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saionjeans · 7 days

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anthy and saionji both have long wavy hair, but anthy mostly keeps it pinned up and saionji mostly lets it loose, and they have have inverse hair and eye color schemes. the colors of purple and green operate symbolically within utena in a far less immediately noticeable way than the colors of white, red, or yellow, but they nonetheless perform a necessary symbolic function within the narrative.

we are told in ep 13 ("tracing a path") that the "green duels" (ie, utena's first two duels against saionji) represent "amitié" and "choix" (friendship and choice), while the duel called "révolution" is dark purple. in her initial duels, utena fights for friendship (for wakaba), and then makes the active choice to win so as to keep anthy from saionji's clutches. but "raison," "amour," and "adoration" don't follow this pattern. miki is the one who fights out of "reason," juri is the one who fights out of love, and nanami is the one who fights out of adoration (for touga). you could of course also argue that utena mirrors their desires in various ways: like miki, utena thinks that her desire to participate in the duels is logical rather than driven by ego; like juri, utena is a closeted lesbian who fights for an idealized love object; and like nanami, utena fights out of adoration for her prince. but they are more superficially describing miki, juri, and nanami’s motivations than utena’s. moreover, utena's fights against touga, "conviction" and "soi," go back to primarily representing utena's emotions and motivations for fighting. and finally, the duel called revolution is, of course, not only utena's revolution, but, arguably more importantly, anthy's.

thus, reading these labeled ascribed to color symbolism is not as simple as attributing them 1:1 to different ideas. after all, red is an extremely prevalent color in utena, and reducing it simply to "conviction" and "soi" as akio does is willfully playing into his game of ignoring its significance as it functions as the color of [sexual] violence, among other things. the definitions of symbols we are presented with are not simply what the symbols "mean," but rather what the frame is indicating, and often obfuscating, and the onus is on us as viewers not simply to "decode" certain symbols present, but also to interpret and actively complicate them.

when it comes to saionji's duels, i think you can read these labels both ways; both as utena fighting for wakaba and then for anthy, but also as saionji choosing to fight due to his own complicated friendship. his sunlit garden is, after all, his memories with touga, and his primary motivator and desire for "eternity" is his infinitely complicated desire to both surpass touga – beating him in a duel, acquiring the power he believes touga to already possess, etc. – and regress to a simpler point in their childhoods, which is why he also just refuses to let touga go despite actively loathing the person touga has become.

his hair is green and eminently noticeable, both because it is genuinely beautiful, and also because he basically only ever ties it up when practicing kendo. kendo is when he is most in his element (arguably the only times he is ever in his element and not painfully awkward and cringeworthy), and is also the one thing he actually has that proves that he is superior to touga in some concrete way. but in his student council uniform, he keeps his hair long and loose, like an open wound bleeding out everywhere.

anthy, on the other hand, keeps her long, beautiful, purple hair tied up, and only ever lets it down in her most intimate and vulnerable moments. unlike saionji, who is a pathetic open book, anthy never wears her heart on her sleeve (she claims she doesn't even have a heart). she is always guarded. when she lets her hair down, she looks like an entirely different person. she looks far younger, far more girlish. akio exploits that youth and vulnerability, while utena connects with it as her peer who feels empathy and compassion for her friend's suffering. anthy's purple hair signifies revolution both in the sense that as the rose bride and an "extension" of akio, she perpetuates the infinite cycle of futile stasis, and in the sense that she ultimately does emerge from her coffin and leaves ohtori behind.

so why are her eyes green, and saionji's eyes purple? this inversion is deliberate, of course. to be reductive, anthy has the eyes of "friendship and choice," and saionji has the eyes of "revolution." if hair represents how characters are perceived and interpreted by the gaze of the other, then eyes represent the character's internal gaze projected outwards — or more simply, their worldview. anthy's purple signifies both the coffin as eternal prison and its revolutionary potential upon leaving it. who is most insistent that we must leave our coffins prepared for us by end of the world? and who is given the opportunity to egress through expulsion, but also finds that even as he wishes to escape his coffin, something keeps him miserably moored in ohtori, even as he resists its thrall?

