Mamoru, a background character.
It's been more than 2 years since I updated Chiba (Just a Token Male), but after some inspiring conversations with ellorgast (thanks again <333!), I was motivated into putting some new insights together.

Pretty pictures and citations to be added.

Background Information

I'm taking a rather backward and inside out approach to analyzing Mamoru by exploring what kind of surrounding it would take to shape his character. More specifically, I'm diving into the connection between Prince Endymion and Mamoru. A couple of years back, I read a short story which motivates this concept quite well. Unfortunately, try as I might--and I've spent the last 2 days trying--I cannot recall what the story was titled or who its author. So I ask you to take my word for it as I outline the plot:

A family on a farm took an eagle for a pet. They tamed him by clipping his wings and feeding him like the other animals. One day, the eagle saw a wild eagle and pursued it. He followed the wild eagle through forests and mountains and into the vast expanse of the sky until they reached their natural habitat. The flight terrified the farm-raised eagle, and he began his journey "home". As he approached the barn, however, he was mistaken for something or order, and was shot down.

The story illustrates how an inherently majestic creature was ruined because it was displaced from its natural surroundings. As a predator, as king of the sky, so removed from his nature was he that it scared him when he entered his element. In the end, he dies from an undignified and humble death at the hands of his owners like a common deer. Due to dulled instincts, perhaps.

That's a roundabout way of saying the setting is influencial on one's character, and therefore their course of action. We'll then be able to analyze causes, actions and consequences in two contexts: with respect to the content and with respect to the setting. (E.g. A sports team winning a game vs. A sports team winning an away game where their opponents have a home advantange.)

As in an aside, the story can be interpretated allegorically where Mamoru is the farm!Eagle. Mamoru's a person with raw, unmined potential. His powers have no place in Tokyo (there's no need for the eagle to hone his hunting skills if food is fed to him) but when he comes face to face with the Negaverse (his flight into the sky), his undeveloped power becomes insufficient. That is not that say Mamoru's from the negaverse, but once upon a time, assuming the role of warrior/protector/ruler was natural.

Having said that, the goal is to:

• bring to life that forgotton past. It's not enough to make the character believable, but also the world that they live in. We don't have a lot of problem connecting with Mamoru, despite the cultural diversity in the Sailor Moon audience, because he lives in our modernized world. That ancient prince, however, is laid against a poorly painted backdrop, and that's not fair because he's apart of our present-day hero. How much of Mamoru's personality does Endymion dictate? That's also something to be explored...


• Gain new insights to Endymion from studying the setting in which Endymion developed. In turn, study
  
  
  
  
  • how the life that Endymion led affects Mamoru, and
  
  
  • how Mamoru interprets his past life as Endymion given his experience in this life time.
  
  
  
  

The Sailor Moon universe both fascinating and somewhat complicated with these past identities and alter egos. It lends to exciting plot ideas to have the characters struggle with who they really are. This calls for a careful definition of character actually means. I'm going to borrow a definition from the text whose ideas I'm going to borrow in the next couple of paragraphs:

Character comes from a Greek word meaning "a certain mental imprint". Hamlet cannot make up his mind, Macbeth is ambitious, King Lear is blind to others. Character is the sum of the choices one makes.

There are certain qualities to Mamoru and Endmyion that have transcended time, but there are also a number of notable differences that are inspired by their environment. They are not the same person, per se, buy they have similar character--personality traits or mental imprints. This definition is inclusive to what I've mentioned above.

The Setting

The canon does not reveal a lot of information about the Silver Millenium and much less about how Earth fits into that inter-plantary scheme. Thus, I can take a lot of liberty in fabricating the civilization of the Golden Kingdom. I feel like I'm almost taking the easy way out by mapping the Golden Age of Ancient Greece (that is, the Classical Period from 490-323 BC) to the Golden Kingdom. But there's no ancient civilization more revered than that of the Greeks. (It's would have been also fascinating to try to map it onto East Asian culture, where there's a similar set of valued principles including face, glory, honour, duty and loyalty.) It's just instinctively appropriate. In many ways, I'm just formalizing what fandom has already established for itself. They are theories on the assumption that the Golden Kingdom shared the same culture as the ancient Greeks.

