#shiori's parents | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

transmascutena · 4 months

Text

some thoughts on photography and memory in utena:

on the wall in nemuro memorial hall, there are pictures of real people. i'm not sure who they are, but i assume they're of people involved in making the show. either way, they're obviously not real; in the close-up shots of them, they change into pictures of the black rose duelists and other imagery from the show. i imagine it's there as a fun detail by the creators, but also to show how weird and inconsistent reality itself is in the black rose arc.

as for the black rose duel images themselves, it's possible that they are literal as i've talked about in a previous post, but what i think is more likely, is that utena noticing them is a visual representation of her connecting the dots of what's really been going on in this arc.

when mikage brings up the idea of memories and eternity, we see the picture on the wall behind utena, of her at her parents funeral. and behind mikage we see one of his own defining memories.

a pretty clear line is being drawn between memory and photographs. in fact, memories are so important to mikage that photographs are his black rose duel symbol. it's the one he keeps of mamiya and tokiko, altered to look like anthy's disguise, just like his memories are. through mikage we see both how memories of the past can keep you trapped in it, as well as the malleability of these memories. let's look at everybody else:

saionji has a framed photograph of him and touga as kids on his desk. he values their friendship, or at least the memory of how it used to be. he idealizes the time touga was less cruel (or maybe just the time saionji wasn't aware of his cruelty.)

miki doesn't have any literal photographs of kozue or the sunlit garden, though his memories of them are often framed as such. he also keeps a picture of anthy amidst his sheet music. she is his idealized memory now.

juri has the locket of course, inside of which is a cutout of shiori from a picture captured in the moment that ends up defining their entire relationship. is this the version of shiori that juri idealizes? not really, but she is fixated on her resentment of shiori's percieved cruelty, just not the cruelty of taking the boy away. juri keeps this photograph closer than anybody else does with theirs, but she also keeps it hidden. this could mean she treasures her memories the most out of everyone, and is also the least open about it, although i'm not sure i believe the first part.

nanami has the photo-album of her and touga; she idealizes her relationship with him, as well as their childhood. when she makes the connection that touga is adopted, the photos are scattered all over her bed, probably to represent her emotional state.

touga doesn't keep any photographs from what we see, which makes sense with everything we know about him. unlike the rest of the council, he doesn't have any idealized memories of his childhood. but he does use akio's camera, so let's talk about that.

the camera is, much like the car, a tool that only akio is shown to own (although, wakaba does mention a photography club in episode 34.) like the car, it is used to facilitate his grooming (specifically of touga and saionji when he takes those shirtless pictures with them.) and, also like the car, he offers to lend it to touga, to make him feel more like an equal part of the whole thing. unlike the car though, touga accepts the camera.

the photoshoot scene in episode 37 has a transition where the camera shutter sound effect is played over the previous scene. over the shot of utena and anthy holding hands after confiding in each other about akio. i think it's to show that he's always watching, and that they can never truly be free of him as long as they're in ohtori.

i think it also shows the idea of akio framing the narrative of the show as a whole. he plays a sort of director role in it, in that he directs the events happening, as well as how they're portrayed. it's no coincidence that he is quite literally behind the "camera" in episode 33. like the car, a symbol of akio's power and sexual abuse (which is not-coincidentally also present in all of the photoshoot scenes,) his camera (his narrative, his biased framing of events) is ever-present.

and then there's the most important photograph in the show, the frame it all ends on. the picture utena and anthy took together is, unlike every other photograph, used as a look into their future. the reason they take it in the first place is because utena realizes she has no photos of anthy, which distresses her, presumably because she worries that their friendship might not last forever, and she wants something to remember anthy by. this obviously comes with the risk of making anthy an idealized memory, like every other person put in a photograph in this show, but instead it ends up as a symbol for their love. akio may have set up the camera, but anthy (with the help of chu-chu) manipulated their positions so her and utena could hold hands. she also cuts akio out of the frame, much like she cuts him out of her life in the last episode. she doesn't want his presence to tarnish her and utena's memory anymore (although he isn't completely gone from the photograph either, as he will never truly be forgotten.)

#id in alt text #finally finished this post #these are not the only photographs in the show just the ones linked closest to the themes i wanted to discuss here #revolutionary girl utena #analysis #utena #mikage #saionji #miki #juri #nanami #touga #akio #anthy #m #the narrative

616 notes · View notes

cafeleningrad · 6 months

Text

Ohtori is such a disorienting place. It's so emblematic that none of the actual needs of the people in it are met. In fact it gives answers but none actually are satisfying for anyone yet the answers are presented as only alternative. ("You have to revolutionize the world (by participating in the duels that ensure the world continues to run on the same old dynamic.)"

What system Ohtori, Akio by proxy, proposes is the idea of power over another. It's very gendered power as we learn later. Women's power exists either as extension's of a man (Nanami's high social status by virtue of being Touga's little sister), be inspired to have power by extension of a man (Wakaba), surrendering to a man (Kozue), or can be easily taken away power if a man decides that the woman had enough power (Juri,Utena). In the instance a woman has power it's also used to dominate others just like men do. (Nanami being cruel to others, to Tsuwabuki in particular, Utena treating Anthy her a puzzle piece to her princely identity.) In the end there is an idea how someone who should hold all the power should be like (the Prince), and they're given free reign. However that's not what the characters need.

Touga is entirely helpless to his paternal CSA. Akio's proposition is to become, for once, the one in charge of others so none can exploit him again. And Touga fails to see how Akio still exploits him by directing Touga, with quiet implicit imagery stressing that dynamic. What Touga would have needed was protection and a trusting family.

Nanami grew up so isolated and shamed for diverging from the norm, she is entirely dependent on external subjects and objects to define her. Either it's being defined by her relationship to Touga which is the entire basis of her social status, and her only hope for affection. Nanami can only define herself by traditional feminine and classicist means like her perceived ideal femininity, and brand-name jewelry which can easily turn on her, if external voices tell her that she should wear something. Nanami is so desperate for affection, being cared and loved for but the only language she is given is Ohtori's language of "men and women are only corresponding romantically". She can't express her need for familial proximity to Touga. The only other form of gaining adoration she knows is by violence, be it Touga's kitten, Tsuwabuki, or beating her three nameless underlings into submission.

It's not until the third arc that we learn about the Kaoru twins are in the middle of their parents separating. Their childhood is getting disrupted. Both of them are longing for time of connection and chance to hold onto each other. But Ohtori tells them that Miki can only adore Kozue as innocent and helpless. Kozue, like Nanami, gets told that her only chance to express affection to her male twin is by a sexualized, romanticized interaction. For two characters who're living through turbulent times, and need some stability in the other, twisting their chance of proximity is exactly the wrong answer.

Saionji really wants to remain friends with Touga he admires so much. (If not being in love with him.) Even more than Juri, he knows that the duel platform is just a set up, he swallows Touga's poison of "true friendship doesn't exist" again and again. The only chance of proximity to Touga is to disrespect others, demonstrate superiority over them, especially Anthy, as best proxy to a close male-male-dynamic. Saionji's only given path is to delude himself further and further.

