alt.fan.utena Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Updated 13 August 2006 Current version: 2.3 Original Author: SenshiNeko (http://www.senshineko.com) Editor: Death Quaker (mistress@deathquaker.org) ------------------------------------------------------------------- i. Version/Recent Revisions ------------------------------------------------------------------- The current version of the FAQ is posted at http://www.deathquaker.org/utena/AFUFAQ.txt and in slightly more navigable HTML format at http://www.deathquaker.org/utena/afufaq.html . In an ideal world, the FAQ would be posted monthly to the Usenet newsgroup alt.fan.utena. In reality, it is posted whenever Death Quaker gets around to it, or at least whenever it is updated. Version 2.3: Additional soundtrack information provided and other minor edits. ------------------------------------------------------------------- ii. Table Of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------- 01-- About the FAQ 02-- Introduction to alt.fan.utena 03-- General Newsgroup Etiquette 03-A Binaries 03-B Spelling, Typing in All Caps, and "l33t" Speak 03-C Replying to Posts 03-D Spam, Trolls and Misdirected Posts 03-E Test Posts 03-F [BRACKETS] 04-- Posting Guidelines for alt.fan.utena 04-A Subjects and Subject Lines 04-B Cross Posting 04-C Language and Subject Matter 04-D SPOILER Information 04-E Character (and Real People) Bashing 05-- Subject Indicators Used on AFU 06-- AFU Lingo 06-A The Utena Code 06-B "AFU no," Keepers, and Princes 06-C Animoticons and Other Things 07-- Frequently Asked Questions 08-- Utena-Related Websites 09-- Utena Related Communities/Discussions 10-- Utena in All Media! 10-A Utena Products Available in the U.S. 10-B Utena Products from Japan 11-- General Online and AFU Abbreviations 12-- Anime Glossary - English Terms 13-- Anime Glossary - Japanese Terms (Including Utena-Specific) 14-- Acknowledgements ------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 About the FAQ ------------------------------------------------------------------- The purpose of the FAQ is to provide members of alt.fan.utena with posting guidelines for the newsgroup as well as answer questions specifically about alt.fan.utena. It is important to note that this FAQ is not intended to answer ALL questions about the Revolutionary Girl Utena series, for such a thing is not possible. If you want to know more about Utena, visit one of the informational Web sites listed in section 8. Please mention the FAQ to anyone who might need to read (or review) it! Suggestions for and corrections to the FAQ are welcome. Please post your suggestions to the FAQ thread or e-mail Death Quaker at mistress@deathquaker.org ------------------------------------------------------------------- 02 Introduction to alt.fan.utena ------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to the Usenet newsgroup "alt.fan.utena" (AFU)! This newsgroup was proposed on alt.config by Jennifer Brill on 10 July 1999, with a revised proposal posted on 14 July with the assistance of SenshiNeko. The alt.fan.utena newsgroup control message was posted on 16 July 1999, a copy of which can be found at http://www.deathquaker.org/utena/AFUcontrol.txt This newsgroup is for the discussion of the anime series Revolutionary Girl Utena / Shoujo Kakumei Utena, including the original Japanese television series and feature film, the commercial English subtitled/dubbed adaptation by Central Park Media/Software Sculptors, the two manga series by Chiho Saito, and other Utena-related materials. It is good practice with ANY newsgroup to simply lurk for a while (at least a week) in order to get the unique "feel" of it. With any newsgroup you are new to, reading several days' worth of posts will give you a pretty good idea of how things go there. When you feel comfortable and would like to make your presence known to the group, then feel free to make an introduction post. It is up to you: you can post a simple "Hi, I'm new" (by itself or when responding to a thread), or you can post a full-fledged introduction telling a little about yourself and perhaps a bit about how you became interested in Utena. It's always good to know when new people arrive in the group! Although AFU is not moderated, we ask that new arrivals please follow the posting guidelines described in sections 3 and 4 of this FAQ. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 03 General Newsgroup Etiquette ------------------------------------------------------------------- For primers and beginners' information about Usenet and good newsgroup etiquette, try the "Usenet Info Center Launch Pad": http://www.ibiblio.org/usenet-i/ 03-A Binaries This is a "discussion group" and thus only text-based posts are allowed -- this means no pictures, programs, word processing documents, or HTML coding. There are many reasons for this, two of which are particularly of note: first, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) often don't provide a lot of space for discussion groups since they are intended to be text-based. If large binary files start appearing, then there will be less space available for the discussions, which will expire from your server much sooner. Secondly, some people download all new posts to newsgroups to read them offline, and binaries can cause long delays and great inconvenience during downloading. This does not mean that we do not want to see your images; it just means you should not post them to AFU. The best thing to do is paste them