セーラームーンとどうなった？

＜日本語＞

          セーラームーンとどうなった？たくさんの出来事だ！間違いなく「美少女戦士セーラームーン」は難しくされた歴史を持っているな、誰でもセーラームーンのファンたちがおそらく同意するはないけど私がちょっと同意する。例えば：ダーク・キングダム編の後で原作者武内直子がセーラームーン漫画を終わりたいんだったでも人気になっていた；時々にテレビ朝日にアニメ化は講談社から原作漫画を似ていない；「美少女戦士セーラームーンR」から魔界樹編と「美少女戦士セーラームーンSuperS」と問題；「美少女戦士セーラームーンCrystal」の第１期のアニメーションとストーリーペースは問題があったも（第３期と二つの劇場版「Eternal」と「Cosmos」にそれらの要素は改善されたでもそれは十分はないかもしれないありそうなのね）；セーラームーンは東映アニメーションの扱いより本当に価値があるって信じるよ；北アメリカにセーラームーンが失敗されたの実写アニメーションパイロット版としてなんと変な方法とほとんどデビューした；すべてのそれらの例えと他の例えが証明するはこの女の子たちだけじゃないでも世界一の人々のためにも大切な影響があるの漫画・アニメシリーズ「美少女戦士セーラームーン」はもちろん問題があるんだね、どうやって実施することは完璧じゃないはそれでも、セーラームーンはまだたくさんのファンたちがある、色々なキャラクターたちが大好き（大部分のキャラクターたちは強い独立している若い女性たちは当たり前だろう）、愛やフェミニズムや多様性や勇気について教訓が大好き、そしてそれらのファンたちの部屋の中にセーラームーングッズがいっぱいだからペンキを使っていないと壁はピンク色になった！インターネットと明らかにセーラームーンについて会話が終わらないだろうなでもそれは良いことだ；未来に東京がクリスタル・トーキョーになる時にまだ信じるの人々がセーラームーンを忘れないでしょうね！

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          この漫画・アニメシリーズの重要さははっきりしている：全部のセーラームーン物語は永遠はないでも、数年後までもう一つのセーラームーンアニメが来るはないけど（またリブートまたはスピンオフとして、たくさんのスピンオフとセーラームーンはもう一つのマーベル・シネマティック・ユニバースのように；ところで「コードネームはセーラーV」のアニメ化はどこかしらね．．．）、ある人々が思うは他の結局つまらないになるの漫画・アニメシリーズのようにセーラームーンはもう面白くないけど、この学校へ行くのバカな女の子がかっこいいでもありふれたのセーラー服を着るのセーラー戦士という魔法少女スーパーヒーローに変身すると友達と一緒に英語のアタックと面白い道具を使うと悪いやつを倒すの物語は、どのように日本の女性たちと特撮ヒーローについて物語を語ったの特に日本にエンターテインメントの世界で影響はなんと大きいですな、「愛天使伝説ウエディングピーチ」や「東京ミュウミュウ」のようにたくさんの真似に至ったから魔法少女ジャンルは前のようにもう同じじゃない、実は誰でも人々はこのシリーズのキャラクターたちと関係があるできる、経歴や出生地や性や年齢や性的指向は重要じゃない。それらのキャラクターたちと物語で役やキャラクターデザインとどのように描かされたを調べてくれ；ある方法に影響を与えたか、啓発するか、ホントに関係があるできるか？！結果として、女性の特に社会に人間になることはどう感じ？あんたは太陽系の惑星にちなんで名前を付けられたはずだっただな！

