Bear with me on this one, because it has been awhile since I re-read the entire series of Sailor Moon, so I hope this isn't mentioned somewhere and I missed it. How is Makoto able to support herself as a minor with no visible presence of an immediate or extended family? I suppose it is all too possible that she works, but I'm skeptical that she could support her expenses (food, rent, water, electricity, school supplies, etc.) on a part-time job as a minor, who also attends school as a full-time student.

Is there an un-stated beneficiary that solely supports Makoto monetarily (as opposed to any sort of emotional support in addition to monetary support)? Perhaps Makoto is the heiress to a fortune? Does the government or social services provide support without requiring Makoto to reside with a family? Does Makoto participate in illict activities on the side?

That is a super-good question. o.o


In the anime version, I'd like to think it came from her parents. In the SuperS movie she seemed to be living in the apartment her parents had, or else still had all of their furniture, as she referenced the coo-coo clock as the same she would look at when she was little and her mother made her cookies for the three o'clock fairy. In any case, she probably has a small job on the side to help with day-to-day expenses, as Mamoru did.

._. shoot, this question could be for/about Mamoru, too, couldn't it? lol.


.... Now I want to look into how Japan handles orphans.



I doubt she has an unstated beneficiary, though; they mentioned Haruka and Michiru had beneficiaries, so it would make sense that if Makoto had one too, they'd just out and say it.

... and now I want to talk about whether Haruka and Michiru's beneficiaries were really their parents or family members, or if they adopted the surname of those who support them financially. ... same with Setsuna. ((thinking of the tri-towers of the S season))

SO MANY QUESTIONS, SO FEW ANSWERS.

I don't even think she would need a beneficiary. When I left home, even if my parents weren't alive - the government would give me money for food, rent, health and I could still work part time and study at school.

Maybe she would need a guarantor for bills and such? I don't know how she would go about that. Unless there's something worked out between a government agency and the billing company.

I think it's kinda sad. Poor Makoto.

It was probably inheritance and she also may have been emancipated due to there being no presence of any other relatives...so I'm thinking that she may get money almost like welfare, from the japanese gov't.

One thing that has me curious with out how it works in japan is, I've seen in other anime (fruits basket mainly) where if a student is working, they can get expelled from school? Like the school has some kind of policy against it. But i was never sure if this was due to it being a private school or not.

I always assumed her parents may have had a sum of money she could be using (to take care of one person is a bit cheaper than a whole family) and also welfare from the government. I'm going to assuming in mamoru's case since he lives in a fairly expensive apartment and has nice vehicles (in the anime he has a motorcycle and nice car from what i remember), he probably has an inheritance from his parents. They were probably pretty rich.

Yeah in some countries you're definitely not allowed to get a part time. I went on an exchange to Germany and it was like that there, however my exchange student was surprised to find that I'd been working part time ever since I was fifteen!

So instead of a full time job, she could have part inheritance, part welfare going on. Hmm, I wonder if Naoko said anything about this? No one's probably asked her.

She probably inherited it- or, at least, that's what I always assumed. Also, her parents may have had insurance, or there might have been a settlement from the plane company (planes *aren't* supposed to crash, and even in a case of mechanical failure, there might be some culpability on the part of the company for not doing enough safety checks.)

Japan doesn't have a welfare system, from what I've heard. It's sometimes compared in economics/culture blogs to Britain, America, etc. with regards to the social effects of having one- if it *does*, it's not big enough to affect much. However, there might be some sort of system for students, since Japan traditionally (well, at least in the past few decades) cares a lot about education and Teh Proper Upbringings of minors.

I've heard theories that Makoto is engaged (and her words in parallel moon indicate that she was legally married off to a guardian of some sort, but didn't live with him until later) but that seems more like the wisful thinking of fan romantics, rather than something supported by the series- and Parallal itself is non-cannon, so...

I've also heard theories that since she's based on a Yankee type character, that she might engage in less than wholesome activities to support herself- but considering that she someday dreams of being a bride, and there's no evidence of even Minako-level perversion on her part, I find that unlikely-leaning-towards-absurd.

Perhaps she just cooks or does chores or something? :S And in cases like hers, society- ANY society- usually pitches in: especially people who knew the parents. Perhaps her parents' friends pay her rent, her teachers buy her books, etc. (My parents are both teachers, and I have no clue how many books they've bought and poor students they've fed- good teachers just tend to do that.)

She's probably employed (or has an inheritance) *somehow*, though, since she's above subsistence-level, as evidenced by her martial arts lessons, trips to hot springs (teh ancient Japanese mermaid youkai thingy episode!), her fancy dress (prom episode!) and her shopping spree of cute things under the influence of S. Cape. Her apartment is also very nicely furnished- which in a place with a high cost-of-living like Japan's, is even more notable than in would be in, say, the United States.

I think that she got an inheritance + she works part-time (perhaps selling crafts on Etsy or something lol- I mean, Lita just *seems* like the type who would sew plushies or something, doesn't she? [And hopefully have more success than poor Pluto and her "fashion designs" of nothing but miniskirt suits. :S Seriously, Setsuna, WHAT?])

Now that I think about it, she probably has grandparents too and possible aunts and uncles? Maybe they live outside of Tokyo and just send her money for support. Perhaps the land lady of the apartments was a good friend of their parents and is cutting her a deal on the rent? who knows. It could be anything really. XD I swear, Naoko needs to do some short stories about the girls daily lives based off of fan questions. That would be so great.

This thread is fun and wouldn't exist if we knew everything about each character of the series. It leaves us a bit of suspense and we can make up all kinds of theories about it. I like it!

On my side, I simply believe Makoto doesn't have very annoying parents and they might let her do whatever she wants whenever she wants.

And how about if her parents were like mine used to be? They worked on the road all week long and only came back on week-ends. As teenagers, my sister and I just were able to live all by ourselves in the house and my parents or other family members would call once in a while just to make sure we were okay. Else, it was us that were calling them.

That way, it would really be easy to support herself

Isn't it canon that Makoto's parents died in a (plane) accident when she was very young? That's why I am asking this question.

Sailor Venus wrote:

Isn't it canon that Makoto's parents died in a (plane) accident when she was very young? That's why I am asking this question.

Yes it is canon, i believe she states it in the manga.

Brit-chan wrote:

Sailor Venus wrote:

Isn't it canon that Makoto's parents died in a (plane) accident when she was very young? That's why I am asking this question.

Yes it is canon, i believe she states it in the manga.

Makoto's fear of airplanes is shown in The Melancholy of Makoto, one of the Exam Battles volumes which, of course, focused on Makoto. An advertisement for an airline freaks her out and she mentions that planes frighten her. There is no mention of her parents dying in a plane accident, but I think that was stated elsewhere in the manga.

Sailor Mercury wrote:

Brit-chan wrote:

Sailor Venus wrote:

Isn't it canon that Makoto's parents died in a (plane) accident when she was very young? That's why I am asking this question.

Yes it is canon, i believe she states it in the manga.

Makoto's fear of airplanes is shown in The Melancholy of Makoto, one of the Exam Battles volumes which, of course, focused on Makoto. An advertisement for an airline freaks her out and she mentions that planes frighten her. There is no mention of her parents dying in a plane accident, but I think that was stated elsewhere in the manga.

I'm not 100% positive, but i also think it may have been stated in the anime. Maybe. Its hard to remember, but i distinctly remember reading it in the manga.

Brit-chan wrote:

Sailor Mercury wrote:

Brit-chan wrote:

Sailor Venus wrote:

Isn't it canon that Makoto's parents died in a (plane) accident when she was very young? That's why I am asking this question.

Yes it is canon, i believe she states it in the manga.

