This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)
ikuni is the and utena has been my obsession since i saw it a few years ago. However, if by some twist of fate i'd never seen utena, my favorite anime would definantly be Gurren Lagann b/c Kamina is . speaking of gurren lagann and utena, check this girl's profile out. i her.
http://dreamsraven.deviantart.com/
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While Strawberry Panic is definitely amusing in that trashy way ( ), I'd say my favorites right after SKU are Noir, Rose of Versailles and Simoun. In that order. Most probably.
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i've never seen simoun or rose of versalies (lol sp?) bu ive seen Strawberry Panic, and thought that it was pretty much what marimite should've been. even though hikari + nagisa = two yuri steriotypes i dont like. why do cool seme chicks (ie himeiya from kannazuki) always fall for stupid, annoying uke chicks (himeko!). another yuri show i like is yamibou, aside from the shitastic ending
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...Strawberry Panic, and thought that it was pretty much what marimite should've been.
A bit off-topic, but I couldn't help but type my disagreement. d: Strawberry Panic is far from anything I'd call good (which doesn't mean it's not entertaining). Marimite, on the other hand, has some quality within it. It definitely took itself much more seriously and in the end, I feel the story wasn't intended to be about yuri in the lesbian sense, but the yuri in the best friend or person I admire way (yuri just clumps it all together). From that perspective, it delivered well. Though comparing these two anime is like saying night and day have something in common. Hmm. I've enjoyed both, but I don't find neither exceptionally excellent to recommend it.
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SKU unseated Serial Experiments Lain for my top spot fairly early on when I was getting into anime.
Since seeing SKU, the only series to come close to unseating it as my all time favorite was Figure 17. It tied. The two series are so different that I felt they could both be my #1 since they fulfill different roles. My Yin and Yang.
Haibane Renmei also impressed me quite strongly.
So, my Top 4 looks like this now:
1) Utena
1) Figure 17
3) Serial Experiments Lain
4) Haibane Renmei
Last edited by Imaginary Bad Bug (10-30-2008 07:15:42 PM)
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Mine would be,Rose of Versailles,Kiddy grade,xxxHOLiC,Gurren lagan,Sakura wars and Strawberry panic.
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I'd have to give it to Neon Genesis Evangelion or Death Note.
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Arki wrote:
...Strawberry Panic, and thought that it was pretty much what marimite should've been.
A bit off-topic, but I couldn't help but type my disagreement. d: Strawberry Panic is far from anything I'd call good (which doesn't mean it's not entertaining). Marimite, on the other hand, has some quality within it. It definitely took itself much more seriously and in the end, I feel the story wasn't intended to be about yuri in the lesbian sense, but the yuri in the best friend or person I admire way (yuri just clumps it all together). From that perspective, it delivered well. Though comparing these two anime is like saying night and day have something in common. Hmm. I've enjoyed both, but I don't find neither exceptionally excellent to recommend it.
I second this. I love Strawberry Panic (I've got the second volume of the light novel in front of me as we speak, and I'll be writing a book report on it eventually.) But my love for it is like how one might see a sexy, but cheap, whore. I'd like to fuck her, but I don't respect her, and I don't pretend to.
Marimite on the other hand, is a perfect, beautiful who always has something intelligent to say.
For my second favorite anime, it would have to be either Clannad, Air, or Kanon. Two of my friends have been obsessed with Utena as well at some point in time, and I'm the only one out of the three of us who hasn't lost interest in Utena to devout their love to visual novels and visual novel based anime. Not that I like these anime any less because of this. There's nothing wrong with being second to my longest lasting obsession!
Though if Fate/Stay Night ever comes out with an anime that comes even remotely close to comparing to the visual novel, SKU might have a run for it's money! Not that that will ever happen.
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I'm with Dollface on Evangelion.
[edit:] Gendo? Oh baby.
(Sadly, I have a wall of Gendo. I love Gendo so muches. The thing in the top right corner is another huge shot of EVIL AMBASSADOR Gendo. Next to which is a poster for Genesis 06. Oh my.)
Actually, we started watching it again last wednesday. we're up to episode 21 or so right now, but we only watch movies 3 or so days a week before bed.
Last edited by allegoriest (10-31-2008 12:12:16 AM)
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Noir, Slayers, Orphen, Boogiepop Phantom, Evangelion, Escaflowne.... I like a lot of varied stuff. But Utena's definitely at the top. Always.
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Nothing compares to Utena. For me other anime isn't even in the same ballpark. I was literally shocked by how much I could like a show.
