(A/N: Sailor Uranus from Sailor Moon vs. Utena Tenjou from Revolutionary Girl Utena. Two tomboyish, teenage, magical girl princesses who fight to protect those they care for with magic swords as they make a point to crush gender norms and stereotypes. Who will win?)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"SAILOR URANUS vs. UTENA TENJOU"
INTRODUCTION
Wiz: Who says a princess needs to be the damsel in distress all the time? There's nothing stopping them from rising up and proving themselves to be the hero.
Boomstick: And these two young ladies have certainly shown that they don't need no prince to come riding in on a white horse to save the day.
Wiz: Sailor Uranus, the princess of the planet Uranus and a member of one of the Outer Sailor Senshi.
Boomstick: And Utena Tenjou, Ohtori Academy's pride and joy and champion in the Dueling Game tournament to revolutionize the world. He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, power, and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle.
SAILOR URANUS
Wiz: Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight, never running from a real fight, she is not the one named Sailor Moon. Instead, say hello to Sailor Uranus.
Boomstick: Arguably the most badass of the Sailor Guardians, and definitely the strongest physically, this gender stereotype stomping gal is one of the four Outer Sailor Soldiers, along with Neptune, Saturn, and Pluto.
Wiz: While the Inner Sailor Senshi typically defend the solar system from internal dark forces, the Outer Senshi tend to focus more on threats against outside foreign forces.
Boomstick: Kind of like how white blood cells defend the body against germs and such. No, wait, red blood cells. White blood cells? Red?
Wiz: White, Boomstick, white.
Boomstick: Hehe, I knew that.
BACKGROUND:
Age: 16 (at first appearance), 17 (at end of series)
Height: 5'11
Birthday: January 27th
Blood type: B
Civilian name: Haruka Tenou/Amara Tenoh (dub)
Reincarnated princess of the planet Uranus
One of the four Outer Sailor Guardians
Possessor of one of the three sacred talismans
Holds the titles of the Guardian of the Heavens, Soldier of the Sky, Soldier of Flight
Draws power from the planet
Uranus Enjoys sports and racecar driving
Wiz: Born as Haruka Tenou, or Amara Tenoh based on the English dub, Sailor Uranus is the modern-day incarnation of the warrior princess of, well, the planet Uranus. In her civilian attire, she comes across as a popular 17 year old girl, but when faced against great evil, she transforms into Sailor Uranus, guardian of the heavens, protected by the planet of wind.
Boomstick: Yeah, I never understood that whole "transformation" thing. It's like, they magically swap out their clothes for sailor uniforms, and suddenly no one recognizes them. I mean, their faces aren't even covered or anything, how does no one recognize them?
Wiz: Well, one theory is that their transformations, for lack of a better word, wrap them up in a kind of magical glamour, which prevents others from recognizing them unless they know their identity. But it could just be a simple Superman-Clark Kent scenario, where people hold the Sailor Senshi in such high regards that they can't comprehend that the Sailor Senshi and their civilian identities are one and the same.
Boomstick: Yeah, yeah, the whole hiding a tree in the woods thing. That crap doesn't actually work. Watch… Oooh, look at me, my clothes are different. That means I'm a completely different person now. Ooooooh.
Wiz: Secret identities aside, Sailor Uranus is a dedicated member of the Sailor Senshi, and fiercely loyal in her duties as a guardian. Like most of the Sailor Senshi, she initially didn't remember her past life as Princess Uranus, but after meeting Sailor Neptune, she was eventually regained her memories and was drawn into her role when Earth came under attack by foreign invaders.
Boomstick: Before that, she was your classic tomboy who loved masculine sports and dressing and acting like a boy, which often caused her to be mistaken for one. And she'd sometimes let people think that of her just for a laugh. But then she began having dreams of a dark future. Turns out though, they weren't just dreams, but visions of the future and what could come. She learned that the hard way when monsters began attacking and her power as a Sailor Guardian began to awaken.
Wiz: Though she was initially reluctant to take up her role as Sailor Uranus, she eventually decided to do so in order to protect the innocent. However, she and her partner, Sailor Neptune, don't enter the story until the Sailor Senshi start facing off against the Death Busters, or Heart Snatchers if you're going by the dub.
Boomstick: Basically, they're a bunch of monsters from another dimension that seek out the Heart Crystals of others, which are the physical manifestations of what's in a person's heart, or something, but in the manga they were basically a person's soul… or something. The whole thing is kind of confusing.
Wiz: Differences between the manga and different versions of the anime vary, but in all versions of the story, Uranus and Neptune face off against them. But unlike the other Sailor Senshi, they prefer to work alone with just the two of them, although they are later joined by Pluto and then Saturn. They pretty much have major trust issues, even towards those who are their friends and allies, and they even tend to look down on the other Sailor Senshi's more trusting and compassionate ways.
Boomstick: Yeah, the Outer Sailors really had sticks up their asses about a lot of things, and were complete sticklers who took no chances. They just didn't like risks and didn't trust anyone else to do what they thought would be necessary in order to save the world.
Wiz: Which, to be fair, was somewhat justified, as the other Sailors were known to let compassion take priority over common sense, and were known to take greater risks if it meant saving more people, which actually put the world at risk a few times. The Outer Sailors had more of a "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" kind of mentality that sometimes bordered on cynical and pessimistic, particularly with Uranus, which is why they preferred to do things on their own. And they certainly proved they're capable of that, especially since they're even stronger than the Inner Sailor Senshi.
