Sailor Moon Returns!

[Disney's Divinity]

I have the full set now. The only two that have trouble standing are Mars and especially Venus. Of course, I hate Venus, so who cares. At least I have Artemis to go with Luna. They are all just so cute. Mercury looks better than I expected? I like that her bubble is see-through. I knew these would look great considering I always loved pictures of the characters as chibis growing up.

[Disney Duster]

Well here's some good news and some bad news. From here, we know that Sailor Moon Crystal will have a continuation of the next arc in the manga, the Dream arc, but it will not be in a season of episodes - it will be in two theatrical films!

Now, this isn't so very bad, as the Dream arc has 11 acts, which includes 2 big acts so it's more like 13, and the Sailor Moon Crystal series so far has, except for 2 episodes, done one episode that is about 20 minutes per act, and as we know there's 20 minutes per hour so if the films are a little over 2 hours, we are fine. However, animated films tend to only last around 90 minutes, with exceptions like Akira.

The same director from Season 3, which had mostly better animation and what most fans seem to think is better writing, is returning for the films, so that may be good. I hope that we will however get much better movie animation the likes of Sailor Moon's SuperS film, but if we get Season 3 level animation, that's ok.

We don't have a release date for the films, sadly.

I'm excited, but trepidacious about all this news.

[Disney Duster]

Well, Usagi's birthday, June 30th, faithfully once more brings us some news, but it's very small.

Kazuko Tadano, animation director for the first two seasons of the original 90's Sailor Moon anime and the Sailor Moon R movie, will be the animation director for the upcoming 2 movies of Sailor Moon Crystal's fourth story, which will cover the Dream arc.

And that's it. No news of when the freakin' films will be released. Well, I'll try to keep you updated whenever I catch news.

[Disney Duster]

It was Usagi's birthday June 30th, so we got Sailor Moon Crystal news. And it FINALLY give us what we've been clamouring for!!! A date! And character designs! The first film of the next wave of the anime will cover the first half of the Dream arc from the manga and will now be called "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal" and premiere sometime in 2020.

Check out more on the news and poster and trailer, here.

Also, the entire series so far for Sailor Moon Crystal is available on Blu-ray.

[Disney Duster]

Some news! The first Sailor Moon Eternal film is coming out roadshow style in Japan on September 11, 2020. The roadshow style means it will come out in limited release at first, and then be widely released later (I guess). Also, Toei will be collaborating with Studio DEEN for these two Sailor Moon Eternal films. The animation of Studio DEEN has been described by the Sailor Moon News web site as maybe "hit or miss". In the past, sometimes they made great stuff and sometimes they didn't. So...we'll see!

[Disney's Divinity]

You know, I had the most random thought this morning. I made a couple of pictures from the Sailor Moon artbook(s) my computer background, and I was looking at them while waiting for a site to load a few minutes ago. I was just thinking how my two favorites, Mercury and Saturn, are pretty much polar opposites in strength. Which made me wonder why the author decided to make Saturn the most powerful sailor who can pretty much destroy everything anyway?

I understand Saturn is the second-largest planet and the planet is also associated with evil / the Devil which fits for her having a villain alterego in Mistress 9 and being feared by Uranus and Neptune. But Saturn is traditionally associated with time and Pluto with death? Wouldn’t it have made more sense for the planet names to be reversed and Hotaru be Pluto while Setsuna is Saturn? Setsuna’s weapon even has rings like Saturn.

[Sotiris]

But Saturn is traditionally associated with time and Pluto with death? Wouldn’t it have made more sense for the planet names to be reversed and Hotaru be Pluto while Setsuna is Saturn? Setsuna’s weapon even has rings like Saturn.

You may find this article interesting.

[Disney's Divinity]

Thank you, Sotiris. The end conclusion of that article makes sense as far as the reason most likely being convenience of the story at the time it was being told. I've actually read articles from that site before (but by no means all of them); they're really fantastic and informative.

