Revolutionary Girl Utena/Characters: Difference between revisions

* [[Break the Cutie]]: Utena only wanted to become the prince she admired. {{spoiler|Said prince made sure that didn't happen.}}.

* [[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 {{spoiler|Touga}}.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: With the Shadow Girls in the Black Rose ArcSaga.

* {{spoiler|[[Dying Moment of Awesome]]}}: Well, sort of... but definitely awesome.

* [[Good with Numbers]]: According to Wakaba, she does quite well in math. Her grades start to slip, however, once she starts dueling.

* [[She's Got Legs]]: According to [[Word of God|Ikuni himself]], the reason why she wears Daisy Dukes.<ref>"Well, keep in mind that Utena is slightly hampered in things like trying to get shorts and skirts to fit correctly; mortal clothing is not engineered to account for legs that go slightly ''more'' than all the way up. :)" -- Benjamin "Gryphon" Hutchins, 8/20/2000, [[Eyrie Productions, Unlimited]] website</ref>

* [[Take My Hand]]: {{spoiler|toTo Anthy in the final episode}}.

* [[Underwater Kiss]]: In the movie-manga {{spoiler|with Touga}}. The actual movie has a variant;: {{spoiler|Utena and Touga are separated by a glass wall when they kiss, and only Touga's side is flooded, symbolisingsymbolizing the fact that he died by drowning}}.

* [[Ambiguously Brown]]: despiteDespite her bindi, her ethnicity is never specified.

* {{spoiler|[[Badass Damsel]]: Her role as the Rose Bride hinders this though.}}.

** {{spoiler|When she sees the effects of Akio's manipulation on Utena (blaming herself because she MUST follow his will no matter what) she tries to throw herself off the roof of the dorm. Utena stops her, though}}.

* [[Fate Worse Than Death]]: {{spoiler|theThe swords of hate, always stabbing her in every single uncovered inch of her body... combined with the understanding that taking them for Dios turned him into Akio, rendering all of her pain utterly pointless}}.

* [[Godiva Hair]]: thoughThough the circumstances are of the [[Fan Disservice]] variety.

* [[The Hecate Sisters]]: sheShe 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.

* [[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. {{spoiler|And she's far more sexually experienced than any of these kids.}}.

** [[Woman in White]]: Her original Rose Bride attire in the manga -; changed once the anime eclipsed the source material.

* [[Lethal Chef]]: herHer cooking has... [[Freaky Friday Flip|interesting side effects]], though this may be intentional.

* {{spoiler|[[Love Martyr]]: toTo Akio, and how. Eventually ends up being subverted when she realizes Akio isn't worthy of it, and she leave him far behind}}.

* [[One-Note Cook]]: limitsLimits herself to shaved ice and children's snacks; see [[Lethal Chef]] for why.

* [[Proper Lady]]: horriblyHorribly subverts it, as she looks and acts like one but the truth is VERY different.

* [[Purple Is the New Black]]: herHer hair is black in the manga, but the anime series and movies render it purple.

* {{spoiler|[[Really Seven Hundred Years Old]]}}: {{spoiler|itIt's never clarified just how old she really is, but it's definitely ''way'' over 14}}.

* [[Scary Shiny Glasses]]: theseThese pop up whenever {{spoiler|she's being complicit in Akio's manipulations}}.

* [[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.".

* [[Strange Girl]]: emphasisEmphasis on strange, but she has her reasons.

* [[The Three Faces of Eve]]: sheShe 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 {{spoiler|as Akio's sexual partner}}.

* [[Uncanny Valley Girl]]: toTo the point that Kanae compares her to an alien, and Nanami thinks she's the scariest person she knows.

* {{spoiler|[[What the Hell, Townspeople?]]}}: herHer backstory, where {{spoiler|the townspeople's response to her trying to protect her brother, who was pushing himself to the point of sickness in order to save everyone, was to ignore her crying and inflict the swords of hate on her. No wonder she's so messed up}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Wounded Gazelle Gambit]]}}: {{spoiler|playedPlayed straight and subverted, which tells you something about her character}}.

