Sailor Moon

[Blu Berri]

There are rumors that Casablanca Memory will be animated and that takes place right after Mako joins. Going by the one comic chapter = one episode, my beloved Minako will not be appearing until DECEMBER! Ugh

Looking back at the comics, the second arc (Black Moon) end at Chapter 23. 23 plus 1 leaves two episodes unaccounted for, maybe two issues of Chibi-Usa's Diary?

[CJStriker]

Great New Avatar Blu Berri, Nice Work, Nice way to Represent your Sailor Senshi Fandom Indeed!

[CJStriker]

Sailor Moon has always been considered an oddity in how it just blew up in popularity. Even in Japan the anime was not expected to be the huge hit it was, and Naoko Takeuchi really did not plan to continue the series for as long as she did either. And in the West I do not think anyone expected it to be a hit in its own rights either. DiC did originally propose to massively alter the series to contain live action and their own animation but eventually went with just localizing the anime. And even then if you look at fans of the series you get a lot of people who are not into anime or some even not even other geeky medium yet love the series. For whatever reason it is a series that just hits home for a lot of people, especially girls.

Personally I think the fact that the series was aimed at girls was a big part of the success, as there were not a lot of series to choose from for those aimed at girls that gave girls like me characters that were as diverse personality-wise and felt like they had depth. Like the fact that you had a character like Makoto who was physically strong and considered boyish but loved "girly" things like cooking/baking and flowers. Or Minako who was idol-crazy but also good at sports and had an interesting back story of her pre-SM days fighting crime as Sailor V. And compared to the usual personalities in U.S. shows for girls who really only seem to have one area of interest that they rarely stray from Sailor Moon was like a breath of fresh air.


In more current Sailor Moon feels, I am really looking forward to this Saturday for the next SMC episode and the introduction of Sailor Mars. Of course even if they keep the pace of the manga we will not be getting Sailor Jupiter until September, as there is the chapter with the ball after Mars comes in first. But the older series will finally have Jupiter's introduction episode out on Monday on Hulu. So I will be happy enough with that until then.

Indeed Very Well Said Post Thennary Nak, Everything Nicely Said my friend! :-)

When it comes to Sailor Moon and why it did good with girls it is not much of a surprise, it was the 1st show to really have an all female team and do it in a way that was not Cheap, Corporate or Felt Hollow to make a buck like sadly so many American shows where, both for boys and girls. But what is also surprising too to add to Sailor Moon's Cred is how the show was not just appealing girls but guys as well.

So I give a short Guys perspective towards why this was the best I can. Really Sailor Moon at 1st glance gave off a Power Rangers Element towards it in an animated form and with Power Rangers being so Mega Popular at the time, anything being similar to it I gave a Glance at. But what kept me hooked was the fact that the Show was Deep, Really Deep in Character and the World itself. It was hard to grasp then being a kid, did not realize this but I do now, is that SO many shows both animated, real and just for laughs while they where good in their own rights, they Never really had much Character Development to them ever. Sure it seem like you have stories that developed like Power Rangers, Spider Man, Batman: TAS, X-Men, but really it was one episode or 2 and then it move onto something else and never be much talked about again. Sailor Moon was both monster a day AND it was an continuing story that dealt with both being a hero and being a regular person better then any other show and with that had an Evolving and Continuing story-line that showed both its characters and the Universe Evolving!

For Me Personally, this was the 1st show to Truly do that and each event seem to have a real effect on each Sailor that carried over to the next few episodes. This was a show that showed a maturing and evolving of its main characters that other shows never did. By the time the Lost Episodes of Sailor Moon R came over to Cartoon Network in late 1998, it was official IMO that Sailor Moon was a show above all others outside of Major Movies.

Really, even a show that had an all Female Team which usually would not appeal to young Guys, Guys still could and did respect this mature intelligence and evolution to these girls cause in life we all evolve and grow as well. We saw most steps in the sailors like we do in our own lives in evolving. To me, this and the unique 3-4 Dimension Character development of each Sailor in showing their choices and how it evolved them and their world was indeed an enriching show to behold.

