Sailor Moon episodes 13 and 14 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon episode 13 - Jadeite illusion over the city

This morning, June 23rd, Sailor Moon episodes 13 and 14 were added to Hulu. These new episodes dubbed by Viz will be added at a rate of two per week, every Monday, until the series is completed. These episodes are subbed only, though dubbed episodes will be released later along with a DVD and Blu-Ray release.

Sailor Moon episode 13 - Jadeite frozen

In episode 13, Girls Unite: the End of Jadeite, the audience gets a big spoiler from the title! Jadeite appears as a massive illusion over the city challenging Sailor Moon to come fight him, and she and her friends do just that. The whole thing is a trap by Jadeite, but not a terribly good one as he is beaten and recalled by Queen Beryl. Having learned the identity of the Sailor Guardians, Jadeite is about to reveal it, but proving herself to be a terrible leader Queen Beryl dismisses this information and freezes him forever, leading people to continually speculate and write fan fiction about the possibility of him returning some day.

Sailor Moon episode 14 - Nephrite

In episode 14, A New Enemy Appears: Nephrite’s Evil Crest, we are introduced to the new villains Nephrite and Zoisyte. Naru’s friend Rui is excelling at tennis when she meets Masato Sanjoin, Nephrite’s civilian identity, who infects her racket making her obsessed with tennis. When Rui’s energy level peaks a monster springs from her racket and fights Sailor Moon.

Sailor Moon episode 14 - Young Naru and Rui playing tennis

Jennifer Cihi joins Viz and the cast of Sailor Moon for Sailor Moon Day at Anime Expo July 5th

Anime Expo Logo

An announcement on the Anime Expo web site tells us that Jennifer Cihi, the singer who performed many of the songs for the English dub of Sailor Moon, will be performing at the convention in Los Angeles July 3rd to the 6th. Jennifer Cihi joins Viz and many voice actors for the weekend which will include Sailor Moon Day, July 5th, which is the day the new Sailor Moon anime’s first episode will be released. Jennifer Cihi, who performed the songs I Wanna Be A Star, My Only Love, Call My Name, It’s a New Day, Carry On, I Want Someone to Love, I Want to Hold Your Hand, The Power Of Love and Who Do You Think You Are? will be performing in the opening ceremonies, in Lounge 21 and will be holding autograph sessions.

Jennifer Cihi

Viz Media’s press release details all that they have planned for the weekend. Saturday July 5th is Sailor Moon Day when most of the events are planned. Starting at 10am is Viz’s Sailor Moon Official Panel where the first two episodes of Viz’s new English dub of Sailor Moon will be premiered. The cast will be revealed for the first time and will be there to answer questions. Attendees also will be able to pick up a premium poster. At 1pm an autograph session for the voice actors from Viz’s new Sailor Moon dub will be taking place in the autograph area. At 2:45pm at Viz Media’s booth, 1601, there will be a photo op with the new voice cast and the official Sailor Guardian Cosplayers from American Cosplay Paradise. At 3:30pm there will be a gathering of Sailor Moon cosplayers in the main events hall. Viz will also be offering a limited premiere event memorial coin at the convention.

Viz Media

In addition to the new Sailor Moon voice cast the original Sailor Moon English DiC/Cloverway voice cast will also be in attendence. As we posted about back in January, the convention will also be playing host to Linda Ballantyne, Sailor Moon, Karen Bernstein, Sailor Mercury, Katie Griffin, Sailor Mars, Susan Roman, Sailor Jupiter, Stephanie Morgenstern, Sailor Venus, Toby Proctor, Tuxedo Mask, Mary Long who voice Molly, Catsy and JunJun, Ron Rubin, Artemis and John Stocker, voice director for the movies and final two seasons. Linda Ballantyne has mentioned via twitter that the original cast autograph session will be at 12:15pm on Friday July 4th with their panel at 3:00pm. It is not yet clear what voice actors, if any, will be reprising their role in the new dub or what new voice actors may be making appearences at the convention.

Palutena from the new Super Smash Bros. game is voiced by Aya Hisakawa, the voice of Sailor Mercury

Palutena from Super Smash Bros. Wii U

At this year’s E3 a lot of new characters were revealed for the new Super Smash Bros. game for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS including Palutena from Kid Icarus. As can be heard in the video below, Palutena’s voice is provided by Aya Hisakawa, the original Japanese voice of Sailor Mercury from Sailor Moon.

Aya Hisakawa also provided the voice of Palutena for the Kid Icarus Uprising video game for the 3DS which was released a couple of years ago. The game is great, though I had played it in English where she’s referred to as Lady Palutena and I had no idea who did her Japanese voice.

