Shiori Takatsuki (Utena the movie: Adolescence Mokushiroku)

[gaisce]

Title: The Poison Vine
Author: gaisce
Spoilers: Heavy spoiler analysis for the movie and episodes 7 and 17 in series

Comments

[sarahtheboring]

The elevator confessional provides speculation for any numerous possibilities. I tend to think that Shiori is a manifestation of Utena’s dark and flawed side. It explains why they are the only two who remember Touga and why Touga is in his relationship with Shiori.

Whoa. O_o

Will have to think about that. Though I definitely think that they are symbolically opposed. Though there is some precedent in this series, with Dios and Akio. Hmmm.

This is interesting, and thorough. Thank you. The closing is apt, I think, and an important part - a lot of people don't want to think about characters they dislike. If movie and series 'verses are separated, movie Shiori is much less comprehensible and pitiable than series Shiori, which doesn't help either. But I think the villains in this series are especially important, because of their role in how everything works. They don't really stop the heroes, or stand in their way, like regular villains. What tends to stop the heroes is the heroes' own weaknesses. So the villains in Utena are people who

[gaisce]

The whole elevator scene is up for debate, but Shiori = selfish Utena happened to be my take on it and I've latched on. Of course the excellent part about Utena is that speculation is open-ended and various ideas could have support from the canon and nothing is more right than another. It's easy to poke some holes in my version, but I'm overall happy with the Touga/Utena/Juri/Shiori/Anthy orgy of personality types

[sarahtheboring]

Oh, I'm not saying the idea is wrong, just that I'd never heard it before.

I guess most people don't like her kind of antagonistic behavior because it's that kind of normal, petty evil. Sort of a been there, done that, invoked Snacky's law and moved on thing.

That's an interesting way to see it. I assumed people threw fits because she's unpleasant, and fandom in general wants every single character to be heroic and likeable, or else. That and she causes Jury grief, and omghowdaresheopposeJury.

That idea gives them more credit, which I should probably do. ^_^;

Yeah, that's pretty much how it is. Heh. Though the part at the end about growing up and such was interesting, though it went in circles a bit. (They threw in Nemuro Memorial Hall as fanservice, though, too! For once, something I like got fanserved. *sigh*)

[shati]

I wanted to toss in that I see a Shiori-Anthy parallel in both movie and series, too. And I like your comment that

the villains in Utena are people who have made the wrong choices and illustrate what could go wrong, or could have gone wrong, with the heroes - not roadblocks so much as cautionary tales.

(Though I do think Akio is a roadblock. End of the world, after all -- he's a boundary by name, too. Not to mention his literal role as one at the end of the movie

[seitokaichou]

Intelligently-written! Absolutely brilliant! You answered almost all these confusing questions I have in mind in regards to Shiori's relationship with Touga.

[gaisce]

Well, I didn't address the whole "why would she want to" aspect because it's kind of a "duh, who wouldn't?" ^_^ Thanks for reading.