Juri pushes so many people away because she's afraid her homosexuality will be revealed. Ohtori as a place does punish homosexuality severely, see Mikage's twisted memory, Ruka trying to converse Juri. This place convinces Juri over and over again that she's wrong for loving Shiori. But the truth is, Shiori is so much in love with Juri that she will resort to abuse her emotional power as long as it serves the purpose of Juri remaining close to her. What they would have needed is the chance to know that actually they're safe to be honest, at least to each other.

Utena is deeply grief-stricken by her parent's death. As a child the idea that everything will fade is terrifying. The only alternative she is shown is that Anthy's suffering is eternal. She wants to help. But the only path for being admired and adored is becoming a prince. The only agency to help and save others is by exercising the prince's power over someone. Akio becomes even crueler by trying to convince Utena that a girl's actual aspiration is romance (with a man). What else should she want? It also distract her from her genuine compassion for Anthy, and wishing for Anthy's happiness.

#Revolutionary Girl Utena #Idk I have a cold therefore to much time in the RGU tag

156 notes · View notes

kurokonobrainrot · 2 months

Text

About the Akashi Family.

I don't think i ever talked about it on tumblr but your recent post reminded me to share it here too @cemetery14

My theory is that the name Akashi comes from Shiori and not Masaomi.

It's canon the Akashi are old money, a really prestigious and wealthy family. And it's not unusual in Japan for the husband to take his spouse name if she is from a more prestigious family.

If Masaomi comes from a less prestigious family it may explain why he is so hard on Seijūrō, and why he is so strict on the whole 'a man from the Akashi family has to be perfect in everything' thing. He had to prove himself to her family to marry Shiori and to deserve the Akashi name. He has to be perfect in every domain and always come on top.

And now he tries to make sure his own son is also worthy of this name he fought so hard to deserve. He truly believes that's the right things to do for Seijūrō, he just enforce the same standard to his son that he does to himself so he doesn't see how harmful it is, especially for someone so young.

Which also would explain why Shiori is the one with red hair while Masaomi has brown hair. And why Akashi doesn't seems to have any family outside of his parents, they are just as cold and strict as his father even the ones on his mother side.

In Akashi's flashback the colors are washed out so Shiori red hair look redish but it's not 100% sure, but here it's Teiko flashback and she has red hair. Also Fujimaki stated Akashi took more after his mother.

Anyway for me the Akashi name comes from Shiori and i will die on that hill.

#akashi seijuro #knb #kuroko's basketball #kuroko no basket #akashi shiori #akashi masaomi

78 notes · View notes

tsukimefuku · 3 months

Text

❅ Sand and Snow | Chapter 4

ALL CHAPTERS HERE | PREVIOUS CHAPTER HERE.

In the city of Odate, Akita, there have been multiple deaths in the past few weeks. The first-grade sorcerer Nanami Kento is sent out to investigate the snowy city, not knowing that it would be his last mission as a Jujutsu High student.

Why Nanami left Jujutsu High to become a 9/5 corporate slave.

Tags: Murder/mystery, canon typical violence, POV Nanami, Post Star-plasma Vessel Arc, Canon compliant, Angst but I'm not Gege

Gojo and Nanami shenanigans ensue. They find out more about the Yamadas.

WC: 3.4K | on AO3 here.

The curse-user had claimed yet another victim, 28-year-old woman Takahashi Mio. Given that the killings were timely spread apart, Gojo and Nanami decided it was best if they went alone to investigate this latest death. Gojo provided Shiori with his burner phone number, just in case.

"So, Nanami, could you get me up to speed on what is going on?" Gojo asked.

"Didn't you speak to Yaga principal? I've been giving him daily reports."

"No."

How could the supposedly strongest jujutsu sorcerer of our age not get any information about the mission before he got here? Gojo's irresponsibility was particularly bothersome for Nanami most of the time.

"And did you talk to Ijichi?"

"Oh, that I certainly did! Before yesterday, actually!"

Nanami remembered Ijichi's demeanor on the phone. "Well, did you threaten him in any way?" He asked.

"I strongly suggested he didn't report his findings to you on Jujutsu High's phone anymore." Gojo grinned.

Earlier that day, when they were at Shiori's house, Ijichi relayed to Nanami all of his findings about the Yamada family. Obtaining this information was particularly difficult, because Jujutsu High's archives that he could search did not offer a lot of information about the family, something that was unusual, so Ijichi faced a little more digging around than he was accustomed to.

Gojo helped (with a healthy dose of strong encouragement called "try to look in forbidden or somewhat classified archives" right before he left).

According to Ijichi, the Yamadas did not have the best relationship with the Jujutsu Society established by Tengen and frequented by the clans. The Yamadas didn't even consider themselves as a clan, given they wouldn't keep most of their jujutsu traditions or preserve their name during the centuries, and started to spread as non-sorcerers throughout Japan, while most of them stayed within Akita's prefecture. Those that remained were mostly the ones born jujutsu sorcerers.

It seemed that the main reason the Yamadas and Jujutsu Society did not get along was because Yamadas never surrendered their cursed objects or tools to them for safe keeping. There was one object worth noting, specifically, that the Jujutsu Society was keen on having, as it involved the ability to guard cursed objects, tools, and nearly anything with cursed energy above a certain threshold in a very convoluted way. Ijichi didn't quite find what it was, unfortunately, and questioning Shiori served little to no purpose for that matter.

Nanami was starting to suspect Shiori might've been withholding information.

And about her parents, they were apparently the most well respected members of the family up until their disappearance, serving as the informal leaders of the Yamadas. They had twins, Shiori and Shiro, both born with the ability to see curses and manipulate cursed energy.

"Could this object be like Toji's cursed spirit? The one that kept his arsenal?"

Gojo went silent for a moment. "Yes."

Even though Gojo's silence was usually something Nanami longed for during most of their interchanges, this was actually sorrowful. He felt bad for Satoru and the memories that might've evoked.

"So, we are working with the hypothesis that this is a mission for retrieving cursed objects, and not actually exorcizing anything or capturing anyone?" Nanami said.

"No!" Gojo promptly answered. "Nanamin, quiz time!"

"You don't know anything about quizzes." This roundabout way Satoru had of getting his points across was incredibly obnoxious. Nanami wasn't feeling so empathetic anymore.

"What were we sent to do in Odate?" Gojo asked, with a child-like smile on his face.

"What I was sent to do while you were unavailable was to investigate these deaths and deal with what was causing them."

"Correct! We were sent to do just that!"

Nanami sighed. "Ok."

"Next question: what is the probable cause of these deaths?"

Nanami was questioning if this was actually leading anywhere.

"A curse user, most likely."

"Correct again!" Satoru responded like he was in a trivia TV show.

Nanami put his fingers in between his eyes, fighting an emerging headache as they walked in the streets of Odate. "Can you please just say what you're thinking?"

"I'm teaching my underclassman!"

