One of my favourites is one that was so simple I could understand it. It was the fisherman (touga) who would catch all the fish he wanted (acting the playboy), until he finally found a fish (utena) he couldn't control with his lure and reel in (seduce), because it was a koi carp (because koi also means love in Japanese). He wails in anguish as to why a koi is in the ocean, because he didn't plan on encountering something unexpected like love, thinking he would have the monopoly of power by preying on his fellow schoolmates from his position of power as the student council president.

@stuhfooyou

5 жыл бұрын

Fergus Ager wow !

@Vixen743

4 жыл бұрын

Where you from?

@xiiotani9531

3 жыл бұрын

@@Vixen743 yo?

@Vixen743

3 жыл бұрын

Where are you fromYou’re spelling things the European way not the American way if you were American I figure hear from Europe

@Vixen743

3 жыл бұрын

The sunlight garden where’s my entrance on my wedding day💕

I think the shadow play girls are called Eiko and Biko in the credits, which are pretty much the same a "Girl A" and "Girl B", really. The one who goes "Extra, extra" is named Shiko.

@citycrusher9308

5 жыл бұрын

''Extra extra''. Don't you mean - ''Gagoi gagoi''?

@hoesjj9487

5 жыл бұрын

Eiko and fiko in the movie

You can do an entire series on the Shadow Girl plays alone

@archiehreen5561

6 жыл бұрын

Brian Moore that would be really interesting and I'd like to see what you think of their actual appearance when they ask utena to join to the drama club and what this means

I would love to see an episode that talks about the use of the third Shadow Girl that appears during the Black Rose Arc, who plays multiple roles and Utena responds to at the end of the segment. While she feels more clear than the normal shadow girls, I would still love to hear your thoughts on her.

@IsaUrameshi

4 жыл бұрын

I always thought she looked like Wakaba

I headcanoned that the shadow girls were just drama club members all the way around season 2 because they have the mannerisms that match. Them being shadows I thought was just them messing around with the performance art of shadow puppetery we did at our acting school. The writers got the mannerisms of theater kids on point.

@if4597

4 жыл бұрын

*Spoilers:* You're right. At some point in the last few episodes of the last arc, they put on a play.

Oh boy, this got me thinking! The movie shows Touga as having died by drowning as a child. Like Akio, the idealized version of him dies. What remains is malicious, predatory, and egoistic. In Revolutionary Girl Utena, Princes die saving princessess or inevitably turn into a Predator. I would love to hear your thoughts on the shadow girls' role toward the end of the show, when they perform for Utena, Akio, and Anthy.

You did an excellent job giving basic background to the whole Greek chorus thing as well as the Cave Allegory. I also thought you did really well to explain how this particular shadow girl play related to the events of the episode (aka about Nanami and Touga)!! To be honest, I would literally love and watch every single video that analyzes all the shadow girl plays in the series. Also, you're actually more right than you thought about the names of the girls: they're referred to in-series as A-ko, B-ko, and C-ko which literally translates to Girl A, Girl B, and Girl C!

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT ALL THE SHADOW GIRLS. Honestly I love all your Utena videos and have watched all of them a few times. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I love dissecting this beautiful work and you do a spectacular job!

@citycrusher9308

5 жыл бұрын

For me, Utena is one of those shows that once I've seen it, the same magic won't return. It's so sad.

Good Video. There aren't enough people that talk about Utena on youtube. You just got a new subscriber.

@citycrusher9308

5 жыл бұрын

same. I bemoan that the artfulness of anime in the nineties has been supplanted with banality after the new millennium.

I really love the play with the dancing shoes. Not quite sure what its about, but i feel like i relate to the dancing girl ignoring the problem she's in.

@Starlight-Tale

4 жыл бұрын

KOT EBANA ROT I remember that play. One girl is dancing in her shoes even though she knows she will die by doing that. The other girl rebukes her for that but holds her own shoes close, showing that despite what she said and not doing it, she still wants to on some level. This is a metaphor for doing something you know is bad for you but that you enjoy, with one girl doing it and one wanting to but not. It relates to Wakaba and Utena and their affections for Akio, with Wakaba outwardly expressing her attraction to him and Utena rebuking her for it, as Akio is married, but it is implied Utena has feelings for Akio as well, which we see more in later episodes.

i'm in the middle of watching this anime (im really late, i know) but im loving it so far. also really enjoyed your take on the shadow girls play. this one in particular had me scratching my head, so the explanation is very appreciated lol. would love to see more!

Kashira Kashira?

@Bufubarion

5 жыл бұрын

Gozonji kashira

@revolutionary_thoy

4 жыл бұрын

gogai gogai

Great analysis! I had t thought of the shadow girls like a chorus but that makes sense: they act in the exact same way. While having no direct affect on the plot they often point out the obvious or also not so obvious for the audience. They even engage with the main characters to provide insight, as sometimes happens between the shadow girls and Utena.

