I would probably loathe Saionji and Touga. As characters, they're interesting; as people, I would want to smack them upside the head. I would also dislike the fangirls who flocked around them, since I'd assume that their popularity is the only reason why their behavior is tolerated on campus. I would also hate Nanami, and find her incredibly irritating as well. 

I can easily see myself getting along with Miki, Utena, and Wakaba. All three have pleasant, friendly personalities, and assuming that I could get anywhere near them, I think we'd make good acquaintances. I'd want to be closer friends with Miki, since he's both modest and intelligent (which is especially refreshing in the world of Ohtori Academy), though I doubt I'd actually succeed at that aim. Hanging around Wakaba would be tiring after a while, but I'd like her anyway.

I'd be intrigued by Anthy.

I wouldn't go anywhere near Juri. Not because she intimidates others, but because I would find her too closed-off for my liking. Still, she does have a wry sense of humor, which is a point in her favor. If I ever had a real conversation with her, I'd likely re-evaluate my first opinion and become more fond of her. I doubt that this would ever happen, though, because Juri holds herself aloof from most people, and I'd likely consider her cold instead.

I doubt I'd ever speak to Kozue, Keiko, or Shiori. I wouldn't give myself any reason to speak to the first two, and the most interaction I'd have with Shiori would be a few comments in class. I can see myself thinking of Shiori as a nice classmate, in a vague way. Aside from that, I wouldn't know her well enough to judge otherwise. 

I'd be crushing on Mikage: if not for his voice, then for his shrewd bearing and intelligence. I would probably envy his position -- having a seminar at his age? -- as well.

I would mock Akio's mullet. That is all.

Admittedly, while I might love them as fictional characters, most of them in real life would annoy me for various reasons, especially the ones that have brooding personalities. At first I thought that I'd get along with characters like Miki and Utena fairly well, but they're so far from my age, that it seemed a bit strange.

The main cast member closest to my age is Akio. And I suppose if I were ignorant to his true nature, I'd get along with him fine. I love astronomy.

Utena: I'd admire the fact that she was popular and nice.

Wakaba: We'd hit it off immediately because she's like a hyper me. Most of our time would be spent chatting and fangirling. She'd totally be my best friend.

Anthy: I either wouldn't notice her or just see her as Utena's buddy.

Touga: I couldn't stand him because he's a playboy.

Nanami: Although she's my favorite character in the series, I'd hate her as a peer. She'd remind me too much of an old enemy.

Saionji: I'd still be one of his fangirls even if I knew about his ugly side.

Miki: He'd be my best friend after Wakaba because we're both shy, artistic, and bookish.

Akio: I'd think he was hot but wouldn't dare go after him if I knew his true nature.

Kozue: Creepy weirdo. That's all I'd have to think about her.

Juri: I'd probably not be interested enough to find out her name.

Hey, cool. I thought I did this one, but I guess not. Gonna judge this based on my high school years, which weren't exactly wonderful and generally involved a lot of broken rules and antisocial behavior.

Utena-  We'd probably be friendly toward each other, but unless she really made an effort to be friends with me I probably wouldn't hang out with her. Our interests just wouldn't mesh.

Anthy- I'd probably never notice her. She'd probably never notice me either, since she seems to spend her attention and effort on people who are easily manipulated or people who have done something offensive to her. Or people who she can get something from. I'm just not worthwhile to torture, I don't think, and I doubt she'd consider me friend material.

Then again, if I ever saw someone hurt her, I would go out of my way to try to help her, so there's a chance I'd ding on her radar. The fact that she didn't try to help herself would make me feel a bit sick... but I do try really hard to get over things like that, so I would probably end up trying to encourage her to stick up for herself and eventually telling her that if someone was giving her shit, she should come find me and I'd take care of it. She probably wouldn't, though.

Wakaba- Too bubbly and positive for me to be close friends with, but she always has something to say, so I'd like her. I wouldn't have to run conversations by myself if she was around and that's a major bonus for me, even if she wouldn't pick topics that were close to my heart. She would like me; pretty much everyone likes me, just because I try to treat everyone like a human being worthy of respect and consideration. You know, in real life, not here on the forum where I'm a huge jerk

Juri- Not a good match for me. I have nothing to say to her, and she would probably have plenty to say to me about skipping class, doing drugs, and minor criminal offenses, judging from my high school career and her intelligence network. If we spoke at all, it would be her reprimanding me for something. I would avoid her.

