Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: 「MOON PRIDE」 by ももいろクローバーZ (Momoiro Clover Z)
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「うさぎ -SAILOR MOON-」 (Usagi -SAILOR MOON-)
“Usagi -Sailor Moon-“
I don’t think there’s a single person out that watches anime that doesn’t know the name Sailor Moon. Even if you don’t watch anime, the phenomena that’s occurred around this single manga is renown. It’s not surprising that after 20+ years, this series is finally getting a reboot for the new generation of anime viewers. A lot of people speak about their first experiences with anime being Sailor Moon, so you’ll understand when I say that this was my childhood growing up. Not only was it something that I watched after school as child, but it was a show I was very anxious to revisit after I started fully enjoying anime in my early teens. Even though the final season stopped airing in early 1997, I was still able to appreciate this long-running series in 2006 when I re-watched it. I think this demonstrates the strong impact that Sailor Moon has had over the years and how so many individuals can relate to this shoujo anime. Like it or hate it, you can’t deny that it’s an icon for the shoujo-magical girl genre.
Everyone can probably easily guess the plot of Sailor Moon without even having seen it before. It’s about a young girl named Tsukino Usagi (Mitsuishi Kotono) who seems to be your average-not-so-bright teenager. A mysterious talking cat named Luna (Hirohashi Ryou) finds her one day and gives her a brooch – and with it, the ability to turn into a Sailor Solider. From here on out, Sailor Moon uses her powers (mainly her tiara) to stop Queen Beryl from sapping the energy away from Earth’s civilians. Queen Beryl sends henchmen in her place to create further drones that fight Sailor Moon every episode. Along the way, Sailor Moon makes friends with the other Sailor Soldiers that help her combat evil. In fact, we get a sneak peak of who’s to come already…
Sounds simple enough and it is. Sailor Moon Crystal isn’t meant to be super insightful and deep since its target market is young females. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some complexities along the way. Sailor Moon does offer a great romance story; obviously featuring Tuxedo Mask/Chiba Mamoru (Nojima Kenji) who is probably every young girl’s first crush and great dynamics between the main cast. The side stories that involve the secondary characters also start to develop which makes the world that Usagi exists in very real and relatable – this includes star-crossed lovers, family issues and the coming of age dilemmas that all girls go through. I can’t guarantee that Sailor Moon Crystal won’t be repetitive or episodic, but I can promise that there is continuity and genuine development that comes through in the end. Fans of the dubbed version should definitely be following this reboot because it’ll amaze you by how much the American version altered it. Fans of the original, well… it’s like a walk through memory lane and even though it’s not the same thing, you can’t expect it to be. It’s not meant to be a regurgitation of what you’ve already seen, but introduce the new world to what made Sailor Moon so iconic… and hopefully bring back that magical girl genre.
It was great watching scenes come to life the way that I remembered them. When Osaka Naru’s (Sato Satomi) mother turned out to be evil, I definitely recalled that without even flinching. And Furuhata Motoki (Okamoto Hiroshi) who works at the arcade? Well he’s Usagi’s man-crush. Even watching the opening sequence and the transformations were so reminiscent of what the core of Sailor Moon was. You can see where the budget for this anime went because these are the scenes that have to be reused each and every time Usagi transforms and attacks. The character designs are also different – I mainly notice that the characters look elongated and the details in their eyes are more prominent. It’s nothing that bothers me too much, but stays more true to the original manga art. The show obviously has some turnoffs though. Mainly Usagi’s seiyuu – who happens to be the only returning cast member too! I remember Usagi sounding “annoying” but I’m sorry, Kotono’s voice sounded quite strained this time around. Almost too forced since she has to play the part of a 14-year-old. It’s off-putting, but I’ll hold off judgment to see how the rest of the episodes pan out – the rest of the cast is definitely on the A-list.
I have a ton more to say but I’ll hold my tongue until the next episode airs. So far, I’d say that Sailor Moon Crystal has probably met my expectations as a whole and only slightly disappointed me in terms of keeping aspects of the original anime. The anime is only going to air once every two weeks though! Don’t know why, but don’t go looking for it next week and realize that it’s also going to run for the next full year. I’m sad to hear that my childhood is short-lived but hopefully it still encourages others who haven’t seen the original, to give it a chance. Nothing beats getting up early for Saturday morning cartoons!
Bottom Line: @RCCherrie – Getting up early on a Saturday to watch #SailorMoonCrystal! It’s like my childhood all over again =) Wow… I’m surprised by how much I actually remember from #sailormoon_20th. Her seiyuu is more annoying than I thought though…
ED Sequence
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ED: 「月虹」 (Gekkou) by ももいろクローバーZ (Momoiro Clover Z)
I’m incredibly happy to get the chance to see this adaptation. Remakes are already interesting, just b/c of the chance to see how much things differ from the original, and what can be improved upon. This one is special however. I am not ashamed to say that Sailor Moon was one the first anime that I actually followed as a child. I can remember seeing Robotech, Transformers, and Voltron in syndication, but not week to week. I can remember waking up early, as a kid, and watching Sailor Moon and Ronin Warriors. Both were shows that were so fundamentally different from anything else that I was watching, that I couldn’t help but be entranced. I don’t believe that it would be unfair to say, that they are a strong reason, for being the anime fan, that I am today, well, that and Toonami. While watching this, I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face, as it brought back all those fond childhood memories. I am now an adult, and able to look back, and not enjoy the original as much as I used to, but there will always be a soft spot in my heart, for one of the very first anime that I followed in America. It’s safe to say that this will be a favorite of mine, for the forseeable future, much like with Dragonball Kai, and I can only hope to feel as heartwarmed, while watching it, at the last episode, as I was today.
