#character: kaoru miki

[girl-revolution-utena]

Trying to think about rgu ocd headcanons ⌛ (a little messy and sorry if it's out of character)

cw: descriptions of different types of ocd obsessions (the descriptions are simple, but if reading about the themes of your obsessions is a trigger for you, please avoid reading this post), mentions of abuse

Juri has magical thinking and her way to cope with that is hating everything related to magic. She has basically overcome it but from time to time she has psychotic episodes because of it. How much she hates miracles is both related with Shiori and is a way to cope with her OCD.

Miki's obsessions are around order, perfectionism and symmetry. He can spent hours trying to get everything Just Right and feels but about it. He has only talked to Juri about this and she advised him using her own experience as a reference (though she didn't told him that part). Idk if the way he uses his chronometer would be related to a compulsion or if it would be stimming. Maybe a mix of both, depending on the situation.

Anthy has intrusive thoughts about how people perceive her and would check her interactions with other too much. She would also check constantly if Akio is near after escaping (this would be also related with PTSD). She also has a tendency to hoarding but she keeps it controlled.

Nanami suffers from obsessions around her relationships with others and around her own identity because of how Touga groomed and manipulated her. She denies this but her mind is constantly ruminating.

But then all of them go to therapy and learn how to cope in a healthy way :D

[thegooblet]

thought too hard about dynamics of abuse in rgu and blacked out

[rosebridal]

narrative foil antagonism at its best

[originalwinnercheesecake]

what if the Revolutionary Girl Utena characters were pokemon trainers

I went back to the Utena tab, as one does, to brush up on my philosophy... Suddenly the question pops into my head "With Anthy's love of roses which flower pokemon would be her favorite? I bet it would be x." Then i started to think "If Anthy had "X" then maybe Utena could have "Y". "Nanami should have "C" because of that one comedy filler episode" You know the one. "Also wouldn't it be fun to create a sinister pokemon team for Akio." I literally went to sleep rolling these thoughts and potential teams around in my mind, and have spent all day working on getting the teams right.

Before I post my teams here were my rules

1.) Six pokemon for the rose crest duelists, one-three for the black rose duelists. Ruka got two

2.) All the rose bride duelists had to have at least one flower/plant/florial pokemon. This was not required of the black rose duelists or Ruka.

3.) Normally I do not let characters have legendary pokemon on their teams. But because some of these characters are Gods or embodiment's of legendary themes/tropes I put fitting legendary on the teams for four specific characters

4.) Utena was the only character I allowed a pokemon that can mega evolve. She is the one chosen to wield the power of Dios in the duels.

5.) To challenge myself I did not use any of the eeveelutions, or regional type variations (Alolan, Galar, Hisuin). These are usally heavily represented on my previous lists and I wanted this one to be more unique

In honor of pride month here is the RGU cast as pokemon trainers

Anthy Himemyia

a team that is half cute and girly , and half very very frightening

White Flower Florgus: This one is representative of Anthy's love of flowers, whoch she incorperated into her role in the duels, as the Rose Bride. A flowery fairy pokemon that devotes itself to its gardens. The red one is to sweet to be Anthy's pokemon. Plus given that both the roses in her coffin and the one she puts on Utena are white, I think that white may be her favorite rose color.

Wooloo: Anthy used the Wool from her Wooloo (and some red fabric dye) to make the sweater she knitted and gifted Utena in season 2. I love that because there are no hints that Akio told Anthy to make Utena the sweater. Anthy chose to make a handmade gift for her friend. Utena wore it multiple times later when she and Anthy were hanging out in their room. That was a really sweet gift, and symbolic of how much the two were coming to care about each other, so I wanted to give Anthy a pokemon representative of that

Apom and Rattata: These two both represent Chu-chu, a monkey that was the size of a mouse. They can also represent aspects of Anthy's way of expressing herself during the games. How she was always handy at chores, but had what one would call a quiet and mousy nature. Apom is a shiny pink to match Utena's trademark hair, and the pink outfit Anthy dawns (leaving behind her red goddess/rose bride outfits) to go out into the world and search for Utena.

Mismagius: A ghost type pokemon that is representative of Anthy's witch persona. It's poxides entry says that it is a havic bringer that can cause people great hapiness or misery, and that some will pursue it as if their life depended on it, though owning it can sometimes have less than favorable results. A very Himemyia pokemon

Spectrier: Representative of Anthy's, now long dead, goddess persona. This beauitful, dark, spirit horse shy's away from sight and rely's on its other senses. It is also said that it can seperate a soul from a body with one kick (Similar to what Anthy did to Dios when she gave up being a goddess). Spectrier shares a connection to pokemon owned by both Akio and Utena

Akio Ohtori

Note it was actually a lot of fun making this cutesy/sinister team for Akio.

Morella: This could be Akio's floral pokemon if you view "End of the World" as a rose duelist. I mostly picked it because it is cute and whimsical looking, but is parasitic and will drain a person of their energy when they are asleep.

Driftloom: Another whimsical pokemon. What a fun and safe looking little balloon... that leads small children astray and can cause them to go missing.

Delibird: It is his messenger. Before the final arc he mostly communicated with his students by letters. Delibird delivers them. Bad bird, bad

Palossand: Representative of Ohtori Academy. A palace and a kingdom where everyone lives trapped, with Akio as the prince who is in charage of everyone

Dusktops: A hollow husk ghost that it is unwise to get close enough to look inside of. Am I talking about Dusktops or Akio?