But okay, okay, let me inch just outside of the ballpark for a moment...
I suppose my next faves include the thrillingly macabre Deathnote (kill! KILL! Faster! FASTer!),
the frustratingly mysterious Evangelion,
and the musically-driven omfg-what-a-messed-up-childhood Noir.
I see I'm in good company here!
When I examine why I like them I think it has something to do with thrills, chills, angst, and intense relationships.
Of course I like SKU for similar reasons; but it just takes the writing/linkage of themes/symbolism/nobility/yuri+yaoi hints to a whole new level.
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I think i'll like hack//sign instead.
Last edited by ashura (10-30-2008 11:08:14 PM)
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Probably CowBoy Bebop, for all the nostalgic love I still carry for it.
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OnlyInThisLight wrote:
Probably CowBoy Bebop, for all the nostalgic love I still carry for it.
Offtopic-ish, but I always find it so mind blowing and awesome that my art history teacher loves Cowboy Bebop. He always has a CD in his car even.
(Better yet, he's interested in Utena. Which is pretty cool, and he wants some music to listen to of it and namely Seazer. I need to get on this.)
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utena.darkless.net
every utena cd for download,
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So there is SKU.
And here's my anime top 5 that doesn't include Utena (in pretty much the same order too):
1. Haibane Renmei
2. Dennou Coil
3. Kino's Journey
4. Lain
5. .hack//SIGN / Evangelion
Augh, but it's hard to choose. I think my top three is the only thing I'm really sure of.
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1. Utena
2. Hellsing
3. Neon Genesis Evangelion
4. Love Hina
5. Saber Marionette J
6. Excel Saga
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Whitout Utena, my fav's look like this:
1. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
2. Perfect Blue
3. Grenadier
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion
5. Death Note
6. Detective Conan
7. Samurai Pizza Cats
8. Aeon Flux
9. School Rumble
10. Golden Boy
+1 Gantz
Naturally, with Utena included, everything moves down a notch:)
By the way:
I LOVE YOU omg_fandom, THAT SITE IS JUST WHAT I NEED!!!!
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Other animes?
Uh let's see.....
Paprika (although that's a movie...)
Perfect Blue
Kite
Super Gals! (......it's very cute)
Sailor Moon
Paradise Kiss
Chobits
Street Fighter (not alpha)
Miyuki Chan in Wonderland (probably anything by CLAMP)
but Utena is my hands-down favorite.
Last edited by lex (10-31-2008 12:52:25 PM)
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I've only ever seen one other anime in my life, and that would be Yami no Matsuei, so I suppose that'd be my favorite.
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Lady Nilamarthiel stunned me with:
I've only ever seen one other anime in my life
And here you are with over 3000 posts on IRG?
WHOA!
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There are plenty of shows I've enjoyed, but for old favorites that still come out on top, it's hard to beat Martian Successor Nadesico and Trigun. They both start as fairly silly shows - which means it's hard to introduce them to the sort of friends who are used to things like Haibane Renmei - but they manage to get surprising depth on some interesting and tricky topics. Utena's still the absolute favorite, but it's been a tough call at times.
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P.D.M. wrote:
Lady Nilamarthiel stunned me with:
I've only ever seen one other anime in my lifeAnd here you are with over 3000 posts on IRG?
WHOA!
Speaks highly of SKU, doesn't it? Really, after SKU I stopped following anime much. It just couldn't measure up most of the time.
My favorite after SKU would probably be Escaflowne, followed by Lain, and yes, Evangelion. I will admit the last of those also has a lot of nostalgia factor in play, I don't pretend to accept every moment of it as mindblowing intellectualism. It's just, I like a mythology wank as much as the next girl.
Escaflowne though... It's kinda the opposite of SKU in that it's thoroughly enjoyable but not especially hard on the brain. It's not there to challenge you or drown you in metaphors, it's just this beautifully done story with these great characters, in this compelling universe. I bought it all at once as a boxset years ago...I watched the whole thing in one sitting, which is an honor I can't say SKU has ever enjoyed from me.
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I tend to watch a lot of stuff, but the two that I'd probably put in my top three with Utena haven't been mentioned yet. Nana is fucking awesome; the art, the music, the romance (not to mention the sexiness involved therein). The other one I'd note is Tsukihime: Lunar Legend. Don't judge the show by its eroge origins. I'm still not entirely sure what the fuck happened at a couple points, cause they were cramming a lot of content into 13 eps, but I pretty much sat in my room for two days afterwards just absorbing the ending. How do I do spoiler text here, lol? I can't talk about it very easily without it...
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