Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episodes 184 and 185 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 184 - Chibi Chibi tries to take Seiya's towel

This week on Hulu and Neon Alley‘s new episodes of Sailor Stars we get a real mix of emotions. First in episode 184 we get one of the more comedy filled episodes of the entire series and then things sober up real quick for episode 185 which is about a little girl who might die in surgery.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 184 - Seiya the wolf and Usagi the sheep

Episode 184, A Night Alone Together: Usagi in Danger, is a bit of a contradiction. How can you be alone together? How can you be alone together when there are a dozen or so people in your dining room? I’m getting ahead of myself. There are burglaries in Usagi’s neighbourhood so Seiya offers to be a sort of bodyguard. Luna thinks this is a bad idea, likening Seiya to a dog or worse a wolf that wants to eat the sheepish Usagi, an obvious metaphor for some sort of unwanted sexual advance. Seiya comes over anyway, and seeing a photo of Mamoru and Usagi together, gets quite upset. Usagi is happy in the photo, which is no doubt at the core of what’s really upsetting him, but he then becomes upset at Mamoru for hurting Usagi. Things get a little intimate as it seems Seiya is about to kiss Usagi… and then Chibi Chibi stuffs some cake in his face. Classic Chibi Chibi! Next up is a sexy shower scene where we see a partial nude butt for Seiya! This shower is perfectly timed with the arrival of Usagi’s friends who see Seiya in a ridiculous tiny towel, which Chibi Chibi tries to take with humourous consequences. Yaten and Taiki join the party and things are really staring to get crowded. They play a card game which appears to be Hearts and then… Haruka and Michiru are down the street with car trouble so why not. Then a TV crew shows up to ask what they’re having for dinner which means the Three Lights need to hide because I guess it’s scandalous that they’d be at Usagi’s house, even though the convoluted explanation of events is totally legit. Sailor Aluminum Siren and Lead Crow show up to target the TV show guy, because once again we are completely passing up opportunities to steal Star Seeds from Sailor Guardians for whatever reason. Usagi has trouble finding a place to transform but finally does so in Chibiusa’s attic room. This makes me wonder what is going on with this room. When Chibiusa left and the Tsukino family forgot that she existed, did they also forget that there is a room in the attic or do they just use it for storage now? Chibiusa seems to have left with a backpack too small for most of her possession. Is it full of children’s toys, clothes and a dusty Stallion Rêve that smells funky? A fight breaks out and there are way too many people and it’s all funny. Still all considered Usagi’s family must have a ridiculously expensive house given its size and the neighbourhood.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 184 - Too many Sailor Guardians in Usagi's dining room

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 185 - Princess Kakyuu

Episode 185, Taiki’s Song Filled With Passion and Faith, is unfortunately another Taiki episode. I won’t pretend to hide my dislike for this character, and this episode is another example of why I don’t really appreciate him. A young girl Misa is in the hospital awaiting important surgery. I know what you’re thinking. It’s a TV show for little kids. She’s definitely going to survive the surgery. They wouldn’t have a character in a children’s show like Sailor Moon die in surgery. Right. So Misa draws Princess Kakyuu which is kind of weird, since we haven’t seen this character yet. Interestingly enough there are also three stars in the sky above the Princess, which I imagine represent the three Sailor Starlights. I don’t know what little green celestial body is, but it’s cool. Taiki is given to young Misa as a gift, complete with bow on his head, but he draws the line at autographs! He notices Kakyuu and mentions that it’s the Princess they’ve been singing for, but Taiki is losing faith! It seems the image of Kakyuu came to Misa when she heard their music, but it hadn’t been there lately. Oh no! Taiki sings for Misa but her surgery is delayed because the Doctor gets turned into a Phage. I don’t know about Doctors but if I get my Star Seed removed and I turn into a monster I’m at least taking the rest of the day off, but the Doctor does his job and Misa is fine!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 185 - Misa recovered and not getting her baby stolen

During the fight the monster x-rays Eternal Sailor Moon. We see her skeleton and there are no bones in her wings. A bird, who’s wings Eternal Sailor Moon’s most resemble, has bones in its wings. So what exactly is holding these feathers in place?