Makoto's fear of airplanes is shown in The Melancholy of Makoto, one of the Exam Battles volumes which, of course, focused on Makoto. An advertisement for an airline freaks her out and she mentions that planes frighten her. There is no mention of her parents dying in a plane accident, but I think that was stated elsewhere in the manga.

I'm not 100% positive, but i also think it may have been stated in the anime. Maybe. Its hard to remember, but i distinctly remember reading it in the manga.

I only recall Makoto stating that she lives alone in the anime. Her background---aside from the former relationship she had with the unnamed sempai---was scantly explored in the anime.

on the pgsm it is said that her parents did die on a plane crash. so, it is canon.

and on the anime, she cleaned motoki's house, right? maybe she cooks and cleans houses for a living

I'm hardly an expert on Japanese culture and society, but according to my friend's Japanese teacher, they said this whole thing of orphan teens living on their own in expensive apartments and going to school normally like everyone else is a pure fantasy that's made up for plot purposes. It's kind of like Pipi in Pipi Longstocking where she lives on her own off her father's fortune and doesn't seem to have any problems at all but this would hardly be a realistic portrayal of orphans in Sweden.

Yes, this sort of situation never happens in my opinion. Obviously, I'm not basing this on facts, however I do know that fans of loads of anime try to get explainations for stuff that aren't realistic. Like why Chibiusa's hair is pink, or how Japanese citizens are able to just go back to normal lives after seeing a creepy circus in the middle of the city.

With Makoto's situation, I think that is one of those unexplainable things. I mean even with a job and inheritance, I don't see how a 14 year old can manage.

Benefactor?

touching on what small lady said, a have had a few friends from Japan who's parents paid for a small apartment for them closer to their school. Granted this is because they got into an amazing school but her parents couldn't move with her to be closer, AND she was entering high school at the time so she was 16ish, not 14... but it makes me think something like that could be possible

Her parents most likely had life insurance plus a possible inheritance .They might have been pretty wealthy afterall they were taking a trip somewhere far enough a plane was needed and Makoto was alone so they must have hired someone to take care of her otherwise she'd be living with another family member but she states it in the manga that she is all alone.

SailorStarWind wrote:

She probably inherited it- or, at least, that's what I always assumed.  Also, her parents may have had insurance, or there might have been a settlement from the plane company (planes *aren't* supposed to crash, and even in a case of mechanical failure, there might be some culpability on the part of the company for not doing enough safety checks.)

[...]

That I was my guess. Whatever that made the plane crash, human failure or mechanic, the company has to support the family, in this case Makoto.

Mamoru: I think if I remember well, that he is rich. It's was said clearly in the anime. In manga he lives in a really expensive apartament and attends to a expensive privite school. As for he is living for his own...well after he lost his memory and his parents, he must have someone checking on him from times to times, until he can live completelly for himself. He may not an Alfred like Bruce Wayne did, but with only 6, he should have someone to check him, specially because he was envolved in serious accident and has been hospitalized.

Haruka and Michiru: Haruka in the manga says that she and Michiru have patrons (at least til the part I already read), so they are probably deceased parents or another relative. Or alive parents who don't actually mind what they do or live, like destroy a apartament of 1 million yens.

Setsuna: Oh, the most interesting case of all!! Unlike the other she doesn't seem to have human parents at this era. In anime she just sent to the past by NQS, so the Queen maybe gave her all she needs? Or maybe she can know the a little about future and make millions with good guesses (come on, in anime seems like after she is released from her post at Gates the only taboo is not stop time!).
In manga...well, NQS revived her at 20th century, it's possible she just put her at KO University (why Physics??? Does Physics laws applies to ageless warriors that can even be re-incarnated?) and just put a huge fortune for her or maybe gave her weathy and decesed parents, making just her spirit go to past, what wouldn't explain, how she got the exactly same apperance. Most likely she was just revived and given a fortune from someone who didn't actually have a family, putting Setsuna as the only beneficiary.