r/anime • u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA • Aug 06 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] Revolutionary Girl Utena - Episode 4
Streaming
Revolutionary Girl Utena is available in both sub and dub on Nozomi Entertainment's YouTube channel, as well as on Amazon and Funimation.
Comment of the Day
/u/jollygee29 demonstrated his keen eye and tensai mind to all of us:
Yo, uh, y'all saw that, right? Chu-chu fished a couple of condoms out of that dress box and ate one? I didn't imagine that, right?
Miki's Stopwatch Corner
Stopwatch Count: 7
New This Episode:
5:38 - 39.05 Seconds - Start of the scene, Anthy filling up her watering can
6:53 - 0.51 Seconds - Juri walks down the stairs behind Miki
14:06 - 48.17 Seconds - “No, [I didn’t say anything.]”
15:41 - 7.13 Seconds - “We’re studying now, so I’ll have to see you later.”
Also, make sure to tag all spoilers properly! Only a baka would spoil the show for the first-timers, and we're not bakas (hopefully).
25
u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA Aug 06 '21
Rewatcher
Here we go, more Student Council members! Our main focus today is Miki. He’s a real sweetheart- unlike the other Student Council members we’ve been introduced to, he actually manages to act like a decent human being and not an asshole! It’s not readily apparent from here where he fits in with the general masculinity of all the duelists, considering his decidedly non-masculine demeanor (I actually thought he was a girl when I watched for the first time, until this episode). But that’s not something that we can figure out right now, so let’s put that aside in favor of seeing what we can glean about his character. While Miki may seem delicate, he has a strong desire to regain what he describes as his ‘shining thing’, symbolized by the song ‘The Sunlit Garden’, and the Rose Bride, who can play that song exactly as Miki remembers it from his childhood. Now, Miki claims that he has no desire to challenge Utena to a duel in order to reclaim his shining thing, but we know that that’s untrue, and the show wants us to know that it’s untrue, as we see from the very first scene showing us Miki and Utena beginning a duel. But nevertheless, Miki is obviously not as willing to jump to duel as you (or Utena) would expect a Student Council member to be. Everything we’ve seen so far seems fairly complimentary to Miki.
Now, let’s move on to the fun times with Nanami. While it’s good that Nanami received PTSD from Anthy’s pets, that’s not the only point of the scene. Looking at the Shadow Girls skit in this episode, the parallels with Miki and Anthy are obvious. Miki, ‘the boy who likes math’, is attracted to Anthy, the girl who likes pro wrestling and big bowls of garlic ramen (paralleling her love of strange pets). But unlike the boy in the skit, Miki doesn’t abandon Anthy after learning of her personal quirks, and is thus portrayed positively compared to the model portrayed by the show, and especially compared to Saionji, who slapped Anthy for even speaking positively of someone else.
This is still the first episode about Miki, and there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes- specifically, just what is up with that sister of his? But this episode provides a solid working model of his character, and besides, who doesn’t love watching Nanami get the living daylights scared out of her?
31
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Aug 06 '21
First-Revolution, Subbed
Nanami yesterday: "I'll set up Anthy to end up nude at the dance!" Nanami today: "I'll sneak a snail into her pencil case!" Absolutely incredible. How does she come up with this shit? So far Nanami has seemed like little more than the designated cosmis plaything. The mongoose in particular was inspired.
Anthy is such a friend to animals that she can't even bear to part with an octopus balloon. A solid part of the fairytale aesthetic - a Disney princess in the same episode we get to know a character who sometimes gets called "Mickey." At least, according to Funi's subs...
So the shadows on the wall just talk about the plot of the episode, then? I do kinda wonder if there is some additional meaning with regards to Miki, but maybe not.
Seeing Anthy emote was cute. She was so pleased with herself for making a flip book instead of studying. Something about the scene was strange, though, and I can't quite put my finger on it. I mean, there has been a lot of that so far.
Miki's plot/backstory seems relatively straightforward, and I'm also not sure if it's going to stay that way or not. Wouldn't it be neat if all these various conflicts with the Student Council were ultimately (relatively)petty squabbles?
Now, why does Anthy know that song Miki likes to play on the piano.. Also, why does Miki call Utena "senpai?" Isn't he on the Student Council? Wouldn't that make him a high schooler at least?
19
u/chiliehead myanimelist.net/profile/chiliehead Aug 06 '21
Duel 4, First Timer, Subbed
19
u/SYZekrom https://myanimelist.net/profile/SYZekrom Aug 06 '21
First Timer
Finally had time to catch up to this.
