Jab’s Builds! (Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef! Sweetums! Gonzo!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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Arkrite
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Elphaba! Fiyero! Glinda! SHIELD! The MLF!)

Post by Arkrite »

To be fair most anime these days seems to be either animated ads for manga series, or light novels with a limited run of between 12 to 24 episodes and then ending, regardless of how many volumes of the manga/light novels they've yet to get through.
Only the exceptionally popular stuff seem to get long on going series, and often a lot of that winds up being filler.

I think somebody worked out the number of actual real story episodes of Naruto vs filler (read: Fanfic made by the animators) and ratio was something along the lines of over sixty percent of the episodes were unimportant nonsense filler...

Of course there are the occasional series that (thankfully) breaks these molds and some which are surprisingly good.
Cowboy Bebop will always hold a special place in my heart.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Elphaba! Fiyero! Glinda! SHIELD! The MLF!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Sailor Moon is odd with Filler, in that they added "Template Episodes" (Dark Kingdom sets up shop; Drains Energy; Monster Is Summoned; Monster Loses) for a lot of the "Between Stuff", and that actually helped out the show a little, as it gave the characters some time to "breathe". And rather than be married to the Templates, they actually shook it up fairly often, with most of the Four Heavenly Kings (Jadeite, Zoisite, Nephrite & Kunzite) having a few big episodes to cap off their story.

The Filler also served to flesh out the villains- in the manga, Jadeite barely survives for a second, and Nephrite's only characterization is that he's vengeful against Jadeite's killers- both have a lot more to them in the anime. Even the Four Spectre Sisters got a lot of characterization.

And going through Sailor Moon R, I found their Filler Season (14-ish episodes featuring all-new villains for a Filler Arc) to be more fun than the "authentic" one. It helps that the characters have such fun interactions.

But yeah, Filler Season after Filler Season? I'd pass. ESPECIALLY with a 60% ratio!

It's definitely odd to go back to Japan, having had a gap between 1998 & 2015- almost the exact same stuff is still heavily popular- Sailor Moon and DBZ), both of which getting "updates" (a new DBZ Movie series, and Sailor Moon Crystal, a more Manga-Accurate anime. Those two, Naruto and One Piece were clearly the most popular things out there, with One Piece being BY FAR the biggest success. Next up was whatever anime has that blue/green-haired girl with the Sailor Moon Hair. Attack on Titan was big-ish (it had a movie coming out!), but was distant to those five.

Bleach was conspicuous by its absence, owing to its massive, much-spoken-of fall from grace.
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Arkrite
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Elphaba! Fiyero! Glinda! SHIELD! The MLF!)

Post by Arkrite »

Yeah, Bleach faded pretty hard, but when you look at the series it starts to make sense why that happened.

The first arc was learning about the world.
Second arc was really being introduced to a new world, and a huge cast of characters with their own plans and goals while our heroes fight their way in to save a friend or companion with Ichigo playing the role of Goku.
Third arc was the same as the second, with yet another huge cast of new characters to focus on.
And the fourth was the same.
And so on.

After awhile you wind up with a wold just brimming with characters and subplots, but you're so spread out it's hard to care. None of the main characters got any focus after awhile, and every arc is largely the same.

Still, I love the first two arcs, and the title of one of the first books always makes me laugh for how it's worked into the actual story (Quincy Archer Hates You), but as it proceeded I just got more and more bored.
I'm a few books from the end and I'm just not sure I care enough to finish it.

Which is a shame, because it started off amazing. And for what ever else the series became, the art was pretty good, and the characters always seemed unique and distinctive (which is impressive when that cast kept ballooning), something not everybody does well.

Now the question is, what killed the series? The insane pace that the creators have to maintain? (One creator said that he had 4 hours of spare time a week that wasn't dedicated to putting out his next chapter. That's insane!) Poor relationship with the editors who had a lot of say in the story? A lack of original stories?

