One of the most hailed titles by the fan community, Revolutionary Girl Utena stands as a "must-have" among casual fans and the hardcore alike. However, many questions seem to arise when the title is mentioned. Many of these questions can safely be put to rest, as Revolutionary Girl Utena stands as one of the better shoujo anime series on the market.

One day, many years ago, the truth came down on young Utena. Her parents were dead. Alone and grieving, a prince approaches the girl and wipes away her tears. Upon comforting the lass, the prince presents her with a strange ring emblazoned with an enigmatic rose crest. The prince tells the girl to become a strong, noble woman and the ring will guide her to her prince once more. From that day forward, the girl strove not to become a princess, but a prince! Several years later, Utena Tenjou has arrived at the Ohtori Academy, and has become quite popular. One day though, her best friend, Wakaba, is crushed after finding her love letter to the head of the Kendo Team, Kyouichi Saionji, posted to a public notice board. Utena, being the true friend she is, decides to take matters up with Saionji, who challenges the hapless Utena to a duel in the forest behind the school. Upon her arrival, Utena finds a mysterious arena, where Saionji is already waiting with Anthy Himemiya: the "outcast" of the school. Upon winning the duel, Utena finds that she has "won" Anthy like one would win a trophy. Now, Utena must deal with the rigors of her position as champion, adjust to living with Anthy, unravel the mysteries of her prince, and keep up with her studies!

Battle scenes feature the most elaborate animation in the series.	Asexual bishonen are a treat for members of the female persuasion.

While Utena gives its first impression as a simple, forgettable mahou shoujo series, first impressions always prove to be the most deceiving. After the first story arc, the series itself becomes much darker, and more surreal. However, as dark as Utena becomes, there are still hints of humor to keep the series form degenerating to angst-ridden ordeal that would make even the characters of Final Fantasy VII jealous. Everything manages to remain (mostly) coherent throughout, leading to a climactic and ultimately satisfying finale. The final product is a wonderful story with more than its fair share of surprises.

Sadly, Utena's character designs seem to be the one aspect that could have used more work. Aside from the wonderful designs of utena and Anthy, and the unique look of Wakaba, many of the characters look fairly generic in appearance. While the characters grow to identify themselves with certain actions or mannerisms, there is only so much that can be done with the standard school uniform that just about every character in the show wears. Overall, this style creates an atmosphere in which the characters blend into one another, and more often than not, major characters are identified mainly by their hair colors. This is especially apparent with two of the major male leads: Saionji and Touga, whose art style looks like it holds less of a Saito influence than the rest of the cast (although they are fairly close to their manga counterparts). Even though the film takes place in a school, more originality would have been very much appreciated in the major characters. Fortunately, excellent animation helps to alleviate the pain of the rather flat character designs. The characters move very fluidly, especially in well-choreographed duels. While the animation is nothing overly special, it still manages to work very well for the series.

Quite possibly, the most outstanding aspect of Utena would have to be its music. A selection of beautiful, memorable pieces litter the soundtrack, with most of the selections containing a choral or piano influence about them. The compositions are quite fitting, with melodies that range from upbeat and lilting, to dark and brooding. The opening theme, "Rinbu Revolution," is an excellent piece that fits with the overall theme of the show, while also delivering a totally different feel that is more in line with Okui's own style.

Even seven years after its original airing, Revolutionary Girl Utena still stands as one of the greatest shoujo anime of all time with good reason. Everything manages to come together just right to deliver one of the more satisfying series of its time.

Distributor: Central Park Media
Creator: Chiho Saito / Be Papas
Released: 1997

Plot: A-
Character Design: C+
Animation Quality: A-
Music: A
Overall: B+