Shoujo Kakumei Utena

.TOUGA. shameless slut and playboy, clever, manipulative, with a voice to die for.

.SAIYONJI. moody, a little violent, Touga's right hand man, best friend and rival. A skilled swordman. A looker too.

At times this pairing can seem so close and friendly towards each other. Yet at other times, they seem more like enemies. I suppose it could be seen as a love hate relationship.

POINT 1 Donated by JSF
Towards the end of the series in ep 36 at the end of their duel against Utena and Anthy Saionji asks Touga "if it is over for them." This could either be a question about their paths as duelists or if "it's over for them" as a couple and the possibility of making up for lost time.

POINT 2 Donated by JSF
Touga, like Akio has a libidinous personality and will hit on anyhing with a pulse. Men included. Touga sets off an Amber alert and says Miki is cuter than his twin sister in episode 6 when he walks into the piano room.

Then In episode 26, Miki angrily accuses Akio of seducing the student council president. Is it because he realizes who Akio is or just old-fashioned jealousy? ^_~

POINT 3
With the exception of Akio, whenever something important, or personal is happening it's Saiyonji Touga turns to to talk about it. Saiyonji notes with perhaps a twinge of jealousy that Touga often hangs out with Akio and pretty much does his bidding like a lapdog.

POINT 4
One particular conversation between these two is just dripping with "hidden meaning." Also a good way to see where Saiyonji's forced animosity towards Touga stems from.

POINT 4
In many of the official pictures and posters, Touga rather lovingly runs his fingers through Saiyonji's hair, or draped over him. They're often seen draped lovingly over each other. Granted since much of Utena is fanservice of the most obvious kind, no one should be surprised by this. So sometimes it's hard to tell if the characters were intended to seem bromantic towards each other, or if it's just a very brillaint ploy for ratings. In one picture to the left, Saiyonji looks like he's sitting in Touga's lap.

POINT 5
Touga and Saiyonji's friendship goes way back to their childhood. Even as they grew older they still spend a LOT of time together and often think back to happier days together. They are often shown reliving some of those moments throughout the series, usually on a bicycle or motorcycle.

POINT 6
In episode 36 when Touga has to fight Utena for Anthy's hand, it's Saiyonji who needs to magically and gently pull the sword out of his chest. Now since it's coming from his own chest, Touga could easily asked anyone to pull it out. But of course he asks his best friend.

Did I leave out anything? Let me know