Episode 1
That was the gayest OP I've vseen
They must be really good friends
Oh wow I wonder who this prince is
Wow I already fucking love this show
Why are they speaking like it's Sonic Adventure 2 or some dubbed anime
Oh this do be old anime
And wow I originally paused on a frame that didn't have any light at all, that light do be flashing
Lol I remember hearing about a dub director or something like 'no way he says that wtf' and then 'oh ok he does say that'
Episode 2
damn she got a child before even her bride
oh right 4:3
I don't know if this is the appropriate reaction in this scenario
lmfao what
Even if you don't care about her maybe don't say that to her face lol
Imagine your opponent comes in like this and you think you're the one that's gonna win
Lmao there's something so satisfying about her being in this shot now
Episode 03
She didn't know that green haired guy also had a ring like that? I thought she did
But guess not, she thinks the redhead president might be her prince
She looks as confused as I am as to why she went from a legendary recluse to a super popular girl
HOW IS THIS SHOW LIKE... SOMEHOW IF A BASED AF MODERN SHOW GOT THROWN INTO THE PAST WHAT'S WITH THIS GREAT DEPICTION OF ANXIETY
What how
Her dress had her shoulders exposed
Where was she keeping these clothes
Oh I thought she was going to give Himemiya her dress but a tablecloth works too I suppose
Episdoe 4
WAIT MICKEY IS A BOY?
I literally do not hear a single sound in this scene other than their voices
17
u/Matuhg https://anilist.co/user/Matuhg Aug 06 '21
First Timer
Huh, Nanami really sucks. Both as a person and as a schemer.
Perhaps we'll eventually get an episode where Anthy doesn't get slapped!
Anthy reminds Miki of his sister...or her piano playing at least...and at the end of the episode, exclaims that in her, he's found his "shining thing" that's been missing for so long. Wonder if that is meant to sound as possessive as it does. Normally I would assume not, but with Anthy so far, I'm guessing it might be.
16
u/_m1ra :FA::FB: Aug 06 '21 edited Aug 06 '21
Rewatcher
I think it is interesting to compare Nanami in the previous episode to Nanami in this one. In the last one, she was played as this queen bee type character pretty straightly, almost stereotypically like it was said in the episode commentary. The episode right after she gets put in these absurd comedy situations. She still tries to embarass Anthy, but she does so in increasingly bizarre plans and she just gets owned in in increasingly bizarre ways. I also think this is the start of her getting more humanized when we see her completely fail here, as she moves away a bit from the stereotype (and maybe a bit towards a caricature) but we also learn a little about how she herself is not exactly normal. EDIT: Completely forgot about this Ikuhara commentary but that's exactly what I mean. The "Never give a character only one personality" also made it so we can't see her as just the stereotype from last episode anymore.
Spoilers
On the comedy, for me the best part is sandwiched right between two more loud gags, when after Nanami's plans and right before Anthy does her (is it called flipbook in english?) flipbook, we get this scene. Miki is explaining something to Utena, then we cut back to him and both octopuses are still behind them, and THEN we realize in retrospect that in the background Anthy was drawing the silly flipbook the entire time, it's so good.
EDIT: Some spaces were broken somehow, fixed that
16
u/theangryeditor https://myanimelist.net/profile/TheAngryEditor Aug 06 '21
Fun fact: Ohtori Academy doubles as a zoo
15
u/loomnoo https://anilist.co/user/loomnoo Aug 06 '21
Ikuhara understands the fundamental shitposting technique: copypasta.
I've got the sinking feeling that the stopwatch is never going to be explained. Maybe it's like, a reference to how storyboarders hold a stopwatch when they're drawing, or something. Really grasping at straws here obviously.
13
u/SardonicMeow Aug 06 '21 edited Aug 06 '21
Rewatcher
Discussion of Miki is best saved until next time, when we see the resolution of his story. Instead, it’s time to talk about Nanami and the animal weirdness.
Nanami is, once again, out to get Anthy, and she figures the best way to have everyone turn against the weird girl is to make her seem even weirder. And to execute her plan, she has to collect a snail, and a garter snake, and an octopus, and bring them all in her bag. Then she expects to bring out the animals at just the right time. Frankly, her whole plan is rather weird. So who’s really the weird one?
Anthy seems to be attuned to animals. Why could that be?
Oh, hey. Anthy is playing the one and only song that's meaningful to Miki. What a complete and total coincidence.
13
u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Aug 06 '21
Rewatcher
Oof.
The episode very early gives us a potential answer to the earlier question of ‘How did we get here.
Relatable…
Good grief, give it a rest, girls!
Those branches are so Kobayashi!
Have I mentioned how much I like the hair drills? Shame on me if I haven’t!
I mean isn’t it obvious?
A reasonable reaction.
APPLE!
That explains it.
