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 Top01-07-2007 08:35:05 PM

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

Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

The worst (best) thing about going through the entire series frame by miserable frame for the gallery, is that I keep running by little bits of body language I hadn't noticed before, or had and just really loved. I suspect a great deal of you are familiar with the god damn doctorate thesis I wrote on Akio's body language for his shrine, as I've been told repeatedly how awesomely wicked cool it was. (A shock, I must admit, since I figured it would be a bit dry for most visitors.) In this thread I'm going to post little things I notice, single shots, sometimes trends, as I go through the series. Depending on how this goes, it may eventually be organized into an essay for the analysis section, but I will be focusing overall on single shots and brief moments, instead of going all out retrospective on characters.

That said, I admit there will be trends, because certain characters have, well...more interesting body language. Namely, the characters that hide things. Scene to scene, Utena's body language isn't especially of note, because she's honest and her body language usually at best backs up what she says. (I can think of a few exceptions I'm gonna loooove getting to.) However, Akio and Touga spend the whole series completely full of shit, so their body language is the most fun to pick apart because it so often doesn't quite jive with what they're saying. (Anything I write about Akio will probably get added to the shrine at some point.)

If anyone wants me to dig into a specific shot, by all means post it and I'll give it a try. emot-smile (By the way, I'm going to be terribly self-important about this at times in that I will assume you've read the Akio one if you're bothering to read these. If I mouthed off a lengthy explanation of something in that essay, I won't go over it as thoroughly again here.)

Let's kick it off with some hot hot Mikage and Miki action.

http://ohtori.nu/gallery/var/resizes/Series/Episodes/Black_Rose_Saga/14/Series_ep14_049.jpg?m=1380853282
It's pretty obvious there's a gross difference in the comfort level these two have with the situation. Mikage's pose is lazy, relaxed, and very, very open. Go ahead and sit that way for a moment. It'll leave your whole side exposed and vulnerable; it's a position a person has to be very comfortable to choose for themselves. There is an element of restrained sexuality here, because his hand is resting on his thigh, thus 'hiding' his genitals, however this is pretty effectively offset by the degree to which he's leaned back. His chest is so exposed that the suggestion of sex is still there, even if the major hint he could have thrown is being concealed. This, I suspect, had everything to do with his captive audience, who couldn't possibly be more closed with his body. He's hunched forward, with his books piled on his lap (might as well wear a chastity belt, sport), his arms both rested on uncrossed legs (we get it!!). This is a boy that isn't wanting to buy whatever it is he thinks Mikage is selling, and while he's thinking of the seminar, their body language combined suggests there's a hidden offer no one's mentioning directly.

Now, it's not all about sex. (Just the part Giovanna likes to blabber about most. Whee!) Mikage's legs are crossed and Miki's are very not crossed. This is evidence of the disparity in status and power. Miki is treating Mikage very much as a superior, both in age and in intelligence, and it is not, as is the case quite often with Miki, an act of politeness or humbleness. Miki quite honestly bows to Mikage's superiority, even as an adult, which is a concept we know rubs Miki the wrong way elsewhere. In this case, it's evidenced by this difference because Miki is willing to take the more childish position. Both people would cross their legs if this was a competition for status, or even if Miki was making the slightest effort to appear higher on the ladder than he is.

http://ohtori.nu/gallery/var/resizes/Series/Episodes/Black_Rose_Saga/14/Series_ep14_053.jpg?m=1380853282
There's little to say about this one that isn't said in the rest of Mikage's body language. Again, relaxed, confident. However, it's a direct contrast to the next shot.

