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YamPuff — Roses
Published: 2011-02-08 18:33:16 +0000 UTC; Views: 3236; Favourites: 76; Downloads: 0
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Description
I kept going back to the original watercolor I did of this picture and was unsatisfied with the way it came out. Anyways, the other day I found the sketch amongst by papers and decided that the line art was good, just the coloring that ruined it.So I scanned in the sketch and did the lineart and toning on MangaStudio.
The following may contain a few spoilers, nothing major, just be warned.
This is something I have been wanting to do, planning to do for a long time, and that is a series of pictures based around the similarities between two of my favorite anime; Princess Tutu and Revolutionary Girl Utena.
When I started watching Princess Tutu on a recommendation by an Utena fan, I felt drawn to the similarities. Both anime start out simply, almost blandly, with only a hint of darker things to come (well, both do start out with a little story about death) with seemingly stereotypical characters. By the middle everything goes out of control and nothing it what it seems like and by the end, happiness is achieved through sacrifice, not handed to everyone on a silver platter. And both rely heavily on symbolism, through imagery and storytelling.
They're both absolutely brilliant, do watch them.
Anyway, the most obvious parallel to me between the two series would be the roles of Mytho in Princess Tutu and Anthy the Rose Bride in Revolutionary Girl Utena.
Both are incredibly passive character throughout the majority of the stories and yet are the driving forces behind the main character's goals. Tutu wants to help Mytho and Utena wants to help Anthy. Both, despite being so passive, have this passive aggressive streak in them and can easily manipulate and drive those around them absolutely insane (this mainly applies to Mytho when he goes a bit bad later on in the series but is apparent in Anthy from her first utterance of 'Saionji...senpai'). And both are incredibly interesting rather than bland or boring. It's interesting to see Mytho struggle to become whole again while missing his heart; basically, all of his emotions. Whereas Anthy is a complete mystery; is she good, bad, evil, insane? (The rabbit dance? Classic Anthy.) They both have powerful, magical swords that really do them no good, make them tools rather than powerful beings in their own right. And they both shine at the end.
Lovely cage stock: [link]
Original: [link]
Pose Reference: [link]
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Comments: 36
You asked for critique, which I can't officially give but hey, there's a comment box.
I like the concept, symbolism and the details you drew, but this picture could use work. First the toning. You skipped Anthy's skin colour and lightened her hair, which makes her difficult to recognize. Also the use of the rose brush is so obvious it's kind of distracting. Secondly you might want to sketch over this to review the anatomy, since right now Anthy's right arm doesn't seem particularly attached to anything, among other mistakes. An advice I'd give you (and myself, everybody's done it) would be that bodyparts don't disappear or lose logic when you cover them up.
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An advice I'd give you (and myself, everybody's done it) would be that bodyparts don't disappear or lose logic when you cover them up.
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XD You got me on that one!
Thanks for your crit! I'm actually working on redrawing the whole picture.
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Alas, I cannot write a critique because I refuse to shell out the cash for a premium membership, so my commentary shall have to suffice!
Long Version:
I am very glad to see some crossover, here. I love both series, and this artwork starts leaning toward what a critical essay would do; I love that art can express that.
There is no doubt that there are many parallels to draw between the two characters: passive, minimal personality (until later developed), effectively immortal and caught in a horrific cycle, desired by many, "nobility," completely subservient to the initial love interest, absolutely central to the liberation of the world and unable to do anything about it themselves without the agency of a magical girl (and/or love). Pairing them in this piece is clever on your part.
Your artistic skill is excellent (this goes without saying, yes? >_>). The characters are immediately recognizable. The border roses are fantastic and I enjoy that you mimicked the four corners with four other splashes of roses in the center. The little sparkles and lines in the background (connected to the cage) just scream "fairy tale," and it's impressive that anything can sparkle in a black-and-white composition.
The stylization is very 'Utena' to my mind -- the border, the cage, and particularly the flow of Anthy's hair. As those shades of grey in Anthy's hair are not utilized elsewhere in the composition it becomes the focal point; I am not sure if you actually want that to be the case. The symbol of the cage is absolutely befitting -- but so befitting I believe it should be larger, if not part of the foreground (ie putting thin bars over the characters), making Anthy and Mytho caged birds, if you will -- because they are.
In fact, everything here is so Utena that the "Tutuness" gets lost in the crush. Anthy is far larger than Mytho; I understand that he is curled up and I checked the pose reference, but here he seems a child to Anthy's adult -- and Anthy seems to be protecting him (or perhaps considering him her next morsel, depending on how one views her). I do not feel you made them "equals" in their situations of passivity/distress; Anthy has the power, here. She is literally covering or subsuming him; artistically speaking, she has more detail and therefore becomes more central.
