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The tale of the girl who tried to become the prince of her dreams comes to a baroque finale, after the schemes of the Student Council and the plot involving the Black Rose have fizzled. As Utena's nascent romance with Anthy's brother Akio devolves into a stylized battle, the revelations, betrayals, and romances are kept deliberately vague, allowing the viewer to decide the nature of the relationships between Utena and Anthy, Anthy and Akio, Akio and Utena. The drawn animation becomes increasingly static as the CG effects grow more elaborate: director Kunihiko Ikuhara fills the screen flying swords, crumbling masonry, carousels, sports cars, tears, and Charles Rennie MacIntosh-style roses. Fans of this epicene melodrama will enjoy the overwrought but inconclusive climax; more skeptical viewers will find it long on pretense and short on substance. (Not rated: suitable for ages 14 and older: violence, brief nudity, suggestions of homosexuality and incest) --Charles Solomon
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