A teaser trailer for Sailor Moon Eternal has leaked but some fans question its authenticity

Sailor Moon Eternal leaked teaser trailer - Sailor Mars

A clip which appears to show a teaser trailer for upcoming Sailor Moon Eternal movie has been making the rounds online. This is unfinished footage with some placeholder animation but it does appear to be new animation in the style of Sailor Moon Crystal. Toei has been taking down the clip from YouTube as others have uploaded copies. While some fans think this could suggest that it is authentic it is also possible that the takedowns are to avoid confusion once a real clip is released. I’ve embedded a copy of the video which was brought to my attention below. Note that it is very likely that this clip will be removed at some point soon.

I make no specific claims about the authenticity of this clip. I know as much as any other fan in this case. The footage looks convincing enough though I can’t help but feel that some of these clips looks suspiciously like footage from Sailor Moon SuperS.

Sailor Moon Eternal leaked teaser trailer - Title

The clip starts out with a title image which mentions Gal Enterprise at the bottom. A quick search confirms that this is in fact a company which makes anime trailers. Next we see an insertion of footage from the Sailor Moon S opening which is obviously not part of the Sailor Moon Eternal movie. The letters “CG” in the top left corner of this clip suggest that this may be where some computer graphics would need to be inserted at a later time.

Sailor Moon Eternal leaked teaser trailer - Usagi

We then see a clip of Usagi and then of Super Sailor Moon. Next is a quick look at all of the Sailor Guardians in the usual order, Sailor Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus.

Sailor Moon Eternal leaked teaser trailer - Sailor Moon and Mamoru

We then see Super Sailor Moon hugging Mamoru. Next it’s all five girls and Chibiusa in their high school uniforms, a scene right out of the manga and original anime. We then see Usagi and Chibiusa seeing Pegasus. Then it’s Sailor Moon transforming and then Super Sailor Chibi Moon and Super Sailor Moon attacking.

Sailor Moon Eternal leaked teaser trailer - Usagi, Chibiusa and Pegasus

What do you think? Does this look like legitimate footage to you? One way or another we will know once an actual trailer is released! Check out more screenshots below.

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Here’s the latest news on the Sailor Moon Eternal films from the Sailor Moon Fan Club newsletter

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 15 - Usagi conspicuously talking to Luna in front of her family

The Sailor Moon Eternal films are coming to theatres in Japan on September 11th 2020. We don’t have a ton of information about these films but a recent mock interview shared with Japanese members of the Official Sailor Moon Fan Club gives us some morsels of information about the films. We could have inferred most of this information already, but it’s nice to get some confirmation about some of these things.

I am not currently a member of the Sailor Moon Fan Club so I did not receive this newsletter however I read about it on the Tuxedo Unmasked web site. If you don’t already follow that site I suggest you do as there’s a ton of research that goes into those articles which I always enjoy reading. If you can read Japanese you can check out this scanned version of the Sailor Moon Official Fan Club Members Only Special Issue volume 13. I do not, so I will be referencing Tuxedo Unmasked’s translation.

Sailor Moon Fan Club Newsletter volume 11 - Page 3

The interview isn’t with an actual person who exists in the real world. Instead it’s a fake conversation between Luna and Usagi in which they destroy the fourth wall and talk somewhat in character about the upcoming films. This reminds me a bit of the Sailor Moon Memorial laserdiscs which are season recaps hosted by Usagi and Luna. So what does the interview tell us?

Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Paralympic games

First there’s a reminder that the movies will come out “After the Olympics” which is a bit vague. The 2020 Summer Olympics, which will take place in Tokyo, will run from July 24th to August 9th. The film has already been announced to be released on September 11th so this bit of dialogue is less precise than what we already know. The actual release date appears on the page and later in the interview.

