#gets you to question the existence of utena in ohtori a little more

[biruesque]

anthy and utena as pygmalion and galatea!

[ladyloveandjustice]

A Ranking of the '4 Days of Ohtori: Someday My Revolution Will Come' Revolutionary Girl Utena Game Endings

I was commissioned to do a post ranking the endings of the Revolutionary Girl Utena dating sim based on quality and enjoyment! I did a liveblog for it for it a while ago, see here. If you know nothing about the game, I think you should read it and then come back to this post. It's a fun liveblog!

I was also asked to talk about if any of the endings work out well for the main character (who I call Purple Pigtails).

Basically all of the endings aren't ideal for Perfect Pigtails. Her dad is sick enough she has to leave Ohtori to help him iirc, she doesn't ever get to reconcile with Chigusa even though she badly wanted to (it's implied she had a crush on her despite everything, but she had to basically kill her). She also knows her dad's a piece of shit now, and that both her parents lied to her. I doubt she'll ever trust them again. She may even hate her Dad now. Her family was a lie, and that's very sad. On top of that, several of the endings imply she may come back to Ohtori which is honestly not a good thing for her!!! So none of them really work out for her, but I'm going to talk about which ones work out for her the least and the most as I rank the endings.

My favorite endings of the Utena video game, from best to worst:

Juri Ending

So, after much deliberation my favorite ending is the Juri one. The fact that her response to Purple Pigtails falling in love with her is "sorry, can't just enter a healthy lesbian relationship because I am super committed to this toxic one. You know that girl I painfully pine over while starting at her in my locket? That locket I wish I could throw away? Well I'm giving you your own pining locket to torment you with MY picture. We can be sad lesbians together."

It's just so Juri. Has to spread her unhealthy behavior everywhere. I don't think she knows any other way to deal with this stuff except to put it in a locket, keep it a secret and stare at it longingly. So she assumes Purple Pigtails needs that too. It's just...incredibly funny but also incredibly sad.

Does this ending work out for Purple Pigtails? Not really, no, she has to leave her crush behind and mirror Juri's unhealthy behavior. As long as she has that locket she can never move on or find a girlfriend. I will say she's better off than Juri though, because at least her crush doesn't try to actively torment her every chance she gets. I also think she's more likely to eventually put away the locket than Juri. She only knew Juri four days and isn't quite as fucked up as her. But then again, I could see her go on a similar quest to find Juri someday, like Utena did for her prince...but I don't think Juri will ever be in the position to be what she needs, even if she's healed and moved on. Because no real princes exist.

Then again, the fact Purple Pigtails was able to leave Ohtori at all means she was able to grow up and move on herself. She's accepted that her childhood was never what she thought it was...so maybe such a quest is unlikely. Maybe she will move on pretty quickly. Or maybe being obsessed with Juri means she will be welcomed back to Ohtori soon...

Anthy ending

My second favorite ending is the Anthy ending. The only reason it's lower than the Juri ending is that the washing each other's back scene is a little uncomfortable to watch, knowing Purple Pigtails has no trouble coercing sexual favors from Anthy. Whether this is all part of Anthy's plan or not, she is likely not enjoying this...and yet it's framed fairly comedically, which feels weird.

But otherwise? God it's perfect, so wonderfully absurd, so wonderfully Anthy. Her plan here is so elaborate and there are so many layers. There's also the question of why the hell she even did all this, which is so intriguing.

The way she's so direct with Purple Pigtails, her resentment and cynicism coming out, is great. Purple Pigtails is pretending she wants her, but she only wants power.

She also actively sabotages Utena in the fight in order get with Purple Pigtails. Why?

But after that, she also sabotages Purple Pigtails, deliberately keeping her up all night with uh. possibly sex, (again, uncomfy) to ensure she'll be too tired to concentrate the next day. But she does this so PP will lose to Utena even though Utena doesn't have a sword anymore.

Anthy played PP so thoroughly, but again, why? My theory when I first played this was Anthy was feeling guilty about her inevitable betrayal of Utena and was trying to get with Purple Pigtails, only to immediately realize there's no way PP could become a prince so she goes back to Utena.

But there are a lot of options. Maybe Anthy and/or Akio needed PP to be taken out. She was upsetting their plans somehow, so she needed to be defeated so humiliatingly she'd never try to get with Anthy again. It could explain why PP eventually left in the other endings, maybe she actually hadn't moved on, maybe Akio felt she was too much of a risk (possibly by how things got so complicated with Chigusa, too much of a distraction for the duelists) and kicked her out.

Or maybe this was all to test to find out where she was a prince candidate, and she was found wanting...considering you have to order rose tea as a prerequisite, this one's very possible.

It's all so fascinating. Maybe I should have put it as favorite...ok, let's say it's this and Juri tied.

Obviously this doesn't work out at all from Purple Pigtails Perspective. She becomes a supervillain, she's humiliatingly defeated, and she very well may be stuck at Ohtori for a long time...and fact she doesn't appear in the anime implies she's no longer friends with any of them. Maybe Akio made everyone forget about her. Maybe she was so bitter she rejected them all.

Utena's ending (Romantic Version)

(As a PS... it's very obvious the girls aren't allowed to kiss on the lips in this game, likely because of outside pressure, both Saionji and Miki get lips, while Utena and Juri do the princely forehead kiss (but you could also argue it's because they are the most "princely characters...and imitating the prince kiss is 100% in character for Utena. Also kissing a girl on the lips at this point in the story would pretty much short circuit Utena. Send her into such a lesbian crisis her heart might give out)

This ending is so sweet on the outside, but then you peel a layer back and see how fucked up it is. Utena very deliberately imitates her "prince" here, and that will someday horrify her, that she imitated Akio and got another girl obsessed with princes. And obviously that's very bad for PP too, since the thesis of Utena is the chivalrous prince who will save you is a lie.

Utena's words imply they will meet again and there's not a lot of outcomes that are good for that. One outcome is that PP goes back to Ohtori to find Utena, only to find she's already gone. But then Akio has a replacement Utena, right there. I'm not sure that would even matter, with Anthy gone, there's no way he can like, use her for anything...but he might take his anger at Utena and Anthy out on her. The better option is PP finds Utena in the real world, and sees that she and Anthy are officially girlfriends and have become healthier people. That might be good for her, actually--I'm sure Utena would encourage her to move on, find her own identity, and Utena would still want to be friends. Or she could ignore Utena andsink into bitterness and jealousy.

One of the most screwed up things about this ending is that PP basically loses her individuality and has become a copy of another person. It's not great for her that she's so wrapped up in Utena that it's her identity now. It's very sad just like it was with Anthy in the manga.

So no, I don't think this ending goes well for Purple Pigtails at all. She loses who she is, becomes obsessed with something that's just a false patriarchal idol, and that makes her vulnerable to Ohtori. Her only hope is finding Utena in the real world, and Utena making up for her past mistake.

Miki's ending

It was such a chore to get to this ending, but it's worth it for how funny it is. Purple Pigtails immediately deciding she actually wasn't in love with Miki after all (hint it's because she's a lesbian hint) and just. blowing him off, pretending she has a boyfriend back home. Legendary of her, and honestly Miki kind of deserves it. From his perspective it must feel like she really played with his feelings, though.

Because it doesn't exist, Miki!!! It was never real!!!!

She does say she "likes younger boys" after this, but that's just what she's telling herself. Someday she'll realize. Hopefully.

I think its interesting that Miki is the only one in this game who explicitly actually has feelings for her. He is able to move on from his sister (sort of. I mean at the very least iirc he never compares PP to Kozue that I can remember. Which is HUGE for him), but none of the rest can move on past their obsessions.

I actually think this works out pretty well for PP. She's not too attached to Miki, so she's unlikely to go back to Ohtori, and it doesn't break her heart to leave him, she's still herself, and I think she'll be able to move on.

Touga Ending (italicized since I haven't seen the whole route)

I haven't fully watched this route, so I don't know what it takes to get there. If I did it might affect my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. But while this ending is so mean and horrible, it is also so darkly funny. Touga distilled. He's such a asshole that it is impossible to get any thing positive from your ending with him even in a dating sim, and that's amazing. You think you've won but you lost. You lost the second you decided to date Touga.

Basically, Touga promises he will write PP every single day, and he will come visit her too, and she's ecstatic.

And then he goes and burns her address, calling her stupid, because of course he fucking does. Thus PP is totally ghosted, left despairing and wondering why.

It is also very interesting he's the only love interest she does NOT get a kiss from, unexpected since Touga has not problem kissing girls he does not give a shit about. Either he just, genuinely hates her guts THAT much or he's ---

ahhh shit. I just looked it up. You can have PP have sex with him. In fact you have to actively avoid it if you don't want to. So that's why he doesn't need a kiss. Her already got what he wanted. That actually makes this ending so much more heartbreaking, a lot of girls place a lot of importance on their first time, and PP was treated so cruelly with hers. This goddamn prick.

It is horrible, but it is exactly what I'd expect Touga to do (esp since this is set so early in the story) and I think it's incredible the game was so true to his character that you just get a straightforward unhappy ending when you date him. The others at least APPEAR a little happy, though they're quite sad when you think about them for long, but the game makes no pretenses with Touga. It just goes "no, you got nothing good out of this relationship, this man is trash, he played you like he does everyone"

Obviously this is pretty sad for Purple Pigtails, who gets manipulated and ghosted, and, depending on your choices, gets to have the lovely experience of a horrible older boy manipulating her, fucking her, and throwing her away at the tender age of 14. But, assuming she is able to move on (I hope so?) this might be happier than others for her in the long run (especially if she avoids having sex with him). Touga ghosting her means he won't be able to torment her further, and that's better than any other option with him. Unless, of course, she goes back to Ohtori to get an explanation...

Perfect Ending

I do like the perfect ending bc of the funny interactions the council get in--Juri teasing Miki about liking older girls and Miki getting extremely flustered, Touga being so fucking annoying especially when he insists on calling Saionji BEST FRIEND over and over until Saionji is like "can you shut the fuck up''...

The goodbye with Utena is fairly generic though, just the tiniest bit gay. One thing that is interesting for this ending is PP wanting to learn fencing.

It's ambiguous who she's talking about here, she could even mean Chigusa despite the fact she's deader than dead, or it could be "we don't know which person she's most attracted too ooooh".

As far as working out for Purple Pigtails? She escapes romantic trauma, which is great for her, but she seems really determined to go back to Ohtori in this one, and as has been said many times, that is not good for her.

Akio Ending

I considered rating this higher bc it's so funny how PP calls Akio on his bullshit.

But there's the fact that PP's particular Akio ending is even more uh, rape-coded than any other Akio car ride, IIRC? It's not only the fact she's underage, but she actively begs Akio to stop. But of course that motherfucker doesn't listen.

It's honestly so sad so that kind of ruins any fun. Which doesn't make it bad, but i don't like thinking about that part.

This is the second worst ending for PP. Just like the Black Rose and Anthy endings, she's still at Ohtori and has no friends, but there's the sexual assault aspect on top of that. She will be so traumatized, and on top of that she lost humiliatingly, while Akio basically called her worthless.

Saionji ending

Saionji's ending is both kind of boring and vaguely interesting. (And I'm ranking it like this on the assumption Saionji never hit her, which I assume he didn't from the Youtube comments. While he would definitely be cruel to a gf in multiple ways if she stuck around enough, I think it's possible the only person he would physically abuse while dating is Anthy. which is. something to analyze.) Saionji is (blessedly) silent during most of this ending. only saying "I owe you a lot" when he gives her the present (implying she's been kind of for caring for him, wet pathetic dog that he is, which does fit with the snippets I've seen of this route and echoes his relationship with Wakaba)

Saionji does give her his little leaf (apparently the only present he's capable of making?? like if he can carve this leaf he must know how to carve other things, right??? maybe it's just the carving he's best at) but PP knows he's too obsessed with Anthy (and Touga. the obsession with Anthy is just an extension of an obsession with Touga lets all be honest here) to return her feelings and they're both pretty honest and open about things. But THEN she claims she'll come back and make him look her way someday.. AND THEN she just plants one on him out of nowhere. Girl, you forget about consent!

