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Should you want to see the original Japanese, here's a 5mb zip of the files for The Rose Bride (eps 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 14, 15, 22, & 23), and a 4mb one for The Rose Crest (eps 25, 26, 30, 34, 37, 38, & 39.)
This book is Enokido's script dominance in the end game, covering the Akio and Apocalypse Arcs. The previous book covered the Student Council and Black Rose Sagas.
Thank you so so much to Nagumo for translating this incredible meta, and Ayu Ohseki for proofreading the translation!!!
The Rose Crest
Revolutionary Girl Utena Script Collection Part 2
(少女革命ウテナ脚本集 下, Published April 1, 1998, ISBN 4-19-900051-8)
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Enokido Youji
A member of the creative group Be-Papas; involved since the planning stage of Revolutionary Girl Utena. Not only contributed to the story but also had a hand in the world-building and constructing the setting. The uniquely sensitive, adolescent mood of this work is also a signature of his. He’s been friends with director Ikuhara Kunihiko since their school days.
Other works besides Utena: Neon Genesis Evangelion (Script), Sailor Moon S (Script), Sailor Moon SuperS (Series Composition). His elegant artful storytelling in Sailor Moon S particularly captivated many anime fans.
Born September 27, 1963, Shiga Prefecture. Blood Type AB.
Cover Illustration: Hasegawa Shinya
Note: Hasegawa Shinya, also a member of the Be-Papas and worked with Enokido on various anime including Utena.
Cover Design: Netsu Norihiko
Note: Netsu Norihiko, worked on Evangelion previously. Probably worked with Enokido during that time too.
(Inner Sleeve Summary)
– It’s just like a toy, isn’t it. One has it “so one day they’ll no longer need it,” and that’s crucial.
(Page 2)
Personal Commentary on Episodes Written by
Enokido Youji
Ohtori Akio Saga
Episode 25: Their Eternal Apocalypse
The Duel Called “Relationship” (relation) ~ [Vs Saionji Kyouichi]
Why did the Sword of Dios disappear?
The Sword of Dios comes from the Rose Bride Anthy's idealized fantasy of the Prince.
Thus the Sword of Dios that Saionji and Utena drew out of Anthy in the previous episodes was something originally pulled from Akio.
But somewhere deep within Anthy, she has unknowingly started seeing Utena as a Prince. That’s why Akio’s Sword of Dios disappears and “Utena’s Sword of Dios” manifests.
This is the third time Tenjou Utena and Saionji Kyouichi have crossed swords.
Saionji is the clearest antithesis to the series' theme of ‘the revolutionary girl.’
Saionji tries to own the Rose Bride, Anthy, without ever challenging the idea that a man should be manly.
This idea of trying to "own" a girl always angers Utena but―
Saionji's mentality can be labelled 'old-fashioned male' beliefs but, in fact, he's merely representing the cultural transition of the Middle Ages to modernity.
Originally, "beauty" was a quality possessed by both men and women in the East and West. However, this ornamental beauty eventually became the 'specialty' of women while, at the same time, men stripped themselves of this ornamental beauty and began trying to "possess" women who specialized in beauty.
It can be said that the road for the normalization of these roles originates from the Middle Ages up to modern times.
With such colorful male and female characters flowering riotously, is Ohtori Academy a medieval place?
I won’t debate the merits or demerits of masculinity and femininity here, but I do believe recognizing lifestyles as mere concepts is absolutely necessary for realizing the richness of humanity.
The magnitude of Utena’s raison d’etre as a cross-dressing beauty exists in that context.
That being said, Saionji always draws the short straw. If he stopped obsessing over Touga, maybe he could have defeated Utena at least once.
That scene where he is cleaning the floor alone in the middle of the night and Nanami calls him “Kyouichi” was something I planned to do someday (laugh). Now Nanami isn't calling him by his first name just because she's the acting Student Council President. It's because Saionji is childhood friends with Touga; although this wasn't shown in the story, he naturally has known Nanami for a very long time.
(Pages 177-178)
Episode 26: Miki’s Nest Box (The Sunlit Garden – Arranged)
The Duel Called “Temptation” (tentation) ~ [VS Kaoru Miki]
An episode where Miki and Kozue are both tempted by “The Ends of the World.”
This time, when they get into Akio’s car, Kozue is in the front passenger seat while Miki is in the back seat. This seating arrangement represents their relationship.
Due to their parents’ estrangement, the two draw a line between themselves and adults, but the difference in “how” they draw that line creates a unique harmony between the siblings.
Kozue has steeped herself in it completely, but Miki could not change himself in the end.
Because of that, Kozue called Miki a coward, but I don’t regard him as naïve; rather, he started his path to becoming an adult in his own way. The answer (or rather, what seems like it) is shown in episode 37.
It’s hard to explain why the siblings’ new stepmother is the Rose Bride.
Usually, the surface consciousness makes semantic associations, and the subconscious makes phonetic associations.