Then Usagi asks Luna what actually happened in Act 4 of the manga. We already knew that these two films will cover the Dream arc of the Sailor Moon manga which is the story which was adapted as the Sailor Moon SuperS season of the original Sailor Moon anime. This means it will include the Dark Moon Circus, Pegasus, the Amazon Trio, the Amazoness Quartet, Zirconia and Queen Nehelenia. Despite the similar characters the actual stories of the manga and anime differ quite a bit though, so Sailor Moon Eternal will be new to fans of the original Sailor Moon anime!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 38 - Viewing the eclipse

We learn that the new movie will be about the Dead Moon Circus who break free of a mirror during an eclipse. That eclipse was is seen at the end of the final episode of Sailor Moon Crystal’s third season many, many eclipses ago. We will see Usagi and Chibiusa switch bodies, which is something that also happened in the original Sailor Moon anime though this was a minor story contained to one episode. It is also mentioned that this is a very Chibiusa intensive story! This arc is basically a romance between Chibiusa and Pegasus/Helios so there’s no ignoring that she will feature heavily.

Sailor Moon SuperS episode 158 - Old Sailor Chibi Moon and Young Sailor Moon

More importantly they ask where the visuals for Sailor Uranus, Neptune and the other Sailor Guardians representing the outer planets are. Luna muses that this must mean that Hotaru’s awakening will be in the second film. This fits with what I had been assuming about the films. These characters only appear in the second half of the manga’s arc and it seems like a good split of the films would be to include them only in Sailor Moon Eternal Part 2, or whatever it is we will be calling it. This would start with us seeing what Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna and Hotaru have been up to for the past while and having them join the rest of the team. In the original Sailor Moon anime this never happens during Sailor Moon SuperS and the short six episode arc which starts off Sailor Moon Sailor Stars does its own quick version of these events. If this information is to be trusted it seems unlikely we’ll be seeing any designs for these characters for the first film, though I still think it may be possible they will appear briefly as an end of movie teaser.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 168 - Sailor Saturn gives Hotaru her memories

Following this exchange we get some quotes from Chiaki Kon, the film’s director, Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, the film’s writer, Kazuko Tadano, the animation director, Kotono Mitsuishi, the voice of Sailor Moon and Misato Fukuen, the voice of Chibiusa. These are some nice little comments but they don’t really tell us anything new about the films. Misato Fukuen comments that she will finally get to see “an important character” who we can only assume is Pegasus. It seems they’re all being very careful not to tell us anything!

Sailor Moon SuperS episode 158 - Chibiusa kissing Pegasus

This all makes me wonder if the person that wrote this fictional exchange actually knows anything we don’t or if they instead are just inferring all of this from what we already know? I can’t say for sure. For now we are all anxiously waiting until September and wondering just when we’ll be getting the movies outside of Japan! I’m hopeful for some sort of limited North American theatrical run around the same time as the film will be released in Japan but that may be too optimistic of me! We may instead only get the film some while later, possibly not until 2021, and it’s not really guaranteed that it will be out theatrically here at all. I’ll be sure to share anything conclusive as that information becomes available!

Source: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Official Fan Club Mailer Vol. 13 translated by Tuxedo Unmasked

Keep reading for the full interview translation.

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Is this a sneak peak of Yasuharu Takanashi’s music for the Sailor Moon Eternal films?

Tweet by @nassy_takanashi

Yasuharu Takanashi, the composer for the upcoming Sailor Moon Eternal films, sent a Tweet including a video of him recording some music on November 22nd. Twitter user @CCTakato noticed that the monitor seen in the background of this clip showed Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi Moon. It is plausible that this clip is of music for the first Sailor Moon Eternal movie which will be released in Japan on September 11th 2020. Not much of the music can be heard, which is probably deliberate. Check out the footage in the embedded Tweet below.

Though it’s hard to make out the image on the screen it does look like it’s Sailor Moon near the middle and Sailor Chibi Moon on the bottom right. I messed around with the image a bit to try to clear it up and here’s the best I could come up with.

Sailor Moon Eternal - Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi Moon

Is this the first still of Sailor Moon Eternal that we’re seeing? It looks like they were watching footage while recording their music, though in this case the video appears to be paused.

How reliable is this? Let’s not forget that Yasuharu Takanashi is the one that told us to expect Sailor Moon Crystal season 4 in 2018! What do you think?

