how much could she have to say about the thematic importance of nanami turning into a cow you ask? well now you shall see.

there are 5 nanami episodes. nanami episodes are not to be confused with her duels, which are also good, but not what we’re talking about here. nanami episodes involve funny animals tormenting her, presumably as punishment for that one time she drowned a kitten (despite this nanami is still my favorite character). the first nanami episode is entirely mundane. anthy is just too weird for nanami to embarrass when she can’t sexually humiliate her in front of a massive crowd (which is a huge trigger for anthy, but nanami couldn’t have known that). there’s definitely some meaning here, but it doesn’t seem worth it to analyze so deeply here. the next one is weird, but also mostly not relevant to what i’m talking about here. obviously tsuwabuki’s whole deal has a lot of thematic relevance to the aforementioned fucked up sibling dynamics and the broader statements on gender roles to be found within utena, but if i chased every available tangent i’d be here all night. the curry bodyswap is the first nanami episode to clearly have a message directed from anthy to someone else (anthy’s witch magic being responsible) but it’s aimed at saionji. the rose bride is a perfect woman who would never reject a man, so she needs to put utena in a position to break saionji’s heart for her in the hilarious exchange diary scene.

anyways the last 2 nanami episodes (not counting the recap episode) are the thematically super important ones. though 4 out of 5 nanami episodes are for sure anthy fucking with nanami, these 2 come with additional messages. nanami turns into a cow because she is so enamored with her own status that she’s blinded to the realities around her. the reality of the cowbell is ignored because of the associated prestige. similarly, the fact that her relationship with touga grants her immense privilege within the school blinds her to his predatory treatment of her. This is made literal with the cow thing, as the song playing makes clear. (it’s about selling a cow to be slaughtered, and predates utena by a while, being a yiddish folk song.) anthy recognizes herself within nanami and moves to warn her. but her warning is, seemingly, completely ignored. in fact nanami did listen, if only subconsciously, and recognizes herself in anthy in her last (2 part) duel episode.

and then the last one is the egg episode. the egg represents coming into womanhood, your period, elegance, learning things about yourself (it isn’t a coincidence that this episode prompts the bit where touga thinks nanami is coming out as gay to him.) it’s also the episode where nanami truly starts to recognize her position in life and how precarious it is. whereas in the past her flights of fancy were optimistic (for her at least. anthy being outed as a weirdo who keeps snails in her pencil case, etc.) now she is terrified of being abandoned for being a weirdo who lays eggs. or who doesn’t lay eggs early enough. her dreams will be destroyed by her brother, and it’s only a short while before this happens in a more permanent way. all her anxieties are things she previous wished on anthy, which reflects anthy’s role as a sin eater, but also shows how all girls are the rose bride in some way. no matter how hard she pushes others down, nanami is no safer, and she’s starting to realize this in time for her whole world to all come crashing down around her.