As Kristen Bell raises concerns about consent and kissing sleeping people, let’s examine the many inappropriate sleeping kisses in Sailor Moon!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Tuxedo Mask kissing Sailor Moon without consent

In a recent interview with Parents Magazine Kristen Bell made some comments about Snow White which have been making headlines. Basically she talked about how, while reading stories to her children, she asks them to think about the implications of certain actions in fairy tales and what they mean. One particular example which is relevant to Sailor Moon, as I’ll get to shortly, is Snow White. She asks her children to consider if it’s wise to take an apple from a stranger and if it’s okay to kiss a sleeping person. Various media outlets picked up on this by saying that she is calling out older Disney films, which is surely helped by the Parents Magazine article headline “Kristen Bell Worries Disney Princesses Teach Her Daughters Bad Lessons”. In reality she is specifically speaking to fairy tales in books, many of which happen to have been adapted as Disney films. Though Snow White includes a few questionable life choices the fairy tales of the likes of Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm are ancient tales full of gruesome violence as they are products of an older and much more violent period in human history. Modern versions such as the story books we may see in stores and the Disney films we enjoy will often sanitize these to appeal to our modern sensibilities. Kristen Bell is herself the voice of Anna in Frozen, a film which sets itself apart from other Disney films by calling out tropes like marrying someone you just met, the evil queen and acts of true love coming from a newly acquainted love interest. I’ve probably watched Frozen with my daughter roughly 50 times in the past year so I’ll just stop myself from elaborating on my many thoughts on this film and its relation to other Disney classics. So much to say Kristen Bell has the privilege of having worked on a Disney film which questions the status quo of films that came before it and has a number of positive progressive messages.

Sailor Moon R episode 56 - Natsumi and Mamoru

All of this brings us to Sailor Moon! I’ve mentioned this time and time again and it always seems to be divisive amongst fans. The idea is that a number of non consensual kisses given to sleeping people in the series are inappropriate due to the sleeping person’s inability to give consent. I am aware of the risk of applying a modern lens to an older work as these weren’t things I thought of in the 90s but I don’t think there’s much harm in discussing these. I am certainly not calling to ban or boycott Sailor Moon but instead, as with the conversations Kristen Bell has with her children, use it as a reason to discuss issues.

Ultimately I think it may be a little simple to give a blanket statement like saying kissing someone who is sleeping is wrong. If I kiss my baby daughter or wife while they sleep this isn’t the same as kissing a stranger. People generally kiss babies when they are too young to give overt consent, though not on the mouth. There’s nothing terribly dangerous about this. That said if I try to kiss my daughter and she says no, I will respect that request and stop. The Snow White example is perhaps not such and open and shut case. It’s not that kissing a sleeping person you’ve never met without consent is okay, however, if there is a good expectation that this will cause the person to be brought out of a comma, one could easily argue that it is morally justifiable. Similarly it may be completely inappropriate to rip a stranger’s shirt off because they are attractive however in an emergency situation it is certainly justifiable to touch someone and remove a piece of their clothing in order to perform life saving intervention. An EMT of course shouldn’t be groping a patient for sexual gratification or go around kissing people they are treating. The motivation behind these actions are the important distinction here. Most adults appreciate this nuance though children may not, hence the value in talking about the stories and media you share with them.

