Subject: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 12:28 am
I know that in Japan, contrary to popular Western belief, Sailor Moon is actually considered a kid's show in Japan. If you look at all the Japanese commercials for the merchandise, it's all being targeted at little girls and I seem to remember there were kids in the audience of the old Seramyu musicals. I know Japan tends to be less strict about what's allowed in children's entertainment than America is and I usually try to be pretty open minded about it myself. Like I have no problems with kids watching Don Bluth films or Studio Laika movies for example, but I feel like the original Sailor Moon anime would just be too much for a lot of kids. I mean, there were kids who bawled their eyes out and were genuinely traumatized watching Disney's Bambi and that was a G rated movie. I can imagine lots of kids being easily upset by the ending to the first season of the original anime and I'm surprised it didn't cause a huge scandal for Japan or something when you know DiC would have been sued into oblivion if they had tried to pass it on American TV. And it's not just that it has themes of death in Sailor Moon because even Disney movies like The Lion King have that stuff in it but it's handled in a very brutal and intensifying way. There's other stuff too like a surprising bit of sexual humor in the series. Like you have the scene in episode two where Umino flips up Haruna's skirt and there's quite a bit of sexual humor in Sailor Stars. Like speaking as someone who is gay Sailor Moon fan myself and who is fairly progressive on most issues, I've got nothing against showing gay characters in kids' movies in itself, but then you have that scene in Sailor Stars where Haruka and Michiru making jokes about what they do in bed. I think I would be a little bit bothered by this whether they were straight or gay and I'm all for age appropriate sex ed myself, but I think that scene seems a bit much for a show that seems to be aiming for the seven year old audience. You have another scene in Stars too where the Inners catch Seiya half-naked with just a towel and Ami making implications that Usagi had sex with him. You compare this all to a more modern magical girl show for a seven year old audience like Pretty Cure and Pretty Cure seems much more appropriate for that seven year old age group. I remember reading Osa-p himself saying if they made Sailor Moon today the way they did back then, they wouldn't have gotten away with a lot of that stuff, like the scenes of Usagi getting drunk. And you certainly see a lot of that raceyness of the original anime toned down a lot for Crystal, though Crystal has a fair amount of mature themes to it too with all the themes on death and suicide. I guess Sailor Moon would be ok for older kids if they're old enough to handle watching the later Harry Potter movies or Lord of the Rings or something like that, but I just don't know if I would feel comfortable showing Sailor Moon to kids at the age group you see in commercials like this
Tiff123
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 12:34 am
Yes, it is suitable for kids, I watched Sailor Moon with my cousin when I was a child. I actually consider Sailor Moon to be suitable for all ages.
Neon Genesis
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 12:49 am
Was it the dubbed version you watched as a kid or the Japanese version?
Tiff123
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 1:02 am
Neon Genesis wrote:
Was it the dubbed version you watched as a kid or the Japanese version?
I watched the Japanese version, I don't like the dub.
Neon Genesis
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 1:19 am
That's interesting. I saw the dub as a kid first and I remember being very shocked to find out about all the stuff DIC cut out when I first learned about it. What did you think about it the first time you watched it? Or was it just something that you didn't think about as a kid?
Tiff123
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 4:35 am
@Neon Genesis
I watched Sailor Moon for the first time through the Japanese version. It was my cousin who introduced the Sailor Moon series to me through her Japanese version of Sailor Moon VCD collections.
Then, I watched the English dub through the YouTube, I realized that I didn't like it because there are some things that bugged me about the English dub.
I also ever watched 2-3 of the Indonesian dub episodes on the TV every afternoon. Just for you information, I am from Indonesia, and here in Indonesia, Sailor Moon was once ever aired on a Indonesian TV channel called "Indosiar."
When I watched Sailor Moon for the first time I thought that Sailor Moon was a little too girly for my liking, but the Sailor senshi characters look really stunning and their clothes are cool. Then, after years of watching and reading Sailor Moon throughout my childhood with my cousin, I became more fond of Sailor Moon.
Sailor Neptune
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 6:02 am
Oh my god, you're from Indonesia and I only just realized this. Hi!
excuse me for this spam
Adelaide
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 6:28 am
While I saw the dub first, my mom had researched and seen the sub so even when I was 6 I knew about all the deaths in the first season. While its not the same as actually seeing it, I wasn't bothered too much by knowing.
