This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)
I wonder about scenes in SKU that we DIDN'T get to see. What scene do you wish had been made but wasn't?
I'll just say that number one on my list is: What did Utena do at the end of episode 36 after walking in on Anthy and Akio? What do you do after THAT?! The next episode begins with the morning after. Utena is in her PJ's standing next to the window. Anthy is asleep in her nightgown in bed. And the voiceover is older Utena finally remembering her childhood promise to Anthy, a memory which seems to have resurfaced during the night, a pivotal time period the audience does not get to see. Hmm, what happened during the night? How did we get from naked Anthy to nightgown Anthy the next morning? What makes Utena remember that she's supposed to save Anthy?
Any other scenes anyone would like to see? Perfect fodder for fanfic...
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Every scene they left out of Akio and Touga on the bed. Also all of Anthy and Akio's scenes.
....and that one with Saionji, Akio, and Touga.
Hmm... on a more serious note, had there been deleted scenes of the parents of the characters, I would have liked to see them. Not to mention whatever Wakaba and Saionji acted like around each other the next time they met up.
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I've always wanted to see what happens before and after the epilogue for Juri and Shiori.
Shiori on the fencing team with Juri as captain... It's so cute! And no matter how much some people might deny it, that scene implied that their love/friendship is cannon. If it wasn't, they probably would have given us a scene where Juri was somewhere else. Crying at Ruka's grave, or something...
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Yasha wrote:
Every scene they left out of Akio and Touga on the bed. Also all of Anthy and Akio's scenes.
....and that one with Saionji, Akio, and Touga.
Hmm... on a more serious note, had there been deleted scenes of the parents of the characters, I would have liked to see them. Not to mention whatever Wakaba and Saionji acted like around each other the next time they met up.
Oh yeah, I wish the sex scenes were not so much left to the imagination. Bring it!
And every anime I've watched has a major lack of parents, mostly because the main character's parents, or a parent, is dead: Utena, Fruits Basket, Witch Hunter Robin, FullMetal Alchemist, Neon Genesis Evangelion (mothers in robots, weird), I'm sure I've seen others.
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Razara wrote:
I've always wanted to see what happens before and after the epilogue for Juri and Shiori.
Shiori on the fencing team with Juri as captain... It's so cute! And no matter how much some people might deny it, that scene implied that their love/friendship is cannon. If it wasn't, they probably would have given us a scene where Juri was somewhere else. Crying at Ruka's grave, or something...
That reminds me of the picture of Shiori and Juri in their fencing outfits with Shiori looking adoringly at Juri (On EM, this picture is in the Gallerie under the Maison du Chu Chu CD-Rom section under Couples). In the Utena Art Book, this picture is on the same page with other Chiho Saito drawings of the other characters that all seem to "take place" after the end of the show, an epilogue sort of. I have often wondered if they were sketched as an intended ending or if Chiho Saito drew them as a hint of what she thought happened to the characters post-show. Most of the Art Book is what I call Utena Porn and is not intended to be canon but that one page makes me wonder since those pics are all together.
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Yasha wrote:
Every scene they left out of Akio and Touga on the bed. Also all of Anthy and Akio's scenes.
....and that one with Saionji, Akio, and Touga.
Hmm... on a more serious note, had there been deleted scenes of the parents of the characters, I would have liked to see them. Not to mention whatever Wakaba and Saionji acted like around each other the next time they met up.
Bitch took both my answers.
The world would be a better place with an 'after hours' version of SKU. Completely with improved animation quality so they OCCASIONALLY DRAW THE MEN IN PROPORTION.
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For the most part, I like the ambiguity that they could have filled in for us. I only have one exception:
ANTHY IS MIKI'S STEPMOM WTF?! Who elsesaw that scene, went "what the hell!" and rewound to make sure it actually happened? I mean, it's obviously part of Akio's manipulation to get Miki to duel again (his father getting a "new mother" for them), but what about Miki's father? Who does he see Anthy as? Does he even remember his plans to "remarry", or who it was he was "remarrying", after Miki has dueled and Anthy has finished serving that purpose? Did his memory get wiped of that the way everyone forgot the Black Rose duels (I think this must be it, there aren't many options) ? A scene to clarify this a bit would make me a very happy little fangirl.
