utena 4+5: lit

[a_flyleaf]

Hell yeah, finished some work in class today. Time for the two-parter >:3

• I do not have this whole theme memorized yet by a long shot but I have found myself with the sporadic “take my revolution” earworm. dabs back and forth to the 90s, again,
• oh hellooo so we’re opening with a duel with the two-parter’s central character. I like the framing of orange gal, great parallel to Touga earlier but with no cheesy “Baby” lines in sight. how the fuck do either of them see from that far away even with binoculars though
• pianooooooooo
• hm, interesting transition; I wonder if this piano-playing segment is a flashback/if the intro was some kind of in medias res thing, or maybe the duel was only imagined? in any case it sure makes the opening silence starker in comparison
• so, knowing Mickey was piano-playing through the dance scene sure raises Questions about the diegetic nature of any piano OST ever now. twenty bucks on piano music in the last ep having major rewatch value in light of.. whatever Mickey’s whole character has going on
• the note he’s playing is A btw [as in, letter A, not me capitalizing A Thing] but I don’t know music theory/context well enough to make any Commentary on it. I also can’t tell if it’s actually in-tune or not :Vc
  • spontaneous personal context: I played piano for a few years as a kid (still do occasionally, just haven’t had lessons in years), so I Know A Few Thing. never liked studying scales though and my knowledge of music theory is like, terms floating around my head with only the vaguest of contexts; I know there are/can be chords and keys and minors and such with Historical Associations, in some way or another, but not what said significant notes are.
  • basically my music knowledge is the equivalent of someone who’s really good at drawing based on a how-to book, but if you ask them to draw something without a step-by-step reference they’ll flail. That Me, I could not wing a melody or identify a key from sound alone for beans
• anyway, the “You always play this song when you’re alone” tune sounds familiar. aaaand it’s for a “she” (Anthy, implicitly), hm. I think it has had romantic associations?
• Nanami this is not about you but cheers for enthusia—aaaand it’s shot in one go
• “The Sunlit Garden” is a nice name :o so this show’s definitely doing some kind of light metaphor, although I haven’t been keeping a particular eye out for it. Guess I Will
• “This is the worst score I’ve ever gotten!” “Really… Sucks to be you” A+ friendship there Utena
• [wakaba’s mother voice] with logic as your blade,
• So math and logic seem to be given masculine connotations here…? And no not just for the “a real woman can force her logic onto any man” line, but Utena also being really good at it—
• oh her score is ass no wonder she’s having a Moment
• -puts “stopped and rewound a casual math conversation about as many times as an Obviously Symbolic student council moment” on my liveblog resume-
• oh yeah, that orange overlay showed up again
• it really is so goddamn funny to see her in full uniform just talking about a regular-ass math test though
• Anthy humming :o that’s new
• starting to have a pavlovian fear response to that one setting shot that usually precedes the shadow people
• Nanami behind the rumor mill again -_- was she the first time, though? …unless that was all part of her faux-befriending schtick goddamnit,,
  • as a side note though I have been informed she’s like 12–13-ish. which… raises So many questions, but also has me less inclined to be super harsh on her in general. Still Fuckt Tho
• Mickey himself interfering this time, interesting
• Nanami: [👀 with great prejudice]
• okay so the duel challenge was definitely an in-media-res thing. also huh, wonder if there’s some cultural/casuality reason it’s spelled “Mickey” in most of the subtitles but Wakaba’s intro is “Miki”?
• Middle school freshman??????
• “He’s really popular, even with the older girls.” @ambiguous older girls don’t make me break out the >8( emoticons
• Jury: -puts shoulder on son- hand,
• the visual framing of that scene was neat :o don’t have any Commentary except that for a relatively mundane conversation the bookshelves gave it some really nice dramatic framing
• Utena: -talks about getting a boyfriend- / Chuchu: -spits out eraser- ← so, so very subtle
• I forgot if I wrote this in a liveblog or my own notes but I really like how the lil mouse dude (yes I know it’s probably supposed to be a monkey) conveys Anthy’s character like that, without breaking the default neutrality that seems pretty damn central to, well, her character. it’s like the (surreal, il)logical extension of tropes like “my dog likes you even though I don’t (but I will, later in the story, and maybe I don’t hate you that much right now anyway).”
• Utena bls first mistaking Touga’s pale face for the prince and now not noticing Miki in the Very Obvious Student Council Outfit of Uniqueness…
• “I don’t want to fight a duel to make Miss Himemiya my bride.” [narrator voice] And Then He Did
• “That’s all! [Anthy just reminds me of another girl!] I’m not going to fight a duel with you!” inconspicuous, sir. no denial detected
• Utena really not having any of this dueling nonsense. while you were studying the blades you were not studying math
• obligate mid-episode break comment: so, another fairly mundane (as in, not off-the-walls “what the fuck is going on” boomerang) installment, so far! makes enough sense; the introduction of said fuckery is, by design, going to be A Lot. I am still very much expecting the mundane school trouble vs surreal “wth just happened” ratio to skew in the long run, but for now I’m enjoying the relative chill :>
