Check out Rika Izumi, live action Sailor Mercury, as Nami from One Piece

Rika Izumi as Nami from One Piece

Anime fans who’ve kept up with new stuff since the turn of the millennium will be happy to see Rika Izumi, who played Ami Mizuno in the live action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon series, as Nami from One Piece in a commercial for Indeed. Rika Izumi, who went by the name Hama Chisaki back when the live action series was airing, appears in the commercial as the scantily clad Nami. I can’t say I know much about One Piece but it would seem Nami is one of the main characters from the very fact that she’s in this commercial. You can view the entire thing embedded below.

Rika Izumi as Nami from One Piece

Indeed is a job searching web site. They claim that they are the #1 job search site in the world though this is the first I hear of them. In fairness I’m not looking for work and as you may be able to tell I’ve never even watched One Piece. I don’t exactly have my finger on the pulse of anything beyond the 90s.

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 3 - Ami doesn't want to have lunch with Usagi

Source: Natalie.mu via Crunchyroll

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 21 - Dark Mercury

Sailor Moon SuperS The Movie will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray February 12th

Sailor Moon SuperS The Movie

The 3rd and final Sailor Moon film, Sailor Moon SuperS: The Nine Sailor Guardians Unite! Miracle of the Black Dream Hole, will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray February 12th. This film was released in theatres earlier this year along with the Ami’s First Love Special which is also available with this video release. Though this is the only Sailor Moon film with a lengthy title the name “Sailor Moon SuperS The Movie” is being used for this release for simplicity’s sake. The film is available for pre-order from Viz.com as well as on the Right Stuf web site (DVD only and Blu-Ray combo pack) and Amazon, though the product is incorrectly included on the same page as the S movie. This release will include Viz’s new english dub of the film as well as the original Japanese dialogue with English subtitles and a few extras such as an English cast interview. The cover art features cookies and candy, no doubt a reference to the many sweets playing a role in the film’s plot including special cookies made by Chibiusa to give great power and the Bonbon Baddies (Babies?), candy which attacks the Sailor Guardians.

Sailor Moon SuperS The Movie - Back

The movie has the villains’ main plot to enslave the world’s children and lock them into a dream like simulation in order to collect their energy. I have argued in the past my fan theory that this plot is very close to that of The Matrix.

Sailor Moon SuperS The Movie and The Matrix - Dream coffins are basically The Matrix

Also included is the Ami’s First Love special. This short film was originally released in Japan along with the SuperS movie. It focuses on Ami and her aversion to love letters as she tracks down a rival who she believes to be a monster, with hilarious consequences.

Ami's First Love - Mercurius

The R and S movies which were previously released were all of very high quality, similar to those released in Japan, as can be seen by my review of the R movie and of the Japanese set. The video quality of the SuperS film shown in theatres was quite good, and a likely indicator that this release will be the same. At this price point I think any fan should seriously consider buying this and the other Sailor Moon films. Do you plan on picking it up?

Sailor Moon SuperS The Movie - Sailor Moon escapes The Matrix (Black Dream Hole)

Official Sailor Moon products for pets are coming to Japan in March

Sailor Moon products for dogs and cats

Do you like Sailor Moon and like to dress up your pets? Who doesn’t? Good news! This March official Sailor Moon products by Petio for cats and dogs will be released in Japan. These include Sailor Guardian costumes for dogs and scarves for cats. Why not full on costumes for cats? Anyone who’s tried to put a cat in a costume should know the answer to that question.

Sailor Moon products for cats

The above image shows all of the products which are coming. This includes pet pillows, houses, collars, bags and a variety of toys. Do you plan on picking any of these up?

Dates and cast details for the New York and Washington D.C. showings of Sailor Moon the Super Live have been revealed

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon The Super Live - Team America

We’ve finally got some specifics on the upcoming showings of the Sailor Moon The Super Live musical which will be taking place in New York City and Washington D.C. We also have specifics of who will be involved in the cast which has been dubbed Team America and I have detailed descriptions of those cast members later in the post. The name “Team America” bears an unfortunately and likely unintended resemblance to the all puppet adult film “Team America World Police” by South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

First! The dates. The Washington D.C. performance will be on March 24th at 7pm at the Warner Theatre. This will be a full performance of the musical! It was previously announced that the cast of the musical would perform something at the opening ceremonies of the National Cherry Blossom Festival held on March 23rd but the length of those ceremonies made it unlikely the entire musical could be performed during the 90 minute ceremony. Fans in the area will be able to get tickets from Live Nation.

