Sailor Moon General Thoughts

It’s been a while since I made one of these, last time it was talking about my favorite romantic couples and that was fun. So I figured I would go back to Sailor Moon, but this time just put out my opinions on the series in general.

First I want to talk about the 90’s anime which I’m the most familiar with when it comes to this series. It’s without a doubt my favorite thing about the Sailor Moon series, and a big part of who I am today. It’s considered a classic for a reason and still very watchable today, and no you shouldn’t skip any of the filler, that’s the heart and soul of the anime. I don’t do that sub vs dub crap so any way to watch it is fine by me, but I prefer the Dic dub because I grew up with it (Let us have an official Dic/Cloverway physical copy dammit!). All the girls are great, that theme song is iconic, the action is cool, it’s still a gorgeous looking anime, seriously google the backgrounds and scenery they can’t be beat. Not to mention the show is still being referenced to this day due to its iconic transformation sequences. If you’re an anime or magical girl fan, you owe it to yourself to watch this to see why it’s become so iconic.

The next thing I want to talk about is the manga, which I have some history with. You see, as a kid I couldn’t get into the manga, the art threw me for a loop and stayed away from it. I couldn’t tell you why the art was the reason I didn’t read it, it was just me being a weird kid. Flash forward to today and not only do I love the art of the manga but I enjoy the darker tone with the manga being a cosmic horror story with romance. If the anime is more Super Sentai, then the manga is more Kamen Rider by comparison, I think it’s a matter of which do you like more.

Finally we get to Sailor Moon Crystal, easily the most divisive piece of Sailor Moon media in my opinion. I for one never hated the show, I hated how Toei handled it in the beginning (Same with Dragon Ball Super around the same time), the poor animation and bi-weekly schedule was not cutting it, and it left a bitter taste in many fans mouths. I kinda like the art style of the first two seasons, as it’s the most faithful to the manga, though I don’t know if it translates well to anime. Fortunately Crystal would get better with season three and the Eternal and Cosmos movies, not gonna lie I was worried with how Crystal started we wouldn’t see it finished but I’m glad the production team powered through it. Overall I approve of this adaptation of the manga.

Now I know there’s more Sailor Moon stuff out there, but I unfortunately haven’t seen the other stuff so I’ll just briefly talk about them here. The musicals I hear are pretty good, and there’s so many and they’re still going. Many fans proclaim that the live action show is arguably the best thing to come from the series, which also proves Sailor Moon can do live action stuff. And I’ve never played any of the games, whether they be the Game Boy or Super Nintendo games, maybe a new Sailor Moon game could fix that? Or a Sailor V adaptation? One can only hope, and hopefully good things are in store for the series going forward.

Toxic Battle

Over the course of the Christmas holiday I learned in the Death Battle subreddit that Devil Artemis was going to stop making animations for Death Battle due to how the community was harassing him and bashing his work. If you want to know Devil Artemis’s explanation I’ll provide the link here. And also every image in this blog is credited to Devil Artemis.

Omni-Man Vs Bardock

What the fuck is wrong with the fans? This shit is exactly why I put the Vs Community in the same boat as the Fighting Game Community, absolute trash 99% of the time unless you’re debating with friends. For those that don’t know, fans have been bashing Devil Artemis for his work on recent Death Battle episodes, most notably Omni-Man Vs Bardock and Kratos Vs Asura. So much unnecessary bashing for an animator that busted his ass to give you the fucking matchups you wanted.

Kratos Vs Asura

You know what the problem is? People nowadays just don’t know how to give constructive criticism without being an asshole. It's fine to not like something and give honest constructive criticism, but don’t harass the people who made it. After what Death Battle has gone through since Rooster Teeth went under and the success of the Kickstarter, nobody in this community should be biting the hands that fed them, fuck everyone who was responsible for this.

Hulk Vs Godzilla

“But I paid money for the Kickstarter! I can say whatever I want” Whoopdie fucking doo, that was your choice! You choose to give them money so they could keep making episodes, it does not give you the right to be a fucking asshole to the people behind the show, get the fuck over yourselves.

Master Chief Vs Doom Slayer

Vs Debating is a hobby that is biased and subjective by nature, but it is also fun and it should be that way. Never forget that this is supposed to be fun, because when you lose sight of that, this bullshit happens. And for God’s sake, stop treating Death Battle as holy scripture when it comes to this hobby, as if they’re the ultimate law in Vs Debating. I wish Devil Artemis the best going forward because he didn’t deserve this. And remember, harassing the crew is the number one way to NOT get the matchup that you want, think about THAT the next time you decide to be an asshole to the people making the show.

My Favorite Fictional Romantic Couples

I'm a sucker for a good romance story and I wanted to take some time to talk about some of my favorite couples in fiction.

