Princess Snow Kaguya
Encyclopedia
Sailor Moon S: The Movie is the second of three theatrically released Sailor Moon
films. Its full name in Japanese is . The English dub is called Sailor Moon S the Movie: Hearts in Ice. The Japanese version was released on December 4, 1994. The film was soft matted
for its theatrical release, as it was animated in 4:3 full screen. The same was done with Sailor Moon R: The Movie and Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie. The film is named thus for the third arc of the Sailor Moon anime
, Sailor Moon S, as it was released around the same time. The events portrayed seem to take place during approximately the same time period - presumably during the mid-to-late episodes of the season, as Sailor Pluto is still present (she disappears in the anime during episode 124, near the end of Sailor Moon S, and is not seen again until Sailor Stars
, in episode 167). Also, Hotaru Tomoe is not present until later on in the series. The "S movie" is the only one of the three to have been based on a story which actually appeared in Naoko Takeuchi
's original manga
series. The side story, entitled The Lover of Princess Kaguya (Kaguya hime no koibito), was published as Volume 11 in the original release of the manga. It was accompanied by a shorter side story called Casablanca Memories, featuring Rei Hino
.
The Senshi are enjoying a day in town. Luna develops a cold and leaves the Senshi to go back to Usagi's house. On the way there, she collapses while crossing the road, and is almost hit by a car, but is rescued and nursed to health by Kakeru. Luna then develops romantic feelings for him, even kissing him in his sleep, leaving Artemis feeling rejected. Luna herself ends up with unrequited love because it turns out that Kakeru has a girlfriend of his own, an astronaut named Himeko Nayotake, and more importantly, because Luna is a cat. It turns out the two are unhappy because the scientific Himeko cannot come to terms with Kakeru's belief of the existence of the mythological Princess Kaguya
; Himeko later leaves on a space mission without reconciling with him.
The shard of the comet that Kakeru collected attaches itself to his life force, and begins slowly stealing his life force energy, causing him to become very ill. Princess Snow Kaguya later takes the shard, but because it is linked to his life force, he is brought even closer to death when Snow Kaguya throws the shard into the Pacific Ocean and creates an enormous ice crystal that will continue to draw away Kakeru's life force energy until he dies. She and her Snow Dancers then begin to freeze the Earth. The Inner and Outer Sailor Soldiers attempt to stop her, but none of their attacks seem to work, as everytime they destroy the Snow Dancers, Kaguya keeps reviving them using the crystal. Just before Snow Kaguya could finish the soldiers off, Sailor Moon tries to stop her. She uses Rainbow Moon Heartache, but is overpowered by Kaguya's power. Determined to protect the Earth, Sailor Moon prepares to activate the Silver Crystal's immense power. All of the eight Sailor Soldiers along, with Sailor Chibi Moon, combine their powers and abilities to activate the Imperium Silver Crystal's immense power, which destroys Princess Snow Kaguya, her Snow Dancers, the ice crystal in the ocean, and her comet.
When the Senshi defeat Princess Snow Kaguya, Sailor Moon wishes for Luna to become Princess Kaguya. Kakeru, worried about Himeko's safety, had been wandering in the snowstorm and is saved by Luna at the exact point Kakeru saved her, transformed into a woman. She takes him near the moon, where Himeko, on her space mission, witnesses the odd phenomenon. Luna tells him that he needs to stop focusing on his work so much and to pay more attention to Himeko. She shares a sad kiss with him, then they return to normal. Kakeru takes up Luna's advice and meets Himeko, who now believes in Kaguya, at the airport. Artemis then comforts Luna and they reconcile.
Princess Snow Kaguya's name comes from the Japan
ese legend, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
. Princess Snow Kaguya is not her real name. When she appears in Kakeru's observatory, she reminds him of Princess Kaguya. He mentions the story to her, and she says that she likes it and takes it for her own. She is afterwards referred to as Princess Snow Kaguya. Whether or not she had a name before that, and if so, what it was is never revealed.
