Sailor Moon Crystal Season III CD 2 single review

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Adam

The second of three CD singles with theme songs for Sailor Moon Crystal Season III was released on Wednesday May 25th. You can order it along with the first CD from Amazon Japan. It features the second version of the opening theme, In Love With the New Moon, this time sung by Mitsuko Horie, the voice of Sailor Galaxia from the original Sailor Moon anime. The new ending theme is Maiden’s Advice by Misato Fukuen, the voice of Chibiusa. This is a CD/DVD combo. The CD includes the second opening and ending in full length versions as well as karaoke versions. The DVD includes music videos for both songs. This includes shorter TV sized openings and full length versions. The CD is not very expensive, about $13 US plus a bunch of shipping, and I would suggest picking it up to support the show though if you’re feeling cheap I’m sure you can find it somewhere.

The packaging is nice, as with the first disc. It comes with an insert with the lyrics and an ad for the Blu-Ray. The back of the case features Sailor Saturn, Sailor Moon, Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Jupiter. This seems like an odd grouping until you see the back of Sailor Mars’s hair on the side. This fits together with the back of the first CD and no doubt the third CD will fit on the right.

What can I say about these songs? I didn’t care as much for this version of In Love With the New Moon as I did the first one. It’s enjoyable just not quite as catchy. The ending theme speaks for itself. Maiden’s Advice embodies everything that is Chibiusa. I feel like I’ll get cavities listening to it!

The DVD features are nothing spectacular. The TV sized opening and endings are pretty much exactly what we see in the episodes only without credits and in lower resolution. The music videos accompanying the full length versions are nice enough. They both features footages of the episodes which we’ve seen to date, right up the end of the latest episode, Act 33. The In Love With the New Moon video shows clips from the entire series, focusing a lot on Usagi’s relationship with Haruka. The video for Maiden’s Advice is all about Chibiusa! It’s just like you’d expect.

The final CD will be released on June 22nd. You can pre-order it from Amazon Japan. The listing shows an image of Momoiro Clover Z though I imagine the art will be consistent with the other releases and perhaps showcase Tuxedo Mask on the cover. This will once again feature the opening theme, In Love With the New Moon, but this time sung by Momoiro Clover Z, the band who performed Moon Pride during the first two story arcs. The new ending theme, Only Eternity Brings the Two Together, will be sung by Kenji Nojima, the voice of Tuxedo Mask. I believe based on the timing of other themes that this new opening and ending theme will be featured during Act 34 which will be available on Monday May 30th. If not, they will almost certainly be featured during Act 35.

Keep reading for more images of the packaging.

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Sailor Moon Crystal Season III CD 1 review

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Adam

The first of three Sailor Moon Crystal season III theme song CDs was released on April 27th in Japan. I ordered mine from Amazon Japan so I was lucky enough to get it by Thursday the 28th. This CD single costs 1365 yen, about $13 US, and contains two tracks and a bonus DVD. The songs included are the current opening and ending themes for Sailor Moon Crystal’s Infinity arc. If you’re looking to check out the full length versions of these songs you should support the official release and buy the CD though you should be able to find these tracks somewhere on the internet.

The opening theme, In Love With the New Moon, is sung by Etsuko Yakushimaru. She previously covered Otome No Policy in the 20th Anniversary Album. Included with the CD is an ad for Etsuko Yakushimaru’s rock band Sōtaisei Riron’s latest album New World which was released on the same day. This is my favourite of the two tracks on this short single. A karaoke version is also included if that’s something you’re interested in.

The ending theme, Eternal Eternity, is sung by the voices of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, Junko Minagawa and Sayaka Ohara. This song embodies the Infinity arc as it is sung by these characters.

Four music videos are included on the DVD. The TV sized opening and closing are pretty much what we’ve seen on TV and in the streaming show, but with lower resolution. The longer album length music videos included clips from Sailor Moon Crystal’s Infinity arc. There appears to have been some attention put into what clips would be included as they have footage up to and including Act 29, which was the latest episode to air prior to this CD’s release, but nothing further as far as I noticed.

Two more CDs will be released at one month intervals. A second CD with the same opening In Love With the New Moon, but sung by Mitsuko Horie, the voice of Sailor Galaxia from the original Sailor Moon anime, and the second ending, Maiden’s Advice, sung by Misato Fukuen, the voice of Chibiusa will be released on May 25th. A third CD single with the opening In Love With the New Moon but this time sung by Momoiro Clover Z and the third ending theme, Only Eternity Brings the Two Together, sung by Kenji Nojima, the voice of Tuxedo Mask, will be released on June 22nd.

Keep reading for more images of this CD’s packaging. No screenshots are included since they’re all from scenes we’re already seen before.