saionji is the character most vocally outspoken against the system, and not only the system of fighting to possess a girl, which is obviously, gratuitously objectionable, but the very premise of ohtori in itself, the system of school as coffin. but he is also the first character we are introduced to who participates in it, and he subscribes to anthy's abuse and exploitation wholeheartedly, almost demonically. even those within ohtori's walls can condemn saionji's blatant, uncouth mode of abuse; unlike the covert and obscured sexual violence permeating ohtori's hallowed halls, saionji's physical violence cannot be obfuscated, and it makes him a target of punishment through satisfying humiliation. everyone enjoys schadenfreude at the expense of a violent misogynist. meanwhile, touga is equally as pathetic and humiliating if not more so, but his methods of violence are less obvious, and due to wholly subscribing to the narrative (ie, akio) and operating within that frame, he cannot be made an object of ridicule as saionji is. saionji is both ridiculed because it is funny to watch a perpetrator of domestic abuse get turned into a monkey, and because his cogent insights must be undermined through mockery within the confines of a narrative he actively attempts to resist.

anthy, on the other hand has green eyes, as does akio. anthy's sunlit garden, if you can even call it that, was her memories of dios as prince. such a memory is only depicted through the falsity of theatrical shadows, an illusion projected onto the literal stage quite like the illusions akio projects across his entire domain. we are then given insight into a "truer" memory (still nonetheless complicated by anachronistic signifiers and the haze of allegory and illusion). but, we are told, anthy made the choice to sacrifice herself for dios. she bore all the pain and suffering of humanity's hatred for years out of love for her brother. what is utena if not a show about friendship and choice? who is anthy if not a young, scared girl who loved too deeply and paid the ultimate price for it?

utena wants to be dios, but touga wants to be akio. anthy attaches herself to dios-as-akio, and saionji attaches himself to touga-as-akio. "you remind me so much of dios when i loved him." the memory of a person you once truly loved, taking on a completely different name in memoriam of that past version, trapped in the perfect stasis of memory, the sunlit garden of the mind, that will never go to seed. the touga of nanami's memories, the touga of saionji's memories, and the touga of the present, are three different people, functionally speaking (and this isn't even getting into the touga of utena's memories in adolescence). just as anthy resents the akio of the present who conflicts with her ideals of dios in the past, saionji attaches himself to a memory of touga, doing everything in his power not only to break free of his own coffin, but to help touga escape his. if anthy fears that utena becoming dios will result in her turning into akio proper, saionji's fear is even more potent, as touga is already in the process of becoming akio, and there is seemingly nothing left to do but become his rose bride.

there is also the obvious fact that, while a distinctly different shade, ohtori school uniforms, especially the boys' uniforms, are largely green. and saionji's kendo outfit is partially purple (albeit a lighter purple than anthy's hair) and partially black (like utena’s shirt). akio/anthy's green eyes can thus be read as their entrenched roles within the walls of ohtori, while saionji's purple hakama when he a) is situated in his element (kendo) and b) says "no matter how you may be abused, you're always happy to be near the one you love" (for which he is immediately dismissed) may signify his latent "princeliness," both as he participates in the system of exploitation and abuse, and as he attempts to resist it.

ultimately, saionji and anthy's inverse color scheme constitutes merely one facet of a much larger tapestry of color symbolism, which could be analyzed endlessly, and lies far beyond the scope of this single post. i merely wanted to draw attention to anthy and saionji's roles not only as visual foils, but also as thematic complements. two coffin-dwellers, trapped in a system that explicitly harms them and harming others in the process (including each other). two sides of the same rose bride paradox. two self-destructive cynics. two idealists who, no matter how they may be abused, are always happy to be near the one they love.

