Tenma Tsukasa: What it Means to be Pure of Heart
I have found Tenma Tsukasa to be one of the most poorly understood characters in the entire cast of Project Sekai, either via direct mischaracterization by younger and/or casual fans, or by those who write analyses in reaction to solely those mischaracterizations and neglect to examine aspects of Tsukasa's character from various angles. Most commonly, I've observed the following assertions made about his character:
Tsukasa has repressed and buried his traumatic experiences
Tsukasa is overcompensating for his fear of being forgotten (perfectionism, performative behaviors)
Tsukasa is naive and his ego is dependent on external validation
Tsukasa frequently trivializes his own needs and desires (avoidant tendencies), related to assertion #1
These are not incorrect, per se. But made in a vacuum, these claims become flat, losing any kind of thematic or narrative texture that would make those inner conflicts meaningful to the audience. It's important to create overarching connections that make these sorts of character flaws and struggles relevant to a bigger picture; crucially, Project Sekai is not a psychological case study. It's a game about adolescence and how human experiences and emotions find expression through art. Keeping that in mind, I'm going to compare Tsukasa to one very iconic character to hopefully unravel those complicated threads: Tenjou Utena, from the cult classic franchise Revolutionary Girl Utena. You do not have to have seen the series to understand my analysis, but this will end up spoiling the series should you plan on watching the show at some point. Please note that this is how *I* have come to understand/interpret his character, and is only one way of doing so. This one is going to be long, so get comfortable, and I hope you have some time to kill.
To start, what is Utena even about?
To give a short synopsis, Revolutionary Girl Utena follows the story of Tenjou Utena, a young girl who had a fateful encounter with a prince in her childhood; desiring to one day be reunited with the prince, she swears "never to lose [her] strength and nobility", and vowed even to become a prince herself. In her search for her prince, Utena ends up at a certain school, Ohtori Academy, where she gets swept up in a series of enigmatic duels for the "power to revolutionize the world", supposedly held by one Himemiya Anthy, the Rose Bride. As Utena participates in these duels, she is gradually led to the truth that the real reason she swore to become a prince was not out of her desire to be reunited with the prince from her childhood, but rather, to save Anthy, who was martyred for Akio's sake, her older brother and Utena's "prince". Akio is an unscrupulous man with no morals to speak of, relishing perversely in his own helplessness to alter Anthy's fate. The story concludes with Utena disappearing from Ohtori Academy after the events of the final duel, which ultimately inspire Anthy to liberate herself from Ohtori Academy.
What parallels could exist between this shoujo anime from 1997 and an idol rhythm game from the 2020s?
As it turns out, not that many (yet definitely more than you'd expect). But I'm not actually comparing RGU with PJSK-- just two specific characters. Utena and Tsukasa are both formed from the template of a "prince" figure; they are both associated with prince imagery. Utena literally wants to become a prince. Meanwhile, Tsukasa's name is not one bit subtle- Tenma meaning "heavenly horse" (or "pegasus", as he dubs it, a mythical creature that's almost always depicted as white)- and Tsukasa, meaning "ruler", evokes the image of someone with power/authority (such as... a prince). Put together, his name is a clear reference to the "prince on a white horse" motif, one which is also central to Utena's symbology. Furthermore, Utena's desire to "become a prince" is mirrored in Tsukasa's desire to "become a star"; they are both vague, indeterminate goals, seemingly being more an expression of an inner will/desire to transcend something than anything concrete. The "prince" figure is itself a semiotic concept, a figure that denotes the ideal masculine: A selfless, loyal, compassionate, pure, and noble savior. I believe several different characters in Project Sekai make explicit remarks about Tsukasa being service-minded and hardworking, always there for his friends and his peers, always thinking of his loved ones, and prioritizing their needs ahead of his own. Utena herself is seen to deeply value chivalry, fairness, friendship, and honesty.
Both Tsukasa and Utena desire to be proper role models for those around them, while at the same time, deviating from many of the norms that dictate what a "proper role model" should be like. Utena crossdresses, plays sports, uses 'boku' to refer to herself, and yet, she remains adamant about her femininity and girlhood.