The more long lasting and popular ones these days seem to have either realized they should change the formula on a regular basis (One Piece and Hunter X Hunter are good for that), or have managed to fine tune the regular formula.

... Or maybe they haven't had to fine tune the repeated story arcs. People still flock to the Transformers movies... :?
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Elphaba! Fiyero! Glinda! SHIELD! The MLF!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Yeah, it's weird. One odd thing I picked up from interviews with manga writers is that their editors can ALWAYS boss them around. Even Akira Toriyama- the most successful one of his day- talks about his editors having lots of power and making him continue stuff. That something as big as Bleach still had the creator (the guy who does EVERYTHING) being the editors' monkey is odd.

Sailor Moon was apparently supposed to end after the first arc- I've heard tell that it was very common for Magical Girl shows to end with the death of the heroine, due to a love of bittersweet stuff in Japanese storytelling and general trends- so Usagi dies and is resurrected, The End. But the story goes that Naoko Takeuchi was basically told "No- you're going to keep this going", so she scrambled and came up with Sailor Moon R while the TV people came up with a new "Filler" season (you can tell they came up with it because the baddies need to steal Energy again- at that point, they'd never known villains who DIDN'T do that! It was only later that Takeuchi came up with other stuff). And then Sailor Moon S came out, filling out the roster of Planets. Then we had Super S. And finally Sailor Stars.

Going to the Manga Museum in Kyoto, Japan was an illuminating experience- it actually had a very long thing detailing how a manga really "works". Essentially, you are paid garbage for actually working on a manga- it's backbreaking work, and as you're one of like fifty stories in a phone-book sized newsprint book that is sold VERY cheaply, your work is worth nothing. HOWEVER, it's when your stuff is collected into Trade Paperbacks (ie. those tiny manga books we see in bookstores) that you actually get a real cut of the profits. So your only hope of success is to make a series popular enough that it can be collected.

The money you get from that means you get to hire assistants, who are the people who ink, do backgrounds, do energy blasts, etc.

And interestingly, stuff like "Fan Polls" and "Most Popular Character" lists are BIG BUSINESS over there- if something is unpopular in a Shonen Jump list, it's finished. But if a character proves popular on the other poll... well, then the writer is forced to use that character ALL THE TIME.

It's so much different from American comics, where almost nothing is done in Anthologies anymore, and the money is made when the book comes out OR when the trade comes out- both are helpful. But the characters are owned by the companies and the creators can be replaced (Indies are closer to the Japanese way), meaning we get different creative teams. And WAY more people go into the creation of one book. Oh, and American stuff is in color.

An interesting difference is the "Writer Mentality" versus the "Artist Mentality". As Mangaka are BOTH, it means the Artist MEntality seeps in a lot- they constantly want to create create CREATE, and invent new characters and new costumes. The Writer Mentality likes exploring what's already there. It's why the Image Era of comics was such a weird mess (Liefeld, Lee, etc. gained power and suddenly we had ten new characters at a time coming out monthly). But with manga, the desire to dump the old stuff and create new characters inundates a lot of shows- Bleach, Sailor Moon, etc.

Manga also tends to kill off the foes at the end of an arc, or maybe keep one or two around as allies. With comics, you're always keeping the Joker or Doctor Doom alive for the next arc.

I can't really saw whether or not one is BETTER than the other. If American comics worked the same way Japanese ones do, then Spider-Man, the X-Men, etc. would have stopped when the original creators left in the 1970s. Which would mean we'd miss out on most of the best stuff most of these characters have done (barring the FF). There'd be no Claremont Run on the X-Men, or all the various writers putting their stamp on Spider-Man. Daredevil would always be the "Fifth-Tier Stan Creation" and never go through a resurrection under Frank Miller. So I can't say I'd want American comics to be anything like the Japanese system.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Fiyero! Glinda! SHIELD! The MLF! Sailor Moon!)