Wow that art went straight for the Manga version which is not very good. I like the older stream line version but they should have went for a more updated look version with the story. I think it would have worked much better.
Personally, I hope they don’t change a thing from the manga. Admittedly, I’ve never read the manga, but I’m a purist at heart, and always believe that they should stay true to the source material, for better or worse. There’s really no reason to try and appeal to an audience to attempt to prolong the show, this time around. It sells itself, so you might as well be accurate.
The original art of manga is a shoujo manga, mainly for fangirl. The art is even worse than this and the old series.
No! They definitely should not have updated it! God can you imagine if they had K-on-ified the character designs!
Anyway .. it’s not a remake of the ANIME, it’s a reboot of the MANGA. There’s a big difference.
Nothing about Kon-ified, what is wrong with having a black bullet type art style to the while thing and taking the manga storyline? It would sell more that’s for sure, and it’s not liekt here wasn’t precedent for change of art style
Sailor Moon Art style was contemporary for it’s time and it worked then, but now it just looked like a horribly outdated show despite the solid story behind it. If Sailor Moon had been drawn in this day and age do you think it would have use the above art style OR something more along the line of Nanoha and Madoka?
Yes I have read the manga version and I was quite surprise by how dark and violent it got. I hope it has enough juice to get to Galaxia.
I like the manga series as the story and art work well there, but animated with that art was a bad decision that I don’t think would work out for them in the long run.
I’m sorry, but this just isn’t true. There’s a lot of steps between “k-onified” and “a visually appealing anime style that doesn’t look like the generic shoujo style from 20 years ago”.
I am a huge fan of the manga and it just wasn’t the right choice. The story of the manga is so much better and more interesting. They didn’t have to pander to the manga community by using such a painfully stylized design. The animation coupled with the design is just about enough to make me pretty unenthused for the rest of the series. The characters don’t even look like they are part of their surroundings for half of the time. It’s like the animation in a dating sim!
its not a remake of the anime nor a reboot of the manga… is just a new adaptation of the manga.. more faithful to the original work.. like FMA Brotherhood..
It’s still in fact a remake though, just like Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood was a remake of Full Metal Alchemist. However, they are set to strongly follow the manga material rather than take the material and adapt it far from what’s originally there (as the original series do)
I kind of liked the art style, being different is not always a bad thing.
The art style wouldn’t be so bad if they hadn’t made the animation choices that they did. The characters may look good in screen shots, but they are extremely stiff in the animation. The backgrounds are artsy and painted but lack depth or focus. It makes the foreground characters look like they are paper dolls pasted into a flat world. Movements are stiff, poses are unnatural… even the face expressions feel like they lack transition frames! The soft shading is glaringly awful in some scenes.
I feel like the art style being so awkward may contribute to the reason that the animators were so stiff with all of the movements. However, even if that was not the case, the art style would’ve been fine if they would have actually made the characters look like something other than lifeless paper dolls. I feel like I’m watching a stop animation short.
I’ll admit that when I first heard about Sailor Moon coming back, part of me thought that this was just one huge bankroll on what, for so many of us in the anime community, was one, if not the very first anime that we’d ever seen, which for me it was.
Sailor Moon, like the original Pokemon in a way – before it turned into the immortal beast that just doesn’t know when to die – holds a special place in our childhoods. It was, for so many, what The Beatles were for music to our parents’ generation. It helped to open us up to an entirely new world and that’s something, whatever your thoughts towards anime right now may be – you don’t forget.
So, the all-important question was whether or not one could take such an iconic series and make it work more than twenty years after its original debut.
To that aim, Sailor Moon Crystal is off to, as our blood-thirsty friends the Spartans would say, a good start. While the pacing is obviously much faster and more true to the original manga – which is a very good thing, IMO – it’s the animation that’s been a different beast to tackle. Now, admittedly, I was a bit turned off to the more mature look at first, but it’s been growing on me the more I see it; and given that I think that was the intent, it does well enough.
Most important of all though, and what I was concerned about more than anything, was whether Crystal would still capture the feel of the original series without trying to adhere to it too much, and to that end I tip my hat to Toei Animation. For a first episode, they did about as good a job as they could have.
Ah yes, there was just one thing that kinda ticked me off, aside from Usagi’s every so slightly annoying seiyuu. Can you guess what it was?
This.
CGI, Toei Animation? C’mon, you know you can do better than that.
Sailor Moon was also my start into anime/manga. Following this is mainly due to nostalgia reasons, since I don’t expect anything from the story.
I have to agree about the voice and would have prefered some other seiyuu instead of Mitsuishi Kotono who is a great Misato, but annoying sounding Usagi.
I also didn’t appreciate the use of CG both at the end of the opening and in the transformation scene.
The CG was blindingly awful. I was so excited for the transformation and it was a complete letdown. What were they thinking? The transformations for Sailor Moon were just so iconic that it left a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the series. If they’re gonna cut corners there, what else will we have to deal with?
Of all the changes to characters, I’d have to say that Tuxedo Mask juts out to me, as the biggest change over from the original.
He was a bit on the sparkly side at the end – not quite Twilight level, but still – but I think he actually looks more refined than he did in the original.
I didn’t mean that. He has no separate character. He just is Tuxedo Mask. If you remember, the original had him in street clothes, and completely unaware of his other persona. He also acted way different on the street in the original than he did here.