Scott Pilgrim/Ramona Flowers

A very recent couple I’ve really come to like when it comes to my favorite couples in fiction, Scott and Ramona are one of the most grounded couples here as they are pretty flawed people. What makes them a great couple is how they overcome their flaws and learn to be better people by dealing with Ramona’s 7 Evil Ex’s in animated ways. In my opinion the game handles it well with the true ending having Ramona basically accept Nega Scott and Scott’s flaws therefore the two making each other better for it.

Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell

Probably the most realistic couple here, a great case of childhood friends becoming a great couple. You have Ed, joining the military to fix his and his brother Alphonse’s bodies, and you have Winry, a girl who has every right to avoid the military given what happens to her parents. Despite this being something that could easily create a rift between them, both Ed and Winry have great character arcs that not only make them great characters, but ends up paying off for their relationship in one of the best endings to any anime in my opinion.

Inuyasha/Kagome Higurashi

Who knew that a girl from the future would fall for a half demon/human boy from Feudal Japan? It’s definitely one of the more unique pairings for sure, it really helps that they’re involved in what I think is the best love triangle ever. And it’s a great love triangle because you feel sympathy for everyone involved, especially Kikyo who is easily the most tragic character in the series. You see the love blossom between Inuyasha and Kagome as the series goes on, both learning to deal with the other and growing side by side while making each other better in the long run.

Belle/Beast

When I think of classic romance this is the couple I think of. Pretty much the embodiment of Disney romance in all the best ways in what I argue is still Disney’s very best movie, it is the quintessential fairy tale romance to me. The girl who wants more in life and the beast who believes he can’t be loved, Disney truly was firing on all cylinders when they made this classic. I guess the only thing I could say would be Belle could have been more involved in the action, but given that it’s about the beast learning to love it makes sense that it’s him who takes charge.

Aladdin/Jasmine

If Belle and Beast are the ultimate classic couple then these two are a big subversion to Disney couples. Aladdin being the loveable street rat with a heart of gold that wants to be more than just a street rat, who tricks and lies to get what he wants at first but we’re not talking about that, and Jasmine being the princess that wants to take control of her life was something that was very refreshing back then. I love that Jasmine does not take Aladdin’s shit, figuring him out pretty quickly to hilarious effect. I can’t talk about these two without mentioning Genie, who not only steals the show but helps Aladdin come to terms with who he is and not be ashamed of it to show his love to Jasmine.

Rapunzel/Eugene Fitzherbert

The modern day version of Aladdin and Jasmine, I really enjoy these two as much as I do Aladdin and Jasmine. Rapunzel and Eugene are more active comedic and action wise, plus having a movie and a show helps out. Like Jasmine, Rapunzel sees Eugene for who he is instead of his Flynn Rider persona, and Eugene having some of the most character for a Disney love interest. Plus Eugene having Maximus as a frienemy is just all sorts of hilarious.

Usagi Tsukino/Mamoru Chiba

I couldn’t finish this without talking about what has become my favorite couple and love story in fiction. And I’m strictly speaking about the manga version as the anime hilariously made Mamoru look foolish. A love that transcends time and space, essentially spanning three lifetimes, the story of Usagi and Mamoru has everything you’d want in a great love story. From the tragedy of the star crossed lovers Serenity and Endymion to their modern day reincarnations in Usagi and Mamoru to their future counterparts in Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion, these two go through hell from beginning to end. And while some people will say that their relationship seems cheap because of destiny or fate and it’s predetermined, they both go through absolute hell, especially Usagi with her watching him be brainwashed and killed multiple times, to be together. It’s also one of the few times we see a fictional couple actually go through a marriage ceremony. And it’s why seeing them get married is the best ending to the greatest love story ever told, overcoming time, space, and all manners of evil thrown their way.

Why David and Goliath is still relevant today

When I was a child my mom would read me bedtime stories, oh but not the normal type of stories that parents would read to their kids, she would read The Bible to me. For those that actually read it, you know how absolutely balls crazy the stories are in that, and out of all the stories she read to me my favorite, and the focus of this post, is David and Goliath.

David and Goliath (1888) by Osmar Schindler

Because this is one of the oldest stories in human history there are many interpretations of this story, so I want to explain the version I grew up with. In 1 Samuel 17, the Israelites are facing the Philistines with Goliath challenging Saul and the Israelites to bring someone to face him, but they are afraid to fight him. Saul tries to find anyone willing to fight Goliath but everyone is scared, which leads to him choosing David who denies the sword and armor Saul was going to give him and goes to fight Goliath with a slingshot and a few rocks. David kills Goliath and the Israelites defeat the Philistines. So why explain this thousands of years old story? Because this story is still relevant today and still being told in many different ways, even if most people don’t know about the story of David and Goliath.

You see it in fiction and in real life, characters and people that come from anywhere and can be seen as nobody, average, or in the background, that end up dealing with adversity that seems too big and impossible to face. So many of us do fail a lot, and yet victory isn’t as sweet without failing a few times. Everyone has their own Goliath in their life they must face no matter where they come from or who they are. And it is because of how relatable this story is that it has survived the test of time and still resonates with us today.