Line #106 Anime/UtaKata


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6	Ichika Tachibana is an ordinary 14 year old girl with two older friends who gifted her a yin-yang charm that she keeps on her mobile phone. Then one summer evening she finds her mobile phone is somehow on the other side of a mysterious mirror at school. Peering into the mirror, she sees another girl looking back at her, who promptly picks up the phone and emerges from the glass. This girl, Manatsu, claims to be a part of her, and Ichika's parents are strangely open to having her stay in the house. Manatsu promises to take care of Ichika for the summer holiday, but asks that she do her "homework" for her.
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8	This means using the yin-yang charm to summon Djinn, elemental spirits whose powers can be used by Ichika for various ends. From now on she will summon a different Djinn each episode, accompanied by a TransformationSequence that, unusually for the genre, puts her in a different costume each time. This thrills her at first, but the more she uses this power the more she finds that it comes with a heavy cost, and she starts seeing herself and the world in an increasingly negative light. Ichika also remembers some foreboding dreams about Manatsu that she had long ago, but she can't recall how they ended. Meanwhile a mysterious woman called Saya watches over her.
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10	''Uta~Kata'' ("Poem Fragment") starts out as an ordinary MagicalGirl show, but gradually shifts to a darker tone. The 12 episode anime, broadcast in 2004, was given an [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVA]] episode in the DVD release that brings some more closure than the finale did. The character designs and animation style are hallmarks of Creator/{{Gimik}}, a creative threesome consisting of director Keiji Gotoh, character designer Megumi Kadonosono, and screenwriter Hidefumi Kimura, who are perhaps better known for their work on ''Anime/KiddyGrade'' and ''Anime/KiddyGirlAnd.'' In August 2010, six years after its original Japanese broadcast, Section 23 Films announced a North American release of the series.
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12	----
13	!!Provides examples of:
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15	* AbusiveParents: Satsuki's step-father.
16	* AdaptationDistillation: The manga. It condenses twelve episodes into seven chapters by cutting out a lot of the slice-of-life and several transformations, to focus on the plot-relevant parts.
17	* AttemptedRape: Ryou tries to force himself on Ichika, but his ex, Maki, stops him.
18	* BeachEpisode: Two of 'em, plus an additional swimming pool episode.
19	* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: Happens to [[spoiler:Ichika]] as the series goes on.
20	* BetweenMyLegs: Manatsu's legs frame Ichika during her fourth and seventh transformation. Also in episode two, again of Manatsu, when she confronts Ichika.
21	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The series culminates in the heroine having to choose between killing herself or killing ''the entire rest of humanity.'' She chooses to TakeAThirdOption, but that has a catch of its own: Manatsu ends up reverting into the form of an inanimate mirror. And Saya has her eyes on another child to test in the future at the behest of her unseen boss, meaning they'll keep pushing kids through the DespairEventHorizon until they finally get an answer they like.]]
22	* BookEnds: The TV series starts and ends in autumn with [[spoiler: Ichika remembering Manatsu.]]
23	* BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler:Happens to Ichika over the course of the series, but many of the supporting characters qualify.]]
24	* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler:Manatsu and Kai, in the OVA, see their counterparts again but at the end must return to the mirror.]]
25	* CherryBlossoms: In the last scene of the OVA.
26	* ChristmasEpisode: The OVA, which skips ahead. Ichika was born on Christmas day, so the day has special meaning to her.
27	%%* ClassTrip
28	* ClingyMacGuffin: Ichika finds that she cannot throw away the yin-yang charm, it will return to her.
29	* ComingOfAgeStory: Ichika losing her powers symbolises outgrowing her childhood.
30	* CrucifiedHeroShot: [[spoiler:Sei is shown nailed to the magic mirror in a flashback as he tries to get out of the forced choice, and Ichika suffers the same in the finale.]]
31	%%* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Michiru, making her stand out next to everyone else.
32	* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler:Satsuki was raped by her stepfather.]]
33	* DarkIsNotEvil: The Djinn of Darkness, despite coming late in the series and looking rather foreboding, is one of Ichika's more pleasant transformations.
34	* DistantEpilogue: The OVA. Now it's Christmas time, [[spoiler:Manatsu and Kai return for a brief farewell.]]
35	* DramaticHighPerching: Saya watches Ichika for most of the show, standing on rooftops or poles.
36	* DreamWalker: Manatsu appeared in Ichika's dreams before they met. Even Ichika's parents had these, before she was born.
37	* ElementalPowers: Many of the Djinn represent natural domains like the sun, wind and water, and their powers are based on their element.
