What are these two modes of learning? Hell, what are these concepts? Whether you know it or not, you practice a little bit of both and each of them have their strengths and weakness. However, the latter is taught and applied a little too much in our everyday life that we forget to see the forest for the tress.
Look at that pretty forest!
Can’t see the forest for the trees. . .
That’s a familiar idiom isn’t it? It means that if you obsess on the details, you miss the big picture. This idiom is also a very useful way of remembering what the two modes of learning are. I will be referring to this idiom frequently throughout the the article. I will start however by tackling the trees; procedural learning.
A Dragon Ball vs. Sailor Moon crossover fighting game would be dope. Broken, a nightmare to balance, and to equalize everyone but dope.
Gameplay wise, it should play like a weird cross between DBZ Hyper Dimension with the multi-tier levels system from that game and the face pace action of a Guilty Gear game. Throw in a tag system similar to the Marvel vs. Capcom series. Both series deal with team work so a tag system make sense. Lord Frieza and Queen Beryl vs. Goku and Sailor Moon.
Think about it.
DBZ and SM characters interaction would be something to see. Imagine Sailor Pluto dogging Future Trunks on the ethics of time travel. Professor Tomoe (manga) and Dr. Gero working together on genetic engineering, using Tomoe’s Daimon technology, and creating more cyborgs. Plus both are experienced in the fine art of turning young girls into robots.
I ain’t wrong.
Seriously. I ain’t.
Hell, imagine the younger Z Warriors, (was that the legit name of that team or a dub name) Goten and Trunks up against the younger Sailor Scouts, Saturn and Mini-Moon. Granted, Trunks and Goten would have to fuse into SSJ3 Gotenks to even have a chance against Saturn and Mini-Moon cuz hax lol.
You don’t even need Gotenks. Saturn would end the Buu Arc in three seconds. Or Super Buu just absorbs Saturn and everyone dies lol.
Balancing and power scaling would be a nightmare. Sailor Moon verse is stronger than the DBZ verse due to hax so there are issues with that. Stats will have to be equalized. It would not be a fun game if the Sailor Scouts just body everyone on the Dragon Ball side.
Finally, a Vegito Blue vs. Neo Queen Serenity beam struggle. Imagine that.
Digibro recently released a video called “On the Need for a Cabal of Anime Gurus”. I think we can (and should) push the word “cabal” aside for now, since the connotations of that word are (or should be) problematic for critics and I don’t think it’s really what Digibro is envisioning. If you haven’t watched the video and are interested in reading this post or discussing this topic, you should go watch it. Anyway, instead of a cabal, I read this video as Digi wanting a mass elevation of the baseline of anime-related knowledge and context. The video implies that this knowledge can be promoted by—and this context should be in relation to—a group of anime YouTubers and bloggers. To use his own words, these creators are all “having different conversations that should be together.”
An immediate thought would be to hyperlink the content…
[Please note: This was a free write that was writte during the middle of the night. As such, there are some grammar and spelling issues. You have been warned]
With Lord Zeno’s plan of erasing Universes with low morality such as Universe 7 and 9, I wonder if Zamasu on to something. I mean, Zamasu was pissed that the gods weren’t doing their jobs taking care of the shitty mortals so he took matters into his own hands.
Granted, he wasn’t allowed to do that as a Kaioshin (God of Creation) but he felt that he needed to, for the sake of justice.
It is weird though. If Zeno wanted to take out those universes then Zamasu could had just chill and let Zeno do the dirty work. Both had the same idea. Take out the horrible universes with the horrible mortals.
Granted I mean Zamasu would had die as he would had gotten wipe out along with Universe 7 but Zamasu being erased would kept the rest of the universes safe.
Hell, Zamasu may have been one of the factors of Zeno wanting to erase Universe 7. That nigga was pretty crazy, wanting to wipe out all humanity because of a few bad mortals. Hell, Universe 9 has a scum bag Kaioshin as well.
But maybe Zamasu was right. Maybe he was on to something.
