At her core, she's still the same lovestruck girl from the first pages who loves magical girls more than anyone.
And if Lord Enorme can be redeemed, maybe... just maybe... Magia Baiser can be too.
Does she need to, though? As long as she can control her La Verita, Baiser the best antagonist Tres Magia et al. can ask for, as she exists solely to highlight or even to bring out their heroic qualities. Sure, the whetstone grates on the blade but you wouldn't want to trade it in for another blade because they'll both get dull eventually.
"Need" is a strong word. But "want"? Refer back to the very first pages. Utena never WANTED to be a villain. She seems to have accepted this side of herself by now, but if we consider her character, I think it's a very plausible situation for her to have in mind. Utena doesn't just consciously follow narrative convention, she outright enforces it, so an ultimate final showdown has to be on her mind. And what happens after that?
The most likely thing I can imagine is she's eventually faced with a big Choice. ... and being this manga, she'll probably take a third path anyway. Maybe the light and dark mascots will both turn out to be terrible grifters and we get a crazy teamup that dissolves the boundaries of heroism and villainy, I dunno.
But seeing as she's guided Enorme to the light, maybe the next step in her mind is trying to do the same with Matama and Nero?
last edited at Apr 29, 2023 9:51AM