#and also that one scene at the end of sailor moon season one where mamoru finds out

[lucydoodlessometimes]

I was gonna give tuxedo elend the beard but he looked like Abraham Lincoln :(

[mahoutoons]

no, the sailor moon 90s anime is not more feminst than the manga

i've seen people herald the 90s anime as this beacon of feminism just because it focuses on the relationship between the inner senshi instead of usagi and mamoru's relationship. there's this idea that the manga being more about romance makes it inherently less feminist than the anime. but i want to shut that idea down.

people keep circulating these three screenshots to prove the 90s anime is this feminist masterpiece

but just a scene prior in the SAME EPISODE, rei calls usagi ugly COMPLETELY UNPROVOKED

yes there's teasing between friends but come on. usagi didn't even do anything to warrant being compared to a monkey.

and speaking of rei... she's so heavily lesbian coded in the manga. literally her nightmare in the dream arc is getting married and settling down in the trad family sense. which she destroys with her akuryo taisan like the lesbian queen she is. also her distrust of men is a big part of her character in every adaptation... except the 90s anime which made her boy crazy and have that plotline where she gets with mamoru for a while for the sake of a rivalry with usagi!

there's the whole jealousy thing with chibiusa which is honestly weird no matter the adaptation and idk why ANYONE thought that was a good idea. but its somehow WORSE in the 90s anime. at least, at the very LEAST in the manga she actually communicates with mamoru about her insecurities and the whole jealousy thing only lasts in the black moon arc (which continues staying the worst arc regardless of the adaptation). in the anime... it lasts well into the end of supers... TWO SEASONS after usagi found out chibiusa was her and mamoru's daughter!

and lets talk about how they made usagi jealous over small things in supers! look i get it, she's a teenage girl and she gets jealous easily. but when you get jealous of a child who is also your future daughter and an old woman your boyfriend tried to help, that's when you have issues. there's an entire fucking episode where she stalks rei just because mamoru is staying at her house for a day!

and the most egregious thing which makes me laugh at any claim of the 90s anime being much more feminist than the manga.. is how they handled prince demande. you know, the guy who kidnapped and sexually assaulted usagi? in the manga and crystal, he's killed off unceremoniously.

but guess what ikuhara, the feminist king who knows to write SO MUCH BETTER than naoko, did. he tried to make demande sympathetic. he made usagi sympathise with him.

yasssss ikuhara you go make the pedophile sexual assaulter sympathetic, you feminist king! you definitely know SO MUCH BETTER than naoko!

and people thought crystal was antifeminist? get outta my face with that at least crystal didn't try to make the fucking borderline rapist sympathetic, he disintegrated in a pile of dust like he deserves.

you might be thinking "get outta here no one says the 90s anime is more feminist than the manga". well yes people do. you'd be surprised. i went to an old anime confession blog and found these posts back when crystal was still new and still had a MASSIVE hatedom

and these are just some of the posts. there's so much more. people who dared to enjoy crystal were called misogynistic for... liking a show. even today i see people bash naoko for the smallest things while praising ikuhara as a feminist king and lgbt ally who did more for the community than naoko (which is funny because the 90s anime has an episode where makoto has a crush on haruka and the girls are like "nuuuuuu mako you can't date haruka you're a girl" which wasn't in the manga). when he wouldn't even have been able to make the anime without naoko's manga.

there's an interview with naoko takeuchi where she says that the difference between the manga and 90s anime was that the 90s anime had a male perspective as it was directed by men while the manga mostly had a female perspective as it was written by a woman.

and it honestly really shows when you watch the anime again.

was the 90s anime progressive for its time? yes. is the manga peak feminist literature? no. you can prefer the 90s anime over the manga but don't go acting like its inherently more feminist than the manga just because it doesn't focus as much on the romance aspect. the manga focusing more on usagi and mamoru's romance doesn't make it inherently less feminist.

[octoooo]

Actually now that I’ve finished Sailor Moon (90s) I can finally talk about Usagi & Mamoru.

I don’t like them together.

And I’m not sorry about it.

Their 90s relationship feels like a fairytale love story born out of obligation to their past lives & not real feelings. That’s how it came off at least.

Keep in mind how I mentioned 90s specifically, this ain’t about the manga or Crystal.

Now maybe I’m smoking crack or I simply forgot, but,,didn’t they dislike each other for the longest time? Throughout Season 1 at least, Before either of them realized they fight together as Sailor Guardian & Tuxedo Mask I mean. Usagi hated Mamoru especially when he called her “Bun Head.”

And Mamoru seemed teasing sure, but not romantically interested from their meetings on the street. Usagi was crushing on Tuxedo Mask, but she actively hoped that Mamoru wasn’t him.

And then they learned of their past relationship as Princess Serenity & Prince Endymion and?? Now it’s like “oh let’s be together! I think we’re meant to be!” It’s just,,it felt like obligation to me.

Idk maybe they fell in love off screen but like,,,why couldn’t we see it? Isn’t this their story? Shouldn’t we see the main lovers actually develop so I can feel something for them?

I cheered when Mamoru broke up with Usagi, I was like genuinely happy about that lol.

Also the 90s fucked up their age gap. Mamoru is now a college student (no given age) & Usagi is still 14 (eventually 15 in season 2 I think then 16 by the end) but like??

Kinda odd it went down like that y’know? I dunno about you but I hear “college student” and “middle schooler” I’m 💀

I’ve seen speculation that 90s Mamoru is 16 like his manga counterpart but he’s just really smart & went to college early.

Okay

Not impossible I guess,

But we don’t really have any information to assume that? In canon at least, maybe the animators came out and said something about it that I’m not aware of.

I can use Ami as a reference.

Because she’s in Usagi’s grade she’s also 14-16 and We KNOW she’s smart. She’s always top of her class & getting perfect scores, She spends her free time studying & was even offered a spot in a foreign university. She’s the smart one, it’s beaten over our heads numerous times. When she has conversations with Mamoru about topics outside her friend’s knowledge it only benefits her. Those scenes don’t do anything to show “oh Mamoru is really super duper smart to know all of this,” like it does for Ami. As an eighth grader, she wouldn’t be expected to know much about the topics Mamoru’s interested in, but she DOES because she’s SMART & we’re told this all the time.

Mamoru though?? We’re told he’s a college student. So we are to assume he just,,has to/wants to know this, meaning he IS smart. But he’s not extraordinarily smart like Ami, so I don’t think I can’t believe he’s a 16yr old who went straight to college.

Seiya & Usagi had a more developed relationship tbh.

Like, Seiya starts off not really caring for Usagi but then they like her enough to be friends, and eventually develop romantic feelings for her. Also, from their perspective Mamoru is a shitty guy so ofc he wouldn’t want Usagi to be with him. Like, as long as Seiya had known Usagi, she had cried over her “botfriend” and had absolutely zero contact with the guy. Of course they eventually learn it was because of the Shadow Galaxia but before learning that, Usagi seems hung up on some guy who does not feel the same for her, and Seiya is RIGHT THERE and they’re SO devoted.

Also Seiya didn’t want Usagi to be Sailor Moon, because that would mean that Usagi might be their enemy (can’t be beefing with the love interest now can you?) even after learning that, Seiya went to many great lengths where their affection showed through clear as day. I mean, the amount of times they took a hit for Sailor Moon or cradled her to protect her,,,,

Of course they would never end up together. Usagi was very clear about not wanting to be with anyone but Mamoru, yet Seiya kept pushing Which is yikes. But at least I got to see actual romance ? Got to see romantic feelings for Usagi from someone who genuinely cared. I can tell Usagi loves Mamoru (I think) but Mamoru is like,,,,so stiff with her. He protects her because he has to, like the other Guardians, it doesn’t feel born out of love line Seiya’s protectiveness.

Siiigh anyway I’m ready to be eaten alive by UsaMamo fans. Keep in mind this only covers the 90s anime, I have no idea how they are in the manga or Crystal as I haven’t seen much of it yet. I’ve heard it’s better in them, but I don’t wanna get my hopes up.

[rainingfishandfrogs]

Sailor Moon Thoughts - i know i'm 10yrs late but Crystal's not that bad actually

so i recently got back into sailor moon

grew up on the english dub 90s anime (watch the jpn sub in 9th grade)

had only read the manga once in the past and that was in college; however i just recently bought the first 2 volumes of the collector's edition (just finished V2 actually!)

but this is my first time watching Crystal (mostly bc when it was first coming out there was so much backlash and hate and it made me turn away from it)

now that i've read volumes 1&2 and watched S1 i gotta say...when compared to the manga Crystal's honestly not that bad and i'd say overall pretty faithful

Spoilers for Sailor Moon Crystal!

Usagi and Mamoru

first thing's first! mamoru's age is fixed! fucking yay!

in both the manga and crystal he's a 16yr old 2nd year high school kid! not a 1st year college student dating at 14yr old little girl! he and usagi compliment each other and it really shows in crystal imo

90s-SM fleshes out this couple individually more in the first season and i'm in love with that and they have some really sweet moments and i still ship it ofc i do BUT the age difference got so iffy and squeakable for me when watching again as a grown ass adult!

some of usagi's emotional intelligence is downplayed and she sometimes comes off as even younger than she is and that makes the ship feel uneven and i just keep thinking "there he goes off with his child bride 👋🏽" and it really doesn't help that they animated mamoru looking so much older and acting like a mature 20-something (even tho yes, he's closer to 18 but an 18yr old dating a 14yr old is still so squeakable to me)

the manga is where this ship thrives and it's more believable that they fall for each other especially bc they're on more equal footing but crystal adds in a scene in S1 that i personally love that's when sailor moon and tuxedo mask are fighting zoisite toward the middle of the season (before venus shows up)

i'm massively paraphraseing but in this scene usagi doesn't just tell but shows mamoru through her tears and pained expression that she understands he's deeply lonely and that it hurts her, she doesn't want that for him, she wants to do everything in her power to make sure he never feels that way again

and mamoru tells her that SHE is everything he wants and he doesn't need a magical stone to find out who he is and where he belongs not when she's standing beside him bc her strength and kindness are inspiring and he's not afraid or lonely when around her

"i won't let you be alone anymore" / "seeing your strength makes me so happy" couples are my downfall and this scene cracks me right open

and this is BEFORE they regain their memories i'm fucking dead!

5/5🌙

English Dub

i vaguely remember ppl shitting on the English dub of Crystal and yes i watched it in Japanese first but the English dub is actually really great?! especially when compared to the 90's English dub!! i love Usagi's VA and i think all the voices match the characters pretty well

4.5/5🌙

The Transformations and Character Designs

okay so those 3D transformations are bad

the animation is really jarring at first and yeah it's not good i don't like it but after a while you just sort of...idk get used to it and it's not a make-or-break thing imo now did the 90s anime do it better? fuck yeah! but by the end of the season i just felt meh about them and barely cared

1/5🌙

i remember the character designs getting A. LOT. of hate and yeah i agree that they are too sharp and angular and that the manga was more a cross between the 90s and crystal character designs - but that's another thing you get used to and also doesn't that get fixed later?

plus idk i kind like that both animated versions each take one end of the spectrum with the manga in the middle 🤷🏾‍♀️

2/5🌙

The Big One

okay now the big one - the supposed past love between the 4 heavenly kings and the inner planet guardians that wasn't in the manga and definitely not in the 90s version where these guys are handled more interestingly

i think this subby-subplot that's not even really a subplot is stupid and doesn't amount to anything and doesn't actually make a ton of sense if earthlings and...and moonlings being together is forbidden the serenity had to SNEAK AWAY to see her earth prince and it does sort of take away some of the tragedy that is serenity and endymion's doomed love

like i was going "what was the point of that" when the kings all die and the sailor girls are weeping for 2secs before getting back to busniess and i get wanting to expand more on all 8 of these characters, but that's not how you do it - 90s-SM expanded on these characters better because plot points were stretched out and we got to know the characters more slowly over a longer period of time (plus 2 of the kings were lovers! that's cute as hell!!)

basically this whole thing was shoved into the story last minute with very minimal build up barely any conclusion and it's really uninteresting

0.3/5🌙 (only bc venus dropping a few hints every few episodes was done well enough-ish but it was still stupid in the end and shouldn't have been included the way it was)

Conclusion

even with that though crystal still isn't that bad - overall it's actually pretty good and i love experiencing the manga coming to animated live

the OST is beautiful! and even tho NOTHING tops the 90s theme song that crystal usamamo love theme is fucking gorgeous 😍 in fact all the music in crystal is top teir imo

i do miss the focus on the female friendship tho and kinda wish crystal took some of that 90s-SM female friendship focus BUT 90s-SM just had so much more time to work with and at the end of the day SM is a romance so i understand why the anime adapting the manga more closely focused on the romance more heavily (and that usamamo scene i talked about above is still so. damn. good!)

anyway if you're like me and didn't bother watching crystal bc the hate and backlash when it first came out i say give it a try

it's still cute and still sailor moon and so far it's getting a 4/5🌙

i'll probably do another one of these when i finish S2 (jon and eng) and the volumes it adapted

[sorakazeno]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Nominated by @iwrestledavongonce

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2 Full stories and 14 shorts for writing events for a total of 16.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

765,503 but it is going to go up around 15,000 tomorrow with a new chapter ^_^

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently Sailor Moon. In the past I also wrote Slayers, Gundam Wing, and Power Rangers. Started a Inu Yasha one but I'm not sure what happened to the first chapter and meh. I don't even remember what it was going to be about.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Chaos Theory

Rebirth

Let Them Wait

Our Last Night

Dating a Teen Idol

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I love interacting with readers. I have made some truly wonderful friendships this way.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Is This the End? Is currently posted. I am currently working on Act 71 of Chaos Theory.... the act where Seiya and Usagi have a really nasty fight. That one will win out when it is posted at the end of June.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Runaway Date. I had so much fun writing a short silly fic featuring Minako and Yaten.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yes. The story is tagged Mamoru/Usagi and Usagi/Seiya. Some of the MamoUsa die hard shippers are umm.... passionate about their ship and will not accept anything else. If a story features both typically one will win out. Then there are the random ones on FF.net.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No. I have a hard enough time trying to writing any scene that is remotely steamy. So much editing to get to what it looks like by the time it is posted.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I have never done a crossover.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes. I have contacted FF.net multiple times and have never received a response. A person stole my first ever fan fic I posted on A Sailor Moon Romance and changed the name to their own. They posted part of the story. The posting stopped right around the time ASR crashed. I still have the original that I wrote when I was 13. It is staying on my computer and will not see the light of day. It is so bad with so many mistakes. However, I do like the re-write of it, Rebirth.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I received a request earlier this year to translate Rebirth into Russian. One chapter was posted on a Russian fanfiction site and then it disappeared. I don't know what happened.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Sorta? When I was in high school. SailorStars Awakening. I floated an idea to a friend what would it be like if Usagi was consumed by Chaos? It started as one idea and the co-author kind of took it and ran with it. Decades later we have Chaos Theory, how I originally pictured the concept.