POWERS AND ABILITIES:
Transformations – Sailor Uranus, Super Sailor Uranus, Eternal Sailor Uranus
Attacks – World Shaking, Space Sword Blaster, Space Turbulence, Uranus World Attack
Space Sword, Lip Rod, Uranus Crystal
Power over air/wind and sky
Swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat
Precognitive dreams
Super speed, strength, durability
Boomstick: Yeah, so, it turns out that each of the Sailors have powers exclusive to them. And Uranus' powers are apparently that of the wind and sky. Just by feeling a breeze, she can sense supernatural activity, and can somehow understand the wind itself, whatever that means.
Wiz: While she's transformed, Uranus draws her power from the very planet of her namesake and is able to use this power to fight against enemies with a series of wind attacks. Her most common attack is her World Shaking. This involves her manifesting a ball of energy in her hand and then slamming it into the ground, where it will then tear its way through the ground and strike an opponent with different degrees of destructive power, depending on how much energy she puts into it. Her lesser-known Space Turbulence attack uses solar wind to fire beams of plasma at a rapid pace.
Boomstick: Her greatest power though comes from her Space Sword that was hidden inside her Heart Crystal that she didn't even know she had.
Wiz: The Space Sword is one of three magic talismans that were hidden inside pure Heart Crystals, and were used to summon the Holy Grail, also known as the Moon or Purity Chalice. With the Space Sword in her possession, Uranus is able to unleash her most powerful attacks, like her Space Sword Blaster.
Boomstick: This allows her to fling blades of energy, or to just summon a big ball of energy that bursts into bunch of crescent-shapes to attack multiple enemies at once, like the time she took out a bunch of those Nehelenia mirror clones, or destroyed the evil fairies' magic flutes.
Wiz: But the Space Sword can also be used as a standard sword, and can even grow and shrink the length of its blade so it can be used both as a regular sword or even a dagger. With it, she was even able to destroyed Germatoid, who was the acting leader of the Death Busters for most of the arc.
Boomstick: As if she even needs it. Being a Sailor Soldier means she's much stronger, faster, and durable than a normal human, allowing her to take hits that would more than likely kill or at least heavily damage a normal human.
FEATS:
Defeated Germatoid (with help)
Destroyed several Nehelenia mirror clones and Snow Dancers with one attack
Outran Hurdle
Moved fast enough to disappear from sight
Helped defeat Princess Snow Kaguya
Helped defeat the hummingbird fairies
Helped defeat several underling monsters
Fought against Sailor Galaxia
Wiz: Uranus is particularly noted for her speed, and is even seen outrunning Hurdle, who was a daimon that was born from a racing post and was specifically designs to be extremely fast. She can even move at speeds that allow her to disappear from sight, though it should be noted that this is not a speed she can consistently move at, and is more of a short burst of speed that she can perform, like when she suddenly leaps away to dodge attacks or makes an exit.
Boomstick: Even in her civilian form, she's still a total badass who's known for being incredibly athletic and really fast on her feet. In fact, she and Neptune's civilian identities are completely idolized for being pretty much perfect in every way by anyone who knows about them.
Wiz: Which could contribute to their arrogance and stubbornness. After all, it did take them awhile to come around and put their faith in the other Sailor Senshi, and even then, they still struggled with trusting others. Nevertheless, they do become fiercely protective of Sailor Moon, and act very hostile towards anyone they may deem a threat to her or the future of Crystal Tokyo, notably with the way they react to the Sailor Starlights.
Boomstick: Yeah, all that stubbornness and distrust on their part pretty much stems from their desire to protect the greater good. Even if that means sacrificing someone else.
Wiz: This belief isn't hypocritical either. When it was revealed that both Neptune and Uranus held the talismans in their Heart Crystals, Uranus even went as far as to sacrifice herself and her girlfriend in order to see to it that the Death Busters didn't get them.
Boomstick: Wait, her girlfriend? Are you taking about Neptune? I thought they were cousins.
Wiz: Never mention the dub's blasphemous censorship of their relationship!
Boomstick: Whoa, ok, sorry! Geez, touchy subject.
Wiz: Anyway, the near-death experience and the events that followed did humble Uranus and the other Outer Sailor Senshi a bit and allowed them to come around and accept Sailor Moon as their princess, eventually leading them to obtain the more powerful transformations of becoming Super Sailors through the use of their Sailor Crystals.
Boomstick: Which really only involved their skirts getting a ribbon and a few other barely noticeable details to their uniforms. But this did heighten their powers, or so we were told. Really, they didn't seem to be any more powerful than they were before.
Wiz: That's actually not true. Their powers may not appear to be that much greater, but that's because the enemies they were facing were stronger, so it basically evened out, which is why the difference in power between their original forms and Super forms may not seem as noticeable. And later, they become even stronger when they gain their Eternal Sailor forms, making them even more powerful than before.
Boomstick: Yeah, well, those increases in power didn't do them much good in the fight against Galaxia.
Wiz: Which is why Uranus and Neptune pretended to betray their friends and join her, so they could later betray her. And while this plan eventually failed, it does show the lengths the two of the are willing to go to for the greater good, even if it means damning or sacrificing themselves to ultimately protect and save others.
Boomstick: You may not agree with her methods, but there's no doubt that when it comes to saving the world, you can always count on… Uranus.
Wiz: Tell me that wasn't your attempt at an ass joke.
Boomstick: I have no idea what you're talking about, Wiz. You really need to get your head out of the gutter.
