Detailing the new Sailor V manga, part 3

As promised, part 3 of Genvid.com's exclusive behind the scenes look at the new, re-edited Sailor V manga which is due for release on October 22nd, brought to you by myself, Dr. Xadium, one of the world's two greatest Aino Minako fans --so great a fan, in fact, that even though I think live action Minako is a blockheaded numbskull with the common sense of roadkill, today I rage. I rage. But at any rate--

Whilst researching data for the "low-down" on the new re-release Sailor V manga, lots of information has come my way from many different nefarious and underground sources, some of which I deemed to be utterly scandalous and beyond belief. "Takeuchi-sensei would never do that!" I would protest, secure in my confidence that she would only permit changes beneficial to her flagship franchise. But there have been namy shocks to my conscience, last Friday's abomination of a Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon episode prime among them. Thus it was that when intrepid manga maniac "NipponCha_Cha_Chai" (who provides the quick-and-dirty translations for these pre-print proofs of the new Sailor V manga told me of her latest find in the deep dumpsters behind the Tokyo offices of Kodansha, I really wasn't all that shocked.

As I explained before, it's been known for some time now that Sailor V was going to get the same "George Lucas" treatment of refinement and revision as the Sailor Moon Manga has, and that certain plot elements would be dropped, revised, introduced or expanded to make this new edition of the manga an interesting read for a whole new audience, perhaps as a precursor to the foundation of a whole new continuity. As we have shown before, there have been many shocking revelations, new twists added to old favorite characters like Artemis and Tuxedo Kamen. I had been told to expect something dramatic in this week's preview regarding Artemis, but there was no way I could be prepared for what I saw.

And NO, Mr. Moldavian "Sailer the V-bushka numher 1 fanatical" webmaster "Zoran the Mighty Yakmaster whose masculines are larger than the size of garbage trucks used to haul frozen spittle across tundra" ARTEMIS DOES NOT TURN OUT TO BE AN ALIEN SHAPESHIFTER FROM THE PLANET MAU WHOSE TRUE FORM IS A YOUNG BOY SHAPED LIKE A CERTAIN PIECE OF QUESTIONABLE "HELLO KITTY" MERCHANDISE. I don't know what reporters you're employing on your "Sailer the V Benuisan Paradisings Love-Web Supar the Site", but those kinds of rumours do NONE of us in the Sailor V fan community any good. Go back to nerf-herding :P

This week we focus once again on Artemis (not surprising, since he is one of the two main characters in the manga), but Takeuchi has given him a rather... interesting hobby. It's not something we haven't all suspected, but to have the data confirmed in such a forthright way was shocking, to say the least. As usual, my thanks to Unnamed_Mangaholic_Z for the pre-print scan and NipponCha_Cha_Chai for the quick trans/scanslation of the new text; Please remember to buy the manga when it's commercially available once again. (Read from right to left)

Analysis

Yes, in what is undoubtedly a nod to Tendou Nabiki's questionable activities in the famous Ranma½ manga and anime, Artemis has turned his peeping (something Minako had accused him of as early as Chapter 1 of the unrevised manga, if you recall) into a rather profitable side-venture. This revision to the Sailor V manga highlights a growing sense of acknowledgement about the hard realities of fighting crime in the capitalist world when one has no personal fortune ala Batman's Bruce Wayne, and it also ties into Anime Minako's dogged determination to "get the dirt" no matter how far she has to dig in order to do it. (cf. her dealings with the Three Lights in the Stars season). There is also some kind of implication about Artemis' social life, or lack thereof, something that the new manga may probably explore later on down the line.

Interestingly, there is also a bit of a "product placement" on this page, another (satirical?) nod to the various rmeans to which content providers must stoop in order to raise funds.

Poor Artemis, how the mighty have fallen. Next week, our look into the new world of Sailor V 2004 continues, leading up to the finale before the re-launch of the manga on October 22nd!

Aino Minako / Sailor V forever!