Being a place for all my fandom-type musings, opinions, and ~feelings~ overflow. Because MY PASSION CANNOT BE CONTAINED.that time rachel picked a fight in the cafeteria with another girl and marco claimed they were fighting over him and they all got sent to Chapman’s office
i wonder if chapman ever thought back to that and was like “…i knew those brats were trouble.”
Do I laugh or do I cry
So enter Minako and her first meeting, of a sort, with Usagi.
There’s a lot to consider here.
In the next episode, the others don’t recognize Minako when she comes to the Shrine. They don’t explain why, but let’s go with magic that clouds their identities, at least until they know the truth, since that’s a pretty easy answer. But how far does that go? Is it working for Minako too? When she goes to the Shrine, does she recognize the others, or is she just using logic/process of elimination? (“I know Rei Hino is Sailor Mars. I know Rei Hino is a miko of this shrine. So the one in the robes with the broom must be Sailor Mars, even if I don’t recognize her.”)
She and Artemis have the advantage of Luna having been reporting to them this whole time, so they must by now know, intellectually, who the Senshi are and their real identities. But is the knowing enough, if its just a name and maybe a photograph or two? Would Minako need to actually have that revealed to her directly for the magic to no longer work?
Basically, as Minako is standing here, watching Usagi cry, does she know who she’s looking at?
Her expression is so hard to read. She’s obviously surprised, but it could be for any one of a dozen different reasons, and they’re all fascinating.
I think that this is the moment the magic lifted for her. Like it takes SOMETHING to break through it. Just the knowledge isn’t enough, it has to come with some sort of MOMENT, some flash of inspiration or acceptance, where it all comes together.
Up to this point, Minako’s been following Usagi. Again, intellectually, she knows that Usagi is Sailor Moon, but she still can’t really see it. Then she sees Usagi’s reaction to Zoicite, and it clicks. And then this rush. Maybe a few scattered memories. Emotions she doesn’t quite understand. Standing there, in the street, watching this girl cry helplessly, and just for that moment, Minako’s completely stunned and overwhelmed by everything. It’s all coming together so fast now.
And not even thinking poorly of how Usagi’s reacting either. It’s so real and so genuine. Minako’s about to get her teammates, potentially friends if she dares allow herself to hope. She’ll remain detached for a long time yet, and it won’t be easy for her. But just for this moment, none of that matters. Usagi’s a crybaby and doesn’t know what to do, and has maybe never needed someone like Minako more. And all of what Minako’s been through now has context. That’s what her face in that second panel says to me. Not shock at Usagi’s reaction. Shock at the realization that she’s going to have people like Usagi at all. Real people with real feelings who aren’t always brave and who don’t have all the answers. Minako doesn’t have to be alone anymore. She sees Usagi now, she’s real, and Minako will never fight alone again.
“love is a battlefield” and all that…
sometimes smeary pencil is just so nice to do.
HOLY GUACAMOLE this is wonderful and hurts my heart and jeez louise that’s really good mid-morph fanart.
Doctor Who Cares? - A spinoff in which all is right with the ladies’ storylines and they take custody of the TARDIS every weekend to explore the universe together, defeating misogyny and laughing along the way
This is everything I never knew I always wanted.
Magic Knight Rayearth: The strength of sisterhood and the rejection of self-sacrifice
Full disclosure: The following reading is based on the MKR and MKR 2 manga, not the anime. I have only seen a few episodes of the anime, and that was like, 8 years ago, so this reading is manga based only. This post DOES contain spoilers for the ENTIRE series.In a bought of nostalgia, I recently re-read the entire Magic Knight Rayearth manga series (part 1 and 2). For those unfamiliar with the series, it is a 6 volume manga by Clamp (the same creations as Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, Tsubasa, and many others.) It is your classic Magical Girl series; three normal japanese girls are transported to a magical kingdom, given magical powers, and tasked to save the world.
I love magical girls stuff. It is very feminist in nature, and female-centric. MKR holds true to that. There are two big feminist themes that run through the series: sisterhood, and the rejection of self-sacrifice.
First: Sisterhood
Not just literal sisterhood, but solidarity between women in general. Our heroes, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu, had never met before they were transported to Cephiro. Yet, there is never any inter-personal conflict between them. These three instantly become best friends. They even decide to call each other sisters in the FIRST volume. Other characters actually comment on how quickly this bond formed.
And that bond is the source of their strength. In order to unlock their “Manshin” (legendary spirit mecha things), they have to prove the strength of their hearts, and for each of them, they do this by saving the others from danger. Alone, none of them would have prevailed. Together, these three girls draw strength from each other. Women are strong when they rely on each other in this narrative. It is a complete rejection of the “women are catty and always fight” bullshit that media so often pushes.
2. The rejection of self-sacrifice.
Women in narratives are often called upon to be self-sacrificing. They are martyrs, dying for their sons or husbands or countries. As though nobility for women only comes from nurturing and giving up literally all we have: our very lives.
MKR rejects that entirely. Cephiro’s “pillar” system dictates that one person (the pillar: Princess Emeraude in part 1) must dedicate their lives in total self-sacrifice to prayer in order to keep Cephiro in balance. When Emeraude falls in love with Zagato (and act that calls upon her to wish for her OWN happiness and the happiness of the person she loves), Cephiro falls into chaos, and the Magic Knights are called upon to kill her, rather than let the world crumble.
The girls are torn up when they discover the truth about WHY they had to kill Emeraude, and the entire plot of part 2 surrounds the flaws of the Pillar system. Asking a person to self-sacrifice, even for the good of an entire world, is WRONG.
Through their rejection, Hikaru (who is deemed the new pillar) and the others completely dismantle the Pillar system. Again and again in part 2, the girls are fighting to BE TRUE TO THEMSELVES. Not to save Cephiro, not for anyone else. They fight because THEY want to be true to what THEY want. It is not self sacrifice that motivates them, but rather the opposite of that.
Here the message is clear: it is not wrong, or selfish, or evil to wish for your own happiness. Any system that forces such a dichotomy between caring about yourself and caring about others is flawed and leads to pain.
MKR is not a PERFECT feminist series, there certainly are flaws here. But I deeply enjoy that the two major themes of the work are so wonderfully feminist in nature.
I don’t trust people who hate Rose Tyler, and I don’t respect people who hate Martha Jones.
