Shsway
11-07-2003, 01:06 PM
Revolutionary Girl Utena - Vol. 4: "To Bud" (ISBN: 1-59116-068-5)
Originally Published by Shogakukan Inc. as Shoujo Kakumei Utena
Format: Graphic Novel
Story/Art: Chiho Saito - Created by Be-Papas
Language: English (Translator/Lillian Olsen, Adaptation by Fred Burke)
SFX: Translated
Length: (Not counting the ads) 182 pgs
Age Rating: T+ for Older Teens
Publisher: Viz
Orientation: Unflipped
Genre: Fantasy/Romance (Drama?)
Street Date: 10/03
Price: $9.95 USA/$13.95 CAN
Size: 5"x 7.50"
About the Cover: Apparently this (http://www.rightstuf.com/images/large_images/viz1591160685.jpg) image (the one I'd seen floating around several e-tailers' pages for a couple of months now) did not end up being the final design. Like the second volume of the American release, volume 4 makes use of the art that originally appeared on the 4th volume in Japan. The colors seem brighter though, and the cover includes the now standard bars (pink here) at the top and the bottom of the book for Viz shoujo titles (with the publisher and author information in them, respectively). It's a great shot of Utena, her sword raised in defiance above her head and at an angle to the right, amongst red, blue and purple rose bushes. Nice.
Back Cover Blurb:
The Power of Dios!
Having enrolled in an exclusive boarding school called Ohtori Academy, Utena Tenjou continues searching for the prince that saved her life seven years ago.
To that end, she allows herself to be swept up in a bizarre series of sword fights that will, supposedly, give her the power to revolutionize the world. As a result of these duels, she meets and forms a friendship with an oddball classmate named Anthy Himemiya. Known as the Rose Bride, Anthy is the key to Utena's dream of finding her elusive prince.
Now, having weathered a storm of lies and secret agendas, Utena is moments away from solving the mystery of Dios and meeting her prince. There's one more test for her to face. Will she, in fact, revolutionize the world?
Review: (Spoilers Below)
With the 4th volume in the series comes the new, smaller edition of the books. All of the early volumes are being rereleased unflipped as well, and I even saw the new version of volume 1 sitting on the shelf right next to this one. Hey, what can I say, I was tempted to double-dip! As I mentioned before, the cover art is bright and attractive, though there is a disturbing abundance of pink and blue. Definitely eye-catching, with a smaller version of the Utena front cover pose on the spine.
<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Anyway, the story continues with Akio manipulating Utena right and left in the form of several romantic jaunts, including a trip to the local waterfront (which he sneaks her out of class for), a kiss in his personal observatory and even a somewhat frightening joyride in his trademark car. At first, Utena tries to fight off his affections (halfheartedly remembering that he already has a fiancee), and to keep Touga's words of warning about End of the World in mind. It's interesting that the Utena/Touga dynamic is explored as much the others present in the back, taking center stage for several important conversations.
The trouble is that although we get the hint that Touga is really being sincere in his concerns (and not just fulfilling that vow of servitude he made to Utena in the last volume), he can't seem to keep his own desires for her in check. After stealing yet another kiss from her, Utena shoves him aside and claims that she does not want to be forced into anything by anyone.
Luckily for Akio, he has surreptitious coercion down to an art. /images/graemlins/wink.gif
He has succeeded in influencing her emotions, and several people around the campus remark how different Utena seems these days. She's sort of in a daze, and even participating in girl talk, remarking that she'd be interested in having an adult for a romantic interest.
Througout all this, Anthy observes the change in the duel champion with - dare I say it - sadness and fear? This doesn't stop her, however, from following her dear older brother's orders to participate in a "consummation ceremony" (hey, no snickering!) that Utena herself has agreed to. She has been told that this is the next logical step in getting to the upside down castle above the dueling arena and to Dios. Upon learning that she plans to go through with Akio's ambitions, Touga renounces both his servitude and friendship with Utena.
The day of the ceremony arrives and, after a rather intimate display on Anthy's part, Utena is tricked into relinquishing control of her body, allowing Akio to drive the sword of Dios within it, effectively making her the new Rose Bride (complete with gown). Akio himself has adopted some new princely duds, and the glow of the light from beyond the dueling forest has attracted the attention of the student council members, who have raced up the stairs to witness this bizarre turn of events. Thanks to an observation made by Miki they realize that their own duelist rings have disappeared. This, Akio says, is because he never intended for any of them to reach the power of Dios. It was merely a means by which to bait them into participating in the duels and to groom Utena to take over from Anthy, who is now floating in an ominous-looking glass coffin above their heads.
Will the duel champion side with Akio now in her desire to see Dios? Well, you have to pick this one up for yourself to find out...</span>
I believe that the art for this series has greatly improved. I loved it before, but you just can't get through the book without taking a moment to stare at the wonderful shading techniques applied to a character's hair and skin tone, as well as clothing. The backgrounds are impressive too, with great detail given to the surrounding buildings and greenery.
The dialogue is tight, and the story engrossing. I read it twice in the space of a half hour. The whole cast gets a chance to say something guaranteed to give you the willies and establish a clear feeling of tension. Sensuality, fear and sorrow are all wonderfully portrayed, and although the cliffhanger is by no means shocking, it's definitely an interesting twist.
This series is a personal favorite of mine and difficult to critique objectively. I believe it merits an "A" all across the board for presentation, story and art, but the bias is there. Still, I wholeheartedly recommend continuing with this volume, or picking up the smaller editions of the first 3 books as they are released.
Waiting eagerly for the next one,
-Shsway
PS: A virtual chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cone will be awarded to those who spot the brief (and humorous, IMO) Haniwatcha cameo.
