Yes, the "playing favorites" section is supposed to represent other people's comments, but I couldn't keep my nose out of it... <grin> So. A couple of interesting facts.

Item 1: People like to identify with the senshi, don't they? I know I do - I've always flattered myself that I look like Rei (well, my hair does, anyway) and I (sadly) behave just as tartly as she does, sometimes... there's a little bit of Ami in my study habits (not enough, unfortunately!)... and quite a bit of Usagi in my tendency to show up five minutes late to any meeting. It's fun to identify with the senshi, and to say that "I'm the most like Sailor___, so I like her the best!" It certainly helps in picking your favorites. Or you could say that "I like Sailor___ because she's the sort of person I want to be..." in which case I'd adore Makoto-chan. (You see, I can't cook, and I've always wanted to be good at the martial arts.) People used those reasons when they picked favorites, and it was fun to read which traits people admired.

Item 2: Quite a few people professed not to like Haruka. Ordinarily, I wouldn't have a problem with this, except that many people said only, "I don't like her because she's a lesbian. Ew."

<blink> I'm treading on potentially dangerous ground here, but... Well, I've always personally felt that sexual orientation was never a cause to like or dislike somebody. If you don't like their personality, their looks, or the way they smell, I can understand, but the mere fact that they're gay doesn't seem like a reason to dislike somebody... but then again, that's not my prerogative; I also believe strongly that people can think whatever they want...

But then (and this is the source of my confusion), a bunch of these people said that they loved Michiru. I found this somewhat illogical.

I've got news for you. Michiru's just as much of a lesbian as Haruka. They're lovers.

Don't get me wrong... when it comes right down to it, I suppose people have a perfect right not to like somebody if they're homosexual. While that may seem irrational and I honestly don't understand it, I guess that's their decision. (I have my share of irrationalities. For instance, I don't like overweight men. They may be the nicest, sweetest, most sensitive guys in the world, but when their belly hangs several inches over their belt, I can't bring myself to communicate normally with them. I know it's irrational and stupid, but that's the way it is.)

However, I don't understand why Haruka seems to be widely disliked for being a lesbian while Michiru seems to get off scot-free in that regard. People expressed a dislike for Michiru because she was snobby and vain, but not because she was a lesbian - whereas with Haruka, her sexual orientation seemed to be viewed as her main fault, while her obvious faults - her arrogance, her overconfidence, her rudeness, and her blatant disregard for rules - were noticed only by a few. I'm confused. I guess I just don't get it. Anyway.

Item 3: The negative comments. They were just a little... acidic. I suppose that was to be expected, but... wow. People made nice points sometimes, such as the fact that Ami didn't seem to have much of a personality or that Chibiusa's Electra complex was just a little out of hand, but usually, the comments were couched in terms such as "I don't like _______ because she's stupid!"

O_o

...which is why I decided to post only the positive comments and the more amusing negative comments up.

All in all, I had lots of fun doing this, and I had a lot of responses. (So many, in fact, that I had to reluctantly discard some - a lot of people felt the same way about certain senshi, and the comments - while excellent! - were getting repetative. I enjoyed discovering what other people think of the various senshi, and received some truly perceptive statements in my mailbox. It was wonderful fun reading the submissions, and I deeply thank everyone who participated.

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