Sad princess; handsome prince
The End of the World requests a new duel against Utena, and with Touga injured he recruits Nanami to fill in for him."Nanami's Precious One" provides examples of:
- All According to Plan: Nanami causes a loud, angry disturbance at Touga's birthday party, slapping the rose bouquet Utena intended to give him out of her hands and striking Anthy for attempting to placate her. Touga watches all this play out in front of him dispassionately - his plan to motivate Nanami to duel is playing out just as he expected.
- Answer Cut: During the student council meeting, Juri asks, "Are you telling me that the End of the World deemed someone else, besides us and Utena, eligible to participate in the duels?" The next scene is Nanami, the duelist to-be, assaulting Utena for her involvement in Touga's injury from episode 9.
- Bad Samaritan: Touga promises to have Saionji's expulsion reversed and to pass along his exchange diary with Anthy. In the very next scene, he tosses the diary in the school incenerator. There's no evidence that he honors his promise to reinstate Saionji, either.
- Beat: Nanami asks Touga for a kiss, which is followed by an extended beat of 4-5 seconds before Touga replies, "I couldn't."
- Close-Call Haircut: Nanami shatters the blade of her sword, and a fragment rebounds towards her, slicing through her crown braid.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: While Nanami is quick on her feet, she isn't able to put up much of a fight against Utena, and Utena knocks her rose off her fairly quickly.
- Cute Kitten: Anthy brings home a stray kitten, which helps Utena get out of her funk. Doubles with Absent Animal Companion when Anthy gives the kitten to Touga as a birthday gift. Touga seems genuinely appreciative to recieve the little guy, but that is its final appearance in the show.
- Drowning Unwanted Pets: In her flashback, Nanami became jealous of Touga's fondness for the kitten she gave him and felt that it distracted him from her, so she put it in a cardboard box and set it adrift in a drainage canal on a stormy day.
- Insidious Rumor Mill: Nanami ends up on the wrong side of this after her outburst at Touga's birthday party, when the other guests interpret her declaration that she won't let Utena have Touga as evidence that Utena and Touga are romantically involved. Neither Nanami or Utena are gratified by this. Meanwhile, Touga silently smirks.
- It's Personal: Nanami just doesn't know when to quit. After losing the duel, she yells that she doesn't care about the rules and attacks again with apparent killing intent. She manages to get Utena's back against a wall before Touga interrupts her.
- One Dialogue, Two Conversations: Utena and Anthy have one where Utena thinks they're talking about Touga, but Anthy's talking to the stray kitten she found.
- Mega Neko: In the shadow play, a stray kitten grows abnormally large while the shadow players argue about what to name it. This is the first shadow play that's tough to relate to the events of the episode, but there does seem to be a parallel in getting so lost in the weeds about defining a relationship that it takes on a life of its own. As a giant cat.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Nanami's flashbacks build up to the moment when she droped the box containing Touga's kitten in the canal. Her behavior suggests that she did not realize the full implications of her actions until it was too late. She tries to justify it to herself by claiming that the kitten was stealing her brother's affections from her, but she's horrified to the point of tears nonetheless. In the present, she's not apologizing to Touga because she lost, she's remembering cruelties she can't atone for and reliving the pain she brings on herself through her extreme behavior.
- The Noisy Straw: Downplayed; Chu-Chu drinks from the kitten's saucer of milk using a bendy-straw, producing some suction noises, but not the loud, bottom-of-the-cup suction noises.
- Nothing Up My Sleeve: Nanami pulls a dagger out of her sleeve after she loses the duel and slashes Utena with it.
- Troubled Fetal Position: Utena's faith in her princely ideals is shaken by her guilt that Touga was hurt on her behalf, and she sits in a corner of the dorm in the dark, hugging her knees.
- The Watcher: Touga accompanies Nanami in the dueling arena, making this the first time someone other than Anthy has watched a duel from the sidelines.
