The English version of Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16, Abduction – Sailor Mercury, is now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Ami and Berthier playing chess

The latest English dubbed episode of Sailor Moon Crystal is now available on Hulu and Neon Alley. Act 16, Abduction – Sailor Mercury, is all about chess. Ami faces off against Berthier of the Spectre Sisters, who’s not really dressed appropriately for a chess tournament, in this wonderfully animated episode. Amongst other things we see a Sailor Moon Crystal exclusive look at young Ami.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Young Ami with a chess board

Fans of the original Sailor Moon anime will note many similarities to Sailor Moon R episode 71, For Friendship: Ami vs. Berthier, which was itself based on Act 16 of the Sailor Moon manga. There are however some resemblances to the original anime that aren’t from the manga, such as Usagi’s inappropriate cheering during the tournament. Also of note is that this is a swimsuit episode! Usagi, Naru and Ami are all seen in swimsuits, which seems to be a really big deal for some people. Though not a ton of detail is seen Naru’s swimsuit is based on the one she wears in the first season of the original Sailor Moon anime.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Ami and Naru swimming

Sailor Moon episode 23 - Naru's swimsuit

Who wore it best?

Next week is Act 17, Secret – Sailor Jupiter, where Makoto confides in Ittou Asanuma.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16, Abduction - Sailor Mercury

Watch English dubbed version of Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16, Abduction – Sailor Mercury, Friday February 26th at 9pm EST

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Berthier of the Ayakashi Sisters

The next English dubbed episode of Sailor moon Crystal will be available on Hulu and Neon Alley this Friday. Act 16, Abduction – Sailor Mercury, has Ami facing off against Berthier of the Ayakashi Sisters or the Spectre Sisters as we’re referring to them in the dub. The conflict this week is over a game of chess! There are some interesting references to the original anime this week. On its surface this episode closely resembles Sailor Moon R episode 71, For Friendship: Ami vs. Berthier. Another similarity is Naru’s swimsuit which looks a lot like the one seen in the first season of the original Sailor Moon anime.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Ami and Naru swimming

This episode includes young Ami, who is seen in one scene interacting with her dead beat father. He’s an artist who likes chess and doesn’t seem to care much about his daughter. Ami gets her love of chess from him but she wants to be a doctor like her mother, so it sounds like she chose the right role model when it counts!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Young Ami with a chess board

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16, Abduction - Sailor Mercury

The English version of Sailor Moon Crystal Act 15, Infiltration – Sailor Mars, is now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 15 - The Ayakashi Sisters

The first full episode from the Black Moon Clan story arc is now available to view in English on Hulu and Neon Alley. Act 15, Infiltration – Sailor Mars, introduces us to a bunch of character from the Black Moon Clan including Rubeus, Demande, Esmeraude, Saphir and the Ayakashi Sisters. This episode focuses mainly on the rivalry between Sailor Mars and Koan. Many new voice actors are showing up this week, who are all reprising their roles from the new English dub of the original Sailor Moon anime. Those actors are:

Claudia Lenz as Koan
Cindy Robinson as Berthier
Cassandra Lee Morris as Calaveras
Jessica Gee as Petz
Steve Cannon as Rubeus
Rena S. Mandel as Esmeraude
Greg Felden as Saphir
Matthew Mercer as Prince Demande

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 15 - Chibiusa shooting Usagi

This week also gives us a better look at Chibiusa who first showed up at the end of Act 14. Amongst some background character we see a boy who looks an awful lot like Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing. What do you think?

Gundam Wing's Heero Yuy at T. A. Academy in Sailor Moon Crystal

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 15 - Infiltration - Sailor Mars

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray vol. 8 review

Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray Vol. 8 - Contents

The latest release of Sailor Moon Crystal on Blu-Ray was released on May 13th. Volume 8 collects acts 15 and 16. It’s packaging showcases Chibiusa. You can buy this volume on Amazon Japan and CD Japan. It only has Japanese audio with no English subtitles, though it will play in North American Blu-Ray players.

Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray Vol. 8 - Sailor Mercury transformation item charm

The charm included this time is Sailor Mercury’s Star Power Stick. Her original transformation item was released with volume 2 when Sailor Mercury first appeared on the cover. It’s a safe bet that the next 3 releases will have Sailor Mars, Jupiter and Venus’s Star Power Sticks as charms.

Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray Vol. 8 - Special Booklet - Page 2 and 3 - Act 15 summary

The 20 page special booklet included this time has the same breakdown as others, included episode summaries, screenshots, character art and a special page by Fumio Osano, Osabu. The interviews included in this release are with Yu Kaminoki, producer for the series and Misato Fukuen, the voice actress who plays Chibiusa. The character art included mostly focuses on Chibiusa but also has Koan and Berthier of the Ayakashi Sisters. There’s a heavy amount of focus on Chibiusa with her gun. Can any gun nuts identify exactly what model of gun this is and whether or not it can be equipped with an optional flower clip?

Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray Vol. 8 - Special Booklet - Page 14 & 15 - Character art

The episodes included are Act 15, Infiltration – Sailor Mars, in which Sailor Mars faces off again Koan, and Act 16, Abduction – Sailor Mercury, in which Sailor Mercury faces off again Berthier. Chibiusa showed up at the end of the last release so now we begin focusing on the battle with the Black Moon Clan. Both episodes on this disk have minor changes to their animation that’s been done for the Blu-Ray release. I didn’t note anything terribly significant as far as changes go. You can check out the differences in Act 15 and Act 16 on Crystal Comparisons, which details the changes between the streaming version and home video versions of the show.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 17 - Chibiusa in her incorrect coloured uniform with Luna-P

Chibiusa in her incorrectly coloured uniform from the next episode preview for Act 17

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 17 - Chibiusa with a white top

Chibiusa in her correctly coloured uniform in Act 17

More shocking here is the lack of change! The next episode preview for Act 17 shows Chibiusa with a short sleeved but dark blue uniform. As we’ve covered in our review of Act 17, this was an incorrect colour which was actually corrected for the episode proper. The animators change things like this up until the last minute and update all kinds of things for the Blu-Ray but no one is bothering to fix up the next episode previews so that they don’t include these errors! Shameful!

As always as I don’t speak Japanese I can’t comment much on the audio commentary. There are three people appearing on these commentaries. You can hear Rina Sato, the voice of Sailor Mars, Hisako Kanemoto, the voice of Sailor Mercury and Munehisa Sakai, the series director for Sailor Moon Crystal.

Sailor Moon Crystal Blu-Ray Vol. 8 - Packaging

As with other releases it’s hard to justify buying a fairly expensive release for just two episodes. I don’t imagine I’ll change anyone’s mind on buying these at this point. Either you’ve bought the other releases and will buy this too, or you won’t be buying any. With free viewing options available for Sailor Moon Crystal and an English version inevitably happening in the future, this isn’t something many English speaking fans will find much value in.

Keep reading for more images of the packaging and all pages of the included special booklet.

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Viz announces the voices of the Black Moon Clan for their new English dub of Sailor Moon R

Sailor Moon R episode 72 - The Ayakashi Sisters' Beauty Quartette

Last month Viz announced the voice actors you’ll be hearing as part of Viz’s new dub of Sailor Moon R once the Black Moon Clan shows up. You can currently listen to the dub of episode 60, which features the voices of Rubeus and the Ayakashi Sisters. We will be getting a lot more of these voices tomorrow as we get the dubbed versions of episodes 61 through 68 on Hulu and Neon Alley as part of the Mini Moonlight Party. The voices of Esmeraude, Saphir and Prince Demande will not be showing up as part of the first half of the season so we won’t be hearing them until later this year.

Here’s the cast of the Black Moon Clan:

Claudia Lenz as Koan
Cindy Robinson as Berthier
Cassandra Lee Morris as Calaveras
Jessica Gee as Petz
Steve Cannon as Rubeus
Rena S. Mandel as Esmeraude
Greg Felden as Saphir
Matthew Mercer as Prince Demande

These are mostly newly cast actors with the exception of Cindy Robinson who was previously cast as Queen Beryl and is now voicing Berthier. The cast of Viz’s new dub of the original Sailor Moon anime will be reprising their roles in Sailor Moon Crystal so we will be hearing these same voice actors once the second story arc of Sailor Moon Crystal gets dubbed.

Yesterday we even received a Tweet from Rena Strober (credited as Rena S. Mandel) to let us know that she’s currently working on dubbing Esmeraude! We can’t wait to hear what she sounds like.

