A Disheartening Realization

[karasu_tomoe]

For the purpose of some of my fanfiction endeavors, I've lately been struggling to recall what drew me to Sailor Moon in the first place. But what I think I've come to realize is... I'm not actually much of a fan at all.

I don't really care much for or resonate with any of the characters except for Hotaru. When they're killed off or in peril or otherwise face negativity in their lives, I don't really shed much tears, I'm more less just like, "Oh wow, that sucks..." And what little investment I did have for any given character I think just mostly came down to head-canon. So if not the characters, then what is it about Sailor Moon that always interested me?

I know at least part of it has to do with the show involving a lot of fighting, which will obviously appeal to the male viewers. But that was never really anything new, nor has fighting and violence ever been strictly a "guy's domain." So to try and really hammer this out, I started quietly watching shows that I felt are similar, particularly Winx Club. Although I tend to watch with the volume dialed down, otherwise pieces of the voice acting and soundtrack make me feel uncomfortable for some reason. That said, I think I finally know what makes me, at the very least, morbidly curious.

The answer is: the girls are pretty and attractive. Yeah. That's pretty much it. Although, I can't really fully explain that either, as it's not really a sexual attraction, in fact that's barely the case (although their revealing casual outfits don't exactly help my case...) Still, this realization is a tad depressing, to be honest. I know that people enjoy the Sailor Moon franchise to death, and that there's a lot for people to see, but... I dunno, I just don't see it. Especially now. After my experimental exposure to Winx, I'm now trying to watch Sailor Moon from the beginning, and... I honestly can't for the life of me find the appeal for me anymore! It's such a strange feeling, like I've been unplugged from the Matrix or something.

I guess I shouldn't be entirely surprised. As long as I've known, I've always seen things different from other people. But it's not like there aren't shows that I do have a genuine investment in, with characters I care about, situations that make me want to stay glued to the screen/monitor and binge-watch the entire series. I'm just trying to wrap my head around how and why it was THIS series that ended up eating such a big chunk of my life... Maybe because it was new at the time and hadn't really been seen before?

I'd ask what is YOUR interest in Sailor Moon, but I'm sure there's plenty of threads about that on this forum already.

 

[YuYu Yuichiro]

I'd ask what is YOUR interest in Sailor Moon, but I'm sure there's plenty of threads about that on this forum already.

*I've only really watched the 90s anime's ViZ & DiC dubs

1. The world seemed comforting.

2.I like all the characters [except maybe Shingo]. Their dynamics especially interested me.

3. The sense of humor of the show [and somewhat the fandom] was usually PERFECT for me.

4. The show never felt too overly violent for me.

5. The art & music [The music is a LARGE part of it]

6. The cheesiness [I like cheesiness]

7. The show is one of my inspirations for shows I want to make.

8. The variety of scenarios. [different dubs also help w/ that.]

9. The fandom seemed mostly chill & respectful for what I've seen, especially compared to other shows [fandoms don't really affect my opinion of a show but they help me feel more connected and see multiple perspectives]

10. May add more..

 

[Leia the Rebel]

the passion of the fandom. I was at the Star Wars convention back in May and saw two different Sailor moon/Jedi cosplayers.

I was showing my cousin's husband's mom my book from the trip and pointed out the Jedi Sailor Moon cosplay and she know who sailor moon was, so going into the next one, is the age range of the fandom. I love seeing older people being active in fandoms and enjoying things like Sailor Moon.

 

[karasu_tomoe]

*I've only really watched the 90s anime's ViZ & DiC dubs

1. The world seemed comforting.

2.I like all the characters [except maybe Shingo]. Their dynamics especially interested me.

3. The sense of humor of the show [and somewhat the fandom] was usually PERFECT for me.

4. The show never felt too overly violent for me.

5. The art & music [The music is a LARGE part of it]

6. The cheesiness [I like cheesiness]

7. The show is one of my inspirations for shows I want to make.

8. The variety of scenarios. [different dubs also help w/ that.]

9. The fandom seemed mostly chill & respectful for what I've seen, especially compared to other shows [fandoms don't really affect my opinion of a show but they help me feel more connected and see multiple perspectives]

10. May add more..

Yeah, I really wish I could identify with most of these...

