The Opening - Living Lives not Meant to Be Lived
TB made me think about the significance of the Opening of RGU. The imagery is beautiful... but Utena and Anthy are always being torn away from each other. I interpreted this as their not meaning to be together, but TB thought of it as them having to fight harder to be together. Another scene I noticed was the part where Utena and Anthy are on horses wearing armor. They both seem to be acting as princes in that scene, both racing towards the castle. I believe Utena was dressed this way because of her desire to be a (Anthy's) prince, and Anthy is dressed that way because she acted as a prince when she took the Swords of Hate for Akio. She did that to save Akio, but if she would've completed that task she would've done the prince's job.
Picture Perfect Fairytale?
As we see many times throughout the series, Utena had a wonderful meeting with a prince when she was little. But in one of the last few episodes we see the true meeting with the prince... Utena never remembered her meeting with the prince very well. What actually happened was that Dios found Utena mourning in a coffin over the deaths of her parents. Dios convinced her to come out and that's when Utena saw a young girl (Anthy) bound up and suffering. She wanted the prince to save that girl; after all, that was his job. But he said he couldn't save her; only a prince who the witch believed in could save her. So Utena said she herself would save the girl; she would grow up and become a prince and save her. The prince told her if she could retain her strength and nobility then that could very well be. And he then gave her the ring that would lead her to the witch again one day. Though he did tell her that she would one day turn into a young lady...
A Prince for the Witch
Perhaps Akio holds the duels to find Anthy a prince. Maybe he feels bad because he cannot become her prince and save her. And that she sacrificed herself to save him. Maybe he resents her a bit because she kept him from his job of saving the princesses. Maybe he sleeps with her hoping that he can become her prince, but that method never succeeded. And if these duels were set up to find Anthy a prince... Akio would like for a man to win; because he does not believe a woman can be a prince, as he told Utena when she was young. So Akio tries to seduce Utena away from Anthy and the duels. He also tries to get Touga to beat Utena, so he can become Anthy's prince. But in the end Anthy leaves to find Utena; maybe that's because Utena is the prince that Anthy believes in. Perhaps Anthy believes that a man or woman can be a prince; unlike Akio's opinions...
Brother Dear
I began to think that Anthy had a brother complex. Whenever Akio would leave with Utena, Anthy would seem very sinister in just watching them go. I thought she was jealous. But now that I've been thinking that Anthy feels Utena is her prince, maybe she was actually jealous that Akio kept taking Utena from her...
Take My Revolution...
I read somewhere that even though Utena didn't bring the world revolution, she brought a small revolution of her own. I'll explain it, and I agree with it all the way.
Even though Utena didn't bring the World Revolution, she did affect the lives of the duelists. Each duelist seemed to be tied down by some problem in their life; and in some cases, the problem was the reason for their desire to win the Rose Bride and gain access to the Eternal Castle. Let's consider each of them:
Miki is in love with Anthy. He says he is in the duels because he wants to find his "shining thing", which I think he lost when his relationship with Kozue deteriorated. He loved playing the piano with Kozue when he was little and felt horribly when he got sick and couldn't play with her at the recital. Ever since then, him and Kozue grew apart, somewhat resenting each other. Miki longs to find someone to fill the hole in him that Kozue left behind. Because Anthy is such a sweet girl, and can play the piano well, Miki sees her as his "shining thing" and therefore feels he needs to win her to gain what he lost when Kozue left.
Juri
Juri is secretly in love with her childhood friend, Shiori. Shiori idolized Juri and wanted to be like her. When they were younger, a boy was in love with Juri, but Shiori purposely stole him away. Shiori thought that Juri was mad at her for what she had done, but in reality, Juri didn't care about the boy, only her. Shiori later transferred schools and they kept in touch by writing letters. Juri is tormented by her love for her best friend, and that she never loved her back. In the past Shiori once told Juri, "If you believe in miracles, then they will know your feelings." Juri has grown to hate what she said. Juri wants to win the Rose Bride only so she can gain access to the castle and disprove the power of miracles. Ironically, during her first duel with Utena, a miracle occurs that causes Juri to lose.
Saionji
Saionji is madly in love with Anthy. When the series begins, he is the one engaged to the Rose Bride. Even though he loves Anthy so much, he often yells at he and hits her. He wants to win Anthy so he can be with her forever. Later in the series though, we see that he values his friendship with Touga and perhaps is somewhat jealous of the way he's always been the more desirable person. Maybe he would just like to be better than Touga for once.
Touga
Touga doesn't quite seem to have a reason to want to bring the World Revolution. Though later in the series it seemed to me that he really did begin to fall in love with Utena. He also admits to Saionji that he wants to be powerful like Akio. Towards the end of the series he tries to beat Utena in a duel to protect her from the responsibility of having to bring the World Revolution, or so he says. It's hard to tell it he wants to protect Utena, or still has his own selfish motivations.
Nanami
Nanami is obviously crazy about her brother Touga. It seems her only motivation to duel is to try and "protect" Touga from Utena and Anthy. Later in the series though, Touga tells Nanami that they aren't blood related, which is devastating to her. This may be motivation for her to win the Rose Bride to gain the Eternal Castle and it's powers. I believe that with that power, she would wish to be Touga's sister. (but as we find out, Touga lied to her, they really are related by blood)
Anthy
Lastly, Utena's revolution affected Anthy the most. Anthy saw how strong Utena was, even though nobody believed she could become a prince. I believe that this gave Anthy the confidence and courage to leave Akio and Ohtori Academy in search for who she feels is her true prince, Utena.
So, that's my opinion about that. Even though Utena wasn't the one who could revolutionize the world, she revolutionized individual lives and set them free from their worries and selfish desires. Each duelist moves on with their lives as we see in the end. Miki and Kozue help each other teach Mitsuru the correct timing for playing the piano; Shiori joins the fencing club with Juri as her mentor; Saionji and Touga keep their friendship; and Nanami seems to be a more kind and considerate person. But the greatest thing Utena did was motivate Anthy to leave. And when Anthy leaves, Akio no longer has her to use as the Rose Bride, and without her he is unable to create another dueling game; hopefully.