#u #analysis #manalysis #anthy #saionji #akio #utena #touga #eye colors go so fucking crazy #remind me to talk about the utena miki isms next

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blackmuzak8484 · 3 years

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nortey dowuona’s best of 2020

to be completely honest, I decided to do this entirely for TSJ. otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered at all. Best end lists are for music nerds and billboard chart nerds and industry vultures, and i happen to be subscribed, in the discord and in the comments of the youtube vids of these folk. so, i decided to pick 10 out of random from the big best of 2020 i was compiling for the whole of the year, which I was gonna post to this Tumblr at the end of the damn year, but I guess I can just post the link to the playlist in the bottom of this post. Here, i’m gonna write about 10 songs I personally love, and pick out a few artists i specifically loved:

artist of the year.

RAP Ferreira put out his best album and best verses in a year everybody either stagnated, fell off or got rendered irrelevant by the world at large. He was ebullient, hilarious, thoughtful and even surprisingly honest. I enjoyed the fact that now he’s begun to create a real platform for many talented folx, and I hope he continues to do that in the margins and make even more beautiful music in the years to come.

rookie of the year.

Enny by a mile. Everybody else who debuted this year got hamstrung by the pandemic but she created 3 great songs, each thoughtful, insightful and a joy. Apparently she just started publicly releasing music to a large audience, and I hope she gets better and better, and even gets bigger than J-

most pleasant surprise.

Vic Mensa’s V Tape. An artist who I though had no more moves left completely turned around his whole career with a fantastic performance at Lollapalooza, a fantastic fleet of features and tis gorgeously produced EP which had some of his most brilliant songs on it. I love it all, Vic Mensah is well and truly back. Welcome back bro. (ALSO, DROP THE DRILL TRACK.)

GREAT THING A GHANAIAN ARTIST DID.

Strongman Burner, Amarae, Okunta Kinte, Vic Mensah in general.

cool things my friends and classmates did.

Justine Darcenne’s #4TheBaeless. Valencia Rae’s Siren thyhomebodies’s Coming of Age. (Phil, a producer in the group, made his own studio!) Brad built his own computer. petit abri put a track on APT9 Record’s compiliation album Volume II. khaalid anderson’s transitions. (khaalid will also be performing at Beats & Brunch on January 23, 2021 at 11 am.) Yannick Paul’s Bear Fruit. The Big Climax’s This Is Ya Boy kxng jetson’s Waves (ft. Kokko Williams & Mike Mezzl) Nicole Gonzalez performed in The Composer’s Melody. Victoria Marie released a bunch of beaufiful covers on her Insta, @toriiii_marie @ph0ssy_jaw works as a counselor online. Pay her at her PayPal. Johnny Aperano Yoba was on People AND Vogue. Dalitso is a wonderful pianist at his church back home in Zambia. Kobina is a fantastic drummer at his church. Kayla graduated with a BS in Music Technology and Industry! Damian been cookin on his insta. Travis graduated! (Look out for Clan of Dragons.) Rorghino Flores made a documentary! Francis (and Animax FYB) put out Mmofra on AmaLexPrime! (play it with yo kids.) A Hype has been dropping crazy all year, roll by his SoundCloud and check out Persistence Of Memory. Reina H been doing great covers on her Insta, @challenges_inlife. Hannah placed music on C. B. S.

best albums of the year (that nobody’s written about).

Maya Huyana -1991 DaWeirdo - Broke and Ugly $ilkMoney - Attack of the Future Shocked, Flesh Covered, Meatbags of the 85 VI Seconds - Because Why Not/Never Knows Best Erik Cain - Heart & Soul Vol. 2 Dimitri & the Scarecrow - Messenger is Sender (from 2015, finally got released onto streaming this year, still pretty great and another great Zimbabwean rapper for us to all fawn over, just like billy woods) Flowking Stone - Gifted 1 The Hoodies - Incommunicado Jayy Grams - Every Gram Counts Domo Genesis/Mike and Keys - Just in Case1/2 Madwiz - God’s Gold Teeth Maez301 - Hasaan Daara J Family - Yaamatele Dai Burger - Dessert EP TeePhlow - Road To Phlowducation II Tef Poe/Blvck Spade - Preacher in the Trap Terrell Hines - Portal One: The Mixtape redveil - niagara Nyukyung - Trap Harmonix AdrianXpression - Sucka Deante Hitchcock - Better (Deluxe) maassai & jWords - ve.loc.i.ty tobe nwigwe - cincoriginals everything Kelsey Lu did this year.

