The Revolution of Utena

Strigix

Verified Xeno
Administrator
There is a duel in the kendo hall. Touga and Saionji are preparing to fight, as an audience of wooden practice swords cheer them on.

The fight, when it occurs, is over in a lightning-fast exchange. Saionji's blade rests above Touga's head. Touga's blade rests at Saionji's heart. I think that, technically speaking, in a real fight with live steel this would probably end with a mutual kill; despite that, the duel is called in Touga's favor.

The audience continues to cheer both participants on, without seeming to care who won and who lost. As they do so, one of the watchers comments, "That's my prince!" Utena- who was watching, as part of the crowd, of course- looks at her ring, the Rose Seal, and murmurs "Prince-?" under her breath.

Meanwhile, Touga smirks at Saionji while Saionji glowers back in frustration.

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A little later, we find ourselves at the rose cage, where Anthy is tending her garden. Just outside, Chu-Chu plays with a roly-poly, poking with a stick and making it bunch up on itself and then letting it relax just long enough to leave the safety of its shell before prodding it again. After a few moments of this, the bug is eaten by a frog, to Chu-Chu's anger and dismay.

As Chu-Chu screams and attacks the frog, Saionji approaches, and complains that Chu-Chu is always in his way when he wants to see Anthy. Utena, approaching from a different direction, overhears and comments that it's Saionji's own fault, and that his stubbornness is his worst trait.

Saionji tells Utena not to get too full of herself, and that he'll defeat her in their next duel. He then kicks Chu-Chu and the frog aside.

Utena wonders if Saionji even can beat her, given he lost to Touga before. Saionji shrugs her comment off surprisingly well:

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Utena is surprised that the two have known each other that long, and Saionji flashes back briefly to a scene of two figures, preparing to duel. I've noted the different artstyles of flashbacks before, and this one- though it's only on screen for a moment- is stylized in an interesting way. It's a single frame, with dark shadows under the golden light of what seems to be a setting sun.

The realism of this snippet of memory seems to be somewhere in between Juri's (which was almost indistinguishable from the 'real' world) and Miki's (which was stylized but not to the same degree as Utena's own storybook memories). The details are still there, if viewed through a filter.

The most dynamic part of this flash of memory, interestingly, is the music. The image is a single frame, but the accompanying music is a trill of woodwind and some light percussion that I'm pretty sure is meant to be reminiscent of a samurai drama.

Anyway, after the flash of memory, Saionji asserts that he will not lose to Touga, and that he will be the one to possess the Rose Bride.

Utena asks if Saionji really loves Himemiya. He turns to her, but says nothing. Angered, Utena asks why he'd try so hard to win her, if he didn't, and Saionji reveals his true motivation- that if he doesn't win the duels, he won't be able to beat Touga.

'The Rose Bride' is, in this moment at least, relegated to the status of an object- a trophy- exchanged between a pair of men who fight over her. Rather than valuing Anthy herself, Saionji values the Rose Bride as something exchanged between men. This reminds me strongly of Iragaray's analysis in part 8 of *This Sex Which Is Not One,* *Women on the Market*, though I will note that there are important distinctions to be made here- Rather than being exchange between 'Father' and 'Husband', at this point Anthy is being exchanged between partners (or potential partners), and unlike in the materialist feminist analysis Iragaray puts forward, the possibility of said partner being a woman was already existent in the form of Juri before Utena ever entered the picture.

Nevertheless, Saionji's statement here is interesting in that it confirms his interests in Anthy are at least in part interests in her as a commodity which is exchanged, and what her exchange represents in terms of his relationship with his rival (Touga), rather than being entirely an interest in her as an individual.

This presents possibilities for a further analysis later on, but for the moment I'll step back and return to the show.

After declaring he won't lose to Touga, Saionji flashes back to the same scene as a moment ago, but now the memory progresses- we see his practice sword skidding across the floor of a training hall, and then we see him kneeling, defeated, in front of Touga.

For all his assertions to the contrary, it seems that Saionji has already lost to Touga- probably quite a few times at this point.

Touga bandages a scrape on Saionji's hand, and the two sit together in the shadows of a golden sunset for a brief moment before Saionji is brought back to the moment by Utena talking to him.

She is, naturally, angry that this whole thing is just him competing against Touga, as I think most people would be in her situation. Saionji insists that Utena wouldn't understand even if he told her, but that- together with Anthy- he will 'take possession of eternity.'

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We then flash back once again, this time to a stormy evening. Touga and Saionji ride a bike together- Saionji perched behind Touga, holding their practice swords with one arm, the other wrapped around Touga's belly so that he doesn't fall off.

Young Saionji complains that he knew this would happen, and that it's why he told Touga to stop after ten times. Touga laughs it off, and says that it's Saionji's own fault- he's the only person who will let Touga practice on them.

Saionji begins to demur, but the two are interrupted by the sound of church bells. Touga stops the bike, and turns to look at the church.

There is a funeral.

Saionji makes the observation that someone must have died, and then the two are confronted by a pair of shadowy men who ask if they've seen a girl 'about their age' around. When Touga asks what is wrong, one of the men says that a young girl lost her parents in an accident; when they stopped paying attention to her, she disappeared.

Touga confirms that they haven't seen her, and the men thank them for their time. As the men walk away, one wonders out loud if the girl might have been kidnapped. The other tells him not to be ridiculous, and says they need to keep searching the area.

Having overheard, the two young boys begin their own investigation, starting in the church. Sitting in the center are three coffins, each emblazoned with a rose.

Touga says he'd seen the coffins through the open church door, and begins opening one.

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By chance, the one he opened has a girl with bright pink hair in it, laying on a bed of roses. She begs Touga to not open the coffin (even though it's already open):

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Touga tells the girl- and let's be clear, the girl is obviously a younger Utena- that everyone had been looking for her. She asks if he's going to tell anyone that she was there. He grabs her hair, runs it through his fingers, and then says no- he won't tell. Saionji starts to object, but Touga insists- he's an ally to all girls. "I'm chivalrous, after all."

---

Breaking this into two halves, because it's got too many images. I need to cut down on the number of screencaps I take for these, apparently.
 

Strigix

Verified Xeno
Administrator
This is the second half of this update. It has too many pictures to fit in one post. If this is the first half you're reading, please navigate to the last update and start from there.

---

Saionji asks why Utena is hiding in the coffin. She responds that she belongs there. He asks what she means, and she explains- her mother and father died today, but there was an extra coffin at the church.

Clearly, that coffin had been meant for her.

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The rain continues to fall on the old church. Touga stands up, and walks out between shadowed pews. After a moment, Saionji follows partway, then stops. "Wait- we can't just let her do this crazy thing!" Touga stands in the doorframe for a moment, not even looking at Saionji, then says "Then show her something eternal."

