Great news for Sailor Moon fans who hate paper, or don’t have a lot of paper in the form of money, the Sailor Moon Eternal Edition manga is now available digitally through a large number of ebook retailers in English and in nine other languages. This was announced as part of Usagi’s Birthday event on June 30th and the digital versions have been available since July 1st. Details can be found on the Japanese site, which includes 30 page previews in all languages, or the Kodansha site which includes links to all US distributors. Options for English fans in the US include Amazon Kindle (which includes comiXology) for $7.67 per book (all prices in US dollars), comiXology for $13.77 per book, Book Walker for $12.47 per book, Google Play for $9.99 per book, Apple Books for $9.99 per book and Kobo for $11.19 per book.

Using the links above you can order the Amazon Kindle version. The adds show the price as $13.99 but after clicking on them it shows up as $7.67 for now. The page mentions that this also includes a comiXology version, though I’m not familiar with how that service works. This does seems to be the best price of all of the versions. Since both Kindle and comiXology have apps which run on modern phones and tablets, this should be a good option for many fans, though those who have libraries on other services may find it’s worth an extra few dollars to purchase it from another retailer. Whatever option one might chose, this digital version is a fraction of the price of the fairly expensive print versions of the large size Eternal Edition of the manga.

One advantage of the digital version is that without the crease of a physical book you’ll be able to see all details of two page spreads! What are the differences and advantages of one platform over another? I can’t say I’m familiar enough with either to have a preference. While I have a functional and recent iPhone I only have a very old hand me down iPad which doesn’t run newer versions of apps so I don’t think this is something I will be getting, what with the countless paper versions of the manga I own. I’d be curious to see what this site’s users are deciding to use, if any. Let us know in the comments!

Had Sailor Moon Crystal continued beyond episode 26 using its regular schedule, Act 27, Infinity 1 – Premonition, would be released this coming Saturday, August 1st. There will be no Act 27 this weekend. We don’t know when we will get it. The final episode’s closing scene left us with the words “À bientôt” which insinuates we may get it some day, but not right away. What is a fan to do? I would suggest you pick up the Sailor Moon manga by Naoko Takeuchi.

I’ve mentioned in my reviews time and time again just how closely Sailor Moon Crystal resembled the manga. It was so close that mentioning the similarities was a waste of time. It made more sense to point out the occasional differences, of which there were few. I prepared myself for each new episode of the show by rereading the equivalent Manga chapter and after doing so the episodes always played out just as expected. If you’ve enjoyed Sailor Moon Crystal to date the easiest way to continue following that story is to pick up the manga where the show left off.

For years reading the manga was not easy, as English releases of the manga released by Tokyo Pop were out of print, but the latest release of the manga by Kodansha is easy to find at many stores and online retailers. Feeling cheap? You can read the fan translations over at Miss Dream, but I would always recommend supporting the series by buying the manga. If you’re starting from the beginning, I don’t need to teach you how to count. If you’re starting where Sailor Moon Crystal takes off the first Kodansha comic you’ll want to pick up is volume 6 with Sailor Chibi Moon on the cover. This book starts the Infinity Arc which is where Sailor Moon Crystal would have, and hopefully someday will, continue with its next episode.

As always you can buy these books using these Amazon links to support the site.

This Friday, August 22nd 2014, a Sailor Moon Crystal visual book will be released in Japan by Kodansha. This book will include information and images from the new Sailor Moon anime, Sailor Moon Crystal, including voice actor and staff information as well as a number of bonuses. Included will be a sleeve for the previously released Moon Pride single by Momoiro Clover Z and a DVD featuring the TV sized version of Moon Pride and a trailer for Sailor Moon Crystal. This DVD will be region 2, viewable only on Japanese DVD players or for those who have a region free DVD player or drive.

The art book, likely the first of many of it’s kind, can be preordered from Amazon Japan or CD Japan. Once I receive my copy I’ll post more information and images.

