I was trying to stick this into the Utena/Anthy thread but this goes on for too long to stick it in. (It takes them forever to get back to the topic!)

But I spent a long time typing this, so let's not waste it. Apologies for typos and the like.

This is from the commentary found on the last DVD, episode 37.

DVD Commentary wrote:

Mediator: Putting the bare chest topic aside... This series is vey popular among people who are gay. What's your opinion towards that?
Ikuhara: Gay people around the world like this series.
Saito: Really? You want to say that so definitively?
Ikuhara: I mean when I say around the world...
Saito: It's true that there're various types of couple pairings... but you can also say that there aren't any really. I guess there're many different ways to read between the lines.
Ikuhara: And... This series is the only series of its kind. How do I explain what I'm trying to say? There're tons of anime with eroticism, but I'm pretty sure there isn't another anime that tells the story of two girls so innocently. In that respect I think it's popular because this is the only one that does that.
Mediator: Was that your intention from the beginning?
Ikuhara: Yes. I didn't tell Ms. Saito but I was planning on it.
*laughing*
Saito: Initially I wasn't told anything about that. He asked me to draw something where the two were close so I drew a piece where the two were next to each other looking rather friendly. He was extremely happy. I had no idea in the beginning what he was thinking but I figured it out at the end that his goal was to make me draw the two girls looking friendly.
Ikuhara: In the beginning, I brought it up lightheartedly during a meeting... She got really angry and said, "If that's the case, I'm out!" I realized it was something I wasn't supposed to say and I decided to keep it to myself.
Saito: No that wasn't it. If I remember correctly... We started a debate about how we should make it more entertaining for girls. We were on a workshop trip and the debate turned into a fight. Mr. Ikuhara wouldn't give any consideratoin about enjoyment for girls. As a professional manga artist I couldn't offer such a joyless story to the target audience. We had this huge clash of opinions, which created a lot of friction between us.
Ikuhara: When that happend, the entire Utena project was almost scrapped. It was such a big fight, the entire project was in jeopardy. It was such a painful fight I got carried into the hospital the day after.
*More laughter*
Saito: You did?
Ikuhara: Yeah! It was New Years and I had... It was New Years and I had acute... What was it again?
Saito: An acute infection?
Ikuhara: All of a sudden I...
Saito: Was that after the fight? Are you sure you didn't come down with it before the fight?
Ikuhara: No it was after.
Saito: Are you sure? It was before.
Ikuhara: No, after.
Saito: You fainted the second we started the workshop, so we didn't know what to do.
Ikuhara: No you're wrong. It happend on New Years.
Saito: You're right.
Ikuhara: It happend after. You put me in such a tight spot and from the immense pressure...
Mediator: Your stomach?
Ikuhara: I came down with acute gastroenteritis or something. On New Years... On New Years Day I was taken to the emergency room.
Saito: Mr. Enokido, the scriptwriter and I went with him. We were discussing, "If this is how the year is starting, what's in store for us later?"
Ikuhara: Then I came out of the hospital room riding in a wheelchair! Ms. Saito was so flabbergasted.
Saito: It's because I didn't know how serious it was.
Ikuhara: At the time I was extremely nervous, so...
Saito: Were you?
Ikuhara: I was!
Saito: The thing is, the staff went on a workship trip for the first time and we locked ourselves in the hotel. We barely got started and all Mr. Ikuhara would do was sleep. I really wondered if he was going to do any work. I was continuously glaring at him.
Ikuhara: That's because Ms. Saito vetoed my idea from the get go about Anthy and Utena being lovey-dovey. I was too shocked to do work. She said, "I quit if you're taking that route!" I figured I'd have to hide it from her because I was going to do it anyway. *Laughs*
Saito: Really? You decided after such an internal struggle?
Ikuhara: It was such a struggle.
Saito: I was finally able to clear those three days after I somehow managed to rearrange my busy schedule. Then Mr. Ikuhara would be sleeping the entire time so it was infuriating! I couldn't do anything about it so I kept glaring at him where he'd be rolling around and I'd work on other parts with the other staff members. It was quite an upsetting workshop trip.
Ikuhara:  I was dealing with my own issues.
Mediator: This concludes the story of how the project began.
Saito: Oh, it's over already?
Ikuhara: It's over already.
Saito: It is.
*laughter*

Last edited by Ragnarok (12-13-2006 12:46:38 AM)