Rika Izumi, who played Sailor Mercury in the live action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon series, can be seen on the official Sailor Moon site although no mention of her involvement in the franchise accompanies it! Rika Izumi, who went by the name Hama Chisaki when she played Ami Mizuno, appears on the cover of the latest issue of Tokyo Calendar. The fact that the magazine’s cover model used to be on a Sailor Moon series actually has nothing to do with the magazine’s inclusion on the site. It is featured because of a story in its pages which discusses Sailor Moon taking place in the Azuba Juban area of Tokyo. Though the site only mentions that the article will be appearing in the next issue of the magazine the Tokyo Calendar site actually includes an online version of the article. Check it out to see an interview, in Japanese, with Sailor Moon’s editor Fumio Osano, Osabu, about Sailor Moon taking place in Azuba Juban.
You can also check out this article on dining in Azuba Juban which features Rika Izumi who is in this piece a normal Japanese adult and not dressed as a superhero or genius school girl.
I sometimes feel like the fantastic live action series is being completely forgotten by those who control the Sailor Moon property! It often receives little or no mention when various versions of the series are considered and this latest article is a fine example of that! Rather than acknowledge that this actress who had a major role in the only Sailor Moon series to be on TV during that entire decade the live action series remains firmly swept under the carpet like it was the Star Wars Holiday Special!
Meanwhile the cast of the series got together recently to celebrate Daigo’s 40th birthday. Daigo is Keiko Kitagawa’s husband. They regularly get together to celebrate each other’s birthdays or similar such events. I’m glad someone remembers this series favourably!
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The cast of the live action Sailor Moon show got together for Keiko Kitagawa’s birthday -
Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 1 and 2 discussion -
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Keiko Kitagawa, Sailor Mars from the live action series, is getting married
They should make a Crystal Tokyo special to bring them back together one last time.
I doubt it.
It was a product of its time, it had the characters at their best, but everything else aged horribly. I remember at some point the official site had a grayed out section dedicated to it, which never came to be. So I guess they cannot milk it, there is no way for it to look appealing to new fans, it won’t sell merch… So I guess they, being cash grabs, decided to forget its existence.
Even if it didn’t age well there’s still potentially a market for it as an oddity. Marvel had the entire 70s live action Japanese Spider-Man series to stream on it’s site for a while!
That said I will forever stand by the live action series being a quality show! Dated, sure, but most things are in time.
True. Power Rangers (the original English version of the show) is so corny and only appeals to fans from that time and young kids…yet it still remains popular and even new fans find novelty in watching it…even if only through YouTube clips.
PGSM may not be old enough to draw in the novelty crowd, but one day it will be.
I hope we get a new Live Action series eventually. It blows my mind that they didn’t try another one, seeing how sentai still remains popular.
I doubt a lot of things, but it’s still fun to come up with ideas and talk about them.
Great idea! The Tokyo Calendar article mentions how in Parallel Sailor Moon Usagi probably lives in Azuba Juban. Would be great to see a post Special Act story in that style where they have children. There’s a Sentai special in Japan that’s doing something like that for mother’s day. It stars women who used to be in Sentai series and are now old enough to have children.
http://news.tokunation.com/2018/04/13/super-sentai-hero-mama-league-spinoff-film-unites-ranger-mothers-51890
https://www.toei.co.jp/release/bb/1212480_971.html
That would be amazing! Sure they wouldn’t sell tons of merch, but it would be a fun idea and respectful to the fans and actors.
I have plenty of issues with PGSM and I find it hard to recommend to non-fans, but I will always love it.
In many ways it’s story was superior to the first arc in any other iteration.
They’re not bringing them back one last time, and you know it.
Pessimist!
Guys does Chiaki kon have tweeter, why don’t people terrorize her for news. It becomes umbearable
She is as elusive as catching moonbeams bare handed, that one.
Cinco De Mayo is in 6 days.
What is going to happen in 5 days Luke?
We’re celebrating the 5th of May.
Sink hole de Mayo.
http://m3.wayin.us/ezaonbm96qjtkjn1r7ugsu6b3ecl3gh.suggested_large.jpg
You just gave me anxiety.
So, I assume our last hope for something new is Usagi’s birthday….
The wait on new information is both astoundingly ridiculous and not the least bit surprising… F*ing Toei….
And it will ultimately be for nothing. They will reveal sonething like VAs for the new cgaracters or something, and nothing visual. To be honest I don’t really care about the VA as whoever they choose would do the job just fine .
It will be an announcement for an announcement later next year that announces that….. they are going to make Sailor Moon Crystal Season 4, but it’s going to be 2 films instead of a series and to stay tuned for more information….
https://m.popkey.co/840caa/ZmJb0_s-200×150.gif
Also, please buy our $700 Kaleidomoon Scope that That we are now renaming as the Moon Pole. It says 2 different phrases and lights up so you can see it if you are using it in a dark room. Batteries not included (to save cost for the eventual movies we may or may not make.)
We also have a new series of deluxe S.H.Figuarts that have slightly updated designs and cost $20 more than the previous designs, (*cough* which are now obsolete and not worth the plastic we made them from. cough*)
https://media.giphy.com/media/fSrtKsetycg0w/200.gif
We need Crystal Super S. H. Figuarts variants for all Sailor Guardians!
And don’t forget to buy our sanitary pads that will make you feel like a moon princess during that period of the month. And please consider buying our new candy series – the cheapest is just about 50 dollars. Also we are too embarrassed to admit that adapting Sailor Moon into movies is a very bad idea, so instead of apology we will simply wait until you forget all about them.
You guys kill me
https://media1.tenor.com/images/91d09192a4de86c1fc7b5d75b2351c27/tenor.gif
“We need Crystal Super S. H. Figuarts variants for all Sailor Guardians!”
Yeah we do. Or better yet, some Eternal merchandise!
I mock them for it and then I buy it. I am the problem! ;_;
To be fair, I’ve only bought a few of the S.H figures. But I’m guilty of buying up the abominations that are the Funko Pops of the Sailors. Including that box set of the Royal Moon Family.
Figuarts are great but they have so many parts that I still have them in their boxes for the most part. I have a couple of Funko Pops on my desk but they’re so terrible…
“And don’t forget to buy our sanitary pads that will make you feel like a moon princess during that period of the month.”
Oh please Justme, don’t bitch, Sailor Moon sanitary pads are great!
“With Sailor Moon sanitary pads, your will find all your Serenity back, and you will feel like a Princess, ready for everyday fight again. With Sailor Moon sanitary pads, don’t let the Chaos drown the world in a bloodbath!”
Sorry…
At that point, it becomes obvious that all the merch is a mean for Toei to raise funds for the movies. Ah, if only they made Figuarts Start Zero for the Outer Senshi… I mean, those Figuarts: http://www.moonkitty.net/tamashiinationzerofigures5b.jpg. I can only imagine Neptune competing with Mercury for the most beautiful water ballet…
GuysToei dont really have anything to do with merch. It is all Kodansha’s milking the world. Toei make Crystal, being hired by Kodansha, who might be the real villain here. The moment Toei greenlit the project Kodansha made them an offer and they have accepted to do it for the offered budget. Toei don’t have anything to do with that. I assume Kodansha gave thrm too little, they can’t hire more people and the production is slow. But technically Toei already got their money and the currentvsailor moon merch revenue doesn’t go on them.
Thank you for this information Garet, the reality is always more complex than what it seems to be at first sight.
I guess Toei are actually trying what they can to fit within the budget Kodansha allowed. I assume that studios are hired by publishers, and other’s might have done much better, but Toei are too old-fashioned and bad at planning budget in general…