History YMMV / RevolutionaryGirlUtena

*** Fans on Website/NicoNicoDouga sometimes call it the "Yaranai-Car". If you don't get it, you're better off not asking.

* AcceptableTargets:
** Guys who engage in DomesticAbuse and HeManWomanHater (s)...Saionji, Touga and Akio anyone? They're always [[ShirtlessScene removing their shirts dramatically]] which is always portrayed as villainous. Saionji and [[spoiler:Akio]] are textbook {{Domestic Abuse}}rs, with the latter being a sexual predator who targets teenagers. Touga is a horrendous {{Jerkass}} even to his sister. Ruka callously abandons Shiori after having sex with her and later assaults Juri.
** As a FeministFantasy, the series loves punishing [[HeManWomanHater sexists]], [[EffeminateMisogynisticGuy misogynists]], and [[DomesticAbuse abusers]] in varying degrees. [[TheBrute Saionji]] becomes the resident ButtMonkey in the series after Utena defeats him to free [[DesignatedVictim Anthy]] from his physical abuse. [[TheCasanova Touga's]] love for Utena ends up unrequited long after manipulating the athletic, outspoken ActionGirl into being passive and demure. [[MadonnaWhoreComplex Miki... to a lesser extent]] has a case of MadonnaWhoreComplex about Anthy and Kozue (meaning he doesn't see them as full people in their own right). He doesn't like Anthy as much when she's actually sticking up for herself, instead of letting people slap her around and has never won against Utena in the dueling game. [[DoggedNiceGuy Tsuwabuki]] gets called out for placing Nanami in a series of deadly situations [[RescueRomance so he can rescue her]]. [[WolfInSheepsClothing Ruka]] dies of an unspecified illness after abandoning Shiori, with whom he had sex, and [[AttemptedRape assaulting]] Juri. [[BigBad Akio]] [[spoiler:abuses his own sister using every possible imaginable way, [[QuestionableConsent has sex with teenagers]] like Touga and Utena, tells Utena to [[StayInTheKitchen give up fighting to live happily ever after with his prince]], and ends up utterly powerless after Anthy leaves him for good]].

** Utena zigzagging across pretty much every trope related to femininity is somewhat disturbing to watch nowadays, as [[Creator/TomokoKawakami her voice actress]] died of ovarian cancer. Made worse when [[spoiler:Anthy stabs her just above her right ovary]].

* RealismInducedHorror: Despite being in a surreal MindScrew series that [[WorldOfSymbolism largely operates on symbolism]], Akio is still a disturbingly realistic villain. Unlike most fictional pedophiles, you wouldn't suspect much from the guy at first glance. He's [[{{Bishonen}} handsome,]][[FauxAffablyEvil sophisticated, charming and polite]] to such an extent that it's easy for him to make people let their guard down, he subtly emotionally manipulates them and serenades them with gifts and applause along with attempting to deflect blame onto them when he's called out for being a rapist, and his victims are generally people he knows and are close with, [[spoiler: most horrifically extending to his own younger sister.]]

** Many people have only seen the (very wildly alternate universe) film version, partly because it's easier to find on torrent sites and partly because it was the only version released in places like the UK. (And, okay, it's known for its {{Fanservice}} as well.) It's also been shown at some LGBT film festivals, giving it exposure outside the anime fandom.

** The different versions themselves have been claimed to be alternate interpretations of ''Utena'', with the manga as Chiho Saito's vision, TheMovie as Kunihiko Ikuhara's vision, and the TV series as a compromise between the two; there's also the manga adaptation of TheMovie, which is Saito's own spin on it, and the light novels, which were written by someone else entirely (specifically, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichiro_Okouchi Ichirou Ookouchi]]). Characterisation varies wildly between all these versions, to the point where the differences between portrayals of any given character can be quite jarring.

** On first viewing Touga comes across as a deeply manipulative, even petty figure with little to no redeeming qualities, whose behavior makes the audience feel sorry for ''Saionji'', the guy who literally slaps women around when he doesn't get his way. He's one of the only major student characters we never really see from "inside" his head, which can make him fall oddly flat. But taking in Word of God's claim that his fate in TheMovie [[spoiler: where he is sexually abused by his stepfather, not that he drowns]] was also supposed to carry into the TV series (and perhaps wasn't due to Touga's VA being absent for most of a whole arc, giving him less time for development) not only makes a lot of his behaviors make more sense - manipulative to the extreme, a hatred/distrust/outright refusal to believe in friendship, and over-sexuality (a common warning sign in children who have been sexually abused) makes a second watching deeply upsetting, particularly when he's around Akio. He seems to be under the impression he's in control, but we already know that Akio is playing him like a fiddle, and likely all the easier due to his prior abuse. And just try to listen to his line about a relationship between step-siblings being more "romantic" while remembering what his step-father did to him. Brrrr.
** And just to prove once again how flexible the fourth wall is in ''Utena'', the Akio that wants to keep Anthy in the academy's world in TheMovie [[spoiler:is Anthy's own AlternativeCharacterInterpretation (of sorts) of the real guy that died ages ago. Something similar seems to be the case with Touga; compare his scenes with Utena to his scenes with Shiori, for example]].

