* Introduction *
To be a prince...
This dream is the basis behind the Utena story line. From this simple wish comes a highly complex story with more twists than a preztel, characters from all ends of the earth, and endings that seems to delight in baffling the audience.
For the power to revolutionize the world...
This power is the unifying concept behind the series. Everyone is battling each other to gain this power - but what exactly does this power give you? For what reasons are people willing to fight? Is it truely worth the battle?
Roses mean Love...
The rose is the symbol most easily and constantly assigned to Utena. Everything is roses. There's the Rose Bride, the Rose Garden, the Rose Signet, the Black Rose arc. Flower petals float in the sky while rose signets flash on people's fingers and ironwork grills of roses decorate the scenery. Roses symbolize love, don't they? Everlasting and pure love. But love is not always easy to come by, and not always easy to get out of. Dangerous relationships crop up all over the place, and tangled webs are linked to everyone's hearts.
Meet Tenjou Utena. She's a student at the classy Ohtori Academy. Somewhere, somehow, she gains a ring - the Rose Signet - that is her passport into a whirling world of duels and rose petals. This ring has the power to bring the World Revolution - but only if she can win the duel and become engaged to the Rose Bride.
Meet Himemiya Anthy. She's the Rose Bride (Bara no Hanayome), an enigma. The little sister of the Academy's director, Akio. She's got more secrets in her past than you can shake a rose at. She carries the Sword of Dios in her, yet another object with the power of the World Revolution. She's at the center of the duels but never fights in them - instead, she is awarded to the winner, becoming engaged to him - or her. But why? What is her say in the deal?
Meet the members of Ohtori Academy. The members of the Student Council are at the top of the hierarchy, and all of them have Rose Signets, signaling that they, too, are players in the power struggle for the World Revolution. But what are their motives? Why are they involved? How did they get their Rose Signets? And don't forget the other students. Are they your best friend... or your most dangerous foe?
Meet Akio. He's the director of the Academy, the mastermind behind the whole struggle. He's also Anthy's older brother, and like his sister, his past is dark and full of dangerous secrets. Why does he want the World Revolution? What is his role? Who is the strange Dios that appears?
Welcome to the world of Ohtori Academy, where every day contains a new duel, every person has hidden intentions, and rose petals dance in the air to the chiming of the bells. A strange story, it usually leaves audiences craving more or hating it on sight. It's not your normal 'magical girl' story. In fact, it plays jokes on many of them. And just when you thought it couldn't get any stranger... think again.
This is Shoujo Kakumei Utena. It is a popular television series with 39 episodes. And one movie.
The movie isn't a continuation, although the television series' ending leaves that open for the imagination (or the doujinshi artists and fanfic writers) to expand on. Instead, it is an entirely new retelling of the television series.
Old veterans of the television series will enjoy it immensely, for there are subtle hints of the television series scattered liberally throughout. The story is sufficiently different to provide lots of exploration as the plot progresses. New viewers will still enjoy it, but may feel confused (well, more than usual, as this IS Utena we're talking about) about the rushed character introductions. The movie assumes you know something about the series and gets straight to the plot with little playing around - necessary, for it's only an hour and a half long. People either love it or hate it. What will you think after it finishes?
This is Shoujo Kakumei Utena. The movie.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