Thanks to Yosenex for finding this information.

Palutena from Super Smash Bros. Wii U and 3DS

Bandai’s Proplica Moon Stick first impressions

Proplica Moon Stick in stand with crystal

Bandai’s Proplica Moon Stick is now available in North America! I received mine a few days ago and I think it looks great. This is by far the most accurate looking Moon Stick to date. It comes with a stand, a swappable Silver Crystal and even a cradle to put the Silver Crystal in when not in use.

Irwin Cosmic Crescent Wand (left) Live Action Sailor Moon Moon Stick (center) Bandai Proplica Moon Stick (right)

Irwin Cosmic Crescent Wand (left) Live Action Sailor Moon Moon Stick (center) Bandai Proplica Moon Stick (right)

Above is a size comparison of this toy to a few others I had. The toy lights up and plays a variety of sound clips, given you get the three LR44 batteries it takes. I was able to find some at the dollar store. The sounds it makes are different depending on how long you hold the button, what the switch at the base of the toy is set to and whether or not the Silver Crystal is in the toy. Voice clips are from the anime, mostly being that of Kotono Mitsuishi though Mika Doi can also be heard as the voice of Queen Serenity. The manual coming with the toy describes all of these, given you can read Japanese, and also gives an overview of the Moon Stick in the anime and other toys that came before it.

Proplica Moon Stick Crystal

Support this site by ordering the item from the Amazon link below. It’s not cheap but I think it’s worth the price.

Keep reading for a ton more photos of the Moon Stick and it’s packaging.

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Sailor Moon episodes 11 and 12 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon episode 11 - Rei, Usagi and Ami at Yume Land

This morning, June 16th, episodes 11 and 12 of Sailor Moon became available to view streaming for free, with ads, on Hulu. These episodes are subbed by Viz and will be released at a rate of two episodes per week. Dubbed episodes as well as a DVD and Blu-Ray release will be coming later this summer.

Sailor Moon Episode 11 - Dream Princess

In episode 11, Usagi vs. Rei: Nightmare in Dream Land, we get our first look at Rei and Usagi’s unique relationship. They turn out to be the best of friends but they fight through the best and worst of times. Usagi, Rei and Ami go to Dream Land to investigate a Dark Kingdom plot! While there they see Mamoru on a child’s train, hang out with some robot animals, assault a small child and fight the Dream Princess who’s actually a creepy looking doll monster.

Sailor Moon Episode 12 - Rei and Ami on the cruise ship

In episode 12, I Want a Boyfriend: The Luxury Cruise Ship Is a Trap, Rei wins a contest for a trip on a cruise ship and brings Ami, much to Usagi’s disappointment. Usagi abuses of her disguise pen to turn into a photographer to sneak aboard and gets a crush on the ship’s captain who’s actually Jadeite!

Sailor Moon episode 12 - Usagi crushing on Jadeite

I’m shipping these two

Pre-order Sailor Moon Reflections, Roland Parliament’s book about the dubbing of Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon Reflections cover

Last year at Unplugged Expo 2 Roland Parliament, voice director for the first 65 episodes of Sailor Moon and the voice of Melvin, announced that he would be releasing a book about the dubbing of the show. Sailor Moon Relections, the inside story of the original recordings of the English version of Sailor Moon, is nearing completion. In order to be published it needs pre-orders, which you can put in now by mail or through Pay Pal. Information about this pre-order can be found at Moon Chase. A hard copy of the book will be $20 for softcover and $30 for hardcover. There is also a $4.99 ebook option which does not require a pre-order.

Roland Parliament, the voice of Melvin

You can also check out Moon Chase to see excerpts of the book which include a foreword by Terri Hawkes, the voice of Sailor Moon.

Check out the Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary voice actor panel at Unplugged Expo to see the original announcement of this book.

Source: Moon Chase!

Sailor Moon episodes 9 and 10 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon episode 9 - Sailor Mercury and her computer

On June 9th Hulu has started streaming episodes 9 and 10 of the original Sailor Moon anime in Japanese with English subtitles. These episodes will be released at a rate of 2 per week every Monday by Viz. There are plans for a new dub and DVD/Blu-Ray release coming later this year.

Sailor Moon episode 9 - Young Usagi

Episode 9, Usagi’s Disaster: Beware of the Clock of Confusion, has the Dark Kingdom invading a clock store which causes everyone to rush! Ami finally gets her computer and uses it to investigate as the enemy manipulates time! Sailor Moon is turned into a baby and then an old lady in the course of the fight. This episode’s dub name was “Time Bomb” which meant that it was not always replayed in sindication, such as on Cartoon Network, so be sure to check it out if you haven’t already.

