Revolutionary Girl Utena: Episode 9

Moving back into (quite literally) darker territory, this installment begins in the dimly lit kendo room where Touga and Saoinji are dueling to a chorus of girls cheering on their favourite man.  The play back and forth between the cheering squads heightens the sense of competition.  Saoinji loses and we learn that the two have known each other for many years (ten to be exact). We also learn that Saonji is determined to possess Anthy to obtain something eternal (he hopes to find in the castle with Anthy). 

A flashback showing the boys kendo fighting when they were young reveals that Touga has always been the better fighter.  On their way home, the boys come across a funeral where men inquire if they've seen a little girl.  The funeral is for the girl's parents who died in an accident and she's disappeared.

Touga leads Saonji into the church and opens one of three coffins to find the girl (our suspicions as to her identity are confirmed when we see that the girl has long pink hair identical to Utena's, although her face is shrouded in shadows).  The young Utena admits to seeing herself belonging in the coffin since there was a third, empty one near the ones holding her parents.  She has lost faith in life since what's the point in living if all life must come to an end?  Young Utena states that there is nothing eternal.  The two boys leave her there, Saoinji asking Touga if they should tell someone about her.  Touga replies that, unless they can show her something eternal, they cannot help her.

Present-day Saoinji believes that Touga did show her something eternal since he later heard that she'd decided to leave the coffin and he now desires to find that something (partly out of a desire to compete and partly because he is genuinely disturbed by a meaningless existence).  In a brief monologue from Utena, we learn that she came to this school to find her prince (I suppose she saw the rose emblem's resemblance to her ring and made the connection).  Juri tells the rest of the Student Council about Utena's prince story.  Later, Utena asks Touga about the castle and he attempts to fluster her by speaking about her prince.

Saoinji receives a message from End of the World stating that the castle will descend that evening so he decides to kidnap Anthy so they can go to the castle despite the rules.  The Shadow girls talk forebodingly about losing faith in fantasy and dreams.  Touga anonymously tells Utena what has happened to Anthy and she runs to the arena. She discovers Saoinji lying face down in a pond outside the gates.  Managing to rouse him, the man seems lost at first but eventually they both rush to the arena where Anthy is in a coffin. This appears to be an attempt to prey on Saoinji's concern that life is without meaning.  When they approach, the coffin rises out of reach and Utena navigates pillars to reach Anthy before the castle above crushes them.

Embittered by the fact that Utena has saved Anthy yet again and ashamed of his apparent loss of mind (since the castle's collapse appears to have been a figment of his imagination), Saoinji attacks a defenseless Utena.  Touga steps in front of the sword and saves Utena. The way it's structured indicates that he did this more to earn her trust than out of any true sense of chivalry.  The next day we learn that Touga planted the note from End of the World and Saonki is being expelled.  The red-haired man doesn't believe in friendship so he doesn't care that he set Saonji up to implement his own agenda.  Apparently End of the World doesn't either since no consequences arrive for Touga.

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