This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)
#1 | Back to Top01-07-2011 12:51:07 PM
- CoffinBreaker
- Rose Bride
- From: Here and Now
- Registered: 10-28-2010
- Posts: 117
Something I have noticed...
Upon my most recent rewatch of the series, something came to my attention:
Every time Utena is in some sort of romantic/sexual situation with Akio, she mentions Anthy at some point; and when she does it is generally concerning her well-being/what she happens to be doing at that moment.
This happened three times- first in episode 33, while Utena and Akio are having sex and Utena starts worrying about what to make for breakfast the next morning for herself and Anthy (most of us remember this one, so I'm probably just being redundant). The second time was in episode 37 when she is on her date with him and suddenly says, "I wonder if Himemiya is sleeping right now". The last time is in episode 38 when Akio is trying to seduce her into giving up the duel, and of course she asks him what will happen to Anthy, and his answer drives her to continue fighting.
I have my own theories on this, but I'd like to hear what any of you think it might mean.
(Also, if there is already a thread on this topic, my apologies for being too lazy to look it up 
)
You don't need to understand Revolutionary Girl Utena to understand it.
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#2 | Back to Top01-07-2011 01:12:28 PM
Re: Something I have noticed...
Well I pretty much take this as meaning that Utena does have feelings for Anthy. Who knows, maybe she wants to have a threeway with them.
I am interested in hearing your theories and others.
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#3 | Back to Top01-07-2011 02:24:10 PM
Re: Something I have noticed...
Yeah, absolutely! Utena's emotions about Akio are very bound up in her emotions about Anthy. She's ambivalent about her relationship with Akio not only because he's engaged, but also because -- well, you just don't screw your good friend's older brother behind her back without feeling some guilt. That goes double for episode 37, where Utena knows damn well that Anthy is doing the same kind of thing with Akio that she is. That episode shows Utena at her moral nadir; her princeliness is imperiled not only by the illusions created by Akio and Anthy, but also by her own seeming willingness to abandon her nobility to their constructed reality, to become a Rose Bride. There are a few ways to read the comment about wondering whether Himemiya is sleeping, but all of them reflect a consciousness on Utena's part that what she's doing with Akio represents a mistreatment of Anthy. I think she feels guilty, but you could (additionally or instead) read the line as competitive, smug, or even sarcastic. Regardless, she's thinking about the princess she's abandoned, and implicitly dangling by a thread as far as whether she can still be a prince.
We get hints later in the episode that Utena doesn't want to be the kind of person she shows herself to be moving towards in her encounters with Akio, but it's not until episode 38 -- where, as you say, she rejects eternity in favor of Anthy -- and the events that follow -- that we see Utena return to her noblest impulses and prove that she deserves to be a protagonist after all. 
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#4 | Back to Top01-07-2011 10:19:14 PM
- CoffinBreaker
- Rose Bride
- From: Here and Now
- Registered: 10-28-2010
- Posts: 117
Re: Something I have noticed...
@satyreyes
It all goes along with the general feel of the whole Apocalypse saga, or really the entire time Utena has feelings for Akio-by which I mean Utena losing her nobility and forgetting her goal of becoming a prince and instead becoming a "princess" and eventually a rose bride. The rose bride gown that appears during episode 38 is a rather obvious visual indicator that as soon as our heroic protagonist is gone completely, simply remembering her drive to save Anthy and realizing Akio's deceit is what brings her back (that moment is probably one of my favorites in the whole series 
).
I have devised two possibilities:
1. Idealistically (and as a rampant fan of Utena x Anthy) I'd like to think that it means Utena is unsure of who exactly she's attracted to, and is pursuing Akio merely because she doesn't see a possibility of her feelings being directed towards Anthy (as she's unaware of lesbianism probably due to naivete). Deep down, she probably feels guilty for "betraying" Anthy, not just as a friend, but as a love interest. On the subject of Anthy, I feel like this is why she tells Utena that "she can't be her prince because she's a girl", out of spite for choosing Akio instead of her.
2. Realistically, it's probably just thematic foreshadowing; showing the audience the overall theme of Utena's devotion to Anthy, despite her contradictory actions.
(I most likely shouldn't write analyses when I'm tired, sorry for any errors.)
You don't need to understand Revolutionary Girl Utena to understand it.
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