I don’t hold that this is super mega ultra insightfulness, but I haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere else, and I have heard hat some people were calling it a Fate reference (Gilgamesh or Unlimited Blade Works). Granted, a lot of the series is obviously a knockoff of loving homage to the Fate franchise, so I feel compelled to observe this special exception for posterity.

Mad mad mad mad mad mad mad spoilers for Re:Creators (episode 8) and Utena (episode 38-39) below the fold. (I’ll try to keep them from being complete-and-utter spoilers but we are talking about them being literally a frame away …)

So let’s see what we’ve got here!

pink haired protagonist



on a mission to save her ally

getting stabbed by a sword from behind

with several swords, which may be said to symbolize human hatred, present in the scene



with these swords of hatred being of consistent and uniform design



with these swords of hatred forming a circular shape

with the stabbed protagonist turning to the viewer’s left with an open mouth and wide-open eyes



and then proceeding to a brief moment of injured glory

And while the Utena franchise isn’t a magical girl franchise per se, the paths which it forged have been followed by such shows as Princess Tutu and Madoka Magica. It is a beacon of influence, lending its dramatic import to many shows in the magical girl genre.

For a magical girl to die in an homage to Utena is a high, high honor.





.gif comparison available on imgur (they don’t work in this text post)