Revolutionary Girl Utena/Headscratchers

• What was the point of having a female voice actor voice Miki, without bothering in the slightest to make the voice sound not female?
  • This actually happens a lot in anime. In Miki's case, however, it may be because the character himself is more feminine than masculine, and the voice emphasizes this.
    • I take it the Japanese have different expectations in that regard?
      • Funnily enough, that probably is Hisakawa Aya's masculine voice. For contrast, see Ami from Sailor Moon.
  • I think it's also because Miki hasn't quite gotten into puberty full swing, and young boys are often voiced by women.
• Does Anthy need her glasses? She seems to see perfectly well without them (she could be wearing contacts in the school scenes, I suppose, but there are a few other occasions where she probably isn't).
  • She needs them to do the Scary Shiny Glasses thing. And that's a halfway serious answer: the Black Rose arc makes clear that she has a great deal of control over her appearance, to the point that her entire physical body may be in some way not "real"; so if she wears glasses it's for symbolic purposes, so she can do the shiny-glasses thing, appeal to the meganekko fetish, and so on. Note she removes them, apparently permanently, at the end of the series.
  • I always thought she wore them because Akio forced her to, just as she wears her hair pinned up, to create a more submissive look.
  • I always thought it was a way for her to symbolically put a barrier between herself and the world, so they couldn't see her 'true face'. I can personally attest that some people almost look unrecognisable with their glasses off. That's also why she leaves them behind in the ending; she's showing her real face to the world without needing to hide.
• If Anthy had jumped off the roof, would it had have any effect? Her nature clearly doesn't just extend to long life - she doesn't even bleed when taking the Swords of Hate. Or could she only die by choice?
  • It's possible that she didn't die from that because it was part of the ritual while jumping might be more permanent. The Black Rose duelists certainly seemed to think they could kill her (although given Mikage's mentality that might not be certain).
  • So wouldn't probably die, but it doesn't mean she wouldn't get seriously hurt. You could argue is like people self-harming because they believe they deserve to be punished... except more extreme...
• Why did Saionji get expelled for attacking Utena/Touga when he was doing it in a totally secret place free from interference from school administration? Touga didn't seem to have any hard feelings either (although he could have been acting, I suppose).
  • He was acting. The only reasons Touga protected Utena were 1. To make himself look like a prince to Utena, and 2. To have an excuse to expel Saionji. Keep in mind Akio and Touga are in contact with each other, and whatever Akio says, goes. He wants Saionji gone, Touga's wound is just an excuse for that.
• If Tsuwabuki could draw both Nanami's sword and knife for his Black Rose duel, why would Nanami only get the sword in the third arc?
  • The interpretation that I really like is that the knife represents Nanami's utter dependence on Touga, like how Tsuwabuki's life is entirely wrapped up in worship of Nanami, which is why they both fought with two blades. By the time of Nanami's second duel she's been forced to throw that dependence away because she's realized Touga isn't, and never was, there for her, doesn't love her, and she's completely on her own. Hence, one sword.
• What the hell is going on in The Movie?
  • In a broad sense, it's a compressed retelling of the TV series that uses some extra over-the-top new symbolism. Utena is the vehicle for Anthy's escape from the closed world of the school...literally.
• In the car chase at the end of the movie, during the car chase, the other duelists show up riding a truck that Is apparently Walkaba. Why was she changed into a car?
  • She chose to turn into a car, to order to help Utena escape.
• In the movie, how is Utena the 'winner' when she hasn't beaten Miki yet? Also, how did Touga plan to 'win' the duels when he's dead?
  • Time constraints aside, I think that winning some arbitary tournament by beating every possible opponent is besides the point. In the movie-manga, Touga says that Utena is the "chosen prince" (i.e. the winner) because she was the only one who could open Anthy's heart, so it's most likely a similar sort of thing in the actual movie. As for Touga himself, although he's dead, don't forget he still has enough physical presence to have sex with Shiori, among other things. Miki obviously doesn't even know him here, but it seems Juri at least knows of him (even if it's just as the boy who died saving her) so it's feasible that he could've been able to duel with her; it's also never said either way whether or not Saionji knows him in this continuity, so there's another possibility.
