Editorials

Vivi Hosts Sailor Moon Premiere, Sees Men’s Rights Rage


Earlier today, Anime News Network reported that women’s fashion magazine ViVi will collaborate with the production committee for Sailor Moon Crystal to host an advanced screening of the show’s first episode. The premiere will be shown as part of an event on June 30, which will celebrate the birthday of franchise heroine Usagi Tsukino.

The event will feature Vivi models as attendees, in addition to several “secret guests.” The screening will be tentatively held at the Zepp Diver City facility at 7:00PM local time. The staff warned that this is subject to change, though. Information on ticket sales, as well as other supplementary information, will be announced on May 28. Male attendees are not allowed to attend, unless they are accompanied by a female escort.

Frankly speaking, this is a fantastic way to promote Sailor Moon Crystal to a broader audience. Vivi is a fashion magazine that’s incredibly popular with the 17-27 demographic, with the majority of readers being office workers and college students. So, to be frank, Vivi readers are young, but still old that they would likely not watch a ton of anime. The magazine has already done some promotion for the series, with the May issue of the publication including a special Sailor Moon-branded leather pouch.

This event is basically Vivi’s endorsement of the show itself, which should create a fair amount of buzz among the readers. The event will undoubtedly be covered on Vivi’s website, and in their upcoming issue. This will create interest, which should translate to hype, especially as attendees begin to discuss the event (and the show) with their friends, relatives, and so on. It’s smart marketing that will help to expand the Sailor Moon Crystal‘s overall audience.

Unfortunately, no matter how cool something is, there will always be a group of people who illustrate why we can’t have nice things.

In this case, it didn’t take long before the Mens’ Rights Movement activists began to cry foul. For those who don’t know, the “Men’s Rights Movement” is a group of individuals who argue that men are constantly being oppressed, discriminated against, and generally treated as second class citizens.

I’ll let that sink in for a second. We live in a world where women are paid considerably less than men for the same jobs. A world where 18% of all women have experienced discrimination in the workplace. We’re in a culture in which a woman who is sexually active (or, worse, pregnant and single!) is demeaned and looked down upon society but, at the same time, treated as cold or a prudish when they don’t put out. We’re in a world women are blamed for trauma like rape, and where domestic violence cases go ignored.

But let’s shed a tear for the poor men, out there. Let’s bare our souls for their plight, because they can’t go to a damned Sailor Moon show that they were never going to attend because they do not live in Japan.

Again: this is an event in Japan for Japanese audiences. It will have, quite literally, zero impact on our lives whatsoever outside of what we see on sites like ANN or Japanator. Nevermind that this is an entirely different culture with different traditions and dynamics in regards to gender rights and roles. The event will have zero impact on their fragile little world, as a whole.

But this won’t stop people from crying foul whenever possible. For example, this sprightly fellow:

Sailor Moon - MRA Tumblr Reaction 001 - 20140524

Or how about this Tumblr user, who feels the event is in poor taste?

Sailor Moon - MRA Tumblr Reaction 002 - 20140524

See? We’re weeping. Weeping so hard that our tears flow like waterfalls!

Sailor Moon - Usagi Crying

Sarcasm aside, forgive me if I have no sympathy in this case.

It’s a premiere, hosted by a Japanese fashion magazine, targeted solely at females in Japan, aged 17-27. They are catering to their audience, and creating an atmosphere that would be welcoming to their clientele, while also creating a photo-friendly setup that will work well within their publication. The premiere will generate interest in the series in a group that would likely pass it up otherwise, and it will help to grow the brand as a whole. This isn’t segregation, this isn’t “misandry“, this is business.

If people want to get upset and have temper tantrums about this, they’re free to do so. At the same time, the rest of us are free to sit back and snark about it.

About the author

Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira is Anime Herald’s founder and editor-in-chief. A Rhode Island native, Samantha has been an anime fan since 1992, and an active member of the anime press since 2002, when she began working as a reviewer for Anime Dream. She launched Anime Herald in 2010, and continues to oversee its operations to this day. Outside of journalism, Samantha actively studies the history of the North American anime fandom and industry, with a particular focus on the 2000s anime boom and bust. She’s a huge fan of all things Sakura Wars, and maintains series fansite Combat Revue Review when she has free time available. When not in the Anime Herald Discord, Samantha can typically be found on Bluesky.

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