Yearly Archives: 2014

Jennifer Cihi joins Viz and the cast of Sailor Moon for Sailor Moon Day at Anime Expo July 5th

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Anime Expo Logo

An announcement on the Anime Expo web site tells us that Jennifer Cihi, the singer who performed many of the songs for the English dub of Sailor Moon, will be performing at the convention in Los Angeles July 3rd to the 6th. Jennifer Cihi joins Viz and many voice actors for the weekend which will include Sailor Moon Day, July 5th, which is the day the new Sailor Moon anime’s first episode will be released. Jennifer Cihi, who performed the songs I Wanna Be A Star, My Only Love, Call My Name, It’s a New Day, Carry On, I Want Someone to Love, I Want to Hold Your Hand, The Power Of Love and Who Do You Think You Are? will be performing in the opening ceremonies, in Lounge 21 and will be holding autograph sessions.

Jennifer Cihi

Viz Media’s press release details all that they have planned for the weekend. Saturday July 5th is Sailor Moon Day when most of the events are planned. Starting at 10am is Viz’s Sailor Moon Official Panel where the first two episodes of Viz’s new English dub of Sailor Moon will be premiered. The cast will be revealed for the first time and will be there to answer questions. Attendees also will be able to pick up a premium poster. At 1pm an autograph session for the voice actors from Viz’s new Sailor Moon dub will be taking place in the autograph area. At 2:45pm at Viz Media’s booth, 1601, there will be a photo op with the new voice cast and the official Sailor Guardian Cosplayers from American Cosplay Paradise. At 3:30pm there will be a gathering of Sailor Moon cosplayers in the main events hall. Viz will also be offering a limited premiere event memorial coin at the convention.

Viz Media

In addition to the new Sailor Moon voice cast the original Sailor Moon English DiC/Cloverway voice cast will also be in attendence. As we posted about back in January, the convention will also be playing host to Linda Ballantyne, Sailor Moon, Karen Bernstein, Sailor Mercury, Katie Griffin, Sailor Mars, Susan Roman, Sailor Jupiter, Stephanie Morgenstern, Sailor Venus, Toby Proctor, Tuxedo Mask, Mary Long who voice Molly, Catsy and JunJun, Ron Rubin, Artemis and John Stocker, voice director for the movies and final two seasons. Linda Ballantyne has mentioned via twitter that the original cast autograph session will be at 12:15pm on Friday July 4th with their panel at 3:00pm. It is not yet clear what voice actors, if any, will be reprising their role in the new dub or what new voice actors may be making appearences at the convention.

The new Sailor Moon anime Sailor Moon Crystal will be streamed on Hulu starting July 5th

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Sailor Moon Crystal Logo

Hulu now has a page for Sailor Moon Crystal, the new Sailor Moon anime, and will begin streaming it on July 5th. Previously only Niconico and Crunchyroll had been announced as streaming the series, but now Hulu and Neon Alley have been confirmed as offering the series as well. New episodes will be added on the first and third Saturday of every month. Viz Media has placed an English subtitled version of the Sailor Moon Crystal trailer on their YouTube channel to advertise the series airing on Hulu and Neon Alley. You can also watch the trailer with commercials on Hulu!

Hulu is already streaming the original Sailor Moon anime which is being subbed by Viz and will be adding dubbed episodes later this year. Since Hulu and Hulu Plus have ads in their service, fans looking for an ad free experience may still prefer to watch the series on Crunchyroll. Viz will be releasing the original Sailor Moon series and Sailor Moon Crystal dubbed and subbed on DVD and Blu-Ray at a later date.

Palutena from the new Super Smash Bros. game is voiced by Aya Hisakawa, the voice of Sailor Mercury

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Palutena from Super Smash Bros. Wii U

At this year’s E3 a lot of new characters were revealed for the new Super Smash Bros. game for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS including Palutena from Kid Icarus. As can be heard in the video below, Palutena’s voice is provided by Aya Hisakawa, the original Japanese voice of Sailor Mercury from Sailor Moon.

Aya Hisakawa also provided the voice of Palutena for the Kid Icarus Uprising video game for the 3DS which was released a couple of years ago. The game is great, though I had played it in English where she’s referred to as Lady Palutena and I had no idea who did her Japanese voice.

Thanks to Yosenex for finding this information.