into your own Web space and post a message to AFU telling us where they are, or post a link to the site where you found the picture (but don't direct-link to the picture on someone else's site! Let's not encourage bandwidth theft. Just post the link to the main page and tell us how to get to the picture from there). There are anime binaries newsgroups, but these are lately riddled with porn, so they are not recommended for discussion at AFU. 03-B Spelling and Grammar, Typing in All Caps, Alternating Type, and "l33t" speak Please proofread your posts; we don't expect perfect spelling or grammar by any means, but your spelling and punctuation need to be clear enough so that your posts make sense. if u rite lyk this u wil prolly be ign0rd. Typing in "proper" upper/lower case style is much more pleasant and easier to read for everyone. If you type everything in UPPER CASE or AlTeRnAtInG tYpE, people will think that you are yelling at them, a troll, insane, 8 years old, or stupid. Likewise, do not write in "l33t" speak or anything similar (beyond the occasional joking around in the stats thread ~_^). It's hard to read and generally indicates that you even have less of a life than the rest of us. 03-C Replying to posts When replying to a post, please quote the parts that you are referring to so that readers of the message thread can follow the ongoing discussion. Your reply should follow (i.e., be underneath) the quoted material. Please do not "top post" or put your message above all that you are replying to. Don't quote a big post and then only add only a line or two of your own. Edit to remove unneeded parts, but indicate that you did so by marking the cut areas with the word "snip" (you can set this word apart with carets or dashes to show it's not part of your normal text). Be careful not to edit quoted material so that it looks like someone said something that they didn't or that one person is attributed with saying something they didn't say. Replying to a post by simply saying "Me too" or its equivalent (the dreaded One Word Reply) doesn't add anything to the discussion. If you absolutely must throw in your brief comment of agreement, please contact the poster you are replying to directly by email. Likewise, if you engage in a lengthy off-topic discussion in which only one other person is participating, it's probably best if you take the discussion into email. This is NOT to censor anyone or discourage discussion, but to help encourage community interaction and on-topic material over off-topic "public" conversations that seem exclusive by nature. Obviously, off-topic conversations happen and it's not the end of the world (no pun intended) when they happen; just please use your common sense and think about what's more appropriate for the public forum and what's more appropriate for an email conversation. If you're not sure it's appropriate for community discussion, then take it to email. If someone posts something you want to reply to, but there are already other replies to that post, read those replies before posting your own. This avoids redundancy. This avoids redundancy. If you are replying to a cross-posted message, remove the groups that are not necessary to your reply. This is especially the case if the thread is being "spammed" and you want to keep the spammers out of newsgroup-relevant discussions. 03-D Spam, Trolls and Misdirected Posts It can not be stressed enough, DO NOT REPLY to Spam or Trolls. Spam: Spam is usually an advertisement of some sort for something that has nothing to do with the newsgroup it is posted in. Troll: A troll is someone posting a message solely for the purpose of being insulting or starting an argument. They often cross post messages to groups that have nothing to do with each other just to start a flame war between them. You have no idea how easily it is done. The only weapon against trolls is ignoring them. Replying to trolls ONLY encourages them to post more, no matter how witty or devastating you think your reply may be. If you feel you must take action, email a complaint to the troll's internet service provider, usually . Misdirected Posts: These are sent by people, for example, who would send posts about sailing and sailboats to alt.fan.sailor-moon. It is in our best interest not to reply to any such posts, this way they will disappear from AFU faster. 03-E Test Posts If you need to test the workings of your newsreader or server, please use a test group instead of AFU, such as "alt.test". Likewise, do not reply to a test message either; email the person to tell them of their success. 03-F [BRACKETS] Many subject lines of posts will use text within brackets to identify special kinds of posts. This helps people find certain posts, as well as ignore others. There are examples of these below in section 5. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 04 Posting Guidelines for alt.fan.utena ------------------------------------------------------------------- 04-A Subjects and Subject Lines Ideally, all posts to AFU should be Utena-related in some way. If a thread drifts away from the topic of Utena (or if one is off topic to begin with), please mark it [OT] for "off-topic." This lets people know that the post is about something other than Utena and AFU. Many people use the [OT] indicator to filter out off-topic posts, so please ONLY use [OT] and not variants like [Sorta-OT], [99% OT], [OTish]. Please see section 5 for examples of other bracketed subject indicators we use to help identify post topics. 