Prove the girl wrong, and show her that life is worth living.

The bandage Touga put on Saionji's wound comes undone. Lightning crashes above the ancient church.

And then it is the next day.

Utena leaves her coffin, and stands at her parents' funeral, surrounded by people. Saionji and Touga watch from a nearby hill, and Saionji feels he can see something different in the girl's eyes.

Did Touga do something, he wonders? No, Touga replies; he did nothing at all.

Saionji didn't believe him. Saionji still doesn't believe him. Touga must have shown 'that girl' something eternal; he must have had something eternal to show her.

Touga has been ahead of Saionji from the time they were children... or at least, that is what Saionji believes.

The scene shifts to a memory of Anthy, standing beneath the strange, flying castle above the arena, wishing she could go there- "Something eternal lives there."

Saionji returns to the present, and tells Utena- Eternity dwells in the castle. He must be the one to sieze eternity- to prove to Touga that they are on level ground, that he, too, can give another person something eternal, just as he believes Touga did for that girl (Utena) so long ago.

We cut to the Student Council Office, where Juri is telling Miki and Touga that Utena told her she had met a prince, long ago- and that Utena came to Ohtori Academy because she wants to be with that prince.

Touga remembers the past too- but unlike Saionji, he's clearly put together that the girl in the coffin was Utena. Hearing this now, he's clearly sure that he, himself, is the Prince who Utena remembers- and while Utena's memory of the Prince and the events we just saw Saionji remember don't match up in the details, we don't yet have any evidence to say for sure that he wasn't.

That said, it's clear that Touga's memories are distorted as well; he's forgotten his own statement from back then, that he wasnt responsible for Utena's recovery at all. Of course, everyone's memories are flawed- viewed through a certain frame, a certain way of seeing, that makes the 'truth' of the matter hard to say with absolute certainty, although we can certainly make observations about what the different individuals involved think the truth is.

Utena herself reminisces about the events- and she seems more convinced now that the ring was, in truth, an 'engagement ring'. It's interesting to contrast her position now- it 'must have been' an engagement right- with the position of the intro segment, that it 'might have been' an engagement ring.

What her memory 'means' to her is shifting, as time goes on.

She is then ambushed by Touga, who presses a cold can of tea to her cheek. As she jumps and spins, he throws it to her, and she catches it. "From behind, you seemed so lonely."

Utena changes subjects quickly, to the castle above the dueling arena. "What is it, really?" Touga laughs slightly, and tells her "That castle is where you will meet your prince someday."

Utena asks/states that someone told him about that, and he grabs her by the waist, pulling her close. As he looks into her eyes, he asks- "Wasn't your prince someone like me?"

Utena pushes him away, dropping the can of tea he gave her. After taking a moment to breathe, she tells him to quit fooling around and walks off.

Touga laughs, and drinks from his own can of tea.

Meanwhile, Saionji has recieved a letter from End of the World. As he reads it, a range of emotions cross his face- a shocked gasp, followed by realization, and then a smirking chuckle.

We cut to your regularly scheduled shadow play. Today, the subject is UFOs- a UFO believer and a skeptic engage in a dialogue about them. At first, the skeptic cuts through the justifications the UFO believer makes, but then the believer points out- believing in UFOs is harmless, and after being shown that so many things she had believed in were fake (Santa Claus, Wizards, Fairies, Princes on white horses, and kind-hearted true friends), can't she just be left with her UFOs?

Later that evening, Utena is wondering why Himemiya isn't around. She asks Chu-Chu where Anthy is, and then after he doesn't answer (did anyone expect him to-?) the phone starts ringing.

She picks up the phone, and is told- in no uncertain terms- that Anthy Himemiya was kidnapped and brought to the dueling arena. As she demands to know who is calling we see a cut of Touga on the phone, covered mostly in shadows but with an eerie blue light cast across his features so we can still identify him.

He hangs up the phone, and we cut to Saionji dragging Anthy to the arena. She begs him to let her go, and he refuses; tonight, he says, he will keep his promise to her.

Tonight, they will go to the castle, and come face to face with something eternal.

Anthy protests- it's forbidden for him to take her to the arena now, both in the sense that *he* is not allowed to bring her there, and in the sense that she can't be taken there *now*, without a formal duel being issued.

Saionji responds that End of the World told him that tonight, the castle will come down, and then he backhands her, flinging her aside yet again as he says he won't let anyone else have it- thereby explaining why he didn't issue a duel (if he did, Utena might have won and been the one to see 'Something Eternal' with Anthy) and is instead breaking all the rules and kidnapping Anthy.

He grabs the handle of the Rose Gate, and we cut to Utena running up the stairs, looking for Anthy. She trips over something; it is Saionji's unconscious body.

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... You know, if you just left him there, he wouldn't be a problem any more. Well, I guess Utena isn't the sort of person who would do that.

After rescuing him from drowning, Utena asks Saionji what the fuck is going on. Unfortunately, he doesn't know. The two charge up the stairs to the duelling arena, to find a coffin embedded in a giant rose.

The coffin opens, slowly, revealing Anthy inside.

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As Saionji charges forwards, the coffin is carried upwards by a pillar of stone, away from his grasp. More pillars erupt around him as he pauses, leaving a haze of dust in the air. Finally, one last pillar rises- this one, beneath Utena.

After a moment of confusion, Utena steels herself to save Himemiya, and the castle begins to quake.

Saionji, believing this to be the castle descending and End of the World keeping his word to him, laughs as the sky shifts to gradients of purple and pink, and the castle becomes a shadowy mass. The pillars begin to crumble, the one beneath Utena first. She jumps to another, and another, making her way to Anthy.

The castle crumbles as well- the central spire breaking off and plunging downwards, directly into Saionji, who stares up with mirth turned to horror, the eternity he sought suddenly transformed into his own death.

He is crushed, screaming, beneath the castle.

Utena moves onwards, towards Anthy, who rests in her coffin- perhaps the same coffin Utena once hid inside. As Utena approaches, the rose and the coffin burst into nothingness, and Utena clasps Anthy's hand among a rush of brilliant crimson rose petals, pulling her into a protective embrace.

All fades to white.

The castle rotates, suddenly whole and undisturbed, over the arena.

Saionji sits, collapsed to his knees, paralyzed, looking up at his own death, face to face with his own eternity/mortality for the first time in, perhaps, quite a while.

He falls forwards. What had just happened? He doesn't understand- can't reconcile what just happened with the world as he understood it. He is snapped from his confusion by Utena fussing over Anthy, and flashes back.

