It's a close one...but Anthy wins slightly over Utena.

Utena was my original favorite, she really drew me into the series. I mean....for a female protagonist in an anime she's just so....cool. She's not clutzy, or a crybaby or any of that other stereotypical shoujo protagonist crap. I like how she says what she means and looks after those she cares for. And I mean, she wants to be a prince (that saves princesses)...how cool is that?

Then of course, after the student council arc (or at the end I guess) you start getting hints that Anthy is hiding something...or lots of things. This made me a lot more interested in her, whereas before she annoyed me because she was so...like a doormat. But then she started getting this mysterious and ominous feeling about her. And then in the last part of the story she lets her hair down! And she's so damn hot.

I used to despise pink and purple but....damn do Utena and Anthy make it look good.

Oh and I can't forget....Utena and Anthy made me like Yuri...which is great and sad at the same time....sad because there's almost no Yuri in anime

Last edited by Amiki-chan (08-21-2007 06:31:02 AM)

Cerise wrote:

Amiki-chan wrote:

Oh and I can't forget....Utena and Anthy made me like Yuri...which is great and sad at the same time....sad because there's almost no Yuri in anime

Or at the very least, not very much well done yuri like it was throughout SKU.  I made the mistake of watching Strawberry Panic! last year.  Yuri for the sake of yuri (and for Japanese guys to get off to at 2 a.m.) is not good yuri to me.

Yeah....I am almost tempted to watch the show....but I've heard nothing terribly positive about it. It's just not fair that the yaoi fangirls get so much satisfaction and people who like yuri are left in the cold

I can't believe I missed this thread.

My favorite is Nanami because I think she grows the most through the series.  Yes, she can be a ruthless bully. Yes, her feelings for her brother are wrong and she knows it deep down. Nevertheless I felt just horrible when Touga blatantly flirted with Keiko in front of her because we all know what it's like to have an unrequited love at some time or another.

But did she sulk about it? No! She tried to transfer to another school and defeat Utena so she would become a new person.  Nanami is the only other person I ever hoped would win a duel.

A  very, very,very, very close second is Saionji. I would have said he was my favorite, but I don't think that would be fair just because I have a crush on him.  I don't like the way he treats poor Anthy, but I think he's just obsessive rather than bad. Plus, he's ambitious. A lot of people would have given up after losing to Touga or Utena as many times as he has, but not Saionji. *sighs*

As much as I adore Utena, Anthy wins over anyone.  I declared this on facebook a few months ago and not surprisingly, I was asked as to what appeal I saw in Anthy (since I notice many viewers hate her or view her as this creepy entity).  But I kind of went into how I saw her and much of what I see helps further my fondness for her, though I just plain like the character and can identify with her on a lot of levels, as well:

A defense on Anthy's character (the response I wrote and saved for someone who wanted to know my reasons):

spoon wrote:

The first thing to understand is that being the Rose Bride, Anthy is virtually unable to express who she really is under the surface, hence why she is known to have 'no will' and is a doormat. That was one of the main reasons, if not the main reason, that Utena had to and decided to revolutionize the world. Utena first revolutionized Anthy's world so she could show who she really is with her beauty, grace, and ability to make up her own mind, leave her situation, and go after what she wanted all along (to be with Utena.).

Anthy is extremely subtle and though she holds more good intentions than she lets on (she sacrificed her good image from the beginning by becoming the witch because she loved Dios) and Anthy became that image until Utena won the last duel. But Anthy, as I see her, has many secret desires and has the most genuine love for Utena than anyone, I think (everyone else wants something from her.). Anthy, though, can be very evil. She, after all, is the mastermind to all of the Nanami-based episodes and basically is the direct cause of Nanami's mishaps which I always found very brilliant and my own evil nature respects that immensely.

Despite her situation, she maintains a lot of control over the things that go on because she is exceptionally intelligent and knows how doing one thing will lead to another thing. For her poor circumstances, it's pretty impressive how she maneuvers herself like that while still playing by the rules laid down for the Rose Bride.

Still, I see her as being one of the more well-intentioned characters despite her passive-aggressiveness. And I relate to her in many ways. I admire the complexity of her character. As I've said before, she's been written so well that most people who initially view SKU are inclined to see Anthy as most of the characters see her, offering little sympathy. But for some reason, I liked her from the start.

