|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Blond haired Tsuwabuki Mitsuru is Nanami's self appointed secretary and all around slave. Impossibly determined, young Tsuwabuki is only in elementary school (the fourth grade to be exact) -- but, young or not, he has fallen for Nanami, and he will do anything just to be near her. And boy, does Nanami ever take advantage of that. This is not to say that Nanami is abusive or anything, but she treats Tsuwabuki as what he is: a child. Because of the age gap, Nanami refuses to see Tsuwabuki as an equal person -- so, she delegates him to a rank of a servant, bossing him around with honeyed tones and that infamous snapping of her fingers.
Tsuwabuki is often seen trailing after Nanami, reading off her daily schedule and supplying her with cheat sheets and handmade lunches. Of course, we all think "Oh! Poor Tsuwabuki! He doesn't deserve such treatment...etc, etc." But Tsuwabuki takes his unfair treatment well, even willingly. Tsuwabuki is fiercely loyal to Nanami, and even though he knows Nanami (as Utena puts it) "through and through, from shiny surface to filthy underbelly", he disregards it -- in fact, he actually admires it. Tsuwabuki sees no wrong with his Nanami-sama; he praises her cold, calculating ways, and her ability to leave her own hands clean after a prank.
A few characters take sympathy on Tsuwabuki's predicament : Utena often cites how patient Tsuwabuki must be, serving a tyrant like Nanami, and during episode 18 ("Mitsuru's Growing Pains"), he defends his feelings for Nanami as a girl named Hozumi Mari tells him he deserves better. Tsuwabuki's love isn't entirely romantic; deep inside, lies a boy wanting to be a man. He watches Touga with envy -- such a tall, handsome and strong man, is exactly what a person like Nanami deserves. Tsuwabuki wants to be like Touga. He wants to protect Nanami, and watch over her. It is the desire to protect Nanami that turns Tsuwabuki into a Black Rose duellist, and it is also because of his selfless devotion to Nanami that he will always take her treatment willingly...
That fact, in itself makes Tsuwabuki quite a loveable character, but what is perhaps the most interesting thing about him is that he is a foil to Nanami's relationship to Touga. Nanami is infamous for running around wreaking havoc, all for the sake of her beloved onii-sama -- but, Tsuwabuki is also the exact same way around Nanami. We find out during episode 24 ("Nanami-sama Secret Diary") that it was Tsuwabuki who was staging all those accidents in episode 6 ("Nanami-sama, Beware!"). He orchestrated all sorts of accidents (the various stampeding animals, the flower pot from the window, and the banana peel that Nanami slips on in episode 8 ("The Great Curry High Trip") (although that was probably a fluke) -- and why? Because he wanted to be perceived as Nanami's protector. In truth, Tsuwabuki longs to be like Touga, so that he can protect Nanami and earn her adoration.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blonde Bombshell is © 2000-2007 Rose Panzo. Shoujo Kakumei Utena and all its characters belongs to Chiho Saito, Be-PaPas, TV Tokyo, and etc. Please do not take or reproduce the contents here without permission.