There is a fantastic concept in anime which is known as a “magic girl.” In this trope, a normal girl who, with the help of a magical item, transforms to fight villains in a super cute new disguise. She usually gets magical weapons to help her on her mission. It is a glorious trope. There were earlier versions of magical girls before, but on March 7, 1992 in Japan, the game was seriously stepped up.
That was the original premiere of Sailor Moon. You did do that math correctly. Sailor Moon is 25 years old this year! The show was based on a manga created by Naoko Takeuchi about a girl in middle school who was the reincarnation of the Sailor Scout of the Moon, who needed to search for the Moon Princess and fight the evil Nagaverse… oh, and finish her homework on time. The show would later air in America. It helped to introduce some American fans to anime, including myself.
Yes, Sailor Moon was my first anime. I was in middle school when the show first aired in America and somehow I happened upon it. I loved it from the start. I didn’t have a lot of friends at that stage of my life. I was chubby. Not great at school… and, well, you get the idea. I needed a hero like Usagi.
Usagi is just a normal girl at the start of the show. She likes sweets, hates school and abhors studying. She loves her friends and family. She has a heart of gold, even if she is a crybaby. Oh, and she is a huge gamer, which should win her all the bonus points. Her favorite being the Sailor V game at the arcade. One day, she sees some children tormenting a cat. She puts a stop to it and thus starts her adventure.
The cat is Luna, who can talk. Luna explains all about the fall of the Moon Kingdom and will guide Usagi on her mission. Usagi is given a compact, which powers her transformation to become Sailor Moon, the pretty guardian of the moon, love and justice. Through the series, Sailor Moon fights different villains who work for the Nagaverse; the crystal named baddies who are trying to steal the energy of humans to fuel their evil empire. Throughout the first season, she also meets the other sailor scouts, who become her best friends. Together, the girls help each other. The Sailor Scouts fight evil with, you guessed it, the power of friendship and love.
I know it can sound silly, but Sailor Moon is pretty amazing. It has a little bit of everything. There’s romance, character growth, some campy humor, plot twists, and fight scenes. Also it is just really pretty to watch.
The original English dub, Sailor Moon R, made a lot of changes, including cutting episodes, changing character names, taking out Japanese writing and adding these shorts at the end of the episodes with lessons on how to be a better person in order to make it more marketable. I don’t entirely understand why any of those changes were made. The new series has, thankfully, not made the same choices.
I spent a lot of time watching Sailor Moon. My friends and I bonded over it. I have great memories of waking up every day one summer at 7 AM to call my friend Maggie and watch reruns of episodes together. I have memories of sleep overs, where, with too much sugar, we would put in the English dubbed soundtrack and play with my other friend Amanda’s toys. Maggie used to draw the most beautiful Sailor Moon inspired art for us. Julie hated Tuxedo Mask with the burning passion of a thousand suns, so we used to play his theme for her all the time, because that is what good friends do. Julie also wore her hair in little buns all the time. We were so happy being in this fandom together and it really helped to strengthen us in different ways. Sailor Moon has always been a bright spot in my life.
Recently, Sailor Moon was released with new art and a tweaked plot to be a bit more like the manga. I eagerly awaited the release of Sailor Moon Crystal. The animation is gorgeous. The new music is lovely. My only real complaint is that I wish the first season would have been longer so that we would have gotten more. That being said, the series is just great. Please watch it if you haven’t already for the animation alone.
In conclusion, I love Sailor Moon. I love it because it is girly and bright. I love how dramatic it is. I get exasperated sometimes and have to remind myself that the protagonist is a fourteen year old. I really appreciate that it teaches girls to love themselves and each other. I also enjoy that Tuxedo Max needs to be saved, too. It is just very important to myself, and other fans, that it shows him having doubts about his own abilities to protect Sailor Moon. In fact, I think that is just as important to the show as the female empowerment that he is given these moments of growth.
Right now, we all need heroes. I firmly believe that we especially need a hero like Sailor Moon, who is so human. I think we all very much need a klutzy crybaby to rise up and show us that we are all heroes.
Thia’s rating: Must watch… and possibly fight evil by moonlight.
Always keep sparkling!
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