"I do not respect you as my upperclassman."

"I need to train my teaching skills!"

Nanami dreaded the image of Gojo Satoru being a teacher, as that implied he'd be the most responsible person in the room — that room being a classroom.

Gojo proceeded, "We're here to capture a curse user and take him in for questioning, preferably. What does that tell you about what Jujutsu High wants from us?"

That they want us to take this curse user to them, who probably knows how to find the actual object of their interest, Nanami completed in his head.

"I see your point. What is your plan, then?" Nanami asked Gojo.

Some girls were walking by and started commenting on "the tall guy with white hair". Gojo lowered his glasses and winked. The girls went mad. One of them fainted. Nanami sighed heavily.

"We get to that object first and retrieve that. I'd like to know what it is and how it works. Information is important, you know?" He answered, pushing his pitch black glasses back into position.

Gojo seemed like an uninterested idiot at times, yet he was definitely not dumb, nor easily manipulated by Jujutsu High's leadership.

"Hey, Nanamin!"

"Stop calling me that."

"We should go eat after we finish this, I heard they have the best Kiritanpo here in Odate!"

Nanami sighed, yet again, for Gojo had started with his foodie shenanigans. At least the cold breeze helped with the headache.

As they approached the scene, the same hectic scenery ensued. The building was surrounded by curious people, some news reporters, and the entrance had police tape around it.

"Gojo, we should check the perimeter first. Last time this happened, the curse user got away from me."

"Sure. I teleport myself in, and you go and do your checking."

It actually was a good plan.

"Fine." Before Nanami finished the word, Satoru had already vanished. He then started walking around the building to look for any suspicious activity, or even the motorcycle. There was not much going on other than what he had seen already, and no trace of cursed activity on the outside, so he decided he would simply wait around and see what Gojo found.

However, as he was about to just sit and wait, he saw something. Haru, that fox from the first day, was right on the other side of the street, looking at the apartment complex.

What is going on?

Nanami started walking towards the animal, but as soon as Haru saw him, it just bolted away. Given that it was not anything of importance, He decided to let it go and keep waiting for Gojo to come back.

"I'm done!" Satoru said, as he appeared back right beside Nanami. "Found some interesting things. Let's take a look."

First, he took out a small wooden box, just like the one that was in Nakamura's office. It had cursed energy traces all over it.

"I've seen one of those before, at the last murder scene." Nanami said.

"You have? Well, how about this?" Gojo said, as he took some papers out of his pocket. He figured that if the last victim was a Yamada that had changed his surname, this was also a possibility in this case. And he was right.

The high school conclusion certificate read Yamada Mio.

"This is concerning".

"Definitely." Gojo responded. He then took his burner phone and called Ijichi. "Ijichi, we have a request. Search all the victims, see if they've changed their names and were previously Yamadas. Also, please, check similar death's throughout Japan in the past few months."

"Last three months." Nanami said.

Gojo looked at him. "Last three months" he said before hanging up. "Why that time frame?" He asked, looking straight at Nanami.

"Come. Let's have lunch. I'll fill you in."

***

"So, this lady is pretty sus, huh?" Gojo said, as he had three kiritanpo rice sticks stuffed in his mouth.

"She doesn't seem like a bad person." Nanami responded.

Gojo thought about it. "You're usually not a bad judge of character" he said, as he pulled the three sticks out of his mouth at the same time, completely scraped clean and started talking with his mouth full. "But someone can be a good person and still do bad things. People find all sorts of justifications for their shit." He wasn't wrong.

"There are some things that are not adding up." Nanami pondered.

"What about this brother? Have they not contacted the police or anything about his disappearance?" Gojo grabbed three rice sticks simultaneously.

"Apparently, they haven't. But that could be explained by the fact that he probably would be dealing with cursed spirits involved in their parents’ disappearance. His sister seemed aware of that possibility." Nanami grabbed a single rice stick and started eating at a normal rate.

"I see." Gojo responded with his mouthful of rice. "Hey, Nanami..." his tone shifted to a more serious one. Nanami noticed it.

"What?"

"How is this mission working out for you?" He lowered his glasses so he could look directly into Nanami's eyes as he waited for a response.

Nanami contemplated if he really had an answer for that question, as he started to speak without really knowing what would come out of his mouth. "At first, it was angering to see they'd put me up for another mission that seemed above my capacities." He meditated for a moment. "But I'm fine now. I simply want to finish this mission. Why?"

Gojo smiled. "Nothing. It's nice to see you still have a good head on your shoulders." He said, giving Nanami a little tap on his back as he got up. "Well, let's detective Conan this!"

Satoru was back to using references. Nanami was not pleased.

Gojo's phone rang, and he picked it up. It was Ijichi. Satoru's demeanor went from playful to serious, as he said, "ok. Thanks for letting me know." and ended the call. "We have to go back to that house now."

"Why is that?" Nanami asked.

"All the victims were Yamadas". Gojo answered, as he put his phone away. "If my thinking is right..."

"She could actually be the next target."

***

As they got back to the house, the sky grew grayer. The sun was about to set, and they knew they had to question Shiori for real this time. Nanami knocked on the door, but before Shiori could open it after unlocking, Gojo just barged in screaming Good evening!

"Hey, guys! You're back." She said, greeting them with a smile and feeling startled as a giant dude with white hair had just let himself into her house unceremoniously.

"We are." Nanami responded. "And we have some questions for you."

Shiori looked at him somewhat confused. "Let me just feed Haru."

Gojo looked at her confused.

"It's a fox, I feed it sometimes." She clarified.

"Oh."

After Shiori went outside with a bowl of food for the animal, she walked back into the living room, where they were waiting for her. "Well, ok. What would you like to know?"

"Firstly, what you really might know about all these deaths." He answered, bluntly.

She sighed, resigned. "You said something about a venomous shikigami, haven't you? Well, I know something about that."

"What do you know?" He asked. Gojo was just standing in the corner of the room, watching the conversation.

"I know there is a shikigami technique that runs in my family, one where we can summon poisonous creatures. Most of us summoned flying snakes. Some curse users in my family might be the culprit."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Nanami asked.

"I... I don't know." Shiori said as she sat down on a chair, feeling embarrassed. "I've never really been able to trust or rely on anyone other than my brother. And I barely know you!" she said, looking at him. "And we kind of met when you were being a creepy stalker and I had a gun."

"Please, stop saying that." Nanami replied while he sighed.

"Stalker? Gun? What?" Gojo asked, seemingly puzzled.

"And you're from Jujutsu High, on top of it all. I don't know if you're both aware of that, but my family never got along very well with you guys. I never had much of a reason to trust anything you told me." She said.

Nanami stood silent. After all, she wasn't exactly wrong.

Shiori looked at Gojo. "Can you imagine if you came into my house and I said, 'hey, one of my relatives might be the murderer?' What would you do to me, then?" She sighed. "And to be fair, I still don't trust you both completely. So, yeah. What else would you like to know?"

"Is there any special cursed object in your family?" Nanami asked.