Honestly Saionji just seems extremely confused and freaked out about it, even his expression afterwards, which makes me feel bad for him, something I'd never thought I'd say in my life. It's kind of interesting to see him like that. But...it doesn't stand out too much other than that. It's kind of just like. okay girl. calm down.

This one does not work out perfectly for PP since she seems pretty determined to come back to Ohtori and make Saionji love her, which is definitely never going to happen. But she doesn't lose her identity, doesn't get a pining locket, Saionji is surprisingly nice to her, unlike Wakaba she knows she doesn't have a chance right now, so she wasn't hugely disappointed...so it could be worse.

Utena Friendship Ending

Basically the same at the perfect ending, except we never get to see any fun interactions between the group. Boring.

Black Rose Ending

This one claims PP is obsessed with books, which has never come up in the game before, so it feels out of nowhere and like it wasn't properly developed. There's not much to dig into, when there should be. And her defeat is basically the same as the Akio endings, so it doesn't add much.

(Utena is being so mean here!!!! You know she's brainwashed why are you being an asshole about her skill!)

One the worst endings from PP's perspective, her mind is messed with, she literally has no friends, and she's stuck at Ohtori.

Game over

Obviously a Game Over is pretty boring. The game just ends. Bye.

I think PP would disappear from the world in the game over ending, just like Chigusa wanted. So this is the worst ending for her, she not only dies. she's erased from existence. At least in the other endings she gets to live.

(also I think either this one or the perfect ending are canon for the anime. The game over ending makes a lot of sense, since they would all forget PP and all that happened with her ever existed, and that would be the explanation for why she's never mentioned in the anime. But the more optimistic take is that the perfect ending is canon, and nobody ever mentions her because she just doesn't come up.

So there's my favorites ranked from best to worst.

NOW let's rank the endings from worst to best for Perfect Pigtails!

Game Over (she dies)

Akio Car Ending

Black Rose Ending

Anthy Ending (it's possible for her to have friends in this one)

Touga Ending (provided a) he has sex with her and b) she is unable to move on from what happened. Without those two factors though, it's under Utena's in the long run)

Utena Ending

Juri Ending

Saionji Ending

Perfect Ending

Miki Ending is the best one for her, weirdly! (Or at least my interpretation of it. She got out unscathed and has no desire to return to Ohtori!)

---

And those are my rankings! I hope everyone who read this far enjoyed the rambling.

[mokushiyami]

I’ve seen so many people say that the cantarella scene is their favorite but other than their promise to have tea in 10 years, i kind of get that it’s a love confession but that’s it. As the resident blog i go to for questions about utena i guess i’ve trying to ask if you can give an analysis about that?

I’m getting rgu asks again and im so happy tbh. i love the Cantarella scene so much, but i can understand how it can be missed because honestly i did take me finishing the series and rewatching it to fully grasp it, so here it goes.

The cantarella scene is a love confession but it is not only that. It comes after everything is laid out in the open, utena knows about anthy and akio, anthy knows about akio and utena. Utena asks anthy what does she want to do in the future and she says she’ll be happy as long as she gets to grow roses, but we know roses are restrictive to her, utena still suggest she becomes a florist. Then anthy talks to utena about cantarella. It’s a nice nod to the borgias who are very closely associated with anthy and akio. Utena is happily eating cookies but when anthy finishes her story about cantarella and asks her how the cookies are, utena flinches, but still finishes the cookie. Anthy does not outright say the cookies are poised, but utena does so about the tea, and anthy happily drinks it, saying its delicious. They are not acknowledging they love each other, they’re acknowledging that even though they love each other, they hurt each other.

Anthy says this by hiding behind a story, akin to what actually happened, the hurt didn’t come from anthy doing something in front of utena, but from what was untold. Utena says it outright, anthy knew about her and akio all along and she doesnt need a story to convey the hurt. They continue to eat the cookies and drink the tea, knowing that the hurt will continue, but still deciding to partake in it because they care about each other more.

They have finally realized their feelings about each other, they always knew but i don’t think they knew what name to put to it until that point. Then we see them talking about their little tea date in 10 years. I will always say that ikuhara is a genius director. While they are discussing the tea date, they are outside of the frame and a red rose appears on the top of the screen. The camera pans back to the table and window and they are not there, even though you can hear them talking. It’s a realization that this, them acknowledging each other, is the start of their journey of getting out of ohtori. Red roses symbolize love, and it shows up when they are not in frame. There are a lot of scenes that show that their relationship was build outside of the frames, it’s the only real thing in ohtori, it has been there even when we could not see it. It’s a love so pure that the mere existence of it is unfathomable within the confines of the school.

And then ofc the next scene we get is utena stopping anthy from jumping which is a whole emotional roller coaster on its own but it just adds to the importance the cantarella scene has for the show and for the audience.

I hope this isn’t too long and explained some things. There are plenty of essays and video essays on this topic that explain everything even with more details and i would suggest looking some up. If you have any other questions just ask me.

[shojo-sylveon]

The Symbolism of Dios - Revolutionary Girl Utena

Okay so this is something I wrote a couple months ago. I didn’t want to post it on my main blog but now that I have this side blog I thought I’d post it. I was really confused on the character of Dios when I first watched Utena, and upon reading other people’s interpretations of him online, I found that I didn’t agree with any of them. So I started making an outline to figure out my own interpretation, which eventually turned into this little mini essay. If anyone agrees or disagrees you are welcome to provide commentary, I most certainly do not claim to understand the enigma that is Revolutionary Girl Utena in its entirety but this is just my understanding of Dios/Akio. I apologize if the formatting on this is a mess, I wrote this in google docs to organize my own thoughts.  Spoilers ahead. Trigger Warnings: abuse mention

Dios means “god.”

Dios represents: childhood fantasies, an idealistic view of men as “princes” which separates them from their wrongdoings, childhood innocence Episodes evalutated: 13, 34, 39

Notable: When the power of Dios assists Utena in each duel, the outline of Dios starts to look more like Akio as the episodes progress. In the short scenes where Dios appears he begins to look more like Akio as the scene progresses. Anthy sees Dios in Utena.

I believe Dios “died” when Akio was “born.” Anthy sealed away “the power of Dios” in order to stop him from using his power to help others which would only result in his demise, and Akio perpetuates this idea that if he were to regain the power of Dios, he would once again become Dios, but this is not so, and he knows that. Anthy did not seal away Akio, only his power, as he continued to exist. Dios changed to Akio, not because he lost his power, but because his own spite consumed him. To blame Anthy for “sealing away this power” along with his “nobility” is simply a scapegoat he uses so he can continue being a piece of shit. Everything Akio does is in pursuit of power. Akio pursues the power of Dios so he can be more powerful, not so he can regain his nobility. Akio knows he may never regain that power, and he is okay with that. Failure just means he can continue “stay in his comfy coffin” where he lives in a never ending timeline where he is in control and profits off of Anthy’s suffering. He uses the promise of obtaining the power of Dios to comfort himself and maintain control of Anthy. 

The power of Dios is not obtainable to Akio. Without his nobility, which he chose to abandon, he can never again hold the power he held as someone with pure intentions. Questions:

1. Is Dios his own person? Is he a ghost or spirit of some sort? 2. Does Dios truly have good intentions? The ending of the series shows us that there are no princes, and there are no damsels in distress. These are all just idealistic fantasies believed in by children. Utena could not become a prince, not because she was a woman, but because the only person who could save Anthy was Anthy. 

 Utena’s First Encounter with Dios:  I believe that this encounter was with Akio, taking on the form of Dios to help perpetuate the “princely” aesthetic, while it is possible that this vision is some fragment of the memory of Dios, as created by either Akio or Anthy (similar to Mikage’s memories creating a reality), I think Dios’s behavior feels much more on brand with Akio and his motives in this scene. Dios eggs on Utena to become a prince and save Anthy, although there is something about his demeanor which is cold and uncaring, it is not that of a loving concerned brother. Akio sees the “nobility” in Utena’s empathy, and thinks she may be one who can help him regain his old power, which is why he manipulates her into becoming his pawn. Episode 13: 

Here we see Akio talking to Dios; himself. He says the seal on the power of Dios is beginning to break. Dios “glares” at him, and Akio, unphased, says it will benefit them both. One question that really weighed on me here was, who is the Dios we see here? The castle itself where Dios is “sealed” is only an illusion, created by Akio himself. Based on this information, I believe this whole conversation takes place in Akio’s head, and the conversation is with himself. Perhaps Akio knows that his old self might claim to feel disgust with his current lifestyle and actions, but it does not bother him in the slightest, and claims that the power of them being one again would equally benefit them both, implying that power is what the old Dios also would have wanted. If this is correct that Dios is simply inside Akio’s head, it explains how Akio continues to have control over every single aspect of everything that has happened thus far. He continues to manipulate Utena in pursuit of her nobility, hoping it will break the seal on the power he desires. He also continues to spark some sort of hope in Anthy, reawakening her memories of what her brother once was, allowing Akio to further convince her that with the power of Dios, he could once again be that memory for her, which obviously cannot happen but it helps to keep Anthy under his control. The Sword of Dios, and the Power of Dios which possesses Utena: 

The power we see in the duels raises another question: Is this truly the power of Dios? Or is this too Akio’s power? Perhaps he is mimicking Dios’s powers by insisting that these duels are noble. If it is Dios’s power, why does Dios eventually turn into Akio? Once again Akio has shown he has supreme power over everything that happens at Ohtori, especially within that observatory dueling arena castle place of his. I believe everything we see is created by Akio.

Episode 39: Once again, we see Dios in the mysterious Merry-go-round scene. Dios is supposed to be attempting to comfort her, but this time Dios is pushing her to give up, and he speaks to her in a very patronizing way. This is not a prince who wants to motivate a young noble woman to help him save his beloved sister. I believe this is just another image created by Akio to manipulate Utena.

More on Dios: Dios is always drawn with wide child-like eyes at the start of his scenes, that get thinner and start to look more like Akio’s as the scene goes on. Many abusers start out seemingly kind and loving, and that’s how they rope in victims. It’s fair to note that Dios himself was a child in the beginning, though after losing his power he grew up and became corrupted, blaming Anthy for the loss of his power. Yet, like other abusers, I do not believe Dios was ever the perfect idealistic prince he was painted to be. Perhaps this is what Anthy remembers him as, perhaps what he acted as, but as he grew up the evil surfaced. Dios likely always took pleasure in the power he had and the way women demanded his attention, the position of power he held over those he helped. It was these seeds that completely corrupted him as he matured into an adult. 

Questions Revisited:

1. Is Dios his own person? Is he a ghost or spirit of some sort? No, he is simply a vision created by Akio to further remain in control. 2. Does Dios truly have good intentions? 

No, not only are the visions we see all of him actually just Akio, but I do not believe that even the original Dios was truly pure of heart. Anthy never needed a prince, she needed to love and believe in herself, and to be loved and believed in by others. If Dios was truly a perfect man, he would have been aware of this, but the perfect man simply does not exist. 

[paradife-loft]

EXCELLENT, THANK YOU. i just feel like it would be really difficult for LXC as a duelist to be able to actually revolutionize the world. I keep comparing him to Miki, though that's more of a surface level "gentle, friendly, with an incredibly protective streak" reading, but I don't think he would necessarily fall into the same trap as Miki to see Jin Guangyao as something to be saved/hidden away. Where I do think he would get caught, though, is in the later arc duels. (Hitting word limit, 1/?)

