Tag: Usagi Tsukino

Anime Review: ‘Sailor Moon Super S’

The heartwarming tale of the original Brony.

Sailor Moon Super S, written by Yoji Enokido et al. Directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. Starring Kotono Mitsuishi, Aya Hisakawa, and Michie Tomizawa. Toei Animation (–). 39 episodes of 24 minutes (approx. 936 minutes).

Available from Viz Media.

Sailor Moon Super S, the fourth series of the Sailor Moon anime from the Nineties, is probably the weakest entry in the popular franchise. Built loosely on the “Infinity” arc of the manga, it focuses on Sailor Moon’s daughter from the future, Chibi-Usa. A microcosmic coming-of-age story, this arc is arguably important to Sailor Moon’s overall themes, but that doesn’t prevent it from being uneven—the primary reason for which is probably Chibi-Usa herself, whose presence in Sailor Moon is, even at the best of times, redundant.

Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi Moon finish their transformation sequences.
Chibi-Usa prepares to punish you, redundantly.

Chibi-Usa earned a lot of hate from American viewers back in the Nineties due to the DiC dub. She is more popular in Japan, which is unsurprising given that country’s obsession with cuteness, mascot characters, and little girls. She is simultaneously a sidekick to Sailor Moon and a miniature version of her (she is actually called Sailor Chibi Moon), but although she appears best suited to a peripheral role, she has a habit of upstaging the rest of the cast—and in Super S, she takes over.

This is her arc, like it or not.

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Happy Sailor Moon’s Birthday

It is the official birthday of Sailor Moon today. As is fitting for such an event, the studio has released a video displaying the transformation sequences of Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi Moon for the upcoming Sailor Moon: Eternal movie, as reported at Sailor Moon News.

Here is the video; the transformation starts about two thirds of the way in. Anyone familiar with Sailor Moon Super S, the series of the original anime that followed the Eternal arc, will notice the influence.

This movie is set to continue the (decidedly troubled) Sailor Moon: Crystal anime series, which sought to follow the manga more closely than the original anime did. Although it had a few innovative ideas (I am one of the few who likes the more developed backstory on the sailor scouts and the four Kings of Heaven), the show was troubled by poor animation and a variety of bad choices. Although a new director and new character designs improved the third series considerably, it still pales in comparison to its predecessor.

I can’t honestly say what I think about the upcoming Eternal movie, though I’ll be interested in seeing it. Super S is generally considered the weakest series of the old anime, so at least the new movie has less to compete with. It seems the production on this film has taken an awfully long time, which means either they’re being meticulous with it or the difficulties of the reboot are continuing.

Also, as I’ll explain later, I have a certain fondness for Super S, though I agree it’s not as good as the series that immediately preceded it. Its most notable feature, oft ridiculed, is a story arc in which a prepubescent girl falls romantically in love with a talking horse. A lot of people think that’s weird or creepy.

I think it’s funny as hell.

#Memes!