Newsgroups: alt.fan.sailor-moon,rec.arts.anime,rec.arts.anime.misc,rec.arts.anime.info
From: arromdee@inetnow.net (Ken Arromdee)
Subject: Sailor Moon FAQ (part 5/5)
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Appendix: Why does just about everyone hate SOS/Mixx?
----------------------------------------------------
SOS:
The main reason that people hate SOS seems to be a persistent bit of
misinformation on the SOS page about "What Are We Missing". SOS claimed that
Sailor Uranus was really "Prince Uranus" in a previous lifetime. SOS has
since admitted that there was no evidence (they "remembered" an interview
which of course could not be found). It also contradicts the series (in
manga volume 9, act 30, pages 77-82, Haruka is shown alive and female after
the fall of the Moon Kingdom.) Fans complained so much that they pretty
much _had_ to take it out (although they were waiting for word from Takeuchi
Naoko at the San Diego Comic Con--if she had never appeared, would Prince
Uranus _still_ be on their page?)
SOS accompanied this by a statement that girls in Japan can be close and that
this doesn't necessarily imply the girls are homosexual. I and a lot of other
people don't see much reason to say this here except to suggest that just
maybe, Haruka and Michiru aren't _really_ homosexual. SOS has to admit that
they are, but then puts this statement in, as if there are merely two
alternate views and maybe either one can be right.
It should be noted that Ming, owner of the Looney List associated with SOS,
has claimed that I was calling Sailor Moon a "gay show" and refused to have
the address of his mailing list in this FAQ on those grounds.
Some references showing that Haruka and Michiru are homosexual:
Manga: In volume 9, act 30, pages 77-82, Haruka is shown alive and female
after the fall of the Moon Kingdom, which contradicts the supposed "Naoko
Takeuchi reference" which has her die as a male with the Moon Kingdom.
Episode 95: Haruka, when asked what her girlfriend's name is in a romance
contest, says "Michiru". They later leave the contest because if they didn't,
they'd win.
Episode 107: A boy, Masanori, has a crush on Michiru and gives her roses.
From Hitoshi Doi's synopsis:
Michiru: "Are you concerned?"
Haruka: "A little. Is it from a boy friend?"
Michiru: "Of course."
Haruka: "I didn't know that there was someone who was brave enough to fall
in love with you."
Michiru: "It's not often that you would get jealous."
Haruka: "I'm not jealous. I just can't allow you to look at anyone else
besides me."
Michiru: "Haruka, that's called jealousy."
SuperS special: Haruka flirts with a maid (who believes she's a guy). Michiru
comes in and Haruka immediately ends it.
SuperS movie: Michiru comments to Haruka, when the fairies want to keep
everyone as children, that "it's more fun as an adult, isn't it?", whereupon
Haruka is flustered and doesn't reply. This implies that Haruka and Michiru
are doing something together as adults which children don't do.
Episode 167:
"I think you eat too many sweets these days . . ." --Michiru
"I never listen to that kind of talk outside of a bed." --Haruka
Episode 180: Michiru flirts with Seiya, asking him to change her clothes.
When Haruka tells him to get out, Michiru asks if she's jealous. Michiru
offers to have Haruka change her clothes.
Episode 181: Haruka doesn't want Usagi to go on a date with Seiya but
Michiru stops Haruka.
Haruka (to Michiru): You're hurting me!
Michiru (softly): Am I?
Haruka: I want you to touch me gently.
Michiru: Later, when we're alone.
From Kappa Magazine #51, September 1996 (Italian):
"The relationship between Haruka and Michiru is quite special. I think the
most important feeling in the world is friendship. The friendship between them
is so strong that it becomes love. There's not only heterosexual love, but
there also can be a homosexual love, in this case between two girls."
--Takeuchi Naoko (The scanned magazine page is available at
http://www.jacksonville.net/~phoenix/manga/smitem.gif . There is a lower-
quality, B&W, version at
http://members.xoom.com/lunarinq/pit/pitgraphics/inqwell/zine.gif ).
