August 18, 2022

i wrote the following in the forums, when i was approaching the end of the 4th volume:

i first watched the anime many years ago, and it’s been a favourite of mine ever since. with a few rewatches, i know the characters and plot quite well. going into the manga, i knew to expect some differences. and there are plenty, sometimes small details, sometimes quite large differences. but the characters remain true to themselves.

and the characters are really the core of Utena. they are layered and complex, and few (if any) are unequivocally good or evil (expect for the main villain, he is a manipulative, gaslighting, abusive bastard. almost as bad as kyubei (from Madoka Magika)). it’s a delight to see Utena and Anshii grow and develop.

talking about abusive bastards, there is violence in here. often very cold, calculated, manipulative violence. the physical violence is restrained, never gratuitous. but with much fewer comedic elements than the anime, and the ability to pause whenever it feels right, i find that the manga hits harder.

fully recommended, and i’m really looking forward to discovering how it ends in the manga!

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