30 Day Sailor Moon meme...Day 6
Mar. 6th, 2011 09:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azuriteWelcome, welcome, welcome, to the crazy fannish brain that is Mer's...or Andi's...or Azurite's. You know, I've gone through quite a few fandom nicknames in my time, but most people know 'em all. And they're certainly no secret.
I'm usually not secretive with my favorite pairings, either. Usually I'm the first to jump on the bandwagon of "proclaiming love and joy for ('SHIP NAME GOES HERE)!" And then there's this.
Day 6 of the 30 Days of Sailor Moon meme, again using the list from Sailor Failures on Tumblr.
This is a tough one. The obvious choice for me would be to say Seiya x Usagi, because I actually LIKED the Stars anime more than the manga (truth be told, the anime is my preferred form of Sailor Moon canon, but the manga is beautiful and powerful in its own way), and I even liked the crazy idea of the Starlights changing from men to women. For one, it introduces a very neat concept (transgender senshi!) to the canon, and for two, it allows for some very interesting love polygons. And I *love* love polygons!
I know, I know, Seiya x Usagi can't work for various obvious reasons:
* "Seiya" as a man only exists in the anime, and it's canonically stated that it's "just a disguise." Unlike the Earth Senshi, the Starlight Senshi of Kinmoku don't have secret identities that they go about regularly. Up until Galaxia completely destroyed their home, they were in a state comparable to the Moon and the other planets of the Sol System in the Silver Millennium, meaning the Starlights are Senshi ALL THE TIME. Their duty is to protect Princess Kakyuu, and that's pretty much it. No dreams of being idols, no desire to be a doctor...they just are who they are: guardians.
* Naoko Takeuchi has stated in various interviews that she was surprised by the anime director(s) turning the Starlights into men. In the manga, they were always women, all the time. In other words, they were crossdressers...just like Haruka (so they're not even breaking precedent). It's not THEIR fault (necessarily...) that everyone believed that they were men! Tin Nyanko in her disguise even mentions it--in a very not-subtle way--but Usagi still doesn't "get it." But are interviews canon?
Whether they are or not, and whether artbooks are or not (in the Stars/Volume V artbook of the Sailor Moon manga, there's ONE illustration of the Starlights as women in normal clothing. In the others, they're either senshi or you can't tell their gender based on their clothing, e.g. their stylized school uniforms), it doesn't really change the fact that they're men in the anime--sometimes, and not "normally" for them--and in the manga, they're women. But Seiya clearly still has a thing for Usagi, regardless of canon. And...Usagi has no clue. Or if she does, she doesn't let it on. And besides, she's got her true love, Mamoru...who is conveniently gone for the season. You know, "away in America."
Fact is, Usagi is a) canonically straight/leans very strongly heterosexual and b) loyal to Mamoru to the last breath...and beyond, considering she's died a few times by the time she meets Seiya. She's also got that pesky problem of a determined future: she HAS to become Queen of Crystal Tokyo, cleanse the planet of whatever contaminated it and caused it to fall into a 1000 year sleep, and then give birth to her ONE and only DAUGHTER (note: apparently it's impossible, for whatever reason, for the heirs of the Moon Kingdom to give birth to more than one child or a child that isn't a daughter. This is never properly explained in any form of canon, save Pluto making some comment about it, or possibly the Amazon Quartet...and frankly, my opinion is "The future isn't written in stone!"), Chibiusa. Or Princess Small Lady Serenity. Whatever. :P
Still, I do adore Seiya x Usagi, and like the idea of Usagi x Mamoru's relationship being complicated. I mean, Usagi's clearly capable of being attracted to other people--she had a crush on Haruka before she knew Haruka was female (and in an established, long-term relationship with Michiru at that!), she liked Motoki before she found out Mamoru was Tuxedo Mask/Endymion, etc. etc.
And actually on that note, the REAL subject of this entry: Seiya x Usagi is wishful thinking and I know it. The couple I wished existed, even if it was just briefly? It's practically blasphemy, but: Usagi x Motoki.
It's hilarious in some ways, because Motoki is supposed to represent that first "heavy" crush that Usagi has before she matures through her early experiences as Sailor Moon. He's the always-there, go-to guy that's at the arcade. Her "onii-san," though I feel compelled to mention that the word doesn't ALWAYS mean "Big Brother" or translate as such. It's perfectly fine for Usagi to be head-over-heels gaga for Motoki and yet call him something that most people translate as "Big Brother."
