#pgsm act zero

[real-life-senshi]

Teletia S

Looking up references for the Teletia S and went back to the official PGSM website archive. Now that I understand Japanese much, much better, I am fascinated by what the official description says.

Translation:

The communication items the Senshi holds are cell phone type, but they are special ones.

Except for Minako, the other four Senshi received their respective item from Luna. Whenever a Youma or other enemy appears, even if the phone is turned off, an emergency signal will still be triggered. As long as there is no direct interference from the Dark Kingdom, the Senshi can contact each other anytime, anywhere. The phone also has a function that allows the user to transform into any costume and appearance by taking a photo, and if the image is saved, the user can transform at any time! It seems that all the Senshi have various outfits saved in their respective phones should the need to use them arise Normally, they can enjoy making phone calls and sending messages as if they were normal cell phones.

I wrote AND rewrote EoT chapter 7 before finding this, so I feel a sense of validation for writing the phones to have operated on a "Senshi signal" based on some sort of "Lunarian communication system." lol

Also, I laughed at the part where they said the respective Senshi had saved up different costumes in their phone, though we know only Rei had saved up the practical ones based on Act 31. XD

Not sure what type of costume Makoto might have saved, but I'd bet Minako has the Sailor V costume saved in hers for a pseudo-transformation since that's how Artemis had her transform in Act Zero.

My specific headcanon about the Teletia S are:

They are waterproof.

They are shockproof and practically indestructible.

They don't need electricity to charge. Just by being near their owners, they are magically charged up.

^Basically it's completely made of alien / Lunarian technology

Emergency signal normally overrides silent/vibrate mode, airplane mode and being turned off. Artemis had to make some special adjustments for Minako's so hers doesn't ring in the middle of her work. Coz.... that'd be awkward.

The only downside of these phones is they look so childishly toy-like. The Senshi all kept theirs even as adults, but everyone but Rei also acquired a normal phone just coz... they got too embarrassed using their Teletia S publicly. Rei feels the same but is too frugal and doesn't use a cell phone enough to bother buying one. :P

Here's my theory/headcanon on how the physical Sailor V costume and Teletia S transformation work together.

[taliquest]

Well okay I guess it's my turn but this list is gonna suck because I live under a rock.

Samurai Troopers/Ronin Warriors

Arguably my first experience with fandom if only from afar, but something that so deeply resonated and rewrote my brain chemistry (this guy in particular) that I eventually tracked down the flock, blended into the flock, and now I am deeply entwined with the flock like microplastics in the fish population.

Gundam 0080

I do not deny that there are a lot of much better, much more resonant, much more entertaining Gundam series out there. None of them hit me on as deeply a personal level as 0080 does, being that I am myself a military brat who grew up neck-deep in the propaganda of the military-industrial complex and a love of war machines, only to find the realities of war hit home at a young age... albeit not in the same way as our protagonist Al. 0080 isn't the best Gundam series, but to me, it is the ideal one.

Burn Notice

There's nothing deep here. Just a great cast and lots of explosions. Perfectly, Adequately Entertaining Mid-00s USA programming.

Danger 5

I don't know something about it just seems relevant in the current day and age. Also it's just delightfully gory comedy channeling all manner of pulp stories with perfectly executed gags parodying zero-budget productions ranging from cheap sets, costumes, miniatures, "bad" acting, and the occasional boom mic, to say nothing of send-ups of classic tokusatsu.

And mountains of dead Nazis.

Samurai Sentai Shinkenger

There are plenty of other, much more salient Sentai series out there, of that you can be certain. However, Absolute Mad Woman Yasuko Kobayashi lured me in by my samurai sympathies established by Samurai Troopers above, and hooked me with truly compelling character drama, weaving jidaigeki flawlessly into toy commercials and giant robot fights. Yes the blue on is my favorite, Ryunosuke is a delightful dork.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon

Oh look another Yasuko Kobayashi joint. The 90s series is iconic, the manga is outstanding, and Crystal... updates it to modern times, more or less (I haven't seen Eternal or Cosmos, I'm sorry, I can't provide any greater insight). PGSM only runs the Dark Kingdom arc but brings Kobayashi's usual incredible character writing and twists, warps, and refines quite a few concepts, giving new insights and interpretations into the cast while also making them feel so much more alive.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

I've got nothing to add that hasn't been said before other than it's nowhere near as Ow The Edge as you've probably been led to believe, and this show literally saved me.