Sailor Moon uses her Holy Grail to gain more power and tries to eliminate Princess Snow Kaguya with Rainbow Moon Heart Ache, but failed to Princess Snow Kaguya's stronger attack. Her appearance is a female body entirely made of ice with her dress covering only the downer part of her body so this completely reveals her breasts and she has a white-like veil covering her faceless head with no hair.
Princess Snow Kaguya appears as one of the monster types in the "Sailor Moon: Another Story" video game.
In the Japanese version, she is voiced by Eiko Masuyama
. In the English version, she is voiced by Linda Ballantyne
.
The Snow Dancers appear as one of the monster types in the "Sailor Moon: Another Story" video game.
The Snow Dancers are voiced by Mariko Onodera and Yuko Nagashima
in the Japanese version.
. He is obsessed with Princess Kaguya from that legend, and he studies the moon because of his obsession.
Kakeru Ōzura was ahead of the game but considered crazy by his peers. He would often say that a thousand years ago there was a kingdom on the moon
and such, everything that people our day would deem crazy. As he nursed the sick Luna, he talked to her, but then stopped himself, thinking Luna was not capable of speech. The princess he believed ruled on the Moon Kingdom was Princess Kaguya. Princess Snow Kaguya took that name after Kakeru confused her with the Moon Kingdom princess. He was in love with an astronaut named Himeko, who thought he was crazy as well, until she saw the transformed Luna in space.
In the Japanese version, he is voiced by Masami Kikuchi
. In the English version, he is voiced by Jeff Lumby
.
In the Japanese version, Himeko is voiced by Megumi Hayashibara
. In the English version, she is voiced by Jennifer Gould, who also did the voice of Hotaru Tomoe in the Sailor Moon S TV Series as well as Palla Palla (Para Para) in the English dubbed Sailor Moon Super S TV series.
and later published by Kodansha. Dissatisfied that she had left the production of the previous Sailor Moon film to others, Takeuchi envisioned "Princess Kaguya's Lover" as the plot of Sailor Moon S: The Movie, and proceeded to write the story "all in one go." She modelled the antagonist after an Art Deco
antique named "Salome", while the Snow Dancers are modelled after a German china piece, which Takeuchi thought resembled "a character dancing in a snowstorm." On July 8, 1994, she traveled to the Kennedy Space Center
in Florida as part of her research; there, she watched the launch of space shuttle Columbia
. She enjoyed working on the film, and liked the overall result, particularly Chibiusa's transformation sequence.
An English dubbed format was released on VHS on May 23, 2000. The VHS version would air on television on November 9, 2001 during Cartoon Network
's Toonami
block. The film's English adaptation has had two versions: an edited format and the other version is a special uncut. The edited version, seen in the VHS and television formats, used the original DiC music from the series, and had the transformation sequences airbrushed to remove bodylines that were tracing the characters' breasts, also Luna's transformation into a human is cut short removing the growth of her breast and keeping the screen above her breast as well. The uncut version, only seen in the DVD release, kept the original Japanese music and bodylines as well as the full version of Luna's transformation into a human. A special uncut subtitled version of the movie was released on VHS on August 31, 1999.
, Wook Kim negatively rated the film 'D', describing it as "nauseatingly saccharine". Animerica
noted that the film incorporates aspects of the Japanese folklore
and in the antagonist's character.
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
films. Its full name in Japanese is . The English dub is called Sailor Moon S the Movie: Hearts in Ice. The Japanese version was released on December 4, 1994. The film was soft matted
Open matte
Open matte is a filming technique that involves matting out the top and bottom of the film frame in the movie projector for the widescreen theatrical release and then scanning the film without a matte for a full screen home video release.Usually, non-anamorphic 4-perf films are filmed directly on...
for its theatrical release, as it was animated in 4:3 full screen. The same was done with Sailor Moon R: The Movie and Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie. The film is named thus for the third arc of the Sailor Moon anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, Sailor Moon S, as it was released around the same time. The events portrayed seem to take place during approximately the same time period - presumably during the mid-to-late episodes of the season, as Sailor Pluto is still present (she disappears in the anime during episode 124, near the end of Sailor Moon S, and is not seen again until Sailor Stars
Sailor Stars
The following list of episodes of the Sailor Moon anime series covers , the fifth season of the series. Children's TV Asahi, Toei Agency and Toei Animation co-produced the episodes; Takuya Igarashi directed. The series originally aired on Children's TV Asahi between March 9, 1996 and February 8, 1997...
