Shōjo Kakumei Utena

Shōjo Kakumei Utena (少女革命ウテナ< /span>, lit. Utena, the revolutionary girl< span class="t_nihongo_help">^?) is a multimedia project created by the Japanese artist collective Be Papas directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara in collaboration with the mangaka Chiho Saitō. The manga began its publication in the June 1996 issue of Ciao magazine and consists of five compiled volumes. The anime series was released in 1997 and has 39 episodes. The anime and manga were created at the same time, but despite some similarities, they are almost completely different stories. In Mexico it is known as "Úrsula's magic ring". In Spain, all the sagas were licensed in VHS format in 2000 by DYNAMIC SK, editing only the first 12 episodes and leaving the rest up in the air. In December 2022, Selecta vision announced the license in BD format, and a dubbing for the 39 chapters, maintaining at least the classic voice of the protagonist's first 12 chapters. Meanwhile, in Catalonia it has broadcast all the sagas on TVC with its own dubbing between 2000 and 2006, with several reruns. It later gave rise to an OVA film, Adolescence Mokushiroku, which was released in Japan in 1999. This film was licensed in Spain in June 2022 and was dubbed in Spanish and Catalan, managing to maintain much of the casting voices in both languages and releasing it in 2023 in a few cinema screenings in several cities and in a bluray edition.

The protagonist is Utena Tenjou; a young woman who, as a child, after the death of her father and her mother, met a prince who gave her a ring and promised her that thanks to him one day they would meet again. Utena was so impressed by that encounter that when she grew up she also wanted to become a prince. The story begins when Utena begins her high school studies at the elitist Ohtori Academy. The fact that Utena dresses like a boy, has a much more direct and rebellious character than the rest of her classmates, demonstrates superior performance than men in almost any sport and has a remarkable physique, makes her one of the students. most admired. For this reason, it will not take long for her to attract the attention of those who, in turn, are part of the elite of the academy: the Student Council. One of the main aspects of the series is the sword duels. Each opponent carries a rose on his chest and must try to reach the opponent's with his weapon, at which point the fight ends and the winner obtains as a trophy the possession of Anthy Himemiya, one of the academy's students. Anthy, the Bride of the Rose, contains within herself the power to revolutionize the world. Only Anthy and those who have a ring like Utena's are allowed entry to the arena where the duels take place. Whoever holds the title of winner must fight with anyone who challenges him and also has the permission of the organization "The End of the World" to fight.

Series structure

The anime consists of 39 episodes, divided into four sagas.

The student council saga

Episodes 1 to 13. In this first part, the main characters are introduced and Utena's first duels against the members of the student council take place. These aim to gain possession of the Bride of the Rose, Anthy Himemiya, who in practice becomes "property" of the winner of the duel. During this saga, the enigmas that make up the plot are presented and elaborated, in addition to revealing the hidden interests that lead the characters to confront Utena to obtain Anthy. Everyone has their own reasons.

The Saga of the Black Rose

Episodes 14 to 24. The character of Souji Mikage, a boy of great power and influence at the Academy, is introduced. Mikage's main objective is to take Anthy from Utena, which is why he organizes duels between her and certain of her students. What motivates these new "black rose duelists" It is a series of dark resentments and disappointments that Mikage draws on. Many of these duelists have maintained some type of relationship with a main character, and obtain their weapons from their chests in the same way that Utena obtains her sword (the Sword of God) from Anthy's chest. Unlike the members of the Council and Utena, they wear black rings that disappear upon defeat. Akio Ohtori, director of the Academy and Anthy's brother, makes his first appearance in this saga.

The saga of Akio Ohtori

Episodes 25 to 33. After resolving the Mikage situation, Utena has to fight again with each member of the Student Council under different circumstances. This arc is also called by fans as 'Akio's Car Arc', because each duelist is convinced to challenge Utena during a car ride with Akio.

The saga of the end of the world

Episodes 34 to 39. Events are heading towards a tense outcome. The true intentions of Anthy and Akio are finally revealed, the mystery that surrounds God and the figure of the Bride of the Rose, the concept of the "power to revolutionize the world", as well as the true feelings of the protagonists and the reason for the duels.

Characters

Utena Tenjō/Ursula (أعربية, Tenjō Utena^?)

Voice by: Tomoko Kawakami (Japanese)

Being a little girl, Utena loses her parents, and shortly after she meets a beautiful and gallant 'prince', who consoles her and with whom she falls completely in love. Years later Utena is seen in high school wearing a male uniform, in an attempt to emulate him. All the girls at the Academy adore her because of her altruistic and noble character, her strength and her rebelliousness, in addition to her skill in sports and her elegant bearing. She declares that she wants to be a prince who saves princesses. Although at first she doesn't like the Code of the Rose and having Anthy as "fiancée"; he ends up having romantic feelings for her and becomes obsessed with saving her from her horrible curse as Bride of the Rose.

