Juri Arisugawa (有栖川 樹璃 , Arisugawa Juri) is the captain of the academy's fencing team and one of Akio Ohtori's most highly respected students, which makes the teachers appear to be amazed of her. Her aloof and intimidating manner belies a dark secret. As one of the Student Council Duelists, she is thought to be the most noble, and thus the one with the most potential to become a Prince, but her nobility and the strength that comes with it are constantly undermined by her own desires and despair.
Personality[]
Behind her outwardly strong appearance, she is actually very vulnerable, as she has been hurt in the past by her prior friend Shiori Takatsuki, whom Juri secretly loves very deeply. While viewers are at first led to believe that Shiori stole Juri's boyfriend from her, it is later revealed that Juri loved Shiori all along.
Juri adamantly insists that she doesn't believe in miracles and she wants the power of the Rose Bride to disprove them. However, she desperately wishes for a miracle in order to resolve her situation with Shiori. Her hardened, bitter attitude often puts her in conflict with Utena Tenjou because her naïveté and optimism remind her of the person she once was.
Relationships with Shiori Takatsuki and other characters[]
Juri wears a locket with Shiori's picture inside and Shiori learns of Juri's feelings after Souji Mikage shows her the contents of the locket in the Black Rose arc. In the third arc, Utena breaks Juri's locket during her final duel and prompted her to throw the match.
In both versions, Juri is depicted as having learned all she knows about swordsmanship from an older student named Ruka Tsuchiya.
- In the manga, Touga Kiryuu reveals that Juri only became interested in Touga after Ruka disappeared.
- In the manga, there is no Shiori and Juri is in love with Touga instead. However, Touga is in love with Utena, which makes Juri sees Utena as her arch-rival.
- In the anime, Juri's true feelings are much more ambiguous as she denies having any romantic interest in Ruka.
- In both versions, Ruka returns to the Duels despite his serious illness in order to give Juri the power of miracles and save her from her burdens.
Though they are unable to beat Utena, Juri is finally freed from her problems with Shiori by the end of her final duel. Juri and Utena's relationship then becomes more peaceful, with Juri jokingly asking for Utena's picture so she could put it in her new locket.
Juri in Adolescence of Utena[]
In Adolescence of Utena, Juri is the now president of the Student Council (the Student Council's members are apparently Miki Kaoru, Juri and Kyouichi Saionji) where she allows Shiori Takatsuki to manipulate her, but Juri feels trapped by Shiori as well.
In the movie, there is a scene wherein a young Touga Kiryuu jumps into the river to save the drowning girl, leaving Utena Tenjou behind on the land and we never see the girl's face or are told who she is. In the interview with Kunihiko Ikuhara of the extras included with the English release of the movie, Kunihiko reveals that the girl in the boat is, in fact, Juri herself (this is possibly why Juri acts as a "Prince" to Shiori, because she feels guilty for Touga's death; Touga apparently had a relationship with Utena and Shiori). This is likely a play on Juri's story in the last episode of the TV series ("Someday, Together, We'll Shine" or "Someday, Shine with Me" as the closer translation of the original title), wherein it was her older sister who nearly drowned.
In the final episode, Juri tells a story about her elder sister, who nearly drowned. In her story, a boy dies trying to save her older sister. Her final appearance shows her training her fencing club members, including the newly inducted Shiori.
Trivia[]
- The name Juri means "timber, wood, tree" (樹) (ju) and "glassy, gem" (璃) (ri).
- Juri's surname Arisugawa means "exist" (有) (ari), "nest, rookery, hive, cobweb, den" (栖) (su) and "river, stream" (川) (gawa).
- According to Wakaba Shinohara, Juri has two nicknames in the anime and manga:
- In the anime, Juri's nickname is "The Prince"
- In the manga, Juri's nickname is the "Beautiful Female Leopard"/"The Beautiful Leopard"
- In the manga, Juri is the student council treasurer and the captain of the fencing club.
- According to Wakaba Shinohara, Juri has two nicknames in the anime and manga:
- Juri's older sister never appears in the anime, movie or manga.
- Jury mentions her sister in a story she tells to the other council members in episode 39.
- In the manga, Juri takes a far more actively antagonistic role against Utena Tenjou, which is almost more similar to Nanami Kiryuu's role in the anime.
Gallery[]
![Young Juri in Beautiful Thorns by Chiho Saito [1]](/wiki/File:JuriBeautifulThorns.png "JuriBeautifulThorns.png (58 KB)")
