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is the title of a Japanese media franchise created by Naoko Takeuchi. It is generally credited with popularizing the concept of a sentai (team) of magical girls, as well as the general re-emergence of the magical girl genre itself.
The story of the various metaseries revolves around the reincarnated defenders of a kingdom that once spanned the solar system, and the evil forces that they battle. The major characters—called Sailor Senshi (literally "Sailor Soldiers"; frequently called "Sailor Scouts" in the North American version)—are teenage girls who can transform into heroines named for the moon and planets (Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, etc). The use of "Sailor" comes from a style of girls' school uniform popular in Japan, the sera fuku (sailor outfit), after which the Senshi's uniforms are modeled.
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Quotations
Both: We shall punish you!=Sailor Stars (fifth series)=== Sailor Uranus From now on, you want to protect her...
Molly: Although we could use him as a backup dancer...
Molly: I knew that would get rid of him!
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Sailor Chibi Moon: The pretty sailor suited soldiers
Sailor Moon: Again, my important friends are gone! In the end, nobody could protect anything!
Sailor Moon: No, I haven't. I love this world. Sailor Moon's ribbons fade leaving her nude with the Silver Crystal embedded in her chest
Encyclopedia
is the title of a Japanese media franchise created by Naoko Takeuchi. It is generally credited with popularizing the concept of a sentai (team) of magical girls, as well as the general re-emergence of the magical girl genre itself.
The story of the various metaseries revolves around the reincarnated defenders of a kingdom that once spanned the solar system, and the evil forces that they battle. The major characters—called Sailor Senshi (literally "Sailor Soldiers"; frequently called "Sailor Scouts" in the North American version)—are teenage girls who can transform into heroines named for the moon and planets (Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, etc). The use of "Sailor" comes from a style of girls' school uniform popular in Japan, the sera fuku (sailor outfit), after which the Senshi's uniforms are modeled. The elements of fantasy in the series are heavily symbolic and often based on mythology.
Creation of the Sailor Moon manga was preceded by another, , which centered around just one Sailor Senshi. Takeuchi devised the idea when she wanted to create a cute series about girls in outer space, and her editor asked her to put them in sailor fuku. When Sailor V was proposed for adaptation into an anime, the concept was modified so that Sailor V herself became only one member of a team. The resulting manga series was a fusion of the popular magical girl and sentai genres of which Takeuchi was a fan, making Sailor Moon one of the first series ever to combine the two.
The manga resulted in spinoffs into other types of media, including a highly popular anime, as well as musical theatre productions, video games, and a live-action (tokusatsu) series. Although most concepts in the many versions overlap, there are often notable differences, and thus continuity between the different formats is limited.
StoryThe protagonist of Sailor Moon is Usagi Tsukino, who lives as an ordinary middle school girl until she is found by a talking cat named Luna. Through Luna, Usagi learns that the world is about to be attacked by a Dark Kingdom that had appeared once before, long ago, and destroyed the kingdom of the moon. Her dormant powers are then awakened to defend the Earth against the coming onslaught, and she is led to a number of friends who join her in the battle.
Usagi fights using the identity of Sailor Moon, and as the story progresses she learns more and more about the enemies which face her and the evil force that is sending them. Gradually she discovers the truth about her own past life, her destined true love, and the possibilities for the future of the Solar System.
The plot spans five major story arcs, each of which is represented in both the manga and anime, usually under different names. These are the Dark Kingdom arc, the Black Moon arc (Sailor Moon R), the Infinity arc (Sailor Moon S), the Dream arc (Sailor Moon Supers), and the Stars arc (Sailor Stars). The anime added an additional minor arc at the start of the second series, and spent the first few episodes of Sailor Stars wrapping up the plot from the previous series.
Characters- The main character of the series, called Serena in the English anime (nicknamed Bunny in the English manga). Usagi is a carefree schoolgirl with an enormous capacity for love, and transforms into the heroine called Sailor Moon. At the beginning of the series she is portrayed as an immature crybaby who hates having to fight evil and wants nothing more than to be a normal girl. As she progresses, however, she embraces the chance to use her power to protect those she cares about.