  • also what am I saying, this is a two-parter. if this entire ep (and possibly a little after?) is buildup then hoo boy we’re in for a treat when the actual fight goes down
• “I may finally be regaining what I lost so long ago…” oh hello, maybe Anthy does remind him of someone?
• ayyyyy flashback—in that skin-blacked-out fairytale style too, neat
• pr..pro-wrestling….
• but hmm, if this story is an analogy for Miki and the gal in his past, it’s more or less saying “he thought she was perfect but then she was a Strong Female Character™ and he said Bye” soooo. I’ll take (a very tentative) “Miki masculinity problems” for $200?
• oh my god does Utena not recognize Nanami as the one behind the dress stunt. she doesn’t does she. ig she did just jump in over the table all dramatic and shit but wow this isn’t awkward for Anthy at all I’m sure
• tilting my head a little very much a lot at “[this place is so spotless] because Himemiya works to keep it clean every day,” when she is Noticeably the only dark-skinned character in the room (or around here in general, minus prince). that continues to be a very Intentional character design choice
• “getting to live with such a feminine girl” yep Miki masculinity problems I will take my $200. he’s gotta be like, what, 12? less than?? (idk what the Japanese school system ages are exactly but Young, basically), so.. yeah that’s Something.
• “Is that sarcasm?” I continue to love Utena being nonplussed
• a.. snail in the pencil box? that’s your big prank????
• “Did you say something?” I like the implication Nanami was just monologuing all that out loud and also this show continues to be hilarious
• real shit I don’t know what the snail Means but there’s definitely something to be said about Nanami’s own (im)maturity levels when she’s like, treating a dissolving dress about the same way as she is “I will simply put a slug in a box of pencils and act like it was there all along, thus dooming her reputation for ALL ETERNITY”
• it’s already full of snails???? sjdghsdgjdghsgjsddfs
• “I told you not to keep them in there” “I think it’s cute”
• Okay
• So
• I have
• no goddamn clue what the Meaning of all this is, but
• that is
• objectively ridiculous, and exactly the level of nonsense (even causal nonsense, apparently) I have come to expect from this show. god bless
• but seriously Anthy make them a little terrarium or something, they were a liiil crowded
• 1) Nanami where the hell did you get a snake, 2) don’t tell me Anthy keeps snakes in her desk she’s violating so many animal cruelty laws
• reusing the “did you say something” bit too sdjgdghsdjgsfs
• hereby petitioning Nanami for Most Likely to Be an Animal Wrangler
• uhhh a mongoose eating a snake has gotta be a reference to that one folklore story, Riki Tiki Tavi? which was some kind of metaphor for a political uprising, or that was the historical context, or something? I think??? god I haven’t read that since middle school
• Anthy please stop keeping animals in crammed places
• third time’s the charm nanami, what exactly will an octopus summon from Anthy’s animal funhouse
• I love how you can see and hear Nanami just getting gradually more desperate for One of these gigs to work
• someone had a lot of fun animating that octopus
• okay when Utena was stuffing everything in that closet earlier a giant octopus balloon was not one of the things. (was it? was there a toy with an octopus on it or something??? god)
• I like how, also, no one is commenting on the animals Nanami herself is bringing in
• additional yearbook nomination for Nanami: Most Likely to Wonder Why Everyone Else in a Musical is Singing (after Busting Out a Solo with Multiple Reprises, Herself)
• the live octopus just chillin’ behind Miki sdjgshjdsghsdjgsfs
• no clue why the flipbook amused Anthy that much but good for her
• Nanami’s reactions to everything continue to be priceless
• Nanami Fucking Loses It (wrt the tea kettle noise, lovely sound effect)
• ok so it’s a Law that you can’t have tentacles (or movable vines or other long cord-y thing) in an animation Without it being somehow cursed and I love that the prize this round went to fucking Chu-Chu (ignoring, for the moment, whatever the hell that’s saying about Anthy)
• shaved ice is a wonderful dinner nanami be nice
• yessss the insecurities are showing. broadcast with a megaphone more like
• guys I don’t think the “study group” was what prompted Anthy to leave
• leaving Tense Household Scenes to go play piano. mood, anthy
• but ahh, wonder if there’s something subtly Different about this tune vs the way Miki was playing it?
• Little sister’s????
• hello can we get normal sibling dynamics anywhere on this show please
• am I supposed to be reacting to this reveal in that way?? dude is reminded of his little sister by Anthy when everything about his attraction to Anthy is coded romantic theref
• -gets exactly what i signed up for- what is this. why is it here. Hello. hello the piano music is still playing i’m having a Moment
• (well. I guess that’s where the “Nanami’s attraction to her brother is a ‘safe’ means of dealing with romantic inclinations (or lack thereof)” idea comes from. or something.)
• anyway.
• “I’ve found it. My ‘shining thing.’” And Thus an Obsession was Born (bathed in yellow, just like the flashback, too. Help.)