Glastrier: Akio's Princely white horse. A wild and crazy steed (kinda like his car), counter part to his sisters Spectrier, and also connecting to one of Utena's pokemon.

Utena Tenjou

What pokemon are enough of hero's for our protagonist. Are flashy hero pokemon really the ones she needs?

Roserade: Utena's Floral pokemon, and her mega evolution pokemon. I like to think it started out as a little Bedew that was left for Utena after that day all those years ago when she met the prince and vowed to become one herself. Roserade is not really a princely pokemon, but Utena never actually became a prince. I think Roserade is a good representation of the revolutionary character she did become.

Spritzee: Scent seems to be an important senese to Utena. She will comment on food smells and the one thing she remembers clearly about that day is that she could smell Roses. Given her love of fragrance she would probably also love a perfume pokemon

Marowak: Utena and Marowak both lost loving parents when young. Now they have grown tough and made the decision to help each other and carry on.

Growlithe: Representation of Utena's courage and fierce loyalty to those she cares about

Corvisquire: this one represents both the dark uniform and the ingenuity Utena shows. How she descends on the games, has less experience then the other duelist, but she uses tools around her, and eventually the traits she can glimpse from the other duelist themselves, to win.

Calyrex: This is Utena's Legendary pokemon. It is connected to both Anthy and Akio's legendary pokemon, how they both need her, and the choice Utena ultimately has to make on which one she wants to be with.

Touga Kiryuu

Touga' team is meant to be bad/dangerous but not necissarly as wicked or frightening as Akio's team

Vileplume: Touga's floral pokemon. I gave him a finale form in a 3 part evolution, similar to Utena's roserade, but of course not containing the same abilities or as powerful. I also really wanted him to have a flower that was also a poison type, because he himself is pretty poisonous.

Hitmonchan: Touga is shown to know how to box when he took out that kangeroo. So i figured since he would obviously have a fighting type pokemon, let's go with the boxing one

Purugly: He loves cats so he gets a cat pokemon. (Side note do we think he got to keep the kitten Anthy gave him for his birthday, or did it disappear after 24-48 hours, like the "gifts" Anthy sends Nanami). I decided to give him Purugly do them both having nice hair, being fairly rude, and most importantly, loving to sleep in someone else's bed.

Seviper: A snake is pokemon is another one that just fits Touga. Add that Seviper has a red sword like tail, and could maybe help Touga train, makes it Touga's perfect snake.

Yamask: Yamask's lore says it use to be a man who died. It came back as a ghost pokemon and it carries a mask that resembles the face it had as a human. I put it on Touga's team to go with Touga's own lore, and how there is all this discussion on if Touga is actually a boy or a ghost... Even if he is still alive he is kinda still a ghost, carrying a mask of the kid Saionji and Nanami remember.

Mudsdale: Touga has a horse because he wants to imitate Akio. But where as Akio's Galstrier is a beautiful and princely legindary pokemon. Touga only has a dirty mudsdale, a.k.a the one horse pokemon that is entirely based off of a regular, non magical, horse. Mudsdale can never be quite like Galstier. And Touga (thankfully) can never manage to be as manipulative and powerful as Akio.

Nanami Kiryuu

Her magistey the princess of ridiculousness, with her loyal court of fools

Carnavine: Nanami's floral pokemon. I did not want to give Nanami a more "delicate flower" looking pokemon, as Nanami is honestly one of the least delicate girls in the anime. Carnavine, like Nanami, is clingy and snappy so I think it fits her really well.

Vespaqueen: Becasue she is the school's "Queen Bee"

Morgrem: It is a prankster, who will sometimes employ false surrenders and dirty tactics, all of which are to hide its own insecurites and lack of self confidence. Nanami and Morgrem are kindred spirits in this regard. Hopefully she and it could help each other grow to accept themselves

Piplup: It has a tough attitude and a lot of bravado, but in truth it is pretty clumsy and falls down a lot. So piplup is another pokemon who I feel like it and Nanami would get each other.

Miltank and Exeggcute: You all know exactly why Nanami has a cow and eggs. No explanation needed.

Kyouichi Saionji

It was not my intention to give him the fluffiest team. I am laughing at it turning out that way though. Let's hope Saionji can keep himself and his teammates stocked on hair brushes

Cacturn: Saionji's Floral pokemon. He gets Cacturn because they are both green and prickly.

Fennekin: Well it is a hot headed pokemon that will have steam coming out of its fluffy ears when it gets really worked up. That certainly sounds like someone Saionji see's whenever he looks in the mirror. Also once it evolves, and starts carrying around sticks, he could teach it Kendo style staff techniques

Mankey: Saionji also needed a fighting type. I chose Mankey to represent just how Impulsive Saionji is. Both he and Mankey struggle to calm themselves down, and to stop fighting. If Saionji can ever manage to teach Mankey any control, then maybe he won't be completely hopeless himself. If not, it will at least be a funny ride.

Zangoose: Saionji got a Zangoose because Touga has a Seviper. Each of them have a rival pokemon that is always fighting with the other, but also can never help but seek the other out. I would say that is pretty accurate representation of Touga and Saionji's relationship, and how they feel about each other in their adolescences.

Farfetch: I was thinking because it carries the leak then maybe Saionji could teach it Kendo staff techniques now. Fennekin could watch. They would probably all enjoy that.

