Sailormoon, Sexy Boys & Short Skirts

It all started with Sailormoon. Of course.

Living in Japan as a toddler, I was just like any other Japanese girl with the inherent qualities of a constant daydreamer. It was inevitable that I would find Sailormoon (Kodansha, 1992) dancing around in her short school girl skirts while shooting alien enemies of outer space.

The way the images flowed with the words and the strange relativity with the characters made me fall in love with the anime. Every cover design had a rainbow of colors that could catch anyones eyes and the art on every page compelled you to start drawing.

My first impression of Sailormoon would be similar to a first contact with an alien. She had unusually large eyes with unusually long lashes. She had golden blonde hair, which is extremely rare for a Japanese person and seemed anorexic. She also had no contours or shadows or color that could make her seem realistic. But she was relatable. As Scott McCloud mentioned in his comic, "Understanding Comics" (Harper Collins, 1994) the simplicity of the drawings allowed Sailormoon to become a "vacuum into which our identity and awareness are pulled" and allowed viewers to explore a different world in which we could become Sailormoon ourselves.

But it was also the powerful message of femininity that the TV show and comic series projected that drew such a large number of young girls. Us girls with some level of ballsiness were getting tired of teenage ninja turtles and G.I. Joes because we wanted to join in on the action and kick some butt as well. Sailormoon possessed the qualities of a fine Japanese woman and yet was also a rebel. She was beautiful and powerful.

Although Sailormoon may be a thing of the past, she is an icon that has allowed me to dream of the possibilities that art and design could create.