I Played The Utena Saturn Game
I Played the Utena Saturn Game
12 Days of Aniblogging 2020, Day 2
I shied away from it in 2019, but this year I sank my teeth right back into Revolutionary Girl Utena. It’s simply the best anime! Of course, something as popular as RGU is bound to get some spinoffs. These range from the concurrently-published manga to a shitton of drama CDs to a takarazuka-styled stageplay. And then there’s the visual novel they made for the Sega Saturn, which I decided to go into blind because I thought it might make for some good blogging. I hope I was right!
Yep, this is our main character. God help us
The Utena Saturn game, which was translated in 2015 courtesy of an ohtori.nu user, tries its hardest to integrate itself into the show, pulling artwork, voice actors, soundtrack, and even some FMVs straight out of the series. As such, it feels like a pretty low-budget affair, but I wasn’t expecting anything too glamorous from a tie-in like this. Plotwise, it takes place somewhere towards the end of the show’s first arc, which in practice means that the characters are underdeveloped and less interesting than they could have been (and Nanami is practically a no-show). The plot plays out like a test-run for the Black Rose Arc, with characters gradually getting bent to the villain’s will as the protagonist is left in the dark.
What a coincidence, I put poison in your tea
We find ourselves playing as a personality-free transplant to Ohtori Academy who quickly gets swept under Utena’s wing. As far as yuri-pandering goes, it’s both liberal by Utena show standards and not much at all. As a female student, you can ask the women of the show if they have girlfriends, but you’ll pretty much always get laughed off and chastised for it. I guess that’s true to form for Akio’s academy? Anyways, the character of note here is Chigusa, the other new transfer student. First and foremost, she’s the goth dream girl that the show never quite got, and when she does the same “I get told I look like a boy” bit as Utena, it’s even funnier this time around, considering she’s wearing a dress with a lace-up front. Chigusa is obviously the going to draw the player’s attention the most, because she’s new and mysterious. And the game slaps you on the wrist for that! You see, Chigusa is straight-up evil, and doesn’t even make an attempt to hide it. She starts off by whispering you the wrong answer in math class, but by day three she is straight-up trying to assassinate your character, from tacks in a cake to kicking your lungs out during a soccer match to a poisoning attempt. Unfortunately, if you like Revolutionary Girl Utena, chances are you are a lesbian and thusly like horrible women doing terrible things. Getting any positive relationship points with her will subtract points from everyone else, pretty much sealing your fate if you interact with her more than once.
So you’ve sacrificed everything for Chigusa and all of the Student Council is effectively dead. Surely you’ll at least get some special bad ending, right? Maybe even a little bit of homoeroticism, as a treat.
Your reward is an incredibly brief scene in which your character trips down the dark therapy elevator, confesses that she has no real friends, and is dispatched unceremoniously by Utena in a Black Rose duel.
What a cruel game!
Playing through the game trying to get a real ending unfortunately doesn’t make our villain any more compelling. Like Professor Nemuro, Chigusa is a ghost from the past, a duelist who only wants to use the power of Dios to… travel back in time, steal your dad from your mom, and paradox you out of existence? It’s not even a half-baked ideology like the Student Council members have, it’s just a shitty scheme.
We do get an FMV duel between Chigusa and Utena, but it’s almost entirely made out of recycled frames from past duels, which makes sense given this game’s shoestring budget.
Me at myself before spending an entire evening trying to get my emulation setup to work since this is a two-disc game and that makes it extra finicky
My final thoughts on this game concern everyone’s favorite miracle-iconoclast. I’m a lesbian first and a gamer second, so obviously I picked the Juri route over the rest of the Student Council. It’s mostly standard fare, with her being initially cold, later incredibly distressed at how you admire her and Utena for being Duelists, and finally trusting you enough to let her in on the whole locket mess. Shiori doesn’t actually appear in the game, so Chigusa has to play her part in instigating drama, even making a pass at Juri and stealing her locket (As an aside, Kozue is here, exclusively to have a gay relationship with Chigusa to piss off Miki).
“How do you do, fellow lesbians”
It’s the ending of Juri’s route that really eats away at me. Unsurprisingly, your character catches feelings and doesn’t know how to process being in love with another girl, and Juri pretty much just laughs her off. But as your character prepares to leave the academy for good, Juri kisses her goodbye and hands you a locket with her own face in it.
You don’t have to be an expert in Juri’s arc to know that that’s one of the cruelest gifts she could have given to a fellow repressed lesbian.
More Posts from Shiroace and Others
Tempted to do a version of this with Swansea
I think they should've let Kira smoke As a treat
It is logical to serve looks: traditional Vulcan clothing.
