Yesterday we reported that a number of online retailers were offering Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Part 2 as a digital download but that it was not available on Amazon Prime Video. Though it was not listed along with the rest of the series, the final 17 episodes of the season are in fact listed on the site. Fans looking to buy these digitally from Amazon Prime Video can support the site by using the link below.
I don’t believe this is a new addition, but simply something I didn’t notice previously. When one looks at the Amazon Prime Video page for Sailor Moon it only lists up to season 501, Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Part 1. This is what I originally looked at to try to find if the new episodes were available. Part 2 is listed on a totally different page which is likely why I hadn’t seen it.
For those who’ve gotten the digital version, what do you think? If you’re still looking to buy the physical release on November 12th you can support the site by pre-ordering it using the links below.
With over a week to go until the June 18th release of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars part 1 on DVD and Blu-Ray it seems the dubbed episodes are already available as digital downloads from many retailers. Though I don’t see any specific dates for when these were posted it stands to reason that they popped up last Tuesday which would be two weeks before the video release. It’s standard practice for most movies to be released as digital downloads and on demand two weeks prior to the physical release. I can only assume this is because the industry is actively trying to subvert physical releases for whatever reason. I’m surprised Viz hasn’t made any effort to publicize this.
So, where can you get this? Though I don’t have links for all of these services, as some of them can only be searched through their own applications or devices, episodes are available on iTunes (Canada, US, search your own country and it may be there), the PlayStation Store, the Microsoft Store, Google Play and, as mentioned in yesterday’s post, Amazon Prime Video. There may certainly be other retailers who offer the episodes. If you’re aware of any others feel free to leave a comment with a link!
The 17 episode half season in HD costs $39.99 US. As a Canadian I was happy to see that most stores are also selling the season for $39.99 Canadian as we are usually charged significantly more in Canadian dollars due to an unfavourable exchange rate.
Keep in mind that this is only for the English dubbed versions of these episodes. While some retailers are more than happy to take your hard earned money for the subtitled version of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars this hardly seems like a wise choice for a consumer who can watch the series for free! As I originally posted episode summaries for two episodes a week over two years as they were originally released on Hulu, the entire series including Sailor Stars has been available to view on the platform since then. Since Hulu isn’t as free as it used to be the series is also available to watch on Yahoo! View. Canadian fans will find they can’t access those sites but they can watch the series on TubiTV. I have the TubiTV app installed on my PlayStation 4 which seems to work well.
Do any of you plan on getting this series digitally and watching it right away? If so, what do you think of the dub? Sailor Moon News uses Amazon ads so if you’re looking to get the series on Amazon Prime Video or in a physical release from the site you can do so using the links below.
Although the first half of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars will only be released on Blu-Ray and DVD on June 18th those same episodes, with English dialogue for the first time in an official release, can now be purchased from Amazon Prime Video. This includes the first 17 episodes of the 5th and final season of Sailor Moon. Individual episodes cost $2.99 while the entire season costs $39.99. This is less expensive than even the standard edition Blu-Ray which is currently listed for $59.99 on Amazon. If you’re interested in purchasing it you can support the site but buying it using the link below.
It seems that these episodes are only available for purchase and not part of the Amazon Prime streaming service. If you’re more interested in getting a physical copy of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars which will also include the original Japanese audio with optional English subtitles than you can pre-order that from Amazon using the links below.
Sailor Moon S Part 1 is finally out on DVD and Blu-Ray! These sets were released on November 15th and are available from stores and online retailers. This was also the first time Sailor Moon S episodes were released with Viz’s new English dub. With other releases some of the episodes came out prior to the home video releases on Hulu but this was not done this time around.
Support the site by buying the set with the links below. This could be a nice Christmas gift for a Sailor Moon fan in your life!
There are a number of options to purchase it. I got the Limited Edition Blu-Ray set, which comes with a number of extra I’ll get into below. You can also get the regular edition Blu-Ray or DVD releases or, if you’re not into physical copies, you can get the series from Amazon Video. Previous releases were available in standard definition and HD from Amazon Video but this release is only available in HD for $39.99 for the season.
As with other sets I have pretty much the same to say. A good effort by Viz and some nice packaging, decent extras and a nice looking booklet but ultimately the set suffers from poor video quality likely mostly due to the fact that they had bad masters. Since it’s been so long since these episodes have been available here in North America and this is the only way to hear the new dub, fans will probably want to check it out.
