Sitting at the 'Fruits Parlor' restaurant with her friends, Rei speak glowingly about Yaten, one of three members of the hottest idol group, the Three Lights.

This sequence, and the two others of Taiki and Seiya during this episode, is another example of how well Takeuchi weaved religion into her storyline. This particular cel(especially due to the matching background) highlights the Shinto concept of 'san hikari'(three lights) that was personified through the creation of the Sailor Starlights. 'San Hikari' refers to the three elements that both explain the meaning and guide the destiny of human life. Yaten's color, as highlighted by the many flowers surrounding him, is yellow. In the Shinto faith, the color yellow is assosciated as a property of the ruler of the stars, otherwise known as "Susano no Mikoto". As ruler of the ebb and flow of the ocean, the Ruler of the Stars mantains perfect balance between both the destructive and lifegiving properties of water. Yaten's personality is a direct reflection of these properties; He is a volatile character who can easy switch from tempest to tenderness and often during the same episode.

From Episode 173 - "Wakare to Deai! Unmei no Hoshiboshi no Ryuuten"(A farewell and an encounter! The destiny of shooting stars).


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