Wiz: *Sigh*
UTENA TENJOU
Wiz: Once upon a time, a young princess lost both of her parents and fell into a great depression. Fearing that there was no such thing as something that was eternal, she gave up on life and prepared to embrace death.
Boomstick: Until a prince came along and showed her something that was eternal. It just so happened that what he showed her was the eternal pain and suffering of a witch. That's… pretty twisted.
Wiz: Twisted or not, the sight of this eternal torment was enough to spark life back into the princess and make her determine to save the witch from her eternal suffering. That princess was Utena Tenjou.
BACKGROUND:
Age: 14
Height: Approx. 5'4
Weight: 101 lbs.
Blood type: B
Birthday: December 29
Champion of Dueling Game
Current owner of the Rose Bride
Student at Ohtori Academy
Orphaned princess
Seeks to become a "prince"
Boomstick: She may have blocked out exactly what it was she saw as a child regarding the witch and the prince, but that determination was something that stayed with her over the years, because, get this, she decided that she wanted to grow up to become a prince herself.
Wiz: Well, not become a prince in the literal sense. Rather she wanted to play the role of a prince. You know, ride around on a white horse and save damsels in distress, or face evil sorcerers, or slay dragons; things that princes are typically portrayed doing in fairytales. See, most of the people in the series have the stereotypical mindset that boys should be noble, chivalrous, masculine, that sort of thing, while girls should be delicate, dainty, feminine and such. Basically, they held very old-school and traditional opinions of how boys and girls should behave.
Boomstick: But Utena was so inspired by the prince she met that she said, the hell with that. If I want to be a prince, then I'm gonna be a prince, even if I am a girl. And I should mention, she does so to one killer soundtrack. This caused her to grow up to be a major tomboy with admirers on all sides. She even dresses in a boy's school uniform so she can be more like the prince who saved her and feel closer to him, gender norms be damned, and to hell with anyone who has a problem with it.
Wiz: See, a big part of Utena's character, and even the series itself, is to crush gender stereotypes and gender norms, where people should be accepted and appreciated for who they are, not what they are, and that they shouldn't have to follow stereotypes or allow them to define them, or let other people's opinions of how boys and girls should act to dictate how they behave.
Boomstick: Hell yeah! Fight the power!
Wiz: This kind of behavior on her part usually put her at odd ends with some of the teachers at Ohtori Academy where she attended, and often made people question her sexuality, despite her constant insistence that regardless of how she dressed or acted that she was just a normal girl, claiming that the way she dressed and the way she behaved did nothing to change that, and she shouldn't be judged by the stereotypes that dressing or behaving this way were typically perceived as.
Boomstick: It was basically her way of saying she was going to act the way she wanted to act and not let others determine how she should act or judge her, and if they had an issue with it, then that was their problem, because she didn't care what anyone thought of her. And while this may have annoyed the old-fashioned sticklers, pretty much the rest of the school greatly admired and respected her. And it's easy to see why, Utena is one badass good girl. Hard to believe she's only 14; the chick looks more like a high schooler.
Wiz: In her pursuit to become a prince, Utena has shown to have become very athletic, often taking up sports that are typically dominated by men–
Boomstick: And totally kicking their asses! This is definitely one chick you want on your team, no matter what you're playing.
Wiz: It's eventually her involvement in athletics that gets Utena her chance to play the role of a prince. After one of her friends gets publicly humiliated by her crush after she confesses to him, Utena angrily confronts him. Which leads her to her involvement in the Dueling Game for the Rose Bride.
Boomstick: Yeah, turns out that the prince she met as a kid also gave her a special ring with an insignia on it. And this ring was an invitation of sorts that marked her as a participant in the tournament.
Wiz: Utena was completely unaware of any of this. And it just so happens that the boy she confronted was Kyouichi Saionji, the current champion in the Dueling Game. Seeing the insignia on Utena's ring, he assumed that she was a contestant who was challenging him to a duel for possession of the Rose Bride. And when she ends up defeating him in the duel, Utena became engaged to the Rose Bride.
Boomstick: Not engaged as in the to marry sense, it's more of a master and slave relationship.
Wiz: The Rose Bride was none other than Anthy Himemiya. She belongs to whoever is the current champion of the Dueling Game, and as of defeating Saionji, that ownership passed to Utena. Anyone who possesses her is granted incredible power during the tournament, and by the end of it, gains access to the floating castle in the sky.
Boomstick: Doesn't really seem fair. Whoever owns the Rose Bride gets to fight with a magic sword. If they decide to use its power in the fights, that gives them a major advantage over their opponent.
Wiz: True, but that doesn't automatically decide the outcome of the battle. After all, Utena did defeat Saionji when he owned the Rose Bride, and she even beat the student council president, Touga, when he owned the Rose Bride while he was unleashing the sword's power. Although, to be fair, Saionji wasn't using the sword's power, and the power failed Touga in the middle of his duel with Utena when Anthy seemingly retracted it.
Boomstick: The whole thing is pretty vague, but there's a lot of unexplained magic, symbolism, and metaphors involved. Basically though, whenever Anthy awakens the power in the Sword of Dios, that's the name of the magic sword by the way, the sword becomes more powerful, even allowing it to cut cleanly through other swords. Hell, just the shockwave from a single swipe of the sword is enough to shatter a block of solid stone, even when used super casually.
