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Information

Title (English) Sailor Moon (live)

Title (Japanese) Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

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Fantasy Novel

Notes This isn't an anime at all, but a live action show. I'm reviewing it here because of its intimate relationship to the famous manga and anime.

Classification shoujo

Synopsis Dim schoolgirl Usagi encounters a talking cat that tells her she is Sailor Moon, a soldier fighting against evil. She discovers that other girls in her locality are also soldiers, and has a run-in with a youma at a jewellery show that is trying to extract human energy. Meanwhile a masked young man and some bad people, including the beautiful and mad-looking Queen Beryl, are looking for a mysterious jewel.
In short, it's much the same story as before.

Review I had low expectations of this when I ordered a sample, but I was totally surprised. As a piece of entertainment it's much more powerful than the original. It has much the same cheesy storyline and silly stuff as the originals, but also has a group of young actresses who really look the part and throw themselves into their roles with enthusiasm. The actresses for Usagi and Ami really look about 14, while Sailor Mars looks older. They do look quite different in their Sailor outfits - especialy Ami who is quite unrecognisably changed from the bespectacled schoolgirl. I defy anybody not to be cheered up by Usagi/Sailor Moon's friendly personality and infectious smile.
The show wisely doesn't rely too heavily on special effects, which are used mainly for the youma. There is a lot of somersaulting and spinning and suchlike in the fight scenes, where the Sailor Warriors don't look too dangerous. As for the cat Luna, there's a hilarious incident in the first episode where a blue stuffed cat falls out of the sky and hits Usagi on the head. Sailor V (whom I'd forgotten being in the original Sailor Moon at all) makes a cameo appearance.
The personalities of the characters introduced in the first five episodes are well differentiated. The original show had elements that had to be toned down for the Western TV versions, but I'd rate this as suitable for all ages.There are no nude transformation scenes - the most that hormonal males are lkely to see is a glimpse of full-size white cotton panty when one of the girls makes a jump.
The show is post-modern in that if you watch it you don't have to go looking elsewhere for explanations of cosplay, or why the anime was so popular that a blond foreign woman visiting Japan could be 'volunteered' by the local housewives at festival time to play Sailor Moon (as happened to one of the students in my Japanese class).

Credits

Episodes

Release

TV Showing See the whole series for free? This series may be syndicated to regional cable, satellite or terrestial TV stations. For Europe click here.

Date 2003

Production

Broadcaster

Animation

References & Help Look up the latest data on this title at:
Richard Llewellyn's Animated Divots, or
Anime News Network (see Encyclopedia section) ,
or in "The Anime Encyclopedia" (Clements & McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2001).
Help & further information.

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Information
Title (English)	Sailor Moon (live)
Title (Japanese)	Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon
Advertising Fantasy Novel
Notes	This isn't an anime at all, but a live action show. I'm reviewing it here because of its intimate relationship to the famous manga and anime.
Classification	shoujo
Synopsis	Dim schoolgirl Usagi encounters a talking cat that tells her she is Sailor Moon, a soldier fighting against evil. She discovers that other girls in her locality are also soldiers, and has a run-in with a youma at a jewellery show that is trying to extract human energy. Meanwhile a masked young man and some bad people, including the beautiful and mad-looking Queen Beryl, are looking for a mysterious jewel. In short, it's much the same story as before.
Review	I had low expectations of this when I ordered a sample, but I was totally surprised. As a piece of entertainment it's much more powerful than the original. It has much the same cheesy storyline and silly stuff as the originals, but also has a group of young actresses who really look the part and throw themselves into their roles with enthusiasm. The actresses for Usagi and Ami really look about 14, while Sailor Mars looks older. They do look quite different in their Sailor outfits - especialy Ami who is quite unrecognisably changed from the bespectacled schoolgirl. I defy anybody not to be cheered up by Usagi/Sailor Moon's friendly personality and infectious smile. The show wisely doesn't rely too heavily on special effects, which are used mainly for the youma. There is a lot of somersaulting and spinning and suchlike in the fight scenes, where the Sailor Warriors don't look too dangerous. As for the cat Luna, there's a hilarious incident in the first episode where a blue stuffed cat falls out of the sky and hits Usagi on the head. Sailor V (whom I'd forgotten being in the original Sailor Moon at all) makes a cameo appearance. The personalities of the characters introduced in the first five episodes are well differentiated. The original show had elements that had to be toned down for the Western TV versions, but I'd rate this as suitable for all ages.There are no nude transformation scenes - the most that hormonal males are lkely to see is a glimpse of full-size white cotton panty when one of the girls makes a jump. The show is post-modern in that if you watch it you don't have to go looking elsewhere for explanations of cosplay, or why the anime was so popular that a blond foreign woman visiting Japan could be 'volunteered' by the local housewives at festival time to play Sailor Moon (as happened to one of the students in my Japanese class).
Credits
Episodes
Release
TV Showing	See the whole series for free? This series may be syndicated to regional cable, satellite or terrestial TV stations. For Europe click here.
Date	2003
Production
Broadcaster
Animation
References & Help	Look up the latest data on this title at: Richard Llewellyn's Animated Divots, or Anime News Network (see Encyclopedia section) , or in "The Anime Encyclopedia" (Clements & McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2001). Help & further information.