strangest things happening in music in general.

vic mensah actually making a great record. goldlink going through a narcissistic collapse and winding up making the best music of his career. redveil blowing up off Fantano calling him wack. pharoahe monch finally making a rock pivot and it actually works. meet me@the garden coming 10 years too late for my 14 year old self. RAP Ferreira being in the NYTimes, selling a vinyl record for $72, creating an actual nostrum grocers in a video game so we can listen to his next record. The entirety of the playboi carti phenomenom. The entirety of the lil uzi vert phenomenom. The entirety of Chance’s instagram EP being far more money worthy then the entirety of the Big Day and yet being released on Insta and not immediately monetized. Deante Hitchcock releasing a great album and being completely forgotten armand hammer releasing their underground kings wayyy too early. my ass continually not actually looking into amapiano despite always loving it when I review it. several good songs needing to be tacked on to a prior youtube vid as an ad for me to find them instead of actually listening to the artists. santan dave still releasing good verses after he made his illmatic. (expect his new album to suck.) slowthai becoming cake. (we let that go way too far.) Guapdad and BfB Packman being wonderful. Finding out BfB PAckman is a better rapper than Sada Baby. John Boyega putting on Ego Ella May. Having to admit Young Dolph was good all this time and i missed out like a fool.

best tv performance.

Chance The Rapper’s “A Chi-Town Christmas.” IDK’s “Change The Channel.” Sa-Roc’s Tiny Desk Concert. Chika in general. Robert Glapser’s “This Changes Everything (ft. Denzel Curry).” SZA at the Roots Picnic. Sampa The Great at the Roots Picnic. RAP Ferreira in general. Umi’s “Introspection Live Show.” Alexa Esperanza’s cover of “Is It A Crime.” Bad Bunny in general. the jwords, nappy nina and MIKE performances at Satellite Syndicate

most embarrassing piece of music i love with all my heart

Logic’s No Pressure. In all sense of the words I should not love this album like I love my siblings but I do. It is beautiful.

best 10 songs of this year objectively

1 - RAP Ferriera - An Idea Is A Work Of Art (ft. Mike Ladd) [prod. by Kenny Segal, mr. carmack and Mike Parvizi]

I know, I know. In all honesty Doldrums should be here. Then Noz put it on his best list and I had to be all ChiTown Go-Getter and pick the next better thing: this. And in all honesty, it has the best lyric RAP spits on the album: “we build better answers.” But it’s not just that, it’s RAP’s most animated performance, the most dexterous piece on the whole album and the most gorgeous beat, a loping bassline sliding behind the flatfooted drum, allowing Mike Ladd, his musical father, to gently drift through, saying, “what if royalty depised us?” and knowing the only gold is soul and giving it to all of us, all us maggots and vultures and locusts and weevils, to hold to the light so we can finally see. On the quest to get open and free, we continue.

2 - Chika - U Should [prod. by Lido]

I heard this the night it dropped and shot 2 insta videos playacting as it played. But apart from that, it’s a intimate, beautiful song about getting to know a new lady love, so tenderly sung it might melt and disappear if not held gently, with a sweeping guitar lick and purring trumpets sliding all over the place, Chika softly holding each frayed piece together into a considered, gorgeous piece - wait, she’s talking her shit.

