Enter Sailor Mars!

[nevermore999]

Time for Rei's first transformation! The most notable thing about it (other than it's Rei and she's being a badass) is the clearly massive crush Usagi has on her.



I know, Usagi. A great deal of the fanbase has probably had similar feelings.

So, Usagi and Ami have to go after the Silver Crystal and find a lost princess before the villians do. Meanwhile, there's been some disappearances off the six o clock bus. Our girls know no fear and go on anyway, especially when Ami mentions a hot girl often shows up there.



Flowers even appear as she walks by! Also, adorable chibis!



Man, Usagi's not even being subtle. Rei mistakes her for an evil spirit, but her massive hotness makes her easy to forgive.



(Note on the note: Manga!Rei Does Not Like Men, in contrast to anime!Rei. She also takes her shrine maiden duties pretty seriously.



Only the third chapter and Usagi is already showing character development! Like I said, it happens a bit quicker in the manga. So cute how Luna winks at her.



"Yeah, Luna, you can still talk." Mamoru can be quite snarky when he wants to! Also he looks kinda hot in those glasses. I like how Usagi reacts to him as if she's seen a horrible monster. Also "I AM A RESPECTABLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT". It just sounds sketchy when he says it like that. (I'm not sure why they aged him up...at least a year in the anime. What purpose did that serve?)





Mamoru figures out Usagi is Sailor Moon by sheer virtue of noticing they look exactly alike. Plus she has a talking cat. It officially make him the only person in the Sailor Moon Universe who is not fooled by a pair of glasses a tiara. He must be smart!

Well, to be fair, Usagi noticed he looks exactly like Tuxedo Kamen as well, she just chose to be in deep denial about it. (Luna however, immediately picks up on it and even enters Mamoru into her database next chapter.)

Meanwhile, Rei is having problems.




Usagi is all "Poor Rei. :(" Next thing you know, Jedite- part of the mysterious cabal ruled by the evil Queen Beryl turns out to be behind the missing kids



Rei immediately rushes out to save Usagi, proving she has the right stuff for this Senshi of Justice gig.

Unfortunately....



A villian makes his appearance! Well, Usagi sees Rei and immediately goes to rescue her. She also uses her transformation pen for her own Cloudcookoolander reasons- here it is since people were talking about it in the comments.



"The safety of the passengers is my mission!" She is just too adorable. No worries, Mamoru catches Luna and they even get Ami to bamf over to the other dimension to save Rei (Apparently if they transform at the same time, Ami can teleport to where her leader is. Who knew?). Usagi initially panics and does the supersonic tears thing, but Luna gets her to calm down and do a neat trick with her tiara.



Rei's turn!





And that's how Rei made her entrance: straight up burning a guy to death. Don't mess with her. Yeah, for the record, you know how Queen Beryl kills off her minions in the anime? She doesn't do it in the manga, the Senshi kill them all. Poor Jediete. He didn't even get a chance to do his famous "girls suck" speech before he got taken out.



DUNDUNDUN VILLIANS!

And we begin to see one of the major themes of Sailor Moon poke it's head out- at the heart, it's about these very different girls finding a place of belonging through their friendship and sense of duty to each other.

Gonna do the next post quick- just a few pages from the "Masquerade Ball" chapter, which is very similar to it's episode in the anime, and then tomorrow we'll get to Makoto's transformation, it's one of my favorites, so expect an accompanying screed about Sailor Moon and sisterhood and gender and all that. Hope you all don't mind my commentary and occasional analysis, because as anyone who's read my Super Steph Series knows, I just can't help myself. :P


 

Comments

[silverzeo]

Did she just burn someone alive?

And also, found this online looking at the trnasformation videoes, namely to comapre the Ouuter's theme to the Inner's (DiC) theme.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i5qkSxF60U&NR=1&feature=fvwp
Cosplaying is hard...

[nevermore999]

She did! Didn't feel bad about it either.

Granted, Jedeite is actually already dead anyway, but I don't know how the Senshi knew that (maybe Rei sensed it, or they thought he was a youma?). Sailor Moon and co. are a lot more unforgiving in the manga. Though they do stick to their "no killing humans " rule otherwise, Usagi refuses to kill Hotaru just like in the anime. Though it could be that just "no killing innocents, even if they cause world destruction, as long as they don't MEAN to..."

[mercia]

In her defense, he wasn't alive for very long.

Re: Skirts.