Shiny Sudowoodo: well it is bad at hiding and hates water, that is similar to Saionji. But really I gave it to Saionji because he likes poetry, and Sudowoodo (particularly its shiny form) are about the closest I could think of to a poetic looking pokemon. Another thing is that Shiny Sudowoodo looks like a tree in the fall, when things change. Change is a concept Saionji struggles with, and he needs to learn to better deal with it if he wants to leave his coffin

Miki Kaoru

I kind of wish his team could have been bluer, but I am happy that 2 are garden creatures and another three look a bit like childhood toys. Nature and nostalgia are strong themes if Miki's

Sunflora: This is Miki's floral pokemon. He gets an actual flower based one. A sunflower caught in the Sunlight garden back when he was a child

Baltoy: So Miki is a time keeper for the student council (supposedly, as no one knows what he is keeping time on with his stop watch) and carries a lot of nostalgia for his past. So I had to give him a "time" pokemon. However he is not a strong enough trainer to command a legendary, like Celibi or Dialga. Baltoy was the only one left, but it honestly works. I like to imagine that it stays next to Miki at student council meetings and every time he presses the button on his oh-so-confusing stopwatch Baltoy will cease its spinning and speak.

Chimeco and chatot: Two music based pokemon to sit with Miki and keep him company at the piano. Chimeco will try to calm him down when he gets stressed. Chatot will repeat things: notes or phrases that it has heard Miki/his teachers say. Miki loves Chatot, but it often makes him more stressed.

Scyther: All of Miki's pokemon so far have been small and cute. But Miki is a tough fighter too. I wanted him to have pokemon he could sword train with, and that would come off as more imposing in battle. No fighting types really fit him so I got more creative. Scyther would make a pretty good fencing partner. He probably caught it in his garden like Sunflora, only he was older by then.

Male Meowstic: This one is representative of his caring yet strained relationship his sister Kozue-she has a female. Miki's male meowstic is both the male, and the more defensive of the pair, just like him.

Juri Arisugawa

before anyone asks Juri does not have a sward pokemon because she does not need one. She already has a sword.

Lurantis: Now this is the perfect floral pokemon for Juri. It is girly without being soft or frilly. It is vivid, tough, and glamours. It is also super sharp and does its best to fool people into seeing it as someone its not. Basically it suits Juri's strengths, while also highlighting some of her vulnerabilities.

Luvdisc: Okay the romantic heart pokemon that is considered a symbol of love might seem like a strange one for Juri,given how she feels about, well, romantic feelings and all that. One I do think Juri is a romantic, but, just like with miracles, she has some trouble believing in romance after what went down with Shori. Secondly lone luvdisc's can become despondent and disheartened... which again is kind of how Juri feels, when thinking about all the things she is scared to believe in. Both Juri and Luvdisc need hugs

Cloyster: This one represents how closed off and self motivated Juri has become

Brozong: It strong steel/psychic typing suits Juri pretty well, and it being a 360 degree shield does show how defensive Juri is now. Most importantly it can summon rain showers. The culmination of Juri's arc was her locket getting broken, her forfeiting her duel as she finally lets herself cry over what she lost, then stepping into a rain shower, to try and began herself again. That was such a powerful scene for Juri, so I gave her a powerful pokemon to represent that time in her life.

Jangmo-o: Here is a little dragon that personality wise is on almost the same wave length as Juri. Both are diligent trainers, humble, yet have the pride of warriors. I could see these two taking each other far.

Mienshao: This is Juri's fighting type pokemon. One that is very graceful and elegant, as well as being a skilled, and sometimes overwhelming, fighter. Like with her Lurantis I could see this one joining her in both a battle and on the runway.

Now on to the black rose duelists. Once again they were smaller characters so I am only giving them 1-3 pokemon.

Kanae Ohtori

Apples for the princess, fairy tales dictate she should have refused

Applin: So they are sometimes viewed as romantic gifts between people in a committed relationship. Akio gave this Applin to Kanae, who joyfully accepted it as a "symbol of their love". But another way to look at it was Akio telling Kanae his plans. Applin is a worm that burrows into the center of an apple and then feeds on the fruit to stay protected, plump, and strong. Akio is the worm. Kanae's family's academy is the apple. Kanae's Applin is most definitely not evolving into a Appletun.

Kozue Kaoru

I imagine Kozue and her girls are out to either get their party up or throw some shade down. No in between

Female Meowstic: the sibling pokemon to Miki's male one. Like Kozue this meowstic is the aggressive female counter part to its more defensive brother.

Bellossom: Kozue is not a rose crest duelist, but she still has a flower pokemon? Okay I am not saying Kozue should have joined the student council with Miki, or competed for the rose bride, or anything like that. Bellossom is also a party pokemon. It is always dancing and chatting away with others. Kozue takes Bellossom with her when she goes out to look for new boyfriends. It is also there for her after hook-ups, when she is all alone again. Bellossom might be Miki's favorite of Kozue's pokemon. Kozue likes Miki's chatoc, because she can teach it to say phrases that annoy her brother/ scare away anyone that might hurt him.

Taillow: This is Kozue's newest pokemon. She is shown to like birds. She found this one injured, became protective of it, and took it in. She told everyone she caught it because the injuries proved it was tough in a scrap, and it is tough in a scrap, but that was still a lie on Kozue's part.

Shori Takatsuki:

So cute on the surface, beneath that... well sometimes it is a little less pretty and a lot more messy

Psyduck: Because Shori follows people she likes/wants around like a duck, and she is driven to headaches by her own refusal to accept feelings. Both her own feelings and other peoples as well. It will be a long and stressful ride, but caring for Pysduck could possibly help Shori break this negative cycle of denial she has locked herself in.

