Sailor Moon SuperS episodes 138 and 139 are now available on Hulu

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Adam

The two latest episodes of Sailor Moon SuperS have been added to Hulu and Neon Alley. Episodes 138 and 139 are full of sadness as a widow tries to fix her husband’s old car and a young swordswoman is beat up repeatedly by her mother.

Episode 138, Drive to the Heavens: The Dream Car Fueled with Love, once again tries to make us think Mamoru is being unfaithful! Usagi and the audience should learn by now. Ami sees a woman give him a set of keys. What is this? Her house keys? A hotel key? No. They’re just keys to a car which she is trying to fix up. Natsumi is a widow and before his death her husband was trying to fix up this old car. She wants to fix it now but needs some help, which is where everyone comes in. There is no reason to suspect Mamoru of wrongdoing but of course Usagi gets jealous because that’s what she does. He’d need to die for her to stop constantly doubting him. Natsumi’s husband had a beard so Hawk’s Eye has the perfect plan to win her heart! A beard! This fails naturally and Chibiusa gives him a piece of her mind.

Episode 139, Aiming for the Top: the Pretty Swordswoman’s Dilemma, is about a young girl who is trying to be the best in the world with a sword! Miharu hangs around in the park fighting challengers which seems to go well until someone comes by and gives her a serious whooping. To complicate things further this is actually her mother! What a family. This seems to be her tough love sort of approach to get her to come back home. Miharu pretends to be strong but is quite upset by all this, masking her tears by chopping onions and blaming them. Whenever I’m chopping onions I think of this scene and, in the opposite way, pretend to tell a tragic story to make my tears seem genuine. Tiger’s Eye, always one to target younger women, goes after Miharu in this episode. Though her age is not outright stated she appears to be younger than any of his previous targets. Ultimately Miharu confronts her mother again but instead of beating her straight out in combat she leaves a small trap for her and beats her that way. Somehow this seems to have solved all of the family’s problems.

Support the site by buying the first two seasons of Sailor Moon on DVD and Blu-Ray using the links below.

A Sailor Saturn Dal doll and Sailor Pluto Pullip doll are coming soon

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Adam

A Sailor Saturn Dal doll has just been announced on the Sailor Moon official site. Additionally a Sailor Pluto Pullip doll was announced last month.

Sailor Saturn is not a Pullip doll. She is a Dal doll. What’s the difference? Pullip is the name of a specific character and most of the Sailor Moon dolls are Pullip dolls because they roughly match that character’s size. The Sailor Moon Pullip doll is a Sailor Moon doll made like the Pullip doll, the first in the series. Tuxedo Mask does not have a Pullip doll but a Taeyang doll, Pullip’s boyfriend, because he is male. It’s like if Sailor Moon was a Barbie doll and he was a Ken doll. Similarly Sailor Chibi Moon, like Sailor Saturn, gets a Dal doll. Dal is Pullip’s younger sister. Pullip is 17 while her sister Dal is 13. Since the doll is younger looking her model fits better for younger characters. You’ll notice that this doll is a bit smaller and has a different shaped face as compared to Pullip. All this said Pullip dolls, Taeyang dolls and Dal dolls are all part of the same line of products made by the same company, they are simply made using different base designs for the doll. Sailor Saturn’s doll will be released in October 2015 and will sell for 17000 yen, roughly $143 US.

Sailor Pluto finally got a doll. How great! She has been last in so many products but even though coming after Human Luna she was not the last Sailor Guardian to have a Pullip doll announced. We have also gotten a look at Sailor Pluto’s Bandai Exclusive which is a civilian outfit which allows her to be Setsuna Meiou, Sailor Pluto’s civilian identity. Unlike the other Sailor Guardians Sailor Pluto does not have a school uniform (and is not based on a real planet) so she doesn’t have that as her Bandai Exclusive outfit like the others do. She has a purple business suit so that she can be all professional and stuff. Her doll will be released some time in September for 17,000 yen, roughly $143 US, with her Bandai Exclusive version selling for 20,000 yen, about $168 US.

The Sailor Saturn doll will be unveiled on Sunday September 6th at some sort of Spring Doll Show which you can read about at the show’s web site if you happen to be able to read Japanese, which I assume anyone who’s able to attend should be able to do. Due to time zones it’s actually tomorrow in Japan right now. The show should be starting in a few hours.

Are you made of money? If so please support the site by buying some of the previously released Pullip dolls using the Amazon links below!

