Utena. Revolutionary girl
| Utena. Revolutionary girl | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original title | 少女 革命 ウ テ ナ | |||
| transcription | Shōjo Kakumei Utena | |||
 | ||||
| genre | Fantasy , drama, shōjo | |||
| Manga | ||||
| country |
 Japan
|
|||
| author | Be-papas | |||
| Illustrator | Chiho Saitō | |||
| publishing company | Shogakukan | |||
| magazine | Ciao | |||
| First publication | 1996-1997 | |||
| expenditure | 5 | |||
| Television series | ||||
| German title | Utena | |||
| Original title | Shōjo Kakumei Utena | |||
| Country of production | Japan | |||
| original language | Japanese | |||
| year | 1997 | |||
| Production company |
JCStaff , SoftX | |||
| length | 25 minutes | |||
| Episodes | 39 | |||
| idea | Be-papas | |||
| production | Noriko Kobayashi, Shinichi Ikeda | |||
| music | JA Seazer, Shinkichi Mitsumune | |||
| First broadcast | April 2, 1997 - December 24, 1997 on TV Tokyo | |||
| Manga | ||||
| title | Shōjo Kakumei Utena: Adolescence Mokushiroku | |||
| Original title | 劇場版 少女 革命 ウ テ ナ ア ド ゥ レ セ ン ス 黙 示 録 | |||
| country |
Japan
|
|||
| author | Be-papas | |||
| Illustrator | Chiho Saitō | |||
| publishing company | Shogakukan | |||
| First publication | May 1999 - September 1999 | |||
| expenditure | 1 | |||
| Movie | ||||
| ||||
Utena. Revolutionary Girl ( Japanese 少女 革命 ウ テ ナ , Shōjo Kakumei Utena , German about "the revolution of the girl Utena") is a manga / anime by Kunihiko Ikuhara's collective Be-Papas . The manga was drawn by member Chiho Saitō , while Kunihiko Ikuhara was the director of the anime series. The manga series was started by Ciao magazine in June 1996 , while the related anime didn't air until 1997. An anime film titled Adolescence Mokushiroku was released in 1999 in Japan .
action
Seitokai-hen ("Student Council Chapter")
Utena Tenjō , an androgynous girl, was so impressed by a prince in her childhood that she decided to become a prince herself and therefore disguised herself as a man. She goes to the Ohtori boarding school, where she shares a room with a student named Anthy. Utena fights to protect Anthy and is embroiled in a series of sword duels with the student council, whose members are all fighting for Anthy as a key figure in a coming revolution. They refer to her as the "rose bride" and the winner of each duel receives Anthy as a "prize".
More by chance, because on purpose Utena Anthy, the rose bride, "wins" by defeating the captain of the Kendo team in a duel. Now that Utena is the current fiancé, she is gradually visited by all members of the student council and challenged to a duel for Anthy. Each of the members has their own motivations for wanting the power that Anthy supposedly possesses.
Kurobara-hen ("Black Rose Chapter")
Sōji Mikage wants to kill Anthy and replace him with the boy Mamiya as the new rose bride. Disguised as the leader of a seminar for particularly talented and interested students, Mikage seeks out students who are in a relationship with the duelists and are currently going through an emotional crisis. Under the pretext of offering advice and help, Mikage manipulates them to fight Utena and Anthy for him. As a sign of identification, Mikage gives his duelists a black rose seal.
Ōtori-Akio-hen ("Akio-Ōtori chapter")
After Mikage has been defeated and has disappeared from school, “End of the World” persuades the mastermind behind it all, the duelists of the student council, to take on Utena again. While the members of the student council lose one after the other and are eliminated from the game for power to revolutionize the world, Utena is seduced by Anthony's older brother Akio Ōtori.
Mokushiroku-hen ("Chapter of Revelation")
Ultimately, Utena's relationship with Anthys brother endangers the friendship of the two and Utena is forced to rethink her role as Anthys prince when she learns the real reason for the duels. The duel entitled Revolution is imminent.
Characters
- Utena Tenjō ( 天上 ウ テ ナ ): Utena is the main character. She is athletic, but less successful and impetuous at school. At the same time extremely brave and naive, she behaves like a prince in order to feel close to the idol of her childhood, a prince whose appearance she can no longer remember. The other students are enthusiastic about Utena's behavior.
- Anthy Himemiya ( 姫 宮 ア ン シ ー , Himemiya Anshī ): Aside from being the rose bride , almost nothing is known about Anthy. Polite, submissive and completely devoted to her current owner, Anthy behaves like the ideal of the Japanese woman from earlier times. Only from time to time does it show signs that this is just a facade and that it hides more.
- Akio Ōtori ( 鳳 暁 生 , Ōtori Akio ): Akio is Anthys older brother. The fact that he became the managing director of Ōtori through his engagement to the daughter of the owner of the academy does not stop him from flirting unrestrainedly. He loves to watch the stars and practically lives in his planetarium . Its name comes from the Japanese name for the morning star Venus - ake no myōjō ( 暁 の 明星 ).
