This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)
Here is my typing of the main characters of Shoujo Kakumei Utena based on the Ennegram personality system, which uses nine personality types.
Type One: The Reformer
The Rational, Idealistic Type: Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic
Social Role: The Educator
Basic Desire: To have integrity
Basic Fear: Being bad, corrupt, evil, or defective
Sin: Wrath (read as resentment and perfectionism).
Reaction to problems: "I'm sure we can solve this like sensible, mature adults."
Manipulates by: correcting others and insisting that others share their standards.
Attacks by: pointing out evil, corruption, and defectiveness in others.
Favorite complaints: "Everyone is so irresponsible and lazy!"
Higher calling: To live for a higher purpose.
Character: Miki.
Type Two: The Helper
The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Generous, Demonstrative, People-Pleasing, and Possessive
Social Role: The Special Friend
Basic Desire: To feel loved
Basic Fear: Being unworthy of being loved.
Sin: Pride (read as vainglory, the belief that nothing good happens without the person's actions)
Reaction to problems: "You have a problem. I am here to help you."
Manipulates by: finding out others' needs and desires and creating dependencies.
Attacks by: making others feel unworthy of their love, generosity, or affection.
Favorite complaints: "Where would you be without me?"
Higher calling: To nuture yourself and others.
Characters: Wakaba and Tsuwabuki
Type Three: The Achiever
The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptable, Excelling, Driven and Image-Conscious
Social Role: "The Best"
Basic Desire: To feel worthwhile, accepted, and desired.
Basic Fear: Being worthless or without inherent value.
Sin: Vanity (the belief in one's image, instead of one's true person; this can be read as a form of Pride; it can also be read as deceitfulness)
Reaction to problems: "There's an efficient solution to this--we just need to get to work."
Manipulates by: charming others and adopting whatever image will work.
Attacks by: making others feel valueless by treating them arrogantly or with contempt.
Favorite complaints: "What do I have to do to impress you?"
Higher calling: To develop yourself and set an example for others.
Characters: Touga and Nanami.
Type Four: The Individualist
The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental
Social Role: The Special One
Basic Desire: To find themselves and their significance by creating an identity out of their inner experience.
Basic Fear: Being without identity or personal significance.
Sin: Envy (this reading is fairly consistent with the common meaning)
Reaction to problems: "I feel really hurt and I need to express myself."
Manipulates by: being tempermental and making others walk on eggshells.
Attacks by: treating others distainfully, as if others were nobodies and had no value or significance.
Favorite complaints: "No one understands me. People are so cruel and insensitive to me. Everyone lets me down."
Higher calling: To let go of your past and be renewed by your experiences.
Character: Shiori.
Type Five: The Investigator
The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated
Social Role: The Expert
Basic Desire: To be capable or competent.
Basic Fear: Being useless, incapable, or incompetent.
Sin: Avarice (this is not read as Greed for the Enneagram; the common meanings have more to do with Gluttony and how the Enneagram treats Lust. Instead, it has to do with miserliness and stinginess.)
Reaction to problems: "There are a number of hidden issues here; let me think about this."
Manipulates by: staying preoccupied and detaching emotionally from others.
Attacks by: making others feel helpless, incompetent, stupid, and incapable. Also chases people away.
Favorite complaints: "I can't believe what idiots people are! Go away--I need my space!"
Higher calling: To observe yourself and others without judgement or expectations.
Character: Mikage.
Type Six: The Loyalist
The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious
Social Role: The Stalwart
Basic Desire: To find security and support.
Basic Fear: Being without support of guidance.
Sin: Fear (this is not a traditional deadly sin, but something had to
be used when the seven sins had to be stretched to cover nine types!)
Reaction to problems: "I feel really pressured and I've got to let off some steam!"
Manipulates by: complaining and testing others' commitment to them.
Attacks by: undermining the support systems of others, trying to isolate them in some fashion.
Favorite complaints: "Damned if I do, damned if I don't. I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"
Higher calling: To have faith in yourself and trust in the goodness of life.
Character: Saionji. I might include Nanami's posse and her three dorky admirers here,
too, as this type can be very loyal.