http://ohtori.nu/gallery/var/resizes/Series/Episodes/Black_Rose_Saga/14/Series_ep14_054.jpg?m=1380853282
Miki's fingers are tensed around the can, and his thumb is pressed against his hand, as if distancing that digit would have been too much to expose. This is, aside from a concealing reaction to the sexual tension in the room, plain, balls out tension. Miki is nervous around this man; any more so and he'd be sweating. He's obviously sexually put off, but I suspect there's also disturbance on account of the intellectual superiority Miki is sensing. Though Miki's body language is especially childlike most of the time, he rarely seems bothered by adults. The other character in the series that his body language suggests he sees as a true superior is Touga, and despite Touga's teasing him repeatedly, he doesn't clam up his body language around him the way he's doing with Mikage, who isn't really teasing. (I question whether Touga's teasing, but that's another subject.) Miki is, here, quite plainly intimidated by Mikage. This is not surprising, because an oddity of Miki that often betrays itself in his body language is that he's not as humble about his intelligence as he tries to be, and he's in an unusual position to be associating with someone who is acting like they're smarter than him and probably able to back it up.

One thing that's also of note, though it's not body language exactly...Miki's drink is unopened. Mikage's is. Can't you just smell the symbolism?

Edit: Also kinda fun, color-wise, they're an inversion of each other. Mikage: Light (damn near white at times) hair, blue jacket, white pants. Miki: Blue hair, white jacket, blue pants.

Last edited by Giovanna (01-07-2007 08:51:17 PM)


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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#2 | Back to Top01-07-2007 08:51:04 PM

Dani
IRG Messiah
From: Virginia, USA
Registered: 10-22-2006
Posts: 361

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Oh, my, I'm lovin' this. This kinda stuff is exactly why I love this show. Keep those posts comin'. You kick ass, as always, Gio.

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#3 | Back to Top01-07-2007 09:46:55 PM

KissingT.Kiryuu
Hentai Hero!!!
From: Somewhere and Nowhere
Registered: 10-20-2006
Posts: 4090
Website

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Wheres my meal?


http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q278/SisterElla09/mrsaturnDance.gif

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#4 | Back to Top01-07-2007 09:52:32 PM

Ivy-chan
Unfulfilled Juror
Registered: 10-19-2006
Posts: 232

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Excuse me whilst I find a secluded corner. etc-wankgirl


If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants.
-Isaac Newton

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#5 | Back to Top01-07-2007 10:02:54 PM

Almaser
Qualified Duellist
From: Brisbane
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 727

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

It's a good thing this has meals included, for you, Gio, have whet my appetite. etc-love
Good god, now I have to watch SKU -again- and look for all the subtle physical cues... oh well! emot-dance

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#6 | Back to Top01-07-2007 10:25:37 PM

Ragnarok
Caption Captor
From: Canada
Registered: 10-20-2006
Posts: 4472
Website

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Wow, that's... Yeah... This is the sort of thread I love to read but won't have anything to contribute to.


http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r9/RagnarokIII/spyschool.jpg

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#7 | Back to Top01-08-2007 12:23:51 AM

ShatteredMirror
Yaoi Pet #1
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: 10-22-2006
Posts: 8858

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

This interests me greatly because people to me are puzzles that need to be solved, and this kind of thing helps me with steps of those puzzles. I'll be back.


Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source.

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#8 | Back to Top01-08-2007 01:58:05 AM

Tamago
God of Comedy
From: Minami Goushuu
Registered: 10-17-2006
Posts: 14280
Website

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Thats what I love about this forum, you get indepth stuff like this to read. emot-keke school-freud

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#9 | Back to Top01-08-2007 08:27:22 AM

Maarika
Someday Shiner
From: Estonia
Registered: 10-17-2006
Posts: 2510
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Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Oh oh, how about Anthy! I can't think of a specific scene at the moment though, but whatever it is, I bet it'll be very interesting.


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Believing in True Friendship Since 2008.

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#10 | Back to Top01-08-2007 08:52:39 AM

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

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Maarika wrote:

Oh oh, how about Anthy! I can't think of a specific scene at the moment though, but whatever it is, I bet it'll be very interesting.

Ooo ooo, I know a good shot for that. Unfortunately Akio's involved and I'm already yapping about Akio. emot-redface I'll eventually do it anyway because of the implications it has for the nature of their relationship prior to Utena, but I'll also keep my eyes open for some good Anthy tidbits. Actually her body language is one of the hardest for me, because her control over it is excessive and she doesn't play games of honesty with it the way Akio does. Still, she has her moments, and they mean all the more for that they're so rare. emot-smile

KissingT.Kiryuu wrote:

Wheres my meal?

