Both times Miki duels Utena, he does so by being urged to "take what (he) desires." It would be absurd to argue that those telling Miki this don't have a point, because it's obvious they do. Miki should be active in gaining what he wants, instead of passively wishing and hoping that somebody will give it to him. Still, it's rather clear that Miki fails to "take with his own hands" that which he desires. What exactly forces him to fail?

His search for the shining thing has, to this point, been a passive one of waiting for it to appear. The shining thing in the past had come to him, so it's likely that the next one would do the same. Of course Miki doesn't really understand the true nature of his shining thing, since it is simply a symbol of something within himself. Claiming yourself isn't a passive act, it is a decision (conscious or not).

What specifically keeps Miki from succeeding is the fact that what he wants is wrong. He wants to claim a "thing", a symbol, without understanding what it symbolizes (or indeed, that it is only a symbol at all). He is in Plato's proverbial cave, grasping at shadows instead of going out in to the light. (This isn't to suggest agreement with Plato's view of reality, but to illustrate Miki's position.) Symbols do have power, but only in the minds of those to whom they have meaning. Perhaps the shining thing would give him what he wanted for a while, but in the end, he would simply be its prisoner.

Miki believes that he will win Anthy and be able to protect her precious ability to make music. He assumes that Anthy simply wants whatever he thinks she should want, never really stopping to understand her. This is why he so shocked when she cheers for Utena when he is almost ready to win the first duel. The second time he losses because his sister demonstrates how wrong "taking something with (your) own hands" can be, when the thing you try to take is a human being.

And therein lies the central issue. If you wish to take something, it must be done morally, and taking (which implies forcing) a person is never moral. They have a right to a choice as much as the person who wants them (although the word 'choice' must be used carefully when referring to Anthy). He sincerely wants to free Anthy, but only the Anthy that he sees. Would he want to free her if the real Anthy hated the piano and never wanted to touch it again? Perhaps, although it is important to note that his first thought after losing was about not having his shining thing and not, "Darn, I don't get to free Anthy."

Miki's intentions may be mixed or perhaps they really are good, but everyone knows which path is paved with them. The method is wrong, as even Utena discovers, and therefore Miki cannot be the one to bring the world revolution. What Miki must claim is not an illusion or a symbol, but himself, which he can only do if he makes an active decision. Whatever he does claim must be done so morally, or else it is self-defeating.

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