At long last the final season of Sailor Moon, Sailor Stars, will be released in the United States of America. This season, released in Japan way back in 1996 was never dubbed into English and was never released on video in English speaking North America. Hulu and Neon Alley have been releasing the original Sailor Moon anime series subtitled at a rate of two episodes per week and we will finally be getting the fifth and final season on Monday December 14th. It was not clear whether or not we would see the episode on the 14th or 21st, as the current schedule would have the final episode of Sailor Moon SuperS, episode 166, playing on that day. Viz has a precedent of only including the final episode of the season on one day so as to not break up the season. We now have official confirmation, from the Neon Alley schedule for the month of December, that episode 167 will indeed be released on Monday December 14th. The schedule does note that the “Start of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars” is on the following Monday, with episode 168, which is actually the second episode of Sailor Stars. There is still the possibility that someone has made the mistake with this schedule and that episode 167 will be held off until the 21st but at this time the schedule does indicate that episode 167 will be December 14th.
Fans who have not seen Sailor Stars before will be excited to see Eternal Sailor Moon, the return of Sailor Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn as well as the Sailor Starlights and many more. It will still be a while until they all show up though as the first 6 episodes of the series are sort of like a follow up to Sailor Moon SuperS, giving us more closure on Queen Nehelenia. Sailor Uranus, Neptune and Pluto will show up right away as Sailor Saturn is also brought back into the fold. This conveniently brings the story back in line with how the Dream arc of the original Sailor Moon manga left off with the whole group together. Sadly Chibiusa and Tuxedo Mask won’t be around for long, so enjoy them while you can.
What new character are you most excited to see? Sailor Iron Mouse? Princess Kakyuu? Sailor Chibi Chibi? So many to chose from!
2015-12-06 Update: The original article title and content stated that this was the first release of Sailor Stars in North America. While Sailor Stars was never released in the US and Canada, it was released in Mexico which is part of North America. I often use the term North American when referring to the series because I am a Canadian so in many cases specifying United States of America is not the whole story. In this case however, Hulu is still not available to Canadian Sailor Moon fans and so the series is really only being officially released in the United States. Canadians may use a proxy to watch Hulu, as I have been doing, but this isn’t an official release. The original French dub of Sailor Moon also did not included Sailor Stars and only a small part of what was seen in France was ever broadcast on Canadian television. Sailor Stars will likely remains unreleased officially in Canada until either some streaming option can be made available or until the home video release for Stars makes its way here.
Thanks to reader Julian for the note about Mexico.
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I think many people who have not seen Stars will immediately be impressed. Stars stands out to me as the season with the best opening episode for the reasons I’m sure you’ll review. The new characters I’m most looking forward to seeing are Galaxia and Crow and Siren. I fell in love with Galaxia’s stylistic condescension in the final episodes. Crow and Siren are the most endearing of minor characters with their lighthearted rivalry, humor, and eventually their tragic end.
Not as though you can blame them for not bringing over Sailor Stars. After all, even if they found a way around the gender-bending by saying the Starlights were actually just cross-dressing for security reasons (and that is why, American kids, you shouldn’t cross-dress because it’s weird. Sailor Moon Says LOL ^_^), there’s the fact that the final battle involves Sailor Moon fighting in the nude. You can’t even do what you did with Outlaw Star and add on some trunks and a bra with a few simple brush strokes, that would a whole separate reanimation for that scene. I doubt Toei was willing to do that, no matter how popular Sailor Moon was in America.
Also, the opening song for this season is one of my favorite anime openings ever. It’s just so strong and beautiful and has such great music. I even had it on my iPod for a while.
Yes, I do blame them for being ignorant, close-minded transphobic/homophobic bigots for refusing to import stars and leave the gay couples throughout the series intact. Tolerance and inclusion doesn’t harm children, the opposite does.
If they had somehow released the show like that back then it would have been banned, so it’s not fair to blame them.
It’s better that we got what we did rather than nothing at all. Times were different then and Dic/Cloverway wasn’t at fault.
I agree, and in many cultures a naked body represents purity which is Sailor Moons strongest trait.