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: ''Many'' of the dueling themes, plus a good chunk of TheMovie soundtrack.

** When there are no fewer than '''five''' different ''Utena'' canons (the TV series, the manga by Creator/ChihoSaito, the ''Adolescence Mokushiroku'' movie, the manga based on TheMovie that's ''also'' by Saitou, and the [[NoExportForYou virtually unknown]] LightNovels) some breakage is inevitable. Try bringing up any kind of comparison between these media; fans that support one version will be trying to murder the fans who prefer the others within seconds.
** [[WordOfGod Youji Enokido's comments on Touga]] (namely, that his backstory in TheMovie was intended to apply to his series self as well) have been fairly controversial, which isn't helped by the fact that the character was a major BaseBreakingCharacter to begin with. There is a certain amount of debate over whether to accept his words as canon fact or declare DeathOfTheAuthor.
*** Also in TheMovie, Utena beating Juri cleanly had some fans upset that it takes away her special status as the only person Utena was never able to beat on her own.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The ''Creator/MontyPython''-esque "Nanami Cow" segment in TheMovie.

* CrackPairing: Miki/Juri has some vocal fan support. As far as crack pairings go, this is a fairly reasonable one; the characters interact on a regular basis, move in the same social/extracurricular circles, and get along the best out of all the Student Council members. What makes it ''crack'' is Juri's canonical lesbianism (at least in the series; she teases him in TheMovie and is straight in the manga).

** The scene in TheMovie where Anthy convinces Utena to let her sketch her in the nude actually came out the same year as ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}'', which had the same infamous scene ("Draw me like one of your French girls").

** Kids, if Akio Ohtori offers you a ride in his [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything very phallic shaped car]], SAY NO. His molester status is hardly memetic, given that Utena and Anthy's consent to his advances is shown to be [[QuestionableConsent very dubious]] and [[Anime/AdolescenceOfUtena the movie]] has him actually drugging the latter's drink in order to rape her.

** Kyouichi Saionji counts too with his [[DomesticAbuse behavior towards Anthy]], his [[SanitySlippage mental instability]] and his {{Nightmare Face}}s. Ironically, he's one of the less sexual characters in the series; however, the same can't be said for movie!Saionji, who qualifies for this trope ten times over.

** A lot of things on the Narm page are loved particularly due to how weird they are, as it goes along with the more serious surrealism just as well. Especially [[spoiler:Utena turning into a car]] in TheMovie.

* TakeThatScrappy:
** Shiori in TheMovie has even fewer redeeming qualities than in the series, being even more manipulative, petty and spiteful--with much less reason. ([[spoiler: Her boyfriend died when saving Juri, but it's not as if Juri could control that.]]) It's very satisfying near the end when [[spoiler:Anthy causes Shiori-Car to crash and explode while she's in the middle of EvilGloating]].
** For Nanami detractors, she gets only a brief scene in TheMovie as a cow. Where she's still the ButtMonkey.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
** Akio's "makeover" for TheMovie was not well received, to say the least. There's some FridgeBrilliance in his more pathetic portrayal, but try telling that to the rabid Akio fans...
** Movie!Anthy's redesign has also gotten some flack, including accusations of whitewashing due to the changes in her hair and skintone (though she's still clearly not white or Japanese; her slightly paler skin is an unfortunate side effect of the altered color palette, and her straight hair contrasts with movie!Utena's wavy hair as an indication of their subtle role reversal).
** Though the issues surrounding her skin might lie more on the fact that a clearly darker skinned character--in the series--being lightened quite a few shades more to fit a type of palette insinuates the fact that dark skin couldn't fit the color scheme of TheMovie and for many, finding dark skinned women characters shown in a positive light in media is already difficult is as, making the flack pretty understandable.
** TheMovie itself gets this, too. While there are plenty of legitimate criticisms, a lot of reasons for ''Utena'' fans hating it can be summed up as "it's not a carbon copy of the series".