I know from my own experience writing that occasionally a character here and there will refuse to perfectly align to all the references you're making, and you have to hope the readers understand the choices you make. It always feels like a thread sticking out of place.

[Disney Duster]

Wow Sotiris, thank you for that article. I think it must be correct, though I also think Naoko should have been wise enough to make Saturn the one who guarded the time door in the first place.

[Disney Duster]

A new poster and trailer for the Sailor Moon Eternal films has been released, and the first film is still scheduled be released in Japan on September 11th. Check it out here.

[Disney Duster]

The first new film for Sailor Moon, called Sailor Moon Eternal Part 1, has been pushed back from it's debut in theaters in Japan due to COVID-19. It is now coming January 8th, 2021. But we now know Part 2 is coming February 11th 2021.

No news of when the films will be coming to international places.

If anyone doesn't know, both Sailor Moon's original '90s anime and the Sailor Moon Crystal anime can be watched for free on VIZ Media:
Click here to watch Sailor Moon on VIZ.

[Disney Duster]

For Usagi's birthday June 30th, Toei released a clip of Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi Moon's "Moon Crisis Make-Up" transformation and speech from Sailor Moon Eternal!

Click here for Sailor Moon Eternal Transformation and Speech

But...well...it looks really poorly animated, I must say. The transformation, I mean, not the speech. The speech is well-drawn and flows well, but the transformation is poorly drawn and is so stiff. It kinda sucks. And this is what we have been waiting for for so long! Only the music, backgrounds, colors, and some special effects are better than the old one for me.

There is a comparison video of the old '90s anime transformation and the new one, and you can really see how the old one was better:
Click here for a comparison of the transformations.

What do you other Moonies think?

[Disney Duster]

A trailer for the first Sailor Moon Eternal film came out a while ago and I forgot to post it, but now here it is:
Sailor Moon Eternal Trailer.

[Disney Duster]

New sneak peek at all the Inner Senshi transformations:
Sailor Moon Eternal: The Movie - Transformations Preview

Mercury's is incredibly gorgeous.

[blackcauldron85]

There is a comparison video of the old '90s anime transformation and the new one, and you can really see how the old one was better:
Click here for a comparison of the transformations.

What do you other Moonies think?

They are sooo similar! I haven't watched Sailor Moon since I was little but I loved it back then. I'm intrigued by the new movie- will it be theatrically released, then available to buy? Or do you know how they're distributing it?

[Sotiris]

I'm intrigued by the new movie- will it be theatrically released, then available to buy? Or do you know how they're distributing it?

It's a two-part movie adapting the fourth arc of the manga with the first one being released on January 8, 2021 and the second one on February 11, 2021 in Japan. It's expected to get a home video release afterwards. When it comes to the rest of the world, there are rumors Netflix picked up the distribution rights, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

[blackcauldron85]

^ Cool, thank you! Netflix or disc (Redbox?) would work for me!

[Disney Duster]

You can watch the first three seasons of Sailor Moon Crystal on Hulu Amy, and you can also buy the Blu-rays on Amazon!

[blackcauldron85]

I don't have Hulu...my parents do, but I'm obviously not over there much these days...but post-Covid, that's something that I could watch at their house! Thanks for letting me know

[Disney's Divinity]

I would buy this on Blu-ray, but the prices for anime are outrageous these days. Most of my anime purchases are sporadic although I have a lot of them bookmarked and check them regularly. I especially hate this new trend of "Season 1 Part 1"'s and "Season 1 Part 2"'s. They expect you to pay around $35 for half a season, seriously WTH. I was hoping there would be some price drops over Black Friday, but not many of the ones I wanted did, unfortunately.

It's been easy for me to forego Sailor Moon since the new series isn't the one I'm attached to (the animation looks so-so) and even the re-release of the old anime was given new voice actors which I'm guessing will completely take me out of it. I'd still like to get it eventually, but I'm not paying full price. I wish there was a way to get the old dub though (I loved it, warts and all).