By: Papillon
Razynne, creator of eternalsoldier.net, has a section within her BSSM
site
where she talks about her opinions and thoughts on BSSM. One of
articles is
called Sailormoon Love-Hate List. It describes the good and bad aspects
of
Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon. Some of the bad things started me thinking.
She
says that many episodes are just filler, and that you know the senshi
are going
to win in the end anyway. She says the characters are somewhat one-
dimensional, and that the animation isn't very good for three of the
five series.
Many of these aspects she describes are typical in the sudden cropping
up
of American cartoons aimed at preteens. Turn on the TV any Saturday or
Sunday
morning and you're likely to find at least one or two stations playing
this type of
cartoons. Sailormoon is, of course, a step above these. It has
attracted fans of
many ages and nationalities, and is therefore more successful than any
of these
morning cartoons can ever hope to be. However, the comparisons can be
made.
Pretty Soldier Sailormoon is, without doubt, an anime. However, it has
many the same characteristics that Americans associate with cartoons.
It doesn't
have all of them, to be sure, but it does have some. These attributes
make it, in
my opinion, a very good stepping stone.
For many people, this is the first anime they ever see. They become
obsessed with it, and also learn more about Japanese culture.
Eventually, they
become interested in other anime. However, without Sailormoon, would
they
have been introduced to the whole Japanese culture and the love of
anime?
Many people would say yes, but it is hard to believe they would have
done so as
fast without Sailormoon.
This is not a pro-DiC article. I do acknowledge that the dub had an
integral part in introducing many people to the original and other
anime.
However, the dub could have been made much better. There is such a
thing as a
good dub. The Gundam Wing dub, with the original songs, or the Neon
Genesis
Evangelion dub, who also makes subtitled original versions available.
DiC has no
excuse for making a bad dub, since it has been shown you can have a
good dub..
Pretty Soldier Sailormoon is the medium point for many people. It is
not
so foreign that they would be repelled. It has enough familiarity that
they can
relate and understand. Later on, they become more interested in the
foreign part
and they find more about anime and Japan.
If a fan of Sailormoon, or even Sailor Moon, goes to a store to buy fan
goods, most likely the store will have goodies from other anime. It is
rather hard
not to become interested when such a large variety is provided to you.
Many
well-known owners of quality BSSM sites have sites on other anime. If a
fan
really likes the BSSM site, they may visit the other sites the creator
has, and
learn more about other anime.
I wonder, sometimes, what my life would be like right now if Pretty
Soldier Sailormoon had never existed, never been created. Anime is such
an
integral part of my life now, and it has also made website creation a
big part of
my life now. I think I could honestly say that it has changed my life.
If I had
never gotten interested in it, then many things would be different.
Half the
things I got for my birthday I would never have gotten. I would never
go on the
computer and I would never have learned HTML or graphics creation. I
would
not have made several of my good friends, because we met through love
of
anime. I would not have been motivated to learn about another culture,
or to
take Japanese classes, which I am now taking. I lived oblivious to the
world of
anime and Japan, and, really, Asia. Until Sailormoon.
I've mostly moved on from Sailormoon now. It's no longer my favorite
anime, and its faults are all too obvious to me. Yet these faults are
what made it
the middle point for me. It was the step up to many things, and without
it, I
would still be stuck down there with the rest of the ignorant
population of the
US. So, you see, I owe Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and Naoko Takeuchi a
great
deal. Thank you, my stepping stone.
Comments on this article can be sent to: Papillon.