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: TheMovie in general is gorgeous, but this trope is why everyone remembers the dancing scene (besides the yuri).

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: Both the series and the film, but ''especially'' the film.

* [[spoiler: Anthy is eventually revealed to be this. She was force to eternally bear the pain of 100 swords being stabbed into her body at once for trying to protect her brother, who would gradually devolve into a CompleteMonster in the centuries to follow, he rapes and regularly abuses her despite him being related to him, and she's used as a prop to be abused by him and those manipulated by him for years before watching the first person she made a true connection with [[NotQuiteDead possibly]] die. On the other hand, she went along with and facilitated his horrifying schemes, which included raping numerous other people and well as murdering them.]]

* RealismInducedHorror: Despite being in a surrealist MindScrew series with a lot of surrealist imagery, Akio is still a disturbingly realistic villain. Unlike most fictional pedophiles, you wouldn't suspect much from the guy at first glance. He's [[{{Bishonen}} handsome,]][[FauxAffablyEvil sophisticated, charming and polite]] to such an extent that it's easy for him to make people let their guard down, he subtly emotionally manipulates them and serenades them with gifts and applause along with attempting to deflect blame onto them when he's called out for being a rapist, and his victims are generally people he knows and are close with, [[spoiler: most horrifically extending to his own younger sister.]]

** A Tumblr user [[https://66.media.tumblr.com/194a4af7d51643134f041328b4f836a0/tumblr_pj1giz24Rs1u0ag07o1_1280.png pointed out two panels]] in an ''ComicBook/{{Archie Comic|s}}'' in which Veronica shows off a cowbell around her neck and Betty demanding that she removes it. It is debated whether it was published before or after the anime.

* CultClassic: The series as a whole has become this to fans who had either grown up with it or don't disregard it due to its tropes being later done to death. It's viewed as one of Kunihiko Ikuhara's better shows that used his often repetitive tropes well, [[ToughActToFollow making some of his latter works pale in comparison to some of his fans]]. In fact, it wasn't until the release of Anime/{{Sarazanmai}} that any of his shows following ''Utena'' had gotten any mainstream recognition on its level while they were airing, with ''Sarazanmai'' being popular enough to retain its fanbase after it concluded in the same way that ''Utena'' had.

** Is Saionji just a jerk who constantly abuses Anthy? Or a sweet but troubled guy with little hold of his emotions and ambitions? He only is a cruel abusive jerk when engaged to Anthy at any other moment he's actually pretty capable of showing a lot of sweet emotions even exchanging diaries and constantly trying to woo her, on the other side that is pretty common on abusive people to act nice after abusing their victim, to muddle things further he's nothing but sweet while living in Wakaba's dorm until he's presented with the opportunity of returning to the council as if his ambitions turn everything else secondary, even then he's still just a teen and a troubled one at that, victim of manipulation himself.

** Nanami is also rather unpopular in her own right, being frequently written off as annoying comic relief as well as hated for [[spoiler:drowning her brother's kitten out of jealousy as a child]] (despite the fact that she showed clear remorse for it). On the other hand, episodes 31 and 32 tend to get her RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap as many viewers end up [[JerkassWoobie pitying her too much]] to hate her anymore.

** Kyouichi Saionji counts too with [[BastardBoyfriend his]] [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty behavior]] [[DomesticAbuse towards Anthy]], his [[SanitySlippage mental instability]] and his {{Nightmare Face}}s. Ironically, he's one of the less sexual characters in the series; however, the same can't be said for movie!Saionji, who qualifies for this trope ten times over.

--->'''Shiori''': Oh, ''what'' to do. Knowing my friend's secret turns everything I felt around. I'm so happy! There'd she be, alone and miserable, looking at my picture. So vulnerable. Just like me. ...it's not enough! It's still NOT ENOUGH! Why do you ALWAYS look at me like that?! ''Why?! WHY DON'T YOU SAY HOW YOU REALLY FEEL?!''

** Apparently Akio's car is a corvette. Now what color is his corvette?

** Kids, if Akio Ohtori offers you a ride in his [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything very phallic shaped car]], SAY NO.

* UglyCute: Chuchu. [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys A monkey]] with BigOlEyebrows, {{Blush Sticker}}s, can only [[PokemonSpeak say "chu"]], comes randomly doing PluckyComicRelief and it's the AuthorAvatar.