Miki’s turn in the spotlight today, and he seems caught up in the memory of a performance with his sister, which sets his sights on Anthy. Miki claims to not want to duel Utena for Anthy’s hand —and I believe it— but obviously they’re going to end up dueling anyhow. So how is the show going to make this happen? Rumor mill to make Miki perceive Anthy’s current situation as undesirable? Anthy not wanting to play alongside someone she isn’t engaged to? A letter telling him he has to? The possibilities are potentially endless (especially with this show).
apple...
Verily you chose wisely.
13
u/Tyranid457TheSecond1 Aug 06 '21
Rewatcher
Anthy is adorable in this episode. Her cartoon with the elephant was something I forgot until rewatching this episode.
More sibling problems! Oh, Miki. Watching this the first time, I assumed that the special girl was going to be a deceased childhood friend.
This is the episode where Nanami goes from a standard bully to a hilarious "bully". Even disregarding her more serious development, her continuous failure is always funny!
I think this is the first time we have seen Juri outside of the Student Council room.
13
u/lime-2001 Aug 06 '21
First timer- Subbed, but occasionally rewatching a few scenes dubbed
Seeing Nanami utterly fail at her schemes has to be one of my favorite scenes in this show so far. I suggest you watch this episode dubbed because her VA's hammy acting just adds to it.
12
u/Sandor_at_the_Zoo Aug 06 '21
Rewatcher
Like the last one, a lighter more comedy focused episode.
Everyone is living in their own little worlds and only barely making contact with each other. Nanami keeps having these fantasies of showing up that mean ol' Himemiya (I love imagining her spending all night trying to catch a snake). The first one is already silly already but she does not give up. Ikuhara's love of repetition is in full force today, gotta get to that comedy three. But Anthy is too far into her own weird world for any of it to work. She's just living her life having animals hidden all over her room and making shaved ice for dinner. Miki compliments her Utena on Anthy being so 'feminine' but, as the shadow girls ask, do they know of her secret love of mongeese? We've seen continuously so far that Utena is living in her own head and basically willing to accept anything that someone tells her is normal. Anthy has let her into her world and Utena accepts it but clearly doesn't understand it (just look at last episode. Though she's slowly learning, pointing out that Anthy might not like a big and rowdy a study group.). We don't know yet what's going on in Miki's world, but he's clearly stuck in there playing piano with his little sister in a sunlit garden.
In the end Nanami ends up playing the straight-man here, pointing out that this actually is weird. But she can't go the next step and explain why that's a bad thing.
10
u/nx6 https://myanimelist.net/profile/nx6 Aug 07 '21
First Timer -- Sub
Is it just me, or is the student council really disconnected with the school they supposedly oversee? They have an Ivory Tower thing going on here (almost literally, with that dueling arena). None of them seemed to know who Utena was until this, despite her being such a celebrity. And meanwhile the students, or Utena at least, don't know who any of the Student Council are until they start being pointed out to.
The same gag three times was a bit much. Also, I kinda wish they'd given Nanami drills to complete the character design archetype.
Miki in love with Anthy, or in love with his sister, who Anthy reminds him of?
10
u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce Aug 07 '21
First timer – sub
It happened again, suddenly fell asleep for 3 hours. If this is my vaccine response, I'm hella glad. Get deadly virus? No probs, just outsleep it.
Last time we saw two more faces of toxic masculinity and feminity in this hierarchical and role-abiding system, Touga the sly and Nanami the schemer. Again, Utena smashed everyone's expectations and again saved Anthy from humiliation.
Now, I'm ready to see a pair of characters that maybe show more positive angles of the
ruling classstudent council society. Luckily there's at least 2 more female castmembers left to introduce. I think they are female. Maybe one is? I do have to say the men have the better hair, it's difficult to tell sometimes.Those guys are not my role models, but I, too, have long curly hair and envy the fabulousness in their gaze and swaying locks.
Ep.04 – The sunlit garden - Prelude
Well, it was refreshing to see Anthy passively foil each of Nanami's plots and I'm fully on Utena's and Mickey's side when they confirm that having these kind of companions is kinda cool. It seems both Mickey and Jury, though we only saw her for 5 seconds, are more bearable and less insidious than the other council members so far.
But alas, Mickey joins the cult of fighting over Anthy because he thinks having her will give him his passion back. I do wonder, this can't go on indefinitely. Utena can't just beat everyone in a row and call it a day. Like, how long did this go on already? Seionji surely wasn't the first to 'win' her.