- A student somewhat older than Usagi, called Darien in the English adaptations of the series. As a young child he was in a terrible car accident that robbed him of his parents and his knowledge of who he is. During the series he has some precognitive ability, including dreams that inspire him to take on the guise of Tuxedo Mask and fight alongside the Sailor Senshi. After an initially confrontational relationship, he and Usagi remember their past lives together and fall in love again.
- A quiet bookworm in Usagi's class, called Amy in the English adaptations of the series. She is hugely intelligent, with a rumored IQ of 300, and can transform into Sailor Mercury, acquiring power over all phases of water. Ami's shy exterior masks a passion for knowledge and for taking care of the people around her. She hopes to be a doctor one day, like her mother, and tends to be the practical one in the group. Secretly, she is also a fan of pop culture and romance novels, and becomes embarrassed whenever this is pointed out.
- An elegant miko (shrine maiden), called Raye in the English versions. Because of her work as a Shinto priestess, Rei can sense and dispel evil even in civilian form. When she transforms into Sailor Mars, she can also manipulate fire. She is very serious and focused, but although easily annoyed by Usagi's flightiness, cares about her very much. Rei is portrayed as boy-crazy in the early anime, but is uninterested in romance in both the manga and live-action series. She attends a private Catholic school, separate from the other girls.
- A tomboy who transfers into Usagi's school, called Lita in the English versions. Very tall and strong for a Japanese schoolgirl, she can transform into Sailor Jupiter, attacking with lightning and with some control over plants. Both Makoto's parents died in a plane crash years ago, so she lives alone and takes care of herself. She cultivates her physical strength as well as more domestic interests, including housekeeping, cooking, and gardening. She wants to marry young and to own a flower and cake shop.
- A perky dreamer who acted on her own as Sailor V for some time. Called Mina in the English versions, she has a companion cat called Artemis who works alongside Luna in guiding the Sailor Senshi. Minako transforms into Sailor Venus, Soldier of Love, and is the leader of Sailor Moon's four inner guardians. She also dreams of becoming a famous singer and idol and attends auditions whenever she can. At the start of the live-action series, she is already these things, but has poor health and separates herself from the other Senshi.
- A little girl from 1,000 years in the future, called Rini in the English versions of the series. She comes to the 20th century on several occasions, whether to seek help or to be trained as a soldier, and learns to transform into Sailor Chibi Moon (or, in the English anime, Sailor Mini Moon). Chibiusa co-stars with Usagi in certain story arcs, though they sometimes have an adversarial relationship. She considers herself much more mature than Usagi, and wants to grow up and become a lady in her own right.
- A mysterious woman, called Trista in the English anime. She is first revealed as Sailor Pluto, the Guardian of Time, whose duty is to protect the Space-Time Door from unauthorized travelers. It is only later that she appears on Earth, living as a college student. She has a distant personality and can be very stern, but can also be quite friendly and helps the younger Sailor Senshi when she can. After so long at the gate of time she carries a deep sense of loneliness, although she is close friends with Chibiusa.
- A talented violinist with some precognition, called Michelle in the English anime. She is a year older than most of the other Sailor Senshi and can transform into Sailor Neptune, channeling the power of the ocean. She worked alone for some time before finding her partner, Sailor Uranus, with whom she fell in love. Michiru is elegant and personable, already well-known for her music as well as her painting, but has given up her own dreams for the life of a Senshi. She is fully devoted to this duty and willing to make any sacrifice for it.
- A good-natured, masculine-acting girl, called Amara in the English anime. Haruka is the same age as her partner, Michiru, and transforms into Sailor Uranus, Soldier of the Sky. Before becoming a Sailor Senshi, she dreamt of being a racer, and is skilled at driving. She tends to dress and, in the anime, speak like a man. She is so friendly and genial that nearly everyone she meets is attracted to her. When it comes to fighting the enemy, however, she distrusts outside help and prefers to work solely with Sailor Neptune and, later, Pluto and Saturn.