Young Mamoru wore Terry Bogard’s hat

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 7 - Young Mamoru

Terry Bogard from the Fatal Fury video games has been added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. This reminds me that in Sailor Moon Crystal a young Mamoru can be seen holding and wearing Terry Bogard’s hat. In Act 7, Mamoru Chiba – Tuxedo Mask, we see a flashback of Mamoru when he got in an accident as a child. Prior to his accident he is seen wearing a red cap with a white panel just like the one Terry Bogard has in the Fatal Fury games. He is also seen in the hospital with this same red cap on his lap.

Terry Bogard - Fatal Fury

I made a big deal about this in my review of Act 7 back in 2014 but no one really took that terribly seriously! I still think the similarity is fairly obvious. Young Mamoru had a similar hat in the manga but without any colour I would chalk that up to coincidence. The red and white hat from Sailor Moon Crystal on the other hand looks just like Terry Bogard’s which I still believe is intentional.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 7 - Young Mamoru

What do you think? Am I stubborn for still trying to make this a thing 5 years later? If you still don’t have Smash Bros. Ultimate, why not buy it using the links below?

Terry Bogard in Smash Bros. Ultimate

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PROPLICA items based on Sailor Moon Eternal, Figuarts Mini and an Eternal Sailor Moon S. H. Figuarts are being revealed at this weekend’s Tamashii Nations event

Tamashii Nation 2019 - Sailor Moon Eternal PROPLICA and Figuarts MiniThis weekend, October 25th to the 27th, is the Tamashii Nations event in Japan, an exhibit where they unveil many upcoming toys. At this year’s event we’re seeing a ton of Sailor Moon figures and toys which includes three PROPLICA toys based on Sailor Moon Eternal, an S. H. Figuarts Eternal Sailor Moon and five Figuarts Mini figures. This was revealed on the official Sailor Moon site and as the event has started, people have already gotten a look at these.

PROPLICA, a portemanteau of prop and replica, is a series of high quality show accurate props. We previously saw many transformation items and broaches based on the original Sailor Moon anime series from this collection. We now have the first PROPLICA items based on Sailor Moon Crystal as the “Eternal Edition” items which are based on the Sailor Moon Eternal films are being released. This includes the Crisis Moon Compact, Sailor Moon’s transformation item, the Chibi Moon Compact, Sailor Chibi Moon’s transformation item, and the Moon Kaleidoscope, Sailor Moon’s attack item from this arc. These are all based on the Dream arc of the manga, which is what is being adapted as the Sailor Moon Eternal films which are coming to Japan starting on September 11th 2020. Note that the name Moon Kaleidoscope is the manga name which we can confirm is being used for Sailor Moon Crystal, though that particular item was referred to as the Kaleidomoon Scope in the original Sailor Moon anime.

Tamashii Nation 2019 - Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Figuarts Mini and Eternal Sailor Moon S. H. Figuarts

The latest figure in the S. H. Figuarts line is Eternal Sailor Moon. This figure is not specifically branded as being a Sailor Moon Crystal figure and is listed as being part of the Sailor Moon series, that meaning the original Sailor Moon anime. Though we have gotten S. H. Figuarts and Figuarts Zero figures based on Sailor Moon Crystal, these are specifically branded as such. This is a nice looking figure, as all of the S. H. Figuarts have been.

Finally we have a lot of Figuarts Mini figures from both the original Sailor Moon anime as well as from the Sailor Moon Eternal films. From Sailor Moon Sailor Stars from the original anime we have Sailor Star Fighter, Maker and Healer. From the Sailor Moon Crystal films Sailor Moon Eternal we have Super Sailor Moon and Sailor Sailor Chibi Moon. It seems feasible that we would also be seeing an Eternal Sailor Moon in this series at a later date, perhaps when the second film’s release approaches.

I had some wild speculation about what the black rectangle in the first image might be concealing but after seeing footage of the event it seems it’s just a monitor showing images we’ve seen.

Do you plan on buying any of these? Are you taking out a mortgage to do so?

The first Sailor Moon Eternal film will be released in Japan on September 11th 2020

Sailor Moon Eternal poster with release date 2020.9.11

An update on the Sailor Moon Official Site gives us the release date of the first Sailor Moon Eternal film which will be hitting theatres in Japan on September 11th 2020. This includes a poster which shows us the image we’ve already seen and the release date.

