There are many types of brilliant people in the world, some of whom are pleasant enough and other who simply need to have rather large socks stuffed in their mouths. Miki is the sort of genius who is rather unaware of the full extent of his greatness. Perhaps out of ignorance (or innocence and modesty) or loneliness, he chooses people to reflect his brilliance.

There seems to be very little that Miki cannot do and do quite well. Whether it is at the piano, at a desk, or with a sword, Miki is a wonder boy, capable of great brilliance which is hardly matched by anyone else. He is greatly admired, adored, and even envied for his ability to do everything well. He appears quite unaware of how totally unique and special he really he is, or at least the scope of it. At any rate, he bears his uniqueness with a great deal of genuine modesty.

It would be foolish to say he is unaware of being good, but not to say that he is a perfectionist, always trying to be even better. There is little sense of competition in his actions, as much as a desire to be flawless, even though Juri points out that he does better when he is not perfect. In another story (Gunnm), a cyborg named Gally once claims that she wishes to be a weapon of the purest metal, but her manager replies that an alloy, with its mixtures and imperfections, is actually a much stronger weapon. The same is true for Miki, who shines much more brilliantly when he isn't concerned with being perfect. The shining thing builds his confidence and allows him to be not perfect, which explains why he was so much better when he had Kozue and later Anthy.

It may be that he finds it terribly lonely to be so special. He needs a partner or companion who can match or exceed his own talent, and thereby alleviate his sense of isolation. With fencing, he has Juri who is obviously as talented as he, if not a bit better. In school work, he takes classes with older students who have an advantage of experience over him. In the case of the piano, there is no one to match him so he creates a companion himself, by seeing his own talent in her.

The main problem with this is that he never sees the girl herself, but rather a reflection of his own talent, which he attributes to them. This is not to say that Anthy cannot play the piano well, but rather that the importance he ascribes to her ability is of his own creation. Basically, he imagines that her passion for the piano matches his. Both were, for a time anyway, willing mirrors, and for much the same reason-to use Miki for their own ends. Miki blinds himself by his own brilliance and ignores the reality of the girls he uses as his shining things. Juri, for example, never represents for him a shining thing and he is able to have an honest and uncomplicated relationship with her. The same applies to Utena.

An obvious solution presents itself, being that Miki must learn to be confident himself with out the use of symbols or placebos. This will lessen his need to be perfect and will free others from the responsibility of acting as living mirrors. Part of it is accepting the reality of being special, and another is accepting that others don't have to be special in the same way. By responding to that which is truly special in them, and not an illusion of what he wants to see, loneliness need not be an inevitable consequence.

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