38	* EmotionlessGirl: Michiru, somewhat. Though not actually emotionless, she does fulfill most of the trope requirements.
39	* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler:To some extent. Saya doesn't help Manatsu dispel the tsunami in the eleventh episode, but she's still visibly uncomfortable when hearing Manatsu's agonized screaming.]]
40	* EvolvingCredits: The end credits for each episode feature the costume Ichika wore in that episode, along with the name of the artist who designed it, and shows the yin-yang charm with its gems gradually lighting up.
41	* FawltyTowersPlot: This drives the storyline, but it's played for drama as Ichika begins to hate herself for lying so much.
42	%%* FestivalEpisode
43	* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's a very short shot in the opening of [[spoiler:Ichika in front of a mass grave,]] looking very out of place with the rest.
44	%%* FuroScene: A few, but never blatantly {{fanservice}}-y.
45	* GenkiGirl: Satsuki, although not in a classical over the top sense. Manatsu is rather genki too, contrasting with the very serious Ichika.
46	* GirlishPigtails: Manatsu, whose energy and playfulness contrast with the more serious and introverted Ichika.
47	* HereWeGoAgain: The finale ends with a French girl seeming to be the chosen next to be given the power.
48	* HomoeroticSubtext: While there is some in the anime, it's subdued; the manga goes much further, with Manatsu and Ichika kissing, hugging and groping each other, often in a state of undress. On top of that Michiru obviously has a thing for Ichika. Keiko and Satsuki get their moments as well, which even survives them quarreling over the same guy.
49	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Ichika and Manatsu are impaled on opposite ends of Saya's life draining scythe.]]
50	* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Ichika's twelve magical costumes, [[OncePerEpisode one for each episode]]. Each was designed by a different artist, known for their work on other manga, anime or figurines.
51	* InvisibleToNormals:
52	** The Djinn, also [[spoiler:Manatsu at first.]]
53	** Saya can also make herself invisible, although Michiru's little sister Rui (and Michiru herself) can still see her.
54	* ISeeDeadPeople: Michiru can sense spirits. When her friends joke that this is why she doesn't go near the sea, she doesn't disabuse them.
55	* InterruptedSuicide: Ichika tries to kill herself in episode 10 but is stopped by Manatsu.
56	* {{Kimodameshi}}: In episode 4. Manatsu shows herself to be easily scared, which reassures Ichika that she isn't a ghost at least.
57	* KissingDiscretionShot: The kiss between [[spoiler: Sei and Kai]] is cut away from at the last moment, showing us instead an aerial view of the scene.
58	* LastKiss: [[spoiler: Both Ichika/Manatsu and Sei/Kai, in the OVA, before they return to their world for good.]]
59	* LethalHarmlessPowers: Ichika nearly kills someone with flower petals, as [[spoiler:they're deathly allergic to them.]]
60	* LighterAndSofter: The manga series doesn't have the darker elements leading up to the finale ([[spoiler:the death by flowers and the attempted suicide]]), and the finale itself has its stakes lowered.
61	* LighthousePoint
62	* LossOfIdentity: Gradually happens to [[spoiler: Ichika]], by way of the Djinns' powers and perceptions of humanity.
63	* LuckyCharmsTitle: Note that while it's commonly written (typed) as ''Uta~Kata,'' it actually uses the much more rare reverse tilde: ''Uta∽Kata.'' As for what that symbol means, God only knows.
64	* MaleGaze: All the time, between panty shots, transformations, two beach episodes and focus on the girls' bodies in general.
65	* MagicalGirl: Ichika is given the power to summon spirits and use their power, with an accompanying costume change. Unusually, she takes on a different costume in each episode, to summon a different spirit.
66	* MagicMirror: How Manatsu comes into the world; she crosses over through a mysterious mirror.
67	* MeaningfulName:
68	** Manatsu can be written with the kanji for "midsummer" (真夏), indicating the time in which she appeared to Ichika.
69	** The kanji for "summer" also appears in Ichika's name (一夏), which literally means "one summer."
70	* MementoMacGuffin: [[spoiler: Manatsu's mirror shard and her soap bubble pipe.]]
71	* {{Miko}}: Michiru and her younger sister Rui.
72	* MisanthropeSupreme: [[spoiler:Saya, as the Mirror Djinn, believes in the rigid idea that the world is a horrid place and enforces the test's two choices of which is more deserving of death, the world or the child being tested, for being so awful.]]
73	* {{Motif}}: Cell phones play an important role in many of the episodes. Ichika also uses hers to carry the yin-yang charm.