He was supposed to save the girl from the coffin. It was his time. How had he failed? Everything he thought was his rushes between his fingers like sand, except one thing- the blade at his side.

He draws his sword and approaches Utena, who has finally woken Anthy up.

Utena asks Anthy what happened, and Anthy admits she doesn't know. Before they can go any further, they are interrupted by Saionji's howling rage. He strikes at Utena.

His blade is interrupted by Touga's back.

Touga collapses into Utena's arms. She asks him why he did that, and he responds:

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Touga's hands go limp. He drops his sword. Yet again, he's been stopped by Touga. The next scene is Touga in bed, recovering, answering a phone call from End of the World. He admits that he'd sent the letter Saionji recieved, in End of the World's name. He was wounded- but, he says, it was a shallow cut. Saionji is to be expelled for what happened.

Touga is asked a question by End of the World. We don't hear what it is- or anything that End of the World has been saying- but the end of the episode is Touga's answer.

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Hakazin

Member
Pronouns
Female
So, breaking that down... The counselor hadn't told Juri about any lunch dates with the Vice Principal. But apparently there was one planned, and Juri knew about it. Moreover, she knew that it would be an effective way to get the Vice Principal off of her own back about what seems to have been an attempt to pressure her into a lunch date- and, importantly, to make Utena suddenly not-occupied, and free to talk with.

Which she immediately does.

I'm honestly impressed by just how much information gets communicated in this opening scene.
Utena begins to stretch and asks if she's in possession of that miraculous power- and, more importantly, whether the power will help her pass her finals. Then she turns to Juri and asks- Is everyone actually serious about these stupid duels over who gets to have Himemiya?

Um. Yes, Utena, they're clearly quite serious.

And there's that bull-headed stubbornness Utena needs to work through!
As she leaves, Anthy walks up the stairs. She walks by Juri, pauses, turns back, and offers her a rose- one that looks that same as the one held by the girl in Juri's memory.

Juri rebuffs her with a smack that would do Saionji proud.

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As Anthy sits on the floor, cradling her face, Juri looks down with cold eyes. "Don't get too familiar." She then turns and walks away.

Y'know, there's probably a read somewhere taking the various kinds of abuse Anthy receives at the hands of the Student Council as representative of their individual issues with women in general, but honestly? I just want to give Anthy a hug at this point.
We then move to Utena walking through a dark park, or perhaps a pavillion, with Chu-Chu clinging to her shoulder. She chides him for being afraid of the dark, and begs him to go to sleep soon. As she muses that she needs to sleep too, she notices Juri, sitting by the (very large) fountain she's walking by. They say hello to each other, and Utena comments on Juri's outfit- one much more 'girly' than her uniform.
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Really? I can't see what Utena would mean by that. :V
But I wasn't able to place Juri in this framework neatly. It seems, however, that the friend-of-a-friend had an observation that fit- Juri is the revolutionary who has become convinced that 'revolution' can't happen, who has fallen into their depression and into a sense of malaise about the world- the sort of revolutionary whose favorite pastime is tearing into the hopeful, the young, and the innocent for their naivety, because they can't help but remember their own heartaches and pain every time there's someone whose hopes and dreams are still alive nearby.

In short; she's revolutionary sour grapes.

I think this episode backs that reading up astonishingly well, and I'm honestly embarassed that I hadn't picked it up myself before having it pointed out.
On the flip-side, there's still clearly a part of Juri who still dreams of miracles, if the Shadow Play Girls' incredibly blunt metaphor is any indication. Otherwise, she wouldn't be lashing out nearly this hard.
The two stand, swords drawn and pointed at each other. Utena charges and lunges, and Juri parries- clearly more skilled on every level than Utena, controlling the fight, coming just short of causing her injuries before stilling her blade.

As she fights, she observes that Utena is already tired- but while she speaks, she keeps flashing back to herself with her friends, standing between them, both of them looking past her to each other. As she does, she demands that Utena show her her miracle, and prove that miracles are real after all. As she does so, Utena lands in a crouch- and for a few moments, the image of the prince flickers over herself while she lunges forwards.

As the two close, Juri once again remembers the other girl- the one who told her to believe in miracles. Utena's blade comes close to striking the rose from Juri's chest, but is then parried aside by Juri, who howls, "There are no such things as miracles!"

The force of the parry is such that it launches Utena's sword into the air. Juri grabs the disarmed Utena, and bodily throws her to the ground, holding her at sword point and demanding her surrender.

And then Utena's sword falls, straight and true, slicing the sword off Juri's chest as it plunges from the sky.

Juri turns to Anthy, who was watching, and insists- that was an accident. It wasn't a miracle. It couldn't have been. Utena stares at a cleanly impaled rose and wonders- could it have been?

So, remember what I said about one can read the male Student Council members as different aspects of an Ideal Prince? To expand on it, you can also read the fact that Juri's neuroses and trauma aren't bound up in a Prince Complex as how she consistently beats Utena in a fair fight. Sure, the fact that she's a skilled fighter is important, but being a skilled fighter didn't save the rest of the Student Council from Utena's Ghost-Prince Possession Lunge.* And yet, Juri manages to perfectly deflect it, and only loses due to swords literally falling from heaven.

*Look, you come up with a better name for it, and I'll use it.
After looking a moment, Juri closes the locket.

"And so, she was gay all along!"

Though, there's a funny story about that...

(Apologies for not keeping up with my own posts. I'll try and catch up when I get the time.)
 

MagnificentLilyWitch

Active member
Pronouns
She/Her
You know. Saionji may be a trashfire masquerading as a human but Touga is just *vile* maybe it just shows which kind of mysogynist I've had to suffer through but Touga gets a much more viseral reaction from me the Saionji...
 

Strigix

Verified Xeno
Administrator
You know. Saionji may be a trashfire masquerading as a human but Touga is just *vile* maybe it just shows which kind of mysogynist I've had to suffer through but Touga gets a much more viseral reaction from me the Saionji...
Honestly, it might seem weird but I've got a soft spot for Touga?

The dude is honestly one of the most two-faced, manipulative, assholeish characters I know of, but at some point it gets to like... actually being impressive, just how skillful he is at the whole thing, and how well he strings people along to his tune?

Meanwhile, I can't stand Saionji.
 

Strigix

Verified Xeno
Administrator
Saionji walks through the halls of a school he's been expelled from. For the first time, we see him out of uniform- dressed in a blue button up shirt, a sack over his shoulder.

Ohtori Academy is in an uproar- no one is sure what Saionji did, except for the handful of students who wear the Rose Seal.

At the gates, Touga smiles and wishes Saionji well, assuring him that he will do his best to get his expulsion reversed. He plays the role of the well-meaning friend so well that one might almost forget that the entire situation is one he orchestrated in the first place.

