Revolutionary Girl Utena Manga

So first in my series on Revolutionary Girl Utena, I will be discussing the manga version of the story. In my last post, I forgot to mention why there are four different versions of the story. The story was created by a group called Be-papas, consisting of the anime director Kunihiko Ikuhara (known for Sailor Moon), animator Yoji Enokido, screenwriter Shinya Hasegawa, planner Yuichiro Oguro, and the mangaka Chiho Saito. The manga and the series were produced at the same time, so each has a similar plot line and similar events. However, the manga is Saito-san’s vision of the story, so the main characters and the ending differ greatly. Saito-san is known for her shoujo (manga aimed at girls) romances, many focusing on specific historical periods (Kaken no Madonna, Waltz no Shiori Dress De, Bronze no Tenshi) or ballet/figure-skating/theatre/music/other performing arts (Kanon). Besides her work with Be-papas, Saito-san has not been published in the U.S. From what I have been able to read of her works, many of her heroines are strong and independent and her stories bring up the question about the secondary role women are forced to play within society (for example Bronze no Tenshi focuses on a beautiful debutant who is being forced to marry and Basilis no Musume back story is about a servant who is forced to perform sexual favors for her master). I don’t mean to go off on a Chiho Saito love-fest, but I love her work (okay, they are romances, but who says a girl can’t enjoy some romance here and there?). I highly recommend finding her series that have been scantlated (a list of her works and scantlation sites is available here: http://www.mangaupdates.com/authors.html?id=141)

Back to the Utena manga :D Saito’s version is more idealistic than and not nearly as dark as the series. Less allegorical than the others versions (but that doesn’t mean it lacks symbolism), I believe Saito-san’s idea of ‘revolutionizing the world’ is more female in perspective, focusing on gender equality as much as ‘breaking out of the box.’ There is a prequel to the main story that does not exist in the series that explains in detail Utena’s relationship to her ‘prince.’ This shows life before Ohtori, presenting an outside world and destroying the interesting illusion the series creates that Ohtori is its own alternate universe. The prequel further develops Utena’s character, but at the same time somewhat destroying the allegory of the world within Ohtori Academy. This prequel may be a reason for Utena not appearing as flat a character as in the series. It is also the most heterosexual of all versions. Although there are moments of homoeroticism, all the characters are definitely heterosexual, no hint of being possibly otherwise. Saito even plays up this heterosexuality in her imagery, showing instances of pseudo-fellatio. This could be considered a fault, but as stated before, it is one person’s vision of the story. Though definitely more narrow in scope when concerning sexuality, it is a nice thorough exploration of feminism and heterosexuality (which, quite honestly does not get as much attention as it deserves, except only to bash heterosexual women – just like you can’t help being a lesbian, I can’t help I’m hetero. But just because I prefer men sexually does not make me any less of a feminist. Damnit, heterosexual feminists are the ones who have to deal with them!) Sorry, another tangent (Future Warning: I do that a lot). The other versions explore homosexuality in-depth, so the manga offers s more heterosexual view. You could blame Saito-san for being narrow-minded, but personally, I think her take only adds to the dimensions and richness of Utena.

The manga is shorter than the 36 episode series, being only 5 volumes long, so less attention is paid to peripheral characters and the focus lies mostly on Utena and Anthy, with some attention to Akio and Touga. The secondary characters really standout in the series, especially Juri, Miki, and Mikage, much of the time becoming more interesting than Utena and Anthy. The manga stays focused on developing Utena, so that you can begin to understand her actions and motivations, whereas in the series, she remains a flat character (aka a naive bimbo) for most of it, only at the end, does Utena truly blossom and grow. On the other hand, the story is much tighter (heehee, it’s impossible to write about Utena without seeing everything as a sexual innuendo) and focused. Everything aspect that is introduced, the reader’s curiosity is satisfied by the end. I get the feeling that the series was written as it went along, while Saito-san sketched out her plan for the story beforehand. I can’t give examples without giving away parts of both the series and the manga, but I can safely say that the series leaves much unexplained and unsatisfied, which is both a strength and a weakness. I guess you could say Saito-san follows a much more traditional plot structure.

Another part, which separates the manga from the other retellings, is the emphasis on the love story aspect as much as the fairytale aspect. In the manga Utena’s goal (and her main reason for becoming a prince) is so that she may become strong and noble enough to meet her prince, while in the series, Utena’s reason is to save Anthy. Although meeting her prince plays a role in the series, her romantic illusions are less developed. Manga Utena truly wants to protect Anthy at the beginning, but her focus changes as her relationship with Anthy grows. This fundamental difference explains much of the differences between the manga and the series. Her wish to meet her prince is probably what keeps the manga ‘heterosexual.’ However, the manga manages to turn the stereotypical love story on its head as well as the stereotypical fairytale. The manga does not end ‘happily ever after,’ nor does it have a tragic ‘Romeo and Juliet’ end. Instead, Utena’s love inspires her to realize her own potential and become what she can be. Maybe the beginning is a bit archaic, but the end truly declares a feminist viewpoint. Somehow, I find Utena starting out depending on a man for her identity and goals and coming into her own more empowering. This also plays into my idea of the manga being a realistic – Utena has her own personal revolution when she stops having her life revolve around her ‘prince,’ but takes control of her own destiny – something many heterosexual women struggle with. In fact, I think this conflict between one’s love and one’s self transcends sexual preference.

Japanese Publisher: Shogakkukan, Inc.
English Publisher: Viz Media
Translation: Lillian Olsen
English Adaptation: Fred Burke
Vol. 1 – To Till
Vol. 2 – To Plant
Vol. 3 – To Sprout
Vol. 4 – To Bud
Vol. 5 – To Blossom
Copies of the English Translation can be found on Amazon, E-bay, or any other online booksellers. Copies of the Japanese Edition can be found sometimes at Nippon Export, Sasuga Books, and E-bay.