So apparently, Utena the Movie is being released in US theaters. Didn’t have this on my bingo card for 2026, but then again I didn’t think Patlabor would get a remake either. And this is definitely much better news than “bomb the shit out of the Middle East”.
Utena is a classic, Ikuhara at his peak (IMHO). He took everything he wanted to do after Sailor Moon S but couldn’t, pumped it up a hundred fold, sprinkled copious amounts of acid, and voila, Utena. I watched the second half in Japanese kinda in real time, and so missed out a lot of nuance. Been telling myself I wanted to rewatch and do it justice, but somehow never got around to it. Well, about 10 years ago I made it to Nanami turns into a cow and somehow didn’t get further (gee why).
So news of the movie is a great reminder of this incredible work! Second season was gut wrenching, so real and full of the ugliness of the real world, and that’s why everyone will remember it as a masterpiece.
Such a kickass soundtrack too, movie and anime both. Can’t wait to listen to it on the JBL 100s when I can finally set them up.