The duels where part of what is being fought is the order of the world itself, the structure of power, and the way that power plays out in the duelist's lives. Because... what would it take to have LXC do what needs to be done to revolutionize the world? Would, hell *could* LXC recognize that the world needs to be revolutionized? that the system is broken? Would he bang on the coffin lid even after JGY slips the sword in his back, even after he knows what it would take to free JGY? We know LXC is willing to stay with JGY in a grave, but in this world would he try to drag JGY out of the grave? And... would Jin Guangyao even recognize that he is trapped? JUST. THINGS MY BRAIN KEEPS PLAYING.

YES, EXACTLY. Like that’s one of the things I really love about juxtaposing these two texts/relationships !! Lan Xichen, at least in canon, I would argue is not ever at a point of realising that it’s the world that needs to be revolutionised. Part of which is his place in its structure - I feel like the position of clan leader in that way, needing to be responsible for the well-being of this entire other set of people enmeshed within the existing social structure, essentially traps the thoughts and understandings that he’s even “able” to have, because to be effective (and to be honest and upright and good while doing so), he has to internalise and believe in the world’s rules.

But putting him in an AU context where he’s somewhat proximately removed from being literally responsible for an entire sect, where he functions as his own individual, influenced by e.g. the idea that out in the wider world he will eventually have to be that sect leader, but that’s not the set of concerns he’s immediately dealing with right now....? (Like. Ohtori Academy duelist AU, is what I mean here.)

I still think it would be... really difficult for him to come to understand that the whole thing needed to be overturned, for sure. His personality is so set in making compromises, trying to figure out something diplomatic that can work with multiple needs & desires; not tossing entire frameworks out wholesale. But at the same time... honestly I think his main issue with what Jin Guangyao did in canon, the reason he’s not trying to pull him back out of the mess even if he is willing to stay and die with him, is because what JGY did was terribly harmful to other people? Utena is hurt because of Anthy directly betraying her specifically, and chooses to forgive bc she understands that anyway - I feel like if that were the end of it for JGY and LXC, it’d be a much easier question, even partially if just because LXC values his own needs and hurt feelings so little compared to What Others Need From Him?

...on the other hand, the way RGU unfolds allows a lot more processing time on Utena’s part, for the way the various aspects of Anthy’s damage and harm unfold into her awareness, right. Lan Xichen is basically running on a few Really Horrible Days of Exponentially Increasing Fuckery, without any time to actually sit down and talk it over without the looming threat of death and disgrace hanging over Jin Guangyao’s head and whipping him into a panic-fueled murder spree. JGY does in the end realise that he is trapped, I think, but the question of whether he could get there without being literally pushed to the brink of death and losing everything...? Would LXC be able to take the raw material of what JGY explains to him, and not overlay his own (partially guilty, self-justifying) beliefs that JGY did have a choice and should have been able to get himself out of his metaphorical coffin? I mean, that’s the bit that I think time would help with, because I don’t think he’s capable of holding a grudge and insisting that JGY Should Have Known & Done Better And Therefore He’s Dead To Him, if he’s still hanging around, seeing Jin Guangyao in pain, realising his own complicity in what’s already happened and feeling the guilt of that, right.

So I guess I feel like, given the right set of circumstances, it could work out...? :’D And, like, in that context I guess the thing is that helping to pull JGY out would be the culminating symbolic act that does revolutionise the world, because that’s the storytelling language that Utena is working with (...and MDZS emphatically is not, which is why that feels weird to me)? But even if so, I’d think there would still be a whole lot of work for LXC to do on the broader societal applicability side of things once that part was done and they’d gotten out. Shit’s complicated!

[jewlwpet]

Let’s dissect the titles of each track on Seazer’s upcoming new Utena album!!

(EDIT: IMPORTANT UPDATE: J. A. Seazer made some last-minute changes to the tracklist after I made this post; I discussed those changes here).

1) 青銅製の人形俳優譚 オルフェウス洞窟劇場/Chant of Bronze Puppet Actors: Orpheus Grotto Theatre

There was a famous real-life “Grotto of Orpheus” that Seazer is most likely referencing! It doesn’t exist anymore, but you can see a detailed engraving of it here. It was made by Tommasso and Alessandro Francini for Henri IV of France. You can read about it and see another engraving here.

My guess as to what the song will be about: The grotto of Orpheus existed to glorify the prince by showing that he had so much power at his command, he could create a marvel like this. However, the object of wonder was a mechanical illusion: empty movement, so to speak. This was around the same time that some scientists began voicing the idea that perhaps the whole cosmos was like a machine built by God. This suggests the question, though it went unvoiced, of whether we ourselves are merely puppet-actors upon a cosmic stage.

(More under the cut--this will be long).

2)  宇宙卵プロトゴノス ―すなわちアンドロギュヌスのポラリザシオン(分極作用)―/Cosmic Egg Protogonos ―Namely Androgynous Polarization (Polarizing Action)―

This one is actually pretty straightforward if you understand Seazer’s language.

This song makes use of the Orphic creation narrative. Seazer used it before in a now lost version of Absolute Destiny Apocalypse (original source now here). Note: At the time when I posted that translation, I was under the mistaken impression that it was the same as the version on the Ohtori Kuruhi CD (because Seazer frequently does use pronunciation totally different from how something’s written). It is not; that set of lyrics is in fact the one used again more recently in the “complete version” in the Barbara CD.

Protogonos (literally “first-born”), also called Phanes (“bring to light”) ( "You scattered the dark mist that lay before your eyes and, flapping your wings, you whirled about, and throughout this world you brought pure light. For this I call you Phanes.") was described by Damascius as “the first [god] expressible and acceptable to human ears.” They hatched from the primordial Cosmic Egg, generated by Time (Chronos) and sometimes also Inevitability (Ananke).

Another tradition claims that a triad of the first three “intelligible principles” hatched from the egg. “What is this triad, then? The egg; the dyad of the two natures inside it--male and female--[Ouranos... and Gaia... Heaven and Earth], and the plurality of the various seeds between; and thirdly an incorporeal god with golden wings on his shoulders, bulls' heads growing upon his flanks, and on his head a monstrous serpent, presenting the appearance of all kinds of animal forms . . . And the third god of the third triad this theology too celebrates as Protogonos (First-Born).”

Another fact about Protogonos: They were a dying-and-rising god.

Since the title seems to focus on the severance of male from female (androgynous polarization), here are some passages that focus on that (source).

And he [Epicurus] says that the world began in the likeness of an egg, and the Wind [the entwined forms of Khronos (Chronos, Time) and Ananke (Inevitability)] encircling the egg serpent-fashion like a wreath or a belt then began to constrict nature. As it tried to squeeze all the matter with greater force, it divided the world into the two hemispheres, and after that the atoms sorted themselves out, the lighter and finer ones in the universe floating above and becoming the Bright Air [Aither (Aether)] and the most rarefied Wind [probably Khaos (Chaos, Air)], while the heaviest and dirtiest have veered down, become the Earth (Ge) [Gaia], both the dry land and the fluid waters [Pontos the Sea]. And the atoms move by themselves and through themselves within the revolution of the Sky and the Stars, everything still being driven round by the serpentiform wind [of Khronos and Ananke].

Ere land and sea and the all-covering sky were made, in the whole world the countenance of nature was the same, all one, well named Chaos, a raw and undivided mass, naught but a lifeless bulk, with warring seeds of ill-joined elements compressed together.... Though there were land and sea and air, the land no foot could tread, no creature swim the sea, the air was lightless; nothing kept its form, all objects were at odds, since in one mass cold essence fought with hot, and moist with dry, and hard with soft and light with things of weight. This strife a God (Deus) [probably Phanes], with nature's blessing, solved; who severed land from sky and sea from land, and from the denser vapours set apart the ethereal sky; and, each from the blind heap resolved and freed, he fastened in its place appropriate in peace and harmony. The fiery weightless force of heaven's vault flashed up and claimed the topmost citadel; next came the air in lightness and in place; the thicker earth with grosser elements sank burdened by its weight; lowest and last the girdling waters pent the solid globe. So into shape whatever god it was reduced the primal matter and prescribed its several parts.

Incidentally, the repeated severance and rejoining (solve et coagula) of male/female and above/below, was a key component of alchemy (of course, the materials they worked with were inanimate, but the alchemists insisted on gendering and even sexualizing them, always).

Protogonos bears some resemblance to the Gnostic demiurge, (shaper of the material world, creator of humans, associated with severance and procreation). However, the Gnostics denigrated the demiurge, whereas Protogonos was venerated. One could also make

3) ミッシング&ブーピープ ―快楽の園の修道院のイメージ―  /Missing and Bo-Peep -Image of the Monastery’s Garden of Earthly Delights-

Okay. Bo-Peep is, of course, a little girl in a nursery rhyme who’s lost her sheep but gets them back, wagging their tails behind them (wagging meant bringing). There’s an extended version where it’s specified that they’d actually lost their tails (but she found those too and reattached them). Before all that, “bo-peep” was used to refer to the children’s game of peekaboo, and in the Middle Ages, it was also a euphemism for being stood in a pillory. The Garden of Earthly Delights is a triptych by Bosch (viewable in detail here--arguably technically safe for work but only because it’s Art [tm]). From Wikipedia:

As so little is known of Bosch's life or intentions, interpretations of his intent have ranged from an admonition of worldly fleshy indulgence, to a dire warning on the perils of life's temptations, to an evocation of ultimate sexual joy. The intricacy of its symbolism, particularly that of the central panel, has led to a wide range of scholarly interpretations over the centuries. Twentieth-century art historians are divided as to whether the triptych's central panel is a moral warning or a panorama of paradise lost.

There’s also speculation that Bosch’s art (as a whole) is based on “esoteric knowledge lost to history.” The ambiguity is perfect for RGU.

I like this interpretation:

According to art historian Virginia Tuttle, the scene is "highly unconventional [and] cannot be identified as any of the events from the Book of Genesis traditionally depicted in Western art". Some of the images contradict the innocence expected in the Garden of Eden. Tuttle and other critics have interpreted the gaze of Adam upon his wife as lustful, and indicative of the Christian belief that humanity was doomed from the beginning...  Art historian Charles de Tolnay believed that, through the seductive gaze of Adam, the left panel already shows God's waning influence upon the newly created earth. This view is reinforced by the rendering of God in the outer panels as a tiny figure in comparison to the immensity of the earth. According to Hans Belting, the three inner panels seek to broadly convey the Old Testament notion that, before the Fall, there was no defined boundary between good and evil; humanity in its innocence was unaware of consequence.

This is of course very different from the traditional Christian view of Genesis, which is that before the Fall, there was no sexual desire. In many Gnostic texts, however, “original sin” is something that existed before the creation of the world; thus there was no innocence of any kind in Eden. The “original sinner” in this view was generally said to be Sophia (Wisdom, an Anthylike figure sometimes known as “the Bride,” who was both revered and maligned), an attribute of the Godhead, which was made up of syzygies, complementary pairs of principles, described variously as spouses and/or siblings, who (because they were God) reproduced without lust. But it was this same Sophia who breathed life and spirit into humanity, making them more than just bodies.

In this belief humans were inherently sinful creatures from the very beginning; it was also said that it was wrong for the demiurge to separate Eve from Adam (I believe this was the same text that said “This world is a mistake”--by the way, the demiurge was supposedly brought into existence by Sophia, but they’re enemies).

