CausalityStar wrote:

The animation for the first song is okay, but being the big Anthy/Utena fangirl that I am, I like the second ending animation better for obvious reasons. I really like the second ending song, but I do like the duel chorus version of it a little bit more.

I also like the second ending theme, but I also agree the duel version is better. Still, I don't know which one was made first, the duel version or the ending version, but it always made me feel a bit sorry for Saionji. He wasn't worth the effort of getting another dueling theme, so they just decided to use the ending theme for him. Poor guy.

Louchan wrote:

1. The resused animation in duels. I see the duels as more of a short look into the characters involved rather than a fight sequence, but it certainly would be nice if we didn't get to see the exact same sequences used almost every time. Sometimes they even used the same sequences but with redrawn characters. Meh. Also, I found it sort of ironic that one of the duels that got the most new animation... was Tsuwabuki's. No offense to any Tsuwabuki fans but... couldn't they have used that for a slightly more important character? D:

I think there might actually be a logical explanation for Tsuwabuki getting the extra treatment... that being his body type. He's the shortest person Utena ever duels, and I think as a result of that they couldn't use a fair deal of the "stock" duel animations they'd already mapped out because they wouldn't "fit" him. Thus, they probably had to draw new ones.

Oh wow, I didn't even think of that. But you're totally right, his height has to be the reason.

Saionji doesn't get a Rosebride because they couldn't sew a dress small enough for his hand.   BAZZING.

The way I've personally taken Nanami's filler episodes is really rather clever on Ikuhara's part. Granted I might be the only one that feels this one but still. To me they serve to mostly fill up on Nanami's comedy relief role (while giving us little hints early on that some of the other characters aren't all they appear), making the watcher mostly expect comedy and over the topness to come their way whenever Nanami is around. Why is this clever? You get so used to seeing her involved in outlandish situations that by the time her fall happens later in the series, it hits the watcher on a very base level. The last arch of the show really does make me gush with love because it fully reaches its boiling point and everything that was paved along the way gets turned on its side. Used to giggling whenever Nanami is around? Here you go, have a nice boatload of trauma for the girl we're so used to seeing turning into a cow or being chased by surfing elephants.

From my perspective, the Nanami episodes are more about Anthy than Nanami anyway.  After the first one, you can predict Nanami's reactions, but I always have to wonder why Anthy comes up with the ideas she does.

i feel like i wrote this out before...maybe not? XD

but i think the thing that really gets me is when nanami kills the kitten. i showed my friend sku (we got to episode 20 so far ) i asked if we could skp that episode, she wanted to see it (understandable, it's her first time watching the series and it's better to watch it completely...) but i walked out of the room (i wasnt being a pissy pants...hopefully XD but we were both in good moods and she understood lol) during her duel and the part of the "tracing a path" episode. i just...i get so angry and sad. i feel like that went to far, and it wasnt the kind of dislike i had for her just because she's a bitch/ the kind i had in the vermin episode of her treatment of keiko. the nanami episodes are funny to me, but when she finds akio and anthy and that whole part, i began to find sympathy and like her, but i remembered what she did, and it's totally ruined that for me. for me, having her kill a kitten was too much, and i think they should have shown her feelings in another way than killing an animal...

also! juri. i dont like juri xD i wouldnt change her (in fact, the kitten thing is the only thing i hate that much.) but her character and the way she acts/personality. YOU DONT UNDERSTAND THE MISERY I FACE EACH DAAAYYYYY

The thing that pissed me off?

The fashion.

First: the uniforms. Just... who designed those? The boys' uniforms look awful, that green color, and the shape of it is hideous. The girls have those awful puffy sleeves but then the really shirt skirts? And the colors are terrible, too. I know both uniforms are based off actual school uniforms in Japan, but yikes.