Lupin the 3rd (1971). One of my favorites anime series of all time.
Everyone has an opinion on what makes an anime great. Some people love storytelling. Others enjoy aesthetics and art direction.
I love storytelling and music personally. I love direction synergy between art and music tones.
We all bring in our own personal bias and taste when viewing anime, considering what will make or break an anime.
Anime is a visual medium. I like anime series that can play off the aesthetics of the series. Visuals are narrative. It gives aids the story’s tone.
Directors can use visual tones to emote viewers’ emotional reaction.
Example: The conclusion of Yusuke and Suzuki’s fight (Yu Yu Hakusho).
Series animation director AkiyukiShinbo uses vibrant surrounding white light transiting into black and. dark shading on Yusuke. It sets a depressing feeling; that Yusuke died putting his life energy to defeat Suzaku.
Yu Yu Hakusho (1992)
Along with visual tone, a great anime needs a convincing story. The story needs interesting written characters with motivation. I like characters that are written in a way that can relate to naturally.
Son Gohan of Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (1994). I love his goofy and carefree nature as Great Saiyaman.
Most of my favorite anime characters are written like this. If I relate to a character, I care for them. I root for them to overcome their issues and improve overtime. This factor makes the character seem more human.
Mob from the 2016 anime series “Mob Psycho 100” is a character that fits this.
Despite blessed with everlasting psychic power, Mob wants to improve in other accepts in his school life. Rather than joining his school’s supernatural club, he joins the athletic Body Improvement club.
He aims to nurture his weak psychical strength and body.
Mob and Musashi. Mob Pyscho 100 (2016)
He wants to improve his weak body by strengthen it. He could have easily joined a club suited to natural skills. However, Mob wants something more in life than just relying on his natural gifts.
This makes him feel human. This makes me relate to him because I want to improve in life. We all do.
Finally, a great anime needs a prominent music. Similar to visual, music sets tone. Music is narrative. Music is expressive. Music should reflect the mood of the scene.
I want to experience the same shock and amazement of Kyon, a normal teenager, as he was spectating reality wrapping aliens Yuki and Ryoko fighting inside a data field. Hell, I want the music to make me believe that I am Kyon.
Ryoko vs. Yuki from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2007)
I believe music can do this to my emotions. The right usage of a background song can impact and trigger the emotional accepts of my core. This enhances the anime for me.
As diverse individuals, we have our ideas on what make a great anime. We bring in our own taste and ideas that reflects what we want in an anime. Visual, sound, character story and tone. We use those factors to build standard of quality.
REFERENCES:
Ryoko vs. Yuki Fight Theme .
Love the song’s usage of of techno-like percussion, violins, cellos, and synths to create an alien sound.
Super Saiyan 4 Goku will be making a return to Dragon Ball Super on the March 3rd episode of Dragon Ball Super as Goku taps into his SSJ4 state from Dragon Ball GT against Universe 9’s Crusher Bergamo. Confirmed by Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation in JUMP magazine.
Fans will be pleased of the return of the popular SSJ4 state after nearly 20 years of the transformation not being seen on Dragon Ball tevelvisison media.
I’m going to be honest with you guys: Obvious bullshit clickbait was obvious. Please do not believe these misleading clickbait articles, websites (coughcoughBlastingNewscoughcough), YouTubers in the Dragon Ball (and anime) communities.
Misleading clickbaiters like to prey on your love of your favorite series and characters. These folks use that to their advantage to generate traffic, thus gaining money from lies.
If the author or YouTuber doesn’t have credible or official sources, they’re most likely being dishonest.
However, this is not to say mistakes do not happen.
There are innocent content creators who mean well and do not know they’re spreading lies and misinformation. Educate them to help them improve their content with trustworthy sources.
Clickbait isn’t inherently evil. Clickbait images and titles are useful as long as you’re truthful about the subject matter in relation to the image and title in your video or post.
Just don’t fuckin’ lie about your shit.
FURTHER READING (as in legit DBZ news not bullshit BlastingNews or double4anime trash. These niggas don’t bullshit.)
