Utena Ep 24-27
May. 21st, 2024 09:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizardjayMANY thoughts today. Now I feel kind of bad for not doing full recaps for the last set...
EPISODE TWENTY FOUR
The diary episode. POOR TSUWABUKI. It's such an awful nightmare to have your diary read out in front of you. While you're naked in a hospital bed. Really just a combination of so many horrible things.
It's incredible to have him shown in so many past scenes XD Under the student council table! (No way they didn't notice him down there...) Under a table again at the Anthy dress party! Hanging from a tree with binoculars! Running around in India! Inside Utena and Anthy's house! This is the perfect child.
HIS PLAN FOR HOW TO HANDLE NANAMI COW-IFICATION IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN.....
Did we know previously that Those Three Guys bodyswapped with elephants? If so I forgot...
EPISODE TWENTY FIVE
Back to the plot.
TOUGA LIVES!!!! ....so. Theory time: maybe Mikage was anchored to Touga's life force in some way. Does this theory 'make sense'? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ In this moment in time, now that memories are fake and magic might as well happen.... why not?? (My brother informed me that actually Touga was absent so long because his voice actor got very sick. My theory stands in-universe.)
Unfortunately, Touga is not immune to being Preyed Upon By Akio. He still doesn't have it as bad as Utena and Anthy though! THEY'RE MOVING IN WITH AKIO!!! THIS IS HELL!!!!
Akio seeing Anthy laughing at Utena and Wakaba: "This is horrible. She can't HAVE FUN."
AAAAAA STOP TOUCHING UTENAAAAAAA!!!! I think Anthy agrees with me here.
Maybe Akio is an alien from space.
Utena and Anthy bedtime chats! Handholding! Maybe one day Anthy will tell Utena literally anything!
I see. The car is magic. And also inherently comes along with opening your shirt. I wish Akio didn't open his shirt.
It's interesting how Akio barely talks to Saionji in this car ride. He's using Touga as his mouthpiece or something. Also, this is the longest straightest road in the world. If it's even a real road of course.
Miki tries to defend the girls from Saionji but just gets Miki Slapped for the first time. It was a good attempt.
...That's an elevator, Miki, not a 'gondola'. Or maybe he's talking about something we haven't seen, since he mentioned it might take us to a new stage, while the elevator is just bringing us to the same arena. Anyway. NEW PRE-DUEL STUFF!! Anthy teleports out of her clothes and then a rose bush grows out of them... we see that Anthy's previous weird hand movements are now recontextualized as touching Utena.
THE CAR IS HERE TOO. And it drives around the arena...
The sword of Dios disappears and we have to draw Utena's sword! Anthy jumps to save Utena!
Unfortunately, this is on a backdrop of Akio and Touga very sexually reclining onto a bed. AAA THEIR PANTS ARE OPEN!! I didn't notice that before.... Sorry you're in this situation Touga.
But also, SORRY ANTHY!!! YOU HAVE IT WORSE! She's starting to have the smallest moments of resisting Akio, which he's NOT happy about.
He's shown as a silhouette of stars in this last scene....
EPISODE TWENTY SIX
Idk what it is about me but I LOVE all the Miki episodes. Also, KOZUE!!! She shines so much here, and honestly whenever she shows up. (I was reading some people's general Utena thoughts and they said they didn't care about Kozue??? I think she's my favorite side character.... okay, and Tsuwabuki because he's so incredibly funny.)
Ok, so the parents are divorced, and also never home, and the dad is getting remarried to.... sorry. Who?????
Options:
1) The dad is literally getting married to Anthy. ????
2) The dad is getting married to Anthy's mom or someone else who looks just like Anthy. ????
3) Likeliest option IMO: in Miki's imagination, the new mom looks just like Anthy. This is arguably more concerning, psychologically. What is going on in your mind, Miki?? I get that you have a crush on Anthy but imagining your stepmom as her is a bit much.
