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8:17 a.m. - Tuesday, May. 05, 2009
Sailor Moon (u-huh) Review 7/10


Ok, I'm going to now take this time to review Sailor Moon. Last year I watched this anime for a whole two months. It was so long! (not as long as Detective Conan) But I managed to watch every episode. All i have to say is it is okay. Well, thats not all I have to say. I have to explain to you, the reader, why I think it is okay. This anime came to mind last year when I thought abour my first anime. Unfortunately, this was my first anime.
I thought it was Dragon Ball, but no, because I remember watching this on my way to my first grade classes every morning. when I was younger (in the 90s). I didn't get into Dragonball until I was 8. So, I thought maybe I should check this out again. When i was younger, I loved it because of all the pretty colors and transforming. But now that i am older, I got a clearer view of Sailor Moon, and with the advance of technology, i was able to watch the Jap version (because dubbed just doesn't do too well with me understanding the whole concept). After watching it again, I have to say this isn't the worst anime, but it isn't the best girl anime I've seen either. As such, I'll rate this with pros and cons, because this has some good points and some bad points. So I'll be reviewing the following things: Story, characters&relationships&antagonists, music, writers, content/messages/appeal, and design and art. Okay, ready? Lets begin!

The following anime is Shojo, meant to target a young female audience.*

Story-The story is the first anime about 5-11 sailor senshi (scouts in English) who have been sent to Earth a long time ago as babies to fight for the queen (any queen) in the name of the planet they represent: Sailor Venus, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, Sailor Pluto, Sailor Saturn, Sailor Starlight, healer, fighter, maker, and Sailor Moon with mini Moon, which is her future daughter (?) Then the weak Tuxedo Mask, who is supposed to be the Prince of the Earth, and later the King of the Moon. The scouts always get into these on-going battles with the Nega-verse (opposite of universe), and in the end they battle other sailor soldiers, like Sailor Galaxia. So the story is bleak, not clear. It depends on the season. Each season has a different story, as someone is always after something else. At first, it was energy crystals (take people's energy), then it was heart crystals, then it was dream mirrors, and then star seeds. So the story is not really firm. Its just showing off scouts power. Pros: Um well my favorite season is the second when the upper senshi, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn get in the mix. It had the best storyline with the witch doctors being in the mix. It was about the destruction of the other woman in sailor saturn, as she is the senshi of destruction, and had an evil queen lurking in her. It was cool. I also liked the Starlights season. But mostly overall what I like the story for is to see the transformations and the attacks. I could give a crap about the storyline. Cons: unclear, not well-developed, obvious, and typical of female animes. Its always about love. Somewhat, it seems the scouts are always fighting some vain queen who wants to take over the universe. same song and dance. This is derived from the Sailor V manga that started first, so some people still feel Sailor Venus is the main character.



