The Blackberry Walk

The main recurrent theme in Sailor Moon is that of deceit. Preying upon young girls by promising love, promising jewellery, accessories and so forth is the modus operandi of the first henchman, Jadeite. Jadeite aims to rob these young shoujo of their youthful libidinal energy - libido in this case in the Jungian sense of life energy rather than the Freudian sense of purely sexual energy. Middle school, where Usagi resides, is a time when much of this youthful energy comes to the fore. Suddenly, puberty kickstarts a latent part of the psyche which lay unrustled prior. And it is no wonder that myths across history, from ancient French folklore to the modern bishoujo senshi, warn young girls about the danger which this newfound power entails. Bluebeard is a tale of French folklore, about a girl who falls for a nobleman with a bright blue beard. The nobleman, known as Bluebeard, marries her, against the advice of the girl's sisters who hear that Bluebeard has had many wives who have all gone missing. After the wedding, Bluebeard says he must head off on a business trip, and leaves the mansion and it's many keys in the hands of the girl. Bluebeard tells her that she can enter any of the doors in the mansion apart from the smallest door, which is opened with the smallest key. Yet curiosity took hold of the naive young girl, and she opened the door with the smallest key, and blood began to seep out of the lock. The door opens, and inside were all of Bluebeard's past wives who had gone missing, dead and tortured. Bluebeard returns at once and, seeing the door has been opened, pursues the girl, in a fury. And just as the girl is at death's doors, her brothers arrive to hack Bluebeard to death, saving her. Like Bluebeard, Jadeite plays upon girls' youthful ignorance. By using their libidinal energy against them, deceiving them, by offering romantic cruises, romantic letter recitals on the radio, the chance to be an idol, etc, Jadeite intends to steal 'energy', just as Bluebeard did with the young girl's love. In a sense, this is the biggest threat to naive young girls - the idea of being swept away by a deceitful man who will lead them down the wrong path, misdirecting their libido and their life. So what is the solution Sailor Moon provides? Just like in Bluebeard, the solution lies in curiosity. Bluebeard's true nature was uncovered by the girl's curiosity of what was in the door, and thereby saving herself by discovering the truth about him. And that too is what Luna nurtures the sailor scouts to do - to become curious in strange incidents and wonder whether what's going on is normal or if people being deceived en masse. As the show progresses, Usagi begins to hone this ability and, in turn, hones her truth-seeking skill, helping her to become more self-sufficient, better able to fend for herself and, as a result, more mature, exorcising harmful lies by the power of the moon. Truth is much like the moon, after all. A pure, absolute which can never be touched nor interacted with - never reached nor understood, shining light upon the sea of darkness, of deceit. And this is who Sailor Moon is. When Usagi becomes her higher self, becoming Sailor Moon, she exorcises deceit through the heavenly light of the moon, the light of truth. And once the power of the moon shines light upon lies, the youthful libido is freed from its Bluebeard-like captor, ready to push for healthy development. Yet for Usagi, deceit is not only her enemy but also her ally. She deceives other's through Sailor Moon's mysterious identity and by changing her appearance with her wand to protect herself. Whilst embodying the moon, embodying truth, you must fight by moonlight, covered by the cloak of darkness, of deceit. To be able to seek truth for yourself whilst using deceit in a productive way is, in summary, the feminine hero's journey as understood by Sailor Moon. It is setting your basal libidinal desires and drives on the right track by seeking truth through curiosity and questioning. Seeking truth, the moon, the very symbol of femininity, to free yourself from your childhood naivity, from your misdirected libido, from Bluebeard, in order to become an adult. And with truth, the nightscape of deceit is enlightened. And by the power of the moon, the deceitful are punished.