Monthly Archives: July 2014

Watch Act 3 of Sailor Moon Crystal, Rei – Sailor Mars starting August 2nd at 6am EST

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Sailor Moon Crystal Act.3 Rei - Sailor Mars

The third episode of Sailor Moon Crystal, Rei – Sailor Mars, will be available to stream online this Saturday August 2nd starting at 7pm Japan Standard Time which is 6am Eastern Standard Time and 3am Pacific Stardard Time. Watch the episodes on Crunchyroll, Hulu or Niconico. The preview for this episode was only available on the Niconico version of Act 2. It can be viewed below.

Act 3 introduces us to Rei Hino, Sailor Mars, as the cursed 6 o’clock bus is causing people to dissapear and suspicions are thrown on Rei and the Hikawa Shrine. The first two episodes followed the manga quite closely and it looks like this next one will too.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act.3 Rei - Sailor Mars

Unfortunately I’ll be out of town and off the grid for the weekend for the introduction of the greatest character in the series but look forward to my thoughts on the episode early next week.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act.2 Ami - Sailor Mercury - Rei Hino

Otakon to feature six voice actors from the old and new Sailor Moon dubs August 8th to the 10th

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Usagi and Minako as Sailor Moon

Two Sailor Moons at one convention? There’s a ton going on at Otakon 2014 from August 8th to the 10th including voice actors from the original and new Sailor Moon dub and a special presentation and exclusive collectibles from Viz. Voice actors from Viz’s new Sailor Moon dub include Stephanie Sheh, the voice of Sailor Moon and Robbie Daymond, the voice of Tuxedo. From the original DIC and Cloverway Sailor Moon dub we have Linda Ballantyne, the 3rd voice of Sailor Moon, Katie Griffin, the voice of Sailor Mars, and John Stocker, voice director for Sailor Moon S and SuperS as well as all three movies.

Usagi and Minako as Sailor Moon

Viz and Otakon are organizing Sailor Moon Saturday, similar to Sailor Moon Day at Anime Expo. The morning will start out with a large gathering of Cosplayers, trying to break their record set earlier this month at Anime Expo. The afternoon will include a screening of Viz’s new Sailor Moon dub, including two episodes that were not previously seen, followed by a Q&A and autograph session with Stephanie Sheh and Robbie Daymond. That evening the first two episodes of the new Sailor Moon anime Sailor Moon Crystal will be shown. Viz will have a poster, a coin and a t-shirt exclusive to Otakon.

Otakon exclusive Sailor Moon coins

Listen to a bunch of new clips from Viz’s new Sailor Moon dub

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Cricket Brown as Haruna having her skirt flipped by Umino

We’ve got four new dub clips to share from Viz’s new Sailor Moon dub. The first, uploaded to YouTube last week, is an exchange between Jadeite and Queen Beryl from episode 5, Scent of a Monster: Chanela Will Steal Your Love.

Two more clips have been added to Hulu’s Sailor Moon page. The first clip has Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars fighting Jadeite in episode 13, Girls Unite: The End of Jadeite. The next clip is an extension of the clip we already saw between Luna and Sailor Moon from the first episode, but this time includes her transformation and a short clip of Naru’s voice.

Finally we have more leaked footage, this time from San Diego Comic-Con. This fooage includes Umino from episode 2, Punishment Awaits: The House Of Fortune Is The Monster Mansion, acting evil under the influence of the fortune teller’s cards and interacting with Usagi, Naru and Haruna. We also see Usagi’s first meetings with Ami from episode 8, The Girl Genius Is a Monster: The Brainwashing Cram School of Horror, and with Rei from episode 9, The Cursed Bus: Enter Mars, the Guardian of Fire Several.

In these clips we hear the voices of Stephanie Sheh as Sailor Moon, Kate Higgins as Sailor Mercury, Cristina Vee as Sailor Mars, Michelle Ruff as Luna, Cindy Robinson as Queen Beryl, Todd Haberkorn as Jadeite, Ben Diskin as Umino and Danielle Nicole as Naru. Cricket Brown will be playing Haruna. This actress had not been announced previously. The actor voicing Rei’s grandpa is still unknown. Check out this link to see the rest of the cast.

The new Sailor Moon dub will be included on the upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray release coming November 11th. You can pre-order it from Amazon using the link below.

Sailor Moon episodes 23 and 24 are now available on Hulu

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Sailor Moon episode 23 - Sanjoin Masato and Naru

This morning, July 28th, episodes 23 and 24 of the original Sailor Moon anime have been added to Hulu and Neon Alley. These episodes, subbed by Viz, will be included in the subbed and dubbed DVD and Blu-Ray sets which will be released starting November 11th, though season 1 part 1 will stop at episode 23. Both episodes this week are all about Nephrite and Naru.

