Sailor Moon

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Originally Posted by Cassini90125

A lot of it is duplicates, sure, but there's quite a variety, mostly targeted towards 13-year-old girls; make-up sets, stationary, plushies, dolls, etc. My Sailor Jupiter dog tag is available there again for about $13.00, including shipping; that was a very nice item, solid metal with a beautiful picture. Stars, I'd kill for something like that with Frankie's picture on it.

That's one of the things that makes it hard for me to buy Sailor Moon stuff. The Barbie like Moon dolls would be a bit creepy and weird for a guy to buy, I love getting as much stuff as I can for anime, I just don't wanna weird anyone out with a doll that is designed for girls.

I checked out that dog tag you mentioned Cass and it looks SWEET!!! I'm seriously thinking about buying that, AND, I found this Sailor Jupiter japanese penny/piggy bank box.

[Nathander]

I remember how I used to watch Sailor Moon with my sister, whether it be on the tapes my sister had or on TV with her, especially on Toonami. I really used to like Sailor Mercury, but then again I have a soft spot for bookish, nerdy-esque girls. But that's besides the point.

While I wouldn't consider it the greatest anime ever made (which in my own personal opinion is Hellsing Ultimate), or even really the greatest magical girl show ever made (that being, from what I've seen, Princess Tutu), I do still think it's a very entertaining shoujo series. Not one of the greatest ever conceived, but entertaining and enjoyable none the less.

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Well obviously everyone has different opinions on what the greatest anime ever made is. However, even with my personal tastes aside, there are anime I don't personally like that I do consider to be some of the best very made. Neon Genesis Evangelion however is not one of them, or at least I think so.

But back to Moon, truth be told Sailor Moon is one of the 3 biggest and most widely known animes ever due to its TV syndication. The other 2 being Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon (well maybe Yu-gi-oh too). I grew up with Moon before both of those and despite it being a girl aimed show, I still loved watching it.

I can't tell you how many times I spent rushing out the door to the school bus, trying so hard not to miss any episodes and timer taping so many. I did that with a lot of shows actually. Either way, Sailor Moon works so well for a show that lasts so many seasons, the characters are what totally make it so much fun.

[Cassini90125]

Early this morning I finally finished rewatching the first season. What a remarkable show this is, for all the reasons I cited earlier and more. Anyone who dismisses Sailor Moon as fluff for 13-year old girls or just another anime really hasn't paid attention to what's on the screen. The characters are as real as cartoons can get; they have lives outside of their hero roles and spent as much time dealing with everyday life as they do battling the forces of evil. They have flaws and weaknesses and individual personalities, the same as anyone else; they have a lot of depth, a lot of heart, and they're a group that's easy to like and easy to root for and care about. I don't know why but this time around the show really got to me more than last time, really touched me on so many levels. It's very moving at times, moving and inspiring. You don't see much of that on TV anymore, not on this level. Reliving the first season with the Sailor Scouts, sharing in their triumphs and tragedies, their laughter and their tears, and everything in between, it's been a very poignant experience for me. I truly believe that I got something I really needed from this show, and I am very glad that I bought those discs. To me, they're worth their weight in gold.

[Cassini90125]

This thread's been quiet too long.

I finished watching the 13-episode "Doom Tree" story arc a little while ago, and like the first season it did not disappoint. The finale was riveting, full of memorable lines about love and self-sacrifice, and an explosive final battle which, had the Doom Tree itself not intervened, the Sailor Scouts would have almost certainly lost. Ann is full of anger and has a terrible temper but I'm convinced that most of her attitude comes from the long, long isolation she and Alan endured while searching for a new home and a new source of energy. She really erupted big-time in the last episode. The story ranks a little below that of the first season but only a little; in it's short run it had all the things noted elsewhere in this thread that make Sailor Moon such a memorable series, all the action, all the comedy (the "babysitting" episode in particular), and more brainless moments from Serena. My stars that girl can eat an awful lot. It was nice to see Lita get an episode focused on her, too, and definitely nice to see her take down a cardian without Sailor Moon's help for a change.

I wish Ann and Alan a safe journey. Up next for me is the much longer second story arc of the second season, featuring the Four Sisters and the Negamoon family. And Rini, too, so there a good chance one of my next posts here will include the phrase, "Oh my stars, what an awful little brat!"

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Originally Posted by Cassini90125

It was nice to see Lita get an episode focused on her, too, and definitely nice to see her take down a cardian without Sailor Moon's help for a change.

I wish Ann and Alan a safe journey. Up next for me is the much longer second story arc of the second season, featuring the Four Sisters and the Negamoon family. And Rini, too, so there a good chance one of my next posts here will include the phrase, "Oh my stars, what an awful little brat!"

I'm glad you enjoyed her episode AND especially the Doom Tree arc itself. There's actually a lot of people who do not care for this arc at all because it is filler and not in the manga, and for that reason people tend to dislike it and think its just meaningless recap stuff.

Which I find truly insulting because there were some excellent developmental episodes between the scouts during this arc. Especially Lita's, the Snow white play episode, and the very first Doom Tree episode with that Vampire plant monster. Not to mention Alan and Anne are some of my FAVORITE Sailor Moon villains.

