Shojo Power!

It’s been a joke among Sailor Moon fans for years–Sailor Star Maker’s attack call is “Star Gentle Uterus.” And now, North American and English speaking fans can finally legally enjoy it with the release of the final season of Sailor Moon, Sailor Stars. I imagine a lot more Sailor Moon fans will be asking the same questions we all have at some point—-how???? Why??? Well, I’m here to shed some light on that!

I, myself, was in the dark for the longest time regarding these questions. In fact, it wasn’t until quite recently that I learned that some fans identify the inspiration for the Sailor Starlights as coming from Hindu mythology. In Hindu mythology, there are three main gods–Brahma (The Creator), Vishnu (The Preserver), and Shiva (The Destroyer). This fits very nicely with the names of the Sailor Starlights–Sailor Star Maker aka The Creator, Sailor Star Healer aka The Preserver and Sailor Star Fighter aka The Destroyer. Which brings us back to Sailor Star Maker’s infamous attack, Star Gentle Uterus.

While life is created in many ways in mythologies around the world, in our every day life, life begins in the uterus, so it makes a lot of sense that Sailor Star Maker’s attack name would include “uterus.” Of course, though, I suppose that’s not necessarily why people giggle at the attack name. We giggle at it because we’ve been taught to view the female reproductive system as private and taboo to talk about. It’s a double standard–society views the penis as both humorous and natural to talk about. Previously, I’ve talked about how a vagina kayak made more people uncomfortable than a mascot with an erection or penises at fertility festivals.

For some feminists, it’s important to eliminate the taboo of talking about female bodies so that people can feel more comfortable with their bodies and consequently, feel more empowered about their health and sexuality. Previously Naoko Takeuchi has made “negative” feminine attributes like crying into an attack, so perhaps she was trying to reclaim the power of uteri here.

So, whenever Star Gentle Uterus comes up, I’m actually pretty happy with the attack name. I think we need to talk about the female reproductive system more casually. I’m all for jokes like these if it actually educates you about human bodies!

In fact, the only small quibble I have with the attack name is that I’m not sure why it’s “gentle.” For many people, once a month, their uterus it anything but gentle! It’s more like:

And that’s just uteri! The actual creation of stars in the universe is rather intense.

So if you could come up with a better attack name, what would it be?

Images via Beckyism.com, Sailor Bitch-Lord

Seven Seas Entertainment has been on a roll lately, haven’t they? First, they come out with My Experience with Lesbian Loneliness which slammed through the internet and bookstores like a wrecking ball. Then last year they followed up with its sequel, My Solo Exchange Diary, and other one-shots like The Bride was a Boy and Claudine.

Claudine was written by Riyoko Ikeda in 1978, just a few years after her megahit Rose of Versailles hit the scene. Rose of Versailles was originally supposed to be a historical fiction work centered on the life of Marie Antoinette, but the handsome and noble soldier Oscar, who was assigned female at birth but lived as a man, quickly became the most popular character. Soon after the manga’s publication, Rose of Versailles was adapted for the Takarazuka stage. The stage production was so popular, it financially saved the all-female theater troupe.

Enter Claudine. I had always thought that perhaps Naoko Takeuchi was the first mangaka to take the characters from the fantastical world of the Takarazuka Revue and put them in the real world. Our favorite lesbian power couple Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune were modeled after Takarazuka actresses–and instead of portraying a heterosexual relationship as they would in a Takarazuka production, they are a lesbian couple. However, I was wrong. Riyoko Ikeda was placing these characters in the real world more than a decade before Sailor Moon hit the scene.

WARNING: SO MANY SPOILERS FOR CLAUDINE!

Content Note: In Claudine, the title character is referred to as female throughout manga. However, in this article I’ve used male pronouns to reflect Claudine’s gender preference. This follows how the translator and others have referred to Claudine as well.

Trigger Warnings: Dysphoria, Freud, Misgendering

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In the past, I’ve written about some trans metaphors in Sailor Moon regarding the Sailor Starlights. But obviously, sometimes metaphors aren’t good enough. And while Sailor Moon gave us the best lesbian power couple ever, it’s 2018—how do trans issues fit into Sailor Moon? I’ve always thought that since trans women are women, trans women have always had a space in Sailor Moon. But since the manga and anime are over, how can that made crystal clear? Well, I’m happy to report that I have two wonderful examples to share with you!

Warning: Some mild spoilers for the Sailor Moon Super Live

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Recently I had the opportunity to appear on Anime Feminist‘s podcast to talk about the first season of Sailor Moon. Dee and Vrai are so funny and entertaining, you have to give it a listen! What’s really interesting about this podcast is that all three of us have different perspectives of Sailor Moon. Dee did not grow up watching Sailor Moon, yet she’s a total Stan.  Vrai is revisiting Sailor Moon after being away from it for awhile and get this–they have never seen Sailor Stars! I AM SO EXCITED FOR VRAI YOU GUYS. And there’s me, the Ami of the group chiming in about my encyclopedic knowledge of all things Sailor Moon. ^_^

We plan to cover all five seasons–so please enjoy! I wrote up some fun pros & cons lists for Sailor Moon R, so I’ll post that with the next podcast–stay tuned!

Please visit Anime Feminist for the time stamps.

And as always, please support Anime Feminist and Shojo Power! on Patreon.

Episode 3  of the Shojo Power Podcast is now available on SoundCloud!

Also, I have some exciting news–I’ve finally created a Patreon in conjunction with the podcast! Pledge now before Monday, September 24th 2018 5:30 EST and you could be part of our next podcast!

Episode 2 of the Shojo Power Podcast is now available on SoundCloud! Just FYI, this episode discusses body image issues like weight and dieting. Please follow so you can review our monthly podcast.

And in case if you missed it, here is our first episode where we compare and contrast the first episode of Sailor Moon Classic and Sailor Moon Crystal.

In the Summer of 2018, the Sailor Moon S and SuperS movies were released in North American theaters. Growing up, the Sailor Moon S movie was my favorite—although now, having viewed the R and S movies back to back, I do agree with most fans—the R movie is the best. That said, the S movie still holds a special place in my heart. Who doesn’t love Human Luna and understand her heartbreak? Another reason I love the S movie is that it has a less fantastical moon princess in it, astronaut Himeko Nayotake.

In Sailor Moon Short Stories 2, Naoko wrote extensive notes on where she drew inspiration from for this story. Naoko writes that she flew all the way to Kennedy Space Center to watch Dr. Chiaki Mukai launch into space. On whim, I googled Dr. Mukai’s name and discovered that this wasn’t any ordinary space launch. With this launch on July 8th 1994, Dr. Mukai would become the first Japanese woman in space.

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It’s that time of year again! Each year I’ve celebrated Shojo Power!’s birthday in July. Can you believe it’s been five years? It amazes me that the 90s Sailor Moon only lasted five years and here we are,  six years since they announced the reboot and we still have two seasons to, more musicals coming and more merch!

Onto the Top 5 stats!

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By now most of us have seen the magnum opus of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Infinity War Part 1. It’s a film that has a WHOLE LOTTA death that has spawned the most delicious memes. It made me think about other films and cartoons that have a whole lotta death, and behold! You know what has a whole lotta death in it? Sailor Moon! In fact, there’s so much death in Sailor Moon, I could be here all week! Death in the manga! Death in the anime! Death in the live action! Death on the stage! But, I shall restrain myself. I decided to put together a top ten list of the deaths that were most impactful to me across all incarnations of Sailor Moon. Here we go!

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