History Trivia / RevolutionaryGirlUtena

* OutOfOrder: The original 6th (''Curried High Trip'') and 8th (''Take Care, Miss Nanami!'') episodes had to be switched in the final release due to production difficulties with the former.

* DivorcedInstallment: The franchise began as an idea for ''Anime/SailorMoonSuperSTheMovie''. Creator/KunihikoIkuhara would have made the latter's lesbians as the primary characters, and some of his original ideas for the film would eventually be repurposed for the ''Utena'' television series.

* CreatorBacklash: Not so much for the show itself, but Creator/RachaelLillis has admitted that she thought she was miscast as the voice of Utena in the English dub, and also lamented that original ADR director Jim Malone had little knowledge of the show and characters, which heavily affected her performance and the dub's quality. Despite this, series creator Creator/KunihikoIkuhara has praised Lillis' performance.

* OldShame: Creator/KunihikoIkuhara wasn't fond of how the dub of the first episodes of ''Utena'' turned out to the point that he became much more involved in the English dub in later episodes as well as ''Anime/AdolescenceOfUtena''.

*** Crispin Freeman voiced Touga Kiryuu and Dios.
*** Kerry Williams' memorable roles were Kanae Ohtori and Yuko Ohse.
*** James Carter Cathcart's roles in addition to Miki Kaoru were Suzuki, Tanaka and Yamada.

* ApprovalOfGod: Ikuhara was reportedly very happy with Rachael Lillis' performance as Utena.
* CreatorBacklash: Not so much for the show itself, but Creator/RachaelLillis has admitted that she thought she was miscast as the voice of Utena in the English dub, and also lamented that original ADR director Jim Malone had little knowledge of the show and characters, which heavily affected her performance and the dub's quality. Despite this, series creator Kunihiko Ikuhara has praised Lillis' performance.

* DivorcedInstallment: The franchise began as an idea for ''Anime/SailorMoonSuperSTheMovie''. Kunihiko Ikuhara would have made the latter's lesbians as the primary characters, and some of his original ideas for the film would eventually be repurposed for the ''Utena'' television series.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: It started out this way, with literal tapes back before the show was licensed. Then when it was picked up, it turned out that Central Park Media had only bought the rights to the first 13 episodes, so fans continued doing this for the remaining episodes until the rest of the series was finally picked up years later. When CPM went out of business in 2009, the show fell into legal limbo, and fan distribution became the only way to see it outside Japan again; eventually, [[http://www.theanimenetwork.com/Anime/Revolutionary-Girl-Utena/Watch the Anime Network]] started airing the series online. Right Stuf rereleased both the series and ''Anime/AdolescenceOfUtena'' in 2011.

* OldShame: Ikuhara wasn't fond of how the dub of the first episodes of ''Utena'' turned out to the point that he became much more involved in the English dub in later episodes as well as ''Adolescence of Utena''.
* OutOfOrder: The original 6th (''Curried High Trip'') and 8th (''Take Care, Miss Nanami!'') episodes had to be switched in the final release due to production difficulties with the former.

* SerendipityWritesThePlot: A lot of the series's direction and storytelling arose from the fact that it had a small budget. This led to StockFootage sequences repeated OnceAnEpisode, other instances of reused animation, and drawn-out dialogue scenes with little movement from the camera or characters. This saved a lot of money, but also gave the series an oddly ritualistic and surreal atmosphere, which it cheerfully leaned into.
* ShrugOfGod: Director Ikuhara is infamously unhelpful -- and sometimes [[TeasingCreator deliberately infuriating]] -- when it comes to explaining things about the show and even more so regarding ''Anime/AdolescenceOfUtena''. Don't expect much in the way of straight WordOfGod. Probably best demonstrated with his statement about the difference between (Series) Utena and (Movie) Utena: "In the movie, [[spoiler:she turns into a car]]."
* StudioHop: The series was licensed for a North American release by Central Park Media. When it went out of business, Right Stuf acquired the rights to ''Utena''.
* TroubledProduction: Based on the comments of various actors involved, Central Park Media handled the English dub (or at least the first 13 episodes) in a decidedly haphazard fashion. Creator/RachaelLillis and Creator/JamesCarterCathcart indicated that the directors seemed not to understand the source material and gave them very little useful direction on how to play their characters. Creator/CrispinFreeman confirmed that the translators and ADR team missed some major plot points and character beats (most notoriously, Juri's sexual orientation) which he and the other actors had to point out for them. All that and the licensing snafu mentioned above under KeepCirculatingTheTapes likely account for the dub's erratic quality and performances.