Trust me Cass, awful little brat is putting it mildly. I understand her importance in the show but Rini pissed me off to high Hell. The 4 Sisters pre-arc I found to be more enjoyable then the "meat" of the Negamoon family arc. I know that sounds weird but I just found the goings on during the early stages to be the best.

However I will say this, the Negamoon arc features my number one with a bullet all time favorite Sailor Moon villain EVER: The Wise man. Wait till you see him Cass now there's a villain. Keep us (or at least me) updated with your Sailor journeying Cass, I always enjoy chatting with you about it.

[Cassini90125]

Filler or not it's a fine story. Disliking it just because it's not part of the manga is pretty senseless if you ask me. Much of it wasn't animated as well as the first season, seeming to have too much "whiteness" as the background, although that might just be my discs and not how it originally aired.

I've seen a few screencaps of Wiseman here and there; he reminded me superficially of Skeletor from Masters of the Universe at first but that resemblance faded pretty quickly. I'm sort of familiar with the storyline as well, in general if not the specifics, mostly from reading about it in the role-playing game. Some of the villains strike me as having at least as much depth to them as those from the first season.

I mentioned elsewhere that I got a few artbooks of the series from eBay yesterday, covering the events of the first two seasons, and I gotta say that Celia/Setsuna (Pluto) is starting to look like a real knockout. As for Rini, well, maybe I'll turn the volume down when she's on the screen. I remember enough to know that she's going to get on my nerves big time.

[Cassini90125]

I watched Episodes 60-62 earlier. Surprisingly, Rini wasn;t quite as bad as I remenber. She's still an awful little brat, yeah, but there were some scenes where you could really sense the hurt inside her and begin to understand that behind the anger is a scared and lonely little girl. Knowing some of what's to come later in the season probably influences my judgement somewhat but that's how I see it. It was pretty funny to watch Serena whack her on the rear end several times, too. I'll bet that didn't get past the censors when the show first aired in the USA, though, because here we know that children have to be shielded from everything.

Episode #61 was painful. Watching Darien break up with Serena... well, you know how it is. You get attached to characters, you hurt along with them, and the characters in Sailor Moon are very easy to get attached to. They certainly were for me. I'd never seen Serena cry quite like that; Darien looked like he hated himself for breaking up with her. I knew it was coming but actually seeing it happen is another matter entirely. You want to comfort them both, help them get through it and eventually, somehow, reunite.

The high point for me was late in Episode #62. This was the one where Ami was to leave the group to study in Germany. The scene at the airport when she's ready to get on the plane and Darien and Rini show up with a parting gift from the other girls and she realizes that they would have come themselves but something must have come up and she races back to Tokyo because she's their friend and part of the team and will never turn her back on them was beautiful to watch, set to a wonderful soundtrack that timed flawlessly with her transformation into Sailor Mercury, and arriving just in time to save her friends from being frozen to death... wow, just wow. It's one of those scenes that really makes my heart soar, makes me want to stand and cheer. I almost did, too, but I settled for replaying it a dozen times, smiling all the while.

What an amazing show this is. Anyone who hasn't seen it is really missing out on something special; I maintain that this is the finest anime ever made, at least it is for me. I can hardly wait to get to the next episodes.

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Yeah, Ami's scene was surprisingly more touching then I had remembered when I last saw it. I always felt it was a shame her character didn't really evolve past the quiet "I'm the smart one who always studies" gimmick except for choice episodes like this. I think one of my favorite episodes from this saga was the one with the Thunder drummer monster and the scouts lost gravity in the apartment building.

It was amusing, interesting, and I felt was a good episode for both Serena and Rini. She definitely does get better as the arc progresses but she still always has been a pain in the ass in my book, despite my sympathies for her. Darien breaking up with Serena to me was just painful in every sense of the word. Serena was truly broken inside, even worse then when Darien was brainwashed.

Even if Serena is a bit of a cry baby, I think she had every right to feel miserable when Darien broke it off with her. The hurt in her was genuine and not an over exaggeration, it was true honest to goodness: suffering. The climax of this arc is pretty spectacular, along the lines of the grand finale in the first season with Queen Beryl and the Doom/Gloom girls in the antarctic.

If you ever get a chance Cass, I also highly recommend checking out the 3 Sailor Moon movies. The third one is a piece of crap in my opinion, but the first 2 are most DEFINITELY worth checking out .

[frankie_fan]

Originally Posted by Cassini90125

This thread's been quiet too long.

WAY too long if you ask me!

I just want to ask: I'm planning on returning to Sailor Moon, and I just want to know, are the episodes dubbed by DIC still worth watching?

The reason for this is that Madman (the Australian distributor of anime and Cartoon Network), back in 2002, released all of the DIC episodes on DVD and VHS. They were successful and they had announced that they had planned to release at least season 1 of Sailor Moon uncut with subtitles, but unfortunately, after rights expired and were not renewed by Toei, this was no longer possible. The previous releases of Sailor Moon in English ceased printing. The only way I'll be able to buy them is to go on eBay.

But thankfully, I've now got a PayPal account, so that I'll be able to by off eBay, but I want to make sure if the DIC episodes of Sailor Moon are still worth watching, because they're (as far as I know) the only Australian releases of Sailor Moon on DVD.