Then there is the What if the Starlights Appeared in the R Season of Sailor Moon fic on FF.net. I have debated about re-writing that one but I realllly like the world I've built with Chaos Theory.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Is it shocking to read Sei/Usa for the 90s anime?

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I finish all the fics I post on-line. Might take years or decades, but it will have an ending!

16. What are your writing strengths?

I used to hate battle scenes but over the years I feel like I've gotten a lot better writing them.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

The steamy scenes... so I'm trying to work on them.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Hinted at in this story at best. I don't mind seeing dialogue in other languages. Google Translate!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

When I was ten I wrote a Power Rangers story but didn't know it was called fan fiction at the time. First story I wrote that knew it was fan fiction was the stolen Sailor Moon one mentioned above.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Chaos Theory. I keep coming back to the story even though I think I'm done because I realize I have more I want to write.

Other amazing writers: @kaleidodreams, @chemicalfairyx, @speak-mnemosyne1

[ghostvampiregalgazerock]

Here’s something you all should know what I love to write and don’t want to write as a fanfic writer

What I enjoy writing ✅

My fav seiyuus (Mamoru Miyano, Yuma Uchida, Aoi Shouta)

My favorite idols (Yuta Nakamoto, Sana Minatozaki, Mina Myoui, Rosé, Johnny, Jaehyun)

My favorite anime characters (One Piece, Bleach Vampire Knight, Black Butler, Sailor Moon, etc.)

My favorite band (the GazettE)

Crossover ships (Uruha from the GazettE x Rosé from Blackpink, I write them when they are the same age like High School students or college student to avoid age gaps!)

Crackships (Nami x Ace from One Piece and Sana x Yuta) [This doesn’t mean I don’t want Yuta and Sana to become a thing in real life, I am just bored and he did mention her in a radio show]

Idol x Idol (like Jaehyun x Yuta)

Yaoi (I take it slow like how Sasaki and Miyano were [I recommend that series. ITS SO SWEET!!!!])

LGBTQ stories ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Sometimes horror

Fantasy (Medieval, Adventures)

Funny stories

One-shots (easier than full stories)

Romance (not cheesy)

Fluff (I’m melting when I write that cute shit!!!)

Smut? Why not? (I do not write underage smut!)

WHAT I DON’T WRITE AND NEVER WILL ❌

I don’t write animal violence (it hurts my heart a lot and I love animals deeply. Seeing it in movies and shows triggers me a lot and animal abuse in real life…😭)

Rape of our favorite characters/idols (TRIGGERING AF)

Breakups (well to suit the story but I love the characters chemistry how I write them. But only the main character dumps the dumbass bf/gf)

Gore (just eyeball gore, maggots, and finger/toe nail gore.🤢 I CANT STAND IT EVEN THOUGH I LOVE HORROR! Goth horror)

Cannibalism (FUCK NO! I WONT EVEN SEE MOVIES WITH THAT GROSS SHIT. Well Sweeney Todd had something like that but not like weird disturbing)

I’m trying my best to not give characters major deaths if I feel close to them. (SPOILER ALERT! I WONT WRITE FANFICS WHERE ACE IS DEAD! I LOVE HIM TOO MUCH!!!! Even Eddie😭)

UNDERAGE (I FIND IT FUCKED UP! NO THANK U!!! WEIRD WEIRD WEIRD!!!!! NEXT!!!!!!!)

INCEST (GROSS!!!!!! OMG EWWWWWW!!!!!! WTF?!?!!!! WHY?!?!!!!! THEY ARE RELATED!!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!! VAMPIRE KNIGHT AT THE END OF SEASON 2 HAD THAT WITH THE MAIN FEMALE GIRL AND I HATE HER FOR THAT FOR LEAVING MY BOI ZERO! I watch that series because of Zero! Also Pseudo-Incest with Ace, Luffy and Sabo fanfics and fanart…NO THANK YOU!!!)

Masturbation - IM SORRY IT MAKES ME REALLY REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE

Weird Kinks (knife kink, pain kink, piss kink…more weird kinks I rather not say…WTF?!?!!)

I write how I want to write my smut scenes because I don’t know why I get uncomfortable while writing and to make it look good. But what matters the most that I’m enjoying what I love to write and it’s my story

If you don’t like my fanfics you can leave and unfollow. I got mean comments how I write idol x idol but hey you don’t own my story and account don’t tell me what to write and they won’t see it! I hardly doubt they will read fanfics of themselves since they have busy lives ahead of them. I don’t do photoshoot edits of idols like everyone does to make it look real! Rosé got mad for that when people though it was real.

I don’t write weird shit that I just explain right now!

I will update more what comes to my mind!

[theothin]

Sailor Moon Crystal Takeaways

More concise, more polished, more in tune with modern expectations - but in exchange, less distinctiveness and generally less charm.

The music is great.

Season 1 is the weirdest. Like in the manga, the beginning feels way too fast, resulting in way less chances for Ami, Rei, and Mako to establish themselves. Rei in particular is a lot less fun in this version.

Biggest gain in Season 1 is going with the manga’s version of Mamoru, rather than the absolute disaster of his story in the original show. I also preferred this take on the showdown with Beryl.

The Four Heavenly Kings were especially strange. Keeping them alive past their initial sections of the season was an interesting change compared to both the manga and original anime’s stories, but they felt so much more generic here. In particular, what the FUCK did they do to Zoisite and Kunzite?

Nephrite ended up as the most memorable, and I watched the dub so I got Liam O’Brien’s excellent voice for him, but it was still a big step down from his excellent arc in the original anime. Also in one of his manga chapters he transformed into a bride and Usagi transformed into a groom to go after him and Crystal included that storyline but didn’t have either of them genderbend for it. COWARDS.

Season 2 felt like a much better fit for Crystal’s style - I actually liked it this time. Also I think this was where the visuals got better, Season 1′s faces in particular were bad.

It helps that this was when the main characters’ screentime started adding up to enough to feel more substantial. Unfortunately, the villains never really got this chance, in any of the seasons. The original anime had so many fun villains.

I’ve only read up to mid-Season 2 in the manga, so past this point I’m not sure which things line up with it and which don’t.

Season 3 had some fun stuff with the outer senshi, but less so than the original Season 3. It was weirdly light on Haruka/Michiru outside of one of the closing songs, but went heavier on Haruka/Usagi and Chibiusa/Hotaru, as well as on Haruka being bigender as fuck.

Original anime Haruka and Crystal Haruka are my two favorite Sailor Moon characters. They’re both wonderful in their own ways.

Setsuna’s story was expanded on relative to the original anime, it was neat seeing her have an actual civilian life.

I dinged Season 1 for taking away Usagi and Nephrite’s genderbending, but points to Season 3 for having Minako do it. And in Mimete’s episode, she’s one of my favorite Sailor Moon villains.

Season 4 was the shortest, just a pair of movies, but like Season 2, I think it took well to Crystal’s more concise approach. Which may be another way of saying that I think these two had the least to lose.

The trio were my favorite part of the original anime’s Season 4, but like a lot of the villains, they had much smaller roles here. In Crystal, Hawkeye is the trans/gnc one rather than Fisheye, which I hadn’t expected to be one of the things consistent with the manga, but looking it up, apparently it is. In the dub, Mako refers to Hawkeye as “they”, which was neat.

The outer senshi show up throughout the whole second half rather than being ignored, which was a nice change of pace. Loved the scenes of Haruka/Michiru/Setsuna raising Hotaru together.

Season 5 hasn’t released yet, but I’m looking forward to it.

[deadlynyghtshayde]

I finished Sailor Stars and I have so many thoughts... so I will thoughtdump here!

I just finished Stars for the first time at 29 yrs old (having been a fan since the 90s, but I didn't like hearing a different cast).

I find myself conflicted at the ending, I feel as though Usagi finally got to be a teen in a teen romance/flirtation. (I know that Mamo isn't that much older than her realistically, but his situation is so much more independent he cones across as much older - and I could be projecting because I spent my teens with a guy 8 years older than me and feel like I missed out on experiencing a special, innocent kind of romance) I think her relationship with Seiya grows organically - in a way that maybe we just didn't get to see with Mamoru, but happened behind the scenes. I want to specify - I went into this series thinking I wouldn't really care for the starlights.

Especially coming off of her experiences with Chibiusa, where she was playing the part of simultaneously a big sister, a mother, and some twisted kind of romantic rival, always competing for his attention against someone she cared deeply for (a relationship which she didnt really get a choice in), but her relationship with Chibiusa was often strained, and Mamoru seems to spend a lot of this time waving her away with placating pats on the head and passivity.

To my mind, she's constantly expected to live up to and behave according to a person she hasn't grown to be yet, a person centuries (?) In her future. (The sailor moon into Neo Queen Serenity timeline still confuses me despite decades of loving the franchise. I need to properly read the manga) Sailor Stars was the first season that I felt we got to see her just get to be a growing person, juvinile and able to have adventures with her friends.

I also found myself extremely frustrated with Haruka for the first time - her actions felt like they were fed by jealousy in a very out of character way by this point in the show. She is protective, yes, and she and Usagi perpetually have a kind of flirtation going on, but no one gives Usagi a minute to explain her side  before they're chastising her on behalf of Mamoru without a second thought, no one asks her how he's doing - that's all it would take for them to find out she hasn't heard from him.

I love Usagi with Seiya, I think they compliment eachother well, and - if it wasn't for a pre-written future, and finding out that Mamoru wasn't ignoring her, but actually gone - I would have loved to see them end up together.

I think, seeing how the show ended, I need to rewatch again from the beginning to try to ground myself in the facts again. But as it stands, I adore Seiya more than I ever thought possible and wish they had more of a possible future together.

After all, even if her future with Mamoru is predetermined.. Usagi has two hands, a polyamory doesn't seem out of the question for this franchise 😏

[mk-wizard]

Sailor Moon 90s Anime is STILL the best

Hi. I know I am on a Sailor Moon binge here, but after seeing all of Crystal, Eternal and on R (season 2) of the first anime, I want to get this all off of my chest... and before I go further, since these are all animes, I will refer to them as 90s, Crystal and Eternal. And after watching them all, I have to say that the 90s takes the gold medal as the best Sailor Moon anime so far and this is why;

1- It had the best pacing. - While I admit that sometimes, it went too far with the filler, 98% of the time, it worked with the 90s. It took its time to make you get to know the characters for better or for worse, it made you see different sides of them, it gave them a chance to truly develop and be multi-dimensional, and it made you care about them. When a death happened, it felt tragic. When a victory happened, you cheered. And when you saw what side characters did, it mattered. I mean, who can ever forget the contribution 90s Naru Osaka had to the story? And everyone who has seen the 90s anime cannot forget her. More on the character development and getting to know characters later.

Sure, it wasn’t true to the manga and even the characters had different personalities, but I let that slide by because when Crystal and Eternal did follow the manga to the letter, we didn’t get a chance to digest anything. The only characters who develop are Usagi, Chibi-Usa and the outer guardians, and for the last bunch, it was the bare minimum. Crystal and Eternal were fun rides and I would be lying if I said I didn’t like them, but they were like roller coasters. They gave you a thrill, but fast and been done. The 90s was like a slow scenic ride that gave you surprises, emotionally touched you, made you cry, made you laugh, made you root for the heroes and even at the age of 37 years now, I keep rewatching this series.

2- The art of the 90s was better because it was sketchy, dark and edgier. - I know Sailor Moon doesn’t seem like this on the surface because the heroines are lovely girls in cute costumes, it emphasizes femininity and all things pretty, it has a romantic theme and is all about love, but Sailor Moon is also one of the darkest, grittiest, edgy and violent magical girl animes I have ever seen since Magic Knights Rayearth. Sailor Moon has on screen deaths which were permanent most of the time, on screen stabbings and the drawing of blood, and fights that got so hardcore, that real punches and kicks were thrown. The dark edges, black line art and sharp edges worked with the atmosphere of the story. I mean, look at the difference between the halls Dark Kingdom of the 90s (above) and that of Crystal.

