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

#26 | Back to Top12-21-2007 05:36:07 PM

Jellineck
Wondrous Sexual Eggplant.
From: Under your bed
Registered: 08-02-2007
Posts: 894

Re: Utena and Akio

Although it's still a fairly pessimistic view of sex. One has to wonder if that's not completely justified given how people are about the act.

Even if I think sexuality and sexual interaction is normal and healthy, the inescapable fact is that our society views it in a fairly negative light.

Very much true. I find our societal opinions of sex extremely convoluted. After all, it's considered a lot less dramatic to see a guy being shot in the fact than to see a nipple. When I give my usual 'save the children' speech, people tend to interpret my opinions along the cliche lines that we shouldn't expose children to anything. To keep them in a sheltered, closed environment. No. I advocate for education, rather than letting kids be educated by the media. A media that thinks a normal nude woman is somehow obscene, and yet this is the advertised toy for young girls.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42187000/jpg/_42187482_bling300.jpg

And what has to be emphasized is that sexuality is not essentially a negative thing. But how it's portrayed...that's what everything comes down to. Our society merges violence and sexuality to every extreme. Think of just about every action movie that's come out that featured a heroine. With very few exceptions, that woman will be scantily clad and with penchant of violence. A woman on the ground being beaten with a strong sexual subtext might garner a PG-13, but two people actually nude and having sex with undoubtedly gain a R.

When I was in Germany, there was an advertisement on a billboard that featured a naked woman. Out in the open. And that's not to say that Germany doesn't have its own share of extremely violent movies, but the difference is...they're just not as common. Not from what I saw, anyway. It wasn't the staple of the average action movie, the association between violence and sexuality. Sure, it was there. But it just wasn't as frequent and when it was present, it was given a stronger warning rating than movies that portrayed sex as normal and in healthier circumstances.

That said, I do have to contradict myself a bit and play devil's advocate to my own opinions. I'm schizophrenic that way. I have to wonder how we define a 'healthy' sexual relationship. The whole concept is a very modern one. For countless years, sexuality has always been the weapon of the stronger. The perfect example of this is the gender roles in almost every society that has ever been. Women were seen as the sexual inferior to men, the penetrated and the submissive. The bearer of children, and always beneath the men. In ancient Mesopotamia, if a man had a harem, it was a testament to his strength and virility. If a woman had an affair, she was castrated or executed. Women in ancient Greece were kept out of sight and indoors, for fear they would tempt the men. Unless, of course, they were prostitutes. Again, someone's entire life was dependent upon their sexual role.

Not much has changed. One only has to look at the current presidential race to get a perfect example of this. Now, I'm supporting Obama, but I cannot believe just how blatant the gender bias against Clinton is. She is judged far more harshly, and it's based on the fact she is a woman. There's no working around it. What might be seen as firmness and conviction in a man is seen as frigid inaccessibility in her. I have heard many insults against her that mainly have to do with "teaching her a woman's place" and sexually dominating her.

I have always firmly believed that sexuality has very little do with actual sex. I'm Freudian that way. It's a psychological drive that affects our penchant for domination and violence or vice versa, our relation to our parents, our neuroses and our fears. It's at the core of our political system and our methods of determining power. Hence why sexually attractive people are more likely to become celebrities, and nowadays a politician isn't much different from a celebrity. The sexuality of a candidate determines how they are likely to be perceived i.e. Bill Clinton.

Utena is an example of something far more large-scale. Although it's a bit exaggerated to say that every pair of siblings have an alliance that would make the Borgias blush, it shows how deeply rooted sexual politics and manipulation are rooted. I mean, there is very little actual sex in the story. Yet it is still intensely disturbing because it displays just how viciously sex can be used. As Gio stated, it's not always a loving act.

And there we go. Another epic. It's a good thing I'm a damned fast typist.


"You said you would do anything for me, right Mamiya?" Mikage purred as he slithered close. "Yes that's right" Mamiya said with a rosey blush. Mikage's smile was evil and cinister as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a banana. "Eeny meeny myny moo. I wonder where my banana will go?" - The Forbidden Passions of Nemuro

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#27 | Back to Top12-21-2007 07:31:08 PM

BalamiyaVardihi
High Tripper
From: New Jersey
Registered: 12-16-2007
Posts: 243

Re: Utena and Akio

Utena is living proof that sometimes, sex isn't love in physical form. It's "HAY LEMME SHOW OFF MY DICK-GIVING SKILLZ!!"

