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少女革命ウテナ [Shōjo Kakumei Utena] #3
Revolutionary Girl Utena, Vol. 3: To Sprout
Utena finds herself closer to the prince she so desperately seeks. Meanwhile, she must try to repel Touga's romantic advances and figure out what role the new boy, Akio, will play in her life.
200 pages, Paperback
First published August 22, 1997
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420 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
May 28, 2025
Anytime a man shows up in this series I get a flight or fight response...... It's mostly fight
STOP MAKING THESE WOMEN INTO OBJECTS!!!! I'LL PERSONALLY ENTER THIS UNIVERSE TO FIGHT YOU!!!
I just need Utena and Anthy to kiss kiss fall in love right MEOW
I really love that Utena actually conforms to societal expectations of femininity in this volume when she falls into despair and it really feels like she is trying to play the part of "what a girl should like/be". And yeah, maybe some women feel empowered by wearing dresses and skirts and feeling like a princess. But not Utena. This volume really shows that.
Even when she was despaired, her mind was still on Anthy. I truly love that she cares so much about her and sees her as the human being she actually is. Utena loves Anthy, there is no doubt about that.
June 14, 2017
The last volume for today! I would love to just race through this series, but I know I will regret that. :P But this series is just too fabulous, too fun, too wonderful.
In this one we find out a little more about the World's End (though I still want to know more, especially now THAT happened near the end of the volume), about Dios (who may just be Utena's prince o.0), about Anthy. Though I am only disliking Anthy more and more with each volume. I loved her in the first one, I was worried about her, I wanted her to have a good life, but with volume 2 and 3... eh. With what she did at the end of volume 3 especially I just wanted to shake her good and well and see if maybe that would bring some sense into her. But I am still curious about her as well.
We meet yet another character and I didn't trust him from the start. The way he picked up Utena (in believe she was his sister).... no. Just no.
I am also still going with the whole they are 15-17 and not 13-16 thing. Because there are some scenes in here which are just a bit too creepy if you take in account that Utena is 13 officially.
I am still not sure what to think of Touga though. He seems to have no real bad intentions and he seems genuinely interested in Utena. He may just want to change his techniques for getting her to accept him though. :P
The art is still fabulous and I am just amazed at the amount of details!
The side-stories were pretty fun to read, a real change from the normal stories. I thought it was quite fun that they were mostly from the monkey's POV.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
In this one we find out a little more about the World's End (though I still want to know more, especially now THAT happened near the end of the volume), about Dios (who may just be Utena's prince o.0), about Anthy. Though I am only disliking Anthy more and more with each volume. I loved her in the first one, I was worried about her, I wanted her to have a good life, but with volume 2 and 3... eh. With what she did at the end of volume 3 especially I just wanted to shake her good and well and see if maybe that would bring some sense into her. But I am still curious about her as well.
We meet yet another character and I didn't trust him from the start. The way he picked up Utena (in believe she was his sister).... no. Just no.
I am also still going with the whole they are 15-17 and not 13-16 thing. Because there are some scenes in here which are just a bit too creepy if you take in account that Utena is 13 officially.
I am still not sure what to think of Touga though. He seems to have no real bad intentions and he seems genuinely interested in Utena. He may just want to change his techniques for getting her to accept him though. :P
The art is still fabulous and I am just amazed at the amount of details!
The side-stories were pretty fun to read, a real change from the normal stories. I thought it was quite fun that they were mostly from the monkey's POV.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
February 10, 2022
Touga shows that he can be quite charming, knows his way to someone’s heart, and can manipulate that knowledge to a frightening degree. This gives him insight into other manipulators which he shares with Utena even while he schemes to take her power and Anthy away from her. Not that he’s stopping there. He plots to make Utena herself his as well as much as he’s plotting anything. He also provides insight into the reasoning behind the dueling game, why the student council throw themselves and their swords into this elaborate scheme. Utena doesn’t understand it, but she finds her own reasons for dueling, driven forth by her courage and her innocence. Both of these qualities have touched not only Touga’s heart, but Anthy’s as well. Anthy, however, is even more bound to the dueling game than Touga, in service to a far greater manipulator who has set his sights upon Utena. This prince is one Utena may not be able to resist, even as she gets closer to both her prince and his power.
Much of the pageantry from the anime isn’t possible, yet I can still feel the pageantry. The characters leap from the pages with striking beauty, drawing me into Utena’s journey and the emotions of everyone involved with this exquisite, menacing, and specific setting, laden with hidden meaning and metaphor. Reading this book was a unique experience unlike any other.
