#pgsm act 23

[real-life-senshi]

PGSM Reinako things I want to yell about, in no particular order (8/∞)

Act 17 & Act 18 Callbacks & Parallels

Rei and Minako's chance meetings in Acts 17 & 18 were simply iconic in so many ways for setting up Rei and Minako’s story and relationship.

With the number of parallels and callbacks that fit into the show referring back to Acts 17 and 18, to me this is evidence that Rei and Minako's story was well planned from the very start!

[myucornerorg]

Thanks for the tips @widowsresolve!

I am pretty good at proofreading on my own, but it would probably still be good to get a beta reader to read it anyway. I'm a perfectionist.

About the PGSM ideas: thanks! The Naru one was apparently initially inspired by a "write about Naru" fanfic prompt on the sailormoonfans LiveJournal community. (Before I joined Tumblr, Blogger and LiveJournal were my jam). Based on that linked post, I was considering a number of angles for the story and ultimately decided on the "impact on their friendship" idea. Unfortunately, the timing of it (from Act 42 onward) requires Naru to be unconscious a lot to be canon, which makes writing from her POV difficult.

Not sure where the other ideas came from. The initial couple fics are based on Final Act and Special Act respectively and are called "PGSM Another Ending," probably in homage to the Sailor Moon: Another Story video game. The plots so far are as follows:

PGSM Another Ending: Final Act

Tuxedo Kamen is dead, and the very shock of it is enough to transform Usagi into the dangerous Princess Sailor Moon. Only Sailors Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter can save her, and will need to unlock an even greater power to stand any chance. Usagi also must struggle within herself to avoid destroying the world in her grief at Mamoru's death. Can Sailor Moon be saved, or is it too late?

(The "even greater power" would be their Crystal Power/Super forms, probably)

PGSM Another Ending: Special Act

In this sequel to PGSM Another Ending: Final Act, it's now four years later, and Usagi and friends have gone their separate ways. Ami is in med school in America, Rei is training in the mountains of Kyoto, Makoto is dating Motoki and is working to open a florist shop, and a now-revived Minako is back in the idol business. And Usagi? She and Mamoru are about to get married!

But before they can, Mio returns and tries to drive a wedge between the couple. Except this time, the girls can't transform, since Usagi used up the Silver Crystal defeating Beryl and reviving Mamoru and Minako. In the meantime, the Shitennou have revived -- as good guys this time -- and Ami feels her feelings for Nephirite reigniting, while Zoisite shows interest in Minako. Jadeite has no luck with Rei, and Kunzite doesn't even bother. [Or maybe he goes after Ami too?]

But romance will have to wait, now that Mio has returned -- but how will the girls be able to defeat her without their powers? Or is there a way to get them back?

(The second one I guess assumes that the Final Act one will end with a more traditional Serenity vs Beryl confrontation, and that Usagi will revive Mamoru and Minako with the Silver Crystal, and things will go on perhaps minus the time reset seen at the end of Final Act. Also has some Senshi x Shitennou ship stuff)

The "Star Power Stories," the ones about the girls awakening their Star Power henshins, are less developed in plot right now. They are pretty much based on the relevant eps for Usagi (Act 22), Ami (Act 29), Rei (Act 23), and Makoto (Act 31). Minako's story, called "Aino Minako Must Live," is a combo of Acts 40, 45, and 46, combining the "Minako wants to quit being an idol" plot of Act 40 with her character development in Acts 45 and 46.

So those ones need some work, and as I haven't seen PGSM in a while I may need to rewatch it. I did recently find the beginning of a story from Usagi's POV in a notebook of exercises from a book about writing, which is just Usagi waking up late for school again and seems to be set shortly after Venus's initial reveal in Act 12. Not sure if that'll become its own story or be integrated into something else though.

[kosmosinusa]

Myu Tag

Tagged by the lovely @myutoni

1) You are Myu fan since…?

Late 2013, I believe.

2) The 1st Musical you saw?

Black Lady Kaiteiban.

3) Your Favorite Musical?

Watch my video and find out. B)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRkOM57-KDc

4) Your Favorite Sailor Moon Actress?

Miyuki Kanbe, but Satomi Okubo is a VERY close second. xD

5) Say one positive thing about every Sailor Moon Actress.

Anza - Amazing smile and amazing singing. Best of the Moons!

Fumina - I love her. Just yes. Fumina needs more love. <3

Miyuki - LITERALLY PERFECT.

