Character: Akio
Series: Shoujo Kakumei Utena
Title: One's Understanding of Human Nature
Author: Ria
Email:
Spoilers: To keep on the safe side, most of the general series, focusing on Akio, Dios, Anthy and Utena. Heavy spoilers of the end, too.
Notes: This essay was due on Wednesday, but due to cirsumstances, I was unable to post it on that day. My apologies, and I hope this essay more than makes up for it.Deciding to write an essay on Akio was a decision made on a moment's whim more than anything else. Afterwards, I began to panic. I was very new to Utena as a whole, comapred to others - what the hell was I doing, writing an essay on Akio when someone else could do it so much better? Never mind thst Akio was a very complex character and most of the blatant symbolism in Utena, to use only one example, tended to go right over me. I was the worst person to write an essay for any character from Utena.
Thankfully, I got over that fast.
But Akio is a complex character, no matter what others think. Most of the following essay is made up of my own opinions and my interpretations of the anime. It's very likely that they're wrong, and if they are, I apologise. I hope no one's going to blast me for being so off the mark you can't even see the mark anymore. And, now that I've done my usual nervous ramble, let's just head on, shall we?
One�s Understanding of Human Nature
or
A Master Chess Player in a Broken Fairytale An essay on Akio from Shoujo Kakumeni Utena
The board is set. The pieces are moving. - Gandalf, The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings)
Let�s begin this essay with a story � a fairytale.
Once upon a time, there was a great and noble prince who lived in a time when all girls were princesses. This prince was the epitome of kindness and gentleness, but this went against him as the ordinary folk began to assume that he would always be their saviour. He did all that they asked of him, but this eventually took its toll on him when he fell deathly ill. But the people still demanded that he save their daughters, until his sister, the only person who was worried about him, could stand it no longer. She faced the villagers and, with a cruel little smile, told them that her brother would help them no more because she had hidden him away. They would use him for their own means no longer.
But the villagers� fury was great and the prince�s sister found herself attacked by millions of swords filled with human hate, and the prince lost his power and fell from grace.
Shoujo Kakumei Utena is an anime with the overall theme of an inverted fairytale. In this, the princesses want to be princes, the princes are mere shadows of who they once were, and the castles hang upside down in the air � and the fairytale mightn�t even be real�
Akio doesn�t appear in the anime until the end of episode 13, but isn�t properly introduced until episode 14, when Utena suddenly learns that Anthy has an older brother. Akio is the Trustee Chairman of Ohtori Academy and from the moment he first appears onscreen, it�s blatantly clear that Akio is much more than he seems.
Despite the fact that the position of Chairman usually carries a lot of responsibility with it, Akio seems to do very little actual work, spending most of his time stargazing, appearing intelligent and eloquent on several apparently insignificant matters, and� doing other things in the shadows that shall, for the present time, remain nameless. But Akio�s influence is obvious when he comes into contact with other members of staff as they practically fall over backwards to accommodate him, acting aghast when Utena accidentally slips up and calls him by his given name in public.
Akio: What seems to be the problem?
teacher: Oh my, Mr. Chairman.
Utena: Akio-san.
teacher: What do you mean, "Akio-san"?!
Utena: Well, um, I...- Episode, 30: The Barefoot Girl
Akio is cool and charismatic while in public, gaining admiration wherever he goes. Girls gain instant harmless crushes on him (Wakaba being the primary example of this), which he treats with the stoic amusement of an older man who knows that girls instantly like him and knows exactly how to use this attraction to his advantage � and use it do his advantage he does. Utena, however, though attracted to Akio, doesn�t actively flaunt this attraction for fear of betraying her prince, which Akio immediately notices and, in response, pursues her quietly and obsessively. When Utena learns that Akio is engaged, she becomes even more determined to ignore her feelings for him, which both annoys and amuses Akio.