Much of the pageantry from the anime isn’t possible, yet I can still feel the pageantry. The characters leap from the pages with striking beauty, drawing me into Utena’s journey and the emotions of everyone involved with this exquisite, menacing, and specific setting, laden with hidden meaning and metaphor. Reading this book was a unique experience unlike any other.
March 15, 2020
More slapping female characters and all the love interests suck. Even the Rose Prince dude. I mean what's his deal, sending cryptic letters and showing up just long enough to keep Utena interested.
I'm going to keep reading and maybe by the end it'll make sense?
I'm going to keep reading and maybe by the end it'll make sense?
March 30, 2021
Mi favorito hasta el momento.
Read
August 12, 2023too good i dont even know what to say… holding myself back from reading it all in one go but i rlly cant help it
April 23, 2025
Oh, where to start on this one...
Touga manipulates Utena by making her think that he is her Prince. He uses Utena's feelings for her Prince to distract her during their duel and ultimately wins because of it.
Utena falls into a depression and decides not to be herself anymore. A letter from her Prince pulls her out of it and she challenges Touga to a rematch. She wins the rematch and Touga declares himself to be Utena's servant and moves into the same building Utena and Anthy share...
We also meet Anthy's older brother Akio, The more we see of their relationship the weirder / incestuous it seems... Akio seems like a nice guy when Utena meets him, but that quickly changes later on when the reader gets to see parts of him that Utena does not (so she still thinks he's handsome and mysterious).
Anthy effectively tries to kill Wakaba by setting her dorm on fire and locking her in all because her brother told her to. Because Utena said she wouldn't fight anymore and her brother can't have that.
It's revealed in the final part that Akio is Dio and the Prince that Utena has been in love with since she was a child. But instead of being a noble Prince, he is just another creep who is manipulating Anthy and Utena towards what he wants.
However, we know this, but Utena doesn't. She doesn't know that Akio is Dios / her Prince.
The story did get a lot of interesting in this volume, but its also confusing. We still don't know what the World's End really is, or how it will revolutionise the world. Too many questions and not enough answers for being o volume 3 of 5.
Most of the men in this story are still creepy / abusive...
Touga manipulates Utena by making her think that he is her Prince. He uses Utena's feelings for her Prince to distract her during their duel and ultimately wins because of it.
Utena falls into a depression and decides not to be herself anymore. A letter from her Prince pulls her out of it and she challenges Touga to a rematch. She wins the rematch and Touga declares himself to be Utena's servant and moves into the same building Utena and Anthy share...
We also meet Anthy's older brother Akio, The more we see of their relationship the weirder / incestuous it seems... Akio seems like a nice guy when Utena meets him, but that quickly changes later on when the reader gets to see parts of him that Utena does not (so she still thinks he's handsome and mysterious).
Anthy effectively tries to kill Wakaba by setting her dorm on fire and locking her in all because her brother told her to. Because Utena said she wouldn't fight anymore and her brother can't have that.
It's revealed in the final part that Akio is Dio and the Prince that Utena has been in love with since she was a child. But instead of being a noble Prince, he is just another creep who is manipulating Anthy and Utena towards what he wants.
However, we know this, but Utena doesn't. She doesn't know that Akio is Dios / her Prince.
The story did get a lot of interesting in this volume, but its also confusing. We still don't know what the World's End really is, or how it will revolutionise the world. Too many questions and not enough answers for being o volume 3 of 5.
Most of the men in this story are still creepy / abusive...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2025
Continuing down memory lane here...
Touga has claimed that he is the prince who saved Utena as a child. But is it true? If so, why is he wanting to duel for Anthy? What is the power of Dios? And does Anthy really have the capacity to be a "normal girl", released from her duties as the rosebride? Or is it truly as Touga says: the rosebride has no soul.
Once again, the plot from the anime is greatly condensed, but I think it helps in adding certain explanatory details to the story that the anime implied more than actually revealed. I greatly enjoyed how this manga's storyline went! It stayed true to character, and we FINALLY got some actual interactions between Anthy and Utena that honestly added SO MUCH to their relationship arc. I don't know why the anime didn't have some of these scenes, because they did a lot in building Anthy as a character. Speaking of characters, we finally meet Akio....and there is so much foreshadowing in everything he does. That's all I'll say. Still no Nanomi, and I'm so happy. Her character in the anime was just dumb. Also, way less slapping in this volume, ha!
Three manga in, and we've already "wrapped up" the main duelist plot, but there are still two more manga to go! I'm curious as to whether this means we get some of the Black Rose saga, because I personally loved that arc in the show even though it was sort of a "side plot". Either way, we've met Akio so the ball is rolling, and while this is still a fairly appropriate teen read, I have a hunch it's about to take a serious turn, so I'm still holding off on how to recommend the manga as a whole. Now to go find volume 4...