Anyway, the divorce adds a whole extra layer to their situation. Kozue keeps comparing the two of them to feral animals (I guess bc they've been basically abandoned, or maybe that's something that the parent(s) say about her and her Wild Ways). And she was so reckless in saving those birds from the tree--- oh, of course, the baby birds are symbolically them! So what then does this mean for the end of the episode, when Miki is making a birdhouse and she calls him a coward? Hm.
Utena remarks on the garden from Miki's flashbacks, which is currently overgrown. Something about the power of memory I think? And how she'd expected it to be more Something. Akio is very intently interrogating Anthy about this, which is interesting. I mean, we knew he's VERY interested in her, but this seems unrelated to the duels and everything on the surface...
I'm assuming Miki's distrust in adults who say things are for your own good is related to the creepy music teacher, but I guess it could be the parents.
Anyway, the structure of the last third of the show is now clear. We'll go through each of the duelists again in turn, they'll have a conversation with their Person in Akio's sex car, and then we duel in the car arena.
BUT! This time Kozue gets to be there too, in a color swapped Rose Bride outfit. And she rides in the car? And so does Anthy???? And...... did Kozue kiss her???????? I can't really blame Miki for getting distracted and losing the duel here. Kozue!!!!!!
This means Juri and Shiori are next. Do we get Shiori in the duel as well??? That's exciting :D
I find it very interesting that we had no stopwatch moments in a Miki episode. (No stopwatch moments in all four of these episodes, actually!) I THINK there was a moment where we saw him hold it, but that was all.
Why on earth are we calling Akio Daddy Long Legs? Nanami also mentioned that at the council meeting but I forget the context and whether it was Akio-related or not.
I guess I'll also mention the fact that Touga brought a wind-up duck toy to his conversation with Miki. And then vanished after he summoned the car. I guess there's the possibility that the car rides aren't 'real' but I don't really think that interrogating Utena scenes based on if they're 'real' is very meaningful.
(I'm trying to mention as many interesting details as I can in my liveblog so that I have a reference for later AMVs! It's always such a nightmare trying to find a specific shot.)
EPISODE TWENTY SEVEN
What can I possibly say about Nanami's egg XD
This does seem Anthy-caused again (because we see Chu-chu has been busy with SOMETHING all episode), though her motive here is unclear. The cowbell-related events somewhat had a logical progression: get the cowbell and convince Nanami to wear it, and then once you see she's becoming a cow (???) you knit a red sweater so Utena can matador. I mean the end goal there isn't very clear but I see how you can mastermind that. How can you assume that Nanami would believe she laid an egg??? Anyway, good for Anthy.
I forget the exact words but 'the reason our family has stayed together is because you're not the type of girl who lays eggs' is SO funny.
Touga: you can't be gay. That's just not going to work.
Nanami: am I a monster for laying eggs????
At some point I want to consider this in the context of the initial elevator speech that talked about smashing the world's shell. Maybe Nanami has just cracked the code to eternity XD
A conversation with my brother afterward:
Me: Is Saionji living in the woods or is he back in the dorms and just enjoys camping?
Him: I think he just likes camping, but it would be really funny if he never got his dorm room back and just lived in the woods out of stubbornness.
Him, some time later: ... adding to the clear truth that Saionji lives in the woods behind [Touga and Nanami's house]: they don't LET him use their bathroom, he just breaks in and takes his insanely long hair care showers and is so proud of himself that they don't notice because he's just soooo slick.
Touga has known all along but it's so funny that Saionji thinks he's getting one over on him that he just lets it happen.
So anyway, this is canon to me now. I think he might have been on school grounds actually, but we'll go with behind Touga's house.
EPISODE TWENTY FOUR
The diary episode. POOR TSUWABUKI. It's such an awful nightmare to have your diary read out in front of you. While you're naked in a hospital bed. Really just a combination of so many horrible things.
