SexingTouga24/7/365 wrote:

I love asking questions and I hope someone would be kind enough to explain? 

I was looking at episode five the sunlit garden part 2. An exchange happens between Miki and Juri while they are Fencing and he finally scores a point. 

She compliments him on his skills and touches on the fact that he has feelings for the rose bride. Also I think that she states the strength of his feelings are helping fight. Miki basically claims to have no idea what she is talking about. Juri says something such as your sword was not meant for battle.

I was fine until the last line spoken by Juri. Now Miki and I are in the same spot because, I don't understand what in the hell else is the purpose of his sword if it is not for fighting and or battle. Unless the entire point of that line is to tell him that battling Utena is filled with fail.

Sorry if this is confusing but that line stood out to me as kinda strange; in fact it has been in my head for a few days.

I can understand what you're getting at. I think the answer lies in Miki's duel and its end result. Now, I'm not entirely up to speed with the nature of fencing these days, but it strikes me as being orchestrated and artistic. It's like a dance with unheard music, which suits Miki down to the ground. I don't know that fencing was itself ever used as a true form of swordplay, although I believe it was training. Not sure. But it's a stark comparison to Saionji, who practices a discipline that harks back to a bloody (though noble) history of swordplay that killed.

Now, swords have one more purpose besides fighting or battle, or at least there's an angle you didn't catch. Swords can kill, but they can also protect. You don't have to play the offensive card to win a swordfight, and you don't have to start a fight to win it. This is Miki, down to the ground. He doesn't start fights, which in Juri's opinion seems to be his weakness. His sword is not an offensive weapon, it's strictly defensive. This is not necessarily a weakness, but all the other student council members are more aggressive than Miki.

As for why he lost and what that has to do with this: Miki lost the duel because he thought he was using his sword in defense of Anthy (which is his strength) and he was in fact using it offensively. Anthy tricked him into thinking she needed to be saved, so he challenged Utena. It's a direct parody of Utena's own induction into the game, although Utena was defending Anthy from Saionji. (OR WAS SHE?) Still, the point stands -- Miki is stronger on the defensive, as when he gets aggressive he loses. No-one else seems to realise this, except Anthy and Akio, who exploit it for their own gain. Or something. I may just be talking out my ass.

thanks for the answers and more random Utena questions to come.