Traditional Vulcan clothing normally consists of several layers of robes in contrasting earth and jewel tones. Sashes are often worn with robes, but are not commonly worn with shorter shirts. The materials used are mostly natural, like tugno’t or sha'amii wool. Dr'thelek silk, which is not produced or sold outside Vulcan, is traditional for formal gear; however, younger Vulcans favour lighter materials, like Tholian silk. Clothing is cut pretty much the same for men and women, and gender is not typically indicated by style.
Did you know there are actually many words in the Vulcan language to designate specific styles of robes? I have compiled a vocabulary list with some traditional Vulcan clothing items that don’t quite translate with the same degree of precision into English:
ROBES AND SASHES
Beyip: a light robe, often worn under other robes, or over a ne’ahn. The front wraps left over right and is attached on the right side with knotted buttons or with electrostatic seams. Worn as casual wear for business or other activities. May be worn with a casual sash or a mos’opelal if necessary for warmth.
Mos’opelal: A “soft” or light version of the more formal opelal, worn on less-formal occasions.
Si’pelal: an outer, sleeved robe, usually of heavier and elegant fabric, worn over the beyip and under the opelal in more formal ocassions, and always worn with a sash.
Opelal: a heavy “honorable robe” (formal robe), often with broad shoulders, loose sleeves, and a wide hood, worn open at the front to show a contrasting si’pelal. Often, “Rata Tafar Tapan” is embroidered on the right lapel of this garment, specially if the wearer has completed Kolinahr.
Osan-wun: Formal sash, typically consisting of two or three bands, each a bit wider than a typical sash. The ends of a sash can normally be worn long, sometimes nearly to the ground, but in formal occassions that call for the use of an osan-wun, stylized knots are used to keep the ends closed and flat against the sash.
Pel-ahn: A light ankle-length garment, typically with long sleeves and often worn as casual everyday dress. It also crosses left over right and fastens at the right shoulder. Typically not worn with a sash. It is looser and more utilitarian than a beyip. A version that extends only to the hips and is worn with trousers also exists and is called a sav-ahn.
Pel-pen: Medium-length robe, wrapped left to right and fastened on the right side with several buttons. Typically knee-length with wide half- or ¾-sleeves and belted about the waist with a sash or belt. Can be worn with trousers or not.
M’ai-wem: a long-sleeved, floor-length dress, often worn with a light opelal. Similar to a pel-ahn, but more close-fitting.
Pi’to-sai: Small cloak. A light cross between a robe and a cloak, typically worn over a beyip, pel-ahn or m’ai-wem.
Salan-sai: A “cloak of breezes.” A sheer, draped, sleeveless garment, open or lightly fastened at the front, worn casually around the house on hotter days. Often brightly-colored and patterned. More formal versions are normally white and worn for ritual functions by lesser celebrants and called y’osalan-sai.
To-pen: A short cape, normally with a hood and wide lapels which extend below the lower edge in front.
To-sai: A cloak, typically calf- or floor-length, with a hood and openings at the sides to allow the arms to pass through. Similar to an opeleal, but more casual and seldom made of costly fabric.
Tipan-dosh: A ritual vestment, consisting of a strip of heavy fabric, shoulder-width or slightly broader, with a hole in the middle for the head. Some come to a point. A tipan-dosh is worn over the y’osi’pelal.
Ak’shem-ai: a traditional bodysuit. Can be worn by itself or under a y’osalan-sai.
Tipan-zhvi: A ritual vestment rather like a rationale, worn across the shoulders and draped down the front and back. Often with cut-outs to reveal the y’osi’pelal (ritual si’pelal) beneath.
To-pal-el: A light jacket of hip- or thigh-length, open at the front and not typically worn closed. Usually has a high collar. A generally utilitarian piece of clothing worn for everyday use. A similar garnment is the pel-pen-zh’e, which does fasten (usually in the middle), is often sleeveless, and it’s cut on the sides to show the trousers worn beneath.
Abru’sav-el: a shirt which is drawn on over the head and has no seams or fastenings. Typically has long sleeves, but versions with short sleeves do exist.
Pel-el: A shirt that wraps across the front, left over right, like a robe, and typically covers the tops of the thighs. It is worn with trousers and occassionally a mos-opelal and/or a light sash as casual “business-wear.”
Pi’mal-kan: A child’s short pants, similar to briefs. Sometimes worn with a pi’san (child’s sash), worn as a baldric across the chest, and carrying family and school markings (shasu’buhk).
ACCESSORIES
Kuvor-talk: a simple closed cap that covers the back of the head, with cheek pieces cut high to expose and highlight the ears.