There is definitely something about the world itself and the general story format that appeals to me. The slice-of-life format to me was representative of what is an ideal environment to live in, unlike my actual life, which (to be as direct as possible) was as much of a living hell as I could imagine other than starving in some third-world country. Hanging out with friends, doing fun things for no other reason than to have fun and enjoy life... and occasionally fighting bad guys. But then again, that's pretty much what Power Rangers was about as well. Either way, it's hard to really even want to try to chase that in real life when the overwhelming majority of people around you are some of the most godawful human beings imaginable.

Maybe that's actually my disconnect with shows like these: how evil is generally represented. These stories about magical bad guys following this diabolical plot to take over the world don't really phase me when I see far more evil in real life, such as people who murder and carve people up, torture animals to death, or even drive people to suicide, all for laughs. Hell, real world leaders throughout our history have done and continue to do things that are FAR more horrifying than what these fictional baddies are always plotting around about... Lol, like this race for the all-powerful artifact that would spell the end of the world if it fell into the wrong hands. I'm like, "Bruh. The human race collectively has an arsenal big enough to destroy this whole planet 20 TIMES OVER. Putin could end humanity TOMORROW if he wanted."

That could also be why I fail to really have any sort of emotional attachment with these characters: I'm just too desensitized by real life to really find their predicaments all that problematic, especially with regards to whole theme of Love. Like Lita/Makoto's issues of people being afraid of her, and wanting to find and keep a boyfriend, only to be dumped repeatedly and always getting down in the dumps over it. I'm just like, "GIRL, I would trade places with you in a heartbeat for THOSE to be my biggest issues in life!"

So I guess, part of what draws me to Sailor Moon is also the same thing that turns me away. It represents a state of the world that I want to believe exists, but I just don't...

Sorry if this ended up turning into a rant. Probably not the best look, but I guess it needs to be said.

 

[Rika-Chicchi]

There's no standard definition of what a fan should be, & your visiting & posting/discussing about it here shows that you must still be a fan.

 

[MariaTenebre]

If you don't like the series that is fine. So long as you respect it for what it is and don't want to infiltrate and change it into something it is not. There is a big difference between being a non fan vs. a anti fan. The former is fine but the latter is toxic and should be gatekept out at all costs.

 

[karasu_tomoe]

If you don't like the series that is fine. So long as you respect it for what it is and don't want to infiltrate and change it into something it is not. There is a big difference between being a non fan vs. a anti fan. The former is fine but the latter is toxic and should be gatekept out at all costs.

I do like it, and always have. I just could never understand WHY I do. To your point, though, a lot of my fiction projects revolve around themes that are so far detached from what the series is objectively all about, that I'm wondering if I'm better off just developing an all new IP and telling a unique story in that fashion. Though I don't think I have the skill set for that, and certainly not something worth spending months or years learning just for hobby projects. It'd have to be a career move of some kind for me to bother.

UPDATE(s): Upon further reflecting, I remember I really did start to get MUCH more invested in the series once Season 3 dropped and introduced the Death Busters, whom I thought were a hilarious change of pace from the previous two villain groups. First we had what I personally consider to be your fairly run-of-the-mill regal/medieval noble house-type organizations, and suddenly we have this kooky cackling mad scientist up to goofy shenanigans like brewing the ultimate coffee (or something, I can't keep the subs and dubs straight, but it's always funny to me) or ordering pizza and being all like "Mwahaha! Pizza!" OH, and all the while just casually growing B.O.W.-type monsters that are each capable of SOLOING all five Inners at their current peak. I'm just like, "Damn, all those power-ups and everything they've overcome these last two seasons just to get ragdolled by this new organization's basic jobber monsters. O_o" Speaking of which, there's at least a handful of MotD's that earn a place in my top favorite list, albeit for uhm... reasons.

