No offense intended by the subject title, but I wonder what it is about Sailor Moon that doesn't quite make it your typical Magical Girl anime. 

For me as a guy I can't really seem to get into Magical Girl animes (They actually irk me to no end.), and yet Sailor Moon is different for some reason. I can't quite place my finger on what it is about Sailor Moon. Perhaps it's out of nostalgia, or its similarities to Power Rangers, but it never elicited the same reaction from me. Mind you, I'm not a manga or anime aficionado by any stretch, but I found Sailor Moon to be the easiest to follow out of the Magical Girl genre without all the cute factor. 

Anyone else feel this way?

Oh, I don't really think that sailor moon is all that girly either.

Maybe because it's for teens, it has more adult themes?

And most maho shojo is for little girls, so that could explain?

I wouldn't generalize this in saying it's solely for "teens", just due to some adult-themes.

I watched Sailor Moon for the first time when I was around 4, so I apparently wasn't a teen, yet I enjoyed it it awfully much XD.

east02west wrote:

Anyone else feel this way?

Yes! When I was a little girl I steered clear of anything marketed as pink or "girly," yet I really enjoyed Sailor Moon. Even now, I still dislike the color pink and cannot get into magical girl shows, but Sailor Moon is still interesting to me. I'm wondering if it's just nostalgia for me or if it's because the newer shows just borrow the same elements over and over again. I know they aren't "all the same," but they look and feel that way to me whenever I try to give them a chance. I also remember thinking Cardcaptor Sakura was "lame" when I was 7--I'm still not a fan of it now--but I don't exactly remember why I didn't find it interesting. XD;

Nope.  It's not girly at all.

I suppose it's girly in the loosest sense of the word, but there's plenty of action and well, guys like it a lot too, so I guess not.

I think the general design is what makes it girly.
And the merch itself is aimed at the female fans.
But the story itself isn't really that girly at all.

I'd argue that Sailor Moon is in fact one of the most girly things out there in terms of themes of romance, dreams, love, etc. and then the characters and plot, but it also breaks the mold in typical "girly" things with its more Sentai focused style, action and at the same time, plot and characters. The series is clearly aimed at girls, I'd say at times the manga is more girly than the 90s anime ever was. The 90s anime is what really drew in not just girls, but boys and girls of all ages. It's wide appeal is what helped it gain its popularity.

I think things would have turned out different for Sailor Moon had the 90s anime not been the way it was made, despite many fandom gripes about it. If the 90s anime had never been made, we might be regarding Sailor Moon as "girly" in the same sense as other magical girl shows.

Brit-chan wrote:

I'd argue that Sailor Moon is in fact one of the most girly things out there in terms of themes of romance, dreams, love, etc. and then the characters and plot, but it also breaks the mold in typical "girly" things with its more Sentai focused style, action and at the same time, plot and characters. The series is clearly aimed at girls, I'd say at times the manga is more girly than the 90s anime ever was. The 90s anime is what really drew in not just girls, but boys and girls of all ages. It's wide appeal is what helped it gain its popularity.

I think things would have turned out different for Sailor Moon had the 90s anime not been the way it was made, despite many fandom gripes about it. If the 90s anime had never been made, we might be regarding Sailor Moon as "girly" in the same sense as other magical girl shows.

I think this was spot on. Sailor Moon repeatedly talks about "a girl's heart" or "a girl's feelings" and they really go overboard on the romance (see: Tuxedo Mask XD), not to mention it's very in-your-face pink/hearts/sparkles which are considered feminine. I think Sailor Moon really differs in one area, though. It shows different types of femininity. Sailor Venus is obsessed with idols - but she's also a strong leader. Makoto is tough and a bit of a tomboy - but she bakes, cares for plants, and wants to be a housewife. Ami can be cool and calculating - but she's kind and loves her friends deeply, really and truly. I think this show really excelled in making the statement that it was okay for all types of girls to feel and be feminine, even if you were tough, even if you were smart, even if you were so many other things too, and it makes the point that femininity is a trait to be embraced. I think that sets it apart, in addition to a healthy story-line which puts its characters through real trials and tribulations.

I think that the problem with some other magical girls is that it relies too much on the "feminine" aspect to keep people interested, sometimes over-exaggerating it. Not that it's bad, but the thing that has made some of the most popular magical girls well loved is that they have an interesting plot with deep themes.  

Some versions of sailor moon are more mythical > girly so maybe that's why.

I'm a big magical girl fan myself, but I think Sailor Moon has such wide appeal because it has something for everyone.  There's a lot of romance but also plenty of action and comedy to balance it out.  While the series is mostly light hearted, it can have plenty of darker moments.  And in spite of being for kids, I think it has a very grown up view of relationships in it that it's not afraid to show romance as complex and tragic.   I also think at it's core, Sailor Moon's message of love and forgiveness are themes that resonate across cultures and genders and appeals to everyone.

I think the reason Sailor Moon has a generally wider fan base than other girly animes is because it has deep themes and lots of action.

I don't know how anyone would NOT consider it girly. But it does have a huge male fanbase, and that's probably because of how well the characters are written. I like shoujo myself, but I have kind of picky tastes. Stereotypes have chased me away quite a few times.

I think it has such a good fanbase of both genders because none of the girls ever comprimise who they are in their pursuit of romantic relationships-- or pretty much anything else in life. Although this tends to apply more to the manga than the 90s anime (one particular episode about girls all trying to lose weight, where even Luna was nasty about Usagi's figure, comes to mind). Minako fell into that "weight loss trap" only once, and it was clearly HER problem, not one shared among the other senshi to prove them as having a common "female problem".

Another reason it's so good is because the overall story isn't "Girls can be heros too!" but rather, "These are the adventures of some girls who are heros".

I've seen other MG series that don't overplay girliness. In particular Magic Knight Rayearth might be the best example. I haven't read much of it, but Revolutionary Girl Utena is another example, although a certain portion of the message is about the protagonist deliberately avoiding being feminine, which may or may not be interesting to you. If you want a good MG series that doesn't bludgeon you with girliness, look up Pretear. Though they do make occassional jokes on her weight, it's rare, and there is one scene where someone designs a picture of a house that looks like Barbie barf, but that's it. The rest of the series is magnificent, and waaayyyy less girly than Sailor Moon.

I've never been a fan of the magical girl genre overall. I think Sailor Moon did something very new with it. Yeah it's kinda girly and has the typical themes of love, friendship, and girls with magic powers...but it also had a lot of gritty story lines, it wasn't all fluff. The only other magical girl anime I've been able to watch has been Puella Magi Madoka Magica....and that's because it REALLY goes into some dark territory, again turning the magical girl genre on its head.