#utena did not give us touga saionji and miki to say that men are not hurt and abused by powerful people

[yellowocaballero]

I know next to nothing abt utena but I. I kinda am extremely curious abt the utena vs mcu comparative analysis? if you feel like sharing lmao absolutely no worries if not

I love all of you because I will post obviously bait and someone will always indulge me in asking about it. NO I don’t want to unprompted just start rambling about my opinions, YES I will share them though. I will make this as short as possible because I can talk about Utena all day. I will add a disclaimer that I don’t super like the MCU so I’m very sorry to any MCU fans, Winter Soldier was good. Slight, vague spoilers for Utena ahead. 

TL;DR: MCU is constantly selling feminism in the form of palatable #bossbabes and Strong Female Characters, while Utena’s form of feminism is a more systematic and nuanced interview of how the patriarchy limits, exploits, and controls women. It posits that a woman CANNOT be a #bossbabe while she’s within that system, and only by leaving it can she find independence and identity. MCU is sponsored by the Air Force.

So for the uninitiated, Utena is a magical girl anime that I’ve been jokingly calling Evangelion: For Her. It deconstructs magical girl anime and fairy tales, and critically examines Japanese society, the patriarchy, heteronormative culture, and IN MY OPINION boarding schools. It deals with themes of trauma, toxic relationships, toxic masculinity, gender non-conformity, queerness, abuse, maturity, coming of age, gender roles, memory, and narrative. 

I’ve joked recently that Tumblr would find Utena problematic if it actually talked about the show beyond the killer aesthetic and sword lesbians. Every female character in it is obsessed with men. Most of them are in abusive, or at least toxic, relationships. It has several gender nonconforming, queer women, who view gender nonconformity as adopting the role of a man in society and thereby idealizing/controlling/abusing women, as men do. Every character is a hugely complicated person who hurts others. Men control women and women are either subservient and controlled by men, or they use their position of assumed subservience to manipulate men, or they attempt to regain power by taking the role of men. 

On the flip side. Utena demonstrates how every character is turned into this through the rigid and restrictive nature of (it’s Japanese, so Japanese, although it’s broadly applicable) society. Women who do not fit into these pre-set molds are punished and ostracized. Young boys are groomed by older men in order to fit these abusive molds, and otherwise well meaning men hurt women because they are not taught how to interact with women in healthy ways. The show is basically about how society takes the genuine need for love, intimacy, and human connection among children and beats them into societally accepted molds that keep power in the hands of powerful men. The patriarchy is ultimately a tool of powerful men that abuses and controls both men and women. Ever hear of no ethical consumption under capitalism? Try no ethical love under the patriarchy! 

So, no, Utena doesn’t really have a lot of ‘strong female characters’. But that’s really kind of the point - how can a woman be strong in this system? When a woman tries to gain strength, does she just try to imitate masculine values that we’re brainwashed into perceiving as strength? Is masculinity healthy? Can Utena really be gnc, or will a gnc woman never be accepted as a man by a society that profits off the victimization of women?

I’m not asking the MCU to analyze all of this, because they’re blockbuster movies and I don’t want or need them to get #deep. However, superhero movies will never look at the systematic and societal structures that build heroes and villains so long as the nature of superheroes inherently hinges upon the ‘Great Man’ system (basically an obsession with heroes and salvation through singular men instead of communities and movements). The MCU Spider-Man movies were so frustrating about this: it goes through the effort of saying that capitalism and injustice created the Vulture, but all that does is make a sympathetic villain - it never goes so far as to say that Peter is being fed into this system (by Tony Stark) like meat into a meat grinder that continues to prioritize the special over the collective. I don’t even need to get into Far From Home. The MCU constantly acknowledges these injustices (the way it acknowledges that the Air Force in Captain Marvel is sexist and racist) but it twists around that acknowledgement into assertion that superheroes and good guys CAN exist in this unjust system, and that they can utilize the power of this unjust system in order to provide salvation. Utena has Japanese Buddhist roots over this Christian ideal of the saviour/messiah: it encourages saving ourselves, and says that we cannot be saved by others, only aided and guided in that journey. 