Clash of the Sexes

Greece was strictly a patriarchy. Male had surpreme authority. They dominated their families individually and public affairs collectively.

They alone were obligated to fight in wars, and they alone were eligible to become citizens of the polis [= city-state]. They were prepared for these roles by an education that began in early childhood and taught them not only to read and write, but also to be atheletic, in rigorous control of their appetites, and fearless in battle and the hunt. They grew up in a small, tightly knit, relentlessly competitive community in which everyone knew everyone's worth and there was no forgiveness for failure. An individual was celebrated for victories over his enemies in war and politics and for his wit and ability to entertain at the all male symposium "drunking party".

While we don't know how much Mamoru remembers of his past as Endymion, his awareness of culture, whether conscious or unconscious, explains a lot about his personality. His drive in academics and participation in sports (e.g. Soccer) should come as no surprise, even aiming as high as Harvard (See: Mamolove's "My Sempai" and "The Golden Crystal"). His control of his appetites and desires probably frustrates Usagi* at times, but it was discipline longed instilled on him. It explains why he's so hard on himself. As a Prince, he was no doubt trained in every discipline and skill; he was a force to be reckoned with, a warrior in times of civil strife. It contrasts sharply with his lack of guidance and mentorship and untapped power in the face of adversary. He doesn't measure up, and there was, after all, no forgiveness for failure.

*Fandom Perspective:

Actually, Mamoru never acted interested in sex unless they were both in mortal danger. As that rather odd epiphany crystalized in Usagi's mind, she couldn't ignore how very true it was, yet the incredible *wrongness* of it resonated through her. What kind of boyfriend only wanted to sleep with his girlfriend when they were both under assault by demonic forces?

- missandrony's "Two Women, Down for the Count"

There are people who express their insecurities by agressively pushing people away (Mamoru in the anime did push Usagi away in Season R but that's out of context), Mamoru takes on a passive stance by internalizing his emotions. He copes by holding himself back to keep that distance (e.g. Silence as a reaction to his jealously of Haruka during her first appearance). He's intensively subtle that way; controlled. But repressing so much emotion, he's waiting to implode.

Mamoru may not be a terribly social person, but saying he has no friends is farfetched. No close friends, perhaps, but not no friends period. He's charming with a quick mind and sharp tongue, that's hinted at his first encounters with Usagi in both the manga and anime. The best example that illustrate these qualities that I have come acrossed, however, exists in fandom. Kihin Ranno is absolutely brilliant:

*Fandom Perspective:

Mamoru cleared his throat one last time and laid back down, completely exhausted from his [coughing] fit. He looked over at Motoki weakly and muttered, "Don't look so guilty, Motoki. This isn't your fault."

The boy from the arcade was not assuaged from his emotion. He shook his head slightly and said, "I shouldn't have--"

"Motoki," Mamoru said sternly, reaching over and laying a hand on the man's arm. He looked up to meet a gentle grin. "I'm the patient here. I deserve all the pity the world has to offer. I can't waste my energy making you feel better. Now stop it and pity me, or I'll have you thrown out."

---

Motoki shrugged and interrupted him. "It just seems as though there's more to you two sometimes. You look at her like-"

"Like I want to tell her to shut up but I'm too nice of a guy to do it," Mamoru said definitively. "Listen Motoki, I don't know what you've been drinking lately, but stop it. Playing matchmaker that would result in child molestation charges should not be your hobby. Stick with what you know - busing tables and making bad coffee."

For a brief moment, Motoki looked like an indignant housewife, complete with hands on his hips and a slight pout. "I thought you liked my
coffee."

"I like the price of your coffee," Mamoru clarified smugly. "I abhor the taste. Now, if I may continue...

"Usagi is irritatingly adorable, maddening and impossible. She is an infatuated, idealistic, immature, innocent, and infantile teenager who has
made it her life's mission to drive me to the mental hospital without ever getting into a car. She's relatively pleasing to look at, but she is also
fourteen, has one of the most annoying voices I have ever heard, she eats at least three times her weight, and she's fourteen. I say that twice
because it is the most important thing to keep in mind throughout this conversation."

