Athletic, beautiful, courageous . . . What is Utena Tenjou's weakness? Does she even have one? Unfortunately, yes. Her weakness is her sense of justice, her idealistic view of good and evil in the universe. It is Utena's greatest strength, and also the cause of her downfall. How could she have known that not every handsome prince has a heart of gold? That not every princess is kind, gentle, or pure? That her life was not meant to be a fairy tale with a happily-ever-after ending?

Utena Tenjou is popular, tomboyish, athletic girl. She may not be the best student . . . actually, she's a pretty poor student . . . but her beauty, confidence, and talent with sports all makes up for that in the eyes of her peers. It is no wonder that Utena finds herself fencing with, and defeating, the most talented swordsmen in the school without any former training. Was it Utena's natural talent . . . or was it the Power of Dios?

Utena is mature in many ways. She coped with terrible grief at a young age when both of her parents passed away. She is not afraid to be her tomboyish self, and is not willing to confirm to traditional stereotypical feminine behaviours. In fact, she refuses to wear her school uniform, prefering a jacket and shorts that make her look like a prince. "I want to be a handsome prince who rescues princesses," she says in the first episode. In many ways, however, Utena is an immature child. Only a child still believes that love and friendship will conquer all the evil in the world. Utena's strongly developed sense of justice sometimes forces her into seeing things in black and white. As fans know, NOTHING in the Utena series is a simple as black and white. Even Utena herself senses this. At first, Utena hates Saionji for abusing Anthy, and believes that he is nothing but a savage brute. Later, when she discovers Saionji's true feelings written in his exchange diary, she starts to feel "a little sorry for him." Also, her close friendship with Miki survives, despite what she views as his selfish wishes for Anthy in the dueling arena.

Although she is initially put off by Anthy's strange personality, the two develop a close bond soon after Utena defeats Saionji in her first duel. Anthy becomes not only Utena's good friend, but also a very important part of her life. Without Anthy at her side, Utena becomes depressed and listless (as occurs in episode twelve). Utena may love Anthy as a friend, or more than a friend. She may love Anthy because she finally has a princess to protect. She may love Anthy for a number of reasons. Anthy, for her part, returns Utena's affections with unconditional love. Is it enough, however, to prevent Utena from falling into the arms of Akio Ohtori?

Ultimately, Utena cannot shake her idealism enough to resist the charms of her prince . . . whom she belives is a good, kind person . . . he just HAS to be . . . he's her prince, he once saved her . . . The handsome prince is always the hero, right?

The screen capture of Utena on this page is courtesy of Utena Through a Rose Colored Lens.