I’m rewatching inuyasha and have no one to talk to about the fact that Kagura should have lived and by doing so the entire Sessh/Rin weirdness could have been completely avoided. Like I have trouble picturing Kagura pregnant but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen and half the time in fairy tales of all locales the kids pop out of the dad’s migraine or some shit and honestly they’d also make amazing godparents (or whatever the equivalent is) to a half dozen adopted mortals and their bloodlines. I’m mad about it and commenting on ao3 fics for this fandom is like screaming into the void.
I’ll join you in talking to the void about inuyasha since I am rewatching it for the first time since I was a teen (and it is the first time I actually have an order): I see what you mean with Kagura. But some poetic bittersweet death does the story good. Sess being there when she died and comforting her was a huge character development.
I’ve seen some clips from Yashahime and I doubt I’ll be able to watch it. I think the idea of the main conflict is compelling, but it’s already the language (“dad” instead of “father” is already off putting) and the character design (the tomboy daughter looks like she is wearing a suit and I somehow dislike that they had to make a tomboy character to begin with instead of a boy) that makes me unlikely to watch it.
I’ve spoiled myself the whole Rin thing though while I was in the middle of my rewatch and I have to admit I can see it. And I like it, and I prefer it. There is nothing romantic between Kagura and Sess, she only gives small indications, apart from the final declaration in the final act. (Not there yet in the manga, might scream into the void later.) He clearly only has compassion towards the end but no romantic or emotional attachment.
Honestly I can see it. While he is thankfully not grooming Rin when she is a child or showing any kind of romantic feelings towards her, it’s obvious she has a very unique position for a reason. The whole thing where he jumped into the Meido to save her from the netherworld (?) was a crazy episode. She’s the only person who makes him feel emotions like fear, sadness, regret, despair, and yes, love. Love for her, Jaken, life, his brother, the quest, people and beings. Hell even Sess’s mom was like “tf” and somehow found it in herself to revive a “human being” that is beneath her like an ant.
Afaik, even in Yashahime Sess is not being too present with Rin and never was, and their relationship isn’t all too lovey dovey. Their relationship, even when a romantic one, will be very… discrete. People point out that he is hundreds of years old anyway, so there will always be a difference in age/maturity when he finds a human partner. But I think this is almost making it too complicated. He is a demon. She is a human. The ick that we perceive stems from seeing it as a human-human coupling, when he is a demon and cannot be assessed this way. Apart from that, Japan in the feudal era and such. Him giving her choices en masse is already quite the luxury. Him not aging also. He is still a spoilt teenage/tween brat at the beginning of the series, despite being hundreds of years old.
Also I think Rin has a crush on Sess all along. I still have 4 episodes to go from the final act and idk what happens to Kohaku, maybe that would have been a more satisfying match for the audience, but I think for the characters SessRin makes more sense than SessKag and KohRin. I can absolutely imagine Rin being the pushier one to get together with Sess.
It’s not the age gap it’s the raising her / being her caretaker as a small child and having all those surrogate father-daughter moments. Switching suddenly from father-daughter to love interest… 😬
I have some very hot takes about the efficacy of the Sailor Scouts given exactly how much Tuxedo Mask does. This is why my ex-wife and kid, who only wanted to enjoy a magical girl show, stopped watching Sailor Moon around me (it had a good three or four beginning to end rewatches before that though).
I have some very hot takes about the efficacy of the Sailor Scouts given exactly how much Tuxedo Mask does.
How much he does? He throws a flower and talks.
There are so many times where the Scouts would straight-up die and/or Negaverse cronies would win the day if he didn’t show up, throw a flower and talk. Enough times to the point where I wondered “Hey, wtf is the message here exactly?”
The message is “we need a deus ex machina right about here.”
Yes, but in a show with major themes about women’s empowerment it’s a weird device to lean on that much.
To be fair, the manga is much better in that regard. Tuxedo mask is actually very useful and might have a better character arc than Usagi herself, being that he starts out as a guy who just dresses up to someone with some powers who still feels inferior to his super badass gf whom he feels he is only holding back, to actually having a crystal of his own and some deep shit crazy powers. I’m not so sure it was supposed to be about empowerment as much as we want to read onto it. Same with all the sapphic views on it, claiming everyone there is gay or at least bi. Have it your way and read into it what you want, but I don’t think it was the actual intention of the creators, neither Naoko nor the anime studio.
I mean they literally give the girls manicures in their transformations, although they wear gloves - simply because the executives planned to market nail polish.
Both the seshi and tuxedo mask have episodes where they are vital though. I hate when he is called a damsel in distress as much as when the senshi are reduced to bystanders. Within the format and with the target audience, with the ease of production goals, I honestly think it is ok to not have them all kick ass every episode.
Sincerely, a huge Sailor Moon fan who is currently rewatching with their daughter. (The pegasus storyline is awful in the anime so far but it might be the best one in the manga.)
