When I heard that the Sailor Moon anime was getting a new treatment for the 20th anniversary, my initial reaction was: “How soon does it start?Whyhasn’titstartedyet?GIVEMENOW.”
It’s an odd reaction, considering that I have never really been regarded as much of an anime fan. In truth, I’m not. There are some that I really enjoy, but for the most part, I’m barely more educated than the lay man about the field of Japanese animation. One very large exception to that generality, however, is in my regard for – and knowledge of – Sailor Moon. Like many other young people, I watched the dub version of Sailor Moon, produced for English audiences by DIC. At the time, I appreciated the complex story involving a kingdom a thousand years vanished, love throughout the ages, and evil back for its revenge. Sailor Moon R, in particular, I really enjoyed – the character of the Wiseman, and his manipulation and inevitable betrayal of his so-called allies was a cool story, especially for a cartoon. I quickly took to taping episodes on VHS for later viewing.
The dub has its limitations, however, and it wasn’t until much later that the Cloverway translation would bring the later chapters of the Sailor Moon story to the English-speaking audiences (and Sailor Stars would never arrive in an official translation). Part of this is because of the so-called sensibilities of a (specifically, the United States) North American audience. Anyone who knows a lot about Sailor Moon knows that it very casually doesn’t give a shit about gender politics or roles. The heroes are girls. They kick ass. Various male characters are deeply intrigued by them, or one another, or whatever. Various female characters too. It’s like the real world, only, you know, in a cartoon. A cartoon that is, whatever some others have claimed over the years, laden with a message of female empowerment.
I could not have been any more excited for Sailor Moon Crystal. Yesterday, I watched the first episode. Now it’s time to write. Unlike, say, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., this show is obviously going to be poetry in motion, so I doubt there will be much room for my usual sarcasm. I would appreciate it if you contained your disappointment until the end.
Act I: Usagi opens more or less identically to the original Sailor Moon anime version. But right away, we can see some differences. It is very apparent, especially during the title theme sequence (roughly 23 minutes of montage footage from later in the series, accompanied by some metal) that all of the character designs have been re-done, and are obviously intended to be closer to their original manga counterparts. Subtle changes in colour, in the designs of the character’s eyes, and minor bits of costuming, are all much more like the manga than they were in the first anime production. Sailor Moon Crystal even features a vine-and-rose border on the screen, to highlight the introduction of new characters, while Usagi voices over. It’s a surreal device, but this is anime, isn’t it?
Anyway, the first story is a simple one. Usagi is a bumbling crybaby. She doesn’t apply herself at school. But one day, as she’s sprinting to school – she’s already late, of course – she stumbles across a strange black cat with a crescent symbol on her forehead. She miserably fails an English exam, and is insulted in the streets by a haughty fellow who is, for reasons best left unexplored, wearing a tuxedo in the middle of the afternoon on a random Tokyo street.
A little later, at the end of Usagi’s otherwise miserable day, the black cat reappears at her window. The cat introduces herself as Luna. She can talk. And she’s been searching for Usagi for a while. She teaches Usagi how to transform into the Pretty Guardian, Sailor Moon, a dedicated fighter of evil. Usagi is initially excited by the opportunity to save her best friend Naru-chan from the predations of a monster… until she remembers that she doesn’t actually know how to fight. Fortunately, her new form possesses magical powers, with which she easily dispatches the creature. A shadowy figure watches the battle through a crystal ball, and pronounces himself impressed. He’s obviously the first enemy commander, Jadeite, but true to the manga (rather than the first anime), he is not introduced at all in the first episode, and Queen Beryl does not appear either.
I’ve never enjoyed watching anything with subtitles, but since Sailor Moon Crystal is in Japanese – including Sailor Moon’s original voice actress, reprising her role! – I had to suffer through them. They were the second most onerous part of the episode though – a distant second, actually, beyond Hulu’s commercials – which otherwise really took me back. I’m already committed to watching the whole series, so I might as well write about it as well. A definite recommend to any old-school Sailor Moon fans… it should be extremely interesting to see a new, pretty version of an iconic story.
Through the Shattered Lens 