Anthy was a character that confused the hell out of me the first time I watched Utena. At the time, I connected deeply with Utena & probably as a consequence, I didn’t like Anthy very much. However, I saw a completely different, deeper, scarier character the next time I watched the series that absolutely fascinated me; each time I see it, I see more of her influence. She is one of those characters that has continued to mesmerize me & one that inspires so much compassion.

She is my favorite character from Utena & probably my favorite character in anime; I am always looking for nice or unusual cels of her.

***Please beware of spoilers in some of the descriptions!***

Bank Sword Pull - Season 1

One of my biggest dream cels from Utena - A first season sword pull bank cel! Seriously, I never imagined I would ever see another one of these available, much less, one that I could afford. Each time I look at this cel, it reminds me why I started collecting in the first place 🙂

The scene pretty much cemented my undying love for Utena when I first started watching it - it's so sensual without being explicitly sexual, which I think is the real power of this series.

In retrospect, this particular sequence tells us so much about the direction & tone of the series as a whole. I mean, a woman/prince/bethrothed drawing a sword out of bride's breast in a mystical burst of light with thumping music in the background? It's a symbolic smorgasboard wrapped in a metaphor, aka - Utena 😀

Finally got a decent scan of this cel - it really is a beauty!

    • Item_Type :
    • Bank Cel
    • Source :
    • Utena TV
    • Series :
    • Multiple Seasons
    • Episode_Number :
    • 1-24
    • Sequence_Number :
    • A21
    • Layers :
    • 1
    • Sketches :
    • 1
    • Key_Cel :
    • Y
    • End_Cel :
    • N
    • Size :
    • Standard
    • Supplier :
    • Yahoo Japan
    • Other_Notes :
    • Date_Purchased :
    • 12/28/2009