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Sailor Moon Community Thread: She Blinded Me With Science!
- Thread starter MikeMyers
- Start date
KDash31987
Member
KDash31987
Member
And here's a full resolution version because...well, why not?
Here's how I figure it works.
Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion (for example) lived in the past and grew into teenagers, met and fell in love, and then they tragically died. But Queen Serenity rigged it so their souls would be reborn again to have a second chance. So Serenity and Endymion were reborn to entirely new families as Usagi and Mamoru.
Through Season 1, they met and fell in love for a second time, and their powers activated, but even as Sailor Moon, Usagi always remained Usagi. Over the course of S1, Usagi and Mamoru's memories slowly "awakened" and they remembered their past as Serenity and Endymion, but they never stopped being Usagi and Mamoru (aside from an occasional brainwashing or whatever).
This is because Usagi is Serenity, and Mamoru is Endymion. In this universe, the soul exists, and in the argument of nature vs nurture, nature wins. Serenity may have been raised a princess and Usagi was raised a commoner, but Usagi will always be Usagi, and always has been Usagi, even all the way back when she was known by the name of Serenity.
As Serenity, she remembered being born to Queen Serenity and raised to be a Princess, and as Usagi, she remembered being born to Mrs Tsukino and being raised to get good grades. But after her memories awakened, she remembered that she had both of those experiences, and the experience doesn't really change her, because she was the same person both times. Two different-looking paths aligned and merged, but they were both fundamentally the same path all along.
Sailor Saturn was reborn to Professor Tomoe as "Hotaru", and seems to have had a radically different upbringing (although we don't know anything about Sailor Saturn's past, so maybe not?), so maybe the awakening of Saturn's memories in Sailormoon S changed Hotaru as a person, but I doubt it. Deep down, Hotaru was always Sailor Saturn reborn. And then she died and was reborn yet again.
In Stars, baby Hotaru is nowhere near equal to the development of Sailor Saturn or the previous Hotaru, so Sailor Saturn's memories are "asleep" to allow her to grow up normally (I believe at this point there's no distinction between the sleeping Sailor Saturn and the previous incarnation of Hotaru, because Hotaru remembered her past as Sailor Saturn, and Sailor Saturn (while sleeping) experienced a second life as Hotaru, so the two are one and the same). But external forces required a rude awakening of Sailor Saturn, who is clearly different from a baby, and whose emergence even required a magical body growth. Baby Hotaru's body can't even handle the stuff inside Sailor Saturn's head (but that's okay, because Sailor Saturn can fix that).
I don't think it's at all clear what kind of person Hotaru V2 is by herself, like if Sailor Saturn went back to sleep, but... them's the breaks. Plans get messed up. And it's all Sailor Saturn in the end anyways. She only has one soul.
Even if Hotaru is one soul, it doesn't mean her personality and memories are necessarily whole. The Saturn aspect of herself is demonstrably too powerful to lie dormant in the relevant events of the anime and manga in which it manifests itself outside Hotaru.
See also: PGSM Usagi.
See also: PGSM Usagi.
KDash31987
Member
Two minds, one body.
Or two entities. Whatever you prefer to use.
Or two entities. Whatever you prefer to use.
Nah, PGSM makes a point of clarifying that Serenity is NOT a separate person, but part of Usagi. In Madoka terms, Serenity became a Witch in the past life, and Usagi grows up with that side of herself repressed--which also explains why PGSM Usagi is dumber than Anime or Manga Usagi. But after a while, it ends up surfacing in the worst way and since Serenity is a ghoul of a personality fueled by rage her power also resonates with Metallia instead of being diametrically opposed like it normally should.
KDash31987
Member
I know they're not "technically" different people...but it's sorta like they are?
Sorta like Bruce Banner and the Hulk. Or maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about. I need sleep.
Sorta like Bruce Banner and the Hulk. Or maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about. I need sleep.
KDash31987
Member
Ah, the gif I made for you.
I forgot about the "Just smile" thing. I need to re-rewatch the series. When I rewatched it recently, I keep taking long breaks between episodes, and watching while some while I was tired. Heh.
I forgot about the "Just smile" thing. I need to re-rewatch the series. When I rewatched it recently, I keep taking long breaks between episodes, and watching while some while I was tired. Heh.
It was much appreciated!
It really helps to rewatch it because it drops several hints throughout on where the show is going, and it's not until that moment by the fountain that the show fully reveals itself as Sailor Moon Gone Wrong.
If that comparison works for you. It's just a useful point of reference, given how more people are familiar with Madoka. In the manga, Serenity becomes overcome with grief and takes her own life. In PGSM, this gets taken a step further with her greater attachment toward Endymion and she becomes consumed with rage, and in Usagi's present life her anger manifests these traits. That's why Serenity is so one-note, because she doesn't represent a whole person, only what has become an absolute obsession, which, of course, is to the exclusion of everything and anything else in existence.
The more general theme in PGSM is that the characters we all know and love aren't as well adjusted as in other versions, even touching on past-life regression as a disorder. Usagi is no exception.
KDash31987
Member
Did I do this right?
Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I think it's on Hulu. It's a "dark" magical girl show.
cj_iwakura
Member
It's on crunchyroll. I'll give you a 24 hour pass if I have to. Watch the first three episodes for sure.
KDash31987
Member
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puella_Magi_Madoka_Magica
Takes a lot from non-anime Sailor Moon, including a more pessimistic take on Sailor Crystals.
I liked it. She basically became an Outer, but emphasized her experience as a sailor soldier while also turning it into a personality disorder as I mentioned before.
I don't use this term often but I think it is a tad bit overrated.
It's still good, mind you, but some of its fans are crazy about exactly how good it is.
It's pretty remarkable for people not familiar with the magical girl genre--most of where it goes Sailor Moon already went--but while it's hardly revolutionary it is still a solid entry.
KDash31987
Member
I only watched the first three episodes like two years ago. I never finished it. Maybe I'll finally get around to that soon...
Oh, yeah, I'm gonna have to hold off on buying the rest of the Sailor Moon manga for now, sadly. I ended up buying myself a 3DS XL for my birthday. Hah.
Oh, yeah, I'm gonna have to hold off on buying the rest of the Sailor Moon manga for now, sadly. I ended up buying myself a 3DS XL for my birthday. Hah.
KDash31987
Member
KDash31987
Member
I might rewatch it after I finish rewatching Sailor Stars.
Speaking of which, I think I'll go watch Sailor Stars now.
The anime is absolutely packed with such moments given how wonderfully expressive everything is.
Agreed.
Hopefully we'll get more Sailor Saturn action in the new series, I don't think she even has a transformation outside of the Sega Saturn game.
That's what you get when you withhold a translation for years, only to suddenly get the urge to finish when an official release threatens to take the spotlight away from you, and your work isn't even that good.
As I understand it, SM was shot on lower size film, so even at SD there's a tradeoff between preserving detail and film grain. The R2 DVDs are generally really good, but sub releases based on them all squash detail in order to clean up grain and don't get me started on SMC's colorblind encoder. KAA did the better job, but they only did s1 and their decision to have font color and typeface change with each speaker requires attention(they also threw in some really boneheaded TL notes). Fortunately with softsubs you can fix all that.
I don't want to turn this into a bashing thread, but I used to be registered on a Sailor Moon forum which she modereated. One day she basically destroyed the entire thing just for the lols, never seen so much internet drama in my life.
Region 2? Do they have English subtitles?
Region 2? Do they have English subtitles?
I wasn't kidding with my "I'm mad as hell" youtube link. As a long suffering Sailor Moon fan you learn that your fellow "fans" are the worst sort of people. At least ADV could claim that they were just using the materials Toei provided them for their R1 DVDs.
SPEAKING OF WHICH...
I find it's worthwhile to check out Goldfish Warning. It's what the Sailor Moon anime staff was doing immediately before Sailor Moon, and there's a ton of carryover. Junichi Satou directing, a bunch of the same episode directors including Kunihiko Ikuhara, even the same music composer. Sailor Moon ended up as lighthearted and comedic as it was because this is what these people were already doing when they started work on it.
The video and audio quality from available sources, however, is similar to the ADV R1 DVDs of Sailor Moon. You get used to it, though.
SPEAKING OF WHICH...
I find it's worthwhile to check out Goldfish Warning. It's what the Sailor Moon anime staff was doing immediately before Sailor Moon, and there's a ton of carryover. Junichi Satou directing, a bunch of the same episode directors including Kunihiko Ikuhara, even the same music composer. Sailor Moon ended up as lighthearted and comedic as it was because this is what these people were already doing when they started work on it.
The video and audio quality from available sources, however, is similar to the ADV R1 DVDs of Sailor Moon. You get used to it, though.
All high quality versions of the anime are derived from the relatively recently released R2 box sets, and no, they have no English subtitles.
I must have missed the "Mad as Hell" youtube link?
I'll try Goldfish Warning one day; this is the second anime I've been recommended today. First this thread keeps making me want to buy stuff, now its trying to convince me to watch anime. This thread is more evil than Beryl.
I'll try Goldfish Warning one day; this is the second anime I've been recommended today. First this thread keeps making me want to buy stuff, now its trying to convince me to watch anime. This thread is more evil than Beryl.
People who hate Usagi, Chibiusa, and Supers are wrong.
Usagi is the comedic lead of the show, and her personality drives everything else. Chibiusa is a girl who wants to think she's better than her parent, but when it really comes down to it she's very much like her. Supers is definitely uneven, but has a bunch of great episodes.
Also, Stars is great with some classic episodes, but it's pretty much S redux and the ending is a bit too drawn out.
Usagi is the comedic lead of the show, and her personality drives everything else. Chibiusa is a girl who wants to think she's better than her parent, but when it really comes down to it she's very much like her. Supers is definitely uneven, but has a bunch of great episodes.
Also, Stars is great with some classic episodes, but it's pretty much S redux and the ending is a bit too drawn out.
If you're watching Sailor Moon for the plot, you're doing it wrong. It's an episodic show. Character antics are where it shines.
Lee Chaolan
Member
I also never cared for Stars, plus the lack of Tuxedo Mask was also annoying.