Watch a ton of Sailor Moon Crystal season 3 footage including the new opening, closing and half of Act 27

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Adam

There was an event today at the Anime Japan convention in which we saw the new Sailor Moon Crystal opening, closing, got a new trailer and even got a preview of what seems to be about half of Act 27. All of this footage is now available online, though the episode footage is of lower quality with people talking over it. Those people happen to be the voice actors for Sailor Moon, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn as well as the new director, but this is still a fairly terrible way to watch a clip.

This is not all of Act 27, yet it appears to be a continuous episode. Is this what people saw at the premiere event earlier this month? If it is then we may have been wrong in assuming Sailor Moon Crystal will not have a 1:1 ratio of manga chapters to episodes. Yes this clip concludes after the fight with the Daimon that comes from the girls at Mugen Academy but at less than 12 minutes we are hardly getting a full episode. Not everything seen here is in proper order either. We see Usagi disguised as a student of Mugen Academy. Is this a change in the order of the story or are we just being presented with a bunch of out of order clips from the first two episodes, strung together in a somewhat cohesive way? Regardless, it was mentioned that this season will span 13 episodes and there are 11 manga chapters for the Infinity Arc, so while this isn’t a 1:1 ratio, only two new episodes will be added to this season. It is still not clear if or how Act 27 will be split.

The better quality footage is of the music videos for the opening and ending themes. We previously mentioned that this is only the first of the ending themes and that many CDs would be released throughout the coming months. Also included is the CD cover art for the first single.

Here is the new opening In Love With the New Moon sung by Etsuko Yakushimaru. She previously sang the cover of Otome no Policy on the 20th Anniversary Memorial Tribute Album and her voice here reminds me a lot of that song. This new opening has a lot of naked people in it, if you’re into that.

Next is the first ending theme Eternal Eternity sung by the voices of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, Junko Minagawa and Sayaka Ohara. This song reminds me of a few other anime themes including the opening theme for Revolutionary Girl Utena. Some of the visuals reminds me of the footage in the opening as well. The other that came to mind was a song from the Street Fighter II anime movie Itoshisa To Setsunasa To Kokoro Tsuyosa. Yes I know, I seem to only have watched anime the late 90s. It was better then.

Finally we have the new trailer, which includes some footage we’ve seen before.

There’s a lot of new footage here so I’ve included a bunch of screenshots for your convenience lower in the post. Of note is just how different Luna and Artemis look! Reminds me of something out of the Moon Animate Make-Up! project. What do you think of the new animation? I think it looks great, but obviously a bit different. I’m real excited for this new season which is a bit over a week away. Here’s hoping we get some news about a streaming version soon.

Source: Sailor Moon Official Site
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The voices of Chibiusa and Tuxedo Mask will sing ending themes for Sailor Moon Crystal

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Adam

The new episodes of Sailor Moon Crystal, covering the Infinity arc of the manga, will have three different ending themes! When the trailer launched we previously announced that the new opening would be “In Love With the New Moon” sung by Etsuko Yakushimaru and that the ending theme would be Eternal Eternity sung by the voices of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, Junko Minagawa and Sayaka Ohara. An announcement on the official Sailor Moon site tell us that this is only the first ending theme as there will be two others! Misato Fukuen, the voice of Chibiusa, will sing Otome no Susume or Maiden’s Advice and Kenji Nojima, the voice of Tuxedo Mask, will sing Eien Dake ga Futari o Kakeru or Only Eternity Brings the Two Together.

A CD single with the opening theme In Love With the New Moon and first ending theme Eternal Eternity will be released on April 27th. Two others CDs will be released at about a month interval. A CD single with the same opening theme, In Love With the New Moon, but sung by Mitsuko Horie and the second ending, Maiden’s Advice, will be released on May 25th. Mitsuko Horie provided the voice of Sailor Galaxia in Sailor Moon Sailor Stars and sang the cover of the Sailor Stars theme on the 20th Anniversary Album. A third CD single again with the opening In Love With the New Moon but this time sung by Momoiro Clover Z and the third ending theme, Only Eternity Brings the Two Together will be released on June 22nd. Momoiro Clover Z sang the original opening theme, Moon Pride, which appeared before the first 26 episodes of Sailor Moon Crystal.

All three will be a CD/DVD combo with music videos included. MSRP is 1500 yen, about $13 US, each. You can pre-order these CDs from online retailers such as Amazon Japan (1st CD, 2nd CD, 3rd CD) and CD Japan (1st CD, 2nd CD, 3rd CD).

See Jennifer Cihi’s at her upcoming appearances in Wisconsin and Los Angeles and take her singing and acting class in Nashville

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Adam

There’s a lot going on throughout the next month for Jennifer Cihi, the singer who performed many songs for the original English dub of the Sailor Moon anime. She’s be giving performance classes in Nashville June 16th to the 18th, appearing at My Animix in Kenosha, Wisconsin on June 20th and performing with iconiQ, the Soundtrack Orchestra, for SERASYMPHONY in Los Angeles on July 5th.

