Title: Revolutionary Girl Utena Volume(s): 5 Creator(s): Chiho Saito Format: Unflipped; Right-to-Left Publisher: Viz Media MSRP: $9.95 Genre(s): Action/Comedy/Romance Rated: Older Teen (16+)

Sometimes the best stories that you know are the ones you read that you were young, the ones you saw on flat screens, and the ones that your parents told you. I didn’t read books as much as I do now until I was in third-fourth grade, partly because I was no longer allowed to watch television on weekdays and partly because I finally started to read the books that my older brother and sisters wanted me to read. These included Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Beezus and Ramona, The Wizard of Oz series, and the Harry Potter books. (I also read the Chronicles of Narnia around this time, but I don’t consider this a worthwhile classic because it preaches too much.) A lot later, however, I picked up a manga at my local library and started reading it. This was Revolutionary Girl Utena, my first manga. Several years later, I still love to reread it when I get the chance. It is a bizarre story, but a good one. The best way I can express my affection is with this little ballad:

“I want my prince,” Utena says
After falling near water
When a prince gets her arm and saves her from harm
Little rose rings he brought her

Every year these rings did come
With postcards as her clues
With the help of a friend (who leaves before the end)
She travels and transfers for news

Then she fights for honor, for justice, for girls!
For Anthy the Meek and Mild
Next thing you know, she’s got to show
Defend her Anthy from the wild

But it’s not over (it’s never over).
More conflicts cloud the stage
“Oh where is he?” sighs Utena, she.
Around her forms a cage.

Swords go slashing, all for Anthy
Why do they want her so bad?
But I can’t tell, but you’ll find out well
And I assure you you’ll be glad

That is essentially the story, or at least the main story. I’ll get to the fillers later. One of the reasons that the series stuck in my mind throughout the years was NOT because of the sword duels, or of the hinted romance, but because the heavy feminist themes. Despite the fact that Utena is searching for a prince that rescued her, much like how Snow White sang, “Someday my prince will come,” she is also becoming a “prince” herself. Instead of wearing a miniskirt while fighting, she wears an embellished version of the school uniform for boys, tailcoats and all. Utena does not look natural in the girls’ school uniform, or even in a dress. She is a tomboy, but keep in mind, not a lesbian tomboy. She has the pitfalls that we girls have with boys, including crushes and infatuation. This story is more about girls pitching in to help each other and taking friendship to the extreme than about how a woman deeply desires a man. (And considering how hard girls have it in Japan, Saito-sensei is giving hope for those that don’t want to marry but find a life-long career for themselves.) Manipulation is another huge theme.

There aren’t regular chess masters, but several characters are not who or what they seem. It doesn’t happen enough for the trick to grow old, but when it happens, it blows you away. Some people who thought they were chess masters end up as pawns. Knights, to be more exact. When characters realize that they are just pawns in this huge chess game that they know nothing about, to say it is a big shock is an understatement. Some people even blame themselves for not knowing because otherwise they could’ve prevented some event that had an effect on them emotionally. Manipulation is such a key plot point that I would spoil it for you if you inquired further.

The artwork only contributes to this gorgeous story. ALL characters designs are original, yes you can tell everyone apart, and there are even brown-skinned people in this story! Never before have I seen this in a regular series. All the characters in most manga are Caucasian or Japanese, so this is a BIG PLUS in my book. Not only that, but these people aren’t even stereotypes! They are original three-dimensional characters with feelings and thoughts of their own and mysterious pasts. But pretty much everyone has a mysterious past or personality complex in Revolutionary Girl Utena, so there’s no racism. Everyone treats Anthy as if she didn’t have black skin or blue hair; if they put her down, it’s because she’s a woman rather than she’s brown-skinned. Saito-sensei knew how to handle an issue that never comes up once in this series. But I’m getting off-topic. Action scenes are beautiful; so are clothing, backgrounds, and fantasy scenes. Even if the cover is just showing Utena coming at you with a short, its mood vibrates visibly as you’re browsing through the manga section.

Viz Media’s preparation is also good, including an afterword at the very, very, very end of the series by Saito-sensei about how Utena started and how it eventually evolved. There are also two one-page things about the anime people consulting her for the show. One was about what color Utena’s uniform should be (Saito-sensei chose black over red, but the anime people chose red. After Sailor Moon and W.I.T.C.H., I can’t say that I’m surprised.) I’m surprised that Viz isn’t re-running this series in Shojo Beat along with Please Save My Earth. Both of these mahou shoujo series are manga classics. If not, then they should be. People tend to remember the anime and the movie more than the manga, however. I haven’t seen either, but I know that Viz should be running the manga anyway so that people remember what it was like. I’m sure they have other previously licensed series that could also be included; why else is Dragon Ball Z still in Shonen Jump? Judging from one of Kevin’s recent reviews, Revolutionary Girl Utena would attract more girls than Kaze Hikaru.

I’d love to give this series an A+. This isn’t the first time that I’ve considered doing it either; Death: The High Cost of Living would’ve gotten one had it not been for that shoddy artwork at the end. But the truth is that I can’t. As much as my manga-lover side protests, I have to be fair and give this series an A. I’ll make the reason short and sweet: Saito-sensei writes a great story, but terrible fillers. Maybe I’m being too harsh. But there were fillers at the end of two volumes and in volume five, and they really ruined the story for me. The first two were for humor: Anthy and Utena switching bodies and Anthy’s monkey getting three wishes. (DON”T ask.) Although it was interesting to see Utena fighting in Anthy’s body, the humor and plots were predictable, much like Tokyo Mew Mew at its worst. I was content to skip them and move on to the next volume. You can do this if you like as well. These fillers aren’t the real stinkers. But the ones in volume five are terrible. It’s not just the stories themselves; they come after the story’s conclusion, and Utena has the type of ending where you can’t write a sequel unless you come up with a story that beats out Please Save My Earth. These purely filled up the rest of the volume and contributed no significance. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were written for that purpose. Skip these please. They are technically good stories, but they don’t make any sense. The end’s the end. Anything after doesn’t cut it.

- -Review By Jaya Lakshmi - -