Well, Wakaba does seem to be privileged enough to be able to live in an off-campus apartment. That can't be cheaper than living on campus. ;

Imaginary Bad Bug wrote:

off-campus apartment. That can't be cheaper than living on campus. ;

You'd be surprised.

The difference between the SC lot and the other students seem to be that of the SONY/SUBARU level high society v.s. the upper-middle class.

Maybe I'm going by U.S. standards, where a boarding school is something like 50k a year. Tsuwabuki has been attending Ohtori since preschool, for God's sake; who except the Carnegies and Rockefellers of the world would bother sending a child to an elite preschool?

What makes you think that? I'm just curious.

Their names are very commonplace; one of the signs of the SCs' aristocracy are their very prestigious names.

Atropos wrote:

Maybe I'm going by U.S. standards, where a boarding school is something like 50k a year. Tsuwabuki has been attending Ohtori since preschool, for God's sake; who except the Carnegies and Rockefellers of the world would bother sending a child to an elite preschool?

Asian minds plan ahead: elite preschool is in most cases prerequisite to elite elementary school, which in turn is prerequisite to elite high school, which in turn is prerequisite to elite Colleges/Universities, which is prerequisite to high paying jobs at elite companies/corporations; if a kid does not start early, it would be near impossible for them to cut into elite schooling at later stages (unless their grades are top of the top, which makes them rare).  Plus, kids sent to elite schools will have chances of befriending kids from wealthy families (see how the "regular students" of Ohtori suck up to the SC bunch), which can help even their own less-wealthy families out in many situations (and the long-term benefits can be astonishing).  Thus, many Asian parents who want their kids to become "successes" will resort to even borrowing money just so their kids get their elite schooling - it is an investment for a "better" future.

Last edited by gorgeousshutin (01-23-2013 04:30:50 PM)

Maybe I'm going by U.S. standards, where a boarding school is something like 50k a year. Tsuwabuki has been attending Ohtori since preschool, for God's sake; who except the Carnegies and Rockefellers of the world would bother sending a child to an elite preschool?

I don't know, I went to a preschool > elementary school > middle/high school > college > law school path a lot like that too, and I'm not asian. Most of the people in my classes weren't. I don't think a majority of American's send their children to high-priced schools of course... but several with the money to spend are glad to do so and, as pointed out, the competition is actually pretty high at every level in the process from preschool to grad school. If you want to compare it to Ohtori, which is probably passably fair as far as pricey boarding schools, there were some people who were very rich (we did have a Rockefeller, and Al Gore's son was in my class for a few years) while there were two or three others who had much less income and got in on various diversity initiatives or whatnot. Some people got in simply because they were very very bright. Others had financial assistance in varying measures. So you had a pretty broad group of people. Not everyone in my high school came from the corresponding elementary > middle schools, but a majority did.

In my own case, the whole thing sort of fell through when I left law school after a year and change. But I know a lot of my friends "succeeded" quite nicely just going from point a to b to c.

And then, as Nova/gorgeousshutin said, there's also a big difference between "rich" and rich. I forget where the exact cut off point was, but my family income puts me somewhere in the top 1 or 2% of american households. I'm no Paris Hilton though (much to my dismay). Not to say it hasn't made my life easier... not everyone get's to say "you know what? let's quit law school and do nursing. That sounds like more fun". I expect that choice will take me out of the top 1 or 2% though, once my parents are no longer contributing to family income.

Last edited by Valeli (01-24-2013 04:40:04 AM)

Honey Bear wrote:

Strange. You know, even though it's a boarding school I never thought of Ohtori as being a school for rich privileged kids. The teenagers don't really behave like rich teenagers (with the exception of the Student Council, who obviously all come from high-powered families or the aristocracy.) How the heck did Utena get in? Her parents are dead. She's smart but doesn't really seem smart enough for a scholarship (like Haruhi from Ouran) so I guess the only other option is that she had a rich relative.

Hmm . . . judging by the formal, western-style church funeral Utena's parents had, it looked like the Tenjous were upper-middle-class-ish.  The parents would also likely have life insurance and such benefiting their child, resulting in some kinda fund that is either looked after by a relative or a lawyer in SKU TV's timeline.  I'm pretty sure Utena is in Ohtori cause she's well paid for.

Either that, or Akio, who prepared rose motif coffins for the Tenjous - thus showing his magical influence on them since that early on - did significant enchanting/ string-pulling behind the scenes so that even penniless, Utena would be sent to Ohtori to study as per his (and Anthy's) will.

KaleMarsh wrote:

Basketball scholarship.

Duh.

Does such a thing exist in Japan, and at the high school level?

KaleMarsh wrote:

I do think you're supposed to ask how Utena is enrolled in Ohtori.

My own theory on this upthread:

Hmm . . . judging by the formal, western-style church funeral Utena's parents had, it looked like the Tenjous were upper-middle-class-ish.  The parents would also likely have life insurance and such benefiting their child, resulting in some kinda fund that is either looked after by a relative or a lawyer in SKU TV's timeline.  I'm pretty sure Utena is in Ohtori cause she's well paid for.

Either that, or Akio, who prepared rose motif coffins for the Tenjous - thus showing his magical influence on them since that early on - did significant enchanting/ string-pulling behind the scenes so that even penniless, Utena would be sent to Ohtori to study as per his (and Anthy's) will.

Lurv wrote:

gorgeousshutin wrote:

Either that, or Akio, who prepared rose motif coffins for the Tenjous - thus showing his magical influence on them since that early on - did significant enchanting/ string-pulling behind the scenes so that even penniless, Utena would be sent to Ohtori to study as per his (and Anthy's) will.

Well, it doesn't have to be magical.

A non-magical approach, huh . . .

Time: 6 years before SKU TV
Place: Funeral Home

Akio (amidst passionate "footrubbing"): Funeral Director-san, I'm sure it'd be no trouble for you to convince the Tenjou clan to pick these Ohtori-designed rose coffins for the deceased couple.  I will, of course, personally pay for that extra one I want present at that church . . .

Funeral Director:  Anything you say - you're my only prince

Later, at the church . . .

Parish Priest:  Why are there 3 coffins here when only 2 people died?  This doesn't make sense . . .

Akio (sauntering up as 12-yr old Dios):  Doesn't it, Father?

Parish Priest:

Last edited by gorgeousshutin (01-24-2013 02:06:47 PM)

Lurv wrote:

gorgeousshutin wrote:

Akio (sauntering up as 12-yr old Dios):  Doesn't it, Father?

Parish Priest:

*feels bad for laughing*

Not as bad as I feel like writing it, since I do know a lot of nice priests genuinely devoted to doing good for people in need.

But, the evil ones will always cum shining through to headline grabbing effects

Atropos wrote:

Her parents could have been alumni; it would explain the rose seal on their coffins.

Ah . . . this theory again:

Yes, the fat gent's hair color is a visual clue