May 25, 2023

I was going to watch Utena in the theaters with my brother and sister-in-law. One of the fight scenes was playing on a big screen above us as we approached the box office. My sister-in-law asked if I’ve ever watched it before. I said that I’ve started but never finished it. She asked if it was because I didn’t like it and I told her it was because my friends didn’t show up to finish watching it together.

There were only two tickets left for the next timeslot. My brother bought one for a different showing - he figured that they wouldn’t check the ticket too closely. After walking down the hall, we somehow ended up in the wrong place and took seats in a classroom. Scenes from Utena were interspersed with live action footage from what seemed to be student films. Sensing our confusion, the people around us explained that this was the “American” version of the movie. The three of us got up ready to leave the room.