"Stop and see for yourself, Souji. Back then, who was there, who wasn't there? Who was it that really set the fire?"
I think it's really tragic. I almost cried, when I saw poor Mikage's expression...

Oh, I have such a hard time picking favorites. My favorite lines usually come in speeches, but here are some of the shorter ones. Reciting from memory, which means they might be a fusion of the sub and the dub. The point in still valid!


"Did you expect me to come crying to you, begging for help? Too bad. I won't do what you expect."
-Shiori Takatsuki, from Azure Paler than the Sky

This is one of my favorites lines from Shiori (which is quite a feat, considering how much I love her dialogue). I just... I don't know. I love the whole package of Shiori, her good and her bad, but there's just something so incredibly unsettling about watching her peer out from behind a chained door, her eyes expressing such utter malice. At the same time, seeing her hair a little messy and her conservative sweater, it really brings the gravity of what she is feeling into perspective. Shiori feels absolutely helpless, but she's too insecure to let Juri see that. She hates herself so much more than she hates Juri, yet she directs all of that seething misfortune into this line. Oh, Shiori. Even if this scene turned half of the fandom against you, I feel your pain.

"A marvelous planetarium, isn't it? With it, I can project fairytale illusions onto the walls and show the innocent their dreams. A shadow play for those who desperately wish for something eternal, for the power of miracles... but no place exists above this room."
-Akio Ohtori, from The Ends of the World

The best of his lines, in my opinion. It's always struck such a chord with me. This quote is actually word-for-word from the dub (sorry purists!), as I've just committed it to memory that way. The idea that is expressed, that no place exists above the planetarium, has a double-meaning to me. On one hand, it implies that the ideals of a miraculous power or the gift of eternity have always been false, just manipulations from his own hand. Perhaps that these things have never existed in the first place, but were merely imagined by the hopeful, or created by the powerful. It also seems to imply that the Chairman's tower may even be a higher plane of existence, that this room contains the highest existing power. I think that the first is a little more probable, and it fits better with the plot of the series, but I've never been able to completely dismiss the second.

"Eternity means lasting forever, right? For years, decades, centuries, millennia, eons... on and on.... My life may be just a moment, but... Eternity means that this moment lasts billions of years, without end. I want eternity."
-Mamiya Chida, Qualifications of a Duelist

I've always wondered if this memory really happened, or if it was just another fabrication that Mikage created from his days as Nemuro. I don't really think that it was authentic, as Mamiya is shown earlier, with the frosted roses, wondering if things really wish to be preserved, to go on forever in their most fragile state. It seems as though the original Mamiya understood the consequences. This new vision of Mamiya was the perfect motivation for Mikage-- to gain eternity for another, instead of his own memories. Of course, that path is a winding one. But, still, I love this line.

"No need to be ashamed. The memory you possess is a worthy one. Only those with beautiful memories are allowed to wish, to wish for that time to last forever, to never change from what you were. I understand. I know that you're the same as myself. I can see it in your eyes; your eyes are like those who wish to make their memories eternal."
-Souji Mikage, from Qualifications of a Duelist

Just an addition to the previous line, from Mikage himself. Although Utena saw Mikage as teetering on the edge of madness here, I always thought that his view of the Duelists, of Utena, and of himself made perfect sense. It was an ugly truth that Utena did not wish to see, and would not come to understand until the night before the Revolution. Saving Anthy from jumping might have opened Utena's eyes, but Mikage knew this tale long ago. +10 for brilliant madmen!

Last edited by dollface (08-26-2009 07:13:39 PM)

"It wasn't for you, but for Chuchu." - Utena showing how much better she thinks things are with monkeys.

"Utena-sama came in drag?! How cute!" - Random Girl who seems to be under the impression that Utena in a dress counts as crossdressing.

"No, it's not normal! I mean, what's not normal is what's normal for Utena, so this normal is not what's normal for Utena. Oh, this is so complicated!" - Wakaba showing her mastery of the English er I mean Japanese language.

"Take it easy, Saionji... sempai."

