Toast is more important than school work.
The first time I watched Sailor Moon? It was an English dub on early-morning kids TV back…well…I would have been about 12 or 13 then (1995 probably). Serena and the other Sailor Soldiers had funny voices, and Luna sounded like Angela Lansbury, not to mention the fact that here in the UK, Sailor Moon was more than hard to get hold of. Back in the 90s, the anime fanbase here was seen as just another speck of dust and only Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Dragonball Z and Pokemon were highlighted, so for the viewers here, Sailor Moon just wasn’t worth the effort. I mean, why watch girls in costumes fighting evil when you can watch Ash and Pikachu instead?
It was much much later though when a US friend, a hardcore magical girl otaku, introduced me to season 1 in Japanese. So here was me thinking, “Who’s Usagi?”, “Where’s Serena??”, “What happened to Angela Lansbury’s voice!?” But as I kept watching, I grew to love it so much that I easily forgot about the mediocre English dub. The seasons and movies just kept on going, but I didn’t care. So hearing about a reboot of Sailor Moon actually put me off a little at first. I mean I really didn’t want to cast aside all that time I’d watched the show in my youth by simply watching a 21st-century reboot and possibly loving it more than the original. But I chose to watch it instead, to possibly poke fun at it.
The reboot/remake had to be exactly the same as the original, story wise; any kind of change would create an uproar, especially on the opening episode. Usagi has a bizarre dream, she’s late for school, she gets thrown out by her mom for getting a poor grade in English, then Luna suddenly arrives and tells her that her best friend’s in trouble and only Usagi/Sailor Moon can put things right. But certainly one thing the fans have already picked on is the thing Usagi was particularly famous for…something the makers of Sailor Moon Crystal have been sure not to include in the show: her great love of food in large quantities.
All Sailor Senshi need to stay healthy, after all.
So with all the trademark aspects of the Usagi Tsukino in the original show: exceptionally poor grades, clumsiness, being a crybaby, binge-eating, daydreaming, what are we meant to think of the Usagi Tsukino in the remake? She still has the poor grades, she’s still a crybaby and is clumsy, but despite all this, she still looks as gorgeous as the other girls in the show. Her eyes are like bright jewels, her skin is perfect-looking, her hair is unnaturally long…all of this could make us think that Toei Animation simply took Usagi’s traits and made her look more ‘eye-pleasing’ for the public and fans. That in of itself sounds awful of me to say, since I loved Usagi Tsukino from back then (all her silly traits were what made her her). Now look at her……
Those eyes.
Even on the brink of death, she looks beautiful.
It’s certainly the case of the change and trend of animation style that makes Sailor Moon season 1 and Sailor Moon Crystal different. Viewers in the 90s didn’t care about polish and perfection as much as they do today. So what is all this magnificent polish and perfection in Sailor Moon Crystal really about? I guess it could just be down to the viewers, and what kind of shows they started with when anime hit them for the first time. K-on!, Haruhi Suzumiya, Naruto, Darker Than Black, …all shows that spawned in the 2000s, so Sailor Moon Crystal could well be a show they can relate to more; while the story and characters are no different, the animation has become more polished and looks more similar to what they watch right now. All the girls (including Usagi’s mom and her teacher) look more feminine, the men look more manly and handsome (including Jadeite, the current antagonist), and the violence is significantly toned down (…not that Sailor Moon was that violent to begin with).
Saying that though, I won’t say Sailor Moon Crystal has been made more ‘artificial’; the opening and ending themes are really no different as the originals in terms of impact (although I will miss Moonlight Densetsu), Usagi acts and sounds no different really (same voice actress after all), and the world around her is no different either. Everyone, from Tuxedo Mask to Umino, from Queen Beryl to Shingo is there. Well, as we’ve got such a long time to ponder over it and make our decision on whether this idea was a good one (what with it being shown every other week) who’s to say, really. My Sailor Moon-loving friends all love the fact that Sailor Moon has returned, and that it’s made a significant mark in the West finally, what with the help of NicoNico, Crunchyroll, Hulu and whatnot, plus the upcoming release of all 5 seasons in November this year. But saying this, I’m still siding with the original show, in terms of the good mixture of action, fantasy and slapstick comedy. Hopefully we should get the same this time around. Then again, if they said this was merely the same as season 1, only with updated animation, would we just get bored of watching what happened back then again? Ask the hardcore fans that.
Me too.
I await my sentence of crimes from my magical girl-loving friends.
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Neomo
I’m British, and live about an hour outside of London. My first encounter in anime was with bargain bin DVDs at my local rental store, but it was only until around another 5 years later when anime took over me properly...so to speak. I used to turn to fantasy shows a lot (including magical girl shows) but now I’m more of a sucker for school and slice-of-life shows. Don’t even turn to me when it comes to mecha; can’t stand it. I’m also a Final Fantasy 14 addict. And I’m allergic to mushrooms.
Latest posts by Neomo (see all)
- Neomo Actually Compares Sailor Moon to Sailor Moon Crystal - July 7, 2014
- Notes of Glasslip Episode 1 - July 4, 2014
- I’m Writing More and More Stuff Now. - May 28, 2014
