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 Kuniko Ikuhara is an anime director. His shows are often characterized by their use of surrealism, off-beat humor and visual allegories to convey the mental journeys of their central characters. There is often a heavy emphasis on flawed adolescent relationships and the way the past shapes everyone's development. I learned of Ikuhara's existence only a couple of months ago, but I've already fallen in love with his particular narrative and directorial styles. I've found his shows to be very powerful and many of their themes resonated with me on a personal level. This thread is meant to be a place to celebrate and discuss Ikuhara's shows, as well as ones inspired by them.  Revolutionary Girl Utena is Ikuhara's most famous work. It follows Utena, a second year student at Ohtori Academy's middle school who wants to become a prince, as she stumbles across a mysterious system of duels administered by the academy's student council. The victor of said duels becomes engaged to the Rose Bride, an odd and introverted girl named Anthy who tends to the roses in the school garden, and may eventually gain the power to Revolutinize the World. The themes the show deals with include gender roles, emotional abuse, obsessive relationships and regret. Recurring symbols: roses, swords and cars. There is also a movie called Adolescence of Utena that acts as a supplement to the show. It is very good and expands on some of the main ideas of the show with a heavy dose of surrealism.  Penguindrum is Ikuhara's first post-Utena show. It follows Kanba and Shoma, two twin brothers, as they search for the mysterious Penguindrum on behalf of a sentient penguin hat to save their terminally ill younger sister Himari. Along the way they meet other people seemingly searching for the same thing and must confront the consequences of the disastrous incident that happened 16 years ago. The themes the show deals with include dysfunctional families, child abandonment, guilt and fate. Recurring symbols: penguins, subways and apples.  Yurikuma Arashi is Ikuhara's second post-Utena show. I haven't watched it yet and have read mixed reactions in various corners of the internet. It is allegedly about lesbians in some way.  Revue Starlight is a show directed by Tomohiro Furukawa who worked with Ikuhara on Penguindrum and Yurikuma Arashi. It follows Karen, a student in an all-female musical theater school, as she participates in a secret audition process administered by a giraffe, where she and her fellow classmates sing and fight for the honor of becoming the Top Star. In the process, they gain a new understanding of the role the stage has played in their lives. The themes the show deals with include unhealthy competition, codependent relationships and fear of change. It should be noted that, at its' core, this show is a commentary and critique of the Takarzuka Revue so some prior familiarity with it would greatly enhance your viewing experience. Recurring symbols: position zero, purple light and stars.
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Mar 11, 2019 16:21
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 06:22 |
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Let me start off by asking someone informed to fill in the hole in the OP - does anyone have any non-spoilerific impressions to share about Yurikuma Arashi? Is it worth watching? It seems like it was less well received around here than Ikuhara's other works. Also, if someone could provide me with a fitting blurb for the OP, I would be very grateful.
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Mar 11, 2019 21:25
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Coolness Averted posted:Do the later series Ihuhara worked on have as much of a musical focus and neat soundtracks? Or was that unique to Utena? Like I just don't see Revue Starlight working without a huge musical emphasis. Revue Starlight does have a big emphasis on music - much like the duels in Utenal, every audition has it's own unique insert song sung by the characters themselves, though these songs are much more mundane than the ones in Utena. Penguindrum has an (imho) exceptionally good soundtrack, but much less songs with lyrics.
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Mar 12, 2019 20:20
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Momomo posted:I loved Utena, thought Penguindrum was pretty drat good, could not get past episode 2 of Yurikuma. I have to imagine he's at his best when the people around him can keep him in check, because Yurikuma felt more uncomfortable (in a bad way, not like Utena was) then entertaining. What about it felt uncomfortable to you? I ask because I can't really figure out whether I would want to watch it or not. How does it differ from Ikuhara's prior shows?
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Mar 12, 2019 21:46
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Momomo posted:To be honest I thought the Utena movie was just alright. It looked really nice (though I hated what they did to Utena's and Juri's hair) but as far as what actually happened in it, it just felt like a worse version of what we already saw. 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.
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Mar 13, 2019 20:42
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I am making my way through Yurikuma now (just finished episode 8) and...it doesn't seem to be as bad as I was bracing myself for? There is definitely something (actually, a lot of things) it lacks compared to Utena and Penguindrum, but it is very endearing. I don't pretend to understand most of what Ikuhara was getting at in this show yet, but I feel like I am getting the gist of what some of these characters are going through and find myself emotionally engaged in their ordeals. Kuma Shock! is definitely the best part, though.
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Mar 13, 2019 20:53
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Just finished watching Yurikuma Arashi. I actually liked it a lot. Despite all of the misgivings I had going in and the bad taste the first three episodes left me with, it turned out to be a sweet, heartwarming tale in the end. It's not nearly as good as Utena or even Penguindrum, but I would readily recommend it to any Ikuhara fans out there. 10/10 would never back down on love again.
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Mar 19, 2019 09:07
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Maera Sior posted: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." 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.
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Mar 19, 2019 14:45
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AlternateNu posted:I just finished Starlight Revue. Pretty good, though I've never been good at analyzing works with heavy metaphorical/allegorical structures. That fourth wall break was never about the anime audience, I think. The giraffe represents the audience of the Takarazuka Revue. Many of the more destructive aspects of the system depicted in the show are the results of the Takarazuka appealing to audience desires - the obsession over a single headlining "top star" in the troupe and every other performer just being there to support the top star's performance. The show is basically laying the blame for the most negative aspects of that system at that audience's feet, which is why the giraffe is the one that oversees the auditions.
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Mar 19, 2019 14:56
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Maera Sior posted: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. 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.
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Mar 19, 2019 15:02
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 06:22 |
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That's true, but Kanba and Shouma's sacrifice definitely has a heavy "they ascend and leave others behind" vibe to it, and a whole lot of the cast is related in different ways than initially presented, which fulfills that second bingo spot in spirit.
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Mar 19, 2019 17:24
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