#he and tsuwabuki and akio are just three sides of the same hamantaschen (topical reference)

[saionjeans]

thinking again about the touga wrapping saionji’s hand flashback framed as this moment of romantic tenderness but also I find it very difficult to read touga so charitably, especially when he then thanks saionji in a way that implies that he likes being able to hurt him??? which isn’t to say that I think touga utterly lacks all genuine feeling, but he obviously conceives of love through a logic of power and domination (due to his own formative abuse), and thus enjoys the ability to not only hurt saionji but also then tenderly patch up the wounds he caused as a way of making saionji vulnerable and thus dependent on him.

to help or care for another can be a genuine, tender moment of affection, but based on what we know of touga and the framework through which he has learned to view the world, even saionji’s cherished shining memory is permeated with this logic of power and control. touga appreciates saionji because saionji doesn’t seem to mind being made vulnerable to soothe touga’s highly fragile ego.

and what makes that scene so fascinating is the way it’s directly contrasted with touga actively manipulating saionji into hurting him in the present. touga admits that the wound is in fact minimal, but he makes a great show of being in tremendous pain, exaggerating the force with which saionji struck him. even when touga is ostensibly making himself vulnerable, a reversal of their formative kendo injury moment (sparring practice versus a “real” duel), he is still the one in control of saionji, playing up his pain to exacerbate saionji’s guilt, without revealing any real pain, certainly no pain true enough to render him actually vulnerable.

touga fosters a dependency complex with saionji and nanami just as akio does with anthy and utena by positioning himself as the ultimate victim even as he hurts and manipulates others to hold power over them. when nanami spends all day trying to catch a stray kitten to give to her brother who she knows loves cats, she is admonished for getting her dress dirty, at which point touga swoops in an comforts her, so that all nanami can remember is the comfort he provided her instead of the sacrifices she made for his love. when touga hurts saionji during kendo practice, he then tenderly wraps his hand so that all saionji can later recall is the intimacy of the act instead of who hurt him in the first place. when wild animals stampede across the school, tsuwabuki swoops in to recuse her until all she can remember is the boy who saved her from peril.

except, not really. tsuwabuki exists to emphasize the problematics of this logic, to signal to the viewer the exact mechanisms of manipulation touga is employing, and how creepy it seems even to nanami herself when these tactics are not employed with care and subtlety. even touga is nowhere near as subtle as akio, who fosters an environment of stifling conformity and then presents himself as a subversive rebel who is both powerful enough to excite but grounded enough to be a comforting presence.

and that is the entire function of the prince, is it not? to save princesses from the violence of a system they themselves have an active role in maintaining. to foster a dependency complex wherein they cannot envision a world beyond your imposed limits, and then scoff and dismiss and deride them when they struggle to escape. to blame the victim for being victimized by a victim who was, once, victimized in turn. to sit back to back on a stationary bicycle — cycling in place as the sun goes down.

#u #analysis #manalysis #touga #saionji #nanami #akio #tsuwabuki #it’s funny because if you defined ‘favorite character’ by ‘character you hold the most affection for’ #touga would probably be at the very bottom of the list alongside like. ruka #but in terms of characters I find most COMPELLING #he’s honestly up there right next to nanami and anthy #he and tsuwabuki and akio are just three sides of the same hamantaschen (topical reference) #some just have more tact and more practice than others!!