May 2022: Hi there! This is Giovanna with Empty Movement! (ohtori.nu & emptymovement.com) This website was built in the late 2010's by Amy of Alexiel.net. (Her LiveJournal is here!) Amy was an icon of the era of fansite fandom. She died entirely too young (though I'm not sure how old she was) of adrenal cancer in 2012. Her family left her sites up as long as they could, but they've been gone for some time, and I've had the honor of being able to dig up from various resources (many the Internet Archive) this website almost entirely intact. I've edited it only to preserve as much of the original as possible. I do this without permission, obviously, but I don't think Amy would have wanted her work lost forever. Check out this piece of history, made by fandom royalty long passed.

Through a Stopwatch, Darkly

It is quite safe to say that this site requires no justification; its content speaks for itself. Rather, it requires a preface, or a little explanation, especially concerning some themes that run through it.

Miki is a very cute and sweet boy. While many of the men in Shoujo Kakumei Utena are over the top with their obsessive behavior and secret agendas, Miki is more subtle and quiet. He's adorable! Still, I never intended on making a site for him. I liked him, but I liked Juri, Anthy, and Utena more and I decided three Utena shrines were more than enough. Still, I couldn't help think that maybe a Miki shrine would be fun to do and as time went on it became glaringly obvious that the world could indeed use another one, and in the process of analysing him, I found I adored him more than I thought I did. I hope in some way I am able to give a slightly different view of Miki as a character. My goal is quite simply to have the most in depth Miki shrine possible.

Having said that, there are two important themes in my discussions of Miki that should be understood up front. The first is that his shining thing is a symbol of inspiration and confidence which are not naturally external, but rather internal. The second is that Miki is trapped in childhood by the memory of the garden where he and his sister use to play. Almost everything discussed here relates to these two ideas and that they imply, but they are my ideas and open to interpretation.

To understand a character, you have to use what information and symbolism is available to you. Often this information is ambiguous and sometimes even contradictory, in which case it becomes necessary to sort out the evidence and try to piece together the most accurate and complete picture as possible. A lot of thought and careful consideration has gone into this project, so that I am satisfied that I my work is fairly accurate.

That isn't to say that anything here isn't opened to discussion. Utena can be a rather complicated show, with its seemingly endless symbolism. It simply means that I fairly strong argument supporting these ideas. Agree or disagree as you will, but enjoy the site.