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          もちろんみんなはすでに漫画についてわかる、「美少女戦士セーラームーンCrystal」の目的は漫画と似ていた、確実に武内直子の漫画で美術は素敵なんだけど、大部分の人々が1992年から1997年までテレビアニメについて漫画とその2014年アニメリブートより良く知っている（その2004年実写版テレビドラマと色々な舞台ミュージカルは関係ない）、1990年代に観たならば何を思い出してるの？ちびうさがうさぎに拳銃を向けていたの時はどうダイ？！可愛いアニメーション（それらの変身シーンの実施を含めている）とキャラクターデザインと、悲痛な感情と、輝くの色といつものようにストロボと、なんと素晴らしい大好きな三石琴乃を含めて才能があるの声優たちと、この日本からアクションテレビ番組は最初じゃないけど毎週に新しい怪物は登場したでも本当にうんざりさせている概念と、現在のように話題と主題と、そして絶対忘れない音楽とオープニングテーマとエンディングテーマと、すべてのそれらということになるとこの1990年代テレビアニメは最高！三つの一時間映画と他の短編映画を含めて私がこの1990年代テレビアニメの全話をすでに観た、それで私の一番大好きなの話は、第一期からネフライトの死や大阪なるの悲しみの話、そして第三期「美少女戦士セーラームーンS」から世界のほとんどの終わりにセーラーウラヌスとセーラーネプチューンが同意するはないけどあきらめないのセーラームーンが「クライシス・メイクアップ」を叫んでいるによってセーラーサターンを救助するの名作の話。正直に、それらの二つの話を初めてに観た時に私がマジで泣いた、スタジオジブリ映画とあるドラえもんの話を除いてアニメを観ている間に私が泣いたの他の時を現在に思い出さない。エンターテインメントの世界に、あの物語は悲しい部分があれば泣いていないならばナンカ人間じゃない。本当だ、大阪なるが死んでいるネフライトと一緒にチョコレートパフェを食べたいって言った時に私が泣いた。この「美少女戦士セーラームーン」漫画のアニメ化だから感情的なを感じたよ、それでお疲れ様．．．あっ、忘れた、第五期「セーラースターズ」に、怒っているセーラームーンが後悔がないのセーラーギャラクシアで言ったは「返して．．．レイちゃんを返して！！！マコちゃんも．．．美奈子ちゃんも．．．亜美ちゃんも．．．返せ～！！！」って。結果として「美少女戦士セーラームーン」の1990年代テレビアニメは子供たちと大人たちのためになんと史上最高の日本からテレビアニメです！過去に私が思ったは「美少女戦士セーラームーン」はたくさんのあんまりよく知っている繰り返しているアニメ典型があった、後で本当の影響をついに悟った、それはなぜ「美少女戦士セーラームーン」は「ドラえもん」のように私の一番大好きなテレビアニメの理由よかった！

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          そうです、「美少女戦士セーラームーンCrystal」で一つの利益は三石琴乃がその題名のキャラクターとして声優で帰って来た、そして新しいファンを集めた、でもそのアニメリブートは1990年代アニメのようにはない。その後者のアニメに比べると「Crystal」にいくつ穴埋めまたは要らない話がいるのか？話数のために、「Crystal」は３９話と四つの映画がある、間に1990年代アニメは200話がある！その上に、不快かどうか間違いかどうか思い出すできないけど「Crystal」と「Eternal」と「Cosmos」を結びつけていると1990年代アニメに比べると感情的なのシーンは少ない、おそらく一つの理由はペースはあんまり速いだね、遅いでも泣いているのためになんと悲しいシーンの時間がない。私が言うだろうは：他の観たいのアニメを観るなければならないため、あるアニメのあんまりたくさんの話を観るの時間がないならば、それとも類似点と相違点に注意するため漫画と同じのアニメを観るならば（毎回あの本は映画化になるのように）、間に何でもサプライズを絶望的に期待していると（サプライズは実は「美少女戦士セーラームーンCosmos」に、でもそれは秘密！）、「美少女戦士セーラームーンCrystal」を観てください！しかし、うさぎとすべての友達についてもっと知っていたいならば、笑っていると泣いているのようにたくさんの感情があっている間に、そしてそれぞれの話に恐ろしいバカらしいまたは不必要にセクシー怪物は何かっても知っていたいならば、1990年代アニメを観てください。「美少女戦士セーラームーン」をどのように経験してもメッセージは同じ：愛はいつも悪より強い；現在の社会は、「隣人を愛せ」と「戦争をしないで愛をしよう」ってのようにメッセージを今必要とするね。

