The ending of Revolutionary Girl Utena might be one of my favorite anime endings to date, because of the message the last episode sends. Even though it hurts us, as viewers, to see the heroine we've been rooting for for 39 episodes fail to save her best friend and subsequently become erased from Ohtori's existence, I think it's deeply important for this to have occurred. Because, as Utena herself outlines in the previous episode, her attempts to play prince to Anthy's damsel in distress were rooted in egotism and selfishness. She loves her, but she believed in a false ideal of what roles they were meant to play, and in the process, ignored Anthy's feelings. Had she been able to save Anthy in playing the role of her prince, it would have (at least in part) validated those roles and Utena's false ideals.

From Playing Prince: The Dangers of Role Appropriation and Scripted Romance in Revolutionary Girl Utena (link to the full essay, highly recommended) : Utena strives to walk the fine line between empathy and masculinist liberation fantasy, but temporarily and tragically fails due to her over-identification with the "prince" and his corresponding narrative. In short, she acts paternalistically toward her friend, seeking to "fix" and "correct" Anthy's being. Instead of seeking to understand or collaborate with Anthy, Utena appoints herself the sole and omnipotent savior of her friend's woeful life. Although Utena's "orders" to Anthy are well-meaning -- Utena encourages her to socialize more and to seek healthy friendships, for instance -- Anthy still "obeys" because she is the Rose Bride, not because these situations are comforting, pleasant, or something she genuinely desires. Utena strives to create an egalitarian, non-hierarchical relationship with Anthy, but her paternalistic attitude undermines her efforts.

But in the end, although it may not seem apparent to anyone, not the students of Ohtori Academy, not Akio, not even the viewer -- Utena did cause a revolution to occur. She gave Anthy the opportunity and courage to exercise her own agency, to live without fear of a hundred thousand swords stabbing her (or her brother's abuse) getting in the way of her ability to live her own life according to her own will.

And that is so, so important.

“You really want your prince to be a horse” You can tell Ikuhara just finished directing Sailor Moon SuperS.

LITERALLY HOWLED WITH LAUGHTER THANK YOU

In Japanese flower language (hanakotoba), red poppies are a symbol of fun and playfulness, while cactus flowers are a symbol of lust and sex.

So if anyone was still wondering about Touga and Akio, well.

Of all the seemingly-innocuous lines that still break my heart to this day, "I only came to deliver the flowers" hurts the most.

This one and the one from Nanami's Egg are perhaps the finest I've seen from Welcome to Ohtori so far.

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE

This is a show that deals with sexuality mainly through symbolism, gay or straight or bisexual. Honestly, dismissing the queer elements as titillation seems harmful to me.

Thank you. The way this show frames intimacy and romance in general is with a lot of symbolism and sleight of hand, and I think that applies to both the heterosexual and queer relationships we see in the show.

Which is not to say that it's immune from fanservice, but so far the most fanservice we've seen has been expressed through male characters (see: Touga's shirt flying open), not female.

What part of this seems like fanservice to you? That cel wasn't even in the ending theme fully, it's cut off by a black bar and most people don't even get to see it.

Furthermore, why do you need more context and information before you're convinced that Utena and Anthy's relationship is queer on some level? Why is it necessary to outline further from this point that their relationship isn't strictly platonic? Is it because Utena has a crush on Akio and previously crushed on Touga, even though that doesn't negate the potential queerness of their relationship because hey, bisexuality is totally a thing? If so, does it not strike you as odd, then, that both the intro theme and this new ending theme is rife with queer symbolism between Utena and Anthy that is depicted in a non-sexualized-male-gaze manner? Would that be a total coincidence to you, or would you consider it actual authorial intent?

Certainly, queerbaiting and gay fanservice is rife in anime, manga, etc. But here's the thing: it's easy to assume that a cisman and a ciswoman who breathe the same air are attracted to each other when heterosexuality is the default. It's not difficult to assume the same of two cismen if you're used to media that uses queerbaiting to sell its product. But why is it that it's so difficult to picture two women, who clearly have a deeply close relationship that involves both physical and emotional intimacy, might be queer?

In a show rife with allegory, metaphors, and surrealist symbolism, why is the potential of two girls loving each other the hardest thing to swallow?

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BU ZL URNEG. BU ZNEX. BU!!!!!!!!