Watch Sailor Moon Crystal Act 9, Serenity – Princess, at 6am Eastern Time November 1st

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 9 Preview - Sailor Moon freaking out

Tomorrow morning at 7pm Japan Standard Time, 6am Eastern Time and 3am Pacific, the next episode of Sailor Moon Crystal will be available to stream online on Crunchyroll, Hulu and Niconico. This week is episode 9, Serenity – Princess. A lot will happen this week as the Moon Princess, Princess Serenity, is revealed, we finally see the Silver Crystal and we get a flashback to the events of Silver Millennium on the Moon.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 9 - Serenity, Princess

The manga equivalent of this story also included a look back at the Shitennou in their original lives as well as them after their deaths. As they haven’t died yet in this continuity we’re sure to see something a little different this time around.

Sailor Moon manga Act 8 - It's still only 6am

Ayaka Komatsu to host a Halloween special October 31st at 5am Eastern Time on Niconico

Ayaka Komatsu's Niconico live Halloween event

Hate sleep and love Halloween and the live action Sailor Moon show? Then you should get up at 5am tomorrow morning to watch Ayaka Komatsu, who played Sailor Venus in the live action Sailor Moon series, host a live Halloween show on her Niconico channel Komachannel. Ayaka will be dressed up for Halloween. What costume will she be wearing? The broadcast begins at 6pm Japan Standard time which is actually 5am Eastern Time. The live broadcast will be free to all viewers however after 7pm (6am Easter Time) it will only be available to members of her channel who pay the monthly 540 yen (about $5 US). The broadcast will be in Japanese.

The following message was posted in English to Ayaka Komatsu’s Facebook page:

Fri 31st Oct 6:00pm-

Tomorrow,at last!!
Live broadcast by Ayaka will be available at Nico Nico Official Channel “Komachannel”.
I’m going to dress up for Halloween!
Let’s talk with Ayaka and have a relaxed time!

Getting up at 5am tomorrow will make getting up at 6am on Saturday to watch the next episode of Sailor Moon Crystal that much easier!

Ayaka Komatsu dressed as a witch for her Halloween special

Update! She dressed as a witch.

Sailor Moon R episodes 49 and 50 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon episode 49 - The Moonlight Knight

The two latest episodes of Sailor Moon R are now available on Hulu and Neon Alley. This week we are introduced to the Moonlight Knight who is a white looking Japanese man who is dressed like a stereotypical Arab. Did I mention he’s totally not the same guy as Tuxedo Mask?

Sailor Moon episode 49 - Makoto and her Sempai

Episode 49, For Whom Is the White Rose? The Moonlight Knight Appears is all about the rainy day man! This episode’s English dub featured the hit song “Rainy Day Man” during the sequence when we learn about Makoto’s tragic past. We finally get a look at her Sempai, the older student at her school who she was infatuated with who didn’t return her affections. The rainy day man is Shinozaki, Makoto’s friend who consoled her with an umbrella on that rainy day when her heart was broken. He once again protects Makoto as she’s attacked by a Cardian, which leaves him seriously injured. The Moonlight Knight makes his first appearance in this episode. Tuxedo Mask does not appear in the first 13 episodes of Sailor Moon R and so the role of dude who throws roses is filled by The Moonlight Knight! But he’s not at all Tuxedo Mask. He throws white roses and he’s dressed in robes. He’s clearly not Mamoru.

Sailor Moon episode 50 - Shingo at the VR game

Episode 50, Usagi’s Crisis: The Tiara Stops Working, isn’t really about Usagi’s tiara. That’s sort of a side issue that will come back next week as a reason for Usagi to need a new attack item. It is a bit odd that Usagi’s tiara stops working seeing as it randomly works again in the Sailor Moon R movie and again twice in the Sailor Moon S season and once more in the SuperS movie. Anyway it’s really not about the tiara. It’s about this cool 90s VR game. Did they have these in Japan? They seem to be shooting lasers at holograms of monsters, some of which are actual monsters from the first season, while wearing elaborate armour that doesn’t seem to do much. Everyone who’s anyone and more show up for this, including Usagi, Mamoru, Natsumi, Seijuurou and even Usagi’s brother Shingo and father Kenji Papa. Meanwhile the rest of the Sailor Guardians are stuck in line. So a monster shows up and so does the Moonlight Knight who we all assume is Mamoru but they actually appear at the same time! Wait a minute. This isn’t how the Polkaroo thing is supposed to work. Oh well I guess Mamoru isn’t the Moonlight Knight after all!