The largest Dragon Ball fan community website. Well known for trustworthy and offical Dragon Ball news, articles, interview translations, and reading material.
Question: Have you ever wonder why a certain character is your favorite? The answer can be as simple as you think they’re cool and awesome or deep such as you have a relatable personal connection to that character.
I believe everyone has that one (or more) character that they can relate to. You probably relate to the character because of similar personality traits.
We like to see ourselves in characters we favor most. We appreciate these characters because they remind us of ourselves. This is how I am with my favorites. I love my favorites because I see myself in them.
Kanji Tatsumi from the 2008 video game Persona 4 is somebody I love. I can relate to his issues.
Kanji has a complex with his identity as a man. He enjoys sewing, knitting, and cute things.
Generally speaking, those hobbies are stereotyped as feminine and thus, he has a complex about his masculinity and sexuality.
Years prior to Persona 4, Kanji was bullied for his hobbies. He was taunted with homophobic slurs and other forms of name calling by his classmates. This fucked him up mentality.
Young Kanji (Persona 4 manga – 2012)
Kanji develops a tough guy facade to combat (and mask) his insecuirties. He bleaches his hair blonde, starts weight lifting, pierces his ears, and wear attire to reflect his “manliness”.
It’s a bullshit front to hide his unresolved issues.
Kanji would eventually accept himself. He gains confidence embracing his “feminine” hobbies and learn to be open with his passion (it’s a story best saved for a more in-depth analysis post in the future).
Kanji’s struggle with his identity and self-acceptance was a reminder of my teen years. My enjoyment of nerdy hobbies such as video games and anime resulted in being bullied and called an “oreo” (black on the outside, white on the inside) and being accused of “acting white”.
An “Oreo” or whatever. Stupid ass term.
Shit was goofy and baseless but it impacted me mentality growing up.
I knew I was black. I knew I wasn’t trying to be white. However, being fuck with and bullied for my hobbies by my black peers fucked my head up.
I developed a fear of expressing my nerdiness openly. I was afraid that people would judge me for being black and nerdy. Didn’t help that I had low self esteem pile on as well.
It took going to college to get over this fear. In college, I found other black peers who openly enjoy nerdy things and being conformable with both their racial and nerd identity.
I was inspired to do the same. To say fuck the judgement niggas and do me. To embrace myself. I became my true self and felt accepted.
Today, I am not only just confident in myself but also I am happy. Happy that I finally could be me and be understood without fear. Happy that I was able to accept who I am.
Kanji’s issues with his identity and accepting who he was reminded me of my younger days: A young kid dealing with his own issues with it and coming to terms with loving myself.
It was a struggle of self-conscious issues and fear of rejection but I learned to overcome those fears.
When it comes to relating to an anime character I would say Hotaru Tomoe from Pretty Solider Sailor Moon is one of my top choice.
Hotaru Tomoe (Sailor Moon Infinity – 1994)
I’m a huge fanboy of the Hotaru/Saturn character. While it is dope that she can blow up a planet or even a galaxy with her powers, my love for the character comes from finding parallels in her core personality in Sailor Moon Super (SMS) and me growing up.
Hotaru in SMS is introduced as a shy, quiet, socially awkward, bullied and weird girl who doesn’t have any friends (prior to meeting Chibi-Usa and the Inner Sailor Scouts). She keeps to herself and doesn’t interact with othrrs due to her fears of being shun, bullied and teased by others.
Hotaru’s fears resulted from being mocked and rejected by her peers because of her general weirdness (her healing powers and random, but violent, mood swings from being possessed by Mistress 9) so it’s understanding why she did not open up to anyone before befriending Chibi-Usa.
Hotaru first encountered Chibi-Usa,who had hurt herself chasing her hat. Seeing her hurt, Hotaru offer to heal Chibi-Usa’s wound.
Chibi-Usa was amazed by her power. Hotaru was surprised that Chibi-Usa didn’t freak out or thought of her as weird or creepy as others thought of her powers in the past.