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          前に述べたと思ったよは、人々が言うはセーラームーンのキャラクターたちをとても大切にするから、似たところがあることや現実に友達になりたいのようにならば（それともデートしたい）。それで、あなたは怠け者や不器用な人でもやさしい心があるとみんなと友達になるできるの月野うさぎ・セーラームーンのように？頭が良いと思いやりがあるの水野亜美・セーラーマーキュリーのように？ちょっとガキと俗物の「うる星やつら」からサクラと「犬夜叉」から日暮かごめのコピー火野レイ・セーラーマーズはどう？勇気なお転婆木野まこと・セーラージュピターは？男の子が好きの学校へ行くの誰でもティーンエージャー女の子のようにたわごと下らない助言を与えるもあいにくうさぎのように不器用な人愛野美奈子・セーラーヴィーナス？天王はるか・セーラーウラヌスと海王みちる・セーラーネプチューンと、本当の二人女性の愛はこの地球にいる（実際は、最初はないありそうなでも不朽の「美少女戦士セーラームーン」にLGBTQ+描写はこの惑星に何でもテレビ番組として歴史的に有名なだな）、ちびうさ・セーラーちびムーンは人々が欲しくないの妹のように、夢中になている自撮りをしたいと女の子たちのためにハンサムな地場衛・タキシード仮面が絶対マジで何もしないことをしている間に美奈子よりもっと良い助言を与える！冥王せつな・セーラープルートと土萠ほたる・セーラーサターンは？．．．いいえ、何もない。額の上の三日月の印と猫たちルナとアルテミスも心配しないで！それぞれの他のセーラー戦士はないの脇役があるのキャラクターたちは忘れられただから結局全然意味はないだろうな（大阪なると海野ごめんね、うさぎの両親たちも進悟も、二度と見るはないだろうなのアニメだけのキャラクターたちも）。

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          それにもかかわらず、なぜ進歩的なの人たちの特に人々はセーラームーンがとても大好きの理由は色々なキャラクターたちはホントに特別なや素晴らしいや楽しい、なんとなんと好かれる作られたと育たされただからそれらの人々がそれらのキャラクターたちを見る時に言うだろうなは「ねえ、ちょっとそんな人のようにふるまうよ」って。私の大好きなセーラー戦士は誰って質問するの？毎回それを質問された時に私の答えは「えっ、選ぶことは必要だったか？！」って。私がすでに選んだと思ったでももう決めるできない、手当たり次第にセーラー戦士を選ぶできないと気にする振りをすることも無理だな（当たり前だからタイトル・ロールを選ぶことはだめかな）！私の好きな新しい学校のリーダーズのメンバーを決めるできないとどちらのCYBERJAPAN DANCERSのメンバーは綺麗も、私の好きなセーラー戦士を選んでいることはもちろん簡単じゃない！誰でもセーラームーンファンがすでにこれを読んでいる間に決めただな！だけど、現在に私が好きなセーラー戦士を選ぶできないでもまだすべてのセーラー戦士を心の中に大事にするよ；「美少女戦士セーラームーン」の影響と女の子たちのための良い模範がいないとたくさんの少女たちを含めて人々は本当に違うになるだろうな、そして熱狂的なコスプレイヤーたちがいっぱいないのね。もう興味がないたったから誰がセーラー戦士を忘れたいだろうなのカイ？！太陽系に地球だけは他の惑星よりもっと重大なのことのように、それはそうならばグスターヴ・ホルストが「惑星」の代わりになぜ地球だけは際立っているについて組曲を作曲しただろうなのか。代わりの女の子たちのための良い模範が欲しいならばスタジオジブリ映画から主役の女性たちまたはバービー人形でもそれらは関係ない！

