didn't even care when he became interesting later on.
Reeeeeeally? What parts are you talking about? I think I'm just used to Touga being a tard, but I'm not sure what specific parts. It seems like he has way stupider moments. So what exactly was it?
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I'd probably pick the second episode as my least favourite, mostly because it really bothers me how uncharacteristically douche-y Utena is there. She said some pretty terrible things to and about Anthy ("I don't care about the Rose Bride!") and while it's likely that she wasn't thinking the implications through, it was still shocking to me that she was seemingly okay with losing the rematch and letting Anthy go back to a guy who's blatantly abusive towards her; it's just as well that she won anyway!
I know that Utena probably wanted to keep her life fairly simple at that point, and I do think the whole thing was an important tip-off as to how self-centred she really was at first, but it still didn't sit well with me. I do like Anthy's reaction to her saying she'd lose on purpose, though. It's like a very subtle "yeah, fuck you too".
As for other least favourite eps: 24 was mostly pointless, but it did have a cute Nanami/Tsuwabuki moment so I can forgive it just for that. The curry ep was funny, albeit ridiculous, but I wish it hadn't been so badly drawn. (Ironically, I really like ep 36 despite the QUALITY art.)
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I think I'll agree about episode 24, assuming it is the one I think it is. It's kind of amusing, but eh...
Giovanna wrote:
My least favorite has to be episode 3, the ball one. That episode singlehandedly turned me off from Touga so hard I didn't even care when he became interesting later on.
Him sending Utena a doodle of himself was kind of cute. >_>
(Or maybe I'm relieved it wasn't something worse.)
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Frau Eva wrote:
Giovanna wrote:
My least favorite has to be episode 3, the ball one. That episode singlehandedly turned me off from Touga so hard I didn't even care when he became interesting later on.
Reeeeeeally? What parts are you talking about? I think I'm just used to Touga being a tard, but I'm not sure what specific parts. It seems like he has way stupider moments. So what exactly was it?
To be fair, that one shot after he first sees her in the dress is pretty terrible. That was almost enough for me to reconsider liking him.
HOLY SHIT DUDE PUT YOUR EYES BACK IN
MikoGalatea wrote:
I'd probably pick the second episode as my least favourite, mostly because it really bothers me how uncharacteristically douche-y Utena is there. She said some pretty terrible things to and about Anthy ("I don't care about the Rose Bride!") and while it's likely that she wasn't thinking the implications through, it was still shocking to me that she was seemingly okay with losing the rematch and letting Anthy go back to a guy who's blatantly abusive towards her; it's just as well that she won anyway!
Again, to be fair, she really doesn't have any responsibility towards a stranger who's seemingly fine with going back to an abusive relationship because of some game they're playing. I know I'd balk at that.
Just playing devil's advocate a little
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Yasha wrote:
To be fair, that one shot after he first sees her in the dress is pretty terrible. That was almost enough for me to reconsider liking him.
http://i.imgur.com/sn5HI2p.jpg
Oh... Oh right, I forgot about that.
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Oh, I guess I got off-topic with my tangent below. My least favorite ep? I'd honestly have to say 13. All the Recap ones really, but I honestly think Mitsuru's perspective is more entertaining than the EOTW teaser in 13.
Giovanna wrote:
BlackRoseVixen wrote:
Well, that and any other episode that makes Saionji look like an idiot.
You know I love the guy to pieces and would maybe bear his angry angry little children.
But are there any episodes where he doesn't come off as an idiot?
If there are any, I'd say ep.25 is a strong bet. He shows up at the council meeting all "okay you know what? Screw this dueling stuff, I'm done." which might just be the smartest decision he attempted to make throughout the series (and isn't it noteworthy that he's the first to do so?) Of course, Touga goads him straight back to the arena (at EOTW's behest) but to be fair Touga was the only one who could make something like that happen, and it's not like his manipulation stemmed from an intellectual argument. The entire segment is aimed at Saionji's emotional structure, which could still be equally vulnerable even in the event that he were... well, smarter. From there, once he's been blinded by EOTW we only get to see him acting on the same misguided assumptions as before, with none of the aftermath of his defeat.
That said... yeah, Saionji is kinda dumb. But IMO it's values and priorities that make a person, and Saionji has a strong set. There's a bit of a dent from childhood trauma, but it'll heal eventually. Besides, try to imagine what he'd be like if he'd made a friend in his early youth who wasn't Touga. You know, someone just a teensy bit more considerate and/or trustworthy...
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Mine is Troublesome Insects. I would much rather have seen Nanami as Touga's counterpart than a random Touga fangirl.
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Episode 2: It a uninteresting episode with a bland/simplistic plot, one of the worst duel themes in the show and a horribly animated and choreograph Duel that relies heavily on a first person where you barely see the slash of the sword the character is wielding which made the action going on during these kind of shots incomprehensible to watch and follow.
This episode started a string of mediocre episodes I like to call "Generic Shoujo Utena" which takes up a majority of the first half of the Student council arc(Episode 2-6), The problem with this set of episodes is that they feel generic compared to the second half of the student council arc and the TV show in general; while it kinda sum the student council arc and how safe the earlier episode were compared to later episode with Utena losing her virginity to Akio; it shows in these episode, you got episode 3 which is as shoujo as this show has gotten, then there was The Sunny Garden 2-parter which had one of the worst running gag in the show that not very enjoyable and goes on forever and finally there was episode 6 which was an introduction episode for Mitsuru character I don't a shit about since his character arc was virtually non-existent and doesn't not have that much of a role aside from being Nanami's slave in most of the episodes he appeared aside from his Duel and Recap episodes.
Last edited by Rosesareawesome101 (08-13-2013 01:36:26 AM)
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