HKBattosai

INTRO

Sailor Moon is one of the very first anime I ever saw when I first learned what this unique looking art and animation style was as it began to surface on cable television across the United States.

STORY

We are introduced to the very first guardian, Sailor Moon herself, in the form of a Clumsy, Lazy, whining Crybaby named Usagi Tsukino. She happens to nearly run into a cat with a band aid on her forehead named Luna. She removes the band aid and from there on their fates are intertwined with each other as Luna, who can speak fluent Japanese (or English), learns where Usagi lives. Using the moon crescent on her forehead, Luna awakens Usagi’s powers as the sailor guardian, Sailor Moon. From there, nearly every episode is Usagi (and the eventual remaining guardians awaiting discovery) fighting against the evil forces of the Dark Kingdom, which features a Monster-of-the-week.

The latter third is where the story does start to take some unexpected twists mixed with a few dashes of surprise and topped by one “holy sh*t” moment. This makes the storyline more engaging. Surprisingly, where most episodes were once riddled with some form of tongue-in-cheek humor, which is all part of the Sailor Moon experience, those moments were being over-shadowed or replaced with a more serious atmosphere that consisted of an unexpected amount of death. As the story evolves it becomes more and more prominent, although it never completely takes away its core appeal. If anything, it encapsulates the viewer into show even more and adds a small “unknown” factor as to what will happen next (episode).

ANIMATION

The art aspect is bad by today's standards but average for its time. The animation is above average at best, but both the art and animation have a certain allure to it that adds to the anime rather than subtracts from it.

SOUND

Personally, I think it's great! The OP's and ED's are perfectly matched for the anime with the sounds and music throughout each episode only matching it. It’s so good that in every episode when Usagi transforms I still get goosebumps as it reminds me of my younger days of first discovering anime.

CHARACTERS

There are many characters to be discovered in Sailor Moon. Most are minor ones, but between them, main, and secondary ones, there are enough flavors to appeal to everyone. With 46 episodes showcasing the non-minor characters, their development comes along rather pleasantly (for most), albeit unevenly paced at times.

To give you a small sampling of some of what to expect by way of characters:  Usagi, the main protagonist, is often annoying, but very likeable as well. Aside from her faults, her severe determination for finding and defending a young girl's love is endearing. Luna, essentially Usagi’s cat, is very expressive, humorous, and even insulting towards Usagi; sometimes to a fault. However, she is more often a funny fury ball of fur. The remainder of the sailor guardian team is rounded out by Ami, the genius Bookworm, Makoto, the strong athletic guardian, Rei, the Shrine Maiden, Minako, who is probably the most well-rounded one of them all, and Artemis, Luna’s cat partner in crime.

Some of more notable villains are:  Nephrite, one of the Four Lords of the Dark Kingdom, who goes from being a complete a** hole, to becoming the only villain who I found myself liking. Kunzite and Zoisite are both lords as well and are both a** holes right from the very beginning and remain that way. The leader of the Dark Kingdom, Queen Beryl, is a ruthless individual hellbent on magical energy and power.

Lastly, there is Naru, Usagi’s best friend, is a delight. She’s cute, charming, and good friend to Usagi, and Mamoru, who's as important to Usagi as Sailor Moon's true identity is to the sailor guardians.

By the end, you’ll have fallen in love with a majoring of them, and most likely have feelings of discontent, resentment, and anger towards a select few. It won’t be the same for everyone, but I was surely reminiscent of such feelings after watching this again.

OVERALL

Sailor Moon is a pivotal anime in terms of its importance to the existence and popularity of anime in the United States. Yes, its storyline is mostly repetitive, cheesy and Episodic, but its simplicity, hokeyness, and Shoujo Fantasy magic are what give it the appeal and staying power that it has had since the 1990’s. For lack of a better term, it’s downright charming.

ENTERTAINMENT SCORE:  8/10

1️⃣Weighted Average System Score: (18 + 6 + 9 + 24 + 16 = 73/100)

Additional Information:

• Video Format:  Streaming
• Audio Format:  English
• Publisher:  Hulu
• Equipment Used:  LG 60UH6550 4K TV, Vizio 5.1 Sound Bar System SB3651-E6, Sony Blu-ray Player BDP-S5