Utena - Sailor Moon parallels and influences of Sailor Moon in Utena

[kasumigenx]

White Duelist, Dios Utena, and Sailor Cosmos.

 

[kasumigenx]

I tend to think that Naoko originally intended for Galaxia/Chaos to be the enemy of Princess Serenity, I.E. she is the one who masterminded the fall of Silver Millenium sending her alter egos Metalia, Wiseman, Pharoah 90 and Neherenia but she changed it, I think this was also the original plan for the anime as well but with Neherenia being corrupted by Galaxia.

I think the original backstory of Galaxia went to Akio of Utena.

 

[kasumigenx]

Metalia Endymion and Akio

 

[kasumigenx]

 

[kasumigenx]

It seems that Chiho Saito also shipped Haruka and Usagi like Takeuchi shipped Haruka and Usagi since Utena/Ran is based on Usagi and Anthy/Utena was originally designed after Haruka.

The girl with short orange/blonde hair is the prototype Anthy whose name is Utena.
The girl with Long red/orange hair is the prototype Utena whose name is Ran.

We ended up with Anthy becoming a mix of Manga! Rei and Michiru while Utena is like Haruka, Usagi, and Minako.

 

[YuYu Yuichiro]

I'm not sure if someone already pointed this out or If theses even count but

• The way SM thrusts forward the kaleimoondoscope
• The spiral stairs at the end of SuperS

 

[kasumigenx]

It seems that both Ikuhara and Igarashi wanted to retcon Manga! Rei in Sailor Stars which includes an Expy of her manga Grandpa, her hatred of men, and her parents in the Anime but that did not materialize, although we ended up with Anthy in Utena who is similar to Manga! Rei and Ibuki in Sailor Stars as consolation.

Manga! Rei x Usagi, Chibiusa x Hotaru, and Michiru x Haruka seem to be the ship of Ikuhara.

 

[kasumigenx]

I'm not sure if someone already pointed this out or If theses even count but

• The way SM thrusts forward the kaleimoondoscope
• The spiral stairs at the end of SuperS

The Utena parallels extend up to Stars manga and anime which means Ikuhara was likely part of the early planning of Stars until the Super S movie was declined or somehow he was with Naoko when she was initially planning Stars while Chiho Saito has the same tastes as Naoko Takeuchi and likely even likes the manga pairings of Sailor Moon, meaning Chiho Saito ships Chibiusa x Hotaru, Rei x Minako, Haruka x Usagi.

 

[Neo King Rose]

I'm not sure if someone already pointed this out or If theses even count but

• The way SM thrusts forward the kaleimoondoscope
• The spiral stairs at the end of SuperS

I noticed that too

 

[Lady Pen]

Saionji looks like Nephrite and his story with Wakaba sort of reminds me of Nephrite and Naru's subplot.

Miki being so clever like Ami. Both share the same seiyuu.

Utena has a lot of SM,R,S,SuperS concepts that Ikuhara explored deeply.

 

[sailorjosema]

Obviously there's parallels as I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Utena & Anthy were based around Haruka & Michiru and what Ikuhara always wanted to do with these two characters. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Utena as a series concept only even come about due to Ikuhara's scrapped SuperS movie idea which was supposed to be entirely HaruMichi based focused around the theme of "The End of the World?"

Yes, with a fight between Sailor Moon and Sailor Uranus riding two Pegasus (Uranus' black!). It would be a great story that, as usually, Takeuchi did not approve (I can understand anyway).

But I am sorry, I do not see the similarities pointed in the rest of the posts.

Of course Usagi and Galaxia represent the good and evil, and the evil redeemed by the good (the same Anthy and Utena or Madoka and Homura), but this is an universal cliché. Saying that Utena manga is based on Sailor Moon just because the enemy fades into dust in the final panels of both manga is saying to much. I would say the same on Dragon Ball the moment Gohan grinds cell with a Kamehameha.

 

[kasumigenx]

Yes, with a fight between Sailor Moon and Sailor Uranus riding two Pegasus (Uranus' black!). It would be a great story that, as usually, Takeuchi did not approve (I can understand anyway).

But I am sorry, I do not see the similarities pointed in the rest of the posts.

Of course Usagi and Galaxia represent the good and evil, and the evil redeemed by the good (the same Anthy and Utena or Madoka and Homura), but this is an universal cliché. Saying that Utena manga is based on Sailor Moon just because the enemy fades into dust in the final panels of both manga is saying to much. I would say the same on Dragon Ball the moment Gohan grinds cell with a Kamehameha.

It is not based on Sailor Moon, it is inspired by Sailor Moon, and the Utena manga is inspired by Sailor Moon manga, the Utena manga has better paneling.

I think Naoko should hire Chiho Saito, if she wants to write a sequel of SM.

 

[Clow]

Utena is Ikuhara’s work. Yes, he wanted to do a Sailor Moon film, but ultimately he left TOEI and created his work with his own existing idea.

I do see many parallels between Stars (manga) and Madoka, yes.

 

[kasumigenx]

So the Revolutionary Girl Utena was originally conceptualized by Ikuhara with Michiru as the MC, the manga and anime of Utena did end up with Anthy as the one surviving, so that idea did actually push through.

 

[Lady Pen]

So the Revolutionary Girl Utena was originally conceptualized by Ikuhara with Michiru as the MC.

He had in mind Haruka & Michiru. Ikuhara used a lot of ideas of SM anime in Utena: Akio's car / Nephrite's car, Wakaba-Saionji / Naru-Nephrite, The swords everyone could get out of bodies / the Talismans, the End of the World / The Silence, the reset ending / Episode 46 ending, and so on and on.......

 

[kasumigenx]

He had in mind Haruka & Michiru. Ikuhara used a lot of ideas of SM anime in Utena: Akio's car / Nephrite's car, Wakaba-Saionji / Naru-Nephrite, The swords everyone could get out of bodies / the Talismans, the End of the World / The Silence, the reset ending / Episode 46 ending, and so on and on.......

Yes, although the initial designs were pointing out that Michiru/Anthy was the original titular character and was the one going to be named Utena.

 

[kasumigenx]

This is the initial design that shows that Anthy was the original planned MC of Utena.

 

[kasumigenx]

If Naoko did not care much about Michiru as a character, at least Ikuhara had her in mind as the protagonist when writing Utena...

 

[kasumigenx]

He had in mind Haruka & Michiru.

Which he did not communicate earlier with Saito.

 

[Tsundereshipper]

Manga! Rei x Usagi, Chibiusa x Hotaru, and Michiru x Haruka seem to be the ship of Ikuhara.

No, Ikuhara was the one who made Rei into “90’s anime Rei” to begin with, he literally considered her his ideal waifu.

And you’ve got that backwards, it was Naoko who shipped Chibi-Usa/Hotaru, Ikuhara didn’t ship them at all, as evidenced by getting rid of all their romantic subtext and turning them into just close friends in the 90’s anime. ChibiTaru isn’t a thing at all in the 90’s anime whereas it is in the Manga/Crystal.