Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 9 and 10 discussion

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 9 - Many Tuxedo Masks

This is a review and discussion of the Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon series Act 9, I’ll Protect the Legendary Silver Crystal, and Act 10, I am Queen Beryl, Queen of Darkness. These originally aired on Japanese TV on November 29th and December 6th 2003. These two episodes follow a story similar the manga Act 6, Tuxedo Mask. In this story in the manga Tuxedo Mask tries to solicit the help of the people of the city in order to find the Crystal, as occurs in Act 9, and then after Zoisite attacks them Sailor Moon heals the people of the city with her Moon stick, which resembles the end of Act 10. Though Act 9 and 10 as Live Action episodes don’t really have much to do with each other they both take elements from this manga story.

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 9 - The Icy Queen looks like the Silver Crystal from the Anime

The Icy Queen from the live action series

Sailor Moon - Chibiusa with the Silver Crystal

The Silver Crystal from the original anime series

Act 9 is all about Tuxedo Mask and the hunt for the Silver Crystal! What does this Crystal look like? We don’t really know but a couple of depictions in this episode remind of of what it looked like in the original Sailor Moon anime, as opposed to what it looked like in the manga. In the opening scene we see a child looking at a round gem called the Icy Queen that looks like the Crystal in the original anime. A depiction on television mentions that it would glitter in rainbow colours, and this includes 7 distinct colours shining. This is reminiscent of the 7 Rainbow Crystals from the original Sailor Moon anime, which were shards of the Silver Crystal which when assembled formed the complete Crystal.

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 9 - The Silver Crystal with 7 colours

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 9 - Minako in London

For this episode Minako is off in London to record a new song. This again reminds us of the original Sailor Moon anime which had Minako spending time in London while she was Sailor V, though it’s unlikely she’s fighting any crime in London as this would be incredibly suspicious, like how Batman always shows up in Metropolis when Bruce Wayne is there for business. This keeps Minako out of the picture for Act 9 and 10, which serves the plot well.

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 9 - The Moon Princess, whoever that is

We get a bit of an idea as to why Tuxedo Mask is looking for the Crystal! We see a dream of his where the Princess is asking him to find the Crystal. We don’t see any real details of her as her hair style is fairly normal however her voice is closer to that of Miyuu Sawai, who plays Usagi, as opposed to that of Ayaka Komatsu, who plays Sailor V.

Live action Sailor Moon episode 9 - News broadcast looking for the Silver Crystal

Reporters talking about the Silver Crystal in the live action series

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 6 - Zoisite dressed as a woman

Zoisite looking for the Silver Crystal in Sailor Moon Crystal

In order to try to flush out the Crystal Tuxedo Mask makes a very public statement telling people what to look for and that it’s worth a billion yen, roughy 9 billion US dollars. This is similar to the plot of the manga Act 6, Tuxedo Mask, where Tuxedo Mask does the same. Sailor Moon Crystal Act 6 more specifically based one scene on the live action series. When Zoisite appears on a large TV in the street asking people to find the Crystal this is nearly identical to a scene in this episode where two reporters are asking the viewers to find the Crystal.

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 9 - Mamoru finds Usagi's handkerchief

Tuxedo Mask is looking through his coat and sees the handkerchief that Sailor Moon patched his hand with. Odd that this would be in his Tuxedo jacket since he was clearly still wearing it after changing back into his civilian clothes in the last episode! Plot hole or did Mamoru just put it in his jacket after he removed it? Doesn’t this thing go to hammer space like any respectable superhero costume?

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 9 - Luna doesn't want Usagi hanging around with Tuxedo Mask

The gang don’t like Tuxedo Mask one bit! He’s a thief and he’s competing for the Crystal. Rei suggests he may save Sailor Moon as a trick! Usagi of course doesn’t want to hear any of this as she’s totally in love with Tuxedo Mask! This is the worst kept secret however she is only able to admit it to an empty room! Usagi is conflicted about what to do with Luna and her friends against him on one side but Naru, who only has vague details about the situation, cheering her on from the other.

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 9 - Jadeite is jade

Queen Beryl turns Jadeite into a rock in this episode. It’s probably jade. In the manga when a Shitennou gets turned into a gem they’re essentially dead only returning as ghosts to talk to Mamoru, but this is not the last we will see of Jadeite!

