#wakaba flourishing

[catorikishin]

Wow! That Wakaba sure is flourishing

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[peachline]

It also shows the utter lack of knowledge Anthy, and by proxy Akio, have of the duelists. Even though Mikage, the mad man, literally can see three steps ahead cuz he himself is just like all the duelists.

Cuz with Wakaba they were like: "Teehee, she's gonna be so pissed cuz the guy she likes likes Anthy." and then we see how utterly furious Wakaba always is about absolutely every single person in Ohtori. Why wouldn't she? Anthy might have "stolen" both Utena and Saionji from her but that's not really what pisses her off... it's the fact that they see Anthy but people not only see Anthy, they also see them. They also see Saionji, the student council and even Utena. They all see them. They never see Wakaba but they see them.

So... just like all the Black Rose duelists once asked... why YOU and most importantly... why not ME?

YES YES ALL OF THIS!!! The student council, Mikage, Anthy and Akio to an extent, have Always looked down on the student body as a whole even though they are supposed to be Equals. They see them as nothing more than background characters to toy with and that's what makes Wakaba's duel and sword pulling so Visceral to behold because to us, Wakaba was that supporting character, we put her in that box as well along with Anthy and Akio. And you see from the earlier parts of the episode hat she IS capable of reaching that attention on her own but she thought that Because saionji is there that all of these good things are happening and then anthy, akio and mikage just stripped her of that and might as well said "no you Cant reach those heights because you are nothing more than your role here" She's so enraged at the entire system because she finally sees it for what is and sees those who are in that structure even if they don't realize what roles they play in it (Utena) and that's what makes her so Terrifying as a duelist. Even if Utena pulled the sword, I don't think it would have even been an easier time because of just how violent Wakaba is. Which makes Utena hitting Wakaba's rose with her own sword SO good because at the end of the day Utena loves Wakaba, even during the final parts of that clip, Wakaba almost slipped from Utena's grasp but Utena held on because even if the world doesn't see Wakaba, Utena sees her and she even is willing to try to understand Wakaba's own pain despite Wakaba putting her through the fucking ringer TLDR: wakaba flourishing should be studied in storytelling courses in college and uni

[ebaltika]

Have finished Wakaba Flourishing recently and tbh Saionji in this episode is somehow... disturbing. Particularly because he seems genuinelly well meaning and yet he still gives Wakaba scars without even trying. He harms her by his male priveledge alone.

[onionprincess97]

SPOILERS FOR WAKABA FLOURISHING

the funniest thing abt this duel is the fact wakaba literally took time out of her day, literally the day she's about to duel her best friend, to replace her bow with a black one 😭

[rgu-episodes-bracket]

Round 5 - Finale

[brave-symphonia]

Laying all the moments of Wakaba talking about Saionji, as she keeps going after Anthy, trying to kill her. And the way it just zooms in that shot of that leaf.

And how defenseless Utena feels in this fight. Not even fighting back. Especially when Wakaba grabs her by the hair. She won’t fight back, she won’t draw a sword against her friend.

And then there’s all of Wakaba’s issues that led to this, how she doesn’t feel like there’s anything special to her, that people like Utena could never understand what she goes through, what it’s like to feel like just another random person.

And then ending the fight with Utena grabbing her hands, saying that she doesn’t understand, but she knows that Wakaba is one of her closest friends and she’ll save her, before using Wakaba’s sword to cut the rose.

I really love this fight, probably my favorite of this arc.

[mewuniverse]

After not writing in forever, I finally wrote a thing!

http://archiveofourown.org/works/52473982

The Path Before Wakaba

Fandom: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena

Summary:

When the elevator door opens into the room of coffins, Wakaba finds the person she confessed her deepest feelings and anger to is a young man that embodies how she perceives both Utena and Saionji. His appearance--one so similar to the two most important people in her life--draws her to him. However, Mikage readily manipulates her adoration of both Saionji and Utena so that Wakaba willingly takes the final steps to turn into a Black Rose duelist.

(A gift written for a member of the Empty Movement server for the 2023 Secret Santa gift exchange)

[kudzucryptid]

anime moments that are always going to make me insane for the drama and what they represent, no matter how many times i watch them

Sakura chopping off her hair with a kunai

wakaba bending back and shedding a single tear as utena cuts the rose off her chest

[juricore]

utena is so like. yes this is orpheus and eurydice yes this is thee narrative about breaking abusive cycles yes this is about the ability to change your stars/fate but it is also exactly what being a regular 14 yr old girl felt like

[jfkisonthemoon]

obviously rgu is about gender and sexuality for all of the clear reasons but i also think its just a deeply queer narrative because its fundamentally about wanting the one thing you know you cant have.

[asofterutena]

(our cage of ribs)

[bigshoeswamp]

Wakaba!

she just had a dream about Utena and she's confused

[the-malfunctioning-somnambulist]

Just finished the Black Rose musical and survived (barely)

One question:

WHY THE FUCK DID THEY HAVE TO MAKE WAKABA'S DUEL HURT SO MUCH

[rgu-episodes-bracket]

Round 4 - Poll 2

Note: Only the one winning episode will move forward.

[brave-symphonia]

I feel like this is the most vocal Anthy has been during a duel.

And she tells Utena to kill the Rose Bride, isn’t Anthy the Rose Bride?

And Utena’s reaction to seeing it’s Wakaba, the look on her face, how she doesn’t even draw her sword to fight. This fight truly feels different, she can’t fight her friend.

And Wakaba actually runs Utena through with the sword, man that hurts.

[tamaharu]

thinking about this again. see, utena is the one to tell nanami that her situation is wrong. nanami cant see it. this concept - of being a cow destined for slaughter and consumption - has been taught to her so thoroughly and for so long that even though other can see it for how weird it is, nanami can only see it as something natural and true. i feel like you should already be able to guess how this relates to her relationship to touga.

the same is true for utena: though she does eschew femininity, she does unconsciously consider it to be natural and true. and when akio sets his sights on her, this only amplifies the feeling. however, unlike nanami, utenas situation is not just 'real' to her; its real to everybody else, too. nobody is telling her that this is wrong. even wakaba, who tried so hard to 'tell her what a cowbell is' when it came to touga, doesnt do the same when it comes to akio. no - deeper than that, deeper: utena is wary about the earrings, and wakaba pushes her to try them on.

the only one telling utena that this isnt natural, stop it, stop, stop feeling proud, its a cowbell and dont you know what happens to cows: anthy, smiling at her in the grass. anthy knits her the red sweater. anthy names her cow nanami. anthy finds her asleep still holding the earring. utena glances over and sees the witch stabbed through.

do you know there are things worse than duels?

"You went around, proud to wear that huge bell around your neck, without even knowing what a cowbell is!"

16 - The Cowbell of Happiness / 35 - The Love that Blossomed in Winter / 37 - The One Who Will Revolutionize the World