I'm not at home, or I would post pictures of Wakaba's bento box from episode 11. Pretend that I did. emot-biggrin However, I uploaded a couple shots last night to discuss here.

http://ohtori.nu/gallery/var/resizes/Series/Episodes/Black_Rose_Saga/14/Series_ep14_030.jpg?m=1380853279
http://ohtori.nu/gallery/var/resizes/Series/Episodes/Black_Rose_Saga/14/Series_ep14_088.jpg?m=1380853288

...what. Before you jump my ass for favoritism (that I'm completely guilty of), this goes back to a couple mentions of Kanae and Akio in other threads, and whether they've had sex or whether Akio wants her around, etc, etc.

These two shots have something in common. In both, Akio's body language does not change because his fiancee is right next to him. He doesn't avoid her, but doesn't regard her either. He's positioned the way he would be even if Kanae wasn't there. In the first shot, he is looking at her (amusingly enough, he glances at her when she suggests he's in their marriage for the planetarium) and appears to voluntarily have placed his hand on hers. However, his hand is all that moved between this shot and the one before, while Kanae shifted her entire body toward him to get this minor reaction. We see this flat out physical begging again in their photograph, where Akio is standing with his hip jutted out (as he does rather often) away from Kanae, with a curvature extreme enough that his torso is noticably distanced from her. This is a considerable show of disinterest made worse by that his body is aimed at Anthy instead. As are his hips, and with them, his genitals. school-freud (Kanae blames her alienation on Anthy, when we're shown repeatedly that Akio's playing an equal, if more subtle, part.)

Kanae, for her part, in both of these shots is physically chasing any reaction at all. She leans toward him. She grabs his arm. She vies for attention he only provides at the barest minimum. If this were not Akio, you could explain both shots as the hesitant distance between people being forced together in arranged marriage. (Certainly, he gets away with it in part because that's how it's perceived.) The second especially, his hips pointed away, could be sexual tension, discomfort with the confusion of expectation for a man with a woman he's about to marry but cannot touch yet. This would be a plausible explanation if it didn't operate in direct opposition to the rest of his behavior. The first we see of them, Akio and Kanae are sucking face at the top of a ladder. Not a place where WHOOPS WE JUST HAPPENED TO KISS A LITTLE TEEHEE. In fact, that Kanae climbed the ladder Akio was no doubt already perched on is more of that physical begging for his attention. Furthermore, in the shot his hand moves off her shoulder and out of our view toward her body. Basically, our first glance of these two suggests a comfort and interest in sex that would be uncharacteristic of a sexual tension that would explain his distancing body language. This isn't to say they've had sex, but that tension is not an adequate explanation of Akio's behavior in every shot of every scene he shares with Kanae aside from that one.


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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#11 | Back to Top01-08-2007 09:49:28 AM

Arki
Dark Whisperer
From: Croatia
Registered: 10-28-2006
Posts: 1123

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

I think I'm getting smarter with each post you post, because body language isn't something I get to listen/read about often. Your efforts are very much apreciated and I am so interested in hearing more. Teach us, sensei. emot-dance

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#12 | Back to Top01-08-2007 10:08:42 AM

hyacinth_black
une personne horrible
From: Waiting at the window.
Registered: 10-21-2006
Posts: 3301
Website

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Giovanna wrote:

This isn't to say they've had sex, but that tension is not an adequate explanation of Akio's behavior in every shot of every scene he shares with Kanae aside from that one.

Everyone knows that Akio is a sex feind.  What I think is that Akio is only interested in Kanae for the power he gets as chairman & for him, the only other way she can be useful to him is as a physical object.  Generally, he isn't in need of this because he already has Anthy, Touga, and any practically any other person on campus.  Kanae is deeply in love with Akio & she seeks out his attention because she fears that she may lose him.  In the scene where Akio's tongue is flossing Kanae's epiglottis, I think that Akio just did that so he wouldn't seem like he was neglecting Kanae & he also needed a booty call.


http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/hyacinth-black/woops.gif
Hyacinth Black: Not much else to say, is there?

