Despite now being an old anime Revolutionary Girl Utena is touted as the Neon Genesis Evangelion of shoujo anime. The incredibly complex story balances multiple characters, themes and symbols, weaving them into a fascinating and sometimes utterly unfathomable tapestry. The series' director thought the series would be his last project so he threw everything in - the tension of self-expression in adolescence, tropes in fairytales, gender role critiscm, among others. Many great essays and reviews have been written about it. For my part, I am not in a position to effectively comment since I discovered and watched the series many years ago but recall being enormously inspired and struck by it.
I, therefore, wanted it to be the first installment in my Inspiration Series - a series of entries where I comment on books, movies, TV, and other media that I find interesting. Since I've been meaning to re-watch this series for a while now I thought that including brief written comments about it as I go would provide both insight and perhaps even amusement for those reading this blog.
I leave you with a video that I saved during the height of my love for the series paired with an incredibly moving song. Although the video features clips from the film version I recall appreciating the series far more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP675PT-Cro
Also, here's a review.
Nihon Review: http://www.nihonreview.com/anime/revolutionary-girl-utena/
Image of Anthy hiding her face, Utena being open and expressive and the princely ideal between them.
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