Schedule of Sailor Moon related events at Anime North 2014 May 23rd to the 25th

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Adam

The Anime North web site has posted it’s schedule for this coming weekend’s convention. Here’s a run down of the Sailor Moon related events which will be taking place at the convention which will feature as guests Linda Ballantyne, the voice of Sailor Moon, Katie Griffin, the voice of Sailor Mars, Susan Roman, the voice of Sailor Jupiter, Toby Proctor, the voice of Tuxedo Mask and John Stocker, voice director for the movies and later seasons of the anime.

Friday May 23rd:

5pm – Sailor Moon Merchandise and Media panel. This panel is run by Emily of the Moon Chase blog. I’ve been to this panel at other conventions in the past. It will be a run down of the current state of Sailor Moon as far as merchandise and rights goes. With a lot of new merchandise coming out and Viz getting the rights to the old and new anime this panel should prove interesting.

7pm – Sailor Moon voice actor autograph session.

9pm – Sailor Moon Resurgent. This panel will have the Sailor Moon voice actors sharing stories.

Saturday May 24th:

1pm – Sailor Moon voice actor autograph session.

3pm – Sailor Moon voice actors. This is the Saturday Sailor Moon voice actor panel featuring the convention’s guests.

4pm – Sailor Moon. I don’t have any details about this panel. It seems to be a fan panel to discuss the show.

Sunday May 25th:

2pm – Sailor Moon voice actor autograph session.

4pm – Sailor Moon voice actors. This is the Sunday Sailor Moon voice actor panel featuring the convention’s guests.

Watch Sailor Moon episodes 1 to 4 for free on Hulu

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Adam

Following Friday’s announcement of Viz’s acquisition of the rights to the series, the first four episodes of Sailor Moon are now available to view with subtitles for free on Hulu and Neon Alley, including episode 2 which has never been dubbed. Viz will be releasing two new episodes every Monday from now on. Though the episodes can be viewed for free they will include commercials which can’t be skipped. Hate commercials? That’s too bad. Hulu’s pay service Hulu Plus is truly terrible as it will not remove commercials.

The episodes are completely uncensored with English subtitles. The current episode previews are kept though they have been moved from before the credits until after the credits. Next episode previews are included in their normal spot at the end of the episode. Commercial bumpers are the only thing missing from these episodes.

Japanese DVD

Hulu

The quality of the release is quite good. Since it is streaming it is not perfect but the quality is comparable to the Japanese DVD releases, the current best quality release there is, as can be seen with these example screen grabs.

Japanese DVD

Hulu

The Hulu service is not available in all countries. As a Canadian I needed to use a proxy service to view the episodes. I use Unblock-US, a pay service, though others exist. I was not able to access the Neon Alley site directly even from a proxy. Though no legal Canadian option is available at this time Viz is trying to find a way to bring the show to Canadian. This includes talking to YTV about the possibility of airing it on TV. Once the DVD and Blu-Ray releases are out later this year, Canadians will be able to enjoy those.

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Viz Media to release all 200 episodes of Sailor Moon subbed and with a new dub on DVD, Blu-Ray and streaming starting May 19th

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Adam

After years of waiting the original Sailor Moon anime series has been licensed for distribution by Viz! The original Sailor Moon series will be released by them on DVD, Blu-Ray and streaming both dubbed and subbed. Viz has also acquired the rights to the new Sailor Moon anime Sailor Moon Crystal! This was announced on Friday, May 16th, at Anime Central.

The streaming subbed episodes will be released every Monday starting with the first four episodes which will be released on Neon Alley and Hulu with two new episode being released every Monday after that.

In addition to this subtitled release a whole new dub is being produced. This new release will be retaining all original names and story arcs, be completely unedited, and include all 200 episodes, including Sailor Stars which has never previously been released in North America and the 7 episodes from the first two seasons which were never dubbed. Viz has also acquired the rights to the three Sailor Moon movies and the specials. The new dub will be released streaming in late 2014. Details about the cast of the new dub will be announced at Anime Expo in Los Angeles the weekend of July 3rd to the 6th. This will likely be taking place on Sailor Moon Day, which is being held July 5th. Anime Expo will be having as guests a number of voice actors from the original dub of the Sailor Moon anime, including Linda Ballantyne, Sailor Moon, Katie Griffin, Sailor Mars, Stephanie Morgenstern, Sailor Venus, Karen Bernstein, Sailor Mercury, Susan Roman, Sailor Jupiter, Toby Proctor, Tuxedo Mask, Mary Long, Molly, Ron Rubin, Artemis and John Stocker, voice director. Though fans would love to see their favourite voice actors reprise their role there has been no indication one way or another that this will be the case.

These new releases will also be on DVD and Blu-Ray. The subtitled digital download releases will begin in Summer 2014 with season 1 part 1. The dub will be released with the DVD and Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack releases at a later date. The video is mentioned to be the remastered version from Japan, though details on this remastering process are not currently known. The DVD releases currently available in Japan are standard definition releases. The first season and movies are in 480p, progressive scan, though Sailor Moon R, S, SuperS and SailorStars have only ever been released on interlaced 480i DVDs in Japan to date. Based on comments made in an Anime News Network interview it would appear that the work has been done using post processing rather that going back to the original film source. The last DVDs released domestically from ADV were pretty much completely terrible, so we can certainly expect this version to be a vast improvement.

The following trailer accompanies this announcement:

Tracey Hoyt, the voice of Rini, to perform an improv show in Toronto May 22nd to June 1st

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Adam

Tracey Hoyt, the actress who provided the original English voice of Rini and Sailor Chibi Moon in the first two seasons of Sailor Moon and the movies, will be performing at the Pentimento Gallery in Toronto from May 22nd to June 1st. This performance won’t be related to her time on Sailor Moon, but instead will be an improv show “Face Value” which is described as follows:

Improv artist Tracey Hoyt embodies and explores a selection of unforgettable Leslieville characters, inspired in ‘real time’ by the striking photography of Kate Ashby.

Check out the Crows Theatre web site for more information and tickets. This would be a good show to check out for out of town fans who are in Toronto that weekend for Anime North!

Tracey Hoyt also runs a voice acting class. Check out the Pirate Voice web site for more info on that. Thanks to Amanda on our Facebook page for the scoop.

Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Memorial Tribute Album Vinyl Records to be released June 25th

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Adam

The Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Memorial Tribute Album is getting a release on vinyl! There will be five different records released with two songs on each. Collect all five to get the full album.

Each record features cover art of a different Sailor Guardian. The record with Sailor Moon on the cover contains Moonlight Densetsu and Tuxedo Mirage, both performed by Momoiro Clover Z. The one with Sailor Mercury on the cover contains the Sailor Star Song by Mitsuko Horie and Heart Moving by Shoko Nakagawa. Sailor Mars is found on the jacket of the record containing La Soldier by Tommy Heavenly6 and Ai No Senshi by Mariko Goto and Avu-chan. The record with Sailor Jupiter on the cover contains Princess Moon by Haruka Fukuhara and “Rashiku” Ikimasho by Haruko Momoi. Finally the record featuring Sailor Venus on the cover contains Otome No Policy by Etsuko Yakushimaru and Kaze Mo Sora Mo Kitto by Makoto Kawamoto. The bonus track from the CD, the French version of Moonlight Densetsu, does not have a vinyl release as it is not part of the core album.

The records can be purchased individually or as a set from HMV. Since the links on that page don’t seem to work click directly on the product name to buy the box set featuring all five or the individual record featuring Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter or Sailor Venus. The box set costs 8100 yen, about $80 US and the individual records each cost 1620 yen, about $16 US.

Source: Sailor Moon Collectibles

Keiko Han, Toru Furuya and Toshi Furukawa to appear at Animazement in North Carolina May 23rd to the 25th

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Adam

A bunch of Japanese Sailor Moon voice actors will be appearing at Animazement May 23rd to the 25th at the Raleigh Convention Center in North Carolina. The convention will feature Keiko Han, the voice of Luna and Queen Beryl, Toru Furuya, the voice of Tuxedo Mask, and Toshi Furukawa, the voice of Hawk’s Eye.

