This might be off topic, but the last comments makes me think what's going through the princes' head in that scene. He certainly seems regretful, which could be acting, but I got to wonder about the part where he thanks Utena for her tears. Is he moved by her compassion? First time I watched that, I thought he needed young girl's tears for something.

Assuming the prince and Akio are the same person, he changes appearance because he doesn't want to come across as Utena's "prince" anymore. He's looking to seduce her so she'll forget her love for the prince.

Atropos wrote:
The consensus here seems to be that Akio was the prince in Utena's episode 34 flashback. I disagree, and here's why:
- The prince doesn't look like Akio. It's argued that he changed his appearance to appeal to the younger Utena, but then why would he go back to his adult appearance later, instead of adopting the one that would hold more influence over his champion?
- The prince is never identified as Dios. It looks like him, but he discusses the Tale of the Rose as if he has no relation to it. The outfit is the same, but after all, isn't that just the uniform of princes in the same way the Rose Bride gown is the uniform of princesses? In the movie, where Dios never existed, the spirit of the prince still takes on this form.
It seems like it can be argued either way. Akio says he was, but it would benefit him to lie, wouldn't it?

- The adolescent Dios is an older, more knowing figure to little child Utena who isn't so old that child U will feel alienated, just like adult Akio is an older, more knowing figure to teenage Utena, one whom she could look up and be attracted to.  Both forms serve Akio perfertly during their perfect moments of usage.
- If Akio was not at one time Dios, then Anthy -who loves Dios and should know of who he became - would have no reason to follow his will.

Akio can change his appearance, but I see no reason for him to do so 4 times - seems like the thing you'd try to avoid if what you want is to gain someone's trust.

If we're talking about the Dios at Church with coffin Utena scene, looks to me that he is continuously changing his appearance to highlight the drama at the different parts of the story he's trying to sell Utena, who was a naive child who'd buy into such flashy deceptions.  There are numerous ways to interp this, of course.