Utena's Live-Action Project Reveals First Poster

Revolutionary Girl Utena may not be on the same level as current heavy weights Dragon Ball Super, [...]

By Evan Valentine

Revolutionary Girl Utena may not be on the same level as current heavy weights Dragon Ball Super, My Hero Academia, and Attack On Titan, but its a classic series that was one of the standouts of "90s anime". It's no wonder that this popular series would eventually warrant its own live action stage play. These anime adaptations have been growing more popular with installments such as Sailor Moon, Naruto, and Bleach being made, so seeing an actor representing the Utena franchise to a tee is par for the course.

The upcoming live action stage play will cover the arc of the anime titled "The Black Rose Arc", which continues Utena's quest to become a noble prince as she battles with duelists in Ohtori Academy. While there hasn't been a ton of information revealed about this live play so far, this first poster portraying one of the actresses in a uniform so close to the anime itself shows that they're on the right track:

The director of this play, which will run from June 29th to July 7th at the Theatre G-Rosso in Tokyo, Kunihiko Ikuhara isn't a stranger to the Revolutionary Girl Utena franchise by any stretch of the imagination. Originally working on the series as a storyboard director for both the original animated series and the animated movie, Ikuhara is certainly one of the best choices we could think of for bringing this world to life through a stage play.

The "Black Rose Arc" itself took place in the anime from episodes 14 to 23, followed Utena after she had defeated the Student Council that were challenging her to kendo matches immediately following her inclusion in the academy. At the conclusion of the previous saga, Utena was engaged to Anthy, another student who held the title of "Rose Bride". This arc saw a new antagonist named Souji Mikage who had his own plan for what he wanted from the Ohtori Academy.

Creating a seminar aptly titled the "Mikage Seminar", Souji spoke with students under the pretense of "student counseling" while using his abilities to turn them into his unwilling puppets. The evil counselor found himself at odds with Utena as he was trying to save someone close to him by making her the new "Rose Bride" in order to save her life. If there was an arc that was worthwhile to bring to life as a stage play, you could certainly do worse than the "Black Rose Arc".

Are you a big fan of Revolutionary Girl Utena? Are you excited for this upcoming stage play? Let us know in the comments or feel free to hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

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