Toru Furuya was originally mentioned as reprising his role of Tuxedo Mask in the new Sailor Moon anime Sailor Moon Crystal which will begin airing July 5th. Though his former costar Kotono Mitsuishi is confirmed as playing Usagi in the series we have not gotten that same confirmation from Toru Furuya. Let’s hope that someone asks about his involvement in the series at the convention.

Linda Ballantyne, Katie Griffin, Susan Roman, Toby Proctor and John Stocker to appear at Anime North in Toronto May 23rd to the 25th

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Adam

In just a couple of weeks, May 23rd to the 25th 2014, a bunch of voice actors from the English dub of Sailor Moon will be appearing at Anime North in Toronto. The convention will play host to Linda Ballantyne, the voice of Sailor Moon, Katie Griffin, the voice of Sailor Mars, Susan Roman, the voice of Sailor Jupiter, Toby Proctor, the voice of Tuxedo Mask and John Stocker, voice director for the movies and later seasons of the series.

Last year at Anime North I was able to record the Memories of the 80s and Sailor Moon Voice Actor Q&A panels. Also be sure to check out the interviews I did with John Stocker, Katie Griffin, Susan Roman, Linda Ballantyne and Toby Proctor.

Anime Boston to feature Yuko Minaguchi, the Japanese voice of Sailor Saturn, as well as Linda Ballantyne, Toby Proctor and John Stocker May 21st to the 23rd

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Adam

Anime Boston is this coming weekend, May 21st to the 23rd, at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston and they will be hosting a number of great Sailor Moon voice actors! Yuko Minaguchi, the original Japanese voice of Sailor Saturn, will be in attendance along with English voice actors Linda Ballantyne, the voice of Sailor Moon, Toby Proctor, the voice of Tuxedo Mask, and John Stocker, voice director for the later seasons of the English dub of Sailor Moon.

Yuko Minaguchi will have a panel at 5pm on Friday and will be available for autographs on Saturday at 5:30pm. On Friday at 1pm there will be a “voices of Sailor Moon” panel, though which actors that includes in not clear. Linda Ballantyne, Toby Proctor and John Stocker will be signing autographs on Friday at 4pm. They will have individual panels throughout the weekend. John Stocker’s panel is at 2pm on Friday afternoon. Linda Ballantyne’s panel will be at 10:30am Saturday morning. Toby Proctor’s panel is at 12:30pm on Saturday.

Be sure to also check out our interviews with John Stocker, Linda Ballantyne and Toby Proctor from other conventions.

The Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Memorial Tribute Album is available for digital download in North America

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Adam

We talk about a lot of Sailor Moon merchandise on this site but things are expensive in Japan, especially when you factor in expensive shipping prices. The good news is that you can now buy a digital version of the recently released Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Memorial Tribute Album. The album is available for just $8.99 as MP3s from Amazon.com and also for $12.90 from the iTunes store. If you’re not in the US you can search in your own country’s iTunes store for the album where it may be available. Canadians, for example, aren’t able to order Amazon.com MP3s but can download the album from the Canadian iTunes store. It’s easy to make excuses about imports being too expensive but this digital download really isn’t so if you care to support Sailor Moon this is a cheap and easy way to do so!

The main draw back of the digital version of this album is that it does not include the final track, the French language cover of Moonlight Densetsu by Clémentine. If you’re a completist I would suggest downloading that track from the Miss Dream web site. You can still buy the physical version of the CD from Amazon Japan, CD Japan or JList.

Download the album from our Amazon store using the link below or in our sidebar on the left side of the main page to support this site.

A live concert to celebrate the Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Memorial Tribute Album will be held February 27th

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Adam

This coming Thursday, February 27th 2014, a live concert will be held by MTV to celebrate the recent release of the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Memorial Tribute Album. The concert is being called the “MTV LIVE 2014 supported by SHIDAX with LIVE DAM” and will feature some of the artists on the album. To date Shoko Nakagawa, Mitsuko Horie, Haruka Fukuhara and Momoiro Clover Z have been confirmed to be performing though more may be joining this list. The concert will be taking place at the Zepp Tokyo music hall.

A lot of exclusive merchadise will be sold at the show including t-shirts, towels and a flag. The Sailor Moon official site has images and details of these items. English information is available at the Sailor Moon Collectibles site.