#mrs. ohtori

[emberwritesinsight]

She is not Yume to him, but neither is she Mrs. Ohtori. She is “beautiful”, she is “darling”, she is “my princess”. She pretends he is serious. She pretends she is cherished, loved. She doesn’t think of her husband, or her daughter, who would be horrified and heartbroken to see her like this, until they are done.

@saionjeans I hold you partially responsible for this

[judedeluca]

Geese

For @shin-meddlesome-hero

They suggested "Utena" and I did something a bit... different

“Hmm, a man who knows how to properly set a table is hard to come across,” Mrs. Ohtori acknowledged.

“Now Mother, it is Christmastime,” Akio pointed out with a laugh.

The married woman tried not to scowl. “Must you call me that even when we’re alone?” Mrs. Ohtori wondered.

“Of course, after all, I will be marrying Kanae soon,” Akio reasoned. He reminded his future mother-in-law, “You know how much she wants us to be a big, happy family.”

Mrs. Ohtori said nothing as she took a sip of her red wine.

“By the way, how is the Chairman doing?”

At the mention of her husband, Mrs. Ohtori eschewed decorum to down her glass in one gulp.

“Something wrong?” Akio asked.

“You know how the cold weather can be hazardous to one’s health,” Mrs. Ohtori explained as she placed the glass down. “I’m afraid my husband took a chill on top of everything else. Kanae refuses to leave his side.”

Mrs. Ohtori blinked. When had Akio taken a seat right next to her? She’d just been facing him across the table. She could smell roses, no doubt a lingering scent from his sister’s garden. Thank God that girl wasn’t with them tonight. Something about Akio’s sister made her skin crawl.

“I think it’s wonderful how close she is with her father,” Akio mused. “To sacrifice your holiday season to spend time with an ill loved one shows remarkable consideration on Kanae’s part, don’t you think, Mother?”

Mrs. Ohtori kept her expression neutral and her hands lowered beneath the table so Akio wouldn’t see her twisting her black dress in her fists.

“Foie gras?” Akio offered as he held up a plate.

“Please,” Mrs. Ohtori said through barely gritted teeth. Akio placed one hand beneath her chin as he lifted her head to feed her a piece of fattened goose liver.

“Do you enjoy it? I made it myself.”

“You?”

“My sister keeps a gaggle of geese among all her other animal companions,” Akio revealed. “I convinced her to name one of them ‘Kanae.’ I’m certain Kanae would appreciate that, don’t you?”

Mrs. Ohtori said nothing as she looked at the plate of liver in her future son-in-law’s hand.

“More?”

It was delicious.

[pulsarex]

The fact that Mrs. Ohtori’s theme rose is WHITE has so many implications lmfao. Prince Ohtori…?

[asofterutena]

(His more tasteful affairs.)

[frigidwife]

I could argue in depth why the comparison is superficial and inaccurate but more importantly armand just isn’t the focal character in either of the existing seasons . the seasons that exist on planet earth . his interiority does not really matter to the narrative at this point . is the thing that’s driving me crazy

stop comparing armand to silver you’re hurting meeee

[aroanthy]

i love how fraught and complicated discourse around various utena characters ‘dying’ is when anthy is literally stabbed to death eternally by a million swords imbued with human hatred. and then utena gets stabbed to death by them also. like. ‘death’ is incredibly interesting in rgu because most of the time it’s this ambiguous figurative thing that has interesting implications re: ohtori as a closed-off world one can escape. we are all trapped in our coffins. mamiya is the only named character with a grave. nemuro memorial hall functions as one all the same. ruka is implied to have died in the hospital— was he dead all along? who was the boy we saw for these two episodes? is this dead boy the same boy, or is this just another coincidence from the shadow girls, cutting like a knife? it’s heavily implied that akio and anthy murder kanae by poisoning her, adding to the previous implication that they were poisoning mr ohtori too, but there are no perceptible consequences of this. kanae’s absence is not felt. she’s fed an apple slice. what happens to the bodies? we know what happened to the 100 boys, but what about everyone else? and so on and so forth. ‘death’ is a tricky thing in utena, i think it’s constantly functioning on figurative and literal levels in very different ways for very different purposes. dios died. dios was dying. dios didn’t die. he grew up. etc etc

[turnaboutsistersballad-art]