Though Utena initially believes that Akio is nothing more than Anthy�s older brother (with whom she has an admittedly strange brother-sister relationship) who just happens to be engaged to the daughter of the real Chairman of Ohtori Academy, the school his sister just happens to be attending, she couldn�t be more wrong. Akio, in fact, has known Utena for several years prior to her coming to Ohtori.
When Utena was young, her parents died. Understandably, she took this very badly. In the manga, she falls into a river, from which Akio later saves her, though she never sees his face. This noble act left a big impression on Utena, making her vow to one day become a prince herself. With only the ring given to her by her prince and lured by the postcards he sends her every year, Utena finally arrives at Ohtori � and to him.
voice: "Little one bearing up alone under grief,
voice: please lose not thy strength and nobility when thou growest up."
voice: "As a token of this day, please retain this."
voice: "Pray, shall we meet once more?"
voice: "This ring should guide thee to me."- Episode 1: The Rose Bride
In the anime, Utena climbs into a coffin near her parents� ones and vows to stay there until she too dies. It is Akio who convinces her to come out and face life again, by showing her a miracle she can no longer remember.
Akio: You're always wearing this ring.
Utena: Well, I got it from a Prince.
Akio: You didn't even take it off that night.
Utena: Please, no more.
Akio: Loyalty to your prince?
Utena: I think I...
Utena: want to become a Prince...myself...
Akio: You think?
Utena: It's just that...when I look at this I remember.
Utena: That I mustn't lose my nobility.
Utena: I don't really remember that time too well.
Akio: "That time"? What do you mean?
Utena: I can't remember very well.- Episode 34: Seal of the Rose
But it wasn�t exactly Akio who saved Utena, rather the last shadows of the price, Dios, before he fully became Akio. The fairytale mentioned at the beginning of this essay was true. Akio was once Dios, the noble prince who buckled under the expectations placed upon him by the ordinary people. Anthy, his sister, the witch, locked him away both for his safety and probably because she was jealous that she was the only girl who could not be his princess.
shadow: You are the Prince who protects all the women of the world.
shadow: You make all the women of the world into princesses -
shadow: the Rose Prince.
shadow: And I am your -
shadow: sister.
shadow: I'm the only one who can't become your princess!- Episode 34: Seal of the Rose
In doing so, she sealed away Dios� power and condemned herself to being tormented by swords of human hate for eternity.
Not surprisingly, Dios probably didn�t react lightly to this treatment of his sister. The details of Dios� slide into Akio are never clear, but Anthy�s torture and the loss of his own power were most likely the key elements. Noble-hearted Dios, the Rose Prince, became the cruel, manipulative Akio, the Ends of the World, who harbours deep bitterness against the world (which no one can really blame him for) and is determined to treat the world the same way it has treated him and Anthy � but he can only do this by reclaiming his old power.
Akio: Does it hurt, Anthy?
Akio: But I'm not the one causing your pain.
Akio: It's the world.- Episode 37: The One Who Will Revolutionize the World
It is hinted that Akio and Anthy are very old and during their long life, both have gained an extensive understanding of the bad side of human character. Anthy has hidden Dios� power behind the Rose Gate, which only be opened by one possessing a pure and noble heart. In some ways, Akio�s jaded sense of the world is obvious as he simply can�t believe that Utena will be able to open the gate � and is suitably stunned when can, growing frantically panicked when the gate turns into Anthy�s coffin instead of releasing Dios� power.
Akio: Wh...what the?!
Akio: The swords!
Akio: That's the...
Akio: STOP IT!!
Akio: Don't open that! You don't know what'll happen!
Akio: STOP!!
Akio: Stop...- Episode 39: �Someday, Shine With Me.�
Akio�s character and his relationships with others in the series accentuate his strengths and weaknesses. His relationships with Anthy, Dios and Utena both make and break him, which isn�t very surprising as they are his most important.
