I've been caught up in family goings-on with a niece in the hospital, so I STILL haven't gotten around to catching up on Mark Watches Utena yet, but I thought I should share my links with everyone who may still want/need them.

So last week's episodes of Utena 16-20 are available here: http://markdoesstuff.fetchapp.com/get/yhwego
And I have this week's available here:
21 & 24: http://markdoesstuff.fetchapp.com/get/hwcree
22: http://markdoesstuff.fetchapp.com/get/pzwcsu
23: http://markdoesstuff.fetchapp.com/get/cskfae
25: http://markdoesstuff.fetchapp.com/get/enuveb

Enjoy! Hopefully I can catch up with everyone and return to commenting on posts again soon. :( I don't want to miss all the fun.

Qb lbh guvax fb? V nyjnlf gubhtug sebz gur pbairefngvba ng gur raq jvgu Gbhtn gung guvf uvpphc jnf npghnyyl abg bepurfgengrq ol Raq bs gur Jbeyq. V pbhyq or jebat gubhtu, Nxvb'f cerggl qnza tbbq ng erirefr cflpubybtl naq gevpxvat crbcyr vagb qbvat rknpgyl jung ur jnagf gurz gb.

Mm, yeah, I tend to include a lot of things under "facelessness", which is probably too vague for what I want to use it for. There's just SO MANY instances of this show hiding a character's face/expression and it's always meaningful.

Okay, last post before I have to get back to packing.



Anthy is inside a giant coffin nestled in a blooming red rose. When Saionji and Utena arrive to see this, the rose coffin grows rapidly into the air, with only a few platforms here and there growing to similar heights. One of them is directly under Utena, lifting her up to the same level as the rose coffin.

Anthy seems to be completely unconscious here, not responding to her name or moving at all among the white roses in her red coffin. (Look at dat color symbolism, aw yeah.) Her hand is limp as Utena reaches for it and grabs hold of it to save her from the coffin.

Series spoilers: Boivbhfyl, guvf zveebef gung urnegoernxvat svany fprar orgjrra Hgran naq Nagul va ure pbssva. Hgran gnxvat n yrnc [bs snvgu] gb ernpu bhg gb Nagul. Gur qvssreraprf urer ner vzcbegnag gb abgr, gubhtu. Nagul vf fgvyy pbzcyrgryl yvzc naq hazbivat sebz ure pbssva bs juvgr 'vaabprag'/'aboyr' ebfrf. Gur pbssva bcraf yvxr n qbbe, engure guna n fyvqvat pbssva yvq.

Compare this to young Utena in her coffin from earlier in the episode, and you’ll see that both of them are curled up in the fetal position, a defensive and despondent position that withdraws from the world outside the coffin. As Utena says earlier in the episode when the boys tell her she’ll be found there: “Then I’ll find another coffin to hide in.” Opinion: Gur pbssvaf ner, fvzcyl, ercerfragngvir bs qrngu/fgntangvba - bs ershfvat gb tebj be zbir ba cnfg gentrql. Culfvpnyyl orvat erzbirq sebz gur pbssva ol na rkgreany sbepr qbrf abg artngr be urny gur vagreany tevrs gung unf 'xvyyrq' gur crefba va gur pbssva. Bs pbhefr, guvf oevatf hc gur dhrfgvba gb svefg gvzr ivrjref: jung chg Nagul va gung pbssva? :)

And yet, as soon as Utena rescues Anthy from the coffin, the crumbling castle and platforms disappear and are replaced by the untouched castle in the sky. As implied by the conversation Touga has on the phone, this was orchestrated by him, not End of the World as Saionji believed. Series spoilers: Juvpu zrnaf Nxvb jnf (cbffvoyl) abg vaibyirq va bepurfgengvat gurfr riragf. Tbvat ol zl gurbel gung Nagul vf fhopbafpvbhfyl va pbageby bs gur funcr bs gur Neran, fvapr vg'f ohvyg nebhaq URE pbssva naq pnfgyr, guvf zrnaf gung jr whfg jvgarffrq n ceryhqr gb gur svanyr, n pel sbe uryc sebz Nagul'f fhopbafpvbhf.