Post by Jabroniville »

The aforementioned "Stan Bush Song" and scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKKHX1r5uJk

And MY GOD do they knock it out of the park with these songs. And I love Rubeus's arrogance, followed by his sheer terror at nearly being vaporized. And this is still Tuxedo Mask's finest showing- nearly wiping out a General of the Black Moon with goddamn flower arrangements :). Dude is hardcore.
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danelsan
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Elphaba! Fiyero! Glinda! SHIELD! The MLF!)

Post by danelsan »

The ridiculous amount of episodes is deceptive. While there have been I believe somewhere between 10 and 15 Pretty Cure series, only a couple of them are direct continuations. It is more like Super Sentai, with different teams with their own thematic, though partaking of many of the same tropes, cliches, and overall "mythos" (the similarities even go up to movies with crossovers of the various series). So, if you take an individual Pretty Cure series to watch, that is around 50 episodes.

Now, I'm not a HUGE fan or anything and have not watched even CLOSE to all the various series. Mostly I like it as an adorable, innocent, childish thing that has a lot of hand to hand fighting and basically zero sexualized fanservice. Just the kind of thing I need when shonen shows and manga start grinding my gears using ecchi as a "substitute" for things like story and character development. If an action blockbuster is "turn off your brain and enjoy the fighting and special effects" then Precure is my "turn off your brain* and enjoy the cuteness, fighting and special effects".

As compared to Sailor Moon specifically, I like it better because: more brawling, less just blasting their special attacks. Most magical girls are not hot, but "young girl" cute (I'm not complaining that Sailors Jupiter and Mars are total hotties, but that doesn't help when I'm going out of my way to get away from sexualization vibes). The more elaborate outfits also allow more creativity in design than the rather plain Sailor Senshi uniforms.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Fiyero! Glinda! SHIELD! The MLF! Sailor Moon!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Oh, okay- Sentai stuff with a rotating cast... of very similar-looking characters. I don't think I've seen anything like it, and unfortunately the Video Store near where I live closed years ago, but I might try to catch some of it.

But... do they have anything like The Power of Love in it?
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Fiyero! Glinda! SHIELD! The MLF! Sailor Moon!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

The most I know about Pretty Cure is that an edited version of one of the seasons is on Netflix as "Glitter Force".
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Fiyero! Glinda! SHIELD! The MLF! Sailor Moon!)

Post by drkrash »

I'm enjoying this conversation. 25 years ago, I watched a lot more anime, But the more I watched as the older I got, the more I was *really* put off by some cultural differences that seemed unavoidable, most especially the sexual situations that were almost out of place or at least unnecessary in "action, fighty" type stuff.

As a result, now as a parent, I'm hesitant to even let my sons watch something like Naruto because I don't know what's going to suddenly appear in it.

And yes, I am an old prude. :)
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Elphaba! Fiyero! Glinda! SHIELD! The MLF!)

Post by Davies »

danelsan wrote: Sat Jun 17, 2017 9:39 am The ridiculous amount of episodes is deceptive. While there have been I believe somewhere between 10 and 15 Pretty Cure series, only a couple of them are direct continuations. It is more like Super Sentai, with different teams with their own thematic, though partaking of many of the same tropes, cliches, and overall "mythos" (the similarities even go up to movies with crossovers of the various series)
Which are incredibly awesome as whole freaking armies of magical girls head into combat, like nothing I've ever seen outside of American comics drawn by George Perez. It looks something like this.
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Luna

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

LUNA
Role:
Mentor Figure
PL 3 (80)
STRENGTH
-3 STAMINA -2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 3 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+7)
Athletics 10 (+7)
Deception 2 (+3)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+7)
Expertise (Arcane Lore) 9 (+12)
Expertise (History) 2 (+5)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+0)
Investigation 5 (+8)
Perception 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Close Attack 2, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 5 (Low-Light Vision, Acute & Extended Scent, Extended & Ultra-Hearing) [5]
Speed 3 (4 mph) [3]
Features 1: Springs Forth Power Upgrades For the Other Characters When Their XP Requires It [1]