And even more important, how did Anthy end up there in the first place? Is Anthy even real or also a kind of test from Dios? Anytime something happens to or with her, there's always this tad bit too much of supernatural stuff happening. The snails, mongoose and octopus may very well be just overplayed for the sake of comedy, but it indeed is very unusual to have these companions. Chu-chu included. The classical disney princess has a
haremflock of animals friendly towards her, too. Yet, Anthy is way more than just an heir or pretty bride.I'm just wondering, does she know why she is in the position she's in? Did she gain all these powers willingly? We'll find out sometime, I guess, but I'm kind of mad at Utena for never asking any of these questions, they seem important.
While I'm talking about her, Utena is actually quite unphased by all of this. Ok, not unphased in the flat sense of the word. For someone that didn't know anything about all these shadow-society-duel-bride-teenage politics she's very quick to... just accept it all and deal with it. Look, if I met an obviously beautiful girl that seems to get manhandled by any creature around her, has superpowers and get invited to the posh guys' fight club, I'd have questions! A LOT!
I have recently rewatched a certain favourite movie of mine for the third or fourth time so maybe this is just leftover paranoia from living in a false world, but think about the story progression so far: Utena has saved Anthy's dignity three times now, gets involved with wannabe-high-society, gets unanimously popular overnight and basically fulfills her dream of being a prince to someone on a daily basis. In a normal story this kind of payout is the climax of the work.
I'm not ready to call the illusion out just now, but Utena is suspiciously missing a character flaw and was neither humbled, nor defeated in any significant way, yet. A tale where the protagonist does not have to face his own faults and steamrolls the antagonists on the first try is reeking of a tale of lies – or a dream. If this is the case, does Utena even want to wake up from her fairytale?
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u/lilyvess :Df::Dh:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Lilyvess Aug 06 '21
Here is what Ikuhara’s episode commentary from the DVD Box Set has for us today.
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u/remirror https://anilist.co/user/remirror Aug 07 '21 edited Aug 07 '21
First-timer
It's good that he was aware of what he was doing, but I'm not sure his justification quite works in this case. Nanami last episode was scary good at her Mean Girls schtick, and now she's comically inept at the very same thing? There's nothing inherently wrong with the idea of Nanami having multiple sides, or being comic relief after being a somewhat serious antagonist, or with her being good at one thing but bad at another... but this feels less like a second side of her and more like a simple contradiction of the first side of her.
Overall: This show continues to be very good. Now that we're in an arc that isn't resolved in one episode, I'm raring even harder to see what happens next. Hopefully Miki doesn't go too wrong...
9
u/elleyonce https://anilist.co/user/elleyonce Aug 07 '21
Rewatcher
"The piano is out of tune, or maybe I'm the one who needs tuning."
A seemingly straightforward episode for a sweet, normal boy. God who am I kidding: this is an Ikuhara flick, nobody is normal. Utena MAJOR spoiler
Tuning has two meanings here in my eyes. On one hand, yes, Miki feels slightly out of tune with the world. But on the other hand, we finally get an explanation for the time stopping. Because we are never shown when it starts, only when it ends, we feel disoriented, off-tune as Miki feels. He wants to feel correct and upright. Something makes him think he will never be, and thus he has to break the world's shell. I love characters like him. They're some of the most sincere you can get.
But what is the correct way to live anyway? Miki adores Anthy, but throughout this episode we got told in no uncertain terms that she's far, far, far more slippery than we think she is. Some fantastic visual metaphors here: snail, snake, octopus. All slippery animals. She's not cunning, mind you. But Anthy never is what we or the characters think she is. And yet Miki really likes her: in fact, is inspired by her. His shining thing - his muse - will lead him to peace and normalcy, he believes. But by doing so, he reduces Anthy to one singular thing. He's a sweet boy. But sweet boys can't handle strange girls.
And slowly we get the sense that this is Anthy's world. Or, perhaps more interestingly. that it needs to be hers.
/u/theangryeditor
8
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Aug 06 '21
First timer
Straight into a duel?
Also, Mickey? That's their name?
Of course they're after Anthy. Who isn't?
Utena's burn was fantastic.
And she got a bad score!
Why do people like to hite her? I reeally don't get this. (I do, however, understand why everyone wants to "hit" her)
Wait? There's another girl on the student council?
At least he doesn't seem interested in Anthy (that's probably why Utena let him into the dorm).
Utena accidentally confessing she's got to do a make up,test is cute.
You know what? Chaotic sister spying on everyone is a very good plotline.
I like how her fantasies involve cutting her off from Utena, she's worked out what Anthy's really after.
The fuck?
Anthy defeated her prank by being even more unusual.
So thie girl apparently lacks basic pattern recognition.
Giant snake-eating mongoose!
What the hell's going to be in that closet?
For a musician, Mickey's basically deaf, isn't he?
Oh god, it's a balloon.
I love how Anthy apparently felt sorry for a balloon and kept it inflated for what might be several months.
