Mako Moments
In light of recent news I wanted to draw some of my favourite Mako moments from the show.
Makoto is a character with clear outer and inner personas. She has a tough exterior, formed mostly from the perception of other people, but has a more genuine tendency towards calmness and sweetness. Emi Shinohara perfectly voiced both these aspects, giving Mako a seriousness the other sailor soldiers never had (consider episodes 45, R12, Stars5), yet was able to embody Mako's true nature of gentleness (R3, SuperS7). Though Mako is less exaggerated than some of the other soldiers, Shinohara also shined in Mako's more comedic aspects, namely her over-romantic tendencies and senpai obsession.
I find it nearly impossible to separate Emi Shinohara's vocal performance from my favourite aspect of Makoto's character — that everything she does is touched with a twinge of loneliness. She lives alone, only plants to care for, she picks up cooking and cleaning (among other reasons) in an attempt to counter her overwhelming physicality, and, of course, she's obsessed with a guy that turned her down. Neither the show nor the manga (though slightly in the live-action show) ever feel the need to have Mako "get over" these issues, it's allowed to just be. Realistically, no one from the ages of 14-16 is just going to get over deep-seated problems stemming from childhood that affect every single aspect of their personality and life. It basically forms the core of her being. It's very sad, and very real.
I imagine that somewhen in the infinite utopia of Crystal Tokyo, Mako eventually dismantles the gender-influenced insecurities that wracks her so. That she'll be able to engage in masculine presentation or feminine activities away from the gender binary, so she can cook, skate, and fight without thinking of the opinions of others. I don't think she will ever lose that sense of longing, but at the very least she'll learn to live without the constant need to attract. After all, she'll be running her bakery-flower shop with a (probably) wife that she loves very much. She'll always be lonely when alone, but she's never alone.
Redrawn moments are from:
Sailor Moon episode 25: Jupiter, the Powerful Girl in Love
Sailor Moon episode 29: Total Chaos: the Messy Love Rectangle
Sailor Moon R episode 9: Is Seijuro the Moonlight Knight? Mako on Fire
Sailor Moon R episode 10: Steal a Kiss From Mamoru! An's Project Snow White
Sailor Moon S episode 5: Protect the Pure Heart! A Three-way Battle
Sailor Moon S episode 7: Cold-hearted Uranus? Makoto in Trouble
Sailor Moon S The Movie
Sailor Moon SuperS episode 20: The Fated Partner? Makoto's Innocence
Sailor Moon Stars episode 5: Hell Demon Battle! Love Will Prevail