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          たぶん、すべてのこれらのすでに述べた言葉だから世界にたくさんの人々がこの永遠に魔法少女ジャンルが変わったの「美少女戦士セーラームーン」を鑑賞すると尊敬するでも、何でも知的財産権のようにホントに完璧か？いいえ。もう一度述べるはこの名作漫画・アニメシリーズは難しくされた歴史を持っている、例えば毎回「美少女戦士セーラームーン」は紹介された時に物語が変わる。まだ、そんなことだから私はもっとグッズの発表を期待していることのようにもうセーラームーンに興味がないのか？絶対いいえ、私のうさぎともしかしての両性愛者の友達と経験は大部分に台無しにするはないでしょう。私の人生を定義しているから「美少女戦士セーラームーン」を観たで感謝しているよ。関係があるできるの本当に良い女子主人公たちがいると過去に他の観たのアニメに比べてたくさんの悲痛な感情だけはない、それぞれの何でも教訓はこの現在の激しい政治的に分裂的な世界のために関係があるべき、アメリカに共和党たち対民主党たち、ロシア人対ウクライナ人、イスラエル人対パレスチナ人、LGBTQ+コミュニティ対LGBTQ+が大嫌いの人々、男性対男性が消えるを願いの女性のように戦いの特に；残りは愛がないでも憎しみがいっぱいの世だ。そうです、セーラームーンが怒らせるの悪いやつを負かすでも、あの悪いやつは心の中に実は迷子や助けが必要なセーラー戦士ならば、絶対清めるの方法を探す；一つの重大な例えは「セーラースターズ」ともう一つの例えはその前にここに述べたの「美少女戦士セーラームーンS」からセーラーサターンの話、それらの例えにセーラームーンはやっぱりみんなが必要とするのスーパーヒーローね。「美少女戦士セーラームーン」はまさしく不朽の名作とすべてのそれらの理由で世代を超えて子供たちと大人たちが全く大事にするだろうなのだ。

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          「美少女戦士セーラームーン」について否定形についてむしろ焦点を合わせるの方がいいならばそれはいい。舞台裏でもっと没落が起こったを本当に信じればそれもいい。それは「言論の自由」、何の言葉を言うできると何のことを信じるでも私が期待するはその代わりにもっと良いことが起こる、それで日本だけじゃない世界にもっと人々はセーラームーンが大好き。すべて「美少女戦士セーラームーン」については騒動じゃない、私が同意する。どうやって騒動じゃないを知ってるって？誰でも漫画を読むとアニメまたは舞台ミュージカルを観るまたはたくさんのグッズを買ったまたは声優たちを含めてなんとなんと勤勉なアニメためのスタッフのみんなと原作者武内直子を質問してくれ！確実に何を知ってるとなぜ大好きの理由を説明するだろうな！私はどうやなぜまだ興味があるっても質問するできる、そして私の答えはこの随筆の全部を始めからもう一度読めてくれ、続ける間にここで私の書いた言葉は本当かどうかを悟るでしょう！どんな「Crystal」の第一期のアニメーション間違いでも、2000年代にあの時にある人々はもうセーラームーンに興味がないも、武内直子のこのシリーズの始めの終わりも、「美少女戦士セーラームーンSuperS」が大嫌いの人々も、DICエンターテインメントとクローバーウェイによって1990年代のアニメの英語吹き替えにどうやってLGBTQ+の話題に対処したことも（ゾイサイトは絶対女性の声がない、そしてはるかとみちるはいとこたちじゃない）、どんな状況でも、うさぎのかわいい声やセーラームーンは戦闘中のことだから私笑顔がある（他のセーラー戦士も、けどまだ好きなセーラー戦士を選べたはマジか）、また、私が期待するは未来にもっと人々はセーラームーンが大好きのためにこの伝説の漫画・アニメシリーズでもっと良いことが起こる。もしもそれらの否定形は毎週現われる新しい怪物として悪いやつになったら、セーラームーンがムーン・ポジティブ・パワーを使用していると打倒するだろうな！悲観主義者たちは許せない、「月に代わっておしおきよ！」