- A sweet, lonely young girl whose name is unchanged in English (though pronounced slightly differently). Daughter of a possessed mad scientist, she is sickly and weak as the result of a terrible lab accident in her youth. After overcoming the darkness that has surrounded her family, she is able to become the Soldier of Silence, Sailor Saturn. She wields forces of destruction so powerful that she is rarely called upon to use them, and unlike the others, her Senshi and civilian personae seem somewhat disconnected. She is often pensive, and as a human has the inexplicable power to heal others.
AdaptationsAnimeThe Sailor Moon anime was co-produced by TV Asahi, Toei Agency and Toei Animation, and started airing only a month after the first issue of the manga was published. With 200 episodes airing from March 1992 to February 1997 on TV Asahi, Sailor Moon is one of the longest magical girl anime series. The anime sparked a highly successful merchandising campaign of over 5000 items, which contributed to demand all over the world and translation into numerous languages. Sailor Moon has since become one of the most famous anime properties in the world.
Strictly speaking, Sailor Moon is an anime metaseries. It consists of five separate series averaging around 40 episodes each, often referred to as seasons by North American fans because of the over-arching storyline. Each series roughly corresponds to one of the five major story arcs of the manga, following the same general storyline and including most of the same characters. There were also five special animated shorts, as well as three theatrically-released movies: , , and .
Traditional animation techniques were used throughout the series. The series was directed first by Junichi Sato, then by Kunihiko Ikuhara and later by Takuya Igarashi. Character design was headed by Kazuko Tadano, Ikuko Itoh and Katsumi Tamegai, all of whom were also animation directors. Other animation directors included Masahiro Ando, Hisashi Kagawa, and Hideyuki Motohashi.
The series was sold as twenty "volumes" in Japan, and by the end of 1995, each volume had sales of about 300 000.
MusicMusic for the Sailor Moon metaseries was written and composed by numerous people, including frequent lyrical contributions by creator Naoko Takeuchi. All of the background musical scores, including the spinoffs, games, and movies, were composed and arranged by Takanori Arisawa, who earned the "Golden Disk Grand Prize" from Columbia Records for his work on the first series soundtrack in 1993. In 1998, 2000, and 2001 he won the JASRAC International Award for most international royalties, owing largely to the popularity of Sailor Moon music in other nations.
The opening theme for most of the TV series was , composed by Tetsuya Komoro with lyrics by Kanako Oda. It was one of the series' most popular songs. "Moonlight Densetsu" was performed by DALI as the opener for the first two anime series, and then by Moon Lips for the third and fourth. The final series, Sailor Stars, switched to using "Sailor Star Song" for its opening theme, written by Shoki Araki with lyrics by Naoko Takeuchi and performed by Kae Hanazawa. "Moonlight Densetsu" made its final appearance as the closing song for the very last episode, #200.
"Moonlight Densetsu" has been covered and remixed many times by artists such as the punk supergroup Osaka Popstar. It is believed that the song's melody was inspired by "Sayonara wa Dance no Ato ni" (Goodbye at the End of the Dance), performed in the 1960s by Chieko Baisho.
The English-language dub of the anime series used the melody of "Moonlight Densetsu," but with very different lyrics and instrumentation. At the time, it was unusual for anime theme songs to be translated, and this was one of the first such themes to be redone in English since Speed Racer.The Japanese theme is a love song based on the relationship between Usagi Tsukino and Mamoru Chiba ("born on the same Earth"); its , translated into English, is as follows:
- I'm sorry, I'm not gentle
- I can say it in my dreams
- My thoughts are about to short circuit
- I want to be with you right now
The English "Sailor Moon Theme" is more of a superhero anthem. Its is written:
- Fighting evil by moonlight,
- Winning love by daylight,
- Never running from a real fight,
- She is the one named Sailor Moon
Both versions of the series also make use of insert themes, battle music, and image songs, with the original being much more prolific. Over 40 Japanese music albums were released for the anime alone, many of which were remixes of the previous albums in jazz style, music box, French, etc. In addition, 33 different CD singles were released, many of them centered around specific characters. The second most prolific country in terms of Sailor Moon music releases was Germany, which produced some fifteen albums and singles, including five by the pop band Super Moonies. In North America, only three albums were ever released.
