Spoiler Spoiler i'm not at all surprised akio is the one having mikage do this shit also i bet next comes the showdown with mikage as this arc's antagonist Spoiler ...i'm starting to get a little lost wrt what's happening in this flashback Spoiler holy shit. i'm starting to think grooming is a recurring theme with akio Spoiler Spoiler wHOA, THIS EPISODE NEEDS TO SLOW DOWN i'm guessing nemuro/mikage fell in love with that woman, and akio used this knowledge to manipulate him somehow? so he burned the place down??? i think i'm just gonna wait for this part to be explained later i am so confused Spoiler i- what. no, really? okay. i guess? i won't question it Spoiler okay, i guess she was in on whatever the heck just happened too? Spoiler ... that kid actually died in the fire, didn't he? nemuro did start it, and mamiya died. the current mamiya is an impostor, or some kind of illusion created by nemuro's memories. judging by fake mamiya's resemblance to anthy, and her expression from that earlier episode, i think this might be seriously hinting that she's behind the events of this arc nemuro is getting played like a damn fiddle what akio said about people within the school not aging is troubling me too. he's a grown-ass man. i bet this anime is some kind of metaphor for the transition to adulthood, and akio's character probably symbolizes something related to this. i haven't figured that part out quite yet. this anime seems to be getting darker as it goes along, i dread to see what the next arc has in store
Spoiler Spoiler oh, so the people who died were duelists? interesting Spoiler [ SHIPPING INTENSIFIES ] Spoiler this guy is really having some problems with illusions, isn't he? or in this case are they delusions? Spoiler ah, so that's the meaning behind the black rose duels... Spoiler ooh, he discovered the truth behind mamiya Spoiler oh shit i was right after all Spoiler akio fucked this guy's entire life up i don't think nemuro's gonna recover from all this this is so fucked it does tie into what i said earlier about the whole transition to adulthood thing, however Spoiler: FUCK [ SCREAMS OF FRUSTRATION ] I HATE THAT I'M RIGHT Spoiler DON'T YOU TURN YOUR HEAD AND SMILE AT THAT ASSHOLE THIS SHIT IS FUCKED EVERYTHING'S SO FUCKED FUCK
EXTRA CREDIT QUESTION: Given the fact that the fire apparently happened "a long time ago", and everyone looks pretty 60s-70s in the flashbacks...what can we conclude about how long the duels have been going on? What can we conclude about how long Akio has looked exactly the same age as he does now?
Spoiler odd, the utena must have met her prince during this timeframe but dios doesn't do anything but sit around nowadays this would mean utena's prince was someone pretending to be dios, in which case it was either akio or...anthy? holy shit, akio doesn't change his appearance it was anthy ANTHY IS UTENA'S PRINCE I'M CALLING OT NOW
Not in response to anything in particular, but @Ipuntya, can I just say I love your speculation and analysis? I've been mostly lurking, but I do really enjoy your liveblog posts! Utena is a tough show to put together, especially while you're watching it for the first time, but you have a lot of really interesting thoughts about it, and I'm excited to see you learn how they line up with the rest of the story. :D (Not to say your confusion isn't also fun to watch, of course.)
I'm in my third watch through this series and still picking up on stuff I missed so this entire thread is like /SHOVES POPCORN IN MOUTH FURIOUSLY
Spoiler: Spoiler for what I was getting at Don't get too attached to that theory, I was actually just hinting at "he's hella old"
So I'm starting on Princess Tutu, but because of Utena, I have like. lingering PTSD over the word "ouji-sama".
I'm sorry; I really want to express sympathy, but in all honesty I'm just cackling at this. Watching Princess Tutu with constant Utena associations in the back of your mind is a highly recommendable experience regardless, though, considering the similarities (and differences) in themes, so I hope you enjoy it! :D (It's my favorite anime, personally.)
/casually slides a link to one of my favorite oneshots across the table And another one, if you prefer heavy meta. (Huge Utena spoilers in both, huge Princess Tutu spoilers in only the second, I believe.)
Im really enjoying it so far - Utena and Ahiru would get on well, I think. Similar ideals, similarly bullheaded way of going about things. I'm also loving the hell out of Drosselmeyer, in all his dickish meta glory. Edit: Also, 7 episodes in, I'm starting to suspect that Mytho is just dumber than a box of hair, and maybe they should just keep him on one of those toddler leashes.
i'm probably gonna pick back up the liveblog and next arc of utena very slowly, since i've been busy with the transition to college lately (and college will be super busy itself since i'm an honors double major)
Yeah, Pique and Lilie are my favorites, but they are such assholes. :') (Well, mostly Lilie, but Pique doesn't really help.) ... Should we maybe make a Princess Tutu thread to move this to? I'd be happy to make it if people want.