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#13 | Back to Top01-08-2007 01:25:38 PM

Starfire
Rose Smilee
From: With faires, you know the ones
Registered: 12-29-2006
Posts: 127

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Tell me more! More more more! Analysis is sexy. Wow. I could be considered a bt odd huh? Oh yes. Where's my meal!!!!! I want fish. And vegetables. And ice cream. And the utena charcters, mini and on a plate. Now.

(I know I'm demanding but thats me. DEAL WITH IT.)emot-tongue

Last edited by Starfire (01-08-2007 02:22:48 PM)


You know you want to. You need to. You have no choice. Do it.

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#14 | Back to Top01-08-2007 01:39:43 PM

Shmeecherz
Touga Topper
From: The land of...pie... -_-
Registered: 12-25-2006
Posts: 51
Website

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Oh wow...that sure is special...

I would like some of that meal you speak of school-chef


I wish I wish I was a fish 8D

-JOIN THE CRAZY COLLEGE RP ON THE RP THREAD!-

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#15 | Back to Top01-08-2007 02:19:29 PM

Valeli
Thorn of Death
Registered: 12-05-2006
Posts: 481
Website

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

It's already been said by everyone - at the risk of beating a dead horse though, I really think it's neat you've taken the time to draw out pictures and explain them like this, both here and on the Akio bit of the site. A lot of stuff pops up that I noticed when I was watching the series, but only in a really cursory not thinking it through way. I didn't really "notice" it. It's very cool how the artists/directors took the time to think out all of these details so well, and it's very cool that you've taken the time to explain so much stuff that's so easy to miss/missunderstand.

Thanks much.

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#16 | Back to Top01-08-2007 06:23:27 PM

A Day Without Me
Still Drunk in the Morning?
From: in the tulip garden!
Registered: 11-17-2006
Posts: 1584

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Yay! Analyses! Of some of my favorite characters (Kanae, Miki, Mikage)! Woo-hoo!

God, this just makes me feel guilty for not getting my act together and writing an essay to submit for EM -_-;


"I'm bringing paxil back. (Yup)
My HMO might just pick up the tab. (Yup)
I got the tremors and I need a nap. (Yup)
I gave my rent check to them Pfizer cats."

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#17 | Back to Top01-08-2007 08:53:12 PM

Tamago
God of Comedy
From: Minami Goushuu
Registered: 10-17-2006
Posts: 14280
Website

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

I have a sneaking suspision that Akio only deals with Kanae as little as possible because she is in love with him.  When you think about the sort of man Akio is, I doubt he can handle the idea of someone in love with him who is supposed to be in love with him (ie Kanae is his fiancee) as opposed to someone who is either just infactuated with him or if the love is immoral in some way. (ie sexual relations with his sister)

I would comment more, but I'm feeling ill due to an inner-ear infection.

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#18 | Back to Top01-08-2007 10:15:51 PM

Ivy-chan
Unfulfilled Juror
Registered: 10-19-2006
Posts: 232

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Looking at that photograph, I must ask what they are standing in front of: it seems that the scenery changes midway through the picture. It could be a wall, but it's the same color as the sky, so that red steeple looks like it's coming off of Akio's shoulder.  emot-gonk


If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants.
-Isaac Newton

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#19 | Back to Top01-08-2007 11:02:03 PM

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

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Ivy-chan wrote:

Looking at that photograph, I must ask what they are standing in front of: it seems that the scenery changes midway through the picture. It could be a wall, but it's the same color as the sky, so that red steeple looks like it's coming off of Akio's shoulder.  emot-gonk

I was srsly srsly so so tempted to mention that and I'm glad someone did. Why did they decide it was necessary to pose the three in front of a seemingly meaningless red pointy phallic object? Another amusing thing to note though it's easier to see in the other shot of the photograph is that Akio and Kanae are front and center and Anthy's off by a bit, like her presence was an afterthought or she was not originally meant to be there in the picture.