Student council
- Tōga Kiryū ( 桐 生 冬 芽 ): Touga is the chairman of the student council and the greatest womanizer on campus. Coming from a wealthy family, he is very ambitious and keen to gain power. In the duels to revolutionize the world, he can use any means to gain an advantage. It wasn't until the end of the series, when he fell genuinely in love with Utena, that he began to act without selfishness.
- Kyōichi Saionji ( 西 園 寺 莢 一 ): Touga's best friend from childhood and his deputy in the student council and captain of the kendo team. Saionji has a very hot temper, and when it comes to Anthy, he's more than possessive. The loss of the rose bride takes him with him, just as he could never understand why his friendship with Touga changed.
- Juri Arisugawa ( 有 栖 川 樹 璃 ): Juri is the captain of the fencing club and excellent at handling the sword. Both students and teachers are intimidated by her mature and detached manner, but in Juris Innrem it looks very different. She is the treasurer of the student council.
- Miki Kaoru ( 薫 幹 ): Miki is a child prodigy. The 14-year-old is in the fencing club, plays the piano masterfully and is also always the best academically. It's not clear whether his love for Anthy goes deeper than crushing. Although the duels turn them into opponents, Miki befriends Utena. He holds the position of secretary in the student council.
- Nanami Kiryū ( 桐 生 七 実 ): Nanami is Touga's little sister with a dramatic streak. She jealously makes sure that no girl gets too much attention from her brother and that she can be pushed out of his heart. She temporarily takes Touga's place in the student council when the latter is canceled due to an injury.
- Ruka Tsuchiya ( 土 谷 瑠 果 ): Ruka only appears in two episodes of the Ōtori-Akio-hen and is the former captain of the fencing club. Before leaving school due to a serious illness, he was Juri's mentor and a member of the student council. It is not known what position he holds.
Black rose duelists
- Sōji Mikage ( 御 影 草 時 , Mikage Sōji ): The leader of the Mikage seminar, formerly known as Professor Nemuro, wants to defeat Utena and Anthy and make a boy named Mamiya a rose bride. He firmly believes that this will cure Mamiya's deadly disease.
- Kanae Ōtori ( 鳳 香 苗 , Ōtori Kanae ): Kanae is Akio's fiancée and the daughter of the owner of the Ohtori Academy. Though she goes out of her way to like and see Anthy as a little sister, she is deeply troubled by her demeanor.
- Kozue Kaoru ( 薫 梢 , Kaoru Kozue ): Miki's twin sister is always in the shadow of her brother. Similar to Nanami, she is keen to monopolize her brother's attention. To this end, Kozue gives in to many other boys in an extremely noticeable way.
- Shiori Takatsuki ( 高槻枝織, , Takatsuki Shiori ): Shiori is a friend from childhood Juris with a huge inferiority complex. Before the series began, she seduced the boy she thought was Juri's sweetheart and left Ohtori. When she comes back she is nice and friendly towards others, but she is cold and deliberately mean to Yuri.
- Mitsuru Tsuwabuki ( 石 路 美 蔓 , Tsuwabuki Mitsuru ): Mitsuru is only in the fourth grade and is Nanami's loyal servant. He would rather have grown up today than tomorrow, and his greatest wish is to be seen by Nanami as a big brother like Touga.
- Wakaba Shinohara ( 篠 原 若 葉 , Shinohara Wakaba ): Wakaba is the most normal girl at the school and Utena's best friend. behind her kind and energetic manner she hides her grief at times, like the unrequited love for Saionji. Through Wakaba, Utena comes into contact with the duels for the first time.
- Keiko Sonoda ( 苑 田 茎 子 , Sonoda Keiko ): Keiko is the leader of Nanami's three henchmen. She is in love with Tōga and is rejected by Nanami when she gets too close to him.
Conception
The plot is structured in four chapters. The first is mainly used to introduce the characters and their stories, the second introduces Sōji Mikage as a new character. The following two chapters form the climax of the plot.
Publication of the manga
The manga appeared from 1996 to 1997 in the Shōjo magazine Ciao of the Shogakukan publishing house in individual chapters in Japan. The chapters later appeared in five edited volumes. The manga was written by Be-Papas , the drawings are by Chiho Saitō . Pika Édition published the work in French, Viz Media in English in the USA and Norma Editorial in Spain. It has also been translated into Italian, Polish and Portuguese. In 2003 Carlsen Comics published it in German under the title Utena. Revolutionary girl .
From May to September 1999 Shogakukan was followed by the sequel Shōjo Kakumei Utena: Adolescence Mokushiroku by the same team of artists. This also appeared in an anthology and has been translated into several languages.
Adaptations
Television series
In 1997, a 39-part anime television series based on the manga was produced, directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara after previously directing Sailor Moon . Shinya Hasegawa was also involved in the production of JCStaff and SoftX as character designer and Shichiro Kobayashi as artistic director. The series first aired from April 2, 1997 to December 24, 1997 on TV Tokyo .