Theses are the main reasons, not the only, but the main reasons IMO Sailor Moon did so well.

[CJStriker]

As always I will not give a full review since episode #3 just came out, but indeed all I can say about this episode is in 2 words:

BAD-A$$!

Really, the way Rei was introduced and how well her intro was was just awesome, really had fun with episode #3 indeed!

[Personamanx]

Usagi really didn't have much of a reason to transform into a flight attendant though.

[CJStriker]

Usagi really didn't have much of a reason to transform into a flight attendant though.

Well YEA, you right Personamanx!

Indeed, the joke, with what we know about Usagi is that she acted upon the 1st idea that came to her head and for some reason Flight Attendant for a Bus?! Yeaaa, this is Classic Usagi that just makes you have to sit back and ROFL cause it really is all her in that joke! Even Luna was like "WHAT?! WHY?!" .

Really it points out Usagi's not so strategic mind hero at this point in the story, but indeed it fit her all to well and why she is a fun hero, LOL!

[Personamanx]

Maybe, or maybe she just wanted to look pretty. I dunno, dressing up is fun sometimes.

[CJStriker]

Maybe, or maybe she just wanted to look pretty. I dunno, dressing up is fun sometimes.

LOL, That works too, really your point makes just as much sense as most any other indeed when it comes to Usagi and why she does what she does, which why she is such a fun character! ;-)

BTW, Your New Avatar Personamanx is EPIC, You got Episode #3 Sailor Mars Gif Avatar Right On The Mark!

[Personamanx]

Eh, it's not so hard. Just had to cut superfluous frames from the scene and reduce the colour quality to get it to fit in the right file dimensions. No biggie. Thanks though.

I'll probably ditch it as soon as we get to see Jupiters transformation though.

[CJStriker]

Eh, it's not so hard. Just had to cut superfluous frames from the scene and reduce the colour quality to get it to fit in the right file dimensions. No biggie. Thanks though.

I'll probably ditch it as soon as we get to see Jupiters transformation though.

Looking forward it, but indeed nicely done on Mars, it deserves praise my friend! Great Way to Represent Sailor Senshi Fandom around CBR Personamanx, thanks for sharing it and making it.

In all her Intro, Speech and Background Music in Episode #3 really stole the show complete, just an Awesome intro!

[Thennary Nak]

Loved episode 3 as well. It is nice to see an anime version of Rei that really reflects how she is in the manga. She is probably the one of the characters changed the most in the original anime.

Also like the confirmation that Mamoru is only a 2nd year high school student, so around 16-17, with this episode. Him being aged up in the original anime series to a university student always baffled me, and made him seem a bit skeevy to be dating a Junior High student.

Find it interesting that they did not spoilers:

have Jadiete killed off by Mars' attack in the episode as he was

end of spoilers in the manga. I wonder how significant a change that will end up being for this series.

[CJStriker]

Loved episode 3 as well. It is nice to see an anime version of Rei that really reflects how she is in the manga. She is probably the one of the characters changed the most in the original anime.

Also like the confirmation that Mamoru is only a 2nd year high school student, so around 16-17, with this episode. Him being aged up in the original anime series to a university student always baffled me, and made him seem a bit skeevy to be dating a Junior High student.

Find it interesting that they did not spoilers:

have Jadiete killed off by Mars' attack in the episode as he was

end of spoilers in the manga. I wonder how significant a change that will end up being for this series.

Indeed, I thought the same way as well with Rei, Usagi and Ami are very close to who they are, but I find Usagi has more moments of kindness in Crystal then the orginal, but Rei is by far the more different and made her very interesting to see how they would handle her. This makes her the most insteresting to see to in future episodes since we should not get much of the fighting between Usagi and Rie as in the Original Anime. On a Note thought, I still like the Orignial Anime Rei just as well to, her fire like attitude really came across the screen and made the show more real IMO. So indeed for me both Rei's have something to offer to fans indeed that make her a favorite.