, in episode 167). Also, Hotaru Tomoe is not present until later on in the series. The "S movie" is the only one of the three to have been based on a story which actually appeared in Naoko Takeuchi
Naoko Takeuchi
is a Japanese manga artist who lives in Tokyo, Japan. Takeuchi's works have a wide following among anime and manga fans worldwide. Her most popular work, Sailor Moon, rose to become one of the most recognized manga and anime products to date.-Early life:...
's original manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series. The side story, entitled The Lover of Princess Kaguya (Kaguya hime no koibito), was published as Volume 11 in the original release of the manga. It was accompanied by a shorter side story called Casablanca Memories, featuring Rei Hino
Rei Hino
is one of the central characters in the Sailor Moon metaseries. Her real name is , a Shinto priestess and schoolgirl who can transform into one of the series' specialized heroines, the Sailor Senshi....
.
Plot
Long ago, Princess Snow Kaguya tried to cover the Earth in ice, but failed when the Imperium Silver Crystal melted the ice and saved the planet. She has now made her way to Earth to try again. A piece of her comet has been lost and she cannot proceed without it. She sends her minions, the Snow Dancers, to search for the missing shard. A young astronomer named Kakeru Ōzora finds the shard and keeps it in his observatory.The Senshi are enjoying a day in town. Luna develops a cold and leaves the Senshi to go back to Usagi's house. On the way there, she collapses while crossing the road, and is almost hit by a car, but is rescued and nursed to health by Kakeru. Luna then develops romantic feelings for him, even kissing him in his sleep, leaving Artemis feeling rejected. Luna herself ends up with unrequited love because it turns out that Kakeru has a girlfriend of his own, an astronaut named Himeko Nayotake, and more importantly, because Luna is a cat. It turns out the two are unhappy because the scientific Himeko cannot come to terms with Kakeru's belief of the existence of the mythological Princess Kaguya
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
, also known as , is a 10th century Japanese folktale. It is considered the oldest extant Japanese narrative and an early example of proto-science fiction....
; Himeko later leaves on a space mission without reconciling with him.
The shard of the comet that Kakeru collected attaches itself to his life force, and begins slowly stealing his life force energy, causing him to become very ill. Princess Snow Kaguya later takes the shard, but because it is linked to his life force, he is brought even closer to death when Snow Kaguya throws the shard into the Pacific Ocean and creates an enormous ice crystal that will continue to draw away Kakeru's life force energy until he dies. She and her Snow Dancers then begin to freeze the Earth. The Inner and Outer Sailor Soldiers attempt to stop her, but none of their attacks seem to work, as everytime they destroy the Snow Dancers, Kaguya keeps reviving them using the crystal. Just before Snow Kaguya could finish the soldiers off, Sailor Moon tries to stop her. She uses Rainbow Moon Heartache, but is overpowered by Kaguya's power. Determined to protect the Earth, Sailor Moon prepares to activate the Silver Crystal's immense power. All of the eight Sailor Soldiers along, with Sailor Chibi Moon, combine their powers and abilities to activate the Imperium Silver Crystal's immense power, which destroys Princess Snow Kaguya, her Snow Dancers, the ice crystal in the ocean, and her comet.
When the Senshi defeat Princess Snow Kaguya, Sailor Moon wishes for Luna to become Princess Kaguya. Kakeru, worried about Himeko's safety, had been wandering in the snowstorm and is saved by Luna at the exact point Kakeru saved her, transformed into a woman. She takes him near the moon, where Himeko, on her space mission, witnesses the odd phenomenon. Luna tells him that he needs to stop focusing on his work so much and to pay more attention to Himeko. She shares a sad kiss with him, then they return to normal. Kakeru takes up Luna's advice and meets Himeko, who now believes in Kaguya, at the airport. Artemis then comforts Luna and they reconcile.
