This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)

#1 | Back to Top01-29-2010 07:22:25 PM

halleftw
Saionji Slapper
Registered: 01-27-2010
Posts: 25

Something I really do not understand....

Maybe I'm missing something completely obvious, but there's something about SKU that still doesn't make any sense to me. It's nothing exciting and philosophical... more of a logistical question. (Sorry if this has already come up somewhere!)

In the finale, it's revealed that the dueling arena was inside Akio's tower the entire time, and that the castle, cars, desks, etc. were all illusions created by his telescope/projector/thing.

But this doesn't make sense to me for a few reasons. One, the dueling arena and the forest are pretty far away from each other, so I don't know how the duelists could enter the forest and somehow end up in Akio's tower, across campus, without realizing anything. Second, in a few episodes Touga and other student council members are seen observing the duels from their tower via binoculars. If the duels are in fact occurring in Akio's tower, how would this be possible?

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#2 | Back to Top01-29-2010 08:04:45 PM

Esmenet
Tenjou Tilter
From: Illinois
Registered: 12-04-2008
Posts: 83

Re: Something I really do not understand....

. . . Mass hallucination? emot-aaa I think it's just a case of Akio's tower being in multiple places at the same time.

Actually, I've always kinda thought the Student Council meeting place/observation platform was just on another level of the tower, and they were watching illusions from the projector.


The bird is struggling out of the egg. The egg is the world. Whoever wants to be born must first destroy a world. [The bird is flying to God. The name of the God is called Abraxas.]

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#3 | Back to Top01-29-2010 08:06:24 PM

Malacoda
Sunlit Gardener (Finale)
Registered: 07-26-2009
Posts: 180

Re: Something I really do not understand....

It's not possible at all...just like plenty of other things in the series (Juri's defeat in episode seven, people riding in the Akio cars during the Akio Arc duels, the plays preformed by the Shadow Girls, Anthy being Mamiya, explosive body switching curry, boxing kangaroos...the list goes on). Othori's essentially Akio's little playbox/coffin where he can do anything he pleases.

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#4 | Back to Top01-29-2010 08:14:18 PM

minervana
High Tripper
Registered: 10-10-2009
Posts: 246

Re: Something I really do not understand....

It's mmmmmagic!

In all seriousness, I think the answer is that, by some unfathomable trick, Anthy and Akio were able to create the dueling arena in the forest, via a combination of that really expensive projector and Anthy's powers. I'm not sure if the dueling arena was inside Akio's tower the entire time; that might have just been a metaphor for the fact that "there is no higher place than this room."

My guess is that Anthy is more responsible for the dueling arena than Akio is; when her coffin opens, and the swords of hate go berserk, they destroy the dueling arena. It would be up to her to build the arena again, even if Akio can create the "castle of eternity."

We also see Touga and Utena going up into the dueling arena; Touga comes up to the chairman's apartment to get Utena. They don't, er, go sideways or anything. So I think they're meant to be physically separate.

However, I was never exactly able to figure out where Touga and Akio were when they were looking at the duels. It doesn't look like the student council balcony, and it's not the top level of the building. Seriously, where is this?

http://ohtori.nu/gallery/var/resizes/Series/Episodes/Student_Council_Arc/01/Series_ep01_200.jpg?m=1380825454

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#5 | Back to Top01-29-2010 08:17:17 PM

Bluesky
Chpn Dlst
From: Your window
Registered: 10-25-2008
Posts: 1939
Website

Re: Something I really do not understand....

It's probably a metaphor for something. Most things in SKU seem to be. emot-tongue


/人◕ ‿‿ ◕人\

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#6 | Back to Top01-30-2010 02:17:02 AM

Dallbun
Tour Guide to Crawling Chaos
Registered: 10-19-2006
Posts: 719

Re: Something I really do not understand....

Yeah, whatever power the projector has or represents, it certainly isn't limited to simply laying visual illusions over an underlying reality. Ohtori and environs has a reality of its own, that Akio has some measure of power over... see the examples that Malacoda listed, as well as the recreation and unrecreation of Nemuro Memorial Hall, the unreal-seeming, unending road that everyone drives down all the time, and so on.

minervana wrote:

However, I was never exactly able to figure out where Touga and Akio were when they were looking at the duels. It doesn't look like the student council balcony, and it's not the top level of the building. Seriously, where is this?

Juri watches Miki's first duel from there, too. Do we ever get any long shots of it?

http://www.ohtori.nu/galerie/d/2786-2/Series_ep05_187.jpg

I think of it as being the bell tower, where the bells that signal the start of the duels are set up. However, upon reflection, that might just be a bit of fanon that I picked up from the fanfic Ma Vie et Roses. Sure, that doesn't explain where they are, but considering that you can't see the dueling arena from outside the forest, is it much of a stretch to assume that there's another tower or two, as well?

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#7 | Back to Top01-30-2010 12:48:27 PM

halleftw
Saionji Slapper
Registered: 01-27-2010
Posts: 25

Re: Something I really do not understand....