Kamen Rider Fourze

With 50 years of history under it's belt, picking an actual favorite Rider season is an exercise in frustration because even the weaker series have parts and themes that make them shine. But my top five are consistent if constantly swapping places, and Fourze is at the top today. This is not a hard-hitting, introspective piece that questions the nature of humanity and justice that so many do. Fourze is a show in which friendship literally saves the day and grants the titular protagonist ever greater power as he forges bonds with his classmates and school faculty until even the stars themselves are within their reach. This is one of the few shows where the bad guys get redeemed at the end and yet it feels like such a natural conclusion; Fourze is a show about overcoming your hangups and your past, finding community and family, and through that becoming not just a whole person but the person you only dreamed of being before.

Fourze is beautiful and I'll gladly go to bat for it any day. But tomorrow my answer might be Ryuki, so...

The SoulTaker

Before we go any further please understand, this show is not here because I think it is good. The SoulTaker is something, but I could never in good conscience describe it as good. This show is here because it hijacked my adolescent mind in Year of Our Godoka Two Thousand Threeourive and I have not been able to escape it since. I want you to imagine THE MOST Early 00s, Post-Evangelion, Post-Matrix, Edgelord Cringe thing you can. Got it? Good. Now GO FURTHER. The SoulTaker cannot be described. It can only be experienced. Or rather, it can only be inflicted.

Gushing Over Magical Girls

You've probably heard a lot about this series. It's true. All of it. This show is transgressive and queer as hell, unapologetic in both its lust and adulation for the genre, both a touching exploration of a young girl's budding sapphic feelings for her heroines and a raunchy comedy wherein she exploits the same - and in the process causes them to have a few realizations. You may have been turned off by this show's reputation as smut, and that's true, it absolutely is.

But it's the best kind of, and very well done, smut. And right now, I think we need more of that kind of thing than ever.

who to tag, who to tag... Let's see... @yamiquietshadowflo, @starlitskvader, @popeyeotaku, @samurai-skittle-squad, and @kamenstranger, have a go if you please!

10 shows, 10 people game!

Game: Add 10 gifs from your favorite shows and tag 10 people.

Tagged by the ever sweet @snowviolettwhite 💜

9-1-1 (my emotional support family 🥹)

Warehouse 13 (another found family show 🥺)

Grimm (I can't explain how much I love this one it's like spn but happier) (911 lovers Lou Ransone is in this one and he has so many shirtless scenes lmao)

The Guest (Korean horror) (I'm actually not into horror but the fact that this is one of my fav is so funny. It's more the 3 main characters than anything, I loved their interaction)

From Today It's My Turn (Japanese) (this one's so silly and hilarious)

The Librarians (another found family show!) (yes Albert from 911 is in it. so is Elliot from Leverage)

Person of Interest (literally my babies 😭 i'm sorry i couldn't add root/shaw 😭 also you WILL sob)

Unbelievable (heavy but so 🤌🏽 based on a true story)

Beyond Evil (Korean) (Lee Dong Sik 😭😭 this WILL destroy you)

Dark (German) (actually haven't completed it yet but s1 is exquisite)

Honestly there's SO MANY shows that I love but I tried to include diverse ones and some not so popular ones.

Honourable mentions: Haven (if you know this one I'll love you forever lol), Kotaro Lives Alone, Ragnarok (Norwegian), Kingdom (Korean), Signal (Korean), Tunnel (Korean), The Following

No pressure tags @scknight05 @lemotmo @eddiediazismyhusband @jackwhiteprophetic @diazguzman @begebege28 @mazzystar24 @syfygirl1998 @monroemary @ofqueensandwitches and anyone else who wants to do this!

[sailormoonsub]

I DON’T BELIEVE IT

AMI INFILTRATED THE CLOWNS, GAINED THEIR TRUST, LEARNED THEIR WEAKNESSES, AND TURNED AGAINST THEM

THIS IS THE FACE OF DECEPTION

[wikimoon]

Random Sailor Moon Trivia:

All four of the actors who played the Shitennou in the live-action series had cameo roles as police officers in the direct-to-video prequel episode “Act Zero - The Birth of Sailor V.”