What's odd is that, female breasts were never intended to be sexual, they are the "orbs of life", to put it simply. They give milk to the baby and...look nice. Yet when Ms. Jackson whipped her boobie out at the SuperBowl, the sound of mothers screaming bloody murder was deafening. Ladies, you BRESTFED THEM. That's the first thing they see and feed from.

I agree with Jellineck on everything.

Aaaaaaaaaand this post probably made no sense at all.


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#28 | Back to Top12-21-2007 08:13:35 PM

Hiraku
Easter Elf #40
From: Singapore
Registered: 02-21-2007
Posts: 6342
Website

Re: Utena and Akio

I honestly doubt Utena series can ever show sexuality in a positive light because almost everything in the story is about this giant war to the revolution. Also, you can't expect a healthy sexual relationship if you can't even figure out who or what you really want in your life. Everyone's too busy trying to shape their own path and find resolution for their own problems that even sex is a battlefield. It's like the Karma Sutra, where the arts of sex were being taught for men and women who read the book to be a "good lover", to conquer each other during courting, and to try to subdue each other while keeping yourself from falling prey to unhealthy attachment (In my opinion, the Karma Sutra is reinforcing some sort of contradiction).
Ever since I took the South Asia study class, I thought that Akio must've studied Karma Sutra very thoroughly... One of the passage in the book speaks of a story where a god was gravely ill, and the only way to cure himself was to have sex with a girl. And, I thought... Hm... Akio is in a way a god who is gravely ill. He's also having sex to subdue Utena, so that she'll hand over her own power of revolution to him, so he can be Dios again.

Last edited by Hiraku (12-21-2007 08:15:30 PM)

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#29 | Back to Top12-21-2007 10:36:52 PM

Jellineck
Wondrous Sexual Eggplant.
From: Under your bed
Registered: 08-02-2007
Posts: 894

Re: Utena and Akio

Yet when Ms. Jackson whipped her boobie out at the SuperBowl, the sound of mothers screaming bloody murder was deafening.

I found that one of the funniest biggest media dramas of all time. "Oh my god! A nipple! Such indecency! We will never stand for this sort of filth on live national television!" Cut to several cheerleaders bending over and shaking their tits.

As for the whole boobs thing, I just have to quote "The Office" here and bring up the fact that some sociologists believe that cleavage reminds men of the arse, which is the most animalistic target for breeding and hence a reversion to nature.

Ever since I took the South Asia study class, I thought that Akio must've studied Karma Sutra very thoroughly... One of the passage in the book speaks of a story where a god was gravely ill, and the only way to cure himself was to have sex with a girl. And, I thought... Hm... Akio is in a way a god who is gravely ill. He's also having sex to subdue Utena, so that she'll hand over her own power of revolution to him, so he can be Dios again.

That is the most brilliant thing ever. poptartpoptartpoptartpoptartpoptartpoptart with jelly filling for you. Not to mention the emphasis the show places on Akio's Indian appearance. His body is even built in the perfect Karma Sutran form: masculine and yet possessing of feminine beauty, with long and lithely muscular limbs. Almost serpentine in its grace.

On that note, sex as a means of stealing another's virtue has a basis in many societies. For instance, in a few African countries, it is widely believed that only having sex with a virgin can cure AIDS. Thus, the child sex trade is booming. Such a dangerous concept and so entirely disgusting.


"You said you would do anything for me, right Mamiya?" Mikage purred as he slithered close. "Yes that's right" Mamiya said with a rosey blush. Mikage's smile was evil and cinister as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a banana. "Eeny meeny myny moo. I wonder where my banana will go?" - The Forbidden Passions of Nemuro

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#30 | Back to Top12-22-2007 10:35:29 AM

Hiraku
Easter Elf #40
From: Singapore
Registered: 02-21-2007
Posts: 6342
Website

Re: Utena and Akio

Jellineck wrote:

On that note, sex as a means of stealing another's virtue has a basis in many societies. For instance, in a few African countries, it is widely believed that only having sex with a virgin can cure AIDS. Thus, the child sex trade is booming. Such a dangerous concept and so entirely disgusting.