Ah, sorry ’bout that.
Regardless, they probably went ahead with that because it wasn’t important whether he knew his identity or not. Can’t say I disagree.
Technically THIS is the original (considering it’s following the manga look and story where Tuxedo Kamen was like this). The old anime was the different one, lol.
Also forgot but remember these little gems?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFtyWN9m8ak
I liked that song
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcYzXEz_DA0
Wow…that actually look young there, they are too…elegant here. Ah well!
no no no. This is THE gem from the english dub. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8TWC2pNiuc
Oh yeah! I forgot about that! Still awesome to this day! I like Rainy Day and Starry cause it was fiyah. BUt yeah that battle scene was awesome too bad they didn’t have such an awesome song for the Wiseman battle like La Soldier. The power of love eng did not do it justice.
I love how rini acted like a normal girl and developed crushes on boys her own age. *sigh* one of the things I’m getting tired of is the older crush thing when it comes to elementary girls in anime nowadays. I mean adult males think that a grade school romance in their eyes will make the world implode
I like the new art direction they took, and while I was watching this with my sister (she’s a hardcore fan while I kind of just read whatever books she has lying around), she got up and left and asked me “Can we watch the version where they look normal?” of course I was actually enjoying it too much to even care about her question….though I got to say, a majority of the female voices in this version is like nails on a chalkboard.
For putting that back in my head there is a special circle of hell reserved just for you. >:(
Sailor says lol
She will never turn her back on her friends, she is always there to defend ~
You know you love it =)
Never gonna give you up, never gonna say goodbye….
I absolutely can not stand Mitsuishi Kotono in this remake. I almost wanted to punch my monitor and throw my speakers in the garbage can. For comparison’s sake, here’s episode one from the original sailor moon… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOxkHK4bZV0
Mitsuishi Kotono is one of Japan’s most respected seiyuu who is a graduate of Katsuta Voice Actor’s Academy and is not only the original voice of Usagi, but also Misato Katsuragi from Neon Genesis Evangelion. And you have the gall to shittalk her? Kill yourself.
No need to get heated, okay? Let’s just take it easy.
I have as much respect for Mitsuishi Kotono as the next guy. I can’t imagine anyone doing Misato Katsuragi other than her. Regardless, even the greatest voice actress in the world can still be miscast for something, and all the talent in the world won’t save you from a role you’re just not fit for.
That being said, was she the worst possible pick for Usagi? Definitely not, but was she the absolute best choice? No disrespect, but there are others who probably could’ve done a better job.
You seem to have misunderstood my comment. I didn’t say Mitsuishi Kotono is a bad seiyuu. I’m saying that she’s doing a terrible job in this remake compared to when just first voiced Usagi 20 years ago…
Most importantly, for me, she was also Excel Saga’s titual protagonist. Just think about it. Mitsuishi has not even begun to unleash her true powers.
Kotono is an amazing voice actress. Unfortunately, she’s quite a bit older than she was when she originally voiced Usagi. While her voice work in the original was top knotch, she comes across very strained and painful on the ears. It seems like they just were too afraid to break outside expectations on this one. Everyone wanted Kotono back… well, they got her. Unfortunately, she’s 20 years older and can’t pretend to be a 14 year old girl anymore. Surprise!
Voice acting on a show for little girls = serious business.
This is the kind of situation where people will complain either way.
So they used the original Mitsuishi Kotono, who is possibly not the most suited voice actor, considering that a 47 year old is trying to voice a young high school girl(I’m not saying it is impossible. But in this case, she is not doing as well as she did in the original anime). And then people are complaining like you.
And then if they decided to use a different voice actor, people will probably whine about how the original Mitsuishi Kotono was better than this new voice actor.
Personally I will admit that her voice acting on this particular series is not great so far, but I’ll hope that she will get better as the episode progress. Kind of like Yu-gi-oh duel monsters (and some other series), because Yugi’s voice acting was absolutely terrible when it first begun, but it eventually became much better(Japanese version).
oh come on, I just see both and sound igual to me.
I’m really excited for this as I did read the manga.
I remember being a bit bored with the original series at times due to the many episodes that just wasn’t much more than the “villain of the day/week” theme that dragged it on and on before they got to the real plot.
Here, as the manga did, they’re jumping into the main plot of the arc right away with the attempt at finding the Silver Crystal and, from the looks of it, going right into finding and awakening the other Senshi. The manga also sheds a bit more light on some villains that seemed otherwise “obvious”.
The original anime series had original content (I so hate the term “filler”) because it was ahead of the manga a great deal of the time. Anime series didn’t take year or longer “breaks” and then resume again just so a manga could “catch up” back then. So there’s no point comparing Crystal to the original for how “faithful” it is to the manga.
I don’t know what to think about this…
The story was okay, I remember both manga and original anime introduction parts as being slow so I just hope we won’t have to wait forever for the whole Inner Senshi team.
The voice acting was okay too.
But the animation, ugh… I was not a fan of new designs from the start (too bright colors, too pretty, shiny faces and too much hair everywhere) – they were supposed to be more like Takeuchi’s art, but they lack the liveliness and fluidity the manga had. And the color promo illustrations weren’t oversaturated like that.
I would let it slide if everything wasn’t so stiff. Seriously, this is the best animation this studio has to offer? Sacrificing fluidity for the cuteness?
Just compare the last pose from both transformation sequences, when Usagi makes the horizontal v-sign. The original one is drawn worse, right, but the pose is dynamic and natural. The new one just looks like a mannequin that can topple over any moment.