Source: Sailor Saturn Dal doll, Sailor Pluto Pullip Doll

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray Vol. 11 Review

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Adam

Late as usual here is my review of the 11th volume of Sailor Moon Crystal on Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray. This volume was released on August 12th and includes two episodes, Act 21 and 22, in a collectible set which includes a 20 page colour booklet and charm of Sailor Venus’s Star Power Stick. You can order this from Amazon Japan and other online retailers for about 5,194 yen, about $43 US, plus a ton of shipping. The next volume, volume 12, will be released next week on September 9th.

The art on the cover of this volume is of Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion, the future versions of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. Since a lot of this second story arc takes place in the future these characters feature prominently in the episodes on this disk.

The charm included this time is Sailor Venus’s Star Power Stick. As with all of the other ones you can put them all together on a charm bracelet and be really cool.

Included are Act 21, Complication – Nemesis, and Act 22, Hidden Agenda – Nemesis. These two episode are based on two chapters of the manga from the versions which were released in 2003 however both episodes were originally a single manga chapter, Act 20, Complication – Nemsis. Because of this the pace may seem a bit slow.

Like with other releases there are a number of mostly minor changes to the animation. These mostly result in touch ups which make the animation a bit nicer looking and very occasionally results in more significant changes to what appears on screen. I’m unable to take screenshots of Blu-Rays with my current AV setup but a great site for examining these differences is Crystal Comparisons.

Almost nothing of significance is changed for Act 21. In one scene a chair is added behind Usagi mostly to compensate for an earlier continuity issue where a chair disappeared and then reappeared behind her. Other than that the changes are mostly cosmetic.

The next episode previews remain unaltered. I’ve mentioned Chibiusa’s shirt gate time and time again. The next episode preview for Act 22 which appeared at the end of Act 21 originally included her blue long sleeved uniform, which was an error, and that uniform still appears in this version. This had been corrected in the streaming version of Act 22 and is still corrected on this release.

If you check out the changes for Act 22, you’ll note some changes for the appearance of Black Lady. In the original streaming episode Black Lady first appeared pretty much as a shadowy black figure with glowing eyes who later became more visible. The intention was, and still is, to obscure her identity. Now in the Blu-Ray we see her as being more transparent and smokey than previously in her first appearance and then darker in her later appearance. It seems to do the job better, but was anyone really still wondering what her true identity was at this point? There are a couple of other minor changes to this episode. When Usagi is possessed by Neo Queen Serenity her eyes glow and in the streaming version they are a bit darker. The reactor effects have been redone a bit to add some circles around the main column of energy. We also see the Sailor Guaridans standing behind Sailor Moon in one scene where we previously didn’t.

Both episodes include an audio commentary. These feature Munehisa Sakai, director of Sailor Moon Crystal, Kenji Nojima, the voice of Mamoru Chiba and Misato Fukuen, the voice of Chibiusa.

Also included is the 20 page full colour special book. This one features the usual episode summaries, character designs, backgrounds, page for Osabu and two interviews. The first interview is with Momoiro Clover Z, the musical group which performs the Sailor Moon Crystal opening theme, Moon Pride, and ending theme, Gekkou. The second interview is with the four voice actors who portrayed the Ayakashi Sister. Wasabi Mizuta provides the voice of Petz. Rumi Kasahara, who provides the voice of Berthier, had previously voiced many small roles in the original Sailor Moon anime including Ptilol of the Witches 5. Tomoe Hanba voices Calaveras and Satsuki Yukino provides the voice of Koan.

As always I recommend this only to hardcore fans. English speaking fans should contend with the streaming version until the eventual multi language Blu-Ray is released by Viz. This is a cool set with some cool stuff in it, but it’s hard to justify the price tag for two episodes.

Keep reading for more photos of the set including all 20 pages of the special book.

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Voice actors Linda Ballantyne, Susan Roman and Toby Proctor are at Amazing Houston Comic Con this weekend

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Adam

Texas Sailor Moon fans won’t want to miss Amazing Houston Comic Con this weekend, September 4th to the 6th. In attendance will be Linda Ballantyne, the voice of Sailor Moon, Susan Roman, the voice of Sailor Jupiter, and Toby Proctor, the voice of Tuxedo Mask. The convention is being held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. The convention web site does not list them on the guests page but the programming page does mention a Sailor Moon Spotlight Panel on Saturday afternoon at 11am.

Panel Room 1
Sailor Moon Spotlight
They fight evil by moonlight, and win the love of their adoring fans by daylight! Now you can meet the original voices behind the hit series Sailor Moon: Linda Ballantyne (Sailor Moon/Serena), Susan Roman (Lita/Sailor Jupiter), and Toby Proctor (Tuxedo Mask). They’ll be on hand to answer questions, act out scenes and more! Come meet the people who made Sailor Moon one of the most popular anime in North America! Autograph Signing will take place immediately following the panel.