But also, I feel like the writers weren't thinking about 7 year olds when they made the show. Toy companies will try to make a profit off anything, even if the content isn't suitable for young kids. Hence why my preschool class has 3 year old boys obsessed with the Avengers and The live action Bat man movies when I would never want a child that young watching.
Goddess Yami
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 7:19 am
I was 9 years old and my mom let me watch Apollo 13 which is a PG 13 movie. She let me and my brother play Mortal Combat 2 on our Sega Genesis which is M rated game. My mother knew that we were mature enough and knew the difference between reality and fantasy.
It all comes down to your kid's maturity. But course I can see today why parents are hesitant about showing their kids stuff. The rating system is messed up! There are PG13 movies that are borderline R rated. Some PG13 movies get real intense like the Dark Knight. I don't think I would let my kid see the Dark Knight until I know they can handle intense story telling. Then are movies rated R just because they use the F word? Like the Kings's Speech. I rather have my kid hear the F word than have them watch intense movie where people get their heads blown off.
When I become a parent, I will not shelter my kids. It does nothing. I will let them watch stuff when I know they're mature to handle certain scenes. If they have to ask me questions then I will gladly answer them.
*ahem* As for Sailor Moon! Of course it's suitable for kids. It's a family show suitable for all ages. It does have some mature moments like death, but it's perfectly okay for kids. I watched some questionable shows as a kid like Ren & Stempy and Roco's Modern Life. So nothing really phases me.
Sailor Neptune
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 7:25 am
According to Wiki Sailor Moon first aired here on 1995. I was eight years old at the time and I loved it. So yes, I would say it's for kids, and actually for all ages like Yami said. I wasn't traumatized or anything xD
Goddess Yami
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 7:31 am
I wasn't either even though I watched the dub as a kid. I knew they were dying at end of the first season. DIC's cover up failed.
Adelaide
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 8:04 am
Goddess Yami wrote:
I wasn't either even though I watched the dub as a kid. I knew they were dying at end of the first season. DIC's cover up failed.
The only dub coverups I belived was female Zoicyite and Fisheye. Basically everything else was obvious *cough*cousins*cough*
Goddess Yami
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 8:06 am
I didn't pick up on the cousin thing as a kid.
Actually Cloverway did a better job at dubbing Sailor Moon than Dic. Yes there was the cousin thing and Fisheye being a female, but it was more faithful.
Adelaide
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 8:40 am
Maybe I just saw through it because I knew ahead of time that they were lesbians (again, having anime fans for parents meant they wouldn't allow me to not know the original story)
Diana
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 10:39 am
I don't think it isn't... i mean... a bunch of us watched it when we were very, very young..
So why not?
Cosmos-Hime
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 11:03 am
I would say so. The adult humor or adult situations would just fly right over their heads. (Like it did with me. I was 11 and watching the series subbed.)
Neon Genesis
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 21st February 2015, 5:17 pm
Adelaide wrote:
Maybe I just saw through it because I knew ahead of time that they were lesbians (again, having anime fans for parents meant they wouldn't allow me to not know the original story)
Yeah, I was fooled by Zoisite being a girl but I already knew about Uranus and Neptune being cousins. I was fooled though by Zirconia being a man in the Cloverway dub. For some reason, I never knew about Zirconina being a woman until after SuperS already aired.
Sailor CJ
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 22nd February 2015, 7:47 am
I'm with Yami on this one. It's really situational. I think that Osa-P is mostly talking about the manga when he says that there's no way they could market Sailor Moon to kids. I totally agree. I remember being about 9 years old when I first picked up the manga. It was the first story I read to feature suicide in it. It was how I learned about it. Granted, if my mother had actually been proactive like Adelaide's, she wouldn't have bought it for me in the first place. I'm glad that she didn't, considering she was a nutjob and ended up throwing all of my manga out later on because they were "inspired by the devil" and "read right to left." Don't get me wrong, I'm Catholic today, but my mom was crazy. She also apparently didn't know that the Bible was written right to left, so that's hilarious. Needless to say, it's been a struggle collecting the first run of the Sailor Moon manga again. T.T
The age rating thing was really messed up on manga back in the 90's. Chobits did not have an age rating. You know, Chobits, in which a robot with the appearance of a young has to be "turned on" to be, well, turned on. I was about 10 when I picked that one up. But again, it's situational. I was fine reading it since I was able to grasp the moral of the story, but my younger sisters wouldn't likely be able to get it.