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 9 - Ami the Shinto Priestess

As the city is furiously looking for the Crystal a rich man, Masanobu Narita, believes he’s found it and wants to hire Rei to protect it for him! Rei, not being hired to appear at this episode’s location shoots, isn’t interested at all and so Ami volunteers to go on her behalf, posing as her top apprentice, a fellow Shinto Priestess. She keeps doing this weird thing with her glasses which makes them squeak. A tick that she gave her fictional character which doesn’t actually do anything? It’s kind of odd.

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 9 - Two people who aren't Tuxedo Mask

Usagi and Makoto come along to help Ami and transform. Makoto becomes a police officer and Usagi a worker who is trimming trees. When a ton of Tuxedo Masks show up though, Usagi thinks she sees the real one! Why, I wonder, is everyone dressing up as Tuxedo Mask? They want the Crystal, sure, but does this incredibly conspicuous costume help anyone? What’s one more Tuxedo Mask? Usagi uses her phone to make herself dressed as Tuxedo Mask in order to distract the real police from who she thinks is the real Tuxedo Mask. He turns out to be a weird kind of pervert who gets off on touching Usagi’s wrist which is a very odd form of intimacy.

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 9 - Usagi dressed as Tuxedo Mask

When Tuxedo Mask Usagi gets cornered the real Tuxedo Mask tells her to transform! How does this help the situation at all? We don’t know. She transforms, we see her stock footage, and then the problem is somehow resolved! There’s no scene of her escaping or anything, she just transforms and we don’t deal with that problem anymore. Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon have a little heart to heart. She expresses that she wants to know who he is but he doesn’t want to share.

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 9 - Not the Silver Crystal. Not even close. Possibly made out of glass.

Meanwhile the supposed Silver Crystal is so fake that it breaks from being dropped. This means it’s what, made of glass? It looks like something that would hang off of a cheap chandelier. The gem was appraised as having qualities similar to the Silver Crystal yet… it just breaks when it’s dropped? Very lame! What do these people do to test them? Does Tuxedo Mask really need to steal all of these to find out if they’re legit? Does he look at it with one of those little monocle microscope thingeys or can he just sense it after having illegally repossessed it and held it a bit?

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 10 - A drawing of Princess Kaguya returning to the Moon

Act 10 is all about the story of Princess Kaguya, known in Japan as The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. It’s difficult for a North American viewer to completely appreciate the episode without having the expected understanding of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter that most Japanese children would have. Just another example of why this show is not very accessible outside of Japan. This story is well known in Japan and was recently adapted as a 2013 Studio Ghibli film The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. I would recommend checking out the film which presents a fairly straightforward adaptation of this ancient tale as it is something that is referenced frequently in Sailor Moon. As we learn in this episode it is the story of a young girl who is born from a bamboo shoot and raised by her adoptive parents until she finally learns that she is from a Kingdom on the Moon and must return home. Sound familiar? There are certainly a lot of parallels to Usagi’s story as told in the original manga and anime, as she is a Princess who originally comes from a Kingdom the Moon and was reincarnated on Earth to finally return to the Moon to meet her real mother. It seems likely that the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter served as some inspiration for the story of Sailor Moon.

Sailor Moon S movie - Human Luna - Princess Kaguya

In addition to this episode The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is related to the manga side story The Lover of Princess Kaguya, which was adapted as the Sailor Moon S movie. The film itself doesn’t actually have much to do with the story. Kakeru, the man who Luna falls in love with, is a romantic who believes in the legend of Princess Kaguya and who, despite being a brilliant astronomer, believes that what he sees in space relates to such magical things. When Luna finally takes human form in the story she identifies with Princess Kaguya but her character or journey in the story doesn’t have much to do with Princess Kaguya beyond the superficial fact that she’s going to space. The villain of this story Princess Snow Kaguya also doesn’t have much in common with the Princess Kaguya from the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Kakeru’s girlfriend Himeko, who based on the title would be the lover of Kakeru, who is Princess Kaguya’s lover, also doesn’t have much in common with Princess Kaguya, aside from the fact that she goes to space.