And if she wasn't the Rose Bride, she would not have stabbed Utena. She was still a puppet of Ends of the World. Anthy was always his scapegoat for the things he did. Always. I prefer to side with scapegoat, personally, then being fooled. But her ability to take the world's blame and unjust accusations, thus the swords of hate, is truly noble and heart-wrenching at the same time. Her situation and back story is the most impressive of any fictinoal entity, imo, and is the most convincing. All that she did and became through the series coupled with the punishment inflicted was all because of what she did to try and save Dios because she loved him. Knowing Anthy, she probably foresaw a lot of what would happen, knowing it would be her eternal fate.

Having said all of that, she's the one character that brings out the most admirable qualities in Utena (and vice-versa). It's nothing short of a masterpiece, if you ask me.

.

She respected my opinion but still was not convinced though my intentions were not to convince but to personally clarify my reasons.

I'm gonna be boring and say my favourite is Utena. I just love her. She's maybe not the most mature or clued-up (I don't mean she's dumb, just maybe naive sometimes), but she stands up for what she believes in, as cliche as it sounds, even if she's in a situation where it'd be safer not to. That's a very admirable quality IMO. Plus I like how she's a tomboy, there's still something feminine about her. Or is that just me? There was something girly about her to me.
I think Akio is joint favourite though. Because sexy, sadistic, manipulitive men are MADE OF WIN! xD I spent the whole series thinking "Why can I not hate you, Akio? You're an evil evil man. Why do I love you?!"

Juri is a close second though. She was such a tragic character. I felt really terrible for her. :< I liked her in general, but her Shiori thing just made me all "Aww...".

Saionji is somewhere high on the list too. I really didn't think I'd like him at all considering he slapped Anthy about and is generally the type of guy I'd beat up in real life, but his face when he lost to Utena the second time! :< I really felt bad. And he was hilarious.

OK, my explainations are kinda stupid. xD I find it hard to explain why I like a character usually. I just take a liking to them and that's that.

Last edited by Cherry (09-19-2009 12:29:56 AM)

I've talked about this way too much, but it's a classic subject.

1. Shiori. She's a poisonous loathsome little wench, and I love her. I love the combination of delicate vulnerability with desperate power-hungry cruelty. Moreover, I really enjoy the reactions to her character. The same people who worship Touga and Akio will be quick to point out how she's a vindictive whore. She's divisive and controversial, and I like trying to understand why.

2. Mikage. I relate to him perhaps the most, but even characters I've related to haven't always been my favorites. But he has perhaps one of the most fascinating back stories in the series, and he certainly has the best duel. His personality conflict between the mechanical processor and the quietly passionate manipulator is also interesting. Also, his ending is so damned enigmatic. Just like Akio to prop up a little demigod, only to dismiss him so carelessly, right?

3. Wakaba. She's, to me, one of the strongest characters in the series. Unlike the majority of the characters, she's not a pretentious arrogant delusional diva. Touga, Saionji, and even Akio don't corrupt her on account of her powerfully positive attitude (ignorance is bliss). When shit happens to her, she recovers quickly instead of going on a selfish vengeance vendetta. Also, she had one of the best duels in the series, coming much closer to killing Anthy and Utena than any of the Black Rose thralls or Council members did. She was out for blood. Plus, she's adorable. Can't lose there.

Utena, by far. I can relate to her quixotic idealism, her optimism, her naivity. Everything about her is beautiful, honorable and elegantly flawed. She is the character that I most relate to.

And she's adorable.

I don't have an absolute favorite character but my current favorites are:

Shadow Play Girls, because they are quirky yet wise. I love their voices (dub and sub) and the banter they have in episode 33.

Shiori, because she is human and horribly fun to write.

Juri, because when I watched the show for the first time, I could relate to her so much.

and the Million Swords of Human Hatred. Alright, so technically they're not a character, but for fun I wrote a drabble in their POV (you can find it on FF.net if you don't mind something mediocre) and it was really really fun. It was even more fun than writing in Shiori's POV. Controlling a unified chorus of pure malice always brightens my day

Nanami & Wakaba. Saionji & SPG's. In that order.

And I have an insane crush on Touga, but it's not quite the same.