I had talked with @pepoboyz for a while about "what if Ohtori did sweeney todd. just as like. the school musical" anyway some thoughts Saionji was dragged in and got sweeney via being a Boy In School Theater Wakaba was the only person who could do By The Sea so she got Mrs Lovett Anthy and Utena got cast as Johanna and Anthony Nanami wanted to be Johanna but got Lucy instead and is kinda miserable about it Tsuwabuki Toby Miki is just in the pit. No text version under cut

[chai-en-kaadhale]

utena and i saw the tv glow utena and i saw the tv glow utena and i saw the tv glow "escape with me and stop repressing yourself" and anthy and isabel being entirely self aware of their predicaments and not moving from their positions but rather being complacent, worn out by their surroundings and the fake realities twisting around everyone's truth and identities and the memories that were lost from other timelines/realities and the fact that theyre kids and the "end of the world" being the guy who wants to keep everyone trapped in ohtori just like mr. melancholy and desperately, desperately needing escape andand andnd andndgbgngnnd

you know what if utenanthy could escape then isabel WILL bury herself one day trust (delusion)

[patricida]

fascinating that despite being the absolute linchpin of the world of ohtori, the very first thing we ever hear about akio's position as chairman is that he only occupies it as a substitute, or more accurately, given what happens to kanae, as an usurper. even kanae's mother appears on screen but the actual hypothetical "mr. ohtori" is never shown even once. there's a Lot of what one could say and speculate with the dynamic of akio and anthy being at once presented as ancient as time yet with its grasp on reality still strangely predicated on a recent intrusion, despite being kind of the Foundation of everything afterwards, but like I genuinely never seen it being brought up. why is that.

[most-hated-blorbo-bracket]

any chance of an updated list?

Of course!!

Also, this is the NEW and FUCKING IMPROVED LIST, I alphabetized it so it’s even better than before >:3

Currently, we have 340 unique characters (if I counted right) and 487 total submissions. The top three most submitted fandoms are Homestuck, Danganronpa, and One Piece, excluding submissions that were spelt wrong or spelt differently. The top three submitted characters are Haiji Towa, Vriska Serket, and Stella Goeta (stella has so many submissions it’s funny)!

Finally, this is the raw, unedited list of characters submitted so far. Just because they are here doesn’t mean they’ll be in the tournament; it just means they’ve been submitted, regardless of media or what character they are!

as always, list under the cut!

This first list is for characters with two or more submissions. Characters who have three or more submissions will get first dibs in the tournament!

Akechi Goro

Akio Ohtori / Himemiya

Anakin Skywalker

Ansem the Wise

April O’Neil (2012)

Ardyn Izunia

Ayin

Azula

Bill Cipher

Boston

Bramblestar

Buzz McCallister

Caillou

Chibiusa

Childe

Cici

Cullen Rutherford

Darkstalker

Dazai Osamu

Dio

Dio (Zero Escape)

Donald Trump

Donquixote Doflamingo

Dr. John ‘Jack’ Seward

Drannus

Eichi Tenshouin

Elias Bouchard/Jonah Magnus

Eridan Ampora

Evan Hansen

Every Genshin Impact Character Ever

Glenn Quagmire

George Wickham

Greg Heffley

Haiji Towa

Happosai

Her Imperious Condescension

Higashikata Josuke

Huey Emmerich

Ibara Saegusa

Izzy Hands

JD

Jace Herondale / Wayland / Lightwood / Morgenstern

Jin Guangyao

John Gaius

Julia Mazzone

Junko Enoshima

Jurgen Leitner

Katsuki Bakugo

Kokichi Ouma

Kristoph Gavin

Kromer

Kusaka Masato

Kylo Ren

Kyubey

Lance Dubois

Le’garde

Live Action Buggy

Makima

Mal

Marvin Falsettos

Meenah Peixes

Merlin

Micah Bell

Michael

Minoru Mineta

Mr. Bungee

Pierce Hawthorne

Pierre

Princess Daisy

Ranpo Edogawa (Beast)

Regal Farseer

Ronaldo

Rose Quartz

Santa Claus

Sasuke Uchiha

Scrappy Doo

Sentinel Prime

Shiver

Shou Tucker

Simon

Simon Laurent

Sosuke Aizen

Spamton

Stella Goetia

Teddy / Kuma

The Maverick

The Metatron 

The Once-Ler

Thistleclaw 

Tony Stark

Tsumugi Aoba

Ty Betteridge

Val Velocity

Viren

Vriska Serkat

William Afton

c!Dream

Ōchi Fukuchi

The next list is for characters only submitted once. If you want these characters to have a higher chance of being added to the tournament, feel free to submit more propaganda for them!