Corsola: The tips of it spikes can be painlessly broken off and then made into pretty jewelry, that are prized as treasures. Shori deeply wants to be someones treasure, so I imagine she wears corsola jewelry a lot to try and boost her low self esteem. This also goes with Juri's luvdisc, as luvdiscs are a pokemon that love corsolas.

Phanpy: This is Shori's last pokemon, and probably her oldest. She is not able to/has no desire to evolve it. Phanpy's look like innocent little dolls, are very playful, and has a tendency to hurt those it feels affection for...Just like Shori.

Mitsuru Tsuwabuki

Gorwing up is really so tough

Impidimp: One evolution behind Nanami's Morgrim. Like their trainers the pair get along and are good friends, but often tend to prank the other. It is a bit of a ongoing challenge to see which is the most sly and devious

Bagon: Like Mitsuru with adulthood, Bagon dreams of the day it will be a full grown Salamence, and waits for all the things it will be able to do then. Mitsuru and Bagon want to grow, evolve, and achieve their dreams together.

Love Sweet Carmel Swirl Alcreamie: I gave Mitsuru an Alicreamie because he shown to be able to cook/bake, and likes to do it for Nanami. I really was hoping that their was a chocolate version of Alicreamie, because of the symbolism of the partially eaten chocolate bar his friend leaves behind in his black rose episode. But I was out of luck. I decided to give him a Carmel Swirl Alcreamie because its cream has a bitter taste. Right now Mitsuru is at a stage where he feels very bitter about still being a little kid. I figure his Alcreamie can help him learn to mix that bitterness with other feelings/flavors to create good results. Love Sweet because Mitsuru is a romantic of course.

Tatsuya Kazami

I hope that he got back out of ohtori again quick, and that this time he and Wakaba stayed in touch....maybe as friends, maybe as more. In the end that is up tot he two of them, not to Mikage, Utena, or Akio.

Oddish: Oddish is a pokemon that kinda looks like a onion, at least that is what Tatsuya thought when he met Oddish. It reminded him of Wakaba and how she used to call him "The Onion Prince" , so he caught it and made it his partner.

Slowpoke: Slowpoke is called the patient pokemon, and Tatsuya's best and only quality is that he is willing to patiently support the girl he loves, while waiting for the day she maybe decides to give them a chance to be something more.

Wakaba Shinohara

You take care of everyone you meet. But who will take care of you?

Swablu: A very friendly and fearless, normal/flying type, bird that goes around with its head is the clouds and cotton covering its ears. That is definitely similar to our girl Wakaba. But it will also grow into a very strong dragon/flying type, Altaria; just like how Wakaba shows she will grow into a very strong young women one day. For now Wakuba and Swablu have got each other, and are committed to helping the other grow.

Chancy: A caring and nutruing pokemon. This one helps Wakaba take immaculate care of everyone in her life. It also tries its best to take care of her and reminder her that she is still important to it during her darker moments. Like when Saionji leaves her. Or Utena starts spending most of her time with Anthy/Akio and has less and less for Wakaba.

Shiny Skeledirge: Like Wakaba this pokemon is caring yet meddlesome. I could see them getting up to a lot of trouble that they had no business being in, but also helping a lot of people too. It likes to help wakaba with her chorus homework, and sing for Wakaba when she is feeling down. Hopefully it's powerful enough to at least intimidate the boys Wakaba does not have the sense to know are bad news. I also gave it to her because wiki says it is modeled after a tennis athlete (Tennis is implied to be Wakaba's favorite sport), and that the bird on its snout functions as a separate entity. So it was a sneaky way to actually give Wakaba four pokemon. Why is it a shiny, because Wakaba deserves a rare shiny pokemon. She was a rare bright spot in that hell school after all.

Keiko Sondo

I got the idea to give her all bug pokemon because her episode is called Vermon.

Meadow Pattern (a.k.a Pink) Vivillon: I picked Vivillon because it is very girly and frilly, and Keiko comes off as a being a really girly girl. I picked the meadow pattern because it seemed the most romantic, and at heart this girl is another huge romantic.

Male Combee: This one is her relationship to Nanami. Nanami had a female Combee that evolved into a Vespadqueen. But male Combee like Keiko's cannot evolve. No matter how hard either Combee or Keiko work and train they are not royalty, but mere parts of the hive. Combee shares Keiko's resentment that random chances of birth seemingly made Nanami and Vespaqueen more special than them. It is just not fair.

Grubbin: Yeah here is a not so pretty, underground, grubby buggy. But there is so much more to Grubbin than appears. They are attracted to sparks of electricity and will burrow to and stay by it, until he day they can evolve and generate their own. Also when worked into a enough of a rage they are capable of causing birds that try to prey on them fly away in fear. So I am giving her Grubbin to show that of all three conies, Nanami was not able to break Keiko as totally as she did the other two, and their were moments in the show where Keiko was able to stand up to/take on Nanami.

Souji Mikage

Yes I am calling Mikage the fourth most powerful character character in RGU. He was definitely a victor in some previous round of the duels, and for whatever reason Akio and Anthy kept their hold on him for 30 years... to use him to test future victors that won the first round to easy? I mean it is stated he used to have 100 back rose crests and flowers, but by Utena's time he only had 6 left... Off topic

Hypno: it helps him mess with the kids who come into his elevator for therapy; using its hypnotic power to pull their most jealous and anxious thoughts form their minds and mouths.

Bisharp: This one represents how professor Nemuro saw himself before meeting Mamiya and Tokiko, and what he, as Souji Mikage, became after their loss. This is a dark and steel type robot, that commands subordinates to fight underneath it, while it pushes towards its own goals.

