In Defense of Taiki

Why do so many fans dislike Taiki Kou? In case you haven't noticed already, Taiki/Sailor Starmaker happens to be one of my favorite characters in Sailor Moon. And I'm sick and tired of Taiki so often being written off as a boring, useless, or annoying character. Therefore, in this article I will do my best to explain just why I like the most under-rated character in Sailor Moon. Common complaints about Taiki are listed in bold, and my responses follow them.

Also, a visitor to this site, Nyxity, has written an excellent response to this article, which you can read here.

Taiki is balding!

Er, no. Taiki is the ONLY Sailor Moon character who doesn't wear bangs (well, other than Karaberas in the R season). Actually, if you look closely, you'll notice that Taiki does have long bangs, but he chooses to slick them back, away from his face. Therefore, his hair is just pulled back farther on his scalp than any other character's hair is. If Taiki let his bangs hang loose, he would probably have more hair all around his head than any other character does.

Taiki's foreheard is huge.

No, it's not any larger than any other character's forehead. Like I said before, there are no bangs to cover Taiki's forehead, so it just *appears* larger than usual.

Taiki doesn't have a single sexy feature on him.

That's not true! The eyes! THE EYES! The gosh darn sexiest eyes out of all the Three Lights!

What eyes? The eyes are hardly there at all!

Admittedly, some really bad animators have a way of drawing Taiki with tiny little slits for eyes. (I'm thinking of episodes 191 and 195.) But that's not true for every episode - just look at those huge, gorgeous, sexy eyes in episode 185!

Taiki doesn't make a very pretty girl.

That's not true in the manga. Taiki is downright *gorgeous* in the manga. The anime, however... Yeah, the anime wasn't too generous with Taiki's looks. Again, I blame it on bad animation, and unflattering character designs.

Taiki has no personality.

Sorry, wrong again. Taiki is an incredibly complicated character, because he hides his true personality from the rest of the world. Outwardly, Taiki is a cold, quiet, introspective, and intelligent poet. Inwardly, Taiki is struggling to overcome feelings of guilt, remorse, depression, vulnerability, and loneliness. And unlike most other Sailor Moon characters, Taiki's personality evolves dramatically over the course of one season. Taiki learns to embrace his emotional side, to allow himself to hope again, and to appreciate the beautiful things in life, like romance and dreams. And didn't the episode with sickly little Misa just bring tears to your eyes?

The Sailor Starmaker fuku is ugly.

Well, you're certainly entitled to your own opinion. But don't pass judgement before you consider all aspects of the fuku. The strongest point of this fuku is that it sends a clear message to any prospective villian: I'm about to totally thrash your @$$, and there's nothing that you can do about it! This is a fuku made for butt-kicking, period. For some reason, that *cute* little sailor fuku that Sailor Moon and company wear just doesn't send the same message.

But the fuku is so skimpy! It exposes WAY to much skin.

Honestly, now. If you can't handle some harmless exposure of a little skin, you're going to have a tough time stomaching about 99% of anime.

"Star Gentle Uterus" is a disgusting attack! Eeew!

There's something about this statement that seems inherently immature to me. The people who say this are probably the type who spent their junior high health classes snickering and laughing in the back of the room. Really, people, can't you handle a harmless reference to a basic body part? I'm sorry if that sounds condenscending, but it is my opinion.

Also, remember that Maker's attack has a symbolic connection to her astrology and her Senshi status. She's called "Sailor Starmaker" for a *reason*. Maker represents maturity, motherhood, and creation. Like Sailor Neptune, Sailor Starmaker is associated with motherly embrace and the womb. Even Taiki Kou displays some of these characteristics: Taiki is a very mature person, and the act of writing poetry and song lyrics is considered an act of creation. So it's no wonder that Maker's attack has a "uterus" reference. It all fits within the overall symbolism of the character.

Okay, so there may be some logic behind the attack name "Star Gentle Uterus." But it's still a stupid attack.

What makes a stupid attack? A lot of attacks in the Sailor Moon series sound stupid if you aren't used to them. Examples: "Jupiter Oak Evolution," "Pink Sugar Heart Attack," "Moon Gorgeous Meditation," etc, etc. In the end, "stupid" is in the eye of the beholder.

Sailor Star Maker doesn't have useful powers. or, alternatively,
The Sailor Starlights are weak, useless Sailor Senshi.

Say what? Sailor Starmaker, along with the other Sailor Starlights, is among the most powerful Senshi in the entire series. In the manga, Maker's attack alone could blow away a Sailor Animamate (whereas the attacks of the Outer Senshi just bounced off the Animamate harmlessly). And in the anime, Maker's attack was very versatile - like in episode 177, when Maker used her attack to drain energy from the phage instead of outright killing it. (The implication being that she *could* kill the phage if she wanted to, but that would require the sacrifice of an innocent teacher. And it would have made Ami-chan cry.) In either version, anime OR manga, Sailor Starmaker is a seriously powerful Sailor Senshi.