There’s also this idea that Bosch followed the ideas attributed to a Gnostic sect called the Adamites (unfortunately, the only contemporary sources we have on them are anti-Gnostic propaganda, so we cannot know how much of it is based in reality), which basically advocated freedom from all moral laws; the last image seems to suggest otherwise, but it certainly is, at least, a theme.

Incidentally, this triptych has been used for the covers of at least two books by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, whose works Seazer draws on extensively according to my research.

Anyway, for my attempt at putting the pieces of the title together... However you interpret the triptych, it’s not something you’d expect to see in a monastery. Wikipedia indicates a general consensus that it was probably commissioned by a lay person, not a member of the clergy. So the title suggests a contrast, or a confluence of opposites, rather like that title from his last Utena album, “Monastic Life is a Flesh Apocalypse.”

4) 幾何学とエロス/Geometry and Eros

This is, word-for-word, the title of a 1974 essay by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, whom, as I said before, I have known Seazer to draw from very frequently. It was published in this book, which also contains an essay on the “cosmic egg” concept and an essay on the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.

I have it from book reviews that “Geometry and Eros” discusses the 18th-century French Neoclassical architext Ledoux and the supposed “spiritual analogy” between his works and those of his contemporaries Fourier and Sade. Now, unfortunately, there are two different “Fourier”s from this time period that are both feasible candidates: the mathematician Joseph Fourier and the utopian socialist philosopher Charles Fourier. I lean towards the latter, however, because Shibusawa had published a translation of his essay “Archibras,” which Seazer drew on for Tsuwabuki’s duel song, Conical Absolute Egg Archibras. I suppose Ledoux would represent “geometry” and the other two “eros,” assuming I have the right Fourier.

Apparently, Shibusawa criticized Emil Kaufmann’s commentary on Ledoux, but I don’t know specifics on that.

5) 少女錬金術師/Girl Alchemist

The main question is whether this is Utena or Anthy, because the meaning would be different in either case. But alchemy is about unifying opposites, and they both do embody opposites, just in different ways. And they are opposites of each other, even though traditionally, in alchemy, the union of opposites is exclusively framed in heterosexual terms--think Angel Androgynous. This heterosexual union--often, incidentally, described as one of brother and sister--is meant to lead to the birth of the “philosophical child,” which can be interpreted as a new self. It’s kind of like Nanami’s Egg, actually, though that did not use the incest metaphor since one of RGU’s themes is how incest inhibits individuation.

Interestingly, while almost(?) all the surviving alchemical texts (at least in the Western tradition, which is what I’ve studied) were written by men, many of them stated that the first alchemist was a woman, and a Jewish woman at that. Unfortunately, all we know of her is from what men wrote about her.

There’s a quotation attributed to her that has an interesting interpretation by Jung, which you can read about here. Alchemy as a metaphor for psychological individuation is something he wrote about extensively, and it definitely makes sense in this context although it’s not, imo, the only meaning alchemy has in RGU. Marie Louise von Franz wrote about it extensively also! The two of them worked closely together as well as individually.

6) 人間人形 ―空想・イン・ザ・架空―/Human Puppet -Fantasy in the Imaginary-

(I’ve got nothing, other than the metaphor of puppets which I already touched on).

7) 絶対天秤卵/Absolute Balance Egg

This is not a new song. It’s taken from 2006 Banyu Inryoku production, Illusion-Flesh Verse Drama “Black in the Dark.” Of course, this is nothing new; even the duel songs were recycled (and this was Ikuhara’s idea, not Seazer’s), so this is just an extension of that. I found its tracklist in this review; it’s described as an “improvised reverberation poem of flesh burning up in the dark,” which must be from a playbill or something because it’s such a Seazer description.

Apparently, the “intro” (written in katakana) to this song was taken directly from “Paint it Black.” I can’t guarantee this will carry into our version, but if you hear anything that sounds suspiciously like The Rolling Stones... I called it.

Actually, I should note: It’s possible that Absolute Balance Egg is from an even older Seazer production and was recycled in both this play and this CD. One can never rule that out.

8) 人間人形 ―空想・イン・ザ・架空―/Philosophical Bread (?) Seed

This sounds like an alchemy thing, and I’m not ruling that out, but the results that I found searching “philosophical bread” showed me it’s a very common metaphor used in many contexts. Generally it refers to “higher learning” of spiritual matters, sometimes specifically “to know the mind of God.” Sometimes it’s treated as the ultimate endeavor, sometimes as pointless. Seeds, I suppose, would be the beginning of that.

Note: "Bread,” in Japanese, is パン (pan) , and the Greek god Pan sometimes has his name written the same way. It’s very possible that  パン is actually referring to the god here and shouldn’t be translated as “bread,” but we don’t know at this point. Either is plausible.

9) 法王驢馬寓意画意オペレッタ1 ―その声は人間の鳴き声に似る―/The Pope Ass Allegory Symbolism Operetta 1 -That Voice Is Like the Cry of a Human Being

The Papal Ass or Pope Ass, known from its use in a highly influential pamphlet by Martin Luther and Melanchthon, is often described as a caricature of the Pope. However, it’s not satirical like most modern political cartoons.It’s in fact based on the “monstrous birth” reports that were very popular at the time; this genre was referenced in the Rose Egg Sophia CD. To fully understand what the Papal Ass meant to its original audience, it’s necessary to have some understanding of the genre, so I’ll go into that. 

It’s important to understand that such records are not always made-up, although they are frequently exaggerated. For instance, researching the term  クシュポデュメー (no, I don’t know how to spell it) from Rose Egg Sophia’s Puchibanshou song (doragon no kodomo, offspring of a dragon) led me to a description of a “dragon” born with two heads, four arms, two legs, and one pelvis, said to have been part of the court of James III of Scotland. As a matter of fact, this bodily description corresponds to contemporary reports of a pair of conjoined twins known as the Scottish brothers, who were part of this king’s court. Many so-called “monsters,” from medieval times up until the xth century, were people. This particular one, however, was an animal, an actual donkey (or ass).

Luther wrote this for an updated 1535 version of the pamphlet:

The Papal Ass is itself a dreadful, ugly, terrifying picture, and the longer one looks at it, the more terrifying it seems. However nothing is so completely terrifying as the fact that God himself made and revealed such a wonder and such a monstrous image. If a human had invented, carved or painted it, one would scorn or laugh at it. However since the highest Majesty himself created and depicted it, the whole world should be dismayed and quake, for from it one fully understands what he thought of and intended.

From Monstrous Births and Visual Culture in Sixteenth-Century Germany by Jennifer Spinks:

I was able to find a book, Monstrous Births and Visual Culture in Sixteenth-Century Germany, that goes into great detail on how this was used by the early Protestant movement and has an entire chapter on this pamphlet: “Monstrous births could be viewed in positive and sympathetic terms, as the previous chapters have demonstrated. Yet this 1523 pamphlet by the two most important figures of the Lutheran Reformation forms a decisive shift in attitude, in which interpretation and representation became not only more polemical – and particularly anti-papal – but took on a notably apocalyptic aspect.” Of the Papal Ass and one of its contemporaries, the moon-calf, the author says, “The bodies of the monsters became texts to be read and argumentatively decoded using highly visual language.”

Notably, Luther and his coauthor did not invent the Papal Ass; they only named it. As Jennifer Spinks writes in this book:

The Papal Ass, washed up on the banks of the Tiber in Rome in 1495, made its way to Germany in visual form via an engraving by the Bohemian artist Wenzel von Olmutz, published in the late fifteenth century. Several decades later, and perhaps prompted by his colleague Melanchthon... Luther first became intrigued by the then-nameless monstrous birth and sought to incorporate it into his eschatological world view. He wrote a homiletic epistle that year (on the second Sunday in  Advent, concerning Luke 21:25–33)  titled ‘A Christian and well-substantiated proof of the Day of Judgement, and of the signs that it cannot now be far off ’. Although they were not referred to in Luke, Luther explicitly added monstrous creatures to his list and framed this addition as an attack on Rome and the papacy.

As for the pamphlet that made the Papal Ass famous, however, the section devoted to the Papal Ass was written by Luther’s coauthor, not Luther himself. Spinks states:

Melanchthon analyses the creature one body part at a time, utilizing biblical references, and conveying a central message about the corruption of the church in Rome as revealed by its bizarre physical structure. He begins his analysis of the Papal Ass with a reference to the Book of Daniel: ‘God has always indicated his grace or wrath by many signs, and in particular He has used such miracles for speaking to the rulers, as we see in Daniel’.

Melanchthon, she writes, “presents God in the guise of an artist who uses his creations to convey visual messages.”

The Papal Ass... has an almost jarring, collage-like combination of sharply delineated but ill-matching body parts. Step by step, Melanchthon describes and interprets these individual elements. He begins with... ‘Firstly, the head of the ass represents the Pope’. The Pope, he indicates... has brought the church into a worldly and physical, rather than spiritual, state. The low state of the ass in the animal kingdom is underscored through a reference to Exodus 13:13, in which first-born children and animals are consecrated to God: ‘but every fi rst-born donkey you will redeem with a lamb or kid; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck’. That is, God does not value donkeys (or asses) as he does other creatures. That the head of the Papal Ass is formed in this way is a true sign of the creature’s low state.

Next, Melanchthon addresses one hand, which ‘like an elephant’s foot rep-resents the spiritual regime of the Pope’. As forcefully as an elephant, the Pope’s ‘regime’ makes its way into and corrupts souls with innumerable and intolerable laws. Melanchthon adds, in a metaphor that it is easy to imagine seizing the imagination of audiences: ‘like the great heavy elephant it tramples and grinds down everything that it comes across’. The human-shaped other hand of the Papal Ass, in turn, represented the Pope’s worldly ‘regiment’; that is, those secular rulers who gave support to the papal office. In Cranach’s woodcut accompanying the text, these hands are neatly displayed one above the other, emphasizing through contrast the peculiarity of the elephant hand. The right foot of the creature, in the form of the foot of an ox, is aligned by Melanchthon with the elephant-shaped right hand. The foot represents the servants of the church: ‘the papal teachers, preachers, priests and confessors, and particularly the scholastic theologians’. That is, it refers to those responsible, in the Pope’s name, for oppressing the ‘poor folk’ (‘arme volck’) with their activities. Identifying papal supporters with the End Times, Melanchthon refers the reader to Matthew 24:4: ‘There will come false Christians and false prophets’. The other foot, in the shape of a claw, is aligned with the human-shaped hand. It represents canons, as worldly servants of the popes. Melanchthon’s language becomes still more physical in the next section, in which the female belly and breasts of the Papal Ass are described: “[these] represent the body of the papacy: that is Cardinals, bishops, clerics, monks, students ... their life is simply guzzling food, boozing, unchaste lechery, and leading the ‘good life’ on earth.”

Melanchthon’s understanding of the belly and breasts as especially potent symbols was to be intensified in a revised 1535 edition of the pamphlet... In this 1523 version, however, he turns fairly rapidly to the arms, legs and back of the creature, with a metaphor that is a little less obvious: the scales on these body parts represent secular rulers, who tolerate the failings of the papal system, effectively protecting it as they cling on to its ‘body’. This passage makes a particularly intriguing visual appeal to the reader or listener. The innocuous scales represented in the woodcut must be imaginatively reconfigured by the reader into a multitude of earthly rulers. Much more anthropomorphic in form are the faces of the old man and dragon (‘trach’) that emerge from the Papal Ass’s backside. The man represents the coming end of the papacy, already growing old; the dragon represents the bulls and books published by popes with the purpose of universally enforcing their will. Melanchthon’s tenth and final point shifts away from the body of the creature and to the location where it was found: Rome... The distinctive shape of the Castel Sant Angelo in Rome is carefully delineated, and for those not familiar with the famous tower, the fluttering flag with the crossed papal keys could inform even the least educated of the connection with Rome and the papacy. The tower to the right is the Tor di nona, used as the papal prison. Dramatically, in his final point, Melanchthon claims that finding the creature dead, ‘confirms that the papacy is coming to an end’.