[rin-the-shadow]

On a related note from the last post, act 16 of PGSM also brought us Kunzite: Least Subordinate Servant Ever.

Between the guy’s barely-even-qualifies-as-a bow, to basically asking Beryl to give him her subordinates, to just his general tone of voice. 

It’s hilarious to me because my first exposure to that character type where I actually recognized them as that character type was the Transformers: Cybertron version of Starscream, and the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles version of Baxter Stockman. Starscream was traitorous and competent at it, but tended to be quieter about what he intended to do, and at least pretend to respect Megatron up until he was ready to make his move. Stockman, on the other hand, was pretty open about how great he thought he was, and made three separate attempts to betray the Shredder before finally getting fired and going to work for Bishop, but as you might have guessed, he was not exactly good at doing the betrayal thing without getting mangled in the process.

PGSM Kunzite is like if you took Cybertron Starscream, but then gave him like zero shame about broadcasting his absolute bare minimum (probably nonexistent) loyalty. And he is amazing.

[sailorfailures]

where do you watch pgsm with subtitles ? Are there any safe anime sites to watch it on ?

There are sites out there but the ones I knew of have been obliterated and I’m not up-to-date with good streaming sites - but I know if you use Sea of Serenity‘s mirror links for their episode downloads, you can stream them directly from Google Drive without having to save them. If you google for drama streaming sites you could probably find one with PGSM on it, too.

Just make sure wherever you’re watching from you start with Act One, not Act Zero, which is a prequel that won’t make sense until you watch the rest of the series. Enjoy!

[nocturnal-impala]

Best of PGSM: Episode zero, part 4

I have so many guestions about this but I can wrap them up in one small one: Why?

You can’t begin the series from this episode even if it’s “act 0.” because the parody won’t make any sense unless you’ve watched the series first.

Also a nice parallel for a children friendly program to use candy instead of Valium to calm the guy down.

Damn Jadeite you’re so pretty <3

[mizusenshisongs]

Hey guys! Long time no post! Unfortunately, NaNoWriMo had my attention all November. But I'm back with yet another birthday cover, this time for Makoto!

For Mako-chan's birthday this year, I decided to do one of her PGSM character songs, "Miracle Dance Night." It has a very disco feel to it. I don't think people know much about Mako's singles for PGSM because they weren't featured at Kirari*Super Live (like Usagi, Minako, and Rei's) or in the show in any way (like how Ami's single "Yakusoku" appeared in Act 34 during the party montage), aside from a bit of her other song "Lovely Yell," which you can hear in the background of Makoto's Act Zero cameo.

The backing chorus was missing from the official karaoke, so I added reverb to those parts in an attempt to recreate the effect. Hope it sounds ok.

Karaoke & lyrics from: Sailormusic.net CD pic from: Three-lights.net Vocals: Me

I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON OR PGSM OR THIS SONG. IT IS OWNED BY TAKEUCHI NAOKO, AZAMA MEW, SUGIURA ATSUSHI, YUUTENJI HIROMI, AB, MATSUOKA MAKOTO, SASAMOTO SATORU, TOEI ANIMATION, KODANSHA, BANDAI, VIZ MEDIA, CBC, TBS, AND COLUMBIA JAPAN. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED.

[myucornerorg]

I think PGSM essentially tried to do that. The focus on how their duties as Senshi affected the girls' personal lives was a big part of PGSM, and practically the whole last third of the show is about Mamoru and Usagi being drawn to each other by destiny and both sides - Venus on the Senshi side, Beryl, Zoisite, and to a lesser degree Mio on the other side - trying to break them up so they don't accidentally destroy the world again. Meanwhile you had Makoto and Motoki as the main beta couple, Rei having issues with her estranged father, Ami having difficulties socially and with her mother (and also getting kidnapped and brainwashed by the Dark Kingdom for 8 episodes). Plus all the new stuff like:

Mamoru having an actual OTHER GIRLFRIEND (fiancée actually), Hina, who he tries to still stay with when he starts getting pulled towards Usagi, except that she sees the writing on the wall and breaks up with him.

Naru and Motoki actually learning Moon and Jupiter's identities respectively, which leads to some drama (in Naru's case, getting damaged by an attack; in Motoki's case, drama in his and Makoto's budding romance).