"... Why do you want to know that?" She retorted.

The answer was clearly yes. "These killings might be related to it." Gojo answered from across the room. "The murderer is collecting cursed objects at the crime scenes and leaving these behind." Gojo showed her one of the wooden boxes.

"Oh, I see."

"Do you know what these are?" He asked.

"Yes."

They were all silent for some time.

"Will you tell us what they are?" Gojo replied.

"No."

Gojo wanted to smack her.

"And you both are 'good guys', I can tell that much. You won't beat me up for information."

She was right. He still wanted to smack her.

"You should know that all the victims were Yamadas." Nanami said. "You could very well be the next target."

She was taken aback. "All of them?"

"All of them." Gojo said, trying to sway her stance from that bit of information.

She considered her options for a moment. "Shit." If she gave them the entire information, they would probably catch the culprit and just leave. She wouldn't be in danger's way anymore, but would probably have to surrender things her parents left her to Jujutsu High. On top of that, her brother was still missing, and after learning that Yamadas were dying left and right, he could possibly be in danger. There was another option.

"Well, that's life. I can die in my sleep." She shrugged. "But I do have valuable information. I just need you to help me with something first." Shiori said.

"What?" Nanami asked.

"Help me find my brother." These guys, while a dynamic team themselves, were clearly good at their jobs, and she could sense that Gojo was a particularly powerful sorcerer. She knew this was the best — and, maybe, only — bet at finding her missing brother.

We just got side-quested, Gojo thought, as he groaned and made his way into the kitchen. He hated being pulled into situations he couldn't simply solve by using his powers and beating or exploding things. "Are there any cookies left?"

"Can you both help me find my brother? Please?" She asked, worriedly waiting for an answer.

Nanami and Gojo said "yes" at the same time. Both of them sounded defeated.

"Fine. Then let's get talking. We need to find the remaining Yamadas in town. As much as I want to find my brother, I don't want anybody to die because of that." Shiori said. "There were 9 deaths, right?"

"There were 12, actually." Nanami replied.

"What?" She was very surprised. "What do you mean by twelve deaths?"

"They happened in other cities, with the same M.O." Gojo responded from the kitchen. He sounded like he was munching on something.

"And they were all Yamadas?" She said.

"Yes."

"Well, I need their names, right now." She opened a drawer and grabbed a key. "Come, follow me, you two."

They all went upstairs, following Shiori's lead. She then went inside the main bedroom, which was a little unkempt, and seemed unused for a while now. "Now, where was it...?" She started stomping on the ground, until they heard a hollow board. "Here!" Pulling it up, the woman grabbed a chest and opened it. Inside it, there was a small black notebook.

Before she could do anything, Gojo grabbed the notebook.

"What the hell?!" She yelled, surprised. Damn, he's fast.

"We need to be absolutely certain you're not withholding important information again." He opened it. There was a huge list of names. The pages were yellowy, and the small notebook seemed pretty old. "What is this?"

"The list of people that might be targets, from what you both have told me. Flip to the last pages, the most recent ones are there."

He did, and instantly read many familiar names under those that were already struck out. Nanami approached and looked at the notebook too. The name "Yamada Itsuki" popped out.

"Your mother's name is here." He said.

"I know. Let's cross out that, and also everyone that has died. Whoever doesn't have their names crossed will be the next targets."

"And how do you know that?" Gojo asked.

"I just do. You told me that people were dying and getting cursed objects stolen from that box, right?" They stayed silent. "So I'm sure that list is what we need. People usually just change their surnames, and keep their first names. This should be easy enough."

Nanami and Gojo asked Ijichi to send them the list of all the deceased's names, and after striking out those, there were only 2 names left. Miyuki Yamada and Ayako Yamada. They relayed that information to Ijichi and asked him to search for residents in Odate that went by the names Miyuki and Ayako, who were or had been married.

"Well, now we wait." Gojo said, sitting down and resting his face on his hand.

"I guess." Shiori replied, while her mood shifted. "I'll be going downstairs for now."

She did, while Gojo and Nanami shared a look. Gojo's look meant, what do you think? Nanami said nothing and followed Shiori downstairs. She was sitting at the table, looking very upset and poorly hiding it. Nanami sat beside her and waited to see if she would say anything.

"I just realized something because I'm an idiot, and I'm very angry at myself right now." She said. "If I had trusted you, even if you took me away for questioning or to Jujutsu High, or something else, that woman might still be alive if I helped sooner." Shiori clenched her fists. "I'm such an egotistical idiot."

Nanami realized she was truly saddened and furious at herself because of that.

"You only knew where to look after we told you about the cursed objects being stolen. There was nothing you could have done." Nanami replied.

Shiori looked at him and sighed. "Thank you."

"I just stated a fact." He said.

She smiled, still somewhat upset. "Yeah. I guess so. I was just scared that-" She choked up a little. "That I wouldn't be here for when my brother came back, whenever that happens."

"How do you know if he is still alive?" Nanami asked bluntly.

"Well, you're kind of abrasive sometimes." She replied, smiling. "I just do. I can't explain it to you factually. It's a twin thing. I know he is alive, I'm completely sure."

He wasn't going to question it. As a jujutsu sorcerer, he sure had seen weirder things.

"I want to help when you guys go save those two women." Shiori said, out of the blue.

"You will hinder us. You have no combat training." Nanami pointed out.

"Well, you will follow us no matter what we say, won't you? Just like you did today." Gojo said, as he came down the stairs.

How did he know that? And was he hearing our conversation all this time? "Yes, I will. Exactly like I did today." She answered frankly. There was no point in lying.

"We're not carrying dead weight, and we won't jeopardize this, because people might actually die. Do you understand?" He asked, staring at her. His tone was serious. She felt like he could see through her soul, and it sent shivers down her spine.

The way this man shifts between 'pretty boy' silly demeanor and this menacing aura is eerie, she thought. "I understand. I don't want to put myself or other people in harm's way anymore, but I still want to help."

"Fine. Then, show me what you've got." He said, hiding his eyes back behind his glasses and grinning widely.

End notes:

I started to go down that path where I'm hating everything I write, so it took me forever to be done meddling with this chapter before posting it. Ugh I hate when this happens (hope you enjoyed it, still).

41 notes · View notes

unamusedcyclone · 7 days

Text

Kurama The Retired Monster: A Look at Kurama's Canon Characterization and Impact

Kurama is one of the most popular characters in the decades old Yu Yu Hakusho fandom. Published in 1992 and dubbed into English in 2002, Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the most influential battle shounen anime. References are everywhere for this wonderful story about a delinquent that surprised the heavens and saved a little boy at the cost of his own life.

The series is my favorite of the old Toonami anime with its rebuke to the strict norms of Japanese society and its message about the grey tones of life.

It's in every character in one way or another, but Kurama tackles a trope I'm personally fascinated by: the retired criminal that is dragged back into his old life by circumstance.

