As a new even bigger version of the Sailor Moon manga, the Eternal Edition, is being released in English tomorrow an even smaller version will soon be released in Japan! Japanese readers will be getting a Bunkobon version of the Sailor Moon manga which is a smaller and cheaper version of the manga. At only 842 yen, about $7.50 US, this is about half the price of the Complete Editions which were released a few years ago. These are Bunkobon or Bunkoban Editions which are a size which is referred to in Japan as A6, which is roughly 4.13″ x 5.83″. In contrast the new Eternal Editions which are coming out in North America are even bigger than the large Complete Edition Japanese versions and measure a whopping 7.1″ x 9.98″, a bit smaller than a standard 8.5″ x 11″ letter sheet of paper. This is almost double the height and width of the new Bunkobon Japanese versions and roughly 3 times the surface area! Of course the larger English version is also over three times the cost so you really do get what you’re paying for! The Japanese Complete Editions were A5 size which is between the two at 5.83″ × 8.27″. Check out this Tweet by @thesailorbook to see the difference between the new English version and the Japanese Complete Edition. The Bunkobon Edition is not included in this size comparison.

The first two volumes of the Bunkobon editions will be released on September 28th. The covers are similar to the Complete Editions and Eternal Editions showing art of Sailor Moon on volume 1 and Sailor Mercury on volume 2. Both volumes 1 and 2 are available for pre-order from Amazon Japan. If you’re more interested in buying an English version, with high quality paper and some colour pages, you can order those using the Amazon.com links below. Only volume 1 is released on September 11th while volume 2 won’t be out until November 13th with later volumes coming out in 2019. Since there were delays with volume 1 coming out there may be more delays to that schedule.

Will you be picking either of these up? How many versions of the Sailor Moon manga are you up to now? I think I’ll be up to 9 if I get both of these but I’m starting to lose count. My Sailor Moon books are still in boxes as I’m moving into my new place.

The Sailor Moon Eternal Edition Manga was supposed to be out next week, on January 30th, but unfortunately it looks like it’s been delayed until April 24th! Listings on Amazon have been updated to reflect this new date as have the description of the first volume on the publishers Kodansha and Penguin Radom House’s web sites. No explanation has been given as to why there is a delay but some have speculated that it might be because they are waiting to get the best possible translation.

The bilingual Japanese/English version was released in Japan already. It remains to be seen if that updated translation is likely to be the one used for this Eternal Edition. If it is in fact that same translation than it seems unlikely that waiting for it was the reason for the delay.

What, you may be asking, is the Eternal Edition and why do would you want it if you already have a copy of the Sailor Moon manga? I covered this in a post last May, speculating that the English Eternal Edition would be similar to the Japanese Complete Editions. It has since been confirmed that this is indeed the case as the image above from the Moon Panal at Anime Expo in July shows us. These versions will include larger pages, a glossy very white type of paper and most importantly all colour pages from the original issues of Kodansha. Usually only a handful of colour pages are included with a manga release so this is a nice addition. These versions will also include the new cover art which was drawn by Naoko Takeuchi. We can see from the cover art included in the existing listings and they match what was in the Japanese releases.

Following the release of volume 1 on April 24th we’ll also be getting volume 2 on May 29th and volume 3 on September 25th. It would only be logical for the following volumes, up to volume 10, to be released at regular intervals following that. A Japanese Complete Edition of Sailor V was also release and it would certainly be nice if these were released in English as well.

Do you plan on picking up these Eternal Editions?

A listing can be now found on Amazon.com for the first volume of the Sailor Moon Eternal Edition Manga which will be out on January 30th 2018 and will sell for $15.19. What is it? This English translated version of the manga will likely be a localized version of the Kanzenban or Complete Edition of the manga which was published in Japan starting in 2013. We don’t know the specifics of this version but we can look at what the Japanese version which has already been released in its entirety to get an idea. Note that we aren’t guaranteed that all of these features will be included in the upcoming new English releases.

The Complete Edition of the Japanese manga was a slightly larger version of the manga as can be seen by the above photo which compares the Complete Edition (centre) it to the original Japanese manga (left) and the recently released English version (right). The Amazon listing mentions it is a larger version which supports the idea that this is the basis for the release. This was meant to be the definitive version of the manga including everything a fan could want contained in a complete release.

