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Created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi and turned
into an anime series in 1992 by Toei,
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (Translation: Pretty Soldier
Sailor Moon) is probably the most famous "Magical
Girl" story on either side of the water. The story
of Sailor
Moon and her Sailor Soldiers has drawn one of the
largest fan bases for any single story, extending well
beyond its intended young girl audience. Formally
introduced to the United States in the fall of 1996 by
DiC Entertainment, the series has only grown in American
popularity (although it had its critics and a false
start early into its running).
The story is primarily about a young
teenage girl with a unique hairstyle named Serena
[Usagi
- literally "rabbit"] Tsukino.
At first glance, this bumbling, boy-crazy, lackadaisical
crybaby of a girl would be the LAST girl you'd expect to
be granted a magical transformation brooch by a talking
black cat with a crescent moon on its forehead (Luna
didn't believe it, either). What we discover is that
under this wacky exterior is a very kind, caring,
loving...and protective girl who can possess the will
and determination to stand up and fight against anything
the forces of evil can throw at her.
The story follows her and the friends
(and allies) she gains along the way in her continuing
mission to defend the Earth from evils, and it is
divided into five separate series.
Sailor Moon (originally 46
episodes, however 2 episodes were cut for controversial
content, 3 cut for timing, and the last 2 merged into 1
for both reasons for a total American release of 40
episodes) pits the Sailor Scouts against Queen
Beryl and the Negaverse [Dark Kingdom], which seeks
revenge on a failed attack on the Moon Kingdom during
the Silver Millennium 1000 years ago. This is also the
crazy beginning of the relationship between Serena
and Darien
[Mamoru]
Chiba,
whom she originally detests but eventually discovers is
her long-lost lover and Prince of the Earth when she
herself was Princess of the Moon Kingdom.
Sailor Moon R (R meaning
Romance, 43 episodes, with 1 non-critical episode cut
for a total American release of 42 episodes) is itself
in two pieces. The first part features two aliens and an
energy-dependent alien tree. This only runs for 13
episodes and sets the stage for the real story of Sailor
Moon R. It focuses around two things: Rini
[Chibi-Usa],
a little pink-haired Serena lookalike who literally
dropped out of the sky, and a family of time-traveling
enemies out to stop Rini
and alter the future to their end. Late in the series,
we learn that Rini
(aka Small Lady) is the future daughter of Serena
and Darien,
who will rule the Earth together into a new age of
peace. What is interesting is that the American release
of Sailor Moon was abruptly stopped in the middle of
this series and was not continued until loyal fans
demanded that Sailor Moon R be finished. DiC finally
relented and completed Sailor Moon R.
On a side note, Sailor Moon began its
American life syndicated. However, the abrupt halt of
the series at 65 episodes promptly dropped support and
eventually caused syndication to cease in 1997 (the same
year Sailor Moon completed its final series in Japan, at
200 episodes). USA
Network acquired the presentation rights after a
hiatus of almost a year. However, it barely completed
two runs before a scheduling change pulled all cartoons
from its lineup, effectively putting Sailor Moon in the
dark again. However, soon afterward, Cartoon
Network began its innovative high-intensity cartoon
block known as Toonami. To help inject new material into
the network, it acquired the rights to present two more
anime series on its network. Dragon
Ball Z was one. Sailor Moon was the other. The
acquisition was a mutual success. Popularity for the
entire block soared, and Sailor Moon fans were overjoyed
once again. Furthermore, a deal was made to bring the
missing episodes of Sailor Moon R, which were at the
time restricted to release on Canada's YTV, to Cartoon
Network and finally put some closure on the matter.
Eventually, the block of 82 episodes were released into
syndication, where they remain today. Then, in early
2000, there was a surprise. Toei, through its American
subsidiary (Cloverway, Inc.), began work on the rest of
the Sailor Moon episodes and worked together with
Pioneer Entertainment to release the three Sailor Moon
movies to home video.
Sailor Moon S (S meaning
Super, 38 episodes) introduces two unique Sailor
Soldiers to the mix: Sailor
Uranus and Sailor
Neptune. Together with Sailor
Pluto (who we first saw in Sailor Moon R), they
present Sailor Moon with two sets of problems: dealing
with the Bureau of Bad Behavior [Death Busters], which
is seeking the pure of heart to erase the world, and
dealing with the Outer Sailor Soldiers, who put the
mission objective before the life of the victim and put
the Sailor Soldiers' moral foundation to the test.
Sailor Moon Super S (39
episodes) turns the focus from Serena
to little Rini
and the pursuit of dreams as an enemy from the hidden
past (the Dead Moon Circus) returns during a total solar
eclipse, bent on revenge against the joyful people of
Earth and intent on spoiling everyone's dreams by
finding the one called Pegasus, who is hiding in Rini's
dreams.
As of present, this is where the
American release of Sailor Moon stops. There is
currently no word on whether or not Cloverway will
proceed into the final series. However, it is assumed
that public reaction to Sailor Moon S and Sailor Moon
Super Super S will affect the decision.
Sailor Moon Sailor Stars (33
episodes, not yet released in America) is the last
Sailor Moon series. Everyone is brought back together,
and three new warriors appear that are even more unusual
then Uranus
and Neptune.
Furthermore, one last mystery appears to top off the
greatest fight in the Sailor Soldiers' lives.
THANKS TO Absolute Anime Sailor Moon
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