Shoujo Kakumei Utena

About Utena

Spoilers will be at the BOTTOM of the page.

Shoujo Kakumie Utena is, without a doubt, one of the most unique anime series out there. The basic theme - maturation and adolescence - is not in and of itself spectacular; but the heroine is - especially given the still slightly mysoginist culture from which it comes. (Although you should be warned about one thing: this series really gets better as it goes. The very first few episodes didn't really grab me, but as it went on, I became completely hooked - trust me on this, folks. ^_^)

Utena, a girl, is determined to become a "prince."

Think of princes in fairy tales; they were always the ones who always came to the rescue - the ones who were strong, who were resourceful, who saved other people. Utena was fortunate enough to be saved by a "prince" early in her childhood; most girls would react to this with longing for their "prince," waiting for him, hoping for him.

Utena did that - but she also did something else. She decided that she wanted to do for others what that prince did for her - and so became one of the strongest heroines in Japanese anime.

Now, it should be mentioned that the campus of Ohtori and everything about it is absurdly supernatural. It isn't safe to assume that anything is as it appears; in fact... Utena's desire and determination to be a prince (rather than be saved by one) may lead her to the power to revolutionize the entire world.

And I won't say anything more about it now, because I'd be giving you too much information. *evil smile*

If you want to learn more about the series (which I highly suggest), then here are excellent resources for you:

Anime Turnpike's Utena Page - if you can't find it in here, you probably won't find it at all.

Utena TV - short summary and analysis for some of the main characters.

Swords Don't Go With Dresses - an EXTREMELY brief episode guide, but at least it gives you the salient points. If you click on "to tv" at the bottom of the page, you get some good info about the series.

Utena's Rose Garden - this one only works if you have a Hotmail or MSN passport, unfortunately, but the episode guide is worth it.

Shouji Kakumei Utena TV Series Info - another brief episode summary, hitting different points; unfortunately, the links to scripts down below don't work. >_<

MANGA TRANSLATIONS!! - I was SO thrilled to find this! (The manga departs from the anime a bit, but that's okay. ^_^)

Duel Song Translations - just for fun. Er, don't look for deeper meaning in these; you won't find it.

MORE Duel Song translations - because I love torturing you.

Utena Fanatic - this has a lot of info - click on "directory."

Utena Thumbnail Theatre - really best if you've already SEEN the series, but extremely funny either way.

That's all I could find containing just general info. Almost everything else is character analysis - and I'd hope that you make your own decisions regarding these characters, because they're absurdly complex. ^^;

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON

In order to read these, you have to highlight them (select the text with your mouse). I refuse to be responsible for ruining the series for you. ~_^

Basically, the key to Shoujou Kakumei Utena is understanding the whole Akio/Dios angle.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, the Prince and Princess existed in this world. These were the REAL Prince and Princess - the ones on which every fairy tale was based, the ones who really had the power to change reality. This was wonderful for humanity at first; but eventually, it became a bad thing.

The Prince, Dios, was worked harder and harder because people came to rely on him, rather than themselves, to get their daughters out of trouble. Being the good Prince, Dios tried and tried to do what he could for them, but eventually it became too much and he grew ill. Still, he pushed on - until the time finally came that he had pushed too hard, and he was dying.

His sister the Princess, who loved him most, was upset by this beyond reason. The world gathered outside their door, hating, demanding that the Prince come and save them again, uncaring that he was ill; and so, the Princess, who did not want her brother to bear all that pain, decided to sacrifice herself for him.

She locked him safely inside and went out to meet the hate of mankind.

What happened then was the stuff of pure tragedy. The Prince, in spite of his sister's sacrifice, had suffered too much and he died. The Princess took on the hate of the world - like spears in her soul - but still couldn't save him.

And then... horror.

The Prince, Dios, was dead; but the Prince and Princess could not TRULY die - so... he changed. He became Akio - the Morning Star - with many of the abilities of the Prince, but without his heart. Now, Akio had no interest in saving people, in helping anyone, in doing anything for anyone but himself. Instead, he only wanted to rule the world.

The Princess did not want this, and desperate, cast one more wild spell. She bound away the power to revolutionize the world, locking it up so that only the true Prince himself could open it - he whose heart was only made to serve others, to save the world.

In the process, she split herself into two.

Her heart - with love for the prince, with a will, and carrying the hatred of the world - was locked away with the Powers of Dios; and the rest of her - basically an empty shell - was all that was left. It is true that she retained a little bit of her will - enough to at least choose a new prince and do a few, small other things - but for the most part, she was now under Akio's control.

From that point on, it became Akio's sole goal to regain that power. The difficulty was that he himself couldn't get to it - he was no longer the Prince at all. So, for him, the solution was simple: get someone else to open the way for him.

Who better to manipulate than young people? Using the power of the princess Anthy - since she no longer had a will of her own - he created Ohtori Academy and began the search for a replacement Prince.

MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOWING

Basically, in the series, Utena earns the right to access that power, even though she was female; Akio (who has control of Anthy - his sister's - shell, by the way) betrays her, however, and nearly kills her. He almost gains that power; but because he was doing it on the merits of another, he fails.

The amazing part is that Utena, though grievously injured, doens't give up. She fights her way PAST him, to the place where Anthy's heart is locked away - and manages to set her free.

The cost is horrible. The duelling arena (where the testing for possible princes occurs) collapses, and all the swords of hatred attack Utena, then destroy everything around her. In the end, she disappears - and since the entire campus of Ohtori is under his control, he's able to simply make it as if Utena never arrived, rebuild the arena, and start trying to lure new "princes" into his clutches. However, things don't work out so well this time.

Anthy has her will back. She decides she's going to go find Utena - and leaves him.

Now, while the ending of SKU is open to some speculation, from what I saw, Utena took Anthy's place at the top of the tower, holding the swords of the world's hatred in her heart. The power to revolutionize the world might just still be up there; and Akio, who now no longer has Anthy's power to ride on, is rapidly losing control of his campus. What's left is mostly residual, and as a result, Akio himself is getting more desperate - more control-freak and more determined.

Enter Kaido.

He's not exactly prince material, at least not in the traditional sense; but he DID come to rescue Utena - and that's what makes the difference.

Okay. Enough spoiling. Go read. ^_^