"Cat Agility"
"Righting Reflex" Movement 1 (Safe Fall) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [1]
Leaping 1 [1]

"Small Size" Shrinking 8 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [17]
(-2 Strength & Speed, +4 Defenses, +8 Stealth, -4 Intimidation)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (-3 Damage, DC 12)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness -2, Fortitude +1, Will +6

Complications: 
Disabled (Animal)- Luna cannot use her paws to easily manipulate objects.
Relationship (Usagi)- Though Luna is sarcastic and often very cruel to her charge, she genuinely cares for Usagi, and is bereft any time she thinks Usagi might die.
Relationship (Artemis, Diana)- Luna falls in love with Artemis after months of bickering, and even have a daughter come from the future in Diana!

Total: Abilities: 20 / Skills: 46--23 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 28 / Defenses: 5 (80)

-Luna is an important "Exposition" character in Sailor Moon- when young Usagi rescues the cat as its being tormented by cruel little boys in the first episode, she recognizes something special about the girl. Luna thus reveals that she can TALK, and then pops out a magical Transformation Pen using a backflip maneuver, and tells her that she's Sailor Moon, and that she has to find the "Moon Princess". The show has a bit of trouble with Luna, as she is supposed to KNOW stuff, but a ton of stuff is also supposed to be a mystery, meaning that she often has to say just enough to move the plot forward, but never knows anything useful until something happens to unlock her memories.

-For example, they spend a huge chunk of the show searching for the Moon Princess and the Silver Crystal. And it turns out that the Moon Princess is Usagi (the person Luna has spent months being around), and that the Silver Crystal is actually in seven pieces. All of which she knows only when it's revealed, at which point her memories suddenly come flooding back to her, all "oh yeah, this is how it was".

-Luna at least gets some fun characterization- without Mars around, her job was to scold Usagi's childishness and inability to do proper work. She cheers her on in battle, but in a strict, mentor-ly fashion. Despite being an Animal Mascot, she's never depicted as overly-cutesy, but gets some fun episodes here and there, like the time she's repeatedly molested and followed around by an enormous fat cat named Rhett Butler. Her protestations against this become funnier as Sailor Mars, the most cynical of all the Sailors, is repeatedly moved to tears by their "kitty love". Luna was supposed to be an "Older Sister" type originally, but the Original Dub famously replaced that with an "English Nanny" character, doing a MUCH more mature-sounding voice. The fundamental character and purpose was unchanged, but it made her seem so old that to this day I still view her as old, even with a younger New Dub voice.

-Eventually she hangs around with Artemis, and they share a bit of an antagonistic working relationship. Artemis pretends to be their "Mission Control" computer, often acts impulsively or overly-snarky with everyone around, and gets made fun of by Luna a lot. Luna also shows an attitude towards Usagi, but she also feels it the hardest when Usagi is feared dead- though Usagi's lack of responsibility is tiresome for her, she knows the girl has a good heart.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Jul 01, 2017 6:03 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Naru

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

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 16)
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 joined in with the group's adventures. There was some cute stuff, but after that, she was just there to get attacked by a Youma once a season.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Jul 01, 2017 6:40 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Umino

Post by Jabroniville »

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.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Jul 01, 2017 6:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Motoki

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

MOTOKI FURUHATA
Dub Name:
Andrew Foreman
Role: The Handsome Older Boy, First Crush, The Nice Guy
Hair Colour: Dirty Blonde
PL 2 (33), PL 4 (33) Defenses
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Expertise (Computers) 4 (+5)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 4 (+5)
Expertise (Game Center Employee) 4 (+5)
Perception 2 (+3)
Persuasion 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Attractive