Akio has a love-hate relationship with Anthy. She is his weakness, his obsession. On the one hand, the experience that changed them both has left him needing to protect her as he was unable to do before, but Akio�s protection has warped into something that reflects Akio�s desires and needs. For example, he sees nothing wrong with subtly forcing her to take on the role of the Rose Bride so he will be one step closer to reclaiming his lost power, and can easily make it seem that Anthy is agreeing to it with no reluctance or hesitation. He also has no qualms in engaging in a sexual relationship with Anthy in an attempt to execute control over her: Akio had little control over what happened to him in the past, and makes up for it in the present by trying to manipulate and control those around him.
But that isn�t to say that Anthy is unable to show her displeasure. She does so in subtle, passive-aggressive ways, using small smirks and quiet remarks that cut straight through Akio with devastating force. In some ways, she knows Akio better than he could ever know her.
Akio: I just found a comet.
Akio: A new star that no one knows about yet.
Akio: But I won't tell anybody...
Akio: ...or give it a name. Strange, isn't it?
Akio: I feel like when I discover a new star I make it mine.
Akio: But a star is a star. It belongs to nobody.
Akio: It belongs to nobody.
Anthy: Good night, brother.
Akio: Do you still torment me?- Episode 34: Seal of the Rose
To the outside world, Akio and Anthy present a bizarre sibling relationship that can never fully hide the dark secrets they hide from others. To Utena, however, their relationship is something she views with a wistful regret, being an orphan and an only child. However, others who are not blinded by their family past like Utena is can plainly see that there is something not quite right between Akio and Anthy. Even Nanami, whose own relationship with her brother Touga is far from perfect, can see that there is something not quite right even before she learns of their incestuous relationship. However, when she learns of it she cannot hide her disgust (her own feelings for Touga being conveniently forgotten for the moment):
Utena: Nanami! What're you doing? You're shocking Anthy.
Nanami: I don't want any of that jam.
Utena: Well you don't have to get so violent about it.
Utena: Wait a sec. I said wait!
Nanami: What?
Utena: Apologize to Akio-san and Himemiya!
Nanami: Are you stupid?! You don't have a clue what's going on, do you?!
Utena: Geez, what the heck is she babbling about?
Akio: I'm sure she's got a lot on her mind. About siblings and such.- Episode 32: Romance of the Dancing Girls
But in the end, it is Utena freeing Anthy from her coffin � opening Anthy�s eyes to the outside world � that shifts the power over to Anthy. She now has the strength to defy Akio and leaves Ohtori to find Utena, telling him that he can remain in his isolated world, his coffin, for as long as he likes, remaining indulged in his manipulative little fantasy games.
Anthy: You don't know what happened, do you?
Akio: What?
Anthy: It's alright now. Please go on playing make-believe "Prince" in this comfortable little coffin forever.
Anthy: But I must go.
Akio: Go? To where?
Anthy: That person hasn't vanished. She's merely left your world.
Akio: What're you talking about?
Akio: W-wait a minute! Anthy!
Akio: Anthy!!
Anthy: Farewell.- Episode 39: �Someday, Shine With Me�
Akio�s relationship with his former self is a complex one. While Akio seems to give the impression that he is satisfied with the man he has become, it can also be supposed that he wishes to still be the prince he once was � why else, apart from his lust for general control and power, would he wish to reclaim Dios� power once more? Akio routinely seems to scorn the prince he once was, claiming Dios to be weak and na�ve, but the conversation he has with the figment of Dios towards the end of the anime seems to be wistful and full of regret, as if Akio has been resigned for a long time to the fact that he will never again truly be Dios as he once was. In Utena, he sees the better qualities he once had as Dios, perhaps the reason he was drawn to her in the first place, but this seems to only make him remember even more strongly what he has lost.
Akio: She certainly resembles the old me.
Akio: I used to be like that.
Akio: I used to think that sincerity was valuable...
Akio: ...and that it was the one and only way to change the world.
Akio: But sincerity by itself changes nothing.
Akio: Without power, one finds oneself merely depending on others to live.