Touga has claimed that he is the prince who saved Utena as a child. But is it true? If so, why is he wanting to duel for Anthy? What is the power of Dios? And does Anthy really have the capacity to be a "normal girl", released from her duties as the rosebride? Or is it truly as Touga says: the rosebride has no soul.
Once again, the plot from the anime is greatly condensed, but I think it helps in adding certain explanatory details to the story that the anime implied more than actually revealed. I greatly enjoyed how this manga's storyline went! It stayed true to character, and we FINALLY got some actual interactions between Anthy and Utena that honestly added SO MUCH to their relationship arc. I don't know why the anime didn't have some of these scenes, because they did a lot in building Anthy as a character. Speaking of characters, we finally meet Akio....and there is so much foreshadowing in everything he does. That's all I'll say. Still no Nanomi, and I'm so happy. Her character in the anime was just dumb. Also, way less slapping in this volume, ha!
Three manga in, and we've already "wrapped up" the main duelist plot, but there are still two more manga to go! I'm curious as to whether this means we get some of the Black Rose saga, because I personally loved that arc in the show even though it was sort of a "side plot". Either way, we've met Akio so the ball is rolling, and while this is still a fairly appropriate teen read, I have a hunch it's about to take a serious turn, so I'm still holding off on how to recommend the manga as a whole. Now to go find volume 4...
September 26, 2021
Utena truly is finding herself in her journey into adulthood. Relatably, she grew up wanting to be a prince, the same sort of prince she secretly wanted to be saved by. But as she feels new sensations and meets new people, she finds herself thinking it might not be so bad to be a normal girl.
However, after recovering from her slump, she’s finding that she doesn’t really want to be a normal girl nor a prince. As her journey continues, she vows to find and reclaim herself whilst protecting Anthy and seeking out her prince.
Deep inside of Utena, despite her desire to protect, she wants to be saved. She’s just a young girl, albeit strong and brave. And she is slowly coming to terms with an identity that can contradict itself in a way society doesn’t ordinarily expect.
Touga Kiryu’s desires seem to come from a place within himself that feels suffocated and repressed. Touga is someone who obvious has to hide his true self and stifle it, when all he wants is to be free, to be himself, to be Touga Kiryu. But he can’t. He feels like with the power of Dios, he and the entire world, can be free from this societal suffocation and breathe in new air as their inner selves, whomever that may be.
As for the story itself… what?
And it’s true, there is symbolism on every page, so much so that I choose to ignore it and flip through like it’s a normal manga. I used to love it but it’s honestly too much for me right now. Even so, I still believe that Revolutionary Girl Utena has continued to age magnificently.
However, after recovering from her slump, she’s finding that she doesn’t really want to be a normal girl nor a prince. As her journey continues, she vows to find and reclaim herself whilst protecting Anthy and seeking out her prince.
Deep inside of Utena, despite her desire to protect, she wants to be saved. She’s just a young girl, albeit strong and brave. And she is slowly coming to terms with an identity that can contradict itself in a way society doesn’t ordinarily expect.
Touga Kiryu’s desires seem to come from a place within himself that feels suffocated and repressed. Touga is someone who obvious has to hide his true self and stifle it, when all he wants is to be free, to be himself, to be Touga Kiryu. But he can’t. He feels like with the power of Dios, he and the entire world, can be free from this societal suffocation and breathe in new air as their inner selves, whomever that may be.
As for the story itself… what?
And it’s true, there is symbolism on every page, so much so that I choose to ignore it and flip through like it’s a normal manga. I used to love it but it’s honestly too much for me right now. Even so, I still believe that Revolutionary Girl Utena has continued to age magnificently.
October 17, 2022
Today’s post is on Revolutionary Girl Utena, Vol. 3: To Sprout by Chiho Saitō, Be-Pas . It is 200 pages long and is published by Shojo Beat. The cover is an illustration of Utena and Touga as they duel. As it is the third in the series, you need to have read the first two volumes to understand the story. There is no foul language, no sex, and comedic violence in this book. The intended reader is someone who likes intense plots with lots of twists. The story follows the main character, Utena. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the back of the book- Utena finds herself closer to the prince she so desperately seeks. Meanwhile, she must try to repel Touga's romantic advances and figure out what role the new boy, Akio, will play in her life.
Review- Utena loses her first fight in this volume to Touga, who gets in her head to win. He wants the power of World’s End but he also has become inflated with Utena. So Utena has a small crisis of self in the middle of the volume but she remembers who she is and what she wants from life and herself. We learn more about Anthy and what she is and the fact that she has a brother named Aiko. He wants World’s End's power too but the siblings are far more than what they appear. I think that Aiko is going to be the real villain of the series but I don’t know. As this is a short series, only three volumes are left.
