Utena - specialness

Many Utena characters want to be special—like many people in real life.

Akio wants them to seek specialness, the specialness of the Power of Dios. No doubt he selects his victims accordingly. Stealing that power would make him the only special one.

Not everybody does, though. Miki is already special, and doesn’t seem to seek more. His shining thing is, I suppose, a substitute for Kozue who harasses him. I don’t see his shining thing as making him special. Kanae has no visible ambition beyond having Anthy show her respect in a culturally standard way. She is frustrated by her lack of status. I think she would be satisfied with normality—getting what she is culturally supposed to get.

Sometimes we can’t tell. We don’t (at least, I don’t) see deeply enough into Tokiko to know what she wants—beyond Akio.

Kanae and Tokiko don’t need to seek specialness. Akio has different plans for them. But maybe I’m missing something about Miki?

role models

Some choose role models who they see as special, and try to achieve (what they see as) their kind of specialness. Here’s one way to parse it.

• Juri - be like Ruka (special kind of ouch)
• Mitsuru - adults are special; he chooses movie actors
• Touga - be like Akio
• Saionji - be like Touga
• Utena - be a storybook hero like Dios

special targets

Others latch onto target people they see as special, without taking them as role models.

• Kozue - be special by owning and controlling Miki
• Nanami - be special by having Touga as her brother
• Nanami’s minions - be special at one remove by serving Nanami who has Touga as her brother
• nerd boys - be special by dating Nanami (they fail, of course)
• Shiori - be more special than Juri by knocking her down
• Wakaba - be special by having Utena as a friend

Jay Scott <jay@satirist.org>
first posted 9 September 2024
updated 10 September 2024