Revolutionary Girl Utena/Characters

The following are the characters from Revolutionary Girl Utena. If you have not seen the entire series, beware of spoilers!

Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami (JP), Rachael Lillis (EN)



 * Accidental Marriage: More like accidental engagement though.
 * Action Girl: Her duels take place almost Once an Episode, and she's extremely athletic. And even outside of the duels, she's really tough both in personality and in physical ability. She can jump, she can punch, she's a demon on the basketball court, and she can beat trained duelists with broken swords, bamboo practice swords and a pitchfork. And let's not get started on the truly epic move she pulls in the last episode...
 * Badass
 * Beginner's Luck: She has no experience in swordfighting but manages to beat Saionji, who's practiced kendo since childhood.
 * Bifauxnen: Though she's generally pretty tomboyish, it's only in The Movie when she really fits this trope, she has Boyish Short Hair when she isn't dueling, and her Custom Uniform is much more masculine-looking.
 * Blithe Spirit/Rookie Red Ranger: She has no idea about the plot that the student council is involved in but gets involved in their lives (and tangled interpersonal issues).
 * Blood Sisters: With Anthy.
 * Bokukko: Refers to herself with the masculine pronoun "boku", fitting with her tomboyish nature.
 * Break the Cutie: Utena only wanted to become the prince she admired..
 * Character Tics: Stretching, exercising... even in the middle of a conversation.
 * Composite Character: In the anime, as a child, Juri witnessed her older sister nearly drown, causing a boy to attempt to save her but drown in the process; however, Juri's sister is saved by an adult. This backstory is given to Utena in the movie, but instead of an older sister, the drowning girl is a stranger (actually Juri, according to Word of God), and the boy is.
 * In the movie-manga,.
 * And in the original manga, Utena is the "boy" who jumped into the river to save a girl and nearly drowned..
 * Compressed Hair: In the movie, which leads to a dramatic Letting Her Hair Down moment in the first duel with Saionji. There are actually sketches in the artbook showing how she could manage to braid it tightly enough to fit it under her hat.
 * Conflicting Loyalty: To her prince, and her desire to be a prince herself. Some of the less scrupulous characters in the show exploit her through this.
 * Conveniently an Orphan: It's in the show's prologue!
 * Cool Car: Becomes this in the Gainax Ending of the movie.
 * Custom Uniform: She says that she wears the boy's uniform, but no one in Ohtori has an outfit like hers.
 * Deadpan Snarker: With the Shadow Girls in the Black Rose Saga.
 * Determinator/Plucky Girl: In the last episode, she forces herself back up with her bare knuckles.
 * Dreaming the Truth: In episode 34.
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names her Ursula.
 * : Well, sort of... but definitely awesome.
 * Et Tu, Brute?:.
 * Even the Girls Want Her: And HOW. She even provides the picture for that page.
 * Extraordinarily Empowered Girl: Combined with Implausible Fencing Powers.
 * First Kiss: After hearing Wakaba talk about this, she muses that hers must have been from Dios. In the manga and light novel, her Sacred First Kiss is stolen by Touga early on.
 * Girl in a Box: At her parents' funeral. She finds a third coffin and hides in it, hoping to be buried herself.
 * Godiva Hair: In the movie-manga.
 * Good with Numbers: According to Wakaba, she does quite well in math. Her grades start to slip, however, once she starts dueling.
 * Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: Every time she gives her routine about wanting to be a prince so she can rescue princesses, she reiterates that she's still "Just a normal girl who wants a normal guy!".
 * Hot Amazon
 * Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Averted.
 * Innocent Blue Eyes
 * Innocent Inaccurate
 * In the Name of the Moon: "Grant me the power to bring the world revolution!"
 * Kissing Discretion Shot: In the second ending sequence with Anthy.
 * Magic Knight: Whenever she gains the power of Dios in a duel, or when Anthy powers up the sword.
 * Meaningful Name: "Utena" translates to "calyx", a set of specialized leaves that protect the petals of a budding flower. Note that Anthy's name means "flower".
 * Memento MacGuffin: Her ring!
 * Morality Pet: Arguably, Touga's. She seems to be the only person that he really cares about.
 * Naive Newcomer: At the very beginning, which doesn't make much sense since she's been attending Ohtori for at least one term prior.
 * Once Upon a Time: "...there was a princess grieving over the deaths of her mother and father."
 * Orphan's Plot Trinket: Her Rose Signet, which she received few after being orphaned.
 * Parental Abandonment: Her parents died when she was very young, leaving her an orphan.
 * Power Makes Your Hair Grow: In the movie, she normally has short hair. When she transforms into her dueling outfit, her hair also grows out.
 * The Promise Invoked with, to save Anthy in her past.
 * Proper Lady: She's not one, but once tries to act like one.
 * Rapunzel Hair: In the movie, which also has her hair being wavy as opposed to straight. It is also Compressed Hair, as she keeps it under a hat when she;s not dueling.
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: With Wakaba and Anthy.
 * Rose-Haired Girl: Not so much "sweetie" as "chivalric". That's what she wants to be.
 * Save the Princess: What she thinks she's doing where Anthy is concerned.
 * She's Got Legs: According to Ikuni himself, the reason why she wears Daisy Dukes.
 * Shut UP, Hannibal: Her duels frequently end like this. Especially prominent with her talk with Mikage in Nemuro Hall.
 * Take My Hand:.
 * Talking in Bed: She and Anthy frequently converse in their adjacent beds after they move into the planetarium tower.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Especially the movie where she's fairly standoffish, although she has pink hair and is shorter than most characters.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Tomboy to Anthy's Girly Girl.
 * Underwater Kiss: In the movie-manga . The actual movie has a variant:.
 * Who Wears Short Shorts?: She wears shorts as part of her Custom Uniform, which is the part of her uniform the teachers seem to have the biggest issue with.
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: The most naive character in the show.
 * Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: Brings one to her duel with Saionji. He shears it off, but she beats him anyway.

