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Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Sailor Moon

Post by Jabroniville »

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SAILOR MOON (Usagi Tsukino, aka Princess Serenity, Neo-Queen Serenity)
Dub Name:
Serena
Role: The Main Hero, The Crybaby
Main Fuku Colour: Blue
Elemental Alignment: Love
Hair Colour: Strawberry Blonde
PL 12 (175)
STRENGTH
0/1 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 1
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+6, +7 Sailor)
Deception 2 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 10 (+10)
Investigation 3 (+3)
Perception 3 (+3)
Persuasion 5 (+9, +11 Attractive)
Ranged Combat (Moon Attacks) 2 (+9)
Stealth 1 (+4)

Advantages: 
Attractive, Daze (Persuasion), Defensive Attack, Equipment (Sailor Communicator), Ranged Attack 5, Taunt, Teamwork, Ultimate Will Save

Powers:
"Sailor Strength"
Enhanced Strength 1 [2]
Strength-Damage +2 [2]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
Movement 1 (Safe Fall) [2]
Features 1: Boots Form Ice Skates [1]

"Sailor Planet Attack!" Damage 14 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2, Penetrating 6) (Flaws: Requires Other Sailors -2) (20) -- [23]
  • AE: "Sonic Cry Attack" Affliction 5 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned) (Extras: Area- Hearing Perception) (Flaws: Limited Degree) (5)
  • AE: "Sailor Teleport!" Teleport 14 (Extras: Extended Only +0, Accurate) (Flaws: Requires Other Sailors -2) (14)
  • AE: "Sailor Planet Power!" Force Field 8 (Flaws: Requires Other Sailors -2) (2)
"Tiara" (Flaws: Removable) [21]
"Moon Tiara Stardust!" Nullify Mind Control 8 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Cloud +2) (24) -- (26 points)
  • AE: "Moon Tiara Action!" Blast 9 (Feats: Accurate, Ricochet 3, Homing) (23)
  • AE: "Moon Tiara Snare" Snare 8 (Feats: Accurate, Reversible) (Flaws: Limited to One Target) (18)
"Disguise Pen" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [6]
Morph 2 (Women) (10 points)

"Spiral Heart Moon Rod" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [27]
"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" Blast 14 Linked to Weaken Toughness 14 (Extras: Ranged) (Flaws: Distracting) (42) -- (44 points)
  • AE: "Rainbow Moon Heart Ache!" Blast 16 (Flaws: Source- Holy Grail) Linked to Weaken Toughness 16 (Extras: Ranged) (Flaws: Distracting) (32)
  • AE: "Giant Heart Attack" Damage 10 (Extras: 60ft. Heart-Shaped Burst +2) (Flaws: Distracting) (20)
Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Sailor Strength +6 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Moon Tiara Action! +10 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Moon Spiral Heart Attack +8 (+14 Ranged Damage, 29)
Rainbow Moon Heart Ache +8 (+16 Ranged Damage, DC 31)
Giant Heart Attack +10 Area (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Planet Attack +14 Area (+14 Damage, DC 29)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +10

Complications:
Power Loss (All Powers)- Sailor Senshi must be able to gesture and speak freely to use their powers. If they are Bound or Snared, they cannot use their attacks easily.
Normal Identity (Tsukino Usagi, Without Power Stick)
Responsibility (Sailor Senshi)- The Senshi are charged to fight evil.
Responsibility (Schooling)- Unfortunately, Usagi is terrible at it.
Secret (Identity)- The Senshi must not reveal their identities to the world at large, nor their villains.
Responsibility (Princess Serenity)- Usagi/Serena is both the Princess of the Moon Kingdom, and the future Queen of the World. This makes her many enemies, and gives her numerous responsibilities.
Responsibility (I Just Want To Be Normal)- Usagi hates the constant violence, and the threats against her life. Her fondest wish is to "just be a normal girl" once again, and leave all this super-heroing behind.
Power Loss (All Powers)- At times, Usagi's desire to be normal actually affects her powers, and she loses her special abilities.
---
Responsibility (Lazy)- Usagi does not like to do things that require effort.
Responsibility (Gluttonous)- Usagi LOOOOOOOOOOOVES to eat, particularly sweet things.
Responsibility (Incompetent)- Usagi is a poor student.
Responsibility (Sleepyhead)- Usagi is famous for her ability to sleep in past her alarm and be late for school.
Responsibility (Crybaby)- Usagi's first reaction to almost every bit of stress, for YEARS, was to openly cry rivers of tears.
---
Relationship (Naru Osaka)- Naru was Usagi's best friend in the early days- it was them plus two other background girls, and later, only Naru as Usagi's Non-Sailor-Friend.
Relationship (Ami- Sailor Mercury)- Usagi was the only person to befriend the "snobbish" world-class student, and deeply admires Ami's brilliance.
Relationship (Rei- Sailor Mars)- Sailor Mars is grouchy, hard-working, snide and arrogant- she despises all of Usagi's above-mentioned Responsibilities, and is constantly screaming at her to improve. Usagi both hates to be insulted, and spitefully argues back with Rei, who is "So mean!" The two pick at and tease each other, and generally never go more than a day without a big fight. However, Usagi deeply respects Rei's work ethic, beauty, grace and toughness- it is Rei to whom Usagi entrusts the Silver Crystal when she fears she'll break and give it up, and it is Rei's loss that Usagi feels most deeply at D-Point.
Relationship (Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask)- Usagi & Mamoru argued non-stop at first, with him gladly teasing the silly young girl. However, she had a serious crush on the mysterious, handsome Tuxedo Mask, who always came to her rescue. Only later did they realize their true feelings for one another, as they were in fact lovers in another life, and destined to be together in the future. When he breaks up with her in Sailor Moon R, she is emotionally shattered to the point where even her closest friends won't tease her.
---
Relationship (Minako- Sailor Venus)- Usagi was once worshipful of the possibly-fictional Sailor V, but soon comes to view Minako as a kindred spirit in Idol-loving weirdness.
Relationship (Makoto- Sailor Jupiter)- Usagi was the only person to befriend the violent giantess, and comes to deeply admire Mako's strength, hatred of bullies, and cooking ability. That the two have the same taste in men (such as Motoki) is helpful as well.
Relationship (Motoki)- Usagi nursed a serious, but childlike, crush on Motoki Furuhata in the first season.
Relationship (Chibi-Usa)- Usagi finds the bratty little "spore" as annoying as anything- the two are entirely too much alike. It's only later, once she realizes that "Little Usagi" is actually her own DAUGHTER, from the future, that they start to get along.
--- 
Phobia (Thunder)- Usagi is petrified of thunder, to the point of screaming, crying and running away to hide when she hears it.
Responsibility (Believes in People)- Usagi has an obsessive desire to see the best in people- she refuses to see only the negatives, and is constantly willing to help, even towards people who despise her (like Nastumi/An).
Responsibility (That Kind Of Girl)- Usagi tends to draw strong reactions from some men, who fall obsessively in love with her at first sight. Umino crushes on her during their time at Junior High. Seijuro/Ail openly crushes on her as soon as he comes to Earth, almost abandoning his lifelong companion for her. Prince Demande is so obsessed with Sailor Moon/Neo-Queen Serenity that he tries to use his powers to RAPE HER. 
---
Enemy (The Dark Kingdom, Ail & An, The Black Moon Clan, The Death Busters, Queen Nehellenia, Sailor Galaxia)