I can't include pictures here, but these web sites may be of use:
http://www.king.igs.net/~ajhd/romance.htm
http://members.tripod.com/~mixi/sailormoon/Moments.txt
http://members.tripod.com/~hawks_eye/ (Warning: last I checked, this site
included a dojinshi picture; dojinshi are produced by fans and aren't official.)
Some other infamous flubs of SOS include:
-- SOS started a "Pop-Tarts procott" intended to get Sailor Moon back on the
air by having fans buy strawberry frosted Pop-Tarts. SOS has tried to suggest
that the Pop-Tarts campaign was why the Program Exchange picked up the show,
while admitting that they couldn't prove it had any effect.
-- SOS started a fax campaign for more episodes past the first 65, which
according to Brad Lascelle gave Bandai a bad impression and was why Andy
Heyward broke off all contact with the fans.
-- SOS stated that Toby Proctor left as the voice of Darien because he had a
scheduling conflict, when in a letter from Toby himself he stated that it was
because he hadn't been paid.
-- Misinformation from SOS about how to pronounce "Naoko" when she appeared
at the San Diego Comic Con (they claimed that the 'a' was a long vowel).
-- As of December 1998, SOS was claiming that DIC really wants to dub the Sailor
Moon S series. Needless to say, SOS cannot name its source for the
information.
-- SOS has claimed that Naoko Takeuchi passed out a paper at Comic Market 54
claiming that she was contacted by the companies producing Sailor Moon to
make new episodes. SOS has refused to supply any information to verify that
this paper exists and says what they claim it says, except by physically
visiting the person who claims to have it. Scans and copies are not allowed.
MIXX
----
The main reason people hate Mixx (publishers of the Sailor Moon manga in
America) is because they moved Sailor Moon out of Mixxzine in 1998 and changed
Mixxzine's format to a teenagers' magazine instead of a manga magazine. The
current storyline was continued in a separate comic, with later episodes in
Smile magazine. Unfortunately, Mixx let people transfer their subscriptions
to Smile but not to the separate comic, so there was no way for a
subscriber-only fan to get the continuation of the storyline. On top of that,
the change happened right after subscription renewals, so everyone subscribed
to Mixxzine again right before learning that they might not want it. Both
Mixxzine and Smile now printed the manga pages at half size.
[Update, 1999: Mixx renamed the magazine to Tokyo Pop and may be cutting out
the manga. Of course, this happens just after the subscriptions have to be
renewed, again.]
Mixx had also been quietly reducing the number of pages in Mixxzine (which
essentially means making it more expensive per page) and the change amounts
to yet another price rise.
(Incidentally, Smile is really, really, bad. I've never _yet_ seen anyone
online who likes Smile.)
Other reasons include:
-- Mixx changes names in some series (like the minor characters in Parasyte)
and censored out scenes in Ice Blade which suggest homosexuality. They also
supposedly lied about Kodansha asking them to use the DIC names in Sailor
Moon.
-- Mixx tried to shut down the Eye on Mixx page by claiming that they were
Nazis when they were using swastikas on their page, when they were really
calling their _opponent_ Nazis rather than being Nazis themselves. Mixx also
threatened legal action against Eye on Mixx.
-- Mixx used fake names on the Mixx web board to defend themselves.
-- Mixx treated Takeuchi Naoko and her fans badly at the San Diego Comic Con.
There's lots more, most of which is Ron Scovil's word against Stu Levy's.
For more details see the Eye on Mixx page at http://eyeonmixx.anime-manga.net/
--
Ken Arromdee |They said it was *daft* to build a space
arromdee@inetnow.net |station in a swamp, but I showed them! It
karromde@nyx.nyx.net |sank into the swamp. So I built a second
http://www.inetnow.net/~arromdee|space station. That sank into the swamp too.
--------------------------------+My third space station sank into the swamp.
So I built a fourth one. That fell into a time warp and _then_ sank into the
swamp. But the fifth one... stayed up! --Monty Python/Babylon 5
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