Absalom

Abyss Sibling

Adam

Agamemnon 

Airy

Akane

Akito Shinonome

Akito Sohma

Alastor

Alexander Hamilton

Ali Lectric

All For One

Aloise Trancy

Anatole Kuragin

Angel Dust

Anne Hathaway

Any Character From Welcome to Nightvale

Anyone From The Locked Tomb

Aranea Serkat

Ashfur

Astarion

Asuka

Bella Swan

Ben Jackson Walker

Betsy Wolfe

Billy

Billy Hargrove

Black Pete

Blackbeard

Blitzo Buckzo

Booker

Box

Bro-Strider

Buck Cluck

Buzz (cheerios)

Byakuya Togami

Caesar Clown

Caliborn / Lord English

Captain Kuro

Cersei Iannister

Chloe Bourgeois

Chris McClain

Chrollo Lucifer

Cicero

Clara Oswald

Coco

Cozy Glow

Cynte

Damian Wayne

Dan Moroboshi

Dean Venture

Dean Winchester

Detective Saracusa

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

Disembodied Voice

Don Flamenco

Dr. Henry Miller

Drew

Duke

Edelgard

Elias Ainsworth

Elias Ainsworth

Elon Musk

Equius Zahhak

Erebus

Eric Cartman

Erlina and Brugaves

Eugene Coli

Every Single Country In 1993

Everyone In Romeo And Juliet

Father / Dwarf In The Glass

Feferi Peixes

Five

Five Pebbles

Floch

Foreman Oyun

France (Hetalia)

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu

Gamzee Makara

Georg Weissmann

God

Goeffry St. John

Gordon Blackwall

Graham Spector

Gra’ha Tia

Haiji Senri

Heath cliff

Henry Miller (OC)

Henry the Eighth

Himiko Toga

Hisoka

Hiyoko Saionji

Holly Blue Agate

House

Huey Laforet

Ianthe Tridentarius

Il Dottore

Inspector Tobias Greyson

Itsuki Shu

Izumi Sena

JJ

Jacopo Bearzatti

James T. Kirk

Jayne Cobb

Jiren

Joe Destefano

Johnny

Jonah Magnus

Jonathan Groff 

Judith Ford / Natalie Cook

Judo

Julia

Julie-Sue

Ken

Kevin

Kusunoki Muu

Kyouichi Saionji

Ladd Russo

Lady Catherine de Bourgh 

Lebreau Fermet Viralesque

Light Yagami

Liontari

Lotor

Louie

Louis

Luke

Mahiru Koizumi

Makoto Itou

Marie

Marlon

Mary Keay

Master Crown

Matou Shinji

Matpat

Me

Medusa Gorgon

Meredith Rodney McKay

Michael Scott

Miguel O’Hara

Millions Knives

Moash

Moeka Kiryuu

Monokubs (Except Monodam)

Mori Ougai

Morris

Mr. Collins

Ms. Valentine

Muu Kusunoki

Muzan Kibutsuji

Mystery Hunter (Jeremiah Hartley)

Nagito Komaeda

Nanami Kiryuu

Narumi

Natsumi Sakasaki

Nefera DeNile

Nickel

Nikola Tesla

Noor Pradesh

Ocelot

Octavian 

Ogai Mori

Orochi

Otto Apocalypse

Paul Von Oberstein

Pencil

Petyr Baelish / Littlefinger

Prince Louis

Queen Scarlet

Quiche

Quill Kipps

Rafal (FEE)

Rafal (SGE)

Rafe Cameron

Randy

Raven Queen

Rebecca Costwolds

Redd White

Riley Finn

Roger

Rohan Kishibe

Roland

Roshi

Rumpelstiltskin

Ruruka Ando

Sakazuki Akainu

Sandy

Sanji

Sebastian Mechaelis

Sheldon Cooper

Shen Jiu

Shiki Tohno/Nanaya

Shinonomes (both)

