Characters Across Continuities: Will The Real Sailor Please Stand Up?

[SilverShadow]

So there's been some discussion in other moonie hangouts about whether the anime/its creators "hate Mamoru" compared to his depiction in the manga. I do wanna start by talking about Cape Boy but the various versions of continuity tweak all the characters, so I thought a more general topic would be better. All released episodes/musicals/manga chapters are fair game for discussion, so be wary if you want to go into a particular version blind.

 

With Mamoru while I think "hates" is hyperbolic, IMO the more specific complaints of his treatment in the anime do have some merit.

 

Classic: Tux is a split personality and Mamoru thus doesn't make the deductions he does in the manga, he's antagonistic to Usagi for much longer without the sparks of mutual attraction until the artist Rainbow Crystal Carrier episode, and Tux's feelings for Sailor Moon are much more ambigious even prior to the personality merge.

 

R-Ail & Ann: No direct manga counterpart, but it's worth noting that while Mamoru clearly gains some kind of affection for Usagi over the course of the episodes, there's not much of a sense of him being interested romantically, which feeds the "Moon and Mask are only together because DESTINY" argument.

 

R-Dark Moon: In the manga we have Mamoru being worried about his relative lack of power compared to the others, taking a big caregiver role with Chibiusa so Usagi can be free to focus on other important stuff, and being the most supportive boyfriend ever. In the anime we get...The Breakup.

 

The Break Up which makes no logical sense for any of the characters, which only exists to ring some sorrow from Usagi and Mamoru, and which ignores the fact that the other girls would absolutely do their best to figure out what's going on. It also delivers the character a blow he never really recovers from in terms of likability.

 

S & SuperS in the anime: ....

 

No, seriously. He's like semi-important to the plot of two or three episodes of each. In S this is somewhat forgivable with all of the plot happening, and the new characters, but they have him and Chibiusa miss out on the entire final battle instead of joining in after she's restored. In SuperS though-the manga has a huge focus on his and Usagi's relationship, his past as Endymion, and where his powers come from, and why he has them, and his isnecurities about the future. The Golden Crystal is his damn crystal. None of that made it into the anime.

 

Stars: The Nehelenia arc reduces him to a passive victim, the main arc bungles the proposal scene, then ignores him as much as it can.

 

 

[Fabricationary]

Those are some great points, SilverShadow. 

 

My biggest gripe with characterization is Sailor Venus in manga vs. original anime (although I'm probably biased as Venus is my favorite).  In the manga she's portrayed as the leader of the inner senshi and a complex character (on one hand, she is mature, responsible, and duty-driven; on the other hand, she is a bit boy-crazy and dreams of being an idol).  The anime completely flattens her character out and makes her seem like a boy-crazy airheaded bimbo.  Only occasionally do we see any vulnerability or complexity under this facade:  there's the Katarina episode in Sailor Moon Classic (where Venus' time in England and relationships with her first love Alan and his girlfriend Katarina are explored) and the heart crystal episode in Sailor Moon S (where Venus is feeling isolated and insecure since she's the only inner senshi who hasn't been targeted yet, but then this is played for laughs with her maniacal obsessions with purity and her Gollum-like reaction when her heart crystal is stolen).  Besides that, she's just a flat, silly, not particular competent background character the rest of the time who undergoes no character development whatsoever (in fact, none of the senshi really do, except Sailor Moon, which is another gripe I have of a series that ran 5 seasons!).

[SilverShadow]

Oh yeah. Poor Venus. My favorite example: Venus's chapter in the SuperS/Dream section of the manga is a brilliant encapsulation of both sides of her character and in the anime her power-up episode is shared with Mako where they both fight over an older guy.

[AndySmith]

Still, I liked her brief team-up with Pluto during the Opening Stars arc. A good mix of her being ditzy but also comeptant and take charge.

 

I think one problem with Mamoru also was, the manga was done by a woman, while the anime series was mostly done by men. So of course he's going to be something more of an insensative jerk in the anime.