Worked on Rita for a while, then decided it was time for a break. And I managed to coax my tablet into loading a couple more episodes of Utena. Here are the things I wrote down while watching them, for your amusement.
Wait didn’t I see this opening already? Is this really episode 3? *scrubs back and forth* yep! Ep 3 starts with the same little playlet as ep 1.
Holy shit. Every single girl in this school wants to either do
Utena, or be her. The way they stop and stare whenever she passes.
Oooh. Utena denies being gay, says she wants a man. And then here comes a creepy bishonen with red hair to call her pretty and patronize her. Who turns out to be The Prince Who Gave Her The Ring. The one that inspired her to become a heroic prince who rescues girls.
How the hell does “sitting on top of an ivory tower dueling” translate to “breaking the egg of the world and ruling it”, student council?
Mmmm. Unpopular, awkward student being mocked by the popular girls. Anthy is going to enjoy being the homecoming queen almost as much as Carrie, I’m sure.
Anthy and Utena get dresses delivered by a disembodied voice. Did Anthy’s come with contacts, or with condoms?
YES. The “Do you know? Do you know?” shadow puppets are back again. The chorus, the Voice of the People, the “they” in “you know what they say”. Someday I need to do a story with a Geek chorus like this. These repeating images and shots are starting to give this show a fugue-like structure.
Utena’s dress: a huge red rosebud in the middle of a giant field of PINK. Is it just me or does that sound kinda suggestive? Prince dude is trying super hard to force her into traditional female roles here. Meanwhile the one dark skinned person is being stripped half naked for the amusement of the haughty rich ladies, who feed on Anthy’s humiliation. But it brings out PRINCE UTENA to save the day.
Okay I totally want Prince Utena to sweep me up in her arms and save me and dance in a romantic field of soft focus and floating rose petals. She can totally top the hell out of me. Am I going to end up drawing my dragon character cosplaying as Anthy with someone someday.
Oooh, I like how episode 4 cuts straight to the fight. Fake out, now we flash back and find out what’s happening here. Me being me, I kind of want to go forwards from here and intercut the fight with flashbacks, or just leave a lot unsaid. (Though as the episode progressed I was glad to see things being said.)
Oh good, finally someone who wants poor antisocial Anthy. Even if the Did You Know puppets end up implying that Mr. Blue-Haired Musician From The Student Council is being a total Nice Guy all over Anthy. They just about handed him his fedora.
And why does he obsessively click his stopwatch? This will be important at some point; it’s been repeated a lot. Once an episode before, now twice in the first half of episode 4.
Oh my god I love the repeated scenes with Popular Girl trying to implement “Operation Anthy’s A Total Weirdo Who Keeps Creepy Animals In Weird Places”.
Also I am totally finding myself sympathizing with Anthy. I was totally that weird kid with glasses who sits in a corner, doesn’t have any friends, and draws flipbooks in the corners of her notes. Seriously so many flipbooks.
Summation: Oh my god I am so totally gay for Prince Utena now. I want to swoon just thinking about her.