Hacker Cinema
Sailor Moon
美少女戦士セーラームーン
1992 · TV series · 24 min episodes · 5 seasons
ActionAdventureAnimationComedyScience FictionFantasyKids
One day, Usagi Tsukino, clumsy 2nd-year middle school student, stumbles upon a talking cat named Luna. Luna tells her that she is destined to be Sailor Moon, "champion of love and justice", and she must search for the fabled Moon Princess. Usagi finds friends that turn out to be destined senshi as well, and together they fight to save the world from the certain doom brought upon by the Dark Kingdom.
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14 comments on Hacker News
I'm astonished though that people sell ero fan manga from popular series at Komiket, like Sailor Moon (you know... "I'm Usagi Tsukino, I'm 14 years old") [1]
[1] though there was the episode that didn't get released in the US where she used a magical item to transform herself into an adult so she could go in a bar and get a drink
I recently discovered FAST on my NVIDIA shield which works a lot like a cable box: once you install apps like Tubi and Pluto the schedules are integrated in one big list with a common UI.
Anyone who likes linear TV is going to find a lot to like from broadcast TV news from various cities (which I think is fun) as well as reruns you might see in OTA TV or cable (Star Trek or My Cat from Hell) not to mention anime (Sailor Moon and Hunter x Hunter with Japanese vocals and English subtitles and even the occasional Korean Isekai) and even some sports (South American soccer, reruns of famous baseball and American football games.). Plus tons of old but good movies like the independent TV channel 56 used to run in Boston when I was growing up.
Time and place sort of thing. There could easily be another timeline where Evangelion and Sailor Moon swap places popularity-wise in the US. The demographic for anime on broadcast television in the late '90s and early 2000s, when Evangelion was getting dubbed, just skewed too young for it to really be profitable in any way. If I remember correctly, it only ever had one complete run on Adult Swim, a late night block which really limited its exposure. I don't think End of Evangelion has ever aired on a major broadcast network. (The Rebuild movies did get play on the revived Toonami about a decade ago, though.)
I don't think Evangelion would ever have been a breakout hit, per se, like DBZ, but depending on the circumstances it definitely could have had moderate success.
About "10% of each episode is dedicated to them jumping into their voltron vehicles": it's the story as old as capitalism and it's the same reason you have those long transformations in Sailor Moon, to give an actual example, but it applies to all off the mill series in anime, western and 'western' cartoons too.
The TV time is sold as slots (usually ~30m for animation), you can't buy some arbitrary amount of time - you buy the slot, you need a serious amount of money for the prime time slots;
a TV show requires money (big amounts of money) for the every second produced;
so it's the easiest way to lower amount of money spent per episode - animate once, show multiple times.
>As a person who has taken marketing classes, yes, I make sure my toddlers have close to 0 Disney and Nintendo exposure.
Good for you. I didn't take that level of a position, we had a Wii in the house and watched some Disney movies. We've never been a big TV watching family though, we'd only watch stuff we chose to watch, like specific TV shows and movies but never just had the TV on. Of course I ensured my girls were educated in the classics. Sailor Moon, Buffy, Xena, MLP:FIM and such.
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The main criticism of this YouTube video is that the main character doesn't really have to put in any effort and has all those skills from the very beginning.
While I agree that this trope can make kids think they're special without trying in life (and that they will be a hero in the future), I think there have been similar tropes in the past.
Just take basic story writing of many old movies: There is always a hero that is living a boring or even sad life, often unsuccessful and unhappy. Suddenly, a "mentor" appears who takes our hero into this new magical world and teaches him the most amazing things in no time. Matrix, Star Wars, Harry Potter, basically all Disney movies, even Sailor Moon.
That doesn't teach kids very positive things either: just wait for a mentor to come along and show you the way to become a hero, don't worry, you will be a hero because someone shows you the way.
So I don't see the development described in the YouTube video as dramatically, it has existed forever.