This doesn't seem to be a common read of the character, though all the tropes are there. Youko Kurama was a vicious criminal who, after he was taken out of commission, essentially retired due to the love of a woman. While it was not planned, Shiori showing him love and a life outside of what he knew is what canonically happened and shaped his life. He chose, after she cut up her arms to save him from broken glass, to be the son she deserved rather than leaving as he planned.

When Shiori gets sick, Kurama is contacted by Hiei to join him on a heist in Spirit World for the Three Treasures. Given Kurama's nature as the exposition fairy, he is clearly aware of what those treasures are: The Orb of Bast, the Forlorn Hope, and the Shadow Sword. So, Kurama uses his experience as a thief and gains the Forlorn Hope for himself. As we know, the Forlorn Hope has a rule: It will grant your deepest wish in exchange for your life. Kurama considers this cost fair, since he clearly still feels guilty about stealing the son Minamino Shiori was supposed to have. In the dub, he comments about how some parents are devoured by their young, hinting at blaming himself for the condition Shiori is in. It is only because Yusuke intervened that Kurama is still alive, pulled out of his suicidal guilt spiral by Yusuke offering part of his own life to the mirror after seeing his own mother mourn him.

Kurama chooses to help Yusuke defeat Hiei, cementing him as one of the good guys and beginning his friendship with and repayment of Yusuke.

The Four Saint Beasts arc can be explained as part of Hiei and Kurama's parole. I won't linger on it, but I truly believe this is part of Kurama trying to be good, serving his sentence for what is likely the least of his crimes. In his fight with Genbu, Hiei talks about how he brought Kurama on because he'd rather have him as his ally than his enemy. This is one of the first instances of what Kurama's prior life looked like to others. He is a ruthless and intelligent fighter, and he is known for it. Before Two Shots, this implies Kurama had a reputation prior to his human life, one that lasted long enough that Hiei would have heard about it. (Based on later information, Hiei is less than a hundred years old and Kurama may have left Makai a thousand years ago, making Kurama's reputation incredibly significant.)

This reputation continues to assert itself in the Dark Tournament. The audience of the tournament continue to jeer at Kurama and Hiei for being demons fighting alongside humans, implying that they are well-known enough for this to be an issue. (In the manga, we get a page that shows that demons are total gossips and I love it.) We also have Kurama's fight with Ura Urashima, where Urashima comments that he believes this Kurama, our Kurama, might have taken on the name of the scary bastard that they still tell stories about. He is mistaken.

However, it is also in the Dark Tournament where we get his fight with Touya, where he asks Touya to be better than he was. This is where we see, wholeheartedly, that Kurama regrets who he once was. He regrets being the monster that Hiei and Yomi idolize. The nature of the series is that he needs to tap into that ruthlessness to survive, which is why he connects with Suzuki before the fight with Team Toguro. It is his desire to survive Karasu that returns him to that self.

Another scene that is incredibly important is the battle with Amanuma, the Gamemaster. As we know, for Amanuma to be defeated, he must be killed, as per the rules of his territory and the video game he uses. Amanuma is also eleven years old, manipulated into joining Sensui's crusade to destroy the human world for its evils and hypocrisies. Amanuma is a child, unaware of what Sensui's plans truly mean and as much as Kurama tries to say Amanuma chose this with the full understanding of an adult, it is clear he does not really believe it. Kurama is clearly upset by his choice, but he still makes it. There is no way out, no magic solution at the time. After Amanuma dies, Hiei implies that Kurama has killed children before, in his past life, but Kurama's grief is obvious. He reacts ruthlessly to Elder Toguro. His hands are bleeding from how much he hates the fact he made that choice and how much that decision is linked to the past he's clearly trying to leave behind.

The Three Kings arc is when this really begins to show up, though due to its truncated nature, it seems to go unnoticed. Yomi is essentially the end result of what happens when someone adopts Kurama's old views. Yomi is introduced to us as untrustworthy and brutal. Kurama's patience and ruthlessness became a guide to him as he became a king in the notoriously vicious Makai, after a botched assassination attempt left him blind. To be called to serve Yomi, Kurama has to face what he once was and how it impacted someone. Yomi didn't just look up to him, but he was also Kurama's victim: Kurama is the one who paid the assassin to kill him. Kurama also has to balance facing that with his desire to keep his mother and the Human World safe. Kurama's choice to betray Yomi and go along with Yusuke's cockamamie scheme can be read as a rejection of that past self as well as reinforcing that Kurama does not want to live that old life ever again. He chooses the human world, the world where he's not a vicious bandit and has loved ones.

The anime expands this by setting Kurama up against Shigure, the demon surgeon who gave Hiei his Jagan. This fight originally felt incredibly random: Shigure and Kurama don't have anything to do with each other. However, the fight with Shigure clicked once I realized that Shigure offers to restore Kurama back into who he once was. The entire fight is Kurama choosing to fight as who he is now, not rely on that past self he hates so much. At the end, Kurama even tells Yomi he doesn't throw anything away, but what he says in his little monologue is that he'll never be that version of himself again.

Kurama spends the whole series having to depend on the reputation and ruthlessness he cultivated as a bandit. He does it in life-or-death situations, not just randomly or for shits and giggles. He doesn't seem to enjoy his reputation, especially after living as Shiori's son. He looks more contemptuous of it, his face blank when he has to tap into it. He hates that he has to be that guy, that he was that guy. With the series over, it seems like he'll choose to stay human, to stay in the Human World for as long as he can.

Kurama's canon characterization draws him more in-line with the story's theme of growing up and healing due to the power of human connection. He is mostly retired from being a brutal monster and shows regret and guilt over the past, but by the end has mostly accepted who he once was, warts and all.

#yyh #kurama #shuichi minamino #youko kurama #yu yu hakusho #meta

22 notes · View notes

active-mind-15 · 1 month

Text

Another baby Akashi scenario I just thought of

Imagine the first time he ever loses a tooth. I bet when he feels it wobble for the first time, he goes to tell his mother, who then tells him about the tooth fairy and how when his tooth comes out, he should leave it under his pillow, and then when he wakes up the next day, there will be money.

Masaomi later expresses his disapproval to Shiori privately because the tooth fairy is just "fairytale nonsense", but she is adamant about letting their son believe in it because he already doesn't get much time to be a kid as is.

For the next few days, baby Akashi constantly jiggled his tooth back and forth to see if it would come out, and his father had to tell him to leave his tooth alone multiple times. It isn't until one day during dinner time, baby Akashi is eating, and while he's chewing something, he feels a weird tugging sensation and then he opens his mouth and pulls out his tooth.

He drops everything to run over to his parents' chairs and announce that his tooth finally came loose, and Shiori reminds him to put it under his pillow that night while Masaomi just looks on in skepticism. He seems about ready to say that the tooth fairy doesn't exist, but then he looks at how excited his son is and ultimately can't bring himself to do it, so he says nothing instead.

The next morning, when baby Akashi runs out of his room to tell his parents that the tooth fairy left him a 1000 yen bill, Shiori glances toward her husband and gives him a knowing smile. Masaomi pointedly avoids her eyes and continues pretending to read his newspaper.