Princess Sailor Moon, a b.a. but also somewhat terrifying Sailor Senshi form of Princess Serenity, who only cares about her prince Endymion, and doesn't think a world without him is worth existing.

Luna gets a human form AND a Senshi form (though she's basically a Chibimoon expy in these forms, and not that useful).

The Shitennou get more character development overall, have drama going on between them, and their relationship with Mamoru is explored a lot more. Nephrite even gets turned into a normal human and then gets hired as a worker at the karaoke parlor where the girls' base is, and has some angsty dynamic with Motoki (as well as possible feelings for Ami, who took pity on him once during her Dark Mercury days).

Kuroki Mio, who actually does a decent job being a villain in both plots, as a rival idol to Minako and a classmate of Usagi's, but also essentially being Beryl's eyes and ears on Earth and even manipulating Mamoru to a degree. She also does petty things like trick Usagi into trying to win back her classmates' favor with a private Minako concert, while secretly setting her up to fail and be humiliated, whisking Rei off the Dark Kingdom one time cause she was bored, and kidnapping Usagi so she can witness Endymion and Kunzite's duel with each other. She also comes back in Special Act as the main villain, taking over a circus and kidnapping Mamoru in order to force him to marry her.

We also got an origin episode for Sailor V (Act Zero) that is pretty consistent with the overall plot of the Sailor V manga (with some PGSM twists of course). The other four girls also appear in it, with Usagi getting the biggest role. (The others are reduced to cameo appearances). The Shitennou's actors also appear as a quartet of bumbling police officers.

There are probably other things I could think of, but I think you get the point.

Personally I think PGSM had great potential. It started off following the manga, but then went its own way and did some cool stuff. If it had been longer, what could it have been?

Also a while back I wrote up my idea for if PGSM got made into an American show. Not the exact same concept as your idea, but just putting it out there.

I JUST REALIZED WHAT MAKES SABAN MOON SO APPEALING

Okay so I've been drafting out a fun show bible for a modern take on the Saban Moon premise so I could write a pilot for fun because I screenwrite for fun anyway

and as I was figuring out how to incorporate a lot of the changes/ideas from the Sailor Moon adaptation I realized why I don't hate it even though it's so different - like it's different but I'm still fine with it calling itself Sailor Moon? I'm not, like, offended?

and I realized it's because at its heart the framing of it sets up the proposal of an AU that is basically, "What if the Modern Day Superhero-ing and Classical Romantic Space Opera were happening simultaneously?"

And like as AU ideas go, that one's not terrible.

[real-life-senshi]

I am SO glad I didn't ask the omelette question, coz Naoki volunteered to talk about it.

He was disgusted by the colour and shared it tasted bad. Said it contributed to him not liking the acting shoots much.

They couldn't remember which episode it was so I posted in the chat about the blue sauce and green sauce omelette's episode and it got read out. <3

Naoki remember blue sauce, but not the green sauce episode. lol

[real-life-senshi]

Aino Minako's Discography

So I was chatting with a friend who I dragged into watching PGSM about how Minako's portrayed in PGSM and all the hints we get in subtler ways about her change in character throughout the timeline and story... and then this led to us chatting about Minako's music. So now here's my brain dump. lol

From the PGSM Memorial Art Book, the CD listed here from left to right are:

I'll Be Here (album)

C'est La Vie (single)

VENUS (album)

IMITATION (album)

Kiss^2 Bang^2 (single)

There could be more singles before that, but if there are we don't know what they are. We do know there are other new songs Minako produced in-universe, including Happy Time, Happy Life from the Special Act, but we do not have a copy of the CD past Act 47.

For each of the albums, we find the name of the songs are very telling, and often very connected to the wider PGSM and Minako's storyline.

Act Zero states that IMITATION is Minako's 1st album.

Translations of the song titles:

始まりの伝説 [Hajimari no Densetsu] (The Legend of the Beginning)

IMITATION

負けるな!クリスマスガール [Makeruna! Kurisumasu Gaaru] (Don’t Lose! Christmas Girl) Act Zero is hinted to take place on Christmas Eve (the Silent Night bgm), or at least definitely near Christmas.

LOVE vs DREAM

うれしくて… [Ureshikute…] (I'm So Happy... / Be Happy...) There's a double meaning that without knowing more detail it'd be hard to determine the best way to translate the song title.

