Part 1

A friend of mine coined the phrase “gateway anime” – you know, the kind of anime that, for whatever reason, brings many new fans (read: “obsessive otaku”) into the fold. Ranma, DBZ, Bugglegum Crisis, whatever’s on Cartoon Network right now…, etc, are all examples of gateway anime.

And no matter how your tastes evolve, you never forget your first, the series that made you a fan.

Sailor Moon was my first.

Now a new generation is being introduced to the Senshi through what is being affectionately referred to as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, aka PGSM.

The show was originally targeted at very young girls, but if you watch the commercials, you can see the age creep happening – where all the first commercials were for little kiddy underwear and candy, now we’re seeing ads for real grown-up make up and other health/beauty aids for adult women. And the storylines have matured, as well – forcing the writers to introduce a cuter, young character just to keep the kiddy appeal. (And probably to appease the creator, who loves her Luna.) The original run was meant to be 26 episodes or so, but after a few episodes, the series was boosted to 52 episodes. And boy are *we* glad!

The question all of you have to be asking (assuming that you’re not already watching this obssessively – and if you’re not, why not??) is, “Is there Yuri?”

You betcha there’s Yuri! Enough for any fan.

I’ll spend the next few entries lovingly discussing the yuri subtext of nearly every Senshi introduced so far. But in the meantime, I have to go watch Episode 37…again. ^_^

Oh, and please feel free to join our prayer circle at the Yuricon Mailing List. Here’s the mantra: “Please gods, let them get to the Outers.” ^_^