It just occurred to me, on rereading the letter, how thoroughly Akio twisted the knife with his letter. All this time, Utena and Corwin have been doing their damndest to ensure that Anthy can follow her own desires, now that she's no longer the Rose Bride or Akio's pawn.

And then he comes and implies that her desire to have children - and perhaps all of her desires after his apparent death - are his doing. That she is, and forever will be, a puppet dancing to his tune.

I knoe I've struggled several times with whether I've had free will and whether it meant anything, and these just spurred from my own mind and from philosophy class. Anthy is dealing with this issue being raised by a sadistic psychic mastermind in the shape of her beloved brother who's been torturing her for decades.

I have no idea what kind of mental shape she's in right now. None of us do besides the folks in the studio, since I don't think she's shown up in any of the post-TbS stories. But I am extremely worried for her, and not just for any of the obvious reasons.