ナイショ! [Naisho!] (SECRET!)

ハートはORANGE [Haato wa ORANGE] (Heart is ORANGE)

白い出会い [Shiroi Deai] (White Rendezvous) As both Endymion and Serenity have white outfits in PGSM, I imagine this is alluding to past life.

MAKE UP! POWER!!

Songs 1, 7, 8 and 9 have very clear past life or Sailor Venus lore connection. While 3 and 5 seem to allude more towards Minako's story of battling her illness. Songs 2, 4 and 6 have more of a vague name that could allude to the duality of Minako's position as a teenager and idol, her secret about her illness, or her memory of Sailor Venus.

Regardless, the song titles suggest that even before meeting Artemis, Minako seems to have dreams or impressions of her past life. Possibly between these impressions/memories and her illness, Minako copes and processes her thoughts and emotions by making music. This has become my headcanon and how I write Minako in my fanfiction.

VENUS - released in Act 1 is Minako's 2nd album.

Translations of the song titles:

C'est la Vie~私のなかの恋する部分 [Se ra Bi ~ Watashi no Naka no Koi Suru Bubun] (That’s Life ~ The Part Inside Me That's In Love) The pronunciation of "C'est la Vie" is synonymous with the Japanese pronunciation of "Sailor V". Mischievous, punny Minako strikes again.

Star girl

For your dream

ETERNITY

Come again

月のキセキ [Tsuki no Kiseki] (Miracle of the Moon)

Be Free!

A Q U A  This song's name was likely done to allude to Ami it's shown in Act 2, Sailor Mercury's debut episode.

Happening ☆

戦う女神⋅おんな [Tatakau Megami ⋅ Onna] (Goddess of Battles ⋅ Woman) This could have been translated to Goddess of War as well. Googling the 4 first characters yields results that include Japanese articles on Athena. In-universe, since Ami has been referenced in AQUA, this title could be alluding to Sailor Mars, but it's more likely to be alluding to the collective Sailor Senshi team.

Lucky Joker Possibly alluding to Usagi? Or maybe Motoki? lol

ア⋅イ⋅ノ♡セレナーデ [Ai no Serenado] (Serande of Love)

The song name of VENUS is a bit more mixed bag of meanings, including song 8 alluding to Ami. But the allusion to the past life and Minako's identity as Sailor Venus is significantly more prominent. There doesn't seem to be any mention or allusion to Minako's illness.

This makes sense, since in Act 2 we viewers wouldn't have a clue about that part of Minako's storyline yet. In-universe, this suggests Minako embracing more and more her past life duties and being on the path of deprioritizing her personal situation and health condition.

I'll Be Fine is Minako's 3rd album, released sometime after Act 47.

Reminder in Act 47, Artemis and the Senshi were given a pre-release of the album, as Minako wanted to surprise Artemis and Usagi with gifts.

Romance

I’m Here

C'est la Vie~私のなかの恋する部分 [Se ra Bi ~ Watashi no Naka no Koi Suru Bubun] (That’s Life ~ The Part Inside Me That's In Love)

肩越しに金星 [Katagoshi ni Kinsei] (Venus Over My Shoulder)

Kiss!2 Bang!2

さよなら～sweet days [Sayonara~ Sweet Days] (Farewell~ Sweet Days)

This album has nearly all the insert songs we hear between Act 1 - Final Act that Minako sang. The only exception is I'm Here.

Songs 1, 3, 4 and 5 have names that allude to the idea of love, which is Sailor Venus's power. Songs 2 and 6 specifically have names that match the theme of the song lyrics, revealing Minako's candid personal thoughts and feelings surrounding her illness.

The fact that Minako passed away in Act 47 before the album was officially released to the public... my friend @greenyoshi72 said Minako wrote her own requiem... 😭

[real-life-senshi]

We’ve gone full circle again!!!!!!  I LOVE PGSM’S STORYTELLING SO MUCH!

Minako had lost motivation and grew “tired” because she met Usagi in person, but now she has renewed her motivation and felt rejuvenated because she got to KNOW Usagi as a person!  Knowing the whole story, it’s also highly significant and important that just from taking action, at this moment, Minako had arrived to the conclusion that Usagi is someone worth fighting for. 