And if that is not enough to win you over, the characters were much more animated, organic and conveyed more emotion whether they were exaggerated or serious.

In Crystal, the expressions and body language was very dulled down. Not to mention, very stiff.

Everything is also too bright and soft which makes the characters look like velvet dolls with too much make up especially with the line art. I will give them props for adding better details, cleaner lines, the glow of magical items, and details in the gems, but everything else is all wrong.

Eternal was better, but still not quite there. The colours are still way too bright and the characters still look too much like dolls from having line art that is too wispy. And I really do not like how the eyes have this unnatural glow to them. The edgy scenes become lost with all this brightness.

3- We got to see that there was so much more the characters than just heroes or villains. - Since Usagi is the titular character, let us just talk about her in the 90s since I could go on forever about how much we learned about the characters. In any version of Sailor Moon, Usagi’s role as a Sailor Guardian has always been the core of the story and she does indeed show progress as one. However, the 90s tells us that no matter what, she is still going to be herself too which is just as important and she shows character development as just plain old Usagi too. The manga, Crystal and Eternal which only paint Usagi as not doing anything right except be a Sailor Guardian, but the 90s show her hidden talents and learning new skills. For example, she was bad at cooking at the beginning of the series.

However, by Sailor Moon R, she gets the hang of it and is able to cook a meal by herself. Yes, she is messy, clumsy, never gets the hang of making cookies and is nowhere near Makoto’s level especially when it comes to presentation, but she is good at cooking food.

Another hidden talent of Usagi’s is her drawing skills. She isn’t just good at drawing. She’s got talent at it, so in the 90s, Usagi is quite the artist.

And it is admirable that 90s Usagi is open to trying new things even if she isn’t good at them. She practices, she explores and tries to enlighten herself. Sure, academics, coordination and organization will never be her fortes, but she really does have other and tries to discover more.

In Crystal and Eternal, she is good at being Sailor Moon, she is a good friend and a good girlfriend, but that is it. She is one dimensional here and she isn’t the only one to painted like that. Everyone is only the obvious and that is all the audience gets.

4- Better character redemption. - I mentioned before that Sailor Moon had grit and was dark, but the 90s also made it more complex and did character redemption right. It was open to the possibility of bad people becoming good. For instance, the Black Moon Clan Specter Sister are unforgettable for being successfully redeemed.

Yes, I admit that the monster of the day would get killed by the hands of the Sailor Guardians, but they also clearly showed that the monsters were not people or even alive. They were made of energy, clay or sand. When the monster of the day was a possessed innocent, they were saved through exorcism. Very rarely was an actual person ever killed and even when they were, it was either by the hands of another villain, their own hand, self defense or as a last resort. They never used killing as means of dealing with every single bad guy.

Furthermore, the bridge arc about the Makai Tree that also served as a prologue to Sailor Moon R could be seen as a story about mercy, kindness and love. It stands out as the one time the big bad was actually a misunderstood big good being the Makai Tree herself. And even Ail an An were never bad, but were raised bad. And even then, they changed. This story is unique only to the 90s so far, but it was great and stood out for that reason.

In Crystal, the heroines will kill a person without a second thought which I am shocked that no one brings up how repetitive and contradictory that is. The pretty warrior of love and justice should by all means protect the Earth, but doing so by killing off the bad guy all time is not love or justice. I also think the caption in this picture sums up how I feel about how the one and only time bad guys were given a chance to be redeemed...

Eternal was better because the Asteroid Guardians got redeemed and saved. However, even then, I feel like there is still a double standard. They were one of the good guys to begin with and Sailor Guardians. In the 90s, the Amazoness Quartet wasn’t, but were given a chance to change anyway. I find it cool that the Quartet turned out to be Sailors and even better that they will go on to become Chibi-Usa’s team, but mercy is not just for your allies or for your own benefit. Everyone should be given at least one chance to fix their mistakes.

5- We got to know Mamoru better. - I admit that no matter the incarnation, Tuxedo Mask will never be as powerful as Sailor Moon except when he is King Endymion, but the 90s take on his character made him better even if they did omit his super attack being Tuxedo le Smoking Bomber. What the well dressed masked man lacked in firepower, he made up for in intelligence, insight about the enemy’s weakness, courage and skill. The only times he ever did get overpowered was either by bad luck or because it was intentional because he was taking a hit for Sailor Moon. And even then, he always got back up. He’s a real man like that.

More importantly, we get to know him as Mamoru too. Even before he confides being an amnesiac to Usagi, we see his struggles with feeling alone in the world from having no memory of his life before a tragic accident which also killed his parents. Now, him being a stern cynical person makes sense because I probably wouldn’t be pleasant to be around either if I lived with that. Once his walls come down, we see that deep down, all he wants is to belong somewhere and have a family. It should also be noted that 90s Mamoru doesn’t love Usagi because he is “destined” to. He loves her because he wants to. Even during that brief period where he broke up with Usagi was an act of love. The thing I also always liked best about 90s Mamoru is that even though he loves Usagi more than life itself, his life doesn’t revolve around her which is a healthy thing and he tries to encourage Usagi to be the same way for her own good. He is studying to be a doctor, he has a job and he even has his own crowd which I think is great.

In Crystal and Eternal, while I do see an attempt at trying to follow this trend by showing that Usagi and Mamoru were on their way to falling in love even before they got their memories back, I still find he was one note and we never really learn much about him that has nothing to do with Tuxedo Mask, Endymion or anything royal related. Sure, we know that he’s studying to be a doctor and is a genius to an extent too, but that is it.

I would like to end this by admitting that the 90s was not perfect either, but out of all the takes on the tale of Sailor Moon as of date. Crystal and Eternal were ok, but they just cannot stand up to the quality of the 90s. The only thing I can say I find Crystal did better than the 90s were the costume designs. Specifically, how they let Venus keep her chain belt, Pluto’s key chain belt, Uranus and Neptune’s shorter gloves, Uranus’s sword, Uranus having two earrings, Mercury’s suit is shoulder less which I always found suited her better, and I liked Sailor Moon’s brooch and necklace better in season 1.

And even then, I should have liked it if Jupiter’s antenna was always on display as it is just something I always found cute in the manga, I liked Mars’ five point star earrings better in the 90s, and I like how in the 90s, each of the Inner Guardians’ sailor stripes were a little different.

Of course, this is all my opinion. I would like to hear which of the animes did Sailor Moon right in your opinion and why. Thanks for reading and stay safe, and have a great day.

[chaosandstardust]

Looking at what Sunrise did to Inuyasha with Trashahime, I feel like us Sailor Moon's fans should apologize to Toei for being mad at SM Crystal's failures... Because really, after seeing Trashahime, *those* were nothing! None of SMC's bad animation, or its entire manga scene omisions (that stripped characters of their personalities) or even the "mirakkuru romanusu ad nauseam" that came of the official pairing of ALL senshi x shitenno, *none* of that was as bad as this! We're so, so sorry, Toei!!

Ahahahahahahhah I'm laughing through the pain, why bring back these painful memories 😭

I honestly felt so bad for Crystal because it was so obvious they were trying to address the UsaMamo critiques from the original but it came at a cost of so many of the other characters and their depth. Also, like, GIVE THEM A GOOD BUDGET! IT'S SAILOR MOON! IT WILL MAKE A TON OF MONEY! GIVE THEM AS MANY EPISODES AS THEY WANT AND A BLANK CHEQUE! I WILL PAY!

I was so sad when I realized that the mature look on the Sailor Moon, manga faithful anime of my dreams was gonna that stripped bare. I didn't watch past the first season. I'm still hopeful that there's eventually going to be a reboot that does this that's given a good budget. It would be amazing if there was a series that actually explored the mature themes of the original manga. I love the 90s version, but it's definitely made for kids.

But yeah, I'd take it over Yashahime. I haven't rewatched the show in a long time (like since it came out). A part of me wonders if we're just gonna keep seeing these mindless reboots of shows with a limited budget because they know that it's quick cash.

Also I am a Kunzite x Sailor Venus shipper mostly because I find the idea of them being together extremely funny (he's so serious and she's so outgoing and they're the leaders of their respective groups with likely very different ideas and methods they would be hysterical). It also makes me sad to think that Usagi gets her senshi but Mamoru lost the shitennou and I like to think that they did manage to revive them after the end. Because like the girls they were just normal dudes living their lives until they were woken up. It makes me not only sad for Mamoru, who has already lost so much and probably does get lonely (😭) but sad for them because they never got a second chance like the girls did. Mamoru's storyline is so freaking bittersweet, dude.

I don't care much about the SxS romance (I think it was based on a portrait that was drawn and then the original creator said something about "wanting to explore these relationships" which, okay) but a storyline where Mamoru finds and bonds with his bros again would make me feral. I've read such great fics where Kunzite is the dad/older brother and Jadeite and Nephrite drag Mamoru and Zoicite into shit and Kunzite finds out and then Mamoru is like "I'm your future king" and Kunzite goes "BITCH TRY ME".

All I'm asking is for Usagi to be like "Mamochan, you're going to go have a great weekend with your friends and bond with them and then you're gonna have your own guy gang and we're all gonna hang out forever", she pushes him out the door, and chaos ensues. JUST ONE CHAPTER.

Anyway, not the point, yes, maybe we should apologize. 😂 We didn't know how good we had it.

TIME FOR A REREAD BECAUSE I MISS MY FAVOURITE GIRLS AND THE NERDY MAN IN THE TUX!

[sailorfailures]

I fell in love with these postcards from the Girl’s Night Out popup cafe the moment I saw them! I knew I had to get my hands on them, and the lovely @blaze-rocket was able to help that happen.

I cannot get over how perfect these postcards are. To me, this is what Sailor Moon is; a testament to the little moments from the series that made us fall in love with the characters, especially how their personal preferences were reflected in their fashion choices. In a world of merch where it’s easy to just slap a random crescent moon on something pink and say “look, it’s Usagi,” the designer responsible for these graphics went the extra mile to take imagery from the show itself that needles its way deep into our nostalgia-cortexes.

How many references do you recognise? Quiz yourself against this comprehensive (image-heavy) list! 👇

The inners’ postcards all reference the eye-catching sign for Game Center Crown, the iconic arcade where Motoki Furuhata worked and the gang would all congregate to play games and share information.

Starting in R they switched to hanging out at Fruits Parlor Crown, a cafe attached to the arcade staffed by Motoki’s sister Unazuki, which the Inners’ postcards all also reference. They would often get brightly-coloured drinks there, but the drinks pictured on these postcards seem to specifically line up with the real drinks available at the Girls Night Out popup cafe.

Sailors Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto’s postcards all reference “Café Étrangère,” which was the name of the cafe they were seen dining at in the Sailor Moon S movie. Even the logo is replicated faithfully from a scene only a few seconds long.

All the girls’ clothes are hanging on coat hangers shaped like Luna/Artemis/Diana.

Ami / Sailor Mercury’s references:

Ami’s casual outfit is an unusual choice since she only wore it a handful of times over the entire series, and half the times she wore it, it was given a different colour scheme with a green jacket instead of the yellow version pictured here.

Her “mini data computer” is her most iconic tool/weapon/accessory, revealed in episode 009, directly after her introduction.

The pink package is how Usagi and the other girls wrapped up her transformation stick and communicator watch as Ami’s going-away present in episode 062.

The ice cream may be a reference to the same episode, as she shared a cone with Chibi-Usa before she left, and returned to the store to protect her friends from the Droid Nihpasu.

The flash cards are a method Ami commonly used to help her study, and are particularly similar to the ones shown in the SuperS short “Ami’s First Love”.

Rei / Sailor Mars’s References:

Rei wore her casual outfit fairly frequently, starting and most notably in the beginning of the Sailor Moon R movie.

The small red o-mamori charm is from Hikawa Shrine, seen frequently but introduced in episode 010.

The paper ofuda ward was used frequently by Rei to fight evil, even before she could transform, but most notably in the attack sequence for “Akuryou, Taisan” (“Foul Spirit, Begone”).

To my knowledge the purple bag isn’t a specific reference, but Rei did throw a similar purse at a Cardian as a makeshift weapon in episode 048 before she got her Guardian memories back.

The gift-wrapped shopping boxes are the exact same ones as carried by Rei in the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars opening sequence before she trips and falls, right down to the patterns on the paper...

... which in itself may be a reference/callback to Rei’s tendency to make Yuuichirou carry her shopping (maybe so she doesn’t trip).

The phoenix-shaped pendant is a reference to episode 183; it’s made of glazed ceramic, crafted by Rei’s cousin Kengo Ibuki, given to her as a child after she convinced him not to smash it even though he his pottery a “failure”.

Makoto / Sailor Jupiter’s References:

Makoto didn’t start wearing her casual outfit until around S, but she wore it frequently after that, especially as she became more confident wearing “feminine” clothing. They even remembered her iconic gold wrist watch worn over her sleeve!

Her uniquely decorated bento bag debuted in episode 026, her introductory episode, along with the rounded green cutlery. The pouch has been featured a few more times since and its design is a mainstay in almost every Sailor Moon canon.

