Male characters in Sailor Moon

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Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
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#1
Sailor Moon is a girl's show, sure. But I like it also because it didn't try to demonize or tokenize male characters, instead it also gave us some good takes.

Especially in DK arc and R, we got very well developed male characters to add some balance. The Four kings, Ali and The BMC male villains are very well developed. Especially Nephrite and Demande are my favorites. Even Rubeus feels like a human being while he's a jerk. Nephrite's plot and characterization really added more dynamic to the anime. Fiore is also the most well characterized villain among the 3 movies.

Mamoru also has the best characterization in DK arc. S and Stars were fine but only if it has more good male characters it would have been even better. Tomoe was ok but overall, too crazy as a villain.
 
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SILVER

Aurorae Lunares
Jan 7, 2014
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Dark Kingdom
#6
They always get less focus since this is a girl's show. I just think give them certain amount like DK and R would be the best.
I think that it depends on the character's importance, not that it should be a standard of screen time given just to "balance" things out. Saphir, Demand, Tomoe and (technically) the Starlights' all work because they're rather important but seeing as even main characters like the Outers were shafted I don't think I'd want male characters developed in lieu of female main characters who needed it.
 
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Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
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#7
I think that it depends on the character's importance, not that it should be a standard of screen time given just to "balance" things out. Saphir, Demand, Tomoe and (technically) the Starlights' all work because they're rather important but seeing as even main characters like the Outers were shafted I don't think I'd want male characters developed in lieu of female main characters who needed it.
Starlights are not really male, I don't count them as male.

I think it should work as good male characters-more development for female who interact with him. Such as Nephrite with Naru and Saphir with Petz. Yuichiro also added a bit more on Rei's personality.
 

SILVER

Aurorae Lunares
Jan 7, 2014
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#8
Starlights are not really male, I don't count them as male.

I think it should work as good male characters-more development for female who interact with him. Such as Nephrite with Naru and Saphir with Petz. Yuichiro also added a bit more on Rei's personality.
I don't disagree, but I wouldn't just want romantic pairings being used as "development" for the girls.
 

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
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#9
I don't disagree, but I wouldn't just want romantic pairings being used as "development" for the girls.
Sure, I think such plot could work well for both sides and the show's quality if it was handled well. Nephrite arc being the example. It didn't just bring both of them up, it also was the first tragic touching story of the whole series. Its success let the series continue with more serious tone and develop the villains.
 
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sapphire91

Stella Nova
Jul 6, 2018
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#10
I have to agree with SILVER on that. It depends on character importance and not their gender. While I love Nephrite/ Naru story arc, I cannot it was not without its problems. It didn't really bring anything to Naru's character in the end. She sais she loves him, but how? Why? She doesn't even know him. As a kid you love the storyline, but as a grown up you might look at it from a different angle. He was predatory and put her in danger several times, and she kept on sticking to him. This is a very toxic and unhealthy behavior. And it was not even justified. She doesn't know him, she barely saw him a few times and danced with him once. It paints her as extremely shallow and weak girl, for folling some brute's looks and sport car. Sure, in the end he changed, but that change is quite abrupt and undeserved. So despite I still like the storyline I cannot say it was very well executed. They did a much better in R when it comes to male characters, but other than that I do not see the story in need of more male characters at all. If the character happens to be male and adds to the story more than some romance, that is great, but then it won't be a question of gender.
 

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
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#11
I have to agree with SILVER on that. It depends on character importance and not their gender. While I love Nephrite/ Naru story arc, I cannot it was not without its problems. It didn't really bring anything to Naru's character in the end.
No, before that arc, Naru was a quite bland character, through this arc we saw her as a young girl dreamed for her prince, and so kind was willing to protect him with her own weak body against the monsters. That's a lot to a side character.

She sais she loves him, but how? Why? She doesn't even know him. As a kid you love the storyline, but as a grown up you might look at it from a different angle. He was predatory and put her in danger several times, and she kept on sticking to him. This is a very toxic and unhealthy behavior. And it was not even justified. She doesn't know him, she barely saw him a few times and danced with him once. It paints her as extremely shallow and weak girl, for folling some brute's looks and sport car. Sure, in the end he changed, but that change is quite abrupt and undeserved. So despite I still like the storyline I cannot say it was very well executed. They did a much better in R when it comes to male characters, but other than that I do not see the story in need of more male characters at all. If the character happens to be male and adds to the story more than some romance, that is great, but then it won't be a question of gender.
Nephrite was using Naru as a tool for his goal, but Naru's love made him realize his mistake and sacrificed for her. Such a evil man could be touched by love is exactly what the story wanted to tell us: How powerful love is, even villains have a human side and could be redeemed. It also became a very important tone in later series as well.