So since she is their father's "bride," Anthy appears as a symbol of the bride.
(After all, anime is an imaginary landscape--oh no, maybe that's taboo to say.)
I also inserted that two-shot of Nanami and Kozue. Those two girls, uncertain what the other is like, are neither enemies nor friends. Well, some would say that the way Kozue the kogal and Nanami the cow-gal each perceive the world are vastly different to begin with (laugh), but I quite like the way this kind of neutral relationship is portrayed.
(Page 179)
Episode 30: The Barefoot Girl
I had Utena and Akio living together under the same roof since episode 25, but their "relationship" was not very exciting, so I decided to push things along and have them kiss.
That last scene at the end with Mrs. Ohtori and Akio is quite Saitou Chiho-like--what do you think? By the way, it was Saitou-sensei's idea that Utena suddenly becomes aware of her sexuality after Akio personally takes off her shoes. Apparently, be it shoes or something else, the act of "having someone of the opposite sex take something off" makes a girl think of something more. Well, I guess learned something new (laugh).
The Shadow Girls are also advocating immorality, so this story is quite a dodgy one. But the film itself is like a breath of fresh air; I like it. As expected of Igara-- (wait, wrong name (laugh)).... Kazeyama Juugo's storyboard.
(Page 180)
The Apocalypse Saga
Episode 34: The Rose Crest
–It’s just like a toy, isn’t it. One has it “so one day they’ll no longer need it,” and that’s crucial.
The Rose Crest ring gracing Tenjou Utena’s finger keeps her “Prince” an ambiguous thing.
Her motivation for getting closer to the Prince is just as ambiguous, confusing the act of approaching him as a love interest with trying to become a Prince herself.
She mimics her object of adoration. It’s the nature of people to aim to be something by first dressing up as it.
This “girl’s mimesis” is merely a device to carve out the idea of the Prince.
We have not hitherto discussed The Tale of the Rose.
The 4th arc, the “Apocalypse Saga,” starts from episode 34. From here on out, the story will be progressing towards a detail of the conclusion that we decided on from the very beginning.
Namely, the Revolutionary Girl.
In “The Rose Crest,” we depicted the meeting of Utena and the Prince.
It might be a story that Utena has already inwardly forgotten, but the Rose Crest is still on her finger even now. The ring became a source of strength that supported her when she lost sight of something.
It is not a toy.
By the way, a revolution is when the oppressed destroy the system that oppresses them.
The Revolutionary Girl therefore refers to a story about girls becoming free of what oppresses them.
The “Prince” that appears throughout the work was, in fact, created as something that oppresses girls.
The thing called a Prince is an indispensable device for little girls to become princesses.
It is nothing more than a contrived relationship.
What’s more, girls being “girls” is in fact also nothing more than a contrivance.
At the end of the final duel, what does Utena discover at “The Ends of the World”?
(Animage December, 1997 Publication [The Rose Crest] revised article*)
*Note: This episode note is an edited version of what was first written in December, 1997 for Animage. Apparently it was written under a tight deadline as seen in the Animage essay, where Enokido openly grouses about it. Translation is taken and modified from wishilivedthere, who did the article version, with permission!
(Page 180-182)
Episode 37: The One to Revolutionize the World
Utena has taken off her Rose Crest once.
“Man, most girls would kill to go out on a date with someone as cool as you, Akio.”
It seems like Utena’s become a ‘woman’ because of her love for Akio, but in reality, she never lost her princely nobility—rather, she’s gone to reclaim it.
In the second half, there’s a scene with Miki and Juri where they talk. In the first draft, it was just a conversation, but the director wanted to represent the back-and-forth interaction of feelings between Utena and the others like it was some sort of game of catch. So after hammering it out, we decided to have them play badminton.
The staging is great. I was impressed by how beautifully visualized the compassionate atmosphere was between Utena, Miki, Juri and Nanami, who realized loving is greater than being loved. For me, it’s the pinnacle of joy to have written its script.
The reason ‘cantarella,’ the poison of the Borgia family, comes up in the conversation with Anthy
is because Cesare Borgia is used as one of the models for Akio’s character. That’s also why Akio’s birthday* was set to be the same as his.
*Vanna's note: Every source I've found that lists Cesare Borgia's birthday states it's September 13, 1475. I can't find the receipts for this, though, and Britannica doesn't try to claim a date. Akio's birthday is listed as September 15th. It's the thought that counts.
(Page 182-183)
Episode 38: Ends of the World
It was mentioned before in the show that Ohtori Akio is not a Duelist.
That is why he doesn’t wear a Rose Crest, nor does his name contain a plant element*.
He knows that any title given to him is just an empty title, so he declares himself ‘The Ends of the World.’
*Note: 鳳暁生, the kanji that make up Ohtori Akio are ‘phoenix’ (ootori), ‘dawn’ (aki), and ‘life’ (o). None are plant-related like the names of other important characters (e.g. “Utena” means “calyx,” “Anthy” means “flower,” etc.).