* SerendipityWritesThePlot: A lot of the series's direction and storytelling arose from the fact that it had a small budget. This led to StockFootage sequences repeated OnceAnEpisode, lots of reused animation, and long and scenes of mostly conversation that hold on shots where not a lot is happening. This saved a lot of money, but also gave the series an oddly ritualistic and surreal atmosphere, which it cheerfully leaned into.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://utena.wikia.com/wiki/Revolutionary_Girl_Utena_Wiki Revolutionary Girl Utena Wiki]].

** The slightly {{Bowdlerized}} Latin American Spanish dub only got 30 episodes of the TV series and didn't air the rest of it and as a result ''Anime/AdolesenceOfUtena'' was never dubbed there either, allegedly this was due to the show's controversial subject matter.

** The slightly {{Bowdlerized}} Latin America only got 30 episodes of the TV series and didn't air the rest of it and they didn't get the movie either, allegedly this was due to the show's controversial subject matter.

* UnfinishedDub: The Latin American dub was never finished and only 30 episodes were dubbed, allegedly due to the show's controversial subject matter.

*** Hiroyuki Yoshino voices Tanaka in addition to some minor roles.

*** Mandy Bonhomme voiced Juri Arisugawa and Keiko Sonoda.

*** Jimmy Zoppi's roles in addition to Miki Kaoru were Suzuki, Tanaka and Yamada.

*** In addition, most of the actors voiced numerous bit parts, especially Bonhomme and Freeman.

* ApprovalOfGod: Ikuhara was reportedly very happy with Rachael Lillis' performance as Utena and Shiori.

* CreatorsFavorite: From the English dub, Creator/CrispinFreeman (Touga), Mandy Bonhomme (Juri), and Creator/LisaOrtiz (Shiori) have all named ''Utena'' as one of their favorite voiceover projects.

* TroubledProduction: Based on the comments of various actors involved, Central Park Media handled the English dub (or at least the first 13 episodes) in a decidedly haphazard fashion. Creator/RachaelLillis and Creator/JimmyZoppi indicated that the directors seemed not to understand the source material and gave them very little useful direction on how to play their characters. Creator/CrispinFreeman confirmed that the translators and ADR team missed some major plot points and character beats (most notoriously, Juri's sexual orientation) which he and the other actors had to point out for them. All that and the licensing snafu mentioned above under KeepCirculatingTheTapes likely account for the dub's erratic quality and performances.

* BlindIdiotTranslation: The official English translation by Neil Nadelman is [[https://twitter.com/fspls/status/1001007719048925184 rather infamously bad]]. There's countless translation errors, ranging from minor and relatively inconsequential mistakes to butchering character beats and plot developments. It's been noted that the official translation makes the plot much more difficult to follow than it actually is, because it creates plot holes that fans had to come up with interpretations to explain away (given the abstract nature of the show) and generally overcomplicates exposition. The songs in particular are subject to awful translations. The duel songs for episodes 14 and 20 directly reference Hamlet's Japanese translation, but you wouldn't know that from the official translation (though admittedly most fan translations also miss this). Listing every problem in the official subtitles (and the dub, which uses the same bad translation) would fill an obnoxiously long stretch of this page, so have some highlights instead:
** In the iconic Absolute Destiny Apocalypse song, "sanba uba" in "yami no sabaku ni sanba uba" is rendered as "shining place" rather than the intended "midwife, wet nurse".
** As seen in the link above, Wakaba saying she doesn't see a need to know more than the multiplication tables is mangled into her saying that she'd be happy getting only 99s in Math tests. Uh, entitled much?
** Kanae's monologue in episode 14 counts for a butchered character beat. In the actual script, she says she despises Anthy no matter how hard she tries. The official translation misparsed this to her saying she can't get Anthy to like her no matter how hard she tries.
** Earlier that same episode, Utena remarks that she and her classmates went out to have fun on Saturday, which is mangled in the translation into her saying that she turned their Saturday class into a party.
** Episode 18, which centers on Tsuwabuki wanting to be a grown-up, has a large amount of innuendos and double entendres, including the final line of the episode, which has Nanami saying something that could be translated as "Is it hot in here or is it just me?". Some of the more obvious ones are translated in the subs, but there's still many unaccounted for, including the aforementioned final line.
** For a more traditional blind idiot translation, a line in episode 7 where Utena says that she doesn't know if the things she's heard about Juri are true or not is erroneously rendered as "I don't know if it's real or true." This is one of the many errors the re-issued subs on the recent Blu-ray release did not fix.
** One error they did fix in the updated subtitles is the final line of episode 1. They corrected an incorrect translation that went something like "From this day forward, I am your bride" to the accurate translation of "From this day forward, I am your flower".
** In episode 23, Utena's younger self in her memory says she will be patient, while the official translation changes that to her saying she will be strong. It's a relatively minor error compared to the rest, but it still damages the scene because the point of the scene is that in her memory, Utena was dependent and vulnerable, not strong.
** All references to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namahage Namahage]] are scrubbed out of episode 21's Shadow Girl play in the official translation, which means the Namahage isn't mentioned and the mantis Shadow Girl's speech quirks are not adapted.
** In episode 8, a thinly veiled threat of rape towards Anthy from one of Nanami's cronies is left out.

