Miki. <- Previous • Next -> Mrs. Ohtori.
In progress. I expect to update this with more.
Mitsuru’s episodes are 6 (becoming Nanami’s flunky) and 18 (his Black Rose duel). He’s important in the recap episode 24 and appears in the epilog.
See design - costumes - episode 18 duel.
The episode is about a plot by Touga to impress Utena. In Utena-logic, unfounded unlikely imaginary events are fundamentally true, so Nanami’s imaginary scene of Anthy cutting the rose that Touga holds so that the pot falls on Nanami, means that Anthy and Touga are plotting together against Nanami. Anthy plots with Touga as a regular thing; see Anthy’s arc - working with Touga. That in turn means that Anthy and Touga manipulated Mitsuru into joining the plot. Anthy’s manipulative power makes it possible. It’s another example of Akio intervening in the life of a child—see Akio’s plots. It follows Akio’s standard script: He shows Mitsuru (via Touga) that Mitsuru lacks patriarchal power, and offers a specific way to gain it—imitate Touga.
One event after another has Mitsuru feeling that others look down on him as a child. In time it piles up so much that he visits Mikage’s confession elevator for “counseling” and is steered into fighting a duel. He intends to defeat an adult to become an adult—and he believes that Utena is an adult.
It equally follows Akio’s standard script to intervene in the life of a child. Adults have more patriarchal power, which is symbolized by height. No doubt Anthy arranged it again.
I see the two episodes as two steps in “cultivating” Mitsuru (see Anthy watering her roses). First he is placed below Nanami, who goes wrong at most opportunities. But Mitsuru thinks it is progress. Then he is made to be dissatisfied with his supposed progress, in part by Nanami. He’s being molded into Akio’s chosen patriarchal shape, and each step harms him.
We see a brief shot of Miki teaching Mitsuru his baffling stopwatch skills. See epilog - other characters. In the confession elevator he said that he wanted to destroy everything. He was goaded into working for Akio’s false revolution. Now he has a mentor and is learning instead. He is moving toward maturity rather than thrashing unproductively. It’s good progress. But Miki stands for naivety, so I’d say he has a lot more learning to do.
Does Mitsuru still follow Nanami? We have no evidence. I concluded that Nanami’s minions are free of her, so maybe Mitsuru is too. But, unlike the minions, Nanami and Mitsuru have shown honest concern for each other (in the gaps between bouts of exploitation), so maybe they still have some kind of connection.
Jay Scott <jay@satirist.org>
first posted 19 June 2026
updated 25 June 2026