Hi guys, I just registered here and was hoping you could help me out with some questions I have about Akio. The guy just confuses the hell out of me.

Now, normally I don’t obsess too much over plot – especially in a series like SKU where the character’s psychological profiles are so rich that the plot almost seems inconsequential. Having said that, there are some things about SKU’s plot that, after two viewings, I just can’t figure out.

Firstly, towards the end of the series, when Akio reveals the End of the World to Utena, Akio accuses her – Utena – and the other duelists of chasing after ‘castles in the sky’ because they have no understanding of what real power is. This draws a substantial contrast between Akio and the duelists because Akio, unlike the duelists, is quite obviously after real power. He has used his wiles to seduce his way into a position of authority at a prestigious school, and to marry into a very wealthy family.

So, my question is this: What exactly does Akio stand to gain then, in terms of real world power, from manipulating a bunch of dysfunctional kids into dueling each other for a castle in the sky? Why is he interested in the rose gate? What interest does he have in the ‘power’ behind the rose gate when he’s supposedly interested in real wealth and power, and not kid’s fairy tales? I understand the implication is that – according to the movie, at least – he wants to regain the magic power of the prince he once was, but, again, that just seems like he’s chasing after a fairy tale rather than something real. Is he contradicting himself?

See, here’s the thing with how I perceived it. I basically felt that Akio revealing the castle to be an illusion perpetuated by a planetarium projector was really amazing, because it just blew the lid off the whole childish, romantic fantasy mythos that I felt the series was consciously trying to deconstruct. Then his behavior shortly thereafter – attempting to breach the rose gate – seems to re-legitimate the illusion/fantasy he himself just nullified, which just kind of throws me for a loop. I guess I see coming of age stories as being moral progressions from ‘child’s fantasy’ to ‘adult’s reality’, and the planetarium’s metaphorical implications really substantiated that for me. Most of SKU substantiates that. I just hit a wall when I try to cognitively grapple with Akio trying to open a gate he recognizes as part of his own light show illusion. Is it an illusion, or isn’t it? Is Akio really so crazy that he falls for his own tricks?

Thankfully, I don’t think the vagueness of Akio’s intentions changes the beautiful relationship that develops between Anthy and Utena. Their growth, development, and emergence from their coffins; the truth of their friendship, in the end, is a given – regardless of the plot. It does, however, seem to turn the principle moral of the story into an inexorable, binary ambiguity: Is the castle/prince/fairytale mythos all an illusion, or is it actually real? Did Anthy and Utena escape their coffins by realizing the folly of chasing after a fantasy that didn’t exist? Or did they realize, contrarily, that there is in fact a fantasy world – and just decide they’re happier moving on and forgetting about it?

Either interpretation seems to work; they both satisfy the moral in their own way. But I’m still finding it difficult to reconcile the implications of Akio’s actions with the themes of SKU.

Again, maybe – hopefully – I’m just missing something and you guys can help straighten me out.

I do have another question, actually also about Akio, but I’ll post another topic later. Maybe some of your responses to this will help me work out my other questions as well. Thanks in advance for your help.