RhythmFusion wrote:

He said Rule 34!!!

Yeah, I noticed that as well. Coincidence? I think not!

Second: Confession in the elevator. Mitsuru says, that just being with Nanami isn't enough for him anymore. So what can he mean by that? I guess something deeper and darker, than usual. Remember, that his drive to duel was to become an adult. And what is usually considered as a proof of adulthood by young people? Sex, of course (this is implied in the Shadow Play)

I have a tenancy to see the various sword-pulls in Utena as a metaphor for sexual acts.
In the Black Rose arc, "sword pull" = "date rape".


Tsuwabuki/Nanami is actually my favorite hetero pairing in this entire series and I have yet to see any good fan-work in support of it. It is a great tragedy.


Disregarding the characters' canonical ages, Tsuwabuki is the only one drawn in a way that makes him look like a child. Nanami, Utena, and the larger portion of the cast, all appear as though they fall in the range of 16-18 (with Akio being the only visible adult in the main cast by comparison). I think it's this visual cue that turns people off to Tsuwabuki/Nanami. Both their official age gap and their emotional maturity levels are a lot closer to equal than viewers immediately give them credit for.

as for this 'In a few years thing', not so much. I think people tend to forget that yes, Mitsuru is only 10, but Nanami is only 13!

I think when people get hung up over a few years time, it may just be because a lot of fan-sites have weird rules about underage characters. "A few years time" is a likely method for dodging these.

Also, even though three years doesn't mean much to adults, or even older teenagers, I remember being in fifth grade and it being weird for anyone to be dating someone a single grade away. Even if Tsuwabuki and Nanami were both cool with it, I imagine they would get flak from their peers. (They already have if I'm remembering a couple episodes right!)


And what's all this concern about Tsuwabuki becoming the next Touga? Yeah, the kids trying to emulate Touga, but where do we see him picking up a copy the Karma Sutra as research material? Tsuwabuki wants to be what he thinks Touga is. And I don't think that includes the Sexual Dynamo aspect, at least not yet. Tsuwabuki is modelling himself after an ideal. If anything, I think that when he discovers Touga's real attitude toward all of the girls he engages (dismissive, unconcerned) he'll probably go through a period of doubt and introspection, re-thinking both his idol and his ideals. Nobody chooses a role model for their human qualities!

Mitsuru has huge potential, in a few years time all he really needs to do is assert himself as the dominant side of the relationship and Nanami would be his for the taking. I don't know if that would be a good thing or not.

I don't know if it's necessary for him to become the "dominant side of the relationship" if only because many stable relationships don't really have a clear dominant side to them. Even in situations where one member is clearly overpowered or disadvantaged that doesn't always translate into a power imbalance in the dynamics of the romantic relationship.

The reason I like Tsuwabuki/Nanami so much is that I feel it could be a more equal pairing.

Does/will Tsuwabuki need to become more assertive/dominant toward Nanami? Sure.
But he doesn't need to become THE DOMINANT POWER in the relationship to achieve this.

Personally, I'd like to see the two of them IN A FEW YEARS TIME (not for age reasons, for character developement reasons ) butting heads just a little and trying to out-manipulate each other with wild scheming. It could be wonderful ~