Anthy Himemiya/Angie ( 。, Himemiya Anshī^?)

Voice by: Yuriko Fuchizaki

She is the "princess to save" of history, in whose body is found the power of God to revolutionize the world. She suffers from a serious dependency on her brother, whom she considers her 'prince', who sexually abuses her and uses her to manipulate others for her own benefit. Anthy, with no apparent friends except her pets and her roses, is polite, calm, and extremely passive in appearance (although in the film she is more cheerful and determined). In reality she is cold, calculating and indifferent to others. During the series she has romantic feelings for Utena, and considers her her true prince and her only hope to get out of the game of the Revolution.

Akio Ohtori (生, ⋅tori Akio^?)

Voice by: Jūrōta Kosugi

He is Anthy's older brother and director of the Academy. Imposing and exotic in appearance, he is a playboy capable of manipulating women to his whim in all possible ways, including his own sister. He etymologically he is God and the Devil at the same time. A deity with a dual nature that manifests itself in a radical rupture of behavior: the attitude of a savior prince and at the same time a schemer with dark purposes about the End of the World.

Kyouichi Saionji ( , Saionji Kyōichi^?)

Voice for: Takeshi Kusao

The vice president of the school's Student Council. He is a student obsessed with Anthy who fights in duels to access the power of the revolution. His violent way of understanding love leads him to insult and hit the Bride of the Rose repeatedly, feeling tormented by it and being despised by the rest of the members of the Council. His rose is green.

Touga Kiryuu ( , Kiryū Tōga^?)

Voice for: Takehito Koyasu

He is the president of the Student Council. A casanova with long hair who seduces hundreds of girls at school. Being Akio's ally, he knows the weaknesses of his companions and cunningly manipulates them like puppets, although a certain honest background of a prototypical 'rogue hero' is appreciated. His rose is red.

Nanami Kiryuu ( , Kiryū Nanami^?)

Voice by: Yuri Shiratori

A malicious, conceited and unbearable girl who feels a strong and unhealthy passion for her brother Touga (blood brothers but both are adopted), and who cannot stand the fact that he has admirers hovering around him. He does not hide her incestuous and possessive devotion from anyone, and since he falsely believes that Utena is trying to conquer her brother, he uses the most evil plans to take revenge on her and prevent her from stealing it from him. 3. 4;. Her motivation to fight is that her 'brother' notice her and show the world that there is no one better for him. Her rose is yellow.

Juri Arisugawa ( 川 川, Arisugawa Juri^?)

Voice by: Kotono Mitsuishi

She is the only girl in the Student Council. The president of the Academy's fencing club, she is very popular among both boys and girls. Her trauma consists of the hatred that Shiori, her & # 34; friend of hers, professes for her. from her childhood who was always envious of her and who is secretly in love with her. A slave-like, hopeless and submissive love. She always carries a locket with a photo of Shiori around her neck, and when she discovers it, she begins to cruelly blackmail her. In the manga, she has a crush on Touga. Her rose is orange.

Miki Kaoru ( , Kaoru Miki^?)

Voice by: Aya Hisakawa

The last member of the Student Council is a gifted, kind and gentle boy, one year younger than the protagonist. He also belongs to the fencing club and helps Utena by giving her support classes. Miki's trauma is his obsession with finding someone to take the place of his twin sister, Kozue. He believes he finds that person in Anthy Himemiya, with whom he falls in love and with whom he manages to play the piano together as he used to do as a child with his sister. Getting her to duel then becomes her priority, since until now he had shown no interest in the Bride of the Rose. Despite this, he gets along very well with Utena and Anthy outside the coliseum. His rose is blue.

Souji Mikage (, Mikage Sōji^?)

Voice by: Hikaru Midorikawa

An outstanding student at the Academy, he is the leader of the Black Rose Seal. His main objective is to defeat Utena. He often remembers the event that occurred years ago at the institute, in which hundreds of students died in a fire in the Otori building. In the past, we are shown a certain Professor Nemuro who bears a great resemblance to Mikage and who was working on the project to revolutionize the world. He has a lot of appreciation for the Chida brothers, especially Mamiya. He is fair in duels.

• Mamiya Chida. Absent character, it is known that he was a candidate to become Prometida de la Rosa despite being a boy and that he had the help of Mikage to achieve it. Young and seemingly ill, his appearance is suspiciously similar to that of Anthy.