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 10 - Young Rei

This episode has Rei dealing with the loss of her mother. In the opening scene we see her at the hospital shortly after her mother died, with a children’s story book about Princess Kaguya left on her mother’s bed. This leads into a unique transition to the opening credits as Rei stares at the Moon as it leads into the opening. Rei believed, and still seems to believe to some extent, that her mother is still alive on the Moon, like Princess Kaguya from the story which her mother frequently read to her as a child. She befriends a young girl, Erika, who also believes that her recently deceased mother is still living on the Moon. The two are working on a picture story of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, with Erika and Rei working on the final page where Princess Kaguya leaves for the Moon on her chariot. Young Rei, as seen in this episode, is not the same young Rei we will be seeing in the future!

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 10 - Usagi, Erika and Rei paint Princess Kaguya images

While Rei is sad about her mother dying Usagi has a really pointless argument with her own mother about whether or not to put cheese on her omelette. She tries to run away first to Crown Karaoke, then to Naru’s, then to Ami’s, then to Makoto’s and finally, as a last resort, to see Rei at her shrine. When she shows up Rei asks if Usagi had a fight with her parents, which is humorous since Usagi’s father is as unseen in this series as Princess Serenity’s father! Rei is happy to let Usagi stay there for a while, which doesn’t even end up being overnight, though when Usagi realizes that Rei’s mother is dead she feels particularly bad about her comparatively silly problem!

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 10 - Princess Kaguya's image burning

Zoisite, meanwhile, is working on his latest song! This one creates a monster which sings and makes any Princess, be it an image, a person, or someone who just sort of feels like a Princess, burn up! This causes all sorts of non Princesses to have problems and seems to cause few problems to the actual Princesses we care about! The image of Princess Kaguya that Rei and Erika are working on lights on fire. So does a young girl’s doll. Erika, who thinks of herself as Princess Kaguya because of her thing with her mom, gets a fever, which is convenient since it would have been really extreme if she just spontaneously combusted. There’s also an actual Princess who falls ill on TV, which is how Makoto knows something is up. Who isn’t affected by this? Minako, who we are meant to believe is the Princess, who is away in London supposedly out of Zoisite’s range. Usagi isn’t affected. This could either mean that people who are Princesses but don’t know it aren’t affect or that Sailor Moon is not Princess Serenity in this continuity, as some fans legitimately believed at this point in the series and I’ll never let them forget it.

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 6 - Sempai?

Makoto’s Sempai from Act 6

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 10 - Makoto's Sempai

Mysterious man at the library from Act 10

Ami is at the library and she sees a Princess from a young girl’s story book catch fire. The other notable thing about the library? Makoto’s “Sempai” is there! Back in Act 6 we learned that Makoto left her old school after having an unrequited love for a student in another grade, frequently referred to as her “Sempai”. When we see her flashback about people leaving, such as her parents, the last person we see leave is the person who I assume is this older boy who she was in love with. This guy is in the library! We are made to believe that Makoto moved and changed schools to get away from this guy. Did Ami go to a really far away school? Did this guy go to a far away library that she thought might have a book with information helping her to find Sailor V? Did they just reuse an extra and not expect some overly analytical fan to notice some 14 years later?

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 10 - Sailor Moon heals the city

So the gang fights the monster by dancing to dodge her musical notes and it’s all silly. Finally Sailor Moon uses her Moon Stick to heal everyone, real or paper, who has been negatively affected by this weird thing which attacks anyone who isn’t a Princess. This is similar to the end of Act 6 of the manga where Sailor Moon uses her Moon Stick to resurrect the people of Tokyo, though not much else from this episode resembles that story.

