BioKraze wrote:

What could be happening here is not a matter of time and space, but a matter of Multiversal proportions.

Ruminate on this: Who said the Earth that Ohtori Academy is in is OUR Earth? Sure, it might be in Japan, but nobody said it was the Japan we know. For all we know, Hou'ou City and Ohtori Academy are a reasonable part of an alternate Earth in an alternate Universe in an entirely Alternate Dimension. Which just so conveniently supports concepts like sorcery, which is as far as I'm concerned the only way Akio, Mikage and Anthy are able to do what they pull off in the series.

To tell U the truth, I don't even believe that Ohtori Academy is a concrete place.
There's a lot of facts that made me think that way.
In my opinion, the mangá, serie and movie complete each other some way...
Like a temporal vortex.
But that's no subject for that topic, when I get it clear, maybe I'll post it somewhere.
Even then, Houou City could be based on a real place.
Who knows.

Raven Nightshade wrote:

Just as a general thought, there is no real Houou City. The word Houou is the alternate reading of Ohtori, both meaning "Phoenix". Think of it as Phoenix Academy in Phoenix City.

I think a better question is which came first, the school or the city? And how does the Ohtori family figure into the city's founding, if they do at all?

Also, I think that it's entirely possible that Houou City is in Kanagawa Prefecture, since that's what's stated on Kanae's Black Rose application. I don't see any reason why the Chairman's family would opt to live very far away from their school.

By alternate, U mean Kanji stuff?

Last edited by Tangerine Lieutenant (02-20-2010 09:35:00 PM)

Bumping this thread to get the "Where is Ohtori?" discussion out of the "Campus layout" thread.

gorgeousshutin wrote:

Thanks for the info, Raven.

So, it's fictional(Chinese) Phoenix Academy in (Chinese) Phoenix City, which is shown to be beside a lake or sea. The tower and the ferris wheel actually means little, as I remember there being other places in Japan with Tokyo Tower-lite structures.  Is there any screencap of Miki's house address - and I'm talking about the one with The Sunlit Garden that Utena saw to be in ruins, which withis in walking distance to Ohtori - stating it to be at all near Tokyo?   

Atropos wrote:
The address Kanae gives could always be an out-of-school residence

True, that.

Either way, Akio could be piloting the entire Hououmobile all around Japan ensnaring the naive-minded (esp those with delusions of grandeur) for all we know.

Actually, the Ferris wheel for its size is a lot more important than you think. The show was made in 1997, and the only ones of that scale back then are the Tempozan wheel in Osaka, the Cosmo Clock 21 in Yokohama, the Technostar Technocosmos in Tsukuba and later Osaka, the Aurora Wheel in Mie, and the Space Eye in Kitakyushu.

Also, even though the second observation deck is too large, that is definitely Tokyo Tower, because none of the other tower structures in Japan have that shape or the distinctive white striping.

And no, the address we have for Miki and Kozue is for the house they live in at Ohtori, which is in the Suginami ward of Tokyo prefecture.

Last edited by Raven Nightshade (11-27-2012 09:38:54 PM)

Raven wrote:
Also, even though the second observation deck is too large, that is definitely Tokyo Tower, because none of the other tower structures in Japan have that shape or the distinctive white striping.

Raven, the white stripping on the tower looks like a lighting effect and seem ambiguous.  As you said, the observation deck is too large, and the shape is off. The art is very minimalistic there . . . from what I can see, either Sapporo Tower or Nagoya Tower can also easily fit what's in the screen cap.

And, as you've mentioned upthread, there's at least 4 different locations with large wheels back in the 90's.  Plus, I recall the wheel being only visible from when Akio is driving Utena to the outside world to seduce and deflower her, and that might be some distance away from Ohtori Campus.

But, if the sunlit garden house is confirmed to be at Suginami ward of Tokyo prefecture, then that should confirm where that Houou City really is supposedly located at.

Last edited by gorgeousshutin (11-28-2012 11:05:24 AM)

Atropos wrote:

gorgeousshutin wrote:

Sapporo Tower

But seriously, it makes no sense from an in-universe perspective for Ohtori to be located in such a densely populated urban area as the Tokyo prefecture. I'll assume the few times addresses show up in the series are easter eggs along the lines of this. That it's in romaji supports this.

This actually makes a lot of sense . . .

Raven Nightshade wrote:

Guess what?

We're all completely wrong.

That tower isn't Tokyo Tower, Sapporo Tower, OR Nagoya Tower.

It's the Yokohama Marine Tower!

Dead.  Ringer.

It doesn't make sense with the address given on the letter...unless Miki carried his sister on his back over an hour-long walk. Damn.

Kozue still gives her address as being in Kanagawa...
...were they ever part of one large prefecture?

Atropos wrote:

Kozue still gives her address as being in Kanagawa...
...were they ever part of one large prefecture?

No, they weren't one large prefecture, if so, it was prior to the series.

I don't think Kanae and Miki/Kozue living in different prefectures is an issue with Ohtori being a private school, especially since the worst case scenario is that they're 30ish miles from each other. It'd be like Miki and Kozue living in Dallas,  Kanae living in Fort Worth, and Ohtori being in Arlington. It's all the Dallas area/DFW Metroplex, but they're in separate cities.

I live in the middle of nowhere, and there's a private school in the next parish that takes kids within 20 or 30 miles of it.

Atropos wrote:

Raven Nightshade wrote:

I don't think Kanae and Miki/Kozue living in different prefectures is an issue with Ohtori being a private school

Yes, but Kozue's application also says Kanagawa - I think.

You're totally right, it does.

And it blatantly contradicts this....

Given the other evidence, maybe the address on the letter is a previous address? Or maybe it really is just an easter egg.

Last edited by Raven Nightshade (11-28-2012 07:56:47 PM)

gorgeousshutin wrote:

So . . . after all the research, we're again back to square one?

I swear, my HououCityMobile theory from the other thread (or is it in this one too) is really starting to show legs

Nah. It's not that bad. The letter is the only thing that contradicts all the other evidence, so for the purposes of sanity preservation, I'm willing to ignore it as either an easter egg or a continuity error.

As far as I'm concerned, Ohtori and Houou City are somewhere in Kanagawa Prefecture near the coast. That's good enough for me.

Last edited by Raven Nightshade (11-28-2012 08:31:59 PM)