Ozhup’ai: ceremonial crown worn by officials for highly-formal events
Patam-puna-ti: a type of shawl covering the head and shoulders, typically worn close to the hair.
Patam-wun: a cloth wrapped around the forehead, typically bound at the back with an elaborate knot.
Patem-sai: a type of traditional hat worn throughout vulcan society, though its use is waning outside of ceremonial occasions.
Tark-oyel: “Star coronet”. Worn at many ceremonial events, the the two horn-like shapes represent the red and the white stars visible in the Vulcan sky.
Y’svit azh’wein: a ritual mask that covers the nose and mouth, used only during ceremonies by certain celebrants, such as honor guards. It is derived from an ancient desert mask designed to protect the nose and mouth from dust.
Zhup’ai: a type of hat worn for formal events or as a craftsman’s traditional clothing.
Ut’talu: Interestingly, Vulcan has two words for “necklace”. An ut'talu is solid and torque-like, as opposed to a vik'talu, which is a pendant hanging on a chain or cord. By the way, the most widely used stone in Vulcan jewelry is rubinite, as it’s very common in Vulcan.
UNDERWEAR
Ash’ai-kuv: a kind of garter typically worn above the knee, usually with some form of ritual symbol or markings. Worn under the clothing by religiously-minded Vulcans.
Ash-wu: a high sock or stocking that typically covers up to the upper thigh. These are worn almost entirely for formal and ceremonial occassions.
Ne’ahn: under robe, often with ¾ sleeves, white or pale-toned and ankle-length. Often has a high collar which can be seen above the collar of a beyip or pel-ahn.
Ne’ak’shem: a type of short bodysuit or leotard used as underwear. It is elastic, close-fitting and has no fastenings. Some Vulcans prefer it instead of Terran-style underwear.
Pi’toh: a type of loincloth consisting of rectangular panels and a cord to tie it in place. It has currently fallen out of fashion and is only worn for certain ceremonial purposes or by very traditional Vulcans, but it appears often in depictions of pre-Surakian times.
Sources: VLD, VLRP, Hidden Universe Travel Guides: Star Trek: Vulcan, Christies, Purple Sloth, ENT, TAS, ST: TMP, ST: Beyond, ST: SFS, ST: FC, STO.
Cat :)
*dry food crunches* Ridiculously small kitten: “Myam myam myam. Njam njam njam njam njam njam njam! Myam myam myam nyam nyam myam. Mmmam. Mrrrrram. Meep!”
THIS IS SO CUTE OMG????
hi chat I made a tiny clay undyne
Autism date
IM SO SAD I MISSED OUT ON THIS BECAUSE I ACCIDENTALLY HIT SOME CARS (and then when Queen said "Nevermind hit all of the cars" I just started doing whatever)
If you hit fewer than 3 cars in the driving segment, a small car will appear in Castle Town.
the mental image of Swansea hugging a crying Anya bc his dadttitude calls for it and Daisuke sees his friend upset and gently hugs her from behind. So she's in this gentle group hug of love and support while Curly and Jimmy are in the other room fuckin. Idk. Stabbing each other or some shit .
a very touching moment of how it should have been!!!!!! vs whatever the fuck these two have wrong with them
how you can help palestine
*i regularly update this post with any new info i find so please always reblog the original post*
Donations
donations currently reaching gaza:
‼️ help buy e-sims for people in gaza
donate to get food packages to gaza - care for gaza
donate direct aid to gaza - ehab rida (longtime activist and volunteer, has been carrying out donations and humanitarian projects in gaza since 2021)
palestine children's relief fund
world food programme
aid to gaza - taawon/bank of palestine
help gaza’s children
female hygiene kits for gaza - pious project
donate to UNRWA
urgent humanitarian aid to palestinians - anera
medical aid for palestinians
urgent support for medical professionals in gaza
donate to ahmed (@/90-ghost on tumblr)
he is born, raised and based in gaza. please help him reach his goal of $50K to get his family to safety across the rafah border into egypt. as of right now… it’s $7.5K per person to evacuate gaza.
help journalist yousef escape gaza to treat his cancer
help mohamed evacuate gaza to get treatment for himself and his daughter
support palestinians: buy a keffiyeh from the last and only factory in palestine - hirbawi
secondary donations:
click to donate - arab.org
emergency relief for gaza - pious projects
palestine red crescent society
save palestine - islamic relief canada
send medical supplies to gaza - palestinian american medical association
help bring down israel's weapon trade - palaction
donate for the recovery of hisham awartani
one of the three palestinian students shot by a racist in vermont for wearing kufiyas and speaking arabic. hisham’s injuries have left him paralysed from below the chest.