I would like to say something about the cross dressing comment, it may not be what’s considered normal but cross dressing is not “weird” and a person who says to American kids don’t do it just cause it’s weird seems close minded. I am not saying this as a cross dresser myself but someone who believes kid should be able to express themselves as long As it does not harm themself or any one else. I also am offended that person also says sailor moon says it since I would imagine the she would say also say let a person be themself without being labeled weird just cause a kid wants to express themself that is not considered “normal”. I wanted to put this as just a comment not as a argument so please no one takes this As one.
I’m not taking it that way. I was just making a joke. Considering this was the 90’s and early 2000’s, I thought that if the censors disagreed with LGBT relationships, they may also disagree with cross-dressing, so I made a joke out of it, while also poking fun at “Sailor Moon Says”.
Thank you for the clarification sorry I miss understood sometimes I get to passionate about certain things lol
They cross-dressed in the MANGA, but in the anime version the Sailor Stars were actually dudes, who actually grew some boobs as they transformed.
90’s US cartoon distributors and censors just weren’t ready for sex-change magic.
Were they men who transformed into women to fight or women who transformed into women to hide? My interpretation of the anime was that they were women originally and adopted their male personas when traveling to Earth.
Unfortunately, anime was treated more like traditional cartoons in the 1990’s and series like Sailor Moon were used as a “product” aimed at young children. However, as we know, most anime is watched by teenagers and young adults (at least in the US).
I think at some point, they could have released a proper uncut English dub sooner than now considering the fact that anime barely airs in the US now-a-days. For a long time, it has been kind of a(n) cult/indie genre and we mostly see blu-ray/DVD only releases (which I suppose makes sense because anime originates from Japan, though more should air on American television).
The creator and fans would not have been happy, but they could have made the Sailor Starlights 100% female 24/7. That would have obviously caused children to still be confused though and assume that the “sailor scouts” were bisexual due to their interest in the Three Lights. lol…but at the time, a dub/US release wasn’t going to happen either way.
It should be pointed out the South Korean dub did in fact do this for the last episode of Stars. They digitally airbrushed over Usagi throughout the episode. They did this with the Amazoness Quartet’s and the Starlight’s outfits too. For all the flack the DiC and Cloverway dubs got, the South Korean dub was alot worse. They even cut out all the episodes and scene that featured Rei’s shrine due to racism towards the Japanese.
They can always make sailor moon look shiny and glowing in light when she transforms. I think that is what they going to end up doing.
They’re not going to censor it at all because the new dub is uncut.
Once upon a time I would have been dancing with joy, but now after so many years of watching Sailor Stars by other means it seems a bit odd to not be excited for this…I guess I’ll be excited for the dub though!
Speaking of dubs…whatever happened to the dub of S?
It seems like the dub for Sailor Moon S will start being released after Sailor Moon Crystal. Like most fans, I think that they should focus mainly on the original anime first, but I guess it makes sense because SMC currently does not cover Sailor Moon S and beyond. It will though once new episodes start to air. It is also easier to continue working with the Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R cast for Crystal rather than having to gather them up and go back in the studio. *SPOILER* Characters like Queen Beryl and the four generals obviously don’t make it past one season of the original anime. lol
Well, that makes sense, I guess. Still annoying though for people like me who can’t wait to hear Haruka and Michiru!
If they continue with the same release pattern they’ve been doing for the last two seasons, I imagine we’ll probably be getting the dub release of Sailor Moon S sometime in summer 2016. Unfortunately this also likely means we won’t get the dub of Sailor Stars until the summer of 2018. Will physical media even still exist then?
do you guys think they will attempt to translate “sailorChibimoon” and “chibichibi” i only ask because they did translate Tuxedo Kamen to Tuxedo Mask even though they do not actually say “mask” in japanese, that could also go with the common sense of translating senshi even though they dont say Soldier or worse “guardian” in the japanese version. did they translate Shabon spray in this new translation?
ofcourse i am speaking towards the Dub, not translation for the subtitles, i just figure the subtitles could possibly help form an answer
They did translate Shabon spray. Bubble spray just does not sound right to me coming from years of watching in Japanese with subtitles.
thanks you guys! legitimately expert opinions! much appreciated! p.s. guardian is definitely an update from scout but i liked soldier because as fighters, when they kicked ass, they kicked ASS. and usagi’s whole demeanor with healing and sacrifice (including herself, to save loved ones and potentially curable evils) is literally that of a True hero and respectable Soldier. guardian just doesnt justify that enough, in my opinion.
