Symbolism

Utena can almost be called an allegory. Many of the elements in the series are symbolic, and probably not meant to be taken literally. If one really watched too much of this series from a literal viewpoint, their head might explode. Therefore, to shed a little light on some blurred areas, we decided to write this section. This page is now divided into two sections. The first is for our original opinions, the second is for guest opinions.

Our Opinions

The following arguements are based solely on our own perceptions. Please feel free to disagree. Should you have a different interpretation or another symbol that you would like to include, please e-mail us and we will post your opinions on this page!

The pink rose and the white rose can be seen twirling around Utena in the episodes during which she duels with Touga. It would seem that the pink rose symbolizes Utena's weakness (her femininity?) and the white rose symbolizes her strength. When Touga first "approaches" her in the rose garden and hints that he is her prince, a pink rose is seen twirling in the corner of the screen. He then challenges her to a duel, and she loses. When Utena finally decides to challenge Touga to another duel, she shows up in the arena wearing her school uniform and duels with a pink rose (thus showing her in a very unconventional light, the submissive and weaker female.) Ultimately, Utena would have lost the duel had it not been for her courage moving Anthy's heart. Afterward, as she did before, Utena duels with a white rose - symbolizing her strength.

It could also be argued that Utena's rose appears as pink as she is about to be, and later as she is, seperated from Anthy. When the prince can no longer protect his (her?) princess, his masculinity is wounded. When he is firm in his role as the princess's protector, he is more confident in himself (um, herself.)

The Bandage that young Touga wraps around young Saionji's hand after he is injured in a battle is another important symbol. It seems to symbolize their friendship. When Touga encounters a young Utena in a church later that evening, he saves her from suicidal despair by promising to show her "something eternal." As Saionji realizes that Touga means to fufill this promise, the bandage slips off his hand and falls to the floor. This symbolizes the beginning of Saionji's jealousy and the strife in their friendship.

Miki's Stopwatch had to be included in here eventually, right? Personally, we think that it's more of a wierd, quirky thing that adds spice to the anime than it is a symbol. It may symbolize Miki's neurotic tendencies (he seems like the type to possess such neuroses.) It may symbolize how Miki acts submissive and sweet, but secretly longs for order and control over his life. Ultimately, however, the bittersweet melody of "The Sunlit Garden" probably offers more insight to Miki's personality than the stopwatch.

Anthy's Imprisonment is symbolized in many ways throughout the series, including her glasses, her hairstyle, her cage-shaped rose garden, and her coffins (which become literal and figurative.)

The Rose Colors of the Duelists can mean many things. Here's how we interpret them: Utena's white rose symbolizes strength and purity
Saionji's green rose symbolizes jealousy
Miki's blue rose symbolizes calm and rationality
Juri's orange rose symbolizes passion
Touga's red rose symbolizes love (eros, the physical and passionate kind)
Any suggestions on what Nanami's yellow rose symbolizes?

A few symbols that we couldn't figure out: Why is Touga throwing knives at an oblivious Miki in episode seven? Why are certain character's faces in shadow all the time? What's with all the balloons during the student council meeting in episode eleven? Actually, we had several interpretations of these. We had too many. The more we thought about the balloons, the less sense they made!

Guest Opinions

We've gotten so many thoughtful, intelligent emails offering analysis of symbolism in Utena, that we just had to share them with the rest of the world. Thank you very, very much to everyone who has contributed to this section! The following opinions are posted in rough chronological order.

December 3rd, 1999: Thank you to ArsgwaJuri@aol.com for a good suggestion on what Nanami's yellow rose symbolizes - Admiration.

April 14th, 2000: Emily Iizuka (ethurston1@my-Deja.com) added these thought-provoking comments about the rainstorm at the end of Juri's second duel with Utena:

The rainstorm at the end of Juri's second duel with Utena in ep. 29 obviously has some symbolic significance; I think it symbolizes a sort of cleansing or catharsis that resulted from the duel that was just completed. Nobody in the Arena acts as though they want to get away from it--they all just kind of freeze in place when the duel stops, and nobody moves until Ruka walks over to comfort Juri, who has her face turned upward toward the rain. I think the breaking storm must represent the emotional release that Juri is undergoing as a result of the events of the last two episodes; therefore, none of the duelists act as if it were something to be afraid of. (With this in mind, note the furiously working windshield wipers on the Akio cars around the Arena... :P)

May 22nd, 2000: We recieved an email from Seiryu that discussed many different symbols, some of which we haven't even thought of before! You can email Seiryu at traveldragon@uswest.net. Here is her letter, pretty much in its entirety:

I've spent a lot of time thinking about the symbolism in the Utena series (probably too much time, but who's counting?) and I've come up with a few theories. Before I tell my thoughts I'd like it to be known that I know nothing about Japanese symbolism so I'm just going off my own ideas here.

Nanami's yellow rose: While it might symbolism admiration, I think that perhaps it symbolizes her fear of losing Touga as yellow is often associated with cowardice.

The stone horses in beginning: Ever since I noticed these two horses I've been wondering what they could symbolize. After staring at the image in pause for quite a while and playing with slow motion, I still couldn't tell who the two riders were. My best guess is either Dios on the left and Akio on the right or Utena on the left and Anthy on the right. My reasoning for Utena and Anthy is that later in the credits they are seen on horses (although not stone ones) and that everything around them is chaotic. My reasoning for Dios and Akio is because, as I understand it, they are basically two halves of a whole who are sort of against one another, and they are also in the middle of the chaos. What do you think?

The balloons: My friends and I have discussed this one at length and all of us have different ideas. My best guess is that they symbolize how unimportant everyone at Ohtori Academy is except for Anthy. As far as I could tell there was only one purple balloon amongst all the other colors of Utena and the student council members. Perhaps it was foreshadowing of the Black Duelists.

The kitten Anthy gave Touga: While I think that this cat mainly symbolized Utena (mostly because of the stripes), I have no idea why Anthy gave it to Touga. Do you have any ideas?

The direction Anthy and Utena spin in the beginning: Here's an example of where I might be reading to much into this. In the beginning Utena is spinning clockwise but facing the other direction while Anthy is spinning counterclockwise while facing forward. Again I have no idea if this important but I thought perhaps it was. Do you have any thoughts?

June 18th, 2000: Here's some interesting information about Saionji's green rose from Stoker1439 (StokerChan@aol.com):

Saionji's green rose probably symbolizes jealousy, but it might also represent his need to find something eternal. Green is often associated with rebirth and eternity. For example, evergreen trees derive their name from the fact that they never seem to shed their green coat of needles (on a sidenote, according to some sources, a vampire that's staked through the heart with a post made of evergreen wood will rise the next evening, stronger than before).

Okay, enough flashbacks to high school English and Literature classes! That's all that we have for the time being. Once again, if you have any additions or disagreements, please e-mail us.