Captain Marvel cannot be a ‘feminist’ film, no matter how much it celebrates Carol for embracing her individuality and autonomy in a discriminatory system, so long as Carol remains within that system. In contrast, the only way that Utena was able to live in gay happiness with Anthy was by rejecting the patriarchy, structure, and society completely. Carol is a shining, premier, ‘ideal’ example of a woman in the Air Force - tough and independent yet obedient and responsible to her system. Utena is also masc and gnc, but it actually explores how performing that masculinity isn’t a repudiation of the system, it’s just striving to attain status as the oppressor instead of the oppressed (absolutely crucial note that Utena doesn’t strive to be a man, she strives for masculinity). The #girlbosses in Black Panther are characterized by their complete and total loyalty and lack of ambition to authoritarian male figures and autocratic systems (Black Panther is really good and I like it a lot, this isn’t a criticism). Judi in Utena is also completely obedient and loyal to the male-dominated structure of the Student Council, but it’s shown as preventing her from accepting her lesbianism and pursing her desires. Black Widow, #girlboss extraordinaire, is devalued as a woman through her infertility and this is completely played straight and uncritically in a move that’s stunningly 1970s. Nanami in Utena (metaphorically) is confronted with her perceived lack of suitability for maternal life - and how the reason why she’s desperate for this is because it’s the promised unconditional love she never received. This isn’t even getting into the men - Tony Stark using tools of war to end war, which is an oxymoron. Peter Parker’s divorce from his working class roots into mindless imitation of authoritarian paternal figures and him literally being handed the cutsey drone strikes. Women in the MCU are ‘cool’, women in Utena are complex, flawed, and nuanced. 

We know the MCU isn’t woke. I don’t want it to be woke. But it keeps on pretending to try and it’s frustrating me. It continually just gets enough there to make me think about it and give the shiny sheen of that feminism while refusing to engage meaningfully with what they’re doing. I’d rather they didn’t try at all, because they consistently raise the question (hey it’s fucked up that the working class is getting screwed over and the Vulture’s doing what he’s doing for a reason!) and then refuse to answer it authentically or genuinely (but he’s evil so we don’t gotta touch that). I’m not gonna use the word pandering, but...that #girlboss shot in Endgame, come on...

Utena meaningfully treats the women as women who Live In A Society, and how that fucks them up, and how the only way they can be free is if they realize there’s no wizard behind the curtain, recognize the injustices, and repudiate the game. MCU says that a woman can be liberated and strong if she achieves specialness and strength within the system - if she ‘wins’ the game. But women don’t win this game. That’s the point of the game. Because when women win, men perceive themselves as losing, and that’s unacceptable. Captain Marvel and the MCU is a consolation prize for what women are consistently denied: complex and flawed characterizations. 

I’m normally uninterested by #feminism but Utena gets it. Thanks for the ask! 

[empty-movement]

The Great Green And Yellow Garbage Fire

By Itavin

email: avin4fun@gmail.com

In the dueling arena they fight, the one of yellow and the one of red. The rose bride stands as their witness, filling the arena with roses of yellow who are then painted red by her and my friend. The rose opens a mirror, and there I see, I am the one in rose bride cloth. As I see the chains of my fate melt, I see one rose colored…

“Hmm?” Saionji mutters as he wakes up. “Oh it must be a dream” He thought. He wakes out of bed and looks at what has appeared under his bed. “Why is that… are those eggs?” Saionji muttered to himself. He was so shocked to see an egg under his bed, he couldn’t help but be completely shocked. "Why am I laying eggs? I am not a chicken and definitely not a girl one for sure” Saionji thought guiltfuly in his head. “Well maybe someone planted it in my bed as a joke” He laid to himself. However, deep down he knew the truth. “Still I must protect the eggs, until its owner comes back!” He explained to himself secretly knowing that he has to take the egg he laid.