Marina - Marina used to be my favorite Sailor Moon. Her voice is really nice, THE GIRL CAN THROW DOWN IN DANCE, and she’s just adorable. xD

Satomi - ALMOST PERFECT, LOVE HER. xD

Hotaru - She’s adorable. xD She’s not my fave, but, she has Usagi quirks that make me smile. xD

6) Is Sera Myu your favorite version of Sailor Moon?

HELL YE BOI

7) Who is your favorite cast member?

Miyuki Kanbe. <3

8) Are your first favorites your actual favorites? (name them)

Miyuki - Yes Satomi - No, but, I love her. xD Mikako - Yes Karin - Yes Shiori - Yes

9) If you could say one sentence to your myu favorite: What do you want to say him/her?

I wish you were still here with us. Watching your musicals have gotten me through some VERY hard times, and I just want to say thank you for everything. ;;w;;

10) Which Sailor Moon Story do you want on stage?

Princess Snow Kaguya or Sailor V

11) Tell me your top 3 underrated actors.

Airi Kanda - A lot of people prefer Kokoro cause she’s “cuter”, but Airi’s voice and acting slay me. I really wish people would give her a chance. ;W;

Miho Yokoi - She wasn’t the best Pluto, but she actually had a lot of talent and I like her a lot. xD

Gyo Miyamoto - I explained this last night. xD

12) Give 3 actors new roles.

Fumina Hara - Neo Queen Serenity

Kanoko - Queen Beryl (She was WAYYYY too stoic for Jupiter)

Yuka Kobayashi - Sailor Neptune (IDK why, but I think she would make a really nice Neptune. xD)

13) Combine classic and revival myu: What does it look like?

My dreams. xD

14) Revival myu song you want in classic myu?

Music of the Spheres because I love it. xD

15) Tell me an unpopular opinion you have about myu.

I don’t like Ayako Morino. xD

16) Ai no Starshine or Music of the Spheres?

Music of the Spheres, DUH. xD

17) The Last Change or it’s 21st Century Version?

21st Century

18) Choubi Uranus to Neptune or Harsh Saint Cry?

Choubi! =D

19) Is there something about Myu what annoys you?

The fanbase is either really sweet or JUDGMENTAL AS HELL. xD

20) What do you expect for the 2019 Musical?

I have no idea what to expect, I’m just excited. xD

21) How important are dancing abilities of the actors for you?

As long as you can keep up, I don’t care. xD

22) Which Myu Merchendaise you want? (you can name non existing too)

Firstly, all the program books, flyers, and DVDS, thank you. xD But, maybe a Blu Ray collection of all the musicals with official subtitles? That would be amazing! PLUS HD MIYUKI PLS.

23) Are you sad that Luna and Artemis disappered after Gaiden?

*Laughs* Bye Felicia. xD I love Luna and Artemis, but... Maybe they should go with a more PGSM-like approach. xD 

24) And interesting (non-existing) Haru-Michi couple?

Nao and Sayaka pls and thank you. xD

25) Your favorite Moon x Tux Couple?

TBH, Yuuta and Anza. xD

26) Your favorite Musical Only Character?

Sailor Astarte. xD

27) Which character you would play in a musical (senshi, villian etc.)?

If I were a woman, I’d totally be Moon. xD But, I guess I’m stuck with Tux. Please make me do more than throw a rose, let me defeat a villain pls. xD As a Villain, I’d like to play Berserk from Last Dracul cause I think he’s hot. x’D

28) Something else you want to say about Sera Myu?

I love Myu SO much, it makes me so happy just to be a fan. <3 TAG YOURSELF IF YOU WANNA DO IT. xD

[usaghinanami99]

Answering some unasked Sera Myu questions

…I know, no one actually tagged me or asked to do this meme, but @sailorzakuro invited anyone who wants to take part in this challenge and I’m very eager to, so let’s start!

1) You are a Myu fan since…? Short answer: since 2012, aged 13. Long answer (beware, when I say long, I mean very long): you can find a fully detailed axplanation of how I got into Myu somewhere in this post, in the second reblog https://usaghinanami99.tumblr.com/post/170867407508/myucornerorg-usaghinanami99-myucornerorg

2) The first musical you saw? I always watch and read things in strict chronological order, so that was Gaiden. I think you can see how I went on.

3) Your favourite musical? OMG Eien Densetsu Kaiteban is the best musical ever, it’s got such a great soundtrack and the Senshuraku recording is especially touching!