#masaomi continued to leave him 1000 yen bills until baby akashi woke up one night while he was trying to sneak in #they had a whole new type of conversation the next morning #i am once again trying to push the idea of a slightly functional household for the akashi family #baby akashi is too cute for even masaomi to be left unscathed and i will stand by this #just needed to get another cute headcanon out there #kuroko no basket #knb headcanons #akashi seijuro

20 notes · View notes

tetsunabouquet · 1 year

Text

Basic Instinct Part 6

A/N: We’re getting to the climax of Masaomi’s toxicity, so paired with my previous warnings, do grab yourself a tissue. Because Masaomi’s an overcontrolling dick who plans to ruin his son’s happiness. Thankfully, we do have someone to rescue Akashi! Masterpost

Akashi was staring at his father as he got home, his father looking rather pissed off beneath his calm composure. Akashi had learnt to spot this years ago. "I am sorry for being late father. My team had a celebratory dinner." "A celebratory dinner? For what? A practise match?! Don't make me out for a fool. That girl was involved, wasn't she?" 'That girl?' Akashi's eyes widened upon realizing his father had been keeping tabs on him. He shouldn't have been surprised, but he still felt hurt at the violation. "She merely wanted to repay me for a meal I purchased for her." Akashi's immediate response was to defend you. He couldn't lie to his father, but he didn't wanted to get you in trouble and be forbidden to see you either. "Perhaps if you had some sense not to date a common girl, you'd have a girlfriend who's thinking properly of the priorities you have." "She's not my girlfriend." Akashi replied. "I haven't made my confession yet, I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity." Saying the words out loud felt so good. Keeping his crush all bottled up and to himself felt surprisingly lonely. Every time he saw you, he felt happy enough to shout it from the rooftops, yet, he had to keep it a secret. It had been more difficult then he imagined it to be. Not as difficult, as hearing his father's next words though. "Good. You can forget about confessing your feelings. I've been having meetings with the Niragi family as of recently, their youngest daughter, Tsukiko would make for a wonderful future match. " Akashi physically recoiled and felt like he was being bathed in acid. Finding out his father had been spying on him was a horrible revelation enough, but that his father had been having meetings about an arranged marriage, and hadn't even informed him about it, made Akashi fight against a powerful vomiting urge with everything he had. That was his future, and his father hadn't even cared enough to consider his feelings. "You can't make me." Akashi spat out before running to his room, tears flooding his eyes. His heart felt like it was shattering into tiny little pieces. There was no one who could break you, like your parents can.

Fujioka, had watched the scene completely apalled. He had known of Masaomi's meetings with the Niragi family as their butler, but the cruelty Masaomi had delivered the news convinced him even more of his own resolve. And thus, the older man followed Masaomi to his office. Masaomi looked at the old butler, having known him since he was a teenager, he knew the butler well enough that there was something very much bothering the man. "Fujioka-san, what is the matter?" "You will not seperate Seijuro from his first love. The boy deserves this happiness, his workload is almost comparable to your own, and he is still a boy. Allow him to have the love he choose, at least give him that." Fujioka pleaded, though his composure was stern and defiant. Radiating strength, compassion and care. Masaomi was less impressed with it, however. "I will do as I please. The Akashi family has a legacy, something I am certain you will not understand. This girl is an embarrasment to our family name, unlike Niragi Tsukiko. It would be better for Seijuro to forget her as soon as possible." "Like you forgot Shiori-Sama as soon as possible?" Fujioka knew it was a low blow, but at this point, Masaomi had severely angered him. "How dare you speak to your Master in such a tone!" Masaomi bellowed, clearly hurt by the comment. "Master? I don't see one. My family does have a legacy and it's been serving the Kaneshiro clan for nearly three centuries now. They're a good family, and you were the one lucky to have married one of their own. Money doesn't buys the good will the Kaneshiro family has garnered over the centuries of their philanthrophic efforts. We serve the Kaneshiro family because of their heart, not their wallet. Shiori-Sama was a true lady of the people, and I served her with pride. Seijuro inherited my service as a son of the Kaneshiro clan, and he is my only master in this household." It felt good to finally say these words out loud. Fujioka had been serving Masaomi as an act of kindness to Seijuro and Shiori, but that had only given the man the believe he had power over him in the way he did with the majority of their servants. But those who swore servitude to the Kaneshiro's, were only there for Seijuro's sake. Masaomi was his master in name alone, not by actual contract. It was definitely time for the older Akashi to remember that, and the subsequent fact that even if Fujioka defied him now, Masaomi was not in the position to fire him. Masaomi looked him deep in his eyes, trying to recover his calm. Because, it was true Fuijoka was hired by the Kaneshiro family, and the only one other then Seijuro who had the power to legally fire the butler, was the one person he did not want to get involved in the matter. Masaomi was a sensible man, and certainly he feared his mother in law. Especially considering Seijuro's sadistic, violent tendencies was something he got from her. Age hadn't made her any less dangerous, on the contrary, it only added to her element of surprise. Kaneshiro Rima was a terrifying little lady, who'd skin him alive if she laid her eyes upon a sad Seijuro. Suddenly, the deal with the Niragi family became a little less attractive as an idea. Either way, Fuijioka would sabotage his vision and in the worst case scenario he'd end up dead or worse. Masaomi sighed. "I suppose I have nothing to say to that. But if my family is ruined by that girl, then the Kaneshiro family should better be prepared to fix everything." Fujioka nodded as a response, and excused himself. Triumph was jittering through his veins.

Akashi was trying his best not to cry into his pillow, but the warmth of his bed was so comforting and he felt so god damn miserable. He didn't wanted to be paired up with Tsukiko, who never had anything interesting to say, no passion in her eyes. She wasn't you. You were passionate and knew how to keep him interested. You were also really pretty, and had the loveliest smile he had ever seen. You were warm and vibrant. You were everything he needed. You, and only you. As he heard the door of his room open, he wanted to yell, until he saw it was Fuijoka, and not his father. "Is there something wrong, Fujioka-san?" "Not anymore young master. I just talked with your father, he won't stop you from dating the girl." Akashi sat upright at his bed, his ruby eyes blinking at the old butler. "You did what, Fujioka-san? But how?!" "I did nothing, but remind him of the things you deserve, and what is your right." The butler smiled gently at the boy, who's face was sporting an overjoyed expression. Akashi looked at his butler with the utmost gratitude, happiness spreading through his chest. He could still see you. He could be with you. Not Tsukiko. The old butler sat down at the chair next to his bed, and asked Akashi the question he had secretly been dying to hear, "This girl, what is she like?" And as Akashi launched into a long description of you, how lovely you were, how much you liberated him and made him happy, Fujioka couldn't help but notice something. 'Masaomi can disapprove of it, but Seijuro looks so much like his father gushing over Shiori right now. Young love is such a wonderful thing.' So the old butler continued to smile warmly, hoping deep down he'd still be there to see Seijuro and you have a firstborn of your own. Fate looked on with warmth in her eyes, knowing both their wishes would come true. Nothing was more powerful then a dream, and one born out of love was the most powerful of all.