Also throughout the arc, he had a human alter ego and interact with ordinary ppl much more than the other 3. Yes he was doing that to use human's emotion, but you can see he also enjoys it a little bit, he liked human's ordinary life than just being a pawn in the Dark Kingdom have to deal with all the dangerous gaze from the others.

Young girls like Naru are like that, they are tired of their boring life and wanted something exciting. Nephrite being dangerous let him become even more attractive in their eyes. I don't see it as a problem.
 
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sapphire91

Stella Nova
Jul 6, 2018
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#12
No, before that arc, Naru was a quite bland character, through this arc we saw her as a young girl dreamed for her prince, and so kind was willing to protect him with her own weak body against the monsters. That's a lot to a side character.



Nephrite was using Naru as a tool for his goal, but Naru's love made him realize his mistake and sacrificed for her. Such a evil man could be touched by love is exactly what the story wanted to tell us: How powerful love is, even villains have a human side and could be redeemed. It also became a very important tone in later series as well.

Also throughout the arc, he had a human alter ego and interact with ordinary ppl much more than the other 3. Yes he was doing that to use human's emotion, but you can see he also enjoys it a little bit, he liked human's ordinary life than just being a pawn in the Dark Kingdom have to deal with all the dangerous gaze from the others.

Young girls like Naru are like that, they are tired of their boring life and wanted something exciting. Nephrite being dangerous let him become more attractive in their eyes even more. I don't see it as a problem.
Love doesn't work this way though and it shouldn't this is my point.
 

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
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#13
Love doesn't work this way though and it shouldn't this is my point.
It really depends on individuals. Naru's crush on Nephrite fits her personality and there are a lot of girls have similar thoughts. Nephrite's case is rare but it surely exists. It's not without setup. He was not some super loyal pawn, but work for his own pride. Beryl, despite being ok on him, was a dangerous boss to work with. And Zoisite always wants him dead. In this case, I don't see it being odd when Naru used her own body to protect his life. Nephrite was evil but not really beyond human nature.

Sailor Moon's theme is always about love while it cannot be solely relied to solve everything. It's like we don't pick on Usagi's naive crush on Tuxedo Mask or in one of my favorite episodes, she sneak into a bar, getting into a stranger's car. Sure it's not something you should do in real life but it's not the main point.
 

litacan

Systema Solare
Jan 21, 2017
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#14
they are only for fangirls' love interests... just kiding. i always loved their designs and interesting backstories.

except... well mamoru. i can't like him. no matter what.
 
Jun 17, 2019
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#15
90's anime has quite well-done characterization for it's male villains I agree (well maybe except Jadeite & Rubeus, and Tigers Eye and Hawks Eye, while entertaining, were creeps who didn't earn their redemption like Fish did) the manga in comparison skimps in this regard, but in exchange we get a better done Mamoru & Helios, and also great male characters like Kaitou Ace & Asanuma who are absent from the anime.
 

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
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#16
90's anime has quite well-done characterization for it's male villains I agree (well maybe except Jadeite & Rubeus, and Tigers Eye and Hawks Eye, while entertaining, were creeps who didn't earn their redemption like Fish did) the manga in comparison skimps in this regard, but in exchange we get a better done Mamoru & Helios, and also great male characters like Kaitou Ace & Asanuma who are absent from the anime.
Rubeus was very well done.

He was evil, ruthless and never care about the sister's lives, even manipulated their feelings, but it also made him a very competent villain. He did cause enough harm.

On the other side he was also loyal to BMC and showed fear in his last moment as a human being. I don't like him but he was characterized well.
 
Jun 17, 2019
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#17
Rubeus was very well done.

He was evil, ruthless and never care about the sister's lives, even manipulated their feelings, but it also made him a very competent villain. He did cause enough harm.

On the other side he was also loyal to BMC and showed fear in his last moment as a human being. I don't like him but he was characterized well.
Rubeus was always better done in the manga compared to the 90's anime for me, in the 90's he just seemed little more than Jadeite 2.0 while in the manga he at least had a personality outside of just "bad."
 

