Earth, Sun, and Star: The Problem Senshi
By: Mystress Zoycite

Sailor Sun, Sailor Earth, and Sailor Star.

Any experienced otaku creator will tell you that these are the three most common otaku senshi. Most, including yours truly, will tell you to avoid creating these three senshi. They are sadly overused characters, and lots have the similar characteristics. If you have the desire to create one of these senshi, though, here are some don’ts (mixed in with some do’s) for creating a Sailor Earth, Star, or Sun.

Sailor Sun

DON’T put suns on her uniform. It’s really overused, and, in my opinion, it looks stupid. ESPECIALLY don’t put the kind of sun where it’s just a circle and a bunch of triangular rays. I hate to say it, but it looks like something a little kid would draw. If you seriously want to put suns on her uniform, try drawing one that looks like the type of sun you find on a lot of celestial products. Even so, I still it think it best if you keep the suns off her uniform.

DON’T stick with the colors yellow, orange, and red. I think it’s really hard to have a Sailor Sun without using at least one of these colors, but don’t limit yourself to those colors. I’ve seen a Sailor Sun that has purple in her uniform and even one that’s all black! Try to broaden you color wheel and you may just end up with a cool Sun Senshi.

Also, don’t stick to those three colors for their hair either. My favorite Sun Senshi even has this problem. She doesn’t HAVE to have red (or blonde) hair! I mean, just because Mars is red, didn’t mean that Mars had to have red hair. The only other color I’ve seen is brown. Hair color doesn’t have to relate to where they’re from, so put a little imagination into it. Please!

If you’re going to have a Sailor Sun, please stick to the Sun symbol. This isn’t a huge problem, but a few have decided to try a different symbol for her. Hey, I’m all for creativity, but the Sun already has a symbol. You can do a small change (like, for the Inners have circles in their symbols, they were changed to hearts), but other than that, stick with the circle in the dot.

Don’t make her look similar to Moon. A few Sun senshi have gone the extra mile to look like Moon, probably because of the whole Sun and Moon relation thing. I think it’s silly, and uncreative! Another thing is that the Sun and Moon Soldiers often share a bond (and often attacks), which isn’t as bad, but it’s a teensy bit old. Why can’t she ever just be like other otakus, and be her own woman? Honestly!

Sailor Earth

NO globes on her uniform. Like having suns on her uniform, it looks silly. In fact, I think it’s even sillier! I think this also looks little kiddish, and is used ALL THE TIME! Besides, there are other ways of signifying the Earth, like using the Earth symbol, or using her colors or attacks as her way of symbolizing her planet. And unlike suns, I’m afraid there’s no way to make globes look any better on a uniform… or on anything else for that matter. Avoid the globes on ANYTHING!

NEVER use the colors green and blue on a uniform together. It is the most common of all Sailor Earth traits, but you can understand, I mean, the land is always said to be green and the oceans blue. But it’s not just using the same colors, it’s using the same shades! I’m serious! Every time these colors are used, it’s always a kind of light green and sky blue. The earth’s colors aren’t even like that! The oceans are closer to a sapphire color, and I think the land is closer to brown than green. Why don’t otaku creators use more brown! That’s also somewhat more common, but AT LEAST it makes more sense. Still, I’d advise you not to restrict your outfit to brown; you can use other colors besides brown, blue, and green. When you do use green or blue, try to use different shades. Savvy?

DON’T make her a direct Endymion relation. I’ve seen A TON of Sailor Earths that are his sister or, less commonly, daughter. I guess her being his daughter is OK (though still somewhat overused) but her being his sister is tiresome. There is no rule that says she has to be related. In fact, she doesn’t have to have to do with Endymion at all. It’s like the Sun/Moon thing; it’s done too much. Nothing should limit your senshi, so don’t feel pressured to have her related to Darien (Mamoru).

I guess that’s it for Earth; if I think of more I’ll add to it in a later article. I bet you noticed that my Earth and Sun rants are identical (Sorry!). Sailor Star’s a different story.

Sailor Star

DON’T overdo the stars. A lot of Sailor Stars have tons of stars on their uniform, and usually one on their weapon. PLEASE don’t feel the need to sprinkle stars here, there and everywhere. And it’s not just Sailor Stars that do this, it’s any Sailor related to the stars (Nebula, Nova, etc.). Most otaku creators that do this have stars that either cover the entire skirt or line the skirt and bow. One I’ve seen had stars on her gloves, bodice, and even hair! A star for a brooch is okay, and adding them as accents on their boots or in their tiaras is okay, but don’t turn her into a planetarium! Sorry, bad joke.

DON’T just stick to five pointed stars. If you’re just doing it for a brooch that’s perfectly fine, but if you really want to jazz up a uniform, how about a few more points? For example, my Sailor Nova uses a 12-point star for a symbol. You could add just one more point, or a lot more and have a starburst! Also, try to vary the lengths of the points, too. Too many an otaku artist have just used the…er…default star. If you want to do a five-point star, why not add some carvings to it, make it unique? You’ll be rewarded for your imagination efforts if you come out with an awesome Soldier.

Erm… I suppose that’s it. Not a lot of advice, huh? Oh, well, I suppose I’ll try better next time. If you have the desire, you can e-mail me at mystresszoycite@hotmail.com.