4) Your favourite Sailor Moon actress? QUEEN ANZA FOR LIFE!!!!111!!1

5) Say one positive thing about every Moon actress. Anza: OMG QUEEN I mean: best singer, best actress, best everything… Should I really go on? Fumina: A nice singer and perfectly in-character for a post-manga Usaghi, very calm and compassed compared to others. Miyuki: If there is a queen in Myu (see before), then Miyuki is the princess, she’s so good at everything she does and I love her dearly… and of course I miss her so much! ;( She’s just so skilled that I think of her as a performer who would definitely deserve to be #1, if only there weren’t someone who is even better… this is without diminishing Miyuki’s ability at all! Plus, she’s the one who made me undestand that nasal voices aren’t necessarily terrible, quite the contrary with her case. Marina: WOW like was she really 12 when she started? I could think of many ways to praise her singing, but the most important thing I think about Marina is just “too good for her age” XD Satomi: I respect her very much because I think she’s the one Myu actress who improved awesomely during the course of time. I mean, I have to admit I’m not a fan of her singing and acting from LR through UNV, but when she returned in LMF she literally blew me away and I couldn’t believe she was the same person considering how much she improved. Hotaru: I can really see how she put her whole heart into her performance and that she loved it to death. I find her very relatable because she’s so fangirly she low-key reminds me of myself!

6) Is Sera Myu your favourite version of Sailor Moon? Er… actually, not at all ‘XD While I am absolutely convinced that the manga is the best version of the franchise and the first anime is the worst one, I’m much more torn apart among the other version… It is very hard for me to do a ranking, because I just can’t decide which I love more amongst Crystal, PGSM and Myu!

7) Who is your favourite cast member? ANZAANZAANZAANZAANZAANZAAAA…

8) Are your first favourites your actual favourites? Oh, yes! Anza, Ayako and Yuta have always been my Top 3 and will forever be. I have changed my mind over many actors, in the sense that I’ve come to like many whom I really didn’t care about at first view, but my best favourites will always stay the same

9) If you could say one sentence to your Myu favourite, what do you want to say to him/her? Nothing in particular, really. I’d rather have her sing Usaghi’s lines from Tabidachi for me to enjoy and worship!

10) Which Sailor Moon story do you want on stage? The manga stories which didn’t make it to the stage so far! I get that the short stories would be almost impossible to adapt, but between the Shining Princess’ Lover and the whole of Sailor V there is enough material to go on for at least three years! After that, they could start with some original material… maybe some story set during the Silver Millennium era?

11) Tell me your Top 3 underrated actors. 1: Tomoko Inami 2: Akiko Miyazawa 3: Miki Kawasaki

12) Give 3 actors new roles. Er… Does Anza as Cosmos count? Because, apart from that, I can’t really think of anything else: it’s because the actors I like have always been cast perfectly spot-on, while the ones I don’t… I’d rather have them have no parts at all XD

13) Combine classic and revival Myu: what does it look like? YES YES YES this is actually my greatest fantasy, I would kill to have a musical which combined the strong plotting and characterization of New Myu with the awesome soundtrack and casting of Old Myu

14) Revival Myu song you want in classic myu? Er… None? I’d rather have the exact opposite XD I mean, there are New Myu songs I do like, but they couldn’t ever even dream to compare to the work of goddess Akiko Kosaka.

15) Tell me an unpopular opinion you have about Myu. (Lightly whispering): I actually dislike Yuka Asami both in terms of singing and acting… I have tried to make myself like her to no avail. Now please don’t kill me! Apart from that, there are also some typical fan-favourites like Nao, Yuka and Chieko whom I love but are just number 2 for me because I think there’s someone even better than them… does this count as unpopular?

16) Ai no Starshine or Music of the Spheres? We hear the music of the spheeeeres… Speaking of New Myu songs I enjoy, this is definitely one of the best for me!

17) The Last Change or its XXI Century version? …Can I answer “both”? Lol, this is still another case of two things that are both so good it’s difficult to choose between them… I love both arrangements, Miyuki is QUEEN in both (yes, Marina is also good, but nowhere near her level IMO) and I am both into slow songs and upbeat ones. Actually, this reminds me very much of the issue I’ve got with Dolce Melodia (a song from the Italian dub of Mermaid Melody which you have to listen to NOW), where, after 11 long years, I still can’t understand if I prefer the original upbeat version or the more emotional carillon arrangement… But, while I am a sucker for both genres, slow love songs are definitely my cup of tea - in fact, my best favourite song in the whole freaking world is the main ballad theme from Beauty and the Beast. And while The Last Change is no love song, the original version has go tthis kind of feel to me, so that’s the one I’ll peek… but that’s been a very hard choice! XD

18) Cho Bi Uranus to Neptune or Harsh Saint Cry? Oh, this is much easier? While I do like both very much, the thing is that First Stage >>> everything else IMO ‘XD So it must be Cho Bi.

