Adolescence of Utena Review

Please note: This review comes from my only having seen the episodes of the Utena TV series that have so far been released in the US. Thus, I may be in error or two when it comes to how the TV series ends up treating some of the character.

The entertainment review: the bane of my existence. If you really think about it, is it honestly possible to write a review concerning a piece of entertainment and have it do its function properly? Let me explain; if I was to sit down and write a review concerning a new class of car just released, it would be pretty easy to decide one way or another if the car is a quality product or not. Does it handle properly? Is the car sturdy and made well? Does it survive an impact the way a car should? All of those questions really don’t leave much to opinion. But how is a rational person supposed to review a piece of entertainment?

Typically there tends to be two ends of the spectrum: what the reviewer thinks of the product, and what the reviewer thinks others will think about the product. Most people would simply say, “A review is supposed to be what the reviewer thought of the product!” However, that idea of a review is absolutely flawed. Simply telling you what I thought of a piece of entertainment is nice, but totally worthless to anybody except those people out there who may have my exact tastes. But then, do I review the product simply from the idea of how I think others will see it? And how am I to know exactly what the general populous sees as quality, when the general populous can’t often decide on an individual basis what exactly it is that they like? A game review is one thing: I can say if the control is good or bad, I can say if the music fits the game, I can say if the difficulty is what most would agree is proper, and so on. Still, so much of the opinion of a game is up to each individual when they play. But what about a movie? The basics are still there—animation quality, music, etc.—but we get much farther into personal opinion and less into factual pieces of the whole that we can judge. How often have you read the review of a movie and based your opinion on seeing it on the review? Personally, I can honestly say that not once has a review seriously swayed my choice in seeing a movie, with the exception that if I start hearing enough people saying something is amazing that I hadn’t planned on seeing or simply hadn’t heard about.

This is the dilemma that I have entering into my review of Adolescence of Utena, the theatrical movie for the anime series Revolutionary Girl Utena. I know very well what I think of the movie; but, being absolutely honest, I really have NO clue what you’ll think about it. So, where as typically I would try my hardest to walk a fine line between what I think and what I think you’ll think, I’ll just say this:

This review is nothing more than my overzealous opinion on this film. I’ve not one clue if you’ll like it or not. If you read this review, buy this movie, and then hate it, don’t say that I didn’t warn you.

And actually, I’ll start this review by stating that I’m pretty sure that for quite a large amount of people out there, this movie will indeed not be for them. Putting it bluntly, this is a movie that takes themes like lesbianism, incest, rape, necrophilia, domination, abuse, and other such themes, and gives them an almost romantic and beautiful atmosphere. If ever there was a film to test how open-minded you are, how accepting of themes hushed up in everyday society, this is it. Either you’ll watch this film and be amazed at what you see, and be accepting of the story that is presented, or you’ll be shifting in your chair the entire time wondering if you’re committing a sin simply by watching. Well, that is, you may question if it’s okay to be watching such a movie if you actually understand what you’ve just watched your first time through.

So what exactly is this tale about? Adolescence of Utena is the big screen recreation of the manga title by Saito Chiho, which was later turned into an animated television series partially released here in the US, and directed by Ikuhara Kunihiko, who was partially responsible for the animated version of Sailor Moon. In the original story, Utena was a young girl who met a handsome prince as a child, and from that meeting her outlook on life changed. She herself ended up becoming a prince of sorts, and she would come to find herself in a situation at an almost mystical high school where she would play the part of the prince far more than she ever could have thought. Here, with the movie, the basic elements are mostly the same, but much has changed, and this is very much a re-creation of the Utena universe instead of being a simple extension of it. Familiarity will certainly help out here, as you’ll be able to appreciate the movie far more, but history with the rest of the Utena saga is not required. Our Utena here is not as much the timid and unwilling pawn that she was in the original series; instead, she seems far more headstrong, determined, and understanding of what she wants and what she must do to get it. Utena arrives as a new student at Ohtori Academy, a beautiful and fantastical academy which at first seems like an utter paradise. Utena soon learns, however, that under the bright and shiny skin is a rotten and diseased core. The school is controlled by politics and fancy, mostly those of the Duelists. She begins to learn of the wicked game the Duelists play out through a young girl named Anthy, the caretaker of a beautiful rose garden. Anthy is somehow part of this game, referred to as the “Rose Bride” and fought over as if nothing more than a trophy. She is currently in the keep of the egotistical Saionji, and his ruthless treatment of Anthy is more than Utena can take. Utena and Saionji duel, and almost as if by fate, Utena comes out victorious. From that point on, Utena has no choice but to get caught up in the darker doings of the school, and must also deal with the newfound affection that comes her way from her new “bride” Anthy.

It is upon the shoulders of these two girls that Adolescence of Utena is based. At its very core, this movie is plain and simply a love story. A love story between two girls, yes, but it isn’t about that. The relationship between Utena and Anthy isn’t about two girls, it isn’t about sex or anything else like that, it is the relationship between two people who find each other and come to form a bond of love far deeper than anything physical could form. You get the feeling that Utena and Anthy need each other, that each completes something missing in the other, and that from the earliest point in time they were meant to be together. The relationship between Utena and Anthy is so fascinating to watch as it plays out because amid everything that is going on, all of the corruption and pain and distrust and overall decadence that is rampant at Ohtori Academy, the love that forms between the two girls is so pure and innocent and untainted. As everything around them tries to corrupt them and drag them into the darkness, somehow the two girls continue to rise above it all and put all of themselves within each other, even at times when one or the other hasn’t fully realized that fact yet.  Their relationship is the epitome of love, a perfect love that a better example you’d be challenged to find. And this, this astounding example of two people finding a love so uncorrupted is the movie’s most brilliant point.