Akio: I've taken enough risks to buy the power to change the world.
Akio: That's how the world works-- Episode 39: �Someday, Shine With me�
But the fact that Dios constantly remains a figment or shadow, and the fact that the large statue of Dios shatters during the climax of Akio and Utena�s duel (before Anthy began her role in it, that is) seems to suggest that Dios has been lost forever. Also, when Utena opens the Rose Gate and is presented with Anthy�s coffin instead of Dios� power, this seems to suggest that Dios� power is also gone forever and that the power to revolutionise the world is the ability to look beyond oneself and one�s own little world, as suggested by Anthy�s coffin and her later awakening. This would blend well, considering the type of role Dios played before his downfall. Dios� ability to look beyond himself could possibly have been the power that Anthy sealed away, the ability that Akio now lacks and, at the end of the series, still lacks.
Akio�s relationship with Utena is a long and complicated one. He has known her for several years, having saved her because of the last shadows of Dios in him. Perhaps he was drawn to her because he saw a reflection of who he once was in her. He lured her to Ohtori and perhaps even had a hand in her joining the Duels. Akio is a master manipulator, a god in the world of Ohtori that can command life and death. Akio always knew that Utena had never forgotten him or his word and held her ideal of her Prince close to her heart, and he continuously uses this against her, gradually giving enough hints of the whereabouts of her Prince to keep her interested.).
Akio: Have you forgotten?
Akio: She's the kind of girl who treasures an old ring given to her by a man whose name she doesn't even know.
Touga: That's true. That's the thing that binds her.- Episode 35: The Love that Blossomed in Winter
Utena finds herself attracted to Akio almost immediately, not something that she�s very proud of, Akio being Anthy�s brother. In Utena�s mind, a good friend doesn�t fall for her best friend�s older brother. She�s determined to keep this attraction a secret, particularly when she learns that Akio also has a fianc�e, but she has underestimated Akio�s ability to manipulate a person�s emotions beyond their control. Through using Utena�s naivety and good-heartedness against her, along with a gentle, ensnaring seduction, Utena finds herself consumed by thoughts of Akio. At first, this obsession is tinged with guilt over her apparent betrayal of her Prince, but as time goes on, part of Utena starts to wonder if perhaps Akio always was her Prince� and then the fairytale shatters, upon Akio taking Utena�s virginity.
Utena changes after that. She can no longer hide her guilt, particularly when faced with Anthy�s passively aggressive attitude, even though she played her part in the seduction as well. It�s not only that � Utena feels guilty because Kanae has no idea of what�s going on when she�s not around (and she�s not around a lot). Following this, Akio�s ensnaring of Utena goes into full-speed as the climax of the series approaches, and the viewer can only watch, aghast, knowing that Utena�s fairytale, already falling apart at the edges, will have to shatter completely.
Upon Akio being revealed as the Ends of the World, controller of the Duels, Utena�s fairytale is destroyed. Not only is her Prince manipulative and half-mad at times, the fantastical upside down castle in the sky turns out to be nothing more than an illusion. Nothing was real, not really. Things only worsen for her as Akio�s twists everything around, claiming her to have been the seducer and not him, effectively beginning the breaking of Utena.
Utena: That's not it. This is the room where you and Anthy always...
Akio: Always...?
Akio: Oh, is that what you're upset about?
Akio: Am I really doing something that despicable?
Akio: And even if I am, you're the same as me.
Utena: What're you talking about?
Akio: I doubt you've forgotten.
Akio: Behold, the memory of the two of us.
Akio: I have a fiancee, but that didn't stop you.
Akio: Isn't that a sin?
Utena: That's not fair.
Akio: Unfair? Isn't it unfair to turn your eyes from the truth and then criticize others?
Akio: Isn't it UNFAIR to pretend that your conscience is clear and that YOU'RE the one in the right?
Utena: That's not it! I...Himemiya...
Akio: That's right. You didn't even try to understand Anthy.