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 185 - Sailor Moon's skeleton

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Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 184 - Seiya the dog and Usagi the sheep

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The English version of Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Étrangère, is now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Chibiusa breaking up a romantic moment

You can now watch the entire Dark Kingdom story arc in English on Hulu or Neon Alley. This week we got Act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Étrangère, which wraps up the Dark Kingdom story arc for good and starts us off with the new Black Moon story arc with the appearance of the pink haired Chibiusa. This new faithful dub will not be calling her Rini like some fans may be used to! Chibiusa’s voice is provided by Sandy Fox, who also voiced her in Viz’s new English dub of the original Sailor Moon anime.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Human Luna

A lot of this episode takes place on the Moon where we get a look at human Luna. Anime fans will remember human Luna from the Sailor Moon S movie, though she appears in her human form more frequently in the manga. This appearance however is a Sailor Moon Crystal original change from the source material, as we see her earlier than we otherwise should. We see the the image of one of this story arc’s new villains in the fire. I previously had mentioned that this was Rubeus, because he is who we see in the manga, though some fans have mentioned that his hair looks more like Demande’s than Rubeus’s, which is slicked upwards out of the eyes. What do you think? It doesn’t really change the story but so much to say this is one of the Black Moon Clan’s jerks!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Rubeus

Next week is Act 15, Infiltration – Sailor Mars. With the Dark Kingdom out of the way we’ll meet a lot of the Black Moon Clan and find out a bit of what’s up with this weird new girl who fell from the sky.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Conclusion and Commencement - Petite Étrangère

How long is that title? Oh boy. Also I’m fixing the spelling mistake in “Étrangère” in my posts. I expected Viz to fix the spelling errors the Japanese had made but I guess they’re not French either. Consistency would be nice but the title screen title is different than the Hulu episode title, both of which are wrong.

Sailor Moon Funko Pop! Vinyl figures coming in April!

Sailor Moon Funko Pop! Vinyl Sailor Mars, Sailor Moon, Luna, Sailor Mercury, Tuxedo Mask, Artemis, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus

These great looking Sailor Moon Funko Pop! Vinyl figures are coming in April. This image, shared by Funko of their set up for Toy Fair in New York, shows Sailor Mars, Sailor Moon, Luna, Sailor Mercury, Tuxedo Mask, Artemis, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus in Vinyl figures. Toy Fair starts tomorrow but this was shared on Funko’s blog and Facebook page as a sneak peek this afternoon. The card with them states “April 2016″ as a release date. I had heard some time ago that these were coming at some point but this is the first we see of the actual figures.

Sailor Moon Funko Pop! Vinyl Sailor Mars, Sailor Moon, Luna, Sailor Mercury, Tuxedo Mask, Artemis, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus

They seem to make these Pop! Vinyl figures of pretty much every franchise. It’s nice to have Sailor Moon join the mix. Do you plan on getting these?

The Infinity arc of Sailor Moon Crystal will begin this April

Sailor Moon Crystal Infinity arc character art

An announcement has been posted to the official Sailor Moon site about an upcoming convention appearance at AnimeJapan 2016. In this article it is mentioned in passing, as if it was something we already knew, that the new episodes of Sailor Moon Crystal will be coming this April! These new episodes will cover the Infinity arc of the manga which introduces us to Sailor Uranus, Neptune and Saturn as well as the Death Busters. We don’t have any specifics about the time except that it will be some time in April.

Sailor Moon SuperS episode 133 - Chibiusa is an old lonely cat lady watching Sailor Moon

Details will be revealed at the AnimeJapan 2016 convention on March 26th in Tokyo. Guests in attendance will include Kotono Mitsuishi, the voice of Sailor Moon, Junko Minagawa, the voice of Sailor Uranus, Sayaka Ohara, the voice of Sailor Neptune, and Yukiyo Fujii, the voice of Sailor Saturn. Attendees present at this panel will receive a Sailor Moon Crystal postcard. Hopefully this event will give some specifics about a premier date and streaming options for international viewers outside of Japan. It is safe to say that one way or another, an official or unofficial fansubbed version will be available within a few days of any new episode’s release, but it would be much more convenient, morally and otherwise, to have the show streamed along with the original broadcast on Japanese TV.