Sailor Moon episode 23 - Naru blocking Sailor Moon's tiara

Episode 23, Wish Upon a Star: Naru’s First Love, has Nephrite intrigued by Naru, who’s producing some sort of interesting energy that he isn’t familiar with. That energy turns out to be her love for him, a concept he’s simply not familiar with. Naru steals a jewel from her mother, assuming this is the crystal Nephrite is searching for, and puts herself in danger by getting close to Nephrite who she still thinks is Masato Sanjoin. When Sailor Moon attacks Nephrite with her Tiara Naru sacrifices herself to protect him. The tables soon turn unexpectedly as a monster attacks Naru and Nephrite defends her, attacking the monster.

Sailor Moon episode 24 - Naru and Nephrite

Episoe 24, Naru’s Tears: Nephrite Dies for Love, has quite a spoiler of a title! This is one of the most heart wrenching episodes of the series, as we are brought to actually care about Nephrite just long enough for him to be killed. Naru is completely in love with Nephrite at this point, and Nephrite is starting to feel the same way. Zoisite exploits this by having Naru kidnapped and Nephrite fights to rescue her, getting injured in the process. Naru and Nephrite enjoy a peaceful time together as they make plans to share chocolate parfaits. This is short lived though, as Nephrite is soon attacked and fatally wounded in the process. Ultimately Nephrite dies in Naru’s arms, leaving nothing but a torn piece of her pyjama she used to bandage him.

Sailor Moon episode 24 - Naru crying

Episode 23 is part of the first half of season 1 which is currently available for digital download and in the upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray set which can be ordered below. Episode 24 and the later half of the season will be released at a later date, so for now the only way to watch the newer episodes is on Hulu and Neon Alley.

Moon Animate Make-Up! reanimates an entire episode of Sailor Moon with 250 different animators

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Moon Animate Make-Up! - Sailor Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Mercury as men

Some fans have accomplished a pretty amazing undertaking, reanimating an entire episode of Sailor Moon. This group effort was made by 250 different animators each doing a short piece of an episodes. The result is nothing short of remarkable as the entire episode can be viewed with this showcase of a wide variety of different animation styles. You can view it below.

The episode which was used is episode 38 of the original Sailor Moon anime “Fracticious Friends”. The audio included, and video which was used as inspiration, was that of the DIC English dub. It even includes special effect transitions and the Sailor Says segment that accompanies the episode. This corresponds to episode 43 in the Japanese ordering of the series. The plot for this episode has the Sailor Scouts faking a rivalry in order to infiltrate the Negaverse. To put it in context, for those what haven’t seen the series in a while, these events take place while Tuxedo Mask has been brainwashed and kept captive by the Negaverse and so the plot is done so that Sailor Moon can get access to him and break him out.

Moon Animate Make-Up! - Sailor Mars

This is a truly fantastic accomplishment. Everyone involved with this project should be very proud of what they’ve accomplished. Keep reading for a few more examples of the animation, but you really should just take the time to watch the whole thing to get an idea of what this is really about. To read more about this project check out their Facebook page or Tumblr.

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Sailor Moon La Reconquista DVD Review

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Sailor Moon La Reconquista Musical DVD

The Sailor Moon La Reconquista musical was released on DVD July 9th. What’s that? DVD and not Blu-Ray? Indeed, this is a DVD only release for a musical which was recorded in 2013. The quality of the release is not great. It’s 480i interlaced video though it is in a 16×9 wide screen aspect ratio. It appear to either have been shot on low quality video cameras or simply converted to low quality standard definition video. If a higher quality source existed, there does not seem to be any reason to downgrade it to interlaced video. Whatever the reason for this may be, this seems like something that was released in the 90s and is not fit for release in 2014.

Sailor Moon La Reconquista Musical DVD - Sailor Moon and Endymion

The first disc is just the main feature, the Sailor Moon La Reconquista musical which played in Tokyo last fall. A number of screenshots are included at the end of the post to get an idea of the video quality. This is a Japanese only release so don’t expect to be seeing any subtitles. As it’s a region 2 release it will not play in a North American DVD player so be sure you have the proper equipment to play it if you are thinking of purchasing it.

Sailor Moon La Reconquista Musical DVD - Special features - Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask

The second disk includes all of the special features. We begin with an interview with Satomi Ookubo, the actress who plays Sailor Moon, and Yuga Yamato, the actress who plays Tuxedo Mask. This is followed by some behind the scenes footage of rehearsals. There are some Q&As including a press event and some questions following one of the performances of the musical. Footage of the girls at Karaoke gives us a look at them singing Moonlight Densetsu, the theme song from the original Sailor Moon anime. We see footage from a live promotional performance. A few clips featuring Momoiro Clover Z are included. They are first seen performing Moonlight Densetsu following one of the musical performances and then there’s this weird skit where they are characters in a cell phone game which is just all around bizarre.

Sailor Moon La Reconquista Musical DVD - Special features - Karaoke

The packaging is fairly standard and also includes a program which I’ve included photos of below. This has a number of images of the cast of the musical, bios and other information.

