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cypsiman2Okay, first thing right off the bat, I'm glad that Miki's sister Kozue didn't die or anything dumb like that, since it would be annoying if this show, with all of its genderfrakking and deconstructing goodness, were to fall into that lame trap of killing off a female character for the sake of a male character's characterization and development. Though, speaking of a male character's development, we now see the cracks form in Miki's armor, and what we see isn't very pretty at all. In short, he lives in his own little imaginary world in which the object of his affections, be it his sister or Anthy, are both without flaw and exist to bring light into his life, and not for their own sake. We really see this when Miki calls the student council to a meeting to break it up, ostensibly on the grounds that Anthy should be free to make her own choices, but it is transparently obvious that he doesn't really believe this, he's only saying this because Utena said it to Anthy earlier and he figured that this would earn him Anthy's affection.
We get a further play on the conflict between the ideal and the reality when Miki and his sister run into one another, and how cold he is with her, while she herself is nothing like the soft, perfect, ideal memory that he'd built up in his mind. Also, was it just implied that Touga Kiryu and Kozue were, you know, doing stuff? Because otherwise Touga Kiryu having his shirt unbuttoned just comes off as a bit gratuitously creepy. Hell, even with that it's still creepy, but it serves to further illustrate that Kozue is not the sweet, perfect angel that Miki had imagined her into being.
Also, the shadow actress greek chorus continues to be both hilarious and insightful in their own way. The song that plays during today's duel is definitely very appropriate, going on as it does about actors on a stage and illusionary people. And of course, Miki's illusions about his past and present become shattered the moment Anthy cheers for Utena, and thus he loses. And Juri was watching the whole thing, and even with Miki's flaws being brought out into the open in this episode, I still enjoy the Miki and Juri scenes, and I hope that she can help him...well, until the cracks in her shell become apparent anyway. Wait, did I just say shell? Like the shell of an egg that a chick has to break out of to be born before it dies? Like the characters trying to break the shell of the world so that they can be born before they die? WHAT IS THIS SHOW DOING TO ME???
We get a further play on the conflict between the ideal and the reality when Miki and his sister run into one another, and how cold he is with her, while she herself is nothing like the soft, perfect, ideal memory that he'd built up in his mind. Also, was it just implied that Touga Kiryu and Kozue were, you know, doing stuff? Because otherwise Touga Kiryu having his shirt unbuttoned just comes off as a bit gratuitously creepy. Hell, even with that it's still creepy, but it serves to further illustrate that Kozue is not the sweet, perfect angel that Miki had imagined her into being.
Also, the shadow actress greek chorus continues to be both hilarious and insightful in their own way. The song that plays during today's duel is definitely very appropriate, going on as it does about actors on a stage and illusionary people. And of course, Miki's illusions about his past and present become shattered the moment Anthy cheers for Utena, and thus he loses. And Juri was watching the whole thing, and even with Miki's flaws being brought out into the open in this episode, I still enjoy the Miki and Juri scenes, and I hope that she can help him...well, until the cracks in her shell become apparent anyway. Wait, did I just say shell? Like the shell of an egg that a chick has to break out of to be born before it dies? Like the characters trying to break the shell of the world so that they can be born before they die? WHAT IS THIS SHOW DOING TO ME???