- Kihin Ranno's "Forgotten Forever"

There are still traces of these values in today's society where men are expected (from women and from themselves) to behave in a certain way and to aspire to certain standards. The practice of pederasty (= "love for boys"), however, has a completely different meaning today. Today, it is pedophilia; in the past, it was a practice to "enhance the refined moral qualities of loyalty, respect, affection, and courage". It's a measure of the enormous distance between our cultures. These relationships were rarely romantic and brought friendships to a platonic level. It strengthen one's attachment to their state and citizens (free/non-slave males) which drove them in battle.

Understanding this, it is not odd to speculate that Endymion and his shitennou were close on many levels including a physical one. The duties of the shitennou are speculated endlessly--protectors, mentors, teachers, companions or any combinations of the four. This kind of acceptance allows, in the sense that it's not disproved of by society, for the shitennou to not only teach Endymion theories but to walk things through with him in practice from tangible skills like sword-fighting to abstract concepts like loyalty and affection. Indeed, the loyalty spans lifetimes. (See: Evil Authoress, Inc's "Bleed", Evil_Authoress' "The First to Fall", Spirit-hime's "Resonating Light")

Evidence shows that Greece was a patriarcal society, but in Greek myths (which may contain historical truths), the universe was governed by female deities (Gaea) before they were overthrown (Uranus overtook Gaea but who was overthrown by Cronus who was overthrown by Zeus--all were known as sky gods, Kings of the sky). Gaea, one of the four primordial deities, was the "all-giver", the giver of life. She asexually gave birth to Uranus and started the cycle of reproduction. In society females (virgins especially) were thought to be wild and dangerous until they were tamed by a male authority, and they were portrayed as thus in myths. Women in literature did not hesitate to lie and scheme to accomplish their goals. Take for example, the Battle of the Titans. Gaea was the one who led Cronus to Uranus' castration; she was the one who taught Cronus' wife, Rhea, to deceive Cronus so that Zeus may survive to wage war against the titans. Thereafter Zeus established order in the world as we know it, and it was also Gaea who provides many obstacles before stability was established. As an aside, it's worth noting that Zeus is the god that presides of law and justice.

Fandom has established this image where the Moon and all the other planets were more advanced than the Earth. Earth was the primitive planet, still barbaric and savaged in their thoughts. The cosmogonic myth puts an interesting spin to the Sailor Moon universe if we take it for historical merits. It would mean, chronologically, that the rule of male follows the rule of females. Earth, then, would have been the advanced planet. Or the Silver Millenium was just a special generation in which the heirs were all females.

Inevitably, this political and sexual tension brings us to the interpration of Endymion's relationship with Serenity. The people of earth no doubt saw Serenity as conniving woman out to seduce their prince. While Endymion's choice to side with his love is romantic to many of us, to his citizens, he was placing a woman before the state. Women were suppose to be immaterial, spoils of war like gold and nice pottery. Because of this attitude, it should have been easy for Beryl and Metallia to manipulate a revolution.

It is unlikely that Mamoru and Usagi follow the dynamics of males and females in ancient Greence, but they do complements each other in that Mamoru grounds her free-loving spirit. He's her pillar of strength, her rock. (Cronus gets deceived into eating a rock that he thought was Zeus allow for his survival and consequent rise to power. Interesting stuff, I say!)

Backtracking a bit, both political system lends some neat insights into Endymion's character, and Mamoru's in turn. If Earth was patrilineal, Endymion had a lot to prove to a solar system ruled by powerful female figures. If, though, Earth was matrilineal like the rest of the planets (See: Queen's "The Stone Hearted Princess"), Endymion was not only up against the solar system but the entire galaxy. No pressure. Unfortunately, as far as anyone was concerned, he only proved to be an incompetent leader and a bringer of doom. For Mamoru, it simply means he has two lifetimes of selfworth to make for, and the lovely burden of knowing that it was his actions that caused the downful of a galactic empire.

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There's still a few things that I want to cover before I label this complete:
- Concept of polis, city-states: where loyalties lie
- Gods, how they fit or don't fit into this model of Earth
- Was Prince Endymion a vengeful man? What kind of ruler was he/would he have been? How does retribution come in?

I also have another section plotting in the head. If time would allow me, I want to exploit my productivity to the fullest.


Any feedback is much appreciated!