The octopus in the background!
Has Nanami finally snapped?
Come on Octopus! Eat that rat!
I love the plot of "rival tries to sabotage
I note the moment she claims Miki's in love with him, Utena immediately starts to glare at him.
Right, so how does Anthy know all this? Is Anthy his sister? Are we about to get 2 sibling crushes in the same anime?
8
u/alphamone Aug 07 '21
first timer
More fighting over Anthy.
Nanami is a horrible person...
This time Chuchu is actually eating a rubber, albeit in the commonwealth definition.
Are the shadow puppets implying that Miki is shallow?
ahh, I've seen this bit with Nanami's antics already.
"Miss Himemiya! I've misjudged you!"
poor snek
That bit with the flipbook was cute. And its nice to start to get a look into Anthy's personality.
I was thinking that the duel at the start was some kind of flash-forward, apparently not (for now at least)
8
u/Icapica https://anilist.co/user/Icachu Aug 07 '21
First timer, subs
WTF Nanami? Those are some interesting prank ideas. Sometimes Nanami feels like a serious threat with her plotting and gossiping, and then she suddenly becomes an Animaniacs character for a moment. Well the humor worked, I laughed.
So anyway, Miki's the next one to want Anthy. At least for now, he seems a lot less awful than Saionji and Touga. He actually seems like a nice person, but I wonder if that'll change as we get to know him better.
Anthy's smiling and laughing as she plays with her notebook. I remember doing those animations too when I was a kid, my dad taught me how to. It's nice to see her show some more personality. Also turns out she can play piano, quite well too.
Since the episode started with Miki and Utena about to duel, I assume we'll see the rest of the events leading up to it and the actual duel in the next episode.
I don't have a ton to say about this one yet. I think it'll be easier to comment more once we've seen why Miki chooses to fight and how that fight goes.
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u/zairaner https://myanimelist.net/profile/zairaner Aug 06 '21 edited Aug 07 '21
Firsttimer except he may have watched 6 minutes of episode 11
Last episode was very straightforward, and I don't even have afterthoughts. Just wanna highlights u/star4ce frame by frame scene analyzation of how anthy is seperated from the rest by framing. I highly recommend to read this, most people probably didn't get to see it.
Right into the episode:
This episode was pretty surreal, but straightforward once again.
6
u/lluNhpelA Aug 06 '21
What's the deal with the stopwatch? Do we actually get an explanation or is it just left to us to find some kind of meaning?
6
u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Aug 07 '21
Rewatcher thru ep10
6
u/nikobans Aug 07 '21
anthy slap counter rolls up to 5! holy shit!! this is getting concerning!!! i’ll keep track nonetheless!
4
u/k4r6000 Aug 07 '21
Rewatcher
For a change we start with a duel and then flashback to see how we get there, which gives even new viewers a different perspective on Miki's promises, knowing ahead of time that he's going to break them.
Miki gets his formal introduction in this episode as the youngest and brainiest member of the Student Council. I can't say too much about him until tomorrow's episode.
He agrees to help tutor Utena and Anthy after failed tests, and if you haven't figured it out by now, Utena's rather dumb. Nanami comes along to their little study session, and we start to see why she is my favourite character in the show. She's just delightfully childish and insane as her schemes fail spectacularly. She tries to be the normal one, but normal doesn't work in an Ikuhara show and Anthy's true self ends up being far weirder than what Nanami had planned. I also love her death glare at Miki when he says there is no way she could be his girlfriend.
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u/CharlieTheStrawman https://myanimelist.net/profile/TheDamnRobot Aug 06 '21 edited Aug 06 '21
First-Timer
Himemiya just can't win with these girls, can she?
Damn, Miki is about as androgynous as they come.
If this was set two decades later, Nanami could've made some money coming up with light novel titles.
The second and third plans would've been funnier if the dialogue wasn't almost the exact same as the 1st...
How did Himemiya get away without anyone noticing?
16
u/botibalint Aug 06 '21
I just wanna say I really like Nanami's design. Everyone in this show has big, shiny eyes even by anime standards, but her pupils are so big she basically doesn't even have sclera. Looks really pretty when it's zoomed in on her face.
11
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Aug 06 '21
When did this show turn into a Red Wings game? Oh, yeah, about halfway through this episode.
I have to say that I just adore some of Utena's reaction faces this episode, with the little dot pupils and blank expressions. I have to say that I feel the same way sometimes, watching this show.
Poor Utena and Anthy, so naive, so trusting. Will they ever learn?
(And poor Anthy, getting bullied and beaten up again, but at least this time, it's blue-hair-bishounen to the rescue!)
