>>I do have a bit of a question, though. When Corwin asks Utena what the
>>name of her old sword was, she says she never learned its name. Was
>>she never told that it was called the Sword of Dios?
>
>She's not talking about the Sword of Dios, or at least she doesn't
>think she is. In the part of Revolutionary Girl Utena that
>never made it to the US, the Sword of Dios disappears mysteriously,
>and has to be replaced in Utena's arsenal by another sword which,
>coincidentally, happens to look just like it. (That's either an
>indication of something very important, or the animators were lazy.
>I'm still not entirely certain which.)

Huh...I always thought it was still the Sword of Dios. Anthy creates both, after all, even if the second one comes from Utena, not her. The funny thing about SKU is, it's next to impossible to tell what is illusion and what is real, unless it's revealed later. The Sword of Dios is no exception. Did Anthy actually create the sword from nothing every duel? Was it the same sword, and when it disappeared, Anthy just created it again, a different way? Was the creation routine BS to begin with, the sword just a physical object? Only Akio and Anthy know these things, and neither one is in the habit of revealing secrets. I highly doubt the animators would be so lazy, though, not when everything else in the series is abstract symbolism.

Oh, and one other amusing if irrelevant fact: The disappearance of the original sword, and Anthy's creation of the new one, happen in a duel with Saionji, of all people.

--"I invoke the rites of fiery Muspelheim, and give thy soul up to the inferno's embrace..."