"It's been a long time. How many decades has it been since I saw you last?"
With few options remaining to him, Mikage invites Utena to his seminar. Through entertaining his offer, Utena discovers the truth behind the Black Rose Circle and challenges Mikage to a duel, during which the web of illusions that allow Mikage to function unravel around him.
"Qualifications of a Duelist" provides examples of:
- Art Imitates Art: A scene recreates Édouard Manet's Olympia (which looks like a Reclining Venus painting, but the reclining figure represents the actual model for the painting, a sex worker, rather than a mythological figure.) In Utena's recreation, Mikage is reclining and thus likened to the sex worker, but his posture is more closed off than Reclining Venuses ever are.
- Convenient Photograph: While waiting in the lobby of Nemuro Memorial Hall, Utena notes with alarm that photos of all the Black Rose duelists, armed and dressed for dueling, are framed on the wall. The duelists themselves don't remember their turns in the arena, so only the party who made them fight could possibly have such photos. Utena confronts Mikage about manipulating her past opponents into fighting her, and he doesn't deny it — he only takes exception to the idea that they were doing his will instead of their own.
- Delirious Misidentification: Mikage started conflating Utena and Tokiko in episode 22, but his hallucinations intensify in this episode until he loses track of who Utena is altogether. As far as he's concerned, he's dueling against Tokiko.
- Flashback Echo: When Mikage tries to recruit Utena for his seminar, he offers assistance to any troubled friends of hers. She dwells on the phrase "troubled friends," and thinks back to her childhood despair — of being in the coffin. Only Rewatch Bonus makes clear why this phrase would remind Utena of that dark moment in her life. The story has yet to reveal that Anthy, her "troubled friend," is the real reason she found the will to live after her parents' deaths, but she evidently has a subconscious awareness of it.
- Foreshadowing: Both in terms of the events of the episode and the direction of the show as a whole.
- There is a general sense that the equilibrium of the arc is falling apart and things about to change. Mamiya states at the start of the episode that he's on his last black rose. Characters are changing their minds about various things — Mikage dismisses his secretary; Nanami decides to team team up with Utena.
- Mikage draws parallels between himself and Utena during the episode, presaging that Mikage's fate will eventually be Utena's fate, too.
- I Will Find You: Utena is looking for Anthy all over the school at the start of the episode, but she doesn't find her. They meet up in their dorm room later.
- Ironic Echo: In his phone call with Mikage after his loss, Akio repurposes Mikage's Arc Words:Akio: The path you must take has not been prepared for you. You graduate now.
- Never My Fault: Mikage claims he never brainwashed anyone, stating all the Black Rose Duelists accepted their roses of their own free will. Except the first episode showed Kanae was terrified when Mikage and Mamiya revealed the rose and the ring to her and she very much wanted to leave had Mamiya not cornered her.
- Not Listening to Me, Are You?: At the beginning of the episode Mamiya repeatedly tries to get Mikage's attention, but he is lost in thought; trying to think up a new way to overcome the victor of the duels.
- "Not So Different" Remark: The crux of Utena and Mikage's duel consists of Mikage pointing out that they're both people who based their lives on a memory that redefined everything for them and will fight to protect them. Utena refuses to believe this, viewing Mikage as a manipulative creep blaming other people for the things he's done.
- Offscreen Reality Warp: There are many examples of this with picture frames that change photos from shot to shot, but that's not all.
- As Mikage tries to persuade Utena that he can help her protect her memories, the empty picture frames behind them suddenly have photos in them — one of Utena at her parents' funeral, the other of Professor Nemuro in profile.
- Mikage's duel token is a framed photo of Tokiko and Mamiya. When Mikage hears Mamiya's voice telling him that he will lose the duel, the photos suddenly show a different boy than the Mamiya we've seen up until now.
- The Wham Shot involves Akio and Mamiya (the illusion Mamiya) standing side by side. There is a cut to a brief close up on Akio, and when the scene cuts back to a medium over the shoulder shot of them, Anthy stands where Mamiya had been moments before.
- One-Shot Character: Mikage had a secretary all this time who never appeared on screen until this episode, and will never appear again since he just fired her. She doesn't seem upset about it, although her mention that she fell in love with someone who isn't younger than her may be a jab at Mikage. One other notable aspect of this character — her haircut is similar to flashback-Tokiko's.
- Punch a Wall: Utena visibly struggles to not assault Mikage while she has him prone, and slams her fist into the floor next to him instead. Mikage remarks in the next scene that she could have killed him if she hadn't noticed that he was a duelist.
- Secretly Selfish: Utena is so incensed by Mikage's insinuations that she's willing to risk Anthy's wellbeing by challenging Mikage to a duel in order to prove they're not alike.
- Self-Serving Memory: Mikage spent so many years convincing himself he did nothing wrong that he genuinely started believing Mamiya burned down Nemuro Memorial Hall.
- Shadow Archetype: This episode fully cements Mikage as Utena's. Mikage define his life based on his memories much like Utena does, and he even calls her on it when he claims they're similar. Utena's utterly enraged by the comparison, but seems to fear actually becoming like Mikage.
- Situational Hand Switch: Mikage fights left-handed at first, but remarks that his shoulder is still injured from when Utena attacked him, and he switches to his right hand with no evident loss of effectiveness.
- Spock Speak:
- Mikage tells Utena that he's attracted to her and wants to get to know her better in such a matter-of-fact way that it takes Utena a few moments before she starts to wonder if he's coming on to her. It's unclear if he is or not.
- Mikage's serenity gets thoroughly dissonant after Utena punches him out and pins him to floor. There is only the barest hint of discomfort in his voice as he carries on describing how alike they are, even though she has him in a very painful armlock.
- Talk to the Fist: Utena is so enraged at Mikage that she punches him mid-sentence.
- Twisted Echo Cut: Mikage contemplates bringing Utena onto his side since he has been unable to defeat her. In the very next scene, Nanami echoes Mikage's language, but in regards to getting Utena to team up with the student council for their mutual safety.
- Youthful Freckles: The real Mamiya had an innocent, boyish appearance with brown hair and freckles.
- Wham Episode: Mikage is defeated and disappears. End of the World is revealed to be behind everything. Mamiya is revealed to have actually been Anthy in disguise with the real Mamiya having died years ago.
