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Or: Oh, You Thought I Was Kidding Last Week, Weren’t You?
I know I’ve mentioned the musicals a couple weeks ago, kind of in this off-hand “Oh, I guess there are musicals too” sort of way, and largely that was out of not really knowing what else to cover about them? Being Japan-only and only running for two-ish weeks will do that, not to mention that two of the five so far don’t seem to have any footage or materials at all related to them (or, at least, significantly less). But, with the miracle of fellows over at Empty Movement having recordings and the ability to stream, I was able to watch the two most recent productions, Bud of the White Rose and Blooming Rose of Deepest Black, and I figured this blog would be a good place to talk about them.
Keep in mind, though, my knowledge of the Japanese entertainment industry is severely limited. I can say things like “The two Rose musicals’ low budgets are a constant specter over their respective productions,” and they are, but within the realm of anime musicals, I don’t know have much to compare the use of those limited resources. I only have my own personal reaction to these two plays.
And that reaction is… good? I think?
There is a lot to like. Yuka Yamauchi as Anthy and Yume Takeuchi as Wakaba are particular standouts, as are, of course, the shadow play girls, who in addition to playing generic extras also get some time behind a backlit screen frequently doing some of the more memorable skits from the show. The actual songs, however, are kind of hit or miss.
It’s low-budget, so there isn’t an orchestra pit or anything, just singing along to a backing track, but that isn’t really a big problem, the problem is that the soundtrack overall just wasn’t that memorable for me. Absolute Destiny Apocalypse plays a few times, and I think that’s the exception that proves the rule, really, because that means the most memorable song is just one the show already has. The only other ones that are kind of memorable are Nanami’s song from the original, which is a fourth-wall-breaking mess (“mess” here is positive) that ends with Nanami encouraging the audience to give her a standing ovation, and Wakaba’s songs, which I remember mostly because, as I’ve mentioned, Yume Takeuchi is a pretty good actress.
Story-wise, the musicals stick pretty faithfully to the show, though all the fat has been cut off and cast aside. Nanami’s song is basically all of her stage-time, for example. Even her duel gets cut, and her mentioning it in the second show is played for laughs in a “that definitely happened” sort of way. The creators did give themselves enough freedom to move things around, however, even portraying some of them, such as Utena’s initial duels with Juri and Miki, simultaneously, working choreography for both fights together and representing the individual fights by changes in the stage lighting. They also introduce some symbolism of their own, such as, during the black rose arc, having the duelists appear alongside their black rose counterparts and attacking Utena two-on-one, which is actually really neat and only really alluded to in the show.
One thing that did get mentioned in the stream chat a few times, though, is that they’re not very beginner-friendly, by which I mean if you haven’t seen the show, your experience is going to be lessened significantly. By stripping the story down to its barest essentials and, using simultaneity and allegorical songs to pare down even further, I’m sure there would be a lot just lost to those not already familiar with what’s going on.
If you do have an opportunity to see these shows, my recommendation would be to know what you’re getting into in that regard, but I do recommend them. It’s more Utena, after all, and that’s not a bad thing. If you’ve been following along week to week, the first musical covers the Student Council arc, which you’ve now finished. For Blooming Rose of Deepest Black, well, you’re stuck with me for a little while longer.
Nanami Kiryuu turns into a cow.
I know I keep saying this like there’s some kind of meaning revealed in its repetition, but there isn’t, really. Revolutionary Girl Utena is defined by its transformations, but while the movie and manga’s premier changes occur at the final act, as an apotheosis of sorts, the one the anime is most known for is this one. It’s kind of emblematic of how silly the show can be perceived. “What’s the symbology of turning into a cow?” one might ask. “Especially when it doesn’t have an immediate relation to the rest of the story?” While I can’t exactly answer the first question outside of some vague gestures towards docile animals and their relation to following trends (“Nanami’s getting in line for once!” someone says), I can try to answer the second one.
Really what this episode is is the continuation of Nanami’s comeuppance for her prank in the third episode. Anthy “accidentally” mails a cowbell to the wrong Nanami and later continues to escalate things by knitting a red sweater at an inopportune time. Putting it that way, though, removes some of the character-building that happens in this episode. Tsuwabuki returns, for example, and Nanami reinforces her perception of him as a sort of younger brother who will never grow up, which will play into his development. Nanami’s perception of her actual brother shows up too, as Touga returns in a dream to sell her away.
This is a Nanami episode, so it has a more obvious moral than the rest as well, “Don’t try to be someone you’re not.” It’s a simple one and one that’s been expressed in the show before, but this particular episode is the one that deals with vanity, which probably plays more of a part in the episode’s message than I’m giving it credit for. Perhaps “You can care about your appearance, but not to the point of jealousy” might be better, given how Nanami reacts to Juri’s necklace during the party. It’s a bit open-ended, but it’s all there.
The nose ring, like Saionji switching places with Chu-Chu, is never brought up again.
-r
Next time: Juri throws away her locket, finally dealing with her past heartbreak and moving- hahaha I’m just kidding, she’s screwed.
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