Sailor Moon SuperS for Sony PlayStation

The New York City show will have three performances over two days. The first will be Friday March 29th at 8pm followed by two showing on March 30th at 1pm and 5pm. The musical will be performed at the PlayStation theatre on Broadway in Manhattan New York. That’s right! Sailor Moon is finally returning to PlayStation after a long hiatus following the 1996 Sailor Moon SuperS fighting game for the original PlayStation. Fans can order tickets from AXS.

Now a word on the cast! Previously the Sailor Moon The Super Live Musical was performed by three different casts in Japan, those being the Pink Heart Cast, the Yellow Diamond Cast and the Blue Musical Note Cast. We had previously posted those casts list in earlier posts here on the site. So which Team is it that’s making up Team America? It’s actually a bit of a mix! Sailor Moon, Mercury and Mars as well as Queen Beryl are from the Blue Musical Note Cast while Sailor Jupiter and Venus are from the Yellow Diamond Cast. Kunzite and Tuxedo Mask were the same actresses for all performances in Japan and they will be reprising their roles in America. Dancers are from all casts, as is detailed at the end of the post.

A bit of background on each of the actresses for those wondering who they might be seeing in these shows!

Tomomi Kasai as Elizabeth in Kamen Rider W

Usagi Tsukino, Sailor Moon, will be performed by Tomomi Kasai. She was previously a member of the popular Japanese band AKB48. She was also in the Sentai series Kamen Rider W in which she played Elizabeth (the one of the left in the above picture). You can learn more about Tomomi Kasai from her official web site, Twitter feed or Instagram page.

Momoko Kaechi as Sailor Mercury

Momoko Kaechi will be playing Sailor Mercury. She previously appeared in a few Japanese drama series and films. You can follow her on Twitter where she occasionally posts images of a Sailor Mercury doll in her travels.

Yui Hasegawa as Sailor Mars

Yui Hasegawa will portray Sailor Mars. Her main acting experience is as a voice actor who’s works include video games such as Phantasy Star Online 2. She has previous stage acting experience as well including portraying Viluy of the Witches 5 in the Sailor Moon Un Nouveau Voyage musical. For more about Yui Hasegawa follow her on Twitter or check out her official web site.

Kanna Matsuzaki as Sailor Jupiter

Sailor Jupiter will be played by Kanna Matsuzaki. She is an actress and model who has a small role in a recently released film called Blood Club Dolls. You can follow her on Instagram where she occasionally posts pictures of cats.

Yu Nakanishi as Sailor Venus

Sailor Venus will be portrayed by Yu Nakanishi. She is a dancer and actress from movies and other stage plays including Luna Rossa and Ranpo Chronicle. For more on Yu Nakanishi you can follow her Twitter account or check out her official site.

Makoto Aikawa as Queen Beryl

Queen Beryl is played by Makoto Aikawa. She is an actress who has performed in a number of stage plays in the past couple of years. You can see more of her stuff by following her Twitter feed, Instagram page or checking out her official web site.

Reo Sanada as Kunzite

Reo Sanada will play Kunzite of the Shitennou. As with all musicals since La reconquista we have all male characters portrayed by women and The Super Live continues with this tradition. Reo Sanada is a transgender woman with experience in acting and dance. Fans looking for more can check out her Instragram page.

Riona Tatemichi as Rubeus

The important role of Tuxedo Mask will be performed by Riona Tatemichi who is playing her fourth character in a Sailor Moon musical! She first played Rubeus in the Petite Étrangère musical and then played Hawk’s Eye in the Amour Eternal musical and finally was Taiki Kou, Sailor Star Maker of the Sailor Starlights, in the Le Mouvement Final musical. In addition to her many Sailor Moon credits she has also appeared in a number of other stage musicals including some based on Utena and Gundam. You can find out more about Riona Tatemichi from her Twitter feed or official web site.

Riona Tatemichi as Tuxedo Mask

Finally we have a group of dancers. Though I have not yet seen the musical we can see from various photos that these five characters appear to be Dark Kingdom monsters of some type. These are generally non singing role which are portrayed by professional dancers. With the original three teams the various dancers often performed on more than one team and here we have a mix of dancers from the three teams. This includes Atsumi Matsubayashi, from the and teams, Izumi Niihashi, from the and teams, Ayumi Higashikawa, from the team, Moeko Koizumi from the and teams, and finally Hinako Aikawa from the team. Note that the image below does not feature the five dancers from Team America, as they have not performed together in the past. This is another of the teams from one of the Super Live performances.

