What's Something Only a Teenager/Adult Would Notice in Sailor Moon?

[Princess Sugar Lily]

For me it would have to be many of the r@pe analogies, like Demande coming onto Sailor Moon, with the implication that he changed her into her new dress(and probably felt her up while doing so), the Dream Mirrors, and(possibly) Luna getting chased by cats who clearly do not have her best interests in mind, if you get what I'm saying.

 

[Tsundereshipper]

Literally the scene in the SuperS movie where Michiru outright says she wouldn’t want to be a kid again “because there are so many fun things only adults can do” while looking at Haruka who blushes and coughs.

Also the episode in SuperS “Chibi-Usa’s Rhapsody of Love” during the part where it’s Minako & Ami’s turn to question Chibs where Ami accidentally mistakes Minako’s likening of the guys face being hung like a horse to his dick being hung like a horse.

 

[flockapowpow]

For sake of avoiding discourse about the sometimes blatant, sometimes subtle, usually intersecting misogynistic, racist, queer-phobic, and fat-phobic happenstances in this meta series- which usually leads to a huge dumpster fire- I will say as a life long fan, who is now an adult, I am so gagged that all of this sh*t is happening to 14 year olds! Have you ever met a 14 year old? There is just no way. If our lives were actually in the hands of a team of 14 year old girls and a couple of talking cats it would be over for us! Though I of course didn’t see it this way when I was a kid.

 

[ChampionOfNuggets]

I’d say some of the creepy age gaps but people on this forum have proven me wrong.

 

[FloraKiraraHime]

For me it would have to be many of the r@pe analogies, like Demande coming onto Sailor Moon, with the implication that he changed her into her new dress(and probably felt her up while doing so), the Dream Mirrors, and(possibly) Luna getting chased by cats who clearly do not have her best interests in mind, if you get what I'm saying.

That first one is awful!

 

[Princess Sugar Lily]

That first one is awful!

That part.

 

[sapphire91]

That it is problematic. Teens especially love to point out all the problematic stuff these days and be all oh my, this and this and this is something something phobic, something something triggering? What isn't? Is there actually a book, show, anime, drama play or whatever that isn't problematic?

 

[Thexall]

The episode in stars where Usagi and Seiya are visiting the zoo is full of dick metaphers.

 

[Rika-Chicchi]

The episode in stars where Usagi and Seiya are visiting the zoo is full of dick metaphers.

And that feather in the final episode.

 

[sapphire91]

And that feather in the final episode.

Oh god. I have completely forgotten about it. The sublime final message.

 

[Thexall]

And that feather in the final episode.

I can't remember that right now, but i can imagine what was going on.

 

[saintfighteraqua]

I never noticed that in the zoo episode, but I am pretty oblivious most of the time. I'm still always seeing new things and wondering how I ever noticed each rewatch.

I also have to agree with Sapphire, as a kid, I just didn't focus so heavily on some things that were plainly jokes and not really that bad overall.
While I think it was handled badly as an episode to focus on physical health, the gym episode, for example, I don't think it is wrong to promote being physically healthy and exercise and the jokes were kind of all on Usagi for being so obsessed and even gave a sort-of warning about these get fit quick schemes being dangerous to health. The creep way Jadeite made the sickly-looking girls feel good about their appearances after the pod treatment, for example. I'm pretty sure the intended audience (Japanese kids) were not hurt by it and took it for what it was, a cartoon...even in the 90s here I never heard of another kid being offended or damaged by it.

I'm not saying we shouldn't be sensitive to other people's feelings or be aware of harmful messages in media, (we should) I just think young people now are too hyperfocused on triggers, problematic themes, and such and it's causing them actual health and mental health issues.

This was not an issue in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. We played outside, we didn't have Twitter (thank goodness) and we learned to be good people without having to worry about being judged 24/7 by strangers we'll never meet but might ruin us online because they don't like us.
There was still racism, danger, bullying, and abuse back then, we dealt with it on a case-to-case basis and somehow survived.
We might have got into some different kinds of trouble back then (getting lost in the woods, scraped knees, and worse) but I think today's culture of bullies pretending to be some sort of moral authority is far scarier than anything back then and I don't envy kids who are on social media and live that crap daily. If I ever have kids (doubtful) I am not letting them on social media until they are adults. It's too toxic, damages their self-esteem, and is damaging actual growth for actual life.
I'm really beginning to see how the adults of my childhood felt saying "Back in my day..." they were right about some things and wrong about others.

 

[saintfighteraqua]

For sake of avoiding discourse about the sometimes blatant, sometimes subtle, usually intersecting misogynistic, racist, queer-phobic, and fat-phobic happenstances in this meta series- which usually leads to a huge dumpster fire- I will say as a life long fan, who is now an adult, I am so gagged that all of this sh*t is happening to 14 year olds! Have you ever met a 14 year old? There is just no way. If our lives were actually in the hands of a team of 14 year old girls and a couple of talking cats it would be over for us! Though I of course didn’t see it this way when I was a kid.

You're probably right, but when push comes to shove, teens can do some amazing things, especially when they have the training (?) and powers of the Sailor Team. They do struggle and flounder some missions, but a lot of what they do is probably something some kids could manage. Besides, they always had showing up and throwing roses and haikus at the monsters....how could they fail with such a powerful ally? ;p

 

[Rika-Chicchi]

You're probably right, but when push comes to shove, teens can do some amazing things, especially when they have the training (?) and powers of the Sailor Team. They do struggle and flounder some missions, but a lot of what they do is probably something some kids could manage. Besides, they always had showing up and throwing roses and haikus at the monsters....how could they fail with such a powerful ally? ;p

They'll do it fine in the end anyway, because they always have the blessing from the god of their universe, i.e. Takeuchi.

 

[Lady Pen]

Now that you mentioned phallic shapes.... The weird moon kaleidoscope design and how Usagi strokes it soooo firmly.

I suspect many Lemures loved 'staging out ' frequently.

 

[Rika-Chicchi]

Now that you mentioned phallic shapes.... The weird moon kaleidoscope design and how Usagi strokes it soooo firmly.

I suspect many Lemures loved 'staging out ' frequently.

Well, many non-sex-related stick-like objects of various sizes & shapes, e.g. swords, pillars, transformation wands, etc., have, in various extent, phallic references or feels. lol

 

[Tsundereshipper]

racist

??? Uhh since when has Sailor Moon ever been racist…? The only thing I can think of is how the 90’s anime clumsily resolved the Black Moon arc in R by changing their history and motivations into racial allegories, but other than that and the old dub whitewashing all the Japanese names it’s literally not?

 

[Stari Guestie 39]

Not exactly Sailor Moon, but maybe the China chapter of Codename Sailor V? I forget her name, but the Chinese villain from the Dark Agency seemed to be pretty stereotypical.

 

[Princess Sugar Lily]

You're probably right, but when push comes to shove, teens can do some amazing things, especially when they have the training (?) and powers of the Sailor Team. They do struggle and flounder some missions, but a lot of what they do is probably something some kids could manage. Besides, they always had showing up and throwing roses and haikus at the monsters....how could they fail with such a powerful ally? ;p

Definitely! Not to mention they’re the Chosen Ones, with Sailor Moon being destined to rule the world. All life-changing people were teens once, some even changed the world while they were teens, so I have faith in them. Although I do agree it is pretty morbid and sad now that I think about it.

 

[Princess Sugar Lily]

Now that you mentioned phallic shapes.... The weird moon kaleidoscope design and how Usagi strokes it soooo firmly.

I suspect many Lemures loved 'staging out ' frequently.

I don’t know, I don’t really see it like that? Maybe you’re just reading too much into things.