Tsukasa also subverts gender, but it isn't as apparent in the text of the game itself. He knows how to sew, he helps his younger sister go shopping for things like clothes and makeup, and probably the most standout detail-- he's the only male unit representative character in the game. He also has personal connections with many members of the female cast in ways that Rui, Akito, and Toya all lack, as Tsukasa grew up around Saki and her friends. However, his internal sense of gender is as important to him as Utena's is to herself. His taking great pride in being an older brother is probably the main parallel here in this context.
A lot of Utena's and Tsukasa's charm as characters stem from the fact that they're unaffected by the impulse to conform-- more accurately, they lack it entirely. There's something a little romantic about a person who's so assured in their sense of self that they willingly choose to stand out from the masses. They're both the kind of protagonist that you're meant to admire and even covet on some level, right? It makes them special, it draws people to them, they have this radiance about the way they carry themselves. They're deeply empowered individuals who take on the world with genuine, honest determination. I believe it's important not to revise this impression of the characters in favor of later revelations; even after learning of their flaws, their "princely nature" is the thing that unites the characters around them: Utena's desire to become a prince is what allows her to find Anthy and inspire change in the various duelists, Tsukasa's desire to become a star is what brings Wondershow together in the Main Story. Negating these threads because "Tsukasa wanting to become a star is actually because of his trauma" or "Utena wanting to become a prince is actually the result of patriarchal conditioning" is like negating the very essence of their stories, which frame time and again these characters' desires as fundamentally something aspirational/admirable.
Building on that point, let's move on to their motives. Utena forgets the true reason she wanted to become a prince and attend Ohtori Academy, and we as the audience are fed a false narrative about Utena's character from the very start. There is a fairytale about a princess who grieved the death of her parents alone, was rescued from her grief by a gallant prince, and resolves to become just like her rescuer. This is how Utena recalls these events from her childhood for most of the show.
From the first scene of episode one:
Then, we see that it was not the prince's comforts that brought Utena out of her despair, but something else entirely. From episode 34:
Conversely, the audience is made aware of the origins of Tsukasa's feelings from the Opening of the Main Story, who also forgot the true reason he wanted to become a star. Where Tsukasa eventually recalls his motive (to make Saki happy) in the Main Story, Utena has to spend the entire series closing the gap between herself and Anthy in order to recall the vow she made as a child. Only after they reconnect with their formative selves are Tsukasa and Utena able to grow and recognize their shortcomings. Their uncompromising egos are given direction and meaning by returning to the feelings they had as children-- the purest, most unfiltered version of their wish to help/save someone else. There is a subtextual tie-in here with themes around existential anxiety, too. When constructing a self-concept, we often split our being across the axis of adolescence. We speak of an "inner child", something which exists separately within us, as a part of us, but not something tangibly expressed. In art, this split is often used to portray the bridge between true and simulated emotions, past and present as one, a breakthrough of the self. This is a theme that crops up in Wondershow's stories over and over-- reviving and protecting the hopes and dreams which crystallize during the time of our lives in which prejudice has not yet had a chance to take shape.
The moment Utena decides to become a prince occurs after she comes face-to-face with the depths of nihility following the loss of her parents in a car accident-- despite how much pain she herself was in, her empathy for the suffering of another is what allowed her to overcome her despair, so in another sense, her determination to become a prince is what saved her, as well. Compare this with Tsukasa, whose dream of becoming a star was born originally from a desire to see his sister happy, and who suffers from a deep loneliness and fear of losing purpose; for Tsukasa, the desire to become a star was similarly the product of helplessness upon being confronted by a difficult reality, and that does not negate that his dream was what kept him going in his life. However, this truth can coexist with the fact that burying and forgetting their pain is a defense mechanism that created blind spots and vulnerabilities in their worldview. Utena and Tsukasa seem to not want to confront their formative experiences until they're forced to by Akio/Sakaki (and in both cases, it was an older man exploiting their immaturity for their own gain/pleasure, malevolent situations).
They share a number of flaws, too. For one, they are both a bit naive and egotistical. You see that part of Utena come out quite a bit in how she interacts with Anthy; she is often seen pushing her own values onto her, ignorant to Anthy's inner world while claiming she cares about her freedom and wellbeing. Additionally, she quite easily trusts and believes those around her with minimal questioning, unable to doubt people's intentions. As a result, she ends up saying rather headstrong and presumptive things that can, at times, feel cruel.