He went to the academy the next day feeling rather angry. “Man, it’s some stupid stuff there, me needing to take an egg to school. Only idiots like Touga would actually think its cool to lay eggs. But still, does this happen to everyone at school?” Saionji thought. He then bumped into Utena and Anthy on his way. “Oh sorry Saionji, I didn’t meant to hurt you.” Anthy said. Utena turned her head around and said “yeah sorry about that”. Saionji thought how to himself “What in the fuck is this girl trying to do break my egg?”. He turned around and was about to slap Anthy. Anthy turned around and looked at Saionji. Saionji looked back at her with blush. “I never thought that Anthy was so well looking before…” He thought. He then muttered “Watch where youre going, Anthy-Baka”. Utena said to Anthy “You know, Saionji is acting really weird today, don’t you think?.  Anthy replied “Yes, he acts weirder then when a human lays eggs, right?”.

“Oh that stupid Anthy with her stupid stuff”. Saionji muttered. “I wonder, is it possible for guys to lay eggs? Maybe Miki knows?” He thought. He then went to Miki at recess. He was in the piano room looking rather sad. Saionji asked Miki “Hey is it possible for human men to lay eggs?”. Miki stopped his stopwatch. It showed 1.98. Miki giggled a bit “Well, I said that to Nanami already but it is impossible. Its even weird in my opinion.”. Saionji got angry. “Oh you think youre better than me because I lay eggs, just so you know that is very offensive to guys who actually lay eggs. Youre hurting their feelings idiot!”.   Saionji got out of the room in anger. Miki thought to himself “What is up with eggs and the student council? I honestly don’t understand. Maybe I’m too young to understand…”.

“Stupid Miki, what does he know about Eggs anyway. Ha, you know, I bet I am so special since I lay eggs, everyone should worship me! Maybe this could finally give me the power to enter the castle in the sky…” Saionji thought. He then realized something “Dosent that mean that… I have more power the Touga?” He thought. He smiled to himself. He went and searched for Touga at the rose garden. “You said you have an idea how to get in the castle in the sky?” Touga asked. “Why yes, I think that because I have found the weapon to get in the castle.” Saionji replied. “What is it?” Touga asked. “My eggs!” replied Saionji with passion. Touga had a little grin and laughed a bit. “Well what size are your eggs?” Touga asked. “Well, they are about the size of chicken eggs, maybe a little smaller. Why are you asking?” Saionji replied. Touga giggled a bit and replied, “Well as your best friend, I must disappoint you and say that those are some small eggs if you want to enter the castle. Needs to be bigger than mine, at least.”. “Um, how big are your eggs?” asked Saionji with doubt in his mind. “At least the size of a tyrannosaurus, or even bigger” Touga said with a grin in his face. Saionji looked very embarrassed. “If you want, I could show you how to have bigger e…”  Then Saionji turned around and said “Thank you. I truly think you are my friend.” Saionji said . “Of course we are. If you need help, I would be glad to help.” Touga said.

“Hmm, what does it matter if my eggs aren’t as big as his? It only matters if they hatch helpfuly. Well they wont be as strong or powerful or… Oh whom am I kidding, this idiot Touga has probably huge eggs, double my size. But that won’t mean I can’t get with th…” Saionji was caught off his thought thread when Nanami bumped into him. He had an annoyed reaction to the action that has happened. Before he could say a word Nanami said “Watch where you are going, Baka!” and walked away slightly blushed. “Geez, she is acting weird today” Saionji commented. “Well, she has been acting weird all day now” Tsuwabuki commented trying to catch Nanami. “So, do you know what happened to her, Im just interested” Saionji asked. “Wait, I don’t care about Nanami, why now , is it the dream…” Saionji thought. “Well, she said its because of something that appeared in her bed this morning, but that’s it” Tsuwabuki answered. “Wait, could it be she also laid eggs? I need to ask her, but first…” Saionji thought and quickly asked afterword “Hey, Tsuwabuki, had you ever had a weird chains melting dream and t…” Tsuwabuki who was half listening quickly turned his head around and answerd “Oh, I had my first one not to long ago. It is very common in fact for these dreams to happen. They say they start around 5th grade, I must be so adult for getting them this young” Tsuwabuki said innocently. Saionji was shocked. “I never had these kind of dreams when I was young… Does this mean I am a…” Saionji thought. “Why did you ask anyway?” Asked Tsuwabuki. “Oh you see, an advice from man to man… If something funny happens after those dreams, remember to not let it influence your life, and keep being yourself forever” advised Saionji. “Okayyy…” Said Tsuwabuki. “Ok I need to go now. Take care of yourself, kouhei” said Saionji and then leaved. “Yeah, you too” said Tsuwabuki.