POWERS AND ABILITIES:
Skilled in dueling and hand-to-hand combat
Super speed and strength
Personal magic sword
The Sword of Dios
Endurance
Unshakable willpower
Athleticism
Invoking Dios
Car transformations
Wiz: It should be noted that Utena never does use the Sword of Dios' ability herself, but the point is, she can use it if she chooses to. But magic swords aside, Utena is a very skilled duelist on her own, and has performed great feats of speed and strength. At several points, she's seen practically flying through the air after leaping at her opponent, or performing some pretty impressive acrobatic moves. She's even shown to be seen dodging several speeding cars coming at her.
Boomstick: These ain't no ordinary cars either. They've been seen moving so fast that they can actually defy gravity and race along the side of walls in ways that would make professional NASCAR racers super envious.
Wiz: Necessary traction aside, in order for an object to consistently run along the side of a wall like this, it must be going at a speed of at least 24,480 miles per hour. And Utena is seen not only dodging dozens of these cars at once, but even running fast enough to keep up with them while they're driving alongside of the walls.
Boomstick: And that's before the spirit of Dios enters her to make her even stronger, faster, and a better duelist than before. It's kind of hard to explain, but a lot of things in this series are.
Wiz: To get a bit of backstory, Dios was once a magic prince with the ability to literally perform miracles. He was, in fact, the same prince who saved Utena from her grief after she lost her parents. He was also the brother of the witch that Utena witnessed the suffering of.
Boomstick: And, surprising absolutely no one, that witch was Anthy. They really weren't subtle with secret identities in this series.
Wiz: See, at one point, Dios became very sick, but couldn't use his power to perform miracles to save himself since all his power and love was meant for the whole world. But when the public kept coming to him for help, regardless of his condition, Anthy attempted to make them leave him alone by telling them that she was keeping Dios all to herself from now on. This enraged the people and caused them to lash out at her, and in a series of events that aren't fully explained, caused Anthy to lose her true self and become trapped in a prison of eternal suffering that was made of swords that were manifestations of the people's rage and hate as a punishment for keeping her brother to herself and taking him away from the world.
Boomstick: Yeah, turns out that the Anthy we've been seeing throughout the series is basically a soulless shell of the real thing. And through a few more things that are never fully explained, Dios lost his power to perform miracles after what happened to his sister.
Wiz: This was the purpose of the Dueling Game. Founded by a mysterious and seemingly all-knowing person known only as End of the World, whoever possesses the Rose Bride by the end of the tournament will be allowed to enter the castle floating above the mystical dueling arena where Dios is said to dwell and shall gain his power, allowing them to achieve eternity, perform miracles, and bring forth the new world revolution. And it seemed that Dios favored Utena in the tournament out of all the contestants since, whenever she started to struggle during a duel, his spirit would descend from the castle and enter her body to enhance her speed, strength, and fighting skills.
Boomstick: And with this power, Utena has kicked many a duelists' asses, some more than once.
Wiz: It should be noted that Utena doesn't actually care about gaining the power to perform miracles or revolutionizing the world, and is actually rather ignorant about what's really happening in the tournament for pretty much the entire series. All she really cared about was trying to keep Anthy out of the hands of those who might mistreat her since pretty much all the other contestants were led to believe by End of the World that she was basically a living doll with no will of her own. And, to an extent, this was true since Anthy's real self was sealed away in eternal torment, and only small snippets of her real self would appear throughout the series.
Boomstick: Yeah, Utena more or less accidentallied herself into the tournament, then kept unintentionally getting roped in deeper and deeper. But it was never about obtaining power for her. Although, she does get a magic sword of her own later.
Wiz: Initially, Utena fought her duels using the Sword of Dios, which would manifest out of Anthy's chest. But later after it disappears, her own sword begins to manifest out of her own chest. This sword is a physical manifestation of her own power and noble heart. And when infused with the Rose Bride's power, Utena's own power increases exponentially.
Boomstick: Remember those wall-crawling cars we mentioned before? Utena is later seen effortlessly slicing them in half when they try to run her down. Hell, at one point she has several dozen of them coming at her at once, and she just stands her ground with her sword held out and just cuts them all in half without even moving. The girl didn't so much as flinch under this assault.
Wiz: It's under this onslaught of vehicles that she's still manages to defeat Touga for a second time, while he's coming at her on his motorbike no less, and officially becomes winner of the Dueling Game.
FEATS:
Defeated the Student Council (Saionji, Miki, Juri, Touga)
Defeated Nanami, Souji, Ruka, Kazue, Shiori, and several possessed students
Almost defeated Akio prior to being stabbed
Ran as fast as and dodged cars that could drive fast enough to go up walls
Cut apart dozens of speeding cars
Survived being skewered
Opened the Rose Gate with her bare hands
Became the Dueling Game champion
Saved Anthy's true self and freed her from her role as the Rose Bride
Boomstick: And boy was it a slap in the face to everyone involved. As it turns out, this End of the World person was actually this guy, Akio Ohtori, the chairman of the school, and one of the biggest creeps and sleazebags you'll ever meet. The dude was behind pretty much everything that happened throughout the series and was manipulating everyone, sometimes by manipulating other people into manipulating other people. And that includes Utena. And all so he could get the power of Dios for himself.
Wiz: See, when Dios lost his power, it was the result of him losing his nobility and everything that made him good and princely. This actually caused him to split into two different people, Akio, the corrupt version of himself who had fallen from grace, and the remnants of the person who Dios once was.
Boomstick: Turns out that the whole promise for the winner to gain the power to create miracles was a lie. Well, mostly. Akio just needed them to manifest a sword powerful enough that he could use to break the magic seal on an enchanted door called the Rose Gate that the power of Dios was locked behind because he wanted it back. And this was apparently not the first tournament he'd held.