Aspiring singers and actors will want to check out Jennifer Cihi’s Theatre Master Class in Nashville, Texas from June 16th to the 18th. The courses will take place on weekday evenings from 5:30pm to 8:30pm Central Time at The Arts at Center Street. You can send an e-mail to booksailormoon@gmail.com to register.

Sailor Moon fans in the Chicago and Milwaukee area should check out My Animix in Kenosha Saturday June 20th. My Animix is a sort of anime club and store. Jennifer Cihi will be making an appearance from 4pm to 7pm Central Time.

Los Angeles area Sailor Moon fans can catch Jennifer Cihi performing with iconiQ, The Soundtrack Orchestra, for SERASYMPHONY. This concert will take place on Sunday July 5th at 8pm Pacific Time at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. Although Jennifer Cihi provided the singing voice for many dubbed Sailor Moon songs, SERASYMPHONY also features a lot of music from the original Japanese version of Sailor Moon. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased from the SERASYMPHONY site. Check out the video embedded below for a preview of what SERASYMPHONY has to offer.

Jennifer Cihi, who is credited as the singing voice of Sailor Moon, appears in a number of songs played throughout the original DiC dub of the Sailor Moon anime. On the three Sailor Moon soundtracks her name is credited as Sailor Moon, Princess Serena and Sailor Mars. She has provided the vocals for “I Wanna Be A Star!”, “My Only Love”, “Carry On”, “It’s A New Day”, “Call My Name”, “The Power of Love”, “I Want Someone to Love”, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Who Do You Think You Are?”.

Jennifer Cihi to appear at JABEcon in Lebanon, Tennessee this Saturday May 23rd

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Adam

Jennifer Cihi, a singer who performed many songs for the original English dub of Sailor Moon, will be making an appearance at JABEcon this coming Saturday at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, not far from Nashville. Often credited as the singing voice of Sailor Moon, Jennifer Cihi’s voice was heard in the series and on the three soundtracks that were made for the show.

A quick look at the JABEcon schedule shows Jennifer Cihi appearing at two panels, held at 10:30am and 1pm.

10:30am to 11:30am
“Intro to Singing with Jennifer Cihi”:
Learn the ins and outs of singing in Anime, Music City, and much more with guest Jennifer Cihi (Singing Voice of Sailor Moon, Princess Mononoke, and an accomplished singer in Music City).

1:00pm to 2:00pm
“Sailor Moon Fan Panel with Jennifer Cihi”:
Join Jennifer Cihi (The singing voice of Sailor Moon) as we travel back to the 1990s when Sailor Moon was singing her way to pop culture and talk about the hit show’s impact. Bring your Sailor Moon cosplay and Q&A for a chance to win a cool prize!

On Sailor Moon soundtracks Jennifer Cihi is credited as Sailor Moon, Princess Serena and Sailor Mars. She provided the vocals for “I Wanna Be A Star!”, “My Only Love”, “Carry On”, “It’s A New Day”, “Call My Name”, “The Power of Love”, “I Want Someone to Love”, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Who Do You Think You Are?”.

Listen to previews of every song from the Sailor Moon Crystal Character Song Collection CD

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Adam

We previously announced that a Sailor Moon Crystal Character Song Collection CD would be released on April 29th. Previews of all songs have been posted to the official Sailor Moon Instagram page. The first 9 tracks posted match the names given in the track listing earlier. The final song was previously posted to YouTube. The clips on Instagram are all 15 seconds, the maximum length for videos on the site, but with a sample of every track we get a good idea of what’s in store for next week.

All video clips are embedded below.

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Check out a preview of the Sailor Moon Crystal Character Song Collection CD

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Adam

A Sailor Moon Crystal Character Song Collection CD will be released on April 29th. A preview of this CD has been posted to the Official Sailor Moon site. Just what is this? This is not music or songs from Sailor Moon Crystal but rather songs performed by the voice actors from the show. The old Sailor Moon Anime frequently had these and occasionally included them in the series. The site mentions that it has been nearly 20 years since the release of a Character Music Collection. This should be a surprise to fans of the 2003 Sailor Moon Live Action series which had many albums and singles of character songs by the main cast.

The full track listing in Japanese is on the Sailor Moon official site. There are 10 tracks in total. Songs will be performed by the voices of Sailor Moon by Kotono Mitsuishi, Sailor Mercury by Hisako Kanemoto, Sailor Mars by Rina Sato, Sailor Jupiter by Ami Koshimizu, Sailor Venus by Shizuka Ito, Tuxedo Mask by Kenji Nojima, Jadeite by Daisuke Kishio, Nephrite by Kosuke Toriumi, Zoisite by Masaya Matsukaze and Kunzite by Eiji Takemoto. All of the Sailor Guardians have their own solo tracks, as does Tuxedo Mask. The Shitennou all perform together on one track. Two duets are done, one with Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter and the other with Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus. The final track has all of the Sailor Guardians performing together.