(Granted Chibi-Usa IS a superpowered time traveling princess like Future Trunks from Dragon Ball Z. Healing factor ain’t shit to her but I am getting off topic).
The two became best friends from that day forth. Hotaru didn’t dwell on how different she was from her new friend because she was just happy to be accepted for who she was. She was able to open up to somebody.
“That’s my best friend, that’s my best friend, flexin”
Growing up, I was bullied a lot for my weirdness and awkward nature. I’m also rather shy and quiet (expect when I am drunk. I am not quiet nor shy when drunk).
It takes a while for me to open up to people due to my own fears from the past (the fear isn’t as bad as it used to be in my youth). If I do open up to somebody its because I vavule that person deeply and I feel like they will accept me.
I get overwhelm with joy each time I can connect with somebody despite how different I feel about myself. It is a great feeling to be accept despite what fears may hold me back.
To conclude, I believe everyone has at least one character they love because of one or many similar triat. Being able to connect with a character is a wonderful feeling because you see yourself in him or her.
I was able to see myself in Kanji from Persona 4 and Hotaru from Sailor Moon S because I shared similar traits those characters had. They became some of my favorite characters in their respected medium because of the parallels I had with their personality.
(I am never fucking editing on a phone ever again)
The infamous Goku vs. Beerus fight scene from Dragon Ball Super Ep. 5 (2015)
Anime fans heard this before: “This anime had a lot of budget so that’s why it looks good”.
People like to say this goofy shit: “The anime ran out of budget towards the end, that’s why it looks bad.”
The myth of budget influencing anime quality is bullshit. The human mind and creativity is not limited to money. Cash doesn’t give you better or worse valve in production.
Budget is used for hiring manpower, directors, and producers. A higher budget brings in the top leading and seasoned forces of the anime industry. That’s it. Budget does not determine quality.
So if budget doesn’t influence the quality of an anime then what does make or break it?
The answer: Time and talent.
Anime: One Punch Man. Highly praised for its quality animation (2015)
Time can be an enemy or an ally of a production company. Say Toei Animation (a large animation company) only has four weeks and a less manpower to complete an episode of Dragon Ball Super (DBS) before the air date. Now compared that to One Piece (OP) having a month and more manpower to complete an episode.
Dragon Ball Super is going to have garbage quality due to the lack of time and manpower. One Piece will look better because there was more time and people to work on that episode.
Talent varies from person to person. A more talented mother fucker will bring in more quality for the show. A lesser talent brings down the quality of the show. In short: High talent + more time = Better production. Low talent + less time = garbage quality.
We can compare the quality of an anime series to a restaurant.
A quality meal at a restaurant is dependent on the skills of the cook and how much time they have to make your food. If you go to Taco Bell, you’re going to have less quality in food production because it’s fast food. That worker being paid $7.50/hr or $15/hr to make your fake ass tacos won’t make a difference. They’re limited to time. Remember that less time means less quality.
Besides, that shit is garbage to your body regardless.
A real Mexican restaurant will valve higher quality in food production because they can afford to have extra time high talent (plus the food is better overall). The workers know what they’re doing and have the skills to back it up.
Anime production works like that. Honestly, it’s stupid to think cash will have an impact on the the show. Animators are underpaid in Japan. It’s for real goofy to think that a show will become great or terrible because of the misconception that cash makes you better at your craft. Your mind, your time, and your dedication means quality.
Budget having an effect on quality is bullshit. You can give everyone on the production team a six-figure salary. That doesn’t mean you’ll get a better product. Time and talent dictates value. More time and better talents gives us quality. Cash does rule everything around us yes but cash doesn’t improve skillsets or talent.
The Universe Survival” arc of Dragon Ball Super introduce fans to a brand new ending theme song for the series titled “An Evil Angel and Righteous Devil” by Japanese rock band “The Collectors” (ザ・コレクターズ).
The Collectors.