Usagi watching TV

Watch the English dubbed version of Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Étrangère, Friday Febuary 12th at 9pm

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Queen Serenity, Usagi and Tuxedo Mask

It’s the end of one era and the beginning of a new one in this week’s English dubbed episode of Sailor Moon Crystal. With Act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Etrangère, we will wrap up the Dark Kingdom story arc and start the Black Moon story arc with the arrival of a small stranger! The episode will be available on Hulu and Neon Alley this Friday starting at 9pm Eastern Time.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Chibiusa breaking up a romantic moment

Usagi will need to make a hard decision. Stay on Earth with the 7 billion or so people living there, including all of her friends, or be Queen of the dead and desolate Kingdom on the Moon?! It won’t be easy! This episode will also feature a Sailor Moon Crystal exclusive look at the human version of Luna!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Human Luna

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Conclusion and Commencement - Petite Étrangère

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episodes 182 and 183 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - Chibi Chibi

This week on Hulu and Neon Alley‘s new episodes of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars we are introduced to Chibi Chibi. It’s a sort of mid season change up with two new villains, Sailor Aluminum Siren and Sailor Lead Crow, as well as the arrival of the mysterious Chibi Chibi. Episodes 182 and 183 have it all! We have Usagi holding Chibi Chibi in her arms followed by a swimsuit episode. At least one fan will be very happy with this!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - Sailor Lead Crow and Sailor Aluminum Siren

Episode 182, Invaders from Outer Space: The Coming of Siren, is all about Chibi Chibi! But first we have some new villains. As we saw last week, Sailor Iron Mouse has sadly been killed. It seemed like she did not have a lot of choice in her situation, and we get a bit of a hint at why that is as Galaxia is seen holding the true Star Seeds of three Sailor Animamates, including the new villains Sailor Aluminum Siren and Sailor Lead Crow, though two of them actually look like Sailor Lead Crow, making the identity of the third unknown and not like that of any character seen in the series. Sailor Aluminum Siren is a bit of a goof, always eating, and Sailor Lead Crow is embarrassed that she is her rival. Through this hostility the two seem to have a great deal of affection for each other. The Animamates are all great, but no one will replace Sailor Iron Mouse to me! Enter Chibi Chibi! She arrives from the sky floating down with an umbrella. Sure is more graceful than Chibiusa who just falls on people. Is that comparison even relevant? We don’t need to wonder whether Chibi Chibi us Usagi’s second daughter as the characters ask themselves this same question. Something seems up when Chibi Chibi seems to have brainwashed Ikuko mamma much like Chibiusa had. Setsuna, who apparently is still around, does not believe that Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion ever had a second child. What is the story with Chibi Chibi? I won’t get into the specifics of course but so much to say the truth deviates quite a bit from the manga, which had not been completed at the time this series was written, so that they didn’t know exactly how to finish things. It seems odd for this episode to make a strong statement about Chibi Chibi not being a second daughter when for all the writers knew, that might be what was actually in store for the character! One could always use time travel to write around this, as it’s unlikely that the Sailor Pluto we see here was around to see the King and Queen die or otherwise become infertile, creating the possibility of more children. Neo Queen Serenity does have a second daughter, Kousagi Tsukino, though this is from an alternate timeline in the Sailor Moon manga named Parallel Sailor Moon. Throughout the episode Usagi wears the tank top that was designed by Yoshiki Usui in Sailor Moon SuperS episode 140. When Chibi Chibi gets lost, because she is a very independent child that can barely speak, she is picked up by Seiya who is acting as a police officer for a day. This is apparently a thing that can happen in Japan. The target is the Police Chief who becomes Sailor Cop, who is a really cool looking robot cop. This faces us off against the new villains. Finally the episode ends with a tender moment where Usagi invites Chibi Chibi into her bed and holds her in her arms.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - Usagi and Chibi Chibi