Only in the manga does Motoki learn the truth about Usagi and the others, and it's pretty much mentioned once and never again. I never could stand that. You've got someone who knows the Senshi's secret identities, and yet manages to keep his mouth shut! The Lois Lane to Usagi's Clark Kent? He doesn't get into trouble over it somehow...unlike Naru, who used to be the Youma-Bait-of-the-Week. (Actually, there's suspicion that Naru knows Usagi's secret identity, too, but that's a whole other can of worms.)
I think I've started to like this impossible pairing for a few reasons:
* Motoki does genuinely care for Usagi, and even being best friends with Mamoru, he has observed Mamoru treating her unfairly before
* Usagi never stops being friends with anyone. Sure, her landing her dream guy and having a very nice pre-packaged destiny is wonderful for her, but she's still great friends with Motoki.
* I can't stand the idea of a formerly-important character like Motoki suddenly disappearing from canon. It's less obvious in the anime (and don't get me started on PGSM, where he's an entirely different person and I 'ship him with Makoto vehemently), but he's still not brought up almost AT ALL during the R arc when Mamoru broke up with Usagi. I never understood that. Usagi was heartbroken for pretty much the whole season, with Mamoru giving her mixed signals. You'd think she'd fall back into routine, try to cheer herself up with blowing her allowance on chocolate milkshakes and video games, but if she does, we don't see her doing that at the arcade or parlor. Maybe because she knows Motoki would notice and ask questions? Way to make things uncomfortable between your own friend and your ex, huh, Usagi?
...It's also the fact that Usagi, in my mind, deserves the chance to make her own destiny, to not be tied down to one person just because "the future says so." If she does choose that route (and we all know she will), it's nice to think she at least had other, wonderful (or at least memorable) experiences along the way. You could apply this reasoning to Usagi x Seiya too, or Usagi x Anyone Else, really.
But of all the other people in canon that Usagi's expressed a slightly-romantic interest in, I think Motoki's the best bet for her, even if he is Mamoru's best friend. He's also the most real, and the fact that he DOESN'T have a secret identity as a Senshi or a Guardian or an alien or whatever is actually his biggest selling point.
And, crazy as all this sounds in discussion/meta form, if there's one thing I'm always determined to do, it's to justify my ramblings in fanfic form. Remember how I said I was revising "Only 16," my first-ever serious multi-chapter Sailor Moon fanfic? Yeah, Usagi x Motoki definitely plays a role in that. Hee. :D
I'm usually not secretive with my favorite pairings, either. Usually I'm the first to jump on the bandwagon of "proclaiming love and joy for ('SHIP NAME GOES HERE)!" And then there's this.
Day 6 of the 30 Days of Sailor Moon meme, again using the list from Sailor Failures on Tumblr.
This is a tough one. The obvious choice for me would be to say Seiya x Usagi, because I actually LIKED the Stars anime more than the manga (truth be told, the anime is my preferred form of Sailor Moon canon, but the manga is beautiful and powerful in its own way), and I even liked the crazy idea of the Starlights changing from men to women. For one, it introduces a very neat concept (transgender senshi!) to the canon, and for two, it allows for some very interesting love polygons. And I *love* love polygons!
I know, I know, Seiya x Usagi can't work for various obvious reasons:
* "Seiya" as a man only exists in the anime, and it's canonically stated that it's "just a disguise." Unlike the Earth Senshi, the Starlight Senshi of Kinmoku don't have secret identities that they go about regularly. Up until Galaxia completely destroyed their home, they were in a state comparable to the Moon and the other planets of the Sol System in the Silver Millennium, meaning the Starlights are Senshi ALL THE TIME. Their duty is to protect Princess Kakyuu, and that's pretty much it. No dreams of being idols, no desire to be a doctor...they just are who they are: guardians.
* Naoko Takeuchi has stated in various interviews that she was surprised by the anime director(s) turning the Starlights into men. In the manga, they were always women, all the time. In other words, they were crossdressers...just like Haruka (so they're not even breaking precedent). It's not THEIR fault (necessarily...) that everyone believed that they were men! Tin Nyanko in her disguise even mentions it--in a very not-subtle way--but Usagi still doesn't "get it." But are interviews canon?
Whether they are or not, and whether artbooks are or not (in the Stars/Volume V artbook of the Sailor Moon manga, there's ONE illustration of the Starlights as women in normal clothing. In the others, they're either senshi or you can't tell their gender based on their clothing, e.g. their stylized school uniforms), it doesn't really change the fact that they're men in the anime--sometimes, and not "normally" for them--and in the manga, they're women. But Seiya clearly still has a thing for Usagi, regardless of canon. And...Usagi has no clue. Or if she does, she doesn't let it on. And besides, she's got her true love, Mamoru...who is conveniently gone for the season. You know, "away in America."