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 86 / Defenses: 23 (175)

Sailor Moon- Loser-As-Audience-Surrogate:
-Sailor Moon is a character that I found tough to like. Given that the TV show is CALLED Sailor Moon, this is perhaps not a good thing, but let's face it- the girl is kind of annoying. It's ultimately the POINT of her character, though- she's meant to represent the "Everygirl". Rather than excelling at things or being a role model, she's lazy, clumsy, a sleepyhead, a crybaby, argumentative, and prone to mindless crushes. Running gags about her involve incredible gluttony (scarfing down candy by the ton) or sloth (her mother is constantly screaming at her over being late for school). She's even DUMB- her repeated failures on tests is another constant source of embarrassment- in the first first episode, some handsome stranger sees her crumpled-up test score and asks if she's "just stupid".

-One thing that's clearer in retrospect, and when I've read other retrospectives on the series, is that Usagi is basically an innocent, guileless person who believes in EVERYONE. When all of the other students are talking about shunning the brilliant, stand-offish newcomer, Usagi's the own who cuts through Ami Mizuno's defensive walls and realizes that the girl's not a snob after all. Similarly, when Makoto Kino comes to school and is openly feared as a hostile brawler, Usagi ignores their protests and makes a new friend forever. Repeatedly throughout the show, Usagi does this- ignoring the detractors, and fighting past people's defensiveness, and willingly helps people out. And really, no other character could have drawn quite the reaction we get out of her in Sailor Moon R, when she has her heart broken by Mamoru, and becomes so emotionally devastated that she can barely function, actually staring at him with a desperate smile and pleading, tear-filled eyes. It's INSANE.

-She's also a weak link in battles, and runs screaming from just about every bad guy in the early days. She cries when hurt, whines about bruises, and generally doesn't act like any real superhero. She even mourns the loss of a "normal life", and bemoans the fact that she just has to get into recurring battles and watch her dearest friends get hurt. In this, she's actually quite realistic- I think plenty of normal people, even those who idolize and fantasize about the "Superhero Lifestyle", would pretty quickly get sick of holding their bleeding loved ones or fighting monsters.

-But yeah, I found her annoying. That every male character seemed to fall in love with her instantly only made me MORE annoyed (I mean, Sailor Mars is right there). Thankfully, Mars was around to speak for people like me. That said, it was pretty neat by the end of Sailor Moon R how she'd basically had to accept her life, and instead of crying about every little thing, she decided to suck it up and walk straight into danger without even putting the others in the line of fire with her.

Sailor Moon's Powers:
-Sailor Moon is easily the most powerful Senshi, which makes her tricky to stat out. She's the worst fighter overall, and is generally the least-skilled or physically capable one, which reduces her points-cost considerably. But all those powers.... they need some explanation. The Disguise Pen was rarely-used after the first season, but allowed her to disguise herself back when there weren't five Senshi kicking around and you had one character doing everything. Her Tiara is statted separately from her other attacks, since it's a Removable Device that retained its power over the years (mainly in movies). It has been a Blast, a Snare and even once nullified Mind Control over a small area.

-For the heck of it, I included some of her varying attacks over the years, usually variations of Blasts or Transform to Regular Person, which I statted as a Continuous Affliction. It can turn various Monsters back into normal, but in Sailor Moon R, is used to turn the Black Moon Family into ordinary people. Sailor Moon is two PLs higher than her allies in any given season- as she's generally the one to score the final hit, and is DEFINITELY the only one to defeat the villains, this makes sense. She also links Weaken Toughness with the Blasts, because (as Mike5000 pointed out way, way back in the day) every enemy hit with her attacks tended to be vaporized instantly. And here I was struggling with how to properly represent how damaging Sailor Moon's attacks seemed without breaking the system- it's a much more elegant solution to make it act like the old "Corrosion" power.

-However, Sailor Moon's Defenses are no better than those of her allies, and combined with her lower Fighting Ability, this makes her vulnerable, and therefore she requires her teammates to either distract the foes, or wear them down.

-Her "Princess Serenity" stuff is in another build- that character only makes rare (ie. Season Finale) appearances.

Sailor Moon S Notes:
-This season sees a much more level-headed, mature Usagi... to a point. See, she's still lazy, kind of immature, and easily takes offense... but her days of crying rivers of tears at the slightest verbal jab from Rei are gone. Her days of begging for a normal life are gone, too- she's now fully admitted this is her destiny, and has accepted it, to a degree. And this season kind of makes her a much more likeable character as a result- she's actually grown up a bit, but retains that idealism that was really her strongest attribute before.

