Let’s Talk Anime – Sailor Moon

Good day. Time for another Let’s talk Anime, where we talk about some of our favourite anime series and dive in.

For today, we’ll discuss an anime we know that everyone of us adored and still talks about to this day despite being aired in the 90s. With its art design still an inspiration with todays cute, pink aesthetic. Let’s talk Sailor Moon.

In surface terms, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, or simply Sailor Moon, is a 1991 Shojo Manga adapted into anime series in the same name airing from 1992 – 1997, followed by animated and live action film adaptations, musicals, spin-off manga and board game inspired by the series.

Basically, the story goes around a teenage schoolgirl Usagi. Just like any young teenage girls, Usagi is seen to be clumsy, quirky, and a whiny crybaby. Little did she know that she’ll be up for an adventure. She rescues and took home a cat named Luna which we’ll eventually find out that the cat is a magical entity that will be a huge part of the girl’s fate. Luna told Usagi that she’s a Magical Superhero Sailor Moon that will save the city from bad guys.

As narrated by Wikipedia, “Luna and Usagi assemble a team of fellow Sailor Guardians to find the princess and the Silver Crystal. They encounter the studious Ami Mizuno, who awakens as Sailor Mercury; Rei Hino, a local Shinto shrine maiden who awakens as Sailor Mars; Makoto Kino, a tall and strong transfer student who awakens as Sailor Jupiter; and Minako Aino, a young aspiring idol who had awakened as Sailor Venus a few months prior, accompanied by her talking feline companion Artemis. Additionally, they befriend Mamoru Chiba, a high school student who assists them on occasion as Tuxedo Mask.”

Aside from the anime itself, the show is known for iconic fictional items that we bring back to life such as the cosplay costumes and wigs of these characters. In which is fun to dress up given their adorable and cute designs. Aside from that, the love over Sailor Moon is never ending as different merch items inspired by the show is kept being made such as action figures, shirts, plush toys, aceessories, keychain sets, mousepads, badges, hoodies, LED Lights, and more. Merch items are such a must-have for every huge fan but still worth checking out if you have the likings for the show’s aesthetic and even casually interested with the show.

To add, the series follows the adventures of the titular protagonist whose civilian name is Usagi Tsukino, a middle school student who is given the power to become the Pretty Soldier. Joined by other Sailor Soldiers, she defends Earth against an assortment of evil villains. The anime also parallels the maturation of Usagi from an emotional middle school girl to a responsible young adult.

The nature of this show captured the struggle of young people, high school, relationships, friendships, home, and teenage life. Making it relatable to its core audiences; young people, especially girls. Sailor Moon is one of the anime series that had a long-lasting remarkability and impact and is now a big part of our relatable pink aesthetic culture.

Due to the success of the anime in the United States, the manga comprising its story was released by Tokyopop. Sailor Moon’s popularity has spawned numerous releases which have come to represent most of the content in the Sailor Moon universe, including 3 films, 39 video games, and numerous soundtracks stemming from this material. A second animated adaptation, Sailor Moon Crystal, which is a reboot series that closely follows the manga, began streaming worldwide from July 2014 onwards.

The show received such great receptions and get popular internationally. And in addition, the show is still gaining relevance up to this day, still making an impact towards the modern aesthetic culture. With all the cuteness and the pink, cute, preppy, youthful and stellar art style of the show, no wonder why teenagers are still referencing the moments from the show in social media posts. It can be seen all over social media through videos, photos, edits, posts, memes and even reviews. In fact, there is a filter on Tiktok where it has a selection of screenshots of the most-referenced quotations or moments from the series.

Aside from that Sailor Moon Crystal, known in Japan as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is a 2014 original net animation adaptation of the shōjo manga series Sailor Moon written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi, produced in commemoration of the original series’ 20th anniversary.

The source also stated that critics have commended the anime series for its portrayal of strong friendships as well as for its large cast of “strikingly different” characters who have different dimensions and aspects to them as the story continues and for an ability to appeal to a wide audience. Sailor Moon became popular because of its “strongly-plotted action with fight scenes, rescues” and its “emphasis on feelings and relationships”, including some “sexy romance” between Usagi and Mamoru. Usagi and Mamoru’s romance has been seen as an archetype where the lovers “become more than the sum of their parts”, promising to be together forever. In contrast, others see Sailor Moon as campy and melodramatic. Criticism has singled out its use of formulaic plots, monsters of the day and stock footage.

During its broadcast run, three theatrical animated Sailor Moon films were produced. The films were usually released in December in accordance with the winter vacations of Japanese schools. They were typically double features paired up with other anime films, and were thus usually an hour or less in length. The films themselves offer contradictions in both chronology and design that make them incompatible with a single continuity. The first was Sailor Moon R: The Movie in 1993 followed by Sailor Moon S: The Movie in 1994 and finally Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie in 1995.

AND THAT’S IT FOR TODAY

Hope you liked our little article discussing basic Sailor Moon. Also, let us know your thoughts or if there’s something we missed down in the comments.

What do like the most about Sailor Moon?  What is the most memorable thing you can get from the show? How about the ones that you like and dislike? We would love to hear from you.

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-MODCONS