Thank you so much for this!!! I watched this anime months ago and i enjoyed it but i never felt fulfilled or truly understood what the show meant. So now I'm down a rabbit hole watching analytical videos on yt about it.

I seriously don’t get the symbolisms, like how do you guys get it?! Do you guys have a source of dictionary when it comes to symbolisms?! Could it be that the symbolisms of a certain thing tied up to the story!? I JUSG DONT GET IT

"the girl had a monkey face the whole time" play in nanamis secret diary is cool

I would love a video on the subject of the upside down castle in the sky and it's meaning in Utena

I finally watched through this show, I saw the movie years and years ago. The whole Zeus marrying his sister thing made the whole sibling-cest thing make a little more sense. Still gross, but I hadn't made that connection before

I'm still a bit confused about the meaning of the spinning roses...

@citycrusher9308

5 жыл бұрын

same

@stirnersghost7656

3 жыл бұрын

@Raging Red what does purple and red represent

@dusksunsetio6042

3 жыл бұрын

@@stirnersghost7656 red represents admiration and purple (lavender) represents love at first sight??? Maybe??

@deansbian5607

Жыл бұрын

@@dusksunsetio6042i know i’m 2 years late lol but the purple represents evil/malice

Nanami in duellist getup always reminded me of Uma Thurman... (I hear her whistle in my mind's ear) an Uma Thurman who laid an egg in bed - menstruation metaphor?

Excellent. Wonderful crash course on a greek chorus, you really did a great job overall!

Your Utena videos are absolutely wonderful, so insightful, and dead on the point! Please continue, and thank you for the content so far!

I love your videos on Utena! I would watch you go into great detail with all the shadow girls plays, some of them may seem obvious, but truly even little things I felt were obvious can be fleshed out and hold deeper meaning than I realized. Again, thank you for sharing!

You're a goddamn king for making these high-quality Utena videos. Thank you!

By the time you got to the allegpry of the cave I'd legit forgotten this was an Utena video and was confused as hell when i suddenly heard "Nanami" Lmao

I don't recall the exact details but the shadow girls are also a reference to Japanese theater as well.

Thank you for talking about this! Utena is my favorite anime. Can you say something about why the first recap episode ends with a shadow girls style UFO?

@morganalabeille5004

2 жыл бұрын

It’s cause they’re aliens

@sherbertshortkake6649

Жыл бұрын

@@morganalabeille5004 I think if the Shadow Girls are supposed to represent normal society, then then being aliens to the school's wacky world makes sense.

I'm really glad you explained this one, this shadow play always puzzled me. Great Job

I gotta tell you I never knew the origins of Anthy's name, or even thought that there was a significant origin, and uh ha yeah that uh, that makes ALOT of sense.

Keep it up with the Utena videos!! I'll follow you for sure... I'm really into Utena right now!

please, keep doing the anaysis of the episodes, you're doing great!

I really hope you keep doing Utena analyses! I would love to hear your take on the black rose arc; I just finished it for the 2nd time and I’m having trouble understanding

Ohh very informative, thank you!

5:32 and that was propably reference to "Ai Shite Knight"'.

Love the Shadow girls, would love to see a video about them and Chu-Chu because I think they are both aliens

*Mind Explodes*

I thought they were supposed to be a reference to the muses. XD

Subscribed!

interesting

What the Shadow girls story meant in the episode 5 and 7

It's the best study anime

I didn't get anything of the show, bc I'm not someone who understands symbolism 😭

Its not only Touga, its also her excessive Love for him, what gos crazy.

Gotta do that audio balancing man

I can see how gay the shadow girls' scenes are, and I'm straight!

How about all of the shadow palys? Hmm? No? Oh well

@CrabeVideos

6 жыл бұрын

Simon Birrer I think that would take a bit of the fun out of it, don't you? If you're interested Vrai Kaiser wrote about them all on his website the Consulting Analyst in his review of each episode. I dunno if I could add much more than he wrote there, but I appreciate your interest.

@simonbirrer958

6 жыл бұрын

Crabe Thanks for showing this website to me! An episode by episode breakdown of Utena sounds like a lot of fun. I have to say I like to see other people do the analyzing. Especially for Utena, since I didn't understand one bit why people enjoy it. I mean it is one of the most influential & iconic anime. So watching you guys taking it apart is really fun for me

Is there something wrong with the sound? i can barely hear a thing.

Actually the shadow girls are chiho saito

@citycrusher9308

5 жыл бұрын

In the credits they are called shadow girl A,B.C. How do you know their actual names?

@jimmyfubu8743

5 жыл бұрын

@@citycrusher9308 chiho saito is the mangaka of utena and in the manga of utena the shadow girls are chiho saito in her description of manga

@citycrusher9308

5 жыл бұрын

jimmy fubu Wow, and the anime makers couldn't even be bothered to find out? That's sad.

@Takumi_Did_Nothing_Wrong

5 жыл бұрын

Since the manga and anime were created around the same time, and that the manga is based on the anime and not the other way around, I don't think that's entirely correct.