Otaku Review

So very recently, there was an article posted up on a blog that I read regularly that rated the Sailor Senshi from Sailor Moon in terms of which ones the author most wanted to have sex with. The author actually used language that is much more graphic to describe his entry but I’ll spare you that. Being that I come from the ‘Sailor Moon Generation’ of anime, I read the post and with tongue firmly planted in my cheek I left my comment with my own suggestions and arguments. It certainly was not the first time that I’ve had a conversation of this nature with another anime fanboy and as with the gods as my witnesses, it won’t be my last.  Naturally the very first comment after mine was one that completely condemned both the author and I for having a discussion about sex with fictional characters.

I expected that this would be the first comment after mine though. It’s just the way of the world and more importantly, just the way of the internet. The thing is though, why does anime fans having a hypothetical discussion about it that big of a deal? Everyone who participates in these discussions are well aware that we are discussing fictional characters and are speaking in hypotheticals (and the rare occasions when I realize the person I’m with ISN’T speaking in hypotheticals is around the time that I turn around and walk away) but it’s just a stupid debate that fans get into. I never saw it as a big deal and still don’t.

When I read the comment though, another thought popped into my head: Why are fans from other fandoms allowed to have conversations of this nature but anime fans aren’t? I do occasionally watch things on my television that aren’t anime (I know, shock and awe). I’ve also viewed things on my television while in the company of friends. Now, on more than one occasion in my life (sometimes alcohol was involved, sometimes it wasn’t) I’ve heard someone comment on a fictional character from a live action television show such as an American sitcom. And because of that comment, other people chimed in with which character they would prefer and why. I know that I’ve done it and being that I was with other people who participated in these discussions I know that I am not alone. So why were these conversations never considered weird as they happened?

Additionally, one of my guilty pleasures in life is paranormal romance novels. I admit it, I am one of the many who enjoys getting lost in a good vampire adventure/romance story. But again, I am often in the company of fans (usually female) who love to go on and on about who their favorite characters are and who they would most like to take into their bedrooms and ’shag six ways to Sunday’ as I’m pretending my best friend in England might say. Once again, the fans in question are aware that these are fictional characters and that it will never actually happen; the debate lives on though and will continue to live on forever.

So, what is the big deal? Why are people allowed to speak about live action programs in a sexual hypothetical but not anime fans? I suppose that one could argue that because we’re discussing an animated character that tips the scales a little bit in their favor. Surely the animation that can’t be that big of a deal though, how many people have you known who have talked about ‘Lady Death’ from her graphic novel series (and subsequent anime), Dante from the ‘Devil May Cry’ video game series or other characters from various aspects of the Geek-o-sphere? Oh well, attractive is attractive I guess.

And just for the record, I think Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are easily the two senshi that I would put at the top of my senshi list in spite of the fact that they are gay.

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