Wiz: When it became apparent that the person most likely to win the tournament was going to be Utena, he turned his manipulation on her by seducing her and getting her to fall love with him, thinking he could use her like a puppet to regain his power.
Boomstick: Like I said, the guy's as total scumbag. He may look like he's only in his 30s, but he's actually way older than that. And even though he has a fiancée that he got engaged to in order to obtain power, he's not just banging his own sister, he's also out there seducing middle school boys and girls, and anyone else he might be able use. That's just messed up.
Wiz: It's all a part of his manipulation tactics. He's been manipulating everyone throughout the series since the beginning, sometimes through brainwashing or even mental, emotional, and spiritual manipulation, seemingly through some form of magic at times. And not even Utena was immune to him, eventually giving into his seduction and falling for him hard enough to consider turning her back on her beliefs.
Boomstick: But wait, wasn't there supposed to be some kind of romance between Utena and Anthy?
Wiz: Well, kind of, but not really. You see, despite symbolic and romantic undertones, the relationship between Utena and Anthy, while based on love, is not meant to be romantic. This is meant to play into the show's themes of what Utena and even the series itself are constantly doing with breaking stereotypes. In fact, at the end of the series, when asked about her feelings for Anthy, Utena herself states that while she does love Anthy, she doesn't love her in that way. But she does find herself torn between her love for Akio and her desire to save Anthy from her fate as the Rose Bride, which was also coupled by the love she still held for Dios that she had been harboring since she was a child.
Boomstick: Poor girl thought she had to choose between one or the other, but in the end decided to stay true to herself and face down End of the World, even though she knew that something bad was waiting for her. Turns out though, this choice was one final test of her nobility, and she ended up passing.
Wiz: Having gotten Utena to fall for him, Akio intended to have her become his princess so she would hand over her sword that he would then use to reclaim his former self's power. And while it seemed that Akio was actually going to give her everything she wanted, including the stereotypical, fairytale, cliché happily ever after ending, upon learning that she wouldn't be able to save Anthy from her eternal suffering if she accepted this, Utena turned her back on Akio and refused his offer. This was when he revealed that most of the things that have been happening in the duels throughout the series have been an illusion that Akio was projecting.
Boomstick: Apparently, he had this super projector that he used to create illusions that were sort of real, but also weren't, and everything that was happening in the duels was fake, but also wasn't. Oi, my head hurts.
Wiz: It's confusing to be sure, and leaves a lot open to interpretation of what's real and what's not, because clearly not everything was an illusion. What seems to be the case is that the floating castle and the dueling arena were the illusions, and everything was actually taking place in the planetarium, but everything else was real, more or less. There was also truth to obtaining the power of Dios, Akio just intended to obtain it himself rather than have someone else get it. Like I said, it's confusing. Just know that Akio was behind everything and was manipulating everyone. And Utena certainly wasn't happy about any of this, so she challenged Akio to a duel in order to free Anthy from his control.
Boomstick: But as slimy as the guy was, he had Anthy literally stab her in the back during their duel, then took Utena's sword and left her for dead.
Wiz: Unfortunately for Akio, Utena's sword failed to open the Rose Gate. When her sword broke in the attempt, he just tossed it aside and considered this tournament to be another failure. But that didn't stop Utena. Despite being stabbed, she managed to make her way over to the Rose Gate and open it, and the coffin inside, with her bare hands and her own willpower.
Boomstick: And guess who was inside. Anthy! Like, the real one, not just the shell she had been hanging out with this whole time. You know, I didn't really get that. Wasn't the power of Dios supposed to be inside the Rose Gate? What was with the coffin and second Anthy inside of it?
Wiz: Well, a lot of what happened is left to interpretation, but it's been implied that the power of Dios actually sleeps within Anthy, and the real Anthy was sealed in the coffin behind the Rose Gate. Akio wanted to reclaim his power, but Utena only wanted to save Anthy. However, even if he did open the Rose Gate, Akio wouldn't have been able to save her since the only one who could save Anthy from her torment was someone who she could truly believe in as her prince. Since Akio was her brother, that couldn't be him, and, going with the stereotypes the series is constantly trying to break, it couldn't be Utena since she was a girl, and therefore couldn't be a "prince".
Boomstick: Or so everyone thought. Because it turns out that despite stereotypes, seeing how determine Utena was to save her, even at her own expense, and recognizing her noble heart, Anthy did come to view Utena as her prince and the person who could save her. This finally freed her from her eternal torture and allowed her to regain her true self.
Wiz: Unfortunately, this also caused Utena to take on Anthy's curse of eternal torture upon herself, and she completely vanished from reality, and pretty much from the memories of everyone except Anthy, Akio, and Touga.
Boomstick: But now that the real Anthy was finally free, she decided that it was her turn to save Utena, so she abandoned her brother, leaving the guy powerless and ruined, and went off to try and find a way to bring Utena back.
Wiz: So, in a way, Utena actually accomplished what she set out to do. She managed to save Anthy and prove that even a girl could be a prince.
Boomstick: So, are you sure there was actually no romance between the two of them?
Wiz: No, see, Boomstick, that's part of the stereotype that the series is breaking. That despite the roles and characteristics of the characters, the stereotypes need not apply, and you shouldn't label them as such. Well, at least that's true of the manga and the anime. However, there was a movie remake that came out that was a retelling of the story that did make their relationship romantic, for blatant fan-service purposes. Which *sigh* brings us to something that needs to be addressed.