The swords: including them is an important element, as they are symbols of power that are ironically given to passive individuals. While well-drawn and their presence is an important motif, their positioning seems a distraction. Were they piercing Anthy, that would be a reference to her torment; were they being drawn from the characters, it might speak of their inner strength. I am fond of the notion that they should be held, but dragging downward as they are heavy burdens (or the characters are not yet strong); as they are now, they seem a distraction. They also disturb the symmetry, if you were going for it (and to my eye it seems you were).
Short version:
The symmetry is off. "Parallel" loses its oomph when Anthy is literally covering up Mytho. He, too, is a prince; he should get equal camera time: that is, representation in this piece. Beautiful artwork, that is not in doubt. But I am not sure it hits the mark. Mytho seems small and unfinished.
I actually liked the watercolor, too, but this may be because I don't read manga (which this b/w reminds me of) and consider both Utena and Tutu very colorful series. Good call on changing up the cage, though.
I hope my commentary doesn't come across as harsh, or imply I don't think this good artwork. It's lovely. I'm a teacher, too; I'm used to editing papers and the like, and tried to put it to use here.
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Thank you so much for your detailed crit! 
I'll let you in on a secret; Anthy is covering Mytho out of my own silly laziness, as the more covered he is, the less of him I have to draw! XD Ahhh...
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Ah, you are very, very welcome. I do far more commenting than my own artwork, and I enjoy encouraging artists who are interested in going beyond what they currently accomplish.
Thank you for taking the criticism so well. It is gratifying and encouraging to hear (read?) that you are already considering changes. I hope you (re)submit a new one at some point in the future; I am interested in seeing the 'real' final product!
Aside: I do not recommend pantsless Mytho in a redraw. 
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Although, to be fair, since Anthy gets her princess dress I guess Mytho deserves a proper outfit as well. XD
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Yeah, kinda. Otherwise Anthy's standing is much, much higher.
What are your other ideas on parallels? Protagonist is pretty obvious, but otherwise...? I am curious about your take. Feel free to note me if you don't want to spoil before art is made. Or ignore the question if you don't even want /me/ to know.
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I just had an idea for a better overall composition that I'm sketching out now...I think it'll work a lot better. I'm thinking of the swords sheathed in roses on either side of the picture, framing it, parallel to the bars of the cage. If I upload a sketch I'll send you a link for an opinion, if you don't mind. :3
My ideas so far are Rue/Saionji, who both try and force their love on Mytho/Anthy using coercion and violence and who both seem evil to start with but are actually misguided by the Crow/Touga and Akio. And Utena/Fakir who both protect Mytho/Anthy without regard to whether they wish to be protected or not. The problem is mainly with Ahiru coming into the picture, since she is far too pure of a character to have a true parallel within Shoujo Kakumei Utena. Utena does have her pure side, so one way I could do it is a threeway, Ahiru and Fakir representing both sides of Utena, a darker and a purer side. I was also thinking of an Akio/Drosselmeyer because it would work so well yet be so outrageously silly at the same time. XD
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Hahaha... Drosselmeyer/Akio. It would be silly especially if you did Dross in a sexy lounging about pose
Interesting parallels. Nothing really quite matches up with Ahiru because of her purity, it's true, whereas every single character in Utena has a fall from grace. Miki comes closest and even he does such questionable things with his sister. That said, both Ahiru and Utena (Ahirutena!) do both change the world drastically with their absence: it is once Utena disappears that the world changes; it is once Ahiru gives up her "magical girlness" and dances for the townspeople that she can affect them.
I do have a few other ideas.
Fakir & Ruka: they are mysterious, aloof upper classmen. They are cutthroat and have the best intentions at heart when it comes to protecting their loved ones: manipulative, abrasive, downright Machiavellian if need be. They are both fantastic swordsmen... and ultimately cannot be with the one they love. But both are... "noble" (it took me a long, long, long time to decide this about Ruka). One could even go so far as to state they are both fated to die; Fakir just manages to escape it.
Rue & Juri(?): fabulously wealthy, drop dead gorgeous, and a totally cracked romance that's all wrong. Curiously fragile, and very tragic. This parallel breaks down, of course, due to Rue's victory at the end. Conversely some of Rue's manipulation strikes me as pretty Shiori-esque: Rue drags out Mytho's heart shard as she kisses him; Shiori horrifically flirts with Juri and draws a sword from her in the Black Rose arc.
A bit more of a stretch but I find it intriguing: Juri/Ahiru. Both redheads!
Touga/Raven-Mytho: Really? Do I have to explain this? Manipulative seducers!
For laughs: Neko-sensei and Akio. Really creepy adult figures.