-One of this season's best moments was when Rei was attacked in the VERY FIRST EPISODE, and Sailor Moon basically lost her shit, begging and pleading with the monster to spare her best friend. And that relationship had changed a bit, too- Rei was less mean and more pointed, making sarcastic points or giving unnecessary advice. This resulted in Usagi getting angry and going "You're so mean, Rei!" rather than sticking her tongue our or crying- they were argumentative, but to a point that made everyone kind of go "Friends are like that". Chibi-Usa even points out with jealousy that "They can be really honest with each other".

-But of course Usagi's biggest thing here is COMPASSION. She's MORTIFIED at the thought of sacrificing someone's life to gain the Talismans, no matter what the result. She's shocked when Sailor Uranus confesses she'll even sacrifice Neptune (her partner and lover) for the greater good, finding this too cruel and harsh. Because OF COURSE Usagi's idealism is too strong for that kind of a life. And when it turns out that sacrifice WASN'T necessary... well, they find out ANOTHER one is needed, because Chibi-Usa's brand-new friend Hotaru is the "Dark Messiah" they have to kill in order to prevent The Silence. And of course Usagi isn't having any of that shit, either- she defends the girl to the harranguing of the elder Sailors, begs for them to be merciful, and ultimately PROTECTS HOTARU WITH HER LIFE, even taking "World Shaking" and "Deep Submerge" full-force to protect Mistress 9- Hotaru's evil form! 

-Anime being more cynical than comics at times, it's nice to see Sailor Moon playing the "Superman/Spider-Man" role of "NOBODY DIES" so thoroughly and so straightly. She refuses to kill ANYONE if she can help it, and even though her actions threaten all existence (they kill Hotaru; it's all over), you can see WHY she does it, and why she fights so hard. And the we get some great stuff when Hotaru reveals herself to be Sailor Saturn and dives into Pharaoh 90's body to engage in a suicidal battle, and Sailor Moon just LOSES it, crying "Moon Crisis... Make Up!" over and over again, desperately trying to empower herself into Super Sailor Moon, even without the Holy Grail, which allowed that transformation in the first place.

-Ultimately, her good heart is the key to victory, as the transformation enacts itself with not only her Pure Heart (which reveals her to be the fabled "Messiah" after all), but the love of all her friends (and even Uranus & Neptune). She forms Super Sailor Moon, dives in to Pharaoh 90 to assist her, and carries a reborn infant Hotaru out of the battle, with the biggest look of shell shock you've ever seen. Even Uranus & Neptune confess that she's earned the right to be Queen of the future, but they have to be just a little bit more bitchy and fight her just to test her resolve one more time.

S Powers:
-Like in previous seasons, her attacks no longer have the "punch" they need to attain victory- her old brooch is destroyed and her weapon gone, she gains a new upgrade thanks to her desire to save her friends. The new Moon Rod is just a fancier version of the old one, and her attack ("Moon Spiral Heart Attack!") features a lot of twirling and ribbons instead of a glowing ball of stars. The end result is a bit goofy, though- a huge candy-heart thing that smashes into the enemy, leaving a cut-out of their body. The Daimon then screams "LOVELYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!" as it vaporizes, revealing the Daimon Egg-infused item that caused its creation in the first place.

-Later, even THAT attack doesn't work, as it's deflected by Eudial's Flame Buster once, and even a Daimon avoids it. But once she gains access to the Holy Grail, she gains the temporary power-up of "Super Sailor Moon", allowing her to utilize a STRONGER version. This one's just a more swirly, twirly version, with faster ribbons, and the end result is the same heart. The Daimons, however, now scream "Love-LOVELYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!", which is somehow even goofier. This attack does more damage, but has a "Source" Flaw built into it- she needs to unveil the Holy Grail, which can only be used temporarily.

-In the final battle against a horde of Daimons, Sailor Moon actually shows an interesting one-off power- a HUGE Heart-Shaped Area Attack that annihilates hundreds of Daimons at once. This season also saw the final use of the Disguise Pen- oddly, with SAILOR VENUS using it, in order to act like Sailor Moon herself was present, even though Usagi was "Victim of the Week".
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Tuxedo Mask

Post by Jabroniville »

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That sound you hear is every girl who grew up in the 1990s swooning.

TUXEDO MASK (Mamoru Chiba, aka Tuxedo Kamen, Prince Endymion, The Moonlight Knight)
Dub Name:
Tuxedo Mask (Darien Shields)
Name Translation: Defender of Earth
Role: The Love Interest, The Rescuer
Main Uniform Colour: Black & White
Hair Colour: Black
PL 10 (177)
STRENGTH
2/3 STAMINA 2/4 AGILITY 2/6
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+11)
Athletics 6 (+8, +9)
Deception 4 (+7)
Expertise (Arcane Lore) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Art) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Science) 2 (+4)
Insight 5 (+7)
Investigation 3 (+5)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 6 (+9)
Ranged Attack (Roses) 4 (+12)
Stealth 4 (+10)
Vehicles 6 (+6) -- Flaws: Limited to Grounded Vehicles

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Attractive, Defensive Attack, Daze (Persuasion), Defensive Roll, Evasion, Fascination (Persuasion), Improved Critical (Roses) 2, Improved Disarm, Improved Aim, Inspire, Power Attack, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
"Tuxedo Mask Physical Upgrades"
Enhanced Strength 1 [2]
Enhanced Agility 4 [8]
Enhanced Stamina 2 [4]
Leaping 3 (60 feet) [3]

"Throwing Roses" Blast 8 (Feats: Penetrating 8) (24) -- [26]
  • AE: "Rose Storm" Blast 8 (Extras: Multiattack) (24)
  • AE: "Rose Cyclone" Blast 6 (Extras: 30ft. Cylinder, Sustained +2) (24)
"Magic Cane" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [6]
Deflect 9 -- (10 points)
  • AE: Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach 3) (5)
-- (6 points)