Dancers from the Sailor Moon The Super Live musical

Will any of you be lucky enough to be attending either of these showings? These are much closer to my home town than any other musical performance has ever taken place! I’ve taken road trips to New York and Baltimore (near to Washington D.C.) in the past with little trouble. Unfortunately with two children under 2 years old at this time it seems unlikely I’ll be able to make the trip. Please let us know if you plan on attending and how it goes!


(This movie is extremely 18+)

Check out Miss Universe Japan’s Sailor Moon costume from the Miss Universe National Costume competition

Miss Universe Japan, Yuumi Kato, dressed as Sailor Moon

Here are some photos of this year’s Miss Universe Japan, Yuumi Kato, dressed as Sailor Moon! This is Miss Universe Japan’s National Costume. Yuumi Kato’s Instagram page shows us two photos of this costume which she will be wearing at the Miss Universe National Costume competition which takes place on December 11th, about a week before the actual Miss Universe competition which will take place on December 17th. I’m not an expert on this pageant so I’m not sure if the National Costume is something we will also be seeing at the actual competition.

Miss Universe Japan, Yuumi Kato, dressed as Sailor Moon

Yuumi Kato unveiled this outfit at a press event where she dramatically threw off a kimono to expose it! You can watch a clip of this below.

Though the Miss Universe competition is taking place on the morning of December 17th due to the magic of time zones it will be televised on Fox December 16 at 7pm eastern time. Do you plan on watching it? What to you think of the costume?

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars will be released on home video in Spring 2019

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars

Now that Sailor Moon SuperS Part 2 has finally been released on home video we also have news that Sailor Moon Sailor Stars will be out in the Spring. Viz Media posted a message to their official Twitter account stating that Sailor Moon Sailor Stars is coming in Spring 2019. Though no specifics were mentioned we can assume this to be a reference to the DVD and Blu-Ray release of the series as dubbed versions of the anime have not been released to stream for free lately, as was done early in the series. This post was accompanied by a Sailor Stars logo featuring many characters seen throughout the series as well as Sailor Chibi Moon and Tuxedo Mask.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 173 - Usagi is sad that Chibiusa and Mamoru are leaving

The logo itself is not terribly new. Nearly three years ago Sailor Stars began being released in Japanese with English subtitles on Hulu which used a nearly identical banner. This reminds us of course that Sailor Stars is hardly new to North America. When the fifth season was not released in English after Sailor Moon SuperS was originally dubbed we went nearly two decades without seeing the episodes in any official capacity but fans can now watch the series in Japanese with English subtitles on Yahoo! View, Tubi or Hulu. That said we still haven’t seen an official English dubbed version of the series which we will be seeing for the first time in the Spring.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars banner

We still don’t have a specific date for the release of the first half of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, as I assume it will be split into part 1 and part 2 as the other seasons have done. For now we can still get the first 4 seasons.


The Sailor Moon The Super Live Musical is coming to New York City and Washington D.C.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon The Super Live - Poster

More good news for Sailor Moon fans in the North Eastern United States! The Super Live Musical will be performed in both New York City and Washington D.C. in March! We had previously learned that the cast of Sailor Moon The Super Live would be involved with the opening ceremonies of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. on March 23rd 2019 though we didn’t have any specifics of full performances. It is now indicated on the official Sailor Moon site that the musical will be coming to New York City and Washington D.C., which likely means at least one full performance in each city. No specifics have yet been given besides that these will both take place during March 2019. We will have more information as it becomes available. For now you can watch the trailer below which announces the North American showings.

Do any of you plan on attending either of these showings? New York City is the closets a musical has ever been performed to my home! I’ve driven to each of these cities but I had less babies around the house back then! How far would you need to go in order to see one of these?

Is the art for the Sailor Moon Crystal x Monster Strike collaboration based on upcoming season 4 character designs?