Boomstick: Wait, you don't mean…? No, Wiz, don't say it. Don't even think it! It's blasphemy!
Wiz: We have to, Boomstick, we have to. See, the series was remade as a movie that served as a retelling, and I use that word very loosely, that took the story in a completely different direction. And, for some unexplained reason that makes no sense, Utena suddenly and randomly gains the ability to… turn into a car.
Boomstick: NOOOO! Oh, why did you say it, Wiz!?
Wiz: We need to cover all versions of the character, Boomstick, including the abilities those different versions possess. And for some inexplicable reason, Utena, completely out of the blue, gains the power to turn into a car. Two different versions of a car actually, with the second model having a much longer shape for additional speed.
Boomstick: How the hell are either of those cars? They look more like Podracers on wheels.
Wiz: Yes, it really doesn't make any sense. According to the movie's director, it was supposed to represent Sleeping Beauty in some way, where Anthy is meant to save Utena. Really, it only serves as a random plot device to help Utena and Anthy escape from Ohtori Academy and race through a castle that's a giant car, and several of the other students can turn into cars as well, and there's also ghosts and sentient straw scarecrows, but it all takes place in a dream-like, fantasy, pocket dimension outside of reality at the end of the world that serves as a metaphor for a coffin, where practically none of the characters are anything like they are in the series and have completely different backstories, and nothing that happens in the movie has little to anything to do with the anime or manga's story at all.
Boomstick: None of it makes sense, Wiz, none of it, so just stop thinking about it. All you need to know is that for some reason, Utena can now turn into what's supposed to be a car in the movie. Now, can we please stop talking about this?
Wiz: Sorry, but like I said, we have to cover all abilities, even the non-canon, alternate versions of them. But when it comes down to it, a car is just a car. Where Utena truly shines is as a magical girl duelist who truly proves that it's who you are that defines you, not what you are.
Boomstick: Well, let me tell you, if I ever need a prince to come save me, I'm going with a pink-haired, badass good girl.
Wiz: Boy or girl, Utena has shown time and again that in order to be a prince, all it truly takes is a noble heart.
THE BATTLE
Utena and Anthy are sitting at a table having tea together in the dueling arena. Suddenly, Haruka comes walking up to the two of them and points at Utena.
Haruka: "Hey, you there! You're Utena Tenjou, right? The one who's said to bring the new world revolution."
Looking annoyed, Utena lets out a sigh and stands up to face Haruka.
Utena: "Another challenger, huh? Alright, let's make this fast. Anthy, the sword."
Coming up beside her, Anthy's school uniform suddenly turns into her Rose Bride dress. Anthy places her hand on Utena's chest as she leans back. There's a flash of light as a sword pops out of Utena's chest, and Anthy pulls it free.
Utena/Anthy: "Grant us the power to bring the world revolution!"
Taking the sword from Anthy, Utena turns to face Haruka and points it at her. Haruka takes out her Lip Rod and holds it up over her head.
Haruka: "I can't allow you to wield such a dangerous power. For the sake of Crystal Tokyo, I won't let you revolutionize the world. Uranus Planet Power, Make-Up!"
She transforms into Sailor Uranus and strikes a fighting pose as Utena stares at her in surprise.
Utena: "Ok, that's new."
Uranus summons forth her Space Sword in its long, straight blade form, and swipes it through the air.
Uranus: "Invited by a new age, protected by Uranus, the Outer Planet of Wind, Guardian of the Heavens, I am Sailor Uranus, appearing magnificently!"
Utena: "Well, someone's arrogant."
FIGHT!
The bells ring to signify the start of the duel, and Uranus and Utena charge at each other. Their swords collide and they push against each other for a few moments before breaking apart and began clashing swords. Their blades meet several times before they both jump back and charge at each other again, their swords crashing together once more as they push against each other again.
Utena: "Hey, where's your rose, you cheater? How am I supposed to win this duel if you're not wearing a rose for me to strike?"
Uranus: "What are you talking about? This isn't a duel, it's a fight."
She pulls back and swipes at Utena, who does a backflip as she leaps out of the way to avoid the blade and lands a distance away.
Utena: "Fine, if that's the way you want it."
She lunges forward, practically flying through the air. Uranus dodges out of the way at the last moment and Utena flies past her. She immediately stops her momentum and launches herself at Uranus again. This time, Uranus holds up her sword to block and catches the blade, but loses ground as she's pushed back. Utena pulls back and goes on the attack, swiping at Uranus, who backs away as she blocks and parries.
Utena suddenly stabs forward and Uranus vanishes as she leaps away, and Utena hits nothing but air, causing her to stumble. She begins looking around for Uranus, who reappears a distance away and holds out her hand.
Uranus: "Space Turbulence!"
She begins firing beams of energy from her hand. Utena is surprised at first, but then begins dodging and maneuvering out of the way of the beams before leaping away and landing right in front Anthy with her back to her.
Utena: "Anthy!"
She holds the sword out behind her, and Anthy touches it, causing the blade to briefly flash with light. She then charges at Uranus again, who raises her sword and brings it down when Utena reaches her. Utena catches her blade, holding it up as Uranus pushes down on it. With a burst of strength, Utena pushes Uranus away, causing her to stumble back, and then swipes at her.
Jumping back, Uranus just manages to avoid the blade as it slashes the ribbon on her chest, and lands a few feet away from Utena. The two of them start running parallel to each other with their swords at the ready.
Uranus: "You're pretty good. It's not too often I can find someone who can keep up with me."
Utena: "I could say the same thing."