19) Is that something about Myu that annoys you? THE FREAKING UNRELEASED MATERIAL       I freaking want to have tapes of the four unreleased musicals so much that I’d die for them! Not to mention the reunion concert that Anza & Akiko made in 2015… Also yes, the speaking over the fankans. That’s pretty common, but there’s a reason if everyone is deeply pissed off by it. And the fact that some of the performances were only shown in snippets

20) What do you expect from the 2019 musical? A lot of things, lol. Actually this is getting pretty long, so if you’re really dying to read my opinion about this (I doubt it’s the case, but still), I’ve already made a complete list of my hopes on the purpose which you can find following the link up there.

21)  How important are dancing abilities of the actors for you? …I actually don’t even pay attention to them, and even if I did, I’m far too uncompetent for it to matter much for me. Sorry for the horrible answer ‘XD

22) Which Myu merchandise do you want? FREAKING VIDEOTAPES OF THE UNRELEASED MATERIAL Also official soundtracks for the New Myu and a more complete collection of the instrumental versions of all Myu songs

23) Are you sad that Luna and Artemis disappeared after Gaiden? You can bet on it! I’m also bitter for this because I was sure they would include them when La Reconquista was announced XD

24) An interesting (non-existing) HaruMichi couple? San’ae x Tomoko is my dream, what with them being the best Uranus and best Neptune for me? As for actually existing ones, my favourite is Shu x Sayaka.

25) Your favourite Moon x Tux couple? Anza x Yuta for eveeeer And I’ve also got this forbidden dream of seeing some Miyuki x Yu, I think they would be perfect together for some reason… sadly that’s not possible :(

26) Your favourite musical-only character? Kyaosu. You can beat me now. Also Space Knight, I wonder how it is possible that it didn’t come to my mind first. And yes, I have that sense of humour.

27) Which character would you play in a musical? …No one. I’m definitely not qualified enough to even dream of something like that XD But if I had to choose, than it would surely be my queen Usaghi

28) Something else you want to say about Sera Myu? Sera Myu is awesome, okay? I love it so much and it’s such an important part of my life and it gives me happiness when I’m feeling down and all those things… I sould probably stop now!

Now that this challenge is officially over for me, I tag @myucornerorg into doing it! :)

[real-life-senshi]

FOLKS I DID IT. I'M AWAKE APPROACHING 3AM PST. FOR ACT 23 THE REINAKO EPISODE AND ACT 24. WE ARE SO BACK AND I AM SO SCREWED FOR TOMORROW LMAO.

PGSM fans, come support her! The more support she gets, the more likely she’ll continue the live streams of to cover the whole series!

Reminder: This is how the viewing party typically happens in this format:

It typically takes 30 minutes into the viewing party for the actual episode watching to start.  Miyuu takes the first 30 minutes to recognize everyone who comments on the live chat to say hi to EVERYONE while she snacks/eats dinner. (Her love for food, especially sweets, is very much Usagi-like! lol)

You need to prepare your own copy of the episodes and click play alongside Miyuu. 

Miyuu will count folks down on when to click start on watching each episode.

Miyuu watches the series through boxed DVDs, so every 4 episodes, she’ll also watch the DVD special “Oshiokiyo” talks directly following the episodes.

Miyuu will have her headphones when watching the episode, and you can see and listen to her live comments and reactions without pause (unless her cat Roku interrupts lol).

Because of this, you can even watch the episodes ahead and write down any comments or questions you want to share in Japanese (with help of translation tools as needed) ahead of time, and just post into the live chat for Miyuu when the time comes! :)

Miyuu reads English and she literally reads through all the messages on chat. If it’s a simple answer, she will also respond in English to an English message. She even says hi to you even if you joined in the middle of the live stream!  She’s very sweet, hilarious, and awesome!

Fair warning: Miyuu hasn’t watched the series for a long time, so while she knows the main plots of the series and don’t mind discussing it, she is quite hazy on the details of each episodes or the order of how events unfold specifically. Which means not only is she “rewatching” and “reacting” to the episode content to viewers, but she often is genuinely surprised or shocked by how things happening in an episode, going “Oh that’s what happened?!” or “I forgot about that!!!!” So if you plan to chat about episode details with her, try to not “spoil” her too specifically, but tease her and get her even more excited so she’ll continue the viewing party! lol

The more support she gets, the more likely she will go through the whole series!

