Revolutionary Girl Utena/Tear Jerker



"Nanami: What is left for me now? Am I just another fly in an enormous swarm? Oh God, anything but that!"
 * 's duel (pictured). Just... that duel. Especially when Poor, poor  . The depressing duel theme doesn't help, either. And then the episode ends with her coming back to find.
 * Utena, Anthy, and the coffin during the finale. Not to mention the kiss and the sword.
 * Before that got this troper.  was nearly UNBEARABLE. But then there were tears of a much more triumphant kind.
 * Episode 34 and The Tale of the Rose Bride. Seeing Anthy is just awful to watch. Likewise in episode 39
 * in episode 37, especially followed by Utena and Anthy's tearful apologies to each other.
 * The infamous Cantarella scene. Anthy is warning Utena that she has and will hurt her, just like she poisoned the cookies. Utena, however, acknowledges this by saying she poisoned her in return, showing that she's still hurt over what she saw between Anthy and Akio. However, they both partake in their "deadly" treats anyway, and saying how good it tastes: saying that they forgive each other, despite the hurt.
 * The very, very end as Baiser plays and  while the bells ring, signifying her victory because   Then the music slammed into the triumphant ''Rose and Release'.
 * To say nothing of the manga finale. "My name means 'calyx'... the cup that shields the young flower," and seeing Himemiya in  were both the limit for this troper.
 * Utena playing badminton with Miki, Juri, and Nanami, once you realize.
 * Seeing Shiori in her room, broken after  Despite the fact that Shiori is an incredibly unpopular character in the fandom, there is something absolutely heartbreaking about someone being kicked when they're down, especially given that she has so little self-worth to begin with. And as if the humiliation of being dumped publicly wasn't enough, the wound is only salted further when Juri swallows her pride and visits Shiori. Most fans only see this through Juri's perspective and consider Shiori to be harsh needlessly -- this troper didn't feel that way.
 * Especially once you realize it's Shiori's hand on the knob desperately trying to open the door.
 * Utena's final scene with  in the movie. That elevator and that kiss...
 * Speaking of Touga, the end of Utena's first duel with him, the destruction of everything Utena thought she knew about him and Anthy and the accompanying Heroic BSOD made this troper start welling up. And start wanting to beat Touga into pulp.
 * Agreed on the last part. Although he's a very polarizing character, Touga arguably gets WORSE when, basically making her entire breakdown over a lie. Actually, a lot of stuff about Nanami can be a tearjerker, simply because she gets it so bad towards the end of the series.
 * Everything concerning Juri and her locket. Every. Single. Thing.
 * Hell, just Ruka's two episodes. From his brutal emotional warfare against Juri and Shiori, to that scene where he Juri, the anger and frustration clearly in both of them. The duel, the locket  Him saying,  and then finding out  knowing all along  It's really so complex and tragic for everyone involved...
 * This trooper finds  backstory and duel in episodes 22&23 to be pretty gut-wrenching, since   That strikes a very, *very* personal nerve for this troper.
 * Mikage
 * Nanami's Trauma Conga Line towards the end. Especially since nothing really comes of it.
 * Nanami's Trauma Conga Line towards the end. Especially since nothing really comes of it.


 * Nanami breaking down in tears at the end of her first duel with Utena. Actually, that whole backstory with the kitten.
 * Episode 34: "Then I'll become her prince! I'll become her prince and save her!" Makes me tearyeyed every time.
 * Episode 9: We see a flashback to Utena's dark childhood where she lost her parents. She left the funeral in tears and found her parents in coffins and saw an extra one. She decided to hide in it awaiting death, thinking it was meant for her. Touga and Saionji find her there but she tells them to leave her there. She feels sick because since she witnessed her parents death she now thinks living on is pointless if all humans eventually die someday. She has completely given up on life.