Shiori Takatsuki ( , Takatsuki Shiori^?)

Voice by: Kumiko Nishihara

Only appears in the anime. She hates Juri and envies her with fervor, so when she discovers that Juri is in love with her, she takes advantage of her to make her suffer. She has a more pronounced role in the film, being the main "villain" along with Akio.

Kozue Kaoru ( , Kaoru Kozue^?)

Voice by: Chieko Honda

Miki's twin sister, whom she sometimes uses to get what she wants. She was mean and liberal, she used to play the piano with him as children despite not doing it well, with Miki being the one who hid Kozue's failures with her great talent. She feels jealous of any girl who approaches her brother, especially Anthy when she realizes that her brother is platonically in love with her. Kozue harbors feelings of love-obsession for her brother, but she tries to disguise them with her promiscuous way of being. She maintains intimate relationships with many students just for the purpose of torturing Miki.

Mitsuru Tsuwabuki (, Tsuwabuki Mitsuru^?)

Voice by: Akiko Yajima

He is in his fourth year. He is a boy who is in love with Nanami, always looking out for the slightest of her desires and following her everywhere. She uses him without any scruple and constantly treats him with no delicacy and little respect. Tired of being treated like a child and a slave, Mitsuru will lose his temper and his affection, completely changing his way of being.

Keiko Sonoda ( の 田の 田 田の 田の 田 田の 田の 田 田の 田 田の 田 田 田 田 田 田 田 。, Sonoda Keiko^?)

Voice by: Akira Nakagawa

From the first year of the middle cycle. He always appears in the company of Yuko and Aiko, and with them he usually harasses Anthy strongly. Keiko is Nanami's right-hand woman, whom she is constantly listening to and watching for her attacks, although she actually does it to get closer to Touga. On one occasion Nanami sees Keiko under her brother's umbrella flirting with him, cutting off her 'friendship' the next day. with her, although they later "reconcile".

Kanae Ohtori ( 香 م 。, ⋅tori Kanae^?)

Voice by: Ai Orikasa

She is in her third year of higher education, about to be a university student. She is Akio's fiancée, although he only loves her because of the influence she has in the Academy. Her happiest days were those when Akio proposed to marry him after graduating, but Anthy flatly rejects her even though Kanae always tries to win her friendship. She ends up getting scared by the gaze of an unknown Anthy.

Wakaba Shinohara (原の 原の 原の 原。, Shinohara Wakaba^?)

Voice by: Yuka Imai

Wakaba is in her second year and is a close friend of Utena. She always jumps on him when she sees her, since she professes great affection and admiration for her, even stating that Utena is her girlfriend. She is very cheerful, kind and vital, although she envies Anthy due to the relationship she has with Utena and because she was once under the possession of Saionji, with whom she Wakaba was in love.

Ruka Tsuchiya (¥ 果 , Tsuchiya Ruka^?)

Voice by: Nozomu Sasaki

He is the fencing captain of Ohtori Academy and a member of the Student Council, very popular among girls. He has been away for a long time due to illness. He hates failure and is in love with Juri. He seduces Shiori with the purpose of breaking the bond of blackmail and slave love that unites them.

Dubbing

Character	Seiyū	Doblaje Catalonia	American Hispanic People	Spain
Utena Tenjo	Tomoko Kawakami	Núria Trifol	Carola Vázquez	Núria Trifol
Anthy Himemiya	Yuriko Fuchizaki	Joël Mulachs	Rocío Prado	Joël Mulachs
Touga Kiryuu	Takehito Koyasu	Josep Maria Mas	Alfredo Basurto	Daniel García
Juri Arisugawa	Kotono Mitsuishi	Elisa Beuter	María Fernanda Morales	Mercedes Diemand-Hartz
Kyoichi Saionji	Takeshi Kusao	Jaume Villanueva	Yamil Atala	Angel of Grace
Nanami Kiryuu	Yuri Shiratori	Marta Barbarà	Christine Byrd	María del Mar Tamarit (ep.3) Marta Barbarà
Wakaba Shinohara	Yuka Imai	Geni Rey	Irma Carmona	Geni Rey
Miki Kaoru	Aya Hisakawa	Claudi Domingo	Carlos Hugo Hidalgo	Claudi Domingo
Kozue Kaoru	Chieko Honda	Maria Josep Guasch	Mónica Manjarrez	Cristina Mauri
Keiko Sonoda	Akira Nakagawa		Diana Perez
Chu-Chu	Satomi Koorogi		Ana Lobo

List of Episodes

• Main article: List of Episodes of Utena