Alright, time for my Movie!Shiori rambling. So much has been said over Series!Shiori, I feel like I have nothing to add that won't become repetitive. Maybe later. But now, Movie!

The thing that I find interesting about Shiori and Juri in the movie is that there is no real proof that Juri loves her. Now, I'm not arguing that point, because I believe that she probably does. But as I was watching the movie, I noticed that there really is nothing to say she loves her. Shiori, we assume, loved Touga while he was still alive, and because of Juri, he drowned in the river. Juri didn't mean for this to happen, and I'm sure that somewhere in the back of Shiori's mind, she knows this. But it doesn't change the fact that she is a princess without her prince. So, is she doomed to become a witch? In the twisted world that is SKU, the alternative to that would be to find a new prince. Shiori states that she will make Juri play the prince. Juri may simply feel guilt. At that time, they were young, and Shiori was essentially pure. She was innocent, but I don't believe that it underlined cruelty. Not yet. Juri may blame herself for the death of this prince, and she may feel as though she needs to protect Shiori. Of course, this idea is not discouraged. Shiori still holds anger within herself over Touga, and simply feels a little better knowing that she can string Juri along without becoming a witch. Juri still holds a locket of Shiori, and still fights because Shiori asks her to. But there is still a chance that this is not out of love. It may be out of honor, duty. Everything that constrains her. I always find their relationship in the movie to be interesting and debatable to no end.

But anyway, I still do think that Juri loves Shiori in some way, shape, or form.

Moving right along, I have to wonder sometimes if Movie!Shiori is mentally stable. I know how insulting that sounds, but I honestly don't mean it in a bad way. You never really see her in the school, or talking with anyone other than Juri. She seems to stay in a white room with Touga most of the time. She steps out once-- goading Juri into dueling, watching for a short moment, producing that video tape, and racing Utena/Anthy in car form. Between all these scenes, very little time has changed, so I assume it all happened one after the other. The only indication that Shiori may have returned to her room is during the night. She has just gone to Juri, and it cuts away to the scene of Utena and Anthy dancing the night away. It seems unlikely that she partied with Juri all night, but it's possible! Now, there are a few things I make note of:

1. The room. The room she (presumably) shares with Touga is completely covered in white sheets. I always imagined this was to represent Touga's current state. At one point a sheet is draped over him, as you would in a morgue. But if all of this was only intended to apply to Touga, why is he never shown alone? Shiori is always with him in the room. White sheets also make me think of a research lab or an insane asylum. Perhaps this was meant to befall Shiori. She very clearly is not in her right mind through a good portion of the movie. For a girl to never leave a room (with a ghost, no less!) and seemingly never attend school...? Perhaps Shiori truly is mentally unstable. I mean, at a very young age she saw the boy she loved (for lack of better term) die, and now her only means of happiness are manipulating others through their grief and guilt. She lives in a world she will never escape from. When she even attempts, she speaks in a very maniacal manner. Not in the normal, SKU-way either. IMO, I can say with almost certainty that Movie!Shiori is more mad than Mikage.

2. The tape. Why does she have it, and how does she obtain it? Is she able to communicate with Shadows? Well, she's banging a ghost, so it doesn't surprise me. She speaks of the tape, saying that it is proof that Anthy killed her brother. After hearing this, Utena goes off in search of Anthy. Was this a trap? To send Utena on a wild chase, perhaps knowing that Touga would be waiting for her? But when you watch the tape, you see the truth. Anthy did not kill her brother, and there "never was a real prince". I assume that Shiori has seen the tape, and yet she still lies about the content. But what I wonder is, did she do it to help or to hurt? I know, the idea of Shiori doing anything to help another is completely ludicrous. But maybe she lied about the tape in order to catch Utena's attention, and the attention of the masses. She may have hoped they would all see it, and would come to realize that there never was a prince, just as Utena did. Perhaps knowing the secret of this fairytale kingdom would help others to understand. Maybe even to escape, though because of her anger at Utena, I find it hard to believe so. Maybe she wanted everyone to know the truth, because knowing the truth would not hurt Anthy, nor Utena, nor anyone else (I don't mean hurt emotionally, because god knows it would hit hard with Kanae, but hurt their reputation. Slander would have been a better word I guess). She could have spoken with Touga and Anthy, having Utena led on that chase to Touga. Shiori might have wanted her to know what happened with Touga, and know that he could be with her now. He tells her that they could be happy together, loving until the end of time. This might have been Shiori's planning all along. But Utena doesn't want that. Utena is our true prince, and though she loves Touga, she has to save Anthy and herself from this illusion. No one can say whether Shiori wanted Utena to stay for positive or negative reasons, but it's clear that she didn't want her to leave, and was willing to sacrifice her body in order to stop her.

