Ragnarok wrote:

Wait, the finger was for their hands? I always assumed that guy's ass was important...

Maybe, although I don't see how his ass would be important. Well, or their holding hands, for that matter. So now I'm left wondering about the blinking hand, period.

Straight: Believe it or not, I'm a Saionji/Keiko fan. I think it could totally work. Keiko, who knows that she'll never have Touga in a long term sense, would probably be more than happy with Saionji and give him the unyielding devotion he thinks he needs. Saionji, at the same time, will probably be resistant at first to the idea of being with someone he probably considers a low-level minion at best. Then she'll grow on him. But if you just want , I vote for Kozue with either Touga or Akio....or both.

Lesbian: Put Kozue with anyone, it's automatically interesting, I think. She's a bit of an X-factor, you don't really know what she's going to do or how she's going to react to certain situations. It's a chemistry experiment, mix Kozue with other characters and see what kind of reaction it yields. My personal favorite is Kozue/Anthy. Agian, if we're thinking serious relationship, I'd go with Utena/Anthy.

Yaoi: Akio and anyone who'll say yes. Actually...I kinda want to see him seduce Miki.   He'd never be the same.

Incest: Akio/Anthy, no question.

A Day Without Me wrote:

Ragnarok wrote:

Wait, the finger was for their hands? I always assumed that guy's ass was important...

Maybe, although I don't see how his ass would be important. Well, or their holding hands, for that matter. So now I'm left wondering about the blinking hand, period.

I could give a long and involved explanation for that one, but suffice it to say the blinking hand is a rather interesting representation of the focus of Nemuro's perception; at that point Tokiko and Mamiya have opened up his mind to the intricacies of human relationships, because Nemuro himself is feeling those bonds develop (with Tokiko, because he is falling in love with her, and with Mamiya, as a sort of brother and/or child). If you follow the blinking hand around it points at a lot of things that are echoing the sentiment of emotional connections; the cat family is a prime example. There are a lot of others, but I can't remember them offhand. I wrote an essay about it once...if you're really interested I'll go find a link to it.

But! ...I guess I better do something on-topic...

Straight Couple: Ruka x Juri, Saionji x Nanami (I don't know, the dynamics of both just strike me as fascinating...particularly the latter. I'm with Ger, I would love to see more fic about them...)
Gay Couple: Touga x Saionji (It's just so damned fucked up! I love it! ...I would also put Mikage/Mamiya here too, but it kind of takes away the aspects of Mamiya I find interesting (I am most interested in the real Mamiya, rather than Anthy!Mamiya.). But then again, I occasionally desperately trawl the net for Mamiya/Mikage, so...)
Lesbian Couple: Shiori x Kozue (I'm not particularly fond of Shiori as a character, but this pairing is cracktastic. Besides, I'm one of the few fans of the show who prefers to see the Anthy/Utena thing as being relatively platonic. Don't hurt me! )
Incest Couple: Anthy/Akio (Oh, the power plays! Oh, the emotional blackmail! Oh, the HOT DAMN SEX! ...I'm in there.)
Number One: ...I don't really have one, really. To be honest, if it's hot or funny or clever or well-written, I'm totally all over ANY pairing. I love this show.

Last edited by Clarice (01-12-2007 06:50:20 PM)

I've only seen up to episode seven and can't wait to see the rest, but I think that I've done enough reading to post my favourite couples. Here goes...

Straight Couple: Miki/Nanami, if it's written well enough. There's a fanfic out there that did this pairing justice; I believe it was titled Eyes Wide Shut on Fanfiction.Net.

Lesbian Couple: Juri/Shiori, just for the shock factor alone. Those two have some serious issues to work out, and there would be very angry sex in the midst of it.

Yaoi Couple: Heh, this one's hard. I'd have to say Akio/Saionji, because everybody knows already that Touga pays a very steep price for the power he wields...

Incest Couple: Akio/Anthy, hands down. The levels of manipulation beyond just the sexual are simply mind-boggling. Not to say worthy of serious interpretation and dissection, of course.

Favourite Couple: I hate to say it, but Utena/Anthy. I read an interesting fanfiction in which Utena and Anthy raise some interesting twins... The title is Kagayaku Means to Shine, again on Fanfiction.Net.

Frau Eva wrote:

Utena/Anthy. I need conflict, people. They're absolutely beautiful in the series, but that magic is simply gone when they're portrayed too schmoopy in fanfic.

WORD. A thousand times WORD. Is it too much to ask for some lovely dysfunctional stuff? ...maybe with Anthy taking advantage of Utena for once instead of the other way around?

Ragnarok wrote:

puella_nerdii wrote:

...maybe with Anthy taking advantage of Utena for once instead of the other way around?

Are you referring to fanfics? That's how it always goes in the series.

I am indeed referring to fanfics, because it NEVER seems to go the way that it does on the show in fic. Woe.