The teal hairtie and the rose-shaped earrings are two of Makoto’s iconic accessories, some of the only non-magical fashion accessories in the entire series to stay the same whether the character is transformed or not (the other being Minako’s infamous red bow). Her earrings also served a dual purpose as makeshift projectile weapons in episode 025.

The blue book is 月夜の天馬 (Tsukiyo no Tenma, “The Moonlit Pegasus”), a novel which was written by Tomoko Takase and introduced in epsode 134. Makoto knew Tomoko from her old middle school, before she transferred, and was the first one to read her first draft after retrieving it from bullies. She encouraged Tomoko to try and get it published. Makoto meets with her again and helps her overcome her writer’s block to finish her sequel, 天馬幻想 (Tenma Gensou, “Pegasus Fantasy”).

Minako / Sailor Venus’s References:

This is one of Minako’s most-worn casual outfits, especially if you consider the additional outfits based off it. Despite its prevalence, she didn’t start wearing it until the beginning of S.

Minako’s red hair ribbon is her most iconic accessory, but did you know why she started wearing it? The Codename: Sailor V prequel manga explains that she started wearing the ribbon instead of her usual red hairtie on the suggestion of her “first crush” Higashi. But when he turns out to be an enemy in disguise, she decides she looks good with a ribbon anyway, and keeps wearing it for her own benefit.

The red mask is a reference to Minako’s role as Sailor V before joining the team as Sailor Venus. Sailor V was known as a mysterious vigilante superhero and a fictional video game character as early as episode 001, but in episode 033 Minako revealed herself to the rest of the Sailor Team, dramatically removing her mask one final time.

Minako was known to be a skilled volleyball player, especially in the manga, and it was especially relevant in episode 100 where she had to delicately return the serve of an energy sphere containing the Pure Heart of her old volleyball crush, Asai.

The sign with Minako’s name can be seen hanging off the front of her bedroom door in episode 192.

[Manga scan courtesy of Miss Dream.]

Usagi / Sailor Moon’s References:

Usagi wore this outfit in the Sailor Moon R movie, making it a memorable choice. Although the movie aired roughly midway through R, Usagi didn’t start to wear this outfit casually again until the S season.

Usagi is shown eating a lot of food, especially sweets, but she seems to have a particular fondness for crepes, snacking on them in several different episodes.

In episode 143 we can see that Usagi is very technologically trendy - for the times. She’s carrying that blue-and-pink pager which she and Mamoru use to contact each other by way of goroawase, that is, deciphering messages based on the different pronunciations of numbers, a precursor to modern texting. Mamoru pages her the numbers 84 51, which could be read as hachi yon go ichi; reading only the first syllables, and substituting go for the related sound ko, Usagi would interpret the message as hayo koi, which sounds a bit like “come quick” - she’s late for their date. Oops!

By the way, pagers were often called “pocket bells” (pokeberu) in Japan, and became so rapidly popular they even found their way into the lyrics of Rashiku Ikimasho, the ending song for the SuperS season; 「泣きたい時には ポケベルならしてよんで、戦士の休息」 [Nakitai toki ni wa POKEBELL narashite yonde, senshi no kyuusoku] “If you feel like crying, send a page thru the Pocket Bell, take a break from [being a] Guardian”

Chibi-Usa / Sailor Chibi Moon’s References:

Chibi-Usa doesn’t technically have a school uniform, but her casual clothes are often styled after sailor suits as a reflection of both her idolisation of the figure of “Sailor Moon” and of her desire to be seen as older and more mature than she appears. She changes “uniforms” every season, and this pinafore outfit is the version she wears in SuperS. She wore the other outfit in the SuperS premiere episode.

The handgun is from episode 060, Chibi-Usa’s introduction to the series and arguably one of the most iconic absurdist scenes in all of Sailor Moon. The gun itself is actually a toy, probably a transformation of the Luna-P sphere, which Chibi-Usa uses to try and threaten Usagi into giving her the Legendary Silver Crystal. When she “shoots” Usagi, the bullet is revealed to be nothing but a suction-cup flower, also pictured. (By the way, if you were wondering, Chibi-Usa’s fake gun is based on a real Colt M1911A1.) She transforms the Luna-P into a toy gun to shoot Sailor Moon again in the Sailor Moon R movie, this time as a way to motivate Usagi to fight.

The Luna-P sphere was a mysterious gadget Chibi-Usa kept with her for the duration of R and parts of S. It’s unknown where it came from, but it could be assumed to have been created from advanced 30th century technology. It was a combination toy and tool which could transform itself into a variety of objects, formulas, and even weapons, though none were shown to be particularly powerful. It could also be used to communicate with Sailor Pluto at the Time-Space Door. When Chibi-Usa was manipulated into becoming Wicked Lady in episode 085, the Luna-P sphere also transformed into an “evil” and much more dangerous version.

The Space-Time Key was a special tool given to her by Sailor Pluto that allowed her to travel between the past and the future, though it was difficult for her to wield effectively.

The sunhat was given to Chibi-Usa by Ikuko, so she treasured it greatly. In episode 112 it got blown away and was retrieved by Hotaru Tomoe, which allowed her to meet Chibi-Usa and marked the beginning of their close friendship.

The blue-and-red package was a gift containing two manga books (”Drop Drop” vol. 1 & 2 by Ukon Katakuri) which Chibi-Usa intended to give to her new friend Hotaru in episode 113.

In episode 127, Chibi-Usa returned home to the future, and the girls all made her some going-away gifts. Ami made her a floppy disk (lol) to help her study, Rei made her a casette tape (double lol) of her music, Makoto packed her a lunch, and Minako made her a photo album of their time together. Usagi hand-sewed Chibi-Usa the rabbit-shaped backpack using a real outfit she used to love when she was a child.

Michiru / Sailor Neptune’s References:

This is a somewhat unusual choice for Michiru’s casual outfit, as she only wore it for two episodes, and that’s only because they made up a two-part story. But perhaps because the episodes were so pivotal - with Haruka and Michiru almost learning Usagi’s true identity - the outfit itself became more memorable.

Not only do they include Michiru’s violin, but they included the lemon she bounced off the instrument as she played to show off her skills in episode 093.

The teacup, teaspoon and saucer are the same set Michiru was seen drinking from at Fruits Parlor Crown in episode 094.

Michiru and Haruka both reference episode 095, where they had to enter a “true love” contest as part of their investigation. The contestants were asked to find their partner’s hand in an anonymous lineup, and Haruka was able to identify Michiru’s hand immediately.

Michiru used Haruka as a model for an illustration in her green sketchbook in episode 106.

Michiru’s Talisman is the Deep Aqua Mirror, revealed in episode 110 and used in her attack Submarine Reflection. She could also use it to receive prophetic visions. Visually, it was based on real-life art nouveau hand mirrors, and symbolically represented the mirror from the Three Sacred Treasures.

Haruka / Sailor Uranus’s References:

Conversely, Haruka wore this outfit a lot. Maybe more than she should’ve.

The teacup and saucer is the same set Haruka was seen drinking from at Fruits Parlor Crown in episode 094.

Haruka’s postcard also references the lovers contest in episode 095 (see above).

The purple scarf is from episode 096; Haruka was wearing it as a necktie when she almost ran into Makoto on her motorcycle. Haruka used the scarf to bandage Makoto’s road rash, which she returned later, though now smitten.

Not only is Haruka’s motorcycle included, they also referenced (one of) her car(s), the 1968 Toyota 2000GT.

Haruka’s Talisman is the Space Sword, revealed in episode 110 and used in her attack Space Sword Blaster. Symbolically it represented the sword from the Three Sacred Treasures.

Setsuna / Sailor Pluto’s References:

Setsuna didn’t have a school uniform, since she wasn’t a student, so she got to double-up on her casual outfits. Her mauve outfit is her most recognisable, wearing it so often it may as well have been her uniform. In fact, she was rarely seen wearing anything else until Sailor Stars, where she started experimenting with other outfits, including the Time Lord-esque suit on the right.

The potted plant is a Tellun, the energy-draining plant created by Tellu in episode 121. Setsuna was investigating it when it attempted to attack her, but she was protected by her Talisman, the Garnet Orb (also pictured, representing the jewel in the Three Sacred Treasures). She then went on to destroy the remaining Tellun plants and defeat Tellu with the help of Sailor Moon, Sailor Chibi Moon, and Tuxedo Mask.

The teacup and saucer are the same set Setsuna is seen drinking from at Cafe Etranger in the Sailor Moon S movie.

In episode 182, the girls are discussing the mysterious arrival of Chibi Chibi while eating ice cream on a hot summer’s day. Setsuna appears out of nowhere to confirm their suspicions... carrying that popsicle of her own.

Hotaru / Sailor Saturn’s References:

Hotaru tended to wear the same thing, mostly all-black, but she did occasionally adventure into rich colours like this bottle green two-piece outfit and iconic raspberry beret.

The sunhat belonged to Chibi-Usa; it symbolises the beginning of their friendship, when Hotaru caught it after it blew away in episode 112.

Chibi-Usa gave Hotaru the rabbit backpack in episode 116, using it to pass a note inviting her on a picnic.

Hotaru collects lamps, and the two referenced here are seen in her bedroom, which she keeps dimly lit to manage her pain.

The window might seem random, but it was random in the series, too - it’s one of the curtained window which looks out from Hotaru’s bedroom, and when a Daimon experiment goes terribly wrong in episode 118 and transforms her house into a Bamboozled-like inter-dimensional maze, one window overlooks a vast ocean while the other overlooks a strange jungle.

Hotaru’s weapon as Sailor Saturn is the Silence Glaive. It’s said that she possesses enough power to destroy the world with a single drop of her scythe.

That’s it! You made it! How many references did YOU know? 🌙

[daikon1]

I posted 654 times in 2021

75 posts created (11%)

579 posts reblogged (89%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 7.7 posts.

I added 959 tags in 2021

#sailor moon - 237 posts

#this artist is amazing - 146 posts

#fanart - 123 posts

#sailor moon fanart - 118 posts

#usamamo - 95 posts

#mental health - 55 posts

#sailor moon fanfiction - 53 posts

#cute - 49 posts

#fanfiction - 43 posts

#signal boost - 40 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#i’m reblogging this after i just got like 20 new reviews on the latest chapter of tru and i might have written a whole scene this morning

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Happy Valentine’s!

Have some UsaMamo fanfic recommendations!!

Happy Ending - Guaranteed:

Checkmate by @queenrisa14 - I just read this multichapter mystery coffee-shop AU for the first time and let me tell you, it is a ride!! If possible, I recommend reading it with someone else so you can over-excitedly bounce theories around with them between chapters. Where the hell is Usagi’s mysterious chess partner, aka Mamoru?? (Rated T)

The White Rabbit by @idesofnovember - Okay it took me MONTHS and many very-enthusiastic recommendations before I finally gave this three-part pirate AU a try. Learn from my mistakes, go read it now. (Rated T)

A Craving for Chocolate Milkshakes by @kasienda - This is like, the ultimate MindMeld fic. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask get hit by a Youma attack and Mamoru and Usagi are suddenly mentally linked - and all that that implies! Emotional, sexy, adorable, and recently finished multichapter! (Rated T)

Since I Found Out by @lyraterra - First season multichapter AU with an early reveal, mindlink, and a side of SenShi! Cute, fast-paced, and very bingeable!! (Rated T)

The Heatwave by @reiokiscorner - If you haven’t read this amazing multichapter AU, go do that immediately. Waiting for updates seriously got me through the first six months of quarantine. After years of bickering, unexpected temperatures have Usagi looking at Mamoru in a new light... (Rated M)

Distraction by @kaleidodreams - A smutty established-relationship oneshot where Mamoru calms Usagi down during a thunderstorm. Sexy, tender, and fun! (Rated M)

Better Than Dreaming by @wishwars - a loosely plotted and very sexy oneshot PWP; what the hell else would happen if Usa walked in on Mamoru masturbating while thinking of her? (Rated M)

Somniloquy by @ninjettetwitch - Sexy little PWP oneshot where Mamoru-baka decides to ‘punish’ Usagi for her hurtful sleep-talking. (Rated E)

The Ghosts of Lake Yokai by @floraone - I ‘jokingly’ refer to this one as “proof of concept” on FloraOne’s writing after LDE got my attention. Usagi and Mamoru are sent on a mission alone after years of pining, and with the help of some demonic possession, Usagi’s feelings finally boil over. Mutual pining, miscommunications, and misunderstandings abound in a two-parter I revisit frequently. (Rated E)

Angsty or Open-Ended Fics:

His Changing Rose by @tinysagi - I’ll be honest and admit that chapter 2 (Summer) is my favorite, but this short multichapter delving into how Mamoru thinks about Usagi as they move through their lives is just darling all around. (Rated K)

The Chances We Don’t Take by @floraone - Okay it’s probably cheating to include this one because she wrote it specifically for me and my tastes but EVIL ENDY MUTUAL PINING???? This oneshot is f*cking glorious and I still cannot believe it was written for me. (Rated T)

Weathering the Storm by @brownsugarheartattack - Also probably cheating since I got to beta this one; a maybe-TBC oneshot in which Mamoru and Usa are hilariously reunited when they both “rent” the same cabin, giving Mamoru another chance to win over the girl of his dreams. (Rated T)

Contrition by @tinacentury - I ADORE this mutual-pining canon-divergent AU oneshot. Too much detail honestly kind of spoils the first read, so just know that it’s the best of these two idiots trying and failing to communicate. (Rated T)

Ongoing Fics:

Hikari 27 by @uglygreenjacket - An angsty, pining, miscommunication-ridden long-distance AU multichapter that I am DYING to see finished. Usagi and Mamoru meet on the Shinkansen and fall in love; Mamo-chan has no idea how to be a boyfriend and Usagi has no idea how to ask for what she needs. (Rated T)

If Only I Belonged to You by @beej88 - A fabulous epic UsaMamo-week story that isn’t quite finished yet. Weaving together their various lives, Usagi and Mamoru have to find and choose each other again and again. Read it and help me cheer her on to the finish!! (Rated M)

Something Old, Something New by @allyunabridged - My happy place in fic form! Usagi and Mamoru meet at an antique shop when Mamoru buys Usagi’s great-grandmother’s long-lost star locket. Now they have to not mess things up! Please help cheer her on so I get more of this awesome story!! (Rated M)

(Please note, each section is loosely ranked in terms of what I deem least-to-most saucy)

Happy reading! 😘

39 notes • Posted 2021-02-14 13:02:13 GMT

#4

Just Usagi

Now that she’s ended the arrangement with Mamoru, Usagi is all set to mope and distract herself with her new job… so what in the hell is Mamoru doing sending her flowers?

