* Visual * Rose Signet *
This set contains 12 images; this page contains 7.
The song 'Bara no Kokuin (Rose Signet)', a haunting instramental piece, begins to play softly in the background. Rose petals float over Utena's hand, and suddenly begin dropping on the rose garden like rain.
Utena looks up, startled, and notices a square platform high above Ohtori Academy from which the petals are falling. It's the first time she sees the dueling grounds, and she asks herself what it could be.
An elevator chimes and the gates slide open with a loud clatter, reminiscent of the opening gates to the dueling arena in the television series. The iron gridwork is slightly dizzying for a brief moment.
Utena looks up a long stairway leading up to the dueling grounds. Slowly, she starts to ascend the stairs, then as she grows more confident, her steps become more sure.
At the very top of the stairway is the silhouette of another gate, decorated with the familiar rose seen embellishing the entrance to the dueling arena in the television series.
The first thing Utena sees upon reaching the dueling grounds is that it is full of roses in every shape and form. She pauses at the entrance, and the image pans across the grounds, showing only one color: red.
The camera pans back, showing a side view of the dueling platform. It's much simpler than the one from the television series but is still the highest point at Ohtori Academy. Rose petals continue to fall from its height onto the school below.
