The English version of Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Étrangère, is now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Chibiusa breaking up a romantic moment

You can now watch the entire Dark Kingdom story arc in English on Hulu or Neon Alley. This week we got Act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Étrangère, which wraps up the Dark Kingdom story arc for good and starts us off with the new Black Moon story arc with the appearance of the pink haired Chibiusa. This new faithful dub will not be calling her Rini like some fans may be used to! Chibiusa’s voice is provided by Sandy Fox, who also voiced her in Viz’s new English dub of the original Sailor Moon anime.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Human Luna

A lot of this episode takes place on the Moon where we get a look at human Luna. Anime fans will remember human Luna from the Sailor Moon S movie, though she appears in her human form more frequently in the manga. This appearance however is a Sailor Moon Crystal original change from the source material, as we see her earlier than we otherwise should. We see the the image of one of this story arc’s new villains in the fire. I previously had mentioned that this was Rubeus, because he is who we see in the manga, though some fans have mentioned that his hair looks more like Demande’s than Rubeus’s, which is slicked upwards out of the eyes. What do you think? It doesn’t really change the story but so much to say this is one of the Black Moon Clan’s jerks!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Rubeus

Next week is Act 15, Infiltration – Sailor Mars. With the Dark Kingdom out of the way we’ll meet a lot of the Black Moon Clan and find out a bit of what’s up with this weird new girl who fell from the sky.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Conclusion and Commencement - Petite Étrangère

How long is that title? Oh boy. Also I’m fixing the spelling mistake in “Étrangère” in my posts. I expected Viz to fix the spelling errors the Japanese had made but I guess they’re not French either. Consistency would be nice but the title screen title is different than the Hulu episode title, both of which are wrong.

Watch the English dubbed version of Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Étrangère, Friday Febuary 12th at 9pm

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Queen Serenity, Usagi and Tuxedo Mask

It’s the end of one era and the beginning of a new one in this week’s English dubbed episode of Sailor Moon Crystal. With Act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Etrangère, we will wrap up the Dark Kingdom story arc and start the Black Moon story arc with the arrival of a small stranger! The episode will be available on Hulu and Neon Alley this Friday starting at 9pm Eastern Time.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Chibiusa breaking up a romantic moment

Usagi will need to make a hard decision. Stay on Earth with the 7 billion or so people living there, including all of her friends, or be Queen of the dead and desolate Kingdom on the Moon?! It won’t be easy! This episode will also feature a Sailor Moon Crystal exclusive look at the human version of Luna!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Human Luna

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Conclusion and Commencement - Petite Étrangère

Sailor Moon Crystal Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray vol. 7 review

Sailor Moon Blu-Ray vol. 7 - Packaging

The 7th volume of Sailor Moon Crystal was released in a Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray on April 8th. This release has Princess Serenity on the cover and wraps up the Dark Kingdom story arc. This is a Japanese language release with no English audio or subtitles. Those looking for an English version of Sailor Moon Crystal can continue to watch the streaming version with English subtitles. You can order this disk from Amazon Japan or CD Japan for as low as 5046 yen, about $42 US. The regular edition Blu-Ray and DVD will be released on May 13th at the same time as volume 8 is released on Deluxe Limited Edition Blu-Ray.

Sailor Moon Blu-Ray vol. 7 - Cutie Moon Rod Charm

As with other releases, this comes in a special collectible box and includes a charm and full colour 20 page special booklet. The charm included in this release is Sailor Moon’s Cutie Moon Rod, which is the attack item she uses in the second story arc. The Cutie Moon Rod does not appear on the episodes included in this release.

Sailor Moon Blu-Ray vol. 7 - Special Booklet - Pages 10 and 11 - Interview with the voice actors for the Shitennou

The special booklet follows the same format as the previous booklets did. It includes episode summaries, interviews, character designs and a special page by Fumio Osana, also known as Osabu. The interviews are with producer Junichiro Tsuchiya and the voice actors for the Shitennou, Daisuke Kishio, Kosuke Toriumi, Masaya Matsukaze and Eiji Takemoto. The character designs included are of Princess Serenity, Prince Endymion, the Shitennou, Queen Beryl and Queen Serenity.

