This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)
My brother and I were watching the Utena movie, and I said that it was Juri in the boat. My brother asked me how I could be sure. In fact, the girl actually looks like Shiori. So, who is it?
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I know that in the english dub of the movie they use Juri's voice actress for the girl in the boat. And when Shiori is talking about her "Prince" that died, she says it was her best friend whom caused his death.
Do you actually see her, tho...? It's been a while. And all my SKU dvds are still on loan.
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Ikuhara-san actually admitted himself in an interview, at a local anime con over here a few years ago, that it was Juri that Touga saved. And the TV series there was a reference to it towards the end too (Ikuhara-san pointed that one out too), but I couldn't remember exactly where now. It's been a long time since I watched SKU.
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During Revolution, when all the seitokai are standing around, Juri tells a story about how her sister nearly drowned, and a boy jumped in to save her. He didn't save her, the adults did that, but Juri always thought her sister was callous because she couldn't remember the name of the boy that died trying to save her -and lo and behold, here Juri's forgotten it.
It's a parallel for Utena too. I wonder why Ikuhara picked up that thread of all thigns to bring into the movie.
I wonder of after Utena and Anthy leave for the outside world if all the movie!duelists forget who she was.
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I think Ikuhara is trying to present a piece of reality into his fantasy.
People.Just.Forget.
You're not gonna remember what you ate a year ago. You're not gonna remember what your teacher taught you in third grade. You're not going to remember who was it that pulled you out of that icy water while you're drowning, even if that person risked his/her life for you.
Like my childhood best friend. I can barely remember his face now that I lost touch with him for nearly 8 years. No, he didn't drown. I just moved away, and we didn't have email, so...
Last edited by Hiraku (03-11-2007 11:17:27 PM)
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morosemocha wrote:
I wonder of after Utena and Anthy leave for the outside world if all the movie!duelists forget who she was.
While that's very likely, I don't think that it matters. Like the Shadow Girls said in the last episode, after trying to remember who that Utena girl was and what happened to her - "I guess it doesn't really matter, huh?"
What matters is that, in the movie, Utena and Anthy forget all about Ohtori - like it never really existed. What matters is that now they're free and can live being who they are, not the Prince or the Princess or the Witch. It's the same in the movie and the series.
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Hina the Prince wrote:
What matters is that, in the movie, Utena and Anthy forget all about Ohtori - like it never really existed. What matters is that now they're free and can live being who they are, not the Prince or the Princess or the Witch. It's the same in the movie and the series.
I wouldn't exactly say they'd forget all about Ohtori. Forgetting something and putting something behind are very different things. If people forget something they could possibly start repeating their mistakes. I think instead of forgetting, one should learn from things and then just let go. Another subject that SKU touches quite a lot is how people cling to their memories. The whole Black Rose arc was about that. It's not right to cling to memories, either, 'cause something that has happened cannot be changed but once it starts affecting the present then things can go wrong when they shouldn't. I think there should be balance between all those things.
...I'm so off-topic. I'll shut up now.
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I didn't exactly mean "forget" in the sense of "Ohtori? What Ohtori?", more in the sense of "Yeah the stuff that happened there was bad and wrong and let's not think about it."
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Or it could be in the sense of 'Spirited Away's', they don't remember but they didn't forget either.
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Thanks guys. I knew I had a reason for believing that. I remember Ikuhara saying that during the commentary.
Also: When Juri told that story, I thought to myself "Juri has a sister?" It seems strange that in a series where sibling relationships are so important we wouldn't find out earlier about Juri's older sister. Anybody else have a feeling that Juri was actually talking about herself, not her older sister?
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Hysterical Woman wrote:
Thanks guys. I knew I had a reason for believing that. I remember Ikuhara saying that during the commentary.
Also: When Juri told that story, I thought to myself "Juri has a sister?" It seems strange that in a series where sibling relationships are so important we wouldn't find out earlier about Juri's older sister. Anybody else have a feeling that Juri was actually talking about herself, not her older sister?
Yeah, you could be right!
She could be suppressing her grief and her guilt, so she makes up stuff.
Like Utena thinking that Touga broke up with her when really, he drowned.
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That's intersting, I don't think I ever thought of that. Then again, I don't think it bears any deeper meaning in the series context. Juri is already quite messed up. Last thing she needs is another drama with some Nameless Boy. And besides, that story served as an allegory to Utena. After Juri has told the story, Nanami asks why she told them that and we get a shot of Utena lying on the floor after being stabbed. This was the reference to how she was to be forgotten in the end.
Then again, Juri's older sister seems interesting. I wonder what she's like.
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As far as Juri forgetting, or most of the students forgetting about Utena after her disappearance at the end of the series, does that say something specific about Ohtori in general? Or something about what Ohtori represents? Ohtori is a place that holds one back, so does it have the influence of making you forget things that are important, or were important to you as well?
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Maarika wrote:
Then again, Juri's older sister seems interesting. I wonder what she's like.