04-B Cross Posting Refrain from cross-posting to multiple newsgroups. If you reply to a message that was originally cross-posted, remove the newsgroups that are not relevant to your reply. 04-C Language and Subject Matter Utena is rated PG-13, and therefore we must always be aware that relatively young people may visit the newsgroup. Thus, the language and descriptions we use should generally be age-appropriate for Utena's younger viewers. As a rule of thumb, try to stick to language and descriptions that would be permissible to air on the original TV series if and when at all possible. If you feel you must use expletives, please "self-censor" by replacing letters in the expletive with asterisks (e.g., s**t). If you are posting a more explicit fan work or otherwise desire to post material featuring uncensored strong language, expletives, and explicit violence or sexual situations, head your post with an appropriate rating or warning, e.g., [R], [NC-17], [STRONG LANGUAGE], etc. Hentai (i.e., sexually graphic) material MUST be labeled [LEMON] or [NC-17]; please consider carefully before posting (most "lemon" material at AFU is fairly mild and usually humorous in nature). Extremely explicit hentai material is NOT appropriate for AFU. 04-D SPOILER information Please do not assume every person visiting AFU has seen Utena in its entirety in all its forms. If you are discussing explicit plot descriptions of any official Utena-related story, with the sole exception of the Student Council arc of the TV series (i.e., episodes 1-13), you must put [SPOILERS] at the beginning of your subject header along with your topic. Do not put spoiler information in the subject header either. Please put SPOILER SPACE (roughly 20 or 30 blank lines) at the top of the text before your spoiler information. That way people who don't want to learn about something that happens before they don't get to see it, don't. Remember, people are becoming fans of Utena every day, so give them a chance to see/read it unspoiled. Spoilers include all major plot points. Examples would be *revealing that Chu-Chu defeated Utena in the Episode 29 duel. *that Anthy's venus flytrap (the large plant in the center of the greenhouse) ate Nanami. *the hidden meanings behind Wakaba's diet of Pixy Stix and cappuccino, as revealed in episode 31. *Touga's true sexual orientat... :::THWAP::: (sees swarm of Touga fangirls armed with kendo practice swords) OW!!! ALSO, if an OT discussion of another anime occurs, please use spoiler warnings as appropriate here as well. We have obviously not all seen the same anime series and would not like to be spoiled by someone's irresponsible offhand comment. Really, likewise for popular video games, movies, etc. Use your common sense. 04-E Character (and Real People) Bashing In summary first: Character discussion good. Character bashing bad. AFU member bashing Very Bad. We all have characters we dearly love and furiously hate, and we all like to vent our feelings about those characters, be the feelings positive or negative. Of course, especially with a series like Utena, where everything is wide open to interpretation, fans' views on any one character (or anything else in the series, for that matter) can vary widely, and a character you utterly loathe may be someone else's favorite favorite character. It's amazing how easily feelings can be hurt and resentments can build if fans start flaming each other back and forth over whether a character is a "good" one or not. HOWEVER, on the other hand, no one should ever feel like they can't express an opinion on a character just because they know someone else feels differently about it. AFU thrives on discussion, but it needs to be kept on a reasonably mature level. If you want to write a post about a character's flaws, do so, but please do it in such a way so as not to irrationally insult the character -- and moreover, the people who like that character -- for no reason. Likewise, if someone expresses an opinion on a character you disagree with, please express your disagreement in a civil manner and not go on about what a moron jerk the other poster is. It is not acceptable to make a post about a character and/or someone's feelings about them that consists of nothing but name-calling and expletives. And just realize that if you do express a strong opinion on a character, you probably will be challenged to back up that opinion with evidence from the series. Of course, AFU members have been known maybe, perhaps, occasionally, to slightly tease another AFU member about conflicting opinions on characters -- but do make sure in that case the other people know you are teasing! Please remember that in the end -- as much as some of us would like to overlook the fact -- they _are_ just animated drawings, and they are not worth hurting _real_ feelings over. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 05 Subject Indicators used on AFU ------------------------------------------------------------------- As already discussed above, there are times when one should put a subject indicator in brackets before writing the title of a post. Please remember to use only brackets, not parentheses or anything else. Doing so will help readers who filter certain kinds of posts using these indicators. ***Note: In Google Groups, bracketed titles get dropped at the beginning of subject lines as listed in the subject index. The brackets do appear in a thread's "tree" (at the left side of the page after you click on a thread to read; select the "view as tree" option so you can see this. You can also add bracketed titles to the end of your subject line as they will not disappear, although you should still put them in the beginning as well. [AFU] Use this when your post is about the newsgroup itself or membership as a whole. [D-FIC] Short for "dialogue fiction"; an informal, usually impromptu piece of fan fiction written in scripted dialogue format; usually these are derived out of other AFU discussions and often include self-inserted characters among the characters in the series. [FANFIC] This identifies that this post is a story based on Utena, written by a fan. [FS], [FT], [FS/T], [WTT], [WTB], [AUCTION], [EBAY] For sale and/or trade; to buy; or on auction, at eBay. [MST] A fan parody in the style of "Mystery Science Theater 3000": someone takes a fanwork and inserts humorous observational dialogue commenting on just how bad it is. [OT] Off Topic. Anything you post that is not about Utena or AFU should be marked with this indicator. Again, do not deviate with indicators like "[OT-ish]" to help people using filters. [R], [NC-17] Shows that the content of the post isn't for younger readers. [POLL] A poll, obviously. This is to gather the preferences and opinions of those on the newsgroup. It's also a good way to generate more discussion, as long as the SAME poll doesn't reappear every week. ^^;;; [PSA] Public service announcement. [RANT] A (usually very long) essay-like post or complaint. [SPOILER] This post may give away major plot points, read at your own risk! [STATS] An indication that a long, off-topic thread is about to be formed. ~_^ [WWW] Web page announcements, URL updates, etc. [make your own] If you don't see an identifier that suits your post, make up your own. Keep it as short as possible and be sure to use [brackets]. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 06 AFU Lingo ------------------------------------------------------------------- You will note some unusual lingo in many AFU members' signatures (.sig files) and strange characters alongside people's posts. Below is a brief explanation of such "codes"; you do not need to feel obligated to adopt any of these, but feel free to if you wish. 06-A The Utena Code Some AFU members' .sigs feature an odd string of characters that looks like this: UtenaCode(1.01) U:6 F:Hi++Ju+:pSC D:Sa-Na X:*:a[SC][BR-]++ M:f"Shi no Aphrodite"/"Baiser"/"Virtual Star Hasseigaku" (Banyu Inryoku) This the "Utena Code" (this one in particular is SenshiNeko's, the author of both the Utena Code and the original version of this FAQ), a geekish shorthand to let AFU know in a quick line how obsessed you are with the series, who your favorite and least favorite characters are, what your favorite story arcs are, etc. Here is the Google Groups link to version 1.01 of the Utena Code so you can understand others' Utena Codes and write one yourself. http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.fan.utena/browse_frm/thread/4e553cdac4033f4b/d613b09aa9dd40cf?q=%22Utena+code%22&_done=%2Fgroup%2Falt.fan.utena%2Fsearch%3Fq%3D%22Utena+code%22%26start%3D10%26&_doneTitle=Back+to+Search&&d#d613b09aa9dd40cf 06-B "AFU no. . .", "Keepers," and "Princes" Some members of AFU have the title "AFU no [character name]." This means they've "adopted" the character for themselves, perhaps because they feel a kinship with a character or play a "role" at AFU similar to the role the character plays. For example, Chibi_Bob is "AFU no Anthy" ("AFU's Anthy") because he is usually quiet but occasionally shows up to say blithe, yet cryptic things. "Keepers" are similar to the "AFU no. . ." concept except the member has chosen a specific trait of a character to associate with, rather than the character as a whole. SailorBill is energetic like Wakaba, so he is "Keeper of Wakaba's Genkiness." A longer form is "AFU no Wakaba, Keeper of Her Genkiness." "Princes" are members who have taken an Utena character "under their wing," so to speak, to, in the words of founding Prince Sephigirl, "defend them like Utena defends Anthy or to protect them like Dios did for the girls of the world." Princes believe in their adopted character's good traits and will point them out to help prevent unfounded bashing of that character. They usually also happen to think the character is pretty hot. ~_^ 06-C Animoticons and other things Many AFUers, and anime fans in general, use "animoticons" rather than ordinary email emoticons to characterize their posts. Fans new to anime may be confused by these; some of them include ^^ -- anime smile ^_^ -- cute anime smile ^_____^ -- broad grin #^_^# -- blushing o_0 -- shock o_o? -- Huh? ;_; -- tears ^^; -- smiling with nervous sweatdrop ._.;;; -- nervous with many sweatdrops ~_^ -- wink ^o^ or ^0^ -- laughing ^_^|/ -- applause >_< -- irked/frustrated =^_^= -- kitty H_H or h_h -- Hentai/ecchi (perverted/porny) //~_^\\ -- Touga winking @O-O@ -- Scary Mirror-Glasses Anthy ------------------------------------------------------------------- 07 Frequently Asked Questions ------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: I can't find "alt.fan.utena" in the list of newsgroups available at my Internet Service Provider. How can I subscribe to it? A: Email or call your ISP and ask them politely to add AFU to their newsgroup feed. If they need the control message, it is archived at http://www.deathquaker.org/utena/AFUcontrol.txt . If you do not have access to Usenet or AFU, there are a