Chiho Saito Books

I find that the manga of this series is a lot more entertaining and a lot more interesting than the infamous anime. The first volume is actually cool because Utena hasn't come to the academy yet; she and a friend of hers figure out clues she's been sent over the years to find that her 'prince' is at the academy. You find out that she has an aunt she's been living with up to then and that she's not a complete orphan. Then of course she goes to the academy and is thrust into this very strange and seperate world of duelings and winning the Rose Bride as a prize as a step towards "revolutionizing the world." The drawing can be a little wierd, people's faces for exampe are very long and even the women can look a little "mannish." Utena and Anthy as prince and rose bride have a very cute relationship together and along with Chu-chu Anthy's best friend and pet monkey it's all very adorable. As I said though, I like this manga mostly because I can actually make some sense out of it and the mysterious plot lines, unlike the anime which had me banging my head on the wall.

Going on fromwhere the 2nd book leaves us off on:
IS TOUGA UTENA'S PRINCE?!!!
I'll give you guys just one little spoiler...he's not.
n this volume it basically talks about the Rose Bride and Utena's determination to go through any kind of challenge to see her prince. Deception and Manipulation. The question in this book is who's telling the truth. Most importantly, is Utena so desperate to find her prince that she'll belive just about anybody? We also find out more about Anthy and her brother. Including more in depth detail about World's End. Why the Dios has the power to revolutionize the world. And the most impotant part... Iwillnotspoilthestory Iwillnotspoilthestory..... OK I won't give you a spoiler but it deals about Anthy and her heart "belonging to no one."
AND WHO COULD FORGET THE COMIC RELIEF OF CHU CHU IN THE END?! ( Chu ) All in all this manga is just awsome.The artwork has gotten better and I rccommend it to all shojo or just any manga fan. GO AND BUY IT NOW!

This is a series like no other. Deeply symbolic, nearly every person, object, and incident means something else on a higher level in addition to the face value. The characters are not just human--they *represent* humanity, both good and bad. They highlight our weaknesses and emphasize our strengths. In this world, power means everything and concepts such as friendship, devotion, and love mean almost nothing. In the pursuit of power and prestige, families and friends are sacrificed for desires. And the life and happiness of one girl are bound to the power to change the world.

This is a controversial series dealing with life, death, change, love, betrayal, belief, truth, and more material concepts such as sex, attraction, and adventure. It messes with your reality, rights it, then scrambles it up again.

For those prudes and parents out there, be forewarned--this does contain incest (love between brother and sister), rape (can you call it that?--Anthy doesn't fight when it happens to her), and lesbianism. That's not to say that it is a bad series--just be warned that their are some controversial themes recurring in the story.

Read this manga or watch the TV show or watch the movie--you will never look at anime or manga the same way again!

I have seen the series in its entirety, and the movie, and I have seen the Japanese manga. Finally READING the manga is a treat.

Having seen the series and movie (I'm praying that they translate the movie manga!), I was prepared for the extremely controversial themes that make this a milestone in the history of anime and manga. There is incest, which is where a brother and sister are a little bit closer than need be; rape (I call it that since Anthy just accepts it as a part of her duties as the Rose Bride ;she's not unwilling, and she's not willing--she's just there)and lesbianism (those of you who have seen the movie know what I am talking about). Death is abstract here; I can't tell you anything more without spoiling some major details of the story. Reality is twisted, as evidenced by the Castle of Eternity, which floats upside down in the air above the dueling arena. Love and friendship come up very rarely, and usually only when dealing with Utena. Power is the ultimate prize--indeed, a girl's life has been sacrificed for the pursuit of power.

The characters play upon each other's emotions, hopes, dreams, insecurities, and fears. Utena fights to protect Anthy, but wavers when Touga implies that he may mean more to her than she thinks. Miki's insecurities and fear drive him to challenge Utena, while Juri's jealousy and hatred are what cause her to raise her sword. Saionji is obsessed, and in his slight insanity, loses reason.

You need to read this series, if only to see what everyone is talking about.

The 3rd volume of the RGU series has turned out to be the best thusfar... For those of you who were disappointed by the 2nd volume, be prepared for the trip of your life with this one. It. Is. Fantastic. You'll read it more than once, I can guarantee it.