The song is told in the perspective of a man stuck between an angel and demon with an unnatural friendship. The man doesn’t know who is right and reflects on the options given to him by the pair. Towards the end he realizes whatever choice he makes will ultimately have the same sorrowful result.
Just like in the film and television industries, the anime industry use lyrical theme songs to narrative the plot for animated series’s arc (season) and Dragon Ball Super is no exception.
As both an anime and music fan I love when the ending theme of an anime provides clues to the story. Music helps tells the narrative of any show in my opinion. In this post I will give my analysis on the song and what possible clues and theories it may have in relation to the current arc.
(NOTE: This is all speculation and holds no solid truth to anything for the arc.)
“An angel and a demon are sitting together like friends I’m in the middle Which way do I face?”
The friendship of the demon and angel confuses the character. This results in him not knowing who to face. Normally demons and angels opposed one another but we have these two just chilling like bros. It doesn’t help that the angel is evil and the demon is righteous.
It’s a twist on the classic Shoulder Angel and Shoulder Demon trope. Rather than the angel and demon fighting one another to win you over, they’re on friendly terms. Seems pretty suspicious.
Dragon Ball fans have theorized that the angel and demon may have some influences on the Tournament of Power or at the least influences on a certain character.
“Either destroy myself or destroy everything else.”
The character has two dire choices.
Choice 1: He could destroy himself to escape the politics of the tournament, the demon and angel who shouldn’t be friends by nature, and the tournament itself.
Choice 2: Fuck everything else. Destroy them all for all he cares,
The theme of destruction is interesting in this line and for the arc as a whole. Remember that the losing teams of the Tournament of Power will have their universe’s existence destroy. Survival means destroying all others to protect your universe. In short: It’s destroy or be destroyed.
“They scream it in my ear all night.
Is there a right answer to this?”
All sides are presenting the character with voices but none are the clear, right answer. This is assuming if there are any at all.
An interesting note: The music video of this song portrays a solider at war dealing with the politics behind it. Now, I am not a solider and I have never been in a war. However I can assume being a solider at war is about making unclear moral choices and questing what you’re doing is right.
Screenshot taken from the music video “An Evil Angel and Righteous Devil”
The Tournament of Power can be seen as a war. You’re fighting a war to ensure the survival of your people. As a warrior you must do anything to come back home safe and alive.
What more is that you’re fighting for not only yourself, not even your love ones, but the universe you live in. You must kill the opposing sides. It’s doesn’t matter if the other sides have generally good people. This is survival.
“The masks of angels on the faces of demons” The Grand Priest and his children might be demons masquerading as angels.
They may not be literal demons but their actions and personalities may as well paint them as such if they’re the ones orchestrating the tournament.
Organizing a tournament were the losing teams have their universe destroy and taking advantage of the two Zeno Kings’ innocent and naïve nature are pretty demonic things to do.
Angels, for the most part, are perceived as good in fiction. However, good isn’t always righteous. How can pitting different people against one another for survival can be righteous? Controlling two childlike beings who do not know better for your own personal greed isn’t good.
“They beckon to me and say to me
‘For the sake of goodness destroy all evil right now'”.
HOLY SHIT ZAMASU AND GOKU BLACK COMEBACK CONFIRMED! (it’s a joke please don’t take this seriously)
The demons and/or angels are attempting to manipulate the character into thinking whatever he is doing is right because it’s justice.
Destroying evil for the sake of goodness may seem like a great idea. However, you must realize people views of what is good and evil differs. Some views on justice are twisted and perverted.
We saw this with Zamasu and Goku Black in the previous arc. They believed wiping out humanity and killing the other Gods was “justice”. Killing others for the sake of justice isn’t justice. It’s murder.
“They say the world is waiting for me.”
This smells like a false promise from the demons and angels. They want the character to believe the world needs him as a savoir. They want to soup up his head to make him think what he is doing is for justice. He’s doing this for the greater good of humanity .
It’s all bullshit.
