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| 4. Cross
Scars 
Adolescence of Utena is closest to the likes of Escaflowne:
A Girl in Gaea given that the movie is a short, alternate universe, retelling
of the events that occurred in the TV series. While
the story behind the movie is ultimately the same as the TV series the most striking
thing is how much the characters have been changed. Ones such as Akio are almost
completely different from how they were portrayed in the TV series. For this reason
it's probably best that you've seen the TV series before watching this film, even
if the movie can stand alone, as the changes in character will have more effect
if you're aware of how the cast behaved originally. The
animation in the movie is naturally far ahead of the TV series and everything
looks particularly lush and sharp. This is especially helpful for portraying the
new surreal presentation of the academy. In fact Adolescence of Utena becomes
increasingly surreal as the movie goes on and that fact will determine quite far
how much you might enjoy this movie. Adolescence
of Utena is definitely a good movie for fans of the original series and those
who enjoy heavily surreal animes but in order to get the most out of it it's best
watched after the TV series as a sort of companion piece rather than an introduction
to Utena's world. |
| 3. Tempy
Visually stunning with wonderful art and character design,
the Utena movie is a very symbolic and metaphoric show, with very unique
imagery. The music is similar to the TV series and remains great and varied. The
movie is a retelling of the TV series and is basically about Utena growing up,
hence the subtitle "The Adolescence of Utena", albeit in a very
metaphoric way. At only 80 minutes, it does feel very cramped. Watching the TV
series is necessary if you want to better understand the motivation of the characters,
as a lot is merely hinted at. The plot is still followable if you've never seen
the TV series or only part of it, as there are a few deviations from the TV series
as well as some additions, though I desperately wanted more time for those to
be developed and elaborated upon in the movie. More subtle hints would have been
nice, as the movie needs a couple of viewings to truly appreciate. It's more of
an art painting than a movie; it's open to various interpretations, it makes you
think, but as a movie, which is a linear viewing process, I think the creators
tried to put too much into too little time. It's still quite clever, and very
enjoyable to watch if merely for its sheer stylishness. |
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