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 10 - Usagi crying about her mother

The gang are then confronted by Queen Beryl who gives them a bit of information about their past which Luna was hesitant to share. She tells them that they all come from the Moon! What a shocker! Later at the Princess Kaguya picture show Usagi breaks down crying due to the fact that her birth mother may not actually be her mother! This is something I’ve mentioned in the past as a potentially confusing plot point of the series. Unlike Princess Kaguya these girls were born from the wombs of their Earth mothers, not cut out of a bamboo shoot. Is Usagi Tsukino genetically identical to Princess Serenity of Silver Millennium? If so, does she actually share any genes with her mother and father who live in present day Tokyo as most human children do or was there a magical cloning or embryo implantation done at conception? Does she share roughly 1/2 of her genes with her brother Shingo who was also born from those parents? Does he have a Silver Millennium equivalent that he’s reincarnated from? If not, is it actually creepy when Shingo has a crush on Sailor Moon in the original Sailor Moon anime if they don’t actually have any genetic similarities? This very significant and meaningful observation by Usagi, which is mostly ignored by her friends who are in a similar situation, is atypical for her to catch on to. Shouldn’t Ami, the genius child of a doctor mother who’s career path she aspires to follow in, be wondering where her intelligence comes from if it’s not inherited? Shouldn’t Rei, who hates her father, be glad to be potentially the genetic equivalent to being adopted by him through magical reincarnation? What link does she have to her mother who she misses? Regardless of genes she may have she was still raised in her womb as that prenatal environment affects her development. She seems to have some concern about some aspect of this as she’s also brought to tears by the sentiment. Should Makoto be pleased at the prospect of having parents on the Moon or are they also dead? Will we ever get answers to any of these questions? No we really don’t. Queen Serenity or any other inhabitants of Silver Millennium aren’t really seen in this series, not that we’d likely get answers to such specifics questions if they were.

Live Action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act 10 - Minako attacked by a truck

In the final scene Minako, who’s been away in London for the past two episodes, arrives back in Tokyo. Zoisite plays his song which instead of directly attacking her seems to be controlling the driver of a truck which is swerving towards her! End of episode! Cliffhanger! This is almost identical to the final scene from the fantastic Street Fighter II animated movie which has Bison trying to run a truck into Ryu! Coincidence? Certainly!

Street Fighter II The Animated Movie

Feel free to leave a comment with your own thoughts on these two episodes. If you’re looking to watch along with the series you can get English subtitled fan subbed versions from sites such as Miss Dream, TV-Nihon and Sea of Serenity. Fans looking to stream the show can do so from Dramanice and Kiss Asian.

Keep reading for more screenshots from these episodes.

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Sailor Moon SuperS episodes 144 and 145 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon SuperS episode 144 - The girls at the beach

This week on Sailor Moon SuperS we get a couple of funny episodes that are all about romance. With this morning’s addition of episodes 144 and 145 to Hulu and Neon Alley we get Shingo’s final appearance as a pimp who falls in love with Ami and then it’s all about fat shaming Usagi as she tries to be a ballerina.

Sailor Moon SuperS episode 144 - Shingo the pimp

Episode 144, Shining Summer Days: Ami Under the Sea-Breeze, ships Ami and Shingo. Isn’t Shingo great? Wasn’t it fun when they shipped him with his sister in the first season? We’ve come a long way since then as Shingo is now going after Ami! This is sadly the last time we see Shingo in the series. He was a fairly prominent character in the first season, having a smaller role in Sailor Moon R and since being seen only very occasionally. This is a good final episode for him with some great moments, such as where he pretends to be a pimp in order to discourage gentlemen callers from hitting on Usagi and her friends at the beach. When Ami shows up Shingo suddenly gets excited and needs to run off. Why is this? Perhaps he, in nothing but his bathing suit, feels that there is a level of excitement that he can’t quite hide. Tiger’s Eye tries to hit on Ami and as usual doesn’t do so well. He takes it quite poorly when Shingo seems to be the one getting in his way. He tries to drown him, expecting Ami to simply ignore him, but that doesn’t work and we get an excuse for a little Ami and Shingo mouth to mouth. This is yet another swimsuit episode. We seem to get about one a season so this is what we have for SuperS! One interesting relationship in this episode is Shingo and Chibiusa. Shingo doesn’t know that Chibiusa is his niece. Presumably he doesn’t die in the next 6 or so years and will actually properly get to be her uncle. He believes her to be his cousin but treats her more like a sister as they are living together. All around this episode is good for some laughs. Shingo was always a great character and it’s too bad we won’t be seeing him anymore.

