What's this? you say. An essay praising Zoisite on a shrine devoted to Nephrite and Naru? Well, yes. I felt a need to make my own personal stance and the official editorial stance of this site clear: this is not an anti-Zoisite shrine. I have some dear friends who are Zoisite fans. We've had a lot of dialogue about our favorite characters, and as I've managed to soften their feelings towards Nephrite and convince them that maybe there really was something between Nephrite and Naru, they've also helped me grow to appreciate Zoisite.

Note: most of this applies to the Japanese male version. I have very little good to say about the North American female version, except that, as a parent, I think parents have the right to decide when to bring up potentially sensitive subjects such as homosexuality with their kids, without the issue being forced by a TV show. That, and the line, "I'm gonna get you, Cape Boy!" I don't know if the original has a comparable line, since I'm not fortunate enough to have all the episodes in fansubs yet, but that one line is wonderful.

So, with no further ado, here's my list of things to like about Zoisite. (Some of these are kind of backhanded compliments, but hey. It's a Nephrite+Naru shrine. Zoisite has to take what he can get.)

1. His Japanese voice is to die for. I still like Japanese Nephrite's deep voice the best, but Zoisite's silky, delicious tenor is marvelous. Hate the DiC Zoisite's nails-on-chalkboard laugh? The Japanese Zoisite's laugh will cure what ails you. (By the way, the same voice actor also did Umino/Melvin's voice in the Japanese series.)

2. He's a sneaky, backstabbing little rat. Yes, that's also what I love to hate about him. But he excels at being a sneaky, backstabbing little rat, and one must admire achievement and excellence where one finds it.

3. He's so darn pretty. I wish I were that pretty.

4. He's so unabashedly effeminate. If DiC had left him as a male, it would have resulted in the interesting conundrum of some people being mad that there was a gay man on a children's cartoon show, and other people being mad that the gay man was portrayed as so stereotypically effeminate, and a bad guy to boot. Can't please everyone, I guess.

5. He tries to kill Tuxedo Mask.

6. His death is the second-best of all the Shitennou.

7. His relationship with Kunzite is really interesting. What, exactly, is their relationship? Do they or don't they? How long has this been going on? I believe they really did love each other, though there seems to have been a heavy element of the co-dependent/dysfunctional in their relationship. So wonderfully needy and twisted...

8. As one Zoisite fan pointed out to me in a discussion we had this past summer, Nephrite's story and especially his relationship with Naru just wouldn't have been the same without the element of danger represented by Zoisite. In fact, the whole Dark Kingdom wouldn't have been as good if any of the Shitennou were missing. Even Jadeite, who doesn't interact with any of the other Shitennou, has an influence on the mix. It can be argued that part of Nephrite's undoing is his arrogant over-confidence that he can do better at gathering energy than that "useless Jadeite." It's interesting that Zoisite taunts him with Jadeite's failures, telling him that he's going to end up like Jadeite. This taunting spurs Nephrite to become even more of a loose cannon, in his desperation to prove his superiority and avoid Jadeite's fate, only to win Beryl's wrath instead. Then there are the parts where Kunzite and Zoisite are discussing what Zoisite should do about Nephrite. It appears that the real rivalry is between Kunzite and Nephrite, perhaps to become the most powerful King in the Dark Kingdom. Anyway, my point is that the Dark Kingdom just wouldn't be the Dark Kingdom if any of the four Kings were missing, and Zoisite plays an important part in the story.

Well, okay, I'll admit it's hard for me to think of a lot of things to like about Zoisite. But there are a few. And you'll never catch me saying that the show would have been better without Zoisite in it, or the best thing about Zoisite is that he died, or anything like that. I got over my "I like Nephrite, ergo I hate Zoisite" phase long ago, and I think that Dark Kingdom fandom would be a lot healthier and more vibrant if the "love Nephrite/hate Zoisite" and "love Zoisite/hate Nephrite" divisions disappeared altogether. Not to say there's something wrong with having favorite characters, but we need to recognize that their interaction with their enemies/rivals is part of what makes our favorites so good.

I fell in love with Sailor Moon when I spent two hours late one night crying over Nephrite's death while I watched the tape over and over again. And that wouldn't have happened if Zoisite hadn't killed him. Or had him killed, setting an ambush like the sneaky cowardly little backstabbing rat he is.... *ahem* sorry. Once again, cool as Nephrite is, his story and his relationship with Naru wouldn't have been as compellingly beautiful and tragic if it weren't for Zoisite. The sakura should be appreciated for that, if nothing else.

(January 2002)

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