[nefrekeptah]

Great googly moogly, those are the shortest skirts I've ever seen!

I've read ecchi mangas where the female lead shows off her panties at least once per page, and their dresses were conservative compared to these. I'd never thought I'd see barely there mini-skirts in a manga where they aren't meant for fanservice.

Is this the message Naoko Takeuchi wanted to teach impressionable young girls; "Be independent, be confident, believe in your own strength and the strength of your friends, and wear teeny tiny, billowy micro-skirts"?

....

Sailor Moon is the greatest manga EVAR!

Re: Skirts.

[sethgray]

And, yea, the light is seen.

Re: Skirts.

[shadeedge]

The skirts don't actually seem that short.. it's just that they're constantly in a sort of tutu position that gives them shortness. So same thing really.

Re: Skirts.

[nevermore999]

...? The skirts aren't that short (a bit longer than than in the anime, actually). They just tend to fly up. As skirts do. Even then, note that they don't fly up enough to see underneath. Which wouldn't matter anyway, because the anime makes it clear it's a leotard-and-skirt outfit, so basically a figure skating deal.

It's true Naoko Takeuchi adorns heroes and villians alike rather skimpily, but if she likes that stuff, it's her prerogative. She clearly has an interest is fashion and no regard for practicality, that may be where it comes from. At any rate, it's not worse than the crap I see in American comics,

Re: Skirts.

[majingojira]

It's true Naoko Takeuchi adorns heroes and villians alike rather skimpily, but if she likes that stuff, it's her prerogative.

Kinda like how Hiromu Arakawa makes the main cast of FMA either Ripped or Voluptuous.

Re: Skirts.

[nefrekeptah]

They just tend to fly up. As skirts do

From what I've seen? These skirts don't "tend" to fly up, they're always flown up. It's like their default position. I did note that they don't fly up enough to see underneath, mainly because they're always seem to be at the bare minimum height for that. I swear if those skirts were just a quarter of an inch higher...

Also, this might be just me and my own personal hang-ups, but for me it absolutely does matter. A skirt is warn to conceal something. Having a skirt sends the message, (to me, at any rate) that whatever is under the skirt is something you're not supposed to see. Therefore, seeing up the skirt is something exciting and titillating - you're seeing what isn't meant to be seen. Or in other words, it doesn't matter whether or not it's actually underwear, it's still a panty shot.

But agreed about everything else; it's her own personal fashion sense, there's worse examples in comics on both sides of the ocean, ect.

Re: Skirts.

[nevermore999]

True, and don't get me wrong, I'm not fond of short skirts and heels myself, especially as a superhero uniform. I'm aware that regardless of whether it's a leotard or not, short skirts are still titilating (esp if it's a WHITE leotard), it just makes it easier for me to accept the costume knowing it's a leotard because that's something female atheletes actually wear (the heels...not so much).

And Takeuchi is not unaware that it's titillating, though she's stated the schoolgirl uniform was to make SM more relatable, she's also stated she's aware it excites a periphery demographic, and her editor is the one who suggested it...

I think the skirt's flying up is just the easiest way for Takeuchi to indicate movement/wind, though. You do see them down sometimes, when they're standing still.

OTOH, a big theme of Sailor Moon is not demonizing femininity or sexuality, but that the girls are comfortable in it, so the skirts and heels might serve a purpose there, as utterly inpractical as they are.

[morgana006]

I'm really enjoying these posts. Just sayin'.

[crinos]

Wow, Usagi is quite the swinger aint she? This is a major difference from the anime where she and Rei were always at each others throats.

I can dig it.

[shanejayell]

The dub or sub? The subs have Rei being strict, but she secretly strongly cares for Usagi. Some viewers argue love of course....

[nevermore999]

Yeah, there's no shortage of shippy moments between them in the sub. They had a really strong friendship "We always fought, but it was fun". I mean, they clearly cared about each other and the arguing probably only added fuel to the fire.

I think she also showed attraction to Rei in her debut episode of the anime, not as clearly as here, but there was a moment.

[sharky_chan]

Oh man, I wasn't so into the Sailor Moon anime, but the manga looks a lot more interesting. It's out of print though, isn't it? Noes!!!

[shanejayell]

Check around, I'm sure certain sites host scans.

[curlyjo1]

Out of print, and if not impossible to find, horribly expensive.