Palutena from Super Smash Bros. Wii U and 3DS

Bandai’s Proplica Moon Stick first impressions

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Proplica Moon Stick in stand with crystal

Bandai’s Proplica Moon Stick is now available in North America! I received mine a few days ago and I think it looks great. This is by far the most accurate looking Moon Stick to date. It comes with a stand, a swappable Silver Crystal and even a cradle to put the Silver Crystal in when not in use.

Irwin Cosmic Crescent Wand (left) Live Action Sailor Moon Moon Stick (center) Bandai Proplica Moon Stick (right)

Irwin Cosmic Crescent Wand (left) Live Action Sailor Moon Moon Stick (center) Bandai Proplica Moon Stick (right)

Above is a size comparison of this toy to a few others I had. The toy lights up and plays a variety of sound clips, given you get the three LR44 batteries it takes. I was able to find some at the dollar store. The sounds it makes are different depending on how long you hold the button, what the switch at the base of the toy is set to and whether or not the Silver Crystal is in the toy. Voice clips are from the anime, mostly being that of Kotono Mitsuishi though Mika Doi can also be heard as the voice of Queen Serenity. The manual coming with the toy describes all of these, given you can read Japanese, and also gives an overview of the Moon Stick in the anime and other toys that came before it.

Proplica Moon Stick Crystal

Support this site by ordering the item from the Amazon link below. It’s not cheap but I think it’s worth the price.

Keep reading for a ton more photos of the Moon Stick and it’s packaging.

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Sailor Moon episodes 11 and 12 are now available on Hulu

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Sailor Moon episode 11 - Rei, Usagi and Ami at Yume Land

This morning, June 16th, episodes 11 and 12 of Sailor Moon became available to view streaming for free, with ads, on Hulu. These episodes are subbed by Viz and will be released at a rate of two episodes per week. Dubbed episodes as well as a DVD and Blu-Ray release will be coming later this summer.

Sailor Moon Episode 11 - Dream Princess

In episode 11, Usagi vs. Rei: Nightmare in Dream Land, we get our first look at Rei and Usagi’s unique relationship. They turn out to be the best of friends but they fight through the best and worst of times. Usagi, Rei and Ami go to Dream Land to investigate a Dark Kingdom plot! While there they see Mamoru on a child’s train, hang out with some robot animals, assault a small child and fight the Dream Princess who’s actually a creepy looking doll monster.

Sailor Moon Episode 12 - Rei and Ami on the cruise ship

In episode 12, I Want a Boyfriend: The Luxury Cruise Ship Is a Trap, Rei wins a contest for a trip on a cruise ship and brings Ami, much to Usagi’s disappointment. Usagi abuses of her disguise pen to turn into a photographer to sneak aboard and gets a crush on the ship’s captain who’s actually Jadeite!

Sailor Moon episode 12 - Usagi crushing on Jadeite

I’m shipping these two

Pre-order Sailor Moon Reflections, Roland Parliament’s book about the dubbing of Sailor Moon

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Sailor Moon Reflections cover

Last year at Unplugged Expo 2 Roland Parliament, voice director for the first 65 episodes of Sailor Moon and the voice of Melvin, announced that he would be releasing a book about the dubbing of the show. Sailor Moon Relections, the inside story of the original recordings of the English version of Sailor Moon, is nearing completion. In order to be published it needs pre-orders, which you can put in now by mail or through Pay Pal. Information about this pre-order can be found at Moon Chase. A hard copy of the book will be $20 for softcover and $30 for hardcover. There is also a $4.99 ebook option which does not require a pre-order.

Roland Parliament, the voice of Melvin

You can also check out Moon Chase to see excerpts of the book which include a foreword by Terri Hawkes, the voice of Sailor Moon.

Check out the Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary voice actor panel at Unplugged Expo to see the original announcement of this book.

Source: Moon Chase!

Ticketing and other info about the Sailor Moon Petite Étrangère musical plus La Reconquista DVD details

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Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Petite Étrangère musical

The Sailor Moon official site has been updated with a new poster for the upcoming musical Sailor Moon Petite Étrangère! This poster features the cast of the musical including new characters Sailor Pluto and Chibiusa. A pre-sale lottery is starting today and will run until Sunday June 15th. More details about that can be found at this site.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Petite Étrangère musical - Tuxedo Mask

