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Maera Sior
Jan 5, 2012

AFancyQuestionMark posted:

I don't feel this way at all. I think the movie is much more of a sequel to the show than a retelling, at least in terms of Utena and Anthy's character arcs. It doesn't make sense to judge it as a standalone work because it was never meant to be viewed in isolation.

The movie is primarily about Anthy's journey to shake off all of the issues her brother's manipulations left her with. Utena may be the vehicle (literally) for that journey, but Anthy herself is the driving force. All of the princes are dead from the start, the only thing left to do is realize that and get out of their shadows. This theme can only make sense after we've seen what those prince really are and the harm they bring in the main show.

I got into Utena though the movie (it was pretty, and also the only thing available) and recently did a rewatch after going through the series with some friends. Oof, it really suffers by comparison.

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Maera Sior
Jan 5, 2012

:toot: New preview for Sarazanmai is out along with the announcement of an April 11 debut.

Maera Sior
Jan 5, 2012

Thuryl posted:

The difficulty I've always had with recommending YKA is that so much of what happens in the show exists to set up the last couple of episodes that if the ending doesn't land for you, you're gonna feel like you wasted your time. The payoff was worth it for me in the end, but I spent large stretches of the middle of the series going "okay, I can't even tell if this is good or bad until I see what it's building up to", and that's a weird mental space to be in for that long.

I think you're onto something here. To me, the ending felt like warmed over Utena, and I was pretty uncomfortable with a lot of the sexual stuff, so my overall impression of the show is "meh."

Maera Sior
Jan 5, 2012

AlternateNu posted:

That fourth wall break near the end made me eye roll, though.

That didn't land for me either. I have to assume it was meant for a different audience and that I'm not part of it.

quote:

I understand why that happened on a logical level. It is obvious her wish was untenable and one of the major themes was moving forward, but it seemed so hamfisted.

I think Review Starlight would have greatly benefited from a second season to give the characters enough time to breathe. I really enjoyed it, but the character work felt very perfunctory.

Maera Sior
Jan 5, 2012

AFancyQuestionMark posted:

The ending didn't really feel like Utena's ending at all for me. Kureha turning into a bear to be with Ginko doesn't really resemble what happened with Utena and Anthy. They are two very different endings to two very different shows.

It still hit the "they ascend and leave others behind" button for me, and along with the "they've met before" bingo spot, I felt like there wasn't anything I hadn't seen before. The last few episodes felt predictable, which is not a word I associate with Ikuhara.

Maera Sior
Jan 5, 2012

AFancyQuestionMark posted:

Have you seen Penguindrum? If so, you know that both of those bingo spots apply to it as well, but that show still has very different tone, characters and themes when compared to Utena. IMO, the same is true for Yurikuma.

I actually don't think either of those apply to the main relationships of Penguindrum. To me it reads much more about the sins of the parents and the way their actions weigh on the children, as well as the meaning of family.

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Maera Sior
Jan 5, 2012

Sarazanmai airs tomorrow on Crunchyroll! :toot: :toot:

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