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.
Earlier today (yesterday in Japan by now) was the first performance of the new Sailor Moon La reconquista musical. A bunch of Sailor Moon fans and even Naoko Takeuchi and Fumio Osano were in attendance. Fan reactions seem positive at this point. All of the songs were new. The story is said to be close to the manga. The Sailor Guardians are now using smart phones, which seems like an appropriate modern version of their seemingly futuristic communicators at the time of the original series. We also see in some images that there are swords! I have not gone seeking out any elaborate spoilers but if you’re interested in that you can check out this full review by Sailor Moon fan Yosenex.
A Tweet by Sailor Moon Obsession shows us that the program for the musical includes new art by Naoko Takeuchi.
A couple of Japanese web sites have some photos from the musical posted online. Check out natalie.mu and Sponichi Annex for some of those.
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.
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.
The latest issue of ROLa Magazine in Japan includes an interview with Naoko Takeuchi, the creator of Sailor Moon. This interview is a rare treat as Naoko Takeuchi very rarely makes public appearances having done next to no publicity since Sailor Moon went off the air over 15 years ago. Her editor Fumio Osano also participates in this interview. The magazine interview is in Japanese but luckily the hard working people at Miss Dream have translated the interview for English fans to enjoy. So go ahead and check it out for some great insight into the early concept of Sailor Moon. This is only the first part of the interview. The second half will appear in the next issues of ROLa. I’m sure the staff at Miss Dream will be bringing us a translation of that as well.
Some interesting things are learned from this interview. I never thought of Tuxedo Mask as a parody of a character and who knew old men would lobby for less attractive female characters?
Volume 12 of the Sailor Moon manga was released today! It is now available in stores and online. Buy it from the Amazon link included below to support the site.
This story concludes the main story of the Sailor Moon manga. This is it! Will Sailor Moon beat all the bad guys or will she be killed along with all her friends? You’ll have to read the book to find out! There will be two more books of short stories which are aside from the main continuity which will be released in the coming months.
Included as always are some nice looking colour pages.
Details about the Japanese reprint of the Sailor Moon manga have been pretty vague or rather completely incorrect in the past. We had some confirmation from New York Comic Con that these rereleases would be out for Thanksgiving, a time which has long since come and gone with no manga in sight. Finally Fumio Osano, also known as Osabu or Osa-P, has posted some updates to his twitter account @osabu8 with details about the manga. Osabu’s tweets are also being translated by the @OsabuP_English account which is run by the Miss Dream site. Osabu has also been replying to some English fans over twitter, as they ask questions about the new anime.
There seems to be very little changed in these new versions. It’s mentioned that the covers will be digitized and have the colours tweeked to resemble the American prints. I imagine this will not entail much of a change as the Japanese and American prints have very similar looking colours. I’ve included a photo of both side by side below. Do you see much of a difference? Similar changes will be made to the colour pages which appear at the front of each volume as well as digital retouches being made to the colour and black and white pages. The Sailor V manga is also mentioned to be in scope for this release.
The Sailor Moon manga box set which collects volumes 1 to 6 of Kodansha’s English translation goes on sale today in stores and at Amazon. Get out there and pick it up if you haven’t already gotten these books. You can support the site by ordering the set through the Amazon ad below:
A Sailor Moon fan has recorded a part of the Kodansha Comics USA panel from last weekend’s New York Comic Con which includes the portions relevant to Sailor Moon. The video embedded below has been cued up to when the Sailor Moon discussion begins.
This panel began with the announcmeent of a new Sailor Moon art book for 2013 that we previously discussed on the site. This art book is being put together in Japan and the details are sparse. The Sailor Moon manga box set was then mentioned. These are not new versions of the books, though typos and errors are corrected with reprints so some minor issues may be corrected in these. This followed with a reading of a letter from Naoko Takeuchi to American fans.
Thanks to Senshi_chan for recording the video.
Today was the Kodansha Comics USA panel at New York Comic Con. The big announcement they had was that there would be a new Sailor Moon art book released in the US as well as in six other countries in 2013. This will not be a translation of any of the existing art books but rather a compilation taking art from all of the existing books that will also include some previously unpublished material. There were originally seven Sailor Moon art books in Japan which collected art from the manga. This includes volumes I through V, the materials collection and the Infinity art book. None of the existing art books have ever been published in North America.
The panel also included a message from Naoko Takeuchi herself. She confirmed that the box set of the new versions of the Sailor Moon manga will be released for Thanksgiving, November 20th. This message as well as the art book press release can be found below along with pictures of some of the Kodansha booth swag.