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I'm currently on episode 10 of _Revolutionary Girl Utena_ , and I've noticed
that at certain points someone (most likely Miki, if I'm not mistaken) will
pull out something that looks like a stopwatch or a counter. (This happens in
the beginning of episode 10 when the Student Council is discussing the next
duelist, and also happens earlier in some of the points concerning Nanami.)
Some sort of clicking sound will accompany this.

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/xVNIvm.png)

But I'm not really sure what this is supposed to signify (if anything). Is
Miki counting something, or is this supposed to just set the tone for
something? If so, what is this "something"?

**Update:** In episode 11, Miki pulls out a stopwatch again after asking Touga
if he's just treating his sister like a pet (in the translation I was
watching) and states a "time" of 6.54 seconds. But I'm still not sure what
he's counting. Afterwards, the discussion immediately goes back to Nanami's
loss to Utena.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-20T06:59:05.927
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2017-11-15T06:35:34.637
2014-08-20T10:37:19.573
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question
revolutionary-girl-utena
Why does Miki keep pulling out a stopwatch?


Yes, it is a stopwatch. Ikuhara Kunihiko (Director/Producer, Storyboards,
Original Concept) answered this question in an Animage [interview with Be-
Papas](http://ohtori.nu/creators/pics/sku12.jpg), the animation studio that
created Utena:

[Translation by a fan](http://ohtori.nu/creators/a_animage.html):

> [**Animage magazine**](http://ohtori.nu/creators/pics/sku00.jpg): The next
> question came up most often.
>
> **Question** : What does Miki measure with his stopwatch? (reader from
> Hokkaido)
>
> **Ikuhara** : Let’s just say that it’s connected with the structure of the
> world.
>
> **All** : (laugh).
>
> **Enokido Yoji** (Animation Composition, Chief Screenwriter): That’s a
> really hard-to-understand answer.


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2014-09-05T08:54:22.040
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2014-09-05T16:20:03.103
2020-06-17T09:17:53.303
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answer


Miki uses her stopwatch during certain conversations with the other members of
the student council, mostly while they are in private. I believe she is timing
moments of significant things that they say to one another that has an
alternate meaning than the physical.

The themes in this story are very abstract and metaphysical but all
interconnected, like:

  * The symbolism of the staircase spiraled straight to heaven is the character's feelings of hope about important memories and feelings they all have and wish to keep eternal.
  * The shining castle in the sky is just a mirage to signify that shining everlasting hope that some keep close to their hearts and hope to attain once again.

But everything has cause and effect and is on an eternal clock of action and
reaction. A spiral of spira mirabilis, times and moments stacked upon one
another to create the reality we live in now. These moments are algorithms in
the universe and everything plays an important role in this grand play, and we
are all actors playing our parts.


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2017-11-15T06:11:31.957
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