Also:

In 1535 Melanchthon prepared a new edition of his text on the Papal Ass, still illustrated by the original Cranach image. Melanchthon’s expanded text takes sharper, more polemical aim at the papacy in a number of short new passages, including one on the ass’s head as a demonstration of the foolishness of the Pope, and another on the human hand as a sign the worldly, aggressive ambitions of the Pope. Two particularly substantial new sections dramatically increase the anti-papal and also the apocalyptic import of the Papal Ass. Several new pages on the breasts and belly of the creature emphasize the themes of whoring and sin (and implicitly, perhaps, refer to the whore of Babylon), while the ‘shameless female belly’ (‘vnuerschampt frawen bauch’) represents the Antichrist’s worst excesses.

More from Spinks about what made this method of symbolism unique:

Some pre-Reformation publications had ascribed specific meanings to individual body parts in monstrous births, like the conjoined foreheads of the Worms twins. Yet none had so rigorously and polemically done so as Luther and Melanchthon’s publication. This pamphlet is at the heart of a tangible shift in the representation and interpretation of monstrous births, and one that fitted the aggressively polemical culture of the early Reformation... This period saw the rise of vigorous debates and fundamental shifts in visual culture. The most famous of these developments was the wave of iconoclasm, which saw the destruction of religious images and objects. More moderate ‘reforms’ of imagery included a move to remove any hint of lasciviousness (especially in female figures) in the images on church walls. Martin Luther had a pragmatic attitude towards the use of religious images, and contributed to a culture of visual propaganda that stood on the borderline of the religious and the secular. One of the most important aspects of the visual culture of the Reformation was the vigorous use of printed propaganda, deployed.. with remarkable success. Robert Scribner observed that ‘Luther and other reformers spoke of pious images as masks (larvae) behind which the devil lurked, hoping to lure souls to damnation’. This did not mean that Luther rejected the use of images, and Scribner provided examples of how what he called the ‘semiology of arousal’ (which went well beyond the sensual) could be ‘employed also for its revelatory effect, especially in Reformation propaganda, putting into practice Luther’s notion of the masks of the devil disguising diabolical reality’... Religious imagery nonetheless increasingly moved outside relatively controlled environments like church walls and elite manuscripts, and into the turbulent new world created by the widely available printed image.... Luther’s ideas about visual images are closely bound up with his views on the apocalyptic Book of Revelation – a connection seen in microcosm in the 1523 pamphlet.

The Apocalypse While Albrecht Dürer had created what many regard as the definitive illustrated series of the Apocalypse in 1498, a flood of other versions appeared in the first half of the sixteenth century.74 The increasing popularity of the Book of Revelation as a subject for illustration during the sixteenth century was evidently connected to the growth of an apocalyptic world view... In this environment there was a tangible value in giving shape to apocalyptic imagery, and a ready audience for the new editions that came onto the market. As Bernd Moeller has identified, the End Times (‘Endzeit’) were one of the four most popular subjects for sermons preached in German towns in the early Reformation period.

Another updated version was published in 1549 without Melanchthon’s permission, edited to include past writings of his that he had since renounced in favor of compromise.

Flacius... uses Melanchthon’s text on the Papal Ass... as a springboard to oppose any religious compromise... In an introductory text, Flacius argues that the papacy can be represented in both words and images as worse than the devil or the whore of Babylon from the Book of Revelation. He maintains the highly visual language used by Luther and Melanchthon, and even concludes by claiming that the arts of geometrical and arithmetical proportions are inadequate for the present times, which demanded instead a ‘new swinish art’ (‘newen Sewkunst’). Later in the pamphlet, Flacius adds additional texts that talk of the disastrous events leading up to the Last Days, specifically identifying the Pope as the Whore of Babylon, holding up her goblet, drunk on the blood of Christ, and seated on the back of the seven-headed beast which represented Rome itself (and also the ‘Roemische Reich’, or Roman Empire) and its support of the papacy. The increasingly voluptuous body of the Papal Ass accords with this emphasis on the Babylonian woman.

After this point, “wonder books,” which “collected together monstrous births and various other wonders and disasters across decades, centuries or even millennia,” became more and more common. Apparently, “negative and also apocalyptic rhetoric about monstrous births became still more deeply entrenched in this genre.” By 1569 (when Catholics started appropriating this trend for their counter-Reformation), “Monstrous births and the apocalyptic Book of Revelation were closely enmeshed, and overwhelmingly presented as such in German Reformation and Counter-Reformation print culture.”

Final note: The way “Pope Ass” is written in the title is nonstandard, which is why I went with the literal translation rather than the more common phrase “Papal Ass.” I did find one search result for this phrase that wasn’t about this album, indicating that it’s used in yet another Shibusawa book,  夢の宇宙誌 (this was also the only pre-Seazerian source I could find for  クシュポデュメー).

未来のヒユネロトマキア ―狂恋夢・薔薇物語・愛の秘法伝授―/The Future Hypnerotomachia - The Strife of Love in a Dream・The Tale of the Rose・Love’s Secret Initiation -

So... there are many parts to this.

The Future Hypnerotomachia:

That's a reference to the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (”The Strife of Love in a Dream” is included at the end of the title in some editions; it’s a translation of hypnerotomachia) and possibly also The Future Eve (referenced in the Rose Egg Sophia CD, specifically in its version of Saionji’s duel song). You can look in my tag on tumblr for my thoughts as to what that book might signify in relation to Utena.

As for The Tale of the Rose, we all know it as the play in episode 34, but there’s another “Tale of the Rose” I think Seazer is referencing here as well. Seazer mentioned “the medieval Tale of the Rose” as one of the inspirations for the Rose Egg Sophia in its liner notes (I’m working on a translation, off and on). It’s this book. The Japanese title is written the same was as the title of the play is written on the tickets in episode 34; it does not have much in common with the play, but you can think of it as “a way duelists look at Anthy.” You can also think of it as something possibly taught uncritically at Ohtori; you can certainly see its worldview reflected in, say, Miki.

The last part of the title isn’t a specific text, as far as I know, but it does have a traceable origin in, once again, Shibusawa, specifically his essay collection 胡桃の中の世界.

Since this title is about the themes of two or three entire books, I think I will make a Separate post for how those texts relate to Utena--and, of course, a new, updated one once we have the actual lyrics. And possibly another one several years from now when I inevitably translate 胡桃の中の世界.

[the-darkness-does-not-bargain]

The Fire After the War, Chapter 7

Here it is, after such a wait.  Now it's Utena's turn.

AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/4670804/chapters/25987323

Chapter 7: 101 Dalmatians

A week passed from Thanksgiving, and December rode in on its usual bitter breeze.  Utena lifted her gloved hands to her mouth and blew on them as she struggled against a strong headwind on the way back to the apartment.  It wasn't a long walk, but the wind and the cold made it seem eternal, not to mention the deep growls her stomach was making.  The firefighter found herself inadvertently mulling over what had transpired at her parents' house the other day.  It wasn't a happy train of thought, but it had been nagging at her since the drive back, demanding her attention.

Everything had seemed to go well at the time.  Anthy was winning over everyone in Utena's family and absolutely cunt-punting anyone that tried to act out of line.  Watching it had made Utena very proud and viciously pleased.  Dinner went very well, and even the awkward questions about Akio didn't seem to shake Anthy.  Getting chewed out by her mother afterward hadn't been fun, but Utena's reasoning was sound and nothing would convince her otherwise.  She had hoped to steer away any conversation that veered too close to the subject, but when Uncle Petyr started asking about Ohtori directly, she couldn't find a way to subtly change the subject.  Thus, she was left having to watch Anthy smoothly handle everything, all while feeling a knot of dread in her stomach as things moved further and further out of her control.  She'd felt guilty at the time, despite Anthy's insistence that it hadn't been an issue.  Now, in retrospect, she wondered just how sincere Anthy had been in her reassurances.

The outburst---Utena didn't like that word; it felt wrong for the situation---was, of course, completely unexpected.  The accusations---that wasn't the right word either---the admission of jealousy, and then the personal feelings that Anthy had revealed with such difficulty; they haunted Utena's mind as she turned onto the next block.

Danny made Anthy jealous, Danny of all people.  Anthy was jealous because she was afraid.  Utena was sure of that, whether it was really because of Danny or not.  Anthy was afraid, and she was reacting badly to it.  Utena counted a hundred possible reasons why, and too many fit with what Anthy revealed about herself and her past.  Anthy was scared of losing her to someone else.  A ridiculous fear, but Utena supposed she could understand where it came from.  Anthy had said that nothing belonged to her before Utena, and the other woman believed it.

She felt an annoying stinging in her eyes when she thought of the former Rose Bride and her deprived life, existing with nothing to her name, not even enough to hold her to the physical world in some instances.  Like a ghost.  Transient, Utena thought proudly when she remembered the word.  It had been on an old word-of-the-day calendar she'd had years ago.

No longer the Rose Bride, she pondered sadly.  That should mean something beyond existing as more than a phantom.  Anthy needed something more, something else to tie her to her life.  Yet, at the same time, Anthy's freedom was very new after god knows how many years of imprisonment.  She was clearly still adjusting to her new situation, with more success in certain areas than others.  Utena was hesitant to make real suggestions.  Yes, she encouraged Anthy to go outside, explore, and grow the scope of her world, but she was scared to propose any specific course of action.  Who could say what might tear up an old wound, turn a hairline fracture into a shattered bone, or infect a healing burn?  One wrong step could send Anthy falling, maybe beyond the point that she could ever recover again.  Utena shuddered at the thought.  Still, they wouldn't make any progress at all if they just sat around, too afraid to try anything.  "What a conundrum," she murmured, remembering another word from that calendar.

Her worried musings carried her the rest of the way back to her apartment.  She breathed a sigh of relief when she entered the warm lobby, crossing to the rickety old elevator and pressing the button for her floor.  Creaking and shuddering, it carried her upwards as she tried to cheer up, at least on the surface.

She walked in to the apartment to find Anthy mulling over newspapers at the kitchen table.  She had a pen out and was circling certain parts.  Utena realized that it was the ad section.

"Are you looking at jobs?" She asked as she pulled out the open chair and sat down.  She had to lift up her arm to let Chu Chu through with a pen of his own.

"Yes…" Anthy said slowly as she scanned a column.  "I heard that they offer jobs in newspapers these days, so I thought I might look at them."  She glanced up briefly and then went back to scanning.  "I thought I might take you up on your challenge."

"Did I issue a challenge?"  Utena didn't remember anything like that.  Was she talking about that night?

"Yes," Anthy confirmed.  She sat back.  "You said I should try to get out more.  I thought I just might."

Hmm.  Utena picked up a paper.  "Well, what have you been looking at?"  She asked cautiously.

"There are so many," Anthy said, sounding genuinely surprised.  There was wonder in her voice.  Utena couldn't say she had heard that before.  How would she react if she knew how many jobs were posted online?  "But I was thinking about putting in an application to that flower shop down the street.  It says here that they're looking for help."  She pointed to the passage in question.  The ink circle around that was especially thick.  "I was also considering this grocery store.  They say they offer $7.25 an hour.  Sounded promising…"

Utena's brow furrowed, and rightly so, but Anthy continued on without noticing.  It wasn't until Utena gently took the newspaper from her and commandeered Chu Chu's pen that her girlfriend quieted.  Utena used the pen and put an X over the grocery store ad as well as any other ads that advertised $7.25 an hour.