Petitions
‼️ urge icj to invite gazan journalists to testify
international cultural workers to strike from german cultural institutions for their complicity in oppressing palestinians and promoting genocide - strike germany
petition to investigate war crimes committed by israeli military
demand ceasefire - amnesty international
open call for immediate ceasefire
american government call for immediate ceasefire
american government to stop funding israeli military
ceasefire and increase humanitarian assistance - oxfam au
petition to get canva to address their pro-israel stance
invoke the genocide convention to call for ceasefire in gaza - world beyond war
suspend israel from international sports - diem25
UK to expel israeli ambassador - change.org
gaza healthcare workers for nobel peace prize - change.org
teachers around the world demand ceasefire - teachers for palestine
president whitten: reinstate samia halaby retrospective NOW - action network
demand the immediate release of mansour shouman
location specific petitions
gaza call for lasting ceasefire - oxfam (UK)
end israeli occupation - parliament uk (UK)
email your MP - medical aid for palestine (UK)
protect gaza civilians - islamic relief (UK)
stop fuelling genocide - action network (USA)
@ biden: call for ceasefire now - move on (USA)
ceasefirenow.com - jewishvoiceofpeace (USA)
call congress and demand a ceasefire - uscpr (USA - they provide a script of what you should say, so don't worry about it)
note: you can call everyday. they tally the number of calls per issue. so more calls = higher chance for them to take action. p.s. you mainly go to voicemail so don’t worry about phone call anxiety. fight through it just this once please.
no forced displacement! - action network
australia call on israel to stop attacking palestinians - apan (AUS)
immediate ceasefire and increase in humanitarian aid in gaza - actionaid (AUS)
email your MPs - stand with palestine (AUS)
‼️ australian senate to investigate australian citizens in the IDF for war crimes allegations - fpm (AUS)
‼️ arms embargo on israel - cjpme (CANADA)
sign to send letter to MP for ceasefire - nccm (CANADA)
ceasefire now! - ijv (CANADA)
call on your local mayor and council to demand ceasefire - LeadNow (CANADA)
cessez-le-feu et un couloir humanitaire - le mouvement (FRANCE)
écrivez aux député-es et sénateurs-trices - association france palestine solidarité (FRANCE)
write to your député - assemblée nationale (FRANCE)
skydda civilbefolkningen i gaza! - mittskifte (SWEDEN)
singaporeans call for immediate ceasefire (SIN)
contact your elected reps and demand a ceasefire (GERMANY)
write to the EU demanding a ceasefire (EUROPE)
template of letters you can send (EU)
guide on how to contact your MPs in EU
p.s. if the template is outdated, just use it as a guide and add a few sentences here and there that reflect the current situation. i can’t find any recent templates so :/ at least this is something
multiple actions you can take to help palestine - plant een olifbloom (NETHERLANDS)
includes: links for donations, emails to MP, emails to media, links to petitions and demonstrations
den haag, maak nú werk van vrede in israël/Palestina - the right forum (NETHERLANDS)
māori call for palestine - ourActionStation (NZ)
deem israeli actions as war crimes - NZ parliament/pāremata aotearoa (NZ)
basta ao genocídio em Gaza! - awaaz (BRAZIL)
globo e grande mídia, parem de desumanizar civis palestinos - the intercept (BRAZIL)
manifesto ao governo brasileiro - petição pública (BRAZIL)
Campaigns
‼️ justice for palestine
reach out to countries to back up south africa’s invoke genocide convention at the ICJ
‼️ international criminal court
submit evidences of israeli war crimes
friends of al-aqsa
❥ UK-specific
urge your MP to speak up for palestine
hands off al-aqsa
stop administrative detention
petition for UK to stop arming israel
❥ International
boycott puma — email them to end their partnership with israel
boycott coca-cola
islamic relief canada
urge your MP to rally for ceasefire
decolonise palestine
poster campaign to raise awareness on the war crimes being committed against palestinians
text/call campaign for people living in USA
text RESIST @ 50409 to send a letter to your representatives to pass HR3103–a bill that prohibits tax dollars from going to israel
download 5Calls app to contact members of your congress | (more info)
fax campaign for people in the USA
go on this website to send 5 free faxes per day
here’s a link to a pre-written fax copy you can download to send (the first link on the linktree)
here’s a video that explains how to fax your senator (it’s very easy and all you need is a valid email address)
‼️ BDS movement
get involved in boycotting companies associated with israel
palestine diaspora network
global strike guide - join the global strike!
please let me know if you have any more links. i will add them in. and please reblog the original post!!
UPCOMING PROTESTS
PALESTINIAN LITERATURE READING LIST
PALESTINIAN BUSINESSES
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I was gonna make this obnoxiously long but Tumblr didn;t let me :(
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