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 Top03-07-2009 04:44:21 PM

Riri-kins
World's End
From: Cloud Nine
Registered: 09-22-2008
Posts: 2354

Was Utena Dios's liberator too?

Okay, so we all know she saved Anthy, but do you think Dios thought Utena would restore him to his former glory when he comforted her?  I don't think he completely transformed into Akio and that he knew the only way for him to be a prince again was to get a righteous avatar in the real world. I think he saw something great in Utena even when they met and got hopeful. So in short, was he merely concerned about Anthy or did he still want his own prince?


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My Utena fanfiction: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2000115/Riri-kins

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#2 | Back to Top03-07-2009 09:21:37 PM

Aelanie
Black Rosarian
Registered: 02-04-2009
Posts: 378

Re: Was Utena Dios's liberator too?

I think he simply wanted Anthy to be free. For better or worse, Dios is nothing but a phantom now. My reading of his post-sealing personality, the little that we see of it, is that he feels like he failed. He failed his sister, and failed to be the prince to the entire world (although it's obvious that that is impossible anyway).

Given that, I really doubt that Dios would think it's possible, or even wise,  for Utena to try to succeed where he failed, except where Anthy is concerned.

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#3 | Back to Top03-08-2009 04:15:27 PM

Nights1stStar
Ballgoer
From: Clawing Out of Her Coffin
Registered: 02-04-2009
Posts: 157

Re: Was Utena Dios's liberator too?

Good thought-provoking question. emot-keke

I don't think Dios wants to save himself, because prince's are self-flagellating altruistic and don't care about themselves. In the flashback in episode 34, Dios is shown desperately wanting to help the angry mob even though he's near-dying and they're demanding his blood. Plus, he only shows young Utena a vision of Anthy suffering, and not him. If he'd been looking to save himself, he would've asked Utena to help him too, but he doesn't. Thus, he only wants someone to save Anthy.


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-Charles Bauldelaire

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#4 | Back to Top03-09-2009 07:57:17 PM

Baka Kakumei Reanna
Atlantean Singer
From: Wisconsin
Registered: 07-31-2007
Posts: 572
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Re: Was Utena Dios's liberator too?

Gods. I read the thread title, "What does Utena's vibrator do?"

In answer to your question, I think that Dios, or what remained of him, saw himself as a lost cause, and the focus was on Anthy. Whether that really was the case and there was hope for him as well, I'm not sure.


We see things not as they are, we see things as we are.

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#5 | Back to Top03-09-2009 07:59:48 PM

The_A_Man
Someday Shiner
From: Canada
Registered: 02-22-2009
Posts: 9107
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Re: Was Utena Dios's liberator too?

Baka Kakumei Reanna wrote:

Gods. I read the thread title, "What does Utena's vibrator do?"

LMAO emot-rofl

Well her vibrator vibrate and causes her pleasure down there.

As for Dios, I think he just wanted Utena to save Anthy.

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#6 | Back to Top03-10-2009 08:10:39 AM

rhyaniwyn
Myth is my Bitch
From: Tallahassee, FL
Registered: 11-09-2006
Posts: 684
Website

Re: Was Utena Dios's liberator too?

I think that in the anime, no--Utena is not Dios's liberator.  It's important to remember that while Dios does have a presence, he is more like a ghost than anything else.  Dios doesn't exist as an independent entity anymore.  To liberate Dios, Utena would have to have the same effect on Akio that she did on Anthy -- namely, inspire Akio to leave his coffin and as a result turn over a new leaf (to at least a small degree).

So Utena had the potential, but Akio didn't take the step.  Since Akio is Dios in the current day, Utena unfortunately doesn't rescue him.  But, as for Anthy, it was Akio's choice and he chose to stay in his coffin.