Sailor Moon episode 50 - Mamoru and the Moonlight Knight

So what happened to Kenji Papa in the past 10 episode? When they went to the hot spring he was super buff and now he’s got a bit of a gut!

Sailor Moon episode 50 - Kenji Papa's inexplicable weight gain

Sailor Moon episode 40 - Ikuko Mama and Kenji Papa

Tuxedo Mask S. H. Figuarts figure to be revealed next weekend

Sailor Moon episode 1 - Tuxedo Mask

Next weekend, October 31st to November 2nd, is the Tamashii Nations 2014 event where a number of Bandai’s Tamashii Nations Figuarts and PROPLICA items will be revealed. A news post on the official Sailor Moon site has mentioned that a Tuxedo Mask S. H. Figuarts figure is set to be revealed! S. H. Figuarts includes high quality highly posable figures. All previous S. H. Figuarts figures in this series have been Sailor Guardians because in the bizarro world that is Sailor Moon it’s actually rare to get figures of male characters. Keep checking this site for photos of this new figure as they are released in the next week.

Since a number of new PROPLICA items will also be released it’s possible another Sailor Moon PROPLICA item will be announced. Since the Moon Stick and Cutie Moon Rod have already been released we are overdue to see the Spiral Heart Moon Rod, Sailor Moon’s attack item from the Sailor Moon S season of the anime and the Infinity story arc of the manga.

Speaking of Tuxedo Mask. You know who likes him? Sailor Pluto. Did her Figuarts figure get lost in the planet controversy?

Source: Sailor Moon official site via Moonkitty.net

Buy or preorder one of the many Bandai Tamashii Nations items below to support the site:

Box art for the Sailor Moon Crystal vol. 2 Blu-Ray

Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray vol. 2 Deluxe Limited Edition box

The box art for the second volume of the Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray Deluxe Limited Edition has been released. This set looks a lot like the first set which we recently reviewed. The episodes included on this disk are act 3, Rei – Sailor Mars, and act 4, Masquerade Dance Party. Sailor Mercury appears on the cover despite first appearing in act 2. We will likely see Sailor Mars on the next set.

Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray vol. 2 Deluxe Limited Edition box - Sailor Mercury's transformation item charm

This set also includes a charm to go with the charm bracelet included in the volume 1 Blu-Ray box. This charm is of Sailor Mercury’s transformation item. Another 24 page colour booklet will be included with this set. The animation will be cleaned up to fix mistakes or awkwardly drawn scenes from the streaming version, and will include audio commentaries. This Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray will be released on November 12th and can be preordered from Amazon Japan, CD Japan, JList and YesAsia. If you are patient, don’t care about swag and want to save a bit of money you can wait until December 10th to get the regular edition Blu-Ray (Amazon Japan, CD Japan, YesAsia) or the DVD (Amazon Japan, CD Japan, YesAsia). These is a Japanese release with no English audio or subtitles. The Blu-Ray disk will play in North American region A Blu-Ray players or PlayStation 3s though the DVDs are region 2 which will not play in a North American region 1 DVD player.

Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray vol. 2 Deluxe Limited Edition box - Sailor Mercury'

Source: The official Sailor Moon site and Moonkitty.net

Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray vol. 2 Deluxe Limited Edition box

Watch the first two episodes of Sailor Moon R, episodes 47 and 48, on Hulu

Sailor Moon episode 47 - Ail and An

The first two episodes of Sailor Moon R are now available on Hulu and Neon Alley. Two new episodes are added every week and now that we’ve worked through the first season Viz is starting to post episodes from Sailor Moon R. For the first 13 episodes of the series, including these two, we deal with what fans call the Makaiju arc as the enemies are Ail and An, aliens who steal human energy to feed their tree the Makaiju. Chibiusa and the Black Moon Clan will not be showing up until episode 60. Until then is this short “filler” story arc which was not in the manga which fans have mixed feelings about. I personally loved this story line and am not adverse to parts of the anime that aren’t in the manga. From a technical point of view seeing Sailor Moon R in HD is a treat. The R2 Japanese DVDs were progressive scan for the first season but beginning with Sailor Moon R the episodes were interlaced, as they had been in their original broadcast. This was not an issue back in the 90s when everyone watched Sailor Moon on their CRT TVs, but in the age of HDTVs and watching things on computer screens it’s certainly nice to see a show in progressive scan. Ultimately this show doesn’t look like newer shows animated in HD, it’s still an old master from the 90s with some processing done to it to make it look as good as it can. That said I still feel like the quality looks better on the Japanese DVDs than the Hulu feed, interlacing issues aside.