Stage musicalsThe musical stage shows, usually referred to collectively as SeraMyu, were a series of live theatre productions that played over 800 performances in some 29 musicals between 1993 and 2005. The stories of the shows include anime-inspired plotlines as well as a large amount of original material. Music from the series has been released on about 20 "memorial" albums.
Musicals ran twice a year, in the winter and in the summer. In the summer, the only venue for the musicals was the Sunshine Theatre in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo; however, in the winter it went on tour to the other large cities in Japan.
The final incarnation of the series, , was staged in January 2005. After that show, the series went on a . There have been no signs that the show will continue.
Live-action seriesA tokusatsu (live-action) version of Sailor Moon was broadcast from October 4 2003, through September 25 2004. The series is known officially as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (usually abbreviated to PGSM by fans), and it is the first series in the franchise to have a complete English-language title. It lasted a total of 49 episodes, and the broadcast originated from the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Numerous other television stations in Japan retransmitted the series.
The series' storyline more closely follows the original manga than the anime at first, but in later episodes it proceeds into a significantly different storyline from either, with original characters and new plot developments.
In addition to the main episodes, there were two direct-to-video releases after the show ended its television broadcast. These were the "Special Act", which is set four years after the main storyline ends and which shows the wedding of the two main characters, and "Act Zero", a prequel which shows the origins of Sailor V and Tuxedo Mask.
Video gamesNumerous Sailor Moon console and arcade games were released in Japan, all based on the anime series. They were primarily made by Bandai and a Japanese game company called Angel, with some being produced by Banpresto. The early games were side-scrolling fighters, whereas the later ones were unique puzzle games, or versus fighting games. Another Story was a turn-based role-playing game.
The only original Sailor Moon game to be released outside of Japan was the Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon game developed by Angel, released in France as "Sailormoon" in 1994. The other games are hard to find in any other country, unless downloaded from the internet as ROMs, some of which have been translated into languages other than Japanese.
A handful of games were produced in North America, including "The 3D Adventures of Sailor Moon".
English adaptationsThe English adaptation of Sailor Moon was produced in an attempt to capitalize on the success of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. After a bidding war between Toon Makers, who wanted to produce a half live-action and half American-style cartoon version, and DiC Entertainment, DiC (which at the time was owned by The Walt Disney Company) acquired the rights to the first two seasons of Sailor Moon, of which they cut six episodes and merged two. 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 English adaptations by Optimum Productions for Cloverway of Sailor Moon S and Sailor Moon Supers (the third and fourth series) stayed relatively close to the original Japanese versions, and no episodes were skipped or merged. Some controversial changes were made, however, such as the depiction of Sailors Uranus and Neptune as cousins rather than lovers.
The fifth and final series, Sailor Stars, has never been licensed for adaptation into English. As of May 2004, the rest of the metaseries has officially gone off the air in all English-speaking countries due to lapsed licenses which have not been renewed.
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 US comic was released as three series: Sailor Moon, which collects the first three arcs (the Dark Kingdom, Black Moon, and Infinity arcs), Sailor Moon Super S, which collects the Supers arc, and Sailor Moon Stars, which collects the Sailor Stars arc. They feature all of the content from the original manga collections (though the names of characters introduced in the first two story arcs were changed to those used in the English anime), as well as the occasional new sketch and "thank you" commentary from the series' creator.
As of May 2005, Tokyopop's license to the Sailor Moon manga has lapsed, and the English-language manga is out of print.
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