Utena Tenjou

Utena is an 8th grade student at Ohtori Academy. Her parents died when she was young and on the day of their funeral she met a prince that gave her the will to live on and gave her a ring. He told her that the ring would lead her to him again one day, and from then on, Utena grew up to be noble and strong like her prince and hopes to meet him again. She dresses like a boy and is admired by all the girls at school. One day she finds that the ring her prince gave her allows her to fight for possession of the "Rose Bride", Anthy. Utena doesn't like the whole "dueling for possession of the Rose Bride" but ends up fighting fiercely to protect her dear friend Anthy from being used as an object of power. Utena is a strong but sensitive girl. She is kind to most people and will stick up for her friends.

Anthy Himemiya

Anthy is the Rose Bride and must be engaged to whoever wins her in the duels. She is shy and quiet and keeps to herself. She loves animals and called her pet Chu Chu her best friend. Most times she doesn't seem to have a will of her own, as she does whatever the one she is engaged to wants, without a second thought about it. This makes her seem like a cold person, as she can be kind and loyal to the one she is engaged to, but once another duelist wins her, she pretty much abandons her former fiancée. Anthy is a very mysterious girl. She is in 8th grade.

Touga Kiryuu

Touga is the president of the student council and is in 11th grade at the academy. He is well liked by all the girls at the school and is called a playboy. He becomes fascinated with Utena and often tries to win her over; but unfortunately, Touga is arrogant and can easily manipulate people. His only friend seems to be Saionji, as they knew each other from childhood. He is also close with Anthy's brother Akio.

Miki Kaoru

Miki is known by most as a genius. He is in 7th grade but takes a lot of college courses. He is a talented pianist and an excellent duelist. He loves Anthy and feels she is the person he has been searching for, which is his motivation for dueling; otherwise he is a soft-spoken and gentle guy. He shares an unusually tense relationship with his twin sister Kozue.

Juri Arisugawa

Juri is the captain of the fencing team and is in 10th grade at the academy. She is a duelist, but doesn't care for the Rose Bride at all. She is tormented by her unrequited love for her friend Shiori, and only wants to win the Rose Bride to disprove the power of miracles. Many see Juri as mean and hard to approach, but she gets along well with Miki.

Kyouichi Saionji

Saionji is vice president of the student council and captain of the kendo club; he is in 11th grade. Before Utena became a duelist, he was the one engaged to the Rose Bride. He says he loves Anthy very much but often abuses her. He has been best friends with Touga since they were children. Saionji often comes off as a selfish brute.

Nanami Kiryuu

Nanami is Touga's younger sister and is in 7th grade at the academy. She is very popular and has a small group of friends who act more as her slaves. She really loves Touga and is very possessive of him. She doesn't like when he is with other girls and she can't stand him paying attention to Utena or Anthy. She would go to any extreme to protect her brother. Later in the series she becomes a duelist, but it seems only to get revenge on Utena for talking to Touga.

Akio Ohtori

Akio is engaged to Ohtori Academy's headmaster's daughter, Kanae, and is acting chairman of Ohtori Academy. He is Anthy's older brother and has a very close and secretive relationship with his sister. He is unfaithful to Kanae and easily seduces women. Akio seems to be kind, but he is manipulative and leads a mysterious life that most don't know about.

Chu Chu

Chu Chu is Anthy's best friend. He (she?) loves to eat and will try his best to protect Anthy if she's in trouble (mostly from Saionji). When Anthy becomes engaged to Utena, Chu Chu takes an instant liking to her.