So, a funny story on how I discovered that these two weren’t cousins, but unrelated lovers. Gotta love 90s anime dubbing censorship.
Back around in late 2001, I legit thought Uranus and Neptune being lesbians was a fanmade rumor. To me, they were just cousins whom interactions were just a bit wee too close to be cousins. While browsing the now defunct SailorMoon.org message boards, there were a post about how Neptune and Urnaus weren’t cousins, but a LGBT couple.
Due to prior trust issues with the anime community from finding out that Dragon Ball AF was a fan made project (Thanks Kanzenshuu!), I didn’t believe they were lesbians. I refused to believe they were gay as hell! The internet is full of liars and nerds who want to make up bullshit for their sick nasty, OTP incest fanfiction! I decided to dig deeper, discovering sources from fansites such as Sailor Moon Uncensored and Suburban Senshi (one of the longest running Sailor Moon fansites).
It took me nearly an entire day of using 56k dial up services to accept the fact that they were unrelated lovers and not everything is a fan made rumor. Their hand holding scene should had been my first clue. But I was an innocent 11-year-old kid at the time.
This was my first clue and it went over my head. Fuck you Cloverway.
The more I play the shitty ass Sailor Moon fighting game, the more pissed I get at how this game was pretty much wasted potential. It had so much going for it.
I’m dicking around in training mode of this trash ass, broken ass game playing as Neptune (she plays like Street Fighter’s Ken). As I’m playing her I’m discovering footies, spacing, crossups, and dash cancels, shit commonly found in fighting games today. Or back then. Whatever.
“Why? Why is the game so ass? This game has so many deep shit you find in other games like this. What the fuck happen Angel?” I said to myself, utterly disappointed
Sailor Saturn has two pokes, making her like Karin from Street Fighter if Karin was emo, carried a giant spear, and had borderline daddy issues. Saturn is the fuckin’ space and footies queen of the game. You can also play her as a keep away/zoning type with her projectiles and Silent Glaive. Too bad Saturn is so broken and unfair that she’s banned.
(Granted Super S, where she is playable, is an incredibly trash game that is not an enjoyable experience like the anime so that doesn’t even matter lmfao)
Sailor Uranus’s exclusive forward dash can be use as a tool for an unbreakable infinite combo if linked right. If you get this off somebody they’re gonna rage quit.
Sailor Moon’s exclusive super jump dash thingly can be use to chase down zoners and keep-away players. Mini-Moon has a double jump that can be used to get out of a bad situation such as a projectile war.
Like seriously, how can a SNES fighting game that was made in 1996 that has so many tools but be so goddamn ass?
I’m currently working on my next major writing project on the narrative themes of Sailor Moon S. I’m stuck on figuring out the messiah theme in Sailor Moon S/Infinity.
I’m confused on who was considered to be the true Messiah: Saturn, who is the Messiah of Silence (who also did saved the world at the cost of her life) or Sailor Moon, who was the fabled Messiah Uranus and Neptune spoke of throughout the arc.
So the other day I created a thread on a Facebook group entitled “Who Is Your Favorite Gym Leader from Pokemon.” I chosen Sabrina (Natsume for you Nippon-go speaking hardcore/weeaboo fans) from the first generation series (Red/Blue/Yellow)
Sabrina is pretty damn interesting. I love that she has some cool ass psychic powers; a trait that set her apart from the rest of the gym leaders. She was also pretty out there with her emotionless state, up until a suicide bombin’ Haunter made her laugh her ass off.
Man, seeing her laugh was heart-warming. And then Haunter get put on a terrorist watch list.
I imagine she loves fucked up black humor comedy. She seems like the type.
As I’m hunting down fan art of the psychic Pokemon leader (and a few NSFW fan art) , in addition of fanart of the Hex Maniac trainer class (who happens to be my favorite trainer class in the series), it dawned on me: I like weird characters. Not only that, a lot of my fictional crushes/waifus over the years are of the weird and creepy archetype.
Let’s break it down:
You guys know I’m a huge Hotaru/Sailor Saturn fanboy. She was one of my very first fictional crushes as a kid (or waifu. Whatever sad weird otaku shit we be callin’ this shit now). I thought her weirdness and creepiness was amazing, something that made her different from the rest of the cast.
I hate this character.
When the first Teen Titan cartoon dropped years ago, my two favorite female characters were Raven and Jinx. I wasn’t a huge fan of neither Starfire or Terra. Raven and Jinx were superior compare to the two mentioned. Again, these two were weird, creepy ass girls who I was attractive to because of their character design.