Linda Ballantyne provided the 3rd voice of Sailor Moon for the 3rd and 4th seasons, Sailor Moon S and SuperS, of the original English dub. Susan Roman provided the voice of Sailor Jupiter for the entire first dub of the series. Toby Proctor was the 2nd voice of Tuxedo Mask providing his voice for most of the first 65 DiC dubbed episodes which spanned the first two seasons.

Sailor Moon Drops, the new Sailor Moon Puzzle game for cell phones dropped today

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Adam

The Sailor Moon Drops Puzzle game was released today for iOS and Android devices. This free game is only available in the Japanese iTunes store but with a little bit of work you can set up an account and download Japanese games on a North American iPhone. I’ll include instructions to do so later in this post. Though the game is free it does include microtransactions meaning you can do in game transactions to buy items which will let you keep playing. To download the game use the links to the Google Play Store or iTunes store.

I’ll include a brief explanation on how to play, based on what I’ve managed to figure out. I don’t read Japanese but can infer enough about how to play just be touching around the game. Menus are easy enough to navigate. On the main screen hit the pink button then the blue button. Just tap the screen to advance through the Japanese dialog cut scenes. You’ll see Usagi meet Luna and transform into Sailor Moon. The game will walk you through going into a game screen. On the game screen hit the pink button a few times and follow the on screen instructions to make a move and make a 3 item match. Gameplay is like Bejewled and Columns. You swipe a gem to move it a single position. Make matches of 3 ore more to get points. Try to chain combos if possible. You’ll clear the level once you reach a certain number of points. Your remaining moves are in the top right corner. Filling up the pink bar on the top right gets you three stars. On the level select screen simply tap the level you want to play. In general you can advance through menus hitting the pink buttons.

The game becomes difficult based on the number of moves you get and the shape of the level. A rectangular puzzle is somewhat straightforward but odd shapes become difficult to navigate.

The game, being freemium, can’t very well let you play forever! The game’s currency involves hearts and gems. Hearts are needed to play and gems are used to buy hearts or other items. You start with 5 hearts and, if they are consumed, they are replenished at a rate of one heart per 30 minutes. Unlike many games you will not lost hearts simply by playing but only by losing. If you complete a level you will still have all your hearts but if you lose and want to continue Tuxedo Mask will show up and allow you to

On the main map you can scroll up to see where the game will advance to. Ami can be seen not far up, followed by Rei then Makoto and Minako. The map goes through a lot of Tokyo with locations such as Naru’s parent’s store Osa-p, the Hikawa Shrine and eventually into areas which appears to look like a Dark Kingdom stronghold and a Crystal Spire. After completing 10 stages I unlocked Sailor Mercury. It seems likely this trend will continue every 10 stages. Though I can’t read the text in the cut scenes it seems to somewhat follow the story of Sailor Moon as she argues with Mamoru at first and befriends the other girls going along on her journey. We also see villains such as Queen Beryl and Jadeite. It’s unclear just how far the story will go with the given map. It’s always possible that more content could be added at a later date.

The game allows you to register friends. This lets you compare top scores with others you know who have the game. Each user has a unique code. To view it and add friends simply click on the green arrow on the map screen then the little picture of Usagi with a heart. You can change your name here. Your ID is unique and this is what you give to friends. Click the “ID…” button to register a new friend. Might I suggest added 4a24eec?

Setting up a Japanese iTunes account is free and relatively easy to do. iTunes accounts are tied to a specific store. Mine was tied to the Canadian store. Many readers may have accounts tied to the US store or some other country’s store. If you happen to live in Japan then good for you the game is already in your store. If not there are a few simple steps you can do to register a Japanese iTunes account and switch the store back and forth on your phone. I followed a tutorial similar to this one and it worked just fine for me.

I don’t have an Android device on hand. If you have any trouble using the Google Play Store link try checking out this tutorial which seems to work for getting a Japanese game downloaded. Leave us a comment if this works for you so that I can amend the post.

Source: The Official Sailor Moon Site

Keep reading for more screenshots of this game.

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Monthly Archives: September 2015

Sailor Moon SuperS episodes 138 and 139 are now available on Hulu

A Sailor Saturn Dal doll and Sailor Pluto Pullip doll are coming soon

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray Vol. 11 Review

Voice actors Linda Ballantyne, Susan Roman and Toby Proctor are at Amazing Houston Comic Con this weekend

Sailor Moon Drops, the new Sailor Moon Puzzle game for cell phones dropped today