Nanami. I do, when in the correct mood, find the filler episodes generally amusing. So there's that. (And how adorable is her saga with the egg? Correct, super adorable.) But beyond that I think she has some of the most emotional stories in the series. Both of her duels and the stories leading up to them have a tendency to break my heart. (Her sad little braid cut in half!  Carrying Touga's phone around for days! Collapsed against the wall listening to Touga and Keiko! And, of course, Kitten Box! ) Her maliciousness with the kitten and bitch-slapping tendencies just end up endearing her to me even more--I have had my own issues with both attachment and anger management. I guess it's the typical SKU answer--she's deeply fucked up, but she's fucked up just like me, so I love her.  Plus (and I know I will hear some disagreement here), I adore her big crazy yellow dueling uniform. So very much. She just makes me happy. There was more here but I should probably stop before it becomes an episode-by-episode breakdown of why I love Nanami so much. Just trust that it's possible. And much longer than anyone would actually want to read.

Ok, let's be honest: it would be possible here, too. Wakaba is adorable, and heartbreaking, and tells the story of unrequited love so beautifully. Wakaba's desire for Saionji has always connected with me more deeply than Juri's for Shiori, and although I'm not entirely sure why, I think it might be the different sides of the story they show. Juri shows in clear, wrenching detail the pain of not having that person, while Wakaba demonstrates the intense elation that comes when you think you have a shot. Watching that get taken away from her hits me so hard every time, and I just want to hug her. Throughout the series there is a genuine-ness to Wakaba that I adore, and I will leave it at that.

Saionji! Honestly, I think there are a lot of places here on IRG that explain why I love Saionji better than I could (there are probably those things for the other characters too, but I haven't seen them as much.) Poor dude just needs a little masturbation and a little love, and things would start moving uphill for him really quickly. In spite of all of his shit, I constantly see the potential for goodness lurking right underneath. I can just picture a more-properly adjusted Saionji going on a walk with his wife and kids with nary a care in the world. Aww.

And the shadow play girls! They're so pretty! And confusing! And hilarious! I don't really think I have a justification. They're just so much cooler than any 3 beings have any right to be. (Well, more than 3, but you know.) Share the cool, guys! I'm seriously lacking!

Whew. That was long. And hopefully at least mildly interesting.

I really love all of the, but I do have a couple of favorites.

Anthy - Not only is she my top favorite character in Utena, but she's also my top favorite anime character period. Yet interestingly enough, she's the one I have the hardest time trying to explain why I like her so much. I guess it's mainly because I feel that I can never fully understand her. How much of a victim was she? And how much of a villain? During which parts in the show are her actions and emotions genuine and during which parts are they mere acts? She's just so incredibly complex, even after all these years I can never study her enough. And I love how she starts out like the typical quiet and withdrawn damsel in distress who can't do anything on her own, but then as you keep on watching she slowly but steadily becomes a much more darker character... oh, and did I mention I love her hair? Because I love her hair!

Kozue - My second favorite character in the show. I can identify with her on so many levels, which is something I very rarely find in anime. No, I don't sleep around with a bunch of guys and I don't have a crush on my brother. I do however have a very deep bond with one of my brothers, one that has made me very protective yet also strangely resentful towards him. I can identify with Kozue's desire to keep her brother's attention only on her, to protect her brother's purity, and her inner desire to be able to go back to those innocent days they shared in the past. And also, rawr, wild animals!

Saionji - It's funny, because when I first watched Utena back in 2002 or something, I hated this guy. He's an asshole, plain and simple, how could anyone possibly like him? And yet in time, I did start liking him. Yes, he's still an asshole, but what's interesting is why he's an asshole. I find what makes him tick very interesting, and he makes me feel sorry for him in a way that is strangely cute. This might be odd but despite being such an abusive jerk, I think he might really be one of the nicest characters out of all of them.

Mikage - My god, is this guy attractive. He's a cold computer-like genius with pink hair who can't stop obsessing about this one woman and her little brother... why is this so hot!? He's cool, he's interesting, he's attractive... he's the character who my reasons for liking are the most simple but hey, do I really need more?

What a roller coaster ride Ruka episodes were... "Who is this jack ass??" to "Holy shit"

So many tears when "don't worry juri" scrolled across the screen.

心配ない... 心配ない...

Miki caught my heart the first time around and I still do love him.

But Saionji. Man does he need some therapy. That asshole.

malna wrote:

I have only just discovered Ikuhara's commentary for SKU episodes, and his words for ep. 29 (second Ruka episode) make me like it even more now.

Where can I find them all? Is it available online? I've seen lots of people quote them but I want to go through them all myself...