Utena is a show that’s famous for using symbolism and visual metaphors to tell its story and regardless of whether you enjoy it as a work of art to take inspiration from or just as a well executed romance story, at some point you’ve probably asked yourself the question: who the hell is Chu-Chu?

Of course there are plenty of other funny nonsensical elements in Revolutionary Girl Utena that don’t require an explanation, for example, I doubt anyone was really watching episode 6 and expecting an answer as to why there is a kangaroo in the school; it’s all a part of absurdist humour that’s common in japanese media, however Chu-chu is different. Chu-chu, unlike other surreal gags, plays a large and fairly consistent role throughout the show. Chu-Chu, being Himemiya’s pet monkey, helps the viewer understand Himemiya’s true feelings in a smart and subtle way, which is affirmed by Himemiya herself when she calls him her friend.

So, if Chu-Chu is such an important character, surely there is some reason as to why he understands Himemiya on such a personal level and knows so much about her, right? While the show, as many of you know, doesn’t give you a conclusion to Utena’s monkey mystery, there are some hints that I believe hold the key to solving it.

The Chu-Chu theory: Chu-Chu is prince Dios

Prerequisite: I am aware that this theory has existed for years and was even poked fun of in Utena (Oh My!) UTENA Newtype November 1997 supplement, but this is my personal attempt to actualize it in one essay. There will also be a few points that, to my knowledge, haven’t been discussed. I will format it from the smallest, most common observations to bigger ones.

Case №1: Chu-Chu’s relationship with Himemiya

Chu-Chu is Himemiya’s friend long before she becomes acquainted with Utena, but besides playing card games together, Chu-Chu acts as her protector. Until Utena starts intervening with Saionji’s abusive treatment of Himemiya, Chu-Chu is the only one trying to defend Himemiya despite being physically unable to, which I think could be symbolic for prince Dios, in his weakened state, wanting to but being unable to protect his sister. Dios, when he was alive, was the only person who loved and cared for Himemiya but now is left to rely on Utena’s strength to rescue her, much like Chu-Chu.

Case №2: Chu-Chu’s relationship with Utena

In a scene where Himemiya asks Utena why she didn’t purposefully lose the duel, Utena claims that she did it for Chu-Chu’s sake. Chuchu being a superficial reason for Utena to protect Himemiya mirrors Utena's realization in the finale that she truly does love Himemiya and her resolve for her imaginary prince Dios is nothing but a lie.

Another point in this argument is how Chu-Chu befriends Utena very fast, which Himemiya notes as unusual for him, it could possibly mean that Chuchu was familiar with Utena prior to them officially meeting or that he knew to some extent that Utena is a person he can trust Himemiya with.

Case №3: Chu-Chu’s design

As Utena fans know, Dios and Akio are two sides of the same coin, they were once one man before splitting into two parts, so when comparing Chu-Chu and Dios, it’s important to look for parallels between Chu-Chu and Akio.

When discussing their similarities, people oftentime bring up Chu-Chu’s tie, I don’t actually believe that to be an intentional parallel to Akio, given that Akio’s tie and the rest of his attire, just like his car, is probably just a visual element conveying his status, meanwhile Chu-Chu’s tie is the exact same tie that girls in the school wear and in the manga Himemiya is even depicted at one point sewing it for him. However their earrings, in my opinion, make a much stronger argument. Earrings are an accessory that typically comes in pairs and both Akio and Chu-Chu wear a single ring shaped earring, but more curiously they are different colours.

As many fans know, Revolutionary Girl Utena commonly uses colour coding as a part of visual storytelling and there is evidence to suggest that the colours of Chu-Chu and Akio’s earrings are intentional. As you can see Chu-Chu’s earring appears to be gold and Akio’s is silver.

Gold and silver are both noble metals with significant importance in history and mysticism and are also each other’s counterparts in a sense that they represent the sun and the moon respectively. Given the astronomy angle of Akio’s character, it makes sense to look more closely into the symbolism behind the two celestial bodies. In some cultures, Sun represents life and Moon represents death and resurrection: they are both opposites but are a part of the same. This is thematically consistent with Akio and Dios and Chu-Chu just so happens to have this rather specific design detail.

Case №4: Chu-Chu during the duels

On the surface, it would make perfect sense why Chu-Chu isn’t seen in dueling scenes because of his comedic personality, but unlike his absence from Akio scenes, it’s never explained where Chu-Chu goes if he’s not with Utena or Anthy, which gets stranger the more you think about it, considering how attached he is to both of them, to the point where you see him with Utena during more serious events like her introduction to Mikage or meeting Juri at night.