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75	* MultipleDemographicAppeal
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77	* MundaneUtility: At first Ichika uses her powers for fairly mundane tasks, like finding her father's lost watch or retrieving the scattered papers of a windblown school report.
78	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Ichika begins to repeatedly suffer this the more she finds herself using the power of the Djinns for selfish reason. Especially when it starts happening against her will.
79	* MysteriousWatcher: Saya. She watches Ichika from afar for most of the series without making any moves until the end.
80	* NotBloodSiblings: Sei and Kai are ambiguously romantic and they pass themselves off as twins. [[spoiler:Kai is actually from the other side of the mirror, as Manatsu is.]]
81	* NotHimself: Happens to Ichika over the course of the series; she begins as someone who hates lying and slacking off, but increasingly tells more and more lies as it goes on -- coinciding with a loss of morality.
82	* OldSchoolBuilding: Setting for the first episode, in which Ichika comes across the mysterious mirror.
83	* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Sei and Kai.
84	* PainfulTransformation
85	* PaintItBlack: Ichika's final costume is a black coloured inversion of the white one she wears in the [[AnimeThemeSong Opening Theme.]]
86	* ParentalAbandonment: Satsuki's mother and step-father are almost always away.
87	* PinkySwear: When Manatsu asks for Ichika's help, they promise in this fashion.
88	* PlotBasedVoiceCancellation: We see the dreams in which Ichika first saw Manatsu, but what was said is obscured from both the audience and Ichika.
89	* PrinciplesZealot: Saya follows rules laid down by her higher authority and will not hesitate to harm innocents to enforce them.
90	* ProperLady: Keiko.
91	* ProperTightsWithASkirt: Michiru in her school uniform.
92	* RealPlaceBackground: Most of the show takes place in Kamakura, reproduced with care. Used to great effect in the beach scenes.
93	* RedEyesTakeWarning: [[spoiler:Ichika in the later episodes; her eyes glow red when the magic becomes dangerous.]]
94	* TheReveal: Several, actually.
95	* SceneryPorn: Kamakura's landscapes used as backgrounds. They are often more the focus of shots than the cast.
96	* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: [[spoiler:Manatsu eventually rebels against Saya's arbitrary rules and uses her own power to dispel the tsunami Ichika accidentally summoned with the Sea Djinn.]]
97	* SecretTestOfCharacter: [[spoiler: Apparently, Saya is tasked by some unknown higher authority to test human children. However, the rules of these tests are that the children may not be let in on the fact that they're being tested.]]
98	* TheSevenMysteries: The mirror is one of them. The others aren't important (or mentioned).
99	* SproutingEars: The manga has animal ears appearing on characters at times, usually to show embarrassment.
100	* ShrinesAndTemples: Just throwing a rock in Kamakura will likely make it land in one of those places.
101	* SinisterScythe: [[spoiler: Saya turns her scarf into a scythe when she means business.]]
102	* SnowMeansLove: In the OVA.
103	* TakeAThirdOption: [[spoiler:Ichika's choice is that she ''won't'' choose, explaining that yes there are things she dislikes about herself and the world around her but that she is still changing every day just like the world and everyone in it changes day by day. Neither are deserving of destruction because Saya wants them both judged based on a single instant. Unfortunately, Saya views this as a violation of the rules and is willing to execute Ichika anyway.]]
104	* TakenForGranite: [[spoiler: Sei is turned to stone by Saya in episode ten to stop him interfering.]]
105	* TitleDrop: The very last line of the OVA compares the girls' lives to a "bubble", which is what <utakata> as one word means.
106	* TransformationSequence: A completely different one for each of Ichika's costumes. They gradually become less and less elaborate as the series goes on (for symbolic reasons, rather than budget). Manatsu also gets a short one which is [[StockFootage shown a couple of times]].
107	* TransformationTrinket: The yin-yang charm. Unusually, it doesn't require a [[ByThePowerOfGrayskull catchphrase]] to activate it.
108	* VirtueViceCodification: [[spoiler: Part of Ichika's test is to experience the seven virtues and corresponding vices, as the Djinn see them manifested in humanity.]]
109	* WildMagic: [[spoiler:In the final episodes, Ichika stops calling upon the Djinns, but the transformations still happen.]]
110	* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: [[spoiler:Continued use of the Djinn's powers takes a heavy toll on Ichika's emotional and psychological health.]]
111	* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: [[spoiler:Michiru in the last episode gently informs Ichika that, whatever happens and whatever she's done, Ichika will always be loved by her friends. Being reminded of this and seeing messages on her cell phone are what convince Ichika not to accept Saya's SadisticChoice, both in that she regains faith in herself and in the world.]]

Context Anime / UtaKata