Sailor Moon SuperS episode 144 - Ami does mouth to mouth on Shingo

Sailor Moon SuperS episode 145 - Usagi and Chibiusa do ballet

Episode 145, Become a Prima: Usagi’s Ballet, has Usagi and her friends trying out ballet. The centres around a performance of the ballet Giselle. The target is a ballet teacher Yamagishi and his Prima Ballerina Kiriko who inexplicably looks a lot like Naru. He wants her to be Giselle but thinks she is missing something. Enter Fish Eye, in drag once again because Yamagishi is straight, blowing everyone away with his ballet moves. It seems like Yamagishi has picked him to be Giselle but it turns out this was more of a weird semi cruel motivational tool to get the most out of Kiriko. A recurring theme in this episode is fat shaming Usagi, who is ridiculously skinny. It’s like the way Usagi is animated doesn’t match the way she is actually supposed to look in the narrative in the show. Or perhaps it’s just logistics that in a show where everyone is equally skinny no one is actually skinny since it’s the new normal. Either way, Usagi has little bits of fat which do a sort of muffin top thing over a tutu whenever she wears one. Chibiusa teases her about this at first which is funny because as Usagi’s daughter she has already made changes to her waistline in the future. Later in the episode the monster puts a Tutu on the two of them and the waistline problem is pointed out again. Mamoru even notices the weight gain as he’s accused of being too slow to save them. There’s just nothing good about any of this. It’s a negative attitude that tells viewers that they need to be really skinny and I just don’t like it.

Sailor Moon SuperS episode 145 - Chibiusa calls Usagi fat

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Sailor Moon SuperS episode 144 - Shingo and Ami

Sailor Moon SuperS episode 145 - Fish Eye the Prima Ballerina

Sailor Moon SuperS episode 145 - Rei kicks Yamagishi in the stomach

Sailor Moon SuperS episode 145 - Usagi the Rabbit in the Moon

Sailor Moon R episodes 49 and 50 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon episode 49 - The Moonlight Knight

The two latest episodes of Sailor Moon R are now available on Hulu and Neon Alley. This week we are introduced to the Moonlight Knight who is a white looking Japanese man who is dressed like a stereotypical Arab. Did I mention he’s totally not the same guy as Tuxedo Mask?

Sailor Moon episode 49 - Makoto and her Sempai

Episode 49, For Whom Is the White Rose? The Moonlight Knight Appears is all about the rainy day man! This episode’s English dub featured the hit song “Rainy Day Man” during the sequence when we learn about Makoto’s tragic past. We finally get a look at her Sempai, the older student at her school who she was infatuated with who didn’t return her affections. The rainy day man is Shinozaki, Makoto’s friend who consoled her with an umbrella on that rainy day when her heart was broken. He once again protects Makoto as she’s attacked by a Cardian, which leaves him seriously injured. The Moonlight Knight makes his first appearance in this episode. Tuxedo Mask does not appear in the first 13 episodes of Sailor Moon R and so the role of dude who throws roses is filled by The Moonlight Knight! But he’s not at all Tuxedo Mask. He throws white roses and he’s dressed in robes. He’s clearly not Mamoru.

Sailor Moon episode 50 - Shingo at the VR game

Episode 50, Usagi’s Crisis: The Tiara Stops Working, isn’t really about Usagi’s tiara. That’s sort of a side issue that will come back next week as a reason for Usagi to need a new attack item. It is a bit odd that Usagi’s tiara stops working seeing as it randomly works again in the Sailor Moon R movie and again twice in the Sailor Moon S season and once more in the SuperS movie. Anyway it’s really not about the tiara. It’s about this cool 90s VR game. Did they have these in Japan? They seem to be shooting lasers at holograms of monsters, some of which are actual monsters from the first season, while wearing elaborate armour that doesn’t seem to do much. Everyone who’s anyone and more show up for this, including Usagi, Mamoru, Natsumi, Seijuurou and even Usagi’s brother Shingo and father Kenji Papa. Meanwhile the rest of the Sailor Guardians are stuck in line. So a monster shows up and so does the Moonlight Knight who we all assume is Mamoru but they actually appear at the same time! Wait a minute. This isn’t how the Polkaroo thing is supposed to work. Oh well I guess Mamoru isn’t the Moonlight Knight after all!

Sailor Moon episode 50 - Mamoru and the Moonlight Knight

So what happened to Kenji Papa in the past 10 episode? When they went to the hot spring he was super buff and now he’s got a bit of a gut!

