30 Day Anime Challenge | 01

 

Sailor Moon was the “gateway drug” to this addiction and obsession with anime and anything Japan. Watching Sailor Moon after coming home from middle school was something I looked forward to. Magic-Girls in sailor suits fighting for love and justice. Not only were they powerful strong women, but they fought bravely while looking beautiful! Each character had their own distinct personalities too: the brainiac, the tomboy, the natural leader, the pretty one, the ditz. There was bound to be one character that you could relate to. I actually went to a panel that discussed the importance of Sailor Moon on its’ audience at Krakencon in Oakland, CA back in March or so. I plan on writing about what was discussed there in a future post.

I loved everything about this anime –art, characters, story, music. It’s because of Sailor Moon that I developed an interest in art and drawing. I would spend hours trying to replicate screenshots and finding as many images I could online – which was scarce since the internet was still relatively new at the time (thank God for AOL). I also attempted to create my own website to express the fandom of Sailor Moon like so many other kids (angelfire for the win!).  I also had quite a bit of merchandise: I had the 90s soundtrack, a deck of playing cards, several wall scrolls/posters, and the star locket that was so precious to both Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon. And more currently I’ve been trying to collect the SHFigurarts line. Oh, I was able to find my favorite track – and this song actually coincides with the scene that resonated with me the most – which I’ve also linked further down.

My action figures – don’t mind the background – I tried to photoshop as much as I could LOL

The romance story between Mamoru and Usagi is like a fairy tail. Except the “damsel in distress” role is reversed. Usagi often saves a kidnapped Mamoru from the evil doers. Girl Power to the max! My favorite scene from the earlier episodes was when Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon are stuck in tower and they’re forced to expose their true identities to one another. Tuxedo Mask gets stabbed in the back in a dirty attack by Malachite and Sailor Moon cries her eyes out – revealing her true identity as the Moon Princess in the process exposing that the  Silver Millennium Crystal had been locked away inside her the entire time they were searching for it. It was such an emotional scene for a young tween as myself and it’s stuck with me since as a pivotal scene for the show at the time. LOL I was able to find a link – and it made me laugh/cry:

My first anime crush ever actually was Mamoru/Darien/Tuxedo Mark. Although, looking back at it – Mamoru was a condescending ass in the 90’s. I much prefer the Mamoru in Sailor Moon Crystal; he seems much more mature and not to mention even more handsome than his previous self! Other than that, I love this character because despite his memory loss; the thing that keeps him going is his love and dedication for Usagi/Sailor Moon and he puts everything on the line for her.

Of all the sailor scouts my ultimate favorite scout was Sailor Venus. So much so that I paid homage to her in using “venus” in every AOL screenname I ever had. She was also my favorite scout to draw. Remember how you’d have to cover your text books in brown paper to protect it? Yeah, I’d draw her all over my covers.

LOL wow what a trip down memory lane. It really made me remember how much I really loved this series over the years. I realize I’ve gone on more than I should’ve. But considering the importance that Sailor Moon holds for me; I had to indulge in this memory filled post.

This has been a pretty epic post to kick off this 30 day challenge! I hope you had as much fun reading it as I had fun writing about it. What series kicked off your dive into anime?