Type Seven: The Enthusiast
The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Acquisitive, and Scattered
Social Role: The Energizer
Basic Desire: To be happy, satisfied, and find fulfillment.
Basic Fear: Being deprived or trapped in pain.
Sin:Gluttony (hunger for quantity of experience of all kinds, not just food and drink)
Reaction to problems: "There may be a problem, but *I'm* fine!"
Manipulates by: distracting others and insisting that others meet their demands.
Attacks by: causing pain and making others feel deprived.
Favorite complaints: "I'm bored. Why can't everyone keep up with me? I want it and I want it now!"
Higher calling: To joyously celebrate existence and share your happiness.
Characters: Kozue, ChuChu, and the Shadow Play Girls.
Type Eight: The Challenger
The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational
Social Role: The Rock
Basic Desire: To protect themselves and determine their own course in life.
Basic Fear: Being harmed or controlled by others.
Sin: Lust (desire for intensity of experience, not just quantity, which would be Gluttony).
Reaction to problems: "I'm angry about this and you're going to hear about it!"
Manipulates by: dominating others and demanding that others do as they say.
Attacks by: making others fear that they will be harmed or controlled by belligerent and intimidating threats.
Favorite complaints: "My way or the highway! No one tells me what to do!"
Higher calling: To stand up for yourself and speak out for what you believe.
Characters: Juri and Akio. Lust for Akio makes sense, but Juri seems more the wrathful
type. Maybe that's why she gets along with Miki!
Type Nine: The Peacemaker
The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent
Social Role: Nobody Special
Basic Desire: To maintain their inner stability and peace of mind.
Basic Fear: Losing connection or being fragmented.
Sin: Sloth (self-forgetting, among other things)
Reaction to problems: "What problem? I don't think there's a problem."
Manipulates by: checking out and passively resisting others.
Attacks by: tuning people out.
Favorite complaints: "The more you bring it up, the less I'm going to do it."
Higher calling: To bring peace and healing into your world.
Characters: Utena and Anthy.
I know I'm missing Ruka and Kanae, but it's hard for me to type them. Any guesses?
If you want to read more, click on this link:
http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/descript.asp
and then click on the links for each type to see if the descriptions match your ideas for the characters.
Also, if you think you know your type and want to confirm, or you are just curious, here is a FREE test at this link:
http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/dis_sample_36.asp
Remember to report your type here!
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The Enneagram and other typing systems are pretty cool! I'm either type 4 or type 5, depending on how I'm feeling when I take the test. (4 on bad days.) My inner poet and inner scientist are constantly in dialogue.
I'm not sure you've got these types right. Utena in particular is way off. A peacemaker? Nobody special? Oh my no. Utena is much closer to type 8. If she's upset with you she makes sure you know about it, and when pushed she's more than willing to fight for what she wants. She's special, and wears a ring on her finger to prove it. She's fiercely independent and completely unsubtle -- in short, a Challenger.
I think Juri belongs in type 4, not type 8. Type 8 never suffers in silence, and it believes in miracles. Type 4, when depressed, not only accepts suffering but embraces it, and is definitely the type to deny miracles.
Akio is totally not type 8 either. Type 8 isn't the puppetmaster, it's the guy with the sword at your throat. He is much closer to type 5, though I don't think he's a perfect fit.
All that said, I think putting Miki in type 1 is quite insightful.
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I did the sampler test and here is the results.
The Reformer 3
The Helper 1
The Achiever 5
The Individualist 6
The Investigator 6
The Loyalist 3
The Enthusiast 5
The Challenger 2
The Peacemaker 5
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What an interesting test. I scored 7 on Individualist and Peacemaker. Though I'd say I was more of an Individualist, since I do strive for inner stability and peace of mind, but never really achieve it.
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I think Ruka's probably primarily a Type 3 with a little bit of Type 2 thrown in there. His form of attack is pure Type 3 but he stepped in to solve Juri's problem for her, giving him that Type 2 undertone.
I'm primarily a Type 3(7), with Type 5(5) as a secondary.
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I tied Type 4 and Type 9 (Individualist and Peacemaker), with six apiece. Then a three-way tie with Types 1, 5, and 6 (Reformer, Investigator, Loyalist) with five each. I am least like a Type 8 (Challenger) with only one.