If you did not know, you would never expect.

Saionji certainly doesn't seem to. He apologizes to Touga for all the trouble he has caused him, and makes a request of him- that he look after the exchange diary which Saionji kept with Anthy.

Touga smiles, accepts the diary, and tells Saionji he will take care of it. They are, after all, best friends- aren't they?

Minutes later, Touga casts the diary into the school's furnace.

It burns in an instant.

---

The student council meets without Saionji- but then, every time they have met thus far has been 'without Saionji.' Is this time any different?

There is a new letter from End of the World. Going by the pattern, it is Touga's turn to duel next. Miki questions his ability, and offers to duel in Touga's place due to his convalescence. Juri shoots him down- she believes he would lose against Utena, so there's no reason for him to try to fight. Instead, she'll fight Utena, and this time win against her.

As Juri and Miki begin to squabble over who will get the role, Touga cuts them off. There is someone else who will be fighting this time.

In Anthy's garden, Utena is confronted by Nanami. Nanami accuses Utena of being at fault for her brother's injuries- and Utena can't bring herself to contest that accusation. Touga steps in- informing Nanami that his injuries are fine, and that he accepts them, as it is "a knight's duty to help a lady in distress."

This doesn't do anything to salve Nanami's anger- and, indeed, given Touga's skill as a social manipulator, it seems likely that it wasn't intended to calm her in the first place. Touga reassures Utena that Nanami will, one day, come to understand that this wasn't Utena's fault.

(a book burns)

Later that evening, Utena sits in her room, pensive.

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Anthy enters, and asks Utena why she is depressed. Utena admits that it's because Touga was injured while saving her. Anthy wonders if 'he' is doing all right, and Utena decides that she needs to check up on him and see for herself. If nothing else, she still hasn't thanked him for saving her.

Anthy- suddenly animated- comments that 'You' must be hungry. There is a moment where Utena is confused, as Anthy pours a saucer of milk out, but then Anthy reveals that she'd been talking to and about a kitten she'd rescued, rather than Touga and/or Utena.

As the two watch the kitten drink milk, Anthy observes that there are a lot of roses in bloom right now, and says that maybe they should visit Touga. "There's nothing wrong with bringing flowers to a sick person." Utena thanks her.

We then cut to a flashback. The shift in style and coloration is, this time, very minor- color is washed out, and there seems to be a light fog covering everything, leaving it fuzzy and indistinct. The occasion is a young Touga's birthday- this Touga even younger than the one from the last flashback.

Nanami is at the party, smudged and dirty, with a gift in a plain, unwrapped box for him. Their parents scold her, and she reaffirms that she brought the gift for her brother, as a kitten pokes its head out of the box and meows.

The guests titter about how filthy the cat is, and their parents try to take it away- but before they can, Touga accepts it as a gift, and they relent.

Nanami reminisces about that time- how Touga's smile was, back then, something that she alone could bring about. Then she stirs in her bed, leaving her memories/dreams behind for a time, and looks out the window.

Touga is training with a wooden sword.

She makes her way outside, and tries to stop him. He's still injured- he needs to rest and recover. He counters that if he doesn't train, his body will grow stiff and slow. There is a back and forth for a moment, as she tries to convince him to stop. This culminates in the following exchange:

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Touga leaves, retreating to his room to sleep, and Nanami stands outside, falling back into memories again. For a moment, she stands in the rain, at the side of a drainage ditch, a cardboard box taped shut in front of her.

And then the moment passes, and we transition to Utena and Anthy trying ot get in touch with Touga. He isn't at... his dorms? His office? It's not entirely clear where the two are checking, beyond that Touga isn't there. The person who is there, on the other hand, suggests that they check at 'the party'; it seems Touga is hosting an event at his family home.

It is, it would seem, his birthday party. Utena, unaware, hadn't brought a gift. Anthy, aware, had.

As Utena arrives, Touga has a brief conversation with Juri. The 'other duelist' has yet to be revealed, and it is only a day until the duel is to be held. Touga reassures her that the pieces are all in place- and then Utena is there, holding a bouquet of roses and assuring him that she's only there to make sure he's ok and to thank him for rescuing her.

He laughs, saying it's just like her to make a disclaimer like that- but all he cares about is that she is here.

And then Nanami storms in, slapping the bouquet from Utena's hands, and confronting her. The rest of the party stops and stares as Nanami shouts at Utena about how Touga's injuries are her fault. Anthy steps up to defend Utena, and Nanami slaps her down.

As Anthy falls to the floor, a muffled meow comes from the gift she brought, and for another moment, Nanami is at the edge of a drainage ditch with a cardboard box.

Utena moves to defend/support Anthy, and Nanami shouts that she'll never allow Utena to have her brother.

... At the middle of a crowded party, where hundreds of people can hear and make assumptions, which they promptly do, of course.

Utena tries to deny that there is anything between her and Touga, but nobody is listening to her. Touga sits, poised, a slight smirk on his face. Nanami stands, furious, not quite aware of the results of what she just did.

Rumors are created and circulated in an instant.

After the party, Touga apologizes to Utena. This is his fault, for being so close to his sister; "It may just be me saying it, but Nanami really does have a big brother complex." Utena is understanding, and Touga reminisces about how he'd recieved a kitten as a birthday gift from Nanami several years before. One day, the kitten disappeared suddenly, but it had been the present Touga loved the most.

Anthy then gives Touga her gift- a kitten, much like the one he'd been given before by Nanami.

Nanami stares from the nearby garden as Touga plays with the cat, and returns to the past yet again. Still in the same garden, she asks for Touga's help picking some fresh apples she can't reach. Touga is busy playing with the kitten she brought him, and says he'll help her later. She begs and pleads, but he just asks her to be quiet- he's playing with the cat now.

The cat nips at his finger, and Nanami moves to smack it, but Touga protects it. The two fight for a moment- and then Nanami is at the drainage ditch again.

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Nanami makes her way up to the porch, where the entire remaining Student Council (and Utena) waits, and challenges Utena to a fight. Juri warns her that if she causes trouble, she'll just be expelled like Saionji was, and Nanami insists she doesn't care.

Touga tells Nanami that the Academy has rules, asks her for her hand, and slips a Rose Seal onto her finger.

Now, she can fight Utena as one of the duellists chosen by End of the World.

Today's shadow play is about naming a kitten. As a pair of friends debate what to name their cat, the cat itself grows older. By the time they agree on what to name him, he's a giant.

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After that brief intermission, Nanami and Utena face off in the Duelling Arena. Utena asks Nanami if she really intends to do this, and Nanami says that of course she will- Utena and Anthy are both eyesores, hanging off her brother in the way they do (in her imagination). The fight begins with a swift and aggressive attack by Nanami, who wields a two handed saber.