growing number of World Wide Web-based services which will allow you to read and post to newsgroups (some will only allow you to read them). For example, a good read-only service is at Xasa (http://www.xasa.com/grupos/en/alt/fanr-fanz), and (depending on your level of patience) you can read and post at Google Groups (http://groups-beta.google.com). Q: Where can I find the Utena video game for the Sega Saturn? A: This Japanese game is very difficult to find; most people who are lucky enough to have found it bought it off of e-Bay. Q: Where can I find Utena fansubs? A: Given the entire series is now commercially distributed by Central Park Media/Software Sculptors, sources for fansubs will no longer be listed here. Please support the creators and distributors of anime by buying it when you can. Q: Where can I find the Utena Musical? A: This live-action musical amateur production has never been officially distributed, although bootleg copies of the raw Japanese are in circulation. We know of no place for download. Try friends or conventions for free bootleg copies (remember you should never pay for fan-distributed copies unless it is to cover cost of a blank CD and shipping). Anime Lyrics (http://www.animelyrics.com) has the lyrics for many of the songs from the musical, and you may be able to find the soundtrack at conventions or in a good import store. Q: What Utena products are available and where can I get them? A: The TV series, mangas, and movie are widely available in the U.S. and worldwide. Most any appropriate retailer will carry them or can order them for you, and you can order them directly from the distributor as well (in the U.S., Central Park Media for the anime and Viz Comics for the manga). You should also be able to find the soundtracks from most anime soundtrack dealers. If you are looking for discounts, try specialized DVD retailers and anime conventions. I (Death Quaker) have had good luck finding discounts at Otakon (a large anime convention in Baltimore), some of which were found right at the Central Park Media Stand. One trick for buying discount DVDs at cons is to wait until the last day of the con; dealers will mark off their stock to try and get rid of as much as possible before they have to pack up and go home. Many Japanese-only products can be found easily enough at conventions and specialty import dealers. You may also have some luck finding more rare items or highly discounted items on e-Bay, but as with all things e-Bay, caveat emptur. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 08 Utena-Related Websites ------------------------------------------------------------------- These sites are good to find more general information on the series; some of the more "specialized" sites provide specific information Utena fans may be looking for, such as translations of songs and song tracks. Feel free to submit suggestions for this list, although we are trying to keep it small for ease of keeping it updated. We will not list fan work sites because what constitutes "good" fanwork is too subjective for us to judge as a group. As of October 5, 2005: Ikuniweb: http://www.jrt.co.jp/yos/ikuniweb/ikuniweb_e/topmenu/etopmenu.html - the official Web site of director Kunihiko Ikuhara. Features some original Utena art by manga artist/Be-Papas member Chiho Saito. The Central Park Media Utena TV Series Site: http://www.utenatv.com - Includes brief character summaries, desktop wallpapers, links to the CPM store, etc. The CPM Utena Movie Site: http://www.utenamovie.com - Story and character summaries, links, etc. Note: Shockwave Flash-intensive (the TV series site is not). Empty Movement: http://www.ohtori.nu - A huge Utena fansite including an extensive art gallery, essays, audiology -- and the original Yasuyuki Sato fan-translated scripts! The Utena Net: http://www.utena.net - Features character shrines and an extensive list of links; it's outdated and unlikely to be updated any time soon, but still is a useful source for a lot of information and links. Anj's Quick'n Dirty Utena Page: http://www.geocities.com/lunamurphy/ost_index.html - Track listings and their translations for Original Soundtracks (OSTs) 1-8 and the Vocal Collection. DQ has a mirror for this site here: http://www.deathquaker.org/utena/ost_index.html Cantarella Cookie: http://cyborgmermaid.tripod.com/cantarella/ - Fan translations of songs on the various Utena soundtracks. Adolescence Rush: http://www.rushita.com/sm/adolescence.html - Scans of piano sheet music for songs from the Utena movie. The Satellite of Revolution: http://www.mindspring.com/~khabal/www/rst3k.htm - The Satellite is a universally-loved site of MSTed fanfics and will provide you with lots of laughs. Okay, I know we said we weren't going to list fanworks, but I was bribed with Chocolate-Covered-Shiori to list just this one. ^^ cbel's Utena Directory: http://www.cbel.com/revolutionary_girl_utena/ - This contains links to over 250 Utena-related Web sites. It is not always accurate, but they do update it from time to time, and it will give you lots of links for fansites, character shrines, and more. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 Utena-Related Communities/Discussions ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Utena Icons Community: http://www.livejournal.com/community/utena_icons/ The Wakaba Genki Preservation Society (not very active): http://www.livejournal.com/community/wgps ------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Utena in all Media! ------------------------------------------------------------------- 10-A Utena Products Availabile in the U.S. The Anime: From Central Park Media: - Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Rose Collection DVD Boxed Set, ISBN 1-57800-578-7. This 3 disc set includes Episodes 1-13 of the TV series and the "limited edition" release of Utena: the Movie (aka Adolescence Mokushiroku). Retail $79.95. (You can get these discs separately, but the non-box set versions are becoming harder to find; besides, it is much cheaper to buy them as a box set -- you basically get the movie for free. The VHS box set of the Student Council Arc is out of print, although you might still find it in stock somewhere.) - Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Black Rose Saga DVD Collection, ISBN 1-57800-564-7. This 4 disc set includes episodes 14-26 of the TV series, plus extras such as interviews with Kunihiko Ikuhara, dub actor interviews, summaries and photo galleries, etc. Each disc is also available individually (entitled "The Black Rose Blooms," "Impatience and Longing," "Darkness Beckoning," and "The Beginning of the End" respectively, but if you can afford it it's more economic to buy the box set). $99.95 for the box set, or $29.95 for an individual disc. - Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Apocalypse Saga DVD Collection, ISBN 1-57800-565-5. This 4 disc set includes episodes 27-39 as well as similar extras listed above, and commentary from Chiho Saito and Kunihiko Ikuhara for the final two episodes. Each disc is also available individually (in chrono order: "Temptation" (SEE ALSO below), "Unveiling," "Revelation," and "Finale"). $99.95 for the box set, or $29.95 per disc. - Revolutionary Girl Utena: Temptation Limited Edition w/ Apocalypse Saga Box and T-Shirt, ISBN 1-57800-570-1. This is _just_ the first disc of the Apocalypse Saga (eps. 27-29), a box to hold four discs, and a black "limited edition" t-shirt featuring Utena sandwiched between Touga and Saionji. $34.95. Not economical in the least, but you get a t-shirt. The Manga: From Viz Media: Viz originally published the Utena manga in its magazine, "Animerica Extra!" Back issues of this magazine are still available through the Viz Website at http://www.viz.com; some of them feature original Chiho Saito artwork on the covers. For simplicity's sake, however, I am only listing the specific information for the manga as it was later released in trade paperback format. Where it applies, I am listing information for the "second edition" of the trade paperback release; the first three manga volumes originally got published in an older and more expensive format and were re-released when they switched formats. Beyond a minor difference in size, the first and second editions are no different -- so if you want to get the manga, save yourself five bucks and be sure to get the second edition volumes! - Revolutionary Girl Utena Volume 1: To Till, ISBN 1569319642. 200 pages. Retail $9.95 - Revolutionary Girl Utena Volume 2: To Plant, ISBN 1591162068. 200 pages. Retail $9.95 - Revolutionary Girl Utena VOlume 3: To Sprout, ISBN 1591162076. 200 pages. Retail $9.95 - Revolutionary Girl Utena Volume 4: To Bud, ISBN 1591160685. 200 pages. Retail $9.95 - Revolutionary Girl Utena Volume 5: To Blossom, ISBN 1591161452. 150 pages. Retail $9.95. Note: In addition to the finale to the original manga series, also includes the manga "shorts" introducing Mikage and Ruka. - Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Adolescence of Utena, ISBN 1591165008. 192 pages. Retail $9.95. Rated for Older Teens. This is the "movie manga" and is sort of what the movie would have been like if it had actually made sense. Utena Soundtracks and other Music: From Pioneer/Geneon: (Note: as far as I know, these soundtracks are completely identical to the original Japanese releases, featuring the same music and art; the liner notes and tracklists simply have been translated into English.) Revolutionary Girl Utena Original Soundtrack, 36 tracks, ISBN 13023522626, Retail $14.98. This is the American release of the first soundtrack, featuring music from episodes 1-13. Utena Original Soundtrack 2: Virtual Star Embryology, 28 tracks, Retail $14.98. Music from episodes 14-22. Utena the Movie Original Soundtrack: Adolescence of Utena ADOLESCENCE RUSH, 14 tracks, Retail $14.98. The soundtrack for the Utena movie, Adolescence Mokushiroku. Utena Original Soundtrack: Angel Creation Namely Light, 12 tracks, Retail $14.98. Music from the final "Revolution" story arc. (This is technically the fourth soundtrack according to the Japanese releases, but as far as I've been able to find, Geneon did not release the third one, which has the "Akio Car arc" music.)