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 183 - Young Rei

Episode 183, The Screaming Dead: Terror of the Camp Monster, is all about Rei. Well sort of about Rei. We actually see Rei as a kid, which is sort of adorable, as she has these odd red dots on her cheeks. We meet her cousin, Kengo Ibuki, who makes art and is extremely self critical. He’s the target this week! Rei is out in some forested area where the Three Lights happen to be shooting a Power Rangers style movie. I always love it when Sailor Moon references Sentai, as it was itself meant to be a Sentai style series for girls. The live action series was a lot more Sentai style than any other incarnation, and the formula works quite well. The plot of the movie has a killer running around with a chainsaw, somewhat like Leatherface of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films. The monster of the week, Sailor Artist, looks somewhat like him which leads to some high jynx. In the ensuing combat Sailor Artist recognizes a piece he made which Rei took as a child, which makes Sailor Mars realize who he is. At this point she begs Sailor Moon not to hurt him. Well is this really necessary? When did Sailor Moon last kill a monster? It’s been a really long time. As always, she uses Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss and he’s healed. No need for anyone to get hurt! The episode wraps up with the gang chilling at a cottage. Chibi Chibi bumps Seiya while he’s talking to Usagi, which puts them in a compromising situation and causes everyone to blush at the situation. This episode happens to be this season’s swimsuit episode. There always seems to be a reason to have the gang in swimsuits at least once in the year. I know some people like these so here’s a screenshot of three very sexy Sailor Guardians in one piece swimsuits!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 183 - The Three Lights in swimsuits

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 183 - Chou Yellow, Chou Blue and Chou Red

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Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - Chibi Chibi arrives

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - The Star Seeds of the Sailor Animamates

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - Usagi and Setsuna discuss Chibi Chibi

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - Usagi in her designer shirt

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 183 - Seiya seducing Usagi

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 183 - Chibi Chibi creating drama

The English version of Sailor Moon Crystal Act 13, Final Battle – Reincarnation, is now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 13 - Sailor Moon attacks Metalia

The latest episode of Sailor Moon Crystal is now available to view in English on Hulu and Neon Alley. Act 13, Final Battle – Reincarnation, is the final full episode of the Dark Kingdom story arc. Everyone is putting their life on the line this week to defeat the evil Queen Metalia!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 13 - Queen Serenity and Kitten Luna

This is the version of the episode with modified animation, originally used for the Japanese DVD and Blu-Ray release. Amongst the changes is Queen Serenity’s dress who in the streaming version, shown above, shows a dress that looks like Princess Serenity’s. This was changed to reflect a style of dress that was similar to what Queen Serenity wears as an adult. I didn’t like this change at all. I thought it was nice to see Queen Serenity in a different light, dressing like her daughter later would, perhaps when she was still Princess herself. Oh well. At least we still have kitten Luna!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 13 - Final Battle - Reincarnation

Next week is Act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Etrangère, which will sort of span both story arcs. We will conclude the Dark Kingdom story arc and then end with a setup for the Dark Moon Clan arc with the arrival of the “small stranger” Chibiusa.

Note: I will be traveling all week so this post was written last week and scheduled to go online after the episode airs. Should the episode not go online for whatever reason, I apologize for the confusing and misleading post!

Watch the English dubbed version of Sailor Moon Crystal Act 13, Final Battle – Reincarnation, Friday Febuary 5th at 9pm

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 13 - The Sailor Guardians fighting Queen Metalia

The English version of the next episode of Sailor Moon Crystal will be available on Hulu and Neon Alley this Friday, February 5th. Act 13, Final Battle – Reincarnation, is the last full episode of the Dark Kingdom story arc. The girls are facing off against the evil Queen Metalia putting everything on the line.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 13 - Queen Serenity and Kitten Luna

One fun thing about this episode is a look at kitten Luna, from back in the early days of Silver Millennium. The above screenshot shows the original streaming version of this scene where Queen Serenity, then much younger, is wearing Princess Serenity’s dress. The updated Blu-Ray version, which we will be seeing on Friday, includes changes to that scene to give Queen Serenity a dress which matches what she wears later. I thought the original was a nice touch, which I assumed was intentional, and so I didn’t appreciate this change.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 13 - Final Battle - Reincarnation

Note: I will be traveling the week this episode is released so this post was scheduled to be published automatically on Wednesday.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episodes 180 and 181 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 180 - Michiru and Seiya

