they aren't doomed, i'll fight you

the scene in ep 38 where akio tells utena "a child wouldn't understand the value of this room" is honestly the most chilling line in the entire series to me because since meeting utena he's been so careful and calculated in the language he uses around her, always making sure to address her like some kind of equal, like someone special and important and different from other kids her age. but the moment she betrays his expectations of sexual servitude and opposes him, the mask completely comes off and fuckkk man. we obviously knew it but to hear him fully admit that he never forgot she was a child. to watch him throw her age in her face in a moment of violence to reinstate the inherent power imbalance between them. akio is so fucking evil and he exists all around us.