"What are you doing?" Anthy asked, and she sounded mildly affronted.  Utena looked up at her.  She didn't want to burst her bubble, especially when the older woman sounded so active and even excited, but she had to make her aware of this if nothing else.

"Babe, do you know what minimum wage is?"

"Minimum wage?"  Utena's prediction was correct.  Anthy looked confused.  She was innocent in this, still unaware of many inner workings of the mundane, even after nine years.

Utena sighed.  "Minimum wage is the lowest legal wage an employer can offer an employee.  It's the lowest of the low in this country.  It's almost not enough to live on."

"So what… are you saying?" Anthy asked.

"I'm saying that you shouldn't waste your time with jobs like that when there are better options."  Utena paused.  "You could also wait.  There's no need to jump in so quickly.  We're not rich but we won't be out on the street any time soon."

"What are you saying?"  That again.  How to answer…

"Just that, you don't need to worry about things here, if you are.  You can just relax if you want.  Take it slow, you know?"

"Are you saying I shouldn't look for a job?"  Uh oh, it was a trap.  Utena had never been very good at avoiding those.  Let's see if she could get out of this one.  The firefighter turned back to her, frowning.  Anthy was watching her carefully, showing nothing, but no doubt cataloguing every word and reaction.  Once upon a time, Utena wouldn't have noticed cues like that, but she wasn't an oblivious teenager anymore.

"No," she said firmly.  "I'm saying that you should be careful not to do too much too soon.  You're strong, Anthy, but everyone has their limits.  They can be difficult to change.  I don't want to see you crash and burn."

"Crash and burn?"

"It's an expression.  Look, jobs are good, but they're tough.  Jobs like these, where you have to deal with and talk to people every day, they can be difficult.  You admitted yourself that you have a problem with crowds.  Jobs like these are crowds all the time.  If you're still having problems with that, jumping into a job like this honestly isn't going to help you.  It might actually make it worse."  Utena ran a hand through her hair.  "It's good to do things slowly every once and a while.  And don't say 'I told you so', because I already know."

"Baby steps.  Isn't that what you said?"  Anthy was still watching her, waiting to see if she would say something stupid and ruin this or maybe make it through cleanly after all.

"That's right," Utena said, standing resolved.  Her expression softened.  "I want you to be able to do everything you've ever wanted.  I'll do what's in my power to get you there.  But there is something to be said for caution, acting responsibly."  She smiled shyly.  "I know that's a strange thing to hear from me.  I know you want to tell me to take my own advice; I can see it in your eyes.  I think that this must be in some part because of what happened last week, and I just want you to take things at a good pace."

Anthy sat back, and she seemed to be mulling over something.  She glanced down at the table and then to the pen still resting in her hand.  Utena waited, feeling a little strange just standing there.  It seemed like several minutes had passed before Anthy finally looked up at her; it couldn't have been, surely, but it felt that way.

"So what would you suggest?" Anthy asked slowly.

Utena let out a breath through her nose, thinking quickly and carefully.  When the idea came to her, she snapped her fingers.  "I might know a good place for you to apply," she said.  "I gotta take a walk.  I'll be back in a bit."

"Should I order something for us?" Anthy asked as she watched her girlfriend grab her coat.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Utena said as she tied her shoes.  "I shouldn't be gone too long.  30 minutes tops.  You should give some thought to your resume while I'm out." 

She was halfway out the door when she heard Anthy mutter, "Resume?"

Oh boy.

  Four days later, Anthy was standing in front the Fair Friends Animal Clinic.  She was dressed in a pretty pink suit and jacket that Utena had never seen before.  Her hair was up in a ponytail; at least as much as a single hair tie could bind such a powerful mane.  She was wearing the cute little beret she had worn on the day they had first found each other again.  She wore white shoes that, amazingly, miraculously, managed not to get dirty at all on the walk down here.  Probably magic, Utena thought.  She looked up to watch Anthy's face.  She might not even know she's doing it.

Anthy's expression was one of unadulterated apprehension, bordering on fear.  Her posture was tense and she was standing very still.  She was clutching a manila folder to her chest.  It held her resume, a hastily constructed thing that they had spent a full evening poring over.  The paper didn't look too bad, all things considered, but Utena was concerned about the amount of information Anthy seemed to make up out of the blue.  She was also worried that the paper would horribly deform if her girlfriend held it to her body any tighter.

"Anthy," Utena said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder.  "What is it?"

Anthy looked down at the street, and her hands were shaking.  "You were right," she murmured, almost too softly for Utena to catch.  "I'm not ready for this yet."  Anthy's self-defeating habit was becoming increasingly noticeable.

Utena stepped in front of her and lifted up Anthy's chin.  Utena smiled reassuringly.  "Crowds are no good, I know.  They might not be for some time yet.  But fortunately, this job doesn't handle crowds.  Of people anyway."  She mimicked exaggerated breathing motions.  "Take a deep breath.  You're going to be great.  Look," she said, pointing to the window of the clinic and into the clinic itself.  "There's a grand total of six people in that waiting room, and that's it.  And look at those dogs."  Utena wrapped an arm around Anthy's shoulders and smiled brightly.  "Look at that big blonde one.  Isn't she beautiful?  Or, ooo, look at that little guy in the cage.  He must be riled up about something cuz he's barking like crazy.  Heh, I feel kind of embarrassed for his owner.  And there's---" She was cut off when she heard a soft, shaky laugh.

Anthy was laughing, leaning against Utena.  The sound was a little breathless and it stuttered, matching the shaking in the older woman's shoulders.  Utena waited, lowering her hand.

The woman next to her carefully dabbed tears out of the corner of her eyes and looked up with a smile.  "Thank you," she said turning to embrace Utena fully.  The firefighter returned it, still trying not to squish the documents in between them.

"You're going to do great, babe," Utena repeated encouragingly.  "Just wow them like you do everyone else.  It's natural for you."

"Thank you, darling."  Visibly gathering herself, Anthy smiled at her girlfriend before turning back to the door of the clinic.  "I guess I'll be done in half an hour.  That's how long these take, right?"

"On average, yeah.  I'll get us something to eat while you're in there.  Gilardi's okay?"

"Yes, that will be fine."

"Okay, I'll see you in a little bit."  One last grin, tinged with nerves, and then Anthy practically marched up to the glass door and went inside.  Utena stayed standing on the sidewalk for another second or two, and then she began her walk down to the restaurant.

The delicious smell of sandwiches, a little bickering with George, and enjoying the heat of the room left her feeling more cheerful.  She waited to order the food until it was closer to time and when it came out she grabbed the bag and strolled out of the shop.  Arriving at the clinic again, she leaned against a parking meter and checked her watch as she thought over what was going on.

She chose the clinic because it was the least of many evils.  Anthy didn't like people, but she loved animals.  She knew how to take care of animals, and Utena had never seen her happier at Ohtori than when she was with her unusual pets.  Come to think of it, all she ever had were unusual pets.  Weird even.  Fitting, she thought, and smiled.  Weird pets for a weird girl.

Who could say if this kind of job would suit Anthy in the slightest?  The Rose Bride would have put up with anything, did put up with anything, but what could Anthy handle?  Utena sighed, checking her watch a second time.  She supposed they would just have to wait and see.

  Anthy emerged from the clinic fifteen minutes later, and Utena pushed off the parking meter where she had been waiting.  She watched her girlfriend's face carefully as she approached her.  Anthy noticed, and to Utena's surprise, she started to laugh.  The dark woman's free hand hovered over her mouth as she laughed openly.  Utena was relieved, and she smiled as she wrapped her arms around Anthy.

"What're you giggling about, missy?" She said, in a funny accent that made Anthy laugh harder into her shoulder.  People looked their way oddly, but Utena ignored them.  Anthy pulled back and kissed her on the cheek.

"Your face," she chuckled.  "Were you worried for me, Utena?"

The firefighter shrugged.  "Not too much.  Just wanted to know you were okay."  She kissed Anthy's temple, eliciting a peaceful sigh from the witch.

"Thank you for your concern, my love.  But you were right.  It went swimmingly.  I feel… good."

"Glad to hear it.  Hopefully, you'll hear back from them soon.  Meantime, you still hungry?"

  Anthy got the job.  It didn't surprise Utena in the slightest, of course, but she was surprised at just how quick the call back was.  She supposed Anthy, in her special way, made a better impression than most.

She started the following Monday, walking with a barely perceptible bounce in her step that made Utena smile.  Anthy was excited, nervous yet happy, and seeing it was so new and wonderful that Utena couldn't help but bounce too.  Her worries had been replaced with cautious optimism, knowing that Anthy would thrive in an environment with more animals than people.  Anthy still wasn't quite comfortable walking outside alone, so Utena accompanied her on her own way to work.  When they arrived at the clinic, Anthy turned around to face Utena and took a careful breath.

Utena smiled encouragingly and rubbed her shoulders.  "Are you ready?" She asked.

Anthy exhaled and nodded.  "Yes."

"Good," Utena said, withdrawing her hands and putting them in her pockets.  "If you get some time during your lunch break or something, throw a phone call my way.  Let me know how the day is going."

"Of course, darling," Anthy said.  After pecking Utena once on the cheek, she turned and walked into the clinic.  Utena stood silently for a moment, staring at the door as it slowly closed, before she too turned to continue her way to the firehouse a few blocks down the street.

She pushed through the front door and immediately went over to the dispatch desk, where an older woman sat typing briskly on a keyboard.  Her hair was dyed bright orange to hide the gray underneath and she wore exquisite make-up to cover up the little wrinkles that lined her face.

"Morning, Mary Ellen," Utena greeted, leaning against the wall next to the desk.

"Oh, good morning, baby girl!" Mary Ellen responded enthusiastically.  Her voice was as rough as the gravel the team tracked in every time they came back from a call.  Whenever someone pointed out the irony of her career choice, Mary Ellen would always say "Smoking is like a first husband: complete trash but hard to throw out."  Utena thought it made her uniquely qualified for her position as the best damn dispatcher in the county.  "Didya have a good Thanksgiving, sweetie?"

Utena shrugged.  "As good as ever.  What about you?  Were you able to see your grandkids?"

"Oh now that's a story!" Mary Ellen said with a laugh.  "But you've got no time for that now.  Come visit me during lunch.  I'll talk your ear off!"

Utena snickered as she was waved off.  She walked out of the dispatch office and down the main hallway of the station to where the common area was.  She could already see some of her team sitting in the set of couches and armchairs, watching footage from yesterday's rounds on a big flat screen.  They looked around when she made noise by pulling out a chair from the lunch table to watch.

"Hey, girl," greeted Henry as he reached one burly arm back to high five her.  Next to him was David, who turned around to fist-bump her in way of greeting.  In the armchair to the right of the screen sat Antonia, the only other female fighter at their station.  Antonia was much like Utena herself, a tall and muscular woman with flowing black hair and golden dark skin denoting her strong Italian heritage.

"You're rolling in a little late this morning, ain't ya?" Antonia commented.

Utena shrugged.  "Had to see my girlfriend off to her new job.  She's still getting used to the city."  That was putting it mildly.  Utena turned to face the last member of the team present in the room.  "Morning, Ricardo," she said, watching the man in the other armchair.

"Morning," he said without looking away from the television screen.  No one could kick him for his tone choice, but it was obvious to anyone with ears that he was trying to ignore her.  David certainly noticed, and he reached back to give Utena a sympathetic thunk on the back.

Utena sighed softly, trying not to let frustration poison her mood.  Ricardo was her ex.  Okay, well, not her "ex" exactly.  They were never even close to being an item, whatever he may have thought.  He was the first part of the double fling Utena had had last summer.  They had shared a single night together, both of them drunk and making poor decisions in a dive bar.  She regretted it dearly, especially when he seemed to take it as cue to ask her out.  She didn't remember much of that night, but she thought she had told him nothing else could happen.  In any case, it was far from her finest moment, and Utena worried over how long the ice between them would last.  Nothing would change today, though, so she tried to put it aside.