FFN

40 notes • Posted 2021-09-14 18:02:47 GMT

#3

Friendly reminder that @sailor-moon-rei, @misshotaru, and @ladyanna87 are blogs that steal art and repost it for likes without the actual artist’s knowledge or consent.

Please unfollow these blogs and alert the actual artists that their art has been stolen whenever possible.

42 notes • Posted 2021-01-16 18:59:05 GMT

#2

A quick taste of air

Celebrating Usagi’s new job turns sour when Mamoru shows up uninvited…

FFN

57 notes • Posted 2021-07-19 18:01:10 GMT

#1

The Runner-Up

I turned in my last assignment for my degree today, so to celebrate I’m bringing you the first chapter of my new story! It’s UsaMamo aged-up enemies-with-benefits - so basically an angsty miscommunication-ridden smutfest. Hope you enjoy 😉

FFN

60 notes • Posted 2021-05-11 18:01:08 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[ffamranxii]

Sailor Moon is the only series where I have different ships depending on the adaption. For the most part, manga and anime have the same ships, but the absolute curveball that was PGSM (my favorite adaption, hands down) gave me a TON of new ships I’d have never considered otherwise, who I DON’T ship in the manga/anime.

1. Usagi/Mamoru. Across all adaptions, I ship these two, and the reason is actually funny. I never used to like either of them, so I just shoved them together. It wasn’t until PGSM that I ever liked Usagi at all. I found her to be whiney and annoying in the anime, and once I got my hands on the manga, my dislike of anime Usagi had permeated too deep for me to like manga Usagi. PGSM Usagi is a much more expanded concept of Usagi as a whole, and Mamoru (while still embodying Sailor Moon’s very own Princess Peach) has a whole arc of development and backstory himself. PGSM is the only adaption in which I like Mamoru, even now.

2. Ami/Nephrite, PGSM only. PGSM has a whole side story for many of its minor characters and expands on the girls outside of the concept of senshi. Tbh PGSM is a slice of life show disguised as a tokusatsu, and it’s super apparent in how they treat the characters. Ami has an entire arc of her own where she ends up brainwashed and has several scenes with Nephrite, who is sort of the black sheep of the Shitennou for reasons that are never explained. This fledging relationship continues after Nephrite is reincarnated as human and it’s really cute to see Ami develop outside of her relationship with Usagi (her strongest relationship in this series) and the girls. Nephrite is hotheaded and angry at the world and Ami makes him just so soft.

3. Ami/Zoisite, manga and Crystal. While I very much detest the first two seasons of Crystal for their abominable animation (through no fault of the animators, I blame Toei and their complete disregard of their fans and employees), I DO like that they tried to work in the senshi/Shitennou romance that Naoko hinted at in the art books. It was stupid rushed but it’s the only incarnation that really attempts it. I wish it had had time to develop.

4. Rei/Minako, PGSM only. PGSM only deals with the Dark Kingdom (sadly) and Rei/Minako are its Haruka/Michiru. I actually ship them harder than I ship PGSM Usagi/Mamoru. Several episodes are given over to the development of their relationship, which is not easy to do given the way they took Minako in this series, and Rei is the only one of the girls to even have a real relationship with Minako, even over Usagi. They trust each other on a deep level, and fight with each others’ weapons at two critical points in the series.

5. Minako/Zoisite, PGSM only. Zoisite in this series, like most of the Shitennou, differs drastically from his manga and anime component, and I actually really like this one more than I like him in the anime and manga. Beryl’s hold on Zoisite is the weakest of all the Shitennou, and he spends his time doing exactly three things: playing piano, pining over Mamoru Endymion, and stalking Minako. (Truth be told, I enjoy his relationship with Endymion more, but the one with Minako leads into my next point.)

6. Minako/Kunzite, anime and manga. Minako managed to bag not one but two Shitennou with her love powers and that is a FEAT. You get it, girl. I really like the dynamic of two leaders together, and really enjoy Silver Millennium Minako/Kunzite fics.

7. Makoto/Motoki, PGSM only. This was another fun little thing PGSM did, and Makoto is the only other senshi to have a confirmed relationship in the series. Motoki himself is pretty fleshed out for a minor character, with his own little quirks (turtles!), and he is over the moon for Makoto. By the end of the series they’re engaged.

8. Haruka/Michiru, anime and manga. Who DOESN’T ship HaruMichi? I actually shipped HaruMichi way before I ever shipped anyone else on this list. Along with Touya/Yukito from Cardcaptor Sakura, they were THE definition of LGBTQ+ relationships (for me) for much of my childhood. They have an extremely adult relationship, possibly even an open relationship (or at least Michiru seems to have no problem with Haruka’s flirting hobby), which isn’t really something you see often in anime. I love them, they are goals.

9. Haruka/Michiru/Setsuna, anime and manga. Very specifically during the time they are raising Hotaru. Sometimes a family can be three moms and their child the incarnation of death and destruction and that’s beautiful. They’re just such a cohesive unit that I have a hard time believing that they live together and HaruMichi HAVEN’T invited Setsuna to join them from time to time. They’re also the first OT3 I ever shipped.

10. Helios/Chibiusa, anime and manga. I think the Helios/Chibiusa shippers are as numerous as the Usagi/Mamoru shippers tbh. Like Mamoru, Helios also is a damsel in distress for much of his arc (I guess the Tsukinos have a type, which raises some interesting questions about Ikuko and Kenji), and what I really liked was that, despite the single kiss they shared, it was never really pushed on us? I think Chibiusa/Helios is the first thing I ever shipped without the source material directly telling me to do so, because I wanted them together SO BAD and was SO PISSED they weren’t. 

11. Chibiusa/Hotaru, anime and manga. Another ship I put together on my own with no direction from the source material, and the first lesbian ship I ever did that with. They are just too close and love each other too much, and Chibiusa shares more pictures with Hotaru in official media (art books, stills, promo art) than her supposed future love interest Helios! They’re just a very sweet ship, two girls trying to figure out love and stuff. 

12. Setsuna/Endymion, anime and manga. Setsuna has a thing for Endymion, but never really seems to transfer that to Mamoru. I do like unrequited ships, and this one is my favorite.

HONORABLE MENTION

1. Ami/Usagi, PGSM. Ami has a huge lesbian crush on Usagi in this version. I’m not even making this up. She ends up brainwashed due to her insecurity and depression that Usagi is replacing her by making more friends and getting a boyfriend. Usagi, of course, is oblivious.

2. Kunzite/Zoisite, classic anime. Classic anime gave us (female) Zoisite and Kunzite (named Malachite in the dub I watched) as a couple, which I actually really enjoyed. I remember being disappointed when I read the manga and Zoisite was not only not female but also not banging Malachite. They were another adult relationship, way before HaruMichi existed, that I looked forward to seeing onscreen. I’m cool now with Zoisite not being female, and Malachite’s real name being Kunzite, but I still really like their relationship in classic. Plus, they’re the only ship that can crossover the adaptions in my brain to form the ultimate ot3 Minako/Zoisite/Kunzite. You get it, Minako.

[cynthiaandsamus]

Custom Toonami Block Week 79 Rundown

Code Geass: Lelouch is establishing the official United States of Fuck Imperialism which is like the UN but actually does stuff, plus he has to deal with the fact that CC’s lost her memory and is acting like a demure slave girl harem choice from a VN. Charles is still trapped in the Human Instrumentality Shadow Realm so everyone figures this is a great time to unify everyone against Britannia. Kallen beats the shit out of Suzaku for being a dick to her all this time and the Knight of Ten is making his rounds because they realize they forgot to give him any buildup and he’s going to be a miniboss later so they have to cram all his being a dick personality into like five minutes while all the Knights of the Round assemble to prepare for an attack on Japan once the National Federation is formed. Llyod and Cecile for some reason enhanced the Guren for Suzaku even though he’s clearly more used to the Lancelot but apparently they enhanced it too much and made it a death machine like the Talgeese in Gundam Wing so Suzaku has to stick with the Lancelot. Looks like the Guren will have to sit and collect dust unless a certain pilot is rescued and then immediately has a convenient upgrade. Amazingly all the countries go along with everything Zero says and give up their militaries and have the Black Knights be the official military of the Federation. I don’t know how that works given that the Black Knights have been struggling to fight off one nation’s military idk how it’s supposed to substitute for a dozen nations’ military but I guess they conscript support and troops from the other nations or something. Charles comes back on the tv after the Federation is formed and is all “Awww what a cute little UN you have, fuck off bro.” which you’d think this’d be the perfect time for him to just out Lelouch as Zero and wreck the Black Knights’ morale but he doesn’t for some reason and they’re just gonna fight. Lelouch is freaking out and knows that having everyone want to murder the Britannian royal family includes Nunally so he calls Suzaku who just straight up goes “Bro cut the crap are you Zero or not?” and after so much plotting and scheming Lelouch just comes right out with it. Suzaki agrees to protect Nunally as long as Lelouch meets him alone at the Kururugi Shrine where this all began.

Inuyasha: This is another one of those Modern Day filler episodes which are always fun. There’s just something about Inuyasha running around in modern Japan being Spider-Man and saving people and catching bank robbers on the way to deliver Kagome’s lunch that’s so thoroughly entertaining. Basically Inuyasha spends this whole episode jittery that everyone’s so chill and ready to relax after Naraku just got away and is probably an inch from death but after a big adventure in the modern era where Kagome is as usual unprepared for her test, he ends up passing out on the bed after insisting a little battle with Naraku wouldn’t exhaust him. It’s a really cute little episode to let everyone bide some time and reflect on the past arc now that we’re starting a new wave of filler before we get to the Band of Seven and Mt. Hakurei stuff.

Yu Yu Hakusho: The first match of the tournament is about to begin and Botan, Shizuru, and Keiko come in with Koenma who is sick of baby jokes and puts on his bishonen disguise to impress everyone. There’s some neat lore about how they gave Koenma the guest team every year to bribe him into not shutting down the tournament without giving him anything of value and how the bloody show of the Dark Tournament pacifies the demons so they kill fewer humans, so that’s cool. Since Yusuke is still passed out, Kuwabara is de facto Captain and decides on simple one on one matches while the other team Captain just kinda roasts an eight of the crowd to see if it’ll wake Yusuke up. Kuwabara’s in the first match versus Prototype Killua, complete with afterimages and yo-yo tricks. They size each other up for a while and Kuwabara shrugs off getting his fucking neck broken surprisingly well while they go back and forth with “Well I can track YOU better” for a while. Togashi really loves his yo-yos of death so those have Kuwabara on the ropes and turn him into a fucking kite ready to slam back down into the arena, so yeah, Kuwabara’s having a rough time of it.

Fate Zero: Waver’s been having strange dreams about Iskandar, and not the ones people usually have about him. So he goes to get a basic history lesson on the historical figure that’s been chilling on his couch for a few weeks and spending all his money on xbox live arcade. They also go through all the ridiculously obvious historical inaccuracies and Iskandar’s just like “idk bro, I’m here so the book must be wrong” which is hilarious because Fate also does this with more modern historical figures that we have pictures of and shit so they basically sit there saying all historians have no idea what they’re talking about and gaslighting the field of history as a whole. On the way back Waver’s upset that Iskandar’s so awesome that it basically takes any effort on his part to win and it won’t be an actual achievement despite the fact that they’ve taken out like… one servant, MAYBE, and most of the other historical figures are equally over the top. But still Iskandar says that if your aspirations are big enough it doesn’t matter how big or small you are, everyone’s tiny in the grand scheme of things and clawing at greatness you can’t truly perceive is what matters. Also Caster and his boy have found the wreck they made of their workshop of dead bodies and are kinda fucked up about it but also ready to fuck up more people because God sucks or some shit. So Caster summons a Bloodborne monster which you think more people would notice and mention during Shirou’s time, like nobody in UBW ever said “Hey remember like seven years ago when a giant Bloodborne monster appeared in the river?” so I’m guessing there’s some kind of perception blocking going on. But yeah everyone’s gonna jump on the Bloodborne Monster next time for the season premiere.  

