Overlord Morgus wrote:

Miki's problem is that his sister doesn't play the piano anymore and does a lot of stupid things to get his attention. Obviously, he's quite skilled at tutoring people, so all he has to do is help her with her playing, giving her the attention she desires in the process.

I don't know, I always got the impression part of Kozue's problem is that Miki shined without her, which put a distance between them that wouldn't have been removed by using their relative differences in skill as a reason to spend time together.

Aside from any sexual experimentation that might have gone on between them, it seems to me like part of Kozue's problem is that she's much more pragmatic than Miki, but that awareness only reminds her of the enormous rift in what they're capable of. She's aware that she's not as good as Miki, and that just makes the sting all the worse.

I believe that Miki did try to give Kozue lessons, but she rejected them.
Kozue's first experience with love and romance was from a boy that loved her playing.  She mentioned receiving love letters from the boy next door, he was infatuated with her playing, however Kozue believed all of the skill to come from her brother.  Would the boy have taken notice in her if she didn't play next to Miki?  Perhaps not.
Kozue: "It came out that I couldn't do anything by myself. "
Kozue is aware that Miki still believes her playing to be excellent, but she doesn't want to shatter the delusion he once held that she was just as talented as him, that they where on the same level.  However, she still needs to be in Miki's heart, she needs to feel as if they share something together.  She can't handle the idea of being forgotten, or that she has to face the world alone without him. 

Kozue:  Disappear, all of you!
Kozue: Except for Miki and me, all other things are ugly.

Without valuing herself or her piano playing, how can she get close to Miki?  Kozue knows sex best, it's how she relates to the outside world.  It's a desperate attempt, but she knows attraction is a way to make men fall over her even if they're falling for something that doesn't exist.  Miki was enraptured with the shining feeling he felt when she played, perhaps it was his own greatness he projected onto her.  The boy next door loved her playing, but he could have simply been in love with the idea of her.  Objectified but not ready to give up, Kozue decided to use her sexuality as power. 

Kozue:  ...if something happens to sully me, he acts outwardly as if everything's okay.
But in his heart, he's hurt and he obsesses over me.
That's why I purposely go out with people that I know Miki would hate.

After her heart has been frozen, we hear her playing beautifully with feeling.  Perhaps Kozue could play the piano well all along, but her insecurities and fear of losing her brother's idealistic fantasy hasn't allowed her to play uninhibitedly.  She's lost her freedom of expression trying to preserve the connection they had remaining from childhood.  After the duel, she learns that her own sexuality won't reconnect her and her brother, she can't meet him in his world of purity and childish idealization. 

So, in the next arc, she tries to bring him to her level.  She attempts to bring him into her 'world' of values and motives.

Kozue: If everything around you is dirty, don't you have no choice but to get dirty too?
You've got no choice but to get dirty and then get what you want.
Just like her.

Of course, it doesn't work.

Kozue: Coward.

Only after Kozue is willing to show Miki her true talent and risks losing him all together can they proceed forward as equals.

Last edited by Iris (02-07-2012 04:08:45 PM)

Haha, you brought up my favorite character, Kozue.  I had to step in.

Saionji definitely would do better if he learned more than a downward swing, but Utena is a low-budget show after all.  They spent too much money giving Akio nipples, Touga his luxurious long hair, and Utena short-shorts.

I don't know if Saionji wants to emulate Touga as much as he wants to emulate Touga's power.

Last edited by Iris (02-07-2012 07:04:56 PM)

^It most certainly isn't. The core of what Saionji wants isn't necessarily to be above Touga in terms of swordsmanship. He wants his "friend" to view and treat him as an equal, not just a resource to be used and taken advantage of... and ever since that rainy day at the church, he's been set on the idea that attaining "something eternal" will accomplish that. Even if Sai were to somehow level up enough to beat Touga at Kendo, he'd probably be greatly disappointed to find it wouldn't make any difference in that regard.

I like how having her heart frozen gave her talent, truly it is the void and not the flame that gives us strength.