It seems that Touga has been teaching Nanami how to fight as well; and, further, she views the ring she was given as a promise, from him to her. He is her prince; if he has given her his promise, how could she ever lose?

There is a certain parallel between Nanami and Utena here- both are fighting due to their respective 'princes' and the gift of a Rose Seal. At this point, Utena's prince is a distant, mysterious figure- one who we have only seen in her memories. On the flip side, Nanami's prince is both a figure in her memories and her day-to-day life- a figure who, we can reasonably assume based on what we know of him, has most likely been manipulating her as a pawn for quite some time.

Both are shaped by their response to their respective princes, to the extent that their every day behavior is a response to that. Nanami has come to embody a shallow reflection of her Prince- cruel, manipulative, acting behind the scenes through the use of catspaws and proxies in order to achieve her goals.

Nanami serves as a foil to both Utena- who she is at this point a dark reflection of- and of Touga, who she has learned to obsessively (but not necessarily successfully) imitate.

Nanami loses the duel in seconds- sword cast aside, rose ripped from her chest.

But like Utena, she never really cared about the duels anyway, so instead of stopping she draws a hidden dagger and continues her assault. Reclaiming her sword, Nanami presses the attack, backs Utena into a corner, and goes in for the kill- at which point Touga once again acts to save Utena.

We return once more to the drainage ditch in Nanami's memory. She shoves the cardboard box- containing the kitten she gifted to her brother- into the water, and watches as it is swept away.

The kitten drowns in the river while she watches.

It is it's own fault, she reassures herself. If it hadn't gotten between her and her brother, she never would have had to do this.

Back in the present, Nanami insists she can still fight- can still win her brother to her side.

Touga comforts her. She doesn't have to fight any more.

Big Brother will take care of everything.

As he embraces her, Nanami is filled with a sweeping guilt for everything she has done, and her own unending love for Big Brother. She begs for his forgiveness, for her crimes against him.

Touga gently pats her on the back and smiles down at her.

Big Brother always knew.

Touched by the heartwarming scene of familial intimacy, Utena compliments Touga on what a good brother he is.

He turns his smile on her, and assures her- this is all just part of what it means to be a Prince.
 

Hakazin

Member
Pronouns
Female
Poor Wakaba is unseen; clearly, having been betrayed by Utena and replaced with a new Best Friend, she has fled.

Alternatively, it's because she's not the focus of this filler episode. But search your heart, and I'm sure you'll find yourself recognizing that my interpretation is actually the truer, even though it is unrelated to the 'facts'.

I think it'll take first-time viewers maybe... 10 episodes to reach that conclusion, personally. Maybe a little more.
Miki blames himself; he says that he told Himemiya he wanted to eat a really spicy curry, and the explosion was, he thinks, the result of him telling her that. He feels an intense sense of personal shame, since, clearly, Anthy risked her own life to deliver the pinnacle of spicy curries to him.

Touga's response is a flat "I don't think we can lay all the blame on you, Miki," delivered in a tone that makes it clear he's doesn't really believe Miki can be blamed at all. Which, to be fair, is absolutely true.

And, to be fair, this is Miki we're talking about. The poor kid blames himself for everything.
Thus banished to India, Nanami and her crew set off on an adventure of a lifetime- filled with high adventure, incredible action, and several elephant attacks.

Okay, I'm going to say this here and not mention it again in the future, but this always throws me off. The entire show builds up Ohtori Academy gets built up as a place with a vague relation to the rest of the world, and then someone throws out a casual reference to holidaying in Paris and it pulls you right out.
Of course, since this is a filler episode, that's constricted to a shadow play talking about divine justice and a few snippets scattered through the rest of the episode showing them being attacked by elephants.

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Admittedly, it's still worth it to see Nanami and her posse get chased around by increasingly-inexplicable elephants.
Utena is conflicted- she doesn't know what she's supposed to do, since she's sort of intruded on an existing state of affairs without having intended to. She doesn't really understand what Saionji thinks, or what Anthy thinks, or how to deal with any of that.

Anthy, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care- since Utena 'is Anthy' at the moment, she views it as Utena's responsibility to handle the whole issue, and basically tells Utena to do whatever she wants.

Then, when Utena is like, 'it isn't right, though,' Anthy shrugs and literally throws the exchange diary in the trash, saying 'Well, then, I'll stop.' When Utena objects, Anthy clarifies- she continued with the exchange diary because Utena hadn't ever told her it was wrong, or to stop. If Utena thinks that it isn't right for 'Himemiya Anthy' to have an exchange diary with Saionji, then Anthy will simply stop doing it.

There's... a bit of framing here that makes it seem, to me, like Anthy is a little more canny than she usually lets on, though she's operating on an unusual sort of logic. She isn't simply listening to Utena- she's interpreting what Utena says in a way that lets her do a certain thing, which it would appear she has wanted to do for a while. But she didn't do so until she had the fig leaf that Utena had told her she was supposed to do a certain thing- thus putting the responsibility for her action on Utena, and absolving Anthy of any responsibility for what had happened.

But while Anthy treats herself as a non-actor, her 'non action' is very deliberate- she lets Saionji corner Utena and give her the diary, tells Utena that she is Anthy right now for all intents and purposes- and then when Utena says 'I (Utena) shouldn't do this,' Anthy interprets it as 'I (the person who is currently Anthy) shouldn't do this.'

And now we get to the part of this episode I really like. As much as you describe it as filler, I think that Utena being forced to experience the sheer bullshit Anthy has to put up with is an important part of her character arc.
To cheer everyone up, Anthy makes them some curry. Right before they eat, Nanami's confederates swing back in, to reveal that Anthy hadn't used the 9-billion folded curry at all last time- meaning that it was never the cause after all.

The group stare at their plates in trepidation, realizing that the true culprit was Anthy's cooking.

And once again, we play the game of "was this entire plot deliberately engineered by Anthy?" :V
 

MagnificentLilyWitch

Active member
Pronouns
She/Her
Anthy enters, and asks Utena why she is depressed. Utena admits that it's because Touga was injured while saving her. Anthy wonders if 'he' is doing all right, and Utena decides that she needs to check up on him and see for herself. If nothing else, she still hasn't thanked him for saving her.

Anthy- suddenly animated- comments that 'You' must be hungry. There is a moment where Utena is confused, as Anthy pours a saucer of milk out, but then Anthy reveals that she'd been talking to and about a kitten she'd rescued, rather than Touga and/or Utena.