"The Senshi Are in Danger!"
Senses 4 (Detect Threats to the Senshi, Ranged 3) [4]
"Perfect Timing" Features 1: May Spend a Hero Point to Arrive in the Nick of Time) [1]
"Martial Artist" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Tuxedo Mask +12 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Cane +12 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Rose Toss & Storm +12 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +15 (DC 25), Parry +15 (DC 25), Toughness +2 (+4 Tuxedo Mask, +5 D.Roll), Fortitude +7, Will +8

Complications (Early):
Responsibility (The Sailors)- Tuxedo Mask can feel with the Sailors (particularly Sailor Moon) are in danger, and his mission in life is to protect them.
Relationship (Usagi, aka Sailor Moon)- The two are very close, despite near-constant threats upon their lives by evil people. His love for her is so much a part of his being that even not knowing who she is, or being brainwashed, he is compelled to protect her, even creating The Moonlight Knight to defend her while he has no memory of their love.
Responsibility (Eventually Becomes King Endymion)- At some point, Mamoru will become the King of Earth.
Relationship (Chibi-Moon)- Tuxedo Mask's daughter from the future comes to live with her mother a couple times, and has an unhealthy relationship with her dad.
Enemy (Current Big Bad)

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 50--25 / Advantages: 22 / Powers: 55 / Defenses: 25 (177)

-Tuxedo Mask played a huge role in the series, at first being a sort of mythical figure- the mysterious handsome stranger that saved the heroine for reasons that were his own. He was stoic, confident, and maintained a huge aura of mystery- the heroine was infatuated with him, and he always left with a tantalizing lack of answers. I think a hell of a lot of girls grew up in the 1990s with this guy causing strange stirrings in their nethers.

-He appears in the first episode, helping out without giving away any information, and at the same time an antagonistic older guy shows up, mocking Usagi for her terrible test scores (Original Dub dialogue: "Are you ACTUALLY stupid, or just incredibly lazy?"). His main goal seems to be as a pest for Usagi; yet another thing in the world designed to vex her. Certainly he's meaner than his kind-hearted friend Motoki, a friend of Usagi's. Within a handful of episodes, it becomes quite clear that yes, this too-cool-for-school, shades-wearing College student is actually Tuxedo Mask. It takes them a bit to actually SAY IT, but it's bleedingly obvious for even the dumb kids.

-It turns out the "mystery" is because Mamoru (who takes a while to actually be named, actually) doesn't realize he IS Tuxedo Mask until later. In his civilian life, he simply feels agonizing pain, then transforms. Only later does he figure it out (he transforms to his civilian form while holding a Rainbow Crystal). And his mysterious air even continues- though he confesses he's always there to help Sailor Moon, he reveals that he's also out for himself. He has mysterious visions of some Moon Princess, and requires the Silver Crystal in order to regain his memories and discover what's going on. And since it's the same Crystal the girls want... he declares that they might just become enemies.

The Full Story:
-Eventually, the whole story unfolds. Mamoru is the reincarnation of Prince Endymion, the Earth Prince who fell in love with Moon Princess Serenity centuries ago, and was slain alongside her by Queen Beryl and her Dark Kingdom. Their eternal love awakens in modern times, and he becomes Tuxedo Mask in order to protect the girl he doesn't even realize is his true love, because HOLY CRAP THAT'S ROMANTIC YOU GUYS. After several episodes of feuding with Zoisite of the Dark Kingdom, he is fatally-injured by a cowardly sneak attack, and nearly dies in Sailor Moon's arms... until the Magical Teardrop of True Love reawakens him and they realize they are truly meant to be. At which point Queen Beryl f*cking kidnaps him because WHAT A BITCH, and now he's the brainwashed, evil general Prince Endymion, loyal only to Beryl.

-This mini-arc contains Mamoru now acting on behalf of the Dark Kingdom, but he feuds with rival general Kunzite, occasionally rescues the Sailors from "unfair" battles, and finds himself unwilling to truly attack them. Even so... his Black Roses (holy metaphors!) now save the Monsters instead of Sailor Moon, and he sends Monsters after them. Sailor Moon eventually purifies him, but Beryl just steals him away, tearing her heart out even further. In the very last episode of the first season, Sailor Moon is finally faced with Endymion, who assaults her with savage ferocity- she is forced to kill her One True Love with a Tiara to the chest. Only in his dying moments can he recover, and with a final surge, he throws a Rose through Beryl's chest, killing her and setting off the endgame. Usagi nearly kisses him... but refuses to, pointing out that all of her friends could not kiss the boys THEY liked, and so this act of romance on her part would be wrong.

Sailor Moon R:
-As the new season begins, the gang is all resurrected, but Mamoru retains no memory. Tuxedo Mask appears no more, but some "Moonlight Knight" guy does during the anime-only arc. Eventually it's revealed that the Knight is a manifestation of Mamoru's True Love, and soon he recovers his memories, and he and Usagi are together forever. For about two episodes. Because then he starts having mysterious nightmares that tell him to break up with Usagi or she'll die, and so he's forced to shatter her poor heart and act like a raging cockbite for an entire season ("The red string that binds our destinies has been severed" or, my particular favorite, "I don't like weak-willed women"). And then it's revealed that the nightmares were sent by his future self, King Endymion, to test the bonds of his and Usagi's love. So all that torture is for a pretty weird reason, and Mamo looks like an asshole (though a few episodes make it quite clear that he's taking this hard, too- crying Manly Tears onto his motorcycle helmet and stuff).

-This begins a problem for our starring couple- the universe fights so hard to keep them apart (he's brainwashed in one arc, forgetful in another, and broken up in a third) that they're almost never really together. The show's writers confessed they actually had no idea what to do with the couple once they were together, and that it was easier to play Star-Crossed Lovers, as Mamoru turned boring every time he hooked up with our heroine. And you can kind of see that... in the early going, he's this smooth, cool, snarky asshole. As Endymion he's an elite villain. As Tuxedo Mask, he was a mysterious stranger, but also incredibly aloof and distant- the Unattainable Hottie. But once he & Usagi become a couple, he morphs into Stoic Loving Normal Guy, losing all of that classic cool- his motorbike-riding, sunglasses-wearing days are over.