While I did say I would focus on the TV size version of the song, there’s a verse in the full size single I found interesting. It’s a depressing reflective on the impact resulted from the action the character selected to follow through:
“Even if angels are demons and demons are angels
Even if the line between justice and evil are muddled
I will not be manipulated to worry about losing or winning
Because at the end of the day, any sort of action will only bring everyone sorrow”
The character knows that whatever action he decides to select at the end on will only cause the sadness for all. Everyone wants to manipulate the character for their own gain.
It doesn’t even matter if he wins or lose the fight as long as the ones behind everything have their own greedy goals achieved.
Good and evil. Justice and injustice. War is still war. War and fighting only brings in sadness, pain, and suffering.
Dragon Ball Super manga artist Toyotaro. Former fan artist turned professional comic artist.
As an artist, musician, or writer, you often hear people tell you that you should always promote your craft. Always work on skills. Always improve on your work because you never know who may be checking you out.
Having the right person enjoying your craft could lead your passion and hobby into a career or even working along side with your idol.
Dragon Ball Super manga artist Toyotaro is a prime example of this. Toyotaro started out as a Dragon Ball manga artist. As a doujin artist he is best known for his Dragon Ball AF doujin manga; a fan project that landed him a job with JUMP Magazine working along side with series creator Akira Toriyama.
A fan working with a series creator man. That’s perhaps one of the greatest honor you can have that nobody can ever take away from you.
Think about it: Toyotaro had a hobby of making Dragon Ball manga. He probably never imagined in his life that his passion and love would lead him to working with famed manga artist Akira Toriyama. He gets paid to create art of his favorite series with the creator.
If you’re a producer keep making beats. A musician? Keep playing. A writer? Keep writing. An artist? Keep drawing. Keep promoting yourself and putting you works out for the world.
You really never know who may be enjoying your work.
Imagine this: Your homeboy gets you caught up in his bullshit. You had no involvement to his actions prior but this doesn’t mean anything. Your careless ass friend managed to drag you into their mess. If you do not get involved, the dire consequences will impact not only him but you as well. And it ain’t gonna be pretty.
In the recent episode 78 of Dragon Ball Super, Goku is that careless friend. Goku manged to drag his associates, friends, and family into his bullshit. Goku defiantly went against Beerus’ prior warning to not to remind Lord Zeno (Zen-Oh-Sama) of the Tournament of Power.
The Tournament of Power (a.k.a the Omni King All Universe Survival Tournament) the all universe tournament hosted by Lord Zeno, king of all. There are no rewards in this tournament sans your universe not being wiped out of existence if you’re declared victor in addition to using the Super Dragon Balls. There’s at least that. Yay!
So, because Goku wants to fight so badly he endangered not only endanger his friends, family, and planet, this man put the existence of his universe at risk of being wiped out.
Goku, for the very first time in his life, has to take responsibility for his actions. Beerus had to threaten him to do it of course. Thank god for you Beerus. Thank god for you.
Goku enlists his son Gohan and friend, Majin Buu to fight in this tournament and explains If they lose, goodbye to their universe existence. Mr. Satan tags along but he ain’t doing shit. They ain’t too please about Goku getting them all caught up.
They ain’t the only ones you know. You already know word got spread quick about this tournament. You already know you got niggas from all 12 universes who want to come after Goku. They have to fight not just for surivivial, but for their existence because Goku needed a good challenge.
Prior to Sailor Moon S, a laboratory explosion would claim the lives of Souichi Tomoe’s family. Lamenting his daughter Hotaru’s death, Souichi is approached Geramatoid of the Tau Nebula. Geramatoid presents him an offer: Restoration of Hotaru’s life in exchanged for Souichi’s freewill and servitude.
Souichi accepts, not caring about his own life. Upon Souichi’s agreement Germtoid takes him as a vessell; controlling his body, will, and life. Unknown to Souichi , Hotaru would become a vessel to Mistress 9; the Messiah of Silence.