Not to mention, it is also not explained where Chu-Chu is during the finale. Because of Nanami’s egg episode, it is possible for a first time viewer to interpret him not being with Utena or in the chairman's tower when Wakaba visits it as Chu-Chu passing away, but as you may know, that is not true. So could it be that Chu-Chu actually is in those episodes, in an ethereal form that would be more helpful to Utena when she is fighting?

Case №5: Chu-Chu’s role in Adolescence of Utena

In the movie continuity, Prince Dios never existed, from the beginning he was just an illusion, an idealized version of Akio, that Himemiya had created, so naturally, given that Dios is Chu-Chu, Chu-Chu would also be absent from the movie, and he is, for the most part.

Let’s take a closer look at the scandalous tape scene. During it, shadow girls mistakenly show footage of Nanami and Chu-Chu, which involves lots of slapstick comedy. Obviously it is riffing on all the nonsensical humour in the TV show, but what’s peculiar is that Chu-Chu isn’t so much of a comedic foil to Nanami as he is to Saionji, so why would they be depicted together in this one scene? A detail you might notice with Nanami’s appearance in the movie is that you don’t actually see her in her human form.

It’s my opinion that, given the franchise’s tendency to connect small details, Chu-Chu and Nanami are related on a deeper level. Aside from being a comic relief, Nanami is a very important character in the last arc of the TV show, so it would be shallow to relegate Nanami’s one scene in the movie as just a goofy reference with no meaning, so I believe Nanami’s state in the tape could be a reflection of Chu-Chu’s being. Nanami is a plot relevant character in the TV show, that is not featured in the movie due to story differences, where she potentially has never existed, and only appears in her altered, animal form, in which she lacks intelligence and ability to directly influence current events, which is not unlike what happened to Chu-Chu/Dios in the show.

Case №6: Nanami’s Egg

Nanami’s Egg remains as one of the most mysterious and confusing episodes of Revolutionary Girl Utena. It is universally understood as an allegory for female puberty and motherhood, as much as it seems strange, especially given it’s Nanami centric and usually Nanami filler episodes don’t tackle such topics, but what’s really mysterious are the roles that Utena, Himemiya and Chu-Chu play in it.

Given that this episode is seemingly about physically maturing, during Utena and Himemiya’s bedroom scene, you would expect that, perhaps Himemiya would take this opportunity to ask Utena how she feels about girls who lay eggs, but instead her first line is, “Miss Utena, do you believe in reincarnation?”

The conversation eventually gets on the topic of parenthood but just like the opening question the viewer understands that it’s not about being a mother or maturing into an adult and is really about death and rebirth, which is a new topic for this episode so far. Himemiya mentions that when elephants die, they leave the herd to die alone in secret, which finally brings me to Chu-Chu.

Chu-Chu is, once again, strangely absent from this episode until the very end. From Himemiya’s insightful words throughout the day and Chu-Chu coming back once the egg is cracked, it would seem like it’s implying this was just a prank on Nanami orchestrated by Himemiya, but unlike all of her other pranks, Chu-Chu coming back is not played for laughs, it seems that the events that took place emotionally affected Himemiya to some degree. Taking into consideration the bedroom scene and the somberness of the final scene with Chu-Chu, to me it reads like Chu-Chu died and then reincarnated from Nanami’s egg. But Chu-Chu is not reincarnated into prince Dios, he is Dios’ thoughts and feelings, a demi-reincarnation, which would explain Himemiya’s sad gaze.

But aside from one dialogue, is there any more direct proof that Chu-Chu/Dios was reincarnated and specifically from Nanami’s egg? Let’s examine the events that are shown to take place directly after the bedroom scene.

Nanami is running, looking for her precious child, when she comes across a giant egg, illuminated by multiple projectors. After Nanami professes that she understood her mistake when she abandoned it and that she will never leave it again, the egg suddenly cracks open and starts flashing a bright yellow light before whatever hatched from it disappears. Leaving out the egg and Nanami, does that sound like anything else you’ve seen in the show?

That sequence is scarily similar to the imagery you see during the final duel between Utena and Akio, in which it is revealed that the dome Prince Dios is slumbering on is actually Akio’s planetarium projector, which, once Utena realizes her betrayal of Himemiya and fully denies Akio, starts breaking apart and flashing.

If Nanami is Utena and the true egg is Himemiya, then Chu-Chu’s role in this metaphor would not fit anyone else but Dios.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe this theory gives a very satisfying answer to not only what Chu-Chu is but also why he and Himemiya have such a strong bond, especially given how off putting he is for most people. Despite Himemiya having lots of different pets, we know for a fact that Chu-Chu is not a pet, he is a friend and they both take care of each other and if Chu-Chu is Dios, we know exactly why. To be brutally honest, this essay mostly exists to emphasize that Chu-Chu is an important person in the universe of Revolutionary Girl Utena and should never under any circumstances be forgotten or underplayed.

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