i enjoy that human Artemis has a belly button cut out and boob window. werk it.
(Source: magicalcompact, via name-of-the-moon)
I often see people wonder why the Sailor V video game is actually a senshi training tool in the manga, and this is not only the way that came to be, but why creating a magical arcade game that really teaches you how to fight (but only if you have a Sailor Crystal of course) is actually a really genius thing to do when your goal is turn Minako Aino into a competant soldier
ikr? I thought it was really cute.
(via azuresquirrel)
Okay, well, people liked my last meta, so I feel comfortable rambling about the other thing that occured to me rereading the Sailor Moon manga!
First of all, this is basically the cutest page ever. Look at that snuggling- it’s so sweet that Usagi still makes sure to look after everyone else’s feelings even while she’s worried about Mamoru.
But most importantly, I think one of the things that contrasts Mina and Usagi’s personalities is how Minako interacts with Artemis vs. how Usagi interacts with Luna.
And I think that’s one of the things the anime really drops the ball on- they gave Usagi a lot of manga!Minako’s characteristics (most importantly a bit of Mina’s temper and bluntness as well as her dynamic with Rei), which made for some problems when Minako was introduced. And a big part of that is they had Usagi treat Luna pretty roughly in the anime- smacking her when she’s mad, disregarding her feelings, snarking off to her- which is exactly how Mina treats Artemis. There’s no differentiation between how those characters treat their guardians and the anime even shows them doing it in sync sometimes.
But the manga shows that Usagi and Minako relate to people, and especially their guardians, quite differently. Minako is the type of person who develops a belligerent relationship to the people who are close to her, because she flings insults with abandon and says what’s on her mind. She’s incredibly rough with Artemis just because she voices whatever thought pops into her head and it gets to the point where there’s an entire chapter of Sailor V devoted to Artemis feeling neglected by Minako- and Mina completely fails to notice these feelings. It’s not that she doesn’t care about Artemis, it’s just how she operates- she’s tough and isn’t hurt easily, so she assumes other people are the same. Also she’s far too driven and constantly off the the next thing to ever bother to worry about being gentle about things.
And this whole deal is actually an important part of Minako’s character arc- it comes to a head when Mina thinks she’s lost Artemis and does realize she’s been hard on him and how much he means to her. (The flashback panels used are even straight from Codename: Sailor V)
But I think it’s significant that Manga!Usagi does NOT ever tease Luna in the way Minako teases Artemis- the closest she ever gets is commenting that Luna’s heavy when Luna jumps on her, which is more stating a fact, probably. And as the above page demonstrates, she’s extremely affectionate with Luna and always notices when her feelings are hurt and is ready to fix it with a hug and an open declaration of love. Mina realizes that she never really told Artemis that she cares for him, but Usagi is open about her love from the very beginning. She definitely never smacks Luna around. Manga!Luna is also a lot less belligerent to Usagi than manga!Artemis in response.
So I just think it’s a wonderful and consistent way Naoko highlighted the differences between these two characters in similar positions- Usagi is naturally all about the *feelings* and affectionate and solicitous towards others- the only people who can piss her off are Mamoru and Chibiusa and whatever villian of the week has the misfortune to get in her way. Mina goes about things in a rough and harsh and expresses her affection through belligerence. The only person she’s consistently gentle with is her princess. It suits who they are and their roles perfectly- Mina’s the leader and the warrior, she’s too driven to treat others with kid gloves and she has to be harsh enough to lead everyone into battle, meanwhile Usagi’s sweetness and embrace of those around her are perfect for her role as the Messiah.
Minako: Artemis…I’m sorry I let myself get flung around by those guys…
Artemis (smiling teasingly): It’s more like you flung them around a bit! But you know, real love…is probably something that comes around after all sorts of experiences.
Minako (smiles): Perhaps so…let’s go!
After the incident though, Minako does engage in some self-blame, apologizing to Artemis for being “flung around”. To which he’s like “gurl, don’t even give me that, you totally did what you wanted and then when they did that shit you kicked their asses!” and he also assures her that he doesn’t think it’s bad she’s going after different experiences, and even after this bad one, she can still keep going and find love if she wants and he supports her.
Obviously, this isn’t as strong a refutation of self- victim-blaming from Artemis as I would have liked, or as deep a discussion of what happened to Mina as it should be, but it’s sweet enough, and I’m glad that the moral is that it’s okay for Mina to have all sorts of experiences, and even really horrific experiences don’t mean that nothing good will ever happen to her again. That’s a nice message.
Artemis: We don’t know anything about the identity of the enemy, or about Pegasus! I mean, I’m not saying love is off limits, but you can at least-
Minako: I think I’ll wear this outfit after all! Yeah, I’ll wear this on my date tomorrow! Artemis, how is it?
Artemis: I don’t care anymore…
Mina: Artemis….I know. Don’t worry about me.
Artemis: Mina…!
Mina: I, Aino Minako, also known as the Goddess of Love! I will make sure to get a firm grasp on this happiness! *cackles*
Artemis: She doesn’t get it at all…
This scene is pretty interesting, because I think Artemis is actually worried about Mina getting hurt again in love, hence her rather sincere “I know. Don’t worry about me”. Since Mina’s been hurt in a romantic situation before, it has significance.
(It would have far more significance if she had her manga backstory, because a villian would have tried to seduce her into forgetting her duty as a soldier before and she rejected him so she could be saying to Artemis “you know I can handle myself”, but no this is the anime so her past hurt here is more on a “oh no the man I liked decided to date someone his own age and not be a creeper”).
So what she’s saying here is “I’ll come out okay no matter what happens, like I did before”
After she goes into goofy Mina cackling “I will grasp this happiness!!!” mode Artemis says she doesn’t get it, but I think she does. She knows it’s risky, but she wants to go after any potentially fun life experience with all she’s got without regrets, and who can blame her for that? She knows she might get hurt, but if she does, she’ll get through it. She doesn’t want to live in fear.
