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Nina Brown
Professor Hans
English 111-02
29 September 2015
Utena Revolutionizes Anime
Most anime fans will be familiar with Revolutionary Girl Utena for its strong female
lead, thought provoking storyline, and one of the first serious portrayals of a homosexual couple
in Japanese media. For those unfamiliar with Revolutionary Girl Utena it is the story of Utena
Tenjou who despite being a girl vows to become a prince. As fate would have it Utena gets
involved in a series of duels at her school; the winner of the duels will not only be granted the
power to bring world revolution, but will also gain the power of the rose bride who the winner of
the duels will be engaged to. Utena quickly befriends the rose bride Anthy and the two go on a
quest for world revolution, uncovering many secrets along the way. Utena would deconstruct a
fairytale in a modern setting, showing its viewers that in the real world there are not always true
heroes or villains, and that breaking out of social norms can come with many trials and
tribulations.
The main characters in Revolutionary Girl Utena are Utena, Anthy, and the duelist Utena
must face. The important thing about the duelist is that when the audience first meets them they
generally can be classified as good or bad right off the bat, but as the story unfolds the audience
can see that much like in real life there are not many characters that can be classified as black or
white, but they belong more in a grey area. An example would be Nanami, when she is first seen
she is depicted as being rude, self-centered, spiteful, and having an unhealthy obsession with her
older brother Touga. As the series progresses it is learned that Nanami was adopted, and that she
is always clinging to her older brother is because he was the only one out of the family that ever
paid her any attention. Nanami is shown to belittle others about being different, when she is
really worried about being accepted. On the opposite side of the spectrum is Touga, Touga is

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show to be very suave and charming, and he seems to really care about Utena. For a while in the
series it is heavily implied that Touga is in love with Utena, but when the two finally duel and
Utena refuses to strike him down because of her feelings for him and he takes the opportunity to
beat her without remorse. Touga is show to be manipulative around Utena and many of the other
duelists as well. The characters are all shown to have complex personalities, a character that may
seem like a heartless fiend in one scene, can be shown to have a softer side in the next. Much like
in real life there are no defined good or bad guys, just people on different sides.
One thing that makes Revolutionary Girl Utena so famous is that is one of the first anime
to have homosexual couples in the main cast, and take it seriously. The main couple is Utena and
Anthy. Throughout the show the two are shown to care deeply about each other. Anthy was the
main reason Utena stuck to the duels, because many of the duelist only wanted Anthy for her
power and didnt care about her as a person. Utena is the complete opposite in her motivations
than the other duelist, her primary goal is to protect Anthy and the power she gets from her is just
another tool to keep her safe. The two have a natural feeling relationship that isnt rushed or
exploited for erotic purpose like many homosexual couples portrayed in anime were at the time.
Anthy and Utena are like a lot of homosexual couples today, they have to face a lot of trials and
tribulations. Their relationship is realistic, in that it takes time and that both parties have to work
to make sure they get their happy ending.
Utena was not only having to go against social norms with her relationship with Anthy,
but in her goal of becoming a prince as well. From day one Utena is picked on and ostracized for
trying to be too masculine. Her teachers berate her for choosing to wear the boys uniform, and
many of the other students view her as weird. Utena comes to doubt herself at a few points. After
Utena lost her duel with Touga she temporarily gave up her quest, she stopped playing sports,
she started wearing the girls uniform, and adopted a submissive attitude. When Utenas friends

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showed how much they supported her and when she realized she needed to keep trying for
Anthys sake she immediately went right back to challenge Touga. When people tend to deviate
from the norm reception isnt always positive, as in Utenas case. Many people give up and try to
conform, but a lot of people like Utena have strong support groups and they can be the difference
between trying and giving up. In the article Magic, Shjo, and Metamorphosis: Magical
Girl Anime and the Challenges of Changing Gender Identities in Japanese Society it
is brought up that Revolutionary Girl Utena was one of the first anime of its day to
subvert gender norms. At one point the article says, Kotani Mari (2006, 165-69)
examines Revolutionary Girl Utena (1997) as a recent example of girls' anime that
possibly subverts gender norms and conventional sexual politics for women. These
arguments tend to identify transformation, a common device that changes the
female protagonist from a mediocre girl to a cute warrior, as an identity
transcendence that undermines fixed traditional gender roles. (Saito).
Revolutionary Girl Utena was unique in the fact that it had a strong and powerful
female lead who was questioning her gender identity. Anime at the time if the lead
was female, even if she had powers would be worrying about stuff like finding a
prom date and popularity. To have a female lead with Utenas sort of power, and
actually using it to change the world was unheard of at the time.
In conclusion Revolutionary Girl Utena showed that any prejudice could be
overcome with hard work and determination. Revolutionary Girl Utena provides an
interesting look on how people defy norms, and the challenges they face doing it. In
the struggles of breaking norms there arent always going to people who are
inherently good or bad. It can show how society looks at people who are different
and what they have to go through for their own revolutions.

Works Cited
Saito, Kumiko Magic, Shjo, and Metamorphosis: Magical Girl Anime and the Challenges of
Changing Gender Identities in Japanese Society. The Journal of Asian Studies (2014)

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143-164 Proquest. Web. 22 September 2015.