Shredder

Sigma Klim

Silver Spoon

Skizzleman

Slayer

Solf J. Kimblee

So Sejima

Splinter

Stark Sands

Steven Universe

Stormcaller

Subara Akehoshi

Tatsumi Kazehaya

Teruhashi Makoto

Teruteru

The Eleventh Doctor

The Entirety Of Homestuck

The Groke

The Little Palace Mistress

The Mage

The New Ninja

The Old Palace Master

The Operator

The Pale King

Tim Drake

Tom Wambsgans

Tomaru Sawagoe

Touichiro Suzuki

Trishna

Tumblr Staff

Valens Van Varro

Verstael Besithia

Victor Frankenstein

Vivienne Medranno’s Impsona

Voice In The Calm Ad On Spotify

Volgin

Wanderer/Scaramouche

Wen Chao

Whiteout, Clearsight, and Benjamin

Will Shuester

Willy Stampler

Woodes Rogers

Xisuma

Yoshiharu Hisomu

Yu Ziyuan

Yumichika Ayasegawa

Yuri Briar

Zeke Jaeger

Zenos Galvus

Zhou Zishu

[i-wakeupstrange]

i can't remember where i first read this (i think in the comments of an utena analysis liveblog?)

but, someone basically said: "what makes akio so horrifying is that he's actually a very ordinary abuser tossed in to this surreal show"

and i can't stop thinking about it. because it's so true. there's no "magic" to his manipulation of anthy and the duelists. he's just finding the most vulnerable kids. just abusing his position of power. it's so normal.

(and how did he get that position of power? using a woman in an unhappy marriage. i have no sympathy for mrs. ohtori, but that is what happened. and he uses that power to gaslight and probably kill her daughter.)

[new-romantic-sailors]

RED CAR. YELLOW TRIM. ROOFLESS

AKIO OHTORI CAR FOR MR JOKESTER

[bonni]

What do you think about Mrs Ohtori?

Honestly? I don't think about her ASNFBSKFNSG I'd love to read any essays or meta posts there may be out there about her role because she's referenced so little that I really don't know what to make of her. That scene where akio kissed her leg was weird but I know it's meant to parallel the way he kisses utena later

[ouranbutworse]

Anime-Manga Comparisons, episode 24.

Like a few other moments in the anime; the flower motifs and lightbulbs; Kyoya’s painting and frame metaphor is an anime exclusive, and the manga has him talk about a box, instead. It’s basically the same but the queer allegory is stronger in the anime.

The club having a kotatsu day is also an anime exclusive, the manga just opens to past Kyoya prior to meeting Tamaki, so I guess we can just skip the intro and Haruhi asking questions. I can’t skip that look Kyoya gives Tamaki, though, it’s so in love.

In the manga, we’re introduced to the Ootoris (spelt Ohtori here, just to annoy me specifically) as having noble blood in their veins, Yuuichi and Akito are mentioned by what order they were born in, and I don’t remember if they were named by this point, I don’t think they were, at least. Anime Kyoya narrates the story himself and doesn’t mention the older two, only himself as the third son, while a random classmate provides exposition about his family running hospitals. The classmates even all look the same in both!

Speaking of looking the same… It's time to meet the best Ootori, Fuyumi! Well, tell a lie, she actually appeared previously in the manga, a whole ten episodes earlier during the battle for the central salon, since the anime skips that whole thing, we only technically meet her in a flashback, and not her present day version.

She scolds him a little like a mother, but since his mother doesn’t seem to exist, she might as well. In the manga she refers to the stargazing as ‘romantic’ but just calls it ‘bonding’ in the anime, but makes it clear in both that she’s aware he was invited by a guy. How supportive and progressive of her. She’s also progressive in that she’s not exactly a perfect wife, as she rummages through Kyoya’s drawers and can’t shove anything back in. Is she just incapable of folding stuff?

She namedrops Akito here in the manga, as she tells him Yoshio is too strict on their baby brother, and that Kyoya is ‘different’, whatever that means. In the anime she says he’s different from both of their older brothers, but in the manga she says ‘big brother’ referring to Yuuichi and then names Akito, I think at this point Hatori just didn’t have a name for Yuuichi, but it comes out weird as though she’s literally not allowed to use his name.

Anime Kyoya goes on about the painting metaphor (I make fun of Kaoru’s gourd and carriage obsession but not Mr. Obvious Gay Metaphor for some reason) and anime Fuyumi gets a nice cup of tea, manga Fuyumi isn’t so lucky. She also questions if Kyoya will ever be happy in the anime, and he responds that he’s neither happy nor unhappy.

Anime Kyoya narrates his brothers at the dinner table, but still doesn’t name them, and Yoshio tells him to keep his friends close and his enemies closer. Since this is two years previous to the present day, he’s already expecting his fourteen year old to have enemies. Yoshio also tells him that because his two older brothers were at the top of their classes in school, it means it’ll take more for Kyoya to satisfy him. Funny detail, but in the manga Akito is sitting next to Kyoya at the breakfast table, while in the anime he’s sat next to Yuuichi and Kyoya is on his own, with a space between him and his father, for cinematic purposes.