I can imagine sweet, innocent Wakaba being like that thou for some strange reason... for what reason I cannot say.

It's true that people do things completely out of charecter, but normally it only goes so far.
No matter how hard a snake tries to be a butterfly, it's still a snake, and vice versa; it's very hard to change one's core, and a fanfic should reflect that core, at least I think so.

Who exactly is Anthy?

A part of me believes that Anthy is a Nanamiish sort of girl who got way too much into wicca at somw point, discovered some real magic which both got what she wanted (Akio) and cursed her to suffer for her misuse of magic who then buried a part of herself thereby making it easier for Akio to seize control and contrived to gain back not only a part of himself but also some of the magic that Anthy got her hands on so he can gain the power to change his world exactly the way he wants it to.

Straight couple: Juri/Miki. I like their dynamics. I like how Miki is what Juri sees in Shiori, minus the evil bitch from hell part. I like the idea of them starting a relationship the isn't too full of jealousy and lies and hatred. They both deserve it.
Gay couple: Touga/Saionji. Their dialogues [especially on the bike] are just awesome, and their relationship is interesting. It's pretty obviously there on Saionji's part, at least.
Lesbian couple: UTENA/ANTHY. Favorite pairing, not only in the series but in any anime I've ever watched. It's just there even though they never do anything that shouts out "OMG LESBIANS YAY" [well... maybe except episode 3], their relationship is so gentle and cruel and complicated and gives me warm fuzzies while making me want to scream at the computer screen at the same time and I JUST LOVE THEM.
Incest couple: I like the way incest's done in the series, but I don't actually support any of the pairings.

Giovanna wrote:

Raven Nightshade wrote:

Is the Anthy we see at the end of the series the butterfly emerging from her cocoon or simply a snake shedding her skin?

Oh wow, that's a fascinating way to pose the question. There has been no thread on that subject specifically...

We kinda get left with the impression Anthy is all shiny happy people after she leaves Akio, but it seems kinda unlikely after centuries of living one way that she can just drop it like a brick, nevermind that Anthy wasn't exactly an angel in the first place. I always felt her saving Dios was a fairly noble act done for the wrong reasons and done viciously. What kind of person could she possibly be after she leaves? I tend to side with the snake shedding her skin, but then I'm a big fan of Akio and Anthy and it has a lot to do with my opinion that they're on more even keel than most people give Anthy credit for.

I disagree. If Anthy was merely "shedding her skin", so Utena's purpose, her revolution, wasn't really worth anything. Even Ikuhara isn't that cru-- okay, he is, but I still have a hard time seeing it that way.

Last edited by Hina the Prince (01-14-2007 09:52:24 AM)

Dear Epi_lepsia,

   That is hysterical, amazing, and I love you. Thank you for this early afternoon (well, in my timezone) amusement.

                                     Love,
                                       A Day Without Me

Late response, but here!:

Guy/girl: Juri/Ruka. (Never gonna happen, but I'm still a sucker for this pairing.) Tatsuya/Wakaba. (Did I spell his name right? The Onion Prince. Those two are so adorable.)

Guy/Guy: Touga/Saionji. Full of so much jealousy, resentment, and power-playing, yet still with enough friendship to keep me happy. Plus, the idea of Touga who's slept with so many girls, only really "loving" his male best friend is just too awesome to me.

Girl/Girl: Utena/Anthy.

Incest: Miki/Kozue. The dynamics of Akio/Anthy also interest me, although I don't support the pairing in "the long run".  Miki/Kozue reminds me very much of super ego/id, and I feel like they complete each other in a twisted way.

Favourite: Utena/Anthy, hands down. This pairing is full of so much complexity. It can be either twisted or sweet and fluffy. (Although, this pairing does confuse the hell out of me sometimes.)

Other pairings that I haven't seen much of, but intrigue me: Shiori/Kozue, Juri/Miki, Akio/Kozue.

As for how far Anthy has changed at the end: This is the very reason why the Utena/Anthy pairing confuses me so much. Because Utena is just so sweet and innocent, that I can't see the pairing working out the way I like it if Anthy hasn't changed her manipulative ways. Yet on the other hand, a suddenly supper happy fluffy Anthy doesn't sound right to me. I guess I look for a balance. And also that Utena matures a little too, and becomes a little less oblivious to balance things out.

Last edited by SleepDebtFairy (02-13-2007 07:54:50 PM)

Straight couple: Miki and Juri
Comfortable around eachother, open and honest, I love it. I don't see it actually happening in the context of the series, but whatever.

Gay couple: Touga and Saionji
Saionji was a Rose Bride for him. need I say more? No dress though...a thousand fangirls must have screamed over that one.

Lesbian couple: The Shadow Girls, why not?
Just cuzz.

Incest couple: Nanami and Touga
I like Miki and Kozue as twins, not as lovers. Yaa, I know, the shame. Nanami and Touga deserve each other.