Sailor Moon episode 22 - Drunk Usagi

There are two examples in Sailor Moon where a sleeping person is kissed and, to me, it does not seem appropriate. The first falls into a bit of a grey area because of reincarnation and that is the kiss following the Masquerande in the Dark Kingdom story arc of the manga and Sailor Moon Crystal which also takes place in episode 22 of the original anime, “Romance Under the Moon: Usagi’s First Kiss”. In this case Usagi accidentally drinks alcohol thinking it is juice. She passes out drunk after which Tuxedo Mask kisses her. This looks particularly creepy in the original anime as the animation in this particular episode is a bit cheap. The issue here is, as the title of the anime episode title suggests, this is Usagi’s first kiss. Had Mamoru and Usagi been in an established relationship in which this kind of exchange was commonplace enough to be considered normal and he kissed her while she slept, this would not have been the same kind of breach of etiquette however in this case no such relationship existed… well not in this lifetime. The complication of course is that Mamoru and Usagi are reincarnated versions of Endymion and Princess Serenity. They had a relationship in the past and are dealing with fragments of memories of that. In the real world if someone used this as a defense for kissing a person who was passed out drunk they would rightfully be chastised for it as reincarnation isn’t real however in Sailor Moon it’s a real thing so it’s a bit more complicated. That Usagi is herself infatuated with Tuxedo Mask doesn’t really clear him of any wrongdoing as one can’t just assume someone else’s feelings though I think this may be why people feel more comfortable about this exchange. The fact that Usagi and Mamoru ultimately do end up in a relationship makes this seem okay in but this logic only works in retrospect. Mamoru and Rei were actually in a relationship at this time, though that infidelity isn’t even factoring into my objections to this. If you’re not convinced that this is a problem then instead consider if Umino, or anyone else, had found a drunk Usagi and done the same.

Sailor Moon episode 22 - Tuxedo Mask kissing a drunk Usagi

This seems to have been a concern for someone at DiC when the original Sailor Moon anime was first dubbed. Episode 22 was heavily edited for a number of reasons, including adding some backwards footage to make it appear as if Serena went back and took the stairs instead of falling off the balcony. In this particular there is no alcoholic punch, Serena never gets drunk and never passes out. The “first kiss” between her and Tuxedo Mask doesn’t really take place. The scene is shown but a voice over by Tuxedo Mask states that it’s simply his dream. So much to say it’s generally considered okay to kiss pretty much anyone in your dream. As a result of this the first on screen kiss for the Sailor Moon English dub takes place in Sailor Moon R right before Rini drops in from the future. This momentous occasion is spoiled by an awkward joke about Darien tasting peanut butter and getting stuck.

Sailor Moon S The Movie - Luna kisses Kakeru

Next we have a series of kisses from Sailor Moon S The Movie. These are fresh in my mind having just watched the recently released Blu-Ray release of the film. Many fans would have seen the film in theatres this summer. In this film Luna falls in love with a human. After asking Usagi what a kiss tastes like she takes advantage of Kakeru, the source of her affection, by kissing him while he is asleep. There is no past life relationship between Luna and Kakeru. In fact Kakeru himself has a love interest in Himeko. This isn’t cool! Kakeru does not consent to the act and is in no state to do so. The situation is a bit complicated by the fact that Luna is a cat. I have cats and I have been known to kiss them on occasion. Dogs enjoy licking people’s faces and this is generally not considered to be some violation or assault, but then dogs are animals without human intelligence. Luna is a cat, yes, but a cat who essentially has a human equivalent mind. As an aside there is very little that resembles consent in the animal kingdom as most sexual interactions are forced. This is more or less true of humans until recent history as well, but we’ve come a long way and we should all be glad to live in a world where a person’s autonomy is respected. This isn’t the only kiss in the film as Luna later kisses Kakeru while she is in human form and the two fly around space for a while. Kakeru may believe this surreal experience to be a dream but it is real and Luna doesn’t ask if it is okay to kiss him, but he is awake and he doesn’t back away. This is probably similar to how a lot of human on human kisses take place so I won’t harp on that one too much. In the 90s I don’t think anyone would bat an eye at this but in 2018 some people might take issue with such behaviour.

Sailor Moon R The Movie - Tuxedo Mask kisses a dead Sailor Moon

There are a few Snow White style kisses in the series. The first takes place during Sailor Moon R episode 69 “Awaken the Sleeping Beauty: Mamoru’s Distress” in which Sailor Moon is very much trapped in a Snow White style sleep which Mamoru wakes her up of with a kiss. Something similar occurs in Sailor Moon R The Movie when Sailor Moon literally dies, again, but can be healed through the nectar of the Kisesian Flower. Mamoru sucks up the nectar and gives it to Sailor Moon in a kiss. In both cases this resembles Snow White in that it is a necessary life saving intervention but, unlike in the story of Snow White, Mamoru and Usagi have an established relationship when this happens.

