Details
- Episodes:39
- Format:TV
- Average Score:82
- Popularity:1128
- Status:Finished Airing
- Season:Spring 1997
- Duration:23 min. per ep. minutes
- Genre:Comedy, Mystery, Drama, Fantasy, Shoujo, Psychological
- Country:JP
After meeting a traveling prince who consoled her after the deaths of her parents, Utena Tenjou vowed to become a prince herself. The prince left Utena only with a ring bearing a strange rose crest and a promise that she would meet him again some day. A few years later, Utena attends Ootori Academy, where she is drawn into a dangerous game. Duelists with rings matching Utena's own compete for a unique prize: the Rose Bride, Anthy Himemiya, and her mysterious powers. When Utena wins Anthy in a duel, she realizes that if she is to free Anthy and discover the secrets behind Ootori Academy, she has only one option: to revolutionize the world. Shoujo Kakumei Utena blends surrealist imagery and ideas with complex allegories and metaphors to create a unique coming-of-age story with themes including idealism, illusions, adulthood, and identity. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Episodes
1. The Rose Bride
Utena Tenjou is a schoolgirl in the eighth grade of Ohtori Academy. She has the strange memory that, when she was very young, she met a mysterious "prince" and was given a ring with a rose signet. One day, Utena finds guys are making fun of a love letter somebody posted, and she finds it was written by her best friend, Wakaba, for the captain of Kendo Club, Saionji. For the sake of her best friend, Utena challenges Saionji to a duel. Then, Saionji tells her to come to the forest of the Duel Arena.
2. For Whom the Rose Smiles
Winning the duel with Saionji, Utena is now the Victor of the Duel and is to be "engaged" to the Rose Bride, who is Anthy. Next day, Utena and Anthy start living together in a dorm. Saionji, who is actually really in love, asks Anthy to get back on good terms with him, but Anthy refuses. Then, he challenges Utena to a rematch. Feeling the whole thing is just crazy, Utena decides to lose the Duel on purpose.
3. On the Night of the Ball
Utena unintentionally unleashed the Power of Dios in the last Duel with Saionji, which attracted Touga's interest in her. Touga sends Utena a dress for the upcoming ball. On the other hand, Touga's sister, Nanami, thinks her brother likes Anthy, and in a fit of jealousy, she sends Anthy a water-dissolvable dress.
4. The Sunlit Garden: Prelude
Utena and Miki are about to begin a duel. The rest of the episode and the following one are flashback to show what has caused this duel. Miki often plays a particular tune on the piano. He says he cannot truely play the tune as he wishes because he has lost a "glow". Nanami thinks that Miki likes Anthy, and from jealousy, she tries to tease and razz her. Taking advantage of that, Miki makes a good friend of Anthy, and then Utena. Finding Anthy and Utena got poor grades in the previous math exam, Miki offers to tutor them. However, Nanami won't leave them alone.
5. The Sunlit Garden: Finale
In the tune Anthy just casually played, Miki found a "glow" that he had been seeking. He has a twin sister, Kozue, who used to play a tune with a "glow". However, she does not play the piano anymore because (he thinks) of his fault. Miki wishes to protect Anthy's "glow" in her tune; however Anthy tells him that, because she is the Rose Bride, by the Rose Signet Code, she must obey the Victor of the Duel, or Utena at the moment. She even says that, if Utena told her not to play the piano anymore, she would not. Since he thinks it is his own fault that he lost Kozue's "glow" in the past, not to lose a "glow" again, Miki challenges Utena to a duel and tries to set Anthy free and protect her with his own hands
6. Take Care, Miss Nanami!
Lately, someone has been trying to take Nanami's life. Overhearing a conversation between Anthy and her brother Touga, Nanami misunderstands that Touga is the one who is trying to kill her. After that, someone saves Nanami out of a danger and she falls in love with him, who turns out to be a young boy. Nanami asks him to be her boyfriend, but she does not seem to know the difference between a lover and a henchman.