Sailor Pluto will be played by Mikako Ishii, a Japanese model. Chibiusa and Sailor Chibi Moon will be played by Kokoro Kuge, a 10 year old actress, and Airi Kanda, an 11 year old actress. There are two actors playing the role of Chibiusa which was the case for earlier musicals in which she appeared. In keeping with the Sailor Moon La Reconquista musical, this show will have an all female cast. Not shown in this poster but also appearing in this musical are Erika Mahiro as Prince Demande, Sora Manami as Saphir, Riona Tatemichi as Rubeus, Mitsumi Hiromura as Esmeraude and Yui Ito as Black Lady.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon La Requonquista musical DVD cover

The Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon La Reconquista musical which played last September will be available on DVD starting July 9th. You can pre-order it from Amazon Japan (6264 yen or $61 US) or CD Japan (7800 yen or $76 US). The DVD is a 2 disk set including behind the scenes footage and a 24 page booklet. This is a Japanese language DVD which is region coded to play only on Japanese or region free DVD players. Why this isn’t released as a Blu-Ray in 2014 is a mystery to me.

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Sailor Moon episodes 9 and 10 are now available on Hulu

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Sailor Moon episode 9 - Sailor Mercury and her computer

On June 9th Hulu has started streaming episodes 9 and 10 of the original Sailor Moon anime in Japanese with English subtitles. These episodes will be released at a rate of 2 per week every Monday by Viz. There are plans for a new dub and DVD/Blu-Ray release coming later this year.

Sailor Moon episode 9 - Young Usagi

Episode 9, Usagi’s Disaster: Beware of the Clock of Confusion, has the Dark Kingdom invading a clock store which causes everyone to rush! Ami finally gets her computer and uses it to investigate as the enemy manipulates time! Sailor Moon is turned into a baby and then an old lady in the course of the fight. This episode’s dub name was “Time Bomb” which meant that it was not always replayed in sindication, such as on Cartoon Network, so be sure to check it out if you haven’t already.

Sailor Moon episode 10 - Rei Hino

Episode 10, The Cursed Bus: Enter Mars, the Guardian of Fire, introduces us to Rei Hino, a priestess from the Hikawa Shrine and the greatest character in the series! Busses have been dissapearing near the Shrine prompting Usagi to come in and investigate. Rei is revealed to have special powers and is ultimately shown to be the third Sailor Guardian, Sailor Mars!

Sailor Moon episode 10 - Sailor Mars

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Check out images of Mamoru and the rest of the characters in Sailor Moon Crystal

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Mamoru, Tuxedo Mask, from Sailor Moon Crystal

A few magazine pictures have popped up with images from Sailor Moon Crystal, the new Sailor Moon anime set to begin playing on July 5th. With the first we finally get a look at Mamoru, the civilian form of Tuxedo Mask. He seems decently old and he has glasses. Though he looks old in this picture the description does mention that he is a high school student (Thanks to Emurii from our Facebook page for spotting this). Off to the side on this image we see Minako and Makoto. Of note in Minako’s description is a mention of Sailor V, confirming that she will exist in this continuity. The second image is a group shot of the five girls, Minako, Usagi, Ami, Rei and Makoto, at a table at a restaurant.

Minako, Usagi, Ami, Rei and Makoto from Sailor Moon Crystal

Source: @aers00 on Twitter, earl box on Flickr

The Sailor Moon Crystal opening theme “Moon Pride” and ending theme “Gekkou” by Momoiro Clover Z

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Moon Pride single cover art - Momoiro Clover Z

Yesterday we saw the first footage from new Sailor Moon anime, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, and with that we got a preview of the new theme song, “Moon Pride”. As was previously announced this theme song and the ending theme are performed by the group Momoiro Clover Z. The song will be out on a single CD July 30th which will include both the opening them “Moon Pride” and the ending theme “Gekkou”. Check out this ad for the new theme which includes a lot of footage of the group and of the trailer:

The opening theme, “Moon Pride” is composed by Revo of Sound Horizon while the ending theme, “Gekkou” is composed by Akiko Kosaka who composed many Sailor Moon songs from the original anime including Moon Revenge, from the Sailor Moon R Movie, Tuxedo Mirage, the ending theme for Sailor Moon S and many songs from the Sailor Moon musicals.

You can preorder the single on CD by either getting the CD version which will include a bonus track of a Momoiro Clover Z cover of Moon Revenge, including karaoke versions of all 3 tracks (CD Japan, Amazon Japan) or the CD and Blu-Ray combo pack which will have just the opening and ending themes in standard and karaoke versions plus a music video of Moon Pride on Blu-Ray (CD Japan, Amazon Japan)