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- This page is about the full Sailor Moon Media franchises. For more information on the character entitled "Sailor Moon", see Usagi Tsukino. For more detailed information about the English language release of Sailor Moon see Sailor Moon (English version).
is the title of the famous series originally authored as a manga by Naoko Takeuchi, as a sequel to her manga Codename wa Sailor V.
The Sailor Moon manga resulted in spinoffs into many other types of media, including an anime series, musical theatre, video games and a live action tokusatsu.
The story of the metaseries revolves around the reincarnated defenders of a kingdom that once spanned the solar system, and the evil forces that they battle.
Sailor Moon is generally credited with popularizing the concept of a sentai (team) of magical girls rather than anime in which one girl works alone. It is also credited with the re-emergence of the popularity of mahou shoujo anime.
Although many concepts in the manga, anime, musicals and tokusatsu overlap, there are many notable divergences. Fans caution viewers not to always use information from either source to explain the other.
Story
Fourteen-year-old junior high student Usagi Tsukino discovers that she is the reincarnation of Princess Serenity, the princess of a mystical, utopic Kingdom.
She, along with several of her friends, (known as the Sailor Senshi/Scouts) are granted powers to defend the Solar System against an evil force. This evil force originally destroyed her kingdom, the Moon Kingdom. (In the original Japanese known as the Silver Millennium.)
Usagi fights using the identity of Sailor Moon, alongside her friends and her destined true love, Tuxedo Mask.
There is a noticeable difference in the story and presentation of the anime and manga. The manga was more complex and darker in tone whilst the anime was simplified, perhaps to appeal to younger fans.
Manga
Sailor Moon falls into the shōjo genre of manga. Its main series was serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi in Japan. The side-stories were serialized in Kodansha's Run Run.
The manga's creator, Naoko Takeuchi, devised the idea when she wanted to create a cute series about girls in outer space. Her editor, Fumio Osano (whom Takeuchi calls "Osa-P"), asked her to put them in Sailor Suits. This resulted in Codename wa Sailor V, which is considered (canon-wise) a prequel to Sailor Moon.
When Codename wa Sailor V was slated to become an anime, Takeuchi decided to merge in plot elements from the popular sentai genre, most notably the concept of a team of five heroes, consequently remaking the manga into Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon, with a new central character. Thus Usagi and her friends were born. After the completion of the first series, Takeuchi was surprised when she was asked to continue - and so then the next four arcs of the manga were written.
Naoko Takeuchi amalgamated many seemingly separate themes in the creation of Sailor Moon. Combining her love of space with Greek myth, Roman myth, Japanese elemental themes, and Meiji period sailor fuku school uniforms, she managed to fuse together the popular magical girl and sentai genres, creating a completely new and original idea.
The original manga spanned 18 volumes. The manga has since been re-released as the 12 Volume "Renewal" manga. It still consists of the same arcs, but the Renewal Manga has been rewritten and redrawn for a new feel. There are 5 major arcs in the manga. The arcs are the following:
- Sailor Moon
- Black Moon
- Infinity
- Dream
- Stars
- Sidestories and Specials
- Kaguya Hime no Koibito
- Casablanca Memories
- Chibi-Usa Picture Diaries
- The Exams Battles
- Parallel Sailor Moon
Anime adaptations
With 200 episodes originally airing in Japan from March 1992 to February 1997, Sailor Moon is one of the longest magical girl anime series. Currently it has been surpassed only by the "Ojamajo Doremi" metaseries with 214 episodes. Although many other shows have followed the same formula as Sailor Moon, most are generally considered to be relatively uninspiring and none have ever been the marketing giant that this anime has become. As it has been translated into many languages and distributed widely, Sailor Moon is arguably one of the most famous anime properties in the world.
The anime's first two series contain stories that vaguely revolve around the backdrop of the Silver Millennium and the future Crystal Tokyo. The third series is quite dark in comparison, while the fourth is sometimes considered overly light and silly. The metaseries enjoyed renewed interest in its final fifth series, although its reuse of many plot devices (Not to mention a refusal to adapt some of the darker points of the corresponding manga arc's story) bothered some fans.
The Japanese Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon) anime metaseries is composed of five separate series. The five Sailor Moon anime series are listed below with their English language names first. All of Sailor Moon was animated traditionally.
Sailor Moon Series
Sailor Moon
- Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon)
- Japanese version: 46 episodes, from #1-ja through #46-ja.
- English version: 40 episodes, from #1-en through #40-en.