*clings to her single issue comics*

[jkcarrier]

That's just bizarre, for such a famous and influential series to be out of print. Is there some legal tangle, or do they just not think it will sell, now that the kids are all into Bleach and Naruto or whatever?

[leikomgwtfbbq]

Legal tangle, I think. I don't remember the exact problem, because I read about it a few years ago, but that's all it is--some kind of legal thing.

[shanejayell]

Aww. Instant crush! :)

There's a great manga chapter that spoofs Marmite, with Minako crashing Rei's school. It's a RIOT.

[curlyjo1]

I kind of like the expressions in the dialog balloons. Ami's sweat drop, and Mamoru's, I guess it's supposed to be a pulsing vein. I've never quite been able to figure that one out. And the little Luna face and bunny head. Quite cute!

And ouch! Jadeite burned to death by his (long ago) former girlfriend! Yikes!

(That could cause a few problems in fanfic...)

[majingojira]

Man, Usagi's not even being subtle.

I think there are characters in Nanoha who are subtler about that sort thing than Usagi in that bit...

[mcity]

I do notice the contrast between Usagi's reactions to Rei and Tux. It's odd for me, as a Westerner, to see all these hearts and stuff flying around and realize it's more Even the Girls Want Her than outright Slashiness. Which reminds me of that bit in Ace Attorney: Justice for All where Maya says even she wants to start confessing love to Regina Berry, and I realized that it was more or less the first time I could recall her expressing any romantic desire in the entire series. And cheeseburgers don't count.

[bluefall]

Yeah, I always found it really easy to ship Rei/Usagi because it's so much more... I dunno, tangible? than Mamo/Usagi. They squabble, they make up, they goof off together. Meanwhile with Mamo, it's (very deliberately) this epic, romantic story of a love eternal and has a very fairy tale flavor to it, and it doesn't even matter if he's actually physically present because it's more about the relationship than it is about them as people or whether they share interests or click socially. And he's always mature and composed and loyal and ideal (except when he's being a manipulating douche augh future!Endymion you suck), and one of the major markers of Usagi growing up is that she learns to be dignified about Mamo. Which is of course the point - that's what "love" looks like (Haruka and Michiru have the exact same dynamic), the fact that it follows that guideline is how we know they're a match in the first place.

It's just that Western stories tend to be more character-focused than archetype-focused in that regard, so to me the relationship where the characters act most like themselves feels the most authentic. (Though Ruka/Michi still works in that regard, cuz they're always like that.)

(Also I confess the age gap kinda squicks me. [she says, while using a shippy Noir icon])

[leikomgwtfbbq]

Manga!Rei is so much cooler than anime!Rei. Why was her personality changed so much between the two?

[nevermore999]

I personally like them both, but I wish they'd included her distrust of men (to contrast her to other girls) and real interest in inheriting the shrine. And more of her backstory. But I wish they could have included the backstory for all of them in the anime, I would have loved an episode dealing with Makoto's loss of her parents and struggles living alone, or an adaption of Casablanca Nights for Rei, some more Sailor V adventures of Minako etc...

[leikomgwtfbbq]

I wish they'd given everybody more of a chance to be badass in the anime, or at least that they'd been consistently badass. Each character got at least one standout badass moment per season, but in the manga, everyone was badass all the time (even Chibi Moon; I was shocked to find that out).

I also agree about the backstory. They could have chopped out a lot of filler and replaced it with better character-development/backstory episodes. Or just some of the more fun-but-still-sort-of-plot-relevant filler from the manga (like the Exam Battle stories, or that one story where Minako transforms into one of Rei's schoolmates).

[rebecky-mo.livejournal.com]

There's so much 'fangirling' in Sailor Moon, it's hilarious. Awesome hot guy? Awesome hot girl? Doesn't matter, it's all good!

It always amazed me the difference between Manga!Rei and Anime!Rei in personlity, and even moreso with Dub!Ray added to the lot. They might as well be totally different people, besides the miko thing (and being Sailor Mars, natch). Think overall though, I like Anime!Rei best, just because she has more energy to her, without being totally overbearing.

And I'm agreeing with you about bringing the senshi backstories into the anime. I mean, they pulled Ami's First Love into an OVA, and how Minako became Sailor V in an episode, why not the others?

Not to mention the fact they totally ignored some personality traits of some of the girls. I mean, Makoto freaks out at the sound of an airplane, but in Sailor Stars SHE GETS ONTO ONE FOR A THREE LIGHTS MOVIE. WHAT.