[real-life-senshi]

The character songs making Miyuu feel nostalgic is such a vibe!

Not Miyuu making fun of how Usagi only transformed after finding the Youma and Sailor Venus. LMAO

Ah.... the classic reminiscing of "Oh the floor was slippery..." XD

Miyuu also made fun of the weird helicopter noise during Mars's transformation in Act 23...

Miyuu realized Act 23 has no Makoto at all... it's one of the episodes Mew probably was busy and had a schedule clash for filming.

Miyuu laughing at how Minako's outing Rei's secret identity in the name "Mars Reiko". lol

Miyuu currently sporting a really short hair, was having a moment of remembering how long her hair was when acting as Usagi.

Miyuu said Rei's Sakura Fubuki was her favourite character song because of how cool it sounds! 🌸

[real-life-senshi]

I can only imagine the horror Rei felt running into this scene.

Like she thought she overthinked things and was wrong to doubt her Princess, only to turn out she was right in the worst way possible because now it looks like she's too late.

Nephrite's shit eating grin and how he is hurting Venus is definitely playing with fire here (haha get it?). I do wonder if Mars roasting Nephrite so thoroughly in Act 23 was also part payback for this.

The most overused yet useless phrase in Tokusatsu series has to be this... "Hold it right there" (待ちなさい, machinasai). The enemy's never gonna comply. lol

I am so glad by the time I found PGSM I can just binge the whole thing, because had I need to wait for another week with this cliff hanger, I think I'd not survive it!!! And the end of ep teaser for Act 20 did a really good job to not give any hints on what happens next with Rei and Minako as well.

And this is the end of Act 19! FUCKING FINALLY. I think it'd be easier to go back into liveblogging now that I've passed this hurdle. haha

[real-life-senshi]

PGSM Reinako things I want to yell about, in no particular order (7/∞)

This is actually THE ONE THING that made me start this series of gif set, but it took me forever to put my thoughts into words. But it's finally here and I'm SO EXCITED to talk about it!

Fair warning - this is an essay.

Across the years I've seen many Reinako shippers used Rei following Minako around in Act 19/20 and Act 23 in the live action as proof that Rei has feelings for Minako. While I don't disagree, I do feel Rei being the one to seek Minako out was circumstantial and justifiable because Rei was literally the only Senshi then that knew Minako was Venus. Instead, there was something else both Rei and Minako consistently do to each other for the entirety of the series that I felt had more impact to the narrative of their story, but often get overlooked and not talked about enough, and that’s Minako's act of walking away and Rei's act of staying behind.

The significance of Minako walking away: Walking away or pulling a disappearing act is one of the most common thing we see Minako do, not only to Rei, but with everyone else. (E.g. Such as V walking out on Moon in Act 7, Minako disappearing on Saitou for Senshi business.) It's a recurring theme to help build the impression of elusiveness and secrecy that surrounds Minako's character. But more deeply, the act of walking away is also a device to represent the main issue Minako needed to overcome in her character arc - in prioritizing the past life mission, she was running away from what's most important, herself as Aino Minako. Her Senshi power literally woke after she accepted herself and chose to face the challenge Aino Minako faces, instead of only focusing on the challenges of Sailor Venus.

Now this in itself seems like it's really just a Minako thing, right? Where does Rei fit in?

The significance of Rei's act of staying: PGSM Minako is the the queen of the hot-and-cold behaviour, especially when she's with Rei. And her signature "cold" gesture is walking out on Rei. In fact, as you can see from this gif set, I've counted 14 times where Minako had walked out on Rei on screen in the series, and 4 other times she attempted to walk away but was stopped. Even for the normal person, you'd think when someone keeps pissing you off and runs out on you, your patience would be spent and just give up on them, right?

Now, PGSM Rei is written as the awkward, stubborn and easy to anger teenager. And don't forget, with Rei's backstory fleshed out as much as it did in PGSM, it's basically confirmed that Rei suffered badly from parental abandonment, so it's not much of a reach to interpret Rei's trust issue to be born from acts of someone she cares leaving her behind or showing rejection. And so it should reason that Rei would be doubly pissed off at Minako's seemingly flippant and callous behaviour, and couldn't wait to pass Minako off to Makoto and Ami to deal with once they know Minako is Venus, right?

But no, Rei stayed, every single time.