These versions included new cover art drawn by Naoko Takeuchi, glossy magazine style pages instead of the usual matte paper most books have and all of the colour pages which originally appeared in Nakayoshi and Run Run. Previously releases often included a handful of colour pages, usually only those at the beginning of the manga, but not all of them, as are included with the Japanese Complete Edition release. There are also a number of mostly minor updates to the art throughout the manga as is usually the case with new editions of the Sailor Moon manga. More pages in each volume also means less volumes to collect as the entire series is spread across 10 volumes instead of the original 18. I posted about these versions as they were released, two at a time, in Japan. You can check out the Complete Edition tag for all posts related to those which includes a number of photos of the covers and colour pages.

The Amazon listing mentions that this version includes a new updated translation which should please some fans which took issue with some of the choices in the version we got in English starting in 2011. Do you plan on picking this version up? Now that I already have 6 sets of the Sailor Moon manga across three languages and many versions I have no reservations about adding another to that list!

Following the last release of the Sailor Moon Complete Edition manga we now have all of Codename Sailor V released in Japan in this same format. The Complete Edition of the Sailor Moon, and now Sailor V, manga are high quality collector’s editions of the manga with larger, brighter pages and which include all colour pages previously only seen in pages of Nakayoshi and Run Run. While Sailor Moon appeared in Nakayoshi the Codename Sailor V manga was often serialized in another magazine, Run Run. The Codename Sailor V manga was also written by Naoko Takeuchi and it predates Sailor Moon, though it continued to be written alongside it and it’s final story was actually written after Sailor Moon’s run had been completed. It tells the story of Minako when she was Sailor V in the days before she joined Sailor Moon as Sailor Venus. Chronologically the entire story takes place prior to the first issue of the Sailor Moon manga.

This complete edition was released on Thursday May 29th. Unlike the Sailor Moon releases of this manga there is no new art for the covers but instead the art of the original books for Codename Sailor V volumes 1 and 2 are used for these. As you can see by the comparison to the original manga releases these ones are a bit larger and feature a much larger image of the volume 2 cover art. These books are Japanese only. You can order them from Amazon Japan (vol. 1, vol. 2) or CD Japan (vol. 1, vol. 2).

Keep reading to see more of the colour pages included in this release.

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 latest books in the complete editions of the Sailor Moon manga were released in Japan on February 26th. Volume 7 features Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn on the cover while volume 8 features Sailor Chibi Moon. These issues cover the entirety of the Dream arc with Pegasus and the Dead Moon Circus. These books are Japanese text only and include all of the colour pages which were previously only seen in the pages of Nakayoshi.

Also included in these books are a few side stories. Chibiusa’s Picture Diary 3 is the story of Chibiusa’s adventures going to the dentist, and fighting a monster on the way. There are also three “Exam Battle” stories which follow the girls in their preparations for their high school entrance exams. We have The Melancholy of Makoto, Ami’s First Love and Rei and Minako’s Girl School Battle?

Volumes 9 and 10 will wrap up the series with the Stars arc. Hopefully Sailor V will be published soon as well though I have seen no official confirmation of this.

You can pick these books up from Amazon Japan (vol. 7, vol. 8), JList (vol. 7, vol. 8) or CD Japan (vol. 7, vol. 8).

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 3rd and 4th books of the Kanzenban or “Complete Edition” of the Sailor Moon manga started to hit store shelves in Japan yesterday, December 28th. You can order these books from Amazon Japan (vol. 3, vol. 4) or CD Japan (vol. 3, vol. 4). The covers for these issues feature Sailor Mars (volume 3) and Sailor Jupiter (volume 4).

As with other issues these are slightly larger books than the other editions. The high quality paper offers bright white glossy pages as well as the inclusion of all of the colour pages, including those previously only seen in the pages of Nakayoshi magazine in which Sailor Moon was first published. These volumes collect more pages than previous collections so there is more story per book.

There are currently no plans to release these books in English so if you are interested in these you’d better brush up on your Japanese!

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.