HELP

okay uhh mid-episode comment: I saw a video thumbnail that was something like “yellow as the color of Youth in Utena” so, firstly, thanks YouTube for spoiling that for me,, and second yeah, that makes sense in the context of that little flashback bit and also.. Everything about nanami.

also before I play the preview for the next one—speaking of youth and bizarre sibling implications, then what was the shadow girl bit about? or like, I know it was something of a red herring, I’m just wondering why it furthers the impression like that. [post-watch note: “red herring” my aaaasssssssssss]

(also uhhh something something if Nanami > Touga is displaced aromanticism then does Miki is gay?? this is a half-formed not-even-thought idk, there was surely Something to his own conversation with Touga there but reading Freud into that one feels like a bit of a stretch. far as any sort of reading of this show can be a stretch. Anyway)

• okay okay okay there’s a lot going on in this preview:
  • Anthy agreeing to something for Utena’s sake, again, and Utena refuting that, again
  • Anthy not looking too happy at the piano, but also Chu-Chu’s all :3-faced so ???
  • green-toned flashback with. Quite A Shot, head tilted back (not too much unlike dark-skinned guy in the intro), Freud is breakdancing back into my DMs and calling me a bitch
  • -rewinds a sec- ah shit that’s the little girl/Miki’s sister isn’t it
  • all ^this, with the narration “I am the Rose Bride. I must do the will of whomever I am engaged to.”
  • new girl, blue-haired; Miki’s sis? lol lapis lazuli hair
  • aaaand youtube previews chopping up the subtitles again, Thanks
  • last but not least, bit of the Actual Duel (ah yes, forgot to mention this earlier, but last time someone fought Utena and went for the kill that went Great; I like how everyone is basically just. quietly not acknowledging it, in any way)
  • and a lonely little girl in the spotlight; could be Anthy? lighting unclear.
• oh yeah. we’re getting right back into the bullshit aren’t we
• makes cross sign over chest, plays next ep.