Sailor Moon episode 47 - Natsumi and Seijuurou

Episode 47, Moon Returns: The Mysterious Aliens Appear, is the start of something new. Sailor Moon is just a normal girl again, with Luna and Artemis alone remembering the events of all that happened. Two aliens arrive on Earth, along with a big tree! Ail and An, joke names for “alien”, are the new villains who use Cardians, monsters born from cards, to drain human energy. Their relationship is strong at first as Ail and An speak kindly of their love for each other, but this won’t last long. They disguise themselves as teenagers and enrol in the local school because… well I’m not sure why they bother to do this. It would be easy enough to just hide in their apartment and go out at night draining energy. There doesn’t seem to be much of an end game to integrating in to the local culture. As luck would have it they go to the same school as a bunch of superheroes, Usagi, Ami and Makoto’s school. Ail poses as Seijuurou and An poses as Natsumi, because An isn’t really a good Japanese name. When a monster attacks Naru, who is a magnet for monsters, Usagi comes to her defence. Luna has no choice but to restore her memories! This seems shocking as Usagi has memories of everyone including herself dying a horrible death. She transforms into Sailor Moon and saves the day.

Sailor Moon episode 47 - Luna giving Usagi her memories back

Episode 48, For Love and for Justice: Sailor Guardians Once Again, deals with the rest of the Sailor Guardians not having their memories. Usagi is Sailor Moon again but can she fight the Cardians on her own? Auditions for a movie are a convenient excuse to get Naru, the monster magnet, as well as Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako in a room together. A monster comes by and so Luna gives all the girls their memories back as well! Poor Naru. At least the first time around Usagi’s abandoning of her friend was gradual as the rest of the Sailor Guardians appeared one by one. This time around they all show up at once and she’s dropped like a bad habit.

Sailor Moon episode 48 - Rei is ready for a fight

The real conflict doesn’t come from any monsters at all, but from Natsumi and Seijuurou’s interfering with Usagi and Mamoru’s relationship! Mamoru doesn’t get his memory back in this episode. In fact he won’t be getting it for a while. Natsumi is instantly infatuated with him, wanting to make him hers. What is Usagi to do to stop her? She has no relationship with Mamoru to fall back on and is unable to convince him to be with her without all those past memories to help. Let’s not forget that Mamoru was in quite a happy relationship with Rei before that pesky destiny put a stop to it. Beyond that, Seijuurou is into Usagi, trying to win her over. This naturally creates some friction between Ail and An who’s jealously only pushes them more towards the humans they are falling for.

Sailor Moon episode 48 - Natsumi loves Mamoru

Also check out Hulu’s new banner which they’ve added for Sailor Moon R. It would have been nice to see Chibiusa or some other new characters on here but since there are no new Sailor Guardians in this season, except for a very brief appearance by Sailor Pluto, we will have to contend with this.

Hulu's Sailor Moon R banner image

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8, Minako – Sailor V, Review

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8 - Minako winking

Sailor Venus is here! In the latest episode of Sailor Moon Crystal, Minako – Sailor V, we are introduced to Minako Aino, Sailor Venus and her trusty “partner” Artemis. I put “partner” in quotes because I’m totally shipping these two. The episode is available on Crunchyroll, Hulu and Niconico. The main theme of this episode? Winking! Minako just loves winking, and it’s getting contagious! Artemis winks twice and Mamoru winks at Usagi in this episode. It’s a winking epidemic!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8 - Minako petting Artemis

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8 - Artemis winking

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8 - Mamoru winking

This episode is a big lie! Princess Serenity is revealed to be Sailor Venus which is complete nonsense. The identity of Princess Serenity is the worst kept secret in Sailor Moon! All flashbacks of her clearly show her to have very Sailor Moon like hair. Sailor Moon gets a new tiara this week with a crescent moon like Princess Serenity’s on her forehead and of course there’s the simple fact that the Moon Princess is from the Moon, which is what Sailor Moon is named after. Somehow we continue to act as if it’s a legitimate mystery. Usagi has dreams where she’s called Serenity by Endymion who’s face is also obscured. So who is Endymion supposed to be if not Mamoru? Shingo? Motoki? Kenji Papa? There aren’t many contenders here.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8 - Endymion, the mysterious unidentified man