Sailor Moon Blu-Ray vol. 7 - Special Booklet - Pages 14 and 15 - Character designs for Princess Serenity, Endymion and the Shitennou

There are only 2 episodes included on this disk. Included are Act 13, Final Battle – Reincarnation, and Act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Etrangère. This has the Sailor Guardians vanquishing Queen Beryl and Queen Metalia and concludes with the appearance of Chibiusa.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 13 - Queen Serenity and Kitten Luna

Streaming version

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 13 Blu-Ray - Queen Serenity with a new dress

Blu-Ray version

All home video releases include some minor updating to the animation, and this release is no different. Some of the changes however were no just cosmetic. The major change which I found a bit upsetting was the modification to young Queen Serenity’s dress. In a scene in Act 13 we see a flashback to a young Queen Serenity petting a kitten Luna. In the original streaming version Queen Serenity is seen wearing a dress that is similar to Princess Serenity’s, and quite unlike the dress that adult Queen Serenity wears throughout the series. This seemed like a neat side reference, reminding us that Queen Serenity was young herself once, and perhaps also the Princess at the time. In this updated episode her dress is modified to look like it does when she is an adult.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 13 - Zombie Sailor Mars

Streaming version

Other changes to the episodes included the removal of white eyes when the Sailor Guardians are wounded. Seeing zombie Sailor Guardian eyes was a bit off putting but kind of cool. Now they have pupils again. There was also some amount of injury added to the various girls after they had been beat up. Even the preview image for Act 13 in the special booklet shows the Sailor Guardians with dirt on their faces that does not appear in the streaming version.

Sailor Moon Blu-Ray vol. 7 - Special Booklet - Page 2 and 3 - Act 13

A great resource to comparing the streaming version to the home video releases is Crystal Comparisons. This site has a thorough comparison of both versions of the show with many screenshots broken down by episode. Check out all the changes in Act 13 and Act 14 to see what was modified for this release.

Sailor Moon Blu-Ray vol. 7 - Special Booklet - Pages 18 and 19 - Osabu's page

The audio commentary for both episodes on this disk is provided by Kotono Mitsuishi, the voice of Sailor Moon, Fumio Osana, the editor for the Sailor Moon manga, and another voice which I was unable to identify. I do not speak Japanese so I don’t have anything to add about the content of the commentary.

As usual I can only recommend this release to hardcore fans. With only two episodes and no English audio or subtitles most fans are better off just watching the streaming version or waiting for the inevitable domestic dubbed and subbed release which is yet to be announced.

Keep reading for more images of the packaging including photos of all pages of the special booklet.

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Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Étrangère, Review

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Human Luna

The latest episode of Sailor Moon Crystal, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Étrangère, was released on January 17th on Crunchyroll, Hulu and Niconico. This season finale of sorts wraps up the Dark Kingdom story arc and teases us about the upcoming second story arc with the appearance of the mysterious Chibiusa! Like many episodes this one was very faithful to the source material, with one major exception which I hope isn’t too much of a spoiler at this point as I’ve included it in the banner image.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Artemis

Some funny stuff to start out the episode. Sailor Moon is all about praying and remembering her allies! She goes through the whole lot! Luna, Ami, Rei, Makoto, Minako. Yep. That’s everyone, right? What is Artemis doing exactly? No respect. Meanwhile he’s doing a very good job of keeping Luna company on the Moon!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Luna praying

This episode is all about Luna. Sailor Moon saves the day? Luna saves the day! They both pray. They are both responsible for restoring the Moon to it’s original splendour and as a special surprise we get a brief glimpse at human Luna! As Metalia is defeated and Luna is praying on the Moon, Artemis gets a short look at her as a full on human. Luna somehow doesn’t notice her wearing clothes, not having fur, having hair, being taller, being in a totally different position, but whatever, it’s still very cool. Anime fans would recognize human Luna from the Sailor Moon S movie. This corresponds fairly faithfully to a manga side story Princess Kaguya’s Lover which centres on Luna and has her turning human. She and the rest of the cats, Artemis and Diana, spend time in their human forms later in the Dream arc of the manga which we may see if Sailor Moon Crystal gets renewed for a second season.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Human Luna