< From Jellybean Records: Animetoonz Presents Kikuko Inoue, no ISBN avail, Retail $13.98. This is an anthology of anime theme songs performed by Kikuko Inoue and includes the Utena ending theme "Virtual Hassei-Gaku." From Jellybean Records: Animetoonz, no ISBN avail, Retail $24.98. A two disc set which includes the Kikuko Inoue disc above and another disc featuring songs by Maria Kawamura -- she doesn't sing any Utena songs on this, but she's the voice for Mamiya and one of the Shadow Girls! Also: there are 5 other Utena soundtracks that to my knowledge have no "official" American release version. They were originally made by King Records/Starchild, but there are also copies produced by Son May that are sometimes easy to find at anime/import stores. For titles and track listings, see Anj's Quick and Dirty Utena Page. AFUer E. Liddell has pointed out that for the fifth soundtrack, the original printing was a two-disc set, but the Son May version is only a one-disc set. There is also a new "Best of" CD released as part of a "Star Mania Series" of soundtracks. AFUer Sunnie says it's available here: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=KICA-727&ref=myp Other Utena Products: From Guardians of Order: BESM/Ultimate Fan Guides: These are books published in the US/Canada; they include episode and character synopses as well as a rules/statistics section for playing the role-playing game "Big Eyes, Small Mouth" in the Utenaverse. Revolutionary Girl Utena, Book 1 (AKA BESM Revolutionary Girl Utena - The Rose Collection) by Michelle Lyons and Emily Dresner-Thornber. ISBN 1894525809. Trade paperback, glossy color and black and white pages, 96 pages. Retail $19.95 Revolutionary Girl Utena, Book 2 (AKA BESM Revolutionary Girl Utena - The Black Rose Blooms) by Emily Dresner-Thornber (note some list Lyons as the author but she was not involved in writing this book). ISBN 1894525965. Trade paperback, glossy color and black and white pages, 96 pages. Retail $19.95 Revolutionary Girl Utena, Book 3 (AKA BESM Revolutionary Girl Utena - The Apocalypse Saga) by Emily Dresner-Thornber. ISBN 1894938143. Trade paperback, glossy color and black and white pages, 96 pages. Retail $19.95 From Viz Media: Primographies (sort of like a lithograph, apparently) Revolutionary Girl Utena Primography. Limited Edition. A signed and numbered piece of art by Chiho Saito, comes in a black frame 23 1/8" x 17 3/4". Its MSRP is $299.95 but apparently if purchased from Viz (where I found it), they're selling it for only $59.99. 10-B Utena Products from Japan (Note: I don't have a whole lot of info on these; anyone who can provide any will be owed much gratitude) Soundtracks: See soundtracks above. These can often be found at anime import stores and the like, as well as Web sites like CD Japan. Art Books: The Art of Utena: Includes art and sketchwork from both the movie and the TV series. Utena -- This is Animation: A movie art book I've found these and one or two other art books at conventions and anime specialty stores. Jewelry: At various points in time, Utena signet rings (both silver and black) have been fashioned; the best and easiest place to find these is on e-Bay. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 General Online and AFU Abbreviations ------------------------------------------------------------------- - AFAIK: As far as I know - AFU: alt.fan.utena - BR: Black Rose (as in the "BR Arc") - BTW: By the way - EP(S): Episode(s) - IIRC: If I recall correctly - IM(H)O: In my (humble) opinion - JP: Japanese - LMAO: Laughing My Arse Off - LOL: Laughing out loud - NA: North America - NG: Newsgroup - RGU: Revolutionary Girl Utena (SKU [below] is used more commonly) - ROTFL: Rolling on the floor laughing - SC: Student Council - SKU: Shoujo Kakumei Utena - YKYWTMUW: "You know you watch too much Utena when..." ------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Anime Glossary - English Terms ------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fan service: At its most basic, fan service is the gratuitous display of (usually) female characters in such a way as to show their panties, other undergarments, or bare skin. However, frontal (and usually undetailed) nudity is pretty much the limit. - Fandub: This is an dub of an original show made by fans who lend their voices to the project. Fans are not usually professional voice actors, but they do put in a lot of effort making the fandubs. - Fansub: A subtitled version of a show, made by a fan for the benefit of other fans. It is not intended to be a profit making effort -- if purchased, the price of a fansub should be equivalent to the price of a blank tape or CD plus shipping. - Lemon: A "hentai" or pornographic piece of anime fan fiction. - Lime: A very sexually suggestive piece of anime fan fiction that isn't quite as explicit as a Lemon. Also a character in Saber Marionette J. - OAV/OVA Original Animated Video (or Original Video Animation). An anime intended to be released only on video, not on TV or theaters (OAVs are sometimes used, however, as a "test run" to see if a TV series would do well). - Superdeformed/SD: A style of Japanese comic art that is particularly cutesy, with the head quite large and other features less detailed. Also called "chibi" (see below). ------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 Anime Glossary - Japanese terms (including Utena-specific) ------------------------------------------------------------------- Editor's note: I do not speak Japanese, beyond a handful of phrases. Most of us don't. I cannot guarantee accuracy of the translations here, but we've done our best, and I've tried to check with people more knowledgeable than I on some of these translations where possible. Please let us know if you think anything is inaccurate and why. - Arigato: Thank you (Domo arigato = Thank you very much) - Baka: Stupid, moron, idiot (a fluent friend of mine tells me this is far more insulting in Japan than seems to be indicated in anime) - Bara: Rose - Bara no hanayome: The Rose Bride - Bara no kokuin: The Rose Crest or Rose Signet (the ring all duellists wear) - Bishoujo: Beautiful (young) girl - Bishounen: Beautiful (young) boy - Bokken: A wooden practice sword - -chan: A dimunitive