"Shôjo kakumei Utena" (1997) TV series

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Kunihiko Ikuhara

Writers:

Yoji Enokido (writer)
Kunihiko Ikuhara (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

2 April 1997 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

A tomboyish schoolgirl finds herself forced into repeated duels for another girl who has a role in a world revolution.

Plot Keywords:

Duel | Revolution | Prince | School | Rose

Cast

Leah Applebaum	...	Nanami Kiryuu (1 episode)
Sharon Becker	...	Anthy Himemiya (1 episode)
Roxanne Beck	...	Wakaba Shinohara (1 episode)
Mandy Bonhomme	...	Female Teacher / ... (1 episode)
Crispin Freeman	...	Dios / ... (1 episode)
Yuriko Fuchizaki	...	Anthy Himemiya (1 episode)
Aya Hisakawa	...	Miki Kaoru (1 episode)
Yuka Imai	...	Touga's mother / ... (1 episode)
Tomoko Kawakami	...	Utena Tenjô (1 episode)
Satomi Koorogi	...	Chuchu / ... (1 episode)
Takehito Koyasu	...	Touga Kiryuu (1 episode)
Takeshi Kusao	...	Kyôichi Saionji (1 episode)
Rachael Lillis	...	Chu-Chu / ... (1 episode)
Kotono Mitsuishi	...	Jury Arisugawa (1 episode)
Yuri Shiratori	...	Nanami Kiryû (1 episode)
Jack Taylor	...	Kyôichi Saionji (1 episode)
Jimmy Zoppi	...	Miki Kaoru (1 episode)

Also Known As:

Girl Revolution Utena (USA)
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Rose Collection (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

24 min (39 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16

Trivia:

Chu-chu is a monkey. This is easier to see in the manga, where he has more hair. Also, in episode 8, when Saionji and Chu-chu switch places, he is seen in a tree eating a banana.

Goofs:

Continuity: In episode 8, the thick white stripe on the bottom of Nanami's skirt disappears when she is hugging Touga. It re-appears in the other scenes.

Quotes:

Mitsuru Tsuwabuki: [holding a banana and talking about Nanami] As long as she eats this, I'm satisfied.
Mari Hozumi: [slap] That's gross!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Die Another Day (2002)

An incredibly surreal series.

Utena is one of the more original television series, animated or not, to be released in the past several years. The characters are portrayed with a large amount of flair, yet are still shown to be very complex, especially later on into the series. It's a shame that Software Sculptors has only released the first thirteen episodes in the U.S since most of the complexity doesn't appear until after this point. Hopefully, having just released the theatrical Utena film (another excellent piece), Software Sculptors will get around to releasing the remaining episodes to the American audience.