Revolutionary Girl Utena - Impatience and Longing (Vol. 4)

Revolutionary Girl Utena - Impatience and Longing (Vol. 4)
by Kunihiko Ikuhara

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DVD Reviews of Revolutionary Girl Utena - Impatience and Longing (Vol. 4)

DVD Review: Utena at its weakest is still stronger than most others.
Summary: 4 Stars

The "Black Rose" arc is the weakest of UTENA's chapters. I say this because although the focus is rightly placed on the supporting cast and we are given some fascinating backstory and development on them, the entirety of the metaplot comes to a screeching halt for the majority of the arc. One of the interesting dilemmas of the "Student Council" arc was that we never really knew if Utena was going to triumph. Her victories in these episodes are not even in question: the viewer can hit fast-scan through not only every single playing of the music Absolute Destiny Apocalypse but every duel that follows it. This is really where UTENA becomes "episodic;" the backstory of the main cast is on hold for a slew of stories involving minor characters and their associations to the main cast, nearly every story neatly brought to a head by a "duel of the day" fight where any expected conflict was disappointingly easy for her to overcome.

Saying that, there are some awesome stories here: noteably Wakaba's 2 episode exposition, Shiori's introduction (as she becomes focal in the third UTENA arc), and the very under-rated Keiko story. But aside from some hints at what Anthy is up to (the Cowbell of Happiness story is not what it appears to be) and the 2 episode finale about Mikage, we have learned little about the duels or the purpose behind them. The Black Rose arc suffers much the same way Ikuhara's SAILOR MOON SUPER S did: the routine nature of the metaplot's conflicts distract from the otherwise superior stories of the supporting cast. Fortunately, the length of the arc is much shorter than that of the Amazon Trio arc in SUPER S.

Upon 2nd viewings of the entire series, the Black Rose episodes make a lot more sense in the metaplot, but that doesn't increase their watchability or the enjoyment one will have watching them. They are, however, necessary to understand the full UTENA narrative, and that's what makes them so disappointing. Trying to watch the far superior 3rd arc without viewing the Black Rose arc will leave one horribly confused. Watch them, but realize this is the slowest point of the series and things will pick up.