• That ridiculous theory that in the movie, Miki kills Kozue. There is no supporting evidence for it at all, yet it still seems fairly popular. This is Miki we're talking about, the boy who's desperate to hold onto his innocence.
  • Miki's quite a different character in the movie. He definitely had a hand in turning Kozue into a car.
    • I don't see any evidence how he is different. Kozue turned into a car because of jealousy over Miki, maybe, but all the characters in the movie are (barring Touga) still essentially the same as in the series. Utena still strives to be a prince, Anthy is still a miserable Stepford Smiler, Akio is still a Manipulative Bastard and Complete Monster, albeit more pathetic, and Miki is still the pure individual who helps Utena and Anthy in the end, and tries to break the news to Kozue about how he can't constantly spend time with her in the nicest way possible. His little "I want to gain power for myself" speech was obviously a lie, considering at every shot in that scene we see symbols of Kozue. He wants that power to revolutionize the world to help Kozue, not for himself. He would not intentionally hurt her in any way.
    • To me, movie!Miki comes off as someone who wants to distance himself from Kozue (or perhaps more accurately, he wants to distance himself from his childhood and grow up), and so he wants "power" for that, though he still does care about his sister. I think Kozue turning into a car is a bit like her becoming a Black Rose duellist; IIRC, series!Kozue in the elevator was upset about how Miki was drifting away from her, and it's more-or-less the same thing here. Then again, I do generally tend to think of the kinds of cars that Kozue and Shiori become as being analogous to Black Rose duellists, even if movie!Shiori acts like she's basically permalocked in Black Rose mode anyway.
• If only Akio and Anthy remember the Black Rose events, then how is Saionji back in school? Sure, Akio probably arranged it, along with everything else, but I'd at least expect a handwave about how Saionji remembers it going.
  • He was only expelled for a short period? Temporary expulsions aren't that uncommon.
    • Sure, but they're generally called suspensions. Which makes me wonder what word was used in the Japanese script.
• Questions about episode 37 about the infamous Cantarella scene in which Anthy and Utena both claim to have poisoned the other. What did that mean? And why did they still partake of their treats anyway? Also after Anthy and Utena promised that they would "laugh together and drink tea ten years from now" why did Anthy immediately decide to try to commit suicide?
  • I took it to be both a warning and a sign of forgiveness. Anthy is warning Utena that she has and will hurt her, just like she poisoned the cookies. Utena, however, acknowledges this by saying she poisoned her in return, showing that she's still hurt over what she saw between Anthy and Akio. However, they both partake in their "deadly" treats anyway, and saying how good it tastes: saying that they forgive each other, despite the hurt. Notice how when Utena says "We'll definitely meet in ten years to laugh and drink tea", and Anthy agrees, her hand twitches in Utena's grip: at the point, she knows what she's saying is a lie, because she plans to kill herself that very night.
• Question about the end of episode 38 and beginning of 39. Why did Anthy stab Utena?
  • Symbolism. Before going to this duel, Anthy and Utena were having some very frank discussions about betrayal and who was betraying who. Anthy informs Utena that she was knowingly and constantly betraying Utena through their time together. Betraying a person is often referred to as stabbing them in the back, and here Anthy literally, rather than purely figuratively, is a backstabber. Notice also that a wound that should have killed Utena between being sliced and her exertion only slows her down; I don't think Anthy was actually trying to kill her so much as make a point. Anthy is on Akio's side and always has been, whatever Utena wants to think of the situation. For all her good intentions, Utena isn't very good at paying attention to what Anthy actually wants or feels. The realization floors her, but ultimately doesn't stop her because whatever Anthy did to her, the pain that Anthy's in is many times worse than her own.