Sailor Moon episode 50 - Kenji Papa's inexplicable weight gain

Sailor Moon episode 40 - Ikuko Mama and Kenji Papa

Sailor Moon episodes 39 and 40 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon episode 39 - Makoto skating

The latest episodes of the original Sailor Moon anime, in Japanese with English subtitles by Viz, have been added to Hulu and Neon Alley this morning. As with every Monday two new episodes are added. This week we have episodes 39 and 40 which showcase just how terrible Mamoru is at being a bad guy. The Dark Kingdom is doing a pretty terrible job with this guy.

Sailor Moon episode 39 - Ami, Rei and Minako skating

First up we have episode 39, Paired With a Monster: Mako, the Ice Skating Queen, and it’s all about skating. It’s episode 39 but it feel like episode 390 by the way they’re just kind of going through some winter sports. Last week was skiing. This week is skating! Supposedly back in the day skating was really popular on the Moon. So where did the ice come from? Currently the Moon is a barren wasteland, and freezing cold as there’s virtually no atmosphere, so water could only ever exist as ice, though only in shaded areas. Silver Millennium is said to be located in the Sea of Tranquility which gets a decent amount of sun during it’s days which last 14 Earth days. Images of the Moon show flowing fountains at times and ice skating rinks in this episode where the people are wearing ear muff to keep warm. Also the Moon has a very small axial tilt meaning it would have virtually no seasons. So Usagi is a terrible skater, even though Princess Serenity was apparently really great at it. Makoto on the other hand is great right out of the gate and so she’s targeted by the enemy because that’s right this week they’re looking for really good skaters to find Sailor Moon! It’s not until she’s properly transformed that Sailor Moon actually starts to skate well and then Tuxedo Mask joins her. But isn’t he a bad guy? Oh yeah I guess Tuxedo Mask is kind of mad at Kunzite so he joins Sailor Moon in this episode. Beryl needs to keep a leash on this guy. It’s total nonsense. A little arguing amongst bad guys is one thing but teaming up with your top enemy is not a good idea. Also if you’re a fan of skating and hockey you should be sure to check out the Keeping Karlsson podcast for all the best hockey pool strategies.

Sailor Moon episode 40 - Shingo stealing Usagi's towel at the hot springs

Episode 40, The Legendary Lake Yokai: The Bond of Usagi’s Family, is a hot springs episode! But it’s not quite as saucy as you might think. Usagi and her family are going on a little trip to the hot springs, which based on what I’ve seen in anime seems to be a huge deal in Japan. We get some good Shingo/Usagi shipping action as they fight and he steals her towel. Mamoru is an absolutely terrible bad guy in this episode as he just kind of hangs around looking at the lake because Queen Beryl made a mistake in sending him. The lake is home to a lake monster which actually has nothing to do with the Dark Kingdom. Aside from Sakiko we haven’t really seen any monsters that weren’t directly created by the Dark Kingdom before. Turns out the lake monster is a jealous girlfriend that’s mad that a boy she was in love with hooked up with a girl from space. This story strongly parallels the Beryl/Endymion/Serenity love triangle. Beryl is in love with Endymion and he falls in love with Serenity who is from the Moon, leaving her. But then instead of turning into a lake monster Beryl took her army and killed everyone on the Moon. We all deal with our jealousies in our own ways. I’m not the only one to see this similarity as the lake monster mistakes Usagi for the woman stealing hussie from her day. Sailor Moon heals the monster releasing the jealous girl from her curse. The rest of the girls eventually show up for some hot springs fun which will make some of our readers happy, like that guy that keeps asking if they’re going to do a beach episode of Sailor Moon Crystal. You know who you are!

Sailor Moon episode 40 - Makoto, Minako, Rei and Ami at the hot springs

Speaking of sexy bodies at the hot spring, check out Kenji Papa in this episode! He’s looking fit. What does he do between this point and when they go to the VR place in Sailor Moon R where he’s got a gut?