“This is unacceptable!!!” thought Saionji. “Am I this late… this just cant be true. HAS EVERYONE LAID EGGS BEFORE ME? This is so embarsing, even Nanami got there before me… I really need to look for her” he kept thinking. On his way Saionji met Juri on her way to play bowling. “Oh, Saionji” Juri said. “Hey Juri, where are you going?” asked Saionji. “To play bowling. Say, how about I play with you a game with you?” asked Juri faked smiled. “Sure, why not? But just so you know you have some heavy competition now” Saionji said with pride. “Well, since that’s it, carry my heavy balls and well see if you are some heavy competition” said Juri while passing her balls to Saionji. Saionji took the balls and felt how heavy they are. “So why don’t you take them to the bowling court for me please?” Juri asked. “Piece of cake” lied Saionji. After Saionji has tiredly got to the bowling court with many students on the watch, Juri said “Ok, lets start the match. Oh, I should mention you will be using my balls for this; the court is short on balls”. “Oh really?” Said Saionji with short breathe. “Well, it shouldn’t be a problem for big boy Saionji wouldn’t it, you did carry them to the court for at least five minutes” Juri mentioned. “Well, when you put ti like this, I can defiantly use your balls” said Saionji while trying to look as impressive as he can. Juri was not impressed. “Well shall we start the match then?” asked Juri. “Please no” Saionji thought, but he just nodded his head. During the match, Juri kept getting strikes every turn, while Saionji was barely able to get the ball to roll on the court. The students who watched were very impressed with Juri. “Wow, Juri is so cool”, “Yeah I wish I could date someone as cool as her”, “Oh my gosh, she is so good at this game”, “I wish she would be my lover…” all the girls mentioned while watching the match. Saionji started to get annoyed. “Man, Saionji is so lame”, “Yeah, he keeps losing to Juri”, “Man, this is the guy who we are supposed to look up too?”, “I wouldn’t ever want to hang out with this loser” all the guys mentioned while watching the match. Saionji got even more annoyed.  Juri ended up winning the match. “Oh well, at least you tried your best, Saionji kun”. By this point Saionji was going to lose control. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” Saionji said loudly. Juri then answered with a a serious face “Not at all, I just got the recommendation from Akio, he said that seeing me and you together doing bowling may increase even more the popularity of this bowling court”.  “Oh, so youre trying to humiliate me for laying eggs huh?” Saionji whispered.  “Huh, no I honestly thought that you are going to be happy playing this. Really. Not laying” Juri answered. “Why you, that was youre plan, wasent? Now everyone thinks I am stupid, I hope youre happy now Juri” Saionji mentioned on the brink of tears. He then started to leave the bowling court. Some of the guys seemed to Saionji as if they were laughing on him. After he left, Juri said to herdelf quietly “Yes”.      

Saionji went back to his house. He felt worthless. “Wow, I really suck don’t I? I lay eggs, ones that aren’t big enough, I laid them too late, and that stupid bitch juri won only because of them. I hate eggs. I hate eggs. I hate eggs. I hate eggs. I hate eggs. I HATE EGGS!” Saionji thought. “Wait, eggs are protein pilled. That is it, I will eat so many eggs, I will become stronger then Juri, I will be able to enter the castle, I will be the best!” Saionji continued his thought thread. “And, to make it better, I will add my own eggs to eat last, to rid myself of my weakness, I will call it plan 34!”.  After Saionji finished his thought thread, he saw a large amount of chickens.