Ouch! Add that with her expression at the time...man, this is Anthy in all her glory, icy cold!

All quoted from memory here, so be gentle.

Nanami: This girls scares me...
(with a huge saw hidden behind her back) Anthy: Thank you!

This is one of the first times we see Anthy openly acknowledging Nanami's hatred and discomfort, and quite blatantly mocking it. For me, it's the moment that shows who's the true predator in that dynamic. Nanami's weak, and Anthy was always too jaded and too skilled of a manipulator to even take her seriously. In that moment, you get Anthy in a nutshell: her lethal cutting ability hidden behind her and masked by a blank insincere smile. Easily one of my favorite lines.

Anthy: Have you ever heard of cantarella? It's a poison used by the Borgia family.
Utena: Hm.
Anthy: So, do you like them? The cookies, I mean.
Utena: ...What a coincidence. I put some poison in your tea.

Another Anthy moment, but made even better because Utena tossed it right back. And considering that it's Utena, it's one of my all-time biggest WTF SKU moments.

Akio: Blah blah blah....you're in a maze with no way out.
Nanami: What the hell are you talking about?!

Where Akio's many ass-kissing sycophants would have nodded solemnly and attempted to toss back a half-assed metaphor of their own, blunt Nanami skips the niceties and summarizes the most immediate reaction to everybody's favorite villain's spouting. Sure, he just laughed it off, but it was like one of the characters smashing the fourth wall to slap around Ikuhara.

Akio: So how is your husband?
Mrs. Ohtori: Who cares about him? You. You're my only prince.

Great exchange in one of the most sinisterly seductive scenes in the series. Gotta love Mrs. Ohtori - she's as much of a ruthless hedonist that Akio is. Their conversation is brief and almost completely devoid of pretense. But while abrupt, it's certainly a witty little exchange.

Those are some that come to mind, anyway.

"Are you surprised? It's a big mistake to think you're the only one who can turn into a car. I'm a car now too!"

-Shiori from the movie

...I don't even know what to say. There are many lines in Utena that provoke many emotions but this is tops them all for me. Brain. It aches yet is amused.

Arreat wrote:

"Are you surprised? It's a big mistake to think you're the only one who can turn into a car. I'm a car now too!"

-Shiori from the movie

...I don't even know what to say. There are many lines in Utena that provoke many emotions but this is tops them all for me. Brain. It aches yet is amused.

I heard about that line before I watched the movie, and I've loved it ever since.

From the Utena movie, as Anthy is driving Utena to the outside, and the student council shows up along side of them.

When we meet outside, I'll be there to seduce you.

-Saionji

I found that hilarious after Juri and Miki both said something somewhat inspirational.

Maybe someone can tell me what episode this is from. Utena and someone else (maybe miki and/or anthy) are standing, looking out a window at something that is going on. Saionji comes up behind them and starts saying something very dramatic and intense, then whips out the exchange journal between him and anthy saying something about their "secret love". After he stands still for a moment, being ignored, Utena says something like "knock it off" or "no one cares". It's very telling, I love that scene!

Riri-kins wrote:

I'm pretty sure that's from episode six. I love that little exchange too.

Saionji: Abuse is one of the many forms love takes. For instance, the love Anthy and I share is hidden love.

(pause)

Saionji: That's hidden love.

Utena: Yeah, nice skirt, Saionji. 


Poor baby! Nobody pays attention to him.

OMZG! I was about to say this scene, I love it.

Utena and Anthy: Lend us the power of revolution!
This line sounds epic in any language!

_________________
The last duel between Touga and Utena:
Utena: We just met here last night!
Touga: Personal feelings are forbidden combat, Tenjou!
*Touga takes Utenas' hand*
Tenjou...I'll protect you.
Utena:  How many times have I fought with you here?
Touga:  This is the third.
Utena:  How strange...it feels like we've fought so often...

I love this scene so much!  Touga and Utena could be a wounderful couple, really.

Last edited by Mellow Morte (11-04-2009 02:56:32 AM)