• man, haven’t seen Saionji in a while. still miiiildly concerned about the dude; it seems way too early to 100% write off an Intro Spot character
• framing of this fencing scene with the ambiguous speakers, hidden faces, giant windows—kinda reminds me of the shadow girls. also huh, Jury and Mickey getting paired again; blue and orange, it’s Obligatory
• “The strength of purity.” Don’t Say That
• sighs wearily. literally just pauses, sighs, I’m not even gonna point to the writing on the window
• it’s even because of a girl come Onnnnn
• (. . . although, uh. Hm. Shit. I Don’t Like What This Suggests About This Relationship)
• (if my hunch is right then I guess the ambiguous older girls who Miki is “popular with” are not so ambiguous after all. …>8()
• “Your sword is not for battle.” boy, what the hell is that supposed to mean
• Anthy looking genuinely happy out in her garden here again :0
• the framing of all this is really nice and pleasant but I’m on too many levels of psychosexual bullshit to take it at face value
• Anthy’s garden being similar to the one in Miki’s childhood is certainly a thing
• okay I guess I misread the “not happy while piano-playing” expression
• to be fair, Utena, kids thinking they “made” something that they’re just blatantly ripping off something they heard is just like, Childhood Staple. (that, or this is a very r/YourExperiencesAreNotUniversal moment on my part.)
• ok hold up—

