Sailor Moon, first made as a manga by Naoko Takeuchi, is one of the first anime to come to America that was actually recognized for what it was, all previous dubs of Japanese anime flying completely under the radar for the ignorant masses. Essentially Dragon Ball Z for girls, and coming to America around the exact same time, it was laughed at as a younger girls' anime. This was partially true, especially in the first season, but as the series grew and more seasons were added, many themes were added that are definitely for an older audience. As it is, this review
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is for just the first season. I will be reviewing the other seasons as well, and all reviews are based on the Japanese anime, not the dub.
Story 10/10: The concept of a shoujo series isn't new in the least, but for its time, Sailor Moon was unique as it got. A girl that is horrible at school, is completely lazy and cowardly, and is an utter crybaby is suddenly told she's a fighter for justice. On top of this, she later learns that she was once the princess of a kingdom that existed a millenia ago and was destroyed by her current nemesis. It didn't get much crazier than that back then. (Though I will say that over-muscled men that turn into giant monkeys kinda ranks up there, too.)
The characters were rather unique. Rather than do the typical main character thing and rise to the call of justice, Usagi/Serena is quick to want to back out. She just wants to be a normal teenager. She effectively has had her life stolen right from under her because the world is in trouble. When she's starting to get into it, she thinks of it almost as a video game. She fails to truly see the fighting for what it is. However, once the people she cares about start getting hurt and in danger, she starts to see the repercussions and seriously questions if she's even up to the task.
If this were a review on the dub, I would drop it to a 9 over one thing: the final episode. Rather, the final two episodes that were consolidated into one English episode. Yes, the fight against the five sisters and Beryl... that was spread over two episodes. There was no banishment to the negaverse, only death. The fight against Mamoru/Darien was a lot longer near the end. There was a full episode's worth of scenes cut out. In the final sequence, Usagi/Serena actually dies after using the Ginzuishou/Silver Crystal. She makes a dying wish on the crystal, wishing that none of those things had ever happened, wishing she could have just continued to live like a normal human girl. The wish is granted and the senshi are returned to earth with their memories removed, the whole event having 'never happened'. However, since Luna and Artemis didn't die, they retain their memories, thus explaining the unexplainable fact in Sailor Moon's dub as to why "no one died", yet the senshi and Mamoru lose their memories and the cats magically don't.
The only thing that could possibly drag this anime down is that it feels like a monster grind after a while. The monster-of-the-week thing drones on a bit longer than you want it to, but so many anime do that same thing, so it's hard to mark it down for that.
Art 7/10: Okay... I loved Naoko's art in the manga, so Sailor Moon disappoints me slightly, but the animation is wonderful for its time. I will say that the animation gets steadily better as the seasons progress, but Sailor Moon definitely shows itself to be the draft for the other seasons of Sailor Moon. The transformation sequences were beautiful, but save for a few pose differences and hue changes, they were basically the same thing, rise and repeat. Mamoru's one, single transformation sequence, while thankfully short, was a severe disappointment (and the ending pose of it sent me into tears of laughter for a good five minutes).
Sound 7/10: Once again, the grade in this case really is in retrospect of the entire series, encompassing all seasons. While it was rather good for its time, nowadays it sounds like you're listening to it through a phone. Even on DVD the sound quality is just... bad. The music itself is outdated and really shows you just how old this anime is, but back then it was fine.
Character 10/10: I already went over this earlier with the story aspect, but I was pleased with the diversity of the characters. You have a hero who is lazy and a crybaby, you have a high-tempered shrine priestess, a school nerd with nearly zero offense, a tomboy who could easily bench press a truck but is boy crazy, a glam girl who wants to be an idol and has the leadership skills the hero lacks, two talking cats, a dude in a tuxedo with an extending cane who throws roses, a lust-crazy witch that wants to bring back some crazy dark being, four very confused generals who follow the witch but serve the prince, a princess with amnesia as to her true identity.... yeah, it gets crazy. But you truly learn to love these characters and connect with them. They each have well-crafted backstories and are just very well developed. Well... I will say that the four generals aren't really made a big deal of in the anime. In the manga, you learn they were the generals for Prince Endymion/Prince Darien and their minds were ensnared by Queen Beryl. In the anime, they're just her thugs, basically.
Enjoyment 8/10: I enjoy the series a lot, though the first season really has too much filler for me to enjoy it too thoroughly. There are really only key episodes you have to watch to understand the plot. While I know the series inside and out and know what to watch, someone just entering the series will have to watch through everything. Overall I loved it, though. Even after all this time, this remains my favorite series.
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Oct 3, 2008
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon
(Anime)
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Sailor Moon, first made as a manga by Naoko Takeuchi, is one of the first anime to come to America that was actually recognized for what it was, all previous dubs of Japanese anime flying completely under the radar for the ignorant masses. Essentially Dragon Ball Z for girls, and coming to America around the exact same time, it was laughed at as a younger girls' anime. This was partially true, especially in the first season, but as the series grew and more seasons were added, many themes were added that are definitely for an older audience. As it is, this review
...
Oct 3, 2008
The first Cardcaptor Sakura movie was, to me, a great disappointment. The story never really gripped me. So when I heard of the second movie, I was rather nervous. I'm happy to say, though, that I was greatly impressed with this movie. The story was will done, the relationships were expanded on, and it had one of the cutest endings.
Story 10/10: The story was a lot more gripping to me than the first movie, mostly because this movie was a direct sequel to the series. I truly enjoy the relationship between Syaoran and Sakura and was rather disappointed in how ... |
