Valentine’s Day is coming up this week, and while I personally could care less about this red and pink hearts day for lovers, I am doing a fun post in honor of it. As I currently read Volume 2 of Codename Sailor V, the very first chapter had a Valentine’s Day centric story in the volume.
The chapter starts off with Mina and her classmates discussing who they would give chocolate to on Valentine’s Day. Mina is counting all the men who she plans on giving obligatory chocolate to until one of her friends prompts her to admit who she would give “real” chocolate to.
For those not familiar with the way Valentine’s Day works in Japan, girls give chocolate to their friends and a specially made one to a special somebody as a way of either telling their boyfriends that they love them, or those who they wish to be their boyfriends how they really feel about them. The boys then show their appreciation or return their affections to the girl of their choice on White Day which occurs in March.
When Mina considers the question her friend asks her, it suddenly hits Mina that she doesn’t have anyone to give special chocolate to. This realization puts Mina in a funk as she walks home from school. She bemoans her fate as being a beautiful but lonely girl without anyone to love. You know, typical teen girl stuff. Eventually, her lament is interrupted when she stumbles upon a new chocolate shop that is selling a hot new commodity known as rainbow chocolate.
Like many of the girls in the shop, Mina can’t resist taking some home for herself. As she spends a good portion of her days nursing her lonely nights with chocolate, Mina gets noticeably plump and out of shape. Artemis disapproves of his warrior of love and justice gorging herself on these chocolates and swiftly disposes of them, and monitors her efforts to take the weight off.
When people all over town start getting noticeably fatter and are pigging out on the same rainbow chocolate Mina used to eat, Artemis uncovers a nefarious plot by the Dark Agency to fatten everyone up, have them get self-conscious about their weight, promote a day spa for slimming down, and then use those same spas to suck people dry of their energy.
The premise of the whole chapter is a bit silly and a little campy, but I did enjoy it for what it was. It does delve into the typical cliches you would expect from Valentine’s Day––single gal who is alone with nothing to comfort her other than a box of chocolates or a tub of ice cream. The only thing that is missing is having a panel where Mina is consuming all these sweets as she watches a romantic comedy film.
Look, I get it. It sucks to be single on Valentine’s Day. We all want someone to love or at least the start of a great romance with someone special. Unfortunately, it can’t happen for everyone. At least not for now.
By the end of the chapter, Mina is back in her Sailor V mode and she defeats the enemy like she always does. What’s great about the end of the chapter is how unaffected Mina is at going solo. She’s the same chirpy, boy crazy blonde as usual. If anything, she sees the glass half full. Mina single? It’s fine. There are plenty of men out there to find her and love her someday. For now, she’s just enjoying being a happy and independent girl. Take a page from Sailor V’s book and bask in the greatness that is you. Love will find you in your own time if you believe it will.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
simpleek 
You know, I’m going to do a critique of one manga I’m currently obssesing on… Ao Haru Ride. I’m going to make another account on WP.
Never heard of that series before. What’s it about? And why are you creating a separate account? Will it be an all manga review blog?
It will be on a separate account . That will be the one with one theme , no diversion.
As someone who is single, I don’t get the idea that we singles are miserable on Valentine’s Day. Being single doesn’t bother me in the least and I still like Valentine’s Day even though I can’t celebrate it being single. I guess this stereotype of the lonely chocolate comfort food eating woman on Valentine’s Day is just another form of “women are incomplete without a man” so prevalent in our culture. It’s great to see that Sailor V rejects this! I seriously need to read the manga myself, but I guess that won’t happen until I finish with Fire Emblem Awakening as that’s my current obsession. x3
Yeah, I don’t get it either. They make being single look as if it’s a stigma in society to a certain degree. I’m perfectly fine going solo at the moment, but I don’t want some “holiday” making me feel sad and depressed that I don’t have that special someone in my life. The sobbing, chocolate gorging single girl is a terrible cliche that is prevalent in our media. If anything, they need to portray women who can be like, “You know what? I’m single and that’s okay. I’m not going to crumble because a guy hasn’t completed me.” If anything, I do think Sailor V helps empower women to a certain degree.
On an unrelated note, I found your comment in my spam folder. It’s a good thing I check it regularly before emptying it out. Maybe WP thought your new email address was suspicious? >.<
Agreed. The Sailor series overall is a very empowering series. I’m so happy Ms. Takeuchi wrote it and now I’m really looking forward to reading Sailor V~
That would explain why my comments aren’t showing up on other people’s blogs. I was wondering what was up. Hopefully I get off the wordpress blacklist soon. x3 But that does make me wonder why I was even considered suspicious in the first place. O: