Revolutionary Girl Utena probably feels familiar to many viewers. The 1997 anime features a magical girl, campy baddies, and plenty of friendship. The premise of Utena sounds an awful lot like Sailor Moon, and with good reason. Kunihiko Ikuhara, one of the series directors for Sailor Moon, wanted the freedom to craft the anime he wanted to see in the world, so he left Sailor Moon, teamed up with manga artist Chiho Saito, and the rest is history. 

Well, sort of. Most of the people I’ve spoken to—people who love anime and are well-viewed in the genre—haven’t seen Revolutionary Girl Utena. If they have, they deem it a Sailor Moon rip-off and move on. The thing is, Revolutionary Girl Utena expands on Sailor Moon’s themes and throws in a few of its own. It’s a weird show, but that doesn’t mean viewers should give up on it. 

I recently watched Revolutionary Girl Utena with my husband, and it was a great experience for both of us. Here are our top 10 reasons why Revolutionary Girl Utena is still worth watching in 2021 and beyond. 

It questions gender norms

Mary: For me, this is one of the best reasons to watch Revolutionary Girl Utena. The premise of the show is simultaneously simple and complex. Utena Tenjou, a middle schooler at Ohtori Academy, wants to be a prince. After experiencing a trauma as a child, Utena credits a dashing prince with saving her from certain death. Now, she both wants to find that prince and become  a prince herself so she can help others. Utena tries to take on a more princely appearance by wearing a boy’s uniform and generally helping out those in trouble. Her love of helping brings her to Anthy Himemiya, a girl who seems to be casually abused by her boyfriend, and things go from there. Of course, the show takes on many magical girl tropes as it continues, but the basis of the story is founded on questioning gender norms.

No matter how many times a teacher or student tells Utena she’s foolish for wearing a boy’s uniform, she keeps doing it because it feels right for her and how she’s choosing to represent her gender. 

Todd: Yes, I really appreciate that the show is basically just like, Utena wants to be a prince and you’re the weirdo for questioning it! Also, the show really elevates the queer elements that can often be subtextual in these kinds of shows (from what I’ve heard and seen) and makes it, basically, text. Why are all of these teens fighting each other? So they can “marry the Rose Bride”! Of course, it’s a little more complicated than that, but I appreciate that the show is more open with its depictions of queer characters. This is definitely one of those shows where it feels like basically anyone could date anyone else.

Mary: For sure. I’m just thinking specifically about how North American versions of Sailor Moon (especially the dub that aired on Toonami) erased all hints of queerness and gender nonnormativity. 

I’d also say that the second season questions gender by making some of the boys in the cast the Rose Bride for an episode. By putting them into a submissive position, the show is questioning if men really always have the power, as some would assume. 

It still has mysteries to uncover

Mary: The amount of symbolism in Revolutionary Girl Utena is astounding. Kunihiko Ikuhara seems to follow David Lynch’s directing philosophy in that he never really explains anything. 

Todd: This leads to some of my favorite moments in the series. There are two characters who I can only refer to as “the silhouette girls,” who are never directly seen on camera but pop up in almost every episode for these interludes that seem to offer a spin on the theme of the episode without being directly related to what is happening. When we first started watching the show, I was put off by them, but by the end I couldn’t wait for them to appear. “Do you know? Do you know? Do you really know?!”

It’s dark, but doesn’t get bogged down by it

Todd: Look, I’ll be honest, there is a lot of dark material in Utena, but the show never feels dark. All of the characters are dealing with traumas from their pasts and from the fight over the Rose Bridge, but the show still feels light and can often be kind of goofy in ways that are much appreciated. By the end of the series, I was really looking forward to episodes that focus on Nanami because they were often very silly and were a nice respite from the darkness of the other episodes.

Mary: Oh, there’s so much dark material in Utena. If it had content warnings, the list would be long—domestic abuse, rape, incest, mass murder, to name a few. That being said, the show expertly employs episodes with a more humorous tone to lighten things up while still moving the plot along. Enter Nanami. Like you said, Todd, Nanami episodes are very silly, but they also usually go along with a theme that’s prominent in the actual show. When Nanami lays an egg, she has to learn to take care of it, just as Utena and Anthy have to learn to take care of their blossoming friendship. It all fits together and manages to convey that Utena doesn’t take itself too seriously, even though it deals with some hard themes. 

The fan service isn’t what you’re used to 

Mary: Anime is notorious for fan service. That usually means upskirt shots of girls, teeny tiny schoolgirl skirts, heaving bosoms and the like. Revolutionary Girl Utena provides an entirely different sort of fanservice and lets the boys take the spotlight. In the third season of Utena, there’s a recurring scene where the two hottest boys in school, along with their headmaster (long story), drive down a neverending highway in a red convertible. While that seems fine and good (except for the weird power dynamics in the relationship), the scene always begins and ends with someone taking their shirt off as the wind dramatically whips their clothes around. It’s a lot. 

Just like the show questions gender, it also questions what fanservice means. It’s okay for the dudes to get sexy, weird, and otherwise indecent, and that’s fun. 

Todd: I agree! In general, the show seems to have a gaze that is interested not just in the girls, but also in the weirdly buff high school boys (and also Miki).