The note on the official site as well as a longer text on the film’s news section mentions that a poster will be available at the Tamashii Nations event on October 25th and that the back of the poster will include an image of Usagi and Chibiusa meeting Helios. I wonder if this will actually be Helios the human, who appears later in the story, of Pegasus the winged horse, the incarnation of Helios which appears in the earlier parts of the Dream arc. The details on the site also mention that this is the release date of the first Sailor Moon Eternal movie, confirming that this is still indeed meant to be two films.

Sailor Moon Eternal 2020.9.11

The word “Roadshow” appears alongside this date on the poster and official site. This is a term used in Japan to refer to a limited release of a film prior to a wider release. Roadshow releases were common in the US until the 1970s when the practice was mostly stopped but this continues in Japan. This makes me wonder when a wide release of the film is planned in Japan, though ultimately this doesn’t make much of a difference as my real concern is when the film will be released in North America. We have not yet received any details about the film’s release outside of Japan.

Sailor Moon Eternal’s web site states that TOEI will be collaborating with Studio DEEN for the films

Sailor Moon Eternal - Poster

The Sailor Moon Eternal films now have an official Japanese web site. There’s really not much there besides the poster and teaser, both of which we’ve already seen. The text at the bottom of the site is an image, meaning I can’t even copy and paste it into Google Translate! Luckily some fans have deciphered this text and the noteworthy information on this page is that TOEI will be collaborating with Studio DEEN for these films. What does this mean?

Studio DEEN

Studio DEEN is a Japanese animation studio which has been around since 1975. They’ve done a lot of anime for TV, video and film. This means that some fans are jaded because of what the studio did with some property or another, but at the end of the day it can’t be denied that Studio DEEN has also done some quality work over the years. Hit and miss? Sounds like Sailor Moon Crystal to me! What can we infer from this? I’d say pretty much nothing! For such a large studio who’s worked on so many properties we don’t know what effect this will have on Sailor Moon Crystal. We will have to see what they come up with!

Have a look at the Studio DEEN Wikipedia page to see which of their works you’ve seen. What did you think of them? I’ve seen some of the stuff listed but it’s hard to tell if the episodes I saw were those they worked on. Since I’m mostly familiar with older anime series the two works which stick out as being of high quality to me are DNA² and Angel’s Egg. Angel’s Egg in particular is an absolutely beautiful film. Since it was made in 1985 I don’t imagine much of that staff is still around! I can’t say I’ve seen anything the studio has put out recently.

Sailor Moon Eternal Poster - Sailor Moon

Looking at this new web site we see that elements of the Sailor Moon Eternal poster are actually saved as individual images. This allows us to get a look at just Sailor Moon or Sailor Chibi Moon from the posters.

Sailor Moon Eternal Poster - Sailor Chibi Moon

Sailor Moon Eternal Poster - Background

Sailor Moon Eternal logo

A two day concert, Akiko Kosaka 45th Anniversary Sailor Moon Music History Supported by Pretty Guardians, is coming to Tokyo November 9th and 10th

Anza and Akiko Kosaka from the Sailor Moon Crystal visual book

A two day concert named “Akiko Kosaka’s 45th Anniversary Sailor Moon Music History Supported by Pretty Guardians” will be taking place in Tokyo on November 9th and 10th. This two days concert will actually include two different performances with completely different artists on each day. November 9th will be a relaxed piano concert with some conversations and the 10th will have a band performance. So what exactly is this? Akiko Kosaka is well known for having written many songs for the original Sailor Moon anime as well as Sailor Moon Crystal but in this case it is likely her involvement writing many songs for the Sailor Moon musicals which is the basis for this concert. We can tell from the other artists appearing at this event that this will almost certainly involve performances of a number of Sailor Moon musical songs as this will involve performers from the musicals. Across the two days actresses who portrayed almost all of the Sailor Guardians in the musicals, that being everyone but Sailor Pluto, as well as others will be performing. Sailor Pluto is likely only absent because Yuuko Hosaka, who originally played Sailor Pluto in some musicals, was originally scheduled to be involved with the event but had to cancel.