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Rosemary Bats wrote:
For the most part, I like the ambiguity that they could have filled in for us. I only have one exception:
ANTHY IS MIKI'S STEPMOM WTF?! Who elsesaw that scene, went "what the hell!" and rewound to make sure it actually happened? I mean, it's obviously part of Akio's manipulation to get Miki to duel again (his father getting a "new mother" for them), but what about Miki's father? Who does he see Anthy as? Does he even remember his plans to "remarry", or who it was he was "remarrying", after Miki has dueled and Anthy has finished serving that purpose? Did his memory get wiped of that the way everyone forgot the Black Rose duels (I think this must be it, there aren't many options) ? A scene to clarify this a bit would make me a very happy little fangirl.
I can't remember where I read it but someone put forward the idea that, since that is a conversation Miki is having on the phone with his father and he has never met this new stepmother, he might be picturing what this woman looks like as he's talking to his father and substituting Anthy for this other woman in his mind. It is strange that this is the only present-day scene of a parent that I can remember. In flashbacks parents don't have faces.
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Oh god, the stepmom scene FREAKED me out at first. But it certainly made me realize just how much power Anthy and Akio have. It was like when Akio sent Anthy to be Mamiya for Mikage. I'm thinking he sent Anthy to play the role of Miki's father's new bride so that Miki's father would be more distracted from his family, giving Miki another cause to duel. Kind of. But it confuses me because.. is Miki's father in Ohtori or outside of Ohtori? Because I assume Akio and Anthy's power is limited to Ohtori. Or maybe not? But if Miki's father was in Ohtori, he should be closer by Miki and Kozue..
And yes, I definitely think it is hinted that Juri and Shiori might develop a more healthy relationship at the end. It looks like Juri has freed herself from her unhealthy obsession thanks to Ruka, and that Shiori has learned to become herself but not by hurting Juri.
As for "deleted scenes" I would liked to have seen some flashbacks at how Juri and Ruka acted around each other in the past for contrast. D: There are probably many more things I would like to see, but I'm drawing a blank for now..
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Dani wrote:
That reminds me of the picture of Shiori and Juri in their fencing outfits with Shiori looking adoringly at Juri (On EM, this picture is in the Gallerie under the Maison du Chu Chu CD-Rom section under Couples). In the Utena Art Book, this picture is on the same page with other Chiho Saito drawings of the other characters that all seem to "take place" after the end of the show, an epilogue sort of. I have often wondered if they were sketched as an intended ending or if Chiho Saito drew them as a hint of what she thought happened to the characters post-show. Most of the Art Book is what I call Utena Porn and is not intended to be canon but that one page makes me wonder since those pics are all together.
I've seen that picture. :3 Since it's based on the epilogue, perhaps it is a hint of what will happen. And yeah, most of the art is practically hentai. My twin sister and I discussed that once.
Razara's Twin: "I mean, honestly, how many animes have hentai as official art?"
Razara: "Hentai and Utena?"
Rosemary Bats wrote:
ANTHY IS MIKI'S STEPMOM WTF?! Who elsesaw that scene, went "what the hell!" and rewound to make sure it actually happened?
Yes, the first time I saw that I did the same thing. I think that it was actually symbolic. Miki sees Anthy as a replacement for his sister, doesn't he? Kozue and Miki look out for each other because they don't have any parents, and so in the sense that Kozue is a replacement for their parents, Anthy is seen by Miki as a replacement for his mother. This is especially emphisized by the fact that Anthy is supposed his "new" mother.
At least that's what I think. I can't watch that episode as many times as I would like too, because the DVD doesn't work right.
