Revolutionary Girl Utena has gone a long way when it comes to creating strong female characters and paving the way for the LGBTQ+ genre in the anime world. It’s been over twenty years since it debuted, but there are plenty of fans still enjoying it to this day. It’s inspired plenty of other anime and even non-anime shows like Steven Universe.
With Utena being such a huge part of anime history, it’s only natural that fans of it want to see other shows that are like it. While it’s hard to find one exactly like it, there are some similar shows that pack an emotional punch. Some are newer while others have been out for a long time, but they are worth the watch for Utena fans.
10 Princess Tutu
A girl named Duck, who can transform into a magical ballerina, is tasked with finding the pieces of a prince’s heart and returning them to him. However, the prince’s friend and a rival prove major obstacles, as does the true villain, the Raven. Reality and fiction clash in this show — characters know that they’re part of a storyline.
While this anime looks innocent, it has a lot of dark undertones to it. It’s a meta fairy tale with ballet dancing as its main form of fighting, yet still carries the same impact as any punch would.
9 Mawaru Penguindrum
Himawari Takakura is the younger adopted sister of Kanba (who is also adopted) and Shoma (the only biological Takakura child). Himawari is terminally ill and dies shortly after being discharged from the hospital, but is revived by a penguin hat from the aquarium she was visiting. The new entity in her body says her revival comes at a cost: her brothers must find an item known as the Penguin Drum. However, there are enemies after the Penguin Drum and it seems the siblings are connected to some of them.
While it isn’t the same as Revolutionary Girl Utena, thw two shows were made by the same creator. With the way the story flows and growth of characters, fans of Utena will feel right at home.
8 Romeo X Juliet
An anime take on the Shakespearean classic, Romeo x Juliet keeps only a few key elements from the original story. House Montague has seemingly wiped out their rivals, House Capulet. Lord Leontes Montague rules Neo Verona with an iron fist. Little does he know, Juliet Capulet managed to escape, and fights Leontes’ rule as a masked vigilante known as “The Red Whirlwind.” At a ball hosted by House Montague, she meets Leontes’ son Romeo, and it’s love at first sight. Romeo opposes his father’s tyranny and wants to help Juliet.
Compared to her literary counterpart, Juliet is more tomboyish and stronger. She doesn’t let her love for Romeo falter her in her mission to put an end to Lord Montague. It might be a loose interpretation, but it’s a great watch for those who want to see more action and a stronger version of Juliet.
7 Dear Brother…
This slice-of-life anime's characters are reminiscent of Utena’s. Dear Brother… is about a high school freshman, Nanako Misonoo, at an all-girls school. She is chosen to join The Sorority, an elite group of students, and is unwittingly dragged into the world of female rivalry. Bullied by jealous classmates, Nanako uncovers the reasons she was chosen and learns more about the girls around her, as well as her own family secrets.
While it lacks the fantasy elements of Utena, Dear Brother… is a realistic counterpart to it. The characters and their personalities parallel each other, as do some story elements.
6 The Story of Saiunkoku
For fans who want a historical drama with romance and a strong female lead, look no further. Sixteen-year-old Shurei Kou's noble family has fallen on hard times, and she works odd jobs to earn money. As an erhu player, a teacher at the temple school, and an accountant at a brothel, Shurei has more than a few skills. Her dream is to take a post in government, which is forbidden to women.
However, when the emperor’s grand advisor asks her to join the imperial household as the emperor’s consort and teach him to be a responsible ruler, Shurei decides to use this position to make her dream come true. Much like Utena, Shurei is fighting against the gender-norms in her world. Despite her position, she sees an opportunity to make her way to the top even when her gender works against her.
5 Wonder Egg Priority
This might look like it’s a light-hearted anime, but has a lot of psychological elements that make it pretty terrifying. As Ai Ohto struggles to come to grips with her best friend Koito's death, she receives an egg from a seemingly abandoned arcade and takes it home with her. After the egg cracks, Ai finds herself in a dream world, where she must protect the girl that came out of the egg. An entity tells her if she saves enough people in the egg world, she can bring Koito back to life.
Wonder Egg Priority is full of psychological twists that tackle heavy real-life issues. The visuals might seem bright and cheerful, but that only adds to the horrifying scenes throughout the show.
4 Legend Of Basara
She might look like a boy, but Sarasa is posing as her deceased twin brother, Tatara. Prophesied to be the savior of Japan, Tatara was killed by the Red King before he can fulfill it. Sarasa takes his name and disguises herself as him in order to fulfill it and free Japan.
Keeping up her disguise takes a psychological toll on Sarasa, but she manages to stay strong. Even some of her closest allies aren’t aware of her true gender. Like Utena, she is very charismatic and isn't aware how much they touch the lives of others around them.
3 Revue Starlight
In this theatrical, entertaining anime, best friends Karen and Hikari promise each other that one day they’ll perform the play Starlight together. After Hikari moves away, it seems like their promise might never come true. Karen loses hope as the years go by, but all that changes when Hikari moves back. Along with their friends, they work and compete against each other to make their dreams of being on-stage come true.
Though it is a musical anime, Revue Starlight has plenty of elements reminiscent of Utena. The duels have the dramatic and emotional punch that Utena has, along with similar humor.
2 Rose Of Versailles
The anime that inspired Revolutionary Girl Utena,Rose of Versailles takes place before and during the French Revolution. It focuses on two characters: Queen Marie Antoinette, and Oscar François de Jarjayes, a woman who was raised as a boy and serves as commander of the Royal Guard. Despite being raised a boy and dressing in men’s clothing, Oscar is open about her gender and uses her position to get freedoms she could never have as a lady in court.
Oscar and Utena share many similarities, as strong women taking up roles that are usually dominated by men. They don’t let society’s norms and traditional rules dictate their lives. Utena foundation for strong female protagonists, especially in the LGBTQ+ community, but Rose of Versailles provided the blueprint for it.
1 Princess Knight
Anime fans today should not be put off by the old-school animation when it comes to this show. Born with the mind of a boy in a girl’s body, Princess Sapphire pretends to be a male so she can inherit the throne since women aren’t allowed to rule. Had her father not announced her as a boy, the next in line for the throne is the evil Duke Duralumin. If that’s not enough for her to worry about, an angel named Tink is sent down by God to make Sapphire more feminine and give her the mind of a girl.
A lot about this anime is pretty dated. However, Princess Knight provided the spark for the shojo genre and gave it traction. Thanks to this anime, Rose of Versailles came to life, which provided the inspiration for Revolutionary Girl Utena. It’s pretty generic, but Princess Knight is huge part of the heart and soul of shojo anime.