With this year’s Sailor Moon musical being delayed until 2020 this concert may serve as a nice alternative for some fans. I can only speculate as to the specific format but with there being performers to represent each characters with no duplicates it seems likely that some effort to have someone take the part of the Sailor Guardian they previously portrayed is likely. Will they wear some sort of costume or just sing some classic songs? Who knows! Here’s a breakdown of who’s going to be involved and when.

Anza as Usagi from the first Sailor Moon musical

Not everyone is going to be involved with both days, but here’s a list of the actors which are going to be there for both November 9th and 10th. Akiko Kosaka, who’s career is being celebrated with this concert, will evidently be there for both days. Anza, the first actress to play Sailor Moon in a musical from 1993 to 1998, will likely be performing as Sailor Moon. Hisano Akamine, the third actress to play Sailor Mercury from 1999 to 2000, will likely be performing as Sailor Mercury. Misako Kotani, the second actress to play Sailor Mars from 1994 to 1997, will likely be performing as Sailor Mars. Emi Kuriyama, the seventh actress to play Sailor Jupiter from 1999 to 2000, will likely be performing as Sailor Jupiter. Akiko Miyazawa, the fourth actress to play Sailor Venus also played Queen Beryl and musical exclusive characters Bilhah Emerald and Elizabeth Bathory, a vampire. She will likely be performing as Sailor Venus. Sanae Kimura, the first actress to play Sailor Uranus from 1994 to 1997, will likely be performing as Sailor Uranus.

Yuuta Mochizuki, the second actor to play Tuxedo Mask, also played Kunzite in the very first musical and later the musical exclusive character Count Dracul. He is also well known for playing the Red Power Ranger in Zyuurangers, the series which was adapted in North America as the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. He will likely be performing as Tuxedo Mask. Hikari Ono has played Hawk’s Eye, Sailor Star Maker, Loof Merrow, a musical exclusive pirate, Bloody Dracul Vampir, a musical exclusive vampire who is Dracula’s daughter, and Prince Demande. It isn’t clear who she would be portraying in this concert as there doesn’t seem to be an actress to represent each of the Sailor Starlights.

The only person who will only be at the first day performance is Sakoto Yoshioka who played Princess Kakyuu in a musical in 1997. While it’s possible that she could be reprising her role as Princess Kakyuu, there is currently only one Sailor Starlight scheduled to be present on the first day so it doesn’t really add up.

There are a more performers who will only be there on the second day. This is when the full cast was originally planned to be together all at once. Yuuka Asami, the sixth actress to play Sailor Neptune from 1999 to 2002, later returned to play Jadeite in 2003. She will likely be performing as Sailor Neptune. Mao Mita, the fourth actress to play Sailor Saturn from 1999 to 2000, will likely be performing as Sailor Saturn. Tamaki Dia Shirai, the third actress to play Chibiusa from 1995 to 1996, will likely be performing as Sailor Chibi Moon. Ryuuji Kasahara played a number of characters including Kunzite, Death Ra, a musical exclusive member of the Death Busters, Tiger’s Eye, MC Fly, a musical exclusive minion of Galaxia, Chaos, Professor Tomoe, Baron Gilles de Rais, a musical exclusive vampire, and Dark Nibiru, a musical exclusive character. It’s not clear who he will be portraying. Momoko Okuyama, the first actress to play Sailor Star Healer in musicals from 1996 to 1998, may be reprising her role but once again as there is no Sailor Star Fighter actress involved we can’t be sure what role she will be playing.

Akiko Kosaka 45th Anniversary Music history

With this event only taking place on a single day it may prove more difficult to get tickets than other musicals. Do any of you hope to be able to make it to this concert? I’m certainly hoping a CD or video release will be made available for fans who aren’t likely to attend.

Source: Sailor Moon official site Original Story with an Update.