Despite all the crap Minako threw at Rei and repeatedly rejected Rei's support, Rei didn't react with her usual knee-jerk reactions. This, more than anything else, proves to me that Rei sees Minako as someone special - someone she could not and would not turn away from, even when Minako keeps pushing her away.

These actions forms a very beautiful, and dare I say, romantic narrative to their shared story. Here's why.

PGSM has established that all along Minako had made the conscious decision to not get deeply involved with her teammates for fear she'll end up hurting them when her illness inevitably takes her. In doing so, she boxed herself into a self-imposed isolation as her health worsens and things get tougher.

And yet in Act 11 and Act 17 when Minako met Usagi and then Rei, the narrative revealed to us that loneliness does unsurprisingly overwhelm Minako from time to time. This changed partially though when she accidentally revealed her identity to Rei. In doing so, she gave herself the choice and space to be outspoken with someone who is (at least partially) in-the-know besides Artemis. The fact Minako repeatedly approached Rei in Act 18 was evidence she actually craved the contact when she lets her guard down, to the point even Artemis had to call her out on it. And so, in moments of clarity, we see Minako try to backtrack by pushing Rei away, ie walking out on Rei. The cycle persists, where Minako's behaviour fluctuates depending on her state of mind, her backstory sadly but logically explains Minako's sometimes seemingly-random hot and cold attitude towards Rei.

In contrast to Minako's unreliable and mixed signals, Rei was the definition of stability and certainty in this relationship. Yes, Rei had indeed followed Minako around a few times, but more than that, Rei stayed and was consistently there, waiting to be available for Minako even when Minako didn't want Rei to be. Rei knows when to initiate contact (chase after Minako), but also knows to not push Minako too much too soon, choosing to stay put when Minako is actively pulling back. She lets Minako go most times when Minako walks away, as if patiently waiting to try again another day, hoping the next time will be enough to fully bring Minako's walls down. Rei knew she was in it for the long haul, not for momentary wins.

This back and forth dynamic is a persistent theme in their relationship. It can be perceived that Rei's tenacity and relentless efforts had managed to wore Minako's guard down slowly but surely throughout the series.

Act 20: Minako finally shared Rei was meant to be leader, hinting Rei needs to step in when she’s gone.

Act 36: Minako chose to disclosed the truth about her terminal illness to Rei.

It was only after Act 36, we see Rei being even more persistent and takes drastic measures in attempt to get through to Minako, because Rei realized they were out of time. But even then, their dynamic didn’t really change - Minako being the runner and Rei being the person left waiting, until…

The times their role reversed, the other AMAZING thing about all of this!

Minako walking away and Rei staying is THEIR thing. But has Rei ever walked out on Minako? The answer is yes. But only 2 times! And both times it had significant impact on Minako.

The first time was when Rei ran out to fight the Youma, and that led to Minako being overly worried and end up accidentally revealing her Senshi identity to Rei.

The second time was when Minako finally pushed Rei so much in front of the team, Rei pulled back and walked out in Act 44, reversing their usual roles. And you can tell from Minako's reaction she looked lost and conflicted as she watched Rei leave. Here was someone who had been a rock and pillar of care and support to her, now seemingly giving up on her because she finally shoved too hard. Between Makoto's near miss in Act 45 and the fact that Rei actually walked out on Minako in Act 44, Minako was shocked enough for her to finally listen and process what Rei's been telling her all this time. This ultimately lead to the resolution of Minako's character arc in Act 46.

In conclusion, their action forms a pattern to their story and deepens the meaning behind their choice to follow, stay or walk away from each other. When the pattern is disrupted it adds complexity of their story! Seriously, it feels like Rei's actions was catalyst of Minako's major character story development! Just as many of Minako's story influenced Rei's outlook on their mission and the past life (another post to come!), Rei's action had just as much influence on Minako's eventual character growth. If that doesn't prove these two are special to each other, I don't know what else to say!

Now - you'd think I'm done with my soapbox, right? NOPE. I've only finished talking about how these actions form patterns and the significance in their story. But the visual and filming appraoch of each of these scenes are also very telling. VERY.

Each time Minako walked away, it is intentional that Rei's reaction get highlighted on camera, even in group scenes. As well, we also get really telling reactions from Minako when Rei walks out on her. And that's regardless of which director led the filming.