#knb #knb akashi #akashi seijuro #akashi x reader #knb x you #basic instinct #kuroko's basketball #akashi masaomi #toxic parents #super butler #young love #shiori #arranged marriage #kuroko no basket #angst #drama #scary grandma

53 notes · View notes

yyh4ever · 8 months

Note

Is kurama's stepfather rich?

Hard to tell. He's the president of a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) where Shiori Minamino works part-time, and Kurama joins after high school. However, Togashi has never mentioned what kind of business he runs.

For example, Togashi family has a paper store in Shinjo, Yamagata. They aren't rich, but have led a good life. On the other hand, the family of his wife Naoko Takeuchi had a jewelry store. She'd already had a Porsche before becoming well-known as the author of Sailor Moon.

Kurama lives in a nice house, attends a good private high school, gave his mom a honeymoon trip to Europe... they seem to have an income of a middle, maybe upper middle class. Mr. Hatanaka looks like a nice and simple man, I don't think he's the rich type, going out there driving a Ferrari. The couple also wanted a small and intimate wedding ceremony, and only invited close relatives.

Mr. Hatanaka seems cooler in the anime version. I also like that in the manga he was very worried when Shiori was in the hospital.

BTW, I'm also interested in the biological father, Mr. Minamino. What did he do? Did Shiori receive any Widowed Parent's Allowance? How did he die? So many questions.....!!!!!

#Kurama #Kurama Family #Shiori Minamino #Kazuya Hatanaka #Minamino family

52 notes · View notes

marukrawler · 1 month

Note

There's something I didn't understand when I saw S1. I don't Even remember if Shun's grandfather was given a name but Shiori was his daughter-in-law or his daughter?

as far as i know, shun's grandfather has not been given a name. as for whether shun's grandfather is shiori's father or father-in-law, there isn't really much (as far as i know!) to indicate whether it's one or the other. grandpa kazami refers to her as "shiori-san" but apparently, it's not uncommon for parents to use the -san honorific with their children.

i figure that her death would've had a greater impact on him if she was his daughter, so i'm more inclined to believe that she married into the family.

the word 祖父 (sofu) is used to refer to shun's grandfather in the japanese wikipedia and while it is a general term for grandfather in japanese, it means paternal grandfather in chinese.

i wouldn't call this conclusive evidence though lol but personally, i believe he's shun's paternal grandfather, just like how dr. gehabich is alice's paternal grandfather.

#bakugan

13 notes · View notes

abiding-artist · 11 days

Text

DO NOT REPOST

I changed her from a Wizard to a sorcerer because I wanted to try a new class. Shiori is a high elf that was raised by a drow couple that escaped menzoberranzan. Shioris mother, Jhalin was the middle child to royal house. She fell in love with one of the male servants, Szintar and they ran. They found shiori in a ruined village and took her in and raise her as their own outside of rivington. Very reserved family

Shiori sees her parents as her actual parents. Sometimes questioning her own upbringing.

Jhalin and Szintar live in constant fear of their people coming back to reclaim them. The two rarely travel outside of their farm to avoid attention. Shiori, however, ventures to Baldurs gate multiple times

#art #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate #dnd #dungeon and dragons #bg3 tav #tav #Shiori #abiding artist oc #oc #my tav

16 notes · View notes

transmascutena · 5 months

Text

Bird Symbolism in Revolutionary Girl Utena

There is quite a large amount of bird and bird-related imagery, symbolism, allegories and metaphors in Revolutionary Girl Utena, and i think all of them are very interesting. Here is a ~2000 word essay about the topic.

The Birdcage Garden: Anthy and Ohtori Academy

This is perhaps the most obvious of the bird symbols in Utena. It is literally Anthy's cage. It is where she, as the Rose Bride, is supposed to spend her time watering the flowers. Touga talks about never letting her out of it once he wins her, and calls her a "lovely little bird." And doesn't that just sum up what so many people's idealized version of her is like? A pretty thing to be admired, only in captivity.

I think the birdcage can also be seen as a sort of microcosm of Ohtori Academy as a whole. Akio does call the school "a garden where people will never become adults," after all, and Anthy is not the only person trapped there, nor is she the only character associated with birds.

According to this analysis, "Ohtori" as a word can mean "big bird" in japanese, and is also a Japanese term for the Fenghuang bird in Chinese mythology, said to be "beautiful, immortal and rules over all birds." Sounds a lot like a certain someone in charge of this place, doesn't it? Which would make every person in Ohtori a bird, symbolically speaking, trapped in the cage that is the academy and ruled by Akio (who, despite being the biggest, and the one with the most control, is also a caged bird.)

Additionally, the statue on the gate to the dueling arena is in the shape of a bird, before it transforms into a rose when opened. I am not sure exactly what this means, but I assume it is in some way symbolic of Akio, Anthy and Ohtori.

The Bird and the Window: Shiori and Juri

The bird that flies into the window during Shiori and Juri's conversation in episode 17 is a Java Sparrow. Despite its name, it is a part of the Estrildid Finch family, but I think the symbolism for sparrows fits the context more, as they can represent love, devotion and compainionship, all of which are very relevant for Juri and Shiori.

The bird is also the symbolic item for Shiori's black rose duel, which means we should associate the bird mainly with her. What, exactly, is the window, then? I think it is symbolic of Shiori's feelings for Juri, Juri's feelings for Shiori, or most likely both. The bird hits the window directly after Juri says "Is that all you have to say to me?" and turns to leave. The bird hits something it could not see in its flight, just as Shiori hits against something that hurts her, even if she doesn't understand it, in her conversation with Juri. The bird is shown to be lying still, presumably dead, after Juri reveals that she was never in love with the boy Shiori "stole" from her.

The bird is shown again after Juri throws her locket in the lake, and before Shiori finds it in her dorm. I've heard it discussed that this implies the bird retrieved the locket (probably through Anthy-as-Mamiya), and if the bird is symbolic of Shiori and the locket is symbolic of Juri's feelings for her, it would mean Shiori is the one to bring them back after Juri tries to rid herself of them. This makes sense.

The Bird Nest: Kozue and Miki

The bird nest that Kozue rescues from the tree that is going to be cut down is symbolic of her and Miki. Or, at least they are symbolic of how Kozue views the two of them. The comparison is pretty straightforward; Kozue projects her and Miki's feelings of abandonment onto these baby chicks, who have been left behind by their parents, just like the two of them were when their parents divorced. I think she projects her protectiveness over her brother moreso than her own feelings about the whole thing, as Kozue likes to think of herself as very independent ("a wild animal") and very unaffected by it all. As seen by her attempt to save the birds in the first place, she is very willing to put herself at risk, and is less concerned with her own feelings/safety.