As the two watch the kitten drink milk, Anthy observes that there are a lot of roses in bloom right now, and says that maybe they should visit Touga. "There's nothing wrong with bringing flowers to a sick person." Utena thanks her.
Anthy is such a subtly terrible person its great.

We return once more to the drainage ditch in Nanami's memory. She shoves the cardboard box- containing the kitten she gifted to her brother- into the water, and watches as it is swept away.

The kitten drowns in the river while she watches.
KILL THE KITTEN MURDERER!!!!! KILL! KILL!
 

Strigix

Verified Xeno
Administrator
Utena and Wakaba sit outside, relaxing on the steep hillside Ohtori Academy is built upon. Wakaba has brought lunch for both of them, even though Utena got her own (a bagged piece of bread presumably bought from the school cafeteria).

After a brief exchange, Wakaba tackles Utena, and both go rolling down the hill.

At the base of the hill, under a tree, Wakaba shows off the contents of the bentos she brought- "Mostly instant, but it looks so pretty!"- and Utena agrees that it looks tasty. Wakaba cheers, and then Anthy arrives, bearing a massive lunchbox.

On examination, Anthy's box contains dozens of takoyaki, a large dish of yakisoba, and a third layer which was entirely eaten by Chu-Chu at some point.

Utena suggests that the three girls all share lunch. Wakaba questions which one they'll be sharing, as Chu-Chu singlehandedly eats the entire container of yakisoba.

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Meanwhile, Touga watches Utena from a distance, using a pair of binoculars. When Miki asks what he's looking at, Touga responds that he's looking at a lonely princess. Miki assumes that he is talking about Anthy, but Touga simply says that Miki "can't see it"- that no one, except Touga, can see what he's talking about.

Contextually, he's clearly talking about Utena- and he's also pretty clearly making assumptions about her based on their childhood conversation, immediately after her parents' deaths. If I were to hazard a guess as to what Touga 'sees', I'd assume that he thinks that Utena never really recovered from the trauma of losing her parents- that she is still 'in the coffin,' putting up a tough persona to hide underneath but still shying away from being 'among' people and forming genuine connections.

As the girls laugh at Chu-Chu swallowing more than his body weight in Takoyaki (on top of the several times his body mass in Yakisoba and whatever was in the third layer of the lunch box), Touga puts away his binoculars and moves out into the open, where Utena can see him. He doesn't move to talk to the three girls- indeed, an entire crowd of other girls flocks to talk to him instead- but simply seeing him is enough to get Utena to remember his rescuing her from Saionji.

He probably knew that was the case, and is doing what he does entirely deliberately.

I cannot overstate how adept a manipulator Touga is. Even if his amateur psychoanalysis of Utena is wrong, he's skilled enough at what he does that it doesn't seem like it makes a difference- and I'm not sure if we're supposed to treat him as being wrong or not.

A little later, the Student Council meet to discuss Nanami's defeat. It's obvious to both the other council members and the audience that Touga only put Nanami in a position where she could fight Utena so that she could lose to Utena; all part of some greater plan Touga has in mind. Touga tries to deny this, briefly, but doesn't try very hard.

He also makes an observation which is very revealing of his character:

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A little later, Utena notices Touga entering the Rose Cage to talk to Anthy, and pauses to watch from outside. Inside, Touga compliments Anthy on the roses she has grown, and mentions briefly that he saw the girls having lunch earlier. Anthy says that yes, they did- and she's a fan of Wakaba's cooking. Perhaps, she wonders, she would one day be able to cook just as well?

Touga scoffs at the idea. The Rose Bride, cooking?

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Having told Anthy to stay out of the kitchen and tend to her garden, Utena interrupts- bursting through the door to tell Touga off for viewing Anthy as nothing more than The Rose Bride, as a thing to be owned. Given we just saw Touga talk about how strong feelings for/about a person will betray you, I think it's pretty much a given that his behavior here was tailored to draw a reaction from her.

If emotions are a weakness, then making someone's emotions burn as brightly, and as conflictedly, as possible is a way to weaken and undermine them. Touga has, from the very start, been observing the other fighters and acting to manipulate them with whatever tools and weaknesses they had available. Now, he's taken this to the next level- a targeted campaign of emotional war, from before his duel with Utena is even a challenge issued.

And Utena has swallowed the bait, hook, line, and sinker.

Furious, she insists that Anthy is an ordinary girl. Touga asks if she really is, and Anthy is hesitant in her reply. Utena demands Anthy tells Touga how she really feels- and then, when Anthy seems uncertain about what she feels, tells Anthy what she should be feeling, and tells her that she should tell Touga that.

Anthy tells Touga that she hates being treated like the Rose Bride.

Touga laughs.

When Utena asks what's so funny, Touga says, "Oh, nothing. It's just that she's your bride."

As Anthy returns to Utena's side, Touga admits that his business here isn't with Anthy. He's here for Utena, and has something to tell her, 'as her prince.' He spends a minute flirting with her, and playing on her feelings for 'her prince', before challenging her to a duel.

That evening, Utena sits, pensive over the coming duel.

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She considers her ring. It is what drew her to Ohtori Academy, and the hope of meeting her prince once more- but now, it is forcing her to fight Touga, who she believes to be her prince.

Perhaps if she were to cast her ring aside...

She is interrupted by Anthy telling her that there's fresh tea ready. As the two sit over tea, they talk about lunch. As Anthy observes how much fun she had hanging out with Wakaba, Utena agrees that Wakaba is fun to hang out with- and says that "Anthy should make friends with her too."

The humor drains from Anthy's face. Utena, clearly aware that something is wrong but not really aware of what is wrong, corrects herself- Anthy has Chu-Chu as a friend, how could she forget?

As Chu-Chu jumps on Utena, distracting her, Anthy quietly says that she wishes she had more friends. Utena takes this at face value, and insists that Anthy will make more friends- all she has to do is 'open her heart and talk to (people),' and she too can have a number of friends.

It's not clear that we should take anything that Anthy says here at face value, though.

Anthy is hesitant here, just as she was earlier, when Utena demanded that she tell Touga 'how she feels.' In both cases, Utena has told Anthy to do something, without being entirely clear of what exactly she's telling Anthy to do- either because it's a vague order, or because Utena almost immediately waffled on what she was asking for. It seems like Anthy is willing to acquiese to orders, even ones she disagrees with, from whoever she's 'engaged to', but she's got issues with interpreting what Utena actually wants (and she doesn't really like being obligated to do what Utena wants when she's reminded of that obligation).

So, she probably doesn't 'wish to have more friends', but because Utena wants her to want to have more friends, she's going to try to act like she does- even if that means interacting with Wakaba stops being an enjoyable thing that happened to happen, and becomes an obligation she has to undergo because Utena wants them to 'be friends'.