Of course, it seems far more likely that if Shiori is truly pulling some strings, she is doing it out of malice. Perhaps she wanted everyone to know that there was never a real prince so that they would stop their foolish dreaming. Just as she forces Juri into her role, she could be willing to force others. Perhaps she even wants to take over this kingdom herself. But what we know is that Utena, in Shiori's eyes, is not worthy of leaving this kingdom. She claims that she is the only one who deserves to leave, and as she says this, her car is hit by multiple traffic cones before her ultimate crash. I saw this as symbolism; everything Shiori has endured up to that point, everything laid upon her in her darkest moments, every wrong thing she's done for what she believes is the way things should be, and the eventual destruction of her sanity. Although many people claim that Shiori is the true villain of the movie, when I hear her lines in that car scene, I don't feel anger, and I don't have any sort of negative feelings about how she treats Utena and Anthy. I feel sorry, and I feel that princely urge to protect her. I don't know if I'm the only one that hears it, but when she speaks in that moment, her voice almost seems shaky. I don't think it sounds hateful. I think she sounds scared, and I definitely hear traces of a breakdown. A girl that has been tortured until she could handle no more. And the funny thing is, she is the one who causes it. She puts herself through such hardship, because she refuses to let the world hurt her again. Perhaps after everything she's seen, everything she's come to know, she sees the academy as her shot at the prize. It will be under her control for an eternity. But, in a moment of clarity, I think that the crash was what she may have needed, perhaps even wanted. I don't think she deserves death, but she deserves some rest. She deserves an escape, and obviously this was the closest she would come.

...This seemed longer and more intelligent as I was typing it. Guess not.

Last edited by dollface (12-07-2009 05:50:44 PM)

Thank you! Yeah, the only reason I really typed it was because it wasn't something I'd seen already, and I'd hate to just feed off the brilliance of Razara (and others of course!).

dollface wrote:

Amazing Movie-Shiori Analysis

I'm glad that I didn't post my views on Movie-Shiori, since this is a million times better than anything I ever thought of. I think that I like Movie-Shiori a whole lot more now, and I already loved her to begin with.

Yasha wrote:

Also, I posted here to say hello to my little mistress. Have you been good, dear?

Of course. Would you have expected me to have been anything but good...?

By the way, I love your new title.

Why does Shiori scribble Keroppan on Touga's back?
If we know who Keroppan is, will we understand Shiori?
Why does the "Poison" theme music start when Shiori is snuggling up to Juri?

Somebody said earlier in the thread that Shiori loves the idea of Juri more than Juri herself, and I think they were spot on. The fact that Shiori offered Juri a rose is unlikely a sign of romantic interest, but more representative of Shiori's longing to strengthen her connection to Juri. Shiori doesn't ever see herself on the same level as Juri, so she does everything in her power to maintain a relationship with the person she idolizes. Juri enjoys sweet, innocent Shiori, and I think Shiori, having figured this out, plays upon Juri's perception of her to ensure that they are still linked together. Handing Juri a flower is an innocent and delicate act, and sure to pierce Juri's fierce and stoic exterior. It was an action which ensured she didn't lose her link to Juri - as I said before, I find it really hard to believe that Shiori is capable to initiating a romantic relationship with someone she has placed so high on a pedaestal.

But like Yasha said, Shiori's fascination with Juri could easily develop into sexual interest, especially at a school where bisexuality is the norm. If Juri initiated a romantic encounter with Shiori, I'm 100% positive Shiori would go along with it(if only to use it as a tool against Juri in the future).