On a very different note... FAN THEORY TIME!

okay, I know many people have given PGSM flak for the plot hole of this Sailor V transformation scene, because we saw the V costume in Minako’s suitcase earlier in Act 11.  Honestly I was critical of this too. But now, I have A THEORY. A theory that might close the hole.

First of all, Sailor V wasn’t Minako’s true transformation; it’s different to Sailor Venus and thus the power/magic doesn’t source from the Sailor Jewelry Bracelet.  In fact, in Act Zero, Artemis had actually used Minako’s Teletia S to snap Minako into the Sailor V appearance.  As we’ve learnt since Act 2, the Teletia S can manifest and snap the girls into any costume or outfit from just a click of a button, but for it to happen, it NEEDS TO HAVE SOMETHING TO GO OFF OF -  A SOURCE. It’s like copy and paste from an Excel spreadsheet.  If the cell is empty when you copy, there is nothing you can paste from.  SO. Because Sailor V costume wasn’t purely manifested from magic, there needs to be the source, and that source is the costume Minako kept in her suitcase.  As long as the “original”, the source exists, Minako can transform into it whenever she wants to.  But if the original, the source is destroyed/not with her, she will just lose the Sailor V persona completely. 

There. Theory end!

[ironvandyne]

Ah yes, clueless Usagi not knowing for a fact that Mio did commited lies and crimes about her one time.

*flashes back to episode 29 of PGSM*

Mio is the Azu of PGSM, change my mind.

Bless Usagi’s pure heart, after all the absolute bullshit Mio put her through, she still calls her “Mio-chan”

[real-life-senshi]

PGSM Reinako things I want to yell about, in no particular order (1/∞) 

Mars & Venus’ battle juxtaposed with Moon & Mercury & Jupiter’s battle

In the first half of Act 18, we audience are introduced to Rei and Minako’s complicated and banter-filled relationship, involving one-upmanship, sniping remarks and disjointed priorities. Yet when we get to the climax action scenes in the later half of the episode, Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus worked in perfect sync (with lots and lots of ust) to defeat the Youma with barely any words exchanged, despite having only met one episode ago.  

This scene is immediately and hilariously followed by Moon, Mercury and Jupiter’s battle against Jadeite and Nephrite, where despite the three Senshi are established friends and comrades for eleven episodes, they had failed to coordinate their attacks and had to redo it a second time.  Not to mention their coordinated attack is significantly less action-intensive than what Mars and Venus pulled off!

The two scenes juxtaposed to each other seems such deliberate script writing, and especially highlights the undeniable bond and partnership Mars and Venus share, regardless of their butt-heading and tension!

Also, who decided the Mars Venus’ acting directions? Like did Ayaka and Keiko just decided to wink at each other themselves???? OR WAS IT WRITTEN INTO THE SCRIPT????? And Mars mimicking Venus’ kiss motion even though it does nothing for her???????? HELLO????

---

So I’m trying a new thing, because I’m just too damn slow at liveblogging. At this rate, I’ll never get to yell about the Reinako significant moments as I’m still 3 episodes and a DVD special Oshiokiyo away from Act 17. So voilà, I’m starting another project for the simple purpose of talking about anything I want about Reinako, coz I have zero control over myself. lol It’ll be to no particular order, and some will be silly, and some will be me writing serious analysis. 

[real-life-senshi]

Those two have immediately entered into eye contact-only mode with each other, with zero verbal communication as they run laps around the Youma. Mars nodded signaling she'd be the decoy as Venus attacked, and Venus immediately took her shot once the Youma's attention was on Mars... like JFC how are they achieving this already? None of the Senshi were able to do that immediately with each other, we even had the hilarious C'est La Via singing in Act 4 to prove this point. PGSM really set Mars and Venus up to be a special case with each other from day 1. lol

All the posing and reaction after the Youma deflected the attack... what's the point if there's no immediate follow-up?

I guess the point of this scene was the time-lapse. But also holy crap, this is the longest enemy encounter ever?? Like typically a battle takes around 5 minutes to finish? Even Ultraman has a 3minute timer they operate on... this battle is getting hours long, how on earth are Mars and Venus, not to mention also the Youma, keeping this up?????