Is Sailor Moon Crystal finished? The new Sailor Moon Eternal film is not using the Sailor Moon Crystal name

Sailor Moon Eternal - Logo

Let me preface this article by saying I absolutely don’t think that Sailor Moon Crystal is done and I think that Sailor Moon Eternal is the first half of what could be considered the fourth season of Sailor Moon Crystal. That said there are a few hints which suggest other and I think it’s only fair to share them with some analysis. As I reported on the other day, a new film called Sailor Moon Eternal is coming in 2020. What I did not notice at the time and didn’t notice until I saw it mentioned on Twitter by Moonkitty, was that “Crystal” isn’t found anywhere in the title. What does this mean? Is Sailor Moon Eternal even technically a Sailor Moon Crystal film? The full title is simply “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal”. The use of the original anime’s opening theme Moonlight Densetsu in the trailer could similarly be an attempt to distance the film from the Sailor Moon Crystal series, though there has not been a single theme song used throughout all three seasons so this doesn’t tell us much.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Part 1 Blu-Ray - Booklet - Sailor Moon Crystal ad referring to seasons 1 to 3 as the entire series

Own The Entire Series Today!

This brings me to something else I noticed in the booklet included with Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Part 1 Limited Edition Blu-Ray. There is an ad for Sailor Moon Crystal seasons 1 to 3 on home video which includes the caption “Own The Entire Series Today!”. When I first saw it I simply laughed a bit, as fans had been waiting nearly three years for new Sailor Moon Crystal and here this ad was referring to everything we had previously gotten as the “Entire Series”. Perhaps “The Entire Series To Date” would have been a more accurate caption! Could it be that Viz had already gotten word that the new film would not be using the Sailor Moon Crystal brand and that the series really was over?

I do still feel that this film is in every sense meant to be a continuation of the Sailor Moon Crystal story, and there hasn’t been much to the contrary. Looking at the Sailor Moon Eternal announcement on the official site the first sentence refers to this as the movie version of Sailor Moon Crystal. The Dream arc was always advertised as a continuation to Sailor Moon Crystal, it was clearly indicated that it would be delivered as movies and that Kazuko Tadano would be working on the project, all of which are consistent with the news of this film. The official web site doesn’t actually have “Sailor Moon Crystal” as one of the buttons in the header anymore. Instead there is one that says “Anime” in Japanese with the English word “Animation” underneath it. This link leads to information about Sailor Moon Crystal. It seems Sailor Moon Crystals seasons 1 to 3 as well as the Eternal film are all considered part of this Anime franchise which may not be as tied to the Crystal title as it was.

Sailor Moon Eternal -

Why then are they not using the name Sailor Moon Crystal in the title? I can only speculate but I can think of a few reasons. The title “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal” works well as is. Calling it something like “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal Eternal” is not at all the same and keeping the full series titles could result in something very awkward like “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal Sailor Moon Eternal” or every worse “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal”. Try jamming all of that into a title! It would make the “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Sailor Stars” title seem short in comparison!

Another reason for not using the Sailor Moon Crystal name may simple be to reach a broader audience with the film. The original Sailor Moon anime was a massive phenomenon and having the Sailor Moon films attached to that series was just good business sense. I don’t think Sailor Moon Crystal is anywhere near as popular in Japan or internationally. Tying the movie’s branding too much to the Crystal title may attract the fans of the series who are almost guaranteed to see the film anyway, but what about the hordes of other Sailor Moon fans who spend massive amounts of money on merchandise and events but don’t really care much about Sailor Moon Crystal? You tell them there’s a new movie called Sailor Moon Eternal in theatres and they may be more likely to check it out than if it was clearly tied in to the Sailor Moon Crystal series.

Finally there’s the fact that it’s been over three years since we saw any episodes of Sailor Moon Crystal and this could be four by the time this movie is released in theatres. Some fans may be moving on from the franchise with new ones coming in, especially if the goal is to target a younger demographic.

As I said, this is all a lot of speculation on my part. I can’t say for sure why they aren’t using “Sailor Moon Crystal” anymore. I don’t really think the series is over, as my intentionally alarming title might suggest, but this is certainly a conclusion some of you may feel the need to jump to! What do you think?

Buy the entire Sailor Moon Crystal series using the links below! You can also stream Sailor Moon Crystal on Crunchyroll, Hulu or Neon Alley.

