Revolutionary Girl Utena

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Postby Reichu » Sun Oct 19, 2014 7:54 am

View Original PostUrsusArctos wrote:By the way, is the casting choice in question for the series or movie-only? I thought the Akio VA in the series fit the role perfectly.

Movie Akio. Series version has a great veteran seiyuu and I have no complaints about him, but the singer who was brought on for the film clearly can't act and his performance is distractingly bad.

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Postby gorgeousshutin » Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:52 am

Series!Akio has been likened to terms like "society" and "CEO" according to the DVD Commentaries . . . which kinda explains the extra-heated hate he gets around those parts of the internet.
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Postby Ray » Wed Nov 12, 2014 1:24 am


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Postby chee » Sat Jan 31, 2015 5:25 pm

So, after ages of procrastinating and watching random episodes and clips, I'm finally sitting my ass down as watching this show straight through.


six episodes in and already I know that I'm not ready

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Postby Atropos » Sun Feb 01, 2015 7:24 am


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Postby Reichu » Sat Feb 14, 2015 3:04 am

View Original Postchee wrote:six episodes in and already I know that I'm not ready

You should take notes. I know I'll be taking notes the next time I watch this show.

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Postby Sailor Star Dust » Sun Apr 05, 2015 1:46 pm

Quick re-post of this Ikuhara interview for those who missed it:

View Original PostSailor Star Dust wrote:Quick post: this 2000 interviewis old old news, right? All this time I thought it was Ikuhara crossplaying. :lol:


____

April New Post:

Ikuhara's involvement in the dub:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/answerm ... -03/.86638
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Postby gorgeousshutin » Tue Apr 07, 2015 7:24 pm

Utena strikes me as one of those series that is near-impossible to dub well in English. The original VA cast is just too strong IMHO.
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Postby Sailor Star Dust » Tue Apr 07, 2015 8:52 pm

The dub's a little wooden, but still: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMd90yowhoM :lol:

On one hand, I want to do a rewatch of the series, but on the other, certain aspects of the series didn't sit well with me. Like, in general I can't shake the sense that other series might have conveyed what Ikuhara was trying to say a bit better? (From what I've heard, Princess Tutu, though that's one I still have to finish.)
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Postby UrsusArctos » Tue Apr 07, 2015 9:44 pm

The English dub was lousy. The voices grate on the ears for the most part, and Miki just sounds wrong.

By the way, you know that Miki has Ami Mizuno's VA, don't you? It's no coincidence that Miki and Juri are so close! :lol:
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Postby Sailor Star Dust » Tue Apr 07, 2015 11:21 pm

Of course, I could tell right away ;)
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Postby gorgeousshutin » Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:35 am

I think the main difficulty in doing a competent english dub for Utena is that much of the Japanese dialogue already has this distinctive classic Japanese flair to it. For english speakers to try and emulate that - without understanding a thing about the Japanese cultural context - will most certainly end in disaster. Even the word choice of "Miss Utena" is erroneous, as "sama" in Utena-sama leans more towards meaning "Lord/Lady" instead of "Mr./ Ms.".
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Postby robersora » Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:42 am

^
I guess a really great dubbing team could pull it off; after all the series has a really wacky vibe, so some strange sounding speech patterns might even enhance the experience.
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Postby UrsusArctos » Wed Apr 08, 2015 10:04 pm

View Original Postgorgeousshutin wrote:I think the main difficulty in doing a competent english dub for Utena is that much of the Japanese dialogue already has this distinctive classic Japanese flair to it <snip>


That's a problem dubbing from one language to another in general. Even dubbing from English to German or vice-versa results in translation issues, although both languages are from the same family and share so much in common. The trouble isn't the translation at all, it's just that the voice actors convey no emotion whatsoever and sound just hopelessly wrong. There are great dubs out there that actually improve on the Japanese dub, with Ghost in the Shell and Cowboy Bebop being classic examples.
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Postby JC Denton » Wed May 20, 2015 8:43 pm

some elements of utena are really unparalleled (music, direction and imagery), but ultimately the series fails because

anthy's a fucking unlikeable bitch. not worth a character of utena's (earlier) worth

plus the end is really disappointing. I was really hoping for something ambiguous that turned all that had happened upside down on several levels. what happened was something that was really more of a nothing. disappointing enough that I wouldn't recommend the show to anyone now after seeing that final episode

do I even want to watch the movie now? not sure anymore...

summary: I've seen worse, but wasted potential is certainly a colossal key word here...

ps: and don't tell me it was meant like utena failed cause she's a girl. that would of course totally kill the show for me
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Postby gorgeousshutin » Wed May 20, 2015 9:52 pm

anthy's a fucking unlikeable bitch.

Fair. Anthy is guilty of the exact same set of harm-doing towards the other characters as Akio, so it is understandable that some people will find her unlikable. But, IMHO both siblings are complex enough, well-executed enough characters to be worth the audience's while. Plus, Utena is likewise a heavily flawed character prone to willful blindness and hypocrisy, so I understand how they'd be a match for each other.

do I even want to watch the movie now? not sure anymore...

In a way, the movie's plot reads like a fulfillment fanfic for hardcore lovers of the TV series. So, if you already got problems with the TV series . . .

and don't tell me it was meant like utena failed cause she's a girl. that would of course totally kill the show for me

Utena failed to change "society at large" - Akio + the world he controls - because she is but one person. However, the show also points out that she is responsible for inducing positive changes to many of her schoolmates, and she does free Anthy from her mutually abusive relationship with Akio at the End. In all three of Ikuhara's shows (utena, penguindrum, yuri kuma), the heroes ALWAYS fail at changing the "flawed society" in the end, but will still manage to induce positive influence on a few individuals. I guess he goes for these kinds of semi-downer endings cause it's more realistic-seeming?
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Postby Mr. Tines » Thu May 21, 2015 1:09 am

View Original PostJC Denton wrote:do I even want to watch the movie now? not sure anymore...
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Postby Shinoyami65 » Thu May 21, 2015 9:12 am

View Original PostJC Denton wrote:
ps: and don't tell me it was meant like utena failed cause she's a girl. that would of course totally kill the show for me


Did Utena really fail though?

SPOILER: Show

I would argue that the fact that Utena at least freed herself from the school and influenced Anthy to leave (thereby leaving Akio powerless, as he has no magic of his own) was a victory of a kind. As Anthy states, Utena is not dead but is apparently no longer in the self-contained 'world' that the school represents.
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Postby NemZ » Thu May 21, 2015 12:02 pm

Let's keep any disagreements focused on the show and not each other.
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Postby C.A.P. » Thu May 21, 2015 3:14 pm

One reason why Utena is the greatest anime ever: It has the mindset of a political activist but has the comedic sensibilities of a Looney Tune. I can't think of any other anime that has that dual personality.
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