Sailor Moon from a religious standpoint

[Syndrama]

Rush_Hardroc

~Alechsa~

Quote:

"God" is never mentioned in North American versions of Sailor Moon. Serena/Usagi is Christian. She wears crosses, which are edited out, she uses her faith in God in extreme situations and ask him for his help, protection, and guidance. She is deeply worried about Rei/Raye the Shinto Priestess and often arguements start amongst them because of their religions. As for the other characters, the series, and so on. Naoko brings up as many Myths, Legends, and religions as she can, trying to teach children without boring them.

I'm sorry. NO. Usagi is not Christian. She prays to the MOON. She argues with the Shinto prreistess (who goes to a CATHOLIC SCHOOL) because she is a lazy a** and her friend demands she do something with her life. That person never saw Sailor Moon, they saw clips and interpreted in their own manner.

Usagi wasn't even 'Jesus', Hotaru, the creepy goth girl, was the Messiah. Usagi. the pure girl, couldn't handle the Grail, and Hotaru, the tainted one, was meant to use it. The fact she's a creepy goth is probably why America tried to edit it all away and remove the religion from S. Nevermind the complications of sweet Hotaru being a killer.

"How dare they imply a Gothic girl could be holy!!!! Look what she does to things when no one looks!"

*slam!* gotcha! NO! Serena WAS the Messiah (not the same as Jesus, but apparently similar). Hotaru even says so. It was Hotaru's job to end the world and Serena's job to revive it. the plan worked splendedly and Serena is therefore the future ruler of the world.

Usagi. Sorry, I have to correct that every time I see it, it's just a twitch. Anyway, perhaps in the manga USagi is meant o be the Messiah, but in the Anime, even the Outers say "Sailor Moon is not 'the One'...."

And Serenity is the future ruler of the world becasue she marries the heir of the planet. Nothing else holds her to that, in fact the people of Earth rebel (yet again) as the Black Moon Organization/Family because they believe she has no real claim on the planet...

If you watch animes, more than just Sailor Moon, they actually MOCK Christianity. Non-Christians wear crosses as fashion symbols, Shinto girls are FORCED to go to Catholic private schools and usually dislike it, Angels are evil beings (Evangelion and a few others), God is meant to ruin the world (Xenogears), Heaven and Hell/Angels and Demons are on the same plane of existance and get along fairly well with a few opersonal exceptions (Yu Yu Hakusho/Dragon Ball), Lucifer isn't on the side of the antagonist, but Michael is (Angel Sanctuary), etc...

Many anime are covered in signs of Christianity, but when examined, they are simply mocking it, not honoring it.  

[kawaiibunny3]

.....this conversation is really heating up...almost out of control...


I'm a proud Catholic, yes crosses are used for fashion even when they shoudn't be and christians find it a little offensive (I don't in particular, depends on the situation, in SM's situation, no i dont, i think it's cool)

There are a lot of people in Japan who aren't even religious at all (just like here in America) , they just put christian elements in animes to make it look cool (like Wiess Kreuz for example)

besides, i dont really care if Usagi was Hindu or Scientologist, the show/comic doesn't change my love for my God and i agree with 9/10 of the messages it teaches me (some of the love advice makes my head turn) and it's still my favorite darn anime on the face of the Earth.  

[Rabbit-eyes]

kawaiibunny3

.....this conversation is really heating up...almost out of control...


I'm a proud Catholic, yes crosses are used for fashion even when they shoudn't be and christians find it a little offensive (I don't in particular, depends on the situation, in SM's situation, no i dont, i think it's cool)

There are a lot of people in Japan who aren't even religious at all (just like here in America) , they just put christian elements in animes to make it look cool (like Wiess Kreuz for example)

besides, i dont really care if Usagi was Hindu or Scientologist, the show/comic doesn't change my love for my God and i agree with 9/10 of the messages it teaches me (some of the love advice makes my head turn) and it's still my favorite darn anime on the face of the Earth.

