I think that I'm a combination of Wakaba, Nanami, and Anthy.  Now THAT is not healthy.  >_> err... yeah...

I think, though, that the one character who confounds me the most is Touga.  I mean, you start out feeling neutral about him, then you HATE him for what he does to Utena, then you lol at him because he turns emo for a whole arc, then you suddenly love him for becoming Akio's uber-slave, then you ABSOLUTELY FUCKING HATE THAT BASTARD for what he does to Nanami (I can never forgive him!), and then suddenly you kind of start liking him for showing his sensitive side with Utena.

GAAAAAAAH!!!!!

The characters I can relate to because I share something in common with them:

Utena - Because we both more or less aimed to be manly men/a prince when we were young girls.

Anthy - We both share passive-aggressive tendencies in how we gain revenge on someone that wronged us and we are both capable of giving people that cold inhuman gaze.

Tsuwabuki – We both somehow developed a fascination with a girl who is wrong for us in many ways (Nanami) and we are both tough little scrappers in a fight.

Tamago wrote:

Utena - Because we both more or less aimed to be manly men/a prince when we were young girls.

The difference is, you achieved your dream!

I'm going to go with Utena too, but for a different reason: Utena's nature is to do what she thinks is right.  She's approximately the only character who can say that.  She tries to advance her own goals, sure, but one of those goals is to be a noble, decent human being.  I'm proudest of myself when I act in the same way, so Utena is sort of a role model for me   I don't wear a "What Would Utena Do" bracelet, but I'd consider it.  The only things I really dislike about her are her lack of insight -- into people, into situations -- and her accompanying lack of curiosity, which can make up for lack of insight when properly applied. 

ME: My friends are fighting.  I don't know what to do!
BRACELET: What Would Utena Do?
ME: Probably spout off about how friends shouldn't fight without bothering to find out the details first.
BRACELET: Oh yeah.  Hm.  Okay, what would Touga do?
ME: Seduce both of them.  What a great idea!  Thank you, Magic Bracelet!

Last edited by satyreyes (06-10-2007 09:10:08 PM)

Shiori- I know that this is going to come as a shock to most of you, but I’m a lot like Shiori. (No? Really?)

Anthy- My first time through the series, I could relate to Anthy the most. I’ve changed a lot since then, but it still applies for the most part. If you walk into a classroom with me in it, half the time your first impression of me would be that I’m a lot like Anthy. Quiet, and maybe a little weird. However, the other half of the time you would think that I’m outgoing and never shut up. (I have a split personality.) I’m also passive aggressive.

Utena- I’ve never wanted to be a princess, and I always wanted to be a prince. When I watch Utena, sometimes I want to yell, “2 + 2 = 4!” at her, but the same time, that would totally be me. Especially when I was fourteen. Just switch Akio and Touga’s genders, and just about everything about her would be like me.

Kozue- I like Kozue because I can relate to her. I’m a twin with a tendency of being slightly over protective and wanting to push my sister’s boyfriends down a flight of stairs. The fact that she’s impure while her brother is pure also can be related to myself, since having a sister who thinks that sex is evil makes me feel like scum on a regular basis. At least I’m not the village whore.

Juri- What lesbian can’t relate to Juri? Besides her sexuality, as of recently I can also relate with the whole hidden feelings thing.

satyreyes wrote:

ME: My friends are fighting.  I don't know what to do!
BRACELET: What Would Utena Do?
ME: Probably spout off about how friends shouldn't fight without bothering to find out the details first.
BRACELET: Oh yeah.  Hm.  Okay, what would Touga do?
ME: Seduce both of them.  What a great idea!  Thank you, Magic Bracelet!

.....I want this bracelet. NOW.

As for me.. well, first I'd like to say, all of the characters in the series have a good dose of unhealthiness in them. Some more than others. (By a lot) However, I've yet to find a character I relate a lot too. I relate to most of them at least a little.

My favourites are probably Anthy and Utena... soo original, I know. Normally in a series, my favourite character is always the one I relate the most to, but with Utena and Anthy it's like I partially relate to both. Anthy, because I'm shy but deeper than I appear, and I often don't say what I'm thinking and I just let people think I'm cute and dumb. I also look more innocent than I appear, since people seem to come to the conclusion that I'm perfectly sweet and wouldn't dare curse or say something mean.  ..and I can relate to some of her vicious tendencies, but no where near as much as her, thankfully.

Utena, because I'm naive as hell, and idealistic without looking at the big picture sometimes. (But thankfully I try to pay attention more to details than her)

My next favourite characters would probably be Kozue, Ruka, or Nanami, but I can only relate to Kozue even at little out of all of those. I'm really no where near like Kozue, but I can relate to her a little bit because I often roll my eyes and become disgusted by people who only want to be 100% pure and innocent and deny their shadows. I used to focus on that too much when I was younger, and I regret it. Now I'm realizing that a balance is the best, and not all things that are judged as "evil" or "dark" are bad.

