For The Sake of Revolutionizing The World


Tenshi 
March 21, 2016



If you've been visiting my site, you've probably pondered on the first photo of my slider that bids you welcome - a determined-looking pink-haired girl swinging a sword in an ethereal surrounding. Now, I've been talking about pretty boys of cosplay quite a lot, but now, let me introduce my very favorite girl - Revolutionary Girl Utena.




Story goes like this - Once upon a time, there was a young princess, whose parents died, leaving her rather broken and desperate. On the day of their funeral, a prince shows up on a white horse, wipes her tears and comforts her, telling that better days will come. Vowing her to keep the chivalry of her heart, he gives her a rose signet ring, claiming it will lead it to him one day. Utena was so moved by the prince's kindness, that she decided to become a prince herself, no matter what.




Several years later, Utena attends the fabled Ohtori academy. She dresses like a boy, acts like a boy, beats boys in many sports, and is an idol among girls - yet never claims to be a boy, but rather a prince - sticking to princely actions of kindness and helpfulness. Challenging a boy who hurt her friend to a duel, she gets dragged into a secret club of duelists - all of which apparently possess the same rose signet ring, who fight to win over the favor of the mysterious Rose Bride, Anthy, and to be granted the power to revolutionize the world. As she wins her duel, Anthy becomes Utena's fiancee, yet she deemes the whole story unreal and asks the girl to go and live her life as she sees fit. However, Anthy does not want to do this and is determined to stay with Utena, at least for her own protection. Eventually, Utena accepts to help and protect Anthy, but the duelists challenge her one after another, shadows of the past meddle in their affairs, even the End of The World comes to claim its own, yet Utena is not going to fail the promise she gave to her prince...




Filled with metaphors, social stereotypes, allegories about our desires, masks and existences, packed with psychology, philosophy and sociology behind a veil of 'mahou shoujo' recipe for Japanese anime, Revolutionary Girl Utena is a show that... leaves your mind blown, pretty much. It starts as a benign child's play, and tangles through mind boggling references and intrigue to reveal the true faces of characters behind the manipulation. I strongly suggest this show, it will take you on a true emotional roller coaster, if you're into psychological drama... and if you'd like to discover what Revolution truly is.

Now that I'm done analyzing... hahaha
I really identify with Utena. I've somehow always been the 'chivalrous' little prick, never standing back on her stubbornness, proud and seemingly lightminded. I've never been much of a girl either. I really enjoyed the pun of Utena's design, girly pink hair and princessy blue eyes, matched on a tomboyish girl who cares for things out of this world. Plus, I've always hoped that a kind prince would come for me, even in my darkest hours, if only I was patient enough... Today, I've thrown many a self-deception away, some of my dreams vanished, while others remained. But, I believe I've made a Revolution on my own, and I keep going in the light of guidance it left me.

I'm babbling again!! ^^'
Now, about my costumes!!
For this cosplay, I really wanted to make something special, and since I was super short on time - I've decided to cosplay Utena a month before the con - my friend Ferasha jumped in with a bit of financial and moral support, so I can make two costumes instead of one - Utena's duelling uniform and her Rose Bride dress - seen only in the show finale.




Trivia:
Uniform and dress pauldrons were made of soup ladles and Christmas balls respectively.
I've spent about 11 meters of pink trevira textile, 4 meters of pink satin, 2 meters of black trevira, and some additional fabrics... I was bathing in pink fabric, literally.




As for the sword, which has its own meaning and place in the series, I made it with my cospartner Hisayume, and since the coloring was kinda bland, Ferasha hopped in to pimp the paint job. It was rather nice white as well...




The result was - this! I was - and I still am, very proud of these two costumes. (you can open photo in new tab for better resolution)




So, even when her castle was crashing down...




...Utena found strength to stand...




... And stay true to her essence, no matter what!!




Oh, I also had my prince with me, Hisayume
(btw his costume in this photo is absolutely edited hahah)

Too Many Picture Links from external sites.

That's all for this blog!! I could write essays about this cosplay, costumes and character, but I restrained myself
You can always check out the rest of my Utena photos here!! >> tenshicosplayarts.althemy.com/viewphotos?albumid=569
To add a comment to the blog, you have to first join the site or login as a user
Aion
Tenshi ,
@tenshinhan I wish there were more honest fans in the cosplay community as well. After a while, many get carried away and cosplay just for the sake of it, not because they actually know and love characters they perform as. :'|
10 years ago
Aion
tenshinhan ,
I must confess I haven't seen this show, I'm not that into shoujo anime, but it warms my heart to see an honest to god fan in the cosplay community. You can tell how much you like the character :) Barring a few exceptions, a lot of the girls I know that cosplay are posers who don't know squat about the manga they want to depict and just go for the flashiest and/or sexiest character they can find.
10 years ago
Aion
Tenshi ,
Aww, don't worry!! I'm certain to wear it again, I just need to find a good occasion. ;) Also, I'll be making at least one more Utena costume!!! As for the site, welcome, and feel free to stroll through my blogs and galleries!! Also, forums might be interesting for you, there is a wide variety of topics :)
10 years ago
Aion
Orbiter ,
Who knew registering on a site could be so troublesome, but here I am! Do write those essays, I never tire of Utena - in fact, I'm reading the Rose of Versailles manga now, that was a big source of inspiration for the creators of Utena. Brilliant work on the costumes, I am sorry I've never seen you in character, I only saw the costume exhibited on ChibiCon.
10 years ago
Aion
Tenshi ,
@Jazzy That performance was perhaps the only 'ouch' thing about this cosplay, I wasn't very satisfied how it turned out, stage volunteers weren't very...bright helpers, so many things didn't go as planned :( In the end, at least people who knew the show got amused!! One of the judges recognised what I was trying to do out there ^^' And I'm glad you liked it!! ^-^
10 years ago
Aion
Jazzy ,
First time I saw your costume, you performed on stage at Japanizam. It was super fun and really impressive with costume change in the middle! I had no idea who the character was :)
10 years ago
Aion
Tenshi ,
@Feline Actually, I was feeling dizzy for a while and had to stare in my room's blue wall for hours to get better. Just kidding, it was refreshing to work with pink for a change, I've never felt so girly, it was a new experience and I found it fun xD Thanks for the praise!! ^-^
10 years ago
Aion
Feline ,
First of all, that is some great costume! Kudos! Second, that is so much pink fabric! So much pink! Hod did you menage not to turn into a Hello Kitty and melt your brain working with so much pink for days?!
10 years ago