The Senshi and their incredible emotional stability

CaratCake · 11/17/14, 10:59 AM

When I was watching SM the first time around I was thinking something along the lines of "Man, you really have to sympathize for Usagi a lot. This sweet child can't go one school year without seeing her best friends and/or significant other actually getting murdered (or close) by some extraterrestrial jerks trying to screw things up once again."

The Senshi have experienced wonderful things in their short lives as guardian soldiers, but they've also seen and gone through some really awful, traumatic things. If the story were more realistic to their emotions (which in a way it is, they are very complex characters imo), would they be able to cope with all of this? I feel like their awesome support system as friends helps a lot, but they're also teenagers...

I understand this is kind of the unrealistic beauty of superhero anime/any kind of show, but SM does have a big coming-of-age theme that are relatable. How would you guys maybe dig into this?

world_shaking · 11/17/14, 11:00 AM

I totally cannot relate to the characters' emotional resilience and total acceptance of what's happening to them and to their lives. I can see their acceptance blossoming after they're reawakened to their past lives, but I can't imagine most teenagers having a smooth transition from ordinary (albeit lonely and awkward) school girl to super powered evil fighter in the course of a day.

However, each of them (I'm remembering Rei and Makoto here especially) had some kind of "feeling" that there was something more to them and that they had some kind of power, even if they denied it within themselves. This may have made that transition smoother, and by the moment they transformed for the first time, they had had some degree of reawakening that may have just made it feel right. This might be why Usagi didn't catch right on and become the perfectly postured super hero right away, I think she recovered the least at her initial awakening despite being the first to become a Senshi. She needed Luna's help after all.

The last thing I'll say is that I was always a little surprised and disappointed that there wasn't more resistance from the Senshi to their fate. If I learned at 14 that the girl I had been every day of my life up to that point was effectively dead--ie: "present day me no longer matters because I remember that I was once an interstellar guardian, the importance of whose mission now supersedes any life I was previously planning to live for myself. And I can't tell Mom,"-- I'd have had a bonafide breakdown and probably would have needed to move far, far away. Then again, that Senshi support net is probably pretty darned strong and maybe that's how they kept their sanity and inner peace as a team.

It's a shoujo anime, though, not Alan Moore's WATCHMEN (the graphic novel, not that **** movie), so it's forgiven and still supremely entertaining. Neat question, though.

Sailor Pooh · 11/17/14, 11:00 AM

I'd say Usagi had the hardest time transitioning to super hero, and I would totally have felt the same. Look at the stuff the senshi have gone through. All 5 of them are incredibly strong characters and you have to wonder if their home lives had something to do with that as well? Makoto lives alone because her parents died in a plane crash, omg she's 14 your heart just breaks for her! Minako lived alone in England fighting crime and witnessed her crush fall in love with someone she thought of was a sister, thank goodness she had Artemis. Rei and Ami at least have some family to help them but both characters don't reach out easily for help. Sailor Moon can be so heart breaking at times when you think of what the girls have gone through.

PRangerX · 11/17/14, 03:54 PM

Dont forget Manga and PGSM Rei. Who had to deal with losing her mom to cancer and a neglectful father that wasnt even there for her sick mother. And to top it all off her love for her father's assistant ultimately goes unrequited.

Usagi has a pure heart in all of her incarnations. This helped get her through all the pain and anguish. Plus she is the eternal optimist. Only sees the good in people. Which is part of why Uranus and Neptune grow to respect her at the end of S.

11/17/14, 10:59 AM	#1
CaratCake Putty Patroller Join Date: 07/06/13 Posts: 2	The Senshi and their incredible emotional stability When I was watching SM the first time around I was thinking something along the lines of "Man, you really have to sympathize for Usagi a lot. This sweet child can't go one school year without seeing her best friends and/or significant other actually getting murdered (or close) by some extraterrestrial jerks trying to screw things up once again." The Senshi have experienced wonderful things in their short lives as guardian soldiers, but they've also seen and gone through some really awful, traumatic things. If the story were more realistic to their emotions (which in a way it is, they are very complex characters imo), would they be able to cope with all of this? I feel like their awesome support system as friends helps a lot, but they're also teenagers... I understand this is kind of the unrealistic beauty of superhero anime/any kind of show, but SM does have a big coming-of-age theme that are relatable. How would you guys maybe dig into this?

11/17/14, 11:00 AM	#2
world_shaking Putty Patroller Join Date: 06/05/11 Posts: 2	Re: The Senshi and their incredible emotional stability I totally cannot relate to the characters' emotional resilience and total acceptance of what's happening to them and to their lives. I can see their acceptance blossoming after they're reawakened to their past lives, but I can't imagine most teenagers having a smooth transition from ordinary (albeit lonely and awkward) school girl to super powered evil fighter in the course of a day. However, each of them (I'm remembering Rei and Makoto here especially) had some kind of "feeling" that there was something more to them and that they had some kind of power, even if they denied it within themselves. This may have made that transition smoother, and by the moment they transformed for the first time, they had had some degree of reawakening that may have just made it feel right. This might be why Usagi didn't catch right on and become the perfectly postured super hero right away, I think she recovered the least at her initial awakening despite being the first to become a Senshi. She needed Luna's help after all. The last thing I'll say is that I was always a little surprised and disappointed that there wasn't more resistance from the Senshi to their fate. If I learned at 14 that the girl I had been every day of my life up to that point was effectively dead--ie: "present day me no longer matters because I remember that I was once an interstellar guardian, the importance of whose mission now supersedes any life I was previously planning to live for myself. And I can't tell Mom,"-- I'd have had a bonafide breakdown and probably would have needed to move far, far away. Then again, that Senshi support net is probably pretty darned strong and maybe that's how they kept their sanity and inner peace as a team. It's a shoujo anime, though, not Alan Moore's WATCHMEN (the graphic novel, not that **** movie), so it's forgiven and still supremely entertaining. Neat question, though.

11/17/14, 11:00 AM	#3
Sailor Pooh Putty Patroller Join Date: 06/30/11 Posts: 3	Re: The Senshi and their incredible emotional stability I'd say Usagi had the hardest time transitioning to super hero, and I would totally have felt the same. Look at the stuff the senshi have gone through. All 5 of them are incredibly strong characters and you have to wonder if their home lives had something to do with that as well? Makoto lives alone because her parents died in a plane crash, omg she's 14 your heart just breaks for her! Minako lived alone in England fighting crime and witnessed her crush fall in love with someone she thought of was a sister, thank goodness she had Artemis. Rei and Ami at least have some family to help them but both characters don't reach out easily for help. Sailor Moon can be so heart breaking at times when you think of what the girls have gone through.

11/17/14, 03:54 PM	#4
PRangerX Administrator Join Date: 12/04/00 Posts: 4,004	Re: The Senshi and their incredible emotional stability Dont forget Manga and PGSM Rei. Who had to deal with losing her mom to cancer and a neglectful father that wasnt even there for her sick mother. And to top it all off her love for her father's assistant ultimately goes unrequited. Usagi has a pure heart in all of her incarnations. This helped get her through all the pain and anguish. Plus she is the eternal optimist. Only sees the good in people. Which is part of why Uranus and Neptune grow to respect her at the end of S.