Sailor Moon Review

Over the course of its 200 episode run the 1992 adaptation of Naoko Takeuchi’s went through three different directors all of which went on to have highly influential careers in Japanese animation. The 1992 television series adapts the original Sailor Moon manga which follows crybaby Usagi Tsukino and her adventures as a superhero protecting the public from monsters scheming the downfall of humanity each week.

The series was what brought me into anime fandom from a young age. As I grew up, I forgot about the early childhood influence of the series on me. Yet the messages the highly butchered old dub the series was given would stay with me through to adulthood. Years later, Viz Media would go on to re-license and re-dub the series in English with a much more faithful dub to the original Japanese release.

From toys to video games there is a myriad of merchandise for Sailor Moon and its lasting influence in pop culture is still seen in entertainment today in shows such as Steven Universe. The series would go on to be parodied and subverted in the Japanese animation industry decades later through series such as Cute High School Earth Defense Club Love and Madoka Magica to name a few. 

Sailor Moon is a classic anime masterpiece which deserves all the fame and accolades it has received. I highly recommend checking the series out for fans of magical girl and tokusatsu fans assuming you have not already. The monster of the week formula the series follows is highly addictive and the subversive themes about gender identity and sexuality the anime and manga explores provides for fascinating all ages entertainment. Sailor Moon deserves a place on every anime fans shelves. The animation might not have aged as well as the messages almost 3 decades later but the classic story and memorable characters are sure to win over all audiences.

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