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Touga/Raven-Mytho: Really? Do I have to explain this? Manipulative seducers!
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Once you point it out it seems so obvious I wonder why I didn't think of it. XD
I was thinking of Miki for Ahiru at one point but it just didn't work on pretty much any level I could think of.
I almost forgot about Ruka...which means I need to rewatch SKU again. He certainly makes a good parallel with Fakir.
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"obvious," lol. That is why I'm here
Sadly Miki exists as a foil for the other characters (and I find this to be a great pun, too), but he's adorable. That... is about where the parallels stop, alas.
If you /really/ want a twisted comparison, try Ruka/Ahiru (Rukahiru!) It's a stretch because Ruka's subplot (well, Juri's) is so distant from Utena's quest, but he does what it takes, up to and including sacrificing himself, to give Juri back the pieces of her life (or her heart, if you like). Ahiru does the same: never confesses her love (although it is expressed in other ways), sacrifices herself (her human self), and does not wind up with that love interest in the end. The question of whether Ahiru is helping Mytho for /his/ benefit or for her own is a valid question; and of course, I'm never quite sure Ruka didn't have ulterior motives...
But Ruka/Fakir (Fakiruka! It's just too easy) probably works better. I simply enjoy finding these crossover elements.
To review Juri/Shiori in full and Ruka's interaction (sadly I know the ep numbers & titles by heart 
Episode 7, Unfulfilled Juri: [link]
Episode 17, Thorns of Death: [link]
Episode 28, Whispers in the Dark: [link]
Episode 29, Azure Paler Than The Sky: [link]
Ruka appears only in the last two links, there; they are his only eps in the entire series.
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One of the things I love about SKU was how you can have a character appear in only a few episodes yet have such a strong impact on the whole story, and have such a strong, distinct personality. Not to mention actual fanbases, like Akio's fiance and her mother. XD
Any thoughts on Mikage? I remember he was meant to be something like a mirror-Utena, hence being the same height and pink hair.
Ah I miss the old days of analyzing SKU on that forum...they got me into Tutu in the first place.
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Mikage is... so fascinating. I should try to study him a little more. He also has some of the more confusing traits; I suspect that as someone reading subtitles, I'm missing subtle cues in translation that would probably help me understand him more.
At any rate... as it is difficult to find 'exact' reflections given the small number of characters in Princess Tutu, I'd say that the best parallel for Mikage is... Autuor(sp?)/Arthur. Both are very mysterious fellows, both are incredibly educated in their fields, both are tutors or somewhat sinister mentors, both crave power and recognition (albeit in a subtler way than, say, Touga), both are involved in arcane societies and understand the workings of 'magic' as they appear in their respective series, and both have a strange, unnamed desire for a love interest beyond their reach.
The differences are many, too. But it's difficult to find someone as complex as Mikage, with a /triple/ weird love interest (Tokiko, Mamiya, and then wanting Utena). He's /kind/ of similar to Drosselmeyer in that he is pulling strings in the Black Rose arc, as well, but Drosselmeyer is a comical figure and Mikage is anything but. He has one of /the/ most difficult tragedies.
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Interesting...thanks! Mikage was one of my favorite characters, but he's certainly not an easy one.
Hope you don't me bugging you again in the future for ideas?
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Oh, absolutely not, feel free! I love collaborating in this manner!
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Nuuuuu Mytho with pants is not Mytho at all!
Well, my original plan was to go through all four main characters of Tutu with Utena parallels, so perhaps a redraw is in order before moving on.
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Quite lovely. And I agree completely about the parallels; I saw Utena first, and lost track of how many times Tutu reminded me of it!
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This is wonderful! I am a bit too much of a fan of Utena, and Tutu made my life after I finished Utena. Seeing the two together makes me so happy!
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I LOVE Princess Tutu! And this is beautiful! I don't know Utena, really, but she almost looks like Rue here. It's so interesting!
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This is so beautiful! ^o^
Utena is an anime I've only seen glimpses of through the years. I keep telling myself I need to sit down and start watching it for real, but never get around to it.
Princess Tutu. I have seen nothing of that one. ;___; But I am soooooo interested in seeing it. I LOVE MAGICAL GIRL STORIES, and I love ballet, I love fairytales, and I need to see the three of them go hand in hand (in hand).
So, while reading your description has been spoilery (don't linger on this - I don't mind), it's definitely succeeded in hooking me into seeing both series, for sure. <3
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Thank you, I'm glad you like it!
Magical girl stories are the best! 
I updated it with a spoiler warning, just in case.
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absolutely wonderful and one of the most original uses of this stock 
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Aw, thank you!
It saved my life, I can't draw cages to save my life.
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