* DivorcedInstallment: The franchise began as an idea for a ''Anime/SailorMoon [=SuperS=]'' movie. Kunihiko Ikuhara would have made the latter's lesbians as the primary characters, and some of his original ideas for the movie would eventually be repurposed for the ''Utena'' television series.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: It started out this way, with literal tapes back before the show was licensed. Then when it was picked up, it turned out that Central Park Media had only bought the rights to the first 13 episodes, so fans continued doing this for the remaining episodes until the rest of the series was finally picked up years later. When CPM went out of business in 2009, the show fell into legal limbo, and fan distribution became the only way to see it outside Japan again; eventually, [[http://www.theanimenetwork.com/Anime/Revolutionary-Girl-Utena/Watch the Anime Network]] started airing the series online. Right Stuf rereleased both the series and the movie in 2011.
* NoExportForYou: Zigzagged with the show and movie, as explained above under KeepCirculatingTheTapes. Played straight with the Sega Saturn game and the light novels, although fan translations do exist for those to one degree or another.
** ''Utena'' had an [[http://ohtori.nu/analysis/introduction.html erratic broadcast history]] in English-language markets due to rights issues (and possibly censorship concerns). The English dub didn't air on television until Australia's short-lived teen network Fly TV in the early 2000s, along with a few on-demand services like Creator/AnimeNetwork and AZN in the US and Canada (and, strangely, a local station in Hawaii). [[Creator/{{Syfy}} The Sci-Fi Channel]] licensed the show in 2002 but [[FridayNightDeathSlot dumped it in their late night block]] and only aired the movie and a few episodes of the Student Council arc before dropping ''Utena'' altogether. A Creator/CartoonNetwork executive has [[https://ask.fm/Clarknova/answers/141829371369 confirmed]] that they tried to license ''Utena'' for Creator/{{Toonami}} in the late '90s but weren't able to obtain it due to the CPM licensing issues.

* ShrugOfGod: Director Ikuhara is infamously unhelpful -- and sometimes [[TeasingCreator deliberately infuriating]] -- when it comes to explaining things about the show and even more so regarding the movie. Don't expect much in the way of straight WordOfGod. Probably best demonstrated with his statement about the difference between (Series) Utena and (Movie) Utena: "In the movie, [[spoiler:she turns into a car]]."

** If a certain statement from Youji Enokido is to be believed, [[RapeAsBackstory Touga's backstory]] from TheMovie had been intended for his series self as well, but was left out for reasons unknown.

** If a certain statement from Youji Enokido is to be believed, [[RapeAsDrama Touga's backstory]] from TheMovie had been intended for his series self as well, but was left out for reasons unknown.

* FanNickname:
** Shiori was referred to as "the goat" by [[TheScrappy her haters]] on older fansites.
** Akio's '57 Corvette is known simply as the Akio Car, thanks to that being the name of its song on the soundtrack.
*** Fans on Website/NicoNicoDouga sometimes call it the "Yaranai-Car". If you don't get it, you're better off not asking.
** The tower where Akio resides: The Cocktower.
** The player character from the ''Utena'' Sega Saturn game: D-ko.
** Utena is sometimes referred to as variations of LovableJock because she plays a variety of sports and her habit of stretching and exercising.
** Saionji seems to be referred to as "Wakame" by Japanese fans. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakame It's probably the hair.]]
** In some circles, the manga version has the not-exactly-flattering nickname of "Utena Lite".

