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docholligay · 4 years

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Minako and Zoisite

One of the perhaps greater bits of this whole arc is the way that Minako and Zoisite embody one of my favorite things in all of existence, which is the idea that two people who normally agree on nothing can unite for a common good, or, I suppose, a common bad, depending on one’s exact perspective here.

I don’t think Mina and Zoisite are wrong! I think in their position I would probably do the same thing, especially given that Usagi is (and I say this with nothing but exceptional fondness for PGSM Usagi) an idiot and Mamoru is about as exciting as Grapenuts, and I worry that I’m being insulting to Grapenuts. And also being a fucking idiot, just a boring one.

I mean basically everyone is dealing with “we’ve been told over and over again this will cause the end of the world but apparently there are like 5 people in Tokyo so I can’t date anyone else.” and trying to be a reasonable person about it unlike these two.

And this isn’t the same as “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” which I can enjoy but also not enjoy, that one there is a far more complex issue, but unless we assume their common enemy is THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD, that isn’t what’s happening here, it’s not spite that drives them on, it’s a desire for the mistakes of the past to not repeat themselves.

Minako is the second cap--they are on the same page here

(Which leds me to an interesting, brief aside: Kunzite is also trying to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated, he’s just taking a very direct route to that by trying to kill Mamoru, which is not a solution I’m OPPOSED to and find very very interesting. I mean he’s also trying to ensure his own power and overthrow Beryl but many things can be true at once.)

It’s conceivable, Usagi being the way she is, that Zoisite could find a way to get close enough to her to use the Musicbox of Forgetting without involving Mina, but he doesn’t do that, and I find that terribly fascinating. It’s interesting to imagine why he might have gone that way. I know Zoisite is, if maybe not the most reasonable of them, perhaps the most involved in Mamoru himself, and maybe that has something to do with it, that he understands how there can be a way that you can be utterly devoted to the person you serve, and in your devotion, make a choice for them that is more about their well being than about their desire. I think that’s a very difficult choice, and I think it’s easier to make knowing that Usagi has that person too, who is willing to do that for her. It makes him feel more justified.

But what’s great about is it’s more than that, and that would be enough for me! But it’s that Zoisite does not believe in his own ability to protect his Master, but he absolutely knows MInako is a fucking badass and in exchange for the ability to make Usagi forget, he draws out a promise form her that she will protect Mamoru/Endymion if it comes to it.

It’s a mix of shocking humility and desperation, and goes to so much of what I love with PGSM’s work with the rock boys--they aren’t a team, they aren’t a unit, and they have different goals even when working for the same person. It took those small details of the anime, with the relationship to Endymion of the manga, and absolutely put them in an incredible blend that made each and every one of them far more compelling than they were in either. I actually enjoy all of the rock boys in PGSM for reasons just like this.

Mina actually is utterly unsurprising to me here. Mina in PGSM is driven toward her goal in a way that I think actually serves her more than the way the anime dealt with her, even if people named Doc who are me might have preferred a more middle road where she can be both. (She can be both!) It is, in many ways, her sole drive forward.

Which is sad for her but I sort of love? I love that the show is toying with the idea that sometimes dedication to Usagi can take on areall tragic quality, that devotion to the moon kingdom can replace the actual beauties of being alive. I did not expect it to go there, and I admit it only sort of touches on it--you could miss it if you wanted to, but I’m still so glad that it’s there and exists for me.

And so there’s no way I can see her turning down the idea of getting out in front of this whole fucking disaster that I think we all know Usagi herself has no desire to actually avoid, however that happens to come. ANd what’s more, she really thinks of Usagi as the Princess, and not necessarily Usagi, because she keeps herself separate from the group, which I don’t think is a terrible idea! I think it keeps her focused and I know I’m supposed to hate her solitude but honestly Mina is being the most sensible one here given the arc of history.

So why a musicbox? That’s a fair enough question, given as it’s maybe not the most effective form of mind control, I dunno why they couldn’t have just shot her with a dart or something except that I ABSOLUTELY DO KNOW. Two words: Gay Drama.

We already know Zoisite is some Liberace ass bitch, but let’s also give it up to Mina for her many little FOR THE DRAMA tricks, including goading Rei into everything she ever does and her Narratively Convenient Illness, which I am going to assume she came up with because she felt her life as a guardian was not tragic and dramatic enough.

#Doc watches PGSM #PGSM episode 35 #PGSM episode 34

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