She suddenly leaps at Uranus, who does a flip over Utena's head. As she's flipping through the air, her sword begins to glow, and she flings a blade of energy from it. Utena turns around to face her and blocks the energy blade. Uranus lands and begins flinging more energy blades. Utena keeps blocking them, but then one of them suddenly cuts through her blade, leaving Utena with a broken sword. She gasps in surprise as she stares at it, and Uranus flings another blade of energy. Utena backflips out of the way and continues to backflip back over to Anthy.
Utena: "Anthy, I need a new sword, quick."
Nodding, Anthy places her hands over her heart.
Anthy: "Rose of the noble castle. Power of Dios that sleeps within me. Heed your master and come forth!"
The Sword of Dios emerges from her chest and Utena pulls it free. Suddenly, the spirit of Dios comes floating down from the castle in the sky and enters Utena's body. Uranus watches this display in bewilderment.
Uranus: "I guess I better stop holding back. Uranus Crystal Power!"
She holds up her hand and the Uranus Crystal appears above her, causing her to upgrade to Super Sailor Uranus. The crystal disappears once her transformation is finished, and she holds up her sword to show that she's ready to keep fighting.
Utena comes at her, and Uranus rushes forward to meet her. Their swords meet, the strike so powerful that it shakes the arena, and then the two begin slashing at each other wildly. Their swords and arms are a blur of movement around them as they exchange blows. They each hold their ground at first, but then begin leaping apart and before coming together again in a different location to exchange more blows, and their clothes start getting torn up as they swipe at each other.
Uranus suddenly jumps up as Utena jabs at her. She flings a blade of energy down at Utena, who leaps back to avoid the attack. Uranus lands a distance away and holds her hand above her head as she begins gathering energy into it.
Uranus: "World Shaking!"
She launches the ball of energy at Utena, who holds up her sword. The attack strikes the blade, but she manages to hold it back for a few moments before it explodes. Utena is knocked back from the blast and falls down, rolling across the floor, but instantly rises into a crouching position. Uranus flings another blade of energy at her, and Utena jumps back, landing beside Anthy once more.
Utena: "I'm going to have to go all out for this one. Anthy, awaken the sword's true power."
She points the sword at Anthy, who kisses the tip, and the sword begins glowing with a red light. Utena then turns back to Uranus and swipes her sword through the air. The shockwave it unleashes tears apart the ground as it heads towards Uranus, who leaps out of the way. When she comes back down, she raises her sword to the sky, and a large ball of energy forms at the end of it, which she then directs at Utena.
Uranus: "Space Sword Blaster!"
The ball of energy is launched at Utena and suddenly bursts into several crescent-shaped energy blades. Utena stands her ground and begins swinging her swords around, deflecting the energy crescents, then charges at Uranus, who rushes forward to meet her. They swipe their swords at each other, and their swords collide. Utena's glowing blade cut straight through Uranus', leaving her with half a blade. Uranus looks at her sword in surprise as Utena turns back to her. Uranus gets over her shock and turns to face her as well. She holds out the broken sword, and it changes to the shorter version with a curved blade that begins glowing, which she points at Utena.
Utena goes on the attack again, and Uranus backs away as their swords meet, sending out sparks each time their blades make contact. Utena lunges forward again and brings down her sword. Uranus hold up hers and catches it, but Utena's glowing blade begins slowly cutting through Uranus' as she tries to hold it back.
After struggling for a few moments, Uranus suddenly leans back and kicks upward, knocking the sword out of Utena's hands and sending it flying through the air, where it lands point first into the ground, and the blade stops glowing. As Uranus rises back up, she spins around and delivers a kick that sends Utena flying backwards. Instead of going after her, Uranus points her sword at her.
Uranus: "Surrender. This battle is over."
Looking frustrated, Utena gets back up as Anthy rushes over to her.
Anthy: "Miss Utena, you can't fight without a sword."
Utena: "I have to, Anthy. I promised to protect you, and I will, no matter what."
Suddenly, several giant carwash rollers pop out of the ground all around Utena. After a few seconds, they spit out Utena's shredded uniform before sinking back into the ground, leaving an elaborate pink car behind. The door opens and Anthy walks up to it. She removes her glasses and lets her hair down before stepping inside as Uranus looks on in confusion.
Uranus: "Did she just turn into a car?"
The Utena car revs its engine before suddenly speeding towards Uranus. She jumped out of the way, but the car circles back and comes at her again. Uranus once again dodges it, and this time fires her Space Turbulence. The beams strike the car, putting dents and holes in the metal, but the car just doubles back again and keeps coming, driving straight through the beams being fired at it.
Uranus stops firing and jumps over the car before it could hit her, but the car whirls around and begins doing donuts beneath her. Uranus came down, and the car slams into her, sending Uranus flying backwards. The car came to a stop and a large red curtain emerges from it. It wraps around the car, and then blows away. The car had transformed into its elongated form, and all the damage that had been done to it was gone. Uranus climbs to her feet as the car revs its engines a few times.
Uranus: "Ok then, now it's time for me to go all out."
Her uniform suddenly transforms as she becomes Eternal Sailor Uranus, and she holds her sword at the ready. The car suddenly speeds towards her, and Uranus jumps forward, landing on the hood of the car. With a loud cry, she brings her sword down, stabbing it into the hood of the car down to the hilt. The car comes to a suddenly stop, and Uranus goes flying across the arena, leaving her sword embedded in the car. She tumbles head over heels before skidding to a halt.