Offense:
Unarmed +2 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +1 (DC 11), Parry +2 (DC 12), Toughness +2, Fortitude +3, Will +4

Complications (Early):
Relationship (Reika Nishimura, aka "Rita" in the Original Dub)- Motoki/Andrew hooked up with a brilliant Archaeologist years ago, and he still waits for her to return from her assignments.
Responsibility (Job at Game Center Crown)
Relationship (Mamoru Chiba)- Though the two have very different personalities (Mamo is cool and taciturn, while Motoki is outgoing and friendly), they are quite close. Though we see all of one private conversation between the two of them.
Relationship (Unazuki Furuhata)- Unazuki is a cute redhead, and is generally attacked by monsters once per season.

Total: Abilities: 20 / Skills: 16--8 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 4 (33)

-Motoki/Andrew is a very common concept seen in Shojou anime, that of the friendly older boy that serves as an crush for the major character (she calls him "Motoki-oniisan"- a term of respect for an older, but still young, boy). Helpfully, he also worked at the Local Hangout- the Game Center Crown, a video arcade (which are shockingly still huge in Japan). His personality was pretty stock and bland- just a one-note Nice Guy who was generally smiling and kind.

-In the manga, only Usagi liked him, and he eventually discovered the Senshi's identities (though promised never to reveal it). In the anime, his role was extended a bit, as it was a recurring theme early on that Usagi had a thing for him, and once Sailor Jupiter showed up, SHE developed a crush on him, too! This was always depicted as an innocent, childish infatuation, as he was basically a generic friendly boy, the two hardly knew anything about him (he never even shared the fact that he had a fiancee with them!), and they would frequently bounce between other crushes (Tuxedo Mask for Usagi; every other boy in the universe for Jupiter).

-One episode features Usagi fantasizing about marrying one boy or the other, unable to decide between the Mysterious Stranger and the Nice Older Boy. A later episode (one of the few to show him & Mamoru just hanging out as pals, in fact) has him reveal to Mamo that he's aware of Usagi's crush on him, but that he thinks of the girls as "little sisters" and "they're so cute!', and sees nothing wrong with just hanging out with them. Mamo (and the audience) are taken aback by his naivete, with Mamo hilariously thinking to himself "he can't possibly be that dense, can he?". I actually kinda wish we got more of the two hanging out- the show's basically a Reverse Bechdel Test winner most of the time, with only women's relationships mattering, but Motoki brings out a more "normal" side of Mamoru- he doesn't have to be all intense or romantic around his best friend- he just acts like a normal guy.

-His worth to the plot was generally minor (especially once Usagi goes after Mamoru full-time), though he got a bit of focus here and there, such as when his fiancee Reika is revealed to be one of the Seven Shadows, and she has to deal with the fact that she could get the scholarship opportunity of a lifetime- but would have to leave Motoki in Japan for a full semester as a result. The Original Dub gave her the name "Rita", which is a bit too similar to "Lita" (Jupiter's name). Another weird thing about that episode was that his girl looked WAY too old for him- he barely looks older than a teenager (never mind his low-end servile job), while she looked like an elegant, stately woman- with long flowing hair, long narrow eyes (contrasting the giganto-cutesy eyes of teen girls in the anime), and an adult woman's sense of style.

-Later on, we would discover his little sister, who would go on to become an infamous "once a season" victim of one of the various Mooks. Motoki, like many other Supporting Cast members, disappears into the ether save for the occasional spot- he only appears once in Sailor Moon R, for example. His role in the show is so minor that in my Episode Reviews, he only appears three times!
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Jul 01, 2017 6:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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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 (176)
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) -- [25]
  • AE: "Rose Storm" Blast 8 (Extras: Multiattack) (24)
"Magic Cane" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [6]
Deflect 9 -- (10 points)
  • AE: Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach 3) (5)
"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: 54 / Defenses: 25 (176)

-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 neak 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.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Jul 01, 2017 6:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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