Miki- Too innocent. A sweetheart, but I'm not that fond of sweets. I'd be nice to him, and if I had the chance to listen to him play or sing with his accompaniment, I would take it, but he's not someone I'd seek out unless there was a reason. We would be friendly, but not friends.

Nanami- She'd annoy the hell out of me. As a character, I love her, but as a person, I really, really hate self-righteous people, and I also really, really hate people who are willing to hurt others for stupid reasons. I wouldn't know her real reasons, but her surface reasons would be distasteful to me. I would avoid her. She wouldn't like me much because I wouldn't hide that I didn't like her, but I'd never give her any reason to get really upset or vengeful about that.*

Her girlsquad, on the other hand, would probably be favorably disposed toward me because I wouldn't act as if they were adjuncts to Nanami's personality. In my experience, people like that are usually blown away that you even noticed them, and I would. As long as I didn't see them being assholes I'd be okay with them. If I saw them doing something like slapping Anthy, there would be some strong words exchanged.

Shiori- Loathe. Sweet, innocent exterior, malicious innards showing through too clearly. I do not like people like this; I have run into them before, and I find them toxic. I would never go out of my way to hurt her, and I would always act pleasantly enough around her. But I'd make sure there was never any personal content in our conversations and I would be careful not to socialize with her or give her the impression that I felt anything more than the politeness and consideration that all human beings are due.

Ruka- I'd like Ruka! He's a bit of a flirt, and I love flirting. He's smart enough that I could have a really good conversation with him, and our moral systems are pretty close so I would generally approve of his behavior toward others. I might even develop a bit of a crush on him-- he's pretty cute, too. He'd find my company pleasant in spite of my bad behavior as far as school rules and laws go, and I think we might even grow to be friends.

I'm assuming, though, that I don't know about the kiss between him and Juri. That would make me angry, but if he explained that it was a manipulative tactic rather than an attempt to get sexual gratification from an unwilling partner, I'd probably be more okay with that although I'd tell him it was distasteful. I prefer other methods when I manipulate people-- less harmful ones-- but I'd probably agree with his reasoning even if not the act. I would likely never find out, though.

Kozue- Probably the person most like me in terms of behavior. Partying with older guys, cutting class, most likely some petty crime, and I'll bet she would try some of the less legal substances I tried in high school. You'd think we'd be friends, but she's too malicious for me. Even if I don't like someone, or even if someone had done me wrong, I wouldn't actually want to hurt them, and I don't understand people who do. The most I'd ever do is try to intimidate someone. We'd probably hang out, but we wouldn't be close.

Kanae- Kanae seems like the kind of person who doesn't know when to cut someone loose, and whose self-worth depends on her importance to others. I feel sorry for people like that, and sadly, I always end up being too nice to them and they then decide we're friends. I wouldn't want to hang around for that part, since it's sort of a lie and I try to avoid those... but I wouldn't have it in me to be cruel or hurtful to her if she decided we were friends. I would try to be the best and most genuine friend that I could if that were to happen, but it would be hard because there's no real connection there. I'd have to make one.

Yes, I'm speaking from experience here. Eventually those people grow up and move on, and I'm always a bit relieved along with being sad that we're not close anymore. That's a tricky thing to navigate when you truly believe that hurting other people without a good reason is one of the worst things a person can do, and you know that you have broad enough shoulders to support just one more friendship that maybe isn't as equal as it should be. Do you hurt them and feel guilty for it, or do you try to be a friend and help them grow past it, knowing that it's a drain on you in spite of the rewards of friendship? It's ethically a tricky situation, but I try to err on the side of kindness as much as possible.

Saionji- He'd think I was a juvenile delinquent, and he'd be right. I'd think he was a self-important prick, and I'd be right. Unless one of us found something to respect in the other, we would never be friendly. We would also never be friendly if I saw him hit Anthy. Never.