I uploaded a batch of images to photobucket, I'll figure out which I feel like discussing tomorrow. emot-wink I'm glad you guys are enjoying this. Body language is a passion of mine, and if any of you learn something new here, that's fantastic. This is all stuff that applies first and foremost to real life and how real people move. That I can apply it to SKU...well believe it or not, Akio's sex appeal isn't the only thing drawing me to the series. (Shocking, I know.) I'm actually enjoying this about capping the episodes; I've never gone through them so thoroughly and dwelled over each and every shot. (Except in the case of Akio, for his essay.) It's really just renewing my love for this series when I realize how rich and full of depth these characters are. That I remember sensing a strongly introspective, depressive characteristic to Kozue, but now looking again, I can see exactly where I got that. (Her eyes are often downcast and lowered, not sexually, but dismissively. She detached herself from her surroundings to contemplate cold things in the privacy of her thoughts. I'll go over this in detail in this thread eventually, I suspect. I want to hit Miki's Akio Arc duel first.)


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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#20 | Back to Top01-08-2007 11:11:18 PM

Alithea
Dark Whisperer
From: Westminster, CO
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 1152
Website

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

I do beleive that lighter colored  bit, that slightly matches the sky is a bush or shrub of some sort.

Last edited by Alithea (01-08-2007 11:12:40 PM)


"The only reason to write is to write for love. Write for passion. If you have the privilege of being able to write, then don't do it for any other reason." - Stephen Sondheim

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#21 | Back to Top01-09-2007 09:13:52 AM

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

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

A Day Without Me wrote:

Analyses! Of some of my favorite characters (Kanae, Miki, Mikage)! Woo-hoo!

I'm only two episodes into the BRS and Mikage is the character Giovanna forgot. I have no excuse for this, I'm afraid, and hope to make amends. I made the mistake of trying to combine Mikage and Nemuro's body language into one reasonable whole, when in fact this was a gross error and I should burn in hell (Nemuro Hall!) for it. I saw the Nemuro episodes before I saw the rest of the BRS, which kinda screwed with my view of the character, but seeing Mikage from a fresher standpoint, I'm completely floored by how openly sexual he is. I mean, I always knew this about his character but just wow. I will be coming back to him.

For now though, let's play with Juri! I will be getting to Anthy in the next couple days or so. emot-keke

http://ohtori.nu/gallery/var/resizes/Series/Episodes/Student_Council_Arc/07/Series_ep07_104.jpg?m=1385788415
Juri:  Why are you always dressed like a boy?

When Juri asks Utena this question, we get that gesture out of her. A sudden fascination with her nails. A display of casual disinterest in what's going on. Juri asks Utena a rather personal question. She's looking at her own person, at her hand, in a distracted, vaguely fidgeting gesture. This is as if to say 'Not that I care, I mean I'm just asking for the sake of conversation, don't read into my interest too much.' Just simply looking away when she asks was not enough for her, she had to look at her own body; a subtle suggestion that her nails are at least as fascinating to her as the question she's posed. This is a gesture that often betrays the person making it. They're trying to show they think they're more important than whatever silly other thing is going on, but in Juri's case, she's betraying that she places importance on the question as it relates directly to her, because out of countless displays of disinterest, she chose the one that most involves her.

Why is she making an effort to appear disinterested in the question she's asked? It's not surprising she'd be somehow uncomfortable with a question that so openly refers to gender identity or sexual orientation...but is her discomfort from familiarity? (Has she been teased for being 'butch' before?) Or is it awareness that it's a sexual question to her, maybe even almost a proposition, though she understands Utena won't hear it that way? It's an honest question one could easily ask out of curiosity, but Juri could have asked that question earlier in the episode. She waits until they're alone in a reasonably intimate setting, because it's not just an innocent curiosity to Juri. She expects an answer she assumes Utena wouldn't be willing to give in less private circumstances, but would Juri have been even imagining this prince story Utena tells? Wouldn't another answer have made a lot more sense to her?