My high school geography teacher told us about that. I never understood why they did that. But, come to think of it...
This might be some sort of collective memory that all human beings share in some strange mystical way...

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#31 | Back to Top12-22-2007 06:28:43 PM

Giovanna
Ends of the Fandom
From: Edmonton, AB
Registered: 10-12-2006
Posts: 8797
Website

Re: Utena and Akio

Jellineck wrote:

His body is even built in the perfect Karma Sutran form: masculine and yet possessing of feminine beauty, with long and lithely muscular limbs. Almost serpentine in its grace.

etc-wankgirl etc-wankgirl etc-wankgirl

Ahem. I wonder if Akio genuinely values sex enough to benefit in such a way from it. If an ill god can be cured in such a way, I should think the reasoning is that you're finding a new vessel, less valuable, for the sickness. (End of The Exorcist?) But if that's how things 'work', I'd be shocked if Akio believed in it. I don't suspect his view of sex leaves room for something so...unpractical as passing an illness along, or curing it, or healing himself in any way. But he reflects the ideals of the show that way when it comes to sex, it's full of cautionary tales about the dangers of sex, but nowhere are the virtues of it mentioned. For that matter, the dangers have a heavy psychological bent. There are no mentions of pregnancy or condoms. (Which is terrible, god knows how many abortions Touga's paid for if there are no condoms in SKU.)

Only semi-related but I think part of the danger of sex, emphasized heavily in SKU, is that it's like adult views of life in general in that it's infectious and you can't really back down from the fallen view of it once you have it. If you see sex as limited only to power and pleasure, you're not likely ever to find it being worth more than that. People who view sex as special and intimate though can be 'taught' it's not, and Akio seems to rather enjoy making a missionary of himself that way. Which makes me wonder what this is all going to do to Utena's sexuality later on. Everyone in the series suffers for their time in the school, but Utena must have some especially deep psychological wounds here. Her first, and thus far only experience with sex was not a good one. A lot of women get jaded about sex after their first time because it's usually just not very good sex. Painful, short, and not what they'd had in mind. I doubt this was Utena's problem, though. Instead she has to recall her first time as her being used, a pawn, purchased with pretty words and inviting gestures. She got taken for a ride in every possible way, and she's got to have become far more jaded than your average 'well it's not like I got off' ex-virgin. Akio wouldn't lower himself to putting people in a position to question whether sex feels good, but I suspect a lot of his lovers are left wondering if it will ever be emotionally satisfying after they've seen how heartless it can be. (Extra slap in the face for their enjoying it despite that.)


Akio, you have nice turns of phrase, but your points aren't clear and you have no textual support. I can't give this a passing grade.
~ Professor Arisa Konno, Eng 1001 (Freshman Literature and Composition)

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#32 | Back to Top12-22-2007 06:53:56 PM

BalamiyaVardihi
High Tripper
From: New Jersey
Registered: 12-16-2007
Posts: 243

Re: Utena and Akio

What's sad is that, many girls are going through Utena's predicament, as stated by Giovanna. And then get pregnant, have no life, and loose a future because they were horny that one night.


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#33 | Back to Top10-08-2008 03:02:01 AM

KissFromARose
Thorn of Death
From: Austin, Tx
Registered: 09-29-2008
Posts: 507

Re: Utena and Akio

Emiemipoemi wrote:

1) Is she like, not bothered by the fact that she's 14 and he's like five million? Like, at all?

emot-rofl I think the entire coffee shop is staring at me from how obnoxiously loud i just laughed after reading this sentence.



This show is all about breaking barriers... in my humble opinion....

Outside of that, i can kind-of agree that the show shifted in the final arc...

but even in the final 2 episodes... Akio brings up the fact that Utena was ignoring everything....

"you knew i was engaged..."

I think.... maybe, instead of utena just being clueless... she's just... ignoring the truth??

But as for her reasons for being with akio to begin with... Maybe shes.... giving up hope on finding her prince? or replacing her prince? or maybe... she KNOWS that akio is the 'prince' but once again, she ignores the truth... which leads to the final battle because she ignores all of the "obvious" (or intelligent) answers.

so in short:

She knew akio was end of the world. (hmm maybe the fact they look strangely similar gave it away?), she knew the answers to everything... but she chose to be ignorant ... but why? i have to thnk about that one..