So, I guess, whatever it was about Sailor Moon that I originally came for, it's definitely the Death Busters that I stay for.

 

[MariaTenebre]

Well the Death Busters are my favorite villain group as well Karasu so I can understand that. That being said if you like the series but want to do something kind of original and different that is fine too. Naoko Takeuchi herself added alot of different story ideas to her series from fantasy, horror, sci fi etc. In fact Sailor Moon itself was a spin off of Sailor V.

So again you can do a fresh even original take on the series and still like it and respect the series, characters and source material.

 

[Lady Pen]

Maybe what you like it's the surrealistic contrast of the series? The cheesiness? Maybe I'm wrong but I feel you find yourself comfortable when the series wasn't taking itself seriously? Those sort of mechanisms tend to be good escapism and enrich your imagination.

Also, I'm gonna give you a piece of advice: If you have an inner world you want to express, go for it. Even as a hobby. Don't repress it. Have a normal life as much as you can and build your fantasy castles whenever you're free or want to channel your feelings.

I feel you're very emotional.

 

[saintfighteraqua]

There's no standard definition of what a fan should be, & your visiting & posting/discussing about it here shows that you must still be a fan.

You're wrong! If you don't buy all 12 variations of each senshi as a QPosket....including alternate colors...how can you possibly be a fan?!

 

[karasu_tomoe]

Maybe what you like it's the surrealistic contrast of the series? The cheesiness? Maybe I'm wrong but I feel you find yourself comfortable when the series wasn't taking itself seriously? Those sort of mechanisms tend to be good escapism and enrich your imagination.

Also, I'm gonna give you a piece of advice: If you have an inner world you want to express, go for it. Even as a hobby. Don't repress it. Have a normal life as much as you can and build your fantasy castles whenever you're free or want to channel your feelings.

I feel you're very emotional.

Are you talking about the Death Busters or the series as a whole? For the Death Busters, like I said, it's definitely the near-180 contrast in tone and aesthetic. I think I liked the Clover dub the best, where the ham is at its absolute peak. Though, it all hits much better when you actually have the other villain groups to compare.

However, I still struggle what actually got me into Sailor Moon in the first place. This was even before Toonami, so it was just the first two seasons. I'm fairly set in the theory that I was simply attracted to the pretty art style (which in retrospect was fairly new to the West at the time). I don't really consider that personally enough to call myself a fan, considering there are shows that I get genuinely invested in and actually feel connections with the characters.

But then again, is it really a requirement really? Maybe it depends on the work. Hell, one of my favorite movies of all time are the Cranked movies, which are about as mindless as a movie could get: just Jason Statham running around beating the crap out of people and then hurrying as fast as he can to the next person to beat up. LMAO And then the visuals, the soundtrack, etc., all just amplify the already total insanity to 11. Of course, I'm pretty sure this was the intention of the movie: to be mindless and goofy, and not take itself seriously.

On the flipside there's my probably second-favorite movie series: Expendables, which, while still mostly gratuitous violence, there's still an underlying theme that hooks me: feeling dead inside, wrestling with your demons, whether or not to accept who you are (even if who you are is an absolute monster). This scene always makes me teary-eyed:

Perhaps this series was always simply a welcome contrast to what is my typical norm. The sugar that complements the salt, so to speak. There's also the obvious nostaglia factor. A connection to the few positive pieces of my childhood. I should probably look into what Naoko's original intentions were.

 

[Rika-Chicchi]

It's good to know all the whys, but if not, it's also fine, & either way it doesn't affect your being a fan.

 

[karasu_tomoe]

So, been reflecting more, and so far yeah, the main draw I think I have is the slice-of-life sort of format: a window into what I'm lead to believe is a typical teenage life, something that I more or less lacked in my teen years. I think my obsession comes from wanting to experience that on a more intimate level, but was always bit too anti-social to really try to go that far.