MariaTenebre

Systema Solare
Jul 22, 2009
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#18
I have no problem with male characters getting less focus and I am actually quite happy to see a show with Female Characters being the main focus. I would have none the less liked to have seen more fighting heroic male characters especially male Senshi. I mean Naoko set up the idea that male Senshi exist with Tuxedo Mask being the Senshi of the Earth but other then him no other were shown. I would have liked to have seen atleast one other male Senshi. In fact I have said before that had I done Sailor Moon Sailor Stars I would have made the Sailor Starlights into male Senshi full stop and maybe call them the Starlight Knights. I guess they would be Star Fighter Knight, Star Healer Night and Star Maker Night.. I would have had Seiya to be a guy and of course have his unrequited love for both Usagi and Princess Kakyuu and I would have probably had Yaten to be gay as well as I always thought on the actual show that Yaten was the only one that was truly heterosexual.

I know she made them due to again her love of the Takarazuka Revue but we all ready got a more masculine lesbian woman who dresses as a man with Haruka. Which oddly enough as the manga began to go on Naoko Takeuchi began to have Haruka dress almost exclusively feminine post the Dream Arc. I guess we can chalk that up to her inconsistency but none the less since we all ready had a butch lesbian female Sailor Soldier. I thought it would have been interesting to show some male Senshi besides Tuxedo Mask. I would still keep them to be Princess Kakyuu/Sailor Kakyuu's Guardian Senshi and this would have even been a rather unique situation of a team of male Senshi guarding their Female Princess/Senshi Leader etc. I might have even of had Princess Kakyuu's unnamed lover in the manga to be the fourth Starlight Knight and the Leader of their team that guards their Princess as for what I would have called him I don't know.

That being said I do agree. Sailor Moon was over all a show that focused on a Female Superhero cast which I very much like but that had good male characters. In many ways it is the exact opposite of pretty much ever woke feminist show in the modern era. Where the male characters are either bumbling or incompetent or outright evil and usually misogynist especially if he is the evil "Straight White Man" villain beloved by woke fems and their propaganda stories as much as the "evil leftist Atheist" is in almost any Christian propaganda tract like what you would see in Pureflix films like God's Not Dead. Then again I would argue that most woke super hero stories are little more then the woke equivalent of Bibleman.
 

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
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#19
Rubeus was always better done in the manga compared to the 90's anime for me, in the 90's he just seemed little more than Jadeite 2.0 while in the manga he at least had a personality outside of just "bad."
Rubeus was far much more menacing and cruel than Jadeite, their method was also quite different. Nor did he show up much fear towards his supervisors.

I don't see them being similar at all.
 

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
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#20
I have no problem with male characters getting less focus and I am actually quite happy to see a show with Female Characters being the main focus. I would have none the less liked to have seen more fighting heroic male characters especially male Senshi. I mean Naoko set up the idea that male Senshi exist with Tuxedo Mask being the Senshi of the Earth but other then him no other were shown. I would have liked to have seen atleast one other male Senshi. In fact I have said before that had I done Sailor Moon Sailor Stars I would have made the Sailor Starlights into male Senshi full stop and maybe call them the Starlight Knights. I guess they would be Star Fighter Knight, Star Healer Night and Star Maker Night.. I would have had Seiya to be a guy and of course have his unrequited love for both Usagi and Princess Kakyuu and I would have probably had Yaten to be gay as well as I always thought on the actual show that Yaten was the only one that was truly heterosexual.

I know she made them due to again her love of the Takarazuka Revue but we all ready got a more masculine lesbian woman who dresses as a man with Haruka. Which oddly enough as the manga began to go on Naoko Takeuchi began to have Haruka dress almost exclusively feminine post the Dream Arc. I guess we can chalk that up to her inconsistency but none the less since we all ready had a butch lesbian female Sailor Soldier. I thought it would have been interesting to show some male Senshi besides Tuxedo Mask. I would still keep them to be Princess Kakyuu/Sailor Kakyuu's Guardian Senshi and this would have even been a rather unique situation of a team of male Senshi guarding their Female Princess/Senshi Leader etc. I might have even of had Princess Kakyuu's unnamed lover in the manga to be the fourth Starlight Knight and the Leader of their team that guards their Princess as for what I would have called him I don't know.

That being said I do agree. Sailor Moon was over all a show that focused on a Female Superhero cast which I very much like but that had good male characters. In many ways it is the exact opposite of pretty much ever woke feminist show in the modern era. Where the male characters are either bumbling or incompetent or outright evil and usually misogynist especially if he is the evil "Straight White Man" villain beloved by woke fems and their propaganda stories as much as the "evil leftist Atheist" is in almost any Christian propaganda tract like what you would see in Pureflix films like God's Not Dead. Then again I would argue that most woke super hero stories are little more then the woke equivalent of Bibleman.
No I'm not saying they should play the senshi role, but as supporting or villain roles would be fine.