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[saionjeans]

"I'll save you!" I cry as swords begin to erupt from my body and I scream in agony (it's not really clear how this is helping you)

[saionjeans]

episode 32 / episode 38

translations from the empty movement website for comparison (i rearranged the ep 32 shots to match ep 38 shots)

[saionjeans]

If people were too mean to you when you were growing up, a newborn animal will materialize inside your brain and it’s so so scared and shivering and it will stay there for years. Decades, even. And whenever you say something kind of weird but true to your heart the animal will tell you “Noo! You can’t say that! If you say that, everyone will hate you!”. The animal means well. It’s so so small and everything is so scary for them and it’s just trying to protect you. But listen to me. Listen to me. Whenever this happens, you can’t do what the animal says. You can’t. If you do, you’ll become as scared as the animal. You have to keep saying weird shit. You have to keep doing things the animal wouldn’t approve of. If you do enough things that scare the animal, maybe one day it’ll go to sleep.

[saionjeans]

Remember when I was into Utena?

[saionjeans]

"She opened her eyes, lifted the lid from her coffin, sat up, and was alive again" (Grimm, 1857/2005)

[saionjeans]

I also think a lot of the Shiori Hate™ comes from her portrayal in Adolescence. Now, while I understand the conclusions that peoole come to based on this, I don't think it's entirely fair to Shiori's character as it doesn't really take into consideration the context of Adolescence and the role that Shiori plays in the narrative.

Adolescence of Utena (regardless of whether you interpret it as a direct sequel, a standalone reimagining, or something in-between) clearly serves as a synopsis of the events of the series, just with details cut-out, changed, or condensed to support the movie's length. For example, the Student Council arc is instead condensed into a single duel with Saionji, as is the Apocalypse arc with Juri.

I would argue that Movie!Shiori, rather than being 100% representative of the real Shiori, is instead meant to serve as a stand-in for the Black Rose Duelists as a collective. The Black Rose Arc in RGU is vital in showing how victims of the system are turned against one another in order to keep them distracted from their real oppressors (this idea is also embodied in the series by Nanami, who is missing from the movie). It also demonstrates several examples of how Ohtori Academy's patriarchal system has fostered unhealthy and toxic relationships between various characters. I believe that Shiori is meant to serve as the embodiment of these themes in Adolescence of Utena, in lieu of the Black Rose Arc.

In Adolescence, Shiori has a very unhealthy and toxic relationship with Juri. She wants to force Juri to be her prince forever, so that she, by extension, can gain power within the system. This is in much the same way that the Black Rose Duelists make their respective student council members into rose brides by forcefully pulling swords from their chests, all in order to gain power and agency within the system. Shiori also plays a major antagonistic role in the movie as she is the one who exposes Anthy as the one who "killed" Akio, and she later attempts to stop Anthy from escaping to the real world (its a big mistake to think you're the only one who can turn into a car). I would argue that this represents how the Black Rose Duelists are convinced by Mikage to kill the Rose Bride, believing that it will solve their problems- which in itself represents how victims of the system are turned against other victims in order to keep them from rising up against the real oppressors. I think that this shows how Shiori's motivations within the movie more closely align with the general motivations of the Black Rose Duelists as a whole, rather than her original motivations within the series (which are worthy of an analysis all on their own).

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Tl;dr Movie!Shiori shouldn't be taken as a true 1:1 representation of Shiori's character, because she actually represents the entire Black Rose Arc and all its themes as a whole, just in condensed movie format.

[saionjeans]

It's so sad that the Black Rose Duelists were all kids who acknowledged they had a problem and genuinely thought they were essentially going to a free therapy session that would help them.

for real. tatsuya may not be great example because he's the only one who doesn't get used, but what he says when he enters the elevator is important and goes for all the others i think. they've been told that this is where to go when they have a problem. that they will get help and counseling. they know they have issues and they want to get over them. but therapy and school counseling is just another system used to exploit people/kids. it's something that i'm surprised isn't talked about more often along with the other systems of oppression (the education system, the family, etc.) portrayed by the show.

[saionjeans]

⚔️🌹✨

[saionjeans]

When Touga is finally released from adult small talk, he finds Nanami and Anthy at the base of a tree, watching a single-file procession of ants. They’re both following the ants with their eyes, not saying a word. Touga’s not sure what to make of it, but Nanami jumps up to hug him as always, so he figures he shouldn’t worry about it. - In another world, Anthy, Touga and Nanami get along a little better as children than as teenagers.

[saionjeans]

my bitch wife took my mortality in the divorce and now I am cursed to walk the earth a shambling husk forever trapped in the gray nothingness between the beauty of life and the release of death 👎👎👎👎

[saionjeans]

Let's Meet the Utena Cast!!!

The Animedia September 1997 supplement 'Duelist Bible' has been slowly getting scanlated as a project by Vanna...that's me! Because of weird Xenforo nonsense, I have to upload them in reverse order to get them to show up right later--so I'm working back to front! Welcome to pages 90-93: the cast interviews! (Touga's voice actor was like this ALL THE TIME, goofy bitch.)

Like what you see? There is A TON happening on Something Eternal, I can barely keep up. Our weekly watch is chugging along happily, about to see Touga living rent free and slutty in Miki's head. But hush! Spoilers. ;)

Oh? Not into that? Check this thread out, where we learn that Anthy's iconic creepy 'ba-ha-hai' in episode 30....is a reference to a children's TV show, where you'll also find something else familiar....

[saionjeans]

this blog is deceptively saionji themed considering he's not even in my top 5 favorite utena characters, but i can't help it if my url and icon and header makes me laugh every time i see it

[saionjeans]

#for me squeezing him like a squeaky toy is easily half of his appeal (@emberwritesinsight) <– okay true but sometimes i am squeezing him with malice and hatred and sometimes i am squeezing him gently and affectionately

can't believe i just said "it's hard not to like saionji" if i had known that i would someday come to say that the first time i watched utena i would think i had since been lobotomized. and yet, it's hard not to like saionji.....

[saionjeans]

more specifically, i said, "admittedly i am quite fond of saionji, despite his [gestures broadly] everything. i do think he deserves to be squeezed like a squeaky toy, but also. hard not to like a guy who cooks eggs he found on the ground outside in the middle of the night wearing a frilly yellow apron.."

can't believe i just said "it's hard not to like saionji" if i had known that i would someday come to say that the first time i watched utena i would think i had since been lobotomized. and yet, it's hard not to like saionji.....

[saionjeans]

can't believe i just said "it's hard not to like saionji" if i had known that i would someday come to say that the first time i watched utena i would think i had since been lobotomized. and yet, it's hard not to like saionji.....

[saionjeans]

revolutionary girl utena picmix haul part 2

[saionjeans]

did you have a post about juri's role as an younger sister? i swear i saw it

i might have reblogged a post abt that and left a really long stream of consciousness rambling analysis in the tags, but i don’t think i actually made a full post abt that myself…. it’s crazy though. i think about juri’s older sister all the time i really do