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 Top04-13-2013 07:17:31 PM

soberdriver1
Wakaba Wrangler
Registered: 04-13-2013
Posts: 12

Why Anthy didn't immediately leave Ohtori

I don't know where the old thread is but it asked why Anthy didn't immediately leave Ohtori after Utena disappeared but instead seemed to have stayed for a while before finally leaving.  I wonder if she was seeing if Akio had learned anything but seeing him start up another round of Dueling showed that nothing had penetrated.  Even the other duellists (except Kanae) seemed to have progressed a little. 

I think of it being sort of a test for Akio in that she wanted to see what he'd do if there was a Revolution.  He just double downed and looked happy/relieved that it failed.  It links in with another person's supposition elsewhere that the whole Dueling scenarios weren't about freeing her but were all about Akio entertaining himself but also each failing attempt at the door making Anthy feel more and more hopeless while stringing her along to do what he wanted with him only have to expend lip service to the idea that he'd become Dios again.

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#2 | Back to Top04-14-2013 11:06:42 PM

BlackBeforeRed
Acknowledged Smart Person
From: The Nightosphere
Registered: 07-09-2010
Posts: 178

Re: Why Anthy didn't immediately leave Ohtori

I always thought it might have taken her a while to figure it all out herself, and then to work up the balls to leave. Anthy might have been revolutionized, but she's still her core character, hesitant and calculating. She was probably trying to come up with an idea of what she was going to do to find Utena and all of the details before she up and walked out. That's my headcanon at least emot-tongue

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#3 | Back to Top04-15-2013 02:30:05 AM

Lurv
Pained Growlithe
Registered: 05-25-2012
Posts: 520

Re: Why Anthy didn't immediately leave Ohtori

BlackBeforeRed wrote:

I always thought it might have taken her a while to figure it all out herself, and then to work up the balls to leave. Anthy might have been revolutionized, but she's still her core character, hesitant and calculating. She was probably trying to come up with an idea of what she was going to do to find Utena and all of the details before she up and walked out. That's my headcanon at least emot-tongue

Right. Besides, even knowing there's someone better for her out there, I imagine it's hard to just immediately leave Akio when she's been with him for so long. Real victims of abuse also second-guess themselves for a variety of reasons.

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#4 | Back to Top09-14-2015 06:41:46 PM

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

Re: Why Anthy didn't immediately leave Ohtori

BlackBeforeRed wrote:

I always thought it might have taken her a while to figure it all out herself, and then to work up the balls to leave. Anthy might have been revolutionized, but she's still her core character, hesitant and calculating. She was probably trying to come up with an idea of what she was going to do to find Utena and all of the details before she up and walked out. That's my headcanon at least emot-tongue

Thread Necro for the week here.

So -- my take on this is that Anthy, as BlackBeforeRed mentioned, took time to figure things out. I believe there was no precedent for her to try to determine where someone was outside of the campus.

This has been brewing in my mind a lot recently because I want to know what happened to Utena after the swords of hate got to her. So the swords take her out. Being that this is Ohtori and nothing really actually happens kinda sorta... does Akio snap out of it inside of the planetarium (where the duel took place) and see a passed out Utena and Anthy then immediately ushers Utena out of the school all together via his connections? I'd suspect that he shipped her off/out and she managed to get to a hospital to recover then on her merry way. Meanwhile, Anthy is still coming to terms with what is going on. She is unaware of what Akio has done to "graduate" Utena so she would spend her time gathering resources around the campus to determine where Utena went. Which Hospital? What family did she have left? Who were her parental guardians as it were?

Akio mentions it was a short time after the event, so i suspect it was a month(ish?) later and Anthy had gathered what information she needed to go and pursue Utena.

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#5 | Back to Top09-14-2015 07:28:03 PM

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

Re: Why Anthy didn't immediately leave Ohtori

KissFromARose wrote:

I'd suspect that he shipped her off/out and she managed to get to a hospital to recover then on her merry way. Meanwhile, Anthy is still coming to terms with what is going on. She is unaware of what Akio has done to "graduate" Utena so she would spend her time gathering resources around the campus to determine where Utena went. Which Hospital? What family did she have left? Who were her parental guardians as it were?

Akio mentions it was a short time after the event, so i suspect it was a month(ish?) later and Anthy had gathered what information she needed to go and pursue Utena.

This is a nice theory but she didn't graduate. In fact, it's remarked that she was expelled. She ceased to exist to that world. She was carried anywhere, she was ejected by the school itself.

We see Anthy as well-they do cause pain but not-interestingly enough-no clear physical damage. They aren't about hurting physically, they are about inflicting suffering-emotional, mental and as a last, physical. It's the invisible scars that take the longest to heal and Anthy needed to recover herself enough to begin making the steps.

Anthy and Utena do not fit into the system of the school anymore. Utena is ejected without the ground she stood upon to challenge the sky and her own shell-and Anthy herself gets up and leaves, without expelling or graduation.

The Student Council themselves are not quite ready-but are on the path to following Utena's example and I do believe that's important.

Anthy herself needed a little more time before she was ready for it herself.


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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#6 | Back to Top09-14-2015 10:30:35 PM

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

Re: Why Anthy didn't immediately leave Ohtori

Anthiena wrote:

This is a nice theory but she didn't graduate. In fact, it's remarked that she was expelled. She ceased to exist to that world. She was carried anywhere, she was ejected by the school itself.

Yes! Incorrect word choice. I apologize!


I guess my confusion still stands as to what happened immediately following Utena being hit by the swords of hate. I presume her actual sword wound though still stands? right? Similar to how Touga took a real hit from a sword when he was hurt -- as that wasn't a part of the illusion.

She ceased to exist in the world-- so i'm curious, i guess do they just Harry Potter style disapparate?

Definitely, Anthy needed the time to confirm her feelings and determine what her next steps were. I'm sure she underwent some type of grieving process too. Coming to terms with the fact that the girl who truly loved her is gone. I'm sure that wasn't easy, so processing all of that had to be rough.

I have so many questions that lead up to Utena and Anthy reuniting. I just assumed there was some sort of process to being expelled / kicked out / otherwise. Mikage also vanishes and his memory is gone, but did he really exist to begin with is a different discussion. The difference here is that Utena's memory was still slightly there.

My headcannon says Akio got up from revolution duel illusion with an angry face and snapped his fingers to be rid of Utena when her purpose had dried up which caused Anthy some sort of struggle to figuring out where exactly to go from this coffin she has lived in for so long. Honestly, what is the outside world like anymore?

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#7 | Back to Top09-15-2015 12:26:22 AM

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

Re: Why Anthy didn't immediately leave Ohtori

It's hard to say what is meant as symbolic-and what is literal. So let's go into what's at question here.


* Touga getting hurt.

Actually, he wasn't hurt all that bad and played at it being worse than it was for two reasons: to get Saionji expelled and to get Nanami to duel. Him  being hurt-or the illusion of him being hurt worse-was to a distinct purpose. Saionji himself used a real sword, thus why it was real to begin with-for a given value of real.

* Utena's expulsion

We hear it from Anthy herself.

scripts wrote:

Anthy:  You don't know what happened, do you?
Akio:  What?
Anthy:  It's alright now. Please go on playing make-believe "Prince" in this comfortable little coffin forever.
Anthy:  But I must go.
Akio:  Go? To where?
Anthy:  That person hasn't vanished. She's merely left your world.
Akio:  What're you talking about?
Akio:  W-wait a minute! Anthy!
Akio:  Anthy!!
Anthy:  Farewell.

She left. Meaning she was able to find the strength to get up and leave.


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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