Akio: In the end, you had your hands full just thinking about yourself.
Akio: How cute. You're a good woman.
Akio: You should stay a girl.- Episode 38: The Ends of the World
Despite the fact that Akio could see a reflection of Utena in himself, he never expected her to triumph. He always believed, right up until the end, that she would fail, that she would fail as he did. Even when she appears to succeed by freeing Anthy, the Duelling Arena collapses as the swords close in upon Utena. And, to some extent, Akio is right: Utena did fail as he did because she believed she did. Utena truly believed that she failed Anthy and that she was always just pretending to be a prince, and the viewer never learns if Utena forgives herself for this. The cycle has repeated itself.
Utena: I really...couldn't become a Prince.
Utena: I'm sorry, Himemiya. Sorry for ending up just a make-believe Prince...
Utena: Forgive me.- Episode 39: �Someday, Shine With Me�
Even right up to the end of the final episode, Akio appears to genuinely believe that Utena failed, that she caused no revolution, and resigns himself to the fact that he is going to have to start all over again. Akio can�t let go of his desire to reclaim his power, no matter how many times it fails, and is thus bewildered when Anthy tells him flatly that Utena did cause a revolution � it�s simply one that he can�t see.
Akio: It hasn't been that long since then, but everybody's forgotten about her completely.
Akio: She didn't cause a Revolution after all.
Akio: Now that she's gone, she was just a dropout to this world.
Akio: I've got to rebuild the Code of the Rose Signet from scratch.
Akio: I'm counting on you, Anthy.
Anthy: You don't know what happened, do you?
Akio: What?- Episode 39: �Someday, Shine With Me�
If Dios� power was really the ability to look beyond himself, then it�s probably likely that Akio has long forgotten this, if his inability to see beyond Ohtori and his own manipulation games is anything to go by. One can only wonder if Akio will ever be able to look beyond himself. At the end of the anime, Akio has been deserted and all that is left of Utena�s time in Ohtori is rumours and speculations that have a grain of truth in them, just like what happened with Mikage, as well as Akio and Anthy�s own secrets.
Akio�s relationship with Kanae, his fianc�e, is one of half-truths and secrets. Kanae genuinely loves Akio, but she can�t love all of him as she doesn�t know the true Akio. She�s in love with the shadow of a man that Akio presents to others. Akio seems to love Kanae to a certain extent, probably because she�s the most normal person in Ohtori. Akio�s response to Kanae�s awkwardness around Anthy or to Anthy�s ambiguously behaviour to his fianc�e is non-existent � we never really find out his thoughts in relation to the two of them being connected to each other and to him.
In the end, it is Kanae�s inability to accept Anthy that ensures that Kanae and Akio can never have an honest and true relationship, as well as the way that Akio and Anthy keep themselves apart, whether this is deliberate or not. Around them, Kanae feels like an outsider. Near the end, we are shown a bespelled, submissive Kanae that Akio controls completely. At the end of the anime, she is the only one who isn�t free from Akio � apart from Akio, himself.
Akio�s relationship with the Seitokai (Student Council) Duellists is basically one where he dangles all of their hopes and dreams before them, but has no actual intention of allowing them to come to pass. It is Akio�s long understanding of the less savoury facets of human nature that allowed the Duels to happen. In Akio�s mind, humans always want more than they have. Allow humans to change the world and they�ll pursue it to the death.
His methods are similar with the Black Rose Duellists. He uses Miakge�s memories and his inability to let go of the past against him, and he is just as much of a pawn to Akio as the Seitokai Duellists are. Akio never had any intention of allowing the Victor of the Duels to revolutionise the world, as evidence by him taking the sword from Utena in the end and using Anthy against her. In the end, all of the Duellists were nothing more than pawns, a means to an end of Akio�s choosing. In the end, the only thing that Akio was concerned about was regaining his lost power � the power of miracles � the power of Dios.