This pretty much sums up my feelings although I didn’t voice it very well in my own post. They’re so stiff and lifeless! The only thing I can compare it to is like doujin games where the openings are animated but not very well. Ugh. This was one of the things that the original did very well even for its time and here we are so many years later and going backwards.
Yes, everyone definately knows sailormoon <3
I remember coming back from school and watching it on Fox channel 🙂
My personal thought, I think Usagi's voice perfectly matches <3 I'm glad Mitsuishi Kotono is back!!!
How old is Sailor moon’s seiyuu exactly?
It says on her MAL profile page. She’s 47 this year =O and still an active seiyuu.
IMO too old for this shit
I’d still hit that! Kotono FTW! She’s great at other roles including Misato but Usagi, it is the most annoying voice i’ve ever heard in anime. I love Sailor Moon, but Kotono is forcing it. I think she should voice an older version of Usagi instead of the high pitch one from the 90’s. I’m still pissed that they didn’t get Aya Hisakawa back.
Why do I get the feeling that this series will spark a rift in the fanbase (one side saying that the original anime is better with the other saying Crystal is better) bigger than the one for Fullmetal Alchemist (2003 anime vs. Brotherhood)?
This has been going on since the series reboot was announced. People have been complaining about how everything is different, the “shit-tier” character designs, and it will come to America the same way it airs in Japan. Hell, some people are actually boycotting the re-release of the first series just because it won’t be the Americanized version. Some Moonies are hardcore crazy. ~_~
Ah, the broken base. Such a thing will be inevitable with reboots like these. Brace yourselves, then.
I am pretty impressed overall except for that gross CG in the transformation scene. I was overjoyed to see they kept the old poses and transformation sequence and am looking forward to getting the story without it dragging on like the original (inevitably) did.
I am disappointed that they didn’t keep a little more of the old cast. Certain voice actors are still very active and we could have easily had the original voices for Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Mercury, if not more of them. Nojima Kenji was a great choice to replace Furuya Tohru, but still…
As for Luna, I’m pretty sure Hirohasi Ryou was a terrible choice. She doesn’t sound like the old mother hen that she should be despite Hirohashi’s mannerisms in interviews and internet radio.
Usagi. Still pretty klutzy. 😀 It feels weird experiencing this in a new way.
Never seen the original. Is it worth picking this up or should I go for the older one first? Not a fan of shojo (totally spelled that wrong) but it’s just that as popular as this is I’m compelled to check it out.
Check out the first few episodes here and see how you like it. Crystal so far is very similar to the original airing (barring the CG of course) so it should give you a good idea what to expect if interested (not to mention giving the proper story).
If Crystal doesn’t deviate from what we’ve seen here then I’d expect this to turn into another Full Metal Alchemist situation where both the original and the reboot have their strengths and are worthy of being watched.
You don’t need to watch the old one to watch the new one. The only reason people would is to see the comparisons between the two – but as you can see, so many people will have different opinions on what they think is better. Stick with the new one for now and if it’s not your cup of tea, you might want to try the older one.
The general concept of Sailor Moon won’t change regardless. The original did have more fillers though because the original manga is only so long and this new remake will probably get to the point faster.
Watching Sailor Moon….
Oh they have the classical talking animal familiar…
Oh they have the classical magical object…
Oh they have the classical mahout shoujo hen shin scene…
Oh wait….. This WAS the show that kind of set those as a mahout shojou staple. What am I talking about.
Anyway, RC reviews said that this’s actually deeper and darker than it actually is. That’s why I’m in this.
Is this being aired on Japanese TV or just Niconico?
All over the Internet, actually.
Wow, I’m a huge fan of the manga but they should’ve updated the artwork for this. The Sailor Moon manga was done in classic shoujo style. It was great for its time, and the art is still very beautiful. However, it was ultra styalized and not in a way that I would’ve picked to continue the anime. A lot of this seemed like a poorly animated webcomic that you might find on Youtube by a fan. I am pretty disappointed in the art/animation because there is such a thing as being too faithful when your source material is as old as Sailor Moon is.
From the amount of downvotes that everyone is giving, I’m guessing there are a lot of very opinionated fans on this matter. I am THRILLED to see Sailor Moon coming back as it was a huge part of my childhood (the manga) and it inspired my art so much. However, I think they could have done so much better in the end.
Who knew Naru’s mom was such a milf? :/
Heck, not just Naru’s mom.
Even Haruna Sakurada (Usagi’s English teacher) and Usagi’s mom look far more attractive here.
New designs and character animations are godawful, music is completely bland, and they even made the transformation scene, the symbol of this anime, 3D.
I seriously can’t take this as anything but a badly created dojinshi akin to the trainwreck that were Sailor Moon live action dramas.
The “Purists” are prob kinda pleased…i say that lightly…i KNOW this series is supposed to be LEGEND, but……meh. one question? why is the CGI so God awful…truly cringe worthy!!! its embarrassing..and it looks dated as all hell, even with semi new designs….i guess i got nothing positive to say about it…and again why is the cgi soooo bad…im a purist in that respect..STOP PUTTING CRAPPY CGI IN ANIME JAPAN!!!!,,hell dont use it at all….and yes i realize its expensive…CUT COSTS THEN MF’er!! is hand drawn really that much more expensive?!?!?!
SO WONDERFUL AND IT EXCEEDED MY EXPECTATIONS!