Following the fight with Metalia there is a bit of a goof as Sailor Moon picks the Moon Stick off of the ground. We see the Silver Crystal clearly in the Moon stick on the ground, then it’s gone when she picks it up, then in the next shot it’s visible again. I’m sure they’ll fix that up for the Blu-Ray release!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - The Silver Crystal is missing

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - The Silver Crystal reappeared

Great news! The palace on the Moon is restored! Everyone on Earth is dead, but hey Sailor Moon is the new Serenity so she can rule over her Kingdom! Of course that Kingdom isn’t much at this point. She would rule over what, two cats and a computer simulation of who I guess is now the Queen Mother of Silver Millennium? Not a great deal. Usagi decides she wants to live on Earth, which has roughly 7 billion people on it who are all dead but that is easily resolved thanks to the power of the Silver Crystal. I wonder if Usagi would have been able to instead resurrect the long dead inhabitants of the Moon instead of or in addition to fixing the Earth.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Queen Serenity, Usagi and Tuxedo Mask

Sailor Moon’s brooch was damaged in the fight with Queen Metalia. Too bad. But it’s okay! There are more toys to sell and so the Crystal Star Brooch makes an appearance! And on it is a small hole just big enough for the Silver Crystal. But the Silver Crystal is all big with that sort of lily flower thing around it. This big version of the Silver Crystal is not meant to fit in the Crystal Star! But lazy animation makes it work! We see Usagi take this huge Silver Crystal and with a simple finger she shrinks it and stuffs it in that hole. Pretty cheap and terrible looking!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - That won't fit

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Perfect fit

We have a new brooch. What does it do? Pretty much exactly what the old locket did. Sailor Moon transforms yet again however her transformation sequence is essentially identical to her original one. This is a bit of a disappointment. The only real change is that the new brooch replaces her old one in the clip. With her powers back she heals the people of Earth including her friends and all is good. Minako and Artemis has a nice tender moment as they’re reunited. I’m so shipping these two. The moment of peace is heartwarming.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Minako and Artemis

Rei has a glimpse of the new villain Rubeus. She prays that peace will remain. Sorry Rei! Your Shinto prayers are useless! If this episode has taught us anything it’s that the only way to get your prayers answered is to make them to the Moon! We’ll soon see that Rei’s prayers were indeed not answered as she’s first on the chopping block.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Rubeus

This peaceful normal live is rudely interrupted as Chibiusa show up! We had seen a lot of these clips in the trailer for the second story arc of Sailor Moon Crystal. Chibiusa kisses her future father and threatens Usagi asking for the Silver Crystal. Good call, as she actually has it.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Chibiusa kissing her future Dad

I really enjoyed this episode. A nice end to the first story arc and it was just really good to see some of these things animated. With this behind us, we now move on to the second story arc and what some are calling the second season of the show. As it’s still part of the first year of Sailor Moon Crystal I’ve decided to refer to it as the second phase or second story arc until such a time when a term gets officially adopted.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 15 - Chibiusa and Luna-P

The next episode, Act 15, Infiltration – Sailor Mars, will be released in three weeks on February 7th. A lot of stuff will be happening here. Chibiusa infiltrates the Tsukino family, we see the Black Moon Clan, new transformation items for the Sailor Guardians, the Cutie Moon Rod and much more!

sailor_moon_crystal_act_15_infiltration_sailor_mars

Keep reading to see more screenshots from this episode and the next episode preview.

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Watch Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Étrangère, starting January 17th at 5am Eastern Time

Sailor Moon Crystal season 2 trailer - Chibiusa arrives

Act 14 of Sailor Moon Crystal will be airing Saturday, January 17th, at 7pm Japan Standard Time which is 5am Eastern Time and 2am Pacific Time on Crunchyroll, Hulu and Niconico. Act 14, Conclusion and Commencement – Petite Étrangère, will wrap up the Dark Kingdom arc and start the next story arc with the introduction of Chibiusa.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask fight Queen Metalia

All hope seems lost as Queen Metalia has killed the Sailor Guardians and is taking over the the planet. It’s up to Sailor Moon to use her powers to defeat her and bring peace to the Earth once again. Will it happen or will everyone just remain dead?