The plot flushes away its fluffy-sweet, gaggingly-predictable overtones to reveal an underlying storyline that gets more dark, horrific, and complex with each passing page (while still keeping an innocent PG rating! Now that's talent!) You learn more about all of the character relationships (and I'm happy to say that Juri is less of a joykill in this one) including the practically unmentioned one between Anthy and her older brother, Akio (who you can't help but love.) Our favorite little Dios boy in the sky also makes a guest appearance, which always calls for extra brownie points, though most readers will get mixed signals about Touga and what his motives really are (I'm trying to avoid spoilers. Can you tell?) The whole story becomes an enigma!

Prepare to be drowned in symbolism and rich imagery--and watch out for that killer cliffhanger at the end. It'll leave you BEGGING for the release of the 4th volume! The artist, Ms. Saito's drawing technique has also changed vastly AND apparently...the images have improved so much that you'll feel HONORED to own a piece of her work! You'll definitely start to appreciate how truly talented and professional she is. Even if you've already seen the series and know the ending (which is going to be interestingly warped by the 5th volume anyway) you'll still get a kick out of this book and the memorable circumstance between Wakaba and Utena as it was meant to be. And, of course, there's a funny little bit about Chuchu at the end and character profiles (of Miki, Juri, and the members of Be-papas) scattered throughout the book.

It's a great buy. No regrets at all. Just mix the right amount of fantasy, romance, slapstick comedy, mystery, and plain old talent, and you'll get the miracle that is RGU 3: To Sprout. :D It's so cool. Really, it is.

Utena is loved despite random events and bizare story lines. The artwork of the manga and the anime are both beautiful and the manga is captured in this phenomenal book. Though the words are in Japanese anyone can enjoy the beautiful manga style pictures. I love this book and I looooooove Utena.

When I had the oportunitie to see this book I thought that it would be cool but such as cool as it is. It has lots of drawings and paints of great quality and if you are an Utena fan it is a must have book. You can see all the characters of the tv series and much more, the first designs of Utena and Anthy and belive me that it is a great shopping. If you buy it you will enjoy one of the best works of Chiho Saitou.

It is amazing how many times Be-Papas can give us alternate stories to the amazing Utena series and how amazing and amazingly different each of them is. This one is based loosely on The Adolescence of Utena, The Revolutionary Girl Utena Movie and it adopts similar characters designs, backgrounds and ideology while being less surreal but still equally superb. A Must read for any anime fan.

I LOVE Chiho Saito's work! Most people know her for Utena, but she's done many other really great manga! This artbook is 12 inches tall and packed with elegant women and gorgeous pin-up men! My favorite images are from Kakan no Madonna, which is also featured on the cover. Definitely worth having if you're a Saito fan.

This is the last of Chiho Saito's master series, Shoujo Kakumei Utena (or Revolutionary Girl Utena). This is by far my favorite manga series and it turns into my favorite anime series as well. But anyway back to the manga, this is the end of Utena's adventures of a duelist when she learns the true idenity of her prince, and just who EXACTLY Himemiya Anthy is. The ending to this series is far from what you would expect and is why I loved it so much. For those of you who are light hearted and think that the hero should always win and get the girl at the end, DON'T READ THIS. You will find out that Miss Saito has stayed away from the stero-typed ending of happily ever after.

The art in this is supurb. Chiho Saito definetly brings life to her wonderfal images in the finial volume. And once again, Miss Saito is able to beautifly draw the action scenes in this manga, which, in my opinoin, few manga artist can do very well. The images also seem to give each character a sense of their personality. For example it is clear that behind Himemiya Anthy's glasses that she is hiding a more horrific secret that what she has lead on in the previous volumes. And it is also just just through the pictures that Utena's prince is not the noble being that Utena percieves him to be.

For those of you light hearted readers who like the guy meets girl stuff that is usually accociated with the stero-type shoujo, I wouldn't reccomend this one either. There are many traces of lesbianism (okay, more than just traces), incest, and the vile truth that Utena must face about her prince, and the man who seduced her, Ohtori Akio. For Akio fans (such as myself) this volume is perfect. He reveals is true personality in front of Utena, and she is a little...shocked to say the least. Which leads to another reason of why I liked the ending so much, the fact that Utena's pride, body, soul, and mind were beaten down to nothing (sorry, but I found Utena rather annoying throughout the manga series, as well as the anime. She just never seemed to know when to keep her over-active mouth closed).