* ActingInTheDark: Creator/RachaelLillis, the English voice of Utena, has admitted that she has never met Sharon Becker, who voiced Anthy, despite being co-leads.

* CreatorsFavorite: From the English dub, Mandy Bonhomme (Juri) and Creator/LisaOrtiz (Shiori) have both named ''Utena'' as one of their favorite voiceover roles.

* DivorcedInstallment: The franchise began as an idea for a ''Anime/SailorMoon [=SuperS=]'' movie. Kunihiko Ikuhara would have made the latter's SchoolgirlLesbians as the primary characters, and some of his original ideas for the movie would eventually be repurposed for the ''Utena'' television series.

** ''Utena'' had an [[http://ohtori.nu/analysis/introduction.html erratic broadcast history]] in English-language markets due to rights issues (and possibly censorship concerns). The English dub didn't air on television until Australia's short-lived teen network Fly TV in the early 2000s, along with a few on-demand services like Creator/AnimeNetwork and AZN in the US and Canada (and, strangely, a local station in Hawaii). [[Creator/{{Syfy}} The Sci-Fi Channel]] licensed the show in 2002 but [[FridayNightDeathSlot dumped it in their late night block]] and only aired the movie and a few episodes of the Student Council arc before dropping ''Utena'' althogether. A Creator/CartoonNetwork executive has [[https://ask.fm/Clarknova/answers/141829371369 confirmed]] that they tried to license ''Utena'' for Creator/{{Toonami}} in the late '90s but weren't able to obtain it due to the CPM licensing issues.

** ''Utena'' had an [[http://ohtori.nu/analysis/introduction.html erratic broadcast history]] in English-language markets due to rights issues (and possibly censorship concerns). The English dub didn't air on television until Australia's short-lived teen network Fly TV in the early 2000s, along with a few on-demand services like Creator/AnimeNetwork and AZN in the US and Canada (and, strangely, a local station in Hawaii). [[Creator/{{Syfy}} The Sci-Fi Channel]] licensed the show in 2002 but only aired the movie and a few episodes of the Student Council arc before dropping it. A Creator/CartoonNetwork executive has [[https://ask.fm/Clarknova/answers/141829371369 confirmed]] that they tried to license ''Utena'' for Creator/{{Toonami}} in the late '90s but Central Park Media denied them the broadcasting rights.

** ''Utena'' had an [[http://ohtori.nu/analysis/introduction.html erratic broadcast history]] in English-language markets due to rights issues (and possibly censorship concerns). The English dub didn't air on television until Australia's short-lived teen network Fly TV in the early 2000s, along with a few on-demand services like Anime Network and AZN in the US and Canada (and, strangely, a local station in Hawaii). The Sci-Fi Channel licensed the show in 2002 but only aired the movie and a few episodes of the Student Council arc before dropping it. A Cartoon Network executive has [[https://ask.fm/Clarknova/answers/141829371369 confirmed]] that Adult Swim tried to license ''Utena'' for Toonami in the late '90s but Central Park Media denied them the broadcasting rights.

** ''Utena'' had an [[http://ohtori.nu/analysis/introduction.html erratic broadcast history]] in English-language markets due to rights issues (and possibly censorship concerns). The English dub never aired on television until Australia's short-lived teen network Fly TV in the early 2000s, along with a few on-demand services like Anime Network and AZN in the US and Canada. The Sci-Fi Channel licensed the show in 2002 but only aired the movie and a few episodes of the Student Council arc before dropping it. A Cartoon Network executive has [[https://ask.fm/Clarknova/answers/141829371369 confirmed]] that Adult Swim tried to license ''Utena'' for Toonami in the late '90s but were unable to gain broadcast rights from Central Park media.

** ''Utena'' had an [[http://ohtori.nu/analysis/introduction.html erratic broadcast history]] in English-language markets due to rights issues (and possibly censorship concerns). The English dub never aired on television until Australia's short-lived teen network Fly TV in the early 2000s, along with a few on-demand services like Anime Network and AZN in the US and Canada. The Sci-Fi Channel licensed the show 2002 but only aired the movie and a few episodes of the Student Council arc before dropping it. A Cartoon Network executive has [[https://ask.fm/Clarknova/answers/141829371369 confirmed]] that Adult Swim tried to license ''Utena'' for Toonami in the late '90s but were unable to gain broadcast rights from Central Park media.