After the incident Hotaru and Souichi continued their lives “normally” and grew close, despite acting as pawns for the aliens. With Hotaru’s character arc introduction, we are given a solid example of their bond. In episode 112, Hotaru and Chibi-Usa are warmly greeted by Souichi at Hotaru’s house. Hotaru cheerfully introduce her Chibi-Usa to her father, who is glad to see Hotaru made a friend (for once in her pitiful life). Hotaru is affectionate towards her father, expressed in tone and body language.
Later, the relationship cemented at the arc’s climax. Souichi (liberated from Germtoid’s control) confronts Mistress 9 (fully controlling Hotaru’s body). He falls to his knees, clutching the unrecognizable woman and begins begging for forgiveness, guilt ridden for allowing her to become possessed and indirectly ruining her life.
Irritated, she responds with calling Tomoe a “useless filthy shell of Geramtoid” and strangling him with her hair. Enraged, Hotaru (whom was inside Mistress 9) overpower the Daimon, forcing her to release her father.
Mistress 9 would struggle with Hotaru to regain control of the child’s body but to no avail. Hotaru’s drive to save her father would lead to the awakening the spirit of Sailor Saturn residing in her. Mistress 9 was instantly killed as the power of Saturn’s awakening was too much for her.
Soon after awakening, Hotaru, as Sailor Saturn, proceeds to destroy Pharaoh 90 (leader of the Daimons, summoned earlier by Mistress 9) saving the world at the cost of her life. However, with her powers of rebirth, Hotaru was reincarnated as a baby. Souichi (recovering from his injuries and amnesia) reunited with Hotaru, beginning a new life free from the Daimons.
This is heartwarming and sweet and I’m happy for these two. They went through some shit. They earned their happiness. And then Setsuna kidnaps I mean borrows Hotaru for her powers. Yea. Borrowin’. That’s what they’re callin’ it these days.
At the end, it’s funny to think about the roundabout results Souichi noble act of sacrifice. The man gave up his own will and body to save his daughter’s life. Hotaru saved her father and “sacrificed” herself to save the world.
To quote a certain rapper: ‘Have you ever loved someone so much, you’d give an arm for? Not the expression, no, literally give an arm for?’
I think he gave more than just an arm for Hotaru.
(If we were to dig deeper into their relationship there’s actually a second side of Hotaru and Souichi’s, relationship although not as direct. After Hotaru’s introduction in the series, there are a few scenes of Hotaru and Souichi [under the influences of Mistress 9 and Germatoid] interacting with one another and discussing plans for Mistress 9’s awakening and the destruction of Earth.)
While the anime portrayed Souichi as a caring, warm, and selfish father, his original manga counterpart was a deranged monster. (Okay, maybe monster is a bit too strong of a word. Bastard seems right).
Professor Tomoe from Sailor Moon Crystal (2016)
Professor Tomoe was a self-centered madman whom perceived his daughter’s near fatal injuries and the invasion of the Daimons as gifts from the heavens. His grand ambitions and selfish drive would lead to Hotaru living a horrible life.
An infamous figure in the science community, Professor Tomoe was blacklisted due to his unethical research and experiments. After being blacklisted Tomoe sold his findings, using the money he earned to buy property for a research lab and founded the Infinity Academy to continued his work. Flip and hustle my dude. Flip and hustle.
Similar to the original anime, his wife was killed and Hotaru was severely injured in a lab fire. Tomoe saved Hotaru’s, using a combination of genetic technology and replacing her damaged limbs with cybernetics implants.
During a follow-up operation, lighting struck his lab, opening a dimension gateway (it’s a comic book, roll with it). Master Pharaoh 90 emerged from the gateway with an offer: he would give Souichi everlasting power and knowledge in exchanged for his allegiance. Although bewilder and hesitate at first Souichi accepts, seeing this chance encounter as a breakthrough for his research.
Pleased, Pharaoh 90 gives Tomoe Daimon eggs for implantation of human hosts. The professor receives one for himself and another containing Mistress 9. The Mistress 9 egg needed a suitable host for her powers to grow. Souichi knew the “right’ person.
