Lets begin with this,
Revolutionary Girl Utena without a doubt is the strangest anime that I have ever watched. Yet at the same time, it was one of the best animes that I've ever watched. Seems strange that I would like an anime since it's title in Japanese literally has
shoujo in it. So yea, I like a show that aimed mostly at teenage girls, doesn't keep this show from being awesome. However, if you do watch it, be prepared from some things that will make you uncomfortable and don't expect to understand everything right away. But what am I doing? This isn't a short review of
Revolutionary Girl Utena but rather a discussion about what makes it's protagonist, Utena, so freaking awesome.
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| At some point Utena became a master swordsman (swordswoman?) |
So at her surface Utena is pretty protagonisty, she's got the heart of gold that protagonists have, she has her weird personality quirks (she wears the boys school uniform instead of the girls), she's super athletic. She shows up at Ohtori high as that pretty new student who immediately becomes the jewel of all the guys and the envy of all the girls. Then, almost unwittingly Utena gets sucked into the world of the duels (trying to protect her friend of course). It's in this arena of sword fighting that Utena really fills her badass quotient. For starters, she wins her first duel with a wooden kendo sword while her opponent wields a sword with magical powers that practically make it's user unbeatable. So yes, Utena is really just the standard protagonist when the show begins but we certainly get to know her more as it really gets going.
Revolutionary Girl Utena is similar to
Neon Genesis Evangelion in the respect that both are
deconstructions of their respective genres.
Evangelion started out as a show about 14 year olds who piloted giant robots to protect the fate of the world before becoming a commentary about how maybe thats not such a good idea in later episodes.
Utena is a similar show in the fact that it starts off as a fun high school romance anime about a cross-dressing girl with sword fights and typical shenanigans on the side. Then things start getting really dark and guess what?
Utena becomes a deconstruction of that genre too. (they don't call it
Evangelion for girls for nothing) So this brings us back to Utena because she herself represents a deconstruction of the great hero who tries to save everyone. Utena certainly begins the show as the noble, pretty much perfect protagonist until it hits a darker tone to the point where she's manipulated and deconstructed as a character. You could probably put together an essay on the character study of Utena Tenjou because she's so interesting.
Revolutionary Girl Utena provides a cynical viewpoint on the role of the hero in literature and in anime. That aspiring to be that invincible hero who is able to save everyone is simply impossible. However, this doesn't keep Utena from doing her best to be that hero. This is where the critics come in and say that Utena being the standard, invincible hero is boring and unfeasible. Perhaps this is true, trying to save everyone may be nearly impossible but that shouldn't discourage one from trying. Perhaps what makes Utena such a cool character is that even when her vices are brought out into the light you still feel like she's the most good character in the show and that she still remains the hero that she aspires to be. This is what makes her one of my favorite anime protagonists of all time and one of the coolest characters in anime.
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