- Usually referred to by fans as the "Classic" series, to avoid confusion with the entire metaseries. In this part, we are introduced to Usagi, her friends and family, and how she becomes Sailor Moon. We are also introduced to the "inner senshi", as well as Usagi's ally and future husband, Mamoru, a.k.a Tuxedo Kamen (Tuxedo Mask in the English dub). It corresponds to the Dark Kingdom arc of the manga.
Sailor Moon R
- Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn R (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R)
- Japanese version: 43 episodes, from #47-ja through #89-ja.
- English version: 42 episodes, from #41-en through #82-en.
- Sailor Moon R is actually two story arcs. According to the Memorial Song Box booklet, "R" can stand for "Romance," "Return," etc.
- The first arc of R, the Makaiju arc, was developed by the show' animators as filler and was not part of the manga. This comprised episodes 47-59.
- The second arc of R contains episodes 60-89. It corresponds to the Black Moon arc of the manga.
- To avoid confusion, it should be reminded that the 1995 English-language adaptation only used the first 72 episodes (i.e. not all of SM: R) and shrunk them down into 65, while the remaining 17 episodes of SMR were only adapted into English in 1997. This 24-episode condensation/omission from the Japanese to English versions, as well as the editing, have created a strong fanbase among Americans that have little respect for the dub.
Sailor Moon S
- Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn S (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S)
- Japanese version: 38 episodes, from #90-ja through #127-ja.
- English version: 38 episodes, from #90-en through #127-en.
- Episodes #83-en through #89-en do not exist. At the start of S, the English version's episode numbers were adjusted to match those of the original Japanese version.
- The "S" stands for "Super".
Sailor Moon SuperS
- Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn SuperS (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon SuperS)
- Japanese version: 39 episodes, from #128-ja through #166-ja.
- English version: 39 episodes, from #128-en through #166-en.
- The second "S" after the "Super", contrary to popular belief, does make it plural as you can tell in the way that it is pronounced (, "Supah-sue").
- Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn Sailor Stars (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Sailor Stars)
- Japanese version: 34 episodes, from #167-ja through #200-ja.
- This series was never shown in English. An English version of Sailor Stars is not going to be produced, so Anglophones who wish to view it must find it through other sources.
It has also been argued that Takeuchi was offended by some of the changes made to the final series. The most infamous of these is the identity of the three supporting characters, the "Starlights", from women disguised as men in the manga to men who change into women in the anime.
This change is also largely cited as the cause for the last series being withheld from the English-speaking Western market. It has, however, aired in Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, and Latin America. In these countries, the Starlights were made out to be female or, in some markets, had companions.
Movies and Specials
There are three Sailor Moon movies, and these have independent stories that are separate from the series. The movies fall in the general timeline of each of the three middle series (R, S, and SuperS).
- Sailor Moon R Movie
- Sailor Moon S Movie
- Miracle in the Black Dream Hole
There are a few specials as well: Make-Up! Sailor Senshi, shown as a summary of the Sailor Senshi before the Sailor Moon R Movie, and the later Sailor Moon SuperS Special, and Sailor Moon SuperS Plus: Ami-chan no Hatsukoi (Ami's First Love), both of which take place around the SuperS series.
Additionally, there are several Sailor Moon soundtracks available.
Musical stage show adaptations
- Main article: Sailor Moon Musicals
The musicals, usually referred to collectively as Seramyu, were series of live theatre productions that played over 800 performances in some 26 musicals from 1993 to 2005. The producers generally expand upon plot concepts presented in the anime and manga; however, there are several original plot lines.
The series ran twice a year, in the winter and in the summer. In the summer, the only venue for the musicals is the Sunshine Theatre in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo; however, in the winter it did go on tour to the larger cities in Japan.
The final incarnation of the series, , was staged in January 2005. After the January 2005 show, the series went on a "hiatus", according to the current producer, BMO. There have been no signs that the show will continue.
Televised "live action" drama adaptation
Main Article: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
| Act 14 January 10, 2004 - 4.0%* |
| (*Near death of a main character) |
| Act 15 January 17, 2004 - 3.2% |
| Act 16 January 24, 2004 - 3.2% |
| Act 17 January 31, 2004 - 4.7%* |
| (*Introduction of a new character) |
| Act 18 February 07, 2004 - 3.8% |
The series is known officially as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (usually abbreviated by fans to simply PGSM), and it is the first series in the franchise to have an official English title.
The show more closely followed the original manga than the animated metaseries in its first few episodes, but proceeded to follow a significantly different storyline than those of the manga and anime later in the show.
There were also several radio programs called "DJ Moon" based on the show that originated from Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting radio and were broadcast on other radio networks in Japan. The shows were a combination of a radio drama and promotional tool for the TV series, often foreshadowing upcoming events. These shows were later sold on CD.
