#Akio Ohtori

[thenbecauseshegoes]

episode 32 / episode 38

translations from the empty movement website for comparison (i rearranged the ep 32 shots to match ep 38 shots)

[sillybayo]

Bayo's Black Rose Arc Analysis

Some notes before I begin:

-This ramble/essay contains heavy discussions of CSA, general sexual themes, and incest. Also, keep in mind that the characters discussed here are 12-17. While I will be looking into how sex affects them mentally and such, I will not tolerate child sexualization here. I will block anyone who makes a single weird comment or make me uncomfortable. We'll be talking about this from a pure psychological standpoint.

-This is a thought dump rather than anything formal, so I won't be dropping episode titles or numbers. I'm also going purely off of memory, and things I said in group chats. So if things lack clarity, this is why.

-I'm not saying I "cracked the black rose arc code" or anything, this is purely my interpretation that I wish to share, due to not seeing many black rose analysis', and being displeased with what some people have said and concluded. I just want to put what I think out there for others to enjoy :3.

-To avoid being repetitive and cluttered, I'll be generally referring to any character who pulls swords out as "wielders", and any character who has had a sword pulled out of them as "sheaths". Any scene where this transpires will be called a "sheathing scene."

-Once again, due to the material of this analysis, I will be blocking anyone who sexualizes the characters in notes, or anyone who I see as creepy.

With that out of the way, let us begin :3!

So I was watching rgu video essays one day, and I stumbled across one about Miki. About halfway or late into the video, they begin talking about how Miki and Kozue had sex in the black rose arc, due to the way she touched him before the sheathing scene, and the way he turned beet red when Nanami asked how it felt for the sword to be taken out. And I thought it made sense at the time, as I was still new to utena, and I only watched it once. And the allegory is clearly there in other black rose sheathing scenes (besides with utenanthy), right?

But then I thought about it more when I rewatched the juriori black rose episode a year or so later, and caught Juri blushing when Nanami asked her the same question. And...wait. Because doesn't all of the black rose sheathing scenes look..uncomfortable? The sheath cries in pain as the sword comes out of their chest, and Wakaba even forced it out of Saionji. And this weirded me out, because why would a show thats so clearly against rape of any kind go on to write something like this? Why did Miki and Juri blush about something that was so forceful? And even if they were under a mind controlled like state, why would they write the wielders to be rapists? With the way rgu writes sex and rape, it didn't seem right, y'know?

So a few months later, when I decided to continue my rewatch and reached the Wakaba black rose arc episode, thats when I truly started to think about it more. And thats when I reached a conclusion: Miki and Juri are more influenced by Touga and Saionji than they realize. And by extension, they're all influenced by Akio.

You see, Touga and Saionji clearly view Anthy as someone to be sexualized. Shes their wife, who would fulfill their every request. Even though they might not know Anthys and Akios relationship, and/or how the latter treats her, this is an undeniable shared mindset.

Even though the boys and Utena uses Anthy as a sheath in the exact same ways on the outside, you know that when its with Touga and Saionji, its sexualized. They own her. When Touga demands Anthy to kiss his sword, it feels so off that Utena couldn't bare to watch. You could argue that its because it would hurt Anthys lips, but in later episodes its clear that it isn't the issue, as Utena uses the same powerup but in a more supportive fashion rather than sexual. So whats up with that?

I say; in (most of) the wielders view, the sword is like a penis.

I know, a very silly thing to say. But I don't mean exactly. And I, of course, don't mean literally.

Do you know that scene from the scream movie, where the two guys are stabbing each other, begging for it and all? It definitely has sexual undertones, because of the mood set by the characters, and heres where I'm getting at; the idea of a long pointed object being thrusted in you.

What I think is that Anthy is so sexualized by the student council, that the idea of a simple sword being pulled out of her 14 year old south asian brown girl chest, is arousing.

So when each of the student council members become sheaths themselves, of course they think that its one of the most sexually intimate things to experience. And its so stupid, right? Its just a sword. a SWORD.

And I shouldn't be referring to the student council so generally, because Nanami is the only one who sees through this. As far as I remember, she wasn't weird in the slightest when she was Tsuwabukis sheath. And even in the apocalypse arc, shes uncomfortable when Touga kisses her, and disturbed when walking in on Akio and Anthy (but then again I haven't rewatched that episode yet, so I could be wrong). She purely meant to ask how the sword felt, with no sexual intent. Miki and Juri were just pure idiots on that part.

So then, wait, if the sword pulling in the black rose arc wasn't a metaphor for rape, then what is it?

Well, I argue that it black rose wielders follow the same mindset as some sexual assaulters when they're under the effects of Mikages reverse therapy, in a way. Its the strong feeling of thinking the sheath owes the wielder something, and that the wielder deserves it no matter what they say.