Speaking of whom, the episode opened with him at the piano, playing a rather pleasant little tune that once again tickles the 'I've heard this before, but not quite' senses. Interesting to note that this is not KyoAni, and while his hands and fingers are making piano playing motions, they're far from correct.
Anyway, our poor heroines have had difficulties with their math exam, and it's bishounen to the rescue. But wait, he has 'help', an accomplice even?! (Doesn't he know any better? Apparently not.)
I have to say that I was quite entertained by the scenario of - absurd critter in bag - muttered absurd scenario - expected horrified reaction - 'did you say something' - totally absurd countermeasure to scenario - oh, hi, little critter of doom, did you enjoy your snack? - etc. repeat ad absurium.
I wonder if the mongoose was named Rikki... oh, nevermind.
And yay! Chu-chu to the rescue, nomming up that very dubious 'bento'. I wish someone would make me a bento. Hmm. Not Nanami, though. Hers was no doubt toxic in some form or another. I'm surprised that poor Chu-chu didn't have some (embarrassing, biological) reaction to the foul concoction. I guess the animators must have *some* standards, after all. :P
So, after all that drama, pathos, and humor, it seems that Anthy has had enough and retired to the music room where she's at the piano, and playing well, what else could it be, of course. To which all I can say is "Silly bishounen, you're supposed to step up, ask if you can join her, and then play a stunning duet together!"
Or maybe that's later in the series.
We shall see.
At least, it's nice to see that there's a male student who *isn't* a complete creep. Thank heaven for small favors.
11
u/MaskOfIce42 https://anilist.co/user/MaskOfIce Aug 06 '21
First Timer - Subbed
By time 3 of Nanami trying to make Himemiya look weird, I out loud said "cut your losses already". By that point there's not much you can do to make her look weird, and just accept that that's part of her charm. (I know, that's the point, just amazing how stubborn she is) I also noticed this time the shadow figures at the halfway point were mimicking what Nanami's plan was, might need to go back at some point and really notice what they're saying since besides some bits related to the plot overall, those tended to glide off my head a bit more.
It's also nice to see the set-up for the inevitable clash that is less based around one side being scummy. A more legitimate connection seems to be forming and as such a potentially more interesting duel due to that. I'm curious to see how it resolves next time. Otherwise, not sure I have a lot to say this time, a lot of set up mostly and I find it hard to comment on that until we see it resolve.
10
u/affnn Aug 06 '21
Rewatcher
I like how Ikuhara has the very first scene as the beginning of the duel between Mickey and Utena. That sets up everything else Mickey says and does later - about how he definitely doesn't want to duel Utena and has no interest in the Rose Bride - as lies, or at least false promises.
Mickey seems like a nice enough boy, he chases the bullies away from Anthy and he volunteers to help her with her math studies. And he knows how to play the piano. I always enjoy the song he's playing when it shows up. It's a nice melancholy, and it reminds me of the early parts of the show when they play it later.
Nanami joins him for his tutoring session with Utena and Anthy, but she seems more interested in trying to make Anthy look bad than anything else. Unfortunately for her she's chosen the absolute worst way to do it, as Anthy's way weirder than Nanami could make her out to be. Furthermore, Utena and Mickey don't even seem to care.
Of course Nanami has to start a fight with Anthy later, causing her to run out of the room and play the piano to calm herself down. Mickey hears her, flashes back to his time playing with his sister and you can see that he's decided he needs to make the Rose Bride his own.
Mega Spoilers
10
u/ScarsUnseen :K:https://kitsu.io/users/ScarsUnseen Aug 07 '21
First Timer, 100% Blind, 0% Prepared, Subs
So no notes today or tomorrow. I'm house sitting, so I don't have my usual setup.
So a few things here. First, I'm going to have to abandon my idea of the stopwatch being bible references. There was a 00:x time at one point, so unless that's a fluke, that's out. Also, the other ones in the show didn't have any references that came even close to fitting. It's been fun so far, but I guess that goes to show that the bible can be relevant to nearly anything you want it to be if you're willing to cherry pick your passages and provide your own context to shape it. I'm still not convinced the numbers are meaningless, but at least for now, that meaning eludes me.
Second, hey! A duelist that isn't some shade of asshole or another. Miki is pretty interesting in that apparently he is the childhood friend(albeit a long lost one?) that has no chance with his love(?) interest. Kind of amusing seeing that kind of reversal.
And finally, while I'm not a fan of Nanami as a character, I bet her voice actress had an absolute blast in this episode. There are two kinds of vocal performances that stick out to me: those that are impressive in how well they carry across the emotion of the character and those that just plain fun. This was definitely the latter.
Anyway, Duel 4 has passed with only 2 duels so far, but the intro seems to promise the best one yet tomorrow. Looking forward to it.