Well, there you have it. Taiki Kou is a beautiful, complex, and inspiring character. Sailor Star Maker is a dangerous, powerful, and just plain kick-butt Sailor Senshi. Those are some of the reasons that I have for liking Taiki's character so much. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

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	In Defense of Taiki Why do so many fans dislike Taiki Kou? In case you haven't noticed already, Taiki/Sailor Starmaker happens to be one of my favorite characters in Sailor Moon. And I'm sick and tired of Taiki so often being written off as a boring, useless, or annoying character. Therefore, in this article I will do my best to explain just why I like the most under-rated character in Sailor Moon. Common complaints about Taiki are listed in bold, and my responses follow them. Also, a visitor to this site, Nyxity, has written an excellent response to this article, which you can read here. Taiki is balding! Er, no. Taiki is the ONLY Sailor Moon character who doesn't wear bangs (well, other than Karaberas in the R season). Actually, if you look closely, you'll notice that Taiki does have long bangs, but he chooses to slick them back, away from his face. Therefore, his hair is just pulled back farther on his scalp than any other character's hair is. If Taiki let his bangs hang loose, he would probably have more hair all around his head than any other character does. Taiki's foreheard is huge. No, it's not any larger than any other character's forehead. Like I said before, there are no bangs to cover Taiki's forehead, so it just appears larger than usual. Taiki doesn't have a single sexy feature on him. That's not true! The eyes! THE EYES! The gosh darn sexiest eyes out of all the Three Lights! What eyes? The eyes are hardly there at all! Admittedly, some really bad animators have a way of drawing Taiki with tiny little slits for eyes. (I'm thinking of episodes 191 and 195.) But that's not true for every episode - just look at those huge, gorgeous, sexy eyes in episode 185! Taiki doesn't make a very pretty girl. That's not true in the manga. Taiki is downright gorgeous in the manga. The anime, however... Yeah, the anime wasn't too generous with Taiki's looks. Again, I blame it on bad animation, and unflattering character designs. Taiki has no personality. Sorry, wrong again. Taiki is an incredibly complicated character, because he hides his true personality from the rest of the world. Outwardly, Taiki is a cold, quiet, introspective, and intelligent poet. Inwardly, Taiki is struggling to overcome feelings of guilt, remorse, depression, vulnerability, and loneliness. And unlike most other Sailor Moon characters, Taiki's personality evolves dramatically over the course of one season. Taiki learns to embrace his emotional side, to allow himself to hope again, and to appreciate the beautiful things in life, like romance and dreams. And didn't the episode with sickly little Misa just bring tears to your eyes? The Sailor Starmaker fuku is ugly. Well, you're certainly entitled to your own opinion. But don't pass judgement before you consider all aspects of the fuku. The strongest point of this fuku is that it sends a clear message to any prospective villian: I'm about to totally thrash your @$$, and there's nothing that you can do about it! This is a fuku made for butt-kicking, period. For some reason, that cute little sailor fuku that Sailor Moon and company wear just doesn't send the same message. But the fuku is so skimpy! It exposes WAY to much skin. Honestly, now. If you can't handle some harmless exposure of a little skin, you're going to have a tough time stomaching about 99% of anime. "Star Gentle Uterus" is a disgusting attack! Eeew! There's something about this statement that seems inherently immature to me. The people who say this are probably the type who spent their junior high health classes snickering and laughing in the back of the room. Really, people, can't you handle a harmless reference to a basic body part? I'm sorry if that sounds condenscending, but it is my opinion. Also, remember that Maker's attack has a symbolic connection to her astrology and her Senshi status. She's called "Sailor Starmaker" for a reason. Maker represents maturity, motherhood, and creation. Like Sailor Neptune, Sailor Starmaker is associated with motherly embrace and the womb. Even Taiki Kou displays some of these characteristics: Taiki is a very mature person, and the act of writing poetry and song lyrics is considered an act of creation. So it's no wonder that Maker's attack has a "uterus" reference. It all fits within the overall symbolism of the character. Okay, so there may be some logic behind the attack name "Star Gentle Uterus." But it's still a stupid attack. What makes a stupid attack? A lot of attacks in the Sailor Moon series sound stupid if you aren't used to them. Examples: "Jupiter Oak Evolution," "Pink Sugar Heart Attack," "Moon Gorgeous Meditation," etc, etc. In the end, "stupid" is in the eye of the beholder. Sailor Star Maker doesn't have useful powers. or, alternatively, The Sailor Starlights are weak, useless Sailor Senshi. Say what? Sailor Starmaker, along with the other Sailor Starlights, is among the most powerful Senshi in the entire series. In the manga, Maker's attack alone could blow away a Sailor Animamate (whereas the attacks of the Outer Senshi just bounced off the Animamate harmlessly). And in the anime, Maker's attack was very versatile - like in episode 177, when Maker used her attack to drain energy from the phage instead of outright killing it. (The implication being that she could kill the phage if she wanted to, but that would require the sacrifice of an innocent teacher. And it would have made Ami-chan cry.) In either version, anime OR manga, Sailor Starmaker is a seriously powerful Sailor Senshi. Well, there you have it. Taiki Kou is a beautiful, complex, and inspiring character. Sailor Star Maker is a dangerous, powerful, and just plain kick-butt Sailor Senshi. Those are some of the reasons that I have for liking Taiki's character so much. Thank you for taking the time to read this. << Return to Harmony \| Main Index >>		Harmony Main Index Song Déjà Vu Fanbuch Gioca con... Quiz Main Events Soda Pops Fanfics Fanart Merchandise Sera Myu Introduction Soundtracks Videos/DVDs Actresses Opinions Why Lights? Necessary? Taiki Submitted