Voiced by: Yuriko Fuchizaki (JP), Sharon Becker (EN)


"Utena: Himemiya, you're type-AB, right? Let's see, type-ABs are elusive and seldom reveal their true feelings, huh? Anthy: And you're type-B, right, Utena-sama? Type-Bs are self-centered and prone to misconceptions... Utena: Yeah, sorry, okay."
 * All of the Other Reindeer
 * Ambiguously Brown: Despite her bindi, her ethnicity is never specified.
 * Barrier Maiden:.
 * Beautiful All Along: Often on the part of the viewers. In the first two arcs, she appears to have short, curled hair, but it's actually Rapunzel Hair instead. With her hair down and her glasses off, she's quite beautiful. The second picture here is an example.
 * Blood Sisters: With Utena.
 * Broken Bird
 * Catch Phrase: In the next episode preview: "zettai unmei mokushiroku".
 * Compressed Hair: Partially justified in that she does keep her hair bound most of the time, but it's hard to believe that such a large volume of hair can roll up so tightly.
 * Damsel in Distress:.
 * Designated Victim: In the first arc, you could start a drinking game based on how much she gets slapped.
 * Despair Event Horizon:.
 * Detached Sleeves: Her Rose Bride outfit is a sleeveless dress with detached cuffs.
 * Dissonant Serenity: Something that creeps out a lot of the people around her, especially her soon-to-be sister-in-law Kanae.
 * And in the movie,.
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names her Angie.
 * Emotionless Girl: She rarely shows any emotions other than a placid smile, and it's noted to be creepy by a few other characters..
 * Extreme Doormat:.
 * Facial Markings: Wears a bindi.
 * Fate Worse Than Death:.
 * Feminine Women Can Cook: Subverted. The only safe thing she makes is shaved ice.
 * Flower Motifs: With all the characters, but especially her.
 * Friend to All Living Things:
 * Not in any over-the-top way, but she clearly has an affinity with animals, more so than with humans.
 * It's also hinted that if you mistreat an animal, she'll calmly curse you to be hated by all of them. You heard that, Nanami?
 * Girl in a Box:.
 * The Glasses Come Off
 * Godiva Hair: Though the circumstances are of the Fan Disservice variety.
 * Green Eyes
 * Green Thumb: Spends all her time in the greenhouse.
 * The Hecate Sisters: She can be seen as all three depending on the situation: the maiden in her role as the Rose Bride, the wife for the duelists, and the witch/crone.
 * Hidden Depths: Oh, so much.
 * Jade-Colored Glasses: She's long since given up any hope of escaping her fate as the Rose Bride, and thus Utena's continued efforts to free her cause her either consternation or shock.
 * Kissing Discretion Shot: In the second ending sequence with Utena.
 * Lady in Red: Her Rose Bride attire. Anthy doesn't behave in a particularly sexual manner, but she is an object of desire for a few males in the cast..
 * Woman in White: Her original Rose Bride attire in the manga; changed once the anime eclipsed the source material.
 * Language of Magic
 * Lethal Chef: Her cooking has... interesting side effects, though this may be intentional.
 * Letting Her Hair Down
 * Loners Are Freaks: Wakaba basically describes Anthy as this in the first episode.
 * Meaningful Name: "Anthy" is derived from the Greek word "ánthos" for "flower". "Himemiya" means "princess shrine".
 * Meganekko: However, it's later revealed that she doesn't actually need glasses to see, implying that she only invokes this image.
 * Mysterious Waif
 * One-Note Cook: Limits herself to shaved ice and children's snacks; see Lethal Chef for why.
 * Perpetual Expression: A mild, emotionless smile. Except when it's not.
 * Proper Lady: Horribly subverts it, as she looks and acts like one but the truth is VERY different.
 * Purple Is the New Black: Her hair is black in the manga, but the anime series and movies render it purple.
 * Rapunzel Hair: Moreso in the movie. The movie also renders her hair straight, whereas in the manga and anime, it's curly.
 * Scary Shiny Glasses: These pop up whenever.
 * Shrinking Violet: What she appears to be on the surface... appropriate, considering her hair color.
 * Stealth Insult: "Take it easy, Saionji...senpai." Note that Anthy had been using the very respectful suffix "-sama" all this time, but after Saionji loses the duel, she only uses "-senpai".
 * Meaningful Name: "Anthy" is derived from the Greek word "ánthos" for "flower". "Himemiya" means "princess shrine".
 * Meganekko: However, it's later revealed that she doesn't actually need glasses to see, implying that she only invokes this image.
 * Mysterious Waif
 * One-Note Cook: Limits herself to shaved ice and children's snacks; see Lethal Chef for why.
 * Perpetual Expression: A mild, emotionless smile. Except when it's not.
 * Proper Lady: Horribly subverts it, as she looks and acts like one but the truth is VERY different.
 * Purple Is the New Black: Her hair is black in the manga, but the anime series and movies render it purple.
 * Rapunzel Hair: Moreso in the movie. The movie also renders her hair straight, whereas in the manga and anime, it's curly.
 * Scary Shiny Glasses: These pop up whenever.
 * Shrinking Violet: What she appears to be on the surface... appropriate, considering her hair color.
 * Stealth Insult: "Take it easy, Saionji...senpai." Note that Anthy had been using the very respectful suffix "-sama" all this time, but after Saionji loses the duel, she only uses "-senpai".
 * Shrinking Violet: What she appears to be on the surface... appropriate, considering her hair color.
 * Stealth Insult: "Take it easy, Saionji...senpai." Note that Anthy had been using the very respectful suffix "-sama" all this time, but after Saionji loses the duel, she only uses "-senpai".
 * Stealth Insult: "Take it easy, Saionji...senpai." Note that Anthy had been using the very respectful suffix "-sama" all this time, but after Saionji loses the duel, she only uses "-senpai".