Utena's outfit. I like it for the most part. What I don't like is that she's wearing this cool black top and... red shorts. She would've looked so much nicer with pants. The frills Anthy adds to the outfit during duels makes it seem less empty and lame, but I can't say I like it much. Also, her epaulets look like really thick white dreadlocks. They really shouldn't be that thick. It looks especially bad on cosplayers.

Juri's pants don't match her hair. Small complaint, since only Saionji and Miki seem to care about the pants (Touga wears white and Nanami has that awful bee-inspired look), but hers look like they're vaguely supposed to match. What's up, Juri?

Oh, Juri's curls. They're like princess curls, ringlets, right? I don't know if its the animation's fault, but they looked really stiff and kind of ugly, to be honest. I like that she had an unusual hairstyle, I just feel her Shirley Temple curls weren't done justice by the $5 budget animation.

Akio's ponytail. It's so lazily done and ugly!

Also, why does Akio have a bindi? I guess he's part of the crowd that considers bindis to be fashion accessories and not have any particular religious significance anymore (or not care), but it's so weird.

Anthy's... everything is a hot mess from beginning to end. Okay, she's Indian, so she'll have darker skin - good start. Let's give her dull, purple hair that doesn't contrast with her skin at all! And green eyes, because green and purple go well together. Oh, and a red dress with green trim, so she can look like an inverted Christmas tree. Her sleeves on the dress both me; it looks like a sleeveless dress, but it covers the top of her shoulders, making the overall shape a little weird. Finally, her hairstyle most of the time is so boring and awful.

In the movie: why does Miki have a mullet. It's so hard to take the bathtub scene seriously because all I can think of is "Kozue, if you really want to hurt Miki, threaten to cut his hair, not his throat." The mullet does make him look older, and the characters are supposed to be older, I think, so I suppose it works... but trying to invoke the styles of 80s rock stars is not gonna get you power, Miki. Also, why is his skin darker (more orange, maybe?) than his TWIN sister's? Does he tan a lot? It doesn't even look like a real tan; it looks like he used and abused spray tan. On the bright side, I love his outfit in the movie; the shade of blue chosen for the top was really nice.

Utena gains pants in the movie, but loses the coolness of the rest of her outfit and also gets a lame haircut (did Miki steal Utena's hair?!? a true mystery). I'm annoyed at her duel with Saionji when he (somehow) gets her top open and you see her cleavage. You just had to get that fanservice in there, didn't ya?

The ridiculously long legs. The incredibly pointy chins. Nobody has pupils except Nanami, who has no sclera. Nobody looks their age except Mitsuru and Miki - Nanami has a pretty large bust for a 12-year-old (although that's certainly not unheard of). Saionji and Touga are crazy-ripped, but they do do physical training, so it has a tiny bit more justification that the girls' ridiculous figures, which can't really be explained by exercise. All the girls have incredibly tiny waists and are just generally veeeeery thin. Juri might be a tiny bit thicker, but she also has larger breasts than everyone else. At least they didn't put in as much fanservice as they could have.

TV Series

-My god the uniforms are lames. (except Utena's and the council member's).

-Episode 24 is so pointless I would have prefer they made a second episode with Mari instead.

The movie

-I really don't like the movies since many characters I like get bastardized. Kozue just exist so Miki has a reason to be in Ohtori and oh boy I really don't like what they to Shiori. Okay she does has some interesting things but I really hates her last scene. Shiori crash and is let alone but Saionji can get redemption even if all he did in the goddamn movie before was being angry. I feel everyone except Touga, Anthy and Utena are just plot device.

-The Nanami cow scene is unfunny. I like seeing Nanami being a punching bag in her comedic episodes because she pretty much put herself in trouble with her own jerk attitude or stupidity but here all I see is a cow who did nothing wrong and get abused.

The manga

-I know many people hates the characterization but honestly that annoyed me less than the movie. The only things I really dislikes are Saionji who is just a jerk IRRC and of course Juri (Manga!Juri seems to be the most hated character in the franchise).