** Guys who engage in DomesticAbuse and HeManWomanHater (s)...Saionji, Touga andAkio anyone? They're always [[ShirtlessScene removing their shirts dramatically]] which is always portrayed as villainous. Saionji and [[spoiler:Akio]] are textbook {{Domestic Abuse}}rs, with the latter being a sexual predator who targets teenagers. Touga is a horrendous {{Jerkass}} even to his sister. Ruka callously abandons Shiori after having sex with her and later assaults Juri.

** Ruka, Ruka, Ruka. He's another particularly divisive character whose actions even today, years after the series has ended, [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment are debated]].

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: ''Many'' of the duelling themes, plus a good chunk of TheMovie soundtrack.

** Mikage Souji could qualify as well. [[spoiler:Just as he was beginning to evolve out of his computer-like personality and developed feelings for a woman named Tokiko, Akio seduced her just so he could manipulate Mikage into burning down the memorial center. And, of course, killing the 100 boys trapped inside. Not only that, but Akio gets Mikage to work for him years later as a puppetmaster, pulling the strings of the black rose duellists. Unfortunately, Mikage doesn't know that he's a puppet at all and that Akio has tampered with his memories.]]

** As a FeministFantasy, the series loves punishing [[HeManWomanHater sexists]], [[EffeminateMisogynisticGuy misogynists]], and [[DomesticAbuse abusers]] in varying degrees. [[TheBrute Saionji]] becomes the resident ButtMonkey in the series after Utena defeats him to free [[DesignatedVictim Anthy]] from his physical abuse. [[TheCasanova Touga's]] love for Utena ends up unrequited long after manipulating the athletic, outspoken ActionGirl into being passive and demure. [[MadonnaWhoreComplex Miki...to a lesser extent]] has a case of MadonnaWhoreComplex about Anthy & Kozue (meaning he doesn't see them as full people in their own right).Doesn't like Anthy as much when she's actually sticking up for herself, instead of letting people slap her around and has never won against Utena in the dueling game. [[DoggedNiceGuy Tsuwabuki]] gets called out for placing Nanami in a series of deadly situations [[RescueRomance so he can rescue her]]. [[WolfInSheepsClothing Ruka]] dies of an unspecified illness after abandoning Shiori, with whom he had sex, and [[AttemptedRape nearly raping]] Juri. [[BigBad Akio]] [[spoiler:abuses his own sister using every possible imaginable way, [[QuestionableConsent has sex with teenagers]] like Touga and Utena, tells Utena to [[StayInTheKitchen give up fighting to live happily ever after with his prince]], and ends up utterly powerless after Anthy leaves him for good]].

** Guys who engage in DomesticAbuse & HeManWomanHater (s)...Saionji, Touga & Akio anyone? They're always [[ShirtlessScene removing their shirts dramaticly]] which is always portrayed as villainous. Saionji and [[spoiler:Akio]] are textbook {{Domestic Abuse}}rs, with the latter being a sexual predator who targets teenagers. Touga is a horrendous {{Jerkass}} even to his sister. Ruka callously abandons Shiori after having sex with her and later assaults Juri.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped:
** Strictly defined gender roles are crap. Those who believe they can do something should not let societal norms stop you. Also, you don't have to be imprisoned by your family; if they bring you down and you can't help them, well, better save yourself.
** Abuse isn't always apparent or easy to identify. Also you often can't rescue someone from an abusive relationship- they have to do it themselves.
*** Sexual abuse doesn't need to look like rape. Akio gets the consent of [[spoiler: definitely Anthy and probably Utena]] before initiating sexual intercouse with them, but this is obtained with lots of backhanded manipulation, hidden ulterior motives and emotional abuse, so even if they weren't technically raped they were still very much sexually abused which is just as despicable.
*** Especially for places where minors are considered to be pure and sexless or where you're only considered a kid as long as you look like one: Teens, even middle or late ones, even those who have physically developed and may seem mature for their age and may be indistinguishable from adults are still vulnerable to being emotionally and psychologically manipulated by abusive adults.
** Don't hate on women, and double if you're [[FemaleMisogynist a woman yourself]]. Because a woman who hates other women '''''will never be able to love herself'''''.

** Guys who engage in DomesticAbuse & HeManWomanHater (s)...Saionji, Touga & Akio anyone ?
They're always [[ShirtlessScene removing their shirts dramaticly]] which is always portrayed as villainous. Saionji and [[spoiler:Akio]] are textbook {{Domestic Abuse}}rs, with the latter being a sexual predator who targets teenagers. Touga is a horrendous {{Jerkass}} even to his sister. Ruka callously abandons Shiori after having sex with her and later assaults Juri.