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#34 | Back to Top10-08-2008 11:32:16 AM

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

Re: Utena and Akio

Giovanna wrote:

There are no mentions of pregnancy or condoms. (Which is terrible, god knows how many abortions Touga's paid for if there are no condoms in SKU.)

I think Gio or Yasha has mentioned that Ikuni-sama has a skewed perspective on adulthood, seeing adults as bullies...?

Pregnancy would never be mentioned in Ohtori. It's something that is the very epitome of adulthood-the most positive and most negative role for an adult is "parent"; even in the manga, her caretaker Yurika is seen in a (n although innocent) less than positive light. To be a parent is to be an adult in the eyes of most.... but you don't really need to be in reality.

...and because Ikuni-sama (and most of the world) doesn't see pregnancy as childish, it isn't in Ohtori, a kind of Kingdom of Children.


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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#35 | Back to Top10-08-2008 04:34:54 PM

KissFromARose
Thorn of Death
From: Austin, Tx
Registered: 09-29-2008
Posts: 507

Re: Utena and Akio

Anthiena wrote:

a kind of Kingdom of Children.

http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/rr355/backboardshot/Akiobaby.jpg

i just had the mental image and had to share...

Wish my photoshop was working v.v 5 min of paint doesnt do it much justice

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#36 | Back to Top10-13-2008 03:46:32 PM

Mishi
Pained Growlithe
From: Montreal
Registered: 04-11-2008
Posts: 528

Re: Utena and Akio

KissFromARose wrote:

Emiemipoemi wrote:

1) Is she like, not bothered by the fact that she's 14 and he's like five million? Like, at all?

emot-rofl I think the entire coffee shop is staring at me from how obnoxiously loud i just laughed after reading this sentence.

She knew akio was end of the world. (hmm maybe the fact they look strangely similar gave it away?), she knew the answers to everything... but she chose to be ignorant ... but why? i have to thnk about that one..

How could she know that 'end of the world' and Akio look strangely similar? She never met 'end of the world' until the final duel.

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#37 | Back to Top04-18-2009 08:43:38 PM

YostinAust
Pathtracer
From: Tallahassee, Florida
Registered: 04-02-2009
Posts: 352

Re: Utena and Akio

WOW emot-aaa emot-aaa emot-aaa

I guess no one watched the movie...

One, adulthoodd is not a bad thing in Utena. Being trapped in childhood is. Akio is like the cheerleader who peaked in high school, or the guy who rapes a redhead because she looked like the girl who turned him down for prom. He can't move on, and neither can Anthy without Utena's help. Akio's actions don't really seem like those of a joyous predator to me. The whole Ohtori prince thing he keeps replaying is more like a sadistic version of gently rocking in a corner and repeating "I'm...still...the prince..." over and over. Akio is "adult" in the sense that porn is "adult". He drinks a whole bottle of rum in one sitting because mommy and daddy are out of town and the other girls mistook him for an underclassman. Anthy and Utena triumph over the neuroses that hold them back and they move forward in a sensible, mature manner.

Two, sex is not an inherently bad thing in Utena. Like in life, sex in Utena can be bad or good, but it is always important. Akio fucks utena (I am wont to say he raped her even though that is not technically true), and the consequences are bad. Such are the consequences of getting fucked by a psychotic playboy. Utena and Anthy have sex, and it becomes just another expression of the bond between them.


"In this age, the mere example of non-conformity, the mere refusal to bend the knee to custom, is itself a service"
     - John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

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#38 | Back to Top12-16-2009 03:07:06 AM

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

Re: Utena and Akio

It's interesting to me that Utena is presented as being so naive, since we see her attempting suicide when she's six or seven years old. Even if that wasn't a suicide attempt, per se, it was certainly an age-inappropriate existential crisis. Despair and naivete aren't mutually exclusive, but hiding in a coffin and pulling the lid shut (no small feat for a six- or seven-year-old), with the intent to die there alone, is not an act I'd associate with childish innocence. Notice how this affects little Saionji, who's maybe twice her age; it's something outside his childlike moral code, and it frightens him to such a degree he seems to lose his innocence.