The morning progressed sluggishly, with no calls coming in.  Utena had backed out of playing cards with David, instead sitting alone in one of the armchairs, nursing a cup of coffee.  She didn't much care for coffee, but had learned to put up with it when she found she couldn’t stomach tea after waking up in the hospital.  It took several years for her to overcome that strange aversion, and by then she'd been drinking coffee too long to pull away from it.  Tea was still unbearable in summer, which didn't help anything.

She let out a slow, quiet breath.  Summer.  She hated it, and that never failed to make her sad.  She didn't remember much of her birth parents anymore, nothing more than half-imagined flashes and approximations, but she remembered that she used to love summer.  The sun, the heat, vacations, and all that.  But ever since Ohtori, summer was something to be dreaded, a weighty and lingering curse, unavoidable and unforgiving.  Utena never felt more alone nor more hopeless than when she could feel the heat in the air and look up into a bright blue sky.

She'd heard of seasonal depression, sure, everyone had, but all of those stories were about winter; scientists talking about vitamin deficiencies and the psychological impact of colder temperatures and less daylight.  Can't relate, she thought with bitter humor.  Since Ohtori, she preferred the cold.  Since Ohtori, she preferred the dark.

The first episode hit hard and fast with the end of May nine years ago.  She had been sent to her first foster home, and though most of her memories were hazy she clearly recalled the desolation she felt in every sultry afternoon, the sharp-edged emptiness that she could not explain to anyone, least of all herself.  When her mood had begun to improve with the first morning frost, she had rejoiced, thinking the trouble over, only for the next May to drag her back down mercilessly.  Each subsequent summer was worse than the last without fail, as her memories returned and the feeling of her loss intensified.  Things came to a head this past summer before she ran into Ricardo by chance while getting smashed.  Maybe the alcohol was ultimately to blame, but as they drank and talked and fucked, he made her forget her jagged past, her shattered heart, and the rope she had bought from the hardware store just hours earlier.  Utena had never told Ricardo exactly what he did for her that night.  She wasn't certain how he would respond to such a confession, so she kept it to herself.

Her coffee was getting cold.  She grimaced and got up to toss it out.  She made a mental note to ask Mary Ellen to buy some tea.  She noticed it was lunchtime when she checked her watch, and went to grab the food she had packed.  Her phone rang just as she was sitting down at the table.  "Hey, babe," she greeted Anthy as her free hand unwrapped her meal.

"Hello, darling."  Anthy's lovely voice brought speedy relief to Utena, as it always did.  "How are things at the station?"

"Eh, boring, no action yet today.  But what about you?  Save any fluffy lives yet?" She joked.

Over the line, Anthy giggled.  "Nothing so dramatic, just simple appointments."

"Dogs?  Cats?  Unicorns?"  Utena smiled widely as Anthy laughed again.

"If someone brings in a unicorn, you'll be the first to know.  Two cats and three dogs.  Someone had a beautiful python, but I wasn't able to help with that one."

"Figures you'd be more interested in the unusual pet," Utena teased.

"Oh the dogs and cats were lovely too," Anthy said.  "But it's been a busy morning.  Did you remember to eat?"

"Eating right now, babe.  You?"

"Yes.  I only have an hour to eat.  Is that common in this world?"

"Kind of, yeah.  Most places give you 45 minutes to an hour."

"How quaintly arbitrary," Anthy commented.

Utena chuckled.  "Probably don't let your boss hear you say that, just to be safe.  Speaking of, how are your coworkers?  Things going well?"

"As far as introductions go, yes.  They seem… amiable."  There was a pause, and Utena could picture Anthy sitting at a table with her phone and her salad and that trademark pensive expression on her face.

"Well, that's good to hear.  Do you have to get back to work soon?" She asked after peeking at her watch.

"In a moment," Anthy said.  "What shall we do tonight, my love?"

Utena hummed thoughtfully.  "You ever seen 101 Dalmatians?"

"That's an oddly specific number of Dalmatians to see tog---"

"No, no, babe! The movie, 101 Dalmatians," Utena clarified with a laugh.

"Oh.  Then no, darling, I haven't."

"That's our plan for the evening," Utena said, grinning.

"Very well, Utena.  I… look forward to it.  But I should get back to my duties.  Be safe, my love."

"You too, Anthy.  Watch out for Jack Russell Terriers.  I hear they like to bite.  Love you."

"I love you too.  See you soon!"

"Bye," Utena said before she hung up.  One conversation with Anthy, and just like that her day was good again.  She hoped that never changed.  Anthy's voice was like a brisk hand batting away the sadness and frustrations bothering Utena like insects, letting her finish her food in peace.  There still hadn't been any calls for their team, so Utena took a little extra time before she went to work on the trucks.

The thought of summer still lingered.  Utena wondered what might happen next summer, now that Anthy was here at her side.  It was her grief that dragged her down so deep into the abyss, her pain over losing Anthy and her self-loathing over her many failures.  The guilt, not unlike a million swords, was pervasive and ever-present.  But Anthy was here now.  Anthy was here, safe, free, and she didn't blame Utena for what had happened.  Amazing, really, that Anthy could be so forgiving, dismissive even, of her mistakes.  Utena did not agree, but it was hard to be angry about the warmth and peace forgiveness brought.

Summer was a long ways off, but for the first time in a decade, Utena felt herself looking forward to it.  Tentatively, with extreme caution, but with surging hope as well.  If she had Anthy, she could survive it.  If she had Anthy, she could survive anything.  She was sure of that.

Suddenly the bells in the station were ringing, and she jumped to her feet.  She strode to the suit-up station and threw on her gear before running out to the trucks.  Mary Ellen told them the address over the radio as they peeled out from the garage.  Utena settled into her working groove, becoming alert and focused, but not before she had a cheerful thought about 101 Dalmatians.

[raguna-blade]

Revolutionary Girl Utena Episode 16-20

Welp, after last weeks hot bullshit, things have taken a minor upshot. Minor, in that things are still uh... Well.

Episode 16

GODDAMNIT AGAIN? ITS BEEN LIKE TWO EPISODES?

What hell is coming this time. C'mon. I got it. I'm cool. We're ready.

...Anthy late night infomercials....Uh. Curious choice of entertaintment.

Nanami's about to get called out for infomercial shopping sin't she?

Yep.

Juri immediately rolls in and styles on everyone.

Nanami's about to try and pass this. uh...cowbell off as jewelery

and

God. She's trying. She's trying so hard.

And I know anthy is behind this somehow. But damn Nanami. You're...Well...

Ok, so so far the filler hasn't been filler and is she just wearing the duelist suit out and about?

For real though, if the filler thing holds.

Oh she just admits it's a designer cowbell. Ok. Well...Damn. She's got the mad confidence to try and pull this off. Go her then. Fuck all the haters.

But still and for real, it's a cowbell nanami.

Oh hey it's the boy. Mitsuru trying his best.

Utena trying to spit the truth and people pulling bullshit trying to silence the truth.

….What. What the hell is going on here. She got turned into a cow...? There's..There's a song?

And we got the mad silhouettes. Her last meal?

Her last meal? God, i'm not sure I want to try and analyze this episode right now. I'm 100% sure the context won't occur until like the last episode or some shit but.

Is...Is she...Is she turning into a cow...? by wearing the bell...?

SHADOW GIRLS? OFF BRAND SHADOW GIRLS

muck my life are the filler episodes just supposed to be keys dressed up stupidly so we don't look at em closely.

And they're just..They're just going fucking in on this aren't they.

Why the hell did he go to Anthy and Utena. Mitsuru what do you knowwwwwwwwwwwwww

...Is she legit fucking cursed with this (Apparently?) pretty ass bell.

REAL SHADOW GIRSL? Squeak queak mouse girls...Uh..

Uh...Wait, with anthy as mouse thing last episode what is...what is happening.

Nanami slowly becoming  a cow.

Utena: Take the Cowbell off Anth-Nananmi.

Oh my god it is a fucking metaphor. It's...

Oh my god oh my god it is. Utena's spiel here sounds a lot like STOP PRETENDING TO BE A ROSE BRIDE BEING A ROSEBRIDE OR WHATEVER.

Also...Seeing Red and flipping out is a Bull thing, so the Rosebride thing is 100% and she just turned into a fucking cow..

And the imagery with the cutting the cowbell off and nanami turning...normal reads like a black row.

Chasing Status Symbols is BS: JURI FULL OF THE BLING

Anthy 100% DID THIS ON PURPOSE. The Nose Ring.

Ah next episode. Trifling territory once more.

Episode 17

Old Girlfriend(Crush?) Blues?

Juri just out here beastin on people. So Business as usual.

Oh, that's the face of shit about to go down.

And She just fucking dipped. I'm sure it was fine.

People can just LEAVE Ohtori? That's a thing?

Shiori: I did in fact, fuck up real bad. Also I don't got a roommate which is...

oh Hey, it's Dude Anthy and Utena.

Hurting yourself on Purpose...? huh.

Nanami out here questioning people's gimmicks.

….Is..Is the sword thing supposed to be sexual? Oh god. How the fuck did I miss that. Also Nanami, please stop aping your brother it's weird.

Shiori, you LEGIT stole her man. Which she wasn't even into, but god.

Did that Bird Kill itself running into the window? Uh...? uhhhhhhhhh.

Utena. You..you do not know what you're stepping into god.

OH GOD PLEASE JUST STAY AWAY FROM HIM. I AM BEGGING YOU.

Talking about Innocence and purity. UUUUUUUUUUGH.

YES THANK GOD SHOWER OF SADNESS SO MUCH BETTER.

….Oh fuck is Juri about to get got by the Black Rose jerks?

Oh, this is not how she wanted this to go down

FUCK HELLINTERVIEW TIME

Hated Juri. ok.

What's with the butterfly regression. Dear god. These freak outs are just...

Your only choice is to revolutionze, hey, no, that's super not fucking true. That's some edgecase bullshit. Uuuuuugh.

Uh. Uh. What the FUCK is going on with these roses I swear to god.

….Have all of these been in her goddamn locker?

….Whats...what? Wait did she just acknowledge the shadow girls? Assuming I just didn't miss it is it like...Utena getting closer understanding to...Whatever weird bullshit magic field that exists in ohtori?

….Birds huh. Are the black roses supposed to be like...I guess the Jungian Shadow thing? Huh.

EVEN LIGHT MAKES DARKNESS? What the...

Wait, does sword stealing grant the sword's....owner? Their talent? Anthy...?

Also, are we EVER going to get a reaction to the weirdness.

Bird in the oven. And...Juri just waking up

Wait a fucking second. Anthy just offerred up...analysis? Of a person? Conversation partner.

Episode 18

Nanami out here asking the real fucking questions. WHY SO SERIOUS GUYS THIS SHITS OBJECTIVELY HILARIOUS.

Oh god is Mitsuru the next duelist? Is Utena Going to fight an EVEN YOUNGER CHILD?

ROSES ARE VERY SENSITVE TO THE CHANGES OF THE SEASONS. Given the roses seem to be kinda like...people representatives that's..

Also, Anthy, sympathizing with the boy who wants to be the...servant? Boytoy? What.

Also, why is nanami consistently got the fucking reads when she isn't up her own ass?

Mitsuru ACT LIKE A KID, says nanami.

Mitsuru: It's...Just a banana. I don't get it. BUT THE INDIRECT KISS THOUGH.

Mikage Seminar. AGAIN.

Those Three Dudes. Wait.

