Both the manga and anime for "Revolutionary Girl Utena" seem to have quite a large following, so to say the least, I was expecting something great. I am afraid I did not get exactly that. I'm not saying this manga was bad because it was a great concept and actually had a lot of potential. However, it came up short for me, and I am going to give it a 6. I'll list the pros first.

Pros

I'll start with my favorite thing about this manga, which was the art. Chiho Saito really outdid herself because this manga was completely beautiful. I love the rose theme and the character designs were very attractive. They didn't really look like middle schoolers to me, but I was able to get over that. It was a fantastic manga in this regard.

Utena herself is a very likable and relatable female protagonist. She isn't afraid to stand up for herself, and is quite strong-minded. I wish we could see more Shoujo protagonists like her.

The story was a brilliant concept. This manga could have been an 8 or a 9 if it had been presented differently, in my opinion. With that, I can transition into the cons.

Cons

I'll start with the storytelling. Quite honestly, the fantasy elements of this story were quite weak until the fifth volume. I felt like I was reading something that was only a school story until the last few chapters when I was overloaded with fantasy attributes. Had the whole manga really harnessed these elements, it could have been incredible.

Secondly, the pacing was not good. I had times where I didn't want to put the manga down, but at other times, it was quite a chore to read. I even considered dropping it at one point, and don't get me wrong, I am happy I didn't. I had to dock a few points on "enjoyment" due to this though.

Some characters were very under-developed. I mainly mean Saionji, Juri, and Miki. I liked what I saw of them, but they faded into the background too often. Some backstories or more details would have helped me like them more. I guess I just wanted to know more about them in a sense.

I understand that this was made simultaneously with the 39 episode anime. I hear they are way different, and that the anime is better. I am definitely going to check it out since this had so much promise, and I am hoping for the best with it. As with most 6's, I don't really recommend it, but I honestly liked some parts of it a lot. I would say go with the anime. I am predicting something more fleshed out and better-developed than this.

6/10