Now, I don't want to get too much into speculation, but I have to wonder if there was more going on in the Kaoru family than just the divorce and the too-high expectations for the "twin prodigies." Miki's uncharacteristic cynicism in saying "adults who tell you something is for your own good can never be trusted," as well as Kozue's total disregard for authority and her tendency to use her sexuality as a tool both concern me. Although Miki and Kozue's parents are not explicitly shown to be abusive, I do not think it is a stretch to say that there is a possibility that they were. It explains some of Kozue's behaviour in regards to Miki as well. It's not just posesiveness but protectiveness. She has needed to protect him before, and she feels she needs to protect him still (pushing the predatory teacher down the stairs, saving the birds she sees his innocence in.)

Interestingly enough, Anthy interacts with these chicks as well. She advices Miki on how to feed and take care of them. Utena even comments on how unusually straight forward she's being about the whole thing. This might just be another instance of characterizing Anthy as a person who is fond of animals, and that is certainly part of it, but i think there is more to it as well. If these baby birds are symbolic of (Miki and Kozue's, but also a general) feeling of abandonment by parents/adults, as well as their potential abuse, what does that mean for Anthy not only knowing how to take care of them, but being eager to talk about it? Could it perhaps be that she, like Kozue, sees herself in them? Like Kozue, Anthy herself is symbolically a bird, but a caged one in contrast to Kozue's claims of being a wild animal. Could it be that Anthy has had to become an expert in taking care of those (herself) that have been abandoned or failed or abused by the adults in their lives? Rememeber that this is the same episode where she says that Akio is more like a father to her than a brother. A parallel is indirectly being drawn between him and the Kaoru parents.

If Miki and Kozue's parents were abusive, this might be a rare moment of Anthy empathising with other victims, telling them through metaphor how to take care of themselves. Although, it doesn't keep her from continuing to manipulate them, as she goes on to say her line about returning the chicks to their mother, which is what sets Kozue off. Anthy also says that she's never actually raised chicks before. Maybe she's not very good at taking care of them (herself) after all.

There's also what looks like two caged parakeets in Miki's flashback of their childhood. I assume this has similar meaning to Anthy's birdcage, as a feeling of being trapped, in this case by their parents' expectations for them. Kozue used to be a caged bird, but now claims to be a wild one, despite still being inside the birdcage that is Ohtori.

Brood Parasitism: Nanami and Touga (and Utena)

The Kaoru's are not the only sibling pair in Utena to be compared to birds. In Episode 31, Her Tragedy, a pretty unique shadow play is put on in the Chairman's Tower about a cuckoo leaving its egg in another bird's nest, a phenomenon known as brood parasitism. It also references the fairy tale The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen. Perhaps the most interesting part of this play is that it's done in the style of the ones in the black rose arc, with C-Ko playing all the roles, the return of the monkey-catching robot, and Utena's fourth-wall breaking commentary at the end. I won't get into what this means, as it doesn't have anything to do with the bird metaphor, but maybe in another post.

This shadow play is about how Nanami and Touga were adopted, and specifically about Nanami's feelings on the matter. Of course adopted children are not parasites, but it makes sense for Nanami to think along those lines, considering her fear of being compared to animals or aliens, and of being ostracized by the society she lives in. Nanami doesn't actually know that she is adopted, only that Touga is, which muddies that interpretation a little. Perhaps it is about Nanami blaming Touga's birth parents for "leaving him in another nest"? Something about her resentment of Touga at this point in time, thinking of him as a parasite in their family? Or simply her fear of what not being his blood-relative means.

I'm more confident about the Ugly Duckling reference, and it being symbolic of Nanami's worry of not fitting in among her peers. Nanami mainly copes with this by thinking that the reason she doesn't fit in, is because she is actually better than everybody else, because she's related to Touga (being a beautiful swan among the common ducks.) The play ends with the cuckoo insisting that it will become a swan one day, when really it can't. It will never be a duck that fits in, either. It will always just be what it is, a parasite (a space-alien. A girl who lays eggs.) This reflects Nanami's despair at the idea that she's "just another fly in the swarm" after her duel in the next episode.

And like all the shadow plays this one can be interpreted as being about Utena as well. She is an orphan who is now being raised in Akio and Anthy's "nest". Although she wasn't placed there by anyone but Akio himself, so it's more about her insecurities about feeling like an outsider in their family. And like the Ugly Duckling/cuckoo, she is also out of place among the rest of the students, and dreams of growing up to be something she can't actually become, in this case a prince. (credits to this analysis on the shadow plays for helping me piece together my thoughts on that. Always cite your sources!)

Cuckoos can also be symbolic of one-sided love, and is the origin of the word cuckoldry. Make of that what you will.

I should mention that Nanami also lays an egg of her own a few episodes prior. ...Or does she?

Her nightmare sequences show her fears of being compared to a chicken, a turtle, a frog, and of course, a space alien, but it is quite obviously a bird egg. And since we are later shown that Anthy has a chicken named Nanami, much like the cow with the same name, it can be assumed that the egg comes from there, and that Anthy brought it to Nanami's bed, perhaps via Chu-Chu. Could this relate to the brood parasitism of the cuckoo in some way? Is this not one bird (Anthy) laying its egg in another bird's (Nanami's) nest (bed) and getting them to raise it? is this what Anthy means when she tells Miki she has never personally raised chicks? Are all of these metaphors connected??? There's also the fan-theory that Nanami's egg hatched a reincarnated Chu-Chu, and in that case would he be the baby cuckoo while Anthy is the mother and Nanami is the duck? I'll be honest I'm not really sure what to make of it at this point. Draw whatever conclusion you want!

Last and probably least interesting is the third of Nanami associated bird imagery: the crow in episode 10. Crows can be symbolic of death, and it feels safe to say that this one is just here to set the mood of the scene, and as visual confirmation that the kitten did indeed die. Not too much to say there.

The Chicken and the Egg: The Student Council

I'd be remiss if i didn't mention the student council's chicken and egg speech in this post as well, even if it has been analyzed to hell and back by hundreds of people before me. It is a reference to Hermann Hesse's book Demian. It is about breaking out of childhood and into adulthood. It is about escaping Ohtori, which is both the egg and the cage (and interestingly enough, during the speech birds can be seen flying by outside the cage of the elevator.) In Nanami's version of the egg speech she mentions "the cage of freedom" and how it cares for the chick. This something that ideally should be true for schools. A place that limits children, but in a way that prepares them for the adult world. Of course, Ohtori as a system has no interest in this, as it is a cage in its most literal sense: a place to keep people trapped. Trapped in their harmful behaviours, in their lack of growth, in their idealized memories of the past, and most of all, in childhood.

And with that, we have come full circle back to Anthy's birdcage as a symbol for all of Ohtori. Thanks for reading :)

#it's done! my first proper analysis-essay since my very first post on this account!!#i know it's long but i put a lot of work into this and i'd really appreciate if you read it ^_^#although i'm not entirely satisfied with the juri/shiori segment. if anyone has anything to add i'd love that #revolutionary girl utena #analysis #anthy #akio #shiori #juri #kozue #miki #nanami #touga #utena #m #animal motif #kaoru siblings #kiryuu siblings

286 notes · View notes