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Revolutionary Girl Utena - The Movie Director: Kunihiko Ikuhara Number of Items: 1 Format: Color, Animated, Widescreen Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 87 minutes Studio: CENTRAL PARK MEDIA Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2001-11-13 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 97 Average rating: 4.5 "Confusing, but good movie" I can totally see why people did not like this movie. It's hella confusing...but god help me I liked it. It felt so weird to see characters I knew from the t.v. show be different in the movie. I liked the difference though. The movie was ultimately weirder than the show and I recommend people to watch the show before the movie or if you've seen the movie to watch the show. If you watch this keep an open mind. Do not expect it to be exactly nor mostly remotely like the show. The movie is it's own entity. Also, please do not watch the dubbed version. The japanese version with english subtitles is much better than the dubbed version. Basically the dubbed version sux. "Review of Utena The Movie" I ordered Utena the movie from a huge raw manga and anime video dealer in San Francisco back in 2000. The acquisition of this movie was a huge blessing as I had read about it with drooling fan girl anticipation and when it arrived it was quickly unwrapped and viewed. The movie itself is not like the TV series and the two are only barely similiar in the basis of the characters having the same names and some of the same personality quircks. Utena has a different personality and Anthi is a promiscuous, incestuous, long haired flirt with an 'innocent school girl' attitude that is comical and risqay at the same time. Everyone has gotten a make-over of some kind, Miki's blue eyes have become green, Utena has lost her long hair and wears a French styled uniform, Anthi's bindi has become huge and so has her sexual appetite. Touga has become some kind of hero and is Utena's ex boyfriend. Perhaps a ghost. That part is never explained. This movie will make more sense if you are high. I don't promote the usage of drugs. But this is a true fact - this movie makes no sense if you base cause and effect on logic. There are strong lesbian tones to this movie, and I'm not talking about Juri either. There are some comical moments to be found and memorable in particular is the scene where Nanami is a cow, the beautiful dance scene where Utena and Anthi dance under the stars in rose water, the scene where Akio hops over two cars blurting "Ciao!" But all in all I was surprised to find this anime film seemed like a (purloining) made by Sega to promote some kind of video game of Utena that involved cars. If you want a 'complete Utena collection". Then by all means purchase this video but otherwise just borrow it from a friend or rent it from an anime shop if you can. It isn't worth buying otherwise. Buy the Graphic Novels To Till and To Plant that were recently released - those are much more worth your money IMHO! "HUH?" That was approximately my thought watching this movie, along with "What have they done to Utena and Anthy's hair!" If you're a fan of the manga, you might not want to touch this thing with less than a ten foot pole, and as for watching it, well, that's better left to others who haven't read the books. The movie seems to have taken the outlines of their characters and their general discription (Utena's boyishness and Anthy's relative meekness) and also the fact that the manga had something to do with roses and dueling. Other than that, they seemed to have been reading off of a completely different script! Very, very few things were the same in the manga and the movie, and other parts of the movie were just extreame in the fact it seemed the makers weren't entirely sure what their characters were doing in the different parts, or even in one character's case, if he was alive or not! The graphics on this movie could have been its saving point, but unfortunately they fall short also. While the oddly moving school is somewhat nicely done and the rose shots are beautiful, the people themselves often appear distorted in very dissapointing ways. One major perk of the movie that saved it from getting 1 star is the music, which really is exceptional, and maybe worth viewing the movie again just to listen to. The added clips on the DVD are also not too bad- the questionare is incredibly funny, and the drawings and clips of other movies are also nice. Overall, this is a movie you may want to rent, but certainly not buy unless you are a major fan, or out to own all anime videos. Some otakus may find this enjoyable if they really like movies like this, or the challange of watching it a few times to figure out what really is going on. "The revolution of adolescense" When I first saw this movie I was skeptical. First things first: the box is pink and the summary on the back is very short and simple. I had heard of the television series in Japan and it didn't seem like something I would ever watch. I even wondered if the fact that Utena and Anthy were lesbians was just a fan courtesy. However, after watching this movie a million times and falling in love with it a new way each time, I have put all doubt aside. The film starts out by showing off its graceful, colorful animation and imagery. Then it introduces the main characters. As soon as Utena and Anthy meet, the fun begins. Until the movie ends, prepare your senses to be bombarded with catchy, fast-paced music, a distinct and emotional pattern of color and a myriad of complex and often thought-provoking symbolism. No story can duplicate the mental and emotional connections made by the story of Anthy, Utena, Juri, Miki, Touga and all the rest. The subplots are highly complicaated and draw out each character's connection to the real theme of the movie: rebelling against what holds you back, letting go of your "necessary evils", and breaking through to become a new and better person: adolescence. The unusual bond that Anthy and Utena share only strengthens this idea, for rather than be captive to the taboos and social laws of the modern world, they have decided to "break through" and become free. "What -were- they thinking?" The Utena TV series was a masterpiece of interwoven symbolism, planning, and brilliant execution. The movie, however, was not. It left me with the feeling that the director wanted to encompass some of the greatness that was the television series...took a piece here and there...and then found all he could do was mash them together into an uninspired, convoluted mess. I quote the director, from the audio commentary, that he included some scenes in order to 'surprise' the original writer of the TV series, and because he thought it would be 'cool' to include a few others, 'since they weren't in the series'. The wonderful sense of depth that accompanied the TV series was turned into a horrific cacophany of ill-fitting pieces, dangling plotlines, and outright appalling misuse of characterization from a superb series. I will, however, allow that it was very visually and aurally pretty. Go ahead and watch, those of you who want more Utena, but know that this really has no connection, however much they claim there to be, to the work that has come before. Laugh at the little 'in joke' scenes only those who've seen the whole series can enjoy, gasp in horror at others, and enjoy the spiffy fight scene animation. I heartily recommend bringing painkillers to the viewing, however, if you're thinking about trying to make mental connections between the series, and...this.