When I was getting into the GBA Fire Emblem games, I invested a lot of time, items and in-game money (as well as stats changing cheat codes lol) into the dark mage Sophia to make her my most powerful magic user. Fuck whatever the elitist FE fanboys said about her being garbage! I’m was going to make Sophia the best on my file! Plus she was shy, quiet, and had purple aesthetes, so added bonuses! I am very biased.
She is utter garbage without babying her holy shit
Further down in my weebish otaku adult life, I would fall in love and fanboy over characters such as Stocking from Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt, Tharja from Fire Emblem Awakening, and Tae from Persona 5. The characters I named have this errie, dark gothic and alternate aesthesis to their design nature.
Stocking (Panty and Stocking)Thraja (Fire Emblem: Awakening)
Hell, now that I think about it, I’m attractive to weird women. It is natural given I’m a part of the nerd subculture and nerds in general are weird. Fuck, I weird myself. I write blogs about anime culture. I’m writing about crushing on fictional cartoon and video games characters who will never exist. That’s goddamn weird as hell.
But really, I honest to god think me liking weird, alternate women may parallel to my fictional crushes over the year. I am also charmed by nerdy women as well but that goes hand-and-glove with weird woman. If I were to go into details why however, I would be just repeating myself but with nerdy girls replacing weird ones. Same shit. Different toilet.
Sailor Venus’s theme song in the god awful (but ambitious) Sailor Moon fighting game is a complete rip off of Banarama’s “Venus”. They were not even slick with that.
Alright everyone here’s a little status update for this blog and my plans for this month! Thank you for your support and taking time to read my posts by the way!
I will be at the anime convention Naka-Kon in Overland Park, KS this weekend (March 10th-12). There will be small, quick posts about my adventures and pictures as well.
I’m currently working on two Sailor Moon S and one Dragon Ball Z essay projects.
The first is a rather passionate essay on how I fell in love with the series based on the infamous episode 117, my first episode of the series.
When you finally meet up with the nigga who was talking that good shit on Facebook.
The second is an in-depth analysis on the theatrical themes of the Infinity arc. I am looking forward to having a lot of fun researching and writing about the themes!
A hint of one of the themes I’m gonna analyze.
Finally, for the Dragon Ball Z analysis, I’m planning on an essay on the pure stupidity of series’s “hero” Son Goku.
You stupid idiot…
Because I desire to have these three essays to be of high quailty, I won’t be posting here as often in the past for this month. I may have a few quick posts here or there, but the main focus are these three pieces.
Anyway, I hope you guys have a great and exciting March!!
Sailor Moon S holds a special place in my heart. I do not know if it because of the characters, the sci-fi elements of the villains, the story, the art style, or the music. There was just something about those things that drew me into the series. I just deeply love S.
As a kid, I thought Sailor Moon was a show marketed for young girls. I doubted that it was for guys but hey, I was 11 at the time. My mind changed once I gave the show a shot. Man, I not only was I proven wrong, I was blown away.
This scene also got me into Sailor Moon as a kid but that’s best saved for another post.
The first thing I noticed about S was the sci-fi aesthetics of the Death Busters. I did not expect an element seen in more male oriented cartoons and shows in Shoujo anime. I loved that Professor Tomoe used science and technology to combat against the Sailor Scouts’ magical powers. Hell I still love it to this day. Science vs. Magic is a very common ass theme in fictional but when done right, it’s great. And S did it greatly.
Another thing I drew me into S was the depressing theme of the destruction of the world. That was a play out of left field for younger me. Shows I have watched prior dealt with villains wanting to simply take over the world. There weren’t any talk about awakening an evil Messiah wiping out all humanity or killing a 12 year old girl because she was assumed to be that evil Messiah.
Totally not a spoiler. Trust me: I’m a dolphin.
Finally, what made S great was the the amazing soundtrack. Honestly this is best reversed for a more in-depth analysis post but whatever (pus, I need to freewrtie for a bit lol). This is completely biased because I am a violinist, but holy shit the orchestra and violin tracks were perfect. Like forreal the orchestra tracks they used for the Mistress 9/Pharaoh 90 battles made me felt like I was watching an animated movie than just a simple series.
I cannot simply forget the awesomeness that is that of the Outer Senshi theme
Or the utterly depressing piano/violin duet of Hotaru’s theme: (“Hotaru’s Sorrow ” is a fuckin’ fitting title for that girl’s theme. Her life was incredibly fucked up)
So yea, these are just short, rather shallow reasons why I love Sailor Moon S and how it got me into the series as a whole. I may go more in depth with these things in the near future but for right now, I just needed to clear my thoughts (and have something for the 25th Anniversary week ha ha ha)
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.
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!
Yuki The Snowman 