In many forms of entertainment there are symbols of Christianity (including the animes you mentioned), and these symbols are sometimes included even if the characters themselves aren't Christians. For instance, in Lord Of The Rings, Aragorn is a considered by many readers to be a Christ-like figure because he is the king of men who has a great ability to heal. In The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, Aslan is also supposed to be symbolic of Jesus Christ (not going to give away the reason in case you haven't read or seen it).
Writers usually add these because the symbols may give another sense of depth to the story and add more meaning to it. Of course many times whether the symbolism is really there or not is up to the reader or viewer to interpret, such as in our case here.  

[Rabbit-eyes]

~Alechsa~

Many anime are covered in signs of Christianity, but when examined, they are simply mocking it, not honoring it.

You made some good examples of where it might be true, though I don't believe that anime/manga is bashing Christianity every time they mention it.
In Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, during the episode where Rei discovers Sailor Venus is actually Minako, Rei goes to a Catholic church to pray at her mother's grave. Rei also finds Minako praying by herself inside the church, and both girls are helpful to the priest who works there.
While PGSM is very different from other versions of Sailor Moon, this shows that in this version both senshi have respect for the church.  

[Syndrama]

Rabbit-eyes

~Alechsa~

Many anime are covered in signs of Christianity, but when examined, they are simply mocking it, not honoring it.

You made some good examples of where it might be true, though I don't believe that anime/manga is bashing Christianity every time they mention it.
In Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, during the episode where Rei discovers Sailor Venus is actually Minako, Rei goes to a Catholic church to pray at her mother's grave. Rei also finds Minako praying by herself inside the church, and both girls are helpful to the priest who works there.
While PGSM is very different from other versions of Sailor Moon, this shows that in this version both senshi have respect for the church.

I never said they're bashing, I said it's a mockery, a mimicing. As was mentioned above, many sources have Christian themes scattered in them, because Christianity/Catholicism is the most prominent religion worldwide and gets noticed fastest. PGSM is very much like the manga aside from Sailor Luna and the whole Minako-is-a-b***h issue... *cough* And in the manga, the senshi are very respectful to things, including religion. But just because a person wears a cross doesn't mean they are Christian. Just because you go into a church, doesn't mean you 100% are a believer in that faith. You may just be very stressed and a Church is the best place to go for peace and quiet. The senshi are very peace loving and friendly, they'll be helpful to a store owner as much as a preist, just because the help is needed. There was an episode in the anime about saving a Priest from the Dark Kingdom, they never went back to him personally after that episode (not counting the regathering episodes), but they spoke warmly and seemed to know him from various personal moments.

Minako may be Christian, she's the most likely for it out of the other girls as the least is known about her personal life aside from her love of Soccer and her family life never comes into question. Ami's another canididate, but she's also the type to question religion extensively and not be a true believer in anything but science.

Usagi -is- her own religion. She prays to the Moon, is the daughter of an assumed Goddess, and is the purifier of all evils (supposedly). It's deep and shallow all at once. If you think about it too much, it makes no sense, but if you sit back and accept that not everything in every scene has a meaning, and may just be -there- to look nice or further the plot towards something else, then it makes more sense as a whole.

Sailor Moon has Easter Eggs, Naoko-sensei has admitted to it once or twice before, but I'm not convinced that many of those secrets are religious. Some, yes, especially in S, but not very many aside from that. Most of them are Grecian and Japanese mythology based secrets, and fairytales.  

[Rabbit-eyes]

~Alechsa~

Rabbit-eyes

~Alechsa~

Many anime are covered in signs of Christianity, but when examined, they are simply mocking it, not honoring it.

You made some good examples of where it might be true, though I don't believe that anime/manga is bashing Christianity every time they mention it.
In Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, during the episode where Rei discovers Sailor Venus is actually Minako, Rei goes to a Catholic church to pray at her mother's grave. Rei also finds Minako praying by herself inside the church, and both girls are helpful to the priest who works there.
While PGSM is very different from other versions of Sailor Moon, this shows that in this version both senshi have respect for the church.

I never said they're bashing, I said it's a mockery, a mimicing. As was mentioned above, many sources have Christian themes scattered in them, because Christianity/Catholicism is the most prominent religion worldwide and gets noticed fastest. PGSM is very much like the manga aside from Sailor Luna and the whole Minako-is-a-b***h issue... *cough* And in the manga, the senshi are very respectful to things, including religion. But just because a person wears a cross doesn't mean they are Christian. Just because you go into a church, doesn't mean you 100% are a believer in that faith. You may just be very stressed and a Church is the best place to go for peace and quiet. The senshi are very peace loving and friendly, they'll be helpful to a store owner as much as a preist, just because the help is needed. There was an episode in the anime about saving a Priest from the Dark Kingdom, they never went back to him personally after that episode (not counting the regathering episodes), but they spoke warmly and seemed to know him from various personal moments.