Celibi: He slips backwards and forwards through time, while always remaing the exact same age. So I gave him Celibi because it can take itself and invited companions through time. Once he learns that there was really no way then or in the future to have saved Mamiya, can Celibi please take him back in time to tell the real Mamiya "Good bye"?

Ruka Tsuchiya

And here is the guy who in the two episodes he was in before dying, he seemingly made himself more hated than Saionji and Touga combinded, almost as hated as Akio.

Haunter: Because haunting was a thing he liked to do before dying, and from what I have heard, possibly afterwards too. It is also possible Haunter stayed with Ruka even after his death. Admirable loyalty on his pokemons part

Hawkamo: A dragon one evolution higher than Juri's Jaogmo-o, because Ruka was always one step ahead of Juri. After he dies I imagine Hawkamo stalks around the fencing dojo, trying to pick a new trainer. It would be interesting to guess who it would pick.

[anonymous-gambito]

I have a fucking problem

[number1villainstan]

Nanami: which one of you was gonna tell me that tea tastes different if you put it in hot water vs cold water Juri: You're putting it in cold water? Miki: Nanami. Answer the question Nanami. Nanami: Yeah? I thought that people just put it in hot water to speed up the tea-ification process. Didn't realize there was an actual reason. Miki: You don't have the patience to microwave water for three minutes? Juri: Why are you putting it in the microwave to boil it? Miki: You think I have the patience to boil water on a stove?? Juri: It takes LESS THEN A MINUTE Miki: BESTIE IS YOUR STOVETOP POWERED BY THE FRICKING SUN Touga: fricking? Juri: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU TO BOIL A CUP OF WATER ON THE STOVE Miki: LIKE SEVEN MINUTES Juri: just stick the mug on top of the stove on medium heat and it boils in like two minutes. less than that and you use a saucepan Touga: You're putting the whole mug on the stove? On medium heat?? Your stove is enchanted Wakaba: every single person in this room is a fucking lunatic Saionji: DO NONE OF YOU OWN A FUCKING KETTLE

[local-lamppost]

Utena’s Caged Intelligence

Something of a continuation of this.

TL;DR Ohtori, like pretty much every school, was not designed for those with developing intelligence (like middle schoolers) to be able to grow and flourish.

So I’ve gone over a little bit of the initial curiosity of Utena and how that diminished, but I wanted to address some topics I might have missed because I mainly focused on Utena’s logic.

When I say logic, I mean her matter of fact/overtly blunt manner of problem solving. She forces her way through problems headstrong, making her solutions equate to the dumb joke stereotype. She sees things in a straight line in a world that is determined to pave only curved roads. Her logic makes her the biggest moron in a world of the illogical. This can actually be seen in Miki as well. Miki is an artist at heart, but doesn’t think he can express himself that way because of the “feminine” nature he’s been taught the language of art is. Miki tries to translate his artistic thoughts into logical dialog, and because of his inability to correlate his mind and voice it makes him one of the easiest characters to manipulate; he’ll mimic what those around him says-especially after an emotional moment-because that must be how a regular “logical” speaker would act.

Utena is similar to a degree, she’s just in no way self aware. Less frantic than Miki, but easier to condition once you can tug Utena’s logic away from her own and onto someone else’s (Akio’s).

Utena is not allowed to come to her own conclusions. Akio or Anthy or whatever student council member has been enlisted are all quick to put her in situations that derive her of exploring other options. It becomes that the best way to solve her problems is to go along with the duels (to the point that she challenges Touga to a duel purely for herself and her own issues, because that’s how problems are solved at Ohtori).

I think the best way to dumb this thought process down is to think that everyone is playing a game. Utena plays by the book and is a naturally very skilled player, others will have mind games or better items to try to gain an upper hand; but then there are players like Touga, Akio, and Anthy who have cheats enabled, but Utena is unable to realize this.

Lastly, the point that can slip people’s mind is that Utena is 14 and the people pulling the strings are all older than her/more experienced. Akio is in his twenties or thirties(not even counting that he might be a magical immortal deity), Touga is both an upper classmen but someone who appears to be living the most ‘adult’ lifestyle of all the underage duelists (the mindest for them is very much sex=maturity/power), and Anthy’s bread and butter is preparing sacrifices for her brother(as well as being a maybe immortal witch).

Her age is Utena’s greatest detriment in the game she’s playing. The only characters that get manipulated as much as she does are Miki and Nanami (Nanami especially) and they are the youngest of the duelists. Yet there are the scant few times it gives her strength, such as her duel with Wakaba (but even then, this duel gave Akio that firm line in the sand he would need to eliminate to further bring Utena under his control).

A school is supposed to be where you go to grow your logical intelligence, while being placed in an environment meant to grow your social intelligence. Ohtori, under Akio’s direction, does not comply to this standard: they value the independence of the students. Something that sounds good, until you remember that these are kids still in need of support, support Akio is glad to provide as he frames himself as the only truly mature and reliable presence in these children’s lives.

[bestutenacharactertournament]

Remember: you vote on which one you think is the best, not who is more morally correct or well written! It's about personal preference!

