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Adolescence of Utena

Director: Kunihiko Ikuhara Run Time: 85 min. Format: Digital Rating: NR Release Year: 1999 Language: Japanese with English subtitles

Starring: Tomoko Kawakami, Yuriko Fuchizaki, Takehito Koyasu, Kumiko Nishihara

“The queer as hell psychedelic anime you need to see.” – Dazed

When a dapper young woman named Utena Tenjo enrolls in the sprawling, psychedelic, rose strewn campus of Ohitori Academy, she quickly finds herself caught up in a series of duels with the Student Council to win the hand of the “Rose Bride,” a mysterious, olive-toned princess who possesses the power to revolutionize the world. Whatever that means… something to do with turning into a car, I think.

For what famed oddball Kunihiko Ikuhara’s adaptation of Chiho Saito’s manga Revolutionary Girl Utena lacks in coherence, it makes up for in strides with lush visuals; striking, peculiar design; and a taste for subverting norms in regards to romance, gender, and narrative.

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