Saionji found himself in the forest cocking eggs. He seemed to do so very seriously until Nanami arrived. “Where is my egg? Saionji do you know where it is?” Nanami asked. Saionji replied “No, but I am making some eggs for me to eat.”. “NOOOO” screamed Nanami. “Did you eat my egg? How could you? You monster!” Nanami screamed while punching Saionji. After punching Saionji, Nanami found her egg in the egg pile. “Oh thank god, my egg! Its safe…” Nanami said before becoming a little eye teared. Saionji seemed to understand Nanami’s thoughts. “Hey, are you okay?” Asked Saionji. “…No” answered Nanami. “Why not?” asked Saionji. “My egg, I was so worried about it, I was just paranoid about, it was just so embarrassing, but you probably wouldn’t understand, would you?” Nanami answered. “Well to tell the truth, I actually did… lay eggs today too” Saionji said to Nanami. “Really, and weren’t you ashamed of them?” asked Nanami. “Well I was, and I still kind of am to be honest, and its kind of stupid too…” answered Saionji. Nanami seemed to be slightly concerned with what happened to Saionji, and started to feel a sense of understanding with what happened. “Well, I think its okay that you lay eggs” Nanami said to Saionji. “Really? That is the first time I ever heard it today. Thank you. Just so you know, I think that the fact you laid an egg is totally okay” Saionji replied, feeling more warmth inside himself. “No its, not, you see, Touga was saying that a woman who lays eggs is a disgrace. I felt so sad when he said that, but you are his friend you probably think like him…” Nanami said. Saionji said to Nanami “Then don’t listen to Touga, he doesn’t understand you’re problems at all, I think that is very wrong of him, and you shouldn’t listen to a guy who thinks like that!”. “But, if I disappoint my brother, who will be there for me. Nobody but him can truly understand me, not after mom and dad…” But before she finished Saionji said slightly blushed “Then settle for me! Even if youre brother dosent understand you, I can be youre second to go. Can you accept it?”.  After a small awkward silence Nanami replied with “Sure.” With a bittersweet smile. “Hey, would you want to dance, just the both of us?” Saionji asked Nanami replied with “I’d like that”. They both danced away in a yellow rose scenery. Saionji then remembered that in his dream a yellow rose fell to the dueling arena and wilted, He hoped that the flowers he sees now wont wilt as the flowers in his dream.

Gougai, Gougai

Oh, my secret, its so embarrassing

What no its not

It is it is!

I told you it is not

It does not matter, as long as my cute pet doesn’t like it, I am doomed.

However, I am okay with it.

Oh look, its my pet. Oh pet let me be with you, don’t ever leave me!

However, what about me? I like you don’t I?

Huh? Who are you?

Wait, didn’t we do this already?

Yeah and mixing two episode elements, that is weak Itavin!

I mentioned to the shadow girls “So sorry…”

[queen-of-hearts92]

Is Kozue unpopular in the Utena fandom? She's my favorite character and most of my friends also like her but when I tried looking for Utena analyses and theories I found people saying Miki should have left her and another person saying she should have "fallen out of the Akio car and died so Akio could have a redemption arc". I understand not everyone's going to love her, and she definitely has her flaws, but this seems a bit extreme. If the fandom does hate her, why?

I…I didn’t think she was unpopular but this is the fucking Utena fandom, the land of many people missing the point and being extremely sexist and slutshaming, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised there are people that hate her outright out there. 