The Trouble With Tuxedo:
-They really never make it out of that, too. Hell, in the final season, Super Stars, he takes a full-season powder (it turns out HE'S DEAD). He ends up kind of a flat character, representing more an iconic thing (the Mysterious Stranger) than a well-rounded character. I think part of the problem is that his initial character is a smirking, smug smart-ass, gladly making fun of random High School girls... and then he turns into Mister Serious, being a mature, stoic type of guy. Much more dull than his early persona.

But it might be his stoic-ness that helps make him a fairly famous character. That character design doesn't hurt, either- "Tuxedo & Cape" is a pretty generic set-up, but adding the top hat, the mask and the roses and you've got something. And then he goes and does crazy shit like driving his motorcycle, catching twenty feet of air, and transforming into Tuxedo Mask by the time he hits pavement. Some dudes have class- Tuxedo Mask IS class.

Tuxedo Mask's Powers:
-Tuxedo Mask is techically the "Sailor" of Earth- he holds Earth's Star Seed (as revealed in Sailor Stars) and is its protector, having been the "Prince of Earth" in an older era. So all those Sailor Earth fanfics out there are totally canonically inaccurate... not that it stopped me from making my own self-insert Sailor Earth. Of course, I must have low self-esteem or something, because instead of a Mary Sue character, I made my character a huge weiner that totally lost a bunch of fights, and was generally a buffoon and butt-monkey.

-Tuxedo Mask is separate from the other Senshi, and fights rather differently. He's more of a Dexmonkey than most of them, and uses a power that's more accurate than powerful with his Roses. They rarely do a great deal of damage, but can slash and cut, stab into concrete (Penetrating), or even be tossed in massive salvos. Though really, he only used the Multiattack variant ONE TIME that I can think of, against Rubeus of the Black Moon Family, but whatever, it was DAMN COOL, and made him look unusually bad ass at the same time, so I'll use it. Seriously, as much as people make fun of the whole "he throws roses" thing, when you can launch that shit out like a freaking Macross Missile Barrage, you are a stylish bad-ass.

-He's also got a neat extend-o cane, and fights quite well, as his repeated brawls with Zoisite proved. He can sense danger as far as the Sailors are concerned, allowing him to arrive in the nick of time (not the Troubleseeker power though- he doesn't 'port there- it's established he has to actually Leap or ride his way over). He's actually more expensive than the Sailors, but I think that suits him- he was a bit more capable on his own.

-His three identities require some thought. Prince Endymion uses the same weapons (even becoming Tuxedo Mask at points), swapping the red roses for black ones, but carries a +3 Sword that's probably quite powerful- Sailor Moon slays him with the Tiara attack to save herself against it. The Moonlight Knight carries white roses instead of red ones, and carries a Scimitar that he also tosses one time (it shatters the Cardian's "Energy-Draining Wheel", for example). He's a good enough fighter that in the first season, Endymion effortlessly fends off Sailor Jupiter's best shots, then throws a salvo of his own that leaves her vulnerable and helpless- he only backs off because he finds it amusing.

Sailor Moon S Notes:
-Sailor Moon S is... where they really just dropped the ball on Mamoru for good. See, he was arguably the #2 character of the manga version of the series, but the cartoon's directors more or less just confessed they had no idea where to go with the character. He wasn't as mischievous or mysterious as in the manga, so they ended up with this bland, helpful guy. And since they spent ALL OF SAILOR MOON with a "Will They, Won't They?" gimmick, had him lose his memory in Sailor Moon R's first part, and then involuntarily break up with Usagi in the SECOND part of that series... they really were together for so short a time that the writers had no idea HOW THEY INTERACTED, meaning... they just kind of DIDN'T.

-It's weird to think about, given how important he had been to the series up until this point. We really saw a LOT of him in the first part of the series, and a good bit of the show focused on him. But here, they just lose him and never reel him back in- he shows up from time to time, but almost never as a character of focus. Hell, his "Save at the last second to give a speech" gimmick is taken over by Sailors Uranus & Neptune! So while you never quite go "Hey, where did he go?", he's no longer the focus he once was. They never even take his Heart Crystal! In the second half of the season, the three Outer Sailors (Uranus, Neptune & Pluto) attempted to recruit him for their mission, as he was the most "adult" and sensible of the main cast, but he stuck it out with the Inner group.

-There was one nice moment, however. When Ami was angsting over his obsessive focus towards being a doctor, wondering if that was really her dream or just an expectation she made for herself, it was MAMO, the only other mature person in her life, who gave her proper advice, convincing her to be her best self. And he even playfully FLIRTED with her ("If I had a cute doctor like you, I wouldn't be afraid of getting my shots!").

-In Sailor Moon S, he uses a funny one-off- a Rose that fires into a huge cylinder that traps the foe in a Sustained Damage attack.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Sailor Moon S! Sailors Mars, Jupiter & Venus!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Batgirl III wrote: Sun May 13, 2018 9:14 pm Ami’s another character who gets far more development in the live-action sentai series — the show had a budget of approximately $6.34 Canadian and a half-eaten Mars Bar, so they tried to do a lot more dramatic scenes and interpersonal relationship focus.

Ami is shown to have a very strained relationship with her mother. They clearly love each other, but her mother’s workload as a doctor basically makes her an absentee parent. Ami’s studious nature seems to be equal parts natural aptitude (she is a genius and she does enjoy academics) and trying to win some praise/attention from her mother... This serves as the “hook” for the baddies to corrupt Ami into the OMGSOSEXY Dark Mercury:

Image
Yeah, reading up on Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is really interesting, because they really make it a Soap Opera, and the characters get a lot more play- even the VILLAINS do, and they were very gifted in the first season as far as having their characters expanded went. It makes me wish I could watch the fight scenes without laughing at the clumsy cartwheels and terrible effects :).