characters, relationships&antagonists-The characters are well-developed, mostly because it seems to have more than one character. But the story centers around Sailor Moon, due to the fact that she is the princess the scouts are trying to protect. To be honest, she is not a senshi, but i guess she decides to help because she doesn't want to be helpless. Her real name is Usagi, and she's a crybaby, she loves to eat and sleep. She is supposedly the strongest, but she acts the weakest. She lives a normal life with her earthly mother and little brother. She loves Tuxedo Mask. Tuxedo Mask is her boyfriend and future husband, but he's way too old for her. She's fourteen and he's 18 (?). I don't think they look good together, and I don't think he truly loves her, especially due to how he just left her and moved to America without feeling sad at all in the fourth season. That seemed fishy to me. He's a good-looking guy, who loves to tease Usagi and calls "meatball head" or "bun buns" or some such thing. In any case, he's supposed to be a guy who saves the girls in a crisis and the king of the moon, and prince of the Earth, Endymion, but he's weak. All he does is throw roses...Sailor Mercury was the first senshi Usagi met. Her real name is Ami. She's super smart and uses a computer scanner in battle. She's the brain. She hopes to be a doctor when she gets older. She's rich, and lives with her mother, also a doctor in a ritzy apartment. Her parents are divorced. Her father is a traveling painter. Mars is really Rei. Rei lives at a shrine with her grandfather and hopes to be a diplomat. She also likes to sing occasionally. She has a rockstar boyfriend. She is also hot-tempered and is always arguing with Usagi and making her cry. Her powers often reflect her Shinto religion. She's into hot boys. Jupiter is really Mako. She lives alone because her parents were killed in an airplane crash. She is the most domestic of all the scouts because she's lived on her own. She is often called the tomboy one, as she's super tall, and can fight! (she even got into it with Uranus). But she's good at cooking, gardening, and sewing, and hopes to be a bride one day. Mina is Sailor Venus. Sailor V, like I said, had her own manga first, so some people feel she should be the main character, also due to the fact that Sailor Moon is not a real senshi. She is the real leader of the Sailor Senshi/scouts. So to give Usagi some screen time, they usually replace Usai with Mina, or replace Mina with Usagi throughout the show. At first, Mina seemed a little seclusive (as they pin-point in the live action version. The dubbed, no). One episode showed her past. But eventually the creators started making her act a little ditzy like Usagi. She loves boys, and wants to be an idol when she grows up. She also loves sports, particularly volleyball. Then there is mini moon/chibi moon who came from the future. She's Usagi's daughter, but unfortunately, Usagi doesn't get along with her. Thats because they act a like, though chibi moon has more sense. She has her mom's name, but everyone at home calls her "Small Lady." The outer senshi are the strongest to me, but the show swears up and down that the inner are the leaders. BS! The outer senshi are older, except Saturn. But Uranus is really Haruka, and she's tough. She loves to drive cars, and loves anything "need for speed." She races cars and even has her own motorcycle. At first Jupiter admired her as Haruka, but not as Uranus, and they got into a fight. Sailor Venus thought she was a gorgeous man at first. Haruka dresses in men's clothes and has short hair like a man (?), she also knows alot about romance. She's very, very tall. She has a weird relationship with Neptune (some people say they are gay). Saturn cals Neptune and Pluto her mother, but calls Uranus her father (?). Neptune is really Michiru. She is graceful, beautiful, rich and good at art and the violin. She is also a great swimmer. She challenges Mercury once, who was the best. She is often admired and envied. She is very flirtatious, but she's harsher as a senshi. Pluto is really Meioh. In the manga, she was claimed to be the darkest Sailor Scout, or the "black one." But she just has a tan. In the manga she loved Tuxedo Mask, and so she stayed at the door of time to heal because she knew he was destined to be with Sailor Moon. So she formed a close relationship with his daughter instead. She is good at sewing and loves to shop. Other than that, she's a mystery. She is not as cold as the others. She controls time. Saturn is really Hotaru (in English as well). She had the Mistress 9 in her body, an evil queen, who controlled some evil witch doctor women. Negaverse type of stuff. Hotaru is sheltered, sickly, and lonely. She did become chibi moon's friend. She likes to read and collects lamps. She is also a mystery. She was supposed to have died, but was saved by Mistress 9's dark powers entering Hotaru. Hotaru, after destroying things, is always reborn as a baby. She is destructive. Lastly, is the Starlights. They took on the form of men when they came to Earth (not in the manga. They just dressed like men). They are a famous all-boy singing group and idols. Everybody loves them, but their purpose is to sing to their queen to find her. Seiya is the leader of them, and he/she's the fighter. As a male, he has a thing for Usagi. He is always flirting with her and helping her out, until they find out who each other are. He falls in love with her, and wishes she'd get rid of Tuxedo Mask. I think she should too. He's weak and pointless. I hate when romantic partners are pointless (as I mention before *Ran*). Seiya is better with her, even if he can transform into a she. That didn't stop Ranma 1/2...so anyway he's athletic and likes American football. He's arrogant and rude sometimes, often full of himself. He likes to tease Usagi. Taiki is the maker, and he's serious, smart, and quiet. He is the coldest out of all of them. He started mess with the outer Senshi, but then again, they always fight with someone, especially Uranus. He likes to read. Yaten is the worst. He's loud, rude, and extremely impatient. He once got loud with a journalist and a camera man. He is not kind AT ALL. He likes art. In the singing group Seiya is the lead vocal and writes the lyrics, and uses the keyboard. Taiki helps with keyboard and with the lyrics, and he also plays the guitar. Yaten mostly handles the keyboard and the arrangement. The villains are all lame. Its usually some vain queen that Sailor Moon uses kindness to distinguish, except Galaxia. The minions are always turned good. The minions are usually eclectic, eccentric women and men, who are vain or gay. Pros: Well developed Cons: Weird and villains suck. Relationships are whack.





music-It changes depending on season, transformations, and events. In the old days, they just had a battle song for transforming, and then in later seasons they said the names in the backgrounds. It sounds like runway music, or mall crawl music. Always upbeat and girly...Pros: Gets you into it and is soft and sweet. Cons: annoying at times. Too girly.




writers-The writer sucks. I've seen some other works, and just about fell out dead from how stupid the stories. This is their best. And even this has it's irritation marks. The writer once wrote a manga about two alien girls who come to earth and take the form of cockroaches... what can you do with that? All someone has to do is spray bug repellent. Thats not interesting, thats stupid. Ridiculous. I'm not impressed with any of the writer's works. thats why none are finished. Apparently, no one else likes them either. Pros: This story Cons: All their other stories.


content/messages/appeal-Depending on how you look at things, this may or may not be suitable for children. It is meant to appeal to a girl crowd, I think for 10 and older. It's like a Totally Spies. Really, if you want to get deeper, it is based on astrological myths and facts. It is also a bit of Grecian and Roman beliefs in the Gods, and thats what determines the powers and personalities. Astrology is the biggest part of it.
http://www.astrology.com.au/366bdays/index.asp (My two ruling planets are Venus and Mars). And of course, it wouldn't be Japanese without some Japanese mythological themes. The message is to show girl empowerment, and to show that girls can do much more than sit on their butts and watch a man do all the work (though why did Tuxedo Mask have to be SO weak?) But it is supposed to make girls feel better about themselves. Pros: Has a deeper meaning Cons: May not always be suitable for children under 10/12.






Design and art-It's like any normal anime in the past. Big google eyes, and the whole look. They all looked alike in the past, except this one has pretty colors. This is old-age anime from the 90s, so hey, what can you expect? Pros: Pretty colors Cons: Average nothing special.

Well, that is my review on Sailor Moon. This was okay, but I prefer Cardcaptor Sakura as a magical girl anime. This one was too cinfusing, too much confusion, and just weak when it comes to the story. The characters were well-developed, but i wasn't particularly in favor of the romance department (especially because Tuxedo Mask was the one who dumped two girls for Usagi(?)). there was alot of drama, and I just have to say, I'm glad it's over. But I do miss seeing the attacks and transformations. They were cool, and now, many girl cartoons and animes imitate (Mew Mew Power and Winx Club).

~Over and Out~

BTW: If you have any suggestions, for animes to talk about, contact me at [email protected] OR comment at animejournal2.livejournal.com OR send me a message on You Tube. I'm Soragirl6.

 

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