7. Unfulfilled Juri
Juri believes there are no miracles. In the past, she secretly loved someone, but she couldn't win the person's heart. She thinks if there were miracles, she could have achieved her love. One day, Juri talks with Utena, and she gets enraged by Utena's words that she believes in miracles for the destiny between her "prince" and herself. Juri challenges Utena to a duel and tells her to show that there are miracles by defeating Juri by a miracle.
8. Curried High Trip
Somehow, Anthy's curry and rice explodes and that shock switches Utena and Anthy's personalities. Now Utena is feminine while Anthy is tomboyish. The cause of the incident seems to be Nanami's practical joke, trying to mix in the curry the "100X Curry, an Indian Specialty Hot Enough to Make You Breathe Fire". which has mistakenly been replaced with the "Super Spicy 900 Billion X Curry, So Hot It Will Blast You to Smithereens and Make Phantom Elephants Trumpet Loudly". Scolded by her brother, Nanami flies to India to obtain more of the same spice.
9. The Castle Said to Hold Eternity
In the Kendo Dojo, Saionji and Touga are fighting a Kendo duel. Touga defeats Saionji by a narrow margin. Utena hears from Saionji that they has fought hundreds of duels in the last ten years. Saionji also tells Utena that he wants to win the duels and take Anthy to the midair castle above the Arena. A memory crosses his mind about that raining day when he was a young boy... One day, he receives a letter from the Ends of the World, in which they say the castle will fall down to the Arena today. On the other hand, Utena gets a phone call from someone and he says Anthy is being kidnapped at the Forest of the Arena.
10. Nanami's Precious One
Taking the Rose Bride to the Arena without a duel besides inflicting a wound to Touga, Saionji is now expelled from school. Nanami blames Utena for Touga's wound. Utena apologizes, but Nanami doesn't forgive her. A memory crosses her mind that she gave a kitten to Touga as a birthday present when they were very young, and later, from jealousy she killed the kitten. At Touga's birthday party, Utena brings a bunch of flowers to express her gratitude. But Nanami is very upset. Touga suggests them fighting a duel on the Arena by the code of the
11. Gracefully Cruel: The One Who Picks That Flower
Having observed the last five duels, Touga is now positive that he has completed collecting sufficient data to defeat Utena. Touga has been implying to Utena that he is the prince she has been looking for. One day, in the rose garden, Touga shows Utena that he is her prince in concrete terms. However, he challenges Utena to a duel. Believing that Anthy wants to quit being the Rose Bride, become an ordinary girl, and make many friends, Utena decides to beat her prince for Anthy's sake.
12. For Friendship, Perhaps
Utena was defeated. But the real shock for her was not the fact that she was defeated, but the fact that from Touga's explanation, she learned that Anthy was just playing the role of the bride around Utena, which means Anthy pretended she wanted to quite the bride, become an ordinary girl, and make many friends, *because* Utena, or the Victor of the Duel, so wished. Utena now loses herself. Wakaba, although she knows nothing about what's going on with Utena, she tries to cheer her up. Gradually, Utena gets back to herself. Utena goes to the rose garden to see Touga. Touga thinks she's come to accept his date offer. However, she challenges him to a duel.
13. Tracing a Path
In this episode, we review episodes 1 through 12 with Ohtori Akio's monologue (In the next episode, we will learn he is Anthy's brother). When he appears in the Arena, the midair castle falls down. Akio talks to Dios sleeping in the castle. He calls each of Utena's duels as follows: 1. friendship (amitie); 2. choice (choix); 3. reason (raison); 4. love (amour); 5. adoration (adoration); 6. conviction (conviction); 7. self (soi). Akio says Utena might be the one they (Akio and Dios?) have been looking for. At this rate, she could reach to the duel called "revolution" and Dios could be released.