[anonomousinganonomouslyo-o]

I made a thing…

It’s my first AMV!! I’ve always wanted to make one and I finally found out how to do it 😅

[summoner-of-mist]

[anonymous-gambito]

Uhhhh new fucked up Fire Nation we need to worry about just dropped??

doing only the deepest and most important analysis on the utena discord

[needle-thread-thimble-spear]

RGU and the Transfeminine, Part 1

OR

Why Miki Kaoru is an Egg

Fig. 1: The Sunlit Garden

When I’d first watched through Revolutionary Girl Utena, Miki Kaoru was initially one of the characters I had the hardest time figuring out. Unlike the other poisoned sibling relationships in the show, Miki and Kozue’s didn’t really make much sense to me. I couldn’t decide how I felt about the character, whether he was “better” somehow than Touga, Saionji, or Akio, or if he was “just as bad”. And of course. What the hell is with that damn stopwatch dude??* Looking at fan writings afterward just deepened the confusion. Everyone seems to have a different opinion on what’s going on with Miki. It’s only after much re-watching, and introspection, that I think I’ve figured out why I’m so conflicted about the character. I’d like to share why- and hopefully along the way I can at least show that Miki is more interesting than many give him credit for. Click the readmore if you please!

(And, to be clear, what is written below is a reading, a blend of evidence from the text, from the subtext, and my own personal experience. I do not claim to be the first to interpret the character this way nor do I claim that this is the definitive read of the character. Nonetheless, I hope I can make my case to you!)

and, a big thank you to @empty-movement for collating all the high quality screengrabs and scans in this post!

Fig 2: Rookie Princes

While I’m not the first to notice, I think it’s frequently overlooked just how similar Utena and Miki are in the first arc. It’s definitely something that flies over the heads of many first-time viewers. But Miki and Utena, are extremely alike! Of course, they are both motivated by an unattainable image of the past, and Miki’s early episodes codify the “sunlit garden” into the RGU symbolic environment. But it’s more than just this. Utena and Miki both treat Anthy in basically the same way. Utena has an easy time convincing Miki that the dueling game is objectifying nonsense. That the principled thing is to leave the whole exercise behind and treat Anthy like a person. It isn’t very hard for Miki to convince Utena to duel him for her hand either. They both view themselves as her personal protector, and (while maybe at different times), both project their imagination of what she must be thinking onto her. Utena does a bit more than Miki to try and figure Anthy out, but it doesn’t take much for her to get swept up in her own image of prince. In both their minds, Anthy needs them to save her. And, when Anthy looks them in the eyes, and tells them. I’m not yours. It destroys them. Freezes them in their tracks, breaks their hearts. Screaming, its a lie, you can’t mean that! Of course they get along so well! They see themselves in one another, plain as day. Little rival princelings, seeking the affections of the same princess, but always with chivalry and good intention.

Fig 3: Heartbreak

But I think there is more to it than that! Miki and Utena (and later Nanami) are some of the youngest duelists (at least, without a black rose anyway). And, they have fairly similar relationships to the other members of the student council. Juri acts as an older friend, mentor, and source of advice for both of them. Its not unlikely that she sees her younger self in the two of them, and while she does very directly take this out on Utena, its her sword that Utena takes to her second duel with Touga. Indeed, Touga manipulates Miki and Utena in unsubtle and sexually aggressive ways, as compared to how he might treat Saionji or Juri. And for both, its their relationship to gender that he directly attacks. He attempts to break Utena’s spirit by turning her “back into a normal girl”, and for Miki he seems to challenge his masculinity. And while this may seem as though the two of them are being shoved in opposite directions, in both cases, Touga hits them in the same place. “You’re a prince then? I don’t think so. Unless you prove it”. Touga isn’t the only one to question Miki’s ability or status. Utena and Juri both tell Miki. You are much more suited to playing piano than dueling. The main difference here is that they tell him this with genuine compassion, but the implication is the same. You aren’t suited to this prince thing. Give it up.

I don’t think it’s just the audience who is conflicted slotting in Miki with the other “men”.

Fig 4: Strange Friends

Much ink has been spilled on Miki and Kozue’s relationship, but I do think there is one thing consistent across readings. There is a power struggle going on between them, and they’ve both got something to hold over the others head. Personally, I don’t believe there is any attraction between them. Rather, What’s Going On With Those Two is their mismatch in understanding their sexuality and the RGU concept of “Reality”, and the friction that creates in their image of themselves and one another. That reading may go as follows. Miki sees Kozue as acting dangerously and immorally. In his mind, she is his responsibility, to keep out of trouble at the very least. Perhaps he sees himself as needing to step in for their absent parents. So he sees himself as the mature and grounded one, a father figure needing to keep the both of them on the straight and narrow. Kozue on the other hand, sees Miki as being essentially blind to Reality (with a capital R). She believes he doesn’t have a good grasp of what sex is, or what adult relationships look like. She may believe that she understands what happened with their parents much better than Miki, and clearly sees that her brother is in danger with his creepy music teacher. So she sees herself as the mature and grounded one, needing to protect her brother both by warding off people who would take advantage of him and by getting him to grow up and see things as they Really are. Without their parents, they feel the need to take care of one another and control how the other approaches their sexuality. But in the end, it does seem that Kozue is the one who is better able to manipulate Miki’s behavior, helping Akio convince him to duel a second time. That Miki needs to grow up and accept what he wants. He sees a vision of Anthy, and he’s driving the akiomobile. And, with fearful realization, he discovers the identity of End of the World.

Fig 5: Fear

So then. Why should Miki be so hung up about his sexuality? It clearly makes him very uncomfortable. And why does he compare the sister he had in the past onto the one he has in the present? What’s so special about that sunlit garden, anyway? What is Miki Kaoru’s shining thing?