Utena views this as her helping Anthy become a regular girl. In truth, it seems to me more like a compulsion towards 'being normal'; a pressure to conform to societal ideals of 'what you should be doing.'

Having made up her mind that she needs to help Anthy engage in compulsory normality, Utena makes her way to the arena to fight Touga- not so that she can gain the power to bring revolution to the world, but so that she can prevent all others from gaining that power over Anthy, so that she can Just Be Normal (in the way that Utena wants her to).

We shift to the shadow play. Today, the shadow girls act out a father shooting an apple resting on the head of his son. The son asks how long they're going to keep doing this- this is the 37,919th time.

The father replies that they'll keep doing it until someone stops them, and asks his son to put another apple on his head.

The son asks whether the nobleman will let his father stop if he asks, and the father gets angry and tells his son to stop thinking for himself.

"What is the destiny of William Tell and his son, now an eternal archery machine? Do you know? Do you know? Do you really know?"

And then the father kills the son for questioning why they were doing this in the first place.

(continued in part 2)
 

Strigix

Verified Xeno
Administrator
(continued from part 1)

Utena confronts Touga on top of the twisted tower. Touga apologizes for how he is going to take Anthy away from Utena, and after she lunges, he advises her not to hold back- to let her emotion burn hotter and carry her further.

Her fighting is amateurish, and he knows it is- but he's been watching, and expects her to manifest 'the power of Dios', something that her prior opponents did not expect.

And so when she does, he leaves himself open, knowing that she won't be able to strike him like that.

She stumbles, falters, and then- as she moves past him- he smoothly slices the rose from her breast.

Utena has lost.

Touga observes that it is just as well; "Now you no longer have to be caught up in these unfathomable duels."

Utena begs Touga not to take Anthy away- insisting that, really, Anthy 'wants to be an ordinary girl again.' She insists that this is what she wants to do for Anthy- not to bring revolution to the world, but to provide 'normalcy' for Anthy.

Touga tells Utena that she doesn't understand anything. She protests that she needs to help Anthy with this, and after a few moments, Touga responds in a way that is, quite possibly, the most precisely tailored attack against Utena's worldview possible at this moment.

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Utena collapses to her knees as Anthy leaves with Touga. She remembers every moment with Anthy- every exchange.

Every lie.

She weeps and cries to the empty arena, screaming again and again that it is not true.
 

Strigix

Verified Xeno
Administrator
Episode 12 begins where 11 ends; Utena's breakdown, having lost her duel against Touga, before fading to a shot of her classroom. The teacher calls her name, but she's not there.

Wakaba looks back at an empty seat, as someone says that 'it looks like (Utena) is out today'.

Later that evening, Wakaba knocks on Utena's dorm room door. Anthy's name has been covered up with masking tape, and Utena sits alone in the top bunk of the bed, leaning over the headboard and staring either at the wall, or out the window.

After a moment, Utena tells Wakaba she can come in. She does, and proceeds to ask Utena what is wrong; is she sick? Does she have a fever? After examining her for symptoms, Wakaba concludes Utena is well, just 'goofing off.'

She asks where Anthy is, and whether Utena had been in a fight with her. "Sort of," Utena admits.

We flash back to the prior evening, and an image of Anthy and Chu-Chu taking their stuff and leaving.

Wakaba, unperturbed by Utena's moodiness, asks what the real reason Utena skipped class was. Utena insists it's nothing, and Wakaba pushes a bit, before noticing that Utena's uniform is damaged. Utena says she was careless; Wakaba offers to fix it for her.

After a moment, Utena looks away. It's fine. After all, she has another uniform, doesn't she?

The next day, Utena goes to school wearing the girls uniform.

The other girls gush over her appearance, though Wakaba seems to be becoming perturbed by how Utena is acting.
A little after, Anthy greets them. Utena greets her back, in a short- somewhat curt- exchange. Anthy moves on, and Wakaba puts together that there really was some drama between the two (though, obviously, she remains unaware of what that drama was/is) and reassures Utena that things will be fine- being gloomy isn't like Utena.

We move to the Student Council offices, where Touga is making the other duelists aware of his victory. The other two ask how he won, and he tacitly avoids admitting to 'plotting' while, in a way, admitting to exactly what he did; he 'played the part of (a) noble prince, and rescued the lonely princess.'

Anthy asks if she can go outside. Touga insists that she remain inside, at his side, at all times.

We move to lunch, and Wakaba continuing to grill Utena for information on what the drama is. Utena has remained closed off and, for lack of a better word, 'gloomy' ever since her defeat; she doesn't volunteer anything, or admit that anything has happened, but Wakaba isn't having any of it.

During the exchange, Touga arrives. He compliments Utena on her uniform, and asks her if she'd like to get something to eat on Sunday.

He rests a hand on her shoulder, and she doesn't rebuff him. Wakaba takes offense on her behalf- telling Touga to get his hands off of her- but Touga continues, picking up Utena's hand, even as she remains unresponsive- shut off from the rest of the world.

Touga may very well have believed he was freeing Utena from her 'coffin,' but if anything, he seems to have forced her to shut out the real world. Whether he's aware or not is, IMO, questionable.

Wakaba grows increasingly more upset at Touga's handsiness, until, eventually, she snaps at Utena with a line that parallels Utena's own line to Anthy the other day:

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Utena says nothing. Wakaba splashes water at Touga, but he dodges, and it splashes on Anthy instead. Wakaba apologizes, then doubles back- this is Anthy's fault, after all, if she just hadn't fought with Utena then Utena wouldn't be in this state.

Utena slaps Wakaba.

Wakaba holds her hand to her face for a moment, then looks back up at Utena with a grin, and slaps her right the fuck back.

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Touga observes that Utena has a very 'lively' friend, and that next time, they should talk alone. He leaves, and Anthy begins to trail behind him, before Utena turns from her stare-off with Wakaba and offers Anthy an handkerchief to dry off with.

Anthy thanks her, and leaves Utena and Wakaba behind.

As she leaves, Utena asks Wakaba to stop 'criticizing' her. Wakaba refuses, and Utena says that Wakaba doesn't understand what's going on. Wakaba, tearing up, insists that she does understand- and that she refuses to give up.

Wakaba leaves.

Utena is alone, for the moment.

We move to the Student Council Patio, where Touga and Anthy are having tea. Touga is busy having a call with someone, and after a brief exchange, he promises he'll be right over. He asks Anthy to wait there for him, and then leaves for his tryst.

Anthy sits, alone, and imagines Utena was with her- for a moment. Then, she is just alone again.

But she still has Utena's handkerchief with her.

Meanwhile, Utena has tracked Wakaba down. She begins to apologize, but Wakaba refuses to hear it- apologies won't stop her.