Sailor Moon Crystal x Monster Strike

Characters from Sailor Moon Crystal will soon be appearing in the popular Japanese mobile game Monster Strike. What is Monster Strike? It seems a bit like StreetSmash, the Street Pass mini game in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS where you smash round pieces into others on a board. The characters will be appearing in the game shortly, meaning no specific date has been given. A number of images, available on the Official Sailor Moon site and Monster Strike web site, show that this will include Sailor Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus, Tuxedo Mask, Queen Beryl, Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite and Kunzite. Some fans believe this art may be a first look at the designs of the upcoming fourth season of Sailor Moon Crystal. I’m not convinced.

Kazuko Tadano Sailor Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus sketch from 2013

We have previously learned that Kazuko Tadano, who was a character designer and animation director for the first two seasons of the original Sailor Moon anime, would be doing the designs for the Dream arc of Sailor Moon Crystal. What her take on the series is remains to be seen however she did a sketch of Sailor Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus back in 2013 which gives us an idea of what her art style is like more recently. If you’re looking to see how she drew Sailor Moon back in the 90s note that she did all of the laser disc cover art, which has been used for home video releases over the last 25 years. So much to say the image of Sailor Moon most people think of matches her style.

Sailor Moon Japanese Blu-Ray Vol. 1 - Comparison between Laserdisc and Blu-Ray

Usagi Tsukino in Monster Strike

I frankly don’t see the resemblance here. The art style and almost comically large heads in the Monster Striker images just don’t seem to fit with either anything that Kazuko Tadano has put out or what Sailor Moon Crystal was doing. If I had to venture a guess I would say this art is made by one of the artists who has done other Monster Strike art over the years. Further by the very fact that we only have characters from the Dark Kingdom story arc shown here I don’t think it’s likely that these are new Sailor Moon Crystal designs. We similarly never saw any of the characters unique to the first two story arcs done in the style of Sailor Moon Crystal’s 3rd season. There is plenty of art from the Dark Kingdom arc which could be used for purposes such as these if that was the desire here. Instead this appears to be Sailor Moon Crystal in the style of Monster Strike. The super deformed or chibi versions with very large heads seem to fit with in game graphics of other characters. This is only my own personal assessment of the art of course! You are free to make your own determinations about what you think and these will be confirmed in 2065 when we get the two Sailor Moon Crystal Dream Arc films.

Alice Sailor Moon in Monster Strike

Further to the art shown on the web sites there was a video stream which showed the Sailor Moon content. Start watching the video embedded below at 11 minutes for the relevant content. This included a number of images of mash ups between Monster Strike characters and Sailor Moon characters. The only name I could decipher was Alice who is Sailor Moon. The other Sailor Guardians and Tuxedo Mask have gotten a similar treatment.

In addition to being featured in this game there will be a number of Sailor Moon Crystal x Monster Strike products sold at the XFLAG store in Shibuya. This includes a number of food items.

Sailor Moon Crystal x Monster Strike food

Do you play Monster Striker? Do you plan on playing the game when these characters are out? What do you think of the designs? Do you believe these are Sailor Moon Crystal Season 4 designs, Monster Strike style designs or something else?

Sailor Moon Crystal x Monster Strike products

Keep reading for more art which will be used in the game.

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The Cast of the Sailor Moon The Super Live musical will perform at the Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival March 23rd

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon The Super Live - Poster

Good news for Sailor Moon musical fans in the US Capital area! As reported on the Official Sailor Moon site, songs from the Sailor Moon The Super Live musical will be performed at the National Cherry Blossom Festival held in Washington D.C. on March 23rd! The specifics of the performance aren’t given yet though it is mentioned that the cast will be involved with the opening ceremonies which will take place from 5 to 6:30pm on March 23rd. It seems unlikely the entire musical will be part of these opening ceremonies. Perhaps only some key songs will be featured with a full performance taking place at a later time. We don’t have such details at this time. We can see from this Tweet from Evan MacIsaac indicates that the director has stated that they are hoping to perform the entire musical.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C.

Also in attendance at the opening ceremonies is JPop artist T.M.Revolution who has performed a number of anime themes including Heart of Sword, the third ending theme for Rurouni Kenshin, and six songs for the series Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny. (Update: It seems as if T.M.Revolution was at last year’s opening ceremonies. Though his presence is mentioned on the Crunchyroll site this may be a mistake based on photos of him at least year’s event being on the festival’s site. He may not be appearing this year.)

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 167 - Professor Tomoe and Hotaru

Do you live in the area? Do you plan on traveling to Washington D.C. to see this performance?

Japanese DVD screenshot - Sailor Moon R episode 51 - Natsumi and Usagi