Originally Published by Shogakukan Inc. as Shoujo Kakumei Utena
Format: Graphic Novel
Story/Art: Chiho Saito - Created by Be-Papas
Language: English (Translator/Lillian Olsen, Adaptation by Fred Burke)
SFX: Translated
Length: (Not counting the ads) 182 pgs
Age Rating: T+ for Older Teens
Publisher: Viz
Orientation: Unflipped
Genre: Fantasy/Romance (Drama?)
Street Date: 10/03
Price: $9.95 USA/$13.95 CAN
Size: 5"x 7.50"
About the Cover: Apparently this (http://www.rightstuf.com/images/large_images/viz1591160685.jpg) image (the one I'd seen floating around several e-tailers' pages for a couple of months now) did not end up being the final design. Like the second volume of the American release, volume 4 makes use of the art that originally appeared on the 4th volume in Japan. The colors seem brighter though, and the cover includes the now standard bars (pink here) at the top and the bottom of the book for Viz shoujo titles (with the publisher and author information in them, respectively). It's a great shot of Utena, her sword raised in defiance above her head and at an angle to the right, amongst red, blue and purple rose bushes. Nice.
Back Cover Blurb:
The Power of Dios!
Having enrolled in an exclusive boarding school called Ohtori Academy, Utena Tenjou continues searching for the prince that saved her life seven years ago.
To that end, she allows herself to be swept up in a bizarre series of sword fights that will, supposedly, give her the power to revolutionize the world. As a result of these duels, she meets and forms a friendship with an oddball classmate named Anthy Himemiya. Known as the Rose Bride, Anthy is the key to Utena's dream of finding her elusive prince.
Now, having weathered a storm of lies and secret agendas, Utena is moments away from solving the mystery of Dios and meeting her prince. There's one more test for her to face. Will she, in fact, revolutionize the world?
Review: (Spoilers Below)
With the 4th volume in the series comes the new, smaller edition of the books. All of the early volumes are being rereleased unflipped as well, and I even saw the new version of volume 1 sitting on the shelf right next to this one. Hey, what can I say, I was tempted to double-dip! As I mentioned before, the cover art is bright and attractive, though there is a disturbing abundance of pink and blue. Definitely eye-catching, with a smaller version of the Utena front cover pose on the spine.
<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Anyway, the story continues with Akio manipulating Utena right and left in the form of several romantic jaunts, including a trip to the local waterfront (which he sneaks her out of class for), a kiss in his personal observatory and even a somewhat frightening joyride in his trademark car. At first, Utena tries to fight off his affections (halfheartedly remembering that he already has a fiancee), and to keep Touga's words of warning about End of the World in mind. It's interesting that the Utena/Touga dynamic is explored as much the others present in the back, taking center stage for several important conversations.
The trouble is that although we get the hint that Touga is really being sincere in his concerns (and not just fulfilling that vow of servitude he made to Utena in the last volume), he can't seem to keep his own desires for her in check. After stealing yet another kiss from her, Utena shoves him aside and claims that she does not want to be forced into anything by anyone.
Luckily for Akio, he has surreptitious coercion down to an art. /images/graemlins/wink.gif
He has succeeded in influencing her emotions, and several people around the campus remark how different Utena seems these days. She's sort of in a daze, and even participating in girl talk, remarking that she'd be interested in having an adult for a romantic interest.
Througout all this, Anthy observes the change in the duel champion with - dare I say it - sadness and fear? This doesn't stop her, however, from following her dear older brother's orders to participate in a "consummation ceremony" (hey, no snickering!) that Utena herself has agreed to. She has been told that this is the next logical step in getting to the upside down castle above the dueling arena and to Dios. Upon learning that she plans to go through with Akio's ambitions, Touga renounces both his servitude and friendship with Utena.
The day of the ceremony arrives and, after a rather intimate display on Anthy's part, Utena is tricked into relinquishing control of her body, allowing Akio to drive the sword of Dios within it, effectively making her the new Rose Bride (complete with gown). Akio himself has adopted some new princely duds, and the glow of the light from beyond the dueling forest has attracted the attention of the student council members, who have raced up the stairs to witness this bizarre turn of events. Thanks to an observation made by Miki they realize that their own duelist rings have disappeared. This, Akio says, is because he never intended for any of them to reach the power of Dios. It was merely a means by which to bait them into participating in the duels and to groom Utena to take over from Anthy, who is now floating in an ominous-looking glass coffin above their heads.
Will the duel champion side with Akio now in her desire to see Dios? Well, you have to pick this one up for yourself to find out...</span>
I believe that the art for this series has greatly improved. I loved it before, but you just can't get through the book without taking a moment to stare at the wonderful shading techniques applied to a character's hair and skin tone, as well as clothing. The backgrounds are impressive too, with great detail given to the surrounding buildings and greenery.
The dialogue is tight, and the story engrossing. I read it twice in the space of a half hour. The whole cast gets a chance to say something guaranteed to give you the willies and establish a clear feeling of tension. Sensuality, fear and sorrow are all wonderfully portrayed, and although the cliffhanger is by no means shocking, it's definitely an interesting twist.
This series is a personal favorite of mine and difficult to critique objectively. I believe it merits an "A" all across the board for presentation, story and art, but the bias is there. Still, I wholeheartedly recommend continuing with this volume, or picking up the smaller editions of the first 3 books as they are released.
Waiting eagerly for the next one,
-Shsway
PS: A virtual chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cone will be awarded to those who spot the brief (and humorous, IMO) Haniwatcha cameo.