Sato Takemitsu - Act 17, 18, 23

Takamaru Masataka - Act 20, 26

Maihara Kenzo - Act 40

Suzumura Nobuhiro - Act 43, 44, 47

It suggests either the script writer Kobayashi Yasuko intentionally scripted for Rei and Minako to have the spotlight for reacting to each other's action so all the directors received the same fucking memo about them. OR, even better, it wasn't part of the camera/filming direction, but all the directors have arrived to the same conclusion after reading the script and decided to put the spotlight on these two no matter which episodes they worked on, because the unresolved sexual tension was clear as day for them to see.

And especially Keiko did amazingly on her part portraying Rei’s attraction towards Minako. Regardless if it's a group scene or not, Rei/Mars always had the most expressive and meaningful look on her face when Minako/Venus walks out. Even in Act 22 when Mars was just in the background with Jupiter, you can tell Mars’s eyes and body following Venus’s direction while Jupiter just stands flatly.

Rei/Mars' reaction to Minako/Venus leaving also changes across the series. From frustration/irritation, to hopeful yearning, ending with worried yearning. A reflection of Rei's feelings for Minako, from seeing her an annoying brat of a Princess, to respecting Minako as a mentor, to caring for her as a friend (and maybe more).

And look at this shit!!!!!!!!

Act 20 and 26 were done by the same director. The two scenes are basically parallel to each other visually and artistically, which is also so layered when juxtaposed to the plot point:

Act 20: Minako tells Rei that Rei's meant to be leader, and Rei follows Minako wanting to learn more while expressing concern for her Princess's well being and safety.

Act 26: Mars grown enough to start taking on the leadership, and follows Venus in attempt to invite Venus to integrate with the team now Venus no longer need to play decoy, only for Venus to turn around and claims she's actually the leader and Mars is the substitute.

Lastly, the most beautiful yet absolute worst visual the PGSM directors gave us:

Even the imagery of Minako's passing just as Mars breaks down was of Minako walking away, leaving Rei behind. That shit can't be made up. If the imagery was coincidental, well, that's one hell of a coincidence.

These factors all lead to me concluding PGSM had very intentionally used the acts of walking away and staying behind as recurring theme in Reinako's relationship. The length they went to do this and the tragically beautiful story it gave us forms a much more compelling reason for audience to ship Reinako. In fact, this is the very primary reason why I fell in love shipping them in PGSM.

[real-life-senshi]

PGSM Reinako things I want to yell about, in no particular order (6/∞)

The significance of Mars’s upgraded Youma Taisan!

It took me awhile to get my thoughts fully together about this because they were so scattered. After much thinking and struggles, here’s my attempt to explain why I think Mars’ attack is significant to the Reinako relationship!

Point (1):  The upgraded Youma Taisan was manifested from Mars’s power awakening, and like I mentioned in my previous post, the first thing Rei/Mars does is using this save Venus (and Moon...) from Nephrite!  And looking at the plot of Act 23, Mars’s power woke because Minako tricked Rei into a task to get a lesson across.  So here’s the first point of connection and significance already!

Point (2): There’s significance from the PGSM filming and post-production crew’s choices of WHEN to show us audience the full sequence of Mars’ upgraded Youma Taisan. This happened only twice.  Of course it makes sense for it to be shown in Act 23 when her power awaken, but when’s the next and only time we get to see the full fury dance like sequence before she attacks???  Act 47 after Rei learns of Minako’s passing. 

While Mars does use her upgraded powers often after Act 23, as shown in Act 24, 34, and 43, but in all these other instances they were all just a shortened/cut/partial display of the full fiery dance.  We only see the fully upgraded Youma Taisan in the two episodes where Rei has significant interaction with Minako. From this, I seriously think the production crew had made a conscious decision to associate the display of Mars upgraded attack as a plot tool/device for demonstrating Rei and Minako’s relationship.  And what a display it is, which brings me to my next point!

Point (3): The level of power behind Mars’ upgraded attack is heavily influenced by Rei’s reaction of Minako’s situation! 

In Act 23, Mars obliterated Nephrite with her Youma Taisan - but it was one strong blow, quick without prolonged suffering for her enemy. She only did what was necessary, and there was no wrath or malice behind her attack, just a mission to fulfill and a princess to save. In fact, Mars herself was just as surprised by her own power as was Venus and Moon, as you can see her reaction and deep breathing after her attack ended.  Rei in Act 47 though…

Rei in Act 47, you can tell from the same attack how heartbroken she was.  The elegance in her posture was lost, instead it was jerky and forceful, as if she was struggling to control herself - which we know she was struggling with her emotions, but also possibly her own power as influenced by her emotions.  The result of this was her attack was MORE than enough to stop and overpower the Youma in her first blow, but instead Mars seemed to have deliberately pushed for a second round of fire. You can totally see the Youma writhing in pain before vanishing. Like, was it necessary? The Youma probably couldn’t even attack if it wanted to, but Rei was determined to destroy it in the most painful way possible.  