The logic for plot convenience. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[real-life-senshi]

What are your thoughts on Minakos and Usagi’s relationship in PGSM? It’s very different from the manga/anime where they are different but potrayed more as “twins” (so to speak)

Thanks for the ask! :D

Without my own personal headcanon and interpretation going in, I think the first word that comes to mind in terms of Minako and Usagi's relationship in PGSM is "underdeveloped". hahaha

Of course, besides Rei, Minako had spent the most time with Usagi among all the Senshi during the year of fighting against the Dark Kingdom. But whenever Minako's with Usagi, we see her in her Senshi or idol persona more than just being "Aino Minako", unlike when Minako's with Rei, where she's more emotive, showing her competitive, serious side, and also mischievous and playful sides.

Even in Act 45 and 46, we see Minako showing her true self more in front of Makoto than she had done with Usagi, including teasing Makoto about Motoki before telling Makoto to stop her self-sacrificial act.

That being said though, I think Usagi and Minako's relationship is precious in PGSM! And I loved seeing how Minako warmed up to Usagi from Act 11 to Act 12, and how she kept in contact and catered to Usagi's fangirl-ness (e.g. Act 30, 32, 35) before Usagi found out about Minako's identity as Venus at the end of Act 35. In a twisted way, Usagi being Usagi pushed Minako to be warmer and willing to see the girls separately from their past-life selves in her mission-driven mindset, instead of chasing after the ghost of her comrades and princess she remembers from a millennium ago. While Usagi, in her worship over her idol, found strength, encouragement, and joy from Minako's music and general work while trying to fight her way through all the past life hardship.

I'm glad Acts 36 - 46 focused more on Rei and Minako's relationship, as the story is beautiful and deserves the level of detail and attention it was given, but I do wish we had more scenes between Usagi and Minako where Usagi got to acknowledge Minako's responsibility and efforts as Sailor V and Venus. Even in Act 40, they barely got to interact as a pair. As much as I love Rei and Minako's scene in PGSM, I do feel we got cheated a bit on the Usagi and Minako relationship towards the end. I wish we could have seen Minako treating Usagi more like a peer than a princess to protect.

Regarding Usagi and Minako's relationship in PGSM being very different to the "twin" like closeness and similarity in the manga (I can't really speak to the 90's anime or Crystal), yes, that's true. But I think that's just more to do with the fact that Minako IS written completely differently in PGSM! It would be weird for these two to be super close, even if Usagi and Minako were given more story and screen time within PGSM's timeline.

HOWEVER, as a content creator and fanfic writer, I love writing about Minako's relationship and dynamic with all the Senshi, not just reinako, because I think there's so much room for interpretation and creation in writing how Minako gets actually integrated into the Senshi group after Act 49.

Given what Act Zero showed, Minako definitely had a more manga-Minako-like personality before her past life memories got woken. You can even see how she approached being Sailor V with a lot more enjoyment and enthusiasm initially before it became solemn and mission-driven at the end of Act Zero after her encounter with Tuxedo Kamen. I think Minako's fun side would resurface post Act 49. We even see it peek out a bit at the start of Act 47, before her temporary departure.

Would I ever write PGSM Minako and Usagi to have a relationship like manga Minako's and Usagi's twin-like dynamic? Absolutely not! It doesn't make sense to me. Besides Rei and Minako, I think Minako would have a stronger friendship/comradeship with Makoto, given their shared understanding in Act 45 and 46. But would I write Minako and Usagi hanging out, having fun, and the two conspiring and pulling pranks together? Abso-fucking-lutely! Usagi would be the one to initiate and Minako being the one to provide the resource and perfect the prank. And when they get in trouble, Minako's also the one to bail them both out, even when it's Usagi's fault. XD

I certainly do think Usagi and Minako would have gotten much closer post Act 49. If you look at the Special Act, after the Senshi sans Rei finish being badasses and kicked Mio's butt into oblivion, Minako's the one who shoves Usagi into Mamoru as Mamoru got dragged in by Makoto once Usagi declares she and Mamoru are resuming with their marriage plans. You don't do that with someone you are not close with, especially in Japanese culture where their society is so big and fussy about honorifics, physical contact, and distances in respect to interpersonal relationships and hierarchical dynamics.

I hope this is an adequate answer! Sorry I ended up just writing an essay. hahaha