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＜英語＞

            What happened with Sailor Moon? A lot of things, really! There’s no denying that Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon has had quite a complicated history, not to upset any Sailor Moon fans who think there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the franchise at all, but to me, it’s kind of true! From series creator Takeuchi Naoko once believing that the manga should’ve ended after the Dark Kingdom arc before it started to gain popularity, to some of the creative liberties to the original manga featured in the TV anime adaptation that aired on TV Asahi at the same time the manga was being published by Kodansha, from mixed reactions to the Doom Tree anime filler arc in Sailor Moon R as well as everything that went wrong with Sailor Moon SuperS, to criticisms of the messy animation and story pacing of Sailor Moon Crystal during the 2014 anime reboot’s first season (which improved somewhat significantly in the third season and the two subsequent two-part movies Eternal and Cosmos, though it wouldn’t suppose that would’ve been enough), from Toei Animation’s overall treatment of the franchise (considered anything compared to Pretty Cure, which continues to churn out new anime episodes any chance it gets and is still going strong as a result), to the fact that Sailor Moon once almost made its debut in North America in the most bizarre method that was imaginable – a failed live-action/animated pilot episode; All of these examples and more just comes to show that Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, one of the most-beloved and influential manga and anime franchises of all time not just for young girls but for everyone and anyone else around the world, is not without its share of problems, but what it lacks in perfection in terms of how the series is run, it makes up for with an ever-growing fanbase who cherish these colorful array of characters (much of which are obviously strong and independent women) by heart, embrace the various positive messages about love, feminism, diversity, and courage that are present in almost each story, and would do anything to blow off tons and tons of money to fill their entire rooms with nothing but endless Sailor Moon merchandise so that they could be able to get their own dose of Moon Prism Power – and possibly coloring their rooms pink as a result without having to do any wall paint work! And thanks to the internet, there’s still numerous amounts of people who would never shut up talking about it, and that’s a good thing; It comes to show that Sailor Moon is something that would never be forgotten as we head to the near future when Tokyo becomes advanced enough to transform into Crystal Tokyo!

 

            That’s saying a lot about what this franchise means to them: Even if the entire Sailor Moon story is not meant to last forever, even if we don’t get another Sailor Moon-based anime in a couple of decades or so (either as another reboot or a spin-off of sorts so that Sailor Moon would basically branch out and end up being like another Marvel Cinematic Universe; We’re still waiting on a Codename: Sailor V anime, by the way), and even if a couple of people lose interest along the way like so many other franchises that tend to get boring after a certain amount of time, there’s no questioning that this story of a ditzy high school girl who transforms into a magical shōjo-like superhero with a spunky-if-generic sailor-fuku outfit called a “Sailor Senshi” and fights bad guys along with her friends with English-sounding attacks and cool and interesting magical weapons has brought such a massive impact on the Japanese entertainment industry in regards to how stories about Japanese women and tokusatsu superheroes should be told, to result in numerous imitations such as Wedding Peach and Tokyo Mew Mew coming from a total redefining of the magical shōjo genre than we once knew it for, that you can actually be any kind of person out there, no matter what your background is or where you’re from or what gender you are or age or sexual orientation, and you can absolutely relate to any one of the series’ memorable characters! No, seriously, take a good look at each and every one of them and find out how they contribute to the story and how well they’re designed and portrayed, and you tell me whether or not they inspire, enlighten, or most importantly relate to you in some way, making yourself feel better as a human in society in the process, especially if you’re a woman! Kinda makes you wish you were named after a planet in the Solar System, huh!

 