Was it just to let off steam as a coping mechanism?  Was it a form of revenge on the past life crap, and in extension, the enemy for existing and leading to Minako being taken from her? Who knows. But dear god, it was heartwrenching to watch.

Point (4): In the Final Act when Venus’s Star Tambourine was summoned along with Mars’s, we see the sequence of how Mars used the gadgets to summon the twin Mars and Venus daggers.  The motions starts off exactly the same as the upgraded Youma Taisan’s fiery dance as she held her own and Minako’s tambourine.  When I saw that, I just completely exploded with feelings in addition to my initial shock of seeing Mars even having Venus’s weapon.  (I was SO shocked the first time I saw the Final Act!!!)

[real-life-senshi]

LMFAO NOT MIYUU GIGGLING OVER HOW MAMORU TRIED TO HIDE ZOISITE'S APPEARANCE IN THE APARTMENT FROM HINA, COMPARING IT TO AS IF MAMORU WAS HIDING AN AFFAIR FROM HINA.

I HADN'T EVEN THOUGHT OF THAT. MAMORU HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH ZOISITE IS TOO FUNNY!

WE STARTED ACT 23! LET'S GO

[real-life-senshi]

If you think I wasn’t gonna gif this, then YOU DON’T KNOW ME AT ALL!

As much as I say I love pgsm overall, my top favourite and biggest investment is the character develop the story provides, and that means I actually pay attention a lot more to when the girls are interacting as part of their daily life instead of when they are transformed. 

Ever since I first laid eyes on this sequence of individual character intro, I fell in love with it! It’s a great way to tell you who the Senshi are, and everyone probably gets what this all means if they’ve had prior exposure to Sailor Moon in some other media format.  The only one that would raise any eyebrows would be Minako. 

BUT. Once you get to know the pgsm!Senshi as themselves, separate from manga or anime, I find the imagery of those scenes VERY interesting. It’s interesting because some of them I actually don’t think aligned with how the characters are portrayed and developed over the series. 

Usagi - Okay, no complains about this one. Be in her pink and fluffy bedroom, happy and cheerful! 120% Usagi for sure. 

Ami - Typical, there’s a book.  True that if Ami is engaging in any activity outside of her home, she would still have a book with her! But that’s assuming she would take the effort to engage something so leisurely.  How Ami is portrayed pre-Senshi is she would isolate herself intentionally and read in a corner.  She eats sandwiches because she can read and eat at the same time, and knowing this Ami, probably also because she prefers being frugal and saving all that money for med school! If she goes out, she’s gonna be at the library.  It would have made so much more sense if we see Ami in a library, smiling shyly and quietly while introducing her Senshi form instead.

Rei - Shrine. Predictable and accurate. No complains, Keiko looks great and I love her so much I can’t love her more.  I mean to be 120% Rei, she should be glaring, but it’s the intro, we can’t scare kids off right here.

Makoto - OKAY. HERE WE GO. While we keep playing up the tomboyness Makoto shows, she has NEVER consciously chose to dress “manly.” Yeah we don’t see her in dresses or skirts normally, but she also never actually looked like she was trying to imitate men’s style. Just more unisex stuff or less fluffy and whatnot.  Makoto knows how to dress and make it fashionable (except for that one toque with the overly large pom pom on her head) , and a whole big part of Act 8 was Makoto showing her side of warmth and actual love for cute things, and throughout the series also being okay with embracing her more feminine side and have a lover instead of just being considered as the tall brute among her peers. So yes, I actually have issue with the look they gave Mako in the opening sequence.  The baseball cap is highly unnecessary (except for being use as a prop later), we know she’s playing baseball because she has a glove and threw out a baseball!   But also, I love that she could the Senshi version of herself. Like’s who’s throwing her????!!!!! lol

Minako - Minako is Minako.  There’s nothing I could really nitpick on this, though I do feel like we sorely lack opportunities of seeing idol!Minako interact with her fans besides Act 23 when she was with the children the hospital.  We don’t know if Minako actually prefers to be more standoff-ish and embracing the celebrity feels when interacting with her more mature fans, or if she’s actually likes to interact more directly.  It’s just something to note.  And obviously Minako would never showcase her Senshi to the public. :P