Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie

[sqbr]

Several years ago I saw an episode of "Revolutionary Girl Utena" at JAFWA. It looked intriguing, but also like one of those slow symbolic animes that never quite makes sense. I heard there was a movie retelling the plot of the show, and decided to watch that instead.

Now, I must admit, I had heard it was a bit confusing if you hadn't seen the show, and the one episode I has seen helped me understand some stuff much better. Also, the dvd skipped in a couple of places. Regardless, here is my synopsis of the movie as I experienced it, sicne it was just too bizarre not to share (Also, duh, spoilers):

Utena: Ohnoes, my ex is at my new school! Huh, a rose just gave me a ring.
Green haired guy: Haha! By your ring I see you are a fellow Duellist. Let us fight for the right to have sex with the Rose Bride Anthy!
Utena: Wait, what?
Anthy: Come, draw this sword from my glowing boobs and defeat him!
Utena (with long hair all of a sudden?): Ok.
Anthy: And now we can have sex!
Utena: No! Let's just be friends. And, uh...get naked for artistic purposes.
Me: Wait, does Anthy have a giant hole in her torso?
DVD: Skip!
Me: Argh!

The Prince (a girl): Utena does not deserve the Revolutionary power of the Rose Bride!
Me: Finally, the title makes sense. Kind of.

Touga (Utena's ex) and his girlfriend (or possibly sister) clean each others ears and reminisce about his childhood as a sex slave in fields of cabbages surrounded by moths with the bodies of naked girls.
Touga's girlfriend: My Prince drowned saving my best friends life, and now he will be a Prince forever.
Me: Wait, wasn't the prince a girl?

DVD: Skip!
A cow dressed as the prince is tormented by small adorable animals.
DVD: Skip!

The Prince and Utena duel. Just for a moment, Utena turns into Anthy's brother, The Rose Prince, and so wins.
Some Girl: Oh noes, the Rose Prince is Dead.
Other Girl: I have a tape proving Anthy did it!
*tape plays*
*Rose Prince appears to be groping Anthy*
Rose Prince: Wait, you're awake? I, uh...
Anthy: Why would I mind, I mean you're my brother.
Rose Prince: Where is the key? *stabs Anthy* *falls out window*
*tape ends*

Utena searches for Anthy. She follows random street signs on chairs to a foyer, where elevator music plays.
Touga: Be with me forever!
Utena: You know what, I just remembered, you're dead.
*Touga drowns*

Me: Oh. Touga is the Prince. Except..what about the Rose Prince? And that chick? Wait..is everyone dead?

Anthy: Come use my boob sword to create miracles!
Utena: No, let us escape to the outside world!

Me: Ah, so it's some wierd death/dreamscape, kind of like "What Dreams may come". I almost understand this now.

Suddenly Utena is swallowed by a giant carwash.

Then she turns into a giant pink car.

Anthy: Of course, the key!

Some girl who has also turned herself into a car: You won't escape that easy! *explodes*

The Prince and mean greenhaired guy: We're your friends, we'll save you!

Me: But you hate them! Man, this movie makes no sense at all.

Control room filled with scores of pink haired silhouettes: Drive towards the pretty castle!

The castle turns out to be an evil monster truck.

Anthy: I'm not running away any more! This time I'm going to escape!

Anthy drives Utena-the-car through the maze of wheels. Just as they are about to escape, they're caught in a conveyer belt.

The Rose Prince: Anthy, come back with me, and be a living dead princess with the power of miracles.

Anthy: Never!

Me: Wait, Anthy's a zombie? I guess she does have big hole in her chest.

Utena and Anthy fly out. The monster truck castle explodes in a giant cloud of rosepetals.

Utena and Anthy are lying down, naked, on a big black motorcycle which is driving through a barren wasteland.
Utena: There are no roads in the outside world.

Me: But you're on a road. Also, that's a really impractical way to ride a motorcycle.

*they kiss*
There are rose-petals, and a castle in the background (oh no, another monster truck!)

The End.

Comments

[nico-wolfwood.livejournal.com]

OMFG, ROFL. Cackling too hard to talk. Must leave and go practice breathing... Best plot summary EVER!

[alias_sqbr]

Thanks :) Have you seen the movie? It is actually kind of enjoyable in a surreal sort of way. I'm almost pondering watching the show.

[lilysea.livejournal.com]

Oh, the film makes more sense if you've seen the show.

Kindof. Seriously though, I did really enjoy the series.

Plot summary = hilarious - I laughed and laughed and laughed.

[alias_sqbr]

Thanks :) I am pondering watching the show, since it was kind of cool in a weird way. Also the closest thing to remotely feminist anime I think I've ever seen.

[lilysea.livejournal.com]

Have you seen Haibane-Renmei?

Lots of strong female characters, a unique premise and settings and very differnet to almost all other anime.

In a walled town, sprouts grow in abandoned buildings. The sprouts grow into eggs, from which hatch the Haibane, children or teenagers with dreams from being in the egg but no memories....

[alias_sqbr]

I've seen Haibane Renmai, and while it certainly lacks the dodgy gender stuff in pretty much all other anime (and as such does count as feminist in one sense) it pretty much ignores gender all together, rather than making any attempt to comment on society or whatever.

[nico-wolfwood.livejournal.com]

No, I've not seen it and I've been fighting a steady battle against being prodded into seeing it. It sounded surreal enough before you're synopsis. Now? urk.

[alias_sqbr]

Who's been prodding you? God knows why anyone would think you'd like a show with fencing, angst, visual style, powerful female characters and more gay subtext than you can poke a stick at *gdr*

Anyway, I totally wouldn't recommend the movie to anyone who hasn't seen the series, afaict it's kind of equivalent to "End of Evangelion". OTOH the series seems ok from what I've heard and what little I've seen.

[mihatenu-juri.livejournal.com]

LOL

and it makes just about as much sense when youve watched the series like three times over,
stupid movie.

^_^

[alias_sqbr]

Righto :)

[alias_sqbr]

Yeah, I'm not sure people turning into cars makes sense in any context :)

[alias_sqbr]

OOps, sorry, thought previous comment didn't post, wrote better one. Stupid lj.

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

So my vague fear that I'm not clever enough to understand anime is justified? Forgivable? Astonishing? Foolish? Cabbage-shaped?

I'm confused, but deeply amused.