Let me spin a yarn, if you'll indulge me-

As far as Miki remembers it, when he was little things were perfect. His parents were still there, and he and his twin sister were thick as thieves. They would play piano together, and drink milkshakes. Things were simple and happy as far as he’s concerned, and while his childhood was not nearly as rosy as he remembers, it was certainly better than whatever he has to deal with now. Now his parents are gone for reasons he doesn’t quite understand, and his sister has drifted away from him and acts promiscuously. His body is starting to change, and it fills him with disgust. Worse still, he finds himself envying his sister for some reason. It all floods him with shame. He needs to fight those feeling with everything he has. Being very clever for his age, he finds himself the youngest member of the student council. He becomes involved with the dueling game as it is revealed to him, and goes along with it, not wanting to act out of place. He gets a crush on Anthy, and is unable to figure out what the hell he should do about it. Later, he meets Utena, and the two become fast friends. And how lucky, his new friend is roommates with his crush! She’s just so perfect. She’s kind, and quiet, and chaste, not at all like his sister. He feels a kinship with her. And in an act of cosmic fate- she plays for him his favorite childhood arrangement. It’s just as Touga says. He can’t let the world get to her, the way its getting to his sister. The way its getting to him. He needs to make sure that Anthy, and his memories, are safe. But alas- it seems she doesn’t feel the same way. She’d rather be with Utena. Hopefully, Utena can protect her where he cannot. Miki and Utena go back to being friends, and he nurses his hurt feelings privately. It wouldn't do to make a scene about it, and besides, it wasn’t appropriate for him to think of her like that anyway. Thinking about anyone like that. He can’t help but feel disgusted with himself for allowing it. Later, his relationship with his sister continues to deteriorate, and his father is remarrying. But he can stick by his principles, and stay out of it all, the dueling especially. Kozue, Touga, and Akio have other plans. He is confronted with Reality, and it terrifies him. He sees himself in the drivers seat, Anthy his. This is what he is now, no point in trying to hide from it. He challenges Utena again, taking an early advantage utilizing his new resolve and Utena’s confusion. But that resolves breaks quickly. What is Kozue doing with Anthy?

Pay attention, or you’ll lose.

Fig 6: Crash!!

Miki is disgusted with himself, his role, because he does not want it. He hates what’s happening to himself and his family. He admires Utena and Juri, for embodying his ideal self. He listens to Touga, puts up with his music teacher, even if they make him feel gross and uncomfortable, because he feels he has to and that he doesn’t have a choice. He idolizes Anthy, so much. He is attracted to her, but maybe there is something more. Maybe, Miki wishes he could be her. Miki, in my mind, is a closeted trans lesbian going through puberty as a boy. I think that part of this might be projection, perhaps. But I hope that I might have made my case using the text of the show. But even if you disagree, I hope that you might have a better appreciation for his character. I think he’s fairly consistently people’s least favorite council member as a character, but honestly he’s my favorite and I think there’s a lot more too him than a lot of people give him credit for.

Fig 7: Three Lesbians Hanging Out

… this all being said. I think it’s interesting that Miki thinks Anthy is the picture of femininity right? That this is what he wants.

In the end, all girls are like the rose bride.

Please wait patiently while I make the case, that while Miki is an egg. Anthy has long since hatched...

(And I do mean be patient! This subject, and the concept that Ohtori represents a transmisogynystic institution at its very core, is WAY more personal than this headcanon, and also is much more of a difficult thing to write for dozens of reasons. I'm still not 100% sure it would even be right of me to post my thoughts on that publicly. But if enough people are interested, maybe that would motivate me to write it!)

*What’s a good Miki essay without some sort of Stopwatch Theory tm? Well (and I freely admit much of this is probably projection, but it’s not just me projecting! It’s also my girlfriend!!), Miki seems to get very wrapped up in his own thoughts. He is very self conscious, takes the criticisms of others very seriously, and also seems to get ideas about How Things Are Going To Happen in his head. He desperately tries to make sense of his surroundings, and finds himself consistently failing to do that. So my guess is the stopwatch is a way for him to regulate and calibrate his thoughts and hypotheses and self image. He picked it up in his duty as council secretary, but its something he feels is significant outside of that. Aha moment? Click. Unexpected end to a council meeting? Click. Something go completely as expected? Click. It helps him process I think. That is my formal Stopwatch Hypothesis tm.

Supplement Fig 1: Stopwatch

[cafeleningrad]

Ohtori is such a disorienting place. It's so emblematic that none of the actual needs of the people in it are met. In fact it gives answers but none actually are satisfying for anyone yet the answers are presented as only alternative. ("You have to revolutionize the world (by participating in the duels that ensure the world continues to run on the same old dynamic.)"

What system Ohtori, Akio by proxy, proposes is the idea of power over another. It's very gendered power as we learn later. Women's power exists either as extension's of a man (Nanami's high social status by virtue of being Touga's little sister), be inspired to have power by extension of a man (Wakaba), surrendering to a man (Kozue), or can be easily taken away power if a man decides that the woman had enough power (Juri,Utena). In the instance a woman has power it's also used to dominate others just like men do. (Nanami being cruel to others, to Tsuwabuki in particular, Utena treating Anthy her a puzzle piece to her princely identity.) In the end there is an idea how someone who should hold all the power should be like (the Prince), and they're given free reign. However that's not what the characters need.

Touga is entirely helpless to his paternal CSA. Akio's proposition is to become, for once, the one in charge of others so none can exploit him again. And Touga fails to see how Akio still exploits him by directing Touga, with quiet implicit imagery stressing that dynamic. What Touga would have needed was protection and a trusting family.

