ah, okay i'm here!!

Added!

man its been a while... sorry, stuff has been happening

" If you are interested in other Naoko works or SM doujin, would you rather we occasionally hold a month where we read that instead of the main manga"

i vote for this

It's May!! Time to get rolling back with the club!

For this month, I'd like to ask that all members check in so we can see who is still on board. If you can't participate for a whil,e that's ok! Feel free to join back in whenever you can.

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Ohhhh, So one and two are already done so we just move on to three?

chibios wrote:

Ohhhh, So one and two are already done so we just move on to three?

For the chat, yeah. But you can still post your thoughts on this thread if you want.

Yep what Magic said. ^_^ We've already covered Vol 1 & 2 but you are more than welcome to give us your thoughts on those two volumes! But for those who have been keeping up, the main focus will be Vol 3.

Yo, I'm here for the check in.

Signing in! Locked and loaded - ready to go!

and here i am again, trying to stay active, but its difficult for me. we haveva lot of "stuff" happening right now, so i havent been very "faithful" to my primary online hangouts and for that i apologize. im still very interested in doing these discussions though.

That's ok, Cronus! I'll keep you on the list unless you say otherwise!

Please note: if you haven't signed in by June, you will be taken off the PM list (this is mostly done cause mass pm lists fill up outboxes fast x_x)


So how is everyone doing? Discussion officially opens up on the 15th~! If you haven't posted on the Doodle poll, please do so soon! I'll be selecting a live chat date based off the results!


Noooow...to get the monthly discussion going:

Quote :

Part I: are the first and second arcs really separate? With the way they flow into each other and the lack of definitive title of the first two arcs (like Infinity, Dream & Stars), it makes it feel like that Naoko had never intended for them to be separate. It is known in the fandom that she originally wanted to end after the Black Moon Clan. What do you think?

Since this question was inspired by my thoughts on it, I definitely think that originally the story from Dark Kingdom to Black Moon was supposed to really be one full arc. I think the only reason it was split up was due to the structure of the anime and how they normally do seasons. I think with the way she named the 3 arcs after this (Infinity, Dream & Stars) is proof of this as well.

Quote :

Part II: The second arc begins in this same volume. How important is it to you that this closeness in time reflects the characters' real-life experience of the plot versus your own pacing preferences?

Hmm I'm not sure sure if it's super important? Like, while everyone knows I'm not too happy with the pacing of the manga, at the same time I can understand why it would jump quickly into the next story/enemy. That's usually how these types of series work anyway. Also, it might not be shown or stated, but i sorta got the feel that theres like a small time skip between the end of DK and beginning of Black Moon, but I'm not quite sure how long it is? Maybe its only a week? Who knows. I haven't gotten quite to that part in this volume itself, so it might be interesting to look out for seasonal markers between the arcs.

I'm here! I'll either edit my post today with thoughts or post again, depending on if anyone else does.

So I don't know what happened with the doodle poll and what time zone it got set in but the times looked totally different than I had originally set. xD Soooo... how does this Sunday, May 21st at 11 am sound?

Let me know if that works for everyone!

I'm always home. is the 11am EST or CST

Woops! Meant to say CST!

Sounds good to me

I won't be able to join this weekend sorry :'(. Up at the cottage with garbage cell reception lol.

I might be a bit late, but that should work for me!

I'll be there!

may I still join this? 

Sounds good everyone. I'll send out a reminder PM at some point!

@Usa-chan, absolutely! Would love to have you.

Quick Reminder about the livechat tomorrow (Sunday)! A Pm has been sent out as well. Please let me know ASAP if you need to be added to our chat on the GC Discord so i can get you in there.

The chat is now going, for those interested.

Thank you @magic713 and @cardea for joining in on the chat!

{Major Spoilers}

The chat was nice. Thank you Brit for hosting and it was fun chatting with you cardea for participating. Hope to see you next chat. So here was my thoughts of Volume 3. I might recall some things from the chat.
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So this volume ends one story arc and begins the next arc. First is the conclusion of the Dark Kingdom arc. I remember the first time when I read Beryl's back story that the original anime didn't have. Her story was more tragic, though I wasn't really sorry for her when she died since she was trying to kill Sailor Moon. Her death surprised me in two factors. Firstly, the graphic way of her death, being stabbed in the chest with a sword. The second thing that surprised me was that Sailor Venus delivered the killing blow, since I always associated Beryl as Sailor Moon's rival. Not to mention, it didn't fix much because Tuxedo Mask was still under the control of Metalia.

Now with Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask's death, I'm not sure how I felt about it. It was usually something I skimmed through without analyzing. I just thought it was sad and dramatic. However, I didn't like that they both survived because something blocked the impact (Sailor Moon=locket, Tuxedo Mask=stones of the Shitennou). The Silver Crystal saving them would be better device (even just one of them).

And finally the final fight with Metallia was just awesome. Everyone was doing their part in some way to help, with the Senshi having awakened Sailor Moon, Luna on the Moon praying for help, Tuxedo Mask providing his power to support her, it was a great battle. I also liked 90s anime's version as well, but I might've preferred a hybrid between the two: the Senshi giving their lives to protect Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask lives to actively support her instead of dying. But both were great in their own way.

Then we come to the next arc, the Black Moon, and introducing Chibiusa. She just made herself at home in the Tsukino household after hypnotizing them. I did find it funny how Umino is just placed there in the scene with no real purpose there. I don't even know if he was hypnotized because he already has swirling eyes.

The first chapter was pretty unsettling. We've got this new enemy that pops up shortly after the Dark Kingdom, invaders who plan to recruit citizens or replace them with Droids so the enemy could be anyone. Also with coming out of the Dark Kingdom arc, it was scary to see enemies with powers that rival the Senshi, but are also stronger, leading to Rei and Ami getting captured because they are overpowered. Not to mention there was immolation of a child and nun.

Also, Hurray, no Breakup Arc

This volume was very good. It's funny how seemless the story went from one arc to the next.
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I look forward to the next chat and the next volume.

It always bothered me how quickly the girls get overpowered and captured, but when I think on it, I think at the time, it was definitely a bold, shocking move on Naoko's part. And I imagine those that were reading the story in the monthly magazines, it really put some suspense to the story. Especially since as you mentioned, in the Dark Kingdom arc they had been able to defeat the Generals so easily, but struggle against the Black Moon. I guess in all fairness one of the Ayakashi sisters gets destroyed each time one of the girls is captured, but its interesting that it becomes a bit of a 1 for 1 scenario.

I have to say even with the translation woes of the Kodansha version, I do really love that we got colored pages in each volume. I love the colors of the first edition volumes but the colored pages are such a treat in these! I've always loved Naoko's style when it comes to color and being able to see them in printed form is really nice. It makes me really look forward to the English release of the Perfect Editions.

I got to chat a bit on Discord with magic713 and Starchild. (Thanks again, guys!) So I’ve tried to keep this down to things we didn't discuss.

My general thoughts on Volume 3:

Discussion Questions:

Alllllrighty that's it for me! I'd be impressed if anyone bothered to read this whole post XD. Hoping to see more members’ thoughts next month for Volume 4!

Update is here!! With new discussion question!

Brit-chan wrote:

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June's Activities:

We're trudging along with Vol. 4! Don't forget to grab your bumpers below.





Discussion Question of the Month:

Usagi's jealousy comes to a head in this volume, part of the driving force of Chibiusa's loneliness and the implications of incest. Chibiusa's childish crush and then Black Lady's obsession with Mamoru is often a hot topic for this arc. How do you feel about Usagi being jealous of a child and Chibiusa's crush on Mamoru? Do you feel like the implications of incest when Chibiusa is Black Lady a good plot tool or does it just make you uncomfortable?  Discuss!!



Sailor Moon Vol. 4
Discussions open on June 21st!
Live chat: Please fill out this poll!

Read online at:
Miss Dream


Update! Member List:

cardea

chibios

Cosmos-Hime

Diagnosed

magic713

Sailor Zelda

Starchild

TS Sailor Cronus

Usa-chan

Alright, I'm gonna talk about the discussion question and then briefly discuss Volume 3.
So, from what I understand, originally Naoko only wanted to have the Dark Kingdom arc (and end it with everyone dead), and then her editor (I think) pushed for her to continue the story. And I think she originally also wanted to stop it after the Black Moon arc. So intially, yes, I think they were intended to be one long arc (especially because the first two arcs lack the deliberate breaks between the three latter ones), but now they can be separated into two.

Anyway, on Volume 3. This volume is great. The climax with Metallia is awesome (although I maybe slightly prefer the anime version), and the introduction of Chibiusa is funny. I also enjoy how the new arc establishes that the stakes are a bit higher by having Koan and Berthier kidnap Rei and Ami, in their respective chapters. Make everything more dangerous

magic713 wrote:

Now with Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask's death, I'm not sure how I felt about it. It was usually something I skimmed through without analyzing. I just thought it was sad and dramatic. However, I didn't like that they both survived because something blocked the impact (Sailor Moon=locket, Tuxedo Mask=stones of the Shitennou). The Silver Crystal saving them would be better device (even just one of them).

I had a thought about this after our discussion on Discord (I actually had it while watching La Reconquista, though it's different from what happens there as well). I think it would have been really cool if Mamoru had been saved by the rocks (then you get the whole dramatic scene panel with the shitennou), and if Usa had been saved/revived by the Inners using the power of their transformation and giving up their lives. This would have been cool because in both cases it shows people giving up their lives for the two of them, but in one case (Mamoru), its more by coincidence, while the other is more intentional. It could also have been used to emphasize a connection between Usagi and the Inners, where they can feel when she dies, and then decide to send her their powers.