People Like Me Ruin Feminism

lesbiaaans:

adventuresofcomicbookghoul:

(Flashback, Rei sits down in her shrine maiden garb, tired)

Usagi: Wow, Rei, you’re one hard worker!

Rei (smiling and wagging her finger): You finally realized this?

(Usagi laughs)

Rei (in the present, crying at the memory): Usagi!

The scene wasn’t at the temple or anything, but there was an episode where Usagi complimented Rei on her work ethic and Rei was clearly pretty touched (a love song she wrote was also playing during the moment. Yeah…) but responded snarkily, “yeah unlike you” cue lovemaking bickering. So again, precedence! Usagi is always very open about admiring and complementing her friends, and she notices every good thing about them! And Rei makes sure to be super tsundere about that, because that’s how she rolls.

Yes! And the thing with Rei is— in this movie, her sad flashback of loneliness is the only one that stood out to me as not the thing I would’ve instantly expected? Rei in the anime is mostly seen to take pride in what she does, and it seems to be well-received, as well. But I suppose that like all of the senshis’ strengths, it’s a double-edged sword. Still, Rei’s faith and devotion to the shrine is downplayed in comparison to the manga, where she aspires to becoming a high priestess, so I didn’t expect this to be such a defining moment for her… but when I think about it, it makes sense.

Rei’s feelings regarding her life as a shrine maiden are complicated: she obviously values and cherishes her work and her family’s legacy, but at the same time she wants to break free of it, to go all around the world and live her life to the fullest. Still, the anime still makes it that despite her supposedly conflicting dreams, she’s loyal to the shrine and doesn’t want to abandon it. The way I see it, she wants to go and experience everything the world has to offer, and once she has, she’ll always go back to the shrine. I really like that.

I also think that part of why Rei wants to go out into the world so badly is due to what we see in her pre-Usagi flashback. Rei, as we know, isn’t terribly good at people — she’s bossy and snobby and just can’t connect with them well on an emotional level due to her difficulty trusting others. Without getting close to anyone, nobody could see her true self, and so she was pegged as ‘creepy psychic girl do not approach’. And that made her want to prove she’s more than that. It made her want to prove that she can do anything she puts her mind to, that there’s more to her than just being a shrine maiden, even though it’s a part of her that she treasures and won’t give up for anything.

And then Usagi comes along and she thinks Rei’s being a shrine maiden is awesome. And beyond that, she recognizes the effort Rei puts into everything, both her work and both outside of it. Rei is always giving it her all, but she’s too proud to really let it show, and always tries to pass it off as no big deal. And Usagi respects that, she doesn’t try to smash down her wall of pride with ‘no, you’re lying, I know that it was hard for you’ — but instead, she reaches through it with her support and appreciation. To her, Rei is a superwoman, not just because of her successes, but because of the work she puts in to achieve them. And Rei cherishes that.

Really good thoughts by june as always.

(Source: adventuresofcomicbookgirl)

(Source: lesbiaaans)

(Source: lesbiaaans)

(Source: lesbiaaans)

lesbiaaans:

so guess who’s still the world’s best girlfriend