It's incredible to have him shown in so many past scenes XD Under the student council table! (No way they didn't notice him down there...) Under a table again at the Anthy dress party! Hanging from a tree with binoculars! Running around in India! Inside Utena and Anthy's house! This is the perfect child.
HIS PLAN FOR HOW TO HANDLE NANAMI COW-IFICATION IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN.....
Did we know previously that Those Three Guys bodyswapped with elephants? If so I forgot...
EPISODE TWENTY FIVE
Back to the plot.
TOUGA LIVES!!!! ....so. Theory time: maybe Mikage was anchored to Touga's life force in some way. Does this theory 'make sense'? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ In this moment in time, now that memories are fake and magic might as well happen.... why not?? (My brother informed me that actually Touga was absent so long because his voice actor got very sick. My theory stands in-universe.)
Unfortunately, Touga is not immune to being Preyed Upon By Akio. He still doesn't have it as bad as Utena and Anthy though! THEY'RE MOVING IN WITH AKIO!!! THIS IS HELL!!!!
Akio seeing Anthy laughing at Utena and Wakaba: "This is horrible. She can't HAVE FUN."
AAAAAA STOP TOUCHING UTENAAAAAAA!!!! I think Anthy agrees with me here.
Maybe Akio is an alien from space.
Utena and Anthy bedtime chats! Handholding! Maybe one day Anthy will tell Utena literally anything!
I see. The car is magic. And also inherently comes along with opening your shirt. I wish Akio didn't open his shirt.
It's interesting how Akio barely talks to Saionji in this car ride. He's using Touga as his mouthpiece or something. Also, this is the longest straightest road in the world. If it's even a real road of course.
Miki tries to defend the girls from Saionji but just gets Miki Slapped for the first time. It was a good attempt.
...That's an elevator, Miki, not a 'gondola'. Or maybe he's talking about something we haven't seen, since he mentioned it might take us to a new stage, while the elevator is just bringing us to the same arena. Anyway. NEW PRE-DUEL STUFF!! Anthy teleports out of her clothes and then a rose bush grows out of them... we see that Anthy's previous weird hand movements are now recontextualized as touching Utena.
THE CAR IS HERE TOO. And it drives around the arena...
The sword of Dios disappears and we have to draw Utena's sword! Anthy jumps to save Utena!
Unfortunately, this is on a backdrop of Akio and Touga very sexually reclining onto a bed. AAA THEIR PANTS ARE OPEN!! I didn't notice that before.... Sorry you're in this situation Touga.
But also, SORRY ANTHY!!! YOU HAVE IT WORSE! She's starting to have the smallest moments of resisting Akio, which he's NOT happy about.
He's shown as a silhouette of stars in this last scene....
EPISODE TWENTY SIX
Idk what it is about me but I LOVE all the Miki episodes. Also, KOZUE!!! She shines so much here, and honestly whenever she shows up. (I was reading some people's general Utena thoughts and they said they didn't care about Kozue??? I think she's my favorite side character.... okay, and Tsuwabuki because he's so incredibly funny.)
Ok, so the parents are divorced, and also never home, and the dad is getting remarried to.... sorry. Who?????
Options:
1) The dad is literally getting married to Anthy. ????
2) The dad is getting married to Anthy's mom or someone else who looks just like Anthy. ????
3) Likeliest option IMO: in Miki's imagination, the new mom looks just like Anthy. This is arguably more concerning, psychologically. What is going on in your mind, Miki?? I get that you have a crush on Anthy but imagining your stepmom as her is a bit much.
Anyway, the divorce adds a whole extra layer to their situation. Kozue keeps comparing the two of them to feral animals (I guess bc they've been basically abandoned, or maybe that's something that the parent(s) say about her and her Wild Ways). And she was so reckless in saving those birds from the tree--- oh, of course, the baby birds are symbolically them! So what then does this mean for the end of the episode, when Miki is making a birdhouse and she calls him a coward? Hm.
