Revolutionary Girl Utena Complete Deluxe Box Set by Chiho SaitōMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Revolutionary Girl Utena is one of those titles that is often referred to as a 'must see'. The thing is, I live in Scotland where it is not available for streaming or purchase on DVD. Thus when this manga box set appeared in my recommendations on Amazon, there was really no doubt about purchasing it. Now, from what I've heard, the manga isn't considered the main source of the canon - that would be the anime - so this is probably not the best introduction to Utena I could have. That being said... it's the one I got.
The story follows the young girl, Utena, as she attends a prestigious Academy, and attempts to become like the 'Prince' who once saved her life. In an attempt to defend a friend's honour, she winds up in the middle of a duel, which she wins. On winning the duel... things get odd.
Odd is really the best way to describe this whole thing. At the very core, the story appears to be a coming of age tale for Utena, trying to get her to leave behind this almost childish belief in her Prince. Then on another layer, it's a deconstruction of what it means to be a Prince, or to be a Princess, and the behaviours that these roles are often assigned. Then another layer seems to be about relationships, both healthy and unhealthy, and how while you can offer all the help in the world to those in a bad situation the only way they can really be saved is by ultimately helping themselves. And then in another layer... Well, there's a lot to this story, is what I'm saying, and from what I understand, the manga is relatively simple in comparison to the anime!
The art work of the manga is very gorgeous, and the imagery is striking enough to linger in the mind long after you've finished reading. Honestly, it's only getting three stars from me because, well... As interesting as the story is, the manga does feel like a weaker version of it and I really don't know how to explain that feeling well. It is an interesting read, and definitely one that should be read by many people, but... the anime series is probably going to be the stronger version of the story.
This box set also includes the manga of the movie which is ... well, it's another thing. It's alright, but I prefer the original manga to the movie-manga. Still, I am glad to own this box set and to have finally been able to read it.
Maybe one day I'll be able to read Rose of Versailles...
View all my reviews
Comments
Post a Comment