Arisugawa Juri
From UtenaWiki
| Arisugawa Juri | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Role | Fencing Captain | |
| Family Name | Arisugawa ("existence live river") | |
| Given Name | Juri ("tree glass") | |
| Hair | Golden | |
| Eyes | Teal | |
| Rose | Orange | |
| Grade | 10th | |
| Birthday | December 1 | |
| Blood Type | A | |
| Height | 5'11" | |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Kotono Mitsuishi | |
| English Voice Actor | Mandy Bonhomme | |
Arisugawa Juri (有栖川 樹璃) is a major supporting character of the anime, movie, and manga.
Contents |
Background
Anime
Juri’s story begins with a friendship. It’s hard to say how Juri and Takatsuki Shiori became friends, but statements by the characters indicate that they were friends from childhood. Juri, because of her talent (Captain of the Fencing Team), beauty (Juri casually mentions that she models), and charisma (Juri is on the Student Council), was a star of sorts. Shiori was average by comparison and states that she felt that she could never compete with her friend. At a point prior to the beginning of the series, their friendship has become warped and Shiori has left Ohtori Academy.
Shiori's statements indicate that the love Shiori had for Juri became tainted with jealousy. Ultimately, Shiori says that she had doubts about their friendship, expressing her fears in the Black Rose Arc that Juri was only laughing at her or pitied her. Although Juri did not realize it, Juri was making Shiori feel inferior just by being herself.
Juri’s feelings were apparently rather different from Shiori’s. Though Juri never says the words, it is evident that Juri fell in love with her dearest friend. Naturally this complicats their friendship further. It is unclear why Juri hides her feelings for Shiori (as Juri hides her picture of Shiori in a locket). Society's attitude towards what would be a lesbian relationship may be a factor, though this is never stated. There may have been other personal concerns keeping Juri from expressing her feelings, such as a fear of rejection or of losing the entire friendship. Juri seems to hope that a miracle will cause Shiori to know and understand Juri's feelings without having to say anything, "Believe in a miracle, that your wish come true."
Before the series began, Shiori and Juri spent a lot of time with a boy who was a fencer like Juri. Shiori saw that he was in love with Juri and thought that Juri was in love with him. If they were together, Shiori would be the odd person out. Juri and the boy would be happy, but where would that leave her? Perhaps she really thought she loved the boy or perhaps she really just wanted to hurt Juri for once. In either case, she made a choice. She was willing to be his second choice as long as Juri did not have him. She lied to the boy, or at least thought she lied, telling him that Juri was in love with another person. In his despair, he fell into Shiori’s trap and they left the school together, leaving Juri all alone.
With her unrequited love for Shiori and frustrated hope, Juri became bitter. She had held out for a miracle and been disappointed. She would never be that foolish again. And yet was she entirely sure that even now there was no chance for her love to be returned? Did something in her still long for a miracle? As she sat in this state of despair, she suddenly received a letter from End of the World inviting her to join the Student Council and promising the power of miracles to the winner of the duels. What could this nonsense possibly mean? Dueling for miraculous power? Perhaps here was a chance to keep her hope alive, to find the miracle of which Shiori had spoken. On the other hand, it could be a chance to disprove miracles and show that they had never existed in the first place. In a sense, she could kill off that side of her that still believed in the power of miracles. One way or another, she could find peace... perhaps.
Manga
In the manga, Juri is student council treasurer. Her nickname is 'The Beautiful Leopard' and she is the captain of the fencing club. In the manga, there is no Shiori; Juri is in love with Student Council president Kiryuu Touga instead. Touga, however, is in love with Utena, and so Juri sees Utena as her arch-rival. Juri takes a far more actively antagonistic role against Utena in the manga, almost more similar to Kiryuu Nanami's role in the anime.
Personality
Most people see Juri as an unapproachable ideal, which on the surface is close to true. There are very few people she treats with any sense of friendliness or kindness. That isn't to say that she is mean because she usually isn't. She is just aloof and formal. She has a strong and dominant outward presence, which commands respect and even fear from students and teachers alike.
Her main talent is with the sword. She is able to defeat long lines of opponents with her superior skill. Juri makes thrusting the sword an act of poetry. There is a beautiful tension between her logical, calculated form and fiery passion that makes her the best. Only her trainer Tsuchiya Ruka matches her skill and even Tenjou Utena is able to defeat her only through coincidences resembling miracles. Rather than humble, Juri is confident.
The way she carries herself and the way she talks reveals her great intelligence. If people listen to her because she sounds like she knows what she is talking about, it is because she does. She is very witty at times and she can see through a situation to the facts of the matter.
Juri's weakness is her secret love for her best friend. Shiori, who feels she could never match her friend, not only doesn't love her back, but also resents her. Instead of chasing after her or flirting with her, Juri tries to hide her feelings; Shiori, for her part, seeks power over Juri by hurting her. Shiori's seduction of the nameless fencer is a prominent example. Shiori's actions hurt Juri, not because she actually liked the boy, but because it revealed Shiori's lack of attraction to her. When Shiori does find out about Juri's feelings, she equivocates between joy at having power over Juri and disgust at knowing that a girl looks at her the same way she looks at boys.
Juri, who had hoped that Shiori could love her, tried to abandon her faith and face the world with cold cynicism, but she could not abandon her faith entirely. For one thing, there was the locket around her neck containing the picture of her beloved. On the other, there was the power of miracles. Saying that she would disprove miracles, perhaps the revolution promised in the duels would allow Shiori to return her love. She fought with all her might, but she wasn't able to beat Utena.
She rejects the love of the one who tries to free her from her desire. She fights him claiming that she must protect her friend from him (which is true since he does wish to hurt her) but she doesn't understand his efforts to give her the power of miracles. In order to grow as an individual Juri must find the strength to move on and obtain a sort of equilibrium between her exterior and her deep feelings. She must always maintain her dignity and sense of nobility.
Sexuality
It is clear that Juri is lesbian in the anime; her crush on Shiori is evident, while she shows no interest in men whatsoever. However, in the manga, her obvious crush on Touga indicates that she is straight.
Relationships
- Crushing on Takatsuki Shiori (in the anime), Kiryuu Touga (in the manga), or Kaoru Miki (in the movie)
- Crushed on by Tsuchiya Ruka
- Fighting for engagement to Himemiya Anthy
- Friends with Tenjou Utena and Kaoru Miki
- On the Student Council with Kiryuu Touga, Kaoru Miki, Saionji Kyouichi, and Kiryuu Nanami
Analysis
- [1]: Wonderful Juri fanshrine with analysis on Juri, from her locket to her relationship with Kaoru Miki.
- Two Princes: Ashnod explains why she thinks Juri could be a prince.