You can preorder the CD from Amazon Japan or CD Japan for 3240 yen, about $27 US.

Jennifer Cihi to appear at Anime Zakka in downtown Boston Friday February 20th

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Adam

Jennifer Cihi, a singer who performed a number of songs for the original English dub of the Sailor Moon anime, will be making an appearance at Anime Zakka, a comic book shop in downtown Boston, on February 20th. Details posted on the Sailor Moon News Facebook Page mention that this free event will be an opportunity to listen to Sailor Moon songs, get an autograph, chat and more.

Anime Zakka has two locations in Boston. This event will be taking place at the location at 350 Newbury Street on Friday February 20th from 5 to 7pm.

Jennifer Cihi, often credited as being the singing voice of Sailor Moon, appears in a number of songs played throughout the series as well as on the three soundtracks which have been released. Her name is credited as Sailor Moon, Princess Serena and Sailor Mars as she has done the vocals for “I Wanna Be A Star!”, “My Only Love”, “Carry On”, “It’s A New Day”, “Call My Name”, “The Power of Love”, “I Want Someone to Love”, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Who Do You Think You Are?”.

These CDs are out of print. You can buy them from resellers on Amazon using the links below. Many songs are also available on iTunes.

Sailor Moon Crystal Original Soundtrack Review

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Adam

The Sailor Moon Crystal Original Soundtrack was released in Japan on December 24th. Now that I’ve had a chance to listen to it a couple of times I’m ready to share my thoughts. The CD contains mainly instrumental background music from the show by Yasuharu Takanashi, though it also includes the TV sized opening and closing themes Moon Pride and Gekkou (Moonbow) by Momoiro Clover Z. The first CD has 30 tracks and the second has 24. A full track listing can found on the official Sailor Moon site with a rough translation in my last post about the soundtrack.

The two CD set is not that expensive, costing about $25 US plus shipping which is pretty good for a Japanese release. You can get it from retailers such as Amazon Japan, CD Japan or YesAsia. If you’re unwilling to pay this modest cost to support the show, I’m sure you can find a site where you can download the soundtrack.

The music included covers the full first years of Sailor Moon Crystal which includes the 13 episodes which are already available, covering the Dark Kingdom story arc, as well as the upcoming Black Moon Clan story arc. This means there are a number of tracks here which have not been heard on the show before. While it may be obvious that some tracks, such as “Black Lady”, “The Gate of Time” or “Sailor Chibi Moon’s Theme” may be new there are other tracks in here which for whatever reason have not been heard before.

It’s difficult for me to know for sure, since I’m really going by ear and memory, but of the tracks there are a number which I don’t believe had been included in the show. Mainly the themes for all Sailor Guardians but Sailor Moon seem completely new. Why Sailor Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus did not use their themes in their premier episodes isn’t something I pretend to understand. Perhaps these tracks were simply written later in the life of the series of maybe there was a decision not to use them. Similarly all but Usagi and Ami’s themes didn’t seem familiar to me. Ami’s theme was heard in her first episode but I don’t believe Rei, Makoto or Minako’s themes had been heard before. For the most part the rest of the tracks are some that have been heard before.

The insert is pretty lacklustre with the pages inside being printed only in black and white. This includes a track listing, information about the artist Yasuhara Takanashi including an interview and a couple of pictures. I don’t read Japanese but I have included photos of all pages at the bottom of the post. Otherwise the packaging is simple but appealing, with images of the Moon and the Earth on the CDs themselves.

The music in the show is generally enjoyable, and if you’ve seen the show you probably have a decent idea of what that music is like. The CD set is quite cheap, so I would recommend it to fans of the show. As this covers all music from the first year there’s no concern of having this become obsolete and there being another CD set coming out any time soon.

Keep reading for more photos of the CD and included black and white booklet.

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Tag Archives: Music

Sailor Moon Crystal Season III CD 2 single review

Sailor Moon Crystal Season III CD 1 review

Watch a ton of Sailor Moon Crystal season 3 footage including the new opening, closing and half of Act 27

The voices of Chibiusa and Tuxedo Mask will sing ending themes for Sailor Moon Crystal

See Jennifer Cihi’s at her upcoming appearances in Wisconsin and Los Angeles and take her singing and acting class in Nashville

Jennifer Cihi to appear at JABEcon in Lebanon, Tennessee this Saturday May 23rd

Listen to previews of every song from the Sailor Moon Crystal Character Song Collection CD

Check out a preview of the Sailor Moon Crystal Character Song Collection CD

Jennifer Cihi to appear at Anime Zakka in downtown Boston Friday February 20th

Sailor Moon Crystal Original Soundtrack Review