If he never hit Anthy, and one of us did find a smidgeon of respect for the other, I think we'd have a decent chance at a friendship. I've always been basically the therapist for my friend group, and he needs someone like that. I'd try to remind him of all of the good things about himself, in hopes that he'd stop being so damn prickly, and it would work. The friendship would be a little one-sided that way, but I don't mind that. I could see one of us getting a bit of a crush on the other, coin flip as to who, but I think we'd both realize that if he ever tried to treat me in the old-fashioned japanese sense of how to treat a girlfriend/wife/female lover, which he seems to subscribe to even outside of his interaction with Anthy, I would make him wear his balls as a bowtie.

Akio- If I came to his attention at all, which... okay, I was going to say I doubted that it would happen, but honestly I was in trouble often enough and getting counseling and all sorts of shit in high school, so I'm pretty sure he would eventually take a peek to see if I'd be useful to him. He'd be like catnip. I can totally see myself discussing theories of self, psychology, philosophy, and human behavior with him. I would be willing to display deference to him in light of his position in the school, his age, and his intellect, which he likes, but he'd find me terribly amusing too because a lot of the time I'd be lying about it and I wouldn't feel any moral pangs over it.

He'd find me easy to seduce, if he chose to try that. I have no illusions that I'd be a hard target for him to hit. If it happened, I'd try to use it for all it was worth in terms of getting around school rules and getting myself perks. If he tried to manipulate me, I'm certain he would succeed at whatever he really wanted from me, but I'm also pretty good at spotting that sort of thing so anything he wasn't careful with is something I might catch. And if I caught him doing that, I'd start to study him to see which of his tactics I would find useful. It might even become a topic of conversation.

So, pretty much, I'd remind him of Touga, and our relationship would reflect that. He'd think I was like an adorable fuzzy stupid little kitten, and I'd really enjoy his company even while trying to make sure there wasn't anything he could do mess up my life, whether that's just because he's in a position of power or because I know he likes to play games.

Touga- Here's a tricky one. I don't think Touga and I would have two words to say to each other.

...unless I'm already interacting with either Saionji or Akio.

If I've become friends with Saionji, then I've already pissed in Touga's cereal by messing with the little set of neuroses Touga uses to keep Saionji tied to him. He will not like this one bit. I'll recognize his behaviors as weird and unhealthy versions of mine, and no doubt he'll think the same thing of me once he starts to study me. We probably wouldn't like each other, but the chances we'd end up in bed are pretty good just because he sleeps around and I like pretty guys who sleep around. The chance that we will melt over each other's cats is inevitable though, and that just might be enough to make us friends. Cat people can't truly dislike other cat people, it's impossible.

If it's Akio that I'm interacting with, the mutual recognition would come faster, and we have no reason for conflict since we're basically in the same spot. We'd be natural allies and we would soon be friends. Maybe more-- it's kind of like Narcissus looking in a mirror. But I doubt that would have any real chance, since Akio would love to mess with us to make us entertaining. A world of hurt awaits.

Outside of those two situations, I would be flattered if he complimented me (Touga's default interaction with women is romancing) but I wouldn't think of him as someone I wanted to know, and I doubt he'd notice me except to note that he really doesn't see me in class much.

*Nanami will hate me if I have anything to do with Touga, ever. That's just a given. Either she'll hate me because he doesn't like me, or she'll hate me for getting his attention.



Loller, it seems like I had this all figured out already, but this took way longer than it should have for someone who's been thinking about this show for like fifteen years.

Flah wrote:

Yeah, I had a few issues in high school.

This is kind of where things stand for me.

It's more fun to imagine myself now, since that would definitely make for more interesting interactions, but then it's cheating.

Yeah, I think the challenge is more you're not only going to meet them based on how alike you are, but interests. I don't share any interests with most of the main cast, so I'd have no reason to meet them in extracurriculars or anything. They each have a niche varied enough that most of us would end up around one, but out of the students (a term I use loosely here) I'd probably end up knowing Mikage best, because I was always a science nerd, and I also used to ah...offer my services in matters of essay writing and projects. I don't know that I would like him, but I'd probably be around him often, and based on common interests enjoy his company. I would eventually meet Touga if he stops pimping himself out long enough to make good on the game continuity and hang out in cafes and be a snob, and might get along with him if he doesn't immediately try to fuck me. He might assume I'm a lesbian; a lot of people did when I was in school. If Akio had any reason to speak to me at all he'd find it a pretty simple matter to get me to adore him, since I love to cook, and I'm a space nerd. I'd even like his car.

