Saturn: Goth?
Counter Arguments
Is our little Tomoe Hotaruchan a goth? I don't think so. If anything, she is a goth of circumstance, not of choice. Consider the counter-arguements to some of the most popular supporting details of the "Saturn is a goth" thesis.
Appearance
She wears a lot of black.
Yes, she does at least in S. But let's not forget Stars. She wears bright colors in that season.
On the same note, she always wears that black dress when not in her school uniform.
Not always. There's this oh-so-lovely outfit. It's even from S.
She's pale and sickly.
Yeah? I'm pale. Yes, I'm one of those people who must buy "palest ivory" make up, or it looks to dark. I'm prone to bronchitis myself. I'm called "whimpy whiny" by my family. I can't open mayonaise jars, the gas cap to my car, or the curtains on a stage. Does that make me goth? Not especially so.
Hotaru also never made a choice in this matter. I certainly didn't. She didn't decide one day to be sickly, and one has next to no control over their skin color.
On the same note, she's not a physical person and doesn't play sports.
Neither do I. And neither do a lot of people.
She has black hair.
Most Japanese people do. In fact, I was under the impression that in Japan, it is considered strange not to have black hair.
Personality
She's morbid. And she has a rather noticable dark side.
Morbid: diseased. gloomy or unwholesome.
After watching S, I did not get that impression of Hotaruchan. She seemed in my mind, a very well balanced young lady. Other than being possessed occasionally, she seemed like a very nice girl. A certain scene comes to mind, one of her sighing at a picture of a young track runner, with a mad crush on him. That strikes me as not unwholesome, but as rather normal for a young teenager.
She's regarded as a "wierdo" at school. She has very few friends. Also on the same note, she's very shy.
Okay, three things. She is regarded as wierd at her school because she healed a boy. That's not exactly a normal talent, and the other children thought her odd. Secondly, she has few friends because she is regarded as a wierdo at school. When people know they are not liked, it becomes common to be quiet and try to get others to ignore you. I did the same thing through my freshman year. When did the goths take out the patent on being shy, anyway?
Her favorite color is purple.
Hey, it's mine too! Purple has long been considered the color of royalty.
She likes to read.
Quite often, this is a trait of being smart. Hotaruchan, going to Mugen Gauken, must be at least moderately smart, because that is a challenging school.
On the same note, she reads hard cover books.
More evidence that she is a bookworm, if nothing else. It seems to me that reading hard cover boks is less of a gothic trait and more of a trait of someone who likes to read.
Powers
Her powers concern death.
Her healing powers a lot like wicca. It's not just a wierd ability of Hotaru's. She collapses because of the three-fold rule: healing Chibi-Usa made her injured by three-fold.
Since I know literally nothing about wicca, I'll have to take that at face value. However, I think a few things should be considered. It is shown that Hotaru can heal people. IT is not shown how she got there powers. There is no evidence that she practices wicca. In fact, it is suggested that she doesn't particularly want these powers. After all, they have alienated her from the other children in her school, and she almost seems embarassed to talk about them with Chibi-Usa.
Mistress 9 is extremely gothic.
I'm just going to state something right here and now. Hotaruchan and Mistress 9 are NOT the same person! Mistress 9 is a demon inside the body of Hotaruchan and not Hotaruchan herself.
The Silence Glaive
This is an attribute of Sailorsaturn. It is just as much stated that Hotaru is not Saturn. And, iff'n I can ever find that dang quote, I'll post it here. Aside from which, I didn't really think having large weapons was a gothic trait.
Saturn is the pinnacle of death and destruction.
I'm going to say this again, Saturn and Hotaruchan are different people. Hotaruchan also didn't have any choice in the matter of being Sailorsaturn. She was re-incarnated a such. Saturn herself, is more a person driven by fate to destroy the world after she awakens, than one who chooses to destroy the world.
Activities
She collects lamps.
Yes, I collect things as well. My sister collects candles, and she's hardly what I would call goth. Collecting things, be it lamps or (my fave) anime toys, is not necessarily a gothic trait.
Her father is a mad scientist.
Did she honestly make a conscience decision to choose her father to be a mad scientist? One cannot choose his or her parents and she certainly did not decide to make her father a mad scientist. I think that Tomoesan being a mad scientist has more to do with a certain accident in his lab which killed his daughter. Another thought, how many goths do you with a mad scientist for a father?
She has no friends except a PINK-HAIRED princess from the future.
And must I remind you, that other then hair-color (which is often times representational in anime), Chibi-Usa is the least gohtic person I could think of.
She keeps her room very dark.
If you had a cool lamp collection like that, you would too!
She lives in a creepy old mansion.
A side effect of having too much money really. And it's not creepy at all. The creepiest thing is there stupid maid.
A closing argument on two pages:
I'll bet anything that the original character sketches had her wearing black lipstick and listening to the cure.
I've got some of the original character sketches right here, if you want to see them...
If Takeuchi (ed: -san) can have homosexuals, transvestites, and way kewl villians, why can't Hotaru be goth?
And why can't she be a girl who is not goth? Why can't she just be a girl who is shy? Is it impossible for Hotaruchan to be a girl is sad without being goth?
Return to the Index
