anime

if you said this in a comm i had authority in i would be abusing it right now. genuinely had to go walk around to calm down a few times while writing this (i shouldn't get this worked up about a tv show but like, it is a show that i can very clearly point to dramatically changing the course of my life). objectively it's fine that you weren't feeling it, even if it makes me mad, but i do think you're just wrong

the episode to episode stuff rules, i have no clue what you're talking about. there is only a single episode in the show that i don't think is a good episode of television with a strong central plotline, and even that comes back in a fairly important way. clearly just different tastes but still

with regards to repetitiveness, there's definitely some of that. but it's supporting thematic ends, and as episodic tv goes it's no more formulaic than say, an old mech show where you know there's going to be 1 big fight every episode and they only break from that very occasionally. there's a "standard" episode for the show, where a character is having their internal struggles externalized through interactions with utena and anthy, are driven to duel utena by some means or another, and then loses. but like, i don't think it's at all repetitive within that, juri's story is different from nanami's story is different from saionji's story is different from kanae's story.

and even then there are plenty of other episodes where none of that stuff happens. the ball, nanami is tormented by animals, wakaba's childhood crush comes back, bodyswap hijinks! and of course there's all the plot heavy episodes that get more common in the back half. saionji's backstory, nanami's relationship with touga collapsing, akio ramping up his creeping, utena going to see a play, mikage's backstory. and i'm not mentioning like 5 or 6 episodes, not even counting the 2 part finale (which is obviously its own seperate beast). all told i'd say about half the show is a meaningful break from the "standard" episode (19 out of 39 episodes, if you're curious)*

there's always a shadow play, but those are always very different and are sometimes very obviously about the plot of the episode at hand and sometimes the most opaque shit i've ever seen. idk that they count as repetitive. i guess you probably didn't like zettai unmei mokushiroku? that's the only truly repetitive thing in the show in my opinion. that stair sequence whips tho, i'm always cheering and singing along.

*the episodes i think constitute a meaningful change from standard utena episode and why

• for the following it's because there's no duel: 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 16, 19, 22, 27, 30, 31, 34, 35, 37
• these are recap episodes, but like. 2 of the 3 are still good episodes of tv: 13, 24, 33
• the 2 part finale (has duels, meaningfully distinct): 38, 39

debated on whether or not to include episodes like 11 (utena loses the duel) or 23 (mikage's duel features some major structural differences and is a major shakeup to the status quo), but decided to be pretty strict with my criteria.

.
anyways i don't blame you if you don't read all this, you're entitled to your opinion and i don't expect to change your mind ~~.~but~ ~i'm~ ~right~~~