The Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Memorial Tribute Album was finally release on January 29th. I got my copy a couple of weeks ago and have been quite happy with it. I would encourage readers to buy a copy for themselves from sites such as Amazon Japan, CD Japan or JList. Alternatively you can download the album illegally from the Miss Dream web site.

This album, as we have mentioned before, includes covers of popular Sailor Moon songs by a variety of Japanese musical artists. We spoke a lot about who these bands were in earlier posts about this album. I generally enjoyed the album quite a bit. It filled me with nostalgia for these famous songs which I’ve listened to countless times over the years but still offered something new to appreciate with the different takes all of these artists have on these songs which are now up to 20 years old. Below I will include brief thoughts on each of the tracks.

The first track, Moonlight Densetsu, is the original theme song used in the first four of the five seasons of the Sailor Moon anime. The original theme song was done by DALI but in the S and SuperS seasons it was rerecorded by Moon Lips. This cover by Momoiro Clover Z more closely resembles the Moon Lips version. Momoiro Clover Z originally faced much criticism from fans when their performance of this song at the Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary event was not great. They are set to perform the theme song for the new Sailor Moon anime yet they could not do a decent cover of this song. This album version, as opposed to their live version, sounds considerably better benefiting from the studio polish that only post production can bring. It stands to reason that the theme song we finally get will have a similar quality.

Heart Moving was the original ending theme for the first half of the first season of the anime. The version on this album performed by Shoko Nakagawa is quite a bit more upbeat than the original.

Princess Moon, the ending theme for the second half of the first season, is performed by Haruka Fukuhara. My only thought when hearing this version is that the artist sounds extremely young. This is fair as Haruka Fukuhara is only 15.

Otome no Policy, the ending theme for Sailor Moon R, is performed by Etsuko Yakushimaru. This version features a lot of interesting electronic effects, like random beeps reminiscent of dial up modems. The entire song seems whispered which is an odd choice. The end effect is that it makes me think that there might be a Japanese ghost stuck in my music player, which is all right since this rendition is fairly enjoyable.

La Soldier was not a theme song used in the anime, but was originally a song used in the Sailor Moon Musicals. It has been used in every Sailor Moon musical to date. It was also used in the final battle in Sailor Moon R. The version of this album is performed by Tommy heavenly and is by far my favourite track on the album. There is a rock type quality added which is quite enjoyable and Tommy heavenly has a great singing voice.

Ai No Senshi is the other track which is not an opening or ending theme. This song was first used when the Sailor Soldiers face off against Rubeus and the Ayakashi Sisters in Sailor Moon R and again in Sailor Moon S when Haruka gives Usagi a lift in her car. The original version of this song has a great beat and this one does as well. The song is now a duet done by Mariko Goto and Avu-chan. Avu-chan’s voice sounds very much like that of a man, which is not terribly surprising as she is a trans woman. The duet works well, though the voice can be a bit distracting. This rendition is good though the original version needed no improvement.

Tuxedo Mirage, the ending theme for Sailor Moon S, is the second song performed by Momoiro Clover Z. Their performance is perfectly serviceable but not exceptional. They are a popular band that is in my mind neither impressive or lacking in talent. I’m sure their performance of the upcoming theme song will be equally unremarkable.

“Rashiku” Ikimasho is the ending theme for the second half of Sailor Moon SuperS as well as the Ami’s First Love special. The cover by Haruko Momoi is very good, though the original song was also great and didn’t really require any improvement. This song could easily have been worse if done poorly, so I give it credit for holding up well.

The Sailor Stars Song was the second opening theme, used for the Sailor Stars series. The cover by Mitsuko Horie is not as good or fun as the original. Her style of singing does not really mesh well with the tone of the music.

Kaze mo Sora mo Kitto, the ending theme to Sailor Stars, is performed by Makoto Kawamoto. The music itself is not terribly different than the original track though Mokoto Kawamoto’s singing voice is a bit different, and quite enjoyable.

The bonus track is a French language version of Moonlight Densetsu by Clémentine, a French singer who performs mostly in Japan. It’s a very interesting track as it is more of a departure from the original than any other. The style of music is a complete novelty. The French translation takes many liberties, sometimes having only passing similarities to the original lyrics. Overall I found it quite enjoyable and found that Clémentine has a good singing voice.

This is a good album and one I would suggest all Sailor Moon fans make the effort to pick up.

Here’s a trailer for the Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Memorial Tribute Album which will be released on January 29th. It gives a preview of each of the tracks and gives us the details about every artists which will be performing a song. As we’ve seen before the songs are mostly the opening and ending themes, with a few other popular Sailor Moon songs included. The official web site has also been updated with more information about each track and artist.

Here is the track listing as well as the artists performing them. We’ll look at who the newly mentioned artists are later in this post.

