Sailor Moon
(TW: Death, also past the first paragraph there are hella spoilers)
Like many t-girls, I missed Sailor Moon when I was a kid. Understandably, I was told it was a “show for girls”, and when I tried watching it as a teen I found the first few episodes to be boring and formulaic. It wasn’t until I started dating another trans person who had me really stick with it that I understood and really appreciated it. The aesthetic of the show is so cool, in the narrative of the time we mainly saw female superheroes as accessories and love interests for the overwhelmingly male crime-fighters. Sailor Moon crafts a new narrative that uses magic & love as women’s empowerment to defeat the forces of evil. (But wow I forgot how dark kid’s shows in the 90’s were. Like, people straight up die, like even important characters. Naoko Takeuchi was out here moving like George R.R. Martin years before he wrote Game of Thrones and she tells a story that’s a million times more fun.)
And I love the character design of all the Sailor Guardians, particularly Mars & Jupiter (I love strong women, I aspire to be one). Sailor Mercury is a cool stoic who’s always figuring out the enemy’s plan. And Venus’ backstory is really cool, though I haven’t yet read the manga (plus remember her final move in the first series where she melts a powerful enemy with a single touch??? Why does she seem to forget she can do “melt enemy instantaneously"? I feel like I’d remember that if it were me, but I’ll try not to be an armchair superhero.) That’s to say nothing of our titular protagonist, who is a clutz and a big absentminded but I adore those character traits because she’s an everywoman and I find her never-ending determination to keep trying to be very inspiring!
Perhaps my favorite character is Zoisite, I guess that’s a little predicable as he himself is very openly queer and gender fuck-y (he was famously made a woman in the first Western localization so as to un-gay his character.) He also has a bunch of really interesting, actually-competent plots to achieve the Dark Kingdom’s goals (unlike certain other villains like Jadite who comes up with such ingenious plans as “lets give people evil pets that take their energy” or “lets make an evil fortune telling place that takes peoples’ energy” or “let’s make an evil smartphone app that takes people’s energy¹”) It’s great how Zoisite taunts the initial antagonists for their clear incompetence, he’s kind of a voice of the frustrated audience in this way. I also really enjoyed his dynamic with Kunzite, and how he dedicates his life to avenging Zoisite after he dies, to the bitter end of his own arc he thinks first and foremost of the love of his life (I wept bitterly at both deaths). It’s such a romantic anime, even the villains have dedicated love lives! It’s filled with romantic love, but also love for friends, love for family, and a love for the world we inhabit.
And sure, the core message of “loving and caring for one another is the only way we can make it in this life” is corny and overplayed, but what could be a more important message in our current day in age? In a time where willful cruelty is the mission of our government, and it’s never been easier to get on the Internet and say something hurtful to your perceived enemies, what could be more important than a rejoinder to first choose love and togetherness? If you watch the first season and aren’t overflowing with love, compassion and hope, then in the name of the moon, I’ll punish you <3
¹RIP to the Dark Kingdom, they would’ve loved TikTok!