Fighting evil by moonlight

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: CANDIS BROSS
Creator Naoko Takeuchi brought back her popular animated series with a reboot titled Pretty Guardian: Sailor Moon Crystal

When Naoko Takeuchi decided on revamping her beloved Sailor Moon franchise, it was under her terms completely; she was determined to not make a simple reboot of the 1992 anime. For fans of the dubbed North American version it may not make sense, but to diehard Moonies it was exactly what they wished for.

She then went to task; cutting filler episodes, returning Sailor Moon’s name to her original Usagi instead of North American Serena, a plot issue some devoted fans are unhappy with, along with her teammates’ names as well and leaving all original relationships intact and uncut.

The last point was a big one, while the original manga and Japanese versions of the anime allowed for complex and fluid relationships, the American version changed Sailor Uranus’ and Neptune’s relationship from one of lovers, to merely very, very, very, close cousins, sleeping in the same bed, sometimes holding hands and kissing.

It wasn’t convincing to say the least, and due to extremely awkward editing, people thought the two cousins were constantly flirting with each other. This wasn’t the only time North American production messed around with relationship dynamics, but Takeuchi definitely wanted to make sure it didn’t happen with Sailor Moon Crystal.

Due to this and host of nitpicky diehard fan-driven theories, it’s safe to say fans were equally excited and nervous about the new series premiering.

Two decades after the original series’ own release, Pretty Guardian: Sailor Moon Crystal premiered July 5, 2014 on NicoNico in Japanese audio and English, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. Two days after the release, Anime News Network revealed the episode had been streamed over one million times in 12 countries.

Despite multi-week delays for a few of its episodes, the series has now released 26 episodes. The series is also on streaming services like Crunchyroll for free.

Watching the new series was sometimes painful, in that watching a formula happen over and over can get repetitive. Viewers see each Sailor Scout get her own “I realize Usagi is my best friend even though I’ve met her once”, “finding true power/sailor scout transformation”, and “fighting your enemy with the exact same power” episodes.

Of course, one can argue it’s character building for viewers first getting into the Sailor Moon franchise, having never watched the previous series. But it’s mildly repetitive at times as well.

A significant change from the original to the new version is the removal of the Doom Tree Saga, a mini arc about an alien duo stealing negative emotions to fuel its starship/space/tree/birthing pod. It was weird. The anime needed filler, and that’s what came out.

The new series cut to the nitty gritty though and pushed together multiple seasons into two 13 episode arcs. It’s important to understand that most anime seasons will be split into two 13 episode arcs, allowing for easier storytelling while also giving the season a middle point kick of freshness.

The effect of this choice on the series was felt quickly. Instead of getting to frolic in their win over Queens Beryl and Metalia for a couple episodes, the team is immediately hit with a team from the future trying to change the past.

Fans of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Transformers will notice striking similarities throughout the season to these two franchises, and they’ll be correct. Takeuchi has stated throughout the years that these two shows were key influences during the making of the Sailor Moon manga.

With foot soldiers looking like Putty Patroller clones, and the Black Moon Clan’s origin story being eerily similar to that of Decepticons, there could be no mistake about the influence of both series.

Despite minor pacing issues, and the length of each episode being a tad short, Pretty Guardian: Sailor Moon Crystal is a great series, and Takeuchi’s reworked vision for the series will be sure to leave fans begging for season two.