 * Stepford Smiler
 * Strange Girl: Emphasis on strange, but she has her reasons.
 * Talking in Bed: She does this often with Utena after Utena moves in with her and Akio.
 * The Three Faces of Eve: She can be seen as all three depending on the situation: the child in her role as a student, the wife as the Rose Bride, and the seductress.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly Girl to Utena's Tomboy.
 * Uncanny Valley Girl: To the point that Kanae compares her to an alien, and Nanami thinks she's the scariest person she knows.
 * : Her backstory, where.
 * Wicked Witch:.
 * The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask
 * Zero-Approval Gambit: Combines this trope with The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask. It turns out.
 * The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask
 * Zero-Approval Gambit: Combines this trope with The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask. It turns out.
 * Zero-Approval Gambit: Combines this trope with The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask. It turns out.

Voiced by: Jurota Kosugi (JP, series), Mitsuhiro Oikawa (JP, Movie), Crispin Freeman (EN, episode 13), Josh Mosby (EN, series and movie)



 * Aloof Big Brother: To Anthy.
 * Ambiguously Brown
 * Anything That Moves: If he can get results from sleeping with you, anything goes, and anything will go.
 * Badass:
 * Badass Baritone
 * Badass in a Nice Suit: Usually in a red button-down shirt.
 * Badass Long Hair
 * Cultured Badass: In the anime.
 * Celestial Body: Used symbolically at the end of episode 25.
 * Chivalrous Pervert: Very deconstructed..
 * Clasp Your Hands If You Deceive
 * Cool Car: Or as fans dub it, the Akio Car.
 * Despair Event Horizon:.
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names him Mike.
 * Even the Guys Want Him
 * Foot Focus: Whenever he's gonna seduce someone, his gaze fixes on their feet.
 * Green Eyes
 * Meaningful Name/Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Tells Utena he's named after Venus, also known as the Morning Star, also known as Lucifer.
 * No Sense of Personal Space: With anyone he tries to seduce.
 * Not So Different: In his speech to Utena in the penultimate episode.
 * Renaissance Man
 * Shirtless Scene: Played for Fan Service and laughs.
 * Sissy Villain: In the movie.
 * Situational Sword
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: It's technically lavender, but still.
 * Even the Guys Want Him
 * Foot Focus: Whenever he's gonna seduce someone, his gaze fixes on their feet.
 * Green Eyes
 * Meaningful Name/Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Tells Utena he's named after Venus, also known as the Morning Star, also known as Lucifer.
 * No Sense of Personal Space: With anyone he tries to seduce.
 * Not So Different: In his speech to Utena in the penultimate episode.
 * Renaissance Man
 * Shirtless Scene: Played for Fan Service and laughs.
 * Sissy Villain: In the movie.
 * Situational Sword
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: It's technically lavender, but still.
 * No Sense of Personal Space: With anyone he tries to seduce.
 * Not So Different: In his speech to Utena in the penultimate episode.
 * Renaissance Man
 * Shirtless Scene: Played for Fan Service and laughs.
 * Sissy Villain: In the movie.
 * Situational Sword
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: It's technically lavender, but still.
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: It's technically lavender, but still.

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (JP), Crispin Freeman (EN)



 * Aloof Big Brother: Would you wish a brother like him on anyone?
 * Always Someone Better: Just as Saionji feels inferior to Touga, Touga is envious of power (at least partly because he's glimpsed far more of that power than any other duelist).
 * Anything That Moves: Touga is mostly into girls, but he also hits on Miki in an early episode, has quite a lot of subtext with Saionji, and.
 * Big Fancy House: The Kiryuus are very wealthy.
 * Casanova: He has many multiple girlfriends.
 * Catch Phrase:
 * "If the egg's shell does not break, the chick will die without being born. We are the chick; the egg is the world. If the world's shell does not break, we will die without being born. Break the world's shell! For the sake of revolutionizing the world!"
 * Also, in the Akio Ohtori Saga: "If your soul hasn't given up entirely, then you should be able to hear this sound, running about the Ends of the World. Now, come with us, to the world which you desire!"
 * Chivalrous Pervert: Touga seduces any girl he wants (three or four at a time), but cares for Utena, for his sister Nanami and for his friend Saionji. And yet, that doesn't stop them from being a Manipulative Bastard to them if the situation merits it. See the ending of Nanami's duel in the third arc for a truly horrific example of this.
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names him Tommy.
 * Even the Guys Want Him
 * Evil Redhead
 * False Friend: Saionji is an asshole, but he still doesn't deserve what Touga pulls on him.
 * The Hedonist
 * : In the manga.
 * Hypocrite: In one of the fillers, he mistakenly believes Nanami to be a lesbian and gives a lecture that homosexuality is wrong. At this point, he is sleeping with.
 * I Love You Because I Can't Control You: Touga falls in love with Utena because she seems to be the one girl who doesn't immediately fall under his charm.
 * Knife-Throwing Act: One of the Student Council meetings had Touga and Miki doing this with Touga as the knife-thrower.
 * Ladykiller in Love: With Utena. Also a Deconstruction..
 * Love Redeems: Somewhat in the anime. Played straight in the manga.
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Multicolored Hair: In earlier manga illustrations, he has black hair with red bangs; this was later changed to red with a lighter front lock to match with the anime.
 * Rape as Backstory: In the movie.
 * Really Gets Around: He will sleep with any girl, it seems.
 * Sexy Man, Instant Harem
 * Shirtless Scene: Fan Service or Fan Disservice, depending on how you see it, played up to the point of parody.
 * Smug Snake: He is very handsome, charming, and manipulative... but ultimately, he's a horrendous Jerkass even to his sister, and he can't hold a candle to.
 * Something About a Rose
 * Student Council President: According to the game, it's only because he's the oldest.
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome
 * Wounded Gazelle Gambit: To gain Utena's sympathy in the first arc, he takes an attack meant for her from Saionji and plays up the injury. As a result, Saionji is kicked out of school and Utena takes Touga's side.
 * Student Council President: According to the game, it's only because he's the oldest.
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome
 * Wounded Gazelle Gambit: To gain Utena's sympathy in the first arc, he takes an attack meant for her from Saionji and plays up the injury. As a result, Saionji is kicked out of school and Utena takes Touga's side.

Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi (JP), Mandy Bonhomme (EN)



 * Action Girl: She's the captain of the fencing club and gives Utena a really hard time in their duels.
 * Alpha Bitch: In the manga.
 * Badass: Just based on her performance against Utena, and contrasting that with everyone else's, one could argue that she's the best fighter in the whole series.
 * Bifauxnen: Juri's typical attire is gender-neutral, and she does model gowns when not wearing the Student Council uniform, but her cool, icy bearing and fierceness arguably lead to her giving off this impression.
 * Broken Bird: She's been carrying a torch for Shiori for a long time, even though Shiori has deliberately hurt her out of envy.
 * Clingy MacGuffin: Subversion:.
 * Cool Big Sis: To Miki, at least.
 * Death Glare
 * Defrosting Ice Queen
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names her Julie.
 * Even the Girls Want Her
 * Expy: Of Oscar from Rose of Versailles, for a start, and several of Chiho Saito's aristocratic, Princess Curls-wearing characters from other series.
 * Gray Rain of Depression
 * Her Story Repeats Itself
 * It's All Junk
 * Jade-Colored Glasses: Refuses to believe in miracles to try and hide her emotional weaknesses. She's pretty pissed when Utena wins their first duel with an insane coincidence.
 * Lady of War: Her elegance and maturity elevates her to this rather than Action Girl. In her duel with Utena, she effortlessly parries the latter's attacks with a very casual expression.
 * Letting Her Hair Down: In episode 7.
 * Memento MacGuffin: Her locket.
 * Not So Stoic
 * The Ojou: Implied to possibly be even richer than the Kiryuus, based on the way she casually one-ups Nanami at the beginning of episode 16.
 * Princess Curls
 * Rapunzel Hair: In the movie.
 * Red String of Fate: Shows up in her flashbacks.
 * Schoolgirl Lesbians: For Shiori.
 * Shower of Angst: Episode 17.
 * Slave Collar: Her locket is a necklace variation of this. Its breaking at the end of her story symbolized her finally being free of her self-destructive, one-sided relationship with the person found inside the locket.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Juri/Jury.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Even though she has orange hair.
 * Tragic Keepsake: Depending on whether you see it as a link to the happy days Juri shared with Shiori and the Nameless Boy, or as a reminder of Shiori's betrayal.
 * Tragic Keepsake: Depending on whether you see it as a link to the happy days Juri shared with Shiori and the Nameless Boy, or as a reminder of Shiori's betrayal.

Voiced by: Takeshi Kusao (JP), Jack Taylor (EN)



 * Always Someone Better: No matter what he does, Touga just seems to be one step ahead of him.
 * Bastard Boyfriend: He claims to love Anthy, but his behavior is more in line with this. In fact, he abuses her physically before Utena defeats him.
 * The Chew Toy: In fillers, and it's cathartic.
 * Domestic Abuser: In every continuity, his physical abuse of Anthy is what spurs Utena to try to save her.
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names him Kevin Simon.
 * Green-Eyed Monster: His relationship with Touga is defined by this.
 * Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: It's hard to figure out how sympathetic he's supposed to be. But when your best friend makes it look like you violently assaulted him and gets you expelled to further his own goals, that's a clear sign your life sucks.
 * Innocent Inaccurate
 * Jerkass: And how.
 * Jerkass Has a Point: He's actually one of the more perceptive members of the main cast, but it's not like people listen to him (for understandable reasons)...
 * Kendo Team Captain
 * Loin Cloth: His Shower Scene in the Sega Saturn game reveals that he wears fundoshi.
 * The Masochism Tango: He does have some sort of unrequited attraction to Anthy, but his claims that she should be head-over-heels for him fall short when he backhands her every couple of scenes. You could probably also make an argument for him and Touga.
 * Perpetual Frowner: Except for when he gives a Slasher Smile.
 * Pet the Dog: When he's rooming with Wakaba in episode 20, especially when he makes a little hairclip for her..
 * Purple Eyes
 * Shirtless Scene: Near the end: clearly he's been taking lessons from Touga.
 * Slasher Smile: Tends to give a lot of these: he easily has the most deranged expressions of any duelist when he gets pissed off. They're downright scary in The Movie.
 * Smug Snake: More obviously than Touga.
 * This Cannot Be!: His reaction when Utena wins the first duel.
 * Troubled but Cute
 * Uke: Depending on interpretation, he's arguably a Deconstruction of one. A lot of his problems stem from a mix of his love/hate relationship with Touga and the feelings of inferiority of always being second best and in his shadow. Ultimately, he wants to seek eternity to preserve the equal friendship he and Touga once shared. This also leads to him asserting his masculinity in very unhealthy ways, notably his abysmal treatment of Anthy.
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid: The younger Saionji we see in episode 9 wasn't halfway as horrible as the teen Saionji we met.

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (JP), Jimmy Zoppi (EN)


"Nanami: Hey, hey, by the way... how did it feel? Miki: How did what feel? Nanami: You know what I mean... did it hurt? Miki: *goes beet red*"
 * Character Tics: Timing his stopwatch. NOBODY KNOWS WHY, especially with Ikuhara's habit of leaving his answers vague or deliberately off-base. A good theory though is that he is timing the length of the dialogue from whoever spoke right before.
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release makes Mickey his actual name.
 * Dude, She's Like, in a Coma: In the manga only, he kisses Utena while she's taking a nap.
 * Even the Guys Want Him: Besides his fangirls, Touga hits on him as early on as the fifth episode, and his piano teacher is implied to have a less than savoury interest in him.
 * Friendly Enemy: To Utena. The rest of the Student Council comes around at some point or another, but Miki and her are buddies from very early on.
 * Half-Identical Twins: With Kozue. When Utena sees both of them together for the first time, she even comments on how similar they look.
 * Innocent Innuendo: In the Black Rose Saga.