Though, I’m still really sad that Usagi’s seiyuu is really… strained, to say the least.
I love Mitsuishi Kotono. My favorite character of hers? Excel.
Needless to say, I’m fully on board with the casting decision.
I thought the first episode was alright. After watching the whole thing twice, it grew on me.( besides the CGI) But I can still understand why they did that. I thought overall the reboot was close to the manga and im glad they told you about where the mom was whereas they didnt really say where she was after Sailor Moon killed the villain in the episode.
I know this is just a personal opinion but i felt some of the animation felt flat in some ways and not completely pushed. The only part i felt that was pushed for animation was when Sailor Moon threw her tiara and the opening sequence when the sailor senshi used their attacks. Im not sure if im just being weird but what do you guys think regarding the animation?
Side note:
Overall, I think the reboot is a good start but I hope they push the series a bit more.
Usagi digivolves to Sailor Moon!!
Its like they took the old content and retheme it.
But this time it should be more faithful to the manga.
I feel the premiere did a good job at throwing us back some 20 years. Even with the slightly altered character designs I felt a huge sense of nostalgia and a ton of memories rushed back. This will be a fine reboot as long as they stick to what they’ve shown us already.
As a side note, I noticed the OP was Momoiro Clover Z … but I also noticed the composer was Revo. You don’t suppose it’s *the* Revo … the glorious composer of Sound Horizon/Linked Horizon do you?
Yup, it’s Revo from LH/SH.
hmmm….its not the same feel, but i do miss this anime. What shocked me entirely is the seiyuu lineup casting for the characters. Rina Satou doing Rei? Koshimizu Ami as Makoto?? Wow…i’d love to see that! XDD Wonder what kind of tone they’ll give for these two soon!
Personally prefer the old henshi, this CG kinda ruin it a little. And the color kinda vivid, but heck the classic shojou drawing did made me grin during the entire show. I mean, man i havent seen such strokes and drawing for such a very very long time!
Anyway, cant wait for the rest of the girls to appear soon!
Tears were shed at all the nostalgia! Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball and Pokemon: The Original Series were what defined my childhood when it came to anime! And I am glad that I am able to watch a Sailor Moon reboot and a re-release of Dragon Ball Kai at the same period!
“Sailor Moon does offer a great romance story”
Ehh…really ?
Of course! I don’t know what kind of childhood you had – but to me, Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon were like the #1 OTP for the longest time. They were fated to be together and what kind of little girl doesn’t want to hear that true love is out there? Not to mention that they endure a ton of stuff as a couple and still manage to stay together =)
Show Spoiler ▼
wow…. I havent seen sailor moons since…. what…. 10 years ago? probably more. a bit of a nostalgia if I say so myself.
Lovin’ 99% of this first episode, but the real deal begins now.
Follow the manga and don’t make that sad amount of filler from the old series.
Op is so cool, transformation is uber cool. Very good job, now it’s time to have a remake for the Top 3 (OP, B, N) 😀
I’ve never watched Sailor Moon, so I decided to give it shot. Probably the most anticipated anime this season, so why not?
Yeah, I can see why not now. I know Sailor Moon popularized the magical girl genre, and I know that this is just the studio being faithful to the source material, but if it’s going to induce cringe after cringe after cringe, then deviate from the source to make it something better.
As it stands, as a “new generation” anime watcher, this is not a show that even lives up to the most average anime standards. It’s a cash grab for those who want to relive that nostalgia.
Number one is Usagi. She’s 14, but she sure doesn’t look hell like it. Then we’re greeted with her voice which grates me so much. Her delivery is very much forced, and that wasn’t something I’d expect out of a veteran seiyuu.
the we have the plot in this episode, which is the most cliched thing I’ve seen this year. Cringe-inducing move names with even worse character intros and an even worse transformation scene.
The animation was alright, but the art style is not. The faces lack expression and the bodies aren’t proportioned. The music was even just as cringeworthy because it didn’t fit the mood at all.
I’m not watching this. Severely disappointed. I can see why people loved it back then, because there was nothing better to watch. Now, it’s just…ugh. Not picking this up.
And a bi-weekly release? Don’t make me laugh.
Thanks for giving it a chance. This isn’t really the anime that everyone loved, but a remake of the manga that it was based off of. The manga story is so much better than the story of the old anime so of course everyone was looking forward to it, but they made so many bad choices in the end. Who knows? It could get better the second episode, somehow, but it’s definitely lacking a lot of the charm of the original. The animation is old on that one, but maybe you would like to try it anyway?
I’ll definitely stick with it to the end, but right now it’s in a “I can’t look away from the horror” sort of way.
Most cliched thing? Well, probably. But bear in mind that it was Sailor Moon itself that introduced the now-familiar elements to the genre – well, it practically invented the whole Magical Girl Warrior formula. Those elements were later copied, inverted, parodied and deconstructed by every action shoujo series during these 20 years.
I’m actually very curious about what new viewers will think about the series as a whole. The now-cliches, straightforward and seemingly naive plot may just not work for modern audience. Or maybe it will be a breath of fresh air for fans tired of a market oversaturated with parodies and “decontructions”? Who knows…
Please give the original series a chance, despite being old and cliched (though it was the series that invented it all), the original anime has a lot of merit (which has elements of the manga, and 90s anime and also had a lot of its own quirky, dark yet romantic style) vs this soulless junk that just came out.
Btw somebody obviously stole all the budget on this new show, its like EA took over it or something, yup its nothing more than a cash grab, the animation is so bad, a fanboy/fangirl can do a better job using flash.
