i did a thing

[Magmar]

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Me and some friends were recently featured in a documentary with VICE where we share our stories about coming out as queer and a child abuse survivor, and how Sailor Moon helped with that. Now you too can watch Magmar tear up, get drunk, and do crazy stuff on stage!

[Oslo]

That was adorable and touching.

Way to go. :yes:

[Lady Vulpix]

Great work, Barry!

I didn't know your parents had been so awful to you. I'm glad you managed to overcome all of that and grow up to be the wonderful person you are now.

I didn't know Sailor Moon had inspired so many people either. I watched it when I was in high school, but I didn't really notice any of the deeper shades of meaning back then.

And another thing I didn't know was that the English dub had made Haruna and Michiru cousins. That makes no sense and it's an insult to the author! I'm glad they fixed that in a later version.

Finally... there's a short clip of a meetup in my city in there! I didn't know about that. I wonder if anyone I know was there, the images weren't clear enough for me to identify any faces.

[Master Rudy]

And another thing I didn't know was that the English dub had made Haruna and Michiru cousins. That makes no sense and it's an insult to the author! I'm glad they fixed that in a later version.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HideYourLesbians
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BuryYourGays
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GetBackInTheCloset

A big problem is that the US, and to an extent Hollywood, are still essentially in the dark ages when it comes to portraying same sex couples on screen. You also have to look at the general attitude of people during the 90's.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AnimationAgeGhetto

^ The gay related tropes, along with the animation related ones are what caused the change. For a long time, there was a mindset of "animated=it's made for children!"
In cases where there was content that CLEARLY wasn't for kids, the suits would essentially decide that censorship would have to come into play. After all, it's animated so it's for kids! The lesbian couple clearly isn't kid friendly, but we have toys to sell and an 8 AM timeslot, dammit!

Thankfully, the mindset of all animation being for kids has died down in recent years. Yet, there are still traces of that issue. Dragon Ball is a good example here. Kai's dub got two versions: the uncut version and the "kid friendly, Saturday morning cartoon" version. Buddy of mine saw Battle of Gods when it was in theaters. Apparently, more than a few soccer moms stormed out with their screaming brats in tow once the film had more than a few cases of language they didn't approve of. RWBY is another prime example. Never mind the fact that it's done by Rooster Teeth, a group that's rather known for creating content for an older crowd. Once they became aware of how many younger fans the show had, they gave PLENTY of fair warning that things were going to get dark and that people needed to reconsider letting younger viewers watch. From the moment the series took it's dark turn we've had:

-A plot relevant character shot by an arrow, then having her powers drained by a leech like creature THROUGH HER EYE!
-A secondary character getting cut into pieces
-The first character mentioned getting killed by an arrow directly to the heart
-A villain getting devoured by a monster
-One of the main heroes getting stabbed
-Another main hero getting her arm cut off
-A hero dying in very brutal fashion (arrow to the ankle to cripple them, arrow to the chest, then burned to death from the inside out while they were already most likely dying from the previous wound)

While it's all been bloodless carnage for the most part, there are people that have complained on RT's forums that the show was getting too dark for little Billy :-/


Anyway, the animation mindset is only a small part of the problem. TV has gotten better about it in recent years. They still have a long way to go however. If a gay or lesbian couple is ever seen on screen, don't expect the same treatment and standards that a straight couple would get. In fact, don't even get attached. It's likely one or both members of the couple are going to die. Without naming the shows in an attempt to avoid spoilers, two big ones here in the US just killed off lesbian characters within a week of one another. It's next to impossible to find a gay couple in film that actually got a happy ending.

In short: Haruna and Michiru were pretty much going to get screwed over from the start. Obviously, the later dub finally fixed that, but in the 1990's there was no way in hell that was making it to an American broadcast. And since many other English speaking countries usually get our dub.....yeah.....

EDIT: And stupid me got so caught up in one of my anti-censorship rants, that I forgot the whole point of the damn topic ^_^()
I've actually never seen Moon, so I can't comment on the anime itself, or how it may have affected folks in the LGBT community. Part of my reason for not seeing it is the fact that I prefer dubbed anime (yeah....I'm THAT guy, sue me). The few rare occasions I've caught it have been with that horrendous original dub. I prefer dubs, but I have trouble getting into a series when the voices sound terrible. Only person I can think of that lists it as one of their favorite anime is a straight guy. Therefore, not getting an opinion on the subject from him.

Anyway, glad to see that things worked out for you Barry. I can't even imagine what it must be like to have so many issues in school, only to come home and get zero support from your family as well. That's just not right.

[Heald]

God I miss the sound of your voice Barry.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Great, Magmar! I watched Sailor Moon originally as the Swedish dub when it came out in Finnish TV. The transforming animations were left untouched in that dub, but they stopped after Sailor Moon R so I don't know how they would have handled Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune.

Sailor Moon is one of my favourite animes, but my relationship with the concept is weird. That's not a surprise because my relationships are always like that, though. Anyways, I associated Sailor Mercury/Mizuno Ami with a certain girl in my class back in High School and I still keep a place in my heart for her. Of course, that wasn't the only way how the anime had such a big influence on me, but it's there.

[ChobiChibi]

God I miss the sound of your voice Barry.

I would like to second this. Let's all meet again for drunken, nearly sexual spooning :D

We met some of the senshi briefly, didn't we? It's awesome that we got to meet people that special to you :3 Sailor Moon wasn't something I was really in to, but one of my friends in school was, and now that I'm older, I can see why. Maybe I'll give it a go now :)

[Heald]

There was no 'nearly' about it :3

[shazza]

I also enjoy the sound of your voice, Barry.

Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed it.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

When is the International Sailor Moon Day?

[Magmar]

Thank you all for the kind words =) it means a lot!