PS DEAR GOD Dark Mercury is gorgeous. I'm not even that into Asian girls as a rule (I think I was the only white dude in Japan not lusting after all the teenager-lookin' girls in that creepy AK48 store- "Hey, this is the bio for this 15-ish year old girl!"- or ogling the "Maid Cafe" girls), but HO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-LY crap, she makes me forget Sailor Mars.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury & Moon!)

Post by Batgirl III »

Sentai, as a genre standard, is usually able to deliver very impressive stunt work by virtue of being able to completely replace the actors with dedicated stuntmen (“suit actors” in fandom parlance) because everybody is wearing head to toe spandex-suits, sculpted armor, and motorcycle helmets. With a bit of clever camerawork, you can easily replace the 5’5” 135 lbs. bishonen idol singer with a 6’2” 200 lbs. fugly stuntman.

PGSM, on the other hand, had a cast of 14-15 year old teenage girls (most of whom had modeling backgrounds, nothing gymnastic or athletic) and they all wore (in)famously short skirts and no helmets. Not even masks! This made it impossible to do the standard “suit actor” swap.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury & Moon!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Yeah, they probably would have gone "All Super Attacks", but... like you said, they had a small budget.

Still, I'd love to see a Dub or a Sub come out officially. I forget how else they changed the characters from the various source materials, but I remember Mako/Motoki being MUCH more of a thing.

I still find Sailor Moon Crystal weird- it was supposed to be a remake with the ACTUAL manga style & plotline intact... except they STILL changed things. But in a way that made the Four Heavenly Kings JUST AS POINTLESS TO THE PLOT- it just kept them going a little longer, and explained their origins (something that never happened in the anime, and was only mentioned in the supporting materials of the manga).

I remember some "Pro-Manga" fans actually being pissed because "now fans are going to think the MANGA is bad because Sailor Moon Crystal makes it LOOK bad!"

Though apparently the current Re-Dub of the Original Anime is WILDLY popular. I've heard someone say that it's currently the most popular thing on Hulu (which sounds like an exaggeration).
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury & Moon!)

Post by MacynSnow »

While i thought Tuxedo Mask was a rather cool character(It's hard to look good in an Opera outfit and still be able to kick ass in it),i honestly perfered the Moonlight Knight version as not only was the Arabic look awesome,but this version was smart and brought a Sword to fight with(i mean,it was awesome what he could do with that Swagger stick,it's too short to be a cane,but COME ON DUDE,PICK UP THE STUPID SWORD IT'S RIGHT THERE!!),so that was a bonus.... :D
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury & Moon!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Since Ares pointed out that Palladium can suck it regarding their stuff being converted into other systems, I figured I'd showcase the conversions I was working on before I got distracted and focused on other stuff: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=830
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury & Moon!)

Post by Ken »

I was always amused by the similarities, other than age, between Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon and CLAMP's 20 Mensou ni Onegai. Their costumes and general schticks are vertually identical. Tuxedo Mask ultimately is more powerful, being in a sentai series, where 20 Mensou is "just" a heroic gentleman thief.

The main difference is one is in high school, the other is nine.

But 20 Mensou did come out in 1990, a year before Sailor Moon.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury & Moon!)

Post by Batgirl III »

Mamoru was only in high school for Arcs 1-2 (and part of 3), he’s in college for the remainder of the series. There’s a three year age difference between Usagi and Mamoru... which for some reason everyone constantly makes paedo jokes about. :roll:

Tuxedo Kamen’s cane changes length, but it’s default size is slightly shorter than his waist to feet, which is the length you want for a gentleman’s walking stick. It’s basically a fashionable affectation, not a medical device.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury & Moon!)

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 5:29 am
Sailor Moon S Notes:
-Sailor Moon S is... where they really just dropped the ball on Mamoru for good. See, he was arguably the #2 character of the manga version of the series, but the cartoon's directors more or less just confessed they had no idea where to go with the character. He wasn't as mischievous or mysterious as in the manga, so they ended up with this bland, helpful guy. And since they spent ALL OF SAILOR MOON with a "Will They, Won't They?" gimmick, had him lose his memory in Sailor Moon R's first part, and then involuntarily break up with Usagi in the SECOND part of that series... they really were together for so short a time that the writers had no idea HOW THEY INTERACTED, meaning... they just kind of DIDN'T.

-It's weird to think about, given how important he had been to the series up until this point. We really saw a LOT of him in the first part of the series, and a good bit of the show focused on him. But here, they just lose him and never reel him back in- he shows up from time to time, but almost never as a character of focus. Hell, his "Save at the last second to give a speech" gimmick is taken over by Sailors Uranus & Neptune! So while you never quite go "Hey, where did he go?", he's no longer the focus he once was. They never even take his Heart Crystal! In the second half of the season, the three Outer Sailors (Uranus, Neptune & Pluto) attempted to recruit him for their mission, as he was the most "adult" and sensible of the main cast, but he stuck it out with the Inner group.
This seems like the same kind of cop out John Byrne used regarding Alpha Flight. "They're just a bunch of boring, blank slate characters I created for a single fight scene. How am I suppose to write them?"

"Uh, well John, since they're blank slates, can't you give them whatever personalities you want, and make them as interesting as you want? Doesn't that really say more about your skills as a writer than anything?"

In that same vein, the "we have no idea how they're suppose to interact because they haven't actually spent much time alone" bit sounds like a gold mine to be explored. They're two highschool age kids who just found out they've got this crazy destiny, are each other's soul mates, and feel a strong connection to each other . . . yet they don't really know each other all that well. Have them go on dates, be awkward, wonder if just because their past lives included falling in love that it means they're "destined" to fall in love. Wonder why they feel so strongly towards each other when, on the surface, they don't seem to have much in common. Then you can really get into the character's personality, motivations, make it clear Mamoru likes Usagi for her better qualities beneath the crybaby exterior, while she likes the kind and supportive nature beneath the "too cool for school" attitude. They basically encourage each other to be better people.

