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Summary: First, take in to account that this is the MOVIE. NOT the TV SERIES. We'll review the TV series later. The movie is like the TV series, except with a bunch of major changes. First there's Utena, our pink-haired heroine who comes to the Ohtori Academy on her quest to be a prince. She comes to Ohtori and runs into an old childhood friend, Touga. Or is it really Touga? Next thing you know, Utena finds a ring bearing a rose signet. She then wanders into a field of roses. There, she meets Anthy. She challenges Saonji to a duel after she sees him hit Anthy. So Utena wins and guess what she also wins? The victor of the duels wins the Rose Bride, Anthy. Now Utena must figure out the secrets of the Rose Bride, the duels, and other stuff...
From Melanie:
The first time I saw this I was like, YEAH!!! ANTHY AND UTENA FOR LIFE!!!! But after I got pass that I thought, "What the freakin' hell?" This movie is confusing...seriously. Symbolism is everything in this movie. It leaves you going, "Huh?" If you can honestly say you understand the movie after watching it only once, then I bow down to your superior mind. This isn't a kiddie movie. Hell, the TV series isn't either. There's murder, incest, suicide, gayish-themes, and some
molestation thrown in. This movie can be disturbing at times.
I love the animation. Especially a certain scene under the stars. If you get bored or confused, just look at the pretty pictures. My only complaint is the overdrawn noses. That just kind of freaked me out. Everything is drawn nicely, especially the field of roses.
But back to the whole "weirdness" of this movie. It's odd, but I liked it. You have to watch it a couple of times to understand it. Hell, even then you probably still won't understand it. But that's what is likeable about this movie. The whole plot is intriguing. The movie is 80 minutes long which I think is too short. The movie seems rushed and it doesn't take a lot of time to focus on certain parts. Like when *SPOILER ALERT* Akio stabs Anthy, Anthy still lives even though it seems as though Akio stabs her through the heart. All that's left is a scar...which by the way isn't shown. It's more symbolized...they show the shadow of Anthy but it looks like there's a hole through her chest...*END OF SPOILER* It's just odd...especially how the sword of Dios comes from Anthy's chest...seriously...They should have made the movie longer. There are a lot of loose strings that need to be tied. Don't watch the movie if you're easily confused. Just watch all 39 episodes of the TV series...it's easier to understand...
From The Masked Fighter:
The Utena series is pretty popular due to it "strangeness." The movie is no exception. Symbols and metaphors run rampant here. This movie requires more than one viewing to fully understand it. If you still can't understand it, try using the Director's Commentary. But not the speaking one, use the subtitles. Unless you can understand Japanese, stick to reading the English subtitles. It actually does work...he tells you what some scenes mean. But alas, the car scene is still a mystery to me. You don't have to see the TV series before watching the movie. For the movie, they just took the characters and dropped them into some weird alternate universe. Oh, and don't get too attached to the characters. Half of them either die before the end or are already dead. You have to read between the lines. I didn't even realize some of them were dead. I mean, they're talking to people and
sleeping with each other...I didn't think ghosts could do that.
The animation is beautiful...really. The characters look great. At first I thought, "What the hell did they do to their hair?!" But then I got over it...it sort of fits their new personality. Utena is more quiet and reserve in the movie than in the TV show. Anthy, on the other hand, has seem to be more outgoing, carefree, and a lot more forward when it comes to doing certain acts in the bed...
What did I not like about the movie? It was way too confusing and there were some things that weren't explained. The movie seemed to end way too soon...If it had been longer, I don't think it wouldn't be as confusing as it is...It would still be confusing, though...Still, I liked the movie. Just go online if you still don't understand it...There are a bunch of sites that explain it in detail for you.
The movie should not be shown to little kids. There's adult themes everywhere. And that along with the symbolism will be enough to throw your kid into a psychiatric ward for years. I mean, come on...do you want them to end up going insane and wanting to start their own village? I don't think so...
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