Here’s our first look at Sailor Moon Eternal, a Sailor Moon Crystal movie covering part of the Dream arc of the manga, will be released in 2020

Sailor Moon Eternal -

Today is June 30th, Usagi’s birthday, and to celebrate this there was a birthday party event held in Japan. We often get Sailor Moon news at such events and this year was no different! We finally have our first look at the designs for the upcoming new season of Sailor Moon Crystal which will be taking place as two theatrically released films. It was announced that the first of these movies will be called Sailor Moon Eternal and will be released in 2020. This could be anywhere from 6 to 18 months from now, so we will have to be patient to see when this finally happens! Also keep in mind the original release of Sailor Moon Crystal was planned for 2013 but that it actually first aired in 2014, so delays at this stage are certainly still possible, but things are finally coming together.

Sailor Moon Eternal - Sailor Moon

Along with the news was the revelation of a number of character designs for the series. The first was the poster featuring Super Sailor Chibi Moon and Super Sailor Moon. A teaser trailer which was posted to the newly redesigned Official Sailor Moon Site also included images of Sailor Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Chibi Moon all of whom have those little transparent shoulder pad things to show that they’re Super. You can watch that trailer embedded below.

The music used in the trailer in Moonlight Legend, the opening theme for the first four seasons of the original Sailor Moon anime, but that doesn’t necessarily indicate that this music will be used in the film. While this is possible it may simply be that the new music for the new Sailor Moon Eternal film is either not ready or that they otherwise don’t wish to release it at this time.

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

A sketch by Kazuko Tadano from 2013

Now that we’ve gotten a first look at the designs for this film we finally see what Kazuko Tadano, character designer for the first two seasons of the original Sailor Moon anime, chose to do for Sailor Moon Crystal. A lot of fans have commented about how similar the designs look to the 90s anime, which certainly makes sense if we consider this! What we’re seeing is a bit of a mix of the aesthetic of Sailor Moon Crystal’s 3rd season designs, the original anime designs and a little something new. When Kazuko Tadano was announced as the Dream Arc’s character designer Sailor Moon sketches she made in 2013 (above) were used as a baseline for what we might be seeing. Though the designs aren’t identical we can certainly see some similarities to what we’re seeing now.

Sailor Moon Eternal - Sailor Mercury

Sailor Moon Eternal will cover the first half of the Dream arc of the Sailor Moon manga. This is the same story which was the basis for the Sailor Moon SuperS season of the anime, though in this case the manga and anime had some significant differences. Though we don’t know exactly where the two movies will split, it is likely this will include the introduction of Pegasus as well as the villains the Amazon Trio, the Amazoness Quartet and Zirconia of the Dead Moon Circus. It will probably include early appearances by Helios and Queen Nehelenia, though they will feature more prominently in the second film. Sailor Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn may not show up in this one as they are not present for the first few chapters, though they could show up at the end of Sailor Moon Eternal. Since they were completely neglected from Sailor Moon SuperS it will be nice to see them included in Sailor Moon Crystal.

Sailor Moon Eternal - Sailor Mars

What do you think of the new designs? I’m really liking them. While the animation in the first two seasons wasn’t stellar, I thought season 3 was a great improvement. I can’t say I’m so attached to any Sailor Moon Crystal designs to be too bothered by this change. As long as these new films continue to be a faithful adaptation of the manga storyline, as the first three seasons have been, then the core of what makes Sailor Moon Crystal what it is should remain, even if there isn’t a consistent visual style. As always it’s a bit difficult to get a full feeling of what’s in store with just a few images. To see this animation style in action will be something. For now we’ll have to wait a while longer but at this stage we can at least confidently say that Sailor Moon Eternal is real and after more than 3 years we are finally getting more Sailor Moon Crystal! It remains to be seen how or when the film will be released here in North America.

Sailor Moon Eternal - Sailor Jupiter

PS: Not to rub it in but I was totally right and this art looks nothing like the Sailor Moon Crystal x Monster Strike designs we saw last fall.

Sailor Moon Eternal - Sailor Venus

Get caught up with Sailor Moon Crystal before the movie comes out by buying the first three seasons using the Amazon links below, or save your money by streaming it on Crunchyroll, Hulu or Neon Alley.

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