When I found out recently that Sailor Moon: Crystal was happening, I could barely contain myself. While both the manga and the original animation deserve to be preserved and cherished for years and years to come, I was thrilled about the update. The new animation, which promises to stick to the original storyline of the manga, would presumably be more gritty, emotionally authentic, and overall exciting. My main problem with the original series is that I got sick of the monster-of-the-week format, which they continued to use through all five seasons. The new series, if indeed it does stick to the original “text” (as an English major would say), would be a lot less format-ty and more action-packed.
(As far as I know they have only updated the first season, and so far there has been no plan to do the rest. But if they did—OH BOY IF THEY DID!!!!!)
Anyway, this entry isn’t about the series that has yet to be released, but about how amazing the comics and the original series were. As a boy I took a lot of crap from family members and relatives for watching a “girly” show. The funny thing was that I remember being teased a lot less by my male peers, because in actuality a lot of boys liked the show, for whatever reason. I started watching the series when I was 7, because that was when they aired it in Thailand where I came from, and not when I was in my teens like my American contemporaries did. Luckily I also moved to the US when I was 13, so I got to revisit the story, this time with shitty American modulations. As an educated adult looking back, I find that Sailor Moon’s merits are in many ways ahead of its time, and sadly are still quite rare to this day, 20 years later.
To begin, it’s got an enormous cast of how many heroines? Just the regular five is impressive. But no, each season they introduce new strong women, all of whom has her own distinctive personality, all of whom great role models for young girls and boys. Sure, Usagi/Sailor Moon is silly, clumsy, bad at school, cowardly, and boy-crazy, but she always comes through in the end, finding courage and leading with the goodness of her heart. While she constantly gets rescued by Tuxedo Mask, she always ends up finishing off the bad guy herself. And in more than a few occasions she’s the one rescuing him.
Her friends have great qualities like strength, wisdom, spirituality, and leadership. The personalities and special powers that they have are inspired by astronomical facts as well as mythology. It reaches the level of creativity almost that of J.K. Rowling’s. The main villains, rather than just being one-dimensional monsters, also have distinctive personalities and emotional depth. Often instead of destroying them, Sailor Moon actually turns them into good people by appealing to their human side and insecurity.
Her friends have great qualities like strength, wisdom, spirituality, and leadership. The personalities and special powers that they have are inspired by astronomical facts as well as mythology. It reaches the level of creativity almost that of J.K. Rowling’s. The main villains, rather than just being one-dimensional monsters, also have distinctive personalities and emotional depth. Often instead of destroying them, Sailor Moon actually turns them into good people by appealing to their human side and insecurity.
While battling monsters and going through such emotional trauma no one in the real world could possibly survive, these girls have the same problems as any typical young girl does. They struggle with exams, weight problems, self-esteem issues, and friendship/relationship dramas. In the anime, Usagi and Rei don’t always get along, and throughout the five series they continue to struggle between their friendship for each other and the tension caused by their personalities. They like the same boy, and while that was over in season 1 it seems to remain in the back of their minds throughout the show. Other themes such as Ami’s feeling like an outcast for being a genius, Makoto’s questioning and exploring her sexuality, or Chibi Usa’s transformation from a bratty little girl to a mature young lady, are surprisingly well-developed. The relationship between Mamoru and Usagi mature to an extent I never thought any cartoon would go. By season 5 the show certainly had grown up with its original audience.
And last but not least, this is a story about friendship, about a bunch of people who become a great team BECAUSE of their differences. They recognize strengths and weaknesses in each other and use that to their advantage. They grow together both as soldiers and as people. In summary, Sailor Moon is fucking brilliant. It’s not for everybody, but it certainly cannot be dismissed as just another kid show or girly show. With the update, I hope that a new generation will discover and fall in love with this incredible story and absorb the positive messages it tirelessly sends.