But if we go with the game stuff, it totally opens a few doors. Juri's a gamer? Oh snap, I hope she can handle being a TOTAL LOSER at our 90's LAN parties.

If I was what I was like in high school, everyone would seem intimidating in one way or another. I would be in the "look at all the special people here, I am so different" boat.

If I was the age that I was when the show came out it though, there would be more interesting interactions. I would likely be an beginning elementary schooler who gets a massive crush on Mitsuru after the horse incident ("He saved someone?! So cool! So worthy of my obsession! I must find and follow him around. That is what people do when they like someone, right?") There would soon be a line of blonde kids trailing their crushes hopelessly. Until I was found by the teacher and dragged back to class room, that is. Utena would be cool, but just someone I hear about. I can imagine the elementary students love to talk about the pink haired girl who gives the teachers grief.

I am assuming that I went to school with the character and as such did not have access to their inner workings so I'm basing this on the impression they'd cause on me.

Mikage is the person I'd end up idolizing the most and the one I can see myself devoting myself to. Intelligence is already attractive in itself but knowing how to wield it in such a suave way only makes it even more so. I would kill to join his seminar and would see it as a huge ego boost if I got accepted. In fact, I would probably find myself seeing the world through the same value system as Mikage's. And as I was something of an extremist back in the day odds are I would not even find the ruthless way he uses and discards people to be particularly wrong. If anything, I'd admire it. So yes, it's a very good thing I never did meet Mikage.

Juri, I'd like her a lot but I doubt I would approach her. But her strength of character and poise would resonate with me.

Miki is someone I would like to be friends with and probably have a crush on. I still have a thing for girlish boys and back in high school it was even greater. We could talk and exchange books until Kozue killed me dead.

Touga would annoy me too much. I'd give him the cold shoulder if he did as much as address me and want nothing to do with him.

Saionji would anger me and I'd avoid his society as much as possible.

Nanami would drive me insane with her brother complex and girl posse, I'd dislike her greatly and would probably end up getting into a fight with her at some point or another.

Kozue, I'm afraid I wouldn't care one bit about her either. Looking back it is harsh but I used to consider a girl who sleeps around as lower than dirt and would not associate myself with them. Not because there was anything particularly morally wrong in promiscuity but because I would see it as allowing oneself to be used by guys.

Shiori...I can't say but after the Ruka incident I'd feel sorry for her and think she isn't too clever.

Anthy would make me feel the same way as Shiori, actually. But the pity element would be greater. With that said, I doubt I'd do anything to help her.

Ruka was likely to make me curious but I wouldn't trust him.

Mitsuru I wouldn't even know existed as I did not pay any attention to kids.

Utena is a person I'd be ambivalent toward. On one hand I'd really admire her gender bending ways but when I was teenager I viewed naivety as a cardinal sin and a true sign of stupidity. Anyone who is starry eyed and believes they can butt in on people's issues was bound to gain an enemy in me.

Akio would not do it for me, at all. Just being the chairman of the school I would consider him something of a traitor and it would take a lot of convincing to change my mind, assuming it was even possible. I had issues with authority figures so Akio would elicit an immediate negative reaction from me.

Oh shit, forgot Mikage...

Well, that's how I would deal with him, probably. He's too self-assured to be someone who needs me, he's too cold to flirt or be a friend, and back then I was way more interested in surviving without ending up in a mental institution than I was in intellectual pursuits, so I wouldn't be too interested in him.

Although if he found a way to point my neuroses toward one of the Seitokai, I'd make a great black rose duellist.

If various people who have impacted my life in the past, good and bad, also were at Ohtori, (which they'd have to be if I'd been at Ohtori for a while otherwise I'd be a different person), I'd have a lot to talk about in a Black Rose elevator ride for sure.

I would probably actually have a huge crush on Juri, but secretly be jealous and intimidated by her, especially because she is so cold, so I would probably just interpret that as plain snobbishness.

Like, the creepy elevator music is playing and everything and you just stand up like FUCK YOU, MIKAGE SHOW ME YOUR WHORE FACE RIGHT NOW.

*Throws chair, breaks butterfly frame*

But what if you were in the elevator and had to, say, go to the toilet? I can totally see that happening to me.