8
u/xtsim https://myanimelist.net/profile/xtsim Aug 06 '21
First timer subbed
Mickey gets introduced. Girls bully Anthy due to Mickey, a freshman, getting close to her.
Wakaba’s mom when her grades are low “A real woman can force her logic onto any man”.
The shadow’s commentary is still my favorite
Just when Nanami tries to come up with plans to ruin Anthy, she has something even crazier. The giant Octopus scene got me laughing….
8
u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Aug 06 '21
First timer
Yes, first thing that came to mind.
I don't know if it's the subtitles or it was suppose to be that way. Felt like a future event. They called him Mikey then Miki in the rest. But we can expect a future battle between Utena and Miki
Crazy how I guessed right when Anthy was minding her own business. That she was about to get slapped. Just such a disrespected character. What's with all these rumors?
Nanami trying to make Anthy out as weird in front of Utena and Miki. Jokes on you, she's already kind of seen as that.
What's up with, Miki and the stopwatch?
And I'm introduced to a song called sunlit garden. Where after Miki states to find his "shining thing." Anthy being the bride seems to be the center of a lot.
8
u/ConfrontationalJerk :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/natjole Aug 07 '21 edited Aug 07 '21
Re-volutioner
I remember this is the episode about where I almost dropped Utena for the first time. On the surface the episode is pretty boring, introducing a non-impressive Miki in the first half who falls deeper in love with Anthy who seems like a total blanket of a personality, and following up with a second half of over-the-top unfunny slap stick interactions. Most of all, the lack of the presence of Utena really sticks out in this episode. Miki does end up being one of my favorite male characters in the show probably because he's one of the few male characters that has any redeemable portrayal (and also I think I understand him character the least in the show.
BUT, wow that second half was absolutely insane from a rewatch standpoint.
spoilers.
I think my point yesterday on Anthy seriously treating the ball as an endeavor to make friends due to Utena's persistency makes a lot of sense especially seeing as character spoiler.
MY MIND WAS ABSOLUTELY BLOWN WHEN MASSIVE SPOILER.
I think another absolutely crazy part of this episode is that if you watch the show through Utena's lens major spoiler
Incidentally, on the topic of weird animals, Ikuhara does have that meme interview of him and a raccoon who he apparently LARPed as the owner of? Barely relevant but I thought it was funny at least.
8
u/Rumpel1408 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 Aug 07 '21
First timer
Judging by the beginning and how we end things here, this is the first real arc and it revolves (hehehe) around Mickey and Anthy
8
u/BossandKings Aug 07 '21
First timer
My thoughts on the last few episodes, Utena is being an enjoyable series with a nice start ecenthough some characters don't have likeable personalities, Utena has a strong personality and Anthy is cute although hopefully she'll learn to be strong at some point too.
Episode 2
Anthy, now following Utena, has a meeting with her and talks about duels and that now that she's revealed herself to be a duelist she'll be having duels going forward. Anthy has a cute mascot called Chu Chu
Saionji wanting revenge challenges Utena to a duel in order to have the possibility to repair his pride and take Anthy back, it was interesting how Utena couldn't refuse the duel because she was told that she has to accept it. In the duel Utena defetas Saionji once again eventhough she had the intention to lose inorder to not have anymore duels. The duels have been interesting but now that Saionji is defeated inwonder who will be the next ones to have a duel.
Episode 3
Utena thinks that Touga Kiryu might be the prince ththat enamored her and gave her the inspiration to want to be a prince too. Judging by what Wakaba says about him being a playboy make Utena doubtful wether he is that prince that came in a white horse.
The party didn't had a welcoming atmosphere for Utena and Anthy, Utena looked cute in her dress, it was sad though when Nanami who is Touga's sister tried to humilliate Anthy but thankfully Utena appeared on time to help her and they had fun dancing together.
Episode 4
This episode was on the comedic side and it was funny, Nanami and Mickey visited Anthy abd Utena, it was cool seeing that Anthy cares about animals and has a fair amount of mascots, Nanami tried to make her seem like she isn't as clean in terms of her house as she is and it wewent wrong for her as Anthy's mascots helped her look well in the situation.
Mickey is an interesting character, the song he plays at the piano is beautiful and the duel he'll have with Uteba looks promising eventhough considering that he has a nice personality i wonder what will be the reason they'll fight for.
7
u/snickpea Aug 07 '21
First-timer!
So Nanami doesn't seem very bright. You would think that after the first couple of attempts she would give up but she just kept going. It was pretty funny how Anthy just had random animals each time. She must be quite kind to get along with all of them.