Some of the attack phrases don’t exactly make sense, so they could have kept “Shabon Spray”. It would sound kinda odd though to hear characters using “Tuxedo Kamen” along with English dialogue, so I think that it is okay for them to translate or “Americanize” certain words. For example, “crystal” is better for the dub rather than “ginzuishou”.
“Soldier” is the most commonly accepted/used term, but I don’t mind “guardian”. It sounds kinda cheesy, but they do “guard” (protect) SM/earth and they don’t exactly look like soldiers/warriors. lol I understand how some fans don’t like “guardian” though and I would have been fine with the use of “soldier”.
Anyway, they will very likely keep “Chibi Chibi” and “Chibi Moon”. In the VIZ dub for Sailor Moon R, the name Chibiusa is used. An English speaking audience may be unfamiliar with most Japanese phrases/words, but some don’t necessarily require a translation. Chibiusa is just a character’s/person’s name + it’s nice for some people to become slightly bilingual. Besides, there is no good translation for “Chibi Chibi”. lol
Please correct your article, North America includes various countries, what you meant to say is that it will be released for the first time in the USA not all of North America. Mexico saw the Stars season back in 1998, and I’m sure Canada had a French adaptation, USA was the only country not to see it.
Good point Julian. I was not aware of Mexico.
As a French Canadian I can confirm that we never got the series. Only part of the first season and a handful of Sailor Moon R ever played on French Canadian television. I believe the final series was dubbed in France but there was never a home video release of any French episodes here in Quebec, let alone Sailor Stars.
Hi Julian. After some quick investigation it seems that France never released Stars. Doesn’t change much but just wanted to clarify. I’m editing the title of the article and putting a note about Mexico. Thanks for the feedback.
Hello,i’m French and i can confirm that now we get a French dub for Stars. Kazé made a dub specially for the DVD release. They also dubed the S, SuperS movies, the Ami-chan no Hatsukoi special and SuperS special episodes.
Thanks Cyril. I’ve been buying some of the Kaze releases. I’ve got the first 3 seasons and first two movies. Looking forward to getting Stars at some point soon.
You can see here 2 clips of the French dub of Stars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sCg0zX36iw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=volgnLip35U
I love that you assumed he writing from a USA perspective because you didn’t know he was from Canada… LOL
lol
This season is great! This won’t be my first time watching but I’m excited to watch it again somewhere other than Youtube. I still can’t believe after all these years its finally been brought to the states. I was about 4 years old the last time it was shown on TV here. Eternal Sailor Moon is my favorite form.
Note: If this will be your first time watching this season, let me tell you you’re in for a feel trip towards the end of the season.
What I’m wondering is if since they made Sailor Uranus and Neptune cousins in the english dub, then maybe they’ll make the Three Lights and Starlights twin brothers and sisters. I mean it’s a possibility, right?
The Viz dub has been uncut for the first two seasons so I imagine the dub of Stars will be uncut as well.
They won’t be cousins in this dub. Though in my opinion the flirting was never in your face anyway, in the Japanese version, so it will be interesting to see how they dub it.
so excited to hear it English finally
Unfortunately this is only the subbed version and you likely won’t get to hear it in English for another three years at the rate Viz is releasing the Blu Rays.
*sobs* Don’t remind me!
I’m just excited to FINALLY see Eternal Sailor Moon on my television and see Sailor Galaxia I know all about this season and seen a little bit on you tube but I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS
Wow, what a slap in the face for Canadian fans (who heavily supported the fanbase in the 90s) by not offering it on streaming services there. Why can’t Viz stream on Netflix or other streaming services? Non-anime fans love Sailor Moon too and they can really gain more viewers. The people in charge of Viz marketing need to broaden their distribution to capitalize on more markets.
Viz can’t stream on Netflix because Hulu has the exclusive streaming rights.
