The second episode of Sailor Moon Crystal, Act.2 Ami – Sailor Mercury, will be available tomorrow at 7pm Japan Standard Time which is equivalent to 6am Eastern Standard Time and 3am Pacific Standard Time. Check out our instructions for watching Sailor Moon Crystal to see how to check it out on Crunchyroll, Hulu or Niconico. As the title suggests this episode will mark the introduction of Ami Mizuno, Sailor Mercury. Watch the next episode preview as a teaser for what’s to come.
Viz has posted yet another clip of their new Sailor Moon dub. This one features Luna, as voiced by Michelle Ruff. This is the first scene where Luna talks, as she explains to Usagi that she is Sailor Moon. Usagi is voiced by Stephanie Sheh. Watch the full clip below.
The DVD and Blu-Ray including the new Viz dub will be released on November 11th.
Viz has released an official clip of their new dub. This scenes features the voices of Usagi and Mamoru when they first meet on the street in episode 1. Mamoru refers to Usagi as “bun head” instead of the “meatball head” we had in the original English dub. This translation is certainly more accurate for all that’s worth. Usagi’s is voiced by Stephanie Sheh and Mamoru’s is voiced by Robbie Daymond. Check out the clip below. What do you think of the voices?
Also included is information, including cover art, for the DVD and Blu-Ray release. We had already posted information about this. The DVD and Blu-Ray for the first half of the first season will be released on November 11th with both Japanese and English audio.
A new web site for the Sailor Moon Reflections book has been set up. Roland Parliament, voice director for the first 65 episodes of Sailor Moon and the voice of Melvin from the dub, has written this book to share stories of his time working on the series. It will included many behind the scenes tales of the DIC English dub of Sailor Moon including some photos from the time of the recording. Check out the site for more information about the book and to pre-order your own copy. A press release which was included can be read below.
THE ART OF BRINGING THE SAILOR MOON CHARACTERS TO LIFE After Directing 65 Episodes, Voice Director Tells All
[Toronto, ON – July 8, 2014]
In the summer of ’95 an iconic Japanese animated series was transformed into a monumental phenomenon that would improve the quality of English-dubbed animation forever and take the English-speaking world by storm.
Now the man who directed the voices of that cultural juggernaut reveals the process, the endlessly long hours, and the attention to detail that went into making the English version of Sailor Moon the standard by which all English translations of foreign animations are judged.
If you are a current or aspiring voice actor, writer, director, agent or producer, there is wisdom in the following pages. If you are interested in the history of Canada’s performing arts, consider this work an essential chapter. If you are a lover of anime, regard this treatise as a ‘must read’ — an important piece to the puzzle called ‘the gateway to anime’. If you are simply a fan of Sailor Moon, prepare yourself for an incredibly rare and delicious treat.
In this book, voice director, actor and teacher Roland Parliament has created a unique archive that touches on and contributes to the craft and business of voice acting, Canada’s rich performing arts community and the legend of ‘Sailor Moon’ — in particular, the English dubbing of the iconic anime series.
- From the foreword by Terri Hawkes (a.k.a. ‘Sailor Moon’)
What I do want to do is to share with the reader my observations about how this series came to be what it is, and to dispel any rumors that may exist, as I know them. Keep in mind that this is told from my perspective only, based on what I saw, heard and did, and may be contrary to the actual facts.
The second thing I want to do is to share with budding voice actors the way to go about getting into this business.
- Roland Parliament on why he wrote this book
Sailor Moon Reflections, published by FriesenPress, is the inside story of the English recording of Sailor Moon, and will show readers the true, arduous work that actually took place to achieve this groundbreaking series that still receives continuing adoration. Sailor Moon Reflections is as much for anyone with an ambition to be a voice actor as it is for any fan of the series.
Sailor Moon Reflections is available for pre-order from sailormoonreflections.com in both print and e-book. It will be available soon on Amazon and most other major book retailers. The e-book edition will be available for order for the Kindle, Barnes and Noble’s Nook, iTunes and GooglePlay.