The anime aired on North American, French, Spanish, and Filipino television, and was also translated into Italian, Russian, and Chinese. A publication in Germany followed until March 2003 by Anime Virtual .
synchronization
| role | Japanese speaker ( seiyū ) | German speaker |
|---|---|---|
| Utena Tenjō | Tomoko Kawakami | Ranja Bonalana |
| Anthy Himemiya | Yuriko Fuchizaki | Magdalena Turba |
| Akio Ōtori | Jūrōta Kosugi | Tobias Nath |
| Tōga Kiryū | Takehito Koyasu | Tobias Kluckert |
| Kyōichi Saionji | Takeshi Kusao | Sebastian Schulz |
| Yuri Arisugawa | Kotono Mitsuishi | Katrin Zimmermann |
| Miki Kaoru | Aya Hisakawa | Hannes Maurer |
| Nanami Kiryu | Yuri Shiratori | Kathrin Neusser |
music
The music for the series was composed by Shinkichi Mitsumune, the music for the duels was composed by JA Seazer . The opening title is -Rimbu- revolution ( - 輪 舞 −revolution ) by Masami Okui. The end credits are underlaid with the songs truth by Luca Yumi, Virtual Star Hasseigaku ( バ ー チ ャ ル ス タ ー 発 生 学 ) by Maki Kamiya and Rose & release by Masami Okui.
Motion picture
Under the title Shōjo Kakumei Utena: Adolescence Mokushiroku , an 80-minute film about the series was released in Japanese cinemas in 1999. This was released as Utena - The Movie 2007 in German on DVD by Anime Virtual.
Video game
Sega published a Japanese adventure game on Utena with the title Shōjo Kakumei Utena: Itsuka Kakumeisareru Monogatari ( 少女 革命 ウ テ ナ い つ か 革命 さ れ る 物語 ) for the Sega Saturn .
Theatrical performances
In Japan, three plays based on the manga were shown. The first, musical - Shōjo Kakumei Utena ( ミ ュ ー ジ カ ル ・ 少女 革命 ウ テ ナ ), in December 1997 at the Hakuhinkan Theater in Tokyo. Shōjo Kakumei Utena Makai Tensei Mokushiroku Hen - Reijin Nirvana Raiga ( 少女 革命 ウ テ ナ 魔界 転 生 黙 示 録 編 ～ 麗人 ニ ル ル ヴ ァ ー ナ 来 駕 ～ ) followed in May and June 1999 at the Zamza Asagaya Theater. The third was Shōjo Kakumei Utena - Choros Gensō Seimeitai ( 少女 革命 ウ テ ナ ～ コ ロ ス 幻想 生命 体 ～ ), which was performed in the Amasaki Piccolo Theater Center Hall of Hyōgo Prefecture in September and October 2000 .
analysis
According to Patrick Drazen, the plot is primarily the conflict between giri and ninjo , between social obligations and one's own needs. This is a common theme in Japanese culture and has its roots in Confucianism . It is expressed in Utena's will to be a prince instead of a girl, in the duels and the changing relationships between the characters. Since popular culture often takes conservative positions, preference for one's own needs over those of the community, which is contrary to Confucianism, leads to suffering and loss for Utena. Ultimately, however, Utena may not actually have died, but rose again, as the name of the school, which is Japanese for Phoenix , suggests.
Due to the unusual events in what is actually a normal school atmosphere, the location of the series looks like a parallel world. Drazen also sees this as similar to films by Alfred Hitchcock and other American directors, in which a character exists from the outside in a world that initially appears normal, but enters a previously unimagined world through a decision. The role of this character takes on Utena, who only wants to protect Anthy through the duel, but is involved in the fight for her. In addition, Drazen sees several influences of Shinto on individual episodes, so similarities to the creation myth in Kojiki .
Drazen sees the figure of Utena in a row with Ribon no Kishi and Lady Oscar , who, as strong women, took over the role of princes and helped women in need. This is also Utena's intention, her counterpart is Anthy, who clearly fits into the role of the woman in need.
The series does address same-sex affection in the form of Wakaba's feelings for Utenas, but this love remains a pure feeling. Neither show otherwise acting out homosexuality. Utenas dress like a boy in order to be heroic like a boy, it doesn't also follow a sexual orientation. In the representation of the use of Anthys forces in fights, sexual allusions can be clearly seen.
literature
- Patrick Drazen: Anime Explosion! - The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation . Stone Bridge Press, 2002.
- Melissa Sohlich: Motifs and 'revolutions' in the manga series Shôjo Kakumei Utena . In: Michiko Mae, Elisabeth Scherer (eds.): Japan Pop Revolution - New trends in Japanese society reflected in pop culture . Düsseldorf University Press, 2011, ISBN 978-3-940671-45-5 .
Individual evidence
Web links
- Entry about the manga and the anime on Anime News Network (English)