Survival Tips for Japanese Animation

Please note that "Hero" is an ungendered word in this world, especially within the Magical Girl genre.

The star image marks those items which are especially appropriate to Magical Girl anime. For the dystopian MegaTokyo future type, we have a little city: There will be other images for other genres as I find appropriate clip art. :)

For the Good Guys

1. I will note patterns that occur in the demon/monster/villians I fight. That way I can be there to dispense of them when they pop up.
2. I will not use my simple attack when I know that it will only annoy the demon/monster/villians. I'll just pull out the mega-zot from the start and be done with them.
3. I can use an attack more than once in the course of a fight--it'll distract the demon/monster/villain so the Hero can use the mega-zot on it.
4. If any of my younger siblings have disappeared, I will keep a close eye on strangers of the appropriate age and gender, especially if they wear strange, otherworldly clothing.
5. If any of my older siblings have disappeared, I will not be surprised when villains know my name and other personal information.
6. My friends and I will not be color-coded when we are not using our powers. I'll attempt to change my name so it's not blindingly obvious either.
7. When attempting to determine the identity of the Mysterious Stranger who has started popping up, I will consider the people of the appropriate gender who I frequently run into in mundane life.
8. I will attempt to modify the links on my mecha so that I will not feel pain when it gets hit. If this is not possible or would significantly impair performance, I'll at least try to tone it down to "mosquito bite" rather than "earth-shattering agony."
9. My ship or mecha will be equipped with as many forms of non-visible-light detection as are available on my world, so that I can see the Bad Guys' 'invisible' ships without supernatural talents.
10. Minor Bad Guys can probably be turned to good. Bosses are much less vulnerable; demons, monsters and minions must be destroyed.
11. I will not limit the possibilities of romantic involvement by age.
12. Someone has a secret. Probably several someones. They're still Good Guys.
13. When I hear my companion scream and find a mysterious stranger bent over her, I will first assume that he has rescued her from whatever caused her to scream.
14. I will not start fights with people who say flat out that they can kill me.
15. If I have a former lover who has died, I'll keep an eye on her kids.
16. If someone has a long string of True Loves who have all died, I will carefully consider whether I really find him/her that attractive.
17. If all my former True Loves have died, I will not share any new feelings of love with anyone, especially the object thereof.

For the Bad Guys

1. I will consider the possibility that the girl named "Moon Rabbit" has something to do with my nemesis Sailor Moon.
2. If I have siblings, I will attempt not to argue with them or get into discussions of who's more attractive. It annoys the Boss and we're all going to end up good anyway.
3. I will send out more than one demon/monster/minion at a time, so that one can complete the mission while the other leads the Heroes on a wild goose chase.
4. I will not allow the Hero into my Inner Sanctum where the object that supplies my power is located. I may be more mondo there, but one'll get you ten the Hero will blow it up.
5. I will keep in mind that enough sucsessive failures will cause the Boss to replace me even if I'm his/her "favorite." I will console myself with the knowledge that he/she is going down even harder than I am.
6. I will not feel confident that I will win just because I have killed or captured all the Hero's comrades. Odds are I've just pissed him/her off enough to use the really inpressive attack.
7. If my younger sibling comes to save me from evil, I will prove that evil is the way to go by shooting him/her on the spot.
8. The ditzy one is probably the Hero.
9. When people start making pronouncements about Love, Honor, Courage, or what-have-you during the climactic fight, I will get out of the line of fire no matter how close to victory I think I am.
10. I will watch out for insanely lucky heroes. If the hero is a moron, but has still survived Certain Doom on multiple occasions,I will think twice about launching an assault, especially if I am planning to use Overwhelming Force.

For Everyone

1. Secret identities are even less effective here than in Western comics. I will pay especial attention to hair color and style.
2. I will keep an eye out for people who hang out in groups of five--or four, if I have recently discovered my unusual talents.
3. I will attempt to keep my transformation sequence as short as possible.
4. If I can use magical or supertechnological detection, so can my opponents.
5. I will never assume that any force I can wield is invincible.
6. At least one Good Guy is related to at least one Bad Guy.
7. I will pay close attention when two new people show up at once, especially if they are similar in more than superficial ways. This is especially important if logic seems to indicate they can't possibly be the same person for some reason.
8. Cute girls who clearly Aren't From Around Here are important--I will recruit or disable them as my alignment dictates.
9. I will never attempt to subvert prophecy.

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Last modified Monday 3 September 2001