The car revs its engine a few times, and Uranus groans as she lifts herself up, then suddenly gasps as she notices the Sword of Dios sticking out of the ground just a short distance away. The car suddenly sped towards her again as Uranus gets to her feet. She snatches up the Sword of Dios, but instead of wielding it like a sword, she throws it like a spear.
The sword flew through the air, shattering the glass as it went straight through the windshield and stabbing Anthy in the chest, making her cry out. The car kept coming though, and Uranus holds up her hand and gathers energy in it. She unleashes her World Shaking, firing the ball of energy at the car. The attack blasts against the front of the car and erupts, blowing apart the front half of the car. It spins out of control, and Uranus leaps out of the way as it shoots past her before crashing into the wall and exploding, leaving nothing but a pile of scrap metal burning in a large fire.
The bells begin ringing, signaling the end of the battle as Uranus lands a safe distance away. Something catches her attention, and she looked up as something comes falling from the sky and lands by her feet. She picks up the smoking object and sees that it's the blackened and burnt remains of her Space Sword, the blade having broken off. She stares at it for a few moments before sighing and looking back at the burning debris.
Uranus: "And I thought I was dedicated to being a racecar driver."
KO!
Uranus is seen reverting back into in her civilian form as she walks away from Ohtori Academy.
OUTCOME
Boomstick: Well, that happened. I guess the whole turning into a car thing during the fight wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be.
Wiz: When it came to who was the better swordswoman, Utena was definitely the more skilled of the two, especially when she invoked the spirit of Dios, but Uranus held the advantage in pretty much every other area.
Boomstick: You might be able to argue that while Uranus' Space Sword was stronger than Utena's own personal sword, it wasn't as strong as the Sword of Dios when it unleashed its true power. But Uranus had other Sailor powers that she was able to use in battle that allowed her to make up the difference.
Wiz: And it's not just their swords that played a role in this fight. As skillful as an athlete as Utena is, she's still just a normal human. Well, more or less. But Uranus is a Sailor Senshi, which makes her much stronger, faster, and more durable than a normal human in addition to granting her various powers.
Boomstick: Utena may be a kickass magical girl with some awesome dueling skills, but Uranus is an actual superhero who's faced off against some pretty powerful and nasty monsters. Sure, she would definitely be able to beat Uranus in her civilian form of Haruka, but she wasn't quite up to the task of facing a Sailor Soldier.
Wiz: More to the point, Uranus has demonstrated feats of strength that have surpassed Utena, not to mention withstood much greater and more devastating hits, and she's also shown to be much faster than her as well.
Boomstick: Remember how Utena was dodging those cars that were going so fast they could drive along walls, or run fast enough to keep up with them, well that's nothing compared to Uranus being able to literally move so fast that she could disappear from sight.
Wiz: As we mentioned earlier, in order for these cars to be able to drive along walls like this, they would have to be going at speeds of at least 24,480 miles per hour. However, in order to disappear from sight, Uranus had to have been moving at a speed of at least 38,146 miles per hour.
Boomstick: That's way faster than what Utena was moving at. So even when Utena turned into a car herself, Uranus would have no trouble dodging her.
Wiz: While it's true that Utena's car speed is at least as fast as her running and dodging speed, based on the fact that she was going just as fast as other cars that were driving on the walls and ceiling, she does get an additional speed boost when she upgrades to her even faster elongated car form. However, there's nothing to suggest that she reached anything close to Uranus' speed, even after making this upgrade. And as I said before, a car is just a car, even if it's sentient. And with the attacks Uranus has, she wouldn't have much trouble blasting it apart.
Boomstick: Seems like Utena would have been better off if she kept fighting as a human.
Wiz: Perhaps, but even then, Uranus still had the advantage. Not just because of her Sailor powers and enhanced abilities, but she also possessed other fighting skills aside from just using the sword. And while Utena is very athletic and good at sports, when it comes to fighting, her skills are pretty much exclusive to dueling. She does have some hand-to-hand combat skills, but not at the level of Uranus.
Boomstick: Hold up a second, couldn't she have just used the power of Dios to perform miracles or something to help her win the fight? Uranus may be powerful, but she can't literally make miracles happen.
Wiz: In theory, yes, this could change the outcome of the battle, but the problem is that Dios' power is very vague, and we don't know the extent or limit of it, or even how it really works at all for that matter since we never actually see it. All we have is Dios claiming that whoever had his power could do anything. It's a moot point anyway, because Utena never actually obtained the power of Dios. Her goal was to prove that she could be a prince and to save Anthy, not to claim Dios' power for herself, and she never did. So while having that power could have changed the outcome of the fight, we can't include the potential power that she might have received, especially when such a power is so vague.
Boomstick: Yeah, that would be like just giving a weight-lifting trophy to a guy with an average build because one day he might become strong enough to win the competition if he keeps lifting weights. Guess it's just a participation prize for Miss Tenjou.
Wiz: Utena made for a fierce opponent, and she definitely provided Uranus with a unique and interesting challenge, but in the end, the power to revolutionize the world was no match for Sailor Planet Power.
Boomstick: Looks like the prince fell before the princess here.
Wiz: The winner is Sailor Uranus.
TRIVIA
Both Uranus and Utena fight with magic swords.
Both are magical princesses.
Both greatly care about their friends and have a deep desire to protect.
Both have similar personalities and are known for breaking gender stereotypes and gender norms.
Both often have a partner at their side when they fight (Neptune and Anthy).
Both are very skilled athletes.
Both have the means to become stronger in a fight from additional power sources.