Nanami grew up so isolated and shamed for diverging from the norm, she is entirely dependent on external subjects and objects to define her. Either it's being defined by her relationship to Touga which is the entire basis of her social status, and her only hope for affection. Nanami can only define herself by traditional feminine and classicist means like her perceived ideal femininity, and brand-name jewelry which can easily turn on her, if external voices tell her that she should wear something. Nanami is so desperate for affection, being cared and loved for but the only language she is given is Ohtori's language of "men and women are only corresponding romantically". She can't express her need for familial proximity to Touga. The only other form of gaining adoration she knows is by violence, be it Touga's kitten, Tsuwabuki, or beating her three nameless underlings into submission.

It's not until the third arc that we learn about the Kaoru twins are in the middle of their parents separating. Their childhood is getting disrupted. Both of them are longing for time of connection and chance to hold onto each other. But Ohtori tells them that Miki can only adore Kozue as innocent and helpless. Kozue, like Nanami, gets told that her only chance to express affection to her male twin is by a sexualized, romanticized interaction. For two characters who're living through turbulent times, and need some stability in the other, twisting their chance of proximity is exactly the wrong answer.

Saionji really wants to remain friends with Touga he admires so much. (If not being in love with him.) Even more than Juri, he knows that the duel platform is just a set up, he swallows Touga's poison of "true friendship doesn't exist" again and again. The only chance of proximity to Touga is to disrespect others, demonstrate superiority over them, especially Anthy, as best proxy to a close male-male-dynamic. Saionji's only given path is to delude himself further and further.

Juri pushes so many people away because she's afraid her homosexuality will be revealed. Ohtori as a place does punish homosexuality severely, see Mikage's twisted memory, Ruka trying to converse Juri. This place convinces Juri over and over again that she's wrong for loving Shiori. But the truth is, Shiori is so much in love with Juri that she will resort to abuse her emotional power as long as it serves the purpose of Juri remaining close to her. What they would have needed is the chance to know that actually they're safe to be honest, at least to each other.

Utena is deeply grief-stricken by her parent's death. As a child the idea that everything will fade is terrifying. The only alternative she is shown is that Anthy's suffering is eternal. She wants to help. But the only path for being admired and adored is becoming a prince. The only agency to help and save others is by exercising the prince's power over someone. Akio becomes even crueler by trying to convince Utena that a girl's actual aspiration is romance (with a man). What else should she want? It also distract her from her genuine compassion for Anthy, and wishing for Anthy's happiness.

[hotmonkeelove]

I agree with this. I would say that Miki's crush on Anthy is a very innocent, youthful crush. His feelings are even more innocent than Mitsuru's feelings for Nanami. He doesn't see her in sexual terms at all, until his car scene, when Kozue reclines the shotgun seat all the way back and he envisions her as Anthy, instead. It's basically the first sexual arousal he ever experiences. And he's really not prepared to deal with sex, as he gets distracted by Kozue reclining the seat while on top of Anthy and caressing her face, which causes him to lose the duel. It seems to point at Miki realising he doesn't feel ready to be sexually mature and active, and considering he's only 13, that's perfectly reasonable. When Kozue calls him a coward later, it could be seen as her disparaging him for not wanting to be sexually active.

A wedge was driven between Miki and Kozue when he caught the measles, leaving her to end up humiliated at their concert. Miki blames himself for it. Kozue blames him as well, even though she knows it's her own fault for letting everyone think she was equally talented at the piano, when it was really all Miki's prowess. To keep up the deceit, she won't play piano with him again, though he was likely begging her to ever since, until he heard Anthy play. Kozue instead seeks negative attention from him by being openly promiscuous with boys he won't "approve of." When Miki also starts to ignore this behaviour, she feels Anthy is stealing him away from her (which Anthy is doing, but that's a whole other can of worms). Kozue's new plan is to get Miki to "corrupt" himself the same way she has, so that they'll be equal again and she can have his attention back. Kozue is just as immature as the other characters, but in a different way. Like Nanami, she's obsessed with her brother, despite their being at an age where it's natural to seek independence and establish one's own identity. Only in Kozue's case, it's due to her feelings of inferiority at not being a wunderkind like Miki. (For Nanami, it's her subconscious memory of being orphaned at a very young age, with only Touga to depend on, and possibly also witnessing Touga being abused.)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to slut shame Kozue or pick on her (she's one of my long time favourites). It's that I feel pressuring someone to be sexually active is just as bad as pressuring them not to be. It should be their own choice.

I feel like a lot of people don’t get Miki or are very uncharitable.

So first I’ll say what I think other people think, and then I’ll say why I disagree with that lol.

So I see a lot of people see Miki as some sort of puritan

To me, I’d say Miki has more of an OCD thing going on but that he doesn’t hold others to the standard he sets for himself. the only person he judges is his sister but that’s because she acts out specifically for his attention.

The way I see Miki in the show doesn’t believe in himself and feels like he needs other people to be enough.

I think Miki and Kozue have a parallel dinamica when it comes to their parents divorce and how they act out, Miki blames himself and Kozue blames the world/her parents.

Miki’s problem is that he feels like he needs other people to be enough, (though he is distrustful of adults which is interesting.)

And Kozue’s problem is she feels like she doesn’t need anyone.

But yeah TL;DR Miki’s problem is he thinks Anthy will make him whole and not that he’s judgmental.

But also I like hearing what people think so feel free to add what you think.

[anonymous-gambito]

Since I always like to throw my interests together– the thing about Zuko is that the fandom thinks he's a Miki when he's really more of a Saionji

[whosyourfavevoicedby-polls]