Wow. What were they thinking with this animation? It’s horrible! The blurred cell shading on the characters and the painted backgrounds make it look like a doujinshi game. A cheap one. CG in the opening, CG in the henshin, CG in the ending. Awkwardly adapted manga art that looks bad at a lot of angles (is that why everyone is so rigid facing forward all the time?! Don’t turn sideways, your bad choices will show) and Kotono’s voice is cracking all over the place. The music was pretty lackluster as well.
I have never been so disappointed by a series. It’s my own fault, I guess, for having such high hopes. However, they really dropped the bar on this one. I just can’t get over this terrible choice in art style and I don’t think it’s going to grow on me anytime soon. What a tragedy
https://randomc.net/image/Sailor%20Moon%20Crystal/Sailor%20Moon%20Crystal%20-%20OP%20-%2001.jpg Sailor Jupiter is still mai waifu
And Sailor Venus is mine
Sorry but I claimed Venus in 1993.
Screw you dude. That bitch was mine since I first saw her. It was love at first sight with me and her.
NEVER RUNNING FROM A REAL FIGHT, SHE IS THE ONE CALLED SAILOR MOON!
Seems sorta weird in HD.
Excellent adaptation I loved it.
Also is identical to the manga, check it here
Awesome! It’s identical to the generic shoujo style from 20 years ago. There’s no way this can ever go wrong or make all the characters look like lifeless cardboard cutouts.
No one is complaining about the story. It’s the lazy animation and terrible artistic choices that they made.
I don’t usually laugh out loud when watching anime but this episode made me laugh out loud several times. The VA for Usagi is phenomenal, so funny and Usagi as a character cracks me up. And the music is great as well. The visuals are good except the CG bothers me a bit but that is a minor complaint.
I didn’t know what to feel about it going in but after watching it I am loving it completely. 🙂
I hate to say this, but I’m afraid that Sailor Moon may have passed its time. In the early 1990’s, magical girl “team” was a novelty. All five sailors were charismatic enough to be the main character if they were put in their own series. Yet they were put together to quintuple the fun. It was a great idea executed correctly. However, when I look at some of the more recent shows such as Magical Girl Madoka Magica, I can’t help but wonder whether the younger audience would still fantasize about heroes/heorines and “love and justice” the same way as their predecessors did two decades ago.
Nonetheless, I am happy to see the re-make of a great series. I have no problem with the character design, which admittedly is less eye-pleasing than the first series, but is more faithful to the manga. My only major complaint is that the opening and ending songs lack “impact.” In the first series, there could be easily ten hit songs that fans still remember today. But songs in the new series seem forgettable. Perhaps the songwriter was too focused on mimiking the old style and inadvertently made the songs sound formulaic.
“However, when I look at some of the more recent shows such as Magical Girl Madoka Magica, I can’t help but wonder whether the younger audience would still fantasize about heroes/heorines and “love and justice” the same way as their predecessors did two decades ago.”
Considering Madoka never was aimed for the younger audiences to begin with, this is far from being the best comparison. It’s like comparing Star Wars to Babylon 5. Are you sure Sailor Moon got too old for you, instead of you becoming too old for Sailor Moon?
Overall, I really liked this, other than a few minor details.
> Are you sure Sailor Moon got too old for you, instead of you becoming too old for Sailor Moon?
It’s not about me– it is about the current generation.
I wouldn’t say it’s passed its time, more like its intended audience is not what the majority of us commenting here are now. Sailor Moon has a lot of nostalgia for many of us because it was one of the big shows we watched growing up in school. I watched it in Grade 2, the age when superheroes were big and imagination was everything. This is the main audience of Sailor Moon, it’s designed for kids and provides a similar experience for girls that the main superhero shows did for us guys. The irony of course being it’s crossover success (haven’t had one to such a significant degree until the MLP craze that hit ~4 years back).
Crystal may not have the same pull for me it did when I was little, but the nostalgia alone is enough to get me to watch it all the way through.
> I watched it in Grade 2, the age when superheroes were big and imagination was everything.
Yes, I can understand why a gradeschooler would watch SailorMoon 20 years ago just as why one would watch it today. I don’t deny that they are a significant part of the audience. What I disagree is what makes up the “main” audience. I think it is intended to be the teenagers, namely, the 12-18 age group. If the production company wanted to sell this as “nostalgia” to those of us in our 20’s and 30’s, they would probably have made a side-story/OVA (like how Fist of the North Star or Neon Genesis Evangelion were handled). The fact that they are starting over from Episode 1 is strong indication that they want to re-build the fan base for the post-2000 generation, just like how Hunter x Hunter and Dragon Ball Z were handled. What I doubt is whether the current re-make can duplicate the magic moment that inspired the previous generation 20 years ago.
I’d say that the sense of awe created with the original airing is unlikely to be duplicated here, at least for us who saw the original. It’s like Dragon Ball Z Kai, once you get older you start to see the flaws in the things you loved (For example in Dragon Ball the inability to condense the fights and reduce the time spent on them). Like Cherrie fawned over in her post it appears the goal is to introduce a new generation of kids to Sailor Moon thanks to the Saturday morning showing, teenagers included. I agree that this is isn’t nostalgia-driven as you mention, or else we would see something else entirely. A reboot is always intended to prolong a series’ interest rather than appeal to its original fan base.
We won’t know how Crystal is received until it’s showing has ended and the sales data comes in. It’s very unlikely teens and younger kids will flock to sites such as RC to voice their opinions as most haven’t discovered them yet. BD sales will tell a lot for how Sailor Moon fares amongst today’s anime environment.