After a bit, they sit by a wall emblazoned with roses, and Wakaba says as much as asks that it was Touga who caused whatever drama has Utena all fucked up. Utena doesn't respond. Wakaba admits, after a false start, that she doesn't really understand what is going on. Why is Utena acting like this? Why is she wearing 'that uniform'?
Utena responds that "This is normal, isn't it?" and Wakaba snaps- "No, it isn't! Not being normal is normal for you! This sort of normal isn't your sort of normal!"

Utena thinks about this for a moment.

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She thinks back to Anthy leaving again, and to her damaged uniform, and Wakaba snaps at her- "It's like something was stolen from you and made you a coward! I don't know what it is, but if you can get it back then get it! Take it back!"

Utena thinks about her moments with Anthy, as Wakaba continues her tirade. "That uniform isn't right for you!" As Wakaba breaks down into tears, life begins to come back to Utena's eyes, and she asks Wakaba to forgive her. She understands now- 'this' isn't right for her. She moves in, and gives Wakaba a kiss on the forehead before promising- she will take back who she was.

She walks away, leaving Wakaba by the rose wall. Wakaba reaches up, flushing slightly, to touch her forehead.
In the Birdcage Garden, Anthy waters her roses while Touga embraces another woman, just behind her. Utena approaches, and Touga smirks, sending the girl he was just kissing out as Utena comes inside.

"Did you want to talk to me alone," he asks, as Utena looks him in the eye. She nods. "Shall we eat out on Sunday?" Utena bites out, "Right now," and Touga laughs. "Can't wait?" before she continues- "I want to go to the dueling forest!"

Touga stares at Utena, and we cut to the shadow play.

"Do you know? Do you know? Have you heard the news? Study normal subjects, find a normal job. Fall in love normally, get married normally. Have a normal family, and have a normal life. But being normal has nothing to do with us! We're tired of doing all things we've done till now. Time to go back to being what's normal for us."

A UFO descends, picking the two shadows up, and flying away into the sunset.

"Do you know? Do you know? Do you know what that is?"

Utena walks to the forest, with a sword offered to her by Juri- "You'll need it to properly set the last scene." Shadows twist through darkness, machinic-organic forms as she rises once more to the arena- unlike the first time she demanded a duel, or like all the other times so far, because this time she knows what she is here for.

She faces Touga in the arena, and he asks why she fights. She responds: To take back something important to her.

He understands. "I see. You want to take back yourself. But I don't feel like losing to you."

Anthy summons the sword of Dios, and Touga draws it to the sound of ringing bells. Utena prepares herself, and Touga notes- The sword of Dios is not a normal sword, and it has many strange powers that can be used by those who know its secrets. He demands Anthy abandon her body, and protect the sword. She kneels and kisses it- and both it and him are lit up in flashing, coruscating lights.

He slices once, and part of the arena is smashed by the wind of the sword's passing. "Can you defeat this?"

"I will," Utena declares, as Touga charges towards her. The two clash, and as they do, we hear Anthy's internal dialogue- something we haven't before, at least not in my memory.

"She can't defeat Master Touga. I pity her. I wonder if it will end quickly."

As the two fight, Utena is struck again and again- tearing her clothes, breaking her sword, but never cutting the rose from her chest.

"Miss Tenjou, don't you think this is strange? She could die. Why does she fight on? It's over, Miss Tenjou. But I've seen this before. I know what this is... This is... This is... I know this! It's like what happened that time..."

The power surrounding the sword of Dios disappears with a flash, and Utena presses the moment of advantage, carving the rose from Touga's chest with a single slice.

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Utena and Anthy meet, once again, outside the dorms. Anthy begins to repeat the same thing she said the first time Utena won a duel, but Utena cuts her off.

"Never mind that. Let's go home."

After a moment, Anthy smiles.
 

Strigix

Verified Xeno
Administrator
The thirteenth episode begins with a shadow play. A pair of astronauts gossip about Utena, the 'nosey hero,' having won yet another duel, before gravely announcing that she may be called on to fight even more battles and departing in a flying saucer. From there, we cut to Touga's room. Nanami peers in through the door, disheveled. An audio cassette loops Touga's dedication to breaking free of the world-egg over and over.

Touga sits by the window, blankly staring into the sunset.

Nanami closes the door and leaves.

A man in a red shirt steps into the duelling arena, and looks up at the castle above.

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He smiles, and the castle descends.

Inside the castle, the Prince sits, hugging his knee. The man asks- "You still haven't awakened? Is the egg's shell still unbroken?"

The Prince remains unresponsive. After a moment, the man in red continues talking to the Prince- did Utena's victory in this latest duel not stir a familiar feeling in him? Was Utena's ability to reclaim her self not enough to let the Prince reclaim himself as well, in sympathy?

The white-haired youth remains silent, and after a moment's digression on how the duel had stirred emotion and hope even in 'the Rose Bride,' the man in red continues reminiscing- now on the first duel, 'Friendship.'

An abbreviated overview of the highlights of the first duel ensues, and then the second, and so on. As far as it goes, this is a well-executed example of a refresher episode, but it's very clearly meant primarily as a refresher episode, and so most of the content is simply recut elements from the past 12 episodes, with a few cryptic words from the man in red to the Prince spacing things out.

The primary revelation- that Utena is, through the course of her battles, meant to be quite literally breaking the seal holding back the Prince/Dios- isn't much of a revelation, given the context of the duels has always been that of a secret ritual meant, ostensibly, to bestow revolutionary power upon the victor. However, it does recontextualize the framing somewhat. Where the members of the Student Council have treated the duels as a way to invoke this revolutionary power, the man in red instead seems to treat this as the cultivation of revolutionary power.

As above, so below; Utena's trials are meant to cultivate her revolutionary spirit, but also to rekindle the spirit of the sleeping Prince, and restore him- 'Dios,' or perhaps simply 'God'- to the world.

This reframes Utena's childhood experience with the Prince notably. Utena was roused from her coffin by the Prince- but if the Prince was a sleeping god, then that initial meeting itself takes on an occult character.

Descent into death to meet a dead god. Ascent out of death, carrying the god out of death with you. Crack the world-egg and obtain the power of god- or rather, restore power to god.

Utena is an actor in a play she's not even aware is unfolding. But the fact that she never agreed to be part of the ritual doesn't seem to be something the man in red cares about.

All he wants is the return of the prince.

He leaves the castle- and as he does, we see the sillouete of Anthy leave with him.

She returns to the dorm, to find Utena and Chu-Chu playing. Outside, the full moon is obscured by clouds drifting by.

In a tank, a black rose sits, waiting.

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