The Way To Revolutionize The World

The world or better yet, Ohtori Academy is nothing more than a coffin for all of those living inside. A shell to protect them if you will. Inside the Academy, every single person in there is fundamentally flawed in one way or another. They all have an embarrassing secret they don't want anyone to know (Juri is a good example), a desire they long for above all else, an infatuation with someone or something. They all seem to psychologically unstable in one way or another. Utena, for example, has her fascination with the prince. The same goes for Touga. Miki has his obsession with her sister, which later on shifts to Anthy, etc. They are children in many respectS. Basically, the Academy is a coffin for all of them in the fact that it both protects them from the harsh realities of the world by giving the illusion of safety (Akio reveals that in the final episode I believe) and it stifles their growth as living human beings. They are alive, but in a sense, they are dead to the world. Touga quotes later on that all of them are still lying in their coffins.

The duels in the Arena (or where ever it is held in the movie), represents not only conflict with each other but within themselves as well. I believe that the Black Rose Arc best represents this conflict with the self. The duels are a necessity because it is actually what helps each and everyone of them grow in one form or another. They are trials that they must each over come to grow up. Akio states it himself in episode 13 (the duel named friendship, love, etc.) and even comments that perhaps Utena may even someday reach the duel named revolution. And what is revolution? It is a change, a fresh start or a new beginning.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the significance of the Castle in the sky. For me, I believe that the castle seen only in the dueling arena represents all of their combined hopes and dreams just like Dios is the combined ideal prince for all the girls in the world (well in the academy at least). It is mentioned several times in the series. What is in that castle-eternity, shinning things, all your heart's desire shall be fulfilled once you reach that castle. To me that castle is representative of all our childhood dreams. it is the equivalent of a child saying "I wanna grow up to be an astronaut." In seeing that castle in the sky, the characters all want to grasp it for themselves because it is their dreams that they are chasing and thus help enable them to grow and mature.

When the world is revolutionized, as Utena and Prof. Nemura did (yes, Prof. Nemura was able to revolutionize the world-watch it 'till the ending and then watch the ending of the Black Rose arc), it is not the world that is revolutionized, but the person who "revolutionized" the world that changes. Their perspective expands beyond the world of Ohtori Academy. In this sense, it is they who have grown up completely. They have matured and are now adults. They no longer have use for a childish, enclosed world and thus, have moved on. Only a trace of them will remain and nothing more. The same with adults in the fact that adults cherish their memories of childhood (most of the time), but does not live in it anymore. The prince (Dios), I believe did not make every girl princesses, but rather he is the representation of the ideal prince that every girl longs for. Who is the ideal prince really? Why is it repeated all through out the story? The man (Akio), is the symbolism that behind every ideal is a horrid reality. It is also mentioned that Anthy does not have a soul. I believe that she is a representation of the guide, someone who shows you the way to go, but never forces (not really) to go there. I also believe her to be the instrument of change. The one that gives us courage in adolescence (represented by the sword of Dios, at least I believe), until we no longer need to lean on her and have enough courage to stand on our own two feet (When the sword is no longer pulled from Anthy, but from Utena later on).

Vive la revolution!

~S i r   B o n~