Saturday, March 8, 2014

DVD Movie Review #86 Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Black Rose Saga


Hello all and welcome to my next step in the DVD movie review corners. Today I discuss the second part of the Revolutionary Girl Utena series called the Black Rose Saga. This set came like the other cool limited edition box sets that had this series. I of course need to see this through as Revolutionary Girl Utena is considered one of the great animes and now I have only one part and the movie left.

This story line takes place right after the duel with the president of the student counsel and Utena's vitory. In his grief over the loss the President sinks into despair and isolation so his sister must take the place as student counsel president. Meanwhile the Black Rose society makes an appearance bent on killing the Rose Bride and putting a frail young man in her place. They corrupt the hearts of those close to the duelists and have them steal the duelist power to try and take out Utena.

This story line is rather cool I must admit. I like the Black Rose society and the extra depth that they give to the characters that are corrupted. Many of these characters had been to the side for most of the series and they are now given a chance to shine. The Rose Bride's mysterious older brother is introduced and he is also a rather deep character with an unknown connection to Utena's Prince. The Music is much the same as the earlier series and is still as fun this time around. The art is also nothing new but still suits the series.

I am a little disappointed with the laziness in the battle scenes. They have fairly deep dialogue but they have almost identical moves each time. Its pretty much watching the same fight over and over again. This gets boring. I also am saddened by the disappearance of the Greek chorus shadows and the replacement by a single shadow girl that doesn't really do a good job of anything other than some strange aside that has nothing to do with the overall story.

I feel this could have been done better but still it is worth watching.

Rating:  7/10

I have bought rightstuf's limited idition box set for the series with the nice booklet and sturdy box.


Used:     $33.99    Half.com
(http://product.half.ebay.com/Revolutionary-Girl-Utena-The-Black-Rose-Saga-Set-2-DVD-2011-3-Disc-Set/102640346&cpid=1422383054)
New:     $25.93
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/offering/list/-/B004YCKK28/new)

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