Well, I think part of the reason that we aren't treated to Juri's sister is because the show was too much about brother-sister relations. Which also makes me really surprised that Saionji didn't have a screwed-up onee-chan either. Honestly, I've already imagined both at some point.
I'd always pictured Juri's older sister being at least a first-year university student, because if she were still in high school, she might have gotten screen time. I figure she'd be about Juri's height, maybe a little taller, but not much since Juri's around 5'7"-5'8". Since siblings actually resemble each other on this show, I would think Juri's sister would have the same eyes and brown or orange(different shade) hair (artist's preference).
Personality-wise, since Juri's all outwardly perfect and super-fabulous, her sister isn't. Her grades are good enough, but since when do academics matter at Ohtori? If anything, she's probably hell on wheels and makes Kozue look like a cloistered nun. That's what makes Juri the way she is, a desperate attempt not to be her sister, not to be callous, uncaring, and hedonistic. Her sister's probably had quite a few conferences with the guidance counselor about cutting her uniform top short enough to flash some navel and skipping class to make out with some boy in a dark corner of the campus.
On a more amusing note, I'd had the idea about a fanfic where Juri is actually from the Slayers universe, she's Lina Inverse's other sister, and that she's the Slayers equivalent of a D&D knight.; (Not a paladin, because Luna's a paladin to me.)
As for Saionji's nonexistent sister, I figure she's in 9th grade for the sake of there being no 9th graders on the show. I figure her hair is either a brighter green or a bluer green than Saionji's and it's straight because his is wavy. Plus, her eyes are purple like his. I'd guess she's around 5'3" because she needs to be taller than Anthy, but I don't see her being taller than Utena. I think she'd probably have movie Anthy's personality, only she'd totally hate Saionji, which would balance out the brother complex the other three sisters have. Oh, and I initially named her Midori.
Why, yes, I am insane, thanks for noticing!
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I second Juri's older wayward sister, but I don't see Saionji having a little sister. I see him having an older brother, let's call him Chip. Chip is like Touga but without the playboying. He's the Perfect Son. Poor Saionji, he has to deal with superior men everywhere he turns.
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Hysterical Woman wrote:
I second Juri's older wayward sister, but I don't see Saionji having a little sister. I see him having an older brother, let's call him Chip. Chip is like Touga but without the playboying. He's the Perfect Son. Poor Saionji, he has to deal with superior men everywhere he turns.
First of all... HA HA, Chip! That's awesome.
Anyway, I don't see any reason why he can't have both. His life would be a standard family sitcom: the perfect older brother, the adorably perky kid sister who has no personality until she hits puberty, and Saionji the perpetually tormented middle child.
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I think that it not only foreshadows and explains what eventually happens to Utena at the end of the series, but I feel it also explains to the audience how Utena can forget what her prince looked like or how Mikage could mistake Anthy-Mamiya with real-Mamiya, you know?
When watching the series with my friends, most of them were like "How could she think Touga might be her prince? The guy in the flashback is obviously Indian!"
Bah, kind of sidetracking from the original post...
belladonna wrote:
As far as Juri forgetting, or most of the students forgetting about Utena after her disappearance at the end of the series, does that say something specific about Ohtori in general? Or something about what Ohtori represents? Ohtori is a place that holds one back, so does it have the influence of making you forget things that are important, or were important to you as well?
I'm thinking it's in relation to the Gnostic side of Utena....
Ohtori represents the egg the students involved with the duels want to break out of.
Note, that the finale of the Utena series and movie does not entail defeating Akio or getting all their wishes coming true, but it's leaving Ohtori.
Anthy leaves the school in the series and Utena and Anthy leave the school in the movie, and we are supposed to feel uplifted somehow...
That's just my take, though.
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Maarika wrote:
That's intersting, I don't think I ever thought of that. Then again, I don't think it bears any deeper meaning in the series context. Juri is already quite messed up. Last thing she needs is another drama with some Nameless Boy. And besides, that story served as an allegory to Utena. After Juri has told the story, Nanami asks why she told them that and we get a shot of Utena lying on the floor after being stabbed. This was the reference to how she was to be forgotten in the end.
Then again, Juri's older sister seems interesting. I wonder what she's like.
And another one who has that question in mind oo I personally think that her sister could be pretty confident and caring about her younger sister's sake... but on the other she could be also pretty conservative. A bit like my older sister. Can't get rid of that feeling. Bonds between sisters are pretty strong sometimes and I could picture Juri's sister as the one who keeps her sane ._. nonetheless Juri would be afraid to tell her everything; she really needs someone where she could lean on. And when not her sister, who else?
Optical... dark auburn hair, long (not curly), maybe green or blue Eyes. Always tried to draw her but it never turns out like she's in my head.
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Then again, Juri's older sister seems interesting. I wonder what she's like.
So gay, even Akio couldn't seduce her
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YostinAust wrote:
Then again, Juri's older sister seems interesting. I wonder what she's like.
So gay, even Akio couldn't seduce her
..omg, didn't expect that LOL
I like the idea of an older Arisugawa with a daddy complex and a desperate need for attention... but people love her...
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