Akio from the Utena movie is vastly different from the Akio in the anime. For one thing, he�s not even the main villain. He lives in a world where there are no more princes, but seems to retain full knowledge of what he was, as evidence by his rather disturbing drawings. Movie Akio is certainly not as strong or as bitter as anime Akio, and strikes the viewer as more of an anguished, tragic figure. At last, unable to cope with this burden (along with his feelings and memories of Anthy), movie Akio eventually kills himself. The viewer can really only feel pity for him - or distaste if said viewer is really a fan of the anime Akio.
So why write an essay on Akio, a character who makes a rubix cube seem less confusing? Well, to begin on a shallow note, why not? For an anime character, he�s not bad looking! He can manage to pull off the most ridiculous of outfits. He has a shiny red car that he backflips onto the hood of while showing unsuspecting Duellists the Ends of the World (be still my overactive imagination!). If that doesn�t impress a viewer, I don�t know what will!
On a more serious note, I immediately took notice of Akio when he first showed up, mostly because he set off all of my �untrustworthy character alert!� bells. You just know he�s up to no good and everyone, deep down, loves a character like that. He�s charismatic, gentle and considerate, even though the gears in his head are usually ticking away while he�s being all of those things. I find Akio interesting because outwardly he�s the epitome of everything �good�, while what�s inside would send any sane girl running for her life.
I even admit that I find the incest aspect of his relationship with Anthy fascinating, mostly because Akio never seems to give a damn about it. Not once in the entire series does he ever question the fact that he sleeps with Anthy and whether this is morally correct or not. He seems to accept it as a part of who they are, and I can only admire that � to a degree. Sex is just sex to Akio, something meaningless, a way to control people - not surprising, considering how many people he's slept with. Right and wrong have blended and disappeared for Akio, maybe because of his age or because of who he now is, but it leaves a set of morally ambiguous ideals behind that are very intriguing to ponder and write fanfiction about.
But now we�ve come to the crux of the matter � what shape is Akio in at the end of the series? Judging by his reaction to Anthy leaving him, he�s not doing so well. Anthy is his whole world; she�s always been his whole world. Despite all that�s happened, she�s always been there � hell, she even took millions of sword filled with hate for him! And now she�s gone.
It could possibly be considered that Akio is becoming a broken man, the type of person that he tried to turn Utena into. There�s a limited possibility that he will ever recover from Anthy�s desertion of him. Akio is still trapped in his coffin. He hasn�t cracked the earth�s shell. Perhaps this is because Anthy�s coffin appeared to him, instead of his power � he simply didn�t deserve it. (The other, more obvious reason is that it was Utena who opened the gate and she was more concerned about Anthy than Akio�s power, but this is an Akio essay I�m writing�)
Akio is a man who has become a mere shadow of who he used to be. He has now lost everything dear to him, left engaged to a woman who refuses to see him for who he really is. This Akio is a fanfiction writer�s dream.
Recs Sites
All of the anime quotes were gotten from here: Series Scripts from Empty Movement. Empty Movement is a fantastic site anyway.The Long Legged Older Man >> Site branch-off from Empty Movement focusing on Akio. It'll keep you entertained for hours, and you'll learn more about Akio than you ever wanted to know...
Utena Fanfiction Repository >> Good selection of fanfiction
Fanfiction
Phoenix Under Glass >> Akio through Kanae's eyes after the end of the anime.Tetralogy IV: A Lesser Life >> Part of a series. Semi-sequal to "Phoenix Under Glass". Akio POV.
Essays
Anthy's Malice >> A good explanation of Anthy's passive aggressive behaviour, particularly in context to Akio.Akio's Conquests >> If you really want to see exactly how many Akio has slept with. For general interest, of course, you see.
Akio and the Fangirls who Hate Him >> Going for the bad guy isn't always such a good idea. So why do it?
Akio Ohtori in Bed >> So why is Akio always the one with clothes on? Read this, and you might just find out.