Tomoe implants the egg inside Hotaru who was still recovery. Her body degrades to a frail state resulting from the unnatural combination of cybernetics implants, genetic technology, and finally, becoming the unwilling vessel of Mistress 9. Culminating from the selfish ambition of her father, her health plummeted ranging from seizures, shortness of breath, and blackouts.
While Souichi and Hotaru were close in the anime, their manga counterpart was distant and cold. In chapter 2 of the arc Kaori (Tomoe’s assistant) notices Hotaru having a health fit.
Kaori offers to help Hotaru until she recovers.
It’s shocking to see Kaori concerned about Hotaru compared to how she emotionally tormented the girl in the original anime.
Despite being offered help, Hotaru pretty much tells the woman to fuck off, stating that she can take care of herself. Tomoe intervenes, asking Hotaru not to be rude to his assistant as Kaori helped the family ever since the death of her mother.
Hotaru proceeds to go off on her dad. She doesn’t hold back in telling him that he’s only infatuated with the woman, who just happens to be his private tutor. As Hotaru storms to her room she tells Kaori that “she ought to learn her place”.
Hotaru isn’t quite subtle with her disapproval
Souichi checks up on Hotaru once things cooled. As she is being comfort by her dad she remarks on how inhumanly cold his hands are.
I believe this is the best to describe their relationship: Cold. The two were distance and cold. Souichi was invested in his research, always in his lab. This left Hotaru lonely with little interaction with her father. Souichi only saw Hotaru as a project, more concerned Mistress 9’s growth than his own daughter.
Later in the future, Mistress 9 awoken (transformed after consuming Chibi-Usa’s Silver Crystal). Souichi was excited to see her in full. He expressed concerns that initial fusion attempts with Hotaru’s body failed, nearly prevented her awakening. Hotaru (observing the discussion in her spirit form) wasn’t pleased that her father did this to her.
Her suffering and ostracized life was caused by her own father. Her father whom only saw her as a science experiment.
Fuck you bruh. Fuck you.
Souichi would meet his demise in Act 35 of the manga. Soon after transforming into Daimon Germatoid, Tomoe was instantly killed by Super Sailor Moon’s “Rainbow Moon Heart Attack”. (Dude was talking all that good shit but he didn’t even last three pages.)
As she watched her father die, Hotaru reflects how he did everything for her ever since her mother’s death. However, she states that her father died on the day he sold himself to Pharaoh 90. The man who died was not her father.
It’s strange how opposite their relationship were comparing the anime to the original manga. Souichi wanted to do anything to save Hotaru even if it meant becoming a servant to Germatoid and the Pharaoh 90. While he was noble for doing so it did spite him as Hotaru would also become a servant to Mistress 9. Souichi had enormous remorse for allowing Hotaru to be possessed despite he knew it wasn’t his fault.
Unfortunately his manga counterpart did not share that guilt. He felt prideful about his actions, thinking of Hotaru as just a project and not his daughter. Yea, he did saved her life (how he did at may not been totally legal, performing surgery his kid in his secret lab) but what good was that if he took advantage of her suffering?
Goddammit manga Souichi. Just…goddammit.
Afterthoughts:
While most (hardcore) fans are aware that Hotaru and her father’s interactions are vastly different in the manga/Crystal and original 90s anime, there are some who may had only grew up watching or experienced the original anime. It is because of watching the original anime alone that they were unaware that Souichi was a horrible person in original manga thus his cruel nature in Sailor Moon Crystal.
Their surprise is understanding as Souichi was a good person who was thrown into a horrible situation in Toei Animation’s portrayal of his character in the original series compared to Naoko Takeuchi’s Professor Tomoe in Crystal and the manga. Their shock pretty much inspired me to write about both versions lol (YouTube comments can do that to you)
I hope you enjoy this post and if you took the time to read it and enjoy what I wrote I hope you follow me on WordPress for more content like this. I am currently working on a piece for Son Goku from the popular Dragon Ball series so stick around for that in the future!
Look at that pretty forest!
Yuki The Snowman 