About the Author
Roland Parliament is a voice actor, dialectician, composer, writer, musician and educator. He lives in Toronto, Canada. He teaches an advertising course at the Harris Institute for the Arts in Toronto. Over the past 22 years, he has been a dialects and voice acting teacher at Ryerson University and Humber College, Toronto, and a guest lecturer at the University of Toronto.
Roland has voiced thousands of commercials, and has composed and produced no fewer than 300 jingles. His company, Wizard Productions Inc., has won over 75 international awards for its work. Additionally, he has directed and acted in several animation projects.
Two new clips of Viz’s new Sailor Moon dub have been leaked. These feature the beginning of episodes 1 and 2. You can hear the voices of Usagi, Ikuko Mama, Jadeite and Queen Beryl. These were recorded at Anime Expo on July 5th. Viz premiered the first two episodes of their new dub at a panel where they unveiled the new cast. Recording was not allowed at the panel which is why the video is not visible. Because these only included audio I’ve embedded the YouTube clips to only include the progress bar.
The first clip is the beginning of episode 1, The Crybaby: Usagi’s Beautiful Transformation. You can hear Usagi’s opening monologue followed by the scene where she wakes up late for school and talks to her mother. Usagi is voiced by Stephanie Sheh and Ikuko Mama is voice by Tara Platt.
In this second clip we hear the first bit of episode 2, Punishment Awaits: The House Of Fortune Is The Monster Mansion. It starts out with side characters talking about the fortune house but then contains a brief exchange between Jadeite and Queen Beryl. Jadeite is voiced by Todd Haberkorn and Queen Beryl is voiced by Cindy Robinson.
Thanks to Dakota from our comments for finding these clips.
Source: Baillie Puckett‘s YouTube channel.
Episodes 19 and 20 of the original Sailor Moon anime were added to Hulu and Neon Alley this morning, July 14th. Two new episodes from Viz’s sub of the series are added every two weeks. English dubbed episodes will be coming later. The DVD and Blu-Ray release for the first half of the season will be available on November 11th.
In episode 19, Usagi’s Joy: A Love Letter from Tuxedo Mask, Nephrite poses as Tuxedo Mask in order to lure in Sailor Moon! This actually attracts Naru, who suspects that this is Masato Sanjoin, who is actually Nephrite. This marks the beginning of Naru and Nephrite’s dysfunctional and tragic love affair. Meanwhile Usagi is anxious to meet Tuxedo Mask, completely oblivious to the plot, and Rei is stuck at home sick upset she can’t go meet Nephrite who is posing as the secret identity of her boyfriend Mamoru! In this episode we also see Mamoru transform into Tuxedo Mask for the first time.
Episode 20, The Summer, the Beach, Youth and Ghosts, is one of the episodes which was never released with an English dub so some fans may still not have seen it. It has Usagi, Ami and Rei traveling to a sketchy looking hotel that seems to be haunted. After a disappointing beach trip they befriend a young girl named Sakiko who is somehow linked to the strange ghost that is around the hotel. We can only speculate as to why this episode was ultimately cut from the English dub but as it has pretty much no bearing on the overall story, and doesn’t even feature Nephrite, it may simply have been omitted because it wouldn’t be missed. That being said it is a nice side story that’s worth checking out.
Hulu is free but if you’d like to watch these episodes commercial free think about supporting the site and downloading these and other episodes on Amazon Instant through the links below.
Although Sailor Moon Crystal just started airing this past weekend plans for a DVD and Blu-Ray release are already in the works! The first two episodes will be released on October 15th by Evil Line records, who can’t spell Crystal. There will be three versions released. A more expensive limited deluxe edition Blu-Ray, a regular edition Blu-Ray and a DVD. These are Japanese releases, likely only including Japanese language audio and no subtitles. The Blu-Ray discs are region A and will play in North America but the DVDs are region 2 and will not play in a North American region 1 DVD player. Check out this ad for the release.