            Sure, the manga’s the manga, the Sailor Moon Crystal 2014 anime reboot series is intended to follow closely to the manga as possible, and Takeuchi Naoko’s artwork for the manga ought to be worth appreciating, but the classic anime series that ran from 1992 to 1997 is assumedly the interpretation of the story that many people are most familiar with (The 2004 live-action series and those various stage musicals? Well, that’s a story for another day…), as well as one that pretty much anyone who grew up watching it in the 1990s should at least be old enough to have remembered what they saw out of it at some point in time – Who wouldn’t forget the time Chibiusa pointed an actual gun towards Tsukino Usagi’s head?! When it comes to adoring animation (including the way those iconic transformation sequences are executed) and cute character designs, gripping emotion and soulful depth, bright colors and the usual strobe flashing lights, the efforts of a talented voice cast led by the amazing and incredible Mitsuishi Kotono, the early constant instances of the unfortunately somewhat tiring “monster-of-the-week” concept (even if it’s probably not the first Japanese action TV program to utilize this concept), timeless themes and subject matter, not to mention an unforgettable music soundtrack and catchy songs, this 1990s TV anime series has it all! As someone who has seen every episode of the 1990s anime (including three associated hour-long theatrical movies and at least one short film), some of my favorite episodes of the show include an episode from the first season that ends with Nephrite’s death and Naru’s heartbreaking emotional grief over his loss, and the episode from the third season Sailor Moon S that many people consider to be the series’ greatest of all time, featuring Sailor Moon’s refusal to surrender resulting in her wanting to save Sailor Saturn from sacrificing herself by using Crisis Make-Up even if it was not the ideal thing to do and most especially against the desires of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, all while the world was at risk of total destruction. To be honest, I almost choked up when watching those episodes all the way through for the first time as I progressed in watching the series; It’s the kind of cold-hearted yet soulful and teary-eyed-for-the-right-reasons feeling that I usually don’t feel at all when watching anime that isn’t a Studio Ghibli film or, in a rare case, a Doraemon episode. If there is a piece of entertainment medium that is intended to move you to tears and you don’t do so when the time comes, supposedly, you are not human. No, really, I was literally bawling quietly as Naru wasn’t ready to say goodbye to a dying Nephrite who really wanted to have a chocolate parfait with her before he left, and that should signify that as long as it can make a viewer like me feel this emotional, this anime adaptation of the Sailor Moon manga has done its job indeed… Oh, that’s right, there’s also that time when Sailor Moon angrily demanded Sailor Galaxia to bring back all of her friends that she wiped out without having any remorse (from one of the final episodes of Sailor Stars, the fifth and final season); Thus, as a result, it deserves every right to still be considered one of the best Japan-made animated series ever to hit television aimed at both children and adults alike! At first, I would’ve thought that Sailor Moon was merely a starting ground for formulaic anime stereotypes that would be repeated to the death to this day, until I truly realized how meaningful everything about it really was, and that is why I am grateful to call Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon one of my all-time favorite anime series, next to Doraemon, of course!

 

            Yes, Sailor Moon Crystal benefits from the return of Mitsuishi Kotono as the titular character as well as introducing Sailor Moon to a new generation of audiences, but that reboot is anything compared to the original even so with the latter anime’s obvious amount of filler material that only exists as a way for Takeuchi Naoko to get things going finishing up her manga – which is only a few chapters long compared to how many episodes of the 1990s anime Toei Animation made (approx. 200 in total)! Not to mention, and I don’t mean to personally sound strong or anything, correct me if I’m wrong, I can’t say that I can recall exactly but I thought the amount of emotional moments in Crystal and the two-part Eternal and Cosmos movies overall were few compared to the 1990s anime (not that there isn’t any at all), or maybe it’s because the pacing of the reboot series goes by way too fast to result in not having enough time for a slow and sad moment while those watching with sad looks on their faces prepare to grab some tissues and get their eyes watery! I will say this: If you prefer making time to watch shorter batches of episodes because you have a lot more other must-watch anime on your mind to catch up on, and if you would rather enjoy an anime that’s basically a copy-and-paste of the original manga for accuracy purposes so that you could jot down some similarities-and-differences notes (like every time a book gets adapted into a movie) while hopelessly anticipating any new never-before-discovered surprises that could possibly come your way (That ought to come later in Sailor Moon Cosmos, but I’ll never tell you what the surprise is!), then Sailor Moon Crystal is the right path for you. If you prefer to take your time getting to know Usagi and all of her friends a lot more, have a different variety of emotions while at it including instances of laughter and crying, as well as wanting to know what kinds of creepy, weird/funny-looking, and/or rather scandalous revealingly-dressed monsters that the show’s writers have come up with for almost each episode, look no further than the 1990s anime. Regardless of how one experiences Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, the message should be the same: Love always triumphs over evil; It’s a message that couldn’t be any more true to this day, aside from the usual “Love thy neighbor” and “Make love, not war.”