You could even draw significance from the hand she chose to look at. First and foremost, it's the one closest to Utena, which makes the gesture more visible to her. It also raises Juri's arm into a position to cover her torso; a concealing mechanism to mask her intentions. If you really want to split hairs, you could also note it's her left hand, the hand with the ring, and a sudden fascination with it could be thought to betray that Juri is relating her signet and all that represents to her to the question. She knows there's a connection, if not for Utena, at least for herself.


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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#22 | Back to Top01-09-2007 10:05:43 AM

Dani
IRG Messiah
From: Virginia, USA
Registered: 10-22-2006
Posts: 361

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Beautiful. And you've already schooled us on what the knees-pointed-in-the-direction of Utena means...
There, there, Juri, most of us have a crush on Utena too.

I've wondered if Juri gives Utena the sword for her "Self" duel, in part, to make up for the anger she unleashes on Utena during this scene. At some point, Juri must regret having given Utena a hard time about her prince thing.

And does Juri go ballistic because Utena gives her a "way out" answer to what Juri thinks is a gender-based question?

And it occurs to me that it takes guts for Juri to ask Utena if she loves Anthy at the end of the series, especially after this conversation.

Last edited by Dani (01-09-2007 10:13:59 AM)

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#23 | Back to Top01-09-2007 12:11:38 PM

Starfire
Rose Smilee
From: With faires, you know the ones
Registered: 12-29-2006
Posts: 127

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

This is the best analysis ever! I never knew how much there was to read into! Please don't stop!

(Still no meal. My stomach might eat you Giovanna. Hey, then I might absorb some dudey SKU knowledge! Cool! Now...all I have to do is find you and eat you. How does next friday sound?)


You know you want to. You need to. You have no choice. Do it.

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#24 | Back to Top01-09-2007 10:49:52 PM

ShatteredMirror
Yaoi Pet #1
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: 10-22-2006
Posts: 8858

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

Dani wrote:

I've wondered if Juri gives Utena the sword for her "Self" duel, in part, to make up for the anger she unleashes on Utena during this scene. At some point, Juri must regret having given Utena a hard time about her prince thing.

I think we'll have to pester Gio for an analysis of the shot where we see Juri giving Utena her sword. You know, when that time comes.

But all of this is a very logical build-up to the caress that turns into an attack. She could have easily kissed her, but chose to go ballistic instead. Poor, miserable Juri.


Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source.

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#25 | Back to Top01-09-2007 11:41:40 PM

Ivy-chan
Unfulfilled Juror
Registered: 10-19-2006
Posts: 232

Re: Come with me, on an SKU body language tour! Meals included!

I don't think she gave Utena the sword as an apology for her behavior leading up to and during the Duel. I'm sure that entered into her decision at some point, but I think the major motivation there was Juri's displeasure at Touga's rather obnoxious smug bastardism and the downright low methods he used to secure his victory. She does seem to understand his methods, (she points out in the council meeting directly after Utena's defeat that she doesn't believe he won by pure skill because he 'seems to prefer plots',) and actually seems somewhat tolerant of them to some extent, predicting his course of action and being able to see what he's plotting. However, it  also seems she doesn't approve of them, neither in the case of Touga using Nanami in the duels, or with him manipulating Utena.  She calls Touga on his use of manipulation and schemes and seems casual about it, but she definitely shows disapproval on both counts:

Touga:  It was her own fault that Nanami lost the Duel.
Touga:  Whether it was someone's plot or not,
Touga:  joining into it was her own responsibility.
Juri:  How cold.

And then we have this:

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/9094/jurifn2.jpg

Her expression is definitely set to 'annoyed'. emot-wink

I think she gave Utena the sword both as a gesture of support and also to help even the odds between Touga and Utena. (Something tells me she would have attempted to fight Touga with a bokken.) More: 'go and knock the smile off his face for me' rather than 'I'm awful sorry for hitting you'.


If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants.
-Isaac Newton

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