Only shows that are so good they are the core of my identity get a 100, and this is one of them

Was originally a bit lower, but then I said to myself 'if this doesn't get 100, what will?'

Utena acknowledges the formula of 90's mahou shoujo narrative -- its transformation sequences, its climactic fights-- and embraces it. Repetition is this show's structural anchor, with the characters trapped in cyclical relationships of abuse within the purgatorial school. This strict adherence to formula is sometimes tiring, but the inevitable ruptures in this formula are cathartic. Utena questions the extent of one's actions within oppressive self-perpetuating systems and how to transcend them

did not finish