I didn’t watch the entire set yet, but did watch it a bit to get an idea of the dub and video quality. I watched episode 96, Cold Hearted Uranus? Makoto in Trouble, specifically because it had a lot of lesbian references and if there was anything changed on the set this is the kind of episode we’d likely see changes in. I also had a taped off of Japanese TV fansub of this episode years before I got around to seeing the whole season so I was more familiar with it than others. All around I was quite pleased with the dub quality. While I miss the old cast I think the new actors do a decent job of providing an accurate dub of the show. References to lesbianism weren’t glossed over, though they are mostly heavily hinted at rather than outright stated even in the original version of the show. The only real change I noticed is that Rei referred to her magazine with a moustached woman on the cover as her “First edition Sailor Dudettes” which is just kind of weird and not consistent with anything from the original Japanese version.
Original Japanese credits are used. The Sailor Moon S credits changed throughout the series and here we see different intros being used as different characters are introduced. This was a change from the Pioneer and Geneon releases of the series that always used the same opening theme throughout the series. The “today on Sailor Moon” clip plays after the opening credits rather than before it as with the Japanese TV airing of the show and Japanese releases. A minor change all considered.
The video quality isn’t great. Viz appears to have gotten a fairly low quality standard definition interlaced video source. They upscaled it to 1080p using software and then used some filters to try to clean it up. What we’re left with is a fairly poor job which leaves us with video quality that is worse than what we’ve seen with the Japanese releases which I still use as the gold standard for quality for the series. Other releases, like the Italian and French releases, weren’t perfect but look better than this. Some people say it’s worse than VHS, but I think some people don’t remember the days of VHS! Still I think a faithful straight standard definition DVD version of this release would have looked better than what we got, but this is quite subjective. Viz does a good job with other series for which they have better masters. Their Sailor Moon Crystal release was fantastic looking. Because of this I am quite confident that they tried their best with what they had to work with but can only do so much. There are obvious artifacts from interlacing which are mostly visible between narrow lines which can be seen for tiaras and uniforms throughout every episode.
There are some extras on the Blu-Rays, mainly about the new cast, which are not on the DVDs. The main feature is the “Sailor Moon Day 2016 Interview with English Cast”. Included in this interview are Ben Diskin, Umino, Cristina Vee, Sailor Mars, Amanda Miller, Sailor Jupiter, Robbie Daymond, Tuxedo Mask, Stephanie Sheh, Sailor Moon, Cherami Leigh, Sailor Venus and Sandy Fox, Chibiusa.
The rest of the extras are kind of lame. There are short galleries with some images for the characters. Clean opening and ending themes, that being without any credits, include the final version of the opening and the end theme Tuxedo Mirage. The trailers are similar to what we’ve seen in other releases which are ads for other Sailor Moon releases and other anime series released by Viz like Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha.
The booklet which is included is quite nice. There appear to be 96 pages, which aren’t numbered, and this includes episode summaries for each episode, including those from the currently unreleased second part of Sailor Moon S, credits, lyrics, character art and bios. It also includes an ad stating that Season 3 Part 2 is coming in Spring 2017. After long delays in this release let’s hope the next one comes as quickly as they say! The outer box made of sturdy cardboard has room for the second set, as other releases did.
Overall I’d recommend this set if you’re looking to see the new dub. Since these episodes are not available to stream in English anywhere, this is the only way to get them legally. The quality isn’t great but it’s watchable if you don’t mind a Blu-Ray that looks worse than a lot of DVDs. The booklet is a nice extra but the bonus features on the set aren’t terribly fantastic. I’m not sure my recommendation matters much though. If you bought the other sets you’ll probably buy this one and if you didn’t, you probably won’t. Viz has been somewhat consistent with the quality of their original series releases. Though quality issues have improved a bit, the release is still in the same general ball park as the others.
If you’re curious about the contents you can watch this unboxing video which Viz put together:
Keep reading for more images of the packaging and the special booklet.
Sailor Moon S Part 1 was released on DVD and Blu-Ray yesterday, November 15th. It is available in stores across North American and from online retailers. The set includes episodes 90 to 108, which covers half of the season introducing Sailor Uranus and Neptune and then covering the return of Chibiusa. The episodes are in Japanese with English subtitles and dubbed with Viz’s new cast which did Sailor Moon Crystal and the last two seasons.
The English episodes have not shown up on any streaming sites like Hulu and Yahoo! View yet. The dubbed episodes are available to view on Amazon Video. The digital price is $3.99 per episode and $39.99 for the whole half season in HD. It doesn’t look like a standard definition version is currently available on Amazon Video. The entire series in Japanese with English subtitles remains available subtitled on Hulu, Neon Alley, Yahoo! View and Tubi TV.
Have you gotten your set yet? I’m still waiting to get mine in the mail! Support the site by ordering the set from Amazon using the links below.