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Well, I scored highest on Type 3, which should really surprise no one who knows me. I scored lowest on Types 2, 6, and 9, which should also surprise no one. It seems a pretty good reflection of me.
Complete score set:
Type 1 4
Type 2 1
Type 3 8
Type 4 4
Type 5 6
Type 6 1
Type 7 6
Type 8 5
Type 9 1
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Nice, spanish version *-*
I scored as type 8, with a tie between the type 5 and 6, and a bit of the 1st type.
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We should do something like this with the Keirsey test toooo. *loves things like this*
and on this one I got....
Type1 - 3
Type2 - 2
Type3 - 6
Type4 - 4
Type5 - 6
Type6 - 3
Type7 - 4
Type8 - 1
Type9 - 6
So that's a tie between 3, 5, and 9.
Edit: Because I'm a bad speller sometimes.
Last edited by Teatime (12-24-2006 03:39:47 AM)
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I got 8 for The Investigator and 5 for The Individualist. Yep, sounds right. Kind of scares me that I should share a type with Shiori though. X_X
Anyone familiar with Keirseys test? I'm currently trying to figure out the types of the Utena cast. Curious what types you guys may be. I'm an INFJ. >P
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Scortia wrote:
I got 8 for The Investigator and 5 for The Individualist. Yep, sounds right. Kind of scares me that I should share a type with Shiori though. X_X
Anyone familiar with Keirseys test? I'm currently trying to figure out the types of the Utena cast. Curious what types you guys may be. I'm an INFJ. >P
Don't worry too much about the Shiori thing First, I'm not a huge fan of the Enneagram; second, even if it were the most insightful personality typology system there was, I'm pretty sure Shiori is not a Four. She's a Three, an Achiever. It's a little hard to see it, because she achieves so little during the series, but watch her behavior. All but the healthiest Threes are concerned with achievement primarily because they want to be special, to be noticed, to be accepted. Unhealthy Threes backstab and use psychological warfare to do their achieving. They are narcissistic, yet have almost no feeling of self-worth. Above all else they hate the idea of being rejected or inferior. If someone makes them feel inferior, they will ruin that person if it's at all within their power. That is Shiori. She has a "Four Wing," meaning that she incorporates some of the Individualist's traits, but her primary type is almost certainly Three.
I test as an INTP when I'm in a good mood and an INTJ when I'm not
Last edited by satyreyes (12-23-2006 07:37:34 PM)
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You know, I AM the ONE who really shares the SAME type with Shiori! I know that I am a bit romantic, and now, with the proof of the ennargram, the sample test catogorised me as a type four person. Here is my complete set of score:
Type 1: 4
Type 2: 5
Type 3: 4
Type 4: 6
Type 5: 2
Type 6: 5
Type 7: 5
Type 8: 0
Type 9: 5
I cannot believe that Anthy is a peacemaker! I prefer to call her 'the subtle trouble-maker'. I would think she's more like a type four person, like me.
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Oh, there are plenty of people who are like Shiori! They just won't admit it.
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ShatteredMirror wrote:
Oh, there are plenty of people who are like Shiori! They just won't admit it.
So do you think it is brave for me to admit it?
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Even in a fairly pro-Shiori environment like this one, most people wouldn't want to be like her. So yeah, you're brave.
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Well, shatteredmirror, you know, I'll blush
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Really? Over what I said? Oh dear, I'm mortified.
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Hey, I'm a Touga-type, and try as I might I can't bring myself to like him.
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Tamago wrote:
It seems that so many of us forum members tend to score very high on the Type 4: The Individualist setting which makes most of us closet Shiori types... OH MY!
And again Brian points out that Shiori is probably a Type 3, not Type 4... see above post.
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I had a two way tie as 8 and 6.
So...I'm basically...Nanami, Juri and Akio rolled into one (which sounds, like so many things on this board, like it might be something very NWS).
Edit: Shattered, does this mean I can call you Oniisama?
Last edited by morosemocha (12-24-2006 01:10:01 AM)
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Oh? And are you going to call me Oneesama? *raises an eyebrow*
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Oneesama? Really? I thought you'd like Mistress more.
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And it is a bit smoother when it comes out in that tortured, breathless whisper.
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