* [[Zero-Approval Gambit]]: combinesCombines this trope with [[The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask]]. It turns out {{spoiler|she's an ancient Goddess-Princess who watched her brother, the God-Prince, being responsible for all the evil on earth. As a child, she decided to take the blame and let herself be punished by the world for all eternity. She subsequently spends the entire series serene and calm, while suffering the anguish and hatred of the entire world... for her now evil prince and the fear to change}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Broken Ace]]: He once was the most generous and sweet person as Prince Dios, but his terrible experiences left him completely disenchanted and embittered. Now he's a [[Manipulative Bastard]] who manipulates everyone and everything —... including Anthy, his little sister, who is pretty much trapped in a [[Fate Worse thanThan Death]], and ''he'' keeps her there}}.

* {{spoiler|[[The Casanova]]: Basically anyone who's female and meets him is soon infatuated with him, which he invariably takes advantage of}}.

* [[Foot Focus]]: wheneverWhenever he's gonna seduce someone, his gaze fixes on their feet.

* {{spoiler|[[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]]: weWe don't see it, but evidently he did at some point in the past}}.

=== '''Touga Kiryuu''' ===

* [[The Casanova]]: He has many multiple girlfriends.

** Also, in the Akio ArcOhtori 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.

* [[Hypocrite]]: In one of the fillers, he [[Mistaken for Gay|mistakenly believes Nanami to be a lesbian]] and gives a lecture that homosexuality is wrong. At this point, he is sleeping with {{spoiler|Akio.}}.

* [[Ladykiller in Love]]: With Utena. Also a [[Deconstruction]]. {{spoiler|His "love" for Utena doesn't keep him from [[I Love You Because I Can't Control You|trying to control her anyway]], and in the end, she [[Did Not Get the Girl|doesn't love him back]].}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Not Blood Siblings]]}}: {{spoiler|Nanami is crushed after finding out they are both adopted and not blood related after all. This is then subverted when it turns out that Touga was just playing with her head —: while they are adopted, they were adopted from the same family and thus actually are blood siblings. For the record: Thisthis is the Double Subversion of the Inversion of a trope —: a prime example of how Mind Screwy this show is}}.

* [[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).

=== '''Juri Arisugawa''' ===

* [[Clingy MacGuffin]]: Subversion --: {{spoiler|she throws her locket into a lake in one episode; by the end of that episode, it's back with her again. However, she ends up finding it because the locket was planted there, not by sheer chance.}}.

=== '''Kyouichi Saionji''' ===

* [[Pet the Dog]]: When he's rooming with Wakaba in episode 20, especially when he makes a little hairclip for her. {{spoiler|Too bad he botches it by taking up Mikage's offer and giving the haircliphair-clip away in exchange for being able to return to Ohtori. Thus, the haircliphair-clip goes to Anthy instead, and poor Wakaba goes [[Cute and Psycho]]}}.

* [[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 [[Ax Crazy|deranged]] expressions of any duelist when he gets pissed off. They're downright ''scary'' in [[The Movie]].

=== '''Miki "Mickey" Kaoru''' ===

* [[Innocent Innuendo]]: In the Black Rose arcSaga.

{{quote|'''Nanami:''' Hey, hey, by the way... how did it feel?

'''Nanami:''' You know what I mean... did it hurt?

'''Miki:''' * goes beet red* }}

* [[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. (Itit doesn't help that at one point, in the movie, she seems to hit on him, though she may have been teasing him.).

* [[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.

* [[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.

=== '''Nanami Kiryuu''' ===

* [[Break the Haughty]]: Oh ''boooy'', does this girl have a bad day: {{spoiler|Afterafter discovering that her brother, whom she loved ever since she was a child, was not her blood sibling, she feels like the connection she had her whole life was a lie.}}. After that, {{spoiler|she runs away from home, into the house of a pair of close, happy siblings... only to walk in on them having sex}}. And after ''that'' , {{spoiler|she walks in on her brother making out with a member of her old gang, to hear that her brother said he not only never loved her to begin with, and to have her ex-friend claim she has no connection to her anymore}}. And then after ''that'' , {{spoiler|she gets the Akio Car treatment, where her brother ''attempts to rape her'', much to her horror. Her proceeding duel has her break down in tears, claiming that she doesn't have any connection to the brother she loves, and is horrified at being just like the other girls he sees absolutely nothing in.}}. It's ''very'' hard not to feel sorry for her after all that, even if you thought she was a raging [[Rich Bitch]].

* [[Children Are Innocent]]: Subverted: {{spoiler|she kills the kitten she gave her brother because she thought it was taking away too much of his attention}}.

* [[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.

* [[Dual-Wielding]]: Both a sword and a knife. {{spoiler|For whatever reason, she only has the sword during her duel in the third arc, however.}}.

'''{{spoiler|Akio}}:''' The Ends of the World. Kiryuu Touga is waiting for you. }}

* [[Girl Posse]]: Aiko, Yuuko, and Keiko.

* [[Jerkass Has a Point]]: likeLike 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.

* [[Nonuniform Uniform]]: When she takes over as [[Student Council President]], she gains a new, yellow, military-style uniform.

== The Black Rose Duelists ==

=== '''Wakaba Shinohara''' ===

* [[All Love Is Unrequited]]: withWith Saionji.

* [[Ms. Exposition]]: Her role in the first arc is basically to introduce our main characters to Utena. Later on, she [[Character Development|becomes a more complete character]].

=== '''Kozue Kaoru''' ===

* [[Creepy Twins]]: Miki is not creepy at all (unless you're the type to [[Fridge Horror|overthink some things...]]), but Kozue ''more than makes up'' for that!

=== '''Shiori Takatsuki''' ===

* [[Incompatible Orientation]]: Truthfully, this is the ''least'' of the problems between Juri and Shiori. {{spoiler|May be subverted in the end.}}.

* [[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!!!".

* [[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.

* [[Self-Serving Memory]]: In the movie, as she's recounting her so-called relationship with Touga {{spoiler|before his death}}, 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]]: inIn [[The Movie]].

=== '''Kanae Ohtori''' ===

* [[BigAbusive NoParents]]: Her mother, who seems to care for nothing but herself {{spoiler|at theand endsleeps ofwith herKanae's duelfiance}}.

* [[How Do You Like Them Apples?]]: In the third arc, {{spoiler|1=Akio and Anthy feed a BSODing Kanae an apple pin-cushioned by forks. It is strongly implied that they're poisoning her, and the apple also obviously stands for Anthy's swords of hate. One of the background music tracks, which plays during Akio and Anthy's familial bonding is called "Fruit of Sin", as well. Make of that what you will}}.

=== '''Keiko Sonoda''' ===

* [[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.

* [[Together Umbrella]]: withWith Touga, which enrages Nanami.

=== '''Mitsuru Tsuwabuki''' ===

* [[The Chew Toy]]: hisHis horrible luck is played for utter comedy, even in {{spoiler|his Black Rose episode}}.

* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: {{spoiler|In his Black Rose episode, he attacks Utena before she can even draw the Sword of Dios; he also puts to good use the intrinsic advantages of dual-wielding against someone with a single weapon.}}.

* [[Creepy Child]]: Has a cheerful demeanor, but initially places Nanami in a series of deadly situations [[Rescue Romance|so he can rescue her]], apparently not realizing that this is ''very bad''. {{spoiler|Also qualifies during his tenure as a Black Rose duelist.}}.

* [[Indirect Kiss]]: hisHis chocolate bar, which had a bite taken out by Nanami.

* [[Looking for Love In All the Wrong Places]]: whenWhen the object of your affection is ''Nanami'' of all people, you have issues.

* [[Yandere]]: onceOnce he snaps over Nanami.

=== '''Tatsuya Kazami''' ===

* [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]]: toTo {{spoiler|Wakaba}}.

=== '''Souji Mikage/{{spoiler|Professor Nemuro}}''' ===

* {{spoiler|[[Big Bad]]}}: Of the Black Rose's arcSaga.

* {{spoiler|[[Dead All Along]]: possiblyPossibly. It isn't clear whether or not he died in the fire he started at Nemuro Hall years ago, though the fact that he hasn't aged since then may indicate that he's a ghost of sorts}}.

* [[Despair Event Horizon]]: Weaponized, sorta. He uses tactics that arguably predate those of [[Mobile Suit Gundam 00|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 {{spoiler|Kanae, Wakaba, Keiko, or Mitsuru Tsuwabuki.}}. And then we learn that {{spoiler|Mikage himself also went past the DEH[[Despair Event Horizon]] in his backstory, and is pushed even further in the last episode of the Black Rose arcSaga}}.

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: allAll the duels he enables are this, and usually for a small or perceived slight).

* [[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]]: toTo 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.

* [[Not So Different]]: withWith Utena, and their similar coloration intentionally highlights this.

* {{spoiler|[[Our Ghosts Are Different]]: ''Maybe''. The end of the Black Rose arcSaga suggests he was [[Dead All Along]], but reality seems to get overwritten at that point. It's theorized that he might be a self-propagating mental projection, though you may as well just call that a ghost. More confusingly, his flashback scenes don't even match up with what we know about the timeline from elsewhere}}.

* [[Pet the Dog]]: {{spoiler|Well, he lets Tatsuya walk away free and clear --... then again, this may have been because Tatsuya was [[Only Sane Man|the most mentally-healthy person on campus]], and thus not suitable for his purposes}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Playing with Fire]]}}: {{spoiler|theThe reason Nemuro Hall burned down}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Ret-Gone]]}}: {{spoiler|afterAfter the Black Rose arcSaga, everyone but Akio and Anthy forgets he was ever there}}.

* [[Shadow Archetype]]: ofOf Utena.

* [[Spear Counterpart]]: toTo Utena—pinkUtena: pink hair, attached to a submissive person in an engagement type of situation (whose looks and names are quite similar) motivated by idealized memories.

* [[There Are No Therapists]]: manMan could ''really'' have used one. He also functions as a twisted version of a therapist in the Black Rose arcSaga, 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.

* {{spoiler|[[Unwitting Pawn]]}}: {{spoiler|toTo Akio, who had him under control the whole time}}.

=== '''Mamiya Chida''' ===

* [[Facial Markings]]: wearsWears a bindi.

* [[Identical Stranger]]: toTo Anthy {{spoiler|which, considering he really ''is'' Anthy, and that his real appearance was completely different, this is actually subverted}}.

* [[Spear Counterpart]]: toTo Anthy, subverted.

* [[The Stoic]]: tendsTends not to show much emotion.

* [[Unperson]]: noNo one but Mikage and the Black Rose Duelists know he exists, and they forget him once their roses are destroyed.

=== '''Tokiko Chida''' ===

* [[Hot Scientist]]: She became one to try curing her little brother's life-threatening illness. {{spoiler|She failed, and Mamiya ultimately died when Nemuro Hall was burned down}}.

* [[Promotion to Parent]]: towardsTowards Mamiya.

=== Mrs. Other charactersOhtori ===

* [[Ready for Lovemaking]]: itIt's very subtle, but a close look at what she's wearing shows this.

* [[Your Cheating Heart]]: somethingSomething Akio passive-aggressively reminds her of constantly when they're on screen together.

=== '''Ruka Tsuchiya''' ===

=== '''Chigusa Sanjouin''' ===

* {{spoiler|[[Dead All Along]]: Unlike Mikage, whose status was ambiguous, Chigusa is explicitly stated to have died in the fire at the fencing hall 15 years ago.}}.

* [[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.".

* [[God Save Us From the Queen]]: Chigusa identifies with the Evil Queen from "''[[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|Snow White]]"''. That symbolism appears several times, such as the calendar by her locker and the [[How Do You Like Them Apples?|poisoned apple]] she leaves for the protagonist.

* [[No Guy Wants an Amazon]]: {{spoiler|The fencing team's sponsor, Masaomi, chose girly Koto over cold, powerful Chigusa. She never recovered from that rejection, and thus hates all girls who act passive and feminine -... especially the player character, who is Masaomi and Koto's daughter.}}.

=== '''Shadow Play Girls''' ===

* [[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 arcSaga: "Gogai! Gogai! Gogai!" aka "Newflash, newsflash! Newsflash!"

* [[Funny Background Event]]: eitherEither this or [[Meaningful Background Event]].