*Reads the quote* *sarcasm mode* Oh yeah totally, the 13 year old girl who at the worst pushed a child predator down the stairs deserves to die while the adult male rapist who horrifically abuses his sister and rapes kids should get a redemption arc, yeah ok *sarcasm mode end*. Anyways, that sentence you just quoted to me is absolutely awful and disgusting, shame on whoever the fuck wrote that. You’re right, thats extreme as fuck. Fuck that person! >8/

And yes thats a good question why in the fresh hell someone would hate her like that but it has an answer that is actually floating around Miki and Kozue’s story and the show as a whole. It’s cause of the Madonna-Whore complex. Basically society often place women into two categories, the Madonna, which is a pure sexless woman who does no wrong, and the Whore, which is an evil lady who has sex all the damn time and is a horrible sinner. Any lady who fails to be a “Madonna” gets seen as a “Whore”. But it’s a double edged sword, cause woman are also expected to be sexually available to men. Breakfast Club puts it very nicely too. In Utena this is talked about A LOT by using the terms Princess (madonna) and Witch (whore). “Those who cannot become a Princess are doomed to become a Witch”. Many of the female characters, especially the secondary ones, run face first into this issue. I find, out of the secondary characters, that Kozue and Shiori exemplify this the most and Kozue exemplifies this the most most. Anddd this lesson on not doing that to people just flies the fuck over some folks heads. 8/

SO the reason why there are those in the fandom who are hateful of Kozue is cause, she’s sexually active and mildly aggressive (I say mildly cause she isn’t really THAT violent let’s be real here) and yup thats it. Some people think Miki is “better” because he has a kinder disposition than the other dudes in the series and they conveniently ignore the fact that he treats his sister like shit. Like even the dating sim game protagonist picks up on this and eventually turns him down at the end of his route cause his projecting weirded her out and she notes multiple times (if you make dialogue choices where you are not rude to Kozue) that Kozue seems sad around him like you guys.

Now Miki doesn’t treat her poorly as in Touga style but he clearly holds her in contempt cause Miki’s whole thing is he dislikes that Kozue isn’t the “sweet innocent girl” he remembers from their childhood. She isn’t want HE wants her to be. So he projects onto others (like Anthy) looking for the ideal twin sister and the saddest part is Kozue KNOWS this. She is very very aware, she makes it obvious she knows during her elevator scene in the Black Rose Arc. And it hurts, Miki rejecting her really hurts. Their parents literally abandoned them so Miki is the only family she has. Kozue sleeps around because when she does Miki gets angry and that gives her attention, anytime they spend together she’s defensive of cause she knows her brother straight up will ignore her most of the time therefore spending time with him is important to her. Their relationship is a mess to put it mildly and some motherfuckers try and be like “ah this twin is evil and this one isn’t” when that isn’t fucking close to being true at all.

Miki and Kozue still care about and love each other, I really think they do, but as they have grown older they don’t really know how to communicate clearly to each other anymore. Miki clings to the past and refuses to acknowledge that he and his sister are growing up. Kozue is ready to grow up and be more independent but she doesn’t want to do so without her brother and she tries to tackle adult things she probably isn’t ready for (like having a mature sex life at age 13) which just strains their relationship like crazy. 

My point being is there are people in the fandom that take Kozue’s bravado at face value forgetting that she’s a 13 year old who likes pretending she has her shit together and she gets hate cause fandom sexism because to them Kozue deserves bad things because she’s not perfect or pure. A lot of folks in the fandom for some ungodly reason forget that the majority of the characters in the show are literal children and they do act their age. You have the middle school kids (Miki, Nanami, Kozue, Utena, and Wakaba) who all have various degrees of fake confidence and are extremely confused all the time, as many kids their age do/are, and you have the high school students (Juri, Shiori, Saionji, Touga, Kanae) who range from I def know what I’m doing (Touga and Saionji) to I have zero idea what I’m doing but all I can do is scream internally (Juri, Shiori, Kanae) and ofc you have Juri and Shiori doing the gay panic dance but thats a different discussion all together lol.

Basically, fuck people who hate Kozue. She’s an excellent character and deserves good things all the time! I personally really like Kozue and I’m happy she’s your favorite dude! Keep loving her! Ignore the hateful motherfuckers! I’m speaking as a Shiori fan when I say I understand your struggle dude. There are always gonna be ignorant and hateful fools in the fandom, it’s best to just ignore them really. Here! I made this years ago but I think you’d like a Kozue defense squad gif! ^w^! I made one for all the Utena ladies! If you want me to talk about more utena things just let me know!