GUVF FUBJ VF NAGUL'F FGBEL NOBHG GUR TVEY FUR SRYY VA YBIR JVGU JUB FNIRQ URE SEBZ UNGVAT UREFRYS NAQ ABGUVAT PNA PBAIVAPR ZR BGUREJVFR NHTU YBBX NG GUVF Y B B X NG ZL CERPVBHF NAGUL V pna'g jnvg sbe Znex gb ernpu gur raqvat ubyl shpx.

FACELESSNESS



When the girls are speaking and cheering, we see practice swords falling all over themselves within the confines of a metal, gated box. I considered this a simple way to reference these fawning girls as practice tools in Saionji and Touga’s eyes. I don’t really get what the broom represents. Also, I barely know a handful of kanji - can anyone translate what is on the bucket here, please? Are they meant to be ‘cleaner’ than the other girls represented by the practice swords??



We can tell this is meant to be a young Utena by her hair, but for some reason she is faceless, the same way that the princess is faceless in the fairy tale opening. Opinion: V guvax guvf fubj graqf gb hfr snpryrffarff nf n jnl gb fubj gung gur punenpgre orvat cbegenlrq vf abg orvat ubarfgyl ercerfragrq ol gurzfryirf - gung gur pheerag aneengbe/crefcrpgvir frrvat gur snpryrff punenpgre vf zreryl frrvat gur ebyr gurl unir chg gurz va. I’m totally open to different thoughts and interpretations on this one. :D

BANDAGES




The emphasis on the bandages over the characters themselves (such as when they are silhouetted) seems to imply a forced sympathy, to me, as if the narrative is going LOOK HOW HURT THEY ARE! But as we can see in Touga’s silhouette here, it’s uh, not impeding his after school activities.

BICYCLING



Series spoilers: BXNL FB PBAFVQREVAT NYY IRUVPHYNE ZBIRZRAG VF ZRNAG GB OR FRKHNY - Nxvb'f pne, gung bar fprar jvgu Fnvbawv/Gbhtn ba n zbcrq, Hgran plpyvat ure yrtf va gur nve qhevat gung rcvfbqr jurer fur tbrf ba n qngr jvgu Nxvb - GUVF NYJNLF PENPXF ZR HC. YBBX NG GUR YVGGYR CERGRRAF NAQ GURVE SVEFG NGGRZCGF NG N ERYNGVBAFUVC. LBH JRER "CENPGVPVAT FCNEEVAT JVGU LBHE FJBEQF" RU?

TOUGA = PRINCE? (Utena no stop that Touga is awful)




Okay, so THIS is what I think causes Utena’s confusion over her prince. I was baffled at how she could possibly confuse Touga with her prince, but in this episode she admits that her memory is vague. Touga’s touch here is familiar, because they met on the same day that Utena “saw eternity”, which we as the audience presume is her prince.





Silly Saionji, it’s a trick of the light.
Series spoilers: BHE SVEFG YBBX NG GUR GEHGU ORUVAQ GUR NERAN. BU TBQ JUL

Predictably, life has only gotten busier since my site went on hiatus, and I’ve managed to miss commenting on most of these posts so far. ;_; I was super excited to grab this episode early on, because this is where I feel RGU really starts to show off its hidden depth. (I’m probably going to end up coming back and replying to everyone’s comments en masse in a couple weeks, ergh. Dang it, life, stop getting in the way of Utena.)

I didn’t have much time to write this, but I have some analysis below in reply to this comment!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS COMMENT! I have no clue when it comes to astrology, so this is awesome new info.

Gung svefg bar jnf n cnvashy ynhtu...

THAT IS BEAUTIFUL AHAHAHA