Princess Snow Kaguya
is a powerful alien entity that travels by comet from planet to planet, freezing them and making them part of her "collection".Princess Snow Kaguya's name comes from the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese legend, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
, also known as , is a 10th century Japanese folktale. It is considered the oldest extant Japanese narrative and an early example of proto-science fiction....
. Princess Snow Kaguya is not her real name. When she appears in Kakeru's observatory, she reminds him of Princess Kaguya. He mentions the story to her, and she says that she likes it and takes it for her own. She is afterwards referred to as Princess Snow Kaguya. Whether or not she had a name before that, and if so, what it was is never revealed.
Sailor Moon uses her Holy Grail to gain more power and tries to eliminate Princess Snow Kaguya with Rainbow Moon Heart Ache, but failed to Princess Snow Kaguya's stronger attack. Her appearance is a female body entirely made of ice with her dress covering only the downer part of her body so this completely reveals her breasts and she has a white-like veil covering her faceless head with no hair.
Princess Snow Kaguya appears as one of the monster types in the "Sailor Moon: Another Story" video game.
In the Japanese version, she is voiced by Eiko Masuyama
Eiko Masuyama
is a Japanese voice actress who works for Aoni Production. She is most known for the roles of Fujiko Mine , Kisaragi Honey , and Bakabon's Mama .-Notable voice roles:...
. In the English version, she is voiced by Linda Ballantyne
Linda Ballantyne
Linda Ballantyne is a Canadian voice actress.Born in Toronto, Canada, she is best known for voicing the title role of Serena/Sailor Moon in the the second half of the English version of Sailor Moon....
.
Snow Dancers
Monsters used by Princess Snow Kaguya, the Snow Dancers appear as identical pure-white women in dresses. They are made of snow and ice and seem to be formed from the ice-like structure Princess Snow Kaguya uses as her base. They are able to attack and are capable of freezing human beings in blocks of ice. While individually weak enough to be killed by any attack from the Senshi, they are seemingly countless in number. When defeated, they release a high pitched scream.The Snow Dancers appear as one of the monster types in the "Sailor Moon: Another Story" video game.
The Snow Dancers are voiced by Mariko Onodera and Yuko Nagashima
Yuko Nagashima
is a Japanese voice actress who works for Aoni Production.-Anime:* Ceres, The Celestial Legend - Gladys Smithson* Eden's Bowy - Fennis, young Yorn* Magic Knight Rayearth - Caldina* Martian Successor Nadesico - Erina Won* Naruto - Tsubaki...
in the Japanese version.
Kakeru Ōzora
A brilliant young astronomer who nevertheless believes in the Japanese legend, The Tale of the Bamboo CutterThe Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
, also known as , is a 10th century Japanese folktale. It is considered the oldest extant Japanese narrative and an early example of proto-science fiction....
. He is obsessed with Princess Kaguya from that legend, and he studies the moon because of his obsession.
Kakeru Ōzura was ahead of the game but considered crazy by his peers. He would often say that a thousand years ago there was a kingdom on the moon
Silver Millennium
The Silver Millennium, a fictional kingdom in the Sailor Moon metaseries, lies on the moon. It provides a setting for the past lives and future selves of most of the series' major characters, and functions as a major driving force behind both plot and characterization.The series first shows the...
and such, everything that people our day would deem crazy. As he nursed the sick Luna, he talked to her, but then stopped himself, thinking Luna was not capable of speech. The princess he believed ruled on the Moon Kingdom was Princess Kaguya. Princess Snow Kaguya took that name after Kakeru confused her with the Moon Kingdom princess. He was in love with an astronaut named Himeko, who thought he was crazy as well, until she saw the transformed Luna in space.
In the Japanese version, he is voiced by Masami Kikuchi
Masami Kikuchi
is a veteran voice actor who was born in Nagano. He works for Kenyu Office.-Anime:* Air Gear * Aoki Densetsu Shoot * The Brave Express Might Gaine * Captain Tsubasa J...