In Tsukasa, naivete manifests as a lack of understanding of himself and the environments he finds himself in. Where Utena has a tendency to push her values onto others, Tsukasa is extremely one-track minded and blind to consequence, preoccupied with a complex that he's not anywhere near his ideal image of a "star". Utena is too certain in her own judgement whereas Tsukasa has lost faith in his own judgement. Both of these forms of ignorance and inter/intrapersonal neglect are qualities which end up contributing to their victimization at the hands of their respective groomers. Sakaki explicitly uses Tsukasa's complex and insecurities against him, the same way Akio exploits Utena's "innocence" to make inappropriate advances on her. Arguably another shortcoming they share is the way they each refuse to question their core beliefs. Utena assumes a lot about the people around her because she projects fantasies about what family/friends "are like" or "should be like" onto others (let it be known that Akio leverages his status as Anthy's older brother to further lower Utena's guard, "we're pretty much family at this point", such tactics). On the other side of the coin, Tsukasa seems to over-invest in his identity as an older brother, on top of which he never thinks to question authority. They both hold on to these rigid idealities, unhealthy idols.
Before moving on to my last point, I'd just like to make it known that "nobility" and "purity" become a pretty interesting point of overlap between Utena's and Tsukasa's stories. Remember what I said about their association with the prince figure, and burying their pain? Sakaki and Akio are infatuated with their "purity" in a perverse way, seemingly relishing in a sense of superiority over their juniors.
One more point: While Utena and Tsukasa are being groomed, they both go through a phase of extreme self-doubt and repression. The state that Utena is in when she finds herself alone with Akio time and again is about where Tsukasa is at as of Phantom Maze Monster. Utena's conviction to be a prince starts to waver, and Tsukasa's dream is turning into more of an obligation than an aspiration.
So all these parallels are cool, but what does it mean for Tsukasa?
At the core of both Utena and Tsukasa is this idea of purity and ideals. RGU explores an incredibly broad set of themes communicated in an avante-garde style, while Project Sekai's writing is meant to maintain some form of popular, relatable appeal, so admittedly it's a little difficult to establish parallels here. But I think there's enough similarities to say that both characters share at least one thesis: Ultimately, their stories are intended to affirm the importance of holding on to idealistic sensibilities. Wonderlands x Showtime's story is an incredibly delicate and emotional piece meant to comfort the viewer about the realities of coming of age, the strength it takes to grow and understand yourself, and the value of holding onto your dreams. Tsukasa is a character who is associated with the "other side", time and again-- have you ever thought to yourself that, beyond all this, there has to be something more? I think Tsukasa is holding on to some form of that. His light isn't anecdotal to the sun, but a starry night sky-- his SEKAI is a utopian world of exciting, magical, childish things. His feelings made his own heaven and his own hell. He is imperfect, he has hurt people, he is hurting himself, and once he comes up against the sheer vastness of the world in comparison to the sheltered life he lived, he falters. Every stride forward seems only to expose more and more of his deficiencies, ignorance, and immaturity. It's inevitable that he doubts himself; and still, he remains adamant about becoming a star. He truly wants to make the world a brighter, more comfortable place. No matter what faults he may have, this is the quality that redeems him.
In RGU, Utena does not save Anthy in a traditional sense. The show ends with her disappearing from the world of Ohtori Academy, after failing to pull Anthy out of her coffin, and after taking Anthy's punishment in her stead. Yes, Utena's desire to "become a prince" was silly. It's fundamentally childlike to believe in the beauty of a fairytale. You cannot live a fully realized life by holding on fantasies. Akio reveals "reality" to Utena and expects her to resign herself to it the same way he did, choosing to be ruled by his powerlessness. The difference between Utena and Akio is, where Akio gave up, Utena remained steadfast in the face of disillusionment, stood unafraid to change, and continued to believe that the world surely had a place for her and Anthy. In the end, it was those silly desires that managed to make a difference in the system of Ohtori Academy, empowering Anthy to abandon Akio and join Utena in the world beyond the gates of the school which oppressed her. In much the same way, Tsukasa empowered his troupemates to break out of their own metaphorical shells, freeing them through his initially misguided wish to become a star. To his roots, he's a quixotic character, chasing after the impossible, and that's exactly why he's able to change the world around him.
I hope some of that boundless courage inspires you, as it has me.