They keep saying they’re working on something for Canada but after over a year and a half of hearing this I’m not holding my breath. We’ll get those episodes officially when the DVD and Blu-Ray are released if nothing else. Until then I’ll be using my proxy to watch these.
So who will be dubbing Stars? I hope its via media!!!!
Yes Viz is dedicated to dubbing the entire series, including Sailor Stars.
the remaining episodes of Super S are very good, on the other hand anime version of Sailor Stars is one big mess compared to manga
“on the other hand anime version of Sailor Stars is one big mess compared to manga”
Yes, it is, but people never listen when they’re told to read the manga…
I’m super excited, but I’m going to wait for the Blu-ray to come out because I don’t have a Hulu subscription and I hate ads. But still, finally!
I have to say this was always my least favorite arc. While i loved the ending and the beginning the middle was just blah. Too much focus on the starlight’s and you barely saw Uranus Neptune and Pluto not to mention you never saw them transform at all and i was mad to see Saturn only in like 7 ep’s and she never really used any of her attacks nor did she ever get a transformation. I had the chance to see the subbed version as early as 2001 through this website that let you download them but i only got to ep 178 cause the site got shut down so i didn’t get to see the rest until 2005 thanks to YouTube. One thing to note is the animation is a little different in this arc compared to the last 4
Thankfully if we get the rest of the manga adapted in Crystal, we should finally get to see an accurate adaptation of Stars.
All the sailor scouts never achieved their eternal power and new attacks.
“Thankfully if we get the rest of the manga adapted in Crystal, we should finally get to see an accurate adaptation of Stars.” Why would they start making it “accurate” when they haven’t been?? lol
Sailor Pluto and Saturn only appeared as fillers
While I mostly love Sailor Stars, I feel that there’s a bit of a double standard in the Sailor Moon fandom towards Seiya and Mamoru. A lot of Sailor Moon fans seem to bash Mamoru because of the way the 90s anime sometimes portrayed his relationship with Usagi in awkward and unflattering ways sometime yet at the same time, it seems like a lot of the same fans who bash Mamoru will praise Seiya and wish Usagi would hook up with her instead even though Seiya treated Usagi in a similar way that Mamoru did. In some ways, I would say Seiya was even worse than Mamoru. Like Seiya constantly kept flirting with Usagi even though she repatedly told her no and that she already has a boyfriend. The 90s anime portrays this as cute and funny but in real life this would be considered sexual harassment. There’s also numerous times in the 90s anime where they make you believe Usagi and Seiya are about to have sex or the Inners misunderstand and think they had sex even though Usagi repeatedly states she is not interested in a relationship with Seiya at all. Yet even though Usagi continues to say she’s not interested in Seiya, the fandom always wants to push the two together and wish that Usagi would dump Mamoru and wish away Chibi-usa’s existence to fulfill some fanfic fantasy with Seiya.
I don’t support Seiya and Usagi as a pairing. Though Seiya grows as a character and I loved how she supported Usagi towards the end, she never seemed like a suitable partner for her in romance and her attitude would be unacceptable if she was male and should be the same since she’s female.
I’m not a big fan of Seiya. But she was a better fighter than Mamoru. Poor Mamoru made him weak in the anime.
I watched them bootleg dvd’s before reading the manga and for me was a huge dissapointment. The Sailors never fulfilled their last eternal form, The Sailor Quartet and ChibiUsa never appeared from the future, there were more Sailor Animamates that did not appeared. Luna, Artemis and Diana never turned human. Sailor Cosmos was a stupid light of hope.
Stars it’s not my favorite arc in the classic anime. But in the manga I was: “OMG! this is the best ending arc”
Did anyone ever explain why it took so long for Sailor Stars to be released in the U.S.? There have been lots of rumors over the years but to the best of my knowledge, Toei never put out an official statement about what took it this long to get it. I can understand why they didn’t dub it for American TV but I don’t understand why we at least didn’t get an official sub only release at some point.
Because Toei is terrible. XD
“While Sailor Stars was never released in the US and Canada, it was released in Mexico which is part of North America.”
When media companies say “North America”, they are referring to Canada and the United States. Mexico is not a part of “North America”; it is considered part of Latin America.