Source: Moonkitty, Sailor Moon: The Moonieverse and the Sailor Moon official site

Last week, March 25th, volumes 9 and 10 of the Sailor Moon Manga Complete Editions were released in Japan. Volume 9 features Endymion and Serenity on the cover while volume 10 features all 10 Sailor Guardians. This concludes the story of the Sailor Moon manga with the Stars story arc featuring Galaxia and the Starlights. Volumes 11 and 12 of the manga will be released later this month and will likely contain Code Name Sailor V and the Parallel Sailor Moon story, as that’s all that has not been published to date. Parallel Sailor Moon was originally published only in the Materials Collection Artbook but also added with the 2004 edition of the manga which is what we recently saw translated into English by Kodansha Comics USA. As with other volumes this complete edition features all colour pages previously only seen in the pages of Nakayoshi where they were originally published.

With most of these two books dedicated to wrapping up the main story we only have one side story included, that being the final Chibiusa’s Picture Diary story, the Secret of the Hammer Price Shrine. This story has Chibiusa and Hotaru getting into high jynx with their trendy friends Naruru, Naru’s sister, and Ruruna who dress up as Sailor Guardians who fans refer to as Sailor Channel and Sailor Guccicci.

You can order these books from Amazon Japan (vol. 9, vol. 10), JList (vol.9, vol. 10) or CD Japan (vol. 9, vol. 10).

The 5th and 6th volumes of the new Complete Editions of the Sailor Moon manga are in stores in Japan now. I received my copy a few days ago. The Complete Editions of the Sailor Moon manga are a slightly larger format with glossy pages and all colour pages originally appearing in the pages of Nakayoshi. The entire series will be collected over 10 volumes. Volumes 5 and 6 cover the entirety of the Infinity arc, which includes the appearance of Sailor Neptune, Uranus and Saturn as well as the Death Busters. It ends with the appearance of Pegasus setting up the next two books. Also included are Chibiusa’s Picture Diary Chapter 2 and the Princess Kaguya’s Lover story. These are normally included in this order, as opposed to earlier side stories which were included early at the end of volume 4.

I got my books from Amazon Japan (vol. 5, vol. 6). You can also order them from JList (vol. 5, vol. 6) or CD Japan (vol. 5, vol. 6).

I received my copies of volumes 3 and 4 of the Complete Editions of the Sailor Moon manga earlier this week and was surprised to see some of the short stories at the end of volume 4. It was not originally clear how the chapters would be distributed amongst this new 10 volume set, as there are less books each containing more pages than previous versions. The first two volumes covered the Dark Kingdom arc ending just as Chibiusa pops up. These two books cover the story of Chibiusa, Crystal Tokyo and the Black Moon from Act 15, Sailor Mars, to Act 26, Never Ending. Instead of jumping in with the Infinity arc volume 4 instead completes with a couple of the Sailor Moon short stories. We have the first Chibiusa’s Picture Diary as well as Casa Blanca Memory included in this book. As with the first two volumes this includes the colour pages, some of which have only previously been seen in the pages of Nakayoshi where Sailor Moon was originally published.

The first story, “Chibiusa’s Picture Diary – Beware of the Transfer Student” recalls an encounter Chibiusa and her classmates had with a young vampire girl named Lilica. This was originally published at the end of the 5th volume of the manga after the chapter titled “Endymion”. Since this is the 2nd last chapter in volume 3 of this Complete Edition it seems like this would have been an obvious place to keep this story, but it seems to fit fine where it is.

The other story included is Casa Blanca Memory, where we learn some of Rei’s back story. It was originally published along with Princess Kaguya’s lover in volume 11 of the original manga release and later with the second set of short stories in the reprint.

The new release of the Sailor moon manga is finally out in Japan and with that we can get a better look at a lot of the differences with this edition. This Kanzenban or “Complete Edition” is larger than any previous release and is hard cover.

Left to right the original release, the 2003 reprint and the 2013 edition

The actual art inside is updated like the version released in Japan 10 years and ago, which had the same art as the version which was recently released in North America by Kodansha.