It's also noteworthy that Utena almost never mentions her parents. No mentions of visiting their graves, for example. Or who raised her in the meantime. Or if she misses them, or loves them. The only time I can think of is when Miki and Kozue get a letter from their parents and she says "Oh, I don't have parents, so I get jealous over things like that." Other than that...what?

Her naïvete might not just be a byproduct of her youth and inexperience; it might also serve as armor against deep psychological pain. Losing your parents at that age is devastating in a way that, say, having a more talented friend, is not. This might be why Akio's seduction is so effective. On some level, Utena thinks her nobility and innocence rely on each other, since her suicide attempt (or whatever you want to call it) was an act of world-weariness. If she's ever going to break out of her coffin, she can't allow herself to gaze back into that abyss; she has to pretend, at least for a while, in princes and nobility and sexless chivalry.

Unlike her coevals, Utena's able to imagine a happy future, albeit a fantastic one; the rest of the characters only want to return to the past and eternalize it. Really, which is more stupid?

Last edited by minervana (12-16-2009 03:09:22 AM)

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#39 | Back to Top12-16-2009 05:55:15 AM

sharnii
Pharaoh of Phanstuff
From: Melbourne Australia
Registered: 08-10-2008
Posts: 2416
Website

Re: Utena and Akio

minervana: Even if that wasn't a suicide attempt, per se, it was certainly an age-inappropriate existential crisis.

I commend you on that thought - that really makes me start to think more deeply about Utena's character. etc-love poptart

Her naïvete might not just be a byproduct of her youth and inexperience; it might also serve as armor against deep psychological pain.

I think that's very possible. And I also think Utena's suicide attempt shows her ability to hmm...react strongly shall we say. Even too strongly. To be emotional about something to the point where she's driven by it beyond what is reasonable. Hence wanting to die at such a young age. And hence wanting to save Anthy in the face of betrayal.

Unlike her coevals, Utena's able to imagine a happy future, albeit a fantastic one; the rest of the characters only want to return to the past and eternalize it.

And of course the other reason for this is her past is so dark. She constantly mentions not having a family, and wishing for a family. She doesn't have a happy past to idealize...the other characters do.

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#40 | Back to Top12-16-2009 11:47:04 AM

hollow_rose
Egghead
From: Ohio
Registered: 10-26-2008
Posts: 1074

Re: Utena and Akio

Perhaps the fact that she can look forward to the future instead of being stuck in the past is what allows her to be the one who can win the duels.


20 threads dead so far.

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#41 | Back to Top12-17-2009 12:40:19 AM

sharnii
Pharaoh of Phanstuff
From: Melbourne Australia
Registered: 08-10-2008
Posts: 2416
Website

Re: Utena and Akio

We should all be more like that. etc-love emot-tongue

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#42 | Back to Top01-20-2012 03:14:37 PM

foxxybox
New Student
Registered: 01-20-2012
Posts: 6

Re: Utena and Akio

Is it part of her "cruelly innocent" thing? Is she in denial? Is she just being dense again? I'm really not sure. I just know that as the series goes on, I am more and more uncomfortable with the way she handles the whole Akio situation.

Not sure if anyone's hit on this point or not, but Utena seems to have realized what a crud Akio was by the confrontation in the penultimate episode.  She's calling him out on all that he's been doing and certainly didn't seem very surprised to learn that he is World's End, which means she must have been aware of the fact for quite some time.  I believe that she was in denial of both his true nature and what she was doing.  She attacked him for his treatment of Anthy, for leading her on, and yet he calls her bluff: he says something along the lines of, "But you knew I had a fiancee, you knew that what we were doing was wrong, and yet you pretended to not notice, so that you could remain innocent and noble."  She did something similar in the Mikage arc, when she tried to shift the blame onto Mikage so that she didn't have to face the reality that what he was saying (about her memories) might be true.  Utena plays a role for most of the series (which adds to the element of theatricallity the story has) and is only able to shed this role (this play-acting at prince) when she admits her faults and overcomes them to 'save' Anthy.  The night that she rescues Anthy from jumping is the night that her reality shifts from the territory of 'fake prince' to 'real prince; she has seen Anthy for who she really is, and through doing so has recognized her own faults, such as the fact that she protected Anthy as a stroke of ego.  By identifying these character flaws can she break beyond them and become a full-fledged character/prince/hero, what I like to call "UltiUtena!"