The live action broadcast's ratings were not as high as those of the original show. The show had a high start, but then the ratings slid. They picked up in January of 2004 and then again at the end of the series. There were peaks and valleys in the ratings depending on the plot elements.
In addition to the broadcast television show, there was also a stage musical performance by characters on the show. Some footage from the filming of the stage show was used in the television broadcast. There was also an instructional video released.
Additionally, there were two direct-to-video releases after the show ended its television broadcast: The "Special Act", set several years after the series ended, and "Act Zero", which showed the origins of Sailor V and Tuxedo Kamen.
Video games
The Sailor Moon console and arcade video games were originally released only in Japan. They have been unreleased in North America and most other Non-Japanese countries (with the exception of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor moon, the first game developed by the studio Angel and released in France in 1996), and have not been translated into English and other languages, with the exception of Sailor Moon: Another Story, which has been translated via emulation by a fan group. The games are hard to find outside of Japan, although the ROMs can be downloaded from various websites.
Bandai produced a small handful of the games, while most were handled by a Japanese game company called Angel. Early games were that of a side-scrolling fighter, whereas later games were typically unique puzzle games, and even later titles chose to go a versus fighting game style. Another Story was the only game to stand out, being a role-playing game. Panic in Nakayoshi World was also released, an overhead Adventures of Lolo-style puzzle game featuring characters from various Nakayoshi-printed manga. Sailor Moon and Chibi Moon are playable characters.
The games mainly saw release on the Super Famicom, with the first side-scroller being ported to the Sega Mega Drive. A separate arcade side-scrolling fighter was also released.
In addition, two side-scrolling adventure games were produced for the Game Boy (Sailormoon and Sailormoon R), and a side-scrolling game was also produced for the Game Gear (Sailormoon S).
The first versus fighting game from the series was released for the 3DO. However, as the 3DO didn't do well outside Japan, this game has gone unnoticed even among hardcore fans. Sadly, of the three Sailor Moon fighting games released, this had the best gameplay, control and arguably the best graphics. Produced by Bandai themselves as opposed to Angel for the other two, this game is considerably different. A final versus fighting game saw release for the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation.
A US game was released for the PC. A minigame compilation titled The 3D Adventures of Sailor Moon. Aside from the theme, the games did little to tie in to the series.
The henshin (transformation) sequence people associate with Sailor Saturn is actually from a video game. Sailor Saturn never transforms in the anime.
English adaptations
English-dubbed anime
Main Article: Sailor Moon (English version)After a bidding war between Toon Makers and DiC Entertainment, DiC acquired the rights to the first 72 episodes of Sailor Moon, consisting of the entire first series and two-thirds of Sailor Moon R. Through the omission of 6 episodes and the merging of two others, the total episode count was reduced to 65, the minimum number of episodes required for strip syndication on US television. The remaining episodes were each cut by several minutes to make room for more commercials, to censor plot points or visuals deemed inappropriate for children, and to allow the insertion of "educational" segments called "Sailor Says" at the end of each episode. The remaining 17 episodes of Sailor Moon R were adapted later, and were treated in much the same way.
The English adaptations of Sailor Moon S and Sailor Moon Supers (the third and fourth series) stayed comparatively closer to the original Japanese versions, and no episodes were skipped or merged.
"Saban Moon"
Toon Makers wanted to acquire the rights to the name of the show and transform it into a live action American animated hybrid series that would have no resemblance to the anime, as evident through an video file that was distributed on the Internet. For many years, the video file was erroneously referred to as "Saban Moon"/"Saban's Sailor Moon", and had been believed to be by Saban Entertainment, but it was since revealed to have been by Toon Makers and Renaissance Atlantic. The misunderstanding is likely due to the fact that "Saban Moon" was extremely similar to the treatment given to Super Sentai and Power Rangers.English-language manga
The manga was translated into English in 1997 by manga publisher Mixx (now renamed Tokyopop). The manga was initially syndicated in MixxZine but was later pulled out of that magazine and moved into a secondary magazine called "SMILE." The decision was controversial for numerous reasons: first due to the fact that Mixx waited until after MixxZine's first year of publication had ended (around mid-1998) and its readers had renewed their subscriptions, to announce that it was pulling Sailor Moon from the magazine and moving it to a new magazine. Second was Mixx's controversial decision to leap forward from the midway point of the original "Dark Kingdom" storyline to the start of the Sailor Moon SuperS story when Sailor Moon began publication in the pages of "SMILE."Rumors for the motives behind these actions ranged from pure greed to that of Mixx dealing with a growing backlash amongst retailers over MixxZine. Many retailers, eager for a monthly Sailor Moon series to sell, reacted negatively to not only to the magazine anthology style format of MixxZine but also towards Mixx decision to include the ultra-violent Parasyte in the anthology, and that Mixx's decision was a way to respond to its critics' complaints. A year later, after toying with the notion of releasing the unpublished Sailor Moon stories in trade paperback format, Mixx opted to publish them instead in the standard US comic book format.
