aikaterini

Day 18: Most annoying character that tried to come between a ship

Rini/Chibi Usa (Sailor Moon):

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTKXYiZigA5HoaYyjxBQpdEQEHBO7u6N-kTs4xt9euujptQbidZ6g

You know how many Twilight fans can't stand Renesmee? How they think that she diverts the focus from Bella and Edward and is an unwanted intrusion into Edward and Bella's romance? How they can't stand that everyone fawns all over her and coos about how cute she is, despite the fact that she's a humongous brat?

That's how I felt about Chibi Usa. I'm sorry, I know that she's a little kid, I know that she gets less annoying as the series goes on, but I just could not stand her. I know that Usagi/Serena could be annoying at times, but Chibi Usa was just insufferable. It didn't help that she had a grating voice in the English dub. And it certainly didn't help that she tried to hamper Usagi and Mamoru's romance.

Yes, you heard it right. Usagi and Mamoru's romance is hampered by their own future daughter. Because Chibi Usa's jealous of her mother, you see, and wants her father all to herself. No, I don't find this creepy Electra Complex charming. I fail to see how a series that is all about the celebration and empowerment of girls could include such a tired, sexist subplot. Yes, a mother and daughter butt heads with each other becuase they're both competing for the attention of a man! There's nothing remotely sexist or anti-feminist about that, right? Just like a father and son competing for the attention of the mother wouldn't be at all creepy, right?

And it's certainly not creepy when the little girl gains the body of a grown woman and kisses her own father on the mouth in the manga, right? No, I don't know what the heck Naoko Takeuchi was thinking. If anybody tries to argue that that scene isn't disturbing or indicative of Rini's huge Electra Complex, I will laugh.

Yes, Chibi Usa did get better once she finally stopped trying to keep her mother away from her father and once she finally got over herself and stopped being such a whiny, spoiled brat. But she still remains my least favorite of the Sailor Senshi.

Just her storyline alone is distracting. Sailor Moon already celebrated feminism through Usagi's relationships with her friends. Was it really necessary to create a daughter for Usagi and make her a prominent character in the story? It would be one thing if Chibi Usa was just a one-note character, just someone that Usagi glimpsed while seeing a vision of the future. But no. I had to sit through season after season with this brat.

And the thing is, I have seen and enjoyed stories where a character's future child goes back in time to warn them. One example is AU Star Wars fanfics that have Luke (and sometimes Leia as well) going back in time to try to stop his father from becoming Darth Vader. But, see, there are a few differences between that premise and how that premise was executed in Sailor Moon.

Number One: Luke isn't a spoiled brat with an irritating voice.

Number Two: Luke isn't an eight-year-old going back in time, he (in most fanfics) is in his twenties at the very most and eighteen/nineteen at the very least. He's fully capable of taking care of himself.

Number Three: Anakin's story isn't the main story of the series, it's back-story. Luke is the protagonist of the series, so he's not intruding on the main plot.

Number Four: And, most importantly, Luke never tries to put the moves on Padmé! He never tries to flirt or make out with his own mother (and considering that this is the guy who was unknowingly kissed by his own sister, that's saying something). He and Anakin don't fight over Padmé's attention or, in most versions, bicker at all. There's no Oedipus Complex looming over their interactions. They mostly get along, except for the parts where Luke tries to stop Anakin from turning to the Dark Side.

So, yes. I still watched later Sailor Moon seasons even with Rini in them, but man did I wish that Rini had never been created.