Kiryuu Touga
From UtenaWiki
| Kiryuu Touga | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Role | Duelist | |
| Family Name | Kiryuu ("paulownia living") | |
| Given Name | Touga ("winter bud") | |
| Hair | Red | |
| Eyes | Blue | |
| Rose | Red | |
| Grade | 11th | |
| Birthday | June 4 (Gemini) | |
| Blood Type | A | |
| Height | 193.5 cm (6'4") | |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Koyasu Takehito | |
| English Voice Actor | Crispin Freeman | |
Contents |
Anime and manga
In the Shoujo Kakumei Utena anime and manga, Kiryuu Touga (桐生 冬芽)is the president of Ohtori Academy's Student Council and the campus's most prominent playboy. He is notable for his chauvinism and pretensions to princeliness. He is also one of only three characters to be engaged to the Rose Bride during the course of the narrative, and the only duelist ever to defeat Utena.
Movie
In the movie Adolescence Mokushiroku, Touga's role is entirely different. Rather than a playboy who impersonates a prince, Touga is one of Ohtori's "real" princes; he lost his life trying to save Juri from drowning before the movie begins, and appears in the movie as a ghost. It is implied that Touga and Utena knew each other well prior to his death, and it is he who leads Utena to her ring -- after her arrival at the academy, in another departure from the anime's story arc. Touga's ghostly status and his emotional drowning scene in a modded version of Mikage's elevator lend credence to the observation that in the movie's Ohtori Academy, all the true princes are dead.
Background
Touga is the adopted son of the wealthy Kiryuu family, who give him and his biological sister Nanami every advantage except affection. In the anime, Touga is largely left to his own devices or, in flashback, used by his parents as a social lubricant; in the movie, Touga's foster father actually rapes him. In the anime, Nanami once gave Touga a kitten for his birthday, only to send it over a waterfall when he paid more attention to it than he did to her.
In the anime, we learn that Touga and Saionji Kyouichi were childhood friends, accounting for their love-hate relationship in the series. As young boys, Touga and Saionji met Tenjou Utena waiting to die in a coffin in a church belfry. The encounter left an impression on Touga, who was unable to entice Utena out of her coffin with visions of "something eternal." The incident highlights both Touga's patronizing attitude towards women and his cynicism about eternity.
Personality and development
During the first arc of the anime, Touga gets little in the way of positive characterization. He's a playboy, a misogynist who pretends at chivalry, and an emotional blackmailer. These traits reach their apex in episode 11, when Touga pretends to be Utena's long-lost prince to manipulate her into letting him cut the rose from her chest in their first duel, then treats her and the Rose Bride like trophies until Utena clobbers him in a rematch in the following episode.
After his defeat, Touga secludes himself in his room for the length of the second arc, not saying a word. When he emerges, his character becomes more complex. Touga begins hanging out (and letting it all hang out) with Ohtori Akio, learning about his plans for revolution. As he gleans what will happen to Utena if she continues to duel, he slowly begins moving to intercede on her behalf, apparently because he's developed a crush on her. His plans culminate in his third and final duel with Utena, where he claims he fights to protect her from Akio and the Rose Bride. He loses the duel, however, and Utena is left to confront Akio herself.
Touga's character development is divisive among fans, and little consensus exists about the degree of Touga's sincerity in the anime's latter arcs. Opinion ranges from "Touga finally became a true prince in his selfless attempt to save Utena at his own expense" to "Touga is still just as selfish and chauvinistic as ever, he just expresses it differently."
Relationships
Anime and manga
- Brother to Kiryuu Nanami
- Friends with Kaoru Miki and Saionji Kyouichi
- Fighting for engagement to Himemiya Anthy
- Seduces Tenjou Utena
- Sleeps with Ohtori Akio (anime only?), Kaoru Kozue (anime), and many nameless girls
- Crush on Tenjou Utena
- Crushed on by Kiryuu Nanami and Sonoda Keiko (anime only?)
Movie
- Saved the life of Tenjou Utena
- Sleeping with Takatsuki Shiori
Analysis
All links hosted at Empty Movement.
- The Missing Link: Hugo Schmidt dissects the relationship between series, manga, and movie Touga.
- Touga's Duels: Giovanna examines the intra- and interpersonal dynamics in Touga's two first-arc duels with Utena.
- Touga Slash Miki: Yasha investigates the relationship between Touga and Miki and discovers a rich array of very human detail.
- Fangirls: Yasha asks why anyone would be attracted to Touga and draws some interesting conclusions.
