One thing that takes me back to my childhood is watching cartoons. Sailor Moon in particular. The innocence in it is adorable. I’ve been watching it again this week, and I can’t help but think how even in the first few discs the girls all show little signs of growth. I also think about the character attributes and wander if any of them had an influence on who I was at the time. Sailor Mercury was a study nut, Jupiter was a strong character and also a good cook, Mars was feisty, determined and defensive of her friends, Venus had awesome hair (I was a slave to my hair back then). She always had good intentions, they didn’t always work out the way she planned though. As for Sailor Moon no matter how klutzy she was or scared, she’d always manage to HTFU and finish the fight.
One of the negaverse officers Zoisite is quite bitchy, she’s all attitude, ambition, a nasty piece of work, but her jealousy and backstabbing leads her into disaster. Maybe that was the message, either way I think I missed it, I was capable of some pretty nasty behavior back then. At least I also drew some positive influence, Mercury made me a good student, Mars encouraged me to pursue singing. Hell I think the cats even had an influence on me.
The 90s was all about girl power and female super heroes were in a lot of TV and games. I played a lot of Tomb Raider and watched a lot of Buffy, but I think that was more a mid-teen influence, as opposed to when Sailor Moon was on. I feel badly for kids watching today’s cartoons. They seem to have completely glossed over the innocence of their audience. The programs we watch as kids have an impact on who we grow up to be, and even the controlling interest of Sailor Moon knew that at the time. After all, what else was the point of the little “Sailor Moon Says,” bit at the end of every episode? They don’t have much depth, but really all a child between the age of 8 and 12 needs to learn is “Don’t be a dick,” and someone, somewhere figured they weren’t learning it from their parents.
So till next time…
The Life of L Ball 
Every time I see the picture of Serena in Sailor Says at the bottom of your post, I hear Luna exhaust a sigh and say “That Serena!”, followed by Tracey Moore’s [Serena’s short-lived first voice actress] chuckle. Memories~
I do think that the show Sailor Moon has a lot of relevant lessons on growth, emotions, and being a strong and good person despite any circumstance. I hope my someday-children will watch with the same passion that I did growing up and still do today!
Thanks Blue ^_^ I think if I ever have children they’ll have to share my love for anime, and Sailor Moon is a great place to start, especially for girls. Lovely to connect with another fan *High-Five*
When I flick past current cartoons they make me sad.