In addition to some colour pages at the front of the book which had been included in the last version we also have some additional colour pages previously seen only in the pages of Nakayoshi, the magazine in which Sailor Moon was originally published in Japan. In the photo below you can see that the new version has colour pages for the title page of a chapter which is in the middle of the book. For comparison that same page from the last version released is in black and white.

2013 Edition

2003 Edition

Finally we also have a sneak peak at the covers of volumes 3 and 4 of the manga which are set to be released on December 28th. There will be two books being released at one month intervals for future releases.

I haven’t received my copy of the books yet but I expect to get them next weekend. Expect a full review at some point. I ordered my books from Amazon Japan (vol. 1, vol. 2). You can also pick them up from CD Japan (vol. 1, vol. 2).

Thanks to all of the twitter users who’s images I used in this post. Give a follow to @rararanfancy, @amano_sira_sagi, @hiro4leaf, @omansiru and @oozorakeroko2 to show your appreciation.

This weekend is New York Comic Con where there was a Kodansha Comics panel to discuss many things, including the current state of the Sailor Moon manga, art books and the new Sailor Moon anime we’re all excited to see. A lot of what we already knew was repeated at this panel. We had already heard that the new Sailor Moon anime would air in the winter. This is repeated as being “around January 2014″. The method of distribution was once again confirmed to be Niconico, a Japanese online streaming video site, and it was added that the show will be subtitled in 10 different languages! This would obviously include English, though we can only speculate as to what the other languages may be.

Kodansha Comics USA also gave out some items at their booth including a Sailor Moon 2014 calendar, similar to the one they released last year.

Source: Go Robo Now and Kodansha Comics

With the main story of the Sailor Moon manga already released fans may be wanting more, and that’s where these Sailor Moon manga short stories come in. Originally the manga was released with various side stories inserted throughout the main story. In the rerelease of the manga these stories were all removed in order to keep the main story intact without any interruption, but it would hardly be right to leave these stories on the cutting room floor. With that in mind the Sailor Moon short stories have been compiled into two book with the first book being released today. You can pick it up at your local store or though the Amazon link below. You can also preorder the second book which will be available November 26th.

This first book collects Chibiusa’s short stories as well as some other side stories related to entrance exam preparation. The second book’s main story is the story of Princess Kaguya, which was later adapted as the Sailor Moon S movie. It also includes a story about Rei’s past and Parallel Sailor Moon, a look at a possible future which includes the daughters of all of the main characters.

I wish I had some photos of the book to share but there don’t seem to be any copies stocked at any Chapters, Coles or Indigo locations in Ottawa. Included is an image from Kodansha’s tumblr page. The cover art features Chibiusa, Chibi Chibi and Diana. The back of the book features Princess Sailor Moon, a character from the live action series who has never made an appearance in the manga.

As always these and other products are available for purchase through the Amazon links on the left sidebar of the main page. By using these links you support this site which we greatly appreciate.

We’re finally getting some details about the new Kanzenban or “Complete Versions” of the Sailor Moon manga set to be released this fall in Japan. They will include new cover art by Naoko Takeuchi, the original author and artist of the Sailor Moon manga. The first two covers feature Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury and were shared on the official Sailor Moon site. Though they are to be released this fall no specific date has yet been announced. Both volumes 1 and 2 will be released on the same date with the rest being released at monthly intervals.

The last release was over 14 volumes while this release will only have 12. The original release of the manga was over 18 books. Will there be more pages per volume or will we simply be losing the side stories with this release? It’s not clear at this time. These will be printed in an A5 size. This is 148.5 × 210 mm or 5.83 × 8.27 inches. That’s a bit bigger than the English versions that are currently being released which are themselves a bit bigger than the usual Japanese manga compilation.

There are no current plans to release this version of the manga in English. When asked about it Kodansha USA mentioned on their tumblr page that it’s unlikely this version will be released any time soon unless there are significant differences given they are still in the process of releasing the current version of the manga.