• ^this silhouette just gave me mad deja vu, is one of the shadow girls like this?? the bow at least seems conspicuous
• also purple lighting, kinda pinkish. interesting
• the framing of everything in this scene is extremely neat
• …he blames himself for “ruining” the concert because he got sick, hm.
• oh I don’t like the way the dad took the sister’s hand at all, way too Forceful
• soooooo the Conspicuous Breathing shot was. miki, actually. I am not 100% sure if I should be backpedaling furiously but it’s very Different in context that’s for damn sure
• aaand it’s not Anthy, mistook the silhouette stylization for dark skin
• I am not really sure what piano-playing is analogous to but that sure was a backstory
• really odd framing with Anthy and Chu-Chu hypnotized by the metronome in the foreground while Miki talks about how much he loved his sister’s piano-playing
• not commentary on any particular line, just stray musing: I wonder iffff this “shining thing” and other piano-related commentary is more in the realm of nostalgia? like, it still very deliberately seems to have romantic connotations (or maybe Freud actually is leading me astray for once), but it’s still encased in yellow. was, anyway; purple and green in that flashback, no clue what those hues mean yet.
• -unpauses- “I’ve finally found the ‘shining thing’ I’ve been searching for!” “Are you saying you’re in love with her?” oh come on
• love Utena casually leaning against the piano like that
• “About the younger man in your life?” uhhh how old are these two again
  • tangent but someone in a server linked a post a while back, cba to dig it up again (unless prompted ig), talking about how casting young adults in teenage roles shifts your entire perception of a character. it had some weird purity undertones but it stuck with me anyway, and I think that could Very Much apply to RGU; on one hand Anime Is Just Like This, broadly speaking, but on the other -gestures vaguely towards the “yuri legs” comment- None Of These People Look Like Young Teens
  • so my mental model of age is something like, most of them are young adults(-ish???), and then nanami’s Definitely Younger, and Miki is Especially Younger. and that is why Utena casually asking Anthy about the “younger man” is making me double take, thanks for coming to my ted talk
• the front-view framing of the “Now look!” line… is that a NGE reference? I swear I’ve seen memes of some Neon Genesis Evangelion character (and/or the “tsundere” character trope”?) in like, that exact pose
• I guess it’d be fitting; objectively Utena is right about all this dueling/bride stuff being A Bit Nonsense, but also everything about this show is Very Gay so ya just know she’s gonna feel differently (about Anthy, specifically, idk about the rest) at the end of it all
• oh my god the elevator again
• an apple on the chair, huh. World’s Least Conspicuous Fruit Choice
• all this backstory and still no word on what his deal is with the stopwatch. considering the inherently timely nature of End of the World it feels vaguely ominous
• waiiiit hold up hold up, so Miki overhears like one (1) conversation and now he’s like “yeah she’s right this whole system is nonsense actually”*, but also he’s gonna duel Utena at the end anyway? surely this will go great :^D
  • from a characterization standpoint this isn’t actually that surprising imo; besides being an Impressionable Youth, it seems like his takeaway from that whole talk was “if I get Anthy out of the system then she won’t be so attached to Utena anymore (and will be with me instead).”
• like, the talk of personal freedom is admirable, but he’s echoing Utena. we know how this is gonna go. (also, interestingly—we know Utena’s gonna agree to it, or at least get somehow roped in or convinced or what have you.)
• Touga referring to Miki (indirectly) as “youth” is furthering my impression I might not be entirely amiss to be mentally reading him as markedly younger than everyone else, or at least these two. although Touga also referred to Utena as a “young girl.” although x2, that wasn’t not creepy. So.
• [aaand cue irl interruption, just in time for the commercial break!]
• a’ight back one hour later—while away it dawned on me that Miki’s crush on Anthy need not ~imply~ anything about his relationship with his sister, much as there Sure Are Connotations. idk! it’s a thought.
• hello new character with conspicuously technicolor hair plus spinning rose, I’m sure you won’t be important at all
• this whole scene is conspicuously quiet, sans faint ambient birdsong
• well her outfit and Touga in general sure look, uh, ruffled
• oh that was his sister
• okay so that changes, like, Everything, Instantly, about all his nostalgia and whatnot. I mean y’know in retrospect it does seem like the way someone would regard a dead relative; “she never played piano again” =/= “she’s gone from me forever,” and yet Miki’s out here lusting searching for someone who reminds him of a past idealized version of her. Wow Okay Dude that’s more fucked up than I thought!!
• “Your sister is as cute as you are.” alright so Miki being effeminate isn’t just me
• “And as easy-going.” whyyyyyyy
• “Unless you defend the precious things you possess, people will take them away from you, Mickey.” bro that is not how any of this works
  • (also: “Mi-ckey” was very clearly pronounced. that’s gotta be some cutesy nickname.)
• “Only the one she is engaged to can make the Bride do what they want.” that’s not how any of this worrrrrksssssssss
• conspicuous closeups on the music notes at the “do what they want” echo
• “You were probably cute as an angel when you were little.” Mikiiiiiiiiiii stop implying this whole thing is like, he had a crush on his sister but then she Grew Up (and stopped fitting into his Idealized Counterpart model) and now she’s dead to him. fucked up bro
• (it is dawning on me late that I sure wasn’t applying “I don’t trust any dude in this show” to him, at least not half as strongly as to Saionji and Touga. some of that’s on character design, probably intentional misdirection on the show’s part, but also it is on me and I will own that)
• this song sounds so much less sweet now jesus christ
• “I won’t lose it again!” sir she can simply opt out. that is an option she has. you cannot force this.
• something something he looks young/feminine as a reflection of internal “arrested development,” idolizing the phase where he and his sister were inseparable? what a character.
• the whole piano exchange is so fucked uuuuuuuppp
• Touga on the pink(???!??) bed as part of Miki’s little internal nightmare-fantasy… draw him like one of your french rivals
• —wait actually I was memeing about “rivals” but also he’s totally seeing Touga as like, a sexual rival to his sister or something isn’t he. she is in fact Right There, enthusiastically so, in this montage. godddddddd
• “I will protect the feeling of your song!” “Thank you so much.” either that flew over Anthy’s head or, giving her more of a benefit of a doubt, that was more of a “yeah okay dude you do that.” guessing more of the latter
• oh right yeah they had a make-up test and other Normal School Things to attend to. between irl breaks and all -gestures at Miki/sister nonsense- That, was totally forgetting about that subplot
• Utena looks so offended by this duel offer sdjgsfjs
• and today we get a forest shot before the shadow cut! pirates!
• (why do I feel like that one painting of the Crystal Gems on a pirate ship was referencing this somehow)
• oh hewwo there is an octopus in the corner.
• oooh using this to set up a dichotomy between “treasure” and what the seeker really wants—sprung a leak. the timing. I
• every other character on this show is so subconsciously horny i swear to god
• What A Perfect Time for the Duel, an Activity which Has Not Been Sexually Charged Whatsoever
• -headbangs to the absolute destiny apocalypse theme again-
• so uh, yeah, once again we don’t really see Utena changing her mind or anything; she declares the whole ordeal stupid, but Miki just invites her (in front of an adoring crowd, of course; who is she to say no) and she must be like “aw shit here we go again”
• so uhhhhhhhh Touga was watching Utena in the first duel, clearly has a Thing for her. Jury watching Miki this round, has certainly been spending time with the dude, Coincidence I Think Not
• rock song word salad of the day has been brought to you by: theatrics! more explicitly than usual!
• so I took like one (1) fencing class as a kid but if I remember correctly, you’re not supposed to touch your opponent except for the actual hit? though there are different Types of fencing and I can’t be bothered to cross-reference in the middle of an episode/liveblog. point is, despite Miki saying he won’t hesitate bitch to hurt Utena, it doesn’t look like he’s going for the kill, and being a fencer would reinforce that. (and I’m gonna unpause and get proven wrong immediately aren’t I)
• -freezes in the middle of the fight to pose dramatically-
• “She really wants to be free!” like, he might be right, but he’s gotta be projecting. what a fascinating dude
• also seems notable that line is timed with the song’s “The marvelous spiral.” things in a loop, continuing; going down? in circles. cyclical.
• shgsjdghjsd “she’s counting on me” then Anthy cheering for Utena, love it
• [anthy voice] kick his ass baby i got your flower rose
• alright kid/dude/Miki/whatever don’t do anything stupid about this. based on his interaction with his sis I’m inclined to think he’s gonna start acting like Anthy doesn’t exist or something
• oh huh, Anthy asking him to study again later? ig she genuinely doesn’t mind his company, neat
• huh x2 combo, sister’s turn to play piano. (has her name been mentioned yet or am I still legally obligated to call her “sister.”) also wait wait did she have lipstick earlier?
• rose petals all over this different-pov flashback. (also god, for a wild second I thought the love-letter-writer was a cover-up for the damn bro. guess not?)
• yeah. huh. that waaas an interesting tidbit. guessing/hoping we’ll see her again, there is More to this story
• “next time, I won’t lose!” —and then Utena canonically going “Oh, boy…” yeah this is episode 5 of 39 we are Not out of the woods yet
• we really gotta end the ep on a shot of Giant Phallic Tower huh. sparkly sound effect indeed.