Sailor Moon episode 10 - Rei Hino

Episode 10, The Cursed Bus: Enter Mars, the Guardian of Fire, introduces us to Rei Hino, a priestess from the Hikawa Shrine and the greatest character in the series! Busses have been dissapearing near the Shrine prompting Usagi to come in and investigate. Rei is revealed to have special powers and is ultimately shown to be the third Sailor Guardian, Sailor Mars!

Sailor Moon episode 10 - Sailor Mars

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Kirsten Bishop, the voice of Zoisite, passes away at age 50

Kirsten Bishop

It is with great sadness that I share the news that Kirsten Bishop, best known to Sailor Moon fans as the voice of Zoisite, died of lung cancer on April 15th in Toronto. Aside from playing Zoisite she voiced many other characters such as Emerald from Sailor Moon R, Kaorinite and Telulu from Sailor Moon S and Badiyanu from the SuperS movie. In additoin to this she also lent her voice to a number of single episode villains including Techniclon, the monster that Andrew’s boyfriend Rita turned into after having her Rainbow Crystal extracted, Polite Society, the monster version of Countess Rose from the Crystal Seminar and many Daimon and Lemures from the S and SuperS seasons which are listed on Wikimoon.

Zoisite, voice by Kirsten Bishop

Kirten Bishop’s portrayal of Zoisite was a bit controversial as the character, who was a gay man in the Japanese version of the show, was a woman in the English dub. She did such a convincing job of this that many fans had no idea this character was anything but the woman she presented.

In additional to her work on Sailor Moon and many other animated series Kirsten Bishop was also an accomplished film and TV actress. She will be remembered with fondness by fans everywhere.

Source: The Globe and Mail

Sabrina Grdevich, the voice of Anne and Sailor Pluto, to appear at Unplugged Expo in Toronto September 27th and 28th

Anne Granger voiced by Sabrina Grdevich

Sabrina Grdevich joins the guest list at Unplugged Expo 3 to be held at the Chestnut Conference Centre September 27th and 28th in Toronto. Sabrina Grdevich has done a great number of voices in Sailor Moon! She provided the voice of Anne Granger, the alien, during the Doom Tree Saga. Later in Sailor Moon R she provided the voice of Sailor Pluto as heard through the Luna Sphere and during her appearances later in that season and in the S and SuperS movies. Susan Aceron took on the role of Sailor Pluto during Sailor Moon S. Sabrina Grdevich also supplied the voices of many monsters such as the Jumo the evil doll, Ninjana and Nancy Vargas, the photographer turned monster, Mistrust, a monster who creates illusions in Ami’s mind, as well as Andrew’s younger sister Lizzie.

Luna P - Sailor Pluto - Pu

Outside of Sailor Moon she has also done some live action work including a recurring role in the Canadian drama traders and the android whose face opens up in A.I..

Sailor Pluto

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Sailor Moon episodes 7 and 8 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon episode 7 - Cross dressing Umino with Naru

This Monday, June 2nd, Hulu has added two new episodes of Sailor Moon. These episodes are subbed only by Viz and are being released at a rate of two episodes a week every Monday for the foreseeable future. This week we have episodes 7 and 8.

Episode 7, Usagi Learns Her Lesson: Becoming a Star Is Hard Work, has Usagi and her classmates going wild preparing for the Cinderella Caravan, a local talent show promoted by teen idol Mikan, or rather a monster who is posing as Mikan. The talent show is nothing but a plot by Jadeite and the Dark Kingdom to steal energy. Along the way we have Usagi and Naru breaking the 4th wall by performing the show’s theme song and Umino cross dressing in an attempt to do anything to win the contest!

Sailor Moon episode 8 - Ami and a Youma

Episode 8, The Girl Genius Is a Monster: The Brainwashing Cram School of Horror, introduces us to Ami Mizuno, a quiet genius at Usagi’s school with an IQ of 300 (IQs over around 160 are generally thought to be beyond our ability to properly measure). The Dark Kingdom has infiltrated a cram school and Usagi suspects Ami might be in league with the enemy. As it turns out she’s the latest Sailor Guardian Sailor Mercury!

Next week we’ll be seeing episode 9, Usagi’s Misfortune! Watch Out for the Rushing Clocks, which although dubbed in English was sometimes not aired in syndication due to the unfortunate English title “Time Bomb”. Also released next Monday will be “Cursed Buses! Fire Warrior Mars Appears” which is the first appearance of the greatest character in the series!