This was originally going to be a Diaryland post, but as it grew in length, I decided that it was more suited to the site.

As frequent diary readers know, one of my prized possessions is Pegasus Collection vol 1 on DVD. And I watched it last night when I was supposed to be doing my dishes and otherwise preparing to pack up my life and move back to the East Coast(don't want to move back home, but am way too poor and am basically struggling to make ends meet for absolutely no reason out here.)

And hindsight's the only sight I have that's 20/20.

Yeah, CWI's SuperS is much different that DiC's SuperS would have been. To reference In Defense of SuperS, imagine a SuperS where the Amazon Trio is only in voice over because they all cross dress and molest people's dreams(and the Amazon Quartet is only shown from either the neck up or the knees down)But the inconsistances in CWI's version became more apparent on this rewatching.

Item the first: Now, I noticed this the first time through, but Rini is an absolute moron in the dubbed SuperS. Pegasus first calls her Rini in the third or fourth episode(His dubbed line is "Rini, you must hurry" or something like that)and several times after, but near the end of the season, Rini is thrilled that he calls her Sailor Mini-Moon...which I think he might also call her when first giving Moon and Mini-Moon their power-ups(or somewhere around there)

The episode where Diana first appears is probably the pinnacle of Rini's SuperS moronity though. She says that she had no idea that Luna and Artemis were together...and then, after recognizing Diana, gushes that she'll have her own kitty cat in the future as if this is new information.

From watching both the dub and sub, I've found that episodes 1-5 on my DVD are basically the same in both languages(excluding gender benders, of course) There are a few differences--mostly what Hawk's-Eye and Tiger's-Eye say about targets, Zirconia's phrasing when s/he tells the circus folk to be quiet(the subs have it always be just "Quiet" but the dub usually has it be full sentences), and no one uses pronouns when talking about Fish(the sub actually has Tiger's-Eye refer to Fish as "she")

The nuns episode, meanwhile, is like two different episodes. And while I generally have no problem with the dub, it's much, much better subbed. It's a lot funnier(Tiger's-Eye's line after mock fainting when the nun holds up her cross is hi-larious blasphemy almost worthy of the Simpson's and I love Sailor Mars' comment when the scouts arrive to save the nun)

Yeah, Sailor Moon Uncensored was right--the dubbed nun is a shallow ass. After seeing the subtitled version, I nearly threw up when the dubbed nun prayed for none of the kids in the choir to get sore throats before their recital.

I'm not a religious person, but I've got no problem with a nun saying the Lord's prayer or talking about God's love(again, Tiger's-Eye's original response that God loves him because he's about to sin hardcore is great) That's what nuns freaking do. They don't gush about always freaking wanting a rose garden.

And, in the sub, of course, ChibiUsa isn't a raging idiot who doesn't know about her own kitten or where said kitten came from.

Item the second: Diana and Rini's constant use of the word "future."

Rini is always talking about being a future princess.

She isn't a future princess; she's a princess from the future. She's not going to become a princess--she already freaking is one.

Yes, Serena is the future queen, because during the anime(excluding the flashforwards)she has not yet become Neo-Queen Serenity.

Diana's also guilty of this in the dub--she refers to Darien and Serena as the future king and the future queen. And even though Luna and Artemis are fairly close, it's quite obvious that Diana probably won't be born for a good long while. At which point, Serena will be queen and Darien will be king(if I ever write that Crystal Tokyo set fic, I will probably refer to Darien as Prince Endymion, because I see Serenity as being clearly the ultimate authority--despite their joined kingdom--because she's queen of the entire solar system at that point, not just the Earth and Moon. And a ruling queen's husband is a prince, not a king. The title of this entry is very, very apt)

Item the third: This is just a minor one, but it really stood out at me.

In one episode--I don't remember which one--dubbed Tiger's-Eye says to Fish-Eye "Some friend you are."

No, it's not as big as Rini and Diana's constant inability to remember that everyone else's future is their present, but this is actually what inspired this rambling "essay."

I just found it to be a very bad phrase choice. Watching SuperS for the first time in order, it doesn't stand out. I could be assuming things here, but I think most people would consider that Amazon Trio to be friends.

Compared to most Sailor Moon villain groups(Dark Kingdom and Witches 5 come to mind first, and I'm pretty sure a few of the anime Anima-mates fall into the same "kill each other off for more kudos" category)the Amazon Trio are B.F.F. and on the verge of wearing best friends necklaces(well, the necklaces part isn't much of a leap since most "best friends" jewelry is tacky as all hell)

Yeah, the bulk of Tiger's-Eye's internal monologues are about how he'll gladly take all the glory if/when he finds Pegasus. And the insults flow like booze(which tends to flow like water)but the three of them hang out constantly.

From what I've picked up and vaguely remember, the Dark Kingdom probably couldn't spend more than 20 minutes in the same room together. Nephrite thought Jadeite--who never really interacts with the others--was completely pathetic, and we all know how Zoicite felt about Nephrite(I remember someone saying some of Zoicite's issues with Nephrite were because Kunzite/Malachite has something against Nephrite as well.) Zoicite and Kunzite/Malachite are, of course, the exception of this DK example, but since they don't really get along with the others...

And as for Witches 5, I think we all know how Mimete felt about Eudial.

Hell, the two sets of SuperS minions are the only villain teams in Sailor Moon where no one in the team tries to kill off another member.

The Trio also works together more than any other villain group(excluding, of course, the Quartet)Even though Tiger's-Eye goes after most of the targets, all three of them discuss the day's target, and in at least two of the first episodes, Hawk's-Eye picks out a target for Tiger's-Eye to go after.

There's also at least two references to an understanding the Trio has to consult each other before saying anything to Zirconia. In the episode where Tiger's-Eye goes after Molly, Hawk's-Eye promises Zirconia that they'll catch Pegasus once the three of them start working together, it'll be no problem. Tiger's-Eye and Fish-Eye bitch him out later, but because he made this promise without consulting them. Similarly, Tiger's-Eye is bitched out for making a similar promise to Zirconia when Amy's the target...and again it's because he did it without talking to the other two first.

Yeah, they fight, but anyone who has never fought with any of their friends can feel free to send me an e-mail. I will assume they're lying. The worst fight the Trio has would have to be in "Double Trouble." But, once the pumpkins show up, Hawk's-Eye and Tiger's-Eye are completely willing to call a temporary truce. Sure, they fight over whose lemure is kicking ass and they've fought throughout the episode, but at the end, they both refer to their pursuit of Mina as a game that they'll just have to decide another time.

So, I've got no problem with the Trio being friends. Hell, everything else aside, they're the only villain team that's ever hung out at the beach together.

The problem lies in the fact that, in the episode I mentioned way up there, Tiger's-Eye at least has a fairly good concept of what a friend is(in this situation, a friend is someone who doesn't accuse you of losing your touch, calling you a failure, etc. I think the fact that Hawk's-Eye and Fish-Eye seem to get along a lot better than Tiger's-Eye and Fish-Eye is why I prefer Hawk/Fish to Tiger/Fish...)

Remember those mentions of the episode where everyone goes to the beach? Here's the payoff on Item the Third. Tiger's-Eye sees Amy's attempts to save Sammy and assumes that they must be related. Amy tells him that, no, they're not, but he's a good friend of hers.

This causes Tiger's-Eye to wonder if he has any friends(sure, he eventually concludes that once he has Pegasus, he won't need any stinking friends, but that's not the point).

The point is, no matter how annoyed, pissed off, or whatever you are, you don't say "some friend you are" unless you consider the person you're saying it to be your friend.