honorific most easily translated as "Little"; usually used in addressing children and girls; female students who are close to each other sometimes call each other "-chan," as, sometimes, do lovers. The phrase is seldom used in Utena. - Chibi: short person, "miniaturized" person; a "chibi" drawing of an anime character is also called "superdeformed" (see above section). Also a common name for a cat in Japan. - Demo: But... - Doko: Where? - Ecchi: How the Japanese pronounce the letter "H" which is the first letter of the word "hentai" (see below). Therefore, ecchi is a "little bit" hentai -- basically, mild sexual innuendo and teasing. - Eigo: English - Fuku: clothes, uniform -- e.g., the Ohtori Academy fuku (school uniform) - Gakuen: school -- e.g., "Ohtori Gakuen" is "Ohtori Academy" - Gomen: Sorry ("Gomen Nasai" = "I'm very sorry") - Hai: Yes - Hentai: Sexually perverted and/or explicit - Hime: Princess (the specific social station) - Hiragana: A Japanese syllabic "alphabet" used to write native words. - Ichiban: The first, the best, number one! - Iie: No - Imouto: Little sister - Kanji: Japanese system of writing using (sometimes modified) Chinese characters. There are almost 2000 kanji. - Katakana: A Japanese syllabic "alphabet" used to write foreign or unusual words, onamatopoetic sounds, and for emphasis (e.g., "Anthy" is spelled in katakana because her name is based on a Greek word). - Kawaii: Cute - Kirei: Pretty - Konnichiwa: Good day, Hello - Kowai: scary, frightening, Chibi-Usa - Kudasai: Please - -kun: An honorific used either to address a male well known to you or to address a junior colleague of either sex - Kuro bara: Black Rose - Manga: Comics; used by Americans to describe comics from Japan or Japanese comic art style - Minna: Everyone - Nani: What? - Ne: "... right?" or "hey." - Ohayo: Good morning - Onegai: Please, when making a request - Otaku: A Japanese word that many American anime fans think of as meaning "big anime fan." In Japanese it literally is an informal "you" word, more or less translating to "homeboy/hey you" -- HOWEVER, beyond that it has a connotation meaning tremendous addict/fanatic who probably will never be willingly touched by a heterosexual member of the opposite sex. - Onee-sama: Elder sister (a more informal version is "onee-chan" or "big sis") - Onii-sama: Elder Brother. Something Nanami says every five minutes, ne? (Informally, "onii-chan, or "big bro." Interestingly, no one uses the diminutive form in Utena.) - Ouji-sama: Prince (or more generally, a nobleman, king, etc.) - Oujo-sama: Princess (or as above) - Piku: To shake or tremble, or act like the pokemon Pikachu. - Romaji or romanji: Japanese spelled out with Roman letters (e.g., how all the Japanese words are written in this glossary) - -sama: Ostensibly "lord/lady" but a complex honorific that basically subordinates oneself to the person one is calling "-sama." It can be used respectfully to address a person of high station, but can also be used "cutsily" by someone enamoured of someone else, e.g., traditionally, by a wife to her husband. In the latter case, it is usually translated as something like "dear." When Wakaba and the other girls call Utena "Utena-sama" they're using the "cutesy" meaning of the phrase, whereas Anthy uses it in the formal sense, more or less calling Utena "Lady" or "Mistress." It is very rarely used in RL Japanese conversation. - -san: A polite, very commonly used honorific more or less meaning "Mister" or "Miss." - Seitokai: Student Council - Seitokaijo: Student Council President - Sekai no hate: World's End (End of the World) - sempai: Elder/Senior/Mentor, such as "Jury-sempai." In anime, school-age characters often use to refer to an older classmate, particularly one they look up to. - Sensei: Teacher/Professor/Doctor/Author - Seiyuu: Voice actor/actress (literally, "radio voice") - Sayonara: Good bye - Sugoi: Cool, amazing - Sumimasen: Excuse me / I'm sorry ------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 Acknowledgements ------------------------------------------------------------------- The original author, SenshiNeko, admits to shamelessly adapting most of the original FAQ from the alt.fan.sailor-moon MicroFAQ, with permission from Henry D. Archut, maintainer of said AFSM uFAQ. Death Quaker has further adapted and edited SenshiNeko's FAQ for the current needs of AFU. Death Quaker does wish to give SenshiNeko all due respect for his contributions to AFU years ago, so thank you, SenshiNeko. The following people have provided their invaluable assistance and suggestions for the AFU FAQ: Jennifer Brill, original proponent of AFU. Many AFU members of 2005, especially- E. Liddell, who pointed out that we actually had a FAQ and that it was woefully out of date and for providing useful soundtrack info and for doing arithmetic far too complicated for DQ's small mind to comprehend; OnsenMark for correcting an embarrassing moment of gender confusion; Sephigirl, who started the whole revision process by discussing the 'Netiquette of Spoiler Space and for offering the most detailed suggestions during the FAQ-editing process. Sunnie and Gio for providing info on the "Best of" soundtrack. Please submit any additional questions, corrections, suggestions and updates for this FAQ to the FAQ thread on AFU or, if you prefer, e-mail them directly to Death Quaker (mistress@deathquaker.org). "Shoujo Kakumei Utena - la fillette revolutionnaire" is copyright 1997 to Chiho Saito/ Shogakukan/Shokaku/ TV Tokyo.