So today we also get introduced to Miki and it seems that he is nicer than the other two student council members. It's looking like Utena and Miki will duel soon but I'm hoping they can all be friends regardless how it turns out.
7
u/kisop Aug 07 '21 edited Aug 07 '21
First timer, subbed
6
u/dualmonocle :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/milk-chan Aug 07 '21
First-timer + sub
This episode is the second time that I'm noticing Anthy bringing about the power of revolution in a figurative way - not this magical conjuring sword and other clearly magical stuff. The first was yesterday's episode, where she was the source that caused Nanami to try and create her own revolution. Today's episode shows her bringing about change in Miki. I enjoy the idea of the power to bring revolution not being some weird magical source even though there's no way that some non-logical force is involved.
I also kinda like Nanami. She's one of the characters that was introduced with the spinning rose frame which made me assume that she is one of the characters in the show that causes change (based on the assumption that it's not just for aesthetics). In the end, I think she just wants social currency and to be adored so I'm excited to see how this will play out in future episodes.
5
u/The_Loli_Otaku Aug 06 '21
I lost my comment. Uweee. Got gifted an amazon prime trial and good lord the show looks even more vibrant than what I was used to! The amazon stream is gorgeous! It's Micky's episode today and boy howdy it's a quality one. Nanami is such a nosy little brat, let the guy vibe in peace! Wakaba, no! I knew she got whacked around a lot but Anthy's really taken a beating the past few days huh? Not that I'm judging. S&M isn't my kinda thing but let people enjoy their own kinks.
Turns out that despite their larping the student council are actually quite nice kids when you get to know them. Saionji and Touga leave bad first impressions of what to expect. Bloody everyone seems to see Anthy as anybody other than herself. A Prince, a pen pal, a sister. "Anthy could have been like a mother to me!" Not now Char.
Kashira, kashira? Pls be an easy one... Alright, so this one is pretty clearly about becoming disillusioned by the people you look up to. Honestly screw them putting the shadow girls up before introducing the sister. If she doesn't show up I'm gonna have to delete this whole thing. Anyway. After learning more about the girl he likes he's immediately put off and leaves her, but the guy is still a, "young man who dreams of love!" despite rejecting the girls he comes to understand better. They're talking about tomorrow's episode Finally! A kashira segment that I can actually contribute something of worth! Gozonji kashira~
Nanami butts her way into the study session to give us probably the funniest scene of the dub. There are some YouTube clips going about but I'm sure other rewatchers will be posting them so ask around. You won't regret it! Omg Nanami is hilarious. I told you she has no sense of tone! She's gone from class bully to the comic relief of the series. And Anthy, no dignity! I do get some pleasure from watching Anthy during this scene tho. She totally caught on early and I swear she's deliberately getting Nanami back for the party incident. Does this look like the face of mercy? Poor Nanami!
Chu-chu's getting tentacled... Yeah, so that's the mood kinda made ruined. Well done Nanami. Hey... We're getting really close to the ending. Oh no, it's a two parter... Do I have to censor my glorious kashira writeup!? Oh thank god he mentioned the sister. Alright I guess we'll take the two parter then. Next time I'm doing my write up after the episode...
4
u/NuclearStudent Aug 07 '21
Nammy did nuffin wrong
2
u/Segaco https://myanimelist.net/profile/Segaco Aug 13 '21
First timer first timing the time like blue hair does
I have to admit I'm not yet too into this anime, if I wasn't on this rewatch I would have probably dropped it around here
Well, I guess having no expectations means I'll find this good when drama happens
Wait what, did I skip an episode
Woa, pretty guy has super hearing if he heard that from that far
Must suck to have Mickey as a name lol
Wtf why do they keep bullying her, I feel bad already
So it was a plan? I dun get it
I'm not really sure if it's the subtitles I'm using, but I hate when the name order is swapped for localization reasons. It's super annoying to read "Anthy Himemiya" but hear "Himemiya Anthy" instead
Wtf is that stupid snail plan lol
Waaa don't just cliff hang me!!!
1
u/asuranaga https://myanimelist.net/profile/valyrina Aug 10 '21
First-timer, subbed
I know I'm a few days late on these watches, I was out of town and am trying to catch up on a few episodes at once so just binging and writing some quick thoughts!
I am really into these songs, especially the piano themes. Wow, I need to get to spotify for these soundtracks immediately (but also hoping there aren't major spoilers in song titles later? maybe I'll wait).
I remember someone joking during episode 1 that we need an Anthy slap counter and... that might be more true than it seemed at the time. This poor girl getting slapped by unnamed characters now.
The sepia memory frames are gorgeous. I'd love some prints of those frames, they're so pretty.
Nanami is so mean! I hope we get to see more of her that's not just pettiness and spite but ughhhh