Sorry if this post is too long, I just pulled an all nighter and am running on mocha.  Thank you Seattle and your Starbucks!

Also, I'm curious as to when Utena ACTUALLY realized who Akio really was.  Was it when she saw Akio and Anthy together, or before that?  Hmm....emot-confused


Utena: where the guys are girly, the girls are manly, and everyone's sleeping with their sibling...

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#43 | Back to Top01-20-2012 07:28:41 PM

crystalwren
Dark Whisperer
From: Brisbane
Registered: 04-21-2009
Posts: 1172
Website

Re: Utena and Akio

minervana wrote:

It's interesting to me that Utena is presented as being so naive, since we see her attempting suicide when she's six or seven years old. Even if that wasn't a suicide attempt, per se, it was certainly an age-inappropriate existential crisis.

Well- I'm stating for the record that I started fantasising about suicide when I was nine or ten. I won't go into details, but it was many years before I was able to cope with some very strong ishoos. (And no, aside from a couple of scary rounds of doctors and nurses with some amoral boys several years older than I, I was not sexually or otherwise physically abused.) I was responding to unbearable mental pressure. I started writing a list on ways to kill yourself when I was about nine. Age inappropriate to be certain, but I do think that childhood suicide fantasies are more common than is usually thought. So I can completely understand why Utena crawled into her coffin and didn't want to come out.

Also, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the different reactions of Touga and Saionji; Saionji never seemed to recover from it, even if he doesn't remember the  experience after so many years. I think that it's a large reason behind his emotional and mental immaturity; in a sense he was trapped in Utena's coffin with her. He was completely unable to move on from that point and could only assert himself with domestic violence.

Now Touga, on the other hand, I strongly believe that he was already under unbearable pressure before the coffin incident. He also divorced himself from reality and never really moved on from that. I think the difference between his reaction and Saionji's is that Saionji was rendered completely unable to function in an adult manner. I've suggested before that Touga was already on the edge for whatever reason, and the coffin thing tipped him over. Sort of like: "I always thought that the world sucks, and now I have proof. Goodbye!"

What is interesting about both their actions is that both of them manifested their inability to react normally or age appropriately in their dealings with the opposite sex. There's a very good argument to be made that Touga was sexually abused- either physically or mentally- when he was a child. This and playing with Nanami's head was the closest he came to self determination that he was able to experience. And I do think it's also possible that he or someone else sexually abused Nanami while she was to young to remember it, hence her complete inability to manifest affection and love in a remotely normal way. Which makes me wonder just how much he's played with Saionji's head (and maybe his penis) since when their ages were still in single digits. And this whole thing plays into the way sexual abuse is often excused when a boy is preyed upon as opposed to a girl. How the manifestation of sexual abuse in the form of promiscuity is viewed in entirely different ways to how it's manifested in a girl. This further approval of inappropriate levels of sexuality is its own form of trauma.

This, perhaps, would have made him incredibly vulnerable to Akio, much more than he personally realises. When Utena sleeps with Akio and is manipulated by him, it's seen a reprehensible; when Touga sleeps with Akio and is manipulated by him, it's just as damaging but is never explicitly stated as such.

Akio's manipulations on the sexually and emotionally vulnerable go much, much further than is initially obvious. When you think about it, Utena is just the tip of the iceberg. About the closest thing to a healthy emotional relationship in the show is Utena and Wakaba; it's not that it's platonic and unsexualsied. It's because their mental and emotional levels of maturity are at the same level, and because of this neither is able to exert power over the other. And given that there is genuine affection between them (something that's basically non-existent in Ohtori) they both want is best for the other. If it were a normal school environment, it's possible that their first sexual encounter would be with each other; something that often occurs between friends as children, an act that is linked to trust as opposed to sexuality. Utena's emotions were Akio's real target; sex was just the means of getting there.

YostinAust wrote:

Akio's actions don't really seem like those of a joyous predator to me. The whole Ohtori prince thing he keeps replaying is more like a sadistic version of gently rocking in a corner and repeating "I'm...still...the prince..." over and over.

This is perhaps the clearest and explicit description of Akio I've ever read.

(And for the record, no matter how bad their childhood traumas were, I still think both Saionji and Touga are epic pricks.)

(Also, wow. This is a novel, isn't it?)

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