Side note: I did a analysis about Kozue in 2013 and I still agree with what I wrote more or less, give it a read if you like! Also I created an Utena analysis blog years ago if you would like more analysis stuff! I (nor my partner) haven’t updated it in awhile but I think it’s still got good shit on it!

[some-triangles]

Episode 37.  This is the finest thing Ikuhara ever produced, I think.

The duels are over, the winner decided.  We have reached an inflection point: from here, the revolutionist can choose either to restart the narrative or end it. The power that Utena won is the power of the liminal.  She stands outside the story right now and can do whatever she wants.

A knock-on effect of this development is that the episode structure we’ve been relying on to carry us forward is gone.  We’re no longer building to anything because it isn’t clear that there’s anything left to build toward, and we don’t know what kind of person our main character is, just now. Utena was a lot of things but first and foremost she was the girl who wore that ring.

The girl who loved Akio, the girl who loved Anthy.  What is there left for her?

Well, she can ask Akio out on a date, in front of Anthy.  Just to test her arm.

I think we see the strength that makes Utena the one who will bring the world revolution, here.  Her reaction to seeing Akio and Anthy together isn’t denial and it isn’t revulsion.  She doesn’t immediately decide how she feels about either one of them.  What she embarks upon is a slow, careful reexamination of her situation, and of what power she still has.

And – now that she finally gets the idiom of poisonous doublespeak she’s been living in these past weeks – she engages in some of it herself.  Just to see.

UTENA: Man, most girls would kill to go out on a date with someone as cool as you, Akio!

ANTHY: Hyuu, hyuu. [trans: wow, ok]

We head to the balcony to catch up with Touga and Saionji.  End of the World has sent Dear John letters to all the duelists save one. Utena got a very different letter, but she hasn’t opened it.

Touga, there, discovering that a princess once acquired is not so easily shook.

Utena and Akio come back from their drive.  Akio asks why she’s not wearing her ring – she says she’s not sure it suits her anymore. Any action is possible, out here, so why not turn into a different person entirely? 

They go through the “you look like a girl”/”well, I am a girl” routine.  Utena remarks that Akio hasn’t said anything about the stars tonight.  He is sufficiently confident in his victory – confident that she’ll wear his ring, so that he can turn his attention elsewhere – that he drops a little piece of his seduction routine prematurely.

But – there are still some details to be worked out, aren’t there?  We’re still waiting for the final act.

Utena finds Anthy waiting up for her when she gets home.  There is so much to say at this point and so little time to say it in that every word that passes between them is significant, and it’s difficult to find a way to condense it.  Maybe translation would be a better approach.

UTENA: Are you angry? [I acknowledge that you have a prior claim on your brother in a way I didn’t recognize, and while I am not exonerating you in this, I am not judging you, either – similarly, I am acknowledging that you may, in a way I still don’t fully understand, have a prior claim on me.]

ANTHY: About what? [I am still unable to speak to you about this openly.]

UTENA: I thought you’d say that. [I understand that acknowledging what is really happening will destroy this world that we’ve created together, and I don’t want that, but we must find a way to communicate around this issue.]

Then something that doesn’t need translating:

UTENA: Akio said I looked really girlish tonight.  What does it mean to be girlish?

ANTHY:

Anthy takes Utena by the hand and tells her that if she goes to that castle in the sky, she’ll meet her prince.  There is a smile on Anthy’s face when she says this.

Meanwhile, Akio is taking pictures of Touga and Saionji on top of a pile of cars. They tell him that his plan has failed, because Utena has chosen him, a flesh and blood man, over her prince, an ideal.  He says:

So, the setup’s complete. This was the plan, such as it was. He’s shown her a beautiful lie and an ugly truth and now she gets to walk away from Omelas, or not.  