Anyway, I think the reason I've been struggling with my fanfic endeavors is because none of my projects really have a core focus that I see resonating with the general fandom. Meaning, they lack those elements that really define the series, and because of that, not only do I worry about who might enjoy my work, but I also lose interest quickly because I get lost and unfocused because there's nothing really guiding my progress. Basically, what specifically am I trying to accomplish with this story? Am I trying to tell a story that hasn't been told in this universe? Explore alternate scenarios? Re-contextualise or challenge the themes of the series (i.e. love, friendship, etc.)? ...Or, is it just another one of those self-insert wish fulfillments?

-

I used to be conflicted about my interest in this show. When we were boys, as you might expect, we all kinda ribbed on Sailor Moon for its surface-level girliness, and the idea of having any interest in the series was something of a taboo. Although, it was mostly projection, as soon or later, as you might expect, turns out we ALL watched it to at least some extent, although never really understanding WHY we did. Maybe that's where this obsession stems from.

I think if there's one thing I've been trying hardest to do, it's to take Sailor Moon and incorporate that sort of (for lack of a better term) "toxic masculinity" that we so loved as kids: guns, vulgarity, senseless violence, etc. However, I never wanted it to just be a bunch juvenile nonsense. The goal is to remain faithful to the essence that makes Sailor Moon so special to me. That's what I think would be interesting. Basically, I want to write something that's actually GOOD, and not just another self-indulgent power fantasy.

I have a group of villain OCs that suit this function, but I can never really figure out what to do with them. They're basically a squad of mercs working for the Death Busters, and they're tasked with handling their dirtiest jobs. And they do it with guns, bombs, gratuitous brutality, as well as rapidly regenerating bodies that heal damage as fast as they take it. Originally, my plan was (and still is) to write a story revolving around these guys and an underground turf war against other villain groups. The idea is fun as hell in my head, but the problem is, that Sailor Moon essence is never really there. And without it, I don't know how well received it would be. But more importantly, my interest in the project burns out quickly, because even I get run down trying to keep things together. I get lost and confused on the direction the story is going, where it needs to go, the tone of the story, which characters are the central focus, things like that.

And the more I think about it, the more I start to come to the conclusion that--at least in the Sailor Moon world--these kinds of guys just don't work as protagonists, not even villain protagonists. I mean, this is (IMO) a series about romance and wholesome slice-of-life moments (and of course fighting evil), and now here's a story centered around a bunch of delinquent misfits sent out into warzones to kill and blow stuff up and loving every second of it, all in the service of an organization dedicated to the total destruction of the world. Even though I'm confident I've nailed their motives and made them as sympathetic as possible, it all still flies in the face of that very essence. Therefore, if the core goal is to marry those two things together, then I think these OCs do that best as antagonists.

The thing about that is, this was actually part of my original idea, but it was conceived as a hentai/fetish work. The story is: one of the mercs (a 12-13yo brat) is captured and interrogated by the Sailors, and of course... things ensue . Although I could never really get that to work cohesively either. But maybe if I just ditch the hentai/fetish stuff (maybe keep some ecchi stuff just as a gag), I wonder if I could put together something meaningful and explore it in interesting ways.

Of course another problem I've accidentally run into with these OCs is their general core personalities and attitudes. Turns out if you just take away their guns and make them female, then that's literally the Amazoness Quartet: a bunch of goofballs that joke around and are generally more interested in trolling their opponents than straight up dominating them. Not saying that's bad, just saying... it's been done, technically. lol

(I'm starting to think that maybe I'm just super confused about what I really want to do... lol)

 

[Maraviollantes]

Maybe that's actually my disconnect with shows like these: how evil is generally represented. These stories about magical bad guys following this diabolical plot to take over the world don't really phase me when I see far more evil in real life, such as people who murder and carve people up, torture animals to death, or even drive people to suicide, all for laughs. Hell, real world leaders throughout our history have done and continue to do things that are FAR more horrifying than what these fictional baddies are always plotting around about... Lol, like this race for the all-powerful artifact that would spell the end of the world if it fell into the wrong hands. I'm like, "Bruh. The human race collectively has an arsenal big enough to destroy this whole planet 20 TIMES OVER. Putin could end humanity TOMORROW if he wanted."