The U.S. Sailor Moon monthly comic ran for 35 issues, and aside from finishing up the Dark Kingdom storyline, it featured the manga versions of Sailor Moon R and Super. Unlike MixxZine, the regular comic series was launched with no hype and promotion. As a result the early issues quickly became collectors items, selling for $20-40 on the online auction site Ebay and the secondary market.
For the most part, the Mixx names match the English names for the main characters while at the same time using the Japanese names for those characters who were from seasons not yet dubbed in English. The only exception was Sailor Moon, who in the Tokyopop version was referred to by the nickname "Bunny." The manga is flipped to read left to right. As Sailor Moon was Mixx's first title, the quality of its translation in the beginning is extremely poor, though it improves somewhat towards the end of its publication run.
The US manga was released as three series: "Sailor Moon", which collects the first three arcs (the Dark Kingdom, Black Moon, and Infinity arcs), Sailor Moon SuperS, which collects the SuperS arc, and Sailor Moon Stars, which collects the Sailor Stars arc. While they feature all of the content from the original manga collections, the volumes also contain the occasional new sketch and "thank you" commentary from series creator Naoko Takeuchi.
As of October 2005, all of the Sailor Moon manga trade paperbacks are out of print as a result of an ongoing licensing dispute between Takeuchi and TOEI Studio. Tokyopop has expressed interest in re-releasing the Sailor Moon manga with a more accurate translation and uniform format, but as of this date are unable to do so until current disputes between Takeuchi and TOEI are resolved.
English-language reference
Possibly due to the large number of variances in the localizations, the original Japanese names are more commonly used in the U.S. The poor quality of the early dub and the somewhat bad first impressions of Tokyopop (at the time Mixx) left on fans at first may also have contributed to a general disdain for the American names.Characters
Major protagonists
See the individual articles and the article on the Sailor Senshi for more detail.- Usagi Tsukino - The main character of the series, Usagi is a carefree schoolgirl with a heart of gold. She transforms into Sailor Moon.
- Mamoru Chiba - Usagi's boyfriend and destined true love reincarnate. He transforms into Tuxedo Mask.
- Ami Mizuno - The 'smart and sweet' genius of the group. She transforms into Sailor Mercury.
- Rei Hino - A slightly short-tempered miko who attends a Catholic private school, although she is Shinto. She transforms into Sailor Mars.
- Makoto Kino - The very tall tomboy who lives alone because her parents died in an airplane crash. She transforms into Sailor Jupiter.
- Minako Aino - She acted on her own as Sailor V before joining the other Sailor Soldiers. She transforms into Sailor Venus.
Note: The family names of the Sailor Senshi are puns on their powers' themes. e.g. Tsukino is a Japanese homonym for "of the moon", hence Tsukino Usagi is pun on "rabbit of the moon". Similarly Mizuno translates to "of the water", Hino translates to "of fire", Kino to "of the trees" and Aino to "of love".
Notes on antagonists
In the North American dub, all of the different groups of antagonists are lumped together under the generic term "Negaverse", without really differentiating between them. This changes somewhat by the S and SuperS series, where the antagonists are seen in their proper (if renamed) groups.Trivia
- Much of the action in Sailormoon is set in the real life district of Azabu Jūban, where Naoko Takeuchi resides. Many of the buildings exist or have existed in real life, for example Crown Game Center (now a McDonald's restaurant), the park where the senshi meet, Hikawa Jinja Shrine where Rei is a miko, and Rei, Usagi and ChibiUsa's schools. Mamoru studies at nearby "KO University" which is a pun on the name of the actual Keio University, alumni of which include the current Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi.
- The elements of the "inner senshi" (minus Moon) reflect the elements of the Ssu Ling. Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Mercury's elements are Wood (in the later series), Metal, Fire and Water respectively. The inner-senshi–element mapping is based on the planet.
External links and references
- Sailormoon Channel - The Official Website
- Sailor Stars website : TV Toei website (using web archive).
- DMOZ Sailor Moon Directory A directory of many Sailor Moon sites.
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