I think that the animated version of Sailor Moon is just fine, but I would advise future parents to really reread the manga and determine for yourself if its appropriate for your children.
Goddess Yami
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 22nd February 2015, 8:04 am
Oh, yeah the manga is meant for an older audience. But I wouldn't mind a child reading it if I knew they could handle the mature situations.
Neon Genesis
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 22nd February 2015, 2:36 pm
Sailor CJ wrote:
The age rating thing was really messed up on manga back in the 90's. Chobits did not have an age rating. You know, Chobits, in which a robot with the appearance of a young has to be "turned on" to be, well, turned on. I was about 10 when I picked that one up. But again, it's situational. I was fine reading it since I was able to grasp the moral of the story, but my younger sisters wouldn't likely be able to get it.
I think that the animated version of Sailor Moon is just fine, but I would advise future parents to really reread the manga and determine for yourself if its appropriate for your children.
I thought the Chobits manga was 16+? That's what the anime was rated in any case. I remember ADV also rated the uncut Sailor Moon DVDs 15+. Even if I'm not entirely sure of Sailor Moon being for kids, that always seemed too high of a rating to me. The new Viz sets are rated TVPG which seems a much more reasonable rating to me.
Sailor Makoto
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 22nd February 2015, 3:04 pm
Sailor Moon aired on North American TV has to be child-friendly and G-rated, therefore they have to edit out certain scenes and censor subject matter to prevent getting themselves into moral trouble. I believe it's all different today than in the 1980s and 90s and radically different from the time my parents were growing up (the 50s and 60s) and grandparents lived with a different standard of ethics, morality and manners. In the English dub of the first Sailor Moon series, Usagi or Serena morphed into a 20-something in order to enter a bar, and another scene shown her drunk in a party. Children learn you must be an adult (US legal age 21) to drink, but the teenage Serena gets drunk scenes are only on Youtube.
I recall Bobby's World a 1990s cartoon starring Howie Mandel (he did Bobby a 4-year old boy) had the character's mother pregnant with twins, and I'm like "some parents aren't going to like this". But I remember it was 1991 and nobody is that sensitive to pregnancy issues anymore, even kids knew where babies come from in a younger age (sorta, but they figured out Daddy had something to do with impregnating Mommy). The Fairy Oddparents (movie?) had a male fairy "magically" carry his GF's child and if Nickeolodeon knows this is risqué to show a male pregnancy, they wouldn't put into the movie script. Gender-bender jokes are common in animation and live action comedy anyway.
I doubt any cartoons on US children's TV like Sailor Moon would feature the relationships of Sailors Uranus/Neptune (the Japanese versions does) or the rumor appeared on Rolling Stone mag. a few years ago about Sailors Mercury/Jupiter may have a crush on each other. Don't understand why in these times would some parent groups object to their children watch a cartoon where two female or male characters are lovers. In 2015, attitudes toward homosexuality and gay people have eased up for the better and my own 3 kids aren't confused if they knew these concepts of same-sex people love each other. Children must be taught respect, tolerance and acceptance of differences among people.
Goddess Yami
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 22nd February 2015, 3:24 pm
BUT THEY'LL ASK QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!!!
God forbid parents answer their kids' questions.
The said can be said toward 4kids editing out religious objects and such. God forbid Children see religious symbols and religious people.
Goddess Yami
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 22nd February 2015, 3:39 pm
I just wanted to show this:
Makes me laugh at heavily edited 90s dubs. I can't believe they got away with this stuff in Animaniacs. Of course I went over my head as kid and I turned out just fine!
Sailor Makoto
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 22nd February 2015, 4:00 pm
Goddess Yami wrote:
BUT THEY'LL ASK QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!!!
God forbid parents answer their kids' questions.
The said can be said toward 4kids editing out religious objects and such. God forbid Children see religious symbols and religious people.
In the 1950s and 60s, early television then controlled by the big 3 networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) had a very strict code of conduct and they called for censorship, standards and practices. NO displays and mentions of politics, religion, races or ethnicities (funny thing stereotypes were common these days, esp. on now BANNED commercials: Sambo's restaurants, the Frito Bandito, Chinese/Japanese martial arts leaders, Native American tribes, "lively" Italian chefs, etc.), sexuality, crime and violence, medical issues, and bodily function humor. Women were mostly depicted as stay-at-home wifes or Moms, and inaccurately shown to be "lesser" people.