There is definitely something about the world itself and the general story format that appeals to me. The slice-of-life format to me was representative of what is an ideal environment to live in, unlike my actual life, which (to be as direct as possible) was as much of a living hell as I could imagine other than starving in some third-world country. Hanging out with friends, doing fun things for no other reason than to have fun and enjoy life... and occasionally fighting bad guys.

If you want something with more slice of life and no unnecessary drama/murders, then "Machikado Mazoku" will be a perfect magical girl series for you. Way better than Sailor Moon.

 

[HappyMoon]

For the purpose of some of my fanfiction endeavors, I've lately been struggling to recall what drew me to Sailor Moon in the first place. But what I think I've come to realize is... I'm not actually much of a fan at all.

I don't really care much for or resonate with any of the characters except for Hotaru. When they're killed off or in peril or otherwise face negativity in their lives, I don't really shed much tears, I'm more less just like, "Oh wow, that sucks..." And what little investment I did have for any given character I think just mostly came down to head-canon. So if not the characters, then what is it about Sailor Moon that always interested me?

I know at least part of it has to do with the show involving a lot of fighting, which will obviously appeal to the male viewers. But that was never really anything new, nor has fighting and violence ever been strictly a "guy's domain." So to try and really hammer this out, I started quietly watching shows that I felt are similar, particularly Winx Club. Although I tend to watch with the volume dialed down, otherwise pieces of the voice acting and soundtrack make me feel uncomfortable for some reason. That said, I think I finally know what makes me, at the very least, morbidly curious.

The answer is: the girls are pretty and attractive. Yeah. That's pretty much it. Although, I can't really fully explain that either, as it's not really a sexual attraction, in fact that's barely the case (although their revealing casual outfits don't exactly help my case...) Still, this realization is a tad depressing, to be honest. I know that people enjoy the Sailor Moon franchise to death, and that there's a lot for people to see, but... I dunno, I just don't see it. Especially now. After my experimental exposure to Winx, I'm now trying to watch Sailor Moon from the beginning, and... I honestly can't for the life of me find the appeal for me anymore! It's such a strange feeling, like I've been unplugged from the Matrix or something.

I guess I shouldn't be entirely surprised. As long as I've known, I've always seen things different from other people. But it's not like there aren't shows that I do have a genuine investment in, with characters I care about, situations that make me want to stay glued to the screen/monitor and binge-watch the entire series. I'm just trying to wrap my head around how and why it was THIS series that ended up eating such a big chunk of my life... Maybe because it was new at the time and hadn't really been seen before?

I'd ask what is YOUR interest in Sailor Moon, but I'm sure there's plenty of threads about that on this forum already.

Honestly? I think you are growing out of it and... that's pretty great. Not for the brand per se, who cares about the brand!, but for your creative, unique voice. You can turn your headcanons in something completely original that only belongs to you. And this is a thing I always cheer for. Gambatte!

 

[karasu_tomoe]

Honestly? I think you are growing out of it and... that's pretty great. Not for the brand per se, who cares about the brand!, but for your creative, unique voice. You can turn your headcanons in something completely original that only belongs to you. And this is a thing I always cheer for. Gambatte!

That's one way to look at it, I guess. Actually, I had been debating on the idea of making my ideas into just a whole new IP. I'd certainly have a lot more creative control over things and wouldn't have to box myself in so tightly around the Sailor Moon canon.

