#duel 16

ah, a big flashing neon light in the darkness. time again for one of nanami's funhouse episodes, and though this one is just as silly as the curry episode, it reveals a bit more about nanami and her place in the show's evolving world than her trip to india.

fashion takes center stage in this episode, as nanami has thrown a party to unveil her newest pendant. however, her adolescent insecurities and competitiveness are activated by the arrival of the school's most prominent fashionista, juri. wearing a necklace given to her by one of the designers she's modeled for, juri immediately appears as the more mature, experienced young woman. yet, before nanami can be fully upstaged and forced to reveal her now-insufficiently impressive pendant, a gift arrives. identified by miki as a piece by the famed designer sebastian dior, nanami sees her chance to make good on the party's promise. the case shines with an otherworldly golden glow, stunning the audience both before and after they realize what nanami has donned: a silver cowbell.

as is often the case, once given a reason or justification, nanami becomes invincible. as the school buzzes about the strangeness of her cowbell, she hears only that she has become the center of attention, the school's fashion icon. the mix of tones of these conversations is striking: some give credit to her boldness, others decry her stubbornness. i wonder to what extent nanami is aware of these differing interpretations and choosing to filter them as general admiration - all press is good press, as it were.

of course, there are those who worry for her. utena and miki debate whether they should say anything, while tsuwabuki does his best to counsel his adoptive older sister. at this, nanami brings everything into focus. she tells tsuwabuki that he's simply too young to understand, and brings this episode fully into conversation with the arc as a whole. as students, the cast generally only has to worry about their uniforms, but nanami now stretches her reach into the world of ~*adult fashion*~. this stands neatly alongside the other recent episodes' more adult themes of getting along with one's in-laws, interviewing for life after high school, and building a new dynamic with a sibling after a childhood schism. to actively engage with fashion, much less set trends, is to risk and construct one's own identity, a challenge that the students of ohtori haven't needed to consider outside of the occasional school dances. it's here that nanami's stubbornness and boldness resonate most strongly - as controversial as her look is, many admit that she's owning it, and thus she draws real security and confidence from her outfit.

of course, it wouldn't be a nanami episode without some animal hijinx and angst over touga, so things start to go off the rails as nanami dreams of being sold and turned into a steak. honestly, it's not an inaccurate representation of touga's manipulation and callous use of her for his own gain. following this, the episode enters b-movie horror mode, as nanami's behavior becomes more and more bovine, as if she were a werecow. even then, it's not difficult to see parallels to her coming of age and changing physicality - like many pubescent teens, her appetite and energy levels change, she loses motivation in her schoolwork, and, as is most common for people this age, she turns into a cow.

[utena bullfighting ensues]

as ever, nanami's true antagonist is anthy and her love of animals. it was all a misunderstanding, as anthy had ordered the cowbell for her pet cow late at night, and the courier must have gotten confused because anthy's cow is also named... nanami... anthy is never beating the passive aggressive subterfuge allegations, huh? (finishing that red sweater just in time for nanami's transformation, eh? real slick...)

meanwhile, juri tuts over nanami's pitiable obsession with brand names while gesturing with a jewel-covered hand, suggesting no lessons have been learned. just another day in the life of kiryuu nanami.

stray observations:

it might be a stretch, but the silhouette routines shifting from a puppet theater to news bulletins also feels like a reinforcement of this arc's transition to themes of adulthood and growing up. additionally, tsuwabuki is able to respond to the silhouettes as well. deeper and deeper into the mystery of their existence...

i always love how obviously callous touga is in nanami's fantasies of him. whether he's celebrating the fact that he's finally killed her and able to date anthy freely, or saying "farewell, nanami" in the most apathetic voice possible after sending her to the abattoir, he never seems to look as good as she pictures him, even in her dreams.

cow-stian dior, huh? how'd you miss that one, miki?

it really doesn't sound like a neutral (or positive) term but i'm interested to know more about the word nanami calls utena during their argument. the subtitles translated it as "boy-girl," though i'm sure that could have been softened from its original tone.