crystalwren wrote:

I got my limited edition Apocalypse saga boxset yesterday! (Am getting a lot of things in the mail lately...still haven't gotten my secret santa gift, though, so it's just me hemorrhaging money as usual) And I've just sat down to watch 'Their Eternal Apocalypse.' During the duel between Utena and Saionji, the lights in the castle turn off. And they turn off with a decidedly metallic and ringing clang. Like someone flicked the light switch in a huge industrial complex. Or else the light switch on a whopping great.... projector.

You just blown my mind; I can't believe I did't realize that in that episode and the rest of the Apocalypse arc.

I was listening to the movie soundtrack, and I swear I heard "Tell me about your homeworld, Usul" during Rondo Revolution. I guess it makes sense, since Ikuhara is a David Lynch fan.

Rosesareawesome101 wrote:

crystalwren wrote:

I got my limited edition Apocalypse saga boxset yesterday! (Am getting a lot of things in the mail lately...still haven't gotten my secret santa gift, though, so it's just me hemorrhaging money as usual) And I've just sat down to watch 'Their Eternal Apocalypse.' During the duel between Utena and Saionji, the lights in the castle turn off. And they turn off with a decidedly metallic and ringing clang. Like someone flicked the light switch in a huge industrial complex. Or else the light switch on a whopping great.... projector.

You just blown my mind; I can't believe I did't realize that in that episode and the rest of the Apocalypse arc.

Atropos wrote:

I checked, and it's not in the original version. Supporting my hypothesis that the current ending was not intended from the start.

^Do you mean the ending to the episode, or the progression of the series from that point as a whole? I was confused myself what point you were referring to, I had to watch the duel twice in order to catch it. I thought the fitting point for such an effect would be when the Sword vanishes, implying that it was actually an illusion after all, like the rest of the fancypants stuff in the arena. This could make for any number of possible plot routes from there...

But I guess it's after Anthy draws Utena's heartsword, just before the duel ends. From that point, I would have to guess that the switch is not the sound of the projector being turned off: rather the equivalent of a reel change at the theater. The illusion isn't meant to end there, merely to progress from one chapter to the next. That's just my theory, but it feels the most sound in my mind.

Atropos wrote:

I meant episodes 38-39.

According to the commentary on the last disc, the original plan had Anthy vanish and Utena survived. I'd likeing to see that ending instead

They should have done it! It would have been cool to have the two different endings they were thinking of represented. The manga also has Utena vanishing. I guess they wanted to keep that part of the story the same.

Lurv wrote:

Atropos wrote:

According to the commentary on the last disc, the original plan had Anthy vanish and Utena survived. I'd like to see that ending instead

I can believe that, since in the opening sequence you see Utena alone at the end. Still, I do think the current ending is good. C:

I like the current ending more... It makes Anthy feel a lot more like an actual character, and it's nice to see a bit of the "real" Anthy before the series ends.

Lurv wrote:

Kexx wrote:

I like the current ending more... It makes Anthy feel a lot more like an actual character, and it's nice to see a bit of the "real" Anthy before the series ends.

There's that! I'm not sure how I would feel about Anthy disappearing, but as it is it sounds a bit anti-climatic. Like Utena survived, but her efforts were in vain?

Maybe they originally intend to have Utena - somehow knowing Anthy is freed post duel - be the one to give Akio the "she has merely left your world" speech?  That would make for a climatic ending.

gorgeousshutin wrote:

Maybe they originally intend to have Utena - somehow knowing Anthy is freed post duel - be the one to give Akio the "she has merely left your world" speech?  That would make for a climatic ending.

Good point. Of course, I have no idea how much they planned in advance. I mean, some stuff are foreshadowed, so obviously they didn't wing all of it, but the earlier comments make me wonder if the castle was supposed to be a projection all along.

Atropos: I like that take too, though that would have made me want a sequel even more.

Last edited by Lurv (03-18-2013 05:46:52 PM)

gorgeousshutin wrote:

This sounds very alike to MAkio and MAnthy's exchange near the climax of the Movie.

Well, MAnthy did inherit many of Series-Utena's characteristics.

I'm sorry that I did't realize but I skill cant get over Akio's mullet; it absurdly long and a sharp contrast to the more 90s cast of pretty boys(Touga, Saionji and miki)

There are 108 duelists in the show. The eight proper duelists in the present time, and the 100 boys from the Nemuro era.

BlackBeforeRed wrote:

Touga's seiyuu wasn't completely absent from the BRS, he did some voicework in the cowbell episode. That should've been obvious but I guess I never thought about it while watching because I was caught up in the utter hilarity of the episode

Well, clearly that episode was so important that they had to get him back for that one.

I just realise they used a Cowbell in Watashi Kuusou Seimeitai as of the bass instruments in the song starting at 2 minute mark into the song which is a bit hilarious when you consider a certain christopher walken quote, someone do a remix with more cowbells......

Alright. We know Anthy can disguise her appearance to some degree. We know that, as Mamiya, she was complicit in the corruption of the Black Rose duelists. We see Nanami receiving an offer from Mikage to join the Black Rose Circle, something that is never followed up upon—and you might think that if she met a mysterious yet ominous young man affiliated with "black roses" who targets members of Ohtori's student council, even Nanami might be able to put two and two together.

Moreover, her behavior in this scene is very different from how she acts elsewhere in the episode. She seems cruelly dismissive of Mitsuru, calling him "just a child", whereas elsewhere she acts more like a big sister—telling him to be more of a child on one hand, but supporting him in his time of crisis on the other. One wouldn't expect the girl who does that to embarrass him in front of an authority figure.

Hypothesis: The Nanami from this scene in Mitsuru's BR episode is really Anthy in disguise. Rather, Anthy disguised as Mamiya disguised as Nanami, since Mikage doesn't know his ward's true identity.