Mary: I would have to do more research into it, but the show genuinely has...a bisexual gaze? 

Like, everyone is just horny for everyone, and that’s cool. 

Todd: It is an extremely horny show.

The music slaps

Todd: Put on “The Sunlit Garden” and try not to just rock out! Okay, maybe not rock out, but it’s a nice song and perfect to listen to when trying to work. Similarly, the theme songs, as well as the song that always plays when Utena enters the dueling arena, just slap!

Mary: The lyrics are also wild. My DVD copy of the show includes subtitles in English and phonetic Japanese, so we always sang along.

The characters have depth

Todd: A lot of the characters start off looking like pretty flimsy stereotypes, but each of them gets, usually, at least one episode each season to really shine, and that allows the show to dig deep into what makes each character tick in a way that isn’t always possible in a show with a cast this sprawling. Even minor characters like Nanami’s minions get an episode where we can better understand who they are and what they want. That level of depth for each character helps the world of Utena feel fully lived-in.

Mary: I think Juri is my favorite transformation of the show. She seems like your everyday mean girl, but she quickly becomes one of my favorite characters. I won’t spoil her storyline, but it’s kind of heartbreaking.

Todd: I’ll give another shout-out to Nanami, who I guess maybe is my favorite character in the show? Or at least one of the ones that I looked forward to seeing as the series continued. Similarly, she starts out like an annoying younger sister, but just becomes weirder and more sympathetic as the series goes on.

Chu-Chu is a cutie

Todd: A cute animal makes everything better, and Chu-Chu is no exception. My favorite part is how often he turns himself into a balloon and just floats in the background of a scene. So cute!

Mary: Every magical girl needs a cute animal. Usagi has Luna, Madoka has Kyubey, and Utena (along with Anthy) have Chu-Chu. Chu-Chu is truly just living his best life, eating a lot, and becoming a balloon. We all want to be Chu-Chu.

There’s a wild reimagining

Mary: After the anime concluded, Kunihiko Ikuhara wanted to reimagine Utena in a film version. Ikuhara said that he wanted the movie to be “more naughty” than the TV show, which is a wild thing to say. The movie was also more conceptual than the anime, if that’s possible, and had a lot more symbolism. When talking about the symbolism in the movie, Ikuahara said, “For me, it’s easy to explain these images, but I don’t want to do it. If I explain it everyone will believe that is the only interpretation. I want people to know there are many many possibilities to find for themselves.” Reader, Utena turns into a car at one point. That’s one of the possibilities we’re left to interpret. I have a PhD in interpreting weird things and I do not know why she turned into a car. 

Todd: I haven’t watched the movie yet (but hopefully we will soon), and it is hard to imagine anything being more conceptual than the show already is. But, uh, turning into a car certainly is!

It influenced the hot magical girl aesthetic

 Mary: I could draw a straight line from Revolutionary Girl Utena to Puella Magi Madoka Magica, another dark magical girl anime (which is excellent and I highly recommend). Utena took a lot of themes from perhaps the most iconic magical girl anime, Sailor Moon, and amped them up to 11. When people think of the magical girl genre, they should think of Utena along with these other iconic shows.

What I appreciate most about Utena as part of the magical girl genre is that while it does focus on friendship, it also implies a romance between Utena and Anthy. I definitely think they begin as friends, but it becomes something different at the end of the show. The only thing hotter than one magical girl is two. Okay, that felt gross to say. But like...maybe it’s true? 

Todd: I think, scientifically, or maybe mathematically, it must be true, right? A little skeevy? Sure. But also true! It is so great to see the relationship between Utena and Anthy build throughout the story, and there is no doubt that Utena has had a huge impact on everything from the magical girl genre to shows that you might not immediately think of, like Steven Universe (a magical...boy?!?!?).

Mary: I didn’t even think of Steven Universe! Yes, anyone that enjoys Steven Universe should definitely check out Utena. I think—and correct me if I’m wrong on this—there are even direct Utena and Sailor Moon references in Steven Universe. The show is deeply indebted to these two magical girl giants, and I love that.  

Todd: Who is Steven’s mom if not a Rose Bride? (ba dum dum! *cymbal crash*)

You’ll never guess what’s going to happen next

Todd: There were many times, as we were watching, that I would turn to Mary in shock. Shock! A story does not need twists in order to be considered “good,” but when a show can pull off twists that make sense, while also satisfying the audience, that is remarkable. Utena did that many times during its run.

Mary: Look, it’s a shocking show! Lots of weird things happen, and not all of them are easy to explain. Even after watching the show for a third time, I’m not sure that I could completely explain each plot point, but the most important thing is that Revolutionary Girl Utena imparts a feeling to viewers. You can’t help but pick up on the themes, the heartbreak, and the gut wrenching conclusion to the show. It’s just such a wonderful series and I wish more people would watch it. 

Todd: Not to get too “I have a PhD in poetry” on us here at the end, but it reminds me of how I try to think about poetry that isn’t immediately “get-able.” Sometimes, it is enough to just let something wash over you and enjoy the experience of watching or reading that thing without having to know what exactly happens. That feels like one thing that is becoming rarer and rarer in today’s media landscape, and it is nice to revisit shows like Revolutionary Girl Utena that are unafraid to be abstract and not really offer any explanations.