Utena remarks on the garden from Miki's flashbacks, which is currently overgrown. Something about the power of memory I think? And how she'd expected it to be more Something. Akio is very intently interrogating Anthy about this, which is interesting. I mean, we knew he's VERY interested in her, but this seems unrelated to the duels and everything on the surface...
I'm assuming Miki's distrust in adults who say things are for your own good is related to the creepy music teacher, but I guess it could be the parents.
Anyway, the structure of the last third of the show is now clear. We'll go through each of the duelists again in turn, they'll have a conversation with their Person in Akio's sex car, and then we duel in the car arena.
BUT! This time Kozue gets to be there too, in a color swapped Rose Bride outfit. And she rides in the car? And so does Anthy???? And...... did Kozue kiss her???????? I can't really blame Miki for getting distracted and losing the duel here. Kozue!!!!!!
This means Juri and Shiori are next. Do we get Shiori in the duel as well??? That's exciting :D
I find it very interesting that we had no stopwatch moments in a Miki episode. (No stopwatch moments in all four of these episodes, actually!) I THINK there was a moment where we saw him hold it, but that was all.
Why on earth are we calling Akio Daddy Long Legs? Nanami also mentioned that at the council meeting but I forget the context and whether it was Akio-related or not.
I guess I'll also mention the fact that Touga brought a wind-up duck toy to his conversation with Miki. And then vanished after he summoned the car. I guess there's the possibility that the car rides aren't 'real' but I don't really think that interrogating Utena scenes based on if they're 'real' is very meaningful.
(I'm trying to mention as many interesting details as I can in my liveblog so that I have a reference for later AMVs! It's always such a nightmare trying to find a specific shot.)
EPISODE TWENTY SEVEN
What can I possibly say about Nanami's egg XD
This does seem Anthy-caused again (because we see Chu-chu has been busy with SOMETHING all episode), though her motive here is unclear. The cowbell-related events somewhat had a logical progression: get the cowbell and convince Nanami to wear it, and then once you see she's becoming a cow (???) you knit a red sweater so Utena can matador. I mean the end goal there isn't very clear but I see how you can mastermind that. How can you assume that Nanami would believe she laid an egg??? Anyway, good for Anthy.
I forget the exact words but 'the reason our family has stayed together is because you're not the type of girl who lays eggs' is SO funny.
Touga: you can't be gay. That's just not going to work.
Nanami: am I a monster for laying eggs????
At some point I want to consider this in the context of the initial elevator speech that talked about smashing the world's shell. Maybe Nanami has just cracked the code to eternity XD
A conversation with my brother afterward:
Me: Is Saionji living in the woods or is he back in the dorms and just enjoys camping?
Him: I think he just likes camping, but it would be really funny if he never got his dorm room back and just lived in the woods out of stubbornness.
Him, some time later: ... adding to the clear truth that Saionji lives in the woods behind [Touga and Nanami's house]: they don't LET him use their bathroom, he just breaks in and takes his insanely long hair care showers and is so proud of himself that they don't notice because he's just soooo slick.
Touga has known all along but it's so funny that Saionji thinks he's getting one over on him that he just lets it happen.
So anyway, this is canon to me now. I think he might have been on school grounds actually, but we'll go with behind Touga's house.
no subject
Date: 2024-05-22 03:08 am (UTC)Tsuwabuki is the BEST child. And such a child. ♥ Bless his tiny weird determined heart.
Kozue is really a great character! She deserves more attention.
EGG EPISODE :D :D :D I love it so, so much. (It reads to me as a sort-of menstruation metaphor, but - it's not exactly one-to-one, which adds to the humor and the weirdness...)
Oh, Saionji and his camping. XD I have a friend with a Theory about why he's living in the woods instead of - anything else, but it's kind of sad...
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2024-05-30 06:40 am (UTC)all your commentary is really good haha I can't wait to see the reaction to the end of the series...
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From: