I love that about Akio too! It's in the apppearance of a person, and it's even the opposite of what you would imagine in a way.

Weren't there also crosses in Episode 9 and in the apocalypse saga?(During the flashbacks of the coffins, etc. And they are in a church.)

One Christian symbol for Anthy, I noticed, was her possibly representing sinful humanity being delivered and becoming the Bride of Christ as is in Christian symbolising.  Utena opening up the coffin represents setting her free from her unregenerated nature and climbing to freedom.  Leaving Ohtori can be interpreted as leaving the 'world' to follow where her savior is (to eternity, so to speak). 

I think a variety of religious intepretations could be made (and I plan on studying some Buddhist philosophies to see how this ties in since a lot of it does). 

I once uncovered a lot of parallels on the Christian theme but may have to review them another time for a coherent post.

However, for people who are especially spiritual or religious, I think what they can learn from SKU is to focus less on the ritual aspect and focus on the love you feel for whatever deity you believe in.  Essentially I almost pursued a strong spiritual path upon first watching this because I felt that that was what I was missing in my life all along.  But the love Utena shows for Anthy would be what I call the 'agape' form of love which many religious groups idealize and strive to perfect.

It pays off Christian symbolism, but not in a way a christian would be satisfied with.

The references of the poem about breaking the word's shell is to the novel Damien by Herman Hessee, which is a novel which talks about the idea of God being both good and evil.  (The Utena sountrack directly references the novel, as the student council theme in the American translated OST is called "The name of the God is Abraxis" a line from the cracking the world's shell discussion in the novel)  This is explicit in the manga, where Dios was a god that was both good and evil, that split into two entities, Dios and Akio.

In the series, the idea is instead that Akio is a devil figure, in Christianity associated with the idea of a fallen angel.  But Akio is actually a falllen christ figure, sacrificing himself for the daughters of the word, an ancient savior.  Rather than being betrayed and crucified by humanity, his sister was crucified for trying to save him, causing his "fall."

So, Akio is a fallen, Christ the devil and Jesus combined into one character, a God who is both good and evil.

Akio is also associated with the story of the gnostic sect of christianity, which is where the Abraxas term comes from, but that's a whole other story.

Well I would never think that SKU could be based solely after one religion so this is very open. :grin:

But the entire concept of the 'Prince' and in the very beginning opening, their armour like attire and style throughout the series can also correlate knightlike imagery as well. And the entire European themes jumbled in as well can also suggest that they meant some sort of ties to Christianity.

Here are the images I was talking about at first:
(linked because I didn't want to make this thread too heavy)
http://www.ohtori.nu/galerie/v/series/e … 6.jpg.html
The Cross and the Church are singled out in one shot, which is SKU normally is deliberate, singling out what you need to see.

http://www.ohtori.nu/galerie/v/series/e … 0.jpg.html
The context of this scene is so rich with symbolism. If it just wanted to show a cemetary and church setting, then they would've had gravestones or something less ambigous. But instead there are crosses everywhere with the dominant blacked- out church in the back

Episode 9 alone:
http://www.ohtori.nu/galerie/v/series/e … 1.jpg.html
http://www.ohtori.nu/galerie/v/series/e … 3.jpg.html
http://www.ohtori.nu/galerie/v/series/e … 9.jpg.html
http://www.ohtori.nu/galerie/v/series/e … 8.jpg.html
http://www.ohtori.nu/galerie/v/series/e … 2.jpg.html
http://www.ohtori.nu/galerie/v/series/e … 5.jpg.html
http://www.ohtori.nu/galerie/v/series/e … 7.jpg.html

As we've seen, if it's repeated over and over, it's a hint to show you what it means.
Not to mention Akio himself thouroughly represents the idea of Lucifer. And Dios in my eyes was a prince, but he had to have a supernatural feel about him, possibly showing him the angel/archangel figure. And the images are always paired with a Dios/Utena or Akio prescence or connection.


Edit: I just saw brian's post and will more then likely edit this again later because I'm going to go read those threads. ^_^

Edit 2:  Also playing off in Demian the chapter near the beginning in which Demian states that The Devil should be celebrated like God as well because they couldn't exist without the other, and nature wouldn't play out without another as well, which would also make it plausible that it's intentional that Akio is seen like both Jesus and Lucifer. If it weren't for that Ohtori's events wouldn't occur as they did, so it makes sense that if you want to appreciate Ohtori, you have to appreciate Akio.
Which would also tie with the meaning of Lucifer being 'adversary' and in Judaism, the character Satan isn't as prominant, if existent, because Lucifer helps is the one who 'keeps mankind in check' so to say. He is still an angel, and is loved by God.

Last edited by Setsuna (07-28-2009 02:56:39 PM)

Personally, I just like casting the SKU cast in Jesus Christ Superstar.

Utena = Jesus
Anthy = Judas
Akio = Pilate
Wakaba = Mary
Touga = Herrod
Mikage = Caiaphas
Mamiya = Annas
Miki = Peter
Juri = Simon
Nanmi and co = soldiers
Shadow Girls = reporters/dancing girls during "Superstar" number
Black Rose Duelists = lepers

It's far from perfect, but certainly seeing Utena and Anthy sharing the roles of Jesus and Judas in one form or another is an interesting analogy.

Really, however, once you get past Jesus/Utena/Anthy dying for everyone's sins and Akio being the devil (surprise, surprise), there's not much more Christianity that a person who isn't well versed in the bible as I am can find. I find SKU's allegories to be more Greco-Roman in nature. Or a mix of both. The fun thing about anime is that it tends to be a mixed metaphor of western allusions.

Although, wait a minute. Anthy is Cain and Dios was Able? She even has the mark on her forehead, although, for that matter, so does Akio. Hrm... I'll have to think about this more the next time I read the bible and/or watch Utena.

Well this is easy. Utena is Christ, what with the dying to deliver us from evil; Anthy is us, what with being saved by Christ; and Akio is Satan, the collective evil that surrounds us and binds us to our pain, and not necessarily and actual being so mush asa nature in mankind

While much can be said about Utena as a messiah figure or Akio as a devil figure, what stood out for me personally were the themes of love, forgiveness, and redemption.  Over the course of the series, Utena's love for Anthy changed from something selfish and egotistical to something more selfless and understanding.  While there were moments of pettiness and resentment on both ends, Utena eventually tried to move past it to enter the final battle...and the infamous betrayal.   Despite everything Anthy had done, Utena found the strength of will to go on, not to save herself but to save the girl who stabbed her in the back, literally and figuratively.

It's this love that causes Anthy to abandon her hatred of the world and move on with her life.  However, Utena and Anthy aren't the only ones who have grown.  All of the Student Council members and most of the other major characters have gotten over their own baggage and bad habits by the end of the series, except for Akio...who is too stubborn and prideful to abandon his own sins.  Furthermore, his lifestyle prevents him from living a truly fulfilling life (think about it: at the end of the series, he is literally the classic adult who's still trapped in high school).  While I don't think it's the intended moral, one thing a person can get from Utena is that redemption is available to all who accept it, something that fits in with the practical theology of modern Christianity.

Last edited by Nebula (06-11-2011 12:59:40 AM)

The final episode can be an allegory for the death and ressurection of Christ. Where Jesus/Utena goes humanity/Anthy can not follow unless we better ourselves. Anthy has to look for Utena like we have to look for Jesus.

NajiMinkin wrote:

Shadow Girls = reporters/dancing girls during "Superstar" number
.

I was reminded of the shadow girls during that number too!

Last edited by Riri-kins (06-23-2011 03:12:29 PM)

KaleMarsh wrote:

Utena reminds me a lot of a Dostoevsky holy fool, which he uses as his modern Christ-like figures.  She's incredibly naive and good-intentioned to the point of apparent stupidity, just like Mishkin in The Idiot.  The forum has a thread on her being a holy fool like Quixote, but I think Mishkin, or even Alyosha, is more appropriate in this context.

I haven't read The Idiot, but I love Karamazov.  I see what you're getting at with Alyosha -- certainly he is more like Utena than like any other SKU character, and vice versa -- but the comparison seems a little too charitable to our heroine.  To put it indelicately, Alyosha is not dumb.  He knows the soup he's swimming in; he doesn't expect his relatives to be trustworthy or kind.  If anything, he expects the opposite, though in the nicest and most forgiving possible way.  So he's happy to encourage the people around him towards kindness, but he's also not particularly shocked to see them treat each other like shit or to find himself used.   If anything, he's more Christlike than Christ is.  Utena is not that.  She honestly thinks, to the extent that she thinks at all, that the people around her are nice folks with no ulterior motives.  She gets surprised a lot.  If she's meant to be like Christ or Alyosha, I fear she should show a little more realism about her relationships.  :\

Now, is she a heroic figure?  Definitely!  Just not in Jesus's mold.  Pip's, maybe, or Nite Owl's.  She is a black-and-white thinker living in a world of shades of gray.  Jesus and Alyosha are just the opposite: exquisitely comfortable in grayscale, able to accept and understand people on their own terms who even the reader is ready to call evil.  Utena just forgives them and puts them back on her "nice" list without particularly trying to understand -- until the last few episodes, when she finally seems ready to accept Anthy's inner complications rather than avoiding them.  SKU is a coming-of-age story, not a story about a fool who starts wise and stays wise.

My two cents

KaleMarsh wrote:

In the case of SKU, I think Utena is more will-fully, or even selfishly, naive than Mishkin or Alyosha.  She's happy seeing the things the way she does and casting herself in the role of the righteous prince when she doesn't belong there.  In other words, no.  Not Christ.  But I can see her as SKU's response to Dostoevsky's naive Christ.  This is perhaps more interesting.

Yeah!  Yeah, yeah!  That makes much more sense.  Utena is not Christ; she's a naive and somewhat self-absorbed teenage girl trying to be Christ (or a prince, to use the show's vocabulary).  That makes her a much more obviously realistic character.    And, I add as an afterthought, more relatable.

(Also, read The Idiot.  I like it better than Karamazov.)

I will take this advice.    Translation recommendations?

Last edited by satyreyes (06-24-2011 12:32:21 AM)

Utena is very much a Christ figure, displaying love and sacrifice even after the perpetration of the ultimate sin. She sacrifices herself to liberate Anthy (read: Humanity) from eternal torment. She is killed as a result, but comes back to life.

While there are a lot of religious elements in Utena, I personally think that Christianity is not a particularly big one. The traditional tarot deck and perhaps particular Hindu gods are by far and away the most likely culprits, imho. I think that any apparently overt Christian religious motif can be adequately explained by the way that certain themes are common in many/most religions, particularly the eastern ones.