Sailor Moon episode 40 - Ikuko Mama and Kenji Papa

Sailor Moon episodes 17 and 18 are now on Hulu

Sailor Moon episode 17 - Kijin Shinokawa

The two latest episdoes of the original Sailor Moon anime have been added to Hulu and Neon Alley this morning, July 7th. Every Monday two new episodes will be added until they reach episode 200. This week it’s episodes 17 and 18. These episodes are subbed by Viz. The dubbed episodes will be coming soon as the cast was already announced this weekend at Anime Expo. DVDs and Blu-Rays with both subbed and dubbed episodes will be released starting with the first half of season 1 on November 11th. Now you can also watch Sailor Moon Crystal on Hulu.

Sailor Moon episode 17 - Usagi in a swimsuit angry

Episode 17, Usagi’s a Model: The Flash of the Monster Camera, has Nephrite targetting Kijin Shinokawa, a talented photographer from Rei’s school. He is looking for models which causes many girls, including Usagi, Naru and her teacher Haruna to volunteer! Hijynx ensues as Usagi covers up a swimsuit which has been destroyed by moths with yellow bows and gets into a fight with Luna.

Sailor Moon episode 18 - Mika and Shingo

Episode 18, Shingo’s Love: the Grieving Doll, is all about Usagi’s brother Shingo and his good friend Mika who is an expert doll maker. Nephrite targets Mika causing friction between her and Shingo, who is concerned for his friend. Throughout this ordeal their friendship and romance grows, but can Mika compete with Sailor Moon for Shingo’s affection? If only Shingo knew that his idol was actually his stupid sister Usagi!

Sailor Moon episode 18 - Shingo loves Sailor Moon

I’m shipping these two

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 1 first impressions

Sailor Moon Crystal Act.1 Usagi - Sailor Moon - Usagi and Luna

This morning the first episode of the new Sailor Moon anime, Sailor Moon Crystal, premiered worldwide on Crunchyroll, Niconico and Hulu. The show is free to watch on a number of these services. For more details, check out these instructions on how to watch the show. I personally found the quality of Crunchyroll’s stream to be higher than Hulu or Niconico’s and so I would recommend checking them out to watch the show if you haven’t already.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act.1 Usagi - Sailor Moon - Title screen

The episode, titled Act.1 Usagi – Sailor Moon, resembled the first episode of the original Sailor Moon anime quite closely. This is fairly expected given this series is meant to resemble the Manga closely and the first episode of each series was quite faithful to that. In fact the first Act of the manga is also titled Usagi – Sailor Moon. With only 26 episodes for this series we certainly can’t expect an episode per episode repeat of the original show.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act.1 Usagi - Sailor Moon - Morga

In this episode we get a pretty good look at Silver Millennium, the ancient kingdom on the Moon, as well as Princess Serenity and Endymion through a couple of Usagi’s dream sequences. Once again we have Morga, a monster impersonating Naru’s mother as ordered by Jadeite, as the main villain of the episode. We are also introduced to Luna, Naru, Umino, Shingo, Sailor Moon’s mother Ikuko and her teacher Haruna. We also see mention of Sailor V, who will later be appearing as Sailor Venus, who shows up in a newspaper, is mentioned by Umino and is the star of her own video game.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act.1 Usagi - Sailor Moon - Serenity and Endymion

One aspect which bothered me a bit was the reaction Usagi had to her first meeting of Mamoru. Instead of being annoyed but a little intrigued she is instead completely infatuated with him from the beginning. We shall see how this relationship develops throughout the series. If this show truly does mirror the manga, things should escalate fairly quickly.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act.1 Usagi - Sailor Moon - Super Sonic Wave Attack

Sailor Moon makes two attack in this episode. The first is the same Supersonic Waves attack which she made in the first episode of the original anime, which she almost never uses again. The second was Moon Tiara Boomerang. This attack was first used in the live action Sailor Moon series. In the original Manga the attack was Moon Frisbee and in the original anime it was Moon Tiara Action. In the rereleased Manga books the move was updated to be called Moon Tiara Boomerang, as is seen here.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act.1 Usagi - Sailor Moon - Ami Mizuno

Act.2, as I guess we are now referring to the episodes as acts, will be premiering in two weeks time, July 19th at 7pm JST, 6am EST and 3am PST in the same places. Since Ami is shown very briefly at the end of this episode I would imagine she will be joining as Sailor Mercury as of the next act. This would be consistent with Sailor Mercury’s appearance in the second act of the Sailor Moon manga “Act 2: Ami – Sailor Mercury”.