However, in the manga, Utena is Dios's liberator to an extent.  Dios says that if she does not lose her nobility, "someday, she will save us."  Since Dios himself, is dead and Akio is in total control, that rescue comes in the form of reuniting Akio with Dios (the power of Dios that is left after Akio's plans, which Utena embodies).

Last edited by rhyaniwyn (03-10-2009 08:11:48 AM)


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#7 | Back to Top03-10-2009 09:47:25 AM

NajiMinkin
Hacker Ringleader
From: The Incredible Edible Egg
Registered: 06-23-2007
Posts: 2537

Re: Was Utena Dios's liberator too?

I think that Utena liberated Dios in the sense that she succeeded in what it was he sent her to do at the very beginning; Utena freed Anthy. But whatever shadow of himself that existed in that tower I would argue still exists there, however, it's now at peace, having saved (indirectly) the final princess.

Although, hm. It was Anthy who locked Dios away, supposedly. Maybe when she left, she set him free...


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#8 | Back to Top03-16-2009 11:36:57 PM

diana-etfg
New Student
Registered: 03-16-2009
Posts: 2

Re: Was Utena Dios's liberator too?

In my opinion, Utena liberates him of his desire of rescuing anthy, however, since he doesn't exist anymore (i guess, because all that i saw of him on the series were purely ghosts or memories...) what did utena had to free? and i feel it kind of funny since dios actually means god... i find it weird reading that he doesn't exits ...

sorry for my lack of english skills, i'm not that smart either but i felt like writing this post for some reason.emot-tongue

Last edited by diana-etfg (03-16-2009 11:39:15 PM)


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#9 | Back to Top03-17-2009 06:53:12 PM

brian
Atlantean Singer
Registered: 10-22-2006
Posts: 589

Re: Was Utena Dios's liberator too?

Someone once claimed that Dios is Greek for Hero. I don't have confirmation of that.

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#10 | Back to Top03-24-2009 04:29:37 AM

Alan
Wakaba Wrangler
From: Los Angeles
Registered: 03-16-2009
Posts: 17
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Re: Was Utena Dios's liberator too?

I believe the Greek word for Hero is "hero", that we get the whole concept from the Greeks. I understand Dios to mean "God" in Spanish (from the Latin "Deus"), which is interesting because when Dios the prince fell he became Akio - named for Lucifer, as he points out. Joseph Campbell said that "a god outgrown immediately becomes a life-destroying demon," and I think that's pretty much what happened - when Anthy/humanity outgrew the need for a prince, everything that was good about the prince was lost, and the obsession with becoming a prince ended up a destructive force (witness Anthy's treatment by many of the duelists, including Utena). I see Akio as the embodiment of this destructive force - duelists trying to become princes doesn't stand any chance of resurrecting or freeing Dios (the castle in the sky is just an illusion, after all), it just furthers the objectification and degradation of Anthy (and women in general).

Now, I imagine that Akio saw the potential for his return to the glory of Dios in Utena, just as he saw it in Touga, and Saionji, and the rest of the student council; and even in the previous student councils dating back at least to the time of Mikage. I just don't think there was ever a chance of his liberation at the hand of another - Utena may have sacrificed herself to awaken Anthy, but Anthy had to choose to free herself of her brother and Ohtori on her own. Akio's had that freedom all this time, but accepting it would mean giving up on the idea of being a prince, and thus giving up on his old identity. He's unwilling (afraid?) to do that, so he chooses to remain in his coffin. As for Dios himself - I don't think Utena ever met him. I think she met Akio pretending to be Dios, trying to inspire another would-be duelist. Not that it mattered; it turns out that illusions can inspire nobility at least as well as any reality.

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#11 | Back to Top03-24-2009 04:22:13 PM

Hanayome
Miki Molester
Registered: 08-28-2008
Posts: 35

Re: Was Utena Dios's liberator too?

Someone once claimed that Dios is Greek for Hero. I don't have confirmation of that.

Dios is another Greek name for Zeus or Iuppiter, god of thunder, actually.

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