What Was the Inspiration for the Dark Kingdom’s Uniforms?

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Filed under Articles, Dark Kingdom, Real World
Don't even get me started on the Nephrite color-changing issue...

Don’t even get me started on the Nephrite color-changing issue…

Since I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about the importance of school uniforms and their relevance to the series, I think it’s about time that we give some attention to what the men of Sailor Moon are wearing. And that’s what I fully intend to do.

Tuxedo Mask… wears a tuxedo. And a mask. Done.

Now that we’ve got that mystery solved, I’d like to turn your attention to something you’ve probably thought a lot less about: just where did the inspiration for the uniform’s worn by the Dark Kingdom come from? Were they completely made up, or did Ms. Takeuchi take her inspiration from the uniform of some long-forgotten army?

If this is a question that ever has crossed your mind, you’re in luck, because we’re going to take a closer look at exactly that today. It’s time to put on your sleuthing hat, because things are about to get interesting!

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Are the Sailor Moon Characters Too Old For Their School Grades?

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Filed under Articles, Characters, Real World
So how old are you REALLY, Rei??

So how old are you REALLY, Rei??

If you’re anything like me, I’m sure one of the first things you thought about as you got out of bed this morning is: “By golly, I hope there’s someone out there willing to explain to me how the Japanese education system functions, and how this fits in with the world of Sailor Moon!”

Good news! You’re in luck.

As it turns out, Ms. Takeuchi put a lot of thought into the characters’ birthdays when she was creating the Sailor Moon universe, but unfortunately had little to no actual consideration for what impact this might have on the grades the girls should end up in at school.

Today we’re going to take a look at the ages of the Sailor Soldiers upon their first appearance and see whether they actually work out in the real world, and if we can try to make some sense of all this chaos!

If all this impending math makes your head spin, don’t worry — I’ll keep this relatively painless!

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Why Were There Two Sailor Chibi Moons in the SeraMyu Musicals?

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Filed under Articles, ChibiUsa, Musical, Real World
The rabbits just keep multiplying!

The rabbits just keep multiplying!

And by “two Sailor ChibiMoons,” of course I mean “two actresses playing the role of a single Sailor ChibiMoon, because having two Sailor ChibiMoons in the same musical would be ridiculous.” But since writing a good, concise title is such a challenge, I suppose we’ll have to deal with a little ambiguity.

Title issues aside, this is actually a question that’s been bothering me for quite some time now. While the young actresses taking on the role of ChibiUsa were generally pretty young, they were never quite young enough that it would have been a Full House-style situation and that the actresses simply weren’t able to remember all of their lines, right?

Figuring that there has to be something much deeper going on here, I finally decided that it was about time to dive head first into this mystery to solve the riddle of the dual rabbits.

I hope you join along, because this is bound to make for an interesting ride!

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Prism Power Book Kickstarter Now Live!

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Filed under Blog, Fandom
"Prism Power" now live on Kickstarter!

“Prism Power” now live on Kickstarter!

Update: 320% funded! (199 backers)

After months of preparation, I’m incredibly excited to announce that the Kickstarter campaign for Prism Power: A Fan’s Guide to Sailor Moon is finally live!

Exclusive Kickstarter extras include:

Click here to check out the campaign! (ends TODAY, June 29)

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Where Did the Concept of Sailor Moon’s Star Seeds Come From?

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Filed under Articles, In-Universe Lore, Making Of, Shadow Galactica
A Star Seed... maybe?

A Star Seed… maybe?

I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that the world of Sailor Moon must be a tough one to live in.

After all, on any given day you could just be waltzing along, minding your own business, when all of a sudden some jerk comes along and saps your life force energy, snatches your Pure Heart Crystal, removes your Dream Mirror, or tears away your Star Seed. And if your name is Naru, it’s pretty much guaranteed that every single one of these will happen to you. Poor thing.

But out of all of these enemy-luring plot devices, the idea behind the Star Seeds always seemed the most confusing to me, especially as they relate to the general “citizenry” of the Sailor Moon universe. So, in an attempt to try to make some more sense of the whole thing, I decided to do some research into what a Star Seed actually is.

Join me as we take a trip back to the 1970s, and explore some New Age religions in an attempt to unravel what Star Seeds are, and how they tie into Sailor Moon. Sit tight, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!

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What Real World School Uniforms Inspired the Designs in Sailor Moon?

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Filed under Articles, Making Of, Real World
What inspired these uniform designs?

What inspired these uniform designs?

When you consider just how much inspiration Ms. Takeuchi took from the real world when creating the Sailor Moon universe, it seemed almost certain that the school uniforms in the series must have come from somewhere. However, no matter how hard I looked, I was never able to come up with a solid lead as to what actual schools could have served as the base for the Juban Junior High School uniform design.

That is, until this weekend.

In an interesting turn of events, what I thought would be a quaint, uneventful museum visit wound up solving one of the oldest open questions I’ve been researching off and on since this blog was first started.

And better yet, the question was answered by none other than Ms. Takeuchi herself.

Stick around, we’re about to take a trip down memory lane!

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Tuxedo Unmasked Book Gets a Name and Announcing Other Exciting Projects

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Filed under Blog, Fandom
"Prism Power" (cover design not final)

“Prism Power” (cover design not final)

Picking a name for my upcoming Sailor Moon book was surprisingly much harder than I ever expected it to be. After all, I had quite the opposite experience with this blog. I actually already had the name “Tuxedo Unmasked” picked out before I even knew  what I wanted the blog to be about. After two or three false starts, I settled on what you see here today.

But! I’m happy to announce that the name issue is finally behind us now.

Prism Power: A Fan’s Guide to Sailor Moon is now starting to take shape! I’ve hammered out the direction a bit better, and the slow, painful exciting drive toward writing all of the content continues to chug along.

I’ve got a few more announcements about the book — including the Kickstarter launch date and details on that — and about some other new Sailor Moon-related projects I’m hoping to start up soon.

Stick around, I’ll try to keep this interesting!

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