Things with the Shitennou continue to deviate from the manga. Zoisite is still alive and escapes. The original manga story has Kunzite talking to Zoisite’s decomposing body and eventually has him die as well, but none of this happens. In the next act the Shitennou are supposed to be brought back to life thanks to the power of the Silver Crystal, and then turned into gems. Perhaps they will just be turned directly into gems, or perhaps things will progress differently. We shall see! The past association between the Sailor Guardians and the Shitennou continues to be alluded to as Sailor Venus makes mention of Kunzite’s true past. This is likely something that will be revisited in a future episode. Kunzite kisses Beryl’s hand in this episode. How will Minako feel about this, assuming they get all hooked up like they should.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8 - Kunzite kissing Beryl

Kunzite uses Tokyo tower to essentially kill everyone in town, only in this anime version the people are seemingly alive and just having their energy drained, not partially decomposed corpses. Jupiter is meant to sense the effects of the blackout, due to her association with lightning and electricity, but instead Sailor Venus approaches Kunzite alone. This makes sense given she is basically a shield for the true Princess. When the rest of the Sailor Guardians come in, Jupiter is flying while carrying the rest of the girls. Cool trick!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8 - Sailor Jupiter flying with everyone in tow

Minako uses her transformation pen to transform. This is what she used to transform into Sailor V and Sailor Venus in the manga. Her transformation is full of ribbons. She uses her Crescent Boomerang attack in this episode, which is the attack she also used as Sailor V in the Codename Sailor V manga.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8 - Sailor Venus's transformation pen

As the battle progresses we take a brief moment to share Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask’s first consensual kiss. This is important since the last kiss we got had Tuxedo Mask taking advantage of an unconscious Sailor Moon. Good thing they got this in, as Tuxedo Mask is then wounded defending Sailor Moon, as seen in the episode preview. Yes, the very last moment of the episode was in last week’s preview.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8 - Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon's first consensual kiss

Next week is Act 9, Serenity – Princess. For all the stagnating deceptions of this week’s episode, the next episode will be jammed packed. Tuxedo Mask is severely wounded and kidnapped by the Dark Kingdom. The past events of Silver Millennium are revealed. Princess Serenity and Endymion are revealed. The Silver Crystal is revealed. All this an more coming Saturday November 1st.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 9 Preview - Sailor Moon freaking out

Keep reading for more screenshots from this episode and the next episode preview.

Continue reading

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray review

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray vol. 1

The first volume of the Sailor Moon Crystal DVD and Blu-Ray was released on October 15th. There are a few versions of this release at different price points. I ordered the Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray version. This release only contains two episodes of the series, act 1 and 2, showing us the introduction of Usagi and Ami. You can order the volume 1 deluxe limited edition Blu-Ray (Amazon Japan, CD Japan), regular edition Blu-ray (Amazon Japan, CD Japan) or DVD (Amazon Japan, CD Japan). The deluxe limited edition has a lot included, but at 5994 yen (about $53 US) it’s a hefty price tag for only two episodes. These are Japanese discs. The Blu-Rays are region A meaning they will play in a North American Blu-Ray player or PS3, but there are no English subtitle or audio tracks.

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray vol. 1 - Moon Stick charm and bracelet

The packaging is impressive. The first thing you will notice when opening to box is that it plays the Moon Pride theme song. Inside are the Moon Stick charm and charm bracelet. Should you choose to continue to spend large amounts of money on the limited edition Blu-Rays you will be able to collect the other 12 charms.

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray vol. 1 - Booklet cover

Also included are two books. The first includes art from the show, episode summaries and interviews with Munehisa Sakai, director, and Kotono Mitsuishi, the voice of Sailor Moon. The second is a book of storyboards of the opening and ending themes for the series.

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray vol. 1 - Opening storyboards

There is not a ton to the Blu-Ray itself. As mentioned there are only two episodes, which auto play when the Blu-Ray is started. As we previously mentioned there are some scenes which have been reanimated since the original streaming version was released. This includes the changes to the intro. For example, Queen Serenity has white hair in the intro instead of being blonde like in the intro for the first two streaming episodes. These changes are minor and cosmetic. It doesn`t fundamentally change the experience of watching the show. Overall the video quality is quite good, which is not surprising as the Crunchyroll HD feeds were comparable. The disc has some special features. Mainly the textless opening and ending themes. There are also two audio commentaries, though as they are in Japanese I did not find much use in listening to them.

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray vol. 1 - Box

Overall this set is expensive and while there are a decent amount of cool knick knacks, only including two episodes lowers the value. If you’re a collector or completist, it may be worth picking up, but if you’re just looking to watch the show, the streaming versions are perfectly acceptable. It’s quite likely there will be an eventual North American Blu-Ray release with English audio and subtitles. Fans who don’t like to watch their anime raw may prefer to wait for such a release. If you’re looking to watch the updated animation with English subtitles, you can download them from Sailor Moon Center. As of posting this article only episode 1 has been released (720p, 1080p), but episode two should follow shortly.