 * Intelligence Equals Isolation
 * Just Friends: With Utena.
 * Like Brother and Sister: His friendship with Juri has some hints of this; fanon and fanfiction have been known to take this in non-platonic directions (it doesn't help that at one point, in the movie, she seems to hit on him, though she may have been teasing him).
 * Lonely Piano Piece: He often plays "The Sunlit Garden" alone, remembering how he used to play it with Kozue.
 * Loving a Shadow: At least in the beginning, his feelings towards Anthy stem from the fact that she reminds him of Kozue when she was younger... or rather, how he remembers Kozue.
 * Luminescent Blush: Tends to do this when embarrassed or talking to Anthy.
 * Nice Guy: Miki is one of the few genuinely good-natured characters, and is certainly the Student Councilor least inclined to use others as punching bags for his own issues. This being Utena, he does have flaws, but he is one of the few characters that never slaps Anthy.
 * Parental Abandonment
 * The Piano Player
 * Shy Blue Haired Boy
 * Sibling Yin-Yang: With Kozue.
 * Signature Song: "The Sunlit Garden", which was composed by Miki In-Universe. It serves as more than that though: it's a leitmotif of the show, and played during key scenes that invoke certain memories, whether real or imagined.
 * Teen Genius: Taking college classes in seventh grade!
 * Theme Twin Naming: "Miki" means "trunk" while "kozue" means "treetop".
 * Twincest: Implied, particularly in the movie: while it comes more from Kozue, the fact that Miki essentially projects an idealised version of his sister onto Anthy is just a tad suspicious.
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: Also very innocent, albeit not quite as naive as Utena.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Voiced by: Yuri Shiratori (JP), Leah Applebaum (EN)


"Nanami: What time do you think this is, moron? Nanami: Who is this? At least give me your name.
 * Alpha Bitch: Being the younger sister of Student Council President Touga and an Ojou, she constantly flaunts her superiority over others and has a Girl Posse to help her keep other students from crossing her.
 * Anguished Declaration of Love
 * Animal Motifs: In one episode, she thinks she's turning into a cow. In the movie, she actually is a cow.
 * Animals Hate Her: Might be due to a curse laid by Anthy, the local animal lover.
 * Baleful Polymorph: Is tricked by Anthy into putting on a "fashion bell" that gradually turns her into a cow.
 * Big Brother Attraction: Would you wish a brother like Touga on anyone?
 * Big Fancy House: They hold balls there.
 * Break the Haughty: Oh boooy, does this girl have a bad day: . After that, . And after that, . And then after that, . It's very hard not to feel sorry for her after all that, even if you thought she was a raging Rich Bitch.
 * The Cassandra: Tries to warn Utena about Akio and Anthy, to no avail.
 * The Chew Toy: In fillers; even moreso than Saionji!
 * Children Are Innocent: Subverted:.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: She's rather merciless to anyone she feels is getting between her and Touga.
 * Demoted to Extra: In the movie, Nanami gets a single blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene... as a cow. In the manga it was even worse, as she only ever shows up in one photograph and doesn't even make an actual on-panel appearance.
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: Two words: "Nanami's Egg". It is an extended metaphor about puberty... in a show that is itself an extended metaphor about puberty, as well as Teen Pregnancy and her own abandonment issues.
 * Don't You Dare Pity Me!
 * Dual-Wielding: Both a sword and a knife..
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names her Nanette.
 * Egg Sitting: For the egg that she apparently laid. She gets really attached to it.
 * Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry
 * Evil Phone:
 * The Ends of the World. Kiryuu Touga is waiting for you."


 * Expy: Of Chitose Fujinomiya from Goldfish Warning, of all people. A spoiled rich blonde girl, who declares herself head of the student council, who has all sorts of animal problems, whose classmates have attempted to make her wear a bell, and who is willing to take her desires to impress others to a farcical extent. Both are a little less Genre Savvy than their fellow cast members, but end up being made of sterner stuff than you'd think. Ikuhara worked on both series, so this isn't too surprising.
 * Fallen Princess: Becomes this in the third arc.
 * Girl Posse: Aiko, Yuuko and Keiko.
 * Imagine Spot: When Nanami is trying to embarrass Anthy [and win Miki's affection] by planting weird stuff in her room. She envisions each ploy going off without a hitch, only to have them fail because Anthy is already keeping weird stuff in her room. And Miki finds it cute.
 * Important Haircut
 * Innocent Innuendo: See above, with Miki.
 * Jerkass Has a Point: Like Saionji, by the end of the series Nanami has actually figured out a lot of what's going on, but given how she acted earlier, no one is inclined to believe her. See also The Cassandra above.
 * Large Ham
 * Minor Injury Overreaction: When Touga gets hurt in the Student Council Saga, Nanami is quick to blame Utena and Anthy for her brother's injuries.
 * Mistaken for Gay: When she takes care of an egg in the anime, she asks Touga if he prefers boys or girls [she's talking about the gender of whatever is inside the egg]. He believes that she is talking about his sexuality and answers "Girls, obviously", which then Nanami replies with "Really? Me too". Cue a lecture about "Homosexuality is wrong" by Touga.
 * Noblewoman's Laugh: Her signature laugh.
 * Nonuniform Uniform: When she takes over as Student Council President, she gains a new, yellow, military-style uniform.
 * The Ojou
 * Rich Bitch: A very typical case, at least at first.
 * Show the Forehead
 * Skintone Sclerae: It's a bit inconsistent in the first arc, however.
 * So Beautiful It's a Curse: In one episode, she thinks that someone is trying to kill her: "These attempts must certainly be the result of someone being jealous of my cute looks, my popularity, and refinement!"
 * Spoiled Brat: She's a Rich Bitch who is used to being accommodated.
 * Third Person Person: Does this sometimes around Touga, likely to make herself look cutesy.
 * Troubled Fetal Position: When things get especially bad.
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Played straight and then subverted. She did genuinely adore her brother as a kiddo, but then we see what she did to a certain kitty...
 * We Named the Monkey "Jack": Anthy named a cow after Nanami. This is obviously not meant to be flattering.
 * Yandere: She's so obsessed with Touga that as a child she out of jealousy.

Voiced by: Yuka Imai (JP), Roxanne Beck (EN)



 * All Girls Want Bad Boys: Poor girl is madly in love with a guy who is openly abusive to women.
 * All Love Is Unrequited: With Saionji.
 * Cute and Psycho
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names her Wanda.
 * Genki Girl: To the point that she almost knocks Utena out of windows.
 * Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Smacks Utena out of her self-pity.
 * The Glomp: She does this to Utena a lot, almost knocking her out of a window.
 * Heroic Self-Deprecation: Thinks she's not nearly as great as Utena is.
 * I Just Want to Be Special
 * Love Letter Lunacy: She sends Saionji a love letter. He scoffs it, and it ends up put on display and mocked by other students. Poor Wakaba collapses crying, and Utena steps in to defend her honor... via challenging Saionji to a duel.
 * Ms. Exposition: Her role in the first arc is basically to introduce our main characters to Utena. Later on, she becomes a more complete character.
 * The Nondescript: And she's painfully aware of it.
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Explicitly calls Utena "my one true love" several times, but this seems to be more of an inside joke between the two of them.

Voiced by: Chieko Honda (JP), Roxanne Beck (EN)



 * Attention Whore: Deconstructed: her inferiority complex with regards to her brother makes her think that negative attention is the only kind she can get, hence her promiscuous behaviour.
 * Character Exaggeration: Kozue in the manga was a very different character from Kozue in the anime, and nowhere near as warped. Basically, she was just bratty and overprotective of Miki, and she certainly didn't act promiscuous or hurt anyone who would get close to him.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: In the manga, and overtly so.
 * Creepy Twins: Miki is not creepy at all (unless you're the type to overthink some things...), but Kozue more than makes up for that!
 * Damsel in Distress: Becomes one of these in the manga and light novel, forcing Miki (who, in these versions, had been completely opposed to the dueling game beforehand) to duel against Utena in order to save her.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: Show attention or attraction to her brother around her, or worse, hurt him? You're in for it big time.
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names her Chris.
 * Freudian Excuse: When Miki was unable to attend their recital, not only was it revealed Kozue was a sub-par player on her own, but being alone in front of the crowd clearly traumatized her. And while Miki is the series' Nice Guy, he hasn't treated her with the same affection since she stopped playing the piano and projects her childhood self onto Anthy. No wonder the girl has issues.
 * Green-Eyed Monster: Don't take her brother's attention from her. Just... don't.
 * Half-Identical Twins: With Miki. When Utena sees both of them together for the first time, she even comments on how similar they look to one another.
 * Knight Templar Big Sister: Show attention or attraction to her brother around her, or worse, hurt him? You're in for it big time.
 * The Nondescript: When she was younger.
 * Parental Abandonment: See Miki's section. Kozue isn't exactly fond of their parents.
 * Really Gets Around: She invokes this to get Miki's attention.
 * Sibling Yin-Yang: With Miki.
 * Theme Twin Naming: "Kozue" means "treetop" while "miki" means "trunk".
 * Troubled but Cute
 * Twincest: Implied, particularly in the movie.
 * More blatant in the 20th anniversary manga. Wherein Kozue is openly attracted to her brother, going so far as to try kissing him in his sleep (she was rejected), and actually kissing him when she came to him in the middle of the night, claiming that her husband had abused and potentially sexually assaulted her, claiming she was in love with another man. It was to the point that, after the second mentioned rejection by her brother, she went into a state of catatonia.
 * Yandere: Over Miki.

Voiced by: Kumiko Nishihara (JP), Lisa Ortiz (EN)



 * Attention Whore: Shades of this in her character, though it's more like she just wants positive attention from someone who can actually make her feel good about herself.
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Due to her cripplingly low self-esteem.
 * Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: In the movie.
 * Don't You Dare Pity Me!
 * Disturbed Doves: When she.
 * Drives Like Crazy: In the movie. While trying to ram Anthy off the road, she doesn't seem to notice that she's about to crash into a fork in the road.
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names her Sally.
 * Green-Eyed Monster: Believes that Juri was always better than her at everything, and that she was only pretending to be friends with her in order to look down on her.
 * Incompatible Orientation: Truthfully, this is the least of the problems between Juri and Shiori..
 * It's All About Me: In the movie, when, after she becomes a car, she rants to Anthy that the only who deserves to escape from Ohtori is "beautiful me. Me. Me. Me! Me! Me, me, me, me, ME!!!".
 * The Nondescript: Considers herself to be plain in comparison to the beautiful Juri.
 * Pure Is Not Good: Juri calls her "cruelly innocent". This may be true, but she's also willing to do some pretty awful things because of her inferiority complex.
 * Purple Eyes
 * Red String of Fate: As seen in Juri's past memories of her in episode 7.
 * Selective Obliviousness: When Juri tries to warn her away from Ruka because she's worried about her, Shiori misinterprets her words as jealousy and thinks she's awful for it.
 * Self-Serving Memory: In the movie, as she's recounting her so-called relationship with Touga, she mentions that "my Prince and I were going to go steady." Considering he was still in a relationship with Utena at the time, chances are she's either lying or that's how she remembers it.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: In The Movie.

Voiced by: Ai Orikasa (JP), Elizabeth Tarpon (EN)



 * Abusive Parents: Her mother, who seems to care for nothing but herself.
 * Arranged Marriage: To Akio.
 * Big No:.
 * Break the Cutie -> Cute and Psycho: When this girl snaps, she snaps. Being practically did NOT help.
 * Dark Mistress: Heavily deconstructed.
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names her Kate.
 * Everything's Better with Princesses: Deconstructed like whoa. Kanae is implied to fit the true princess archetype in this series, being very kind-hearted and sweet... but also very passive and lacking any control over her own future. This is not portrayed as a good thing.
 * Fragile Flower
 * How Do You Like Them Apples?: In the third arc,.
 * The Ojou: The Spoiled Sweet type.
 * Sanity Slippage: She's really paranoid about Anthy due to the latter's Stepford Smiler nature.
 * The Ojou: The Spoiled Sweet type.
 * Sanity Slippage: She's really paranoid about Anthy due to the latter's Stepford Smiler nature.