The anime adds an extra scene of Kyoya researching Tamaki on his laptop, in the manga he just kind of narrates it and we don’t see how he found out, but I guess it could be the same way as the anime, or his father told him. The first seems more likely.

Next scene is a fun one because it involves Ayame Jounouchi, who’s a cameo in the anime,but gets an entire episode in the manga! She’s the vice class rep and the girl Tamaki flirts with, which causes an entire snowball effect for him. In the anime, she’s named, at least, and she’s super cute and true to her original design. I once made a joke that they didn’t do her episode because they gave her role of having a crush on Tamaki to Kyoya.

Kyoya correctly guesses that Tamaki is a weeb when questioned about Kotatsu, and Tamaki correctly guesses that Kyoya’s family aren’t close, so that’s one point to the scoreboard for each. The fake TV show scenes with Tamaki and Kyoya as the characters are another anime exclusive, but it adds charm. The anime also omits that Yuzuru Suoh was just straight up lying to his son about Japan for shits and giggles. Tamaki believes ninjas can attack at any moment, and I don’t doubt that he probably still thinks that two years later.

Fuyumi continues to bother Kyoya with her cleaning, in the manga she’s switched to a feather duster, but in the anime she continues with the drawers for the metaphor. Kyoya tells her not to pull anything out if she can’t get it back in, while in the manga she just knocks some things off his shelf while dusting. It’s less hammered in, but you could still make the connection of her and Tamaki bringing some much needed chaos into his life.

Their trips together through Japan play out the same, and so does Kyoya’s rising anger. Fuyumi gets an extra scene in the anime where she’s happy he’s so passionate, while he’s punching a pillow, and the next scene is the piano scene.

This whole scene… doesn’t happen at all in the manga! We don’t see the siblings getting this vague bonding moment as they cry over Tamaki’s beautiful piano playing, and instead Tamaki comes in with Fuyumi and she leaves them alone like a pair of kids on a playdate. It’s just nice to see Kyoya express a positive emotion, so it’s a nice scene.

In the manga, Tamaki mentions that he lives in the second mansion, and Kyoya has a stronger reaction than in the anime, but before he can question it Tamaki spots a family picture and asks if he’s the heir to the family. Kyoya corrects him in both.

Tamaki mentions that it’s not certain he’ll be the heir in both, but in the anime he says his grandmother dislikes him, and in the manga he says she hates him, which is a lot stronger. Kyoya doesn’t flip a table in the manga, but there is one there in front of them. It just seems to be him and Tamaki making that noise when he pins him on the floor. Kyoya’s dialogue is angry and loud here in the manga, and he even calls himself the torment, but in the anime he’s still soft spoken even after snapping at Tamaki. He also laughs a lot louder and longer in the anime. It’s very cute.

Tamaki gets bonked on the head in both, and Kyoya calls him a dumbass in the anime and a fool in the manga, with the same evil smile in both. Tamaki seems pretty enamoured by it, as am I, but Fuyumi seems concerned by how devilish he looks while he bullies Tamaki. At least he’s having fun.

The painting scene appears for the last time and I’m just itching to make another gay joke, but I think I’ve made enough. It’s a really pretty painting, and I wish we saw more of his artistic side. You know, if it wasn’t just metaphorical.

Manga Tamaki is already in Kyoya’s house and under the kotatsu before he's home from school, and suggests they make a club together, and then Kyoya stands on him like a loving cat would. He still listens to Tamaki’s suggestion, though, and pretends that it’s a mystery if he went along with it or not. Anime Kyoya gets to drink more tea, and the tea stalk pointing up indicates good luck. Hate to spoil it, Kyoya, but the only thing coming up next is pure bad luck.

Episode 24… dreading the upcoming end!

[asofterutena]

(children were harmed in the making of this art)

episode 30 of revolutionary girl utena, the barefoot girl, aired on this date 26 years ago.

[local-lamppost]

Does Akio want power?

There are very few characters who make my skin crawl like Akio Ohtori. He is a very real type of villain, outwardly charming in order to manipulate others. Not to mention his color scheme/character design is one of the most visually appealing in the show-I mean how many people can pull off a bright red shirt?

This is all to say, I hate Akio. I finish nearly all my thoughts about this fictional character with an obligatory "fuck you, Akio" whether they be internal or external. It is due to this hatred that I find Akio so interesting, and I've finally found the nerve to write something about this monster.

