Great Character Writing: Himemiya Anthy

Who is the Rose Bride?

“I am the Rose Bride. I must do whatever the winner of the duels tells me to do.”

The seemingly passive and submissive princess in this deconstruction of fairy tale tropes is one of the deepest and most complex characters in a series full of them. I know there is a movie and manga version of Revolutionary Girl Utena, but the series is the most in-depth version of the character, so I’m going to focus on that. 

Anthy is a great character that subverts our expectations in powerful and surprising ways. Anthy must serve anyone who “wins her in a series of duels. She’s treated as the property of the duelists who exists solely to please them. The name Himemiya is a combination of the Japanese words hime (princess) and miya (shrine, or imperial gate), so her surname translates to Princess of the Shrine. Something that’s extremely fitting as we learn more about her.

We first see Anthy in her greenhouse, which is shaped suspiciously like a bird cage. 

Unlike the popular Utena, who’s often crowded by admirers, Anthy is a lone figure who’s thought of as that “strange girl” by the students. She works in her garden, isolated. Anthy is only ever seen with other duelists as a piece of property to show off.

Anthy meekly tells the other duelists that she is currently Saionji’s, and he may do what he likes with her. She seems to witheringly accept her role as the Rose Bride. But we get small glimpses of the person behind the serene smile.

“ Cheer up ... Saionji ... sempai”

When Utena wins Anthy in her duel with Saionji, we see a very passive aggressive side to her. Sweetly smiling as she refers to Saionji as an upperclassman, instead of the deeply respectful honorific, “sama.” Saionji looks at Anthy in melodramatic despair at losing his power over her. She is caught in a game that treats her as an object, but people don’t see how Anthy knowingly manipulates them, and takes advantage of their desires. She deliberately cheers on Utena in an uncharacteristically excited manner during her duel with Miki, so he will become distracted lose the match. Miki has convinced himself that Anthy needs him to “free her” so she can be his inspiration, his “shining thing.” All of the duelists have a view of women that they project onto Anthy, whether that be someone who’s subservient, someone who’s devious, an object to inspire, or someone to be protected. But never a complex person with her own desires and problems. 

She is seen in terms of being good and compliant or bad. When asked if Anthy is “venomous,” in an interview, Ikuhara gives this response.

Kunihiko Ikuhara: 

“As for whether or not Anthy’s character is venomous or not ... I don’t know the answer. And while I depict her in ways that make you suspect she is, I plan to never show you whether that’s out of ill will or not.” 

And this quote comes back to the main question of who is the Rose Bride? 

“People find it hard to doubt those they've fallen in love with. They can't even imagine they're being deceived and used.” 

We don’t strictly see Anthy from Utena’s, our point of view character’s, perspective. Utena is almost comically oblivious to the machinations going on her around her, something that becomes clearer as the secrets and plans going on around her unfold. When Utena first meets Akio, she just sees him as a cool older guy, not realising that he is the one controlling Anthy and abusing her. Utena doesn’t understand that Anthy has some very conflicted feelings for her brother, that help tie her down to the role of the Rose Bride. 

The sly smiles, passive-aggressive disdain for Utena’s naivety, and insistence that Anthy “just stop” being the Rose Bride are things Utena doesn’t recognise at first. Realising that Anthy’s situation and Anthy herself are far more complicated than she first thought, is a major part of Utena’s character development.

Something about the “scent of roses” coming from Anthy makes Utena think about the prince that we’re told saved her when her parents died. 

A major theme of the series, that is tied to Anthy, is reality vs. the stories we tell ourselves that stem from our ideas of reality. Utena associates rose’s with the prince who saved her from the loneliness and despair she’d fallen into after losing her parents. Or at least, that’s the story she tells herself, and the Shadow Play Girls tell us at the beginning of the series. But, like the glittering castle in the sky, you have to wonder how real it is? Saionji calls the castle in the sky “a kind of mirage.” 

Utena only remembered part of her encounter with the Prince all those years ago. Utena was driven to keep on living when she saw Anthy, pierced by all those blades and sentenced to be the scapegoat of humanity. The thing that saved Utena from despair wasn’t a Prince on a white, horse, but seeing a girl who was also suffering. She badly wanted the power to help this girl. And all Utena remembered was Dios’s words about never losing her nobility, even when she grows up. 

The Anthy who’s seen either as a helpless princess or an evil witch was just a girl who loved her brother and wanted to protect him. And couldn’t stand to see him overworked by the people of the world so he could be their Rose Prince. When she tells them he can’t have him anymore, she is impaled by their swords for “stealing the light of the world.” Anthy and Dios/Akio are god-like, immortal beings, so nothing can kill them physically. 

Akio: 

“Women who cannot become princesses have no choice but to become witches.”

We find out that Anthy is deeply devoted to those she loves, but all of her kindness and selflessness is buried under tons of bitterness and self-hatred from being the scapegoat of humanity for who knows how long! And Utena slowly begins to reach the vulnerable person underneath the roles of Rose Bride and witch.

“Because I am the Rose Bride...because I am a doll with no heart...I thought that no matter what befell my body, my heart wouldn't feel the pain.”

Anthy doesn’t see herself as capable of love. In a very rare moment where we’re privy to Anthy’s thoughts, Anthy wonders why Utena is fighting so hard to win her back from Touga in episode 12, For Friendship, Perhaps. At first, her voice is distant and hollow, as if she’s lost the ability to feel. But when Utena shows the power of Dios inside her, Anthy is genuinely surprised and moved. Anthy can see the ideal of the Prince in Utena that she used to love.

“You remind me so much of Dios when I loved him. But you can never be my prince, because you're a girl.”

But their relationship evolves beyond that of a prince and princess, or prince and witch. They become friends who develop romantic feelings for one another. Anthy and Utena’s relationship doesn’t fit the narrative of Ohtori Academy, because it’s one that allows them to leave their “coffins,”  and go beyond the roles assigned to them. 

Who ... are you?

Utena:

“I came all this way to be with you. So don’t be afraid of this world where we can meet.”

So, in the end, Anthy isn’t saved by an unattainable princely ideal, but a real relationship that goes beyond damaging oversimplified roles.

You really don't know what's happened, do you? By all means, stay in this cozy little coffin and continue to play the prince. But I have to go now. 

Even if Akio can’t see it, a revolution did occur. It’s not one where the “world’s shell” is smashed. The revolution is a gradual, quiet change is taking place among the duelists, Wakaba, and all the other people Utena touched. They are all growing up, unlike Akio, who can’t leave his “cozy coffin.”

But most significantly, Anthy has changed. She’s overcome her self-hatred and learned helplessness. In the end, Anthy was saved by a genuine relationship that inspires her to leave her abuser.

Her brother might not be able to leave his coffin, but Anthy can leave the Rose Bride behind. The second and final time we hear Anthy’s thoughts are when she leaves Ohtori to find Utena. 

“Now it's my turn to go. No matter where you are, I'll find you for sure. Wait for me, Utena.” 

But this time, her voice is filled with hope and joy for the life she is entering. 

The concept of the Rose Bride (like the Rose Prince) belongs to a worldview where people are reduced to a set of roles, and not valued for the people they are. Throughout the series, Anthy has gone from the passive Rose Bride, to a “venomous witch,” to a complex, flawed, yet deeply devoted person.  So the greatest revolution that could take place is one where Anthy can be free, and be with Utena, who’s not her prince or saviour, but her equal.