Revolutionary Girl Utena/Analysis: Difference between revisions

== This analysis is examining differences in the three primary variations of ''Revolutionary Girl Utena'' (All of which are canon in their own universe.). ==

 

Has very [[Shoujo]] styled writing.

 

 

For example, Ohtori Akio is more of a [[Chessmaster]] then a [[Magnificent Bastard]]. This makes sense for a more realistic stting, where he'd get in huge trouble anywhere else but in the nearly alternate world of the anime Ohtori Academy for his schemes. In the manga, he's only acting as the Chessmaster because he has been literally separated from his good half.

One of themes in Utena is the idea that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink, or in the case of the show you can rescue a princess but not free her, and this is why Anthy stays at Ohtori. We see at the end of the series that she simply can and does walk out, but the reason she didn't before is that she didn't ''believe'' she could. The coffin is part of the metaphor of her being confined there; she sees it as safety even though it's restricting her. That's another big part of battering: convincing the victim that they do not have the power to leave and that it's in their best interests to stay. The batterer sets themselves up as the sole focus of the victim's world, and a big part of helping the victim is showing them that this isn't the case, so removing them from the batterer's presence is usually a critical step. That's why orders of protection are so important.

 

 

=== Utena and Feminism ===

Another series metatrope: Damsels in Distress and Wicked Witches in ''Revolutionary Girl Utena'' are ''very'' interchangeable. It only makes sense that the average person who stays helpless for too long will inevitably find unscrupulous ways of seizing power. It's also brilliant commentary on stories, because writers (and people) have traditionally been unable to imagine women outside the "Madonna/Whore Complex".