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 Top08-05-2017 06:24:39 AM
- anthy_himemiya
- Miki Molester
- From: Jacksonville, FL
- Registered: 08-05-2017
- Posts: 33
Akio's motivation (spoiler)
This is something I've been thinking about...
What exactly was Akio's exact motivation in seducing and sleeping with Utena? I always interpreted it as that he was trying to get her to lose her nobility and thus the power to save Anthy and revolutionize the world. But then, he's wanting to build her up and use her sword to open the Rose Gate. So, what is it exactly?
Offline
#2 | Back to Top08-05-2017 10:02:25 AM
Re: Akio's motivation (spoiler)
Because he wanted to? I don't think there was a particular reason behind it specifically, he just wanted to exert his power over her (and Anthy too, indirectly).
If you wanted to tie it in to his endgame goals you could say that he's trying to break her will so that she won't resist when she takes her sword/makes her a princess.
im a shadow play girl irl
Offline
#3 | Back to Top08-05-2017 11:21:05 AM
- gorgeousshutin
- Bare Footman
- Registered: 04-11-2012
- Posts: 1325
- Website
Re: Akio's motivation (spoiler)
anthy_himemiya wrote:
This is something I've been thinking about...
What exactly was Akio's exact motivation in seducing and sleeping with Utena? I always interpreted it as that he was trying to get her to lose her nobility and thus the power to save Anthy and revolutionize the world. But then, he's wanting to build her up and use her sword to open the Rose Gate. So, what is it exactly?
Hello! I believe Akio needs two things: a noble sword, with a sword bearer vulnerable to his control. Akio needs to prep Utena to become noble enough so her sword could open the Rose Gates. At the same time, he also needs to keep Utena vulnerable to his will, so he could have a easier time taking her sword from her. Note how he showed her he is engaged right from the get go. By having Utena willingly succumb into the role of homewrecker, he can then use her moral failing to guilt/ one-up her should she resist his attempt to take her sword. And this is exactly what happened in EP 38:
Akio: Am I really doing something that despicable?
Akio: And even if I am, you're the same as me.
Utena: What're you talking about?
Akio: I doubt you've forgotten.
Akio: Behold, the memory of the two of us.
Akio: I have a fiancee, but that didn't stop you.
Akio: Isn't that a sin?
Utena: That's not fair.
Akio: Unfair? Isn't it unfair to turn your eyes from the truth and then criticize others?
Akio: Isn't it UNFAIR to pretend that your conscience is clear and that YOU'RE the one in the right?
Utena: That's not it! I...Himemiya...
Akio: That's right. You didn't even try to understand Anthy.
Akio: In the end, you had your hands full just thinking about yourself.
Akio: How cute. You're a good woman.
Akio: You should stay a girl.
(SKU/MPD) Seinen Kakumei Utena (Completed as of May 12, 2018) / (PSOH/SKU) Revolutionary Human Leon (Updated to Part 4 as of Oct 31, 2017) / (NGE) The End of Hedgehog_s Dilemma (Updated to Part II Chapter 6 as of May 17, 2016) / (BananaFish) Medusa (Updated to Chapter 3 as of Mar 1, 2016)
http://archiveofourown.org/users/gorgeousshutin/works or https://www.fanfiction.net/u/3978886/
Offline
#4 | Back to Top08-05-2017 02:11:21 PM
- anthy_himemiya
- Miki Molester
- From: Jacksonville, FL
- Registered: 08-05-2017
- Posts: 33
Re: Akio's motivation (spoiler)
I've always found the Akio/Utena scenes incredibly uncomfortable to watch. Both when I was 12 years old and watched the series in its entirety, naturally it disturbed me then, but it also greatly disturbed me re-watching it recently at the age of 28. I feel this is for several reasons. One is the fact that I'm a hardcore Utena/Anthy shipper, so every time I see them together, I can't help but to think "No, Utena! You're supposed to be with Anthy!" (At the same time, though, I believe Utena/Anthy's relationship wouldn't have had the same impact if Utena knew her feelings... I believe it makes that much more of an impact that she doesn't realize them until almost the very end.) The other is that I feel the relationship is of very dubious consent, bordering on rape. Even putting aside the fact that Utena is 14 years old and Akio is a grown man in a position of power over her, the whole scene in Episode 33, to me, screams of someone trying desperately to dissociate from what's actually happening to them (Utena rambling about lunch during the act), not to mention the visuals saying "STOP STOP STOP" (representing to me what's actually going on thru Utena's head at the time) And just the general fact, that I've always viewed Utena as so naive and innocent, and Akio as a slimy, manipulative creep.
Offline
#5 | Back to Top08-05-2017 02:45:15 PM
Re: Akio's motivation (spoiler)
I can't really think of anything else that pulls off the mounting uncomfortable dread so well. In fact my first time through after the scene where Nanami walks in on Akio and Anthy, I had to stop watching the show for a while, it freaked me out that much.
im a shadow play girl irl
Offline
#6 | Back to Top08-05-2017 02:59:36 PM
- anthy_himemiya
- Miki Molester
- From: Jacksonville, FL
- Registered: 08-05-2017
- Posts: 33
Re: Akio's motivation (spoiler)
Arale wrote:
I can't really think of anything else that pulls off the mounting uncomfortable dread so well. In fact my first time through after the scene where Nanami walks in on Akio and Anthy, I had to stop watching the show for a while, it freaked me out that much.
Yeah, that one in particular is more like something out of a horror movie than a regular sex scene.
Especially the look on poor Nanami's face. I'll admit, Nanami annoyed me a bit when she was initially introduced, but I couldn't view her character as anything but sympathetic towards the end of the series.
Last edited by anthy_himemiya (08-05-2017 03:00:36 PM)
Offline