Nanami.. I honestly can't relate to her at all. I just admire how much she grew. I can't relate to Ruka at all, either.

Gods, all of these characters are so awesome.

Last edited by SleepDebtFairy (06-10-2007 10:49:22 PM)

Coco Melancholy wrote:

Is that thing for sale??

http://www.wristbands-with-a-message.com

Finding a way to relate myself to a character is interesting since I encompass a wide variety of characteristics that sometimes contradict one another.  Yeah, I have a lot of internal conflict. 

Anthy:  My first watch through Utena, my eyes were always glued to the screen when Anthy appeared on the scene.  I don't know... all my life I've been made fun of and picked on and I've always kept everything bottled up inside.  Even in high school when those same people were nice to me I always tried to think of something mean to do to them for making fun of me years ago.  I would pretend to be nice to them but really I would boil with hatred for them.  Like Anthy, I've somewhat given up on the thought of finding someone who'll take me out of my sadness and pain, that prince of my dreams who'll come and rescue me, and walk around with a smile that doesn't even mean anything, because deep down I know my feelings don't match the pleasant outside.  People see me how they want to see me.  When I hung around with the "ghetto kids", I was hood and tough enough to hang with them.  With the preppies, I was pretty enough and knowledgable enough in hygenics to pass as one of them.  The smart kids gave me the time of day because I DO know what I'm talking about, I write poetry and read and get good grades... it just seems like I'm a doll like Anthy, never really showing who I REALLY am, only giving in to what people think I am.  I've gossiped and betrayed people, and manipulated others for my own gain.  And it hasn't made me feel any better.  Because I always go back to the same state of emptiness that I'm used to.

Maybe I need professional help.

Last edited by Alexandra (06-11-2007 06:38:53 AM)

dollface wrote:

I relate so well to Shiori because I feel exactly like her, minus the love ordeal. I've always, always lived in the shadows of my friends. They've always been smarter, prettier, more talented, and all around just more interesting people than myself. I have horrible issues with self-esteem, and have had them for years. When I watched SKU for the first time, Juri jumped out at me, because I could relate to being misunderstood and wronged. But, as the numerous rewatchings occured, I realized it was Shiori I really related to. Every single time I watch Thorns Of Death, I become even more aware of how alike we feel.

Yep.

I also relate to Keiko and Wakaba very well, in that both of them don't think they are good enough for the people they care about, or even just the people around them. At times, I relate to Mikage, just... not the part where he's a genius and all. But I feel like I can sway somewhat wildly from a selfish, internalized emotion and outer apathy toward others.

On a more positive note, I relate to Juri because I'm stuborn, and B-Ko because two people are better for this job than one!

One character that stumps me somewhat is Touga. I certainly like Touga well enough, but I've never put in enough effort to understand him. Many of the essays and interpretations here and on EM have been very helpful, but I can still not call myself anywhere near truly understanding him.

Last edited by dollface (06-05-2017 02:28:26 AM)

Nanami's Rose Groom wrote:

And finally Tsuwabuki - for his love towards Nanami, and famous phrase: "I want to wreck the whole world! Wreck it! Wreck it!"

Well, you see, I am a really complicated person

I too have MUCH love for Tsuwabuki.

I found that scene in the life downright disturbing. Wow. But of all the black rose fighters, I think Tsuwabuki was one of the best in battle.

Ruka's not very popular here, but he's more like me than any of the other characters. He's charismatic, manipulative to a point and knows more than he lets on but less than other people give him credit for. He's mostly motivated by how much he cares about other people (Juri when we see him obviously) but he's not good with other people's feelings so he hurts them. He puts the needs of those he loves ahead of his own but he does what he thinks is best for them even if it hurts everyone involved. He's in love with someone who cares for him as a friend but isn't capable of loving him back (I was for five years, which is a long time when you're not even twenty yet).

And he's in love with a red-haired lesbian.

( my girl, and she's a Kinsey 5 so she still qualifies as a lesbian!)

satyreyes wrote:

Tamago wrote:

Utena - Because we both more or less aimed to be manly men/a prince when we were young girls.

The difference is, you achieved your dream!

I guess you might say that, but in a way, I kinda wished I stayed a girl as it was what I was used to and besides, being a guy makes things too easy for me.

That begs the question, what makes a good person? Because while I think you are one, I couldn't really say why I think that.

And I didn't mention this in my previous post, so: I still don't really like Ruka all that much.