Utena meta: Some tears for movie!Touga
Dec. 13th, 2018 07:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mikogalateaAt one point around two years ago, I suddenly got incredibly emotional about movie!Touga. Here's the thoughts I had at the time.
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He comes across as so much more noble in the movie, and it's easy to think it's wonderful that he can be so nice and noble despite having gone through such horrible things as a child. But I've thought for a long time now that his princeliness might not have been entirely healthy -- like he may have thought he had to be the perfect prince to Utena and other girls no matter what, because if he's not a prince, then what is he? (The helpless child who was violated in the middle of a cabbage patch.)
It might certainly tie his backstory more closely to who he is in the movie itself, instead of it largely coming across as displaced backstory for his series self. YMMV, of course.
And how about a little more food for thought: Princes are supposed to protect and save princesses, as per traditional fairytales, but the prince isn't normally the one with the wicked stepmother (or stepfather in Touga's case), is he? I'm sure Touga must have been aware of that, and that it may have played into his mindset.
Don't get me started on the theory that he may have let himself drown on purpose when saving Juri, either.
Movie!Touga may be more of a symbol or device than a character on a number of levels, but I still think he's more interesting to think about than some people give him credit for, and he is very very sad.
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Might start bringing over non-Utena pieces next, for variety's sake.
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He comes across as so much more noble in the movie, and it's easy to think it's wonderful that he can be so nice and noble despite having gone through such horrible things as a child. But I've thought for a long time now that his princeliness might not have been entirely healthy -- like he may have thought he had to be the perfect prince to Utena and other girls no matter what, because if he's not a prince, then what is he? (The helpless child who was violated in the middle of a cabbage patch.)
It might certainly tie his backstory more closely to who he is in the movie itself, instead of it largely coming across as displaced backstory for his series self. YMMV, of course.
And how about a little more food for thought: Princes are supposed to protect and save princesses, as per traditional fairytales, but the prince isn't normally the one with the wicked stepmother (or stepfather in Touga's case), is he? I'm sure Touga must have been aware of that, and that it may have played into his mindset.
Don't get me started on the theory that he may have let himself drown on purpose when saving Juri, either.
Movie!Touga may be more of a symbol or device than a character on a number of levels, but I still think he's more interesting to think about than some people give him credit for, and he is very very sad.
-
Might start bringing over non-Utena pieces next, for variety's sake.