Konosuba: So we pick up where we left off and Kazuma is working off his debt by… killing more toads. Wow this world really is like a video game, we get the same five enemies over and over again. However they’re fucked without Darkness throwing herself into monster orifices looking for a good time so Yunyun has to save them. We already met Yunyun in the OVA so it’s kinda weird to be re-introduced to her here in basically the same way but their relationship is basically like Gai and Kakashi if they only did the lame dorky challenges Kakashi suggested when he’s too lazy to think of a good one. Also there’s a cat now, I don’t think that really comes to anything, just a scene of Megumin going “we have a cat now” and everyone’s like “kay”. Kazuma and Megumin play Naked Chicken to see who can get more naked before the other backs down and end up taking a bath together because they’re both stubborn assholes. Also we get a quick snippet of Yunyun and Megumin’s backstories which you can basically make Yunyun’s the swing scene from Naruto (idk why Yunyun is bring out the Naruto references in me today) and Megumin is stealing bread like Les Miserables in increasingly bizarre and disgusting ways because she’s ridiculously poor or some shit.

Sailor Moon Crystal: So turns out that Usagi and Mamoru BOTH had their shots with the ‘fucks everything up’ sword with a pocketwatch and… the discarded gems of the four knights? Idk how that works given they were humans and also dead but what baffles me more is that both Usagi and Mamoru very obviously did not get hit by the sword but decided to fall down dead and not move for a couple minutes despite their shots very much being blocked and there being no blood. Anyway Queen Metalia has the crystal, bullshit is happening, 1000 years of darkness, you’ve seen Xiaolin Showdown, you know the drill. The remaining four Guardians get a cute little flashback of Usagi saying what she likes about them and then they give up their lives to revive her inside the dark energy blob of Queen Metalia and crystals and lights and shit happens and swords and wands are pulled out of nowhere and you know how a final boss goes, they beat it with the power of believing in themselves and shit like that. Also apparently the only difference between sealing Metalia away and killing her is hitting the giant bullseye on her forehead so yeah, hopefully she’s down for good this time. I don’t want to complain because this show was genre-defining but it’s hard to find things to say about something so generic and milktoast, it’s the Seinfeld problem where there’s been so many more interesting iterations that it’s just kinda “get on with it already” at this point. The only real markedly noticeable thing about it is how plainly and unashamedly it is about being a power fantasy for teen girls, and there’s something to that, harmless power fantasies can be fun but it just feels like the physical mechanics of this kind of progression being “She feels this shit REALLY HARD” is less exciting than some of the alternatives

Durarara!!: It’s the big Masaomi backstory episode and we get the whole deal of how he formed the Yellow Scarves and got into a relationship with Saki because Izaya wanted to orechestrate a gang war because that’s what Izaya does all day is orchestrate gang wars. It’s kind of amazing how many kids in this show are like “I don’t know how it happened but one thing led to another and suddenly I was at the head of one of the largest gangs in the city” like they kinda really yadda yadda over how that actually happens. But anyway Saki gets hurt in the gang war and Kadota’s gang has to save her because Masaomi’s adrenaline wears off at the last second and he can’t try and rush in and save her. I mean Dota’s van got there first anyway so how much he’d have been able to help would be doubtful but he feels bad about not even being able to try and Izaya says that fear and failure of his past will dominate his future actions which is exactly what he’s doing by letting his paranoia and frustration lead him to a war on the Saika army. Dota-chin tells him to face up to it and stop running or live with the shame of lying to Saki but Masomi can’t do that and his shame and determination to reverse the situation leads everyone into chaos as Anri discovers his secret.

[tiltedvenus]

Let’s talk about the best episode in the entire Sailor Moon catalog. I know what you’re probably thinking; it’s the identity reveal, or the ending of season 1, or basically anything in S, right?

Nope. The greatest episode is the Nun episode. Yes. That one. With the kitten.

While I’m primarily an Usagi/Mamoru shipper and it’s not particularly juicy for them, I’m also a SuperS apologist. It’s the most absurd season, which is saying something since Sailor Moon is a pretty absurd show all around. I don’t think I need to convince you of this. You know what you came here for.

And the Nun episode (133 if you want to follow along at home) is just everything ridiculous that I love about this season and this show and I need to talk about it right now.

Let’s begin. (Sorry for the weird placement of the captions on the screenshots; I’m taking them from the Hulu web player and the play options were taking up too much screen real estate while paused, and I was only willing to fiddle with the CSS for about 3 seconds. Now back to our Bastard Kitten episode.)

Mamoru is in steady Dad Mode this whole season and today is no exception. It’s super cute, and Chibiusa is 100% trolling Usagi.

So, Chibiusa. I know she’s controversial in Sailor Moon fandom, but you can’t be an UsaMamo shipper and not love this absolute perfect combination of her two parents. She inherited her love of trolling Usagi from her father (which was his favorite pastime before he discovered other preferred ways of receiving Usagi’s attention) and her ability to manipulate Mamoru from her mother!

Yes, that’s a gray-haired Chibiusa watching Sailor Moon on TV. Don’t you care, papa??

This is Mamoru’s face 90% of the time he’s dealing with the Tsukino women.

I love how Chibiusa can use “future daughter” to get Mamoru to do anything but it doesn’t faze Usagi in the slightest.

Do you think Mamoru remembers the time he told Usagi that only a loser would be interested in her and she’d never get a boyfriend? I bet he’s thinking about that right now. Dust goes in a dust bin?

Sadly, our Mamoru torture comes to an end, as all great things must. We now turn our attention to the other male member of the group. Who has seemingly also made questionable relationship decisions.

Chibiusa’s outrage here is the best part. I’m a real sucker for ‘Chibiusa worries her existence is in jeopardy’.

One of my favorite things about the Usagi/Chibiusa relationship is that they immediately go from fighting with each other to being over it. Mamoru is probably still pissed at them and they’ve already moved on. I truly adore these two. I don’t even care about the Dead Moon Circus right now (although I love them too). I just want these two busybodies doing this all day.

Chibiusa: 100% Mamoru’s kid.

This scene with Minako grilling Artemis is *chef’s kiss*

I have a lot of issues with the breakup arc but we were truly robbed of a scene like this where Minako yells at Mamoru.

Next, the girls make cookies and chocolate pie for Luna to cheer her up, even though she’s a cat?

Chibiusa: 100% Usagi’s kid.

Luna is hanging by a thread here and Usagi just wants chocolate.

The little “oh” Usagi gives after Luna says her mission is to raise Usagi to be a queen absolutely destroys me.

Anyway, the nun gets attacked by Tiger’s Eye, blah blah blah. Venus is on the scene first.

In one of his best entrances, Tuxedo Mask pulls a kitten out of his hat.

Kitten is revealed to be Luna and Artemis’s future daughter in a shocking twist. 

Love how Usagi points to herself when Diana mentions Neo Queen Serenity.

Troll Mamoru returns.

Why do I love this episode so much even though it’s pure filler? It’s got all of my favorite things: Usagi being adorable, Chibiusa trolling Usagi, Mamoru making googly eyes at kittens, and Minako being fabulous. 10/10.

[usagichibamamorutsukino]

To all of the Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask Haters

This is my post on the Sailor Moon subreddit! I am very proud of the arguments I made and am extremely thankful for the amazing response I got! I got Reddit Gold for the first time in my life! I’m sharing it today here on my Tumblr, the place where I have found a wonderful niche of Tuxedo Mask and Usamamo lovers like me! Here is the link: https://www.reddit.com/r/sailormoon/comments/d0zm4c/to_all_of_the_mamorutuxedo_mask_haters/

Here is my post: 

Hi everyone! I wanted to share my comment on a video interview of the Viz dub voices for the Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon Crystal anime, Stephanie Sheh (Usagi), and Robbie Daymond (Mamoru). The interviewer talked about why she believes it's justified to hate Tuxedo Mask and why he isn't right for Usagi. The topics I covered in my initial comment are included here in greater detail. I am basing my response below on: the manga, the original 90's anime and its 3 movies, Sailor Moon Crystal, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, interviews with Naoko Takeuchi, articles that analyze the storylines and utilize fact-checking references, as well as my interpretation and analysis that bases itself on the cannon and overall understanding of the portrayal of the human characters and interactions in the story.

Obligatory note: You are entitled to your own opinion as I am entitled to my own. However, I feel obligated to voice my opinion and defense for Tuxedo Mask as he gets so much hate in the fandom, and there is so much misinformation about him. There are so many posts and articles trying to prove that Tuxedo Mask/Mamoru is definitively a horrible character, that he sucks, he is useless, etc. It is one thing to have your opinion. It is another to be so vocal about your hatred for a character basing your hatred on misinformation and superficial arguments.

In my lengthy post, I will discuss specific topics and arguments that people bring up to defend their hatred of Tuxedo Mask/Mamoru and his relationship to Sailor Moon/Usagi. I hope you enjoy reading and gain some perspective.

In the original anime, Usagi and Mamoru didn't have any feelings or love for one another UNTIL they remembered their past lives

I rewatched Season 1 of the original anime this past week and took notes of each encounter between Usagi and Mamoru until they remember their past lives. I analyzed their dialogue, how the animators portrayed their body language around each other, as well as how they talk about one another to other characters. Let’s begin our study by reading this quote from the manga in Act 10 when Usagi recounts that in her encounters with Mamoru: “I would get defensive, and we would get into a fight. We actually never had a real conversation. But the truth is… I was always so excited and happy to see him. That’s why we ran to each other… isn’t it? The two of us were drawn to each other.”

In the 90s anime, Usagi and Mamoru have an initially confrontational relationship. Mamoru’s first impression of Usagi was of a girl who hit him on the head with a crumbled-up test with a horrifying grade. Usagi’s first impression of Mamoru was a guy who told her she should study more; she was mortified and embarrassed by this, so she stuck her tongue out at him and walked away, disregarding him as a “weirdo”. The second time they bump into each other, Usagi throws a shoe at his head by accident, and she doesn’t apologize. The third time they meet, they bump into one another when Usagi is dreaming about “her future boyfriend.” She mistakenly apologizes to a pole, and Mamoru finds this funny and says that she should watch where she is going. Naru asks Usagi if she knows who that guy is, as he is “totally gorgeous” and Usagi responds “Wrong! There is nothing gorgeous about him!” By the 5th and 7th episodes, when Mamoru sees Usagi, he goes up to her and says, “Hey!” like they were friends. At the end of their conversation in Ep. 7, when Usagi walks away annoyed, we pan back to Mamoru, who is smiling at her genuinely. Through all of these interactions, Mamoru and Usagi go from strangers who are annoyed by each other’s existence to people who run into each other so often that Mamoru can find some humor in it.

You have to consider that Mamoru is acerbic since he is becoming Tuxedo Mask without his knowledge, is sleep deprived, has retrograde amnesia, and barely has anyone in his life who truly cares about him. He meets this girl who has hit him on the head, has bumped into him and has been rude to him on multiple accounts, of course, he’s going to return Usagi’s comments. But as he spends more time around her group, the teasing becomes well-meaning. Usagi shows that she values his advice, such as in Ep. 17 and when she is deciding if telling Naru about Nephrite's evil doings is a good idea or not. Usagi was visibly jealous of Rei’s crush on Mamoru and her three outings with him. Mamoru brought up "Bunhead" when Rei stopped him on the street to ask him out. He mentioned "Usagi" when talking to Motoki when the conversation wasn't about her but rather about Makoto. She's on his mind from early on.

There is a fantastic post that also discusses some of the points of evidence that Usagi and Mamoru had crushes on one another before they remembered their past lives, https://aminoapps.com/c/sailor-moon/page/blog/my-thoughts-on-mamoru-and-usagi/eYX5_MMdI3udVa3xwNvqExdKarRMM0xGlrm . One of my favorite observations is this: "Mamoru mostly teased her about her love life. When we look at what a person mostly tease someone about, it can give us an idea about their true intentions behind it. Mamoru teased her about romance-related things quite a few times, saying she wouldn’t get a boyfriend if she weren’t more lady-like, teasing her about Motoki twice, and her 'not-so-date' with Umino (it really wasn’t though). Not to mention when Motoki asked Mamoru why he always treated Usagi like that, Mamoru says, 'I guess we weren’t meant for each other.' " Also, in reply to this post, u/Rockabore1 made a fantastic analysis regarding the deeper meaning behind Usagi and Mamoru's teasing in the beginning:

"I love that you point out all the nuance in the way Mamoru and Usagi's relationship grew from roasting each other to realizing they care about each other and actually love being around each other. When they met, neither were really emotionally mature enough at that point to figure out an excuse to spend time together, and they kept using teasing each other as a reliable way to do it. I talked to another redditor about a scene that strikes me as a very multilayered in that regard. In episode 17, since when Mamoru talked about qualities, make a girl beautiful after Usagi feels discouraged to meet with the photographer. He describes 'someone with a kind-heart and bravery to do the right thing even when it's hard to do.' He says it with a directness like he means it as 'I see these qualities in you.' Yet he plays it off by saying, 'Obviously, you lack those qualities,' in a challenging way. I read it as him giving her the determination to try and prove him wrong because he knows she's not a quitter. Usagi went to the arcade to get Motoki to boost her ego, which she knew he would since he's always supportive, and Motoki's platitudes made her happy but didn't inspire her, whereas, Mamoru challenging her was what pushed her to actually go out and prove it. When she leaves, Motoki notes how the two always bicker, and Mamoru seems to half-heartedly lament that things always turn into an argument when they see each other and that 'I guess we're not meant to be.' It seems like he's admitting that he doesn't know how to give her a compliment without feeling silly or embarrassed to act like a softie, and he doesn't know how they could change (which obviously they do, but at the time both were really stubborn)."