It was previously announced that Chibiusa would be voiced by Sandy Fox and Sailor Pluto would be voiced by Veronica Taylor.

The first season of Viz’s new dub is currently available on DVD and Blu-Ray. Sailor Moon R part 1 will be released in June. Buy these sets using the links below to support the site.

Source: Anime News Network

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16, Abduction – Sailor Mercury, Review

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Ami and Berthier playing chess

The latest episode of Sailor Moon Crystal, Act 16, Abduction – Sailor Mercury, is now available to view for free on Crunchyroll, Hulu and Niconico. This week’s episode is tons of fun with the Tuxedo Mask puppet, some fan service in the form of swimsuits, young Ami and her daddy issues and of course Berthier who may or may not have been an inspiration for Elsa from Frozen.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Sailor Mercury and her visor

This episode had a number of differences from it’s original manga version, in changes, omitted scenes and in added content. That said, it also had a lot in common and like the rest of Sailor Moon Crystal is a very faithful adaptation.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 17 - Sailor Moon mad at Chibiusa

In the opening scene of the episode Usagi gets upset at Chibiusa but what she doesn’t do is raise her hand threatening to hit her as she did in the manga. This sort of changes the tone of the next scene where Usagi feels a sense of guilt but not about raising a hand at Chibiusa but instead about not protecting Sailor Mars who is now kidnapped.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Tuxedo Mask Puppet and ventriloquist Luna who Chibiusa already knows

Chibiusa runs off and, as usual, hides in the park. Mamoru takes her home and talks to her with his Tuxedo Mask puppet. This puppet has been in the original manga, original anime and even in the latest musical, Petite Étrangère. All of a sudden I wonder just where he go that thing. Is Mamoru such a megalomaniac that he built a puppet of himself? Maybe he found it in a store and finds it so bizarre that products of his alter ego exist that he had to buy one. He uses his ventriloquism to make the puppet talk and also makes the excuse that this is why Luna seems to talk. But why doesn’t Chibiusa expect Luna to talk? We will later learn that one of Chibiusa’s good friends in the future is Diana, a talking cat herself and daughter of Luna and Artemis. Chibiusa also travels with Luna P which looks just like Luna who she must surely know in the future. While Chibiusa has trouble recognizing her mother and father why would she also have trouble with this cat that looks so much like her ball and why would she be at all surprised to hear one talk?

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Berthier of the Ayakashi Sisters

Enter Berthier! She uses dowsing to find water and help with her chess game. Dowsing is not real. This whole arc is riddled with pseudoscience. I understand that within the context of the story these people can use magic but just like UFOs and to a greater fortune telling were the nonsense in the last show dowsing is the nonsense this week. Historically it’s just something that used to be used to find water or minerals underground using items such as a divining rod but when there are modern dowsing products which claim to do things like detect bombs, directly contributing to a loss of lives in war zones, I feel people can do with being reminded that dowsing has no basis in reality.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Usagi, Naru and Ami in swimsuits

Those who read the comments on this blog will note that one particular commenter has been asking since the beginning just when we will be getting a beach episode, particularly desiring that we see some of the characters in two piece suits. Well his day has come. This week we see Ami, Naru and Usagi in swimsuits at the pool. In the original manga version we see these three only wearing simple one piece suits but they have been updated a bit for the show. Ami’s suit as seen from the pool seems like a simple one piece, though when seen from behind the design doesn’t appear to be that consistent. This is fitting with how she is usually portrayed in the original anime as well. Naru’s suit is the most interesting as it looks quite a bit like the bikini she wore in episode 23 of the original anime. While Sailor Moon Crystal is frequently manga based it only occasionally takes cues from the original 1992 Sailor Moon anime. This suit also bears a bit of a resemblance to the dress that Naru wears to the ball. Finally we have Usagi’s suit which goes from a one piece in the manga to a two piece bikini here in Sailor Moon Crystal. This seems like blatant fan service as Usagi wears her towel on her head. An awkward thing to do when your goal is anything but exposing your bare midriff to your fans. Apologies for speaking entirely too much about such a silly thing, but if the comments are any indication there are people who consider such things to be quite important.

Sailor Moon episode 23 - Naru's swimsuit

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Ami and Naru swimming

Another anime original thing which makes it into this episode is Usagi’s inappropriate cheering at a chess tournament. In both the original anime and Sailor Moon Crystal she makes a spectacle while cheering for Ami and is told to be quiet. One background character in this scene looks a bit like Yusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho, written by the husband of Sailor Moon’s creator Naoko Takeuchi.

