#like there is no queer identity that is ‘integral’ to understanding any other character juri is the exception to that

[heartslobbf]

queer representation peaked with revolutionary girl utena because the show manages to deliver a nuanced portrayal of so many varied queer experiences through its characters without once restricting or rigidly defining them. it’s a show about adolescence— for that reason i think the one aspect of queer experience it misses out on is that of elder queers, adult queers, queers who don’t realise they’re queer until later in life, though you could argue the majority of the cast’s inability to reckon with their queer identity alludes to that— where none of its characters are able to define or recognise themselves as…… whatever. they’re all ‘up to interpretation’ but in this amazing flexible capacity where i can say ‘all of the main cast are in some way trans’ and someone else can say ‘utena is a cis woman’ and both can be fascinating interpretations of the text. revolutionary girl utena is a show that touches every single queer person in giving them something to see themselves in, but it is also an exercise in seeing the ‘other’, and therefore encourages you to challenge what you would be most comfortable seeing; and i think in our age of hellscape discourse, the queer community could really do with a dose of ‘i don’t understand the nuances of your identity but that doesn’t matter because my understanding has no bearing on your existence or right to respect’. again, respect and compassion in the absence of understanding is a core value that the show encourages. ikuhara you genius. i love gay people