Minako may be Christian, she's the most likely for it out of the other girls as the least is known about her personal life aside from her love of Soccer and her family life never comes into question. Ami's another canididate, but she's also the type to question religion extensively and not be a true believer in anything but science.

Usagi -is- her own religion. She prays to the Moon, is the daughter of an assumed Goddess, and is the purifier of all evils (supposedly). It's deep and shallow all at once. If you think about it too much, it makes no sense, but if you sit back and accept that not everything in every scene has a meaning, and may just be -there- to look nice or further the plot towards something else, then it makes more sense as a whole.

Sailor Moon has Easter Eggs, Naoko-sensei has admitted to it once or twice before, but I'm not convinced that many of those secrets are religious. Some, yes, especially in S, but not very many aside from that. Most of them are Grecian and Japanese mythology based secrets, and fairytales.

I see. When you said mocking, I've seen that primarily used as a negative term, so I assumed that was what you meant. I realize that just because they go to a church doesn't guarantee they're Christians, I never said it did, just that they have respect for the church, and it means that it's very possible that either one or both are religious.
(I agree with you about Minako being way too bitchy in PGSM, by the way .__. )  

[Shiokemuri]

Well at one point in Stars Usagi prays to "kami-sama" aka "God" to help Misa-chan survive surgery, but that doesn't nessecerily mean that she's Christian...  

[Luamervara]

. ^^;; Personally, I don't even bother to think in terms of religion wise. Why? Mostly because Sailor Moon is just -not- meant to be that deep.  

[Luamervara]

Quote:

real practicioners of the religion fought until they all died except those who accepted it as myth and found true love)

I've seen bs but that's a mega load. They didn't find 'true love' it was freaking communsitic-like forced on to them.


-.-;  

[Solar Kitty-chan]

If there is any real religous significance in Sailormoon, I hardly think it would be Christian, considering there is a lot of mythology behind the characters that stem from "pagan" beliefs. I believe Usagi also prays to Buddha (or someone does) once, as well.

Also, "kami" is the word used for spirits/Gods (plural) in the Shinto religion, is it not? So just ebcause a character prays to Kami-sama doesn't mean they're praying to God. They could be praying to any spirit/diety/etc. Another thing, isn't Christianity a religious minority in Japan when compared with Shintoism and Buddhism?

If you want to point out Hotaru being on a crucifix in S, why not also point out that Rubeus had the Inner Senshi on their own crucifix when he had them hostage in R? I don't see the religious symbolism in that. Crucifixtion was a punishment for capitol offences in the ancient world. That's far from Christian in my opinion.

I'd also like to mention that Usagi's most ultimate form wasn't even EternalMoon. It was Sailor Cosmos and she only has little wings that match her hair accessories. I think they were portrayed more as relating to the various Greek/Roman GODS and GODDESSES of their respective planets (ie- Minako being the Ai no Megami/Goddess of Love [Venus/Aphrodite]).  

[User_8572]

I think it's still so funny that SUCH a ditzy will one day become queen of the world... but we all know she has a good heart and isn't that whats most important?  

[Rabbit-eyes]

Kawaki

I think it's still so funny that SUCH a ditzy will one day become queen of the world... but we all know she has a good heart and isn't that whats most important?

Yes, it is ^^  

[Lacroia]

I'm just glad they didn't mirror the greek myth of Selene and Endymion perfectly. If they did, Usagi would be sleeping with a perpetually unconcious Mamoru and thats just nasty.

Greek mythology, fun to read, not fun to think deeply about. *shudders*  

[Solar Kitty-chan]

If it did, Minako and Rei would have to be having an affair. Haruka would have to be castrated but Setsuna, who'd have to devour Makoto. And there'd be 40+ Chibi-Usas. No one wants that.  

[Lacroia]

mmmm..... tastes like Mako...