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Utena is a strong person whose sense of loyalty and dedication make her both a potential hero and potential victim. She is loyal, honest, and caring, yet she is no where near perfect. She is too quick to trust and tries to shut her eyes to the glaring faults of herself and others.
She is a fiercely loyal friend, even to the point of fighting for her friend's honor. Later she fights to keep Anthy out of a situation where she would be treated poorly. Through out the series she tries to help Anthy, even after she knows that Anthy has been using her. Unfortunately, her loyalty leaves her without the protection of being able withdraw from destructive relationships.
Utena is also honest, yet she isn't honest with her self at times. She wears her heart on her sleeve and that makes her a potential target for manipulating bastards to take advantage of her. Also, she has trouble seeing the dynamic underflow of events and relationships around her. For example, Juri may never have fully explained her situation with Shiori to Utena, but Utena jumped to a conclusion and immediately stuck her nose into the matter.
Utena cares deeply about those around her. She doesn't like to see her friends suffering and tries her best to help them out. Unfortunately they don't necessarily want her help. In some cases they are even using her.
Her strength comes from a deep inner confidence in her self and in her ideas. Although sometimes shaken, she believes her path of becoming a prince to be the right one. Her confidence allows her to face fights against more experienced, better-trained, and more insidious opponents, and win. It is only when she doubts herself that she is weak.
Utena is a very interesting character. She seems perfect at first but deep down she knows she isn't. She starts out wanting to be a prince and in the end becomes something better than a prince. At the beginning she seems like she has no where to grow, she is so wonderful. As the series progresses her weakness are revealed and she suffers for them. In the end she grows past these and lives up to the promise she offered us at the beginning of the series.
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