Himemiya Anthy sacrificed her soul (so to speak) to save her brother and he, in turn, became a manipulative devil that wants to Revolutionize the world by using people. She became the Rose Bride, the servant of the victor of the duels and the one her brother will manipulate to his advantage.

When we first see her, Saionji is abusing her but Touga, another member of the Student Council, grabs his hand to restrain him from smacking her yet again. The Student Council, made up of those who duel for the Rose Bride, has a meeting where demand that he treats Anthy better but he smoothly replies that they are in love and he will do as he pleases. Anthy agrees, saying, "Right now, I am Saionji-sama's Bride. I will do everything he wishes." There is nothing else the council can do except wait for someone to win Anthy from him.

Saionji infuriates Utena when someone posts a love letter written to him by Wakaba, Utena's friend. People reading it laugh at the foolishness of the girl who wrote it, and Wakaba runs away in shame. Utena challenges him to a duel, and since she has the ring worn by all those who duel for the Rose Bride, he assumes she means an official duel. While placing a rose on the new duelist's chest, Anthy wishes her "Good luck," irritating Saionji enough to smack her once more. Utena wins the battle and quite unexpectedly wins Anthy as well.

They are moved to a rather run-down house that hasn't been used in years but Anthy fixes it up quite nicely. Saionji demands a rematch and Utena decides that she will lose on purpose and Anthy agrees, but she doesn't really seem all that please about it. Utena goes to the battle arena still thinking that she wishes to lose but when Saionji almost gets her rose, she covers it with her hand. With the power of Dios, she is once again victorious, though she claims that she did it so Chu Chu (a little monkey-mouse friend of Anthy's) wouldn't be stuck with Saionji.

Nanami, Touga's adoring little sister, sets Anthy up by inviting her to a dance and sending her a dress that would dissolve when it got wet. The plan backfires when Utena comes to Anthy's rescue with a smoothly placed tablecloth, which is much better than the lemon/lime monstrosity she had been wearing. Miki (another member of the Student Council) has had a secret crush on Anthy for a while and wonders if she could be his "Shining Thing". Anthy and Utena do terrible on a test so Miki ends up tutoring them while Nanami tries to pull one of her stunts but it fails again. Anthy ends up playing Miki's song and he is certain that she is the one who will replace his sister as his shining thing. He tries to dissolve the student council, but Touga tells him that without the duels, he will never have the Rose Bride. He duels thinking that Anthy wants him to win so he can set her free and loses when she encourages Utena. He is crushed and wonders who will be his shining thing but Anthy comes up to him and tells him that it was a good try and he isn't as upset.

Saionji is still rather tiffed about losing Anthy and Touga has learned about Utena's prince through Juri. He decides to use the combination of Saionji's rage and Utena's dream to his advantage. He sends Saionji a letter under the name of End of the World and he, believing the letter, drags Anthy to the arena while Touga calls Utena and tells her Anthy has been kidnapped. Utena saves her and Saionji, in a fit of rage, lashes out against her, but Touga, in a calculated move to convince her that he is her prince, takes the blow instead. The move worked and a confused and slightly hurt Utena loses to Touga and Anthy becomes his bride-no more than a doll present at all of his romantic rendezvous. Utena, who has lost her sense of self, mopes around for a bit and than decides to duel him again. This time she wins and Anthy returns to her.

Soon Utena is introduced to Akio, Anthy's brother. Her next duels involve these people called the Black Rose duelists and they include Shiori (a friend of Juri's), Miki's sister, and Wakaba (Utena's friend), among others. Their main objective is to win the duels and replace Anthy with another Rose Bride. Their personal objectives vary greatly, however. For example, Akio's fiancé duels Utena because she hates Anthy and refers to her as an alien. Wakaba crush on Saionji, as well as her frustration that she is not one of those "special people" leads her to dueling. These duels, however are manipulated by Akio and his little sister and are meant, more or less, to be lost. Utena wins the duels but, as they revel in the last episode of the arc, the replacement bride had been Anthy all along.

Akio starts taking characters for rides in his car and shows them "End of the World"-something that makes them decide to duel with Utena again. Meanwhile, he courts Utena, in an effort to separate her from the prince she claims to be in love with. Another set of duels (which team up a duelist and a bride) take place with Utena and Anthy winning each time. While dueling Saionji again, the Sword of Dios disappears, causing Anthy to pull out the Soul Sword from Utena's chest. When all the duels conclude, End of the World (Akio) sends good-bye letters to everyone and it seems Utena will be the one to gain the power of the Revolution. Conflicted by her desire to save Anthy, her desire to be with Akio, and her shame at knowing their secrete, Utena tears up her letter in a refusal to go on. Utena and Anthy sit drinking tea and Anthy tells Utena she poisoned the cookies who, in turn, tells Anthy that she poisoned the tea.

Anthy stands on the very edge of their building, ready to jump, but when she does, Utena grabs her arm and pulls her to safety. Anthy has been using and manipulating the only person who ever tried to be her friend, but Utena admits that she has been using Anthy as well. She wanted to be a prince to her, but she never tried to understand what she was feeling. Utena decides that she must face the final duel…

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