At the deepest root, the BIG story in my mind is about a bullied young boy who's fascinated by a squad of beautiful magical girls who fight evil in his world. And one day, after being fed up with life, a series of events leads him to being inducted into a militaristic organization that is currently locked in a turf war against another evil organization, against which he knows those magical girls are directly fighting. Thus, he willfully follows along in this new life, hoping this will one day bring him closer to idols. But as he continues to fight and cheat death on a daily basis, a devilish rage gradually awakens in him. He slowly sheds his timid nature in favor of a lust for battle and death, and his tenacity for brutal carnage earns him a fearsome reputation among both evil organizations. As he begins to fully embrace his new life as a killing machine and find joy for the first time, he realizes he has to make a choice regarding how he wants the magical girls to view him: either as a helpful companion, or as an enemy unlike anything they've yet to encounter.

A lot of interesting questions could be brought up. Such as, A.) Is it better to chase after companionship, or to simply be who you are... even if who you are is objectively HORRIFYING? B.) What really is Evil? Is it something corporeal? Does it come from somewhere and spread to humans like a virus? Or is it simply human nature? And if it is, can the fight against evil ever truly be won?

Now the challenge, as this thread is meant to explain, is capturing the essence of Sailor Moon that drew me to it as a kid. I don't actually watch a lot of anime or cartoons anymore, so oddly I actually don't have much interest in other shows like PreCure or anything like that. So I don't actually have a solid understanding of why I'm so fixated on SM specifically. I'm wondering if maybe it's just the blind nostalgia that keeps me in. A holdover of my otherwise broken childhood that I'm trying to bring back to life.

Either way, there's also the issue of having to create a whole new cast of characters, including these magical girls that the protagonist is supposed to be fawning over, with believable and relatable personalities, and not just bland stereotypes of magical girl characters. I don't know how well I'd be able to do that. I spent years trying to flesh out just the OCs I have.

Dunno how these posts of mine always spill out into whole essays... :/

 

[Nadia]

As someone whose Sailor Moon fanfic ideas tended to steer more towards original characters, the Silver Millennium and Crystal Tokyo eras, and not only expanding the world of Sailor Moon but crossing it over with other franchises until it became its own crazy multiverse in my head...I can understand. At one point I was plotting the adventures of Sailor Moon's granddaughter and her group of Sailor Scouts in an alternate universe where Queen Beryl won on the attack on the Moon and took over the Moon Kingdom and Earth, but the Negaverse did not have possession of the Silver Crystal. Sometimes, with as afield as it went where Queen Beryl, Zoycite, and Malachite were the only canonical Sailor Moon characters* I thought about just divorcing the whole thing from Sailor Moon, especially since the other franchises also later created entries that rendered my idea non-canon.

But I decided against divorcing the idea from Sailor Moon for multiple reasons. First and foremost, I do have my own original ideas that I haven't made any progress on, so trying to port my fanfic to a new original ideas would be pointless. The other is that I realized my crazy plot was bad and I only liked it because I tied it to Sailor Moon.

You see for me, what drew me to Sailor Moon was that it was these female fighters who wielded elemental powers, but unlike Captain Planet, they didn't just use non-violent means using their powers but fought with them, I loved the idea that they were connected with both the planetary and mythological elements as part of their namesakes. I also loved how there was an interplanetary empire within the actual solar system mixed in with reincarnation, fairy tales, and Greco-Roman myths. Most of all, I loved the drawing style.

That said, I love the show, but generally, I do not get weepy eyed or emotional when it comes to the characters themselves, even though I truly love quite a few of them. I watched Grave of the Fireflies without shedding a tear (to be fair, I had been inured by Game of Thrones). Generally, I get more annoyed than anything else when a character is killed off, not because I want them to live but because killing them off is a cheap way of mining drama.

*Technically, the Doom Tree was in it and the monsters/mooks were children of the tree who were kept in a state of starvation so they would mindlessly drain the energy of the humans at the direction the main baddie -- who wasn't Beryl but one of her underlings. But the Tree was pretty much being used as a tool and eventually was outright destroyed by the heroes.