The first DVD and Blu-Ray will include a whopping two whole episodes collected on one disk! A total of 13 disks will be released to contain the 26 episodes of the series. Owning all of these won’t be cheap! The limited edition Blu-Ray of the first disk is 7500 yen (about $75 US), will include a full colour booklet. The limited edition will also include a different charm with each disk, starting with a Moon Stick charm and bracelet with volume 1. By sending in a voucher included with volumes 1 and 13 Japanese residents you will be able to get a special box to store all 13 disks in. This will be a music box which will play Moon Pride, the theme song by Momoiro Clover Z.
There are plans for an audio commentary as well as textless opening and closing special features. Future limited edition Blu-Ray volumes will cost 6500 yen (about $65). Not wanting to spend that much? The regular edition Blu-Ray releases will be 4500 yen (about $45) a disk and the DVDs will cost only 3500 yen (about $35) per disk. So much to say you should decide whether having a nice Moon Stick charm, bracelet and a voucher for a box which might be hard to get outside of Japane is worth and extra $30 or $20 for just the charm in later volumes. You’d be looking at an extra $270 for a fully equipped charm bracelet with 13 charms and a box to store it and the disks in. You could buy a high priced Sailor Moon Pullip doll and Proplica Moon Stick for that much!
The preview for the next episode of Sailor Moon Crystal was not included in the Crunchyroll and Hulu feeds of the show however it was included in the Niconico version. I had not seen it when I posted about the first episode, only speculating about what was coming next. You can watch that clip by viewing it on Niconico or watching the YouTube clip embedded below.
Act.2 Ami – Sailor Mercury, follows the naming convention for chapters of the manga as we’re introduced to Sailor Moon’s first companion, the Sailor Guardian Sailor Mercury as voiced by Hisako Kanemoto. From the looks of it this episode will once again be following the manga fairly closely. Episode 2 will air on Saturday July 19th at 7pm Japan Standard Time which is 6am Eastern Standard Time or 3am Pacific Standard Time. Check out this link for details on how to watch the show.
Want to keep watching the next episode previews? You’ll have to keep watching on Niconico which is only free for the first two weeks. Niconico’s premium service is fairly painless to sign up for through the web site with Pay Pal for 540 yen (about $5 US) per month. This is also the easiest way to view the show in Japanese without subtitles.
A 25 second clip of Viz’s new Sailor Moon dub has been leaked! This was recorded last weekend at Viz’s panel at Anime Expo where the new dub cast was announced. It features Usagi, as voiced by Stephanie Sheh, from the begning of episode 2. No other characters are present in this scene. Episode 2 was played first accidentally. Once this was noticed the audience was told not to record anything, so no more clips are available. Here’s a transcript of what is said in the clip:
I’m a cancer with blood type O. My birthstone is a pearl and I am a bit of a klutz. Some people might say I’m also a little emotional. So one day this strange cat named Luna appeared, turned me into a guardian in a sailor uniform and told me I had to fight bad guys. Boy does that ever make me nervous, but I’m sure it’ll all work out fine.
Source: Sailor Moon Obsession on Tumblr
This past weekend at Anime Expo Viz Media announced at their panel that the original Sailor Moon anime would be released on DVD and Blu-Ray starting November 11th. This release will include the original Japanese audio with English subtitles as well as Viz’s new English dub. The voice actors for the new dub were revealed along with the first two episodes at the convention on Saturday.
The first release will include the first half of the first season which covers 23 episodes. It will come in a chipboard box with room for the second half of the first season which will be released at a later date. Special features will include a full colour 88 page booklet, a dub recording behind the scenes featurette, art galleries and convention featurettes. Online retailer Right Stuf is offering a 1.5″ collectable coin to customers buying the limited edition set. Their price for the set is $56.99.
Source: Moon Chase! and Crunchyroll