Sailor Moon R episode 56 - An, as Snow White, tries to kiss Mamoru, as Prince Charming

Snow White style kiss that never quite happened however is the kiss between An and Mamoru in Sailor Moon R episode 56 “Steal a Kiss from Mamoru! An’s Project Snow White”. In this episode An orchestrates things so that she will play Snow White in a play and get a chance to kiss Mamoru, who is playing Prince Charming. Things don’t go as planned however as her attempt to kiss him during rehearsal fails and the play is cut short by an attack by a Cardian summoned by none other than her brother lover.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 28 - Sailor Uranus kissing Sailor Moon

Finally we have the kiss between Sailor Uranus and Sailor Moon in the manga and Sailor Moon Crystal. This a sort of surprise kiss that Sailor Moon doesn’t expect and doesn’t have time to consent to one way or another. This in turn opens up the story to all sorts of interesting questions about sexuality which are quite worthwhile but it’s something I felt was worth pointing out.

All said I think Kristen Bell’s attitude of simply wanting to discuss what she’s reading with her children to be completely reasonable. She’s hardly arguing that Snow White is responsible for all of the ills of society and banning them in her household but rather finding a way to allow her children to consume media which she might not be totally okay with all while using it as a way to start a conversation about a serious topic. This isn’t quite the same attitude that Keira Knightley has, as her recent appearance on Ellen illustrated. She bans certain movies in her house, even some she quite enjoys, such as the Little Mermaid, because she’s concerned they might present a negative message. Far be it for me to tell someone else how to raise their kids! If this works for her than so be it. When I watch The Little Mermaid with my daughter I keep in mind the simple lesson this movie teaches. Don’t make a deal with a Sea Witch to get something you can get from your daddy for free if you’d just learn to communicate. I don’t think Disney is too upset about this either. If it bothers them they can wipe away their tears with some of that Pirates money.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you believe some of these kisses are inappropriate? Am I just overreacting and applying a modern lens to a harmless story? Leave a comment with your thoughts.

The English version of Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4, Masquerade Dance Party, is available now on Hulu

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Tuxedo Mask kissing Sailor Moon without consent

The latest English dubbed episode of Sailor Moon Crystal has been added to Hulu and Neon Alley. This week we get Act 4, Masquerade Dance Party. The Kingdom of D has a very impressive gem and everyone, Tuxedo Mask, the Sailor Guardians, the Dark Kingdom, wants to know if it’s the Silver Crystal so they all crash the party and check it out! This version of the dub has decided to refer to Princess D as “The Princess of D”, though she is also called Princess D in the episode. The Japanese reference of the name Princess D was likely a reference to Princess Diana, often called Princess Di, who was popular in the media in the early 90s. As her death in 1997 was over 13 years ago the reference is less relevant and so no adapting it certainly makes sense. The original Sailor Moon anime referred to her as Princess Dia, a mix between Princess Di and Princess Diana. The original English dub named her Princess Diamond.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Princess D

This version of the episode features updated animation used in the Japanese Blu-Ray and DVD home video release. I had mixed feelings about this episode when it first streamed and my feelings haven’t really changed. The big moment in this week’s episode is when Tuxedo Mask kisses and unconscious, somewhat drunk, Usagi. This isn’t cool! A sleeping person can’t consent, even when you have an existing relationship in a past life. That excuse sounds absurd here, though we must consider that within the reality of the Sailor Moon mythos, this past life did exist so there some precedent for this kiss. There was a similar scene in episode 22 of the original Sailor Moon anime, Romance Under the Moon: Usagi’s First Kiss, but in the old English dub the dialogue was changed so that it was insinuated this was a dream. Certainly kissing in a dream is hardly the same kind of violation as the rape kiss featured in this episode.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Masquerade Dance Party

New episodes are released every Friday evening at 9pm Eastern Time, 6pm Pacific Time. Next week is Act 5, Makoto – Sailor Jupiter, we will be introduced to Makoto Kino.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 5 - Usagi stealing Makoto's food

Watch the English dubbed version of Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4, Masquerade Dance Party, this Friday December 4th at 9pm Eastern Time

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Tuxedo Mask kissing Sailor Moon without consent

As with every week we will be getting the next English dubbed episode of Sailor Moon Crystal this Friday at about 9pm Eastern Time, 6pm Pacific Time. This week Act 4, Masquerade Dance Party, is added to Hulu and Neon Alley. Usagi abuses of her super powers to crash a posh dance party and has a romantic time with Tuxedo Mask who is also investigating the D Kingdom’s prized jewel. Fans of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask’s relationship will be happy to see what this episode has in store.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Princess D

Fans may note similarities between this story and episode 22 of the original Sailor Moon anime, which was based on Act 4 of the manga. Once again we can see how much faster a pace Sailor Moon Crystal is taking as it goes through the 13 Act Dark Kingdom story arc which corresponds to Sailor Moon’s 46 episode first season.