Yup. FMA: Brotherhood just hits the classic hero tropes and tells it to you straight.
I don't think its a bad thing. The Hero's Journey / Monomyth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey) has been told again and again in almost all media across all cultures.
Its just a storytelling style that's somehow got permanent, widespread appeal. Since its a "familiar story", I definitely think it plays to the advantage as a "starter anime". It gives a sense of familiarity to the audience, especially if they aren't used to anime yet.
Since the Hero's Journey / Monomyth is so popular, of course there's tons of animes that follow that style (and most "starter" animes IMO are a large-scale hero's journey).
Given the shear number of choices: Naruto, FMA, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Bleach, Dragonball Z, Soul Eater, Sailor Moon, etc. etc... there's a lot to choose from. FMA: Brotherhood just so happens to be the one I think is best.
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I'm mean... we're into what? The 14 year of Marvel movies following the Monomyth formula? This Monomyth / Hero's Journey is hardly unique to anime. The few other mainstream shows that come out with widespread appeal (John Wick, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc. etc.) are just more of the Hero's Journey formula.
Its not a bad formula, not by any stretch of the imagination.
> Is NGE worth watching for someone who never was really into anime?
Maybe? NGE is not very representative of anime in general. Its definitely its own creature.
These days, "anime" lovers like "That Time I was Reincarnated as a Slime", "Naruto", "My Hero Academia", or "Demon Slayer". And back then, this "style" was carried by Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball Z.
You know: powerful hero collects a bunch of things and saves the world kind of plot. None of these shows are anything like NGE. I'd say people who like NGE will probably not like Demon Slayer, and vice versa.
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NGE is an existential mecha-pilot anime about depression, being forced into a losing battle with powers you don't understand. If you feel like dragging yourself through 26 episodes of that, yeah, go ahead.
But this ain't the happy-go-lucky overpowered main character always wins kinda show that's popular by 2020 standards. That's for sure.
Don't get me wrong, I like both style of shows (!!!), and both have their place. But "anime" is so diverse that you really can't compare this story with other great anime stories.
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That being said, I'd say the perfect "starter anime" is "Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood". This show has a lot of the crazy fights you'd see in some of the more battle-oriented anime, but also has some deeper self-introspection that was more common to 90s era anime.
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood hits a lot of themes and concepts that seem universal, that many people both anime-fans and non-anime fans can enjoy.
EDIT: In particular, the main character: Edward Elric, may be a kid but he grows up through the show and becomes a hero. Not your typical "anime superpower" growth (Naruto/Demon Slayer / Dragonball Z)... but instead actual outlook on life and maturity kind of growth. Yes, its a hero's journey but there's a reason this story is told over and over again, its a classic epic tale setup with widespread appeal.
What's exceptional is that Edward Elric is a mostly mature character even from episode 1. So starting from a largely mature character and seeing him grow even more is quite spectacular honestly. FMA just does the hero's tale extremely well, far better than most typical anime... with a few deconstructive bits thrown in here and there.
NGE is almost a self-loathing kind of story that makes you feel pitiful. Its good at it too, but I don't think it'd be popular or mainstream. NGE is really out there and goes 100% for whatever depressing feeling its trying to drag you into. I really don't think its something I'd typically share (despite its widespread acclaim, it really is a niche-storyline IMO that few people would enjoy).
EDIT: In contrast: FMA does have a couple of self-loathing parts (The early "Tucker" arc is especially a horrific ordeal), but never quite to the degree that NGE ever gets to. Its still horrific what happens in FMA: Brotherhood, but you never really lose hope in Edward Elric. You can root for the hero from the beginning and never lose faith.
In contrast, NGE absolutely expects you to lose faith in Shinji Ikari, his father, and the entire set of humans involved in the plot. These are not good people. You're watching a train-wreck in slow motion. This is very unusual, even by anime standards.
