Comments on: Sailor Moon S episodes 94 and 95 are now available on Hulu

By: saintfighteraqua

saintfighteraqua — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 16:47:11 +0000

Yes, it is very cultural. Here in the United States it’s not rare at all to see two people making out in public. Personally, I think that’s going to far, but I don’t mind at all to see people showing affection in public while keeping it decent (again, I know that’s subjective for many.)

I’m sad that we’ve supposedly come so far in society but now friends can’t even hold hands without being labeled or even ridiculed and heaven forbid two guys hug without a fist between their chests or saying “no homo”. (I hate that.)

I hope I didn’t come off as unaffectionate or against affection. It’s not that, I just think people should show some restraint and respect while in public. Even if it is mostly subjective I think we all know what lines not to cross.

By: saintfighteraqua

saintfighteraqua — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 16:37:55 +0000

I’ve always felt that away about them too, without knowing exactly how to put it.
Haruka and Michiru do not really display any stereotypes that I can think of and I’d guess they don’t get hung up on it or really care what others think.
Now that you put it that way, I’m glad they don’t use labels and such in the show or manga and I hope that continues if Crystal gets to the Infinity Arc.

By: Adam

Adam — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 13:28:19 +0000

Restraint is a bit hard to quantify. Miley Cyrus’s behaviour is a bit over the top but that is far from what we see here. I tend to think people should be free to act with as little or as much restraint as they feel comfortable with. Like I said I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Unazuki’s feelings of wanting to save herself. I just feel it goes a bit far in this episode especially given the lack of soul leading to promiscuity angle. It’s cultural and I don’t know a ton about Japanese culture but my understanding is things like kissing in public are very frowned upon. As a North American it’s bit shocking to see such prudishness on a simple kiss. I think Sailor Moon is simply a product of the culture it’s made in, which is where these behaviours come from. This episode is just a reflection of that culture. It just makes me uncomfortable to see women ashamed of expressing their feelings. All in all the series is very positive about so many things that this is just a minor gripe I have.

By: Adam

Adam — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 13:19:20 +0000

Interesting point about Michiru. She may simply be attracted to Haruka for her masculine tendencies and not hung up on labels enough to be put off by it. Trying to think of other instances where she’s expresses attraction to other women but coming up blank.

The specifics aren’t terribly important. They are simply two people that love each other.

By: Utena

Utena — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 05:55:21 +0000

In response to the whole talking about Haruka/Michiru with euphemistic terms thing, while I definitely wish more media was willing to say things like gay and lesbian outright, part of the deal here may be that those terms don’t quite fit with the more vague/fluid orientations and gender identities that they could be going for. This is especially prevalent in the manga, for example Haruka’s masculine identity is so solid that the racecar magazines actually refer to Haruka as a male outright (in the translation I’ve read at least), yet also in the manga we sometimes see her in very feminine clothes (not just her Senshi uniform but as a civilian). When Usagi asks her whether she is a man or a woman, Haruka doesn’t label herself as a butch lesbian or trans or bigendered, but says “Man, woman, why should something like that matter?”. With that in mind do we know for sure that Michiru is a lesbian? iirc she does flirt with guys at times, maybe she’s bi, or even mostly into males -with Haruka and her irresistible masculine swagger being the one exception. I really appreciate how the series explores some less-binary gender identities and sexual orientations like this. While the anime doesn’t always address this quite as directly as the manga, I feel like the vague way it talks about Haruka/Michiru is a nod in that direction.

If Haruka and Michiru aren’t using words like lesbian and girlfriend to describe themselves, it makes sense why the Inner Senshi would dance around such terms as well. Of course at the end of the day I guess it’s hard to tell how much of this is a matter of intentionally non-binary character identities, and how much is a weird 90s phobia against speaking plainly about the same-sex relationship that is obviously happening in your show…

By: saintfighteraqua

saintfighteraqua — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 04:24:50 +0000

Oh, thanks everyone! I’d totally forgotten that Naru had her dream mirror targeted and that she’d appeared in Ami’s first love.

By: saintfighteraqua

saintfighteraqua — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 04:23:37 +0000

I’ve noticed that about Ami too. XD
I think the joke is that she is the one who seems most innocent but she’s also the most observant.

By: Neon Genesis

Neon Genesis — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 03:54:54 +0000

Naru and Umino also show up in the Ami’s First Love mini movie.

By: Neon Genesis

Neon Genesis — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 03:54:39 +0000

There’s also a scene in Sailor Stars where this girl gives Usagi a letter and asks her to deliver it to Yaten for her and everyone misunderstands and thinks it’s a love letter from the girl to Usagi and Ami makes a comment about how she thought Usagi was “that kind of girl.” So apparently Ami thought Usagi was bi?

By: Rami

Rami — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 02:13:52 +0000

Well, they’re in junior high school. Every junior high student, particularly ones from the 90’s, might feel a little nervous about such a subject. As for why Ami keeps pointing it out…maybe she reads lots of BL or yuri fiction? It’s a bit of a stereotype that people who seem studious and only care about academics have a hidden freaky side. Maybe Ami’s one of those types.

Then again, we might be reading too deep into this and making things up just to find explanations. It could just be odd coincidence.