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Razara wrote:
Dani wrote:
That reminds me of the picture of Shiori and Juri in their fencing outfits with Shiori looking adoringly at Juri (On EM, this picture is in the Gallerie under the Maison du Chu Chu CD-Rom section under Couples). In the Utena Art Book, this picture is on the same page with other Chiho Saito drawings of the other characters that all seem to "take place" after the end of the show, an epilogue sort of. I have often wondered if they were sketched as an intended ending or if Chiho Saito drew them as a hint of what she thought happened to the characters post-show. Most of the Art Book is what I call Utena Porn and is not intended to be canon but that one page makes me wonder since those pics are all together.
I've seen that picture. :3 Since it's based on the epilogue, perhaps it is a hint of what will happen. And yeah, most of the art is practically hentai. My twin sister and I discussed that once.
Razara's Twin: "I mean, honestly, how many animes have hentai as official art?"
Razara: "Hentai and Utena?"
Gosh I know. I get strange looks when it's out on the coffee table.
Razara wrote:
Rosemary Bats wrote:
ANTHY IS MIKI'S STEPMOM WTF?! Who elsesaw that scene, went "what the hell!" and rewound to make sure it actually happened?
Yes, the first time I saw that I did the same thing. I think that it was actually symbolic. Miki sees Anthy as a replacement for his sister, doesn't he? Kozue and Miki look out for each other because they don't have any parents, and so in the sense that Kozue is a replacement for their parents, Anthy is seen by Miki as a replacement for his mother. This is especially emphisized by the fact that Anthy is supposed his "new" mother.
Yeah, that's what I think too, you explained it MUCH better.
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I know the ending is good as it is, but I would really love to see the scene where Anthy and Utena are reunited.
Also: The scene where Ruka is invited back to the academy for whatever reason Akio or Anthy poses to him. How did all of that come about?
Mikage fishing Juri's locket out of the middle of that lake. Oh, he probably magically voodoo-ed it out via his convenient Mamiya Bride, but it is such an amusing image.
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Dani wrote:
That reminds me of the picture of Shiori and Juri in their fencing outfits with Shiori looking adoringly at Juri (On EM, this picture is in the Gallerie under the Maison du Chu Chu CD-Rom section under Couples). In the Utena Art Book, this picture is on the same page with other Chiho Saito drawings of the other characters that all seem to "take place" after the end of the show, an epilogue sort of. I have often wondered if they were sketched as an intended ending or if Chiho Saito drew them as a hint of what she thought happened to the characters post-show. Most of the Art Book is what I call Utena Porn and is not intended to be canon but that one page makes me wonder since those pics are all together.
None of the stuff in that artbook looks like Chiho Saito's work to me. Unless she was trying very, very hard to draw in the style of the anime. Is there some reason you think she did those pictures?
As for "deleted scenes"... I've always wondered what the heck led up to Saionji owning Anthy at the beginning of the series. What duels had taken place beforehand? How long had they gone on? The Student Council certainly don't act like Utena's duel is the first - how had the duelling game gone before she arrived on the scene?
You'd think one of the characters would have found reason to mention that kind of thing to Utena at some point.
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Dallbun wrote:
As for "deleted scenes"... I've always wondered what the heck led up to Saionji owning Anthy at the beginning of the series. What duels had taken place beforehand? How long had they gone on? The Student Council certainly don't act like Utena's duel is the first - how had the duelling game gone before she arrived on the scene?
Damn thats one hello of a good point. It would have been fasinating to see the Duellist fight each other in the Arena. I would have pegged Juri to be the one to have the Rose Bride in her possession when the Utena series began as she's got the skills in the fencing department. Maybe Saionji played some dirty tricks or even maybe Anthy falsely hinted at the possibility that she wanted him to be her Prince and sets things up for him to win. Mhmmmm?
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Well who was the prince of the previous cycle? Was it one of the student council or someone who was 'erased' like Utena is, albeit with a less successful outcome. It's implied Akio has used more than one failed sword to try and regain the power of Dios. Possibly Saionji was the latest in that line, or possibly he was the runner up. (If Anthy had stayed in Ohtori at the end of the series who would she have been given to?)
