Sailor Moon

Usagi's still fourteen, maybe fifteen at this point, and while she's matured some since the beginning of the manga, it's mostly in the facing your fears and battling evil department. She's still on her very first boyfriend! So I'm inclined to cut her some slack on the immature jealousy and childish tantrum thing.

Yeah, but it's...well...it's Chibi-Usa. I mean come on here. Throwing a jealous fit over your boyfriend paying attention to somebody who might be eight or nine is really stretching even for a fourteen-year-old.

It's also kind of scary in what it says she thinks about her boyfriend's preferences.

It's probably not that she's worried that he's that kind of person, but rather either 1) she's very possessive of her "rights" to her boyfriend's attention/affections (romantic or platonic), and fears (paranoidly, I admit) that if she let him off the hook now, he would end up giving less and less attention to her until she loses him entirely (which might seem quite plausible to her; remember that it's her first relationship, and she already had insecurity and self-confidence issues before hooking up with him), or 2) that the kid herself might come back a few years later, having developed feelings for him from whatever attention that he gave her now, and compete for his heart — and if turned out to be even better girlfriend material than Usagi herself, then "I am doomed!"

Yeah, not a reasonable thought process from an objective POV, but try explaining that to her at the time.

Now that I think about it, it seems like at certain parts of the manga, it randomly become bloody and violent in vein of a Go Nagai manga, particular when ever the other sailor senshi die.

Isn't that weird?

You know, this might have something to do with the new 2013 anime that will be released internationally.

I mean, it's says something when a 21 year old Japanese comic for girls is one of the best selling graphic novels in America.

Then again, I sometimes worry that's just an Overly Narrow Superlative and that not many people are buying graphic novels, American, Japanese, or otherwise. I'm hoping I'm wrong though.

Hey neat.

Sailor Moon was very influential, right?

To the people who asked about Naoko Takeuchi being QUITE hard to bargain, here's your answer.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1237392

I have to say that really doesn't sound like a good thing.

I'm against this kind of micromanagement and think it's a bad approach to business and speaks poorly of how self-assured of her own vision Naoko Takeuchi is.

I mean, it sounds like she wouldn't even allow a Woolseyism, or if she did it would take months before she would approve it. It's not every company that actually has that kind of flexibility.

Then again, we know that series can get pretty badly screwed up when Executive Meddling isn't kept in check.

Hell, look at the changes to the first Sailor Moon anime compared to the manga.

I think that, like everything else in life, these things need a balance.

The anime and live action adaptations if anything prove how interesting the series can be when it isn't slavishly following the source material.

I prefer Hayao Miyazaki's stance on the matter, which appears to be that he allows scripting changes that take into account the different audience, but "No cuts".

I am fine with the DIC name changes since their target audience was quite young, and even the music because it actually fit pretty well, but chopping up the episodes and removing some entirely was stupid.

That being said, that was the 90's, and this is now. Now, even keeping the names should be fine, and there's no reason they'd compose their own music as far as I see.

So what I'm saying is, creators need to be flexible. When they are is when we tend to get the most creative adaptations whether they be animations or dubs.

edited 17th Nov '12 7:05:29 PM by UltimatelySubjective

Well, since IMHO, most of those changes but the excessive padding and any Senshi not named Usagi being Worfed were for the better...

Fair enough. Though they also made Usagi a lot less competent, and then there's the whole thing with The Starlights.

From what little I've seen of the Manga, the expanded roles of the villains was a plus. I'm curious to see how that will work out in the new series.

What's wrong with the anime Starlights? I like them far better than the manga ones. Takeuchi can say whatever she wants about her hating the change, but I invoke Death of the Author.

And I prefer Goofy Anime Usagi over Mary Sue Manga Usagi.

edited 17th Nov '12 7:36:47 PM by NapoleonDeCheese

I suppose. Like I said, a balance may be best. Take the best points from both...

and then have Usagi destroy the world.

From what I've seen, the live action show went too far with True Art Is Angsty. No thanks.

I'm honestly fine with the idea of them sticking closer to the comic this time. I don't actually care about that sort of thing usually (I must be one of the three superhero fans on the planet who doesn't go on a rampage when a movie adaptation makes costume changes) but in this case doing an outright adaptation would at least differentiate the story a little.

As much as I loved the original, I don't really have any desire to see the original cartoon redone with nothing but a new coat of paint to keep it fresh.

I like my anime with backgrounds.

(Rimshot).

I'd like a mix.

Also Manga Usagi was a Mary Sue?

edited 19th Nov '12 3:41:52 PM by Bookyangel2438

Well, yes and not. Character wise, yes, because everyone kept harping on how she was the special snowflake, while the anime compensated that by making her more laughable and human; but technically, power-wise, Anime Usagi, while much weaker in comparison, made the rest of her team look worse, since they never could get anything done without her. One thing I'll give the manga is the other Senshi actually were allowed their own victories, even if too often they had to die for them.

edited 19th Nov '12 5:34:42 PM by NapoleonDeCheese

That's why we go with a mix.

Every version has it's strengths and weaknesses, so why not take what works from each, and mix it into something new.

I wouldn't mind seeing the other Senshi finishing off enemies every now and then.

You sure you're using Mary Sue correctly here?

Well, pretty sure this discussion has been had elsewhere how actual accusations of Mary Sue characters are thrown around too much, although Mary Sue characters and their male counterparts are still all to common.

If there was a reason the manga version was more of a Mary Sue it would be because:

a) The manga was written directly by Naoko Takeuchi and therefore is more of a direct avatar, and b) The anime version of Usagi's Sueish traits are mitigated by her actually being a pretty funny character in a deprecating way.

But honestly you could still make the case for both being Sues. I think it's best to use your own judgement though.

Personally I found the characters harder to relate to in the Manga. Which is why I would say they're written more poorly.

edited 20th Nov '12 1:50:41 AM by UltimatelySubjective

How come Naru didn't get to be Sailor Earth?

edited 20th Nov '12 4:52:50 AM by HeroShepherd

Because Marmoru kinda has the crystal star seed of Earth.

But if she did become Sailor Sun or something, who be our distressed everygirl?

edited 20th Nov '12 4:59:28 AM by UltimatelySubjective

Melvyn

I know Mask is sorta Sailor earth but I would have preferred Naru.