Introduction/Script Index

Long ago, on an internet far, far away, there was the Utena Encyclopedia (http://duellists.tj). Among other things, it was the front for The Utena Translation Project. This fine group of individuals lovingly produced the series scripts ages before anyone actually fansubbed them.

By the time I launched Empty Movement, the Encyclopedia had been static for quite some time, having not been updated since late 1999. I still used it as the paradigm, and when early in 2003 the site came down for the second time, I was far from the only fan to mourn the loss of SKU's home on the web. Though the series is finally being released locally, these scripts remain a must-see for any Utena fan. They're more exact in translation, and the liner notes at the end of most episodes help bring some of the more confusing points to light. Several episodes offer explanations to Japanese culture references that go ignored in the official release.

Long ago, I saved the entire content of the site to my computer for fast access to the scripts. Now that the Encyclopedia is gone, and the scripts no longer have a home on the internet, I feel I should share the resource I have with the many people who didn't save the scripts, or are new to the series.

I won't lie: I don't have direct permission from the original site owners to do this. I e-mailed them, spammed mailing lists, and posted messages on the front page of Empty Movement hoping one of them might see, but after several months of trying, I'm just not getting a response. Because the site is no more, I see no reason to not take the initiative in giving this work a new home. The disclaimer given for the scripts includes the following, which I have taken as applicable to me.

THEY MAY BE EXCERPTED FOR DISCUSSION, PROMOTION, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT PURPOSES AS LONG AS NO ALTERATIONS TO THE CONTENTS ARE MADE.

The scripts have not been altered except for html editing and formatting. Every word of information, including the original disclaimers, has been preserved, and I'm certainly not making any profit from hosting them.

It's my hope this will bring a smile to the faces of the old crones like me, who remember cut and pasting half an episode into their e-mail signature, and that for the newbies, who never saw the Utena Encyclopedia, these scripts will provide a new glimpse of the series in its raw form. You know, before Central Park Media dumbed down the script.

We've had a Polish fan of SKU submit some episode and song translations in her language. That's right, folks, we're going multilingual. We do accept translations of the series, because that's quite awesome. We also have another nice bit of practice for you kids studying Japanese: the script of episode in the original Japanese text. Obviously, Japanese text needs to be enabled on your computer. Thanks Linn!