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

#126 | Back to Top06-15-2016 01:56:07 PM

deeds24
Miki Molester
From: Salisbury, Maryland, USA
Registered: 05-27-2016
Posts: 36

Re: "Deleted Scenes" Wish List

Giovanna wrote:

if Akio is not in transit somewhere or communicating with someone, he's actually just staring at walls. It would be very eerie/kind of sad to see, that while everyone else hems and haws over the question of 'who I am' and seeks solitude to contemplate it, he knows better than to ask, because the answer would ruin him.

Now I want Akio monologues and scenes of him just spacing out like a character from Evangelion.

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#127 | Back to Top08-28-2016 10:47:18 AM

BlueKnightSeiran
New Student
Registered: 08-28-2016
Posts: 3

Re: "Deleted Scenes" Wish List

Been away for too long and the first thing I do is bump!  At least the thread isn't that far gone.


deeds24 wrote:

Giovanna wrote:

if Akio is not in transit somewhere or communicating with someone, he's actually just staring at walls. It would be very eerie/kind of sad to see, that while everyone else hems and haws over the question of 'who I am' and seeks solitude to contemplate it, he knows better than to ask, because the answer would ruin him.

Now I want Akio monologues and scenes of him just spacing out like a character from Evangelion.

That right there got me thinking: what started it all? Why did Dios start rescuing princesses in the first place? Yes he is the ultimate archetypal prince and in the lore of Utena that's what princes do and apparently princesses are like potato chips but from a character standpoint, why? That's what I'd like to see.

Incidentally, if there are any interesting essays or threads exploring the topic point me their direction? Pretty please!

Also more Akio and Touga just hanging out. Because...reasons.

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#128 | Back to Top09-10-2016 03:19:22 AM

Giovanna
Ends of the Fandom
From: Edmonton, AB
Registered: 10-12-2006
Posts: 8797
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Re: "Deleted Scenes" Wish List

BlueKnightSeiran wrote:

Also more Akio and Touga just hanging out. Because...reasons.

This was aired on public television...

There's been tons of speculation all over the place about the prince/princess/witch dynamic, because none of the content we get actually explains any of that. The closest we get is assuming they are literal archetypes, products of the worldwide human hive mind. In which case they coincide pretty well with a broadly stroked shift in perspectives over the history.

Ie. The Prince is the 'God' we want saving us, and exists simply driven by that demand that someone do so. Over time, however, being saved became harder to accept, and eventually someone asked, 'Can every princess be saved?' This question spawns Dios' sister: someone he can't save (because this capacity is tied heavily by implication to romance) and our reaction to that question, though it is answered, is to, for a time, cast it away, as Anthy was.

That question eventually pulls the illusion apart. If not everyone can be saved, is it perhaps because not everyone deserves to be? These thoughts eventually lead to an obvious, previously totally avoidable question themselves: must the Prince save everyone? As soon as that's not an immediate, unquestionable 'Yes' the conclusion that he can exhaust is basically unavoidable. And at that point, the Prince that can be exhausted, and the woman that cannot be saved, become natural allies.

And why do they not just slink off into miserable obscurity then? Why doesn't the archetype die? We came to ask different things of them. Once we accepted the possibility that we don't all get or even deserve saving, we needed archetypes to represent that aspect of ourselves--the fallen prince and the unrepentant sinner.

It takes a long time after that for us to realize that the characters in this little play represent aspects present in each of us, and the responsibility that implies: Not only are we the saints and the sinners both, but that ultimately, we have to save each other--and even more terrifying, we have to save ourselves. Utena becomes this figure, and is presented almost as a new archetype--one we haven't a name for, because she is the archetype of us, newly minted as a whole, instead of broken into little exaggerated parts. The implication that Anthy can now abandon her post (and likely Akio has lost his) is that this creation in effect breaks down the need for externalized archetypes that came before. The Prince, the Witch, and all the rest become unnecessary. Tools, at best, to help us understand ourselves, but no longer acceptable crutches to use to avoid doing so.

PS. I feel vaguely compelled to write these Akio monologues. school-devil


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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#129 | Back to Top09-19-2016 03:19:45 PM

BlueKnightSeiran
New Student
Registered: 08-28-2016
Posts: 3

Re: "Deleted Scenes" Wish List

Sorry for the delay I was trying to gather my thoughts without referencing other anime too much.

This was aired on public television...

Some of it must have been PG. I mean they're in that car a lot. Couldn't they stop at a gas station or for a little levity end up having to change a tire? Or heck, Akio seems to like Touga as much as he genuinely likes anyone (even if only as a pawn). Surely he occasionally warranted a dinner date, or more likely breakfast. On the other hand Akio making waffles would never make it past censors.

Moving on,

Akio monologues indeed, I could practically hear your post in his voice.

But that's just it. It sounds like how he would rationalize how he ended up where he is. But even gods have personal reasons for what they do. I suppose the mystery is part of who he is but that's Akio. Dios, like Utena, does not appear to be much of a man of mystery. And logically, if Akio is a shadow of Dios, then there must have been a hint of Akio in Dios.

Essentially what I'm saying is that there was something Dios wanted. Something he wanted badly enough to die for and yet could not achieve. Perhaps he was looking for a certain princess. Or at least a certain personal. But it was killing him and Anthy decided to put an end to that quest before it put an end to him. Unfortunately, no matter how it ended, the end of the quest meant the end of Dios.

Perhaps Utena is able to channel Dios because not only does she share his philosophy, but also on a personal level they have a similar goal.

Whew! Okay, I'm sure that's full of holes.

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