GOD FUCKING DAMNIT. PLEASE DON”T

AKIO: AS THE STARS AGE THEY LOSE THEIR SHINE.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaajustdon'tstopscreaming.

...wait elevato-no. But we got a black rose. Are...

Wait are the black roses specific people or are they more generalized.

Mitsuru is trying so hard. He's a hardcore kid, but he's trying damnit.

Girl: This is gonna end badly. You're Real Dumb

Proven Right Immediately. She's got the reads.

Mitsuru: ADULT THINGS! BEIN AN ADULT!

Nanami, are you jealous? Of a Kid?

Nanami: you shouldnt be in a rush. You don't gotta be an adult.

OH BOY ELEVATOR TIME.

Mitsuru has such a crush, it's cute and he doesn't know what to do and he's just gotta ride those feels. Puberty is apparently rough for him.

Mitsuru break the world fuck it.

Uh...the framing here is...um. Disquieting in a weird way?

KNIFE AND SWORD and what the fuck is with the rose...?

Shadow Time: The Metaphor is uh...pretty on the nose here.

And Utena is 100% reacting to the shadow girls.

Anywya, time to beat up a child.

Oh he just fucking oes. Just like Nanami in fairness but.

Wait. Heed your master and come forth. Like the phrasing suggests the duelist but...Anthy is the one who calls the sword. Uh..hm.

Defeat the adults ahead of you that's an adult? Huh.

So, I checked it, but the bodies seem to be mirrors of the people who got dueled. So...That's interesting.

Did...Did nanami just catch feels from the kid? Ok. Well. Alright.

Episode 19

Wakaba Prince Dreams. Nice.

Wakaba gonna make someone a nice wife. Huh. Wakaba, don't take that out of his hands.

Onion Prince.

Brown Rose Wakaba? ok.

You...you gonna give that her? It's for her. Wakab, you of all should know better.

...Y'all got some history wakaba? Oh. She crushed on him when little. Baw.

HOW MANY TIMES ARE THEY GONNA REPEAT THAT!?

4 times?

Tatsuya tryin I guess, but hm. I sense a hellavator ride.

PLAYIN AROUND WITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENT.

POT MEET KETTLE God.

Please. Just...get out. I beg you. Anthy's there but...

Thinly Veiled BUT SECRET HEARTS: IMMEDIATELY VIEW ANTHY.

Wakaba, you've got guts for days, you got this just spit it out.

Utena don't call wakaba out like this.

Also, Her prince is REAL THANK YOU MUCH.

The Utena Tea Sip I need as a reaction gif. Just...

Damn Tats, you dense. Also, dumb. The Indirectness. Kid. Just...Tell her.

...So princes change from person to person? Huh.

THE FAKE OUT. Thank goodness. But Shadow girls. Uh...hm.

Are...are the tires..Princes...? Wha..

her reacting to the shadow girls is weirding me out hard.

Oh god is this gonna be a cute moment? OH THEYRE GETTING CLOSER!

WHOA THE FAKE OUT AGAIN.

TATSUYA YOU STAY OUT OF THERE GODDAMNIT

Hooboy.Hellavatored.

Uh...Uh tats. You...

Wait, is the elevator going up?

Huh. So...The Elevator is praying on darkness? OK.

SAIONJI IS BACK. THATS WAKABA'S PRINCE!

So...That might work poorly. Or maybe it'll be fine?

That's A Dueling Wakab, so no, not great.

Episode 20

Wait, is Saionji just bumming at her house? Dorm room?

Saionji confirmed to be attractive to many so...MK.

...Are they off campus?

She's legit storing this boy in her room.

I...ok. That home exchange was weird.

I can't tell if Saionji is pulling a woe is me thing or if he's legit had a turn of heart.

I mean I guesss he's had to think things through.

JUST PRAYING TO GOD. SUPER RELIGIOUS YEP SUPES TOTES INTO GOD YEAH

...How is he glistening like that.

But Wakaba, like he's still a dick. So...What...how. Do you just got the bad taste?

As Long as I have this secret I'm special! Oh...hoooooooooooboy.

Oh no, saionji sounds jerky still. Oh no. maybe it's fine.

...Is...Is she his sugar momma. And apparently this caused wakaba to just go super mode somehow so that's...interesting.

The lighting here is making this otherwise innocuous exchange weird.

Why are you doing a back bridge in this room? Also...please. Get out of there.

Saionji...? That's..actually kinda sweet. STILL GOT A BAD VIBE GOIN ON HERE.

Saionji asking bout the student council. And...he asked about anthy. Welp. Welllllp.

Welp. Oh no. wakaba. Wakabaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Mikage how the hell did you get there?

Saionji, immediately on the uptake.

HELLAVATOR TIME. Also, damn saionji, you given out the same gift?

I seem to recall Wakaba slapping Anthy, so that's just foreshadowing now.

Oh she looks like she's gonna murder.

Saionji gave mikage the thing so....

SHE JUST GRABBED HIM BY THE THROAT

SHADOW TIME

Marriage uh..ok.

Also, Saionji is, in fact, a fucking dip, but he does at least seem to have a solid grasp on gift giving. Or at least what's owed and such, even if he misses the value of things. So...Ok, credit where it's due.

Wait, that was a shinai right? Is this...is this Utena Vs Saionji from the otherside now? With Utena as the Established duelist with the weird sword?

Yeah that's a face of shock.

Anthy: GET SWORD RIGHT THE FUCK NOW DO IT NOW HOLY SHIT DO IT NOW.

Wakaba CAME IN TO KILL ANTHY FUCK THIS DUEL SHIT.

SHE IS NOT REMOTELY PLAYING AROUND. Nanami? Playing games. Wakaba? NOT FUCKING AROUND IN THE LEAST.

Second Duel(?) Utena has won without the cursed ass holy sword thing. I think. Third. Rather.

Saionji feelin himself.

Poor wakaba. She looks so...done.

[recentanimenews]

6 Surprisingly Normal Jobs That Probably Exist in Anime Series

When it comes to anime (or any type of fiction), we're willing to suspend a lot of disbelief. That's a good thing; if we couldn't let ourselves believe that giant robots or magical girls or huge Titans could exist, we wouldn't have much fun. Sometimes, though, we can't help but have questions about the world of the anime we're watching—and not necessarily about big things like how magic or science work there.

  It's the little things that spring to mind when you're watching shows like Naruto or Pokémon: things that the characters in those worlds would likely take for granted, but that must be part of their daily lives in order for their worlds to work the way they do. Just like we have tech support to keep our computer-centric world running, the worlds of anime must have a few highly specialized jobs behind the scenes, right?

  We couldn't help but think of a few as we watched some of our favorite shows. Have you ever wondered about things like this in your favorite anime? Let us know in the comments what unusual jobs you think would be common—and necessary—in the worlds of your favorite anime!

  Ninja Headband Makers (Naruto)

A ninja's headband is an important part of who they are. It shows their dedication to their village, indicates that they are a trained shinobi, and also protects the forehead (unless their opponent uses magnet jutsu, of course). With the omnipresence and importance of the headband, clearly there must be someone—or rather, several people—making them on the regular.

  While this could be handled by blacksmiths along with weapons like kunai and throwing stars, we prefer to imagine there are headband shops that specialize in churning these out. Imagine a teacher ordering a box before graduation, or a newly-established village submitting their choice of design to make sure it isn't already taken. They already have custom fasteners; maybe they make novelty ones for parties, too.

   Rose Breeders (Revolutionary Girl Utena)

The great thing about Ohtori Academy (besides all the swordfighting and epaulets) is that it's pretty upscale... meaning that even ridiculously specialized professionals are affordable if necessary. That's a good thing when you've got an entire campus political system that requires the destruction of highly customized flowers on a regular basis.

  Tending the roses, as we've seen, is pretty much handled. But what about getting those colors just right to match each Student Council member's hair... er, theme? You could put white roses in food coloring, but we have a feeling Ohtori's Finest would prefer the real deal off their own custom rosebushes—and that means breeding and hybridizing unusually colored roses.

  That's especially impressive considering there is no recessive gene that will make roses grow naturally blue... so whatever they've managed for Miki is some high-level science.

  Pokéball R&D (Pokémon)

You know that feeling you get when you throw a Pokéball and have to wait for it to finish twitching to see if you've actually caught that Pokémon? Imagine that, but in real life and with a ball you've probably paid a fair amount of real money for.

  Pokéballs are as essential to Pokémon trainers as our own smartphones are to us. They're a bit similar culturally, after all: we take them everywhere with us, they store all our important stuff, and there's nothing scarier than thinking you've either lost it entirely or the contents have disappeared. Oh, and they're always coming out with newer, better ones.

  Considering how essential they are, we're pretty sure there are Pokéball beta testers whenever a new one comes out. We're also pretty sure they get paid in either college credits or "experience."

    Highly Specialized Therapists (Sailor Moon)

Living in the world of Sailor Moon means coming to terms with some seriously weird facts about yourself. As an innocent bystander in that series, your body would contain (in addition to the usual bones and muscle and stuff) a Dream Mirror, a Star Seed, and a Heart Crystal. Besides having those things stolen or corrupted, you could have your energy drained or be turned into a youma.

  The Sailor Guardians may keep their identities and overall mission fairly under wraps, but there's only so long a city can be under attack before people start realizing there's more putting them at risk than standard illnesses. Powers like Moon Healing Escalation take care of that initially, but you're going to find yourself with a fairly big group of people wanting answers for why they have these extra organs in their body that monsters can just take.

We've yet to meet a holistic therapist who'd be equipped for that sort of thing in the real world, but we imagine after a year or so there would be some practices springing up to help with post-Star Seed extraction and coping with the fact that you were a youma for a night and trashed your own shop. We hope so, anyway.

    Police Recruiters (Lupin the 3rd)

To be fair, there are absolutely police recruitment drives in the real world. But what if you had to get a whole bunch of cops really quickly?

Fans of Lupin the 3rd know that wherever you see Inspector Zenigata, approximately 75 fully-armed police officers can't be far behind (usually as soon as the camera pans out). That's because he knows his long-time nemesis is just that good, and he's going to need all the help he can get to bring in the world's greatest thief. Never mind that he's only managed to accomplish this a handful of times in the last half century, and then only temporarily.

  Recruiting police officers is all well and good. Constantly recruiting lots of police officers specifically to go on international trips with Inspector Zenigata? Probably not so easy. Everyone already knows what he does for a living, and if you're going to work under him, you will be crammed into one of 15 tiny police cars chasing down a yellow Fiat before the month is out. Whoever can fill out those ranks (on a regular basis, since we imagine turnover is pretty high) must be an exceptional recruiter.

  Architects and Designers (The Promised Neverland)

WANTED: Fans of early 20th century history and literature to research and designs orphanages. Must be as historically accurate as possible and hold many snacks. I mean children.

  The deceptively idyllic premium farms of The Promised Neverland were designed specifically to give children the happiest, healthiest, most enriching life possible. The setting is straight out of vintage American literature like Anne of Green Gables and Daddy Long Legs, from the furniture in the orphanage to Mom's uniform.

  A lot of time and effort went into making Grace Field and other farms like it as perfect as possible. It's for horrifying reasons, but it's also pretty impressive. Clearly the designers understood both the actual design elements of the time and the fictional depictions that made homes like these so enchanting to children. Though it's probably easier not to think about why they're doing it.

  What do you think goes on in the background of your favorite anime? Give us your thoughts in the comments!

    -----

Kara Dennison is a writer, editor, and interviewer with bylines at VRV, We Are Cult, Fanbyte, and many more. She is also the co-founder of Altrix Books and co-creator of the OEL light novel series Owl's Flower. Kara blogs at karadennison.com and tweets @RubyCosmos.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com