Chiho Saito has created by far the most original ending to any manga or anime series that I have lain my eyes on. And that is saying a lot. So for those of you who are dying to know what happens in the end of the manga, and don't want to watch the anime version of how the end turns out, this is beyond perfect for you.

Great plot, beautiful artwork, a fun romantic/action/comedy shoujo series end of story. Most people ignore reading Utena because of the rumors about all the characters being ghey but if you're homophobic you'll still love this manga most likely the same

...the continuation of the storyline since To Till (along with the added bonus of the curry story) all make this a wonderful book to add to any manga lover's collection. It definately shows a side of Touga and Juri that most people most likely didn't expect to see but which I find definately adds flavor to the story. From the artwork to the careful detailing of the story, Chiho Saitou does an excellent job of getting readers (even those who have already seen/read what happens) hooked and dying for To Sprout to be released. Excellent, excellent book...I'd recommend it as a must-have.

We join Ohtori academy at the cliffhanger of the ball. IS UTENA GOING TO DIE AT THE HANDS OF SAIONJI? Well, like all main characters she is saved (what kind of show would that be if she died?). In the book we get a more in-depth analysis of Student council tresurer Juri Arisugawa and student council secratary Miki Karou. We see love triangles, big brother complexes, and hint of Anthy Himemiya's private life. But don't forget the duels and a hint of comic relief in To Curry Favor (CHU CHU!) The artwork in here is beautiful and the plot twist compliments the dramatic artwork. If any manga is worth buying it's this one Revolutionary Girl Utena( by Chiho Saito).

I was less impressed with this second Graphic novel than I was with the first one. The changes in the character relationships were too large for me to swallow - in the anime things were completely different and while it's nice to change it and spice it up with variety and make it different from the anime... the shifts in personality of the characters made this second graphic novel make them feel like different people to me and made me like them less... in particular what they did with Juri and Miki. I LOVED the first Graphic novel and eagerly anticipated this one but found it lacking in the beauty and Utena-ness of the first one. There is a cute story about Chuchu in it though and that is worth it. Since the first novel was so good, you should purchase this second one just so you'll know what is going on when you buy the third one which I am hoping will be better. :-)

Volume 2 is much better than the first volume. As the reviewer said above me, it is still much an introduction. However, the story thickens and there's some history thrown in. Like the first volume we're introduced to Louis XIV and Mme. de Montespan in this one we learn about Gilles de Rais. Though the stories are loosely interpretted in these mangas they still make for a very interesting tale! It's going to be fun reading what happens to Sekai and if she ever gives in to Machiavello.

Then this manga is for you. This volume is mostly an introduction, but it looks like it may have a fairly interesting mythology once it gets going. The heroine is fairly passive in this volume, but that may be due to the rather rude shocks she recieves early in the story. If you're offended by naughty scenes or sexual coercion fantasies, you'll want to skip this one.

I got into the Revolutionary Girl Utena series after watching the movie Adolesence of Utena. Then I began reading the manga and watching the tv series. I noticed that there was a distinctive difference between the tv series and the manga: The tv series drags on almost as badly as Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z. Well, not that bad, but still most of what happens doesn't have much impact on the storyline.

The one thing I have to say about the anime that is not in the manga is the character development. At this point, there is not nearly as much character development from the minor characters as there is in the anime. But that is because they drag the anime on.

Luckily, the manga doesnt do that. The manga gets straight to the point, and into the action. The lack of character development isnt that apparent, because there are less characters to deal with, and that truly matter to the story. In this action packed book, Utena finally learns the truth, and must face herself as well as her foe. Addicting, you will not want to drop it until the last page.

This is a great manga, which anyone should read, not only because of the beautiful art style, but because it is a rather personal story of friendship and love. Yeah, I know that mushy stuff is overdone, but it still leaves a good feeling. It will also make you thirst for the last chapter...

I read this and half the Apocalypse saga is condensed into it. The only part not shown was the very very end where the revolution happens. Not as good as the anime.