In the Rose Garden / ITT we list obvious inspirations for SKU

zevrem · Back to Top

The most obvious inspiration to me is Rebel Without a Cause featuring James Dean. Just... just watch it. I was going to post a bunch of pictures "proving" it but that would have involved hunting down like 15 of them.

ArthurianRoseKnight · Back to Top

Rose of Versailles, to get that one out of the way.

Giovanna · Back to Top

Peter Pan. Ohtori Academy is Neverneverland with exams and cars.

Decrescent Daytripper · Back to Top

Since more than one of the core staff have talked about David Lynch, I'm going to say Fire Walk With Me, to a strong degree.

Also, naturally, Sailor Moon was a big influence in both a "let's have this" direction and in terms of elements they consciously detourned or avoided.

Labyrinth? We know Ikuhara is a fan and well, echoes and commonalities abound.

Hesse's Demian, on several fronts, but blatantly with the egg speech.

zevrem wrote:
The most obvious inspiration to me is Rebel Without a Cause featuring James Dean. Just... just watch it. I was going to post a bunch of pictures "proving" it but that would have involved hunting down like 15 of them.

I'm intrigued. Would you mind "proving" it?

Snow · Back to Top

Do visual motifs and architectural inspirations count?
If so (and if it was mentioned before, sorry), the never erected Tatlin Tower looks like a pretty likely inspiration for the duel arena ascension system.
And from the linked article: 'There were also plans to install a gigantic open-air screen on the cylinder, and a further projector which would be able to cast messages across the clouds on any overcast day.'
Something similar to the planetarium projector maybe (I know it was actually in Akio's tower, but in the end it is left rather unclear what is actually real, and what a mirage)?

yusaku · Back to Top

Urusei Yatsura seems to be a source of some of that random and whacky humor. Nanami's Cowbell or Anthy's curry spice episodes do come to mind.

zevrem · Back to Top

The similarities run a lot deeper than what even these images can show. Just watch the movie.

Last edited by zevrem (07-26-2014 11:57:31 AM)

Decrescent Daytripper · Back to Top

I've seen it. More than once. I was just curious what points you were thinking of as obvious/direct inspiration (the observatory leapt to mind, but even that's circumstantial afaik.)

Similarities I can definitely get behind. Obvious inspiration... I can see it, I just can't see evidence for it. If that makes sense.

zevrem · Back to Top

Duel with blades.

Two drag racing cars representing "life on the edge."

Also, the Planetarium hosts a show about the End of the Universe.

And the director at one point said straight out that the movie was about "finding the father."

One of the centerpieces is a hollowed-out mansion not unlike the one that Anthy and Utena move into in episode 2.

Plus, this movie basically invented the trope of a teenager coming to a new school and fighting for acceptance. Also there's a girlfriend who might be unreliable and might be loyal. And there's a same-sex friend disdained by everyone but the popular but unpopular protagonist who looks up to him/her.

Last edited by zevrem (07-26-2014 01:12:48 PM)

satyreyes · Back to Top

The excellent Oniisama e is the first anime I'm aware of to use a high school context to discuss Serious Issues. You'd have to stretch to "map" Oniisama e characters onto SKU characters, but SKU owes much to the idea that a high school show is allowed to fuck with your head. SKU took important surface elements from BeruBara -- roses, French, the word "revolution," and a woman who wears men's clothes -- but it owes more thematically to Oniisama e. Both shows were probably prerequisites for SKU's existence.
elements of oniisama e not ported into sku: idea that main characters do not have to be a ten out of ten

Decrescent Daytripper · Back to Top

Does anyone know if anyone on Utena has ever mentioned Fairy Florence/A Journey Through Fairyland? Visually there are quite a few similarities, but it was also part of the endgame of that era's elegant school romance stories in Japan. Shots framed by roses, beautiful watering moments, pretty and very light and delicate school architecture, loneliness and sexuality and fitting in. Fairytale sensibility.

Atropos · Back to Top

The entire series is basically a magical girl-tinged retelling of "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas".

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ITT we list obvious inspirations for SKU

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Re: ITT we list obvious inspirations for SKU

zevrem wrote:

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