Just who is this ‘Ends of the World,’ this ultimate final enemy of our main character, Tenjou Utena? The concept at the planning phase for Dios, the predecessor to ‘The Ends of the World,’ was as follows.
[Dios Pre-Story]
In an unknown city,
there once was a girl who was forced to live a lonely and unhappy life full of misfortune.
The person who rescued that girl from the depths of that polluted city was a kind, strong and beautiful young man named Dios.
Thereafter, the girl was raised as the ‘little sister’ of Dios.
“From now on, let’s help each other and live together forever.” Dios became that girl’s entire world.
At the center of that world was a tower called the “Tower of Revolution.” At the top is a forbidden sanctuary. If you can reach it, you will be granted the power to save the world--the power to wipe out the monsters prowling the city.
However, no one has ever been able to set foot there.
Dios was a young man who believed in ideals and justice.
He dedicated much of his life to saving the world. So one morning, he finally took up the challenge to climb to the top of that tower.
And so Dios at long last set foot on the highest point of the tower, a forbidden level said to be impossible to reach. This was proof of how extraordinary he was despite being a Duelist. If he couldn’t make it to the top, no one could.
But not even Dios could reach it unscathed.
In order to reach the top, he had to abandon his own ‘idealistic heart.’ This was the unconditional requirement to know the truth and gain power.
The Dios who abandoned his ‘idealistic heart’ was no longer the old Dios. Now that he gained power and became King of this world, it could be said that he was now a completely different person to those who knew the old him.
That is why―
Anthy anxiously waited for him to come home to her, but that gentle Dios would never return again.
What exactly happened at the top of that tower?
For some reason, from that moment onward, “that world” was covered in complete darkness. Instead of disappearing, the monsters became even more powerful and started running wild, too.
His aim was to get rid of those monsters, but now he’s become the King of Demons who controls them.
And that girl he left behind also disappeared from “that world” some days later.
…Now that I’m re-reading it, I realize that “The Ends of the World” means “ordinary adults.”
What was shown to those Duelists who rode in Akio’s car?
It’s probably nothing all that important (laugh).
Some people take a long time to realize that reality cannot be overcome by ideals alone. They act as though they can explain away the world with words that fail to grasp (acknowledge) reality.
It’s easy to say that adults are foul.
However, it’s a certainty that possessing a soul aware it is corrupting itself links closely to developing a well-rounded character.
It must be said: sexuality and humanity are a single indivisible whole.
But—
When an ideal that surpasses reality appears, a revolution occurs.
That is why we created a girl named Tenjou Utena.
Even though I knew there was no way she could win, I wanted her to fight to the bitter end.
Utena accepted everything about Anthy.
It is likely that as her Christ, she knew Anthy would deny her three times before the cock crowed.
It’s easy to hate the corruption of adults; by comparison, it’s much harder to keeping yourself unsullied. Likewise, it is easy to love someone, but difficult to forgive someone who has betrayed you.
The reason why we paid so much attention to not just our main character, Utena, but also Ends of the World/Akio is because we need to recognize in this day and age that they’re mirror images.
(Page
182-186)
Last Episode: Someday, We Will Shine Together
In the script, it was snowing in the last scene.
In fact, at the initial meeting, it was decided that when Anthy leaves, the art should paint as hopeful an image as possible. In the end, the visuals for that sequence was left to the storyboarder and director, and the script was left having the snow.
I watched this final episode on TV in the studio with everyone.
It aired on a frosty Christmas Eve, and I wondered if I would feel like Santa Claus on that holy night when it was broadcast. Yet by the time the music for the last scene played, I felt like I was the one who’d received the best present of all.
I am truly grateful to all the staff involved and to all the fans who supported us.
Thank you very much.
As a screenwriter blessed by the many talented staff members, I have no regrets.
― Of course, my passion hasn't cooled down yet though (laugh).
(Page 186-187)
A car driven by Ohtori Akio speeds down a highway in the middle of the night. Its destination? “The Ends of the World”! What is the eternal thing that Utena once saw? What will become of Utena and Anthy’s friendship? And who will claim the “Power to Revolutionize the World”...?
In this second volume of the script collection, we finally get to the heart of the story. Enokido Youji, the screenplay writer of Revolutionary Girl Utena, has selected seven of his own scripts for this volume. The quintessence of Enokido's scripts is here in dramas filled with delicate sensitivity and allegory!
(Inner Sleeve Back)
Shoujo Kakumei Utena (Revolutionary Girl Utena) is © Kunihiko Ikuhara, Chiho Saito, Shogakukan and bePapas/TV Tokyo and/or their respective copyright holders. The US release of the Revolutionary Girl Utena series and movie was © Central Park Media and now belongs to Right Stuf. The US release of the Utena manga is © VIZ. The various sources used in this site are noted where their content is presented. Don't sue us, seriously. Blood. Stone.