1: Moonlight Densetsu (Moonlight Legend) – Momoiro Clover Z
2: Heart Moving – Shoko Nakagawa
3: Princess Moon – Haruka Fukuhara
4: Otome no Policy (Maiden’s Policy) – Etsuko Yakushimaru
5: La Solider – Tommy heavenly⁶
6: Ai No Senshi (Soldier of Love) – Mariko Goto & Avu-chan
7: Tuxedo Mirage – Momoiro Clover Z
8: “Rashiku” Ikimasho (I’ll Go As Myself) – Haruko Momoi
9: Sailor Stars Song – Mitsuko Horie
10: Kaze mo Sora mo Kitto… (The Wind, The Sky, Surely…) – Makoto Kawamoto
Bonus Track: Moonlight Densetsu – French Version – Clémentine

Once again we see Momoiro Clover Z, the band who will be performing the theme song for the new anime set to premier in July, performing Moonlight Densetsu. They have previously performed this song twice live and this version sounds much better, having been cleaned up in a studio.

We discussed Mitsuko Horie and Shoko Nakagawa in our first post about this album and then talked about Mariko Goto, Haruko Momoi and Tommy Heavenly⁶ when more details were announced. With this latest news we have five more artists joining the list with Haruka Fukuhara, Etsuko Yakashimaru, Avu-chan, Makoto Kawamoto and Clémentine. Read on more more on each of these artists.

Haruka Fukuhara is a 15 year old actress, model and singer who is well known as the main actress on Cooking Idol Ai! Mai! Main!, a live action and animated cooking show. She has released a number of singles, most of which have to do with cooking.

Etsuko Yakushimaru is a J-Pop singer who has been the vocalist for the Japanese rock band Sōtaisei Riron since 2006. She also writes and composes music under the pseudonym Tika.

Avu-chan is the lead singer of the band Ziyoou-Vachi (Queen Bee). The members of this glamrock Japanese band are all transgender women. Avu-chan is teaming up with Mariko Goto to perform Ai No Senshi.

Makoto Kawamoto is a Japanese singer who has been working since 1996. She is well known to anime fans for performing 1/2, the second opening theme for the anime series Rurouni Kenshin.

A bonus French version of Moonlight Densetsu is also included on this CD sung by Clémentine. Clémentine is a French language singer who primarily works in Japan. This song will be sung in French though no preview is included to date so we will have to wait until the album is released to see what this sounds like.

You can preorder the album from Amazon Japan, CD Japan or JList.

The Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Memorial Tribute Album official site has been updated with the album art, a full list of the tracks and a list of some of the artists on this album which will be released in Japan on January 29th. The songs, listed below, are mostly opening and ending themes from the series. No real surprises there.

Moonlight Densetsu (Moonlight Legend) – Original opening theme
Heart Moving – First season 1 ending theme
Princess Moon – Second season 1 ending theme
Otome no Policy (Maiden’s Policy)- Sailor Moon R ending theme
La Soldier – From the Sailor Moon musicals and Sailor Moon R
Ai no Senshi (Soldier of Love) – From Sailor Moon R and S
Tuxedo Mirage – Sailor Moon S ending theme
“Rashiku” Ikimasho (I’ll Go As Myself)- Second Sailor Moon SuperS ending theme
Sailor Stars Song – Sailor Stars opening theme
Kaze mo Sora mo Kitto… (The Wind, The Sky, Surely…) – Sailor Stars ending theme

We now know of 6 artists who will be doing songs for this album. We still don’t know what artists will be performing which songs. Three of these artists were discussed when news of this album first became available. You can read this article from November to learn more about Momoiro Clover Z, the all girl band currently slated to do the theme song for the new anime, Mitsuko Horie, who provided the voice for Sailor Galaxia, and Shoko Nakagawa, a Japanese singer who has covered a number of Sailor Moon songs and often cosplays as Sailor Moon characters. Keep reading for more details on the three other artists Mariko Goto, Haruko Momoi and Tommy Heavenly6.

Mariko Goto was the guitarist and vocalist for Japanese punk band “Midori” from 2003 until they disbanded in 2010. She began a solo music career in 2011 and has since released two albums.

Haruko Momoi is a Japanese singer, song writer and voice actress. She has appeared in a number of anime series and video games and has been doing music since 2000 as a solo artist and as part of the duo Under17. In addition to vocals Haruko Momoi also plays the keytar.

Tommy Heavenly⁶ is the punk rock alter ego of Tomoko Kawase, a Japanese vocalist. Tomoko Kawase began her career as the lead single for The Brilliant Green in 1995. She began her solo career in 2001 under the pseudonym Tommy february⁶ and then in 2003 began performing a more alternative punk kind of music as Tommy heavenly⁶

There will be different stickers packaged with the album depending on which retailer it’s purchased from. If you want all of these stickers you only have to buy this album 10 times! The images shown are mentioned to be samples, though they are almost all images which match album art for the Sailor Moon Memorial Music Box CD set which was released in 1998. The Yamano Music’s sticker featuring Chibiusa and Diana differers from the Chibiusa cover in the Memorial Music Box.