RahXenophon

RahXenophon

55p

13 comments posted · 5 followers · following 0

9 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches \'Revolut... · 0 replies · +4 points

I'm sorry, it appears we misunderstand each other! I wasn't trying to say that Jesus had anything to do with the quote itself—I was making a larger point about potential Christian themes in RGU.

Gnostic themes are likely, considering how much inspiration Ikuhara took from Herman Hesse. I think Mahayana Buddhism was also an influence.

9 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches \'Revolut... · 2 replies · +3 points

Well, it's obvious, in the show, that success and failure in the duels has nothing to do with martial skill. Duelists who try to brute force their way to victory, like Saionji and Juri, fail; Utena wins not because she's a good fencer, but because she is devoted to her ideals, and her failures come when she falters in them. Moreover, it is this same unyielding power of belief that later inspires Anthy to leave her oppressive existence in Ohtori Academy.

Of course, it's different in that the strength comes from within, not from an external power or deity—but then, isn't the ideal of the Prince, as depicted in Utena, very similar to Jesus? A completely self-sacrificing savior. What's interesting is that in SKU living this ideal is depicted as destructive, both to the would-be Prince and to the society around him (or her).

9 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches \'Revolut... · 4 replies · +3 points

I know most interpretation of this show is focused around feminism and postmodernism, so this is going to come way out of left field to most of you...BUT I found this quote:

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:28-31

Yup, an Utena-relevant quote from the friggin' BIBLE of all things. It even starts a bit like a Shadow Girl play! (Do you know? Do you know?...)

9 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Revoluti... · 3 replies · +10 points

Here's a picture of Ruka:

and here's a picture of the director of Utena, Mr. Kunihiko Ikuhara:

I will allow you to draw your own conclusions.

9 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches \'Revolut... · 0 replies · +5 points

Gura ntnva, pna lbh vzntvar tbvat fgenvtug sebz gur thgchapuvat Jnxnon rcvfbqrf gb gur urnq-zrygvat Zvxntr rcfvbqrf?

9 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches \'Revolut... · 9 replies · +14 points

I disagree with people saying that Tatsuya is a "Nice Guy"(TM). The reason for this, I think, is in the last thing he says in the elevator.

"Why am I no good?"

Not "Why is she no good", you'll note. He blames himself, his own failings, for leading Wakaba to reject him in favor of someone else. HE VIEWS WAKABA AS HAVING AGENCY. He does not see her as "obliged" to be with him, and he doesn't blame her when she chooses not to be. He blames himself—which is self-destructive in a whole other way, but let's not get into that.

" Well, Tatsuya’s a human, and humans have flaws. Some flaws cover up a deep-seated feeling of repressed inadequacy, as with the true Black Rose duelists. But sometimes a flaw is just a flaw, and we have reason to think that Tatsuya has little to hide. Chu Chu, that model of judges of character, falls in love with him at first sight. Mikage never expected him to show up; he arrived at Nemuro Memorial Hall to find the foyer empty. When he realizes, by the gate, that his callousness has hurt Wakaba – that in fact she had loved him all along – his expression is one of genuine concern and apology. And – significantly – he is the only character other than Utena to be introduced with a frame of white roses.

Does this make him a truly good person? Maybe. But this much is certainly true: he doesn’t have the qualifications of a Black Rose duelist, for he doesn’t hate Wakaba even as he loves her. He doesn’t put her on a pedestal, then resent her remoteness. He wishes to confront Wakaba, not as a worshipper confronts a god, but as an adult confronts another adult: as an equal. Tatsuya has what every other Black Rose duelist lacks: true emotional maturity. He offers himself to Wakaba with no strings attached – and Mikage can’t manipulate someone with no strings to pull. " — satyreyes

9 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Revoluti... · 0 replies · +2 points

I'm imagining Nanami and Xnjbeh sebz gur Rinatryvba znatn skipping hand in hand, killing kittens.

9 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Revoluti... · 0 replies · +3 points

I think the "green=eternity" connection comes from Kabbalah. "Netzach" means "victory" and "eternity" and one of its symbols is the color green.

There are other connections as well, but I'll wait until a bit later to discuss them.

9 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Revoluti... · 0 replies · +6 points

This episode is significant. Not just because it's Miki's duel, or because it's the end of the two-parter, but because it's the first episode to discuss what, exactly, the "revolution of the world" means.

Miki: "But isn't all we're doing just ruining something vital to humanity anyway?"
Touga: "Break the world's shell."
Juri: "...for the sake of revolutionizing the world."

Why ARE the duelists doing what they do? It's because they believe that, at the end of this game, they will be rewarded with the power to reshape the world as they desire. And the key to all of this is Anthy. Utena is an aberration because, ultimately, she doesn't have any grand wishes for the world: she just wants to protect Anthy. The conflict between these hopes forms the foundation for the show.
[youtube CNdOsL4Xe7Q http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNdOsL4Xe7Q youtube]

9 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Revoluti... · 0 replies · +6 points

I've always been fond of Miki, for many of the same reasons you point out. The show takes pains to emphasize that, while he's a member of the student council and therefore an antagonist by necessity, he's not a bad guy. Unlike Touga and Saionji, who try to force Utena and Anthy (respectively) to conform to their gender roles, Miki appreciates them for whom they areor, at least, whom they present themselves to be. (I think this is the point underlying the shadow girls' sketch, but I'm not sure.)

V'yy unir zber gb fnl arkg rcvfbqr, V fjrne. V'yy rira oernx bhg gur Dhrrafelpur.