30 Years Later, Re-Examining the “Pretty Soldier”: A Gender Study Analysis of Sailor Moon
December of 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of Naoko Takeuchi’s Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon) manga (1991-1997), and March of 2022 will mark the 30th anniversary of Toei Animation’s Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon anime (1992-1997). The series follows Sailor Moon as she defends...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Anime and Manga Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/jams/article/view/948 |
| _version_ | 1811196807687962624 |
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| author | Cassandra Yatron |
| author_facet | Cassandra Yatron |
| author_sort | Cassandra Yatron |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | December of 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of Naoko Takeuchi’s Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon) manga (1991-1997), and March of 2022 will mark the 30th anniversary of Toei Animation’s Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon anime (1992-1997). The series follows Sailor Moon as she defends Tokyo and the galaxy against alien enemies. While there seems to be controversy over whether Sailor Moon can be read as a feminist text, Sailor Moon still maintains its status as a feminist and queer magical girl series. Although there has been some scholarship on the magical girl genre and gender roles in manga and anime, there has not been much written about Sailor Moon specifically. As an influential series that is still relevant in pop culture, further analysis of this text is necessary to identify its feminist and queer nature. Despite being three decades old, Sailor Moon still maintains its status as a feminist and queer magical girl series. My argument is that on the surface, the Sailor Moon franchise appears to be a heteronormative and an (arguably) antifeminist series with traditional heterosexual relationships and gender stereotypes, but upon closer examination, the manga and anime series subvert patriarchal and gender stereotypes in both obvious and discrete ways. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:05:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1856fe1627374462a2407f9a63d7a90d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2689-2596 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:05:12Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Anime and Manga Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-1856fe1627374462a2407f9a63d7a90d2022-12-22T03:54:17ZengUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignJournal of Anime and Manga Studies2689-25962022-12-013133https://doi.org/10.21900/j.jams.v3.948 30 Years Later, Re-Examining the “Pretty Soldier”: A Gender Study Analysis of Sailor Moon Cassandra Yatron0University of Texas ArlingtonDecember of 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of Naoko Takeuchi’s Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon) manga (1991-1997), and March of 2022 will mark the 30th anniversary of Toei Animation’s Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon anime (1992-1997). The series follows Sailor Moon as she defends Tokyo and the galaxy against alien enemies. While there seems to be controversy over whether Sailor Moon can be read as a feminist text, Sailor Moon still maintains its status as a feminist and queer magical girl series. Although there has been some scholarship on the magical girl genre and gender roles in manga and anime, there has not been much written about Sailor Moon specifically. As an influential series that is still relevant in pop culture, further analysis of this text is necessary to identify its feminist and queer nature. Despite being three decades old, Sailor Moon still maintains its status as a feminist and queer magical girl series. My argument is that on the surface, the Sailor Moon franchise appears to be a heteronormative and an (arguably) antifeminist series with traditional heterosexual relationships and gender stereotypes, but upon closer examination, the manga and anime series subvert patriarchal and gender stereotypes in both obvious and discrete ways.https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/jams/article/view/948sailor moonmagical girlgenderfeminismqueeranimeanime studiesqueer studiesgender studies |
| spellingShingle | Cassandra Yatron 30 Years Later, Re-Examining the “Pretty Soldier”: A Gender Study Analysis of Sailor Moon Journal of Anime and Manga Studies sailor moon magical girl gender feminism queer anime anime studies queer studies gender studies |
| title | 30 Years Later, Re-Examining the “Pretty Soldier”: A Gender Study Analysis of Sailor Moon |
| title_full | 30 Years Later, Re-Examining the “Pretty Soldier”: A Gender Study Analysis of Sailor Moon |
| title_fullStr | 30 Years Later, Re-Examining the “Pretty Soldier”: A Gender Study Analysis of Sailor Moon |
| title_full_unstemmed | 30 Years Later, Re-Examining the “Pretty Soldier”: A Gender Study Analysis of Sailor Moon |
| title_short | 30 Years Later, Re-Examining the “Pretty Soldier”: A Gender Study Analysis of Sailor Moon |
| title_sort | 30 years later re examining the pretty soldier a gender study analysis of sailor moon |
| topic | sailor moon magical girl gender feminism queer anime anime studies queer studies gender studies |
| url | https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/jams/article/view/948 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cassandrayatron 30yearslaterreexaminingtheprettysoldieragenderstudyanalysisofsailormoon |