Sailor Moon R episode 71 - Usagi's inappropriate cheering

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Usagi cheering inappropriately and Yusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho

Berthier is shown to be the the 3rd ranked chess player in the world. Later in the episode Ami beats her. Does this make Ami the 3rd ranked chess player in the world? You would think someone with such a skill would do more than just occasionally play on their iPad! I guess she does have world saving to do. Berthier’s clothing is ridiculous. It’s a full on super villain costume. That’s cool for fighting the forces of good and all but the way she just wears these clothes to a chess tournament like it was nothing is a bit silly.

Berthier from Sailor Moon and Elsa from Frozen

Speaking of the way Berthier dresses, some have mentioned similarities between her and Elsa from Frozen. See the image included above that explains the parallels between the two. This seems a bit far fetched to me. The controlling of the power and similarities in her relationship to Koan aren’t really the same. She does not encase herself in an ice tower. The similarities are mostly cosmetic and even that could be a coincidence. Elsa and Berthier both have ice powers, and so they dress in blue, a colour associated with cold. They also have white hair or light hair which is also natural for someone with ice powers. The braid is really the biggest similarity going on here. All considered I think Elsa bares more of a passing resemblance to Rosalina from Super Mario Galaxy. Why not just get the Elsa Disney Infinity figure instead of the Rosalina Amiibo which has been so hard to find?

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Young Ami with a chess board

This is a fairly Ami centric episode, as she is the one to get kidnapped this time around. One big addition to the story not in the manga was the inclusion of young Ami and showing more of her father. Young Ami is quite cute and shown being abandoned by her father who is a painter. She is also shown having an interest in playing chess. Sailor Mercury uses a new ability Shine Snow Illusion. This isn’t enough to save her from getting kidnapped. Who will be next?

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Shine Snow Illusion

The next episode is Act 17, Secret – Sailor Jupiter. The episode preview shows some shipping between Makoto and Ittou Asanuma. His scenes were cut from episode 16 but we’ll be seeing more of him next time.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 17 -Ittou Asanuma

A couple of visually interesting things are seen in the next episode preview. Usagi has no nose in one shot and Chibiusa is wearing a short sleeved version of her blue school uniform. This seemed off to me and a post on the moonsisters.org Facebook page made me realize what is what. Chibiusa’s white school uniform is normally the one that has short sleeves while her blue school uniform has long sleeves.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 17 - Usagi has no nose

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 17 - Chibiusa in her incorrect coloured uniform with Luna-P

Keep reading for more images from this episode and the next episode preview.

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Watch Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16, Abduction – Sailor Mercury, February 21st at 5am Eastern Time

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Berthier

The latest episode of Sailor Moon Crystal will be available this Saturday February 21st on Crunchyroll, Hulu and Niconico. Act 16, Abduction – Sailor Mercury, will be available at 7pm Japan Standard Time which is 5am Eastern Time, 2am Pacific Time. This week we continue with the story Chibiusa and the Black Moon Clan as Sailor Mercury faces off against Berthier.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Ami sitting intensely

This episode will feature Mamoru’s very cool Tuxedo Mask puppet. Where did he get that thing anyway? We learn more about Chibiusa and get a brief look at the future. Berthier, the second of the Ayakashi Sisters, will be facing off against Sailor Mercury in a chess match. More importantly, Ami will be swimming in this episode. That’s right! That guy who always asks in the comments about when there will be a swimsuit episode will finally get some minor satisfaction. This won’t be like in the original anime where we would randomly have beach episodes which were ultimately cut from the English dub, but this will provide for some level of fan service. In the original manga version of this story Ami, Usagi and Naru all appear in one piece swimsuits. Perhaps Luke’s prayers will be answered and these will be animated as two piece suits for Sailor Moon Crystal!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 16 - Abduction - Sailor Mercury

Ayakashi Sisters Petit Chara figures to be released in June

Ayakashi Sisters Petit Chara figures - Petz, Berthier, Calaveras, Koan and Sailor Moon

The next wave of Sailor Moon Petit Chara figures has been revealed on the Sailor Moon Official Site. The new figures include the Ayakashi Sisters Koan, Berthier, Calaveras and Petz as well as Sailor Moon with her Cutie Moon Rod which she had during the Black Moon Clan arc of the manga which was the Sailor Moon R season of the anime. These figures will be released in June 2015.