. In the English version, he is voiced by Jeff Lumby
Jeff Lumby
Jeff Lumby is a Canadian actor and voice actor. He is a member of the Lumby family, who created and produced the 1980s Canadian children's television series, Size Small, where he appeared as "Tex". Lumby played "Winston Rothschild, III", the septic tank and sewer technician character on The Red...
.
Himeko Nayotake
This young woman is Kakeru's childhood friend. When they were both young, they dreamt of going to the moon and meeting the legendary Princess Kaguya. Intelligent and resolute, she is saddened by Kakeru's refusal to keep trying to become an astronaut after he is surprisingly rejected in his first try. Despite this, she does not renounce her dream and successfully becomes an astronaut herself. In both the movie and the manga, Kakeru and Himeko become lovers (breaking Luna's heart), but it is only in the manga where it is later revealed that Himeko is pregnant with their child.In the Japanese version, Himeko is voiced by Megumi Hayashibara
Megumi Hayashibara
is a Japanese voice actress, singer, radio personality, and lyricist from Tokyo. She is currently affiliated with Aksent. Her nicknames include: Megu-san, Megu-nee, Bara-san, Kakka, and Daijin...
. In the English version, she is voiced by Jennifer Gould, who also did the voice of Hotaru Tomoe in the Sailor Moon S TV Series as well as Palla Palla (Para Para) in the English dubbed Sailor Moon Super S TV series.
Production
Sailor Moon S: The Movie is closely based on the 135-page side story , written and illustrated by series creator Naoko TakeuchiNaoko Takeuchi
is a Japanese manga artist who lives in Tokyo, Japan. Takeuchi's works have a wide following among anime and manga fans worldwide. Her most popular work, Sailor Moon, rose to become one of the most recognized manga and anime products to date.-Early life:...
and later published by Kodansha. Dissatisfied that she had left the production of the previous Sailor Moon film to others, Takeuchi envisioned "Princess Kaguya's Lover" as the plot of Sailor Moon S: The Movie, and proceeded to write the story "all in one go." She modelled the antagonist after an Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
antique named "Salome", while the Snow Dancers are modelled after a German china piece, which Takeuchi thought resembled "a character dancing in a snowstorm." On July 8, 1994, she traveled to the Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
in Florida as part of her research; there, she watched the launch of space shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th, STS-107. All seven crew...
. She enjoyed working on the film, and liked the overall result, particularly Chibiusa's transformation sequence.
An English dubbed format was released on VHS on May 23, 2000. The VHS version would air on television on November 9, 2001 during Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's Toonami
Toonami
Toonami was a registered trademark of Cartoon Network, used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on Cartoon Network television channels worldwide, mostly showing American cartoons and Japanese anime, originating in the United States on March 17, 1997 and ended on September 20, 2008.The...
block. The film's English adaptation has had two versions: an edited format and the other version is a special uncut. The edited version, seen in the VHS and television formats, used the original DiC music from the series, and had the transformation sequences airbrushed to remove bodylines that were tracing the characters' breasts, also Luna's transformation into a human is cut short removing the growth of her breast and keeping the screen above her breast as well. The uncut version, only seen in the DVD release, kept the original Japanese music and bodylines as well as the full version of Luna's transformation into a human. A special uncut subtitled version of the movie was released on VHS on August 31, 1999.
Reception
Writing for Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, Wook Kim negatively rated the film 'D', describing it as "nauseatingly saccharine". Animerica
Animerica
Animerica is a quarterly digest published by Viz Media. It initially started as a monthly magazine featuring reviews of anime and manga titles, as well as related works. After a preview issue was released in November 1992, the magazine's first issue was released in February 1993 with a March 1993...
noted that the film incorporates aspects of the Japanese folklore
Japanese folklore
The folklore of Japan is heavily influenced by both Shinto and Buddhism, the two primary religions in the country. It often involves humorous or bizarre characters and situations and also includes an assortment of supernatural beings, such as bodhisattva, kami , yōkai , yūrei ,...
and in the antagonist's character.