14. The Boys of the Black Rose
Utena is introduced to Anthy`s older brother, Akio, who also happens to be the acting chairman for the school. Source: crunchyroll
15. The Landscape Framed by Kozue
Kozue’s feelings for her brother remain most ambiguous... but the Black Rose society knows all. Source: crunchyroll
16. Cowbell of Happiness
Nanami`s just received a priceless piece of jewelry; a Sebastian Dior… cow bell. Source: crunchyroll
17. Thorns of Death
As Jury tries her best to ignore Shiori, Mikage`s seminar beckons to her. Source: crunchyroll
18. Mitsuru's Growing Pains
Mitsuru yearns to be more like an adult, but isn`t even sure what that entails. Again, Mikage`s seminar can provide the answers. Source: crunchyroll
19. The Song of the Fallen Kingdom
When Wakaba was a child, she had a prince she`d held close in her heart. Well now, her prince has arrived at Ohtori. Source: crunchyroll
20. Wakaba Flourishing
Saionji has been shacking up with Wakaba. As she spends time with him, she starts to feel a change within herself. Source: crunchyroll
21. Troublesome Insects
Keiko`s always been content with being a member of Nanami`s gang, but her desires for Touga still precede her. Source: crunchyroll
22. Nemuro Memorial Hall
As Mikage`s down to his last black rose, he stakes his last hopes on allying with Utena. Source: crunchyroll
23. Qualifications of a Duelist
As the student council searches for answers as to who`s behind the Black Rose Duelists, Utena is already poised to fight. Source: crunchyroll
24. The Secret Nanami Diary
After a mishap puts Mitsuru in the hospital, Utena, Anthy and Nanami stumble upon a diary he`s kept. Source: crunchyroll
25. Their Eternal Apocalypse
Saionji vows to quit the dueling game. However, Touga and Akio have other plans for him. Source: crunchyroll
26. Miki's Nest Box (The Sunlit Garden: Arranged)
Miki is once again pushed to duel. This time, his sister is the one doing the pushing. Source: crunchyroll
27. Nanami's Egg
Nanami is startled to find an egg in her bed. Unsure as to whether or not it`s possible that she`s the mother, she assumes the role. Source: crunchyroll
28. Whispers in the Dark
Rukia returns. But as to whether he`s back to enjoy life as a student or push Jury`s buttons, it remains to be determined. Source: crunchyroll
29. Azure Paler Than the Sky
Rukia seeks to ally himself with Jury. However, Jury`s hatred for him has only grown during the time he`s been back. Source: crunchyroll
30. The Barefoot Girl
As Utena has gotten to know Akio, she`s started to realize that she has feelings for him. Source: crunchyroll
31. Her Tragedy
Nanami`s growing irritation is put into a strange context when she uncovers a horrifying revelation regarding their relationship. Source: crunchyroll
32. The Romance of the Dancing Girls
Nanami does all she can to avoid Touga. However, her feelings for him betray her and force her to face the truth, instead. Source: crunchyroll
33. The Prince Who Runs Through the Night
Anthy sends Utena on an errand to deliver roses, but little does she realize that Anthy`s plan is also Akio`s plot. Source: crunchyroll
34. The Rose Signet
Utena, Anthy, and Akio all go to see a play being put on by the school`s drama club. Source: crunchyroll
35. The Love That Blossomed in Wintertime
As Akio grows close to Utena, Touga begins to question as to how this will affect the outcome of the duels. Source: crunchyroll
36. And the Doors of Night Open
Touga`s resolved to duel with Utena one more time. Source: crunchyroll
37. The One to Revolutionize the World
Utena has uncovered the truth behind Anthy and Akio and her disgust for them both has brought her to forsake everything she`s fought for. Source: crunchyroll
38. The End of the World
Utena has decided to follow the letter`s instructions and proceeds to the dueling arena to meet her prince. Source: crunchyroll
39. Someday, We Will Shine Together
Utena`s once again betrayed by Anthy. Akio attempts to open the doors of revolution. Source: crunchyroll