-The short story with Mikage. Why the hell that exist? He show up then he die. I would rather prefer Nanami show up since that establish she exist in the universe too. The only thing that would redemption Manga!Juri for me is make her interacted with Nanami for entertaining but that don't happen.

cypsiman2 wrote:

Second, the show tries to paint him in a tragic light at the very end, the Shadow-Girls talking up how sad it was that he was sick and dying and how he just wanted to bring Juri a miracle isn't that just soo romantic?  Gag me.  The show makes no bones about the other douchebags being douchebags, but this guy gets to be lionized after freaking assaulting Juri?  No, not acceptable, not at all.

Can I persuade you that this was part of the point of his character?

To begin with, can we agree that -- in SKU -- all princes are douchebags?  Every last prince is a douchebag, even the well-intentioned ones, like Dios, or Utena in the Student Council Arc, or Touga in the Apocalypse Arc.  And that's because, at a minimum, being a prince involves treating a human being like an object to be rescued.  The very notion of "saving someone," which is what princes ostensibly do, is debunked by the end of the show.  You can't save someone.  You can accept them unconditionally, and stand beside them and love them while they save themselves, and that can be incredibly valuable, but you can't save them.  And so anyone in SKU who thinks they are saving someone is inherently suspect.  They might be well-intentioned.  But they are suspect.  You shouldn't try to be a prince; you should try to be a kind human being.

Ruka, of course, is all about saving someone.  Like the show's other well-intentioned princes, he thinks he is being kind, but in fact he is being a douchebag.  The show knows this.  You should believe that the show knows this, partly because it is impossible that there is only one good prince and he is Ruka of all people, and partly because Ruka deceives Shiori and assaults Juri and cavorts with Akio.  He acts like a bad guy.  The show is not going to turn around and tell you he is secretly a good guy.  The show is going to turn around and tell you he is complicated.  Ruka's story is a little two-episode arc that encapsulates many of the questions the show wants us to ask about princes.  When you "save" the maiden, are you really doing her a favor?  Or are you "saving" her because rescuing girls is easy but having real human relationships is hard?  What makes you think you know what's best for the maiden?  Are you as selfless as you think you are?  Is selflessness even a good thing to aspire to?  And which is more important: what you want for someone or how you treat them?

Ruka tries to do a good deed.  That counts for something, at least superficially.  And if it feels like the Shadow Girls are lionizing him, that's why: the Shadow Girls often mock superficiality by embodying it.  The skit is inviting you to react against them -- without dismissing them.  You react against them because you know Ruka was a douchebag.  But you can't dismiss them because you also know that most of SKU's cast doesn't even try to do a good deed.  The final conclusions are yours to draw, but this much is sure: the show wants us to see the character flaws of white knights and seek to be better than them.  Ruka is just another way of presenting that theme.

only think that bugs me is any translation that makes "Utenasama" into "lady Utena" arrrrggggg
(a reason why I avoid anything translated)

other than that, all the other stuff like how some characters are, I find them as plot tools and I like everything that was created especially the psychological games and how they effect each character.

satyreyes wrote:

Ruka tries to do a good deed.  That counts for something, at least superficially.  And if it feels like the Shadow Girls are lionizing him, that's why: the Shadow Girls often mock superficiality by embodying it.  The skit is inviting you to react against them -- without dismissing them.  You react against them because you know Ruka was a douchebag.  But you can't dismiss them because you also know that most of SKU's cast doesn't even try to do a good deed.  The final conclusions are yours to draw, but this much is sure: the show wants us to see the character flaws of white knights and seek to be better than them.  Ruka is just another way of presenting that theme.

This is exactly why I find Ruka so compelling, and have since the first time I watched the show. My own perspective on him as a character is that he's a deeply flawed individual - just like everyone else in Utena - who tries to do the right thing but it doesn't work out like he'd expected, largely because his expectations were fundamentally incorrect.