By: Bronx
I, as a Saturn and
Pluto fan, feel need to rant instead of muttering
incoherently at an lifeless screen that can't mutter
back.
As many Saturn and Pluto fans have probably noticed,
and taken part in, the poor
"annoy-me-and-I-can-destroy-the-world" girl and her "mama"
have been subjected to an argument over an incredibly
useless and time-consuming debate; are they goth? I've
seen clubs devoted to both sides of the issue (SING, PING,
Gothic Child of Another Realm), webpages (Hotaru Tomoe is
Goth, The Great Saturn Conspiracy), and the like. But the
question I have is: WHY?
Obviously, Hotaru isn't the picture of a healthy,
pink kid. She was more or less a robot for some of her
young life before awakening as Saturn, pale, bloodless,
cold, often dressing in dark clothes and black leggings to
hide her scars. However, this doesn't immediately slap the
title of "Goth" onto the girl! More ever, the people that
seem to be in such heated debate over this worthless trite
seem to think Goths are simply pale children who want to
die and drink blood and some such.
Suuure they are. If they're doing it just to be part
of a crowd. The ones of us who actually call ourselves
"Goth" for a reason often are all colors and races and
religions. I myself am hardly the picture of frail
paleness. Goths are also often searching to explain things
other people won't bother with: death, life, the dark,
whatever it is. Hotaru already has an intimate knowledge
of death and rebirth; but when is it ever said she
continues searching to explain it? She knows, therefore
she doesn't need to. She was happy simply growing up again
with the Outer Senshi, laughing, playing, and learning the
violin. Hardly the picture of brooding suicidal tendencies
so many seem to associate with "goths" and this
argument.
The same with Setsuna. So she's quiet. So she's
often mysterious. Big flippin' woop. She's been alone
in between Time; she's cultivated the capacity to think a
great deal before speaking or acting. And just because
she wears a black Sailor uniform doesn't mean she lives in
the color.
Quite frankly, I'm growing tired of seeing the
debate, however small or big it may be. Setsuna and Hotaru
are simply cartoon characters whom Takeuchi thought fit to
create the way they are. You cannot slap them into certain
categories like slabs of beef on the way to market; it's a
waste of time, and after a while, no one cares anyway.
Maybe they're Goth by the standards I've laid out; maybe
they're not. Whatever the case is, why not let it drop?
They're great characters. They have as much a personality
to them as fictional people can. But leave it at that.
Comments on this article can be sent to:
Bronx.