I recall the Flintstones on TV in the 1980s and 90s, but I learned a few years ago from my parents they were sponsored by Winston Cigarettes...and I came upon B&W commercials of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble pitch Winston cigs. Since 1970 or so, tobacco ads were banned on US television, and now many TV shows, movies and music videos forbid depictions of smoking. Alcohol is also restricted on TV as beer ads are limited to sports games, but FCC laws demanded on these commercials, the people cannot be seen drinking the beer. Since the 1990s and 2000s, you can have one-minute ads for Prozac, Viagra and other designer meds.
In 2015, children's television reminds me of the old puritan/Victorian/midcentury customs of bygone times. Parents in America are very protective of what they watch (and I can be too to some extent). TV today has more sexuality, crime and violence, and other once taboo issues on sitcoms: comedy and drama. Blackish is an example of a "controversial" comedy about an upper-middle class African-American family's life experience, but they aren't stereotyped like Amos and Andy in the 1950s were. Blackish reminds more of the Cosby show starring Bill Cosby in the 1980s, the character an OB/GYN also headed an upper-middle class black family.
Goddess Yami
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 22nd February 2015, 4:13 pm
Blackish is pretty funny.
Again it comes down to the maturity of your child. I just don't see the point in sheltering kids. I rather give them the information than have them find out about it somewhere else.
NaoUranus
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 22nd February 2015, 4:18 pm
honestly my idea of what is appropriate for kids and most other peoples tend to differ (I was watching R rated movies at age 8 ) But at the same time it has to do with what is acceptable in Japan and what is acceptibal here. We edited out things that here at the time would not have been "sutible" for children whil even inJapn the anime in all it's glory might have still been sutible in this case it also varys depending on culter and what is accepted where.
Sailor Makoto
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 22nd February 2015, 4:18 pm
Goddess Yami wrote:
Blackish is pretty funny.
Again it comes down to the maturity of your child. I just don't see the point in sheltering kids. I rather give them the information than have them find out about it somewhere else.
Yes Yami, if you want a child to know about their religion their parents brought them up in, take them to Sunday School or Synagogue School or wherever, or show them DVDs of a religious-themed cartoon or have them watch TBN known for evangelical Christian programming.
I don't want my kids to learn about where babies come from in a playground or certain language they pick up on a school bus, they should know what's right and wrong, and ingrained with a sense of proper morality and social cues by now. Sex and death are more difficult subjects than intelligent ones like politics and religion.
The FCC in the US does restrict certain language (obscenity, profanity or vulgarity) on the air: TV and radio. They make the networks and stations self-regulate and censor objectionable material. If they're caught not doing so or if they receive a FCC complaint from the audience, they're subject to a hefty fine.
Goddess Yami
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 22nd February 2015, 4:26 pm
And I totally agree with you. I want to teach my kids things and not have them hear things from somewhere else. I want to be able answer all their burning questions. I'm not going to get upset if they see something on TV.
I know when I have kids I'm going to show them Sailor Moon. I want my kids to be nerds.
Sailor Makoto
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 22nd February 2015, 4:34 pm
My wife has a different view on life and her humor in what she watches. In cartoons, she liked Maya and Miguel on PBS, the Proud Family and Lilo and Stitch on Disney (a few years ago), and she watches Arthur with the kids...which now introduced a character with autism, knowing disabilities are treated as a "sensitive" subject, but as a person with mild or high-functioning autism, I want my children to better understand me and their peers in school who have autism and other (develop-)mental disabilities. I recommend these cartoons to children due to their cultural diversity themes: Hispanic/Latino, African-American, Asian or Pacific Islander, and even Jewish main characters.
Today's world cares more about saving the environment, promote education to create prosperity against poverty, scientific progress (like evolution) and sexual education in middle and high schools. Our public schools teach things not all parents agree with, you can homeschool them or take them to private or religious schools if you like. Captain Planet and the Planeteers in the 1990s was "politically charged" because it taught young viewers about environmental issues, but the superhero advises the next generation to save the earth they will inherit and to make a positive impact and difference.
Goddess Yami
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Subject: Re: Do You Think Sailor Moon Is Suitable For Kids? 22nd February 2015, 4:37 pm
OMG I loved Arthur a kid!! I pretty much watched every 90s cartoon as kid. My parents really didn't care what I watched.
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