Fact is, Usagi is a) canonically straight/leans very strongly heterosexual and b) loyal to Mamoru to the last breath...and beyond, considering she's died a few times by the time she meets Seiya. She's also got that pesky problem of a determined future: she HAS to become Queen of Crystal Tokyo, cleanse the planet of whatever contaminated it and caused it to fall into a 1000 year sleep, and then give birth to her ONE and only DAUGHTER (note: apparently it's impossible, for whatever reason, for the heirs of the Moon Kingdom to give birth to more than one child or a child that isn't a daughter. This is never properly explained in any form of canon, save Pluto making some comment about it, or possibly the Amazon Quartet...and frankly, my opinion is "The future isn't written in stone!"), Chibiusa. Or Princess Small Lady Serenity. Whatever. :P
Still, I do adore Seiya x Usagi, and like the idea of Usagi x Mamoru's relationship being complicated. I mean, Usagi's clearly capable of being attracted to other people--she had a crush on Haruka before she knew Haruka was female (and in an established, long-term relationship with Michiru at that!), she liked Motoki before she found out Mamoru was Tuxedo Mask/Endymion, etc. etc.
And actually on that note, the REAL subject of this entry: Seiya x Usagi is wishful thinking and I know it. The couple I wished existed, even if it was just briefly? It's practically blasphemy, but: Usagi x Motoki.
It's hilarious in some ways, because Motoki is supposed to represent that first "heavy" crush that Usagi has before she matures through her early experiences as Sailor Moon. He's the always-there, go-to guy that's at the arcade. Her "onii-san," though I feel compelled to mention that the word doesn't ALWAYS mean "Big Brother" or translate as such. It's perfectly fine for Usagi to be head-over-heels gaga for Motoki and yet call him something that most people translate as "Big Brother."
Only in the manga does Motoki learn the truth about Usagi and the others, and it's pretty much mentioned once and never again. I never could stand that. You've got someone who knows the Senshi's secret identities, and yet manages to keep his mouth shut! The Lois Lane to Usagi's Clark Kent? He doesn't get into trouble over it somehow...unlike Naru, who used to be the Youma-Bait-of-the-Week. (Actually, there's suspicion that Naru knows Usagi's secret identity, too, but that's a whole other can of worms.)
I think I've started to like this impossible pairing for a few reasons:
* Motoki does genuinely care for Usagi, and even being best friends with Mamoru, he has observed Mamoru treating her unfairly before
* Usagi never stops being friends with anyone. Sure, her landing her dream guy and having a very nice pre-packaged destiny is wonderful for her, but she's still great friends with Motoki.
* I can't stand the idea of a formerly-important character like Motoki suddenly disappearing from canon. It's less obvious in the anime (and don't get me started on PGSM, where he's an entirely different person and I 'ship him with Makoto vehemently), but he's still not brought up almost AT ALL during the R arc when Mamoru broke up with Usagi. I never understood that. Usagi was heartbroken for pretty much the whole season, with Mamoru giving her mixed signals. You'd think she'd fall back into routine, try to cheer herself up with blowing her allowance on chocolate milkshakes and video games, but if she does, we don't see her doing that at the arcade or parlor. Maybe because she knows Motoki would notice and ask questions? Way to make things uncomfortable between your own friend and your ex, huh, Usagi?
...It's also the fact that Usagi, in my mind, deserves the chance to make her own destiny, to not be tied down to one person just because "the future says so." If she does choose that route (and we all know she will), it's nice to think she at least had other, wonderful (or at least memorable) experiences along the way. You could apply this reasoning to Usagi x Seiya too, or Usagi x Anyone Else, really.
But of all the other people in canon that Usagi's expressed a slightly-romantic interest in, I think Motoki's the best bet for her, even if he is Mamoru's best friend. He's also the most real, and the fact that he DOESN'T have a secret identity as a Senshi or a Guardian or an alien or whatever is actually his biggest selling point.
And, crazy as all this sounds in discussion/meta form, if there's one thing I'm always determined to do, it's to justify my ramblings in fanfic form. Remember how I said I was revising "Only 16," my first-ever serious multi-chapter Sailor Moon fanfic? Yeah, Usagi x Motoki definitely plays a role in that. Hee. :D
