I wrote a lot of articles on Revolutionary Girl Utena anime. I do like this show a lot. I think it is very deep and profound and will allow you understand a lot about life if you are smart enough.
However, I never wrote much about its main protagonist, that is Utena Tenjou herself. That is because I do not like her in particular. However, her character is much more nuanced to just hate her like I hate Orokudaki for example. Besides she is needed to drive this kind of story. She is needed to showcase and illustrate the point, Ikuhara trying to make with this anime.
Remember how many episodes start with little story about princess who was very sad, but then prince appeared and saved her. It ends with the following passage:
"So impressed she was by him, that she decided to become a prince herself. However, was it a such a good idea?"
The show asks you to question Utena's decisions and action. In fact, it even shows that these actions and decisions hardly lead to anything good. In fact, they lead to her own misery as well as misery of people around her.
However, show is subtle enough and I assume a lot of people not getting it right. So, I will write a complex analysis of Utena's action and her characters.
Allegory of Feminism
Utena is like an allegory of feminism and all the stupidity, suffering and confusion it caused in the world. It is all the more relevant to our modern times.
It is almost surprising how Ikuhara could manage to create such as show so way back in 1997, before fallout of the late feminism started to affect our modern life in 2010s. Ikuhara is a futurist genius.
However, this show does not intend to praise feminist boy-girl hero or even allow her to win in the end and show her living happily ever after.
In fact, it shows the extend of the disaster Utena causes. In the end she was betrayed and backstabbed by Anthy. She did not manage to find her happiness and lost it all in the end.
In fact, the show was and still is a warning to the future feminist. A warning that fell on deaf ears.
Utena's Character
Utena is this show's analogue of Kururigi Suzaku from Code Geass. However here we do not have any counterpart to Lelouch' so, spoiler alert, bad guys win.
Just like Suzaku she is a proper hero, rather than anti-hero or anti-villain. She is driven by desire to do good and save people in need from bad guys.
However, just like with Suzaku, the cause she is fighting for is wrong. So, her 'heroic' actions do not produce good outcomes.
That is what she does for the entire duration of the show. She finds someone she perceives as villain and then defeats him. She saves the damsel in distress, and they live happily thereafter like prince and princes. That is what it is on the surface.
Show begins with her fighting Saionji and 'saving' Anthy from him.
However, the reality is different. Sometimes show gives Utena and viewers hints that her perception of this situation is not correct.
Anthy did not want to be saved from Saionji. Utena's interference made both Saionji and Anthy unhappy.
Saionji actually loved Anthy and was very upset losing her. Utena ruined his happy relationship and went to great efforts in attempt to get his beloved Anthy back. He ended up in a lot of trouble because of that.
Alas a casual viewer will simply dismiss Saionji as villain and ignore his problems.
It is doubly so appalling for me as I personally is very sympathetic of both Saionji and Miki as I found their characters to be most similar to mine.
Just as Saionji was not happy, neither was Anthy.
Anthy did not want to be 'saved.'
Anthy having hard time agreeing with Utena's views and values. Anthy only agrees with Utena out of respect to her authority as her current groom.
When Touga won a duel and became engaged, she easily and happily refuted all Utena taught her. Touga even explained to Utena that Anthy only agreed with her because she was engaged with her, now that Anthy is engaged to him she will do and agree with what he says.
If you pay attention, you will notice how Anthy, subtly wishes to resist Utena but unable to do so. Anthy hesitates to agree with Utena, but happily agrees with everything Touga says.
The show rarely shows you, Anthy's own feelings and when it does, it does so in a subtle way.
Anthy, however, had much easier time with Saionji and Touga. She was actually happy to be liberated from Utena and hoped it will end fast and easy.
Utena's Path
However, Utena persisted in her 'heroic' quest of saving Anthy from bad guys, that eventually turned into just fighting everyone around her.
Miki, Juri, Nanami, Touga, then Wakaba, Tsuwabuki...
While some would simply dismiss it all to Akio's manipulations, that is not true.
All these people wanted Anthy because they thought she will make them happy. Out of Student Consul Duelists Miki wished to find happiness with Anthy. Utena denied him this possibility.
Juri's Touga's and Nanami's motivations were less pure and straightforward, but each or them needed Anthy to realize their own happiness. Utena denied them this happiness.
Sure, Black Rose duelists wished to kill her. However, they too thought that they can find happiness if they kill Anthy. They thought that she gets in the way of their relationship with someone they like. For example, Wakaba thought if she kills Anthy, Saionji will stop loving Anthy and will come back to her. Keiko though that she will have a chance with Touga if she kills Anthy whom Touga wants to have. Sanae thought that Akio will only love her if Anthy is no more. Black Rose duelists is their own topic, but their idea and their pattern are similar to each other.
Finale of the 'Hero'
In the end, Utena defeated all the 'bad guys' and met the 'End of the World' Akio Ohtori. Akio explained her that he and Anthy were grooming her for their own selfish ends.
However, Akio also said that he is satisfied with how unspoiled Utena turned out to be. Because of that Utena was fit to be his princess, so she can finally give on being a prince and just find her happiness with him.
That was a long path and a lot of people suffered for Utena to get here, but finally Utena get a chance of happiness with the prince of her past. An unconventional "happy 'bitter-sweet' end"?
No, Utena just throws it all away and now fights to save Anthy from him.
Akio explains to Utena that it is pointless to save Anthy as Anthy was playing the Rose Bride role for Akio's sake and on his instructions. However, Anthy actually wished to do this for Akio on her own free will. Because of that she did not need to be saved. Eventually Anthy even stabs Utena in the back to give victory to Akio.
Utena still does not learn and still attempts to save Anthy.
Conclusion
The show ends with Anthy leaving Akio in search for Utena, as the rest of their classmates all forgotten about her.
That might look like a victory to feminist cause, but it is hardly so.
The end result is that no one was happy with Utena's actions.
However, most are happy now that she is gone.
Some find happiness in love in this Utena-devoid world.
This raises the question of whether it was worth it.
I just hope that this feminist plague that befell on us since 2010s will eventually disappear like Utena did and we will come back to our normal life.
As an Epilogue I will just leave her two alternative images of Utena here. These are the other possibilities she could have chosen.
Final Note
And then a little bit for myself. I too wish to find happiness with obedient, docile and demure girl. Just l like Saionji with Anthy. So here are them as well.
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