Ayakashi Sisters Petit Chara figures - Berthier, Koan, Calaveras and Petz

In the past Petit Chara figures, a line of Super Deformed blind box figures by MegaHouse, have all been of heroes. The first set had Sailor Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus as well as Tuxedo Mask. The second set contained Super Sailor Moon, Sailor Chibi Moon, Sailor Pluto, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn. The third set included civilian uniform versions of Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto, Minako and Mamoru. There are usually 6 figures to a set, with 6 of them being packaged in one box. Expressions vary so while a set will have all 6, each figure has one of two facial expressions. A Princess Serenity figure that is not part of a set will be released on Amazon on February 18th. It’s unknown who might included as the 6th figure in this set, if there even is one, or if they will have different facial expressions. It seems a bit odd to include these characters but not other villains such as those from the Dark Kingdom story arc. This may simply be due to the fact that Sailor Moon Crystal will soon be showcasing these characters, though by June the Black Moon Clan story arc will be nearly complete and the Ayakashi Sisters will be long dead.

Ayakashi Sisters Petit Chara figures - Sailor Moon, Koan, Berthier, Calaveras and Petz

I bought the first two sets of these figures and found them to be very nice. They’re small and easy to display. A minor amount of assembly is required but they hold together well and the included stand will make sure they don’t keep falling over.

Support the site by buying some of the previously released figures on Amazon.

Sailor Moon R episodes 71 and 72 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon R episode 71 - Beruche vs. Sailor Mercury in a chess game

The latest two episodes of Sailor Moon R were added to Hulu and Neon Alley this Monday morning. This week we see episodes 71 and 72 which deal with the fate of the rest of the Ayakashi sisters Berthier, Petz and Calaveras. These episodes were the last two included in DiC’s original dub of Sailor Moon. Following these was a lengthy break of a couple of years before the next episodes were finally dubbed. For a lot of people who watched Sailor Moon in the mid 90s and grew out of it, these were probably the last episodes they watched!

Sailor Moon R episode 71 - Beruche freezing herself

Episode 71, For Friendship: Ami vs. Bertheir, is all about chess. Ami has been hanging out as this chess tower which is shaped like a giant rook. Berthier, of the Ayakashi sisters, who happens to have a very similar power as Sailor Mercury also happens to have a similar interest in chess! It made a bit more sense that Koan happened to face off against Sailor Mars twice since she simply attacked the shrine she lived and worked at twice but the coincidence of Berthier encountering Ami twice is a bit silly. Regardless, a fierce all or nothing chess game is played and amped up with some magical chess pieces that freeze the loser. Sailor Mercury wins, since she’s incredibly smart, and Berthier gives up on life. Having learned from the last episode that she can be healed, Sailor Moon heals Berthier and she’s happy with her sister Koan once again! Hooray!

Sailor Moon R episode 72 - Chibiusa watching Sailor Moon transform

Episode 72, Rubeus the Heartless: The Tragic Sisters, takes care of the last two Ayakashi sisters. The first event isn’t really relevant to the episode itself but has some importance in the next few episodes. As Sailor Moon and the rest of the Sailor Guardians transform Chibiusa is shoved in a closet type thing and sees them all transforming. This is a huge revelation for her as she always liked Sailor Moon but hated Usagi. Hard to reconcile these two things! Such are the perils of a secret identity. Finally when Chibiusa sees Sailor Moon use the Silver Crystal later in the episode Chibiusa realizes that she needs to get a hand on that thing to go back to the future to save her mother. The main plot of the episode has Petz and Calaveras fighting over this magic wand thing, nearly killing each other, and of course getting healed! Ultimately all four of the Ayakashi sisters are reunited and they open up “Beauty Quartette”, a small shop which sells beauty supplies. I’m not sure the business model is rock solid, as one person would easily have been able to run this small shop, but now these four are splitting the profits not to mention being stuck in 20th century Tokyo with no credit history, valid ID or a past. It won’t be easy making a life for themselves, but it’s probably better than trying to live on a dead, desolate prison planet.

Sailor Moon R episode 72 - The Ayakashi Sisters' Beauty Quartette

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