Betrayal is a big theme. Akio’s society sets people against each other. Utena’s episode 25 promise of working together is the diametric opposite of betrayal: Teamwork comes from trust, and betrayal means breaking trust and working against another. Akio leads Utena astray and she breaks the promise, and then at the end of the series it is finally restored.
• The greatest betrayal is Akio’s. He makes many promises that he intends to subvert: He promises eternity that is the eternity of death, he promises revolution that benefits only him, he promises protection to women who he requires to sacrifice to protect him, he promises love to Anthy who he coldly exploits, he promises love and marriage to Utena who he intends to murder... and there is more to the iceberg under the waterline.
• Anthy is Akio’s agent, and she betrays everyone she deals with. Duel champions are promised ownership of her, but they are only subtenants. Anthy works with Touga for most of the series and lets him believe she is helping him, but she is only helping Akio. She betrays Utena from the start, when she manipulates Utena into the dueling game, and to nearly the end with the backstab. But maybe many of Anthy’s actions don’t count as betrayal, because she carries them out behind the scenes—creating no trust to betray.
• Utena as prince betrays no one (you could say she betrays herself). But once she is corrupted at the end of episode 30 she betrays Anthy, acts to harm Kanae, and doesn’t care about betraying Akio as she falls deeper into his plot.
• Touga betrays many of the girls he trysts with, maybe all of them. Controlling women by deception is his way of life. He deceives Utena repeatedly, though she does not always seem to notice. He betrays Saionji, burning the exchange diary and exploiting him for his episode 9 plot.
• Kozue is all about betrayal.
There are plenty more examples. I don’t need to go through them all.
Jay Scott <jay@satirist.org>
first posted 27 June 2025