In Ep. 28, they already demonstrate to the viewer that they have crushes on each other. Usagi, sitting next to him, thinks to herself, “but hey, he does look pretty handsome," then out loud, she says, "Oh geez, what am I thinking stop it Usagi, Tuxedo Mask is the only one I love!” He looks at her, and when she looks away embarrassed, he smiles at her. At the end of the episode, when Usagi says that their painting came out beautiful, Mamoru says, “I’d say it looks pretty good considering who the model was…” and his eyes immediately shot at USAGI! But she thinks he’s talking about himself, so she reacts annoyed. And in the last episode of the first season, when everyone gets their memory erased, Mamoru smiles genuinely after meeting Usagi. This encounter was just like the first one they had at the beginning of the series and similar to their third encounter as well. His reaction could very well have been the reaction he had after meeting her for the first time, but we, the viewers, didn’t get to see it. They had an attraction to each other from the start. Usagi felt that she made two horrible first impressions on Mamoru and even though she obviously found him attractive (as she later states on countless occasions), she felt that “this is an attractive guy I would’ve had a crush on now thinks I’m a ditz, so I’m going to treat him like I don’t care about him.”

Mamoru is someone who came from an upbringing with little attachment and has been pursued for his looks and wealth for presumably a long time. Think about how many characters and villains have hit on him. How Motoki told Rei that he lives in an expensive apartment all alone because of his inheritance, and her eyes lit up. Usagi probably is the only girl who isn’t fawning over him when they meet and instead is capable of sparing jokes at each other’s expense. His way of showing his attraction is not the best, but Usagi isn’t perfect either. I also noticed how, when Rei bumped into Mamoru in a ploy to ask him out, he acted concerned for her falling down for a moment, asked if she was alright and went on his way. Rei stopped him again, and he reluctantly stuck around for coffee. Meanwhile, every time Usagi bumps into him, he sticks around for a bit to tease her and get teased back. Why did Mamoru go out of his way to spend more time with "the annoying Bunhead” than he needed to? He even goes up to her to spar and teases her, and she reciprocates too.

At the end of Rei's first "date" with Mamoru, she tells Usagi that Mamoru is probably Tuxedo Mask, Usagi says that there's no way that he could be. Mamoru asks, "huh, who is Tuxedo Mask?" like he’s genuinely curious after Usagi noted the comment about Tuxedo Mask. Umino interrupts and asks Usagi to continue their own “date,” Mamoru says, “uuu, so that’s your type, huh?” in a flirty manner. This implies, "oh, so that's why you act like you don't like me. I'm not your type." Usagi is embarrassed and blushing during this whole encounter. Later, in Ep. 30, when Yuichiro and Rei are hitting it off, Usagi is ecstatic about getting them together. Rei tells her, "you know Mamoru is my guy, so what are you trying to pull here?" Usagi blushes embarrassed, her crush on Mamoru is obvious, her jealousy of Rei is evident. Even Ami starts to see this in Ep. 31 where Rei excuses herself from a Sunday outing with the girls for a "date," Ami tells this to Usagi while nervous, knowing Usagi will react annoyed at the thought of Rei going on a date with Mamoru. However, on Mamoru's part, he never took the outings with Rei seriously. He saw her as more of a friend while she was the one pursuing him to go with her on “dates.” Also, when talking with Motoki about the girls, he seemingly got really nervous at the thought of Rei “liking” him as more than a friend. After he realizes that he is Tuxedo Mask and realizes his strong connection with Sailor Moon and the princess to who appears to him in his recurring dream, he basically stops interacting with her altogether. In fact, in this same episode I just mentioned, Rei calls Mamoru to ask him out on a date but is met with his voice mail. We pan to Mamoru in the balcony of his apartment, ignoring Rei's voice message and instead of thinking about how he is determined to get the last rainbow crystal to find the legendary silver crystal and recover his lost memories.

Who can forget episode 34, where Usagi and Mamoru discovered each other's secret identities. Usagi recognizes Mamoru walking along the Juban Shopping District; she playfully hits him on the back, “Hey there, how you doing guy?” He grunts in pain. She genuinely asks him, "What’s wrong?" He responds, “Oh, hey Bunhead, you're sure cheerful today.” Usagi: “Well, excuse me then, it just so happens that I am a cheerful person all of the time!” and sticks her tongue out, as she does. He responds with a smile, “I hope you’ll always be that way. Take care, okay?” and walks away, holding his shoulder. Usagi reacts, confused, “What’s with him? He isn’t acting like himself.”, and notices his shoulder is hurt, “Could he be hurt in some way?” Mamoru probably thought he was going to die in the battle with Zoisite; he was also depressed about not being able to protect Sailor Moon, in what Mamoru thought was his last time seeing Usagi, he was kind and told her that she should always remain her cheerful self. Worried, she follows him. When he discovers this, he is genuinely surprised that she was worried about him. Mamoru didn't have anyone in his life who worried about him. In the iconic elevator ride, he genuinely opens up to her. He tells her about his past, his recurring dream, why he is looking for the silver crystal, things he hasn't told anyone else before. When she tells him, “You know what? Before, I thought you were the worst person in the whole wide world. But not anymore, now you’re the second worst.” The way Mamoru looked at her as she blushed saying that, the way he prioritized Usagi’s safety over the rainbow crystals, the way he pushed her out of the way from falling icicles, the way he looked at her when he saw his Bunhead transform into THE Sailor Moon, the way he looked at her when he pulled out that rose and turned into Tuxedo Mask. Mamoru and Usagi fell for each other long before they discovered they were Serenity and Endymion. Sure, it's not as explicit and cinematic as how it is portrayed in the manga and Sailor Moon Crystal. But their attraction is there. They are on each other's minds from early on.

The way the writers developed their relationship is actually genius. By the moonlight, Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon flirt, and he calls her smart and beautiful, and he believes in her leadership and talent as a superhero. Meanwhile, by daylight, Mamoru and Usagi bicker like a married couple. It's like Lois Lane falling in love with Super Man but dismissing Clark Kent. The dialogue they share, their body language, how others notice their connection goes a little further than they realize; I recommend that you rewatch Sailor Moon Season 1 and the first arc of Sailor Moon R (Makaiju) and notice how Usagi and Mamoru act around each other and how their feelings for one another develop. It's there as clear as day, and honestly, it's one of the reasons I love Sailor Moon. It's the best story ever told. Heck, even the intro song is from Usagi's perspective, singing about her miracle romance with Mamoru.

I think the most notable difference between Usagi and Mamoru’s relationship in Season 1 and Season 2 is that Usagi is much nicer to him in Season 2. As a result, Mamoru is much friendlier to Usagi. This, in turn, provides heartwarming moments between them, such as when they took care of a baby, their first “date” at the arcade, Mamoru’s sigh of relief when Usagi shows up to interrupt Natsuki’s incessant flirting, his blushing when Usagi called herself cute and when he thought Usagi was on a date with Seijuro, as well as many more moments between them. The reason Usagi treats him much nicer is because, at the beginning of Season 2, Usagi remembered her previous lives, she remembered who Mamoru is, his personality, what they went through, how he puts himself in danger to protect her, how he died for her, and most of all, she remembered why she fell in love with him. It becomes her mission to get Mamoru to remember who she is, what they’ve endured together, and how they fell in love. The Makaijju arc serves as a retelling of their love story, as Mamoru falls in love with Usagi all over again. This happens gradually; he starts to see how this Bunhead girl went from someone who is rude to him to someone who enjoys his company, cares about others, brave, fun to be around, and is a kind friend. When they are both captured by the Makaiju tree, Mamoru asks Usagi if she is alright and reaches out to hold her hand. When he and Sailor Moon are being thrown and flung around the room, he holds on to Usagi/Sailor Moon’s hand even though this aggravates their antagonists more, causing them to inflict more pain on them. He jumps in front of Sailor Moon to protect her near-fatal blows, as she did for him, because in Usagi’s words: “I’m willing to risk my life in order to protect anyone I truly love.” At this moment, Mamoru had already fallen in love with Usagi again. It wasn’t until he felt the same love he had felt in his past lives that his consciousness, the Moonlight Knight, returned his memories. Therefore, he fell for Usagi before he remembered their past lives. His undying need to protect her literally took physical form as the Moonlight Knight. This proves that Mamoru doesn’t love Usagi because she is Serenity and because of destiny, but because he genuinely loves Usagi. The cutest part of this moment was Mamoru waking Usagi up after the battle, and calling her his little Bunhead Usagi Tsukino.

Many people argue that he fell for Sailor Moon and settled for Usagi once he found out they were the same person. It is undeniable that Tuxedo Mask felt strong feelings for Sailor Moon since he could sense when she was in danger and felt this urge to protect her. However, Tuxedo Mask made an enemy of Sailor Moon and the Sailor Senshi when it came to finding the rainbow crystals. In The Shining Silver Crystal, Mamoru and Usagi are confronted by Zoisite, who demands that Mamoru surrender his own rainbow crystals so that they can fight, and the winner takes all. Mamoru tells Zoisite that he will do so only if he promises not to harm Usagi and let her go. This was BEFORE he knew that she was Sailor Moon. He prioritized Usagi’s safety over his unwavering personal mission of finding the silver crystal. He didn’t do this for Sailor Moon; he did this for Usagi.

One of the most important arguments, if not, the most crucial evidence for the validity of Usagi and Mamoru’s love for one another is why they fell in love and if it is merely because of destiny, as many skeptics online cite this as the only reason Usagi and Mamoru are together because they feel obligated to stay together due to past in the Silver Millennium and “destiny.” I found a fantastic essay series by Sailor Moon and Me, all about studying the dynamics of Usagi and Mamoru’s relationship to ultimately answer if they truly love one another in the original 90’s anime. You can find the whole series here; I highly recommend you read it! https://sailormoonandme.tumblr.com/post/93343451085/usagi-and-mamoru-essay-series-contents-page-and

In conclusion, the author writes: “Would Usagi and Mamoru have wound up together if they had not regained their memories from their past lives? If given the right opportunities to get to know each other better, almost certainly yes. And those opportunities would’ve probably presented themselves somehow because their past lives/destiny would’ve been influencing them. Remember, they even met as children. Were they obligated to be together because of their past lives? Not exactly. Their past lives guided them and influenced them, but the personality traits that Serenity and Endymion found attractive in one another were present in Usagi and Mamoru and was likely what they’re modern-day incarnations found attractive too. In particular, these traits were on display as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask and Usagi and Mamoru already effectively loved one another in through those identities anyway.” The author highlights a key aspect, the reason Usagi and Mamoru have fallen in love over and over again: they find each other’s personality traits attractive! Earlier in the essay series, the author brilliantly proves how, in the anime, Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask and Endymion act in the same way, as well as Usagi/Sailor Moon and Serenity. They are the same people, so if they fell in love during the Silver Millennium, they can fall in love again for the same reason, they like each other’s personalities!

Mamoru's breakup with Usagi

In the anime, after they finally get together during Sailor Moon R, he finally feels like he’s not alone. Then he gets these visions prophesizing that the woman he loves will die if he continues to be with her. He struggles with what to do; he just found someone who completes him, who gave him his lost memories and the meaning of his life. Who saw the best in him and believed in him even after him being brainwashed and soul strangled by the evil Metalia. He knows the pain that he’s caused her. He still has memories of being under Metaria's evil magic. He realized how possessed he was, enough to attempt to behead Usagi without question. He just learned that continuing to be a part of her life could put her in grave danger. He doesn’t take this lightly and breaks up with her because he thought he would protect her.

Mamoru thought that HE, HIMSELF, was the danger to Usagi. That's why he tried to get her to hate him. Even I initially judged the breakup arc as a victim of "bad writing" for Mamoru and Usagi's relationship. A few lines littered over a few episodes are unfortunately very negative coming from Mamoru's part. I cannot defend them when taken out of context. I am disappointed that the writers decided to include those few lines since they don't even correlate to Mamoru's character growth and overarching character arc over five seasons.

Furthermore, from his part, these comments are blatant attempts to portray himself as a despicable person, so Usagi would forget about him and move on. He thought that by getting Usagi to hate him, she would distance herself from him and be saved from the horrible fate he kept seeing in his nightmare. Many people use this as "evidence" that Mamoru "didn't love Usagi," and that he is a "horrible person." It is very easy to judge a guy breaking up with a girl as wonderful as Usagi and being so cold towards her. However, when you see Mamoru realize that marrying Usagi will cause her immediate death and that his only way of protecting her from this doom is to break up with her, he already hates himself. To provide more perspective of how this impacted him when he meets King Endymion in the future and realizes he was the one prophesying Usagi's death if Mamoru continues to be with her, Mamoru charges at him with anger.

There is no logical reason that Mamoru would willingly choose to make Usagi suffer. Why would he purposely put the only person he considers his family and his soulmate through so much pain and suffering. The breakup is as hard on him as it is on Usagi. This is clearly seen in Ep. 69, at the end, when he is crying by his motorcycle. He should’ve told Usako the truth about the dream. But she beats him to it in a later episode, and they decide to take control of their lives and be together, instead of believing in the nightmare. She was the one to believe in the strength of their love and do the right thing. Thanks to this arc, they learned that together they are unstoppable. Mamoru learned to trust Usagi wholeheartedly and to trust himself, as he felt that HE was the danger in her life. After the revelation that the messages from King Endymion were to test Mamoru's love for Usagi, even Mamoru realizes he made a horrible decision to lie to Usagi and hurt her the way he did. He realizes how dumb he was and latches on to Usagi and never lets her go again.