I loved the Utena series, but not unlike Tenchi and my experience with the movies, now that I have seen Adolescence of Utena, my appreciation for the original series (as well as the manga) can never be the same. The Utena movie is just so good, it so pushes the characters and situations in the directions that they should have always gone, that the brilliance of the movie is almost too good for its own good. With Tenchi Forever, I found myself confronted with characters and a storyline that finally fit everything into place and felt like the logical apex of the Tenchi storyline; so too do I feel about this movie. Where as the Utena TV series always felt like something magical, something mystical, the movie raises all of that into an almost dream state, a point of existence where it feels like you are watching a dream from which you could wake at any moment. The first hint of this is when you see the backgrounds, the school and its style and the general look of the show. You’ve never seen an anime title that looks like this—that statement I can make without doubt. Never before have I seen a title where every single background shot was so beautiful and artistic, where even the littlest of details or the most un-important of backdrops had been paid so much attention. Every frame of this anime is like looking at a rich painting, delicately crafted for hours or even days. Other anime may look better technically, but none look better artistically.

Like a good movie should, it isn’t just the visuals that receive a boost beyond what we’ve already seen. Each character presented in the film gains new dimension, new depth beyond what we have already come to know of them. Utena is the strong-willed and unafraid prince, but deep inside her is a surprisingly fragile and weak girl who simply longs to find happiness again. Anthy once again steps into the role of the quiet and almost slave-like Rose Bride, but as opposed to the original series, here she does so with an almost wicked smile on her face. We get the feeling that Anthy is what she is here because she wants to be: while at first glance it may seem like we should pity her for being where she is, maybe she is where she is because she then has far more power and ability to control the rest of the characters as puppets. When we think it is Anthy being used and controlled, one has to wonder if it isn’t the other way around. As well, the character designs for the two are quite different here. Utena how has a more boyish, short-haired look (at least when not in battle mode), and Anthy is much more the ravishing beauty. After movie Anthy, I almost can’t stand the old Anthy, and while at first I was a bit put off by Utena’s new look, it didn’t take long until it almost felt to me like she had always looked that way.

The music, too—lord, the music. I am notorious for not noticing a movie, game, or whatever’s soundtrack unless the music really stands out to me. Adolescence of Utena‘s music doesn’t just stand out, it looks you straight in the face and demands that you notice it.  Whether it be the soft yet sad tones of a lone piano, or the powerful chants of the battle theme, Utena’s soundtrack fits so perfectly that the movie and the music seem like soul mates destined to always be together.  Not once does the music falter, not once does it let the movie down and not provide the exact tone or mood that is needed. I wish I knew exactly who it was that created the music for this feature, because there name needs to be carved into the brain of all music lovers the way a name like Kanno Yoko has been.

Are there flaws? Saying that Utena has a flaw or two is like saying that being given a bag containing one million dollars is a bit annoying because you have to pull such a big heavy bag to the bank. Sure, it is a bit of a drag (ha ha!), but are you really going to complain? As is often the case with anime, the best titles typically are the ones that end up being the shortest. Adolescence of Utena is a mere 87 minutes long, and while at no point did I really feel that something was left our or lacking, such a wonderful piece of animation deserved to be longer. Had the movie been given an extra twenty or so minutes, and a few of the characters had the chance to be more fleshed out, this movie would have simply been perfect. Our experience with Saionji is too short, our look into what exactly the relationship between Miki and his sister is was woefully lacking.

If there is one negative that I can honestly bring up about the movie, it is the fact that my favorite Utena character, Nanami, was screwed when it came to the movie. Is she in it? Well.. sort of. But she got screwed, trust me. On the other hand, the uber-annoying ChuChu also got the boot for 95% of the movie, so I suppose that it is a trade-off that in the end I shouldn’t complain too much about.

In an attempt to begin to wrap this up, I’ll quickly go over the DVD features of this movie, and then close this out. The DVD contains a smattering of extras, most notably and important the Director’s Commentary with Ikuhara Kunihiko. He takes great pains to not just hand you the explanation for everything that went on in the movie, but he does give a lot of wonderful insight. His details on the production of the film are interesting, and the clues that he does give as to the meaning behind everything helped for a few spots where I simply just hadn’t even a beginning of an understanding about what I had seen. Art sketches, a behind the scenes look at the making of the dub, a “fan tribute” with some submitted fan artwork and photos, a quick trivia game, and some other content wrap up the DVD. Oh, and we are also given an amazingly unremarkable cover (a shame when so much good artwork was available for this movie) – one gets a bit of a hint that Central Park Media / Software Sculptors wasn’t totally sure how exactly to handle this release. I almost wish that Pioneer had instead been the ones to snag this film up, as they always seem to know how to do a bigger release with an amazing amount of class.

So, in the end, I say this: just as I said that Silent Hill was the game I would make if I ever made a game, so too do I say that Adolescence of Utena is the anime I would make if I ever made an anime. Never before have I seen an anime title that worked so wonderfully, that was so perfect and amazing and enjoyable in so many different ways and at so many different levels.

S Special	For me, for my likes and dislikes and personal opinion on the whole matter, there has never been, nor will there probably be, a more perfect anime that this.
Adolescence of Utena was reviewed using review code, physical copies, or hardware provided by Central Park Media. Scores are graded on a scale of E (Bad) to S (Special) in homage to Japanese video game grading scales, with the understanding that an S still does not denote a "perfect" score. Scores may have been adjusted from the original source to better fit my personal scale.