I give this manga a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.
From the back of the book- Utena finds herself closer to the prince she so desperately seeks. Meanwhile, she must try to repel Touga's romantic advances and figure out what role the new boy, Akio, will play in her life.
Review- Utena loses her first fight in this volume to Touga, who gets in her head to win. He wants the power of World’s End but he also has become inflated with Utena. So Utena has a small crisis of self in the middle of the volume but she remembers who she is and what she wants from life and herself. We learn more about Anthy and what she is and the fact that she has a brother named Aiko. He wants World’s End's power too but the siblings are far more than what they appear. I think that Aiko is going to be the real villain of the series but I don’t know. As this is a short series, only three volumes are left.
I give this manga a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.
June 26, 2024
«Tenjo, non hai mai avuto la sensazione di essere un forestiero in questo mondo? Non hai mai pensato che il tuo vero mondo esiste altrove e che solo ritornando in quel mondo puoi essere te stessa? Questo mondo è simile a un uovo. È un piccolo mondo con intorno un guscio. Se non rompi il guscio, il pulcino muore senza nascere, senza nemmeno sapere che sarebbe diventato un uccello. Se non rompiamo il guscio del mondo, anche noi moriremo senza nascere, senza saper nemmeno spiegare le ali. Invece io quelle ali le vorrei spiegare. È per questo che rivoluzionerò il mondo: per essere me stesso.»
December 31, 2020
This volume has been truly spectacular and full of intrigue. I have come to suffer a lot from Utena's fate with the duels and I have witnessed both the destruction of the character and her rebirth.
Although I know the story from having seen the anime twice, I can only say that I am in front of one of the best manga I have ever read. It is clarifying for me many things that the animated series did not make clear to me.
Although I know the story from having seen the anime twice, I can only say that I am in front of one of the best manga I have ever read. It is clarifying for me many things that the animated series did not make clear to me.
January 6, 2025
To Sprout' is in a different league. I couldn't believe Utena went into 'soup boy' mode (a term familiar to those from Tamil Nadu). I'm still unclear about the 'Rose Bride' concept, but I think building relationships is crucial. So far, I've enjoyed 'To Sprout' immensely – it's my favorite Utena manga
June 30, 2019
Chapter 3, and a bonus about... a wish-granting statuette! Duels with Touga... yep, plural! Akio Ohtori is introduced and the truth is revealed - at least to the reader. Anthy's character becomes more problematic... what is going to happen next?!
June 23, 2020
-oh my god i hate touga so much
-any path to power, though!
-he's just the worst
-i'm so glad that in the manga the first glance at ohtori makes sense, geographically and architecturally, but like, every Important Student essentially has their own mansion. the best dormitories in the world.
-any path to power, though!
-he's just the worst
-i'm so glad that in the manga the first glance at ohtori makes sense, geographically and architecturally, but like, every Important Student essentially has their own mansion. the best dormitories in the world.
April 12, 2021
i’m glad that in this volume we learned more abt what the world’s end is, but i’m still a little confused (hence the 4 stars). i love the art so much and the structure of the manga overall, hoping to see some of these plot holes covered in the next volumes
September 18, 2024
I GOT THIS IN POLISH CAN U BELIEVE IT???? I havent read the rest but I got it just by watching the show (which actually is different from the manga bc they were made at the same time, the manga was a promotion for the anime).
June 11, 2017
En cuestión de historia y desarrollo de personajes, me gusta más el anime.
Bueno, ¡faltan dos!
Bueno, ¡faltan dos!
September 17, 2017
WHY CAN'T I GET BOOK 4 THROUGH MY LIBRARY SYSTEM
WHY
WHY
May 21, 2018
Pending.
January 26, 2019
Unbelievable! We are finally getting somewhere with this story.
December 7, 2019
2,5 stars
February 22, 2021
Utena and Anthy working their way into my heart from page one.
October 2, 2022
Im still confused by the plot but i love these lesbians
July 27, 2024
Anthy 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
September 4, 2024
Touga? Ick.
Akio? Ick.
ChuChu? The one good man in this series.
Akio? Ick.
ChuChu? The one good man in this series.
June 17, 2025
Les relations frère/sœur peuvent être normales ouuuu ?
October 13, 2025
mds que arco bom, sabendo que isso foi inspiração pra Steven universo da pra ver as características das pérolas muito na rosa juroooooooo muito boa a obra e twinks deliciosos!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews