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Reply to Atavistic
I think this show has just completely fried my brain at this point: other than the repetition, I have no idea what's going on anymore. What does the car symbolism mean? Fuck knows. Why did Touga disappear for an entire cour only to be super-important in helping Akio persuade the council to fight Utena again? Fuck knows. Why are people just turning into Anthy every now and then? Fuck knows. Why is Nanami still getting screentime? Fuck knows.
I kind of want to take a break to recharge before I jump back in for the final cour, but doing that right at the start of what I'm presuming is the final arc probably isn't a good idea at all. If I was going to do that, I should have done it after episode 24, in hindsight.
I kind of want to take a break to recharge before I jump back in for the final cour, but doing that right at the start of what I'm presuming is the final arc probably isn't a good idea at all. If I was going to do that, I should have done it after episode 24, in hindsight.
| @Atavistic The cars symbolize sex and growing up. |
Reply to Ikkun_
Interesting episode. Miki is just too good for his whore sister
| @Ikkun_ Eh, they're both trash. |
| So this episode shows that Miki is a low-key misogynist that wants to possess Anthy, just like Saionji. Though Miki was too much of a coward to fight Utena for her. Then when he saw "the end of the world" (sex) via his sister and Akio, he wanted to do the same with Anthy. Except, he's so possessive of Anthy that his sister simply talking to Anthy gets him off focus. Tbh, I agree with Kozue, but I ultimately think she's weird and trash as well. Miki is just a coward. |
| After reading the comments, I'm getting a much better grasp on what's the deal with the car and all that and it's actually very interesting, albeit quite messed up. I mean, a grown man kidnaps teens to make them experience adulhood just the way we'd imagine it, that's... Yeah, that's messed up. Then again, that's Akio we're talking about, that's not the first "messed up" thing we've seen him do, although I still don't get what he's really trying to achieve. I mean, we've been given some strong hints that he could be Utena's prince (weird that she didn't recognize him at all if that's really him), but that still doesn't explain everything that's going on. What's even stranger is that it seems that his identity is revealed to the student the moment he tells them he'll show them the "End of the World", just like it happened to Saionji in the previous episode and just like it happened to Miki in this one. Well, just like for everything else, I just have to wait and see. Anyway, I was a bit afraid when I began this episode because while Miki is one of my favorite characters in this show, I had some issues with Kozue due to how much she felt like a mix between Nanami and Shiori (I like both, especially Nanami, but a fusion of these two just feels weird), but it actually turned out to provide them both some pretty great depth. I especially like how much it showed that the twins are pretty much two sides of the same coin. Miki is kind, gentle and sensitive but can become very fierce when given the possibility to get what he wants. Kozue is the opposite : "fierce" is the kind of word we'd immediately use to describe her, and yet the fact that she saved the nest just like how she's clearly hurt by her parents' neglect show she actually is sensitive and more caring than you would think on the inside. They really are mirroring each other, which perfectly explains what happened here, why Kozue manipulated Miki, why Miki fell for it, and why at the end of the day, Miki wasn't strong enough to keep going which made Kozue resent him for being a "coward". They both are very interesting characters and I love the way the show is using their dynamic as twins. (Also, I'd like to point out how this episode showed that neither Miki nor Kozue is neither trash not a perfect angel : they both have their equal share of qualities and flaws, the qualities simply are easier to notice in one while it's the flaws that are easier to notice in the other.) On a side note, I'd like to talk a bit about Anthy's role in this story. These last two episodes proved that for ambiguous it had been until now, Anthy actually is genuine when it comes to her friendship with Utena, and these moments actually seem to be the only ones when she's actually herself. Because that's the thing : she's being used by her brother, treated as an object. She does have her personality, but she can't express it because she always needs to be what Akio wants her to be, and what Akio wants her to be is whatever is needed at the moment for his plan to work. So while it is true that she's adapting her whole character to whoever is with her, it's not as willingly as I thought, it's Akio who's forcing her to be like this. This also explains why the characters are literally fighting to obtain her : she comes off as so much of an empty shell that people are completely projecting their own feelings and desires on her (and before calling characters "trash" for behaving that way, let's not forget that Utena herself, for how well-meaning she is, was guilty of that during the entire first arc, which Touga rightfully pointed out). And with that, while I think the parallel between Kozue and Anthy in this episode is pretty clear, I found it very intriguing that the woman the twins' father is going to marry, the one who should become their "new mother", appeared as Anthy. I wonder if this implies that the true reason behind Miki's feelings for her is because after having protected his unhealthy attachment towards his sister on Anthy, he's now projecting his inner need of a real mother figure on her. Considering how the show has been going so far, that seems to be the case which is actually very sad, and also makes Miki's and Kozue's characters further mirroring each other : Kozue doesn't try to hide her anger regarding how neglected she feels, while Miki is in denial of his true feelings. Actually, when I think about it it makes way too much sense that this is about Miki denying his feelings. This episode, especially the first part, really showed that Kozue is honest not only when it comes to her anger towards their parents but everything else, and especially her actual need to know that her brother cares about her and is worried for her. In opposition, Miki doesn't even admit that he was worried for her, when the topic was brought up he instantly dodged it. And yet, it is clear he actually was concerned for her considering how quick he was to react when she fell, but he just won't admit it. This is actually giving a lot more weight to why Kozue did what she did in this episode : at the end of the day all she really wants seems to be for Miki to stop hiding and running away from his feelings, including the way he feels about her (and by that I don't just mean his concern or affection, but also anger, since I wouldn't be surprised that this is the reason he's acting so cold around her, he resents her for what she did before but instead of being honest about it, he hides everything behind a calm and collected facade). |
FafetteJan 3, 10:03 AM
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