Voiced by: Akira Nakagawa (JP), Mandy Bonhomme (EN)



 * Backstabbing the Alpha Bitch: Arguably her Crowning Moment of Awesome.
 * Cinderella: Subverted. At first, Keiko seems to follow this tale straight to the point of parody, Nanami being a sorta "evil stepmother"....
 * Cute and Psycho: After snapping.
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names her Kelly.
 * False Friend: Only pretended to be Nanami's friend so that she could get closer to Touga, and wastes no time in ditching her when the opportunity presents itself.
 * Girlish Pigtails
 * Girl Posse: A member of Nanami's posse, along with Aiko and Yuuko.
 * Letting Her Hair Down: Does this once after Nanami makes her miss out on seeing Touga at a party.
 * The Nondescript: Taken to new heights when the audience realizes that Utena doesn't even know her name after she duels her. The other two members of her Girl Posse have similar names as she does also.
 * Together Umbrella: With Touga, which enrages Nanami.

Voiced by: Akiko Yajima (JP), Ted Lewis (EN)



 * Adorably Precocious Child: Deconstructed, as his innocence ends up being quite creepy at times.
 * Badass Adorable
 * The Chew Toy: His horrible luck is played for utter comedy, even in.
 * Combat Pragmatist:.
 * Creepy Child: Has a cheerful demeanor, but initially places Nanami in a series of deadly situations so he can rescue her, apparently not realizing that this is very bad..
 * Dual-Wielding:.
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names him Mitch.
 * Indirect Kiss: His chocolate bar, which had a bite taken out by Nanami.
 * Looking for Love In All the Wrong Places: When the object of your affection is Nanami of all people, you have issues.
 * Stalker with a Crush: A clipshow episode shows Tsuwabuki following and spying on Nanami since the start of the series. Which leads to him plotting to make her fall in love with him. Surprisingly for this anime, it's only played for laughs.
 * Yandere: Once he snaps over Nanami.

Voiced by: Ryotaro Okiayu (JP), Frank Frankson (EN)



 * Dogged Nice Guy: To . . And immeduately afterwards,.
 * Embarrassing Nickname: "Prince Onion". To clarify, in Japanese referring to something as onion-make means it's shoddy or second-rate.
 * Green-Eyed Monster
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend: To.

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (JP), Dan Green (EN)



 * Anti-Villain: Type III.
 * : Of the Black Rose Saga.
 * Despair Event Horizon: Weaponized, sorta. He uses tactics that arguably predate those of Celestial Being, approaching young people who are in their lowest with promise of a chance to change their worlds and end what's making them suffer by defeating Utena: it's specially obvious in the cases of people like . And then we learn that.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: All the duels he enables are this, and usually for a small or perceived slight.
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names him Sonny.
 * Elaborate Underground Base: Nemuro Memorial Hall. He does his thing in an elevator decorated with pictures of butterflies (in different stages of development) and a leaf, which leads to a massive underground mausoleum where the bodies of a hundred duelists are stored.
 * Expy: Of Fiore from the Sailor Moon R movie, which Ikuhara also directed. In addition to their appearances and role in the narrative, they also have the same seiyuu Hikaru Midorikawa.
 * Foil: To Utena, pink hair and all. Utena is straightforward and well-meaning; he is manipulative and cruel. They have some similarities too: see Shadow Archetype and Spear Counterpart below.
 * The Glasses Come Off: This is reversed with him, who is unable to clearly perceive things after he loses his glasses.
 * I Am What I Am
 * Indirect Kiss: Tokiko's Lipstick Mark on his cup.
 * Loving a Shadow:.
 * MacGuffin
 * Manipulative Bastard: How he creates Black Rose duelists.
 * Mind Rape: How he manipulates the Black Rose duelist candidates, via making them tell him their deepest traumas and frustrations and using said knowledge to recruit them to his side. It's a frighteningly good use of the "Mundane" methods.
 * More Than Mind Control: His entire shtick with the black roses.
 * Not So Different: With Utena, and their similar coloration intentionally highlights this.
 * Pet the Dog:.
 * The Professor: As Nemuro.
 * Rose Haired Guy
 * Sanity Slippage
 * Shadow Archetype: Of Utena.
 * Signature Move: He's ambidextrous.
 * Single Tear
 * Spear Counterpart: To Utena: pink hair, attached to a submissive person in an engagement type of situation (whose looks and names are quite similar) motivated by idealized memories.
 * Spooky Photographs
 * The Stoic: Was described as being akin to a "human computer".
 * Teen Genius: A professor at just 18.
 * There Are No Therapists: Man could really have used one. He also functions as a twisted version of a therapist in the Black Rose Saga, urging the students who visit him to confess their psychological problems. Of course, having Mikage listen to your issues is really not a good way to solve them.
 * Signature Move: He's ambidextrous.
 * Single Tear
 * Spear Counterpart: To Utena: pink hair, attached to a submissive person in an engagement type of situation (whose looks and names are quite similar) motivated by idealized memories.
 * Spooky Photographs
 * The Stoic: Was described as being akin to a "human computer".
 * Teen Genius: A professor at just 18.
 * There Are No Therapists: Man could really have used one. He also functions as a twisted version of a therapist in the Black Rose Saga, urging the students who visit him to confess their psychological problems. Of course, having Mikage listen to your issues is really not a good way to solve them.