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Lets put this in terms of WW2 movies. There's lots of WW2 movies: like "Downfall / Der Untergang" and "Midway". Both have their benefits, both are WW2 movies.
But "Downfall / Der Untergang" is simply going to be more niche because the depressing stories are just less popular than the mainstream happy / boom boom fighting movies (like Midway).
If you were trying to get people into WW2 movies, would you start them on "Downfall / Der Untergang" ?? Probably not. Similarly, I wouldn't recommend NGE to a beginner anime watcher... I'd start you on something happier and more mainstream.
Not creams, exactly. But Sailor Moon has always been heavily merchandised. And the Japanese name is "pretty guardian sailor moon" and she says "moon crystal power make-up" and her transformation tool has the shape of a cosmetic kit and ok I'll stop now.
To be clear, this is just the most superficial stuff. That television series was definitely pushing a certain specific and not at all enlightened standard of female behavior and beauty. Not that I think it should be cancelled on Twitter or anything, but I think it's helpful to criticize the media we consume.
John Williams did the soundtrack for so many action/sci-fi movies and used different kinds of classical themes to represent imperial stormtroopers, luke skywalker, etc.
So far as "rich villian" goes, i think it is best expressed in anime and kung fu movies, but you will see it in cowboy movies, crime movies, etc.
In this story the protagonist takes down not just one evil person (say Dirty Harry vs Scorpio) but an entire evil organization.
That organization inevitably has a social hierarchy that goes from bottom to top. The protagonist first beats up the poor bad guys and then beats up the foreman who is paid $2 an hour more for being a little more responsible. Only after beating up the poor criminals does the protagonist get to beat up the person at the top of the conspiracy.
"Lethal Weapon 3" is a great example, but "Sailor Moon" defeats a supernatural invasion that is organized like a military organization with enlisted monsters, lieutenants, generals and Queen Beryl at the top -- it demonstrates how the structure can fold and unfold like an accordion and fit any timebox.
Even if you're a staunch ally of safe, conservative family entertainment for its own sake, Disney was pretty damn crappy for a while. Look at their animated stuff in particular for plenty of mediocre storylines and bland animation (e.g. The Aristocats, The Fox and the Hound, Robin Hood). Children deserved better!
Eventually some meaningful competition from the likes of Don Bluth started to push them in the right direction (Secret of NIMH, Land before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, etc.) and not too long afterward they were doing things like Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin. Quite an improvement, though I dare say the storylines have never quite caught up. (Of course, all of Bluth's stuff would later be undermined as it was sequel-ized to Hell and back, like The Land Before Time XXIV: Teach Your Kids Roman Numerals Edition...)
Right now, though, after seeing Pixar's homages to Ghibli, I'm anticipating the impact of recent works like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, which really pushed some boundaries in Japan. (If you're not familiar with it, I'll just say... imagine if Pan's Labyrinth had been actively marketed to little children as a happy family film and an homage to Alice in Wonderland... and then translate that willful deception and the profound darkness onto Sailor Moon.) If it does make a splash in the youth entertainment industry at large, that will be quite interesting indeed.
Iunno, I'm pretty sure most people know what Pokémon is and a large portion of those know it had a TV show. Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Cardcaptor Sakura all seem to be pretty well known among the younger generations and by extension the older generations who raise and take care of them.
And anime/manga is becoming more and more mainstream. Sure it's not like you'll walk in on your boss catching up on the latest episode of Attack on Titan but it's getting there.
Since others are handling the arguments over technical and stylistic aspects, I will comment on another problem with the Facebook dedesign:
Pokemon was not yet popular in 1997. The anime scene was all about Ranma, Slayers, Evangelion, Techni Muyo, and whatever movie had aired on the Sci-Fi channel the past Saturday. Sailor Moon was running on TV and was very popular but we tried to forget about that. Of course, the user could be from Japan where Pokemon had been running for half a year, or they could have gotten a sub off Usenet, but Pokemon did not get popular in the English-speaking world until the dub was aired later in the decade.