Sailor Moon episode 22 - Naru attacking Princess Diamond

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Masquerade Dance Party

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Dip

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray vol. 2 review

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray vol. 2 - Inside

The latest volume of Sailor Moon Crystal was released on Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray on November 12th (Amazon Japan, CD Japan, JList, YesAsia) while the regular edition Blu-Ray (Amazon Japan, CD Japan, YesAsia) and DVD (Amazon Japan, CD Japan, YesAsia) will be released on December 10th. This release, like the first one, only included two episodes. This month we have Act 3, Rei – Sailor Mars, and Act 4, Masquerade Dance Party. To celebrate Sailor Mars’s appearance we have Sailor Mercury on the cover and a Sailor Mercury charm included. Each Deluxe Limited Edition set comes in a fancy box with a special book and a charm to add to the charm bracelet which was included with vol. 1. This charm is of Sailor Mercury’s transformation pen.

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray vol. 2 - Sailor Mercury Charm

The disk itself is similar to the first one. Episodes are included in HD with great image quality. Some of the scenes which originally had some pretty bad animation have been touched up. The Blu-Ray is region A, which will play in a North American Blu-Ray player, however the audio is in Japanese and there are no English subtitles. An audio commentary is included, also in Japanese, so I don’t have any real details on what they talk about!

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray vol. 2 - Box

The box also comes with a special 24 page book. This includes a summary and images for act 3 and 4, interviews with Atsutoshi Umezawa, executive producer for Sailor Moon Crystal, and Hisako Kanemoto, the voice actress for Sailor Mercury, character art for Sailor Mercury and other characters, backgrounds and a special page by Osabu, Fumio Osano, editor of Sailor Moon.

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray vol. 2 - Book - Act 3 - Rei - Sailor Mars

The set is expensive for only including two episodes, but has a lot of cool extras. It may be of interest to collectors but if you’re just looking to watch the show, you may want to stick with the free and totally legal streaming version.

Keep reading for more images from this set including photos of all pages of the included book.

Continue reading

Box art for the Sailor Moon Crystal vol. 2 Blu-Ray

Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray vol. 2 Deluxe Limited Edition box

The box art for the second volume of the Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray Deluxe Limited Edition has been released. This set looks a lot like the first set which we recently reviewed. The episodes included on this disk are act 3, Rei – Sailor Mars, and act 4, Masquerade Dance Party. Sailor Mercury appears on the cover despite first appearing in act 2. We will likely see Sailor Mars on the next set.

Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray vol. 2 Deluxe Limited Edition box - Sailor Mercury's transformation item charm

This set also includes a charm to go with the charm bracelet included in the volume 1 Blu-Ray box. This charm is of Sailor Mercury’s transformation item. Another 24 page colour booklet will be included with this set. The animation will be cleaned up to fix mistakes or awkwardly drawn scenes from the streaming version, and will include audio commentaries. This Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray will be released on November 12th and can be preordered from Amazon Japan, CD Japan, JList and YesAsia. If you are patient, don’t care about swag and want to save a bit of money you can wait until December 10th to get the regular edition Blu-Ray (Amazon Japan, CD Japan, YesAsia) or the DVD (Amazon Japan, CD Japan, YesAsia). These is a Japanese release with no English audio or subtitles. The Blu-Ray disk will play in North American region A Blu-Ray players or PlayStation 3s though the DVDs are region 2 which will not play in a North American region 1 DVD player.

Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray vol. 2 Deluxe Limited Edition box - Sailor Mercury'

Source: The official Sailor Moon site and Moonkitty.net

Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray vol. 2 Deluxe Limited Edition box

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4, Masquerade Dance Party, Review

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Usagi and Mamoru dancing

The 4th episode of Sailor Moon Crystal became available on Saturday August 16th. You can watch it on Crunchyroll, Hulu or Niconico. Act 4, Masquerade Dance Party, has everyone crashing a party put on by the D Kingdom in order to steal their jewels, hoping to find the Silver Crystal. While this is an early story in the manga it is somewhat similar to episode 22 of the Sailor Moon anime, Romance Under the Moon: Usagi’s First Kiss.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Jadeite lives

The episode largely follows act 4 of the original manga with one major exception, Jadeite is still alive. In the manga Sailor Mars kills Jadeite at the end of act 3 however in the last episode it was unclear if Jadeite actually died during the fight. Indeed Jadeite is still alive which is the biggest change to the story we’ve seen to date. Perhaps this change will lead to more differences down the line, as all of the Shitennou are still alive at this point leaving things open for different stories. In act 3 Jadeite made comments about how beautiful he thought Sailor Mars was, which may be related to a past and future relationship between the two of them. Manga art from the final Dark Kingdom story shows pairings between the Shintennou and Sailor Guardians during Silver Millennium. Sailor Mercury was with Zoisite, Sailor Mars is with Jadeite, Sailor Jupiter was with Nephrite and Sailor Venus was with Kunzite, a relationship which was also alluded to in the Sailor V manga. This may seem odd to anime fans who have only seen the Shintennou as villains however in the manga they were all friends of Endymion and good people from Earth prior to being corrupted by Queen Metalia. While we’ve followed the manga closely to date this may not last forever. By act 4 of the live action series we were still following the manga episode by episode but major changes were just around the corner.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Newspaper from the future showing Sailor Moon doing Moon Twilight Flash

Sailor Moon gets a new tiara and attack this week! Her last tiara was destroyed by Sailor Mars as she burned Jadeite and so she gets a new upgraded one and with that has a new attack which she uses to destroy Nephrite’s shadow. The attack she uses in the manga is Moon Twilight Flash, seen frequently in the live action series, though the attack is not named in this episode. Strangely enough an image of Sailor Moon using this attack is seen in the newspaper on the morning before she gets her tiara upgrade and is first able to use this attack.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Creeper Umino

Another fun moment has Umino acting like a total creeper when he reveals a photo of Princess D. Indeed Umino always having images of women at hand when needed is in itself creepy but something about the way he acts and speaks in this scene is particularly funny.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Tuxedo Mask kissing Sailor Moon without consent

And speaking of creepy, the final scene of the episode needs to be addressed. Sailor Moon, after a long day at the party, passes out. In the manga she does this after consuming alcohol. While unconscious Tuxedo Mask approaches her and kisses her, causing fans to swoon at this romantic moment. She is unconscious and unable to consent to his advances. This behaviour is completely inappropriate. Luckily Luna shows up and comes to Sailor Moon’s defence.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4 - Makoto Kino

Unfortunately we have to wait 3 weeks for the next episode! We’ve gotten used to seeing shows every two weeks but Sailor Moon Crystal is released on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of every month, not every two weeks. The next episode will be available on Saturday September 6th. Act 5, Makoto – Sailor Jupiter, will introduce us to Makoto Kino who becomes Sailor Jupiter. We see a shot of her at the end of the episode and more of her during the next episode preview. This again follows the manga schedule with Sailor Jupiter appearing in act 5.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 5 Preview - Sailor Jupiter

Keep reading for more images from this episode and from the next episode preview.

Continue reading

Watch Act 4 of Sailor Moon Crystal, Masquerade Dance Party, starting August 16th at 6am EST

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4, Masquerade Dance Party - Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask

Set your alarms! The 4th episode of Sailor Moon Crystal, Act 4: Masquerade Dance Party, will be available online streaming starting August 16th at 7pm Japan Standard Time. This is 6am Eastern Standard Time and 3am Pacific Standard Time. You can watch the episode on Crunchyroll, Hulu or Niconico.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 4, Masquerade Dance Party

This episode has the Sailor Guardians, Tuxedo Mask and the Dark Kingdom crashing a masquerade party in order to investigate a gem which may be the Silver Crystal. Once again we follow a story straight from the manga as was the case for the previous three episodes.