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray vol. 1 - Box

Keep reading for more photos of the set.

Continue reading

Watch Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8, Minako – Sailor V, starting October 18th at 6am EST

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8 Preview - Sailor Venus

This Saturday, October 18th, the latest episode of Sailor Moon Crystal will be available streaming on Crunchyroll, Hulu and Niconico starting at 7pm Japan Standard Time. Set your alarm clocks because this is 6am Eastern Standard Time and 3am Pacific Standard Time. This week’s episode is Act 8, Minako – Sailor V. Despite the title Sailor V will indeed by Sailor Venus in this episode. We continue to attempt to keep the worst kept secret in Tokyo as everyone believes Sailor Venus to be Princess Serenity! This is nonsense of course because she doesn’t have pig tails in her silhouette like a certain other character in the series.

Sailor Moon manga Act 8 - It's still only 6am

This episode includes a scene where Kunzite talks to the dead bodies of Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoisite. Since they are still alive, how will this scene play out? Also this week Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask share their first consensual kiss!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8 - Minako, Sailor V

Until now the manga acts have followed the anime acts in a 1 to 1 ratio, even preserving the titles. How long will this last? Many speculate, and I’m starting to think this is correct, that this trend will continue right into the Black Moon story arc beginning with act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Étrangère. The original expectation was that the 26 episode Sailor Moon Crystal series would be a retelling of the Dark Kingdom arc, but at this rate they will be done telling that story in half of those episodes wrapping up the Black Moon story arc with episode 26. Should there be filler episodes, a reasonable time to start with that would be after all five of the Sailor Guardians are together, so after this week. Should the next episode preview list Act 9 as Serenity – Princess, we know that the trend of sticking with manga titles will continue. Should it have another title, all bets are off and we may not be getting to the Black Moon story arc during Sailor Moon Crystal’s first year.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 8 Preview - Tuxedo Mask being killed

The entire first season of Sailor Moon is now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon episode 45 - Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon

This morning, October 13th, the final two episodes of the first season of Sailor Moon were added to Hulu and Neon Alley. With the addition of episodes 45 and 46 the entire first season is now available to stream in Japanese with English subtitles. This two part story concludes the battle with the Dark Kingdom and Queen Beryl, wrapping up the first story arc for the Sailor Moon anime. These are a couple of the better episodes of the series. These two episodes were heavily edited and reduced to a single episode, Day of Destiny, in the DiC English dub. If that’s the only version you’ve seen these episodes should not be missed.

Sailor Moon episode 45 - Sailor Moon mourns the death of her friends and is touched by the ghost of Sailor Jupiter

Episode 45, Death of the Sailor Guardians: The Tragic Final Battle, has, as the title suggests, everyone dying! The Sailor Guardians head to the D Point in the North Pole to fight the Dark Kingdom but are intercepted by the DD Girls who basically kill everyone but Sailor Moon. It’s not all in vain as the Sailor Guardians manage to kill all of the DD Girls, leaving Sailor Moon to move on. Naturally she’s a bit shaken by the death of her friends, and can’t find the strength within herself to move on but their ghosts appear to give her the words of encouragements she needs to move on and face Tuxedo Mask and Queen Beryl.

Sailor Moon episode 46 - Sailor Moon presents her locket to Tuxedo Mask

Episode 46, Usagi’s Eternal Wish: a Brand New Life, has Usagi left alone with all of her friends killed. When she finally meets Queen Beryl she is shocked to see that Tuxedo Mask is evil and loyal to her. In an excruciating and violent fight he beats her up quite a bit while she avoids fighting back until the last moment where she attacks him with her tiara. After restoring his memories thanks to the power of her locket he is in turn killed by Queen Beryl. Sailor Moon is now truly alone, having lost all her friends and now her lover, and must face off against Super Beryl, which is Queen Beryl amalgamated with Queen Metalia. The battle is won, thanks to the ghosts of her friends, but since this is still the first season using the Silver Crystal kills Sailor Moon. Her last wish is to make things like they were, and so the world is transformed. The Sailor Guardians are alive again but have no memory of what happened or even knowing each other, but the Dark Kingdom has now been defeated.

Sailor Moon episode 46 - The Sailor Team face off against Beryl

Next week we start with Sailor Moon R! But the story of the Black Moon Clan won’t begin right away. First we will begin with a short set of episodes surrounding Ail and An, two aliens who use cards and a big tree to drain people’s energy.