uhhhh.

That Was Something.

there sure were some Moments about age and femininity and incest and shit. and Nanami being a riot, that happened, that feels like an eternity ago already.

uhhhh I think this next episode might be the one where production numbers got messed up? or something? I’ll double check, but for now, Preview:

• Anthy sounds like she’s trying not to laugh with the “how awful,” amazing
• fuckin pain in the ass fuckin subtitle covers
• I Do Not Like the sight of Anthy with Touga, but otherwise that was… not as ominous as it could have been? I don’t think??

buuuut before that, double-checked my DM history and yeah the correct order is 5-8-7-6-9-10-…, and this is reflected in the playlist for some reason. wack.

anyway as a last thought, obligatory youtube comment share:

^this is a joke but legit, I do wonder if Miki has some kind of Repressed Homosexuality thing going on himself? maybe?? there was that very brief scene in the first part. but the more overt connotation is that (I am fairly confident) Miki Wants To Bang His Sister and Touga represents a very clear challenge to it, not by being some controlling competitor but by just being a Mature Masculine Adult who sister is evidently, by her own free will (something Miki seems loathe to acknowledge), attracted to.

wack show. waaaaaack show. could you imagine something like this coming out today and going on to become a generational Gay Classic, and not seeing “dni if you like utena” plastered everywhere. He wants to fuck his sister, Gerald, I may not be an incest shipper but I know what I’m seeing, I’m sane, this is a sane and normal takeaway from a faux-charming episode, stop walking away he wants to bang his sister because it’s a metaphor do your hear m

← episode 3 | [next post link will go here] →