Sailor Moon Crystal season 2 trailer - Chibiusa pointing a gun at Usagi

A quiet peaceful life is short lived. It’s actually so short lived that there isn’t even an episode break between seasons! The Dark Kingdom is barely defeated that we are introduced to a new character. Who is this pink haired girl that drops in on Usagi and Mamoru’s intimate moment at the worst time? Is she a new villain? Will she kill Usagi with that gun she has? Why does she call herself Usagi with such similar hair?

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 14 - Conclusion and Commencement - Petite Étrangère

As I’m traveling this week I will be late in watching and posting my review for this upcoming episode. That should be coming Monday or Tuesday evening.

Chibiusa and Sailor Pluto revealed in this Sailor Moon Crystal second season trailer

Sailor Moon Crystal season 2 trailer - Chibiusa pointing a gun at Usagi

A trailer for the second story arc of Sailor Moon Crystal, set to begin on January 17th, has been added to the official Sailor Moon web site. This trailer features scenes with Chibiusa and Sailor Pluto. Check it out below.

This was shown at an event in Japan today where Misato Fukuen was revealed to be the voice of Chibiusa and Ai Maeda was revealed as the voice of Sailor Pluto.

Sailor Moon Crystal event revealing the voice of Chibiusa

Clips in this trailer cover many events from the second story arc, which though technically part of Sailor Moon Crystal’s first year and therefore first season, is being referred to by many as the second season of the series. This second story arc is also being referred as the second phase. The main thing shown is Chibiusa, who appears from the future to threaten Usagi with a gun. More clips show her with Luna P and jump ahead quite a bit to show us the Space-Time Door, Sailor Pluto, Crystal Tokyo, Nemesis and the Evil Black Crystal. Also pictured are new transformation items for the Sailor Guardians including Sailor Moon’s Star Pendant.

Sailor Moon Crystal season 2 trailer - Sailor Pluto

The note at the end of the trailer mentions the next episode showing on January 3rd though it does not seem likely that any of these clips will be appearing in act 13 which will be released on that date. Chibiusa will be appearing in act 14, An Ending and Then a Beginning – Petite Étrangère, along with the Black Moon Clan who are not shown in this trailer. The banner in the image shown from today’s event mentions January 17th when act 14 will be available. This will mark the end of the Dark Kingdom arc and the beginning of the Black Moon arc.

Keep reading for more screenshots from this trailer.

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Chibiusa and the Black Moon Clan join Sailor Moon Crystal’s second season starting January 17th 2015

Sailor Moon Crystal Season 2 Featuring Sailor Chibi Moon

New art has been added to the Sailor Moon official site showing Sailor Chibi Moon. At this weekend’s Animate Girl’s Festival in Japan the cast of Sailor Moon revealed art for the second season of Sailor Moon Crystal which will feature the Black Moon Clan and Sailor Chibi Moon. Though the art shows the transformed Sailor Guardian Sailor Chibi Moon in reality Chibiusa will appear at the beginning of the season, only transforming into Sailor Chibi Moon towards the end of the Black Moon arc. This is in contrast to the anime where Chibiusa did not transform until Sailor Moon S. On January 17th we’ll wrap up the Dark Kingdom arc and kick off the Black Moon clan arc with Act 14, An Ending and Then a Beginning – Petite Etrangère.

Sailor Moon Crystal schedule - French

A photo was added to the Sailor Moon Central Facebook page outlining the upcoming episode schedule. The schedule is in French but titles correspond to the Japanese titles from the manga. Until now all episodes, including next week’s, correspond to original Manga chapters. Some acts listed here do not correspond to original manga chapters however they share titles with the chapters listed for the manga rerelease from 2003 in Japan and 2011 in North America. By going along with the manga rerelease chapter names this means that the first two story arcs will span 26 episodes rather than the original 23 acts that the original manga spanned. This means we will not be seeing Sailor Uranus and Neptune as part of the 26 episodes which are set to be released as part of Sailor Moon Crystal’s first year run. No episodes beyond 26 have yet been announced.

The anime referred to the second season as “Sailor Moon R” but no specific subtitle for this arc has been listed.