3 - Issa Gold - Boys Don’t Cry [prod. by Kingjet & Sherwyn and Matt Zara]

The only reason this isn’t number one is because it dropped on Christmas Eve. But otherwise, it’s a openheart letter to us all. “it’s a lonely path being different,” Issa says, swimming in the melted ice caps as he once danced happily on the edges of melting glaciers that failed to drown him, looking at the world that keeps hurting his heart, yet he still opens his eyes and smiles, and dances. The heavy drums are so bouncy the whole song suddenly flies, formerly a hidden murmur becoming a bright sunlit flight across the sky so we can all see. I can’t wait to see Tempus, if it’s anything as good as this was.

4 - Deante Hitchcock - Growing Up/Mother God [prod. by Brandon Phillips-Taylor]

In all honesty, “Growing Up” is really not the best song on Better. It’s a sweet, happy song with a smooth, crackling bassline with soft, ghostly synths, but still kinda ok. It’s the song added at the end, “Mother God”, that has warm, sizzling piano chords and gorgeous singing in the back. It’s one of the few time I’ve ever heard a man pay homage to the woman in his life and to the God above while being entirely sincere and not faking the funk. The way he praises his mom, his lady, remembering the women in his family taking care of him and him foolishly neglecting Breonna due to his overburdened mind feels full of details, remembrances, explanations and praises. Plus, it actually makes sense that God, if she exists (she does) is a woman since -

5 - Yana Perrault - whiskey and weed [prod. by slate]

Apparently, Yana Perrault is verified now. Excellent. {YES YES MY GOD YESS}, It means more folks know about how great this song, and Yana herself is. If I had any sense, I would’ve written up 12:21 as the best song of 2018, but such is life. Anyway, we have this smooth, bass heavy slinker with shimmering percussion and lumbering drums about hooking up with a former flame who’s “sober” yet keeps on calling Yana to break their sobriety, “know we ain’t talked in a while but you still know my address,” she wryly mentions. As the beat sprints away under a warm cocoon of accapella echoes, it mirrors a relationship so tenuous it might disappear into the wind. Yet still strong enough to have whiskey on call.

6 - Marlon Craft - Culture Sick Freestyle [prod. by Cormill]

Apparently this was supposed to be a shot at Flex. And since Flex is a woman beater and a lame, good for him. Shouldn’t have even gone on Flex to be honest, but then again neither should Jay Critch or Tyler or Black Thought and besides, I watch those freestyles too. And on the freestyle, Marlon frankly put things in perspective. “You don’t want us to better, you just want to be cool still.” This describes all of rap media to be real. And tellingly, it only has 310,000 views. Methinks nobody really wants real. But I do. Thank u Marlon, you continue to be the best white rapper alive. (Nowhere near the best rapper tho, and if Token hadn’t fell off -)

7 - Miah - Cascades [prod. by Cedes]

I’m sideeyeing the boy Miah cuz I had to search up his Audiomack to find the producer’s name (it’s Cedes, and they have a really great avalanche of Drake Type Beats is you like that kind of thing). Were you trying to trick folk into thinking you produced it yourself? You don’t need to do that shit. Especially since you’re writing stuff like “back in high school all my peers were tryin to hit the league / until the league too far from reach so they tap dancing over beats.” When you can frankly break down life that clearly, don’t be trying to hide producer’s names unless you actually learn to produce too. Plaster your name all over that shit.

8 - Justine Darcenne - Off Days [prod. by Mikhail Miller] / Enny - Peng Black Girls (ft. Amia Brave [prod. by Paya]

Justine is indeed my classmate, but that’s not why this song is here. it’s here because it’s a nice little guitar driven song with a spellbinding bridge that’s the best thing I’ve heard her do yet. And I’mma keep it short cuz I already wrote this up at the Singles Jukebox.

Enny released this soft, cushiony record with washed out synths over bulky drums and floated FLOATED over them without even trying to run in the tar, saying frankly, “He said to me, 'they put guns in the streets, that’s what they wanted for me.’ And I said, ‘G, someone can fix you a plate but no one can force you to eat.’” After all, why not try to live for something greater than what the world has expected you to be. And Amia sings, “We’re gon be alright, ok?” with the joy and excitement of someone realizing the words coming alive on their tongue. One of the best songs of this miserable year, and it’s kinda funny watching Jorja accidentally Drake out Amia and even Enny (and by funny I mean irritating.)

