Revolutionary Girl Utena/YMMV: Difference between revisions

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* [[Adaptation Displacement]]:

** Many people have only seen the (very wildly alternate universe) film version, partly because it's easier to find on torrent sites and partly because it was the only version released in places like the UK (and, okay, it's known for its [[Fan Service]] as well). It's also been shown at some LGBT film festivals, giving it exposure outside the anime fandom.

** The series was partly based on the novel ''Demian'' by [[Hermann Hesse]], which most anime fans wouldn't know because it's never mentioned ANYWHERE EVER. Particularly, the egg speech is a direct reference... expect anything else which references the egg speech to be assumed to be referencing Utena.

* [[Fan Wank]]: There's a small group of people who think ''every single thing {{spoiler|that Anthy}} does in the series'' is manipulative and for ulterior motives. {{spoiler|Yes, even getting (re-)stabbed with a million swords in the last episode. Yes, even when Anthy disappears behind the coffin and reaches out for Utena's hand. All this is supposed to be an act to make Utena feel sorry for her so Anthy can have a prince to manipulate forever so the Rose Bride can finally leave Ohtori}}. {{spoiler|While Anthy}} is very manipulative and much of her actions in the series are malicious, the above interpretation contains several logic bombs: 1.) If {{spoiler|Anthy}} wants a prince to save her from Ohtori, she could've {{spoiler|refused to betray Utena in the penultimate episode because Utena was ''already doing everything in her power to help Anthy get out of Ohtori''. Anthy's actions make no sense unless you interpret Anthy as being hesitant about leaving}}. 2.) As the series points out, it's not {{spoiler|a lack of a prince or any inherent magic which prevents the Rose Bride from leaving Ohtori; ''it's the Rose Bride's own personal choice to stay''. Utena's feelings for Anthy, or Anthy's lack of a prince, have nothing to do with magically binding her to the duels}}.

** Don't forget the speculation that {{spoiler|young Anthy rapes young Dios in flashblack, simply due to the fact that the two of them take shelter in a barn (as per the English double-entendre "rolling in the hay"). Supporters of this particular [[Epileptic Trees|Tree]] insist that Anthy was waiting for the "perfect moment" to "taint" her brother and "claim him for herself", forgetting that this is the same Anthy who took thousands of stab wounds to keep him, and neglecting to explain at all why anyone (much less a small girl) would stop to rape their older brother when being chased by a sword-wielding mob}}.

* [[Faux Symbolism]]: Various weird visual cues, the most common being rotating stylized roses, which don't appear to have any particular meaning. Ikuhara doesn't help either: he gives vague, non sequitur comments like saying the Shadow Girls are aliens (which ''would'' explain the repeated flying saucer imagery in their performances...). On the other hand, the pointing fingers in episode 22 seem to stand for [[Ship Tease]].

* [[Freud Was Right]]: Lots. Take Akio's car for example. Or his tower, or his projector, or... let's just say Akio provides the majority of this.

** Wakaba's {{spoiler|Black Rose duel}} Just... Wakaba's {{spoiler|duel}}.

** Oh, ''everyone''.