Good points from everyone above and I agree mainly with Pancakes that the intended audience is actually not “us” and by “us”, I am assuming that everyone is over 20 years of age.
This is a great remake for those of us that enjoy the nostalgia and hey! if you’ve been fortunate enough to have seen both versions, good for you… but remember that girls (and guys! won’t discriminate) who watch it now are actually only 7-18 (which is the average age which shoujo manga is targeted at). They don’t know the original manga (they might?) and they probably wouldn’t go looking for the original to compare to because it’s from like the early 90’s. So from that perspective, I think Sailor Moon isn’t bad at all. Maybe with a few more episodes, people will get into it more because it’ll be less episodic with the monster-of-the-day theme and more characters will be introduced.
Also remember that if you’re from America, you probably saw the original dubbed version which is NOT like the original Japanese version at all. They cut a lot of the scenes like Show Spoiler ▼
that couldn’t be broadcasted on “kid” television and hence, why you might think Sailor Moon is so juvenile. I promise you – it’s not like that lol. The story develops later on… this first episode was an introduction after all.
> They don’t know the original manga (they might?) and they probably wouldn’t go looking for the original to compare to because it’s from like the early 90′s.
Oh, yeah, they surely remember– they wanted “Sailor Moon” to run for President in the 90’s and they want her to run again NOW. *Just kidding*
In Japan, many of the mom’s may be explaining to their kids how the new series compares with the old one. Also, the “love and justice” hand movement sequence after Sailor Moon’s transformation is one of the most copied scenes in Japanese anime. I bet the otaku‘s would know even though they may not have watched the original.
I do agree that one doesn’t have to be familiar with the old series in order to enjoy the new one. I used to hate the monster-of-the-day routines. But, now looking back, I wonder if those routines actually did more good than harm by keeping the series on air longer. I guess we’ll see the results in the new series.
Shouldn’t have made the transformation (of all parts…) CG. That was just so disappointing and might as well just have ruined the rest of Crystal for me
Hopefully I’ll be able to continue through at least a couple more episodes before deciding this
why do so many little girls in sailor moon manga look like they have breasts at a young age? the amazon quartet, Hotaru,and naruru osaka
Who knows people who have watched Sailor Moon and are now watching it with their children? (Hands up) High definition Sailor Moon blows up my mind already. 🙂
lol people is sooooooo freaking dramatic..
boohoo that HORRIBLE cgi!!!! it was terrible!!..
common , it was OK.. yes i agree the original transformation is better, but common.. this one is not “horrible” is a OK cgi.. i had seen a lot worst on anime and on TV.. hell even on fucking movies… dont let the nostalgia blind your judgement..
anyway.. i hope this adaptation follows better the manga plot, without those “monster of the week” filler..
First of all, CGI should never have been used. It’s not so much the fact that it was bad CGI but that it was a bad choice to use it in a scene that will be used over and over again in the series. Of all the way to cut corners, that one is not it. Second of all, this is Toei Animation which is notorious for making god awful design decisions in almost every animation they’ve ever put out into the world.
Even if you can look beyond the CGI (which looks like a first year student got ahold of it), the animation is terrible. Flat characters, stiff movements, it’s like they wanted the whole series to be an artbook where all the characters did was face forward, smile, and maybe stiffly move their shoulders a bit. Whether it’s a symptom of the awkward artwork or a symptom of sheer laziness from their animation team is debatable.
I feel like people who loved the manga are trying to be so generous to this series because they didn’t like the original for being so unfaithful. However, bad animation is bad and all the amazing story in the world won’t save this series which seems to be thrown together on a shoestring budget on the backburner of their active projects.
“I’m a talking cat. You have to fight the forces of evil and save the princess because #YOLO!”
I’ve never thought that Sailor Moon took itself too seriously, and I’m glad that was evident in the premiere.
Gravatar is so confusing. My picture still isn’t showing up 🙁
I’m not bashing this reboot but I just kind of miss the old music…
Same here. I am not bashing the reboot– but I do wish that the songs could have been better.
I felt something off about this Reboot. I know I’m accustomed to the 90’s one but this feels like it has no soul in it. The music is kinda overdramatic at times. Im afraid when the other senshi come they will just be plain looking. The 90’s one had them looking beautiful each with their own character traits. The animation was great at that time and it makes you appreciate cel animation more even if it’s outdated. I don’t know. It just feels off. Also SAILOR JUPITER IS SO UNDERRATED. She’s one of the most three dimensional out of the senshi and she gets sidelined. I think she deserves her own spin-off manga/ anime. I would pay money to read or see that.
OH good, I’m not the only one that’s really annoyed with Usagi’s voice :/
you and me both pal! soooo annoying!!! she was whiny in the dubbed original I never watched japanese original so I was not expecting that at alllll!
My expectation of a Cardcaptor Sakura remake is now at an all-time high.
OVA, maybe. But a re-make? How many hits from the 1990’s would be lying in wait? In the magical girl genre alone, Ojamajo Doremi would already be a strong contender. In other genres, what about shows like Nadia? City Hunter? Yu Yu Hakusho? Slam Dunk? Slayers? And, the most deserving one of all, Rurouni Kenshin? I have nothing against Cardcaptor. But the odds are just too improbable.
Manga-wise, at least, Kenshin already got a recent short remake.