9 - Tobi Lou - okay (ft. Dreezy) [prod. by Matteo Woods & Dilip]

Fun fact: Dilip did some great songs with Otxhello, a producer who recorded and mixed 2 records on my first album. That again is not why this song is here. The warm, swinging synths and heavy, bouncy drums are why this is here. Oh, and Tobi’s goofy, silly lyrics and his surprisingly effective Missy Elliott tribute are great too. But obviously, the verse that vaulted this into top 10 was Dreezy, which opens with such a openhearted line, “i can’t help it, it’s too hard to say I’m sorry.” And every line is harder than the last, until she closes with “and I ain’t talkin frontals but we got the city sown up.” Absolutely amazing.

10 - Strongman Burner - Pilolo (ft. KelvynBoy) [prod. by Nixie]

The sweet, gooey synths are poured over the soft, zipping and smooth drums as the wiry bass whirls between Kelvyn’s soft, thin crooning as Stoneman tap dances over the drums, both desperate and defiant, trying to salvage a sinking relationship that he knows is already gathering coral and snappers. It’s the best afropop song of the year and yet it still has a Nigerian on it (well, I put 4 Nigerians on here, next year I’m rectifying that.) And they even did a song together last year , not as good as this. At all. (still pretty good tho.)

best 10 songs i love (but not enough to write full paragraphs for, I already put 10 in and this is already 5 goddamn pages)

11 - Logic - Heard ‘Em Say

best song on the project that isn’t Dadbod but at least it isn’t tempting fate.

12 - Deqn Sue - Creep

I already love this for having a gorgeous bridge, and is cute af. Yes Sue, you can creep.

13 - Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - Sudden Death/ka - i love {moms, mimi, kev}

QUELLE CHIS CAN SANG SANG./ka can heart heart write.

14 - IDK - Square Up (ft. Juicy J)

I don’t know why this is here either but this slaps regardless.

15 - Nappy Nina - Modestly (ft. Maassai)

Maassai is creating some of the best raps out here. so is Nappy Nina.

16 - Kehlani - Lexii’s Outro (ft. Lexii Ajaii)

Let’s celebrate our great rappers when they’re alive (and this includes me. Pls Chika, don’t win Best New Artist.)

17 - Samad Savage - Goodnight

What Travis Scott should’ve tried to be instead of what he is now. Samad still dope af regardless.

18 - Bad Bunny - Si Veo Tu Mama

The way Bad Bunny actually hits that last note makes me feel so excited and alive.

19 - Fat Tony - Back In The Saddle

I fucked up. But I’m getting back in the saddle, back in the saddle next year. NO NIGERIANS ALL NIGERIENS. #ENDSARS tho.

20 - Lady A - the truth is loud

Why am I the only one who has this on a best list? I have 34 bot followers. Vibe, step it up.

best of 2020 music right here folxs.

worst music things of the year:

The Pop Smoke album. Just in all areas. (Better win that Grammy tho.) Travis Scott in general. (So loud and empty and boring.) Big Sean’s Detroit 2. (why does this exist? Just put out Deep Reverence and Detroit Night Cypher and leave everything on the cutting room floor fo the next album.) Remembering all the great rappers who are dead or incarcerated. No Kendrick album (just leaks. Not good enough.) J. Cole and Noname beefing and Noname getting strung up by twitter. Jay Rock pushing being anti-vaccinations. The realization that Normani might never drop a single record ever again. Tory Lanez in general. Joyner Lucas making actually good songs and falling off almost immediately. Cardi B in general. Anything positive being said about steven Universe songs. Luzamity shipping (until it’s canon please stop! Willuz is RIGHT THERE!)

#rap ferreira #best of 2020 #the singles jukebox

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