Sailor Moon La Reconquista Musical DVD - Booklet - Cover

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend picking up this release since the quality is fairly low, but it is the best legal way you may have to support this musical and watch it legally. I am happy to have paid money for this after having resorted to watching a free fansubbed version of the musical when it was first released. You can order the DVD from Amazon Japan or CD Japan. Keep reading for screenshots of the main feature, behind the scenes featurettes, DVD menus and photos of the packaging, insert and program.

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Jill Frappier, the voice of Luna, is performing in The Importance of Being Earnest in Toronto from now until August 10th

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Jill Frappier as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest

Jill Frappier, the actress best known to Sailor Moon fans as the voice of Luna in the English dub of the Sailor Moon anime, is currently performining in The Importance of Being Earnest. This production of the Oscar Wilde play has been running since July 17th and will continue until August 10th at the Guild Festival Theatre in Toronto. The play runs Wednesday to Sunday at 7:30pm with a matinee at 2:00pm on Sundays. It has gotten glowing reviews from Inside Toronto.

Jill Frappier portrays Lady Augusta Bracknell, an imposing upper class Victorian woman and the mother of Gwendolen Fairfax. Jill shared this news on her Twitter page earlier. You can buy tickets for the show at CTP ticketing.

Jill Frappier, the voice of Luna

Episode 1 of Sailor Moon Crystal edited with DIC dub audio

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Sailor Moon Crystal DIC dub Sailor Says clip

Here’s something cool that a fan whipped up. It’s the first episode of Sailor Moon Crystal edited to fit with dialog from the first episode of the English dub of the original Sailor Moon anime. It actually fits quite well though the episode is shorter than the full version as some scenes did not exist in both version. In a few instances a short clip from the original anime is included but for the most part it’s video from Sailor Moon Crystal and audio from the old Sailor Moon anime. She even included a Sailor Says segment! Watch the episode in the embedded clip below.

Since both the first episode of Sailor Moon Crystal and the original Sailor Moon anime followed the manga closely this fits very well. Only in a few scenes did things not really work, such as Molly talking to Serena who isn’t actually in the room, but it mostly worked. A similar exercise would probably work decently for act 2 and potentially act 3 as the episodes where Ami and Rei are introduced in the original Sailor Moon anime followed the manga quite well. I spoke to Jessica who created this clip about the possibility of more episodes but there are currently no plans to do so as this would become impossible as the series progresses and deviates greatly from the source material.

Source: Jessica aka Time Machine on YouTube.

Sailor Moon episodes 21 and 22 are now available on Hulu

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Kazuko Tadano and Hiromi Matsushita from the Sailor Moon anime

As of this morning, July 21st 2014, episodes 21 and 22 of the original Sailor Moon anime have been added to Hulu and Neon Alley. These subbed episodes by Viz will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 11th along with their new English dub. For now two new episodes are released every Monday.

Kazuko Tadano and Hiromi Matsushita as students from the Sailor Moon anime

Episode 21, Protect the Children’s Dreams: Friendship Through Anime, takes place at an animation studio working on the Sailor V anime. This episodes provides a meta look at the making of Sailor Moon, as many characters included are based on those who worked on the Sailor Moon anime. The two main characters Hiromi and Kazuko are themselves inspired by two of Sailor Moon’s animation directors Hiromi Matsushita and Kazuko Tadano. Though both characters are female, Hiromi Matushita is actually a man. I had the priveledge of meeting these two at Otakon 2008 and they had fond memories of this episode and mentioned that the designs of those characters were loosely based on themselves. When Nephrite targets Hiromi it tears her and Kazuko apart. Their friendship is put to the test as they are both tempted by the power of magic pencils!

Sailor Moon episode 22 Nephrite and Naru dancing

Episode 22, Romance Under the Moon: Usagi’s First Kiss, has everyone who’s anyone crashing a ball to try to steal what they think is the Silver Crystal. Princess Diamond is holding an event to show off her jewels and that attracts everyone including Nephrite, Naru, Usagi and Tuxedo Mask. It turns out Princess Diamond is a dead ringer for Naru, which Nephrite takes advantage of in order to try to steal the jewel. This episode furthers Naru and Nephrite’s completely dysfunctional relationship, but that’s not the only terrible behaviour that happens between future lovers! Usagi, who crashes the party more to have a good time than to do her duty in searching for the crystal, gets drunk and is found passed out by Tuxedo Mask who takes advantage of the situation to kiss her. Is this romantic, assault or a little of both? Ultimately the jewel was only pricessless, so everyone went home empty handed. This episode follows an act of the manga fairly closely, which has become pretty rare at this point in the series.

Sailor Moon episode 22 - Naru attacking Princess Diamond

Episode 1 through 23 had previously been released for digital download. Next week with episodes 23 and 24 we’ll start to get into new episodes which are not currently available.

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