World's second-most-popular Hellsing-related comic.
Anthy: My last school had a lot of excitement, and I was always in the middle of it.
Robin (thinking): Amon and I must find the Vatican agents before they find the witch…
Anthy: So, even though it’s quiet here, I don’t mind.
Heinkel & Yumiko (thinking): We need to find this girl and see if she’s the witch…
Anthy: It’s not that I won’t want more excitement one day, but not yet.
Timothy: Um…there’s something I need to tell you.
Heinkel: There. Time’s up. Who’s left?
Yumiko: Two girls. Oh! One is Rosa Gigantea en bouton!
Heinkel: Who in the what now?
Yumiko: It means she’s the petite soeur of Rosa Gigantea.
Heinkel: What kind of a name is that?
Yumiko: It isn’t a name.
“Rosa Gigantea” is the title of one student council member. We’ll find her, and her petite soeur, at the Rose Mansion.
While Heinkel and Yumiko take those last few confessions…
Robin: A foreign boy–
Amon: –at a Japanese girls’ school–
Robin: –he could be the witch.
Amon: –he’s from the Vatican.
Robin: You really think the church would use a teenage boy?
Amon: You’re how old, again?
Robin: Fifteen. …Oh.
Heinkel: …go, and sin no more.
Yumiko: {…go, and sin no more.} That’s the end of the list.
Heinkel: We’re scheduled to be here for ten more minutes. How many girls haven’t showed?
Yumiko: Half a dozen. But some might just be late.
Heinkel: How long do you want to wait?
Yumiko: Could we stay half an hour?
Heinkel: Twenty minutes. Anyone who hasn’t showed by then, we go after.
This is one of many, many ways to summarize the events of Revolutionary Girl Utena: from Anthy’s perspective.
The name “Utena” means “calyx”: the part of a plant that protects a flower before it blooms. On the face of it, it looks like Utena is the heroine of the series; but if you look at it another way, she’s just the vehicle to help Anthy bloom.
A fairy tale: Once upon a time, a princess was a captive in a tower. (This was easier than living out in the hostile world.)
At last, a noble prince appeared to rescue her. This prince gave everything to protect her. In the end, the prince vanished.
But now the princess had found her own strength. She bid farewell to her supposed captor…
…removed the symbols of her submission, which no longer held any power over her…and set off into the world that she had been hiding from.
She was ready to live her own life — and to seek her lost prince. She no longer needed to be saved. Now she was ready to meet her beloved as an equal.
As always, she had her faithful friend at her side.
[THUD]
In retrospect, leaving her glasses behind was not the best idea.
Anthy: When that girl left the school, so did I.
Timothy: Did she transfer here?
Anthy: No. I don’t know where she is. There was…
….a conflict.
And when it was over, she had disappeared.
Anthy: There was one other reason…do you know about Lillian’s soeur system?
Timothy: Um. I’ve heard about it, yes.
Anthy: We didn’t have that at my old school.
But there was this one girl…you could say she was my grande soeur.
Timothy: I only got here yesterday, and I can already tell that it’s a beautiful school.
Anthy: Where are you from?
One hour later.
Timothy: …and now I’m living at the orphanage, but it’s okay, because I love my job.
Anthy: That’s very brave of you.
Two hours later…
Timothy: So why did you leave your old school?
Anthy: It’s complicated.
Timothy: Try me.
Anthy: I realized I was only there because other people wanted me to be.
Timothy: That doesn’t sound complicated at all!
Note from The Future: This is the one strip where I don’t have the high-res version, because the working file wasn’t saved properly.
This storyline takes place the year after the end of the Revolutionary Girl Utena TV series. If you haven’t seen it, don’t worry: all the relevant backstory will be explained within the strip.
Timothy: So do you take care of these roses? They’re gorgeous.
Anthy: Yes. It isn’t official. I just asked the school if I could help with the flowers.
Timothy: Did you plant any of them?
Anthy: No. I haven’t been here for that long.
Timothy: Oh, wow, these are gorgeous!
Anthy: Thank you.
Timothy: Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t know anybody was in here!
Anthy: It’s okay.
Timothy: Hey, you understand me!
Anthy: Yes.
Timothy: Oh, good! Because I don’t remember how to apologize in Japanese.