Another reference to a different piece of media, but remember when its revealed that Pearl continued to fuse with Garnet for her own personal wants, which crossed Garnets boundaries? People interpreted that scene as Pearl raping Garnet, when....no. What? Of course she isn't. Its just the general idea of your wishes being disrespected, and boundaries ignored. Do you see where I'm going with this?

The black rose wielders see something in the sheaths that they want for themselves, whether it be their love, their attention, or some secret third thing. So with nothing but entitlement and desperation in their heart, they force the sword out of their hearts, where their desires lie.

But, wait. How about other scenes with swords? Like when Anthy is Utenas sheath, and when Anthy has a thousand swords stabbed into her? Do swords still represent desire?

Well, yes! Very easily. Utena fights for the pure sake of love and friendship. She fights Saionji when hes cruel to Wakaba, and she swears to protect Anthy with all her heart. She duels with the strongest ounce of care in her soul. Thats the desire to keep her loved ones happy.

What about when Anthy what continuously impaled? Well, that was the villages desire to get to the prince. And it was Akios desire to finally revolutionize the world after so long.

I may be missing a few scenes, but this is the general idea, and I hope I got the idea across. Thats the end of my little ramble :3. As an acespec hypersexual, I already spend a lot of time deconstructing the truth behind sexual things and feelings. So this was fun to think about. I hope y'all liked this, and understood it most importantly. Toodleeess

[transmascutena]

i think about this interview with ikuhara and his commentary for the last episode every single day of my life

[kristybluebird]

A canary in the coal mine kind of day...

[andstuffsketches]

you've got blood on your hands and I know it's mine I just need more time

[strawberryjamsara]

Don’t ask why but being a prince is for boys and being impaled by thousands of swords embodying humanities hatred is for girls

[yurisorcerer]

most of Anilist's April Fool's Day edits are not funny but what they did to Akio's character page is pretty fucking great

[thegooblet]

thought too hard about dynamics of abuse in rgu and blacked out

[sepyana]

Shout outs to Wakaba for being the only brown eyed character frfr

[anonymous-gambito]

The thing about the strangeness and surrealism surrounding Ohtori Academy is that the characters learn to see it as normal, just like a real person in a bad situation might not realize it because that's the whole world surrounding them. In the same way, the narrative might also at times lead the viewers to dismiss these strange and questionable things they're being shown, and so they might say things like "that's just how anime is" in the same way one might claim "that's just how the world is", so in conclusion that's why I feel the need to point out that Akio has a stupid fucking green ball on his hair

[allaboardthechuchutrain]

obsessed with how Utena uses both definitions of revolution: a change, a spark but also rotation, circular movement that repeats and repeats (a perpetual motion machine). change vs staying the same (not growing up)

thinking about how Akio is associated with rotation (the carousel, maybe even the Ferris wheel?) how when the road he drives on appears curved, circular

how he takes the students in his car on this road after they give up on the duels, not allowing them to escape/stop participating in the system, trapping them in this cycle

if the road is circular, it doesn't go anywhere. It eventually comes back to where it started (how the characters regress sometimes). It also means Akio isn't taking them anywhere, he's just tricking them (bc he's a manipulative piece of shit + shows how he's giving them a false sense/idea of adulthood since none of them actually graduate aka grow up)

thinking about how he claims that Utena didn't bring revolution while he's preparing for the next set of duels (he completed a revolution, now it's time to start over)

Yet while Akio tries trapping them in this eternal cycle, he fails. The ending (will get to that later) but also the students grow and develop. They are not the same people they were at the start of the show. You know who doesn't change though? Akio. On to the ending: I love the ending of Utena so much. The students are talking about growing up, about changing!! The student council, Tsuwabuki, Kozue, Shiori, Wakaba have all clearly changed. They are no longer partaking in the same behaviours they kept repeating throughout the show (all their relationships are noticeably healthier, no one is obsessing over anyone anymore, hanging out w/out animosity between them). Utena and Anthy escape and leave!!!!! Anthy is no longer trapped in the cycle of abuse Akio put her through. Anthy is no longer going to keep playing the role of the rose bride, Akio is free to continue playing prince (revolving), but she has to go now (revolution).

[aptericia]

The prince has both a corpse and a ghost, yet he was never even alive in the first place

[revolutionarygirlmabel]

From Mabel Episode 18: Unusual Hungers

[transmascutena]

Revolutionary Girl Utena // Mabel

[biruesque]

"I'm going to become a prince!"

[maggiecheungs]

REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA 🌹 EP 34: THE ROSE CREST