 

            As I have implied before, there are people who say that the characters in Sailor Moon mean so much to them, it’s as if they have something in common with them and could easily make friends with in real life and share characteristics with (or to spice things up, date them). Anyone could be incredibly lazy and a total klutz but have their heart in the right place and believe that a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met, just like Tsukino Usagi/Sailor Moon! They could be as intelligent and considerate as Mizuno Ami/Sailor Mercury, a bratty snob who picks fights easily like Sakura-from-Urusei Yatsura-clone Hino Rei/Sailor Mars (who would also accidentally fall down a well and end up in Japan’s feudal era with a pearl-like jewel hidden inside her... Am I thinking of the wrong series?), tomboyishly brave and courageous like Kino Makoto/Sailor Jupiter, or they’re like Aino Minako/Sailor Venus and they act like just about any boy-crazed teenager attending high school yet somehow giving cruddy advice that doesn’t make sense or isn’t needed, or they’re just as worse as Usagi! Tenou Haruka/Sailor Uranus and Kaiou Michiru/Sailor Neptune come to show that true lesbian love really does exist on this planet (In fact, Sailor Moon has managed to take the big leap by giving us one of the earliest examples of proper LGBTQ+ representation in any TV program anywhere in the world, serving as one of many examples of how Sailor Moon is undoubtedly ahead of its time), Chibiusa/Sailor Chibi-Moon is like the little sister that people wish they never want, and Chiba Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask is not only so handsome that girls would fawn over and want to take selfies with him, but he could also give even better advice than Minako while almost just standing there and doing absolutely nothing! As for Meiou Setsuna/Sailor Pluto and Tomoe Hotaru/Sailor Saturn… well… You know what, we’ll get back to those two later! And don’t worry about Luna and Artemis either; They’re just cats with crescent moons on their foreheads! Every other secondary and minor character in the series who isn’t a Sailor Senshi is meaningless because they would all eventually be forgotten as the series progresses (Sorry, Naru and Umino! Sorry, Usagi’s mom and dad and little brother Shingo! Sorry, any anime-exclusive characters that we don’t see in Takeuchi Naoko’s manga and most likely never will ever again!).

 

            Nonetheless, what makes people want to become attracted to Sailor Moon so much especially when those people follow progressive ideologies is because the kinds of characters that are featured in Takeuchi Naoko’s ultimate creation are so special and amazing and filled with fun, and conceived and developed in a way that makes them extremely likable that it makes people who look at these characters on the manga pages or on the screen want to go “Hey, you know, I’m kind of like that too!” when keeping in mind everything about the characters that I’ve just mentioned in the last paragraph. What all that leads us to is this: You probably want to ask me who my favorite Sailor Senshi is, yet each time I get asked that question I would always answer with “Wait, I was supposed to pick?!” I thought I knew, but I just can’t decide anymore, and I cannot just pick a Sailor Senshi out of random and pretend to actually care about it (and I can’t select the titular character if it’s way too obvious)! If I can’t decide who my favorite member of Atarashii Gakko! is or which member of Cyberjapan Dancers is the hottest, what could possibly make picking my favorite Sailor Senshi an easy task?! I’m sure that any Sailor Moon fan reading this essay right now already has an answer to such a question in their mind! However, even if I can’t decide on a favorite Sailor Senshi at the moment, I will hold all of them close to my heart and treasure them for as long as I can, as much as anyone else who says that without the influence of Sailor Moon and the positive female role models that it depicts, those people wouldn’t be who they are today, there wouldn’t be any little girls having something important left to look up to, and as a result, there’d be very few enthusiastic cosplayers! I mean, come on; Who’d want to forget about all of the Sailor Senshi and not care about them anymore because of a complete loss of interest?! That’s like saying that the Earth is the only planet on the Solar System that’s worth paying attention to, not all of the other planets – If that was the case, Gustav Holst would’ve just composed an entire orchestral suite about the planet Earth and all of its glorious features instead of the rest of the planets except Pluto! If you’re looking for alternatives to positive female role models, we have lead female characters in Studio Ghibli films, or even Barbie dolls for that matter, but that’s not the point!

