utena- series end

[branchandroot]

*snaps fingers* That's it!

In order to break everyone out of the stasis she is the lynchpin to, Anthy has to move.

At the end, Anthy has to reach out, has to make a choice and act on it. Has to act on her own behalf, and for her own desires. That is what frees her.

I don't think Utena understands that, quite, any more than Akio does, really. That Anthy has freed herself, and that's why she is free--no one else could do it for her, that was the point. Dios was right that she needed someone she could trust and believe in. But that someone could not, by definition, be a prince. A prince is everywoman's property, that's the nature of Princeness; a prince defends the helpless and innocent in general, not any one particular person. Anthy needed someone who wanted her for herself. Lo and behold: Utena. This, I think, is why the words that open the gate, when Utena finally reaches it, are 'I was happy when I was with you'. It wasn't the prince's heart (the sword) that could be the key; it had to be Utena's heart--the person's heart.

*happy pondering*

Comments

[beckerbell.livejournal.com]

Utena is one of those series that I really loved to think about, because the ending seemed so mindfuck-ish when I first watched it, but thinking about it... it made a lot of sense. Utena could never free Anthy (and I still stand by that the series was trying to show a victim of sexual abuse with Anthy and that the world we saw was... either a fantasy world in her head or her interpretation of the series, because there are so many things that reflect each other, that there were three brother/sister incestuous couples couldn't have been a coincidence, that things like Juri reflecting the part of Anthy or Utena learning to figure herself out as a lesbian make sense in my head) because Anthy had to free herself. No one can make you ready to heal, you have to want it for yourself. Utena revolutionized the world simply by not wanting to save Anthy for her own ends, but simply because she cared about Anthy herself.

....someday, I am going to rewatch this series. And probably make an entire essay just from notes alone jotted down as I watch. _o_

[branchandroot]

*nods* The fact that all the other duelists also get what they want/need, at the end, there, also says to me that the academy is Anthy's world. Because she is free, so is everyone else.

Utena is hugely essay-able. One of these days, I may even string all these into something coherent. But, as you say, _o_