But it sounds like the show runners basically wanted to make this the Uranus and Neptune show.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury & Moon!)

Post by BriarThrone »

It's like bitching about being given a blank canvas instead of a coloring book.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury & Moon!)

Post by Batgirl III »

Well, to be fair, the Sailor Moon franchise at this point had a cast of twelve principle characters and easily three times as manny supporting characters, plus the main season-long villains, each episode’s monster of the week and each episode’s victim of the week... and was often struggling with the anime pre-production outpacing the production of the original manga.

Anime adaptation doesn’t really have “show runners,” at least not with the kind of creative control that term implies, they had to adapt what Naoko Takeuchi gave them... and Takeuchi was only barely able to keep ahead of where the anime was at.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury & Moon!)

Post by MacynSnow »

Batgirl III wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 6:49 pm Well, to be fair, the Sailor Moon franchise at this point had a cast of twelve principle characters and easily three times as manny supporting characters, plus the main season-long villains, each episode’s monster of the week and each episode’s victim of the week... and was often struggling with the anime pre-production outpacing the production of the original manga.

Anime adaptation doesn’t really have “show runners,” at least not with the kind of creative control that term implies, they had to adapt what Naoko Takeuchi gave them... and Takeuchi was only barely able to keep ahead of where the anime was at.
But that should've been where both the show&the manga cooperated.Takeuchi should've been given enough manga proofs to keep ahead....
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury & Moon!)

Post by catsi563 »

that's one of the major issues with studios doing anime based on ongoing manga the anime moves too fast each episode usually incorporating 1-2 chapters on average with a full 12-13 episode season being a full volume or more, and the manga cant cover every aspect of the story like an animated medium can.

this leads anime studios to have to fill in the gaps with filler material which can be fine as it fills plot holes or missing pieces but as anyone whose watched bleach or Naruto can tell you can lead to "Filler Hell'' where you get 50-80 episodes worth of pure junk with ooc arcs and stories that have virtually nothing to do with the main story.

Naruto and Bleach were the two biggest offenders in that regard. Narutos filler at least fit somewhere in the main over all meta arc but it went on FOREVER just dragging and was so blatantly used to push irrelevant side characters that it nearly derailed the main story.

Bleach had the opposite problem where its filler arcs were interesting with potential but came at the worst possible times being dropped in out fo nowhere right in the middle of the biggest boss fights in the story and having almost nothing to do with the overall meta arc.
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Naru & Umino

Post by Jabroniville »

ImageImage

NARU OSAKA
Dub Name:
Molly Baker
Role: Youma Bait, The Best Friend, Demoted to Extra
Hair Colour: Red
PL 1 (10), PL 3 (10) Defenses
STRENGTH
-1 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Persuasion 4 (+4)

Advantages:
None

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (-1 Damage, DC 14)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +2 (DC 12), Parry +2 (DC 12), Toughness +0, Fortitude +1, Will +4

Complications (Early):
Relationship (Nephrite)- Naru falls heavily in love with the handsome, brilliant Masato Sanjouin, and her feelings hold even after he is revealed as an evil member of the Dark Kingdom. Her feelings are so strong that they set off his Dark Crystal, and she risks her live in a failed effort to save his.
Relationship (Melvin/Umino)- After Nephrite's death, Naru's feelings for Umino grow. Not charming or handsome in the slightest, he is nonetheless very devoted to her, and she appreciates him.
Responsibility (Monster Bait)- At least once a season, poor Naru will be trotted out to be attacked by the Monster of the Day.
Relationship (Rui)- Her "older sister".

Total: Abilities: 0 / Skills: 4--2 / Advantages: 0 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 8 (10)

-Molly/Naru took the ever-important role of "The Schoolgirl's Best Friend", a common-ass trope in nearly all of fiction (Sabrina the Teenage Witch, this show, CardCaptors, etc.). You sorta NEED this character as a pillar of normalcy, or else the main character just talks to herself or her mascot all the time. Given a goofy Osaka-ban dialect in the original (common for comedic side-characters), she was modified into a Brooklynite in the Original Dub, which is actually considered a pretty good match of the general "stereotype" that Osakans get in Japan (they're seen as a bit jovial, opinionated and entertaining). Not that some fans didn't find the over-done Brooklyn accent REALLY annoying, but I was fine with it- it makes her distinct. Of course, her MOTHER not having the same accent was a little weird.
-The New Dub makes her normal-voiced, which has the troubling effect of making her sound exactly the same as every other high-pitched female in the show. But it does make her a little less goofy.

-Naru's relationship with Nephrite was pretty well done, considering it should be creepy on absolutely every level (he's a 30-something-odd man who has feelings for a tiny, teenage girl half his size). Just a schoolgirl crush at first (the usual "hearts in the eyes" immature spasms that we see from Usagi nearly every time a handsome man shows up), she pretty quickly develops a huge infatuation. The weirdest part may be the time he, as Masato Sanjoin, blatantly hits on her in public, acting like a complete sleazeball by complimenting her looks and leaning in towards her. SO WEIRD. But you really get the sense that she authentically cares for him, such as the way she nearly sacrifices her life in order to save him from the Tiara attack.

-When he picks up on her feelings, he plans to just "use" her to find Sailor Moon, but he ultimately can't bring himself to hurt her, and grows real affection for the young girl. To the point that when she's kidnapped by Zoisite to put him in an awkward position, he flies into an uncontrollable rage and nearly executes her three subordinates, only stopping because he doesn't want to kill people in front of Naru. There's even that fun bit where he confesses that he's a born liar and will probably continue lying to her, and she innocently reveals that she'll probably be happy to be with him regardless. It's just so INNOCENT, particularly since Nephrite shows no physical affection. After he dies, she goes into a long depression, only taken out of it later. In fact, the show actually shows a pretty strong example of the grief process, as Naru doesn't recover immediately, and actually needs recurring support (and the advice of a helpful Priest... who later turns into a Boxing Angel- "Lovely PUUUUUUUUNNCH!") in order to get better.