But I digress.
It would have been nice for Mikage to have a scene after losing to Utena. How badly or how well did he take it? What did he do between then and when he calls Akio?
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This is resolved from another essay but I believe he fades into the shadows that he came from either leaving the school. Or simply fading into the nothingness in which (probability) says that Mikage came from. Which is why he's not shown again. Though if Utena was allowed to retain her memories of Mikage I wonder what she would have thought of things. It probably would have hit her hardest when she found out that Akio was Ends of the World. In which Mikage's words would have rung horrifically true.
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Xu Yuan wrote:
This is resolved from another essay but I believe he fades into the shadows that he came from either leaving the school. Or simply fading into the nothingness in which (probability) says that Mikage came from. Which is why he's not shown again. Though if Utena was allowed to retain her memories of Mikage I wonder what she would have thought of things. It probably would have hit her hardest when she found out that Akio was Ends of the World. In which Mikage's words would have rung horrifically true.
I don't believe that he faded to nothingness in a physical sense. Mikage was no longer 'Mikage' after the Duel, but Nemuro. 'Mikage' was just the name for the person that arose from that prolonged Black Rose-like state he was in. Akio even referred to him as 'Professor Nemuro' on that final phone conversation. I'd liked to have seen that scene after the duel as well. I think we can see that he was composed enough to give Akio a call asking what to do now, or maybe just to ask for an explanation. Akio is the last connection Nemuro really had to his memories of his real life, after all.
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Tamago wrote:
... or even maybe Anthy falsely hinted at the possibility that she wanted him to be her Prince and sets things up for him to win. Mhmmmm?
That's a theme I've played with in more than one fanfic (or will, if I get them written ). Unless the whole "here's what's in it for you" was indicated for the Duelists at the beginning, I just can't see Saionji taking any interest in Anthy or the game otherwise.
In fact, I'd like to know how each of them was pulled into the Student Council in the first place, and what they were told at the start.
Last edited by Suncat (10-24-2006 09:16:42 PM)
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Ivy-chan wrote:
Xu Yuan wrote:
This is resolved from another essay but I believe he fades into the shadows that he came from either leaving the school. Or simply fading into the nothingness in which (probability) says that Mikage came from. Which is why he's not shown again. Though if Utena was allowed to retain her memories of Mikage I wonder what she would have thought of things. It probably would have hit her hardest when she found out that Akio was Ends of the World. In which Mikage's words would have rung horrifically true.
I don't believe that he faded to nothingness in a physical sense. Mikage was no longer 'Mikage' after the Duel, but Nemuro. 'Mikage' was just the name for the person that arose from that prolonged Black Rose-like state he was in. Akio even referred to him as 'Professor Nemuro' on that final phone conversation. I'd liked to have seen that scene after the duel as well. I think we can see that he was composed enough to give Akio a call asking what to do now, or maybe just to ask for an explanation. Akio is the last connection Nemuro really had to his memories of his real life, after all.
Hmm yes, good point. Though wouldn't all those memories about what really happened be crushing? Then again this could solidify Nemuro's feeling's about lust and passion leads one only to despair, but this time around he has the proof to go along with it.
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I don't know if this would qualify as a deleted scene as such but DAMN! I wish that a scene like this was included at the end of Ep 39.
NOT WORK SAFE!!!!
I bet that Akio isn't feeling so cocky now!
NOT WORK SAFE!!!
Edit: Sorry, Tamago, this needed to be marked NWS right away - Yasha
Last edited by Yasha (10-24-2006 10:03:42 PM)
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when i think deleted scene...i rather think of the second ending theme song...-_- they cut off utena and anshi kissing...i found the pic somewhere...forgot where though
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I'd be interested in seeing more of Touga and Nanami's early childhoods, seeing how they came to the family that "raised" them and where they came from before then.
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