I’ve been watching Live Action Sailor Moon and I have some questions about Rei. If you’ve never seen the show it appears that Rei is a “preistess” for a christain church.
My questions are:
She appears to live near the church by some sort of shrine. The show hints that she lives there because her mother died and she wants to avoid her father. So exactly how does this work? Was she adopted by the church when her mother died? Did she decide to become the Japanese equivalant of a nun? Did she beat on the doors and cry “Santcuary! Sanctuary!”
If she is the Japanese equivalant of a nun, wouldn’t she be celibate? If that’s true then why does one of the the other characters comment about the fact that “she’s real strict about men”. I think that would be pretty obvious if she was a nun.
What’s up with that costume? It’s red and white and looks like some bizarre cross between a kimono and a dress. It appears to be made of some thick, stiff material. Is this the Japanese version of a nun’s habit?
I have not had the opportunity to see the show you speak of, but I got a little curious after reading your post. My research has turned up this little page.
http://www.sailormoon.ws/archives/112003.html
A little more than halfway down the page is a little thing about Miko, or Shrine Maidens. I cannot guarantee the authenticity of the information, but it seems to me to be both completely plausable and knowledgeable.
Repeating that I have not seen the show, I do find it highly unlikely that she is serving in a christian church.
Hopefully the site gives you whatever info ya need.
Here’s a picture of some Shrine Maidens. Is the character wearing a similar dress?
Well, I used to watch the cartoon regularly 
I always thought Rei was a “Shrine Maiden”, as others have posted - at a Shinto shrine.
As a miko (Shrine Maiden), they are usually considered to be the priest’s “daughter”, though not biologically. So, I suppose, it is similar to being a nun in Christianity. They remain unmarried and celibate.
FWIW, the cartoon character Rei wears an outfit that looks very much like these.
It’s the same outfit, Anastasaeon though you don’t see her in it as much in the live action. Beyond that, I can’t really add anything that others haven’t already said.
(BTW, how do you like the series so far?)
furryman - Rei Hino is a miko. She has no connection to any Western religion whatsoever. The temple is her home; she didn’t walk in off the street or get dumped there in a basket or nuthin’. Also, one of the universal themes of any magical girl anime is that they always have to keep it a secret from everyone they know; marginalizing or eliminating the parents is a convenient way to take them out of the picture.
But I gotta ask ya…you’re taking the live action seriously? I mean, do you have any idea how many changes and revisions and flips and flops happen between the original manga and the anime alone (much less the insane butchery Dic did for American network television)?
The manga, dude…always the manga. All else is deception.
The reason I though Rei lived in a christian church is because I just watched an episode that took place there. I guess she was just visiting?
Jayne_Newell I’m really enjoying the series. Great Stuff.
Etherial’s link answered most of the questions I had. Thanks a lot.
DKW Since it was a Japanese show filmed in Japan I assumed it was a fairly accurate depiction of Japanese life. Silly me, eh?
Thanks for your replies.
I guess I wasn’t paying enough atttention. It was that one episode that took place in a christian church that threw me off. In all the other episodes it looks like she lives in what looks to me like a Shinto shrine. Not to mention the fact that she has fire based powers and is apparently able to use fire to perceive danger.
Hey, at times that was a laugh. (“cousins”… yeah, right, sure…)
Rei lives in the Shinto shrine with her grandfather. You may have seen her in a Christian church once because, bizarrely, she happens to go to Thomas Aquinas School For Girls, a private Catholic school.
Very silly. I will never, ever understand why so many people have the mistaken idea that Japanese science-fiction and fantasy TV programs provide a realistic look at everyday Japanese culture. Even a serious TV drama is only going to be so reliable in its depiction of daily life, and a show like the live-action “Sailor Moon”…one might as well be using “Sabrina the Teenaged Witch” as their sole text for the study of ordinary life in America.
I don’t know about the particular character in the show, but the position of shrine maiden is not generally a long-term one like being a Catholic or Buddhist nun. It’s a fairly popular temporary, part-time job for young women. Miko don’t exactly rake in the dough, but it’s not difficult work and you don’t really need any qualifications. At least not to perform the most basic miko tasks: cleaning, selling amulets and fortunes, and fetching stuff for the priests. I’ve heard some people actually compare it to being a waitress. Miko also perform the sacred dances at the shrine, but it’s not required that all miko do this so not all miko actually need traditional dance training.
Not so bizarre. A lot of Japanese youngsters, especially girls, attend private Catholic schools…even though the actual Catholic population in Japan is tiny. It’s because these schools usually have good academic reputations, especially when it comes to English language instruction and Western history.
You think that’s bad? Ya ever seen the clip of Saban’s live action/animation version, with an American cast? shudder