-She later grows romantically close to the class dork Umino, tolerating his clumsy displays of affection thanks to his bouts of bravery (his "Tuxedo Umino" outfit makes her roll her eyes, but his authentic attempts to save her life actually impress her), while on her way to becoming a redundant supporting cast member. And redundant she indeed becomes, as by the second season (Sailor Moon R), Usagi now has a full cast of four female supporting characters to support, plus her relationship with Mamoru. So as the plot develops, and Usagi leaves behind normalcy once and for all, Naru becomes less and less important to the overall narrative. By R, she's being assaulted by the villains in so many episodes in a row that even LUNA is breaking the fourth wall to talk about it ("that girl sure does get her energy drained a lot..."), and once the Black Moon Family Arc begins, she's almost completely irrelevant.

-Sadly, however, it's soon time for her role in the show to end. After a few appearances (mostly as a victim) in Sailor Moon R, Naru takes a HUGE nap and drops out of sight until the very end of the story, appearing to Usagi and more or less confessing that "I know you can't really talk about it... but you know what that thing is, don't you?", regarding the huge spaceship in the middle of Tokyo's Juuban District. It's a neat little moment, as the two girls more or less bond over the fact that Usagi IS, in fact, Sailor Moon, but they refuse to verbalize it, making it an unspoken moment between two friends, while Naru quietly moves on and gets out of the way. Naru is of course destined to act as the Victim of the Week in many of the later Seasons, but she no longer truly matters.

-Not a bad character overall, but she REALLY outlived her usefulness about half-way through Season 2, especially since she never discovered the team's secret IDs. There was some cute stuff, but after that, she was just there to get attacked by a Youma once a season.

Image

UMINO GURIO
Dub Name:
Melvin
Role: The Nerdy Kid, The Unwanted Admirer, The Love-Sick Puppy
Hair Colour: Brown
PL 1 (17), PL 3 (17) Defenses
STRENGTH
-1 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Expertise (Science) 3 (+6)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 4 (+7)
Technology 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Interpose

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (-1 Damage, DC 14)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +2 (DC 12), Parry +2 (DC 12), Toughness +0, Fortitude +1, Will +4

Complications (Early):
Relationship (Usagi/Serena)- Melvin spends the early part of the series doggedly pursuing the uninterested main character.
Relationship (Naru/Molly)- Umino/Melvin's feelings shift to Naru, and they eventually start dating as high school students do.
Prejudice (Class Dork)- Melvin is one of the least-popular kids in school, and most people actively avoid or disparage him.

Total: Abilities: 2 / Skills: 10--5 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 9 (17)

-Characters like Umino (he'll always be "Melvin" to me) show up a lot in media targeted towards girls. Like Boq in Wicked, he's more or less a creepy, nerdy stalker who drools over the main girl- a contrast to the nerds in male-targeting media, which typically paint them as poor, bullied nice-guys who get the girl in the end. I have a feeling that the "girls' side" often gets it a little more true-to-life. That said... Umino DID get a girl in the end!

-Umino/Melvin was initially just a really dorky kid at school who constantly hung around Usagi & Naru, and got insulted for it. A real Butt-Monkey type, he got attacked by villains almost as much as Naru did, and got a similarly-huge de-push as a character once all the other Senshi got introduced. Heck, once the other Sailors arrive, there's not as much reason for him to be around filling time- that said, he gets some fun moments in the end, when he's decided to go after Naru, and defends her against various Monsters. He even ends up impressing her with his "Tuxedo Umino Mask" disguise ("Tuxedo Melvin" in the Original Dub was much better), as he draws aggro on a monster and takes a horrible beating. Eventually, all of this heroism earns him the lady-prize. They were a pretty cute couple, though. Especially in the Super S episode where he constantly tried to prove his love (in a "Prove Your Love" contest, no less), repeatedly getting the wrong answers, but for the right reasons (remembering Naru had a bandage on her finger that he cared for... six weeks ago).

-Umino is pretty hopeless as a fighter, though is decent enough at getting the bad guys to pay attention to him and draw their aggression.

Sailor Moon S Notes:
-Both characters are notably for only appearing in ONE EPISODE of Sailor Moon S, establishing forever that they're basically not even a consideration any longer. But what a doozy.

Episode #95: Oh hey- our first indication that Umino & Naru are still alive. Another famous one for the Haruka/Michiru thing, plus one of the last episodes to prominently focus on the old supporting cast. I heard about this one in whispered legend for years, so it's neat to get the "real" version. Naru & Umino are worried the other is falling out of love, so they enter themselves into a "Relationship Contest", and are cheered on by the Sailors. Ami is ADORABLE, insisting she's here because "I might learn something!", but being shocked into embarrassment when the others are all "... LIKE?". Rei has to console poor, face-buried-in-her-hands Ami.

Haruka & Michiru of course enter because they can feel the Daimon's presence in the contest's logo, and of course Ami immediately goes "I wonder if they really are in that kind of a relationship", and is them immediately embarrassed AGAIN when the girls all give her the "Huh?" face. Adorbz. Embarrassed Closet-Romantic Ami is Best Ami.

Also best: Haruka trashing on Umino's horrible attempts at the game (which are all over-eager failures full of drama), with Michiru chiding her "Maybe, but he has the purest heart. Look at how hard he's trying", with Haruka begrudgingly admitting "I'll give him that" with a smile. And of course our girls effortlessly win every contest. But they drop out in thet end, with Haruka getting uncharacteristically bright-eyed and telling the audience "Love is EVERYTHING!"

And then Umino awkwardly fumbles around, trips and falls, and we're waiting for disaster... and he BRINGS THE GODDAMN HOUSE DOWN by shyly confessing how amazing Naru is, and how diminished he feels before her, but that to see her smile "I, Gurio Umino, am willing to die." And the audience is in TEARS.

Goddamn this episode.

The monster has a pretty cool design (complete with a heart-logo on her butt-cheeks), but is done with quickly, as Kaolinite announces her presence to the Sailors before running away.
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