Utena ep. 11-12 thoughts: in which Utena is blinded by a charlatan-prince, is defeated into heteronormativity as a result, loses her sense of self, rejects "normalcy", and regains her sense of self (plus friendship)
asldkfj;ldksj Utena, Wakaba, and Anthy are so cute... it's so nice to see them just chilling, being friends in an almost-normal situation
the spinning rose frames are NOT reliable okay... definitely highlighting the "fairytale" frame of Utena's perspective, but so distorted. White/grey is a kind of bland, least-common-denominator version of the prince, while red (the quinessential rose) is her idealized view? Gotta go back and check how Utena herself is framed at times... okay she's pink, of course, but then why is her dueling-rose white when she's the current champion?
like I didn't really notice this before but it's weird that the student council elevator speech ends when the elevator doors open to them already on the council platform? putting the viewer in the position of someone trailing after them
Juri has my respect as the only student council member with an ounce of sense. Unfortunately she seems to use it to make vaguely pointed comments and... not really do much.
"Like a pet cat?" [six seconds of awkward silence] and also, one of the few times Miki actually reacts to whatever tf is happening with his stopwatch? And it's shock/surprise at the duration? And ugh all of them Know what's Touga is doing with Nanami is wrong, but they won't or can't step in
Balloons???? uhhh freedom, childhood innocence escaping, balloon popping... yeah I have no clue
"If one has deep feelings for a person, it's only a matter of time before those feelings betray them. Betray them as strongly as those feelings are strong." <- tbh this explains a lot about Touga
holy fuck can I give her a copy of A Doll's House and also get her the fuck out of there. Himemiya Anthy, unable to verbalize what she truly feels... ough does she know what she wants? does she know what her purpose is, as the Rose Bride or otherwise? because she isn't a normal girl. And Utena stumbles right into the trap she's been circling around the past few episodes, of not just assuming Anthy's feelings, but forcing her to echo her view.
the frame-roses kinda just awkwardly spinning in the corner next to Touga pretending to be her prince and Utena falling for it against her better judgment LMAO, even the frame is aware that this moment doesn't deserve commemoration
Utena. Utena. Look at me. If anyone, the prince resembles Anthy. Not that recollection really means much given Miki's whole thing, but that is NOT Touga.
ANTHY'S EXPRESSION FALLING WHEN UTENA SUGGESTS MAKING FRIENDS WITH WAKABA like oughghghhg the reason her only friend is a tiny comic relief monkey is that he's the only one who won't betray her
"I wish I had more friends" followed by this frame. just stab me already
"if you'd just open your heart and talk to them, anyone would like you!" ... if only it was that easy for her, and she wasn't constrained by her role! alas, that's demonstrably untrue, and yet Anthy reaches (or seems to) for even that? The thing about saying anything about Anthy is that I might just be completely wrong.
something interesting about Utena's protectiveness of Anthy - being a prince - making assumptions - that I can't quite connect right now
"What is the destiny of [an endlessly repeating old myth]?" To go wrong?
the dueling song: "man is described by the blood of make-believe/man is also swept away in a current of 'lessons'/man can also only convey human nature/ever unchanging" -> one of the main ideas of the season tbh
ep. 12: here's how lesbianism can still win
NO NO NO this is what we saw in ep. 3 with the ballroom dress, that people like the icon of striking gender non-comforming Utena, but they prefer her as a "normal" girl. And there is ZERO light in her eyes and her voice is so subdued augh. The rose frame depicting someone else's idealized fairytale, not hers.
There's definitely a parallel between Utena telling Anthy to tell Touga she's dissatisfied, and Wakaba trying to convince Utena of the same, but the difference lies in the lack of power... Wakaba genuinely can't influence this story bending itself to have two damsels-in-distress, and even when she tries Himemiya steps in and takes the blow, as is her role
holy shit we actually get a glimpse of Himemiya's interiority as she imagines Utena in the other seat! that honestly clears up a lot of the ambiguity
Thank goodness for Wakaba honestly, actually pointing out that conventionally-normal and Utena-normal are not the same, and how much she genuinely loves Utena and wants her to be her authentic self, not just a symbol to stare at.
ANTHY SHOWING SURPRISE after trying to settle into being just-an-object again, being surprised (with her back turned, unobserved) when Utena challenges Touga
Did the shadow girls just imply that telling ominous parables is their version of a societally normal job and then quit 💀
Mmmmmm Juri giving Utena her sword to "set the last scene" so who here is aware that this is a story again?
different soundtrack! this isn't for the absolute destiny apocalypse, not to regain the Rose Bride, this is for Utena to regain herself. And her dueling rose is pink this time!
Oooh because this is the Question that coffin!Utena asked as a child, right? Why bother living if everyone is going to die someday? And she doesn't quite approach the answer, because... sometimes you just have to move forward for the principle of the thing. "Flash of light called now," sometimes it's just for the present.
HIMEMIYA ANTHY I LOVE YOU SO MUCH
