Revolutionary Girl Utena: Episode 30 FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2025-01-26 14:00:03 +0000 UTC*BAREFOOTED HEADPHONE WARNINGS*
This episode....THIS EPISODE...made me want to throw up. My heart is literally at the pit of my stomach and every fiber of my being is cringing at the moment -- all I can say is:
I need Anthy to speak up.
I need Utena to realize a lot of things.
I need Akio to go catch on fire and throw themselves in a vat of oil.
We good? We good. There's a LOT to talk about at least!
LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/zzjF4bsB4jHx2XtyCNHdmv?
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Comments
As you said, I didn't read the rest, but yes, screw Akio is appropriate! Thanks for the comment!
Romaniablack
2025-01-30 19:11:10 +0000 UTCThanks for explaining, I think you're right on the books on both points! Makes more sense now, just like Akio to take advantage of the surname before marrying! :)
L Freya
2025-01-27 17:21:32 +0000 UTCYou know, I probably said too much on this wall of text and it all boils down to just "fuck Akio" anyway; so please skip the rest of my post if you haven't read it. I never got around to Berserk until you did, so whatever reputation Griffith has as in the collective consciousness as ‘that fucking guy’ Akio is the one who holds that spot for me. Thankfully Ikuhara and Chiho Saito don't have the taste for edge-lord violence that Miura had but I think that just makes Akio more insidious. He's not a fantasy villain that took over a dark medieval world, He's a real world predator that snuck (sneaked?) into a queer-coded fairy-tale. What gets me about him is how words are a weapon to him. He reminds me of Johann from Monster or Lügner from Frieren. Whatever he says it’s not because he believes it but because it’s what the other person needs to hear for him to get his way. “Why” “Is that so?” “am I?” He’s a bit like his sister in that both of them speak relatively little, but they’re so fucking tactical on what they say, and WHEN they say it. They’re always using mirroring phrases or bouncing things back, so no surprise others think of them as good listeners but they never give anything away of themselves and they don’t mind dropping a long silence before answering not because they’re hesitant or thinking things through but because silence itself colors their answers in particular ways. But where Anthy uses words to be a people pleaser(except for Kanae, she does not like her and she does uses her words like knives with her); Akio uses them to get his way, and the worst is sometimes it’s not even his words: “I’m not isolating you, Wakaba’s the one that said three’s a crowd remember?” “I’m dangerous? We’re both breaking rules you might be doing it because you’re exploring your identity while I’m doing it because I’m a predator so it’s essentially the same” (God, he would fit right in in the current climate wouldn’t he?) “We’re practically family” (The fucker would even steal Dom Toreto’s words for his own ill schemes is there nothing sacred to him?) He literally pulls the same moves on Mrs Ohtori, that he did on Utena, so we know it means nothing to him. It is sad, how not only he is the danger but they’re unaware of it but even if they weren’t, they don't have anyone they can go to because he's the adult in charge; and by they I don't just mean Anthy and Utena but ALL OF THEM, whether it's Utena’s chats with him in the dick-tower or the student council through end of the world letters, they're all getting guidance from the person they should be getting it the least. When I was a teenager I read The Divine Comedy (because of course that's when one would read it), and it struck me as odd that out of all the sins, all the acts that could land you in the different pits of hell, it was Betrayal the one that would send you to the deepest place, not something obvious like Murder, or even Blasphemy or Idolatry as I would have expected from a religious work, but Betrayal. But, I get it now, few things are as spiritually damaging to one's soul as being taken advantage of by somebody you're supposed to trust. It was Satan's original sin, and Akio is definitely living up to it abusing the trust all of Ohtori has placed in him.
Alex Kornejo
2025-01-27 17:04:25 +0000 UTCSince Akio and Anthy are siblings his name should be Akio Himemiya shouldn't it? but I see it as a Gendo Ikari/Rokubungi situation, where he dropped his family name to take his bride's more prestigious one to raise his own standing. Mrs. Ohtori outright reprimands him for avoiding her daughter saying his position as chairman depends on his marriage to her. P.S. Akio said he would name a comet after Kanae, so he's the kind of guy that would get you the moon and the stars but not give a fuck about you.
Alex Kornejo
2025-01-27 17:03:21 +0000 UTCNo need, Akio himself would exonerate himself. and after all, isn't he the only one that matters?
Alex Kornejo
2025-01-27 16:46:09 +0000 UTCYou know, I don't think I've ever seen someone say "Akio did nothing wrong."
Lynden
2025-01-27 02:03:44 +0000 UTCHate. noun. ˈhāt. See also: Akio Ohtori. "Don't forget to make it to the middle school teacher's night," says 400-year-old Akio, "be sure to bring your children, I mean students!" Yes, welcome to Utena, the Stranger Danger episode. Haha, I had a feeling this one was not going to be your favorite. Anthy is back to using those light-reflecting glasses again, she does not want to be gazed upon when her Utena is being taken advantage of by someone she can't do anything against. Typing that out, just makes me wish when Akio finally enters a duel, it's not Utena who lands the final blow, but Anthy! I see those the burning blue eyes as extreme hatred when Akio and Utena are making out blasting Closer in the shagmobile. Damn Akio! He's trying to get enough glass slippers to become Prince Charming, but he doesn't realize he gets further and further away from that with each one! Yuck! I never tire of Anthy just totally ignoring Kanae Ohtori's questions to her. Dead silence every time, haha! But I wonder why when Akio hears Kanae's mother is with her, and then she enters the room, and it's just the two of them, talking about her daughter as if she wasn't just right there? It's just so gross, and my daughter really, really hated this episode! As much as you! So, a few weird things - Akio calls Kanae's mother "mother" himself here when she enters. Weird, I guess maybe just a kink of his. Also, do we know why Akio and Kanae both share Ohtori for the last name? My head cannon totally feels like when the mother was a student just like Kanae, Akio had his way with her mother, so is Akio is just inbreeding over and over at this neverland school. I was half-expecting the mother to call Akio's fiancée his daughter at some point. Utena felt much closer to Anthy in season 1 than she does in this episode, back when she repetitively defended her from being others' brides in the duels. 100% agree Akio has been grooming Utena, positioning her on his chess board. Akio saying to the other faculty to stop making students conform against their individuality sounds nice, but yes, it's all to meet his goal of summoning the prince. Other schools? Weird! We need Wakaba stealing Akio's car and driving Utena + Anthy at night! I love seeing the Little Mermaid analogy work so well, hahaha. And yes! Swirling the wine in the glass, I couldn't place it, but dastardly villainous describes it perfectly. Finally, the real song for this episode goes to Wicked, "What Is this Feeling?" 🎵Loathing. Unadulterated loathing. ... Let's just say, I loathe it all!🎵
L Freya
2025-01-26 21:18:50 +0000 UTC
