Oooh okay.  Durrr.

I don't speak Spanish, but as far as I know "dios" is just "god," and like English can mean the Christian, singular "God" or can be used in the context of a god within a group, like Zeus or something. Also bear in mind the Japanese word "kami" (which is written as "gami" in "shinigami") doesn't actually translate very well into English. "God" is a placeholder of a sort, as the Shinto kami are more animistic than what we'd typically see the idea as. Like, Pagan, I suppose. Which is possibly why they used the name "Dios" for the character, as there is more an idea of purity behind that, maybe? The Japanese idea of kami is more neutral; whereas Christian thought has God in his Heaven and Lucifer in the Underworld, the kami can be either. They're influenced by the forces around them, as well as within them. If that makes any sense. I think I've just realised I need to go re-read some of my books on Shinto again.

winksniper wrote:

I was watching a Youtube video of a Spanish translation of Tommy Heavenly6's song Unlimited sky, and right at the part where she says, "Kimagure na shinigami ga tachidomatta" (a capricious death god stood still),

While "shinigami" literally means Death God, in practice you just read it as Grim Reaper, or personified Death, usually.

dundundun wrote:

In the flashback where Utena first meets Dios, doesn't she ask him if he's a shinigami?

....I can't remember exactly what she says in the sub. But I'm going to go rewatch that scene to find out! Interesting.

In the English dub he said, "I do not serve death." Is that a mis-translation?

One could argue that Anthy was destined to die but Dios saved her and turned her into a witch. Dios in turn was destined to die but Anthy saved him and turned him into Akio.

brian wrote:

In the English dub he said, "I do not serve death." Is that a mis-translation?

It was more like "I do not bring death" in the original. Not a big difference, though.

One could argue that Anthy was destined to die but Dios saved her and turned her into a witch. Dios in turn was destined to die but Anthy saved him and turned him into Akio.

I'm not sure where you get the former - if anything, the story would seem to indicate that Anthy made herself a witch after understanding that she could never get Dios for herself - and then made her Akio, though not exactly deliberately, so that she could have him, even if it means he has to cease to be the Prince.

brian wrote:

Lightice wrote:

I'm not sure where you get the former

From the manga; of course even then it transpires that she is not telling all she knows.

I would prefer to keep the manga, series and movie continuities distinctly separate. They're not the same universe, so what is canon in one isn't necessarily so in the other. I was assuming that we spoke of the series by default.

BioKraze wrote:

Lightice wrote:

While "shinigami" literally means Death God, in practice you just read it as Grim Reaper, or personified Death, usually.

Whenever I see the word "shinigami" I automatically think Thanatos. And then I almost immediately think "What's Zane got to do with this?"

Points for anybody who knows what I mean by that.

On A Pale. Horse ftw!!

In the manga Dios and Akio are two parts of "God" wicht one day are been separated because Dios was too much good at the humans. I the anime this concept is's non explain

Dios CAN represent death. and it makes a whole lot of sense too.

Here's a good explanation of it: http://akio.ohtori.nu/05_identity_02.htm#thanatos

"One way to look at Akio and Dios are in the Freudian terms of Eros and Thanatos—the life and death drives. Eros came first in Freud’s studies: it’s the sex instinct, and all the baggage that comes from sex. The desire for life, preservation, survival, and sensuality. The creation drive, realized mostly in reproduction. Later, Freud coupled this with Thanatos—the death drive. The negation urge, the need to put out your own existence.

...

Dios is all Thanatos. He has no life drive of his own, no urge to preserve himself, and one can safely assume (due at least to his age), no real need for sex. Instead, he behaves with self-destructive abandon. You could even go so far as to say he’s suicidal, for the degree to which he pushes himself. On the other hand, Akio is all Eros. Aside from the obvious presence of an overwhelming sex drive, Akio embodies the life instinct because unlike Dios, he’s extremely self-preserving. There’s no room in Akio’s mind for accepting any change in him—he goes to great effort to preserve both who he is and the circumstances around him that permit him to stay that way. He is so hung up on his own survival that he refuses the usual form the life instinct takes—reproduction. He doesn’t accept the Eros/Thanatos cycle where he lives on in those that follow, while he himself must die. After all, you need some degree of the death drive to accept that fate. "