Anime Review: Revolutionary girl Utena the movie

Review Revolutionary girl Utena the movie

It is the first day of school for Utena Tenjou at Ohtori academy. She is a woman who is haunted by her past love Touga. As if by mere coincidence she sees a white rose and inside it is a ring. Wandering around she sees a strange platform with roses. When she gets there she finds a woman named Anthy attending the roses and a man that controls her. After winning a duel to free Anthy Utena finds that she now has the same powers over her as her previous "owner".

The Revolutionary girl Utena movie at first glance appears to be a supplementary movie. Unlike many movies of this type it is a completely separate story using characters that are familiar to those who have watched the television show. Also unlike many movies of this type it loses none of the emotional impact and intensity that the parent series has. This is a complex movie with symbolism so thick you can cut it with a knife. This is one you will probably have to watch more than once to completely understand.

The animation for this movie is simply exquisite in more ways than one. First of all it manages to utilize computer animation very well and still keep the complex line work that pervades the best of hand drawn animation. Not only are the visuals well done the subjects that they cover are powerful and rich in artistic symbolism. Add to this several quality songs including two dueling songs which is a style unique to Revolutionary girl Utena.

Although I would caution that the viewer should watch at least part of the television series before seeing this movie I would recommend this to any anime fan. Anime movies with this much artistic quality don't come around that often. I give Revolutionary Girl Utena the movie a rating of excellent/ fantastic.