Dallbun, minervana, Malacoda, Esmenet, Miss Bluesky - definitely just had a "oh right, duh, that makes sense" moment based on your responses. Thanks! emot-smile


As for the location of the observation tower, though, I'm still kind of lost! Based on this overview of the campus, I can't even find another tower that would offer a sufficient view, unless Esmenet is correct and they are simply in the Chairman's tower.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s289/incogblue/ohtori.jpg?t=1264880860

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#8 | Back to Top01-30-2010 01:13:42 PM

Anthiena
Egghead
From: ...the space between your ears
Registered: 10-21-2006
Posts: 1108

Re: Something I really do not understand....

The Chairman did it. With his magic pants.


I stopped seeking to be sought after. That wasn't being true to myself.
I want to become someone who can exercise power. I want to become a prince. - Ikuni

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#9 | Back to Top01-30-2010 03:31:23 PM

Ashnod
La poétesse revolutionnaire
From: Missouri, United States
Registered: 03-01-2007
Posts: 1243
Website

Re: Something I really do not understand....

Or there's a far simpler explanation.

The dueling Arena is real, and Akio is LYING. (more to come later)


Flowers without names blooming in the field can only sway in the wind. But I was born with a destiny of roses, born to live in passion and glory.

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#10 | Back to Top04-27-2010 01:22:59 PM

minervana
High Tripper
Registered: 10-10-2009
Posts: 246

Re: Something I really do not understand....

Maybe it's these towers?

http://ohtori.nu/galerie/d/2071-2/Series_ep04_001.jpg

Thank Dallbun for the pickup in the game thread.

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#11 | Back to Top04-28-2010 07:08:58 PM

teyhy
High Tripper
From: Ecuador
Registered: 04-27-2010
Posts: 245
Website

Re: Something I really do not understand....

Hey guys I'm a "new student", but I would like to post a theory.
I agree with halleftw, the projector being in the arena just doesn't makes sense, more over it's suppose to be in the middle of it, because the chairman tower and the arena are supposedly the same room.

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad133/teyhy/for%20fo/Chairmans_Tower_01.jpg?t=1272572890 http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad133/teyhy/for%20fo/Series_ep38_184.jpg?t=1272572646

How come no-one hit it during a duel? just because I can't see it doesn't mean it's not there, that's an illusion right? I can just see our dashing heroine about to perform her Dios attack and being stop by an invisible object (the projector) emot-rofl , Utena and whoever duelist is with her would be like: emot-aaa  (if Utena is conscious that is), Anthy would be cursing her brother for putting the damn projector there.
Now seriously maybe the projector is always in the chairman tower and it "projects" to the dueling arena? after all the tower is directly in front of the forest, as shown by the Ohtori_Campus_01.jpg that halleftw posted.

And I really like what minervana said:
"by some unfathomable trick, Anthy and Akio were able to create the dueling arena in the forest, via a combination of that really expensive projector and Anthy's powers."

Perhaps Anthy's power in combination with the projector allow objects to be tangibles, in Shiori's duel (Thorns of Death) Utena loses her balance but holds onto a desk, the same happens in the Revolution duel.

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad133/teyhy/for%20fo/Series_ep38_227.jpg?t=1272572355

In the final duel when Akio shows Utena the church, Dios' grave, Nemuro Hall's elevator and interior of the tower, it was once again the projector with Anthy's help, but we are still in the dueling arena.

Oh, a question of my own, what were the 100 duelist doing for Akio? the projector? hmmm... sorry I think there is a topic on it already, anyway be mindful that if you answer this question you would be making a SKU fan very happy emot-wink

P.S if I am using the BBCode or the Img button incorrectly please bear whit me I'm just learning how to use these. emot-redface

Last edited by teyhy (04-29-2010 02:32:26 PM)


Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - H. Berlioz.
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad133/teyhy/for%20fo/Untitled-1copy.jpg?t=1280266589

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#12 | Back to Top04-29-2010 12:05:08 AM

teyhy
High Tripper
From: Ecuador
Registered: 04-27-2010
Posts: 245
Website

Re: Something I really do not understand....

Here is what I mean by the the tower is directly in front of the forest

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad133/teyhy/for%20fo/ohtori.jpg?t=1272519264

or more clearly shown here:

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad133/teyhy/DiC1.jpg?t=1272520673

The point of my theory is, that it would be easy for Akio to project from the tower to the arena, as shown in the images above.

P.S I think I finally learn the BBCode and the Img button emot-redface thank you for your patience.


Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - H. Berlioz.
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad133/teyhy/for%20fo/Untitled-1copy.jpg?t=1280266589

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#13 | Back to Top05-02-2010 11:16:33 PM

76089172
Saionji Slapper
From: sacramento
Registered: 04-25-2010
Posts: 26

Re: Something I really do not understand....

It might be more like Akio to say that it's all a mere projector when, in reality, it's actually a bunch of awesome magic.

This would also go with the "deconstruction of Utena's prince fantasy" theme that was carried through the final arc.


school-chef


don't think twice

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