Voiced by: Maria Kawamura (JP), Liam O'Brien (EN)



 * Ambiguously Brown
 * Dub Name Change: The Enoki Films release names him Miles.
 * Facial Markings: Wears a bindi.
 * Green Eyes
 * Identical Stranger: To Anthy.
 * Ill Boy
 * Spear Counterpart: To Anthy, subverted.
 * The Stoic: Tends not to show much emotion.
 * Unperson: No one but Mikage and the Black Rose Duelists know he exists, and they forget him once their roses are destroyed.
 * Unperson: No one but Mikage and the Black Rose Duelists know he exists, and they forget him once their roses are destroyed.

Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka (JP), Tara Jayne (EN)



 * Armor-Piercing Slap: To ...
 * Beauty Mark
 * Expository Hairstyle Change:.
 * Hot Scientist: She became one to try curing her little brother's life-threatening illness..
 * Promotion to Parent: Towards Mamiya.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo

Voiced by Yoko Soumi (JP)
Kanae's mother, the chairman's wife, and.


 * Christmas Cake: A harsh deconstruction of one.
 * Fallen Princess: In a series that loves playing with princess tropes, she represents what happens when the princess grows up, gets older.
 * Hidden Eyes: We never see her eyes while she's on screen.
 * Mrs. Robinson: An almost textbook version of this trope, since she's an older woman trying to reclaim what's left of her girlhood in the worst possible way.
 * Ready for Lovemaking: It's very subtle, but a close look at what she's wearing shows this.
 * Wicked Stepmother: She acts in this fashion, and caring very little about her ill husband's health or Kanae's well-being.
 * Your Cheating Heart: Something Akio passive-aggressively reminds her of constantly when they're on screen together.

Voiced by: Nozomu Sasaki (JP), Wayne Grayson (EN)



 * The Casanova
 * Hands-On Approach: He corrects the fencing students in a very suggestive way.
 * Incompatible Orientation: He loves Juri. Juri is a lesbian. Do the maths.
 * : Maybe. In retrospect, every action he took was to, and there's a good chance he was ; however, not all fans feel that the ends justified the means, especially given that his actions include.
 * Love Triangle: Between him, Shiori and Juri.
 * Manipulative Bastard: Subverted. At first, we're led to believe he's another manipulative prick just like all the other male leads, but by the end of Juri's duel, it's revealed that.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair
 * Manipulative Bastard: Subverted. At first, we're led to believe he's another manipulative prick just like all the other male leads, but by the end of Juri's duel, it's revealed that.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Voiced by: Maya Okamoto



 * Action Girl
 * Even the Girls Want Her: Gets her share of squealing from fangirls when she's in class, and Kozue is even seen dating her at one point.
 * Everything's Better with Princesses: Completely subverted in her mind. Chigusa hates passive girls that she perceives to be "princesses", in contrast to commanding girls like her whom she believes to be "queens".
 * Femme Fatale
 * God-Created Canon Foreigner: The Sega Saturn game was created by all the original TV series team, and is officially counted as canon.
 * God Save Us From the Queen: Chigusa identifies with the Evil Queen from Snow White. That symbolism appears several times, such as the calendar by her locker and the poisoned apple she leaves for the protagonist.
 * Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: If the protagonist asks her if she has a girlfriend at one point, Chigusa says that she only likes regular boys. Then she goes on a date with Kozue a few scenes later.
 * Huge Schoolgirl: Based on her height next to Touga, Chigusa is at least 6'1".
 * Informed Attribute: Chigusa is supposed to look very masculine, to the point where she feels the need to specify her gender when she introduces herself to the class, but it doesn't show at all in her character design.
 * Lady of War: In contrast to her masculinity she's an elegant fencer.
 * Manipulative Bitch
 * No Guy Wants an Amazon:.
 * Spikes of Villainy: On her duelling outfit and the pommel of her sword.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Has teal-colored hair.
 * Spikes of Villainy: On her duelling outfit and the pommel of her sword.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Has teal-colored hair.

Voiced by: Maria Kawamura (A-Ko), Satomi Koorogi (B-Ko), Kumiko Watanabe (C-Ko, JP); Mandy Bonhomme (A-Ko), Sharon Becker (B-Ko), Lisa Ortiz (C-Ko, EN)



 * Canon Immigrant: C-Ko is the only one of the Shadow Girls to be transplanted into the movie, with A-Ko and B-Ko being replaced by E-Ko and F-Ko.
 * Catch Phrase: "I wonder, I wonder, do you know what I wonder?" Lampshaded in that their school group is the "Kashira Playhouse", a pun on their catchphrase.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Their leitmotif is even named "Aliens from the Planet Kashira".
 * Combat Commentator: In the movie, the Shadow Girls broadcast live footage of Anthy's car chase to the outside world, providing commentary on "who's in the lead", and actually being able to communicate to her through the car radio.
 * Even Nerds Have Standards: They're not actually nerds, but A-Ko and B-Ko have the nerve to say that C-Ko is "a little strange" compared to them, and that she has no friends. In C-Ko's words, "you guys are ones to talk."
 * Extra! Extra! Read All About It!: In the Black Rose Saga: "Gogai! Gogai! Gogai!" aka "Newflash, newsflash! Newsflash!"
 * The Faceless: When they finally appear in person, they're only shown from behind.
 * Faux Symbolism: Invoked. Several of their plays are perfect allegories of the events of the episode. Then there are the plays that involve a monkey-catching robot and a wife who thinks you can eat tires for dinner.
 * Funny Background Event: Either this or Meaningful Background Event.
 * Genki Girl: What they're trying to say is sometimes ambiguous, but they're always very enthusiastic about it.
 * Girl Posse
 * Greek Chorus: They comment on the duels and/or act out allegorical plays that reference events in the episode.
 * The Hecate Sisters
 * Leitmotif: "Aliens from the Planet Kashira".
 * Once an Episode: Their shows.
 * Painting the Fourth Wall
 * Planet of Hats: If Word of God and fan interpretation is to be believed, the Shadow Girls come from a planet called Kashira. The movie supports this, somewhat, with the reveal of an entire news studio of shadow girls.
 * School Newspaper Newshound
 * School Play


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