Furthermore, to provide a silver lining to the breakup arc, we have further evidence of just how much Mamoru loves Usagi. If he didn't love her, as so many people in the fandom like to claim, the breakup was his way out. But he didn't just up and leave. He hated that he had to be apart from Usagi. He truly loves her with all of his heart. He never once stopped calling her Usako. He never stopped being in awe of Sailor Moon's power, calling her invincible when talking about her to Chibiusa. He continued to help her and the Sailor Senshi in battle. He dreamt about marrying her; he imagined her face reflected on rivers; when he continued to run into her after the breakup, he was solemn realizing that it is fate that keeps making them meet.

This breakup isn’t my favorite part of the season at all, but it provides real character development and allows us to explore Mamoru’s fears and heartache. You see Usagi gets heartbroken, but she doesn't lose faith; she doesn't stop believing in Mamoru and love; she still has her circle of friends and family to fall back on. Mamoru had no one. Usagi was the only one he let in his heart. In the Sailor Moon R movie, he tells Usagi that his years of loneliness were worth it because he found her, and that she is his family. For years, Mamoru had the same dream about a princess who pleaded to him “find the silver crystal, find the silver crystal.” And this princess ended up being a real person! The girl with the weird hair he kept running into, Bunhead, Usagi, Usako! Are we internalizing how insane that is? To have literally no memories before your sixth birthday, to not remember your parents, to be an orphan with no family or close relationships, to have a recurring dream that wakes you in a cold sweat about the same person every time that pleads that you find this mysterious crystal you know nothing about? It’s insane. Of course, Mamoru has trouble with interpersonal relationships in the beginning. It’s thanks to Usagi’s constant love towards him and their growth as a couple that he becomes a kinder and more trusting person as the series goes on. Mamoru's connection to Usagi is so much deeper than the anime lets on at surface level. Mamoru went from someone who has had his memory stolen already three times, to someone who has finally found the love of his life, who was no longer alone, to someone who was forced to break his soulmate's heart and be pushed back to loneliness.

I recommend this great article that talks more about the breakup and Mamoru's perspective! http://starlight.csmalecki.com/reads/breakup.php

Mamoru's relationship with Chibiusa

On that note, of course, Mamoru felt a connection to Chibiusa. He was an orphan with no family, he finds this little kid all alone, of course, he is going to feel an urge to help her feel less alone. He connects with Chibiusa because he sees Usako in her; because he no longer has anyone else to fill the void of loneliness. Mamoru and Chibiusa are some of the characters that carry the underlying theme of loneliness in the Sailor Moon story. Chibiusa saw Mamo as someone who reminded her of her dad, and for a little girl who feels helpless and is separated from her parents, utterly alone in this strange world where she doesn't know who to trust, it is reasonable for her to latch onto him. She sees these people who look like her parents and Sailor Senshi back home but behave nothing like them. Mamoru is one of the few characters who is continuously nice to her and there for her; logically, she would want to be around him. There is an excellent article that talks about Chibiusa's "Electra Complex," I highly recommend you read it: https://shojopower.com/beautiful-like-you-black-ladys-uncomfortable-electra-complex/. Basically, it concludes that Chibiusa's "Electra Complex" is NOT sexual desire for her father but instead not being able to relate to her mother, "The Electra Complex is less about a daughter’s sexual desire for her father, but much more about the relationship between daughter and mother; the female child and her best friend." Once Chibiusa becomes Black Lady, her innocent feelings of love and attachment towards Mamoru get exploited and tainted and manifest as "sexual" attraction. But in reality, once Chibiusa can relate to Usagi, her "Electra Complex" is resolved, and Black Lady is defeated.

Tuxedo Mask is "useless."

What a double standard. Just because he is a man, he has to be the Batman or Spider-Man of the story? It’s called Sailor Moon. She is Wonder Woman; he is Steve Trevor. Tuxedo Mask exists to help Sailor Moon and support her, but Sailor Moon is the protector of the universe. The story is all about her and her fellow Sailor Senshi. It’s a female empowerment story; if you think that a male character is “useless” because he isn’t the one saving the day, you are missing the point. Tuxedo Mask has physically aided the Senshi in combat on countless occasions.

Furthermore, during numerous battles, if Tuxedo Mask had not shown up to shoot a single rose, Sailor Moon and the Senshi would have been goners. He utilizes his knowledge of physics and math during battles and is capable in hand to hand combat, as well as a formidable swordsman. In the manga and Sailor Moon Crystal, he has his own super-powered attack, Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber. Even cooler, he has a combined attack with his daughter, Pink Sugar Tuxedo Attack. He takes the place of Sailor Earth and Sailor Sun, as he possesses the golden sailor crystal. Concerning Earth, he recognizes it as his guardian planet and can "see" what the Earth feels. Concerning the sun, Takeuchi made him a Leo, a constellation related to the sun, also, when he dies, Nehellenia states that he is "The Prince of Earth, protected by the Sun."

He buys the Senshi time to power up for their Sailor Planet attack; he's freed them from traps from where they can't escape alone, he distracts villains and disables them with supernaturally strong rose darts, allowing the Senshi to give the finishing blow. I have to note; his aim is deadly. His rose darts took down Queen Beryl and Fiore, as well as others. He doesn't leave the scene until he sees the situation is under control and that the girls can handle it from there. In his dying words during the Stars arc, he proclaims that the Senshi will stop Galaxia, that she doesn't stand a chance. He believes in each of the Senshi's strengths and gives them useful advice that they apply to the situation and helps them succeed. In the story, his character supports female heroes and helps them do their best. As a female, I feel completely empowered and inspired by Sailor Moon/Usagi, by each of the Senshi and the story in general. It is rare to see female superheroes kicking butt, in a world of countless Iron Man, Captain America, Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man movies and a less than a handful of Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel movies. A male superhero in a female superhero driven story is not "useless," they simply aren't the star of the battle, and there is nothing wrong with that.

The consensus is that Usagi's kidnapping by Prince Demande is straight-up assault and absolutely repulsive from Demade's part. And rightfully so, Usagi, in tears being grabbed and forced to kiss him is horrible and uncomfortable to watch. Compare this moment to Mamoru's kidnappings. He has been objectified and kidnapped by countless villains in the story. How is this different from Usagi's kidnapping? He is forced to kiss his own daughter possessed by evil, pinned against a wall by Fish's Eye trying to get a kiss from him while he is explicitly rejecting this and saying no, was submitted to bodily possession by Metaria's dark magic on two occasions with Queen Beryl (who is obsessed and infatuated with him) doing who knows what to his unconscious body. I could go on and on, Fiore, An, Mio Kuroki; there are many occasions where Mamoru has been objectified, kidnapped, and assaulted. It is disturbing that so many people interpret this as "weakness" from Mamoru's part. These assaults and objectification are against his will. A man who has been through these horrible experiences is NOT weak. Please don't contribute to this harmful double standard. A person being assaulted is a victim, regardless of their gender.

Finally, in the first episode, when Sailor Moon is crying because she doesn't know how to fight the monster terrorizing her best friend, Tuxedo Mask appears to her and tells her "Sailor Moon, crying won't solve anything." Taken at face value, this comment is bewildering since, in that scenario (and another battle scenario in Sailor Moon SuperS), her crying became ultrasonic and incapacitated her enemies. But this comment goes further, this comment sets the tone for Usagi's series-long journey into maturing and getting over her crying habit; this is part of Sailor Moon’s character development. This personal growth is highlighted in Ep. 74 when Usagi decides to face Rubeus alone to save her friends. She reflects on how, before she would've been a total crybaby if she had to go by herself to defeat a villain, she is amazed at how far she has come emotionally. She realizes that truthfully, "crying won't solve anything." As the seasons go on, her being a self-proclaimed crybaby is still used as a point of comedy, but in the moments of real desperation, she handles herself with maturity and bravery. So, ultimately, she valued what Tuxedo Mask said to her the first time they met.

Usagi and Mamoru's age gap

One of the biggest points of misinformation in Sailor Moon is Mamoru and Usagi's age difference and the legality of their relationship. Mamoru Chiba is 17. At the start of the manga, Takeuchi intended for Mamoru to be as young as 16. Usagi Tsukino starts the story as 14, but she actually isn’t 14 for very long. The Japan school semester begins in April, and her birthday is in June. This means that Seasons 1-3 happen pretty quickly. Therefore the age difference between Mamoru and Usagi isn’t that drastic at all. Furthermore, the fact of the matter is, Mamoru behaves older than he is. Why? He has had to mature very early on in his life. He has had to take care of himself for presumably a long time. Usagi has the perfect nuclear family and at the start of the series and is rather immature. She matures as the series goes on because of her responsibilities as a guardian and protector of the galaxy. At face value, it's easy to judge Mamoru and Usagi's relationship as one with a significant age gap. However, this isn't the case. 2-3 years of age difference is not outstanding at all and in Japan even less so. They are both above the age of consent of 13 and are still both teenagers. Even in the original anime, many scripts list Mamoru as a 17-18-year-old college student, and Usagi becomes 15 early on in the series timeline. He is shown to be extremely intelligent, so being a 17 year old in college is absolutely plausible. An important point to address, he is shown driving a car when the minimum driving age in Japan is 18. However, Haruka is 16 and drives a car and even a helicopter. I’m not losing any sleep over the fact that Mamoru could be driving a car before he is 18.

People argue that if Mamoru were precisely the same age as Usagi, the "problems" would be "fixed." But like I stated earlier, Mamoru behaves more mature because he was forced to be independent and self-sufficient from a very early point in his life. Even at 14, Mamoru would appear and behave much more mature than Usagi does. He is still obviously immature in how he deals with his crush on Usagi. When Takeuchi wrote the story about Serenity and Endymion, she was basing herself on medieval romance stories where the lovers are many years apart in age. Hence, the age gap was intentional in that aspect. Again, as I stated previously, 2-3 years of age difference is hardly noteworthy, especially as the series goes on, and they mature together.

Here is an excellent post that further discusses and debunks the age gap legality rumors: https://tiny012.tumblr.com/post/184025521241/in-the-defense-of-mamoru-chiba-because-bitch-im

Final thoughts and conclusions about Usagi and Mamoru's relationship and Tuxedo Mask

In the end, Usagi and Mamoru mature and grow together; they are each other’s rock. Mamoru becomes a more laid back person around Usagi, like when he takes her to see the cats at the abandoned house to cheer her up in Ep. 91. Usagi asks him, “but are we allowed to go in there?” and he responds, “I don’t know! Who cares!” and hands her a little kitten. I love Diana’s comment in Ep. 146 about how both Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion fake being sick together to get out of meetings and commitments.

Mamoru loves Usagi for who she is; in some ways, she is everything he's not, and he loves her for that - they complete each other; he keeps her grounded while she lifts him up into craziness. And he adores it. Mamoru has told Usagi: "Never apologize for being yourself.”, "Your strong will is what I love about you most.” and “Just being with you makes my life complete.” When Fish’s Eye questioned Mamoru on why he doesn’t want to be with anyone else but Usagi, he responds, "She’s full of dreams. That’s why.” In Stars, as Chibiusa is fading from existence due to Nehellenia’s curse on Mamoru, she pleads that he remembers that both him and Usagi have always shared the same dreams. Mamoru and Usagi are pretty different, sure, but in reality, they have the same visions for the future; they share the same values, and they have the same dreams. They complement each other beautifully, and that is why their love is as strong as it is. Usagi may be a bit clumsy and a crybaby, but in Mamoru's eyes, she's perfect.

People also bring up Mamoru's avoidance of public displays of affection with Usagi as evidence that "he doesn't really love her." In Japan, public displays of affection are seen as rude and inappropriate. When Mamo is alone with Usako, they share countless cute moments. Kisses, hugs, affection.. they love each other. Let's not forget when Mamoru gave Usagi a promise ring at the airport and kissed her like they were the only two people on Earth. His last words were "Usako." He has taken countless blows and stabs in Usagi's place, and she has for him too.

We saw them fall in love over and over, as Serenity and Endymion, and as Bunhead and Jerkface. Even when brainwashed initially in Season 1, Mamoru couldn’t bring himself to hurt her and kept unconsciously helping her succeed. You can brainwash him, kill him, erase his memory, separate him from her, but there is nothing you can do to make Mamoru’s love for Usagi fade. In the words of Toru Furuya, the voice of Mamoru: "He loves Sailor Moon and Tsukino Usagi with his whole heart. I think he’s a very great person."

Finally, Tuxedo Mask gives Sailor Moon strength; he supports her to become the best superhero he knows she can be. He does his best to help the Senshi in battle, but it’s a story about girls protecting the world. Takeuchi wrote this character to fit that narrative; he is one of the characters she holds dearest in her heart. Few people can really understand the beauty of Usako and Mamo together and how Sailor Moon is breaking the stereotypes of gender roles. If you can’t understand that, it’s your loss.

Tuxedo Mask is the hero Tuxedo Mask haters deserve, but not the one they need right now, so they’ll hunt him. Because he can take it, because he’s not a hero. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a Moonlight Knight.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.