In explaining the question about one of
Michiru's possible imperfections, I have argued:
Michiru appears to be
perfect and is often mistaken by lots of people as being
perfect. But one of the hints that her appearance
of perfection itself is not perfect is her
sensitivity. Maybe it's because of Haruka-san's
rather brash manner that hides this flaw
so-to-speak, but Michiru is fairly sensitive to a great many
things. I think that in tankobun 13 where she's talking to
Rei-chan about Rei-chan's own 'heightened' senses
(pre-cognition), I got the feeling that much of that would
apply to Michiru herself. As you have noted, she is very
much in tune to the seas of emotion and feelings, and it is
often this same 'sensitivity' that might limit her actions;
she doesn't want to hurt Usagi or whomever she's dealing
with...
The point is: they're not perfect (Inner
or Outer Senshi) but Michiru/Neptune goes to a greater
length to hide her 'imperfections' and provides an
appearance of 'perfection' i.e., a lovely model of
femininity et al.
Pandora Waldron speaks of the fact
that she "does not want to read about perfect characters."
In fact, I must challenge all comers to fanfic-dom to
present to me: the perfect character. I dare do this
simply because there isn't one! None of the
characters are perfect, they all have their flaws and
foibles. In more ways than one, Sailor Moon is a story
about growing up, maturing and siezing your own destiny.
Just as we see Tsukino Usagi begin her journey as a whiny
cry-baby at 14, by the end of the series, there is a
maturity to her character that has been born of struggles,
both emotional as well as character-wise. This does not
imply that by the 30th century, Usagi as Queen
Serenity is perfect. In fact, many of the fan-fiction
stories that look at the Senshi and Serenity in the far
future tend to demonstrate that Serenity has not lost
her humanity and by extension, the possibility for
error.
In fact, there are an abundance in
occasions where we see the growth that Serenity has
undergone from simply being Tsukino Usagi. From scenes
within BSSM where Usagi's compassion takes over within the
situation involving Mako-chan and Shinozaki-kun, to the
forgiveness of Sailormoon to Prince Diamondo as well as to
the Outer Senshi...and later extended to Nephrenia and even
Galaxia, we see that these are some of the many graces that
will eventually be an integral part of Serenity in her rule.
One of the best stories that looks at this growth (after
all, there is a one thousand year gap between the end of the
Star series and Crystal Tokyo) of Serenity is Sexylyon's
Relativity. This particular story is a prime example of
classical fairy tale story-telling. Without revealing the
conclusions, I would note that this story is a success in
describing the growth that surrounds the Senshi and Serenity
during her reign, as well as providing a reasoning for
Chibi-Usa to remain a child for the nine hundred odd years
after her birth to Serenity and Endymion.
The question of perfection is extremely
important in terms of character portrayal, as writers will
tend to emphasize certain behaviours as opposed to others.
Current debate has placed emphasis upon the actions of the
Outer Senshi ... and their apparent callousness or perhaps
better phrased as Machiavellian behaviour.
What is considered to be cold and
arrogant behaviour for the Outer Senshi is not entirely
true. To the Inner Senshi, they are venerated for being
older and cool and in some sense, expected to
act in a more mature manner. That is not to say that the
actions and behaviour of the Outer Senshi are correct in any
sense; it is just that the Inner Senshi, to some extent,
expected the Outer Senshi to behave in a different fashion.
If we were to merely accept the appearance of the Outer
Senshi as being cold and arrogant, what prevents a similarly
narrow view of the Inner Senshi?
The sheer variety of Sailormoon
fan-fiction should be enough to persuade ourselves to see
that just as out-of-character presentations are difficult to
accept, so are narrow descriptions of the Senshi and their
behaviour. This may even seem to be a contradiction in
terms. However, out-of-character behaviour is not
diametrically opposite of narrow behaviour. Narrow behaviour
means that the Senshi are not allowed to grow and develop as
characters. With the derth of synopsi and transcripts of
various episodes, people don't need to resort to reading a
fan-fiction story in order to see how the character behaves
within the anime or manga. Fan-fiction stories provide the
opportunities for authors and readers to explore 'what-if's
and other alternative situations.
Some of the best stories that have been
written have explored the differing facets of the Senshi's
lives; since the beginning of the presence of SM
fan-fiction, the most popular stories have tended to be
character examinations. For example, Tim Nolan's
Awakenings I and II
as well as Amanda
'Greenbeans' Andersons Distant. Similarly, other
studies of the Inner Senshi have yielded: The Rose
Garden by Pandora Waldron for a ghost
autobiography on Chiba Mamoru...
Ken Wolfe has just released his
sixth SM story:
Pictures of an Exhibition which is a partial wrap-around
of his five story series. Exhibition is a fascinating story
that examines the feelings of the Inner Senshi towards Usagi
and her alter-ego's Sailor Moon as well as Princess
Serenity. A fairly short story (20 pages), it looks at what
motivates the Senshi and their devotion to Sailor Moon with
snippets taken from the anime and Ken Wolfe's stories.
The entire diaspora of Sailormoon
fan-fiction provides all readers a modicum of comfort. The
only limitations that exist are artificial ones that we
place upon ourselves. The road to reading quality
fan-fiction is one that we create by exercising our own
ability to chose and select the stories and creations that
we read. It is individual for each reader just as our likes
and dislikes are independent of another person. There is no
correct or incorrect path that we must choose; as we gain
satisfaction and derive enjoyment from reading the
fan-fiction in question, there is nothing that would bar
anyone from reading anything. As long as we are constantly
searching for better quality fiction, as readers, we are
participating within the creation of enjoyable
fan-fiction.
- Helen Szeto -
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