The two latest episodes of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars were (probably) added to Hulu and Neon Alley this morning. This week we get episodes 180 and 181 which are all about Seiya! First we ship Seiya and Michiru, then Seiya and Haruka and then of course it’s all about Seiya and Usagi.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 180 - Sailor Iron Mouse is bad at her job

Episode 180, Brightness of Calling Stars! Haruka and Michiru’s Entry into Battle, brings back the absentee Haruka and Michiru! These two aren’t in Sailor Stars much because apparently they’re hanging out with Hotaru and Setsuna, who are nowhere to be seen in this episode. Michiru is performing a concert with the Three Lights which the girls want to go to and they are trying to phone in to buy tickets rather than the obvious solution of asking the girl who is performing in the concert if she could score them some tickets, you know for old time’s sake since they saved the world together and because thanks to Usagi their pseudo adoptive daughter who there were trying to kill is actually still alive. Michiru comes through with the tickets because that’s what you do when you’re in a superhero team with someone. The girls go to the concert, scheduled for July 13th 1996. We don’t often get years so this is a nice benchmark. Sailor Iron Mouse almost figures out who has some Star Seeds in a very comical scene! She’s starring at a poster which includes Michiru and the Three Light and determines that the Star Seed must belong to… the conductor on the poster. The show is kind of poking fun at one of my silly gripes with Sailor Stars at this point. In all other seasons the Sailor Guardians all got targeted in episodes but now for some reason no one with a Star Seed is actually having their Star Seeds removed. Well none that we’ve confirmed anyway. The concert is cool and then we ship Seiya with everyone! First Michiru asks him to help her out of her dress, which is not at all subtle. When Haruka walks in on this she tries to punch him, which is just full of sexual tension. Fighting ensues as Mr. Underpants has his star seed stolen. After the fight it looks like Sailor Moon and Sailor Star Fighter are about to become friends but then Sailor Uranus turns their hands shaking into a World Shaking. Same old. Sailor Uranus and Neptune don’t want anyone to be on the same team or be friends. They protect Sailor Moon from enemies from outside of the solar system, which is why they got involved in Sailor Moon S. Since the Sailor Starlights are also from another solar system, they are not allowed to play with the good guys! Forced drama! Oh well.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 181 - Usagi and Seiya dancing

Episode 181, Seiya and Usagi’s Nervous Date, is all about shipping Seiya and Usagi. Seiya wants to do something on his day off and decides to invite Usagi to come along for the fun. She doesn’t seem to realize this is a date and feels quite guilty about the whole endeavour. At one point she even thinks Seiya wants them to have sex, but he’s really just talking about dancing at a club. Oops! Sailor Iron Mouse is desperate at this point. She’s avoiding Galaxia and even hangs up on her! She has the bright idea that maybe the Three Lights have true Star Seeds, but when she tries to get one from Seiya he dodges the little bracelet thingy and flees. Ultimately Galaxia shows up and retrieves Sailor Iron Mouse’s bracelets, which kills her. We’ll learn more about the nature of these much later. For now lets mourn the loss of one of the coolest villains in the series, though the rest of the Sailor Animamates are cool too so we have something to look forward to. In true villain fashion Sailor Iron Mouse is killed right as she figured out who to target. If I’m ever a super villain I will always let my minions finish their sentence before I kill them. “But Adam I figured out who has the sacred amulet we’ve been searching for.” “Oh okay. Well tell me and I won’t kill you.” “It’s Ted.” “K. Thx.” *murder* While fighting, Sailor Moon sees a small bear toy that Seiya had and says his name, which causes Sailor Star Fighter to realize that Sailor Moon is actually Usagi. Good job Seiya!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 181 - Seiya figures out that Usagi is Sailor Moon

Note: This is scheduled to be posted as I am sun bathing in St. Lucia. It was written last week. I’m assuming Viz went ahead and released these episodes on Monday as they always do. The episode titles I put may not match the translation Viz decided to go with. I usually add the titles and episode links before posting, though my screenshots come from my Japanese DVDs so much of this post is what it would have looked like anyway. I will fix up the links and titles once I return to the frozen wasteland that is Canada around February 8th.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 181 - Sailor Iron Mouse hangs up on Galaxia

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Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 181 - Usagi and Seiya

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 180 - Sailor Neptune and Uranus