Cardcaptor Sakura is actually very near and dear to my heart =) Not ashamed to say that it was the first anime I ever watched from beginning to end and in Japanese… This was when I was 15/16 years old too lol =P so no shame there at ALL! I hold it very highly in my mind.
That said, I don’t think it needs a remake. I think the original was actually very well done as it was and to this day, other than a few fillers, I have no complaints overall. It deviated a bit from the manga (especially near the end and stuff) but it held its own and to remake it… would just ruin that magic for me =X
That’s a bummer that you feel that way cuz wouldnt it be cool if a reboot of cardcaptor sakura ended up in capable hands and they were actually able to reboot it in a way that improved on everything that the original did? I grew up with cardcaptor sakura myself and i wouldnt mind seeing a reboot of the series; competently written and directed with lush animation and gorgeous art…I can picture it now 🙂 (stares of into space and gets lost in imagination)
@sonicsenryaku:
Ah you see… this is exactly why people end up disappointed – the expectations.
I think that’s also why some people were upset with Sailor Moon because it’s not living up to what it was back in the day. However, you can’t honestly expect to watch something years later and get the same experience, even if it were exactly the same. People change and so does the anime industry.
Such is the curse of having expectations but im not the type to completely write something off because it didnt match my expectations completely. I like to evaluate things for what they are worth and if they did a good job delivering their content in a cohesive, thoughtful, and entertaining way. If something like a reboot of cardcaptor Sakura could do that, i would not have any problems regardless of the initial expectations i had in my daydreams :). It’s a shame some people feel that this sailormoon reboot did not live up to expectations (although it seems for the most part, viewers got that rush of nostalgia they expected to get), especially since it was just one episode. Id tell people to give it time because it’s clear that toei has something special in mind for crystal.
I was open to the changes Toei Animation made to Sailor Moon Crystal from the original anime series so after watching the first episode, I was happy to say I liked it. The opening and ending sequences as well as the episode title and eye-catch screens were other highlights. While I am skeptical about the use of CGI for the transformation sequences, it was easy to adapt to the character designs as the episode progressed. I will continue to look forward to how the other Sailor Scouts will turn out, but I will most likely continue until the end. Thank you for the coverage, Cherrie and Random Curiosity!
is it just me or yeah Usagi seiyuu is one of the most annoying I’ve ever heard.
I have nothing against sailor moon, but why do I get the impression that the staff of this reboot didn’t give a rat’s ass about how good the episode would turn out?
Budget issues aside, it feels like the people involved made the show only because they are on Toei payroll, and not because they wanted to make this sailor moon reboot a good show.
why do you feel that Toei is not putting any effort into this reboot? Im also curious to know what budget issues you found
No way. A classic like Sailor Moon is well-known to be a lightning rod. The production crew must have been fully aware of the attention they attracted and the consequence if they fail to meet expectation. Plus, the anime industry is not well-known to be high-pay. You are in it mostly because you love it. It would be hard to believe that the production crew did not give their 120%.
My biggest disappointment with this was seeing the transformation being CG’d instead of completely hand drawn. Can’t comprehend why such a popular franchise decided on CG for one of the most iconic scenes of its franchise.
CG is now the industry standard. I bet Toei (the production company) would have drawn even more criticism if they did not follow suit.
Cherrie@ I agree cardcaptor sakura was and still is one of my favorite series ever! although usagi and mamoru’s relationship is something i’m worried about because otaku won’t take to kindly to a heterosexual relationship in maho shojo show now because of all the implided yuri maho shojo (nanoha, madoka)
“Mainly Usagi’s seiyuu – who happens to be the only returning cast member too! …the rest of the cast is definitely on the A-list.”
Right so the English dub actresses for Serena were better? The original series seiyuu cast wasn’t and isn’t A-list?! How do you know what Usagi should sound like? What qualifies you to make such a statement about the seiyuu?
Usagi is Kotono’s role. Araki Kae (Chibiusa she then voiced) took over for her while Kotono was quite ill (and was related to her throat). So you think the Crystal anime staff are just putting up with her because too many Japanese fans would’ve been pissed if the role had been recast? It’s not like Crystal has only be in the works a few months.
I’d like to have known if any of the other original cast were even considered or never even approached, especially Furuya Tohru (who is voicing young men wonderfully still (Amuro in Detective Conan)). Skill, not age, is what needs to be considered. Nojimi Kenji isn’t exactly a fresh face (born 1976). And the new inner senshi seiyuu are in their 30s.
Sailor Moon was one of my first anime series, as well, so of course I had to watch this. It might be because it’s been a while since I last watched it, or it might be because of the actual differences between the two, but I feel like I don’t have enough estrogen in me to enjoy it to its fullest now. Still, it’s entertaining enough for me to watch it twice a month.
As for the animation quality, I agree that the CGI looks horrible, which is even more sad when you realize that Toei can actually do it very well in their other, more popular mahou shoujo show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5KXqNxOu6s
It might even seem like there’s nothing worth the multiple delays and bi-weekly schedule here, but the rest of the visuals are actually pretty decent. The backgrounds are beautiful, as if they were taken from a picture book, there are some neat details that remind me of Ikuhara’s former involvement in the project, and the characters themselves look fine most of the time. Sure, the designs are different, but they’re not lazy.
that was horrible; and CGI transformation was the worst thing ever; Sailor Moon was one of my first anime too and my favorite that time, but this… TOEI where are you going?
I love how Usagi’s little brother is drawn he reminds me of Syoaran Li from ccs. I wish more shojo creators would start making their kid characters like how shingo is drawn.