Also, I am glad they did the changes to Mamoru as well, made much more sense. Also, the way he showed his high school card in the episode just made me laugh, it was right in your face funny, lol.

As for the change they did different, I was glad about that too as well and really it shows while this will be from the Manga, it might do it's own thing as well to keep you on your toes.

BTW Thennary Nak, saw your review video today, indeed I enjoyed it and like your figures in the background on your shelves! :-)

[Blu Berri]

I'm gonna be in the minority and say I disliked episode 3:

Pros:
+They gave cool and collected srsbiz comic Rei a bit more of a fiery spark.
+Usagi and her not-quite heterosexuality is very noticeable in this episode! <3
+Mamoru is finally out of that suspicious tuxedo >_>
+Usagi using Luna to hide her embarrassment/attraction to Mamoru was really adorable

Cons:
-I don't think Rei's backstory was as well developed/delivered as Ami's.
-Jadeite was hardly a threat. Sure he dies just as easy in the comic but Rei overpowers him AS A HUMAN. Moon even has a casual conversation while Jadeite blasts her and Mercury in the face! This is beyond embarrassing.
-They have conversation about being Sailor Soldiers in public, in the middle of a crowd.
-There were a few times in the episode where the animation noticeably needed a few extra frames.
-The art was really awkward, stranger than the previous episodes. Like so...


Did it look like Usagi's tiara was burnt away? She's supposed to get another tiara with button for her "Moon Twilight Flash" attack.

Oh lord, I hope Minako's episode isn't as repulsive looking as this episode. x.x

[Thennary Nak]

I'm gonna be in the minority and say I disliked episode 3:

Pros:
+They gave cool and collected srsbiz comic Rei a bit more of a fiery spark.
+Usagi and her not-quite heterosexuality is very noticeable in this episode! <3
+Mamoru is finally out of that suspicious tuxedo >_>
+Usagi using Luna to hide her embarrassment/attraction to Mamoru was really adorable

Cons:
-I don't think Rei's backstory was as well developed/delivered as Ami's.
-Jadeite was hardly a threat. Sure he dies just as easy in the comic but Rei overpowers him AS A HUMAN. Moon even has a casual conversation while Jadeite blasts her and Mercury in the face! This is beyond embarrassing.
-They have conversation about being Sailor Soldiers in public, in the middle of a crowd.
-There were a few times in the episode where the animation noticeably needed a few extra frames.
-The art was really awkward, stranger than the previous episodes. Like so...


Did it look like Usagi's tiara was burnt away? She's supposed to get another tiara with button for her "Moon Twilight Flash" attack.

Oh lord, I hope Minako's episode isn't as repulsive looking as this episode. x.x

I think overall the animation in this episode is better than episode 2, but the times it was off it did look pretty bad. It should hopefully be fixed up a bit for the home video release, as that is a common practice these days with anime.

I think we are not going to get episode 1 level quality outside of key episodes. For the OP theme music video there looks to be scenes from a future episode in it that looks like it will be on level with the 1st episode, and I expect the final episodes of the season will get that quality as well.

She gets the new tiara in the next episode, the one with the ball.


And CJStriker, thank you. I'm glad you liked it. And I hope to add a few more figures eventually. Especially more of the SHFiguarts Sailor Moon ones.

[Personamanx]

Eh, the animation at it's worst from what I've seen is still leaps and bounds superior to the original anime. It does overall have a very stiff feel to it in most shots aside from transformations and the succeeding name calls that the original series never had much of an issue with but it's never really ruins anything for me. I dunno, My 2D animation is awful and that's generally what I use as a baseline for badness. Really though, they just need to animate the hair more. You could sell so much more movement if you just had some delayed hair movement and breakage.

Also as a side, I will never get used to calling the Sailor Scouts* by their Japanese names.

*And I will continue to call them the Scouts.