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Convention '98 Naoko Takeuchi

The creator of the megahit manga and anime series Sailor Moon meets her North American fans

Welcomed with a standing ovation by an enthusiastic audience, Sailor Moon's creator, Naoko Takeuchi, appeared at her first American convention, San Diego Comic-Con International 1998. Dressed in an off-the-shoulder, floral outfit, Takeuchi sat calmly ont he podium, her hands folded, graciously ansswering questions about her work.

Takeuchi explained a little bit about her early career, beginning with her first ambitions of becoming an artist. "It's very common for boys and girls to want to become artists, and that was my dream as a little girl," she said. "Also, there are a lot of comics in Japan, even in textbooks." She went on to describe the creation of her serial Sailor Moon as the result of a discussion with her editors at NAKAYOSHI, the magazine where she had previously published stories, to decide what her next story would be. Since she had been a fan of sentai (live-action costumed-hero) shows as a child, Takeuchi wanted to create a female version.

She went on to answer detailed questions about the series' characters. Her own favorite character, she confessed, is Sailor Moon, because she'd created Sailor Moon to be closest to her own personality--which drew a few laughs from the crowd.

"Why isn't there a Sailor Earth?" one fan wanted to know. "That would be Tuxedo Kamen," Takeuchi answered, going on to explain that his surname, Chiba, is written in Kanji (Chinese character) for "Earth." Tuxedo Mask is indeed her ideal man, she said, because "I like men I can't rely on."

The Sailor Starlights provoked particular interest, as questioners tried to figure out the gender of the mysterious singing group that appears. Takeuchi explained that in her manga, the Starlights were women, but in the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars video series, their gender was made to change from male when they are in their civilian identities to female as the Starlights.

Apparently, Takeuchi hadn't been terribly pleased with this decision, the reason for which became clear in answers to questions about Sailor Uranus, whose relationship with fellow Sailor Neptune had always been a matter of conjecture. "All the Sailor Scouts are girls," Takeuchi said firmly. "Haruka has always been a girl and always will be." She also confirmed that the pair were indeed intended to be seen as lovers. "Uranus has the heart of a man, while Neptune is more girlish," she said.

When asked if the series would continue, Takeuchi confirmed that the story of Sailor Moon was indeed finished, as of the end of the eighteenth compiled manga volume. As the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars animation had stopped a bit short of her own ending in the manga, Takeuchi confessed that she'd been a little disappointed in the series' ending and that she shared the fans' desire to see more animation produced, either in the form of movies of OVAs. "But it's not my decision," she said with some regret.

After the Q&A session, Takeuchi wanted to ask the fans her own questions, displaying great curiousity about the interests of American girls. She particularly wanted to know if American girls believed in magic, such as spells and charms, astrology (she admits that she does), or psychic powers, and what other comics they liked to read besides Sailor Moon. When Fushigi Yūgi was mentioned as another favorite title, she revealed that she is actually good friends with Yu Watase, the series' creator. "We send faxes to each other," Takeuchi said, "Manga artists always send fazes to each other because they can draw pictures." Takeuchi also asked if any of the girls in the audience were interested in becoming comic artists themselves, and she seemed happy to see that so many did.

She was surprised to see so many fans wearing Sailor Moon T-shirts. "Where do you get them?" she asked. "Can you buy them in stores?" Although Sailor Moon merchandise is common in Japan, most of it, especially clothing, is tailored for little girls--the target audience for her manga. "Is it trendy to wear Japanese animation costumes?" she also wondered, inspired by the many attendees at her panel who were wearing costumes.

Takeuchi seemed especially impressed by a group dressed as the vinyl-wearing Sailor Starlights. "How did you make those costumes?" she laughed. She reminded the attendees that she would love to see letters and fan art from her North American fans and from other countries as well and was enthusiastic about the idea of recieving photoes of fans in their Sailor Moon costumes.

One audience member pointed out that Sailor Moon was, in effect, introducing a new artform to America and asked how Takeuchi felt about that. Takeuchi replied, "In Japan, many shows are for girls, and I would like to see that become a trend in the rest of the world, too."


Sources:

Animerica Magazine Volume 6.11. San Francisco, CA: Viz Media. 1998.