Keep reading for more screenshots from the episode.

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Sailor Moon episodes 5 and 6 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon episode 5 - Mika and Shingo hypnotized by the Chanela

The 5th and 6th episodes of Sailor Moon are now available subbed and streaming on Hulu. As was mentioned previously by Viz, who has acquired the rights to the series, two new episodes will be released every Monday! This week includes two new episodes which were previously not dubbed into English. For many nostalgic fans this is a great chance to check out these episodes for the first time!

Sailor Moon episode 5 - Evil Shingo and Mika

Episode 5, Scent of a Monster: Chanela Will Steal Your Love has tensions grow between Shingo and Luna, who is integrating herself into the Tsukino family as a pet, as the Chanela appear in town. Shingo and his friend Mika, along with many other children, are hypnotized by the Chanela who are actually a plot by the Dark Kingdom. One has to wonder if the Chanela themselves were actually innocent creatures with autonomy created as part of this plot and discarded afterwards or if they were just mindless tools. This episode features an interesting twist as Usagi, disguised as Sailor Moon, hides her face from Shingo fearing he might recognize her. Later in the series Usagi’s transformed self is never recognized by anyone. Perhaps Usagi, new to her powers, simply didn’t realize this was the case so early in the show.

Sailor Moon episode 6 - Yusuke Amade playing the piano

Episode 6, Protect the Melody of Love: Usagi Plays Cupid, has Usagi befriending a jazz musician Yusuke Amade, whose music is being used by the Dark Kingdom in order to collect energy. Usagi plays cupid in that she gives him advise on how to win over Akiko who he’s interested in. Usagi uses her transformation pen to get into a club and in doing so sports a punky looking green hair style.

Sailor Moon episode 6 - Usagi with green hair

Unplugged Expo’s Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary voice actor panel – Day 1

Unplugged Expo Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Panel - Day 1

Here’s the first of two Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary panels from Unplugged Expo in Toronto last weekend. This is the Saturday panel from October 26th. On this panel we have Jill Frappier, the voice of Luna, Ron Rubin, the voice of Artemis, Roland Parliament, the voice of Melvin and voice director for the first 65 episodes of the dub, Julie Lemieux, the voice of Sammy, Katie Griffin, the voice of Sailor Mars, Susan Roman, the voice of Sailor Jupiter, Stephanie Morgenstern, the voice of Sailor Venus, Terri Hawkes, the voice of Sailor Moon and Toby Proctor, the voice of Tuxedo Mask. The MC at the podium is me, Adam Gardner.

The Sunday panel was recorded as well. It included Ron Rubin, Susan Roman, Terri Hawkes and Toby Proctor. It will be posted online as time permits in the coming days.

Thanks to Kate for helping out with the camera. Check out her Sailor Moon screenshots on Instagram or Twitter.

Julie Lemieux, the voice of Serena’s brother Sammy, to appear at Unplugged Expo in Toronto this October

Julie Lemieux, voice of Sammy, to appear at Unplugged Expo 2013

Yet another Sailor Moon voice actor has joined the list of guests for Unplugged Expo 2 which will be held in Toronto this coming October 26th and 27th. Julie Lemieux, best known to Sailor Moon fans as the voice of Serena’s younger brother Sammy, will be there as part of the Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary celebration. She has also provided the voice of many other characters in the series such as Peruru from the Sailor Moon SuperS movie, young Darien from the Sailor Moon R movie, many monsters from Sailor Moon SuperS and more.

Sailor Moon episode 110 rare appearance of Shigo/Sammy

Check out the announcement on the Unplugged Expo Facebook page for more. The number of Sailor Moon voice actors attending this convention is getting quite impressive as Julie Lemieux joins Stephanie Morgenstern, the voice of Sailor Venus, Katie Griffin, the voice of Sailor Mars, Susan Roman, the voice of Sailor Jupiter, Terri Hawkes, the voice of Sailor Moon, Roland Parliament, the voice of Melvin and John Stocker, voice director. Pre-registration for the convention is open until October 21st.

Singo