The next day Utena is playing basketball while preoccupied (gotta watch that – remember what happened last time!)  In the morning, she and Anthy had the following exchange:

ANTHY: Utena, I wish the three of us could stay like this forever. [If you don’t go through with the revolution, you will be trapped in this purgatory with me for all time, along with all the other girls Akio will eventually add to his collection.]

UTENA: [rips the letter from end of the world into a million fucking pieces, thereby calling Anthy’s bluff, and indicating that she’s feeling pretty friggin MATRIMONIAL all of a sudden]

As we’re left to absorb the way that these nasty little moments are practically the only time Utena and Anthy get really real with each other, Juri and Miki show up, and it’s time for the Badminton Game of Redemption.

If you were wondering whether any of the other duelists were going to get a shot at resolution for their character arcs, this is about as close as you’re going to get.   I don’t even think I’m going to run it down, here – it’s too good and pure to be picked apart.

Suffice it to say that there is power in their mutual acknowledgement of powerlessness, comfort in their open acknowledgement of their flaws.   And in the end, when they all say that they’ve fallen for Utena, as the objects of their obsession look on – that’s them telling her that she’s the Prince.  It’s the prince’s job to be the lightning rod for the love that passes understanding, the love that will break a normal person if they are forced to bear the brunt of it. The prince acknowledges that the love she receives is the love of something higher than herself, the love of nobility, loyalty, grace. And so, when she is loved, she laughs. She laughs with the people who love her.

Nanami doesn’t have a religious bone in her body, but offers Utena acknowledgement of another kind – that they will both keep fighting, because it’s who they are.

It’s an enormous gift they give her, here, the gift of their friendship, their support, and their acknowledgement of the potential she has to remake this world for the better.  But the last shot of the scene is this one:

There is only so far that her friends can take her.  She is going to have to do the next part alone.

Then the shadow puppet girls put on an epic performance, recapping the stakes at hand in thorough detail and also briefly acknowledging the central grossness that the rest of the series skirts around.  It turns out that Prince Audition Judge is the young applicant’s

And did you know, by the way, that only one girl can get the part?

I love the shadow puppet girls because we have similar priorities.  They and I have elected to fight the power in the same time-honored, highly respected, and completely ineffectual fashion, i.e., by making fun.

Then there’s like fifteen seconds of Akio fucking Anthy really brutally (via the car metaphor but there’s no attempt to hide the implication) and nothing is funny anymore.

God, and then.

Utena and Anthy are talking in the kitchen.  Utena asks Anthy about her future plans – what she plans to do when she grows up, essentially – which to Anthy must sound like asking a convict with a life sentence what their dream job would be if they got out.  Anthy asks Utena if she’s ever heard of a particular kind of deadly poison, the kind the Borgias used, and then asks if Utena’s enjoying the cookies.

Utena takes a moment, and then she finishes her cookie.

Anthy takes a moment, and then she takes a big sip.

They found a way to communicate around the issue!  It’s like a trust fall, but with murder.  It’s incredibly heartwarming, and I’m not sure why.

Anthy asks Utena where she sees herself in ten years.  Utena says she doesn’t know, but it’d be nice if the two of them were still together then, drinking tea and laughing.  (“Laughing.” Anthy and Utena don’t have much in common, beyond taste in men, but they do have the same pitch-black sense of humor.)  They promise to make it a date.

Later that night, Anthy tries to throw herself off the roof.

It’s the confirmation that Utena still loves her – that, in the end, Utena will choose her over Akio – that’s too much for her to bear, I think.   Knowing with absolute certainty that she isn’t worthy of that love.

The following day, Utena is back in her uniform and on her way to the dueling arena.  She passes Touga and Saionji, who are eager to share some of their new poses while they ask her why she’s suddenly interested in world revolution.  “It’s not just that”, she says.  Touga correctly intuits that it’s Anthy’s freedom she’s after.   Standing next to his best friend, he reminds her of the central axiom of his life:

To which she replies, “I am a fool”, of course.

Utena is wearing her engagement ring. Anthy is waiting for her. Together, they walk into the end of the world.