 

            Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, this leading girl’s manga and anime pioneer in changing the way that we view the magical shōjo genre forever, may be appreciated and respected by so many in parts of the world that allow for it to be shown for all of the reasons I have already mentioned here and more, but similar to just about any intellectual property out there, is it perfect? Not exactly! Again, it’s still not without its share of problems in relation to its near-troublesome history most particularly in the way that the story has been structured each time. Still, is that going to stop me from continuing to become interested in this beloved franchise and what else it could offer in the future besides another merchandise drop? Nope, not at all, because I’m mostly not letting those kinds of setbacks ruin my overall enjoyable experience with the adventures of Tsukino Usagi and her almost-definitely-not-bisexual friends! I could not have been any grateful to have come across Sailor Moon in the first place and make it a part of my lifetime in terms of describing who I am as a person. Not only does it have excellent female protagonists whom we can all share something in common with as well as tons of provoking emotional depth and soul that can’t possibly be matched in any other anime I have watched in the past, but every and any moral lesson taught in the series definitely ought to be truly relevant to today’s turbulent and divisive world, especially in regards to our political landscape where we have Republicans versus Democrats in the United States, Russians versus Ukrainians, Israelis versus Palestinians, LGBTQ+ versus those who want to shut it out, even men just being men versus women who think men should just disappear off the face of the Earth; All that’s there is nothing but hate yet no love. Yes, Sailor Moon is known for taking on villains who cross the line with her, but when she sees a villain who, deep inside their heart, may actually be a Sailor Senshi who has lost their way and needs help, she would stop at absolutely nothing to do whatever it takes to purify them; See Sailor Stars for a significant example of Sailor Moon being the kind of superhero that we all desperately need right now, even that prior Sailor Saturn episode from Sailor Moon S that I discussed earlier. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is indeed a product of its time, but it’s one that is sure to be in the blessings of children and adults across generations all for these very reasons alone.

 

            If you want to focus on the negatives about Sailor Moon, it’s your cue to call. If you truly believe that Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is terrible for going through more downs than ups throughout the years it has been in existence due to some of the nonsense that occurred behind the scenes, that’s totally up to you. After all, the name of the game is “freedom of speech,” and you can say whatever you want and believe what you want to believe, but I hope I can anticipate that the positives can outweigh the negatives every single time, because let’s get real: Not everything about Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is considered turmoil, if it ever was, which I know it isn’t! How do I know that? Just ask anyone who has ever passionately read the manga or watched the anime or owned dozens of merchandise or attended the stage musicals or whoever committed to working their butts off on the anime to make it the best it can be including the voice actors or even Takeuchi Naoko herself, of course! They’ll tell you what they know and what they love about it, I’m sure! Better yet, you can even ask me what I think about Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon and why it’s been on my interest radar for quite some time now, and I’ll respond by advising you to read this entire essay again, from the beginning, and work your way down to determine if I meant anything I ever said here! No matter the early animation mistakes found in Crystal, or the series’ overall initial decline in popularity, or Takeuchi Naoko’s original intent for ending the series, or the people who hate on Sailor Moon SuperS, or the way DIC and Cloverway poorly handled LGBTQ+ themes in the initial English dub of the 1990s anime (where Zoisite sounded like a woman and Haruka and Michiru, or Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, were written to be portrayed as…cousins?!?), even with all of that concerned, seeing Serena, I mean, Usagi and hearing her adorable voice while witnessing Sailor Moon in action is one of many things in life that can put a smile on my face, and it should rightfully stay that way (That goes for the other Sailor Senshi as well, as long as I can just pick a favorite already!), because as I have implied, the positives about Sailor Moon should always outweigh the negatives. Oh, how about this: Treat every one of those negatives as a “monster-of-the-week” villain and Sailor Moon would surely be ready to vanquish them all with her Moon positive power! That should make the pessimists think twice, wouldn’t it?! In the name of the moon, she shall punish them all!