Shinohara Wakaba
From UtenaWiki
| Shinohara Wakaba | ||
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| Role | Black Rose Duelist | |
| Family Name | Shinohara ("bamboo field") | |
| Given Name | Wakaba ("young leaf") | |
| Hair | Brown | |
| Eyes | Brown | |
| Rose | Black | |
| Grade | 8th | |
| Birthday | March 14 (Pisces) | |
| Blood Type | O | |
| Height | 154 cm (5'1") | |
| Japanese Seiyuu | Imai Yuka | |
| English Voice Actor | Roxanne Beck | |
Shinohara Wakaba (篠原 若葉) is a close friend of Tenjou Utena, but is even more oblivious to Ohtori Academy's intrigue than her friend. In the TV series, she emblemizes the "ordinary girl," as contrasted with the "special people" whom the series otherwise focuses on. Her movie persona is less distinctive, casting her as Utena's tour guide but giving her little in the way of characterization.
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Background
The TV series provides only a few tidbits of Wakaba's backstory, mostly focusing on her relationship to "Prince Onion," Kazami Tatsuya. Wakaba and Tatsuya attended the same elementary school, where Wakaba was teased for her onion-shaped head. Tatsuya's halfhearted attempts to protect Wakaba from teasing won him her admiration. However, Tatsuya later earned Wakaba's resentment when he left school without saying goodbye.
The movie is silent on Wakaba's backstory, but we do see Wakaba pair off with Tatsuya for their sketching assignment.
Personality and development
This section is missing information on Wakaba's manga persona. If you have it, post it!
Wakaba is Utena's obligatory genki girl -- optimistic, lustful, and full of energy. At the same time, Wakaba is prone to dramatic mood swings, one of which provides the catalyst for Utena to join the dueling game in the TV show's first episode, when Wakaba's graphic love letter to Saionji Kyouichi is posted on a public bulletin board. It is unclear whether Saionji posted the letter himself or whether Himemiya Anthy, who was engaged to him at the time, posted the letter; either way, Utena blames Saionji and takes up a sword to defend Wakaba's honor.
Wakaba's crush on Saionji continues unabated throughout the first two arcs of the series. (Certainly it is unfazed by the reappearance of Kazami Tatsuya, who has a crush on Wakaba.) When Saionji is expelled from Ohtori Academy, Wakaba allows him to live with her in secret. The situation does not last, however. At the covert behest of Mikage Souji, Saionji gives to Anthy a hairpin he'd made for Wakaba. Wakaba's jealousy drives her to Nemuro Memorial Hall, where Mikage recruits her as a Black Rose Duelist. Pulling a sword from Saionji's chest, Wakaba challenges Utena to a duel in an attempt to kill the Rose Bride. While Wakaba's resentment of Anthy is clearly the direct cause of her decision to duel, her feeling of impotence at being an ordinary girl surrounded by extraordinary people makes up an important subtext of the duel.
Though Wakaba appears to lose all memory of these events after her defeat at Utena's hands, her crush on Saionji appears much improved afterwards and is replaced by a crush on Ohtori Akio. In spite of his engagement to Ohtori Kanae, she pursues him without evident guilt throughout the last two arcs. In this, Wakaba serves as a foil for Utena, who is consumed by guilt over her own feelings for Akio. While we have no evidence that Akio and Wakaba consummate a relationship, he certainly encourages her flirtations. Their relationship, if any, remains unresolved at the end of the series.
Relationships
- Friends with Tenjou Utena and Himemiya Anthy
- Recruited by Mikage Souji (anime only)
- Crush on Saionji Kyouichi and Ohtori Akio (anime only?)
- Crushed on by Kazami Tatsuya (anime only?)
Analysis
- Big Green Monster: Speaking perhaps from personal experience, Giovanna explains what is it about Saionji that Wakaba finds appealing. Hosted at Empty Movement.
