If this thread has taught me anything, it's that a lot of you guys don't know what camp is...
How are you going to say that Beryl is a campy villain...but Galaxia isn't...because she's supposed to be "taken very seriously"? Beryl wasn't supposed to be taken very seriously? She wasn't a serious threat who destroyed the Moon Kingdom and killed practically everyone Usagi loved? You can be campy AND taken seriously as a threat. The Joker is taken very seriously because he's a psychotic terrorist, but that doesn't make him, his green hair, purple suits, and laughing fish any less campy. Similarly, Galaxia is a campy villain who is also still a serious threat. Her outfit, her hair, her general attitude, heck, even her use of magical bracelets - there are a lot of campy aspects to her. Just because she's not campy in the exact same way as Tomoe or Esmeraud doesn't make her not campy. Just because she's a "very serious" threat doesn't make her not campy. If RuPaul decided to join ISIS and started bombing cities while dressed in full drag, would you not take her "very seriously" as a threat?
Camp and seriousness aren't mutually exclusive; if anything, there's a mutually beneficial relationship between the two. Without camp, overly serious works become boring and almost unbearable. Without serious moments, camp can likewise be too overwhelming to swallow. Even the old Batman show had its share of serious moments to keep the camp aspects balanced.
Sailor Moon is a campy show and ALL of its characters are campy, but being campy doesn't mean they can't and don't have serious or non-campy moments. Sailor Moon isn't and doesn't need to be campy all the time. The Optimum dub was generally okay with striking that balance, though they obviously leaned more into the camp of the series. The Viz redub, on the other hand, takes itself too seriously and thus comes off as flat. Even when they try to inject humor into their dub, it's through dated memes and jabs at the characters' clothes, which makes it feel like a mean-spirited snark dub at times.
How are you going to say that Beryl is a campy villain...but Galaxia isn't...because she's supposed to be "taken very seriously"? Beryl wasn't supposed to be taken very seriously? She wasn't a serious threat who destroyed the Moon Kingdom and killed practically everyone Usagi loved? You can be campy AND taken seriously as a threat. The Joker is taken very seriously because he's a psychotic terrorist, but that doesn't make him, his green hair, purple suits, and laughing fish any less campy. Similarly, Galaxia is a campy villain who is also still a serious threat. Her outfit, her hair, her general attitude, heck, even her use of magical bracelets - there are a lot of campy aspects to her. Just because she's not campy in the exact same way as Tomoe or Esmeraud doesn't make her not campy. Just because she's a "very serious" threat doesn't make her not campy. If RuPaul decided to join ISIS and started bombing cities while dressed in full drag, would you not take her "very seriously" as a threat?
Camp and seriousness aren't mutually exclusive; if anything, there's a mutually beneficial relationship between the two. Without camp, overly serious works become boring and almost unbearable. Without serious moments, camp can likewise be too overwhelming to swallow. Even the old Batman show had its share of serious moments to keep the camp aspects balanced.
Sailor Moon is a campy show and ALL of its characters are campy, but being campy doesn't mean they can't and don't have serious or non-campy moments. Sailor Moon isn't and doesn't need to be campy all the time. The Optimum dub was generally okay with striking that balance, though they obviously leaned more into the camp of the series. The Viz redub, on the other hand, takes itself too seriously and thus comes off as flat. Even when they try to inject humor into their dub, it's through dated memes and jabs at the characters' clothes, which makes it feel like a mean-spirited snark dub at times.