This is going to be a long one

================================================

At the end of the series, Akio steals Utena's sword in an attempt to claim the 'power of Dios', to regain the nobility and virtue-the power-from his youth; but the sword breaks against the seal. This is a failure Akio treats with nonchalance, reclining with a drink while Anthy takes the wrath meant for him. This las a fair attitude towards failure and Anthy's pain is often explained with the amount of times its happened. Tens of hundreds of thousands of times Akio has failed. He is some immortal, deceased, fallen deity, angel, devil, prince with all the time in the world. He is a patient man, looking out for his own wants and interests. He places importance in people only to the extent that they are useful to him. But what if Akio already has what he wants? What if instead of power, Akio is after control and as such he has more than succeeded.

So, what's the difference? Power and control are often tied to each other. Well, power is something innate to yourself, it is a force directly used. Control is ever so different. There is self control, but what I'm talking about is control over others. Control is managing the power of others. Power is a punch. Control is getting someone to punch.

Dios was powerful. He was a divine authority with the ability to shield all the world's princesses from harm.

Dios died.

Noble, just, honest, virtuous, glorious Dios died feebly in a hut unable to protect his little sister, let alone a princess. The witch, his sister, Anthy loved him so much she took on his role as shield; she possessed the power necessary to survive the world's hatred. Is this power her own? Was it stolen from Dios? Only Anthy and Akio would know and neither are ever likely to talk about it clearly. What we know is that Anthy stopped Dios and in his place Akio took form. Anthy overpowered Dios. The Witch sealed the Prince away and only the aid of a Princess can revolutionize the world; create a world where Prince's never fall, where Witches don't exist, where Princess' give their power to their Prince to fight their battles.

But, what happens when a prince stops fighting thee front line?

Lucifer, God's son, child of the ruler of heaven, a prince, rebelled and fell through the earth. There he claimed himself King.

Dios died a prince, Akio lives as a king.

A kings power comes not from himself, but his people. The people imagine the king as better and thus it is his right to rule. To control with limited, indirect, risk. Kings have knights, advisors, and princes to serve them after all.

Ohtori is a school, Akio is its chairman. He is the top authority figure for everyone within. Akio is free to drive his car, keep an astrological projector, and break the rules without consequence. None of this is due to his own money or power. He is engaged to the actual chairman's daughter and sleeping with his wife, whom it's implied Akio has manipulated or charmed to kill the chairman. Without these engagements, Akio would have no position at the school. He wouldn't even be an Ohtori. His magic too is not his own. Akio requires duelists, illusions, and-most of all-Anthy to keep his kingdom together. Even then, the only part of all this (his engagement, his relationship with Mrs. Ohtori, his position as chairman, his Pied Piper charm over the students) that is necessary to keep his ambitions is Anthy. Her magic aids protects him. She uses it to lead the chosen duelist to the final round. Utena is athletic, but not a swordsman, Anthy or the power of Dios is always there to intervene on her behalf against the actually trained fighters of the student council. Anthy's relationship to her fiancee itself is another tool for Akio, as it puts her in the perfect position to deliver the actual killing blow.

Akio is only powerful because he controls Anthy. If Akio were to take the power, the burden, for himself and away from Anthy he would have to bare the consequences of that power himself. His position is only comfortable if Anthy is there to do all the work. Akio is a projector, Anthy is a Witch. What better way to trap a witch than in a prison of their own making? After all, a prince can't defeat a witch and a king can only control those who believe they hold power; what better deterrent to rebellion than a witch? What better leash than providing the only visible path to the vulnerable? To have the witch cut down those who would act as her own saviors?

All reward, no drawbacks for his majesty the king.

How does the control break? The witch no longer believes in the king, her savior isn't a savior but a person-not a prince-willing to reach out and understand her pain. Utena instills Anthy with belief in herself, not a prince or king or god. Anthy always had the power to leave, Akio only kept her in illusionary shackles of her own creation. What can a dead prince do from a coffin? A king of the dead to the living?

The duels were never about achieving the power to revolutionize the world. Akio was already revolutionized by the death of Dios. The duels were the means in which Akio could expose the harsh, unreliable, weakness of any who Anthy might hope to extend her hand to. Utena held Anthy's hand for an instant, but that second was all it took for Anthy. Someone broke the seal, touched her without intent to due harm, and gave her relief from hatred. Something that Akio, the King of the Coffin they live in, could never do.