It, I and "Sailor Moon S: The Movie"

It is cool that Angelfire is still around. It is also cool that if you look hard enough, you can find most of the GeoCities websites preserved on a server. If only "@Midnight" was still a thing. It is a shame that they will never capitalize on that content.

Angelfire may have kept my post GeoCities/Web Design Certification (icc.edu) site up the past 17 years, but with Yahoo's betrayal, if you have not created an operating system, I am going to put all my eggs in one basket. Thus, I am going to start moving the original AnimeFlow over to the Blogger sphere. So let us get over one repetitive tangent (look at all the It and I) and getting into repeating my earliest critical works.

Sailor Moon S: The Movie
© 1993 Toei Animation
Released in North America © 1999 Naoko Takeuchi / Kodansha, Toei Animation

Genre: fantasy (could be considered comedy, female themed)

Length: 60 minutes (theatrical film)

Audience Age: 3+ (If you view the dubbed version)

Opinion: The film shows the full potential of the possible stories that can be written for this series.

This is a review of the subtitled VHS version.

One of the first notable animes to get imported to the United States.

I know many huge anime fans do not consider Sailor Moon to be anime despite it being from Japan, but I think that maybe a tad unfair. 

If it was not for Cartoon Network's Toonami line up bringing back shows I watched when I was five or six I would not have become a major league anime fan, but I was originally turned off by this two hour afternoon cartoon block when they would always remove one of my favorite shows like "Voltron" or Robotech" to fit "Sailor Moon" into line up. I did not have any intentions of watching Sailor Moon, but when you do not have a job during the summer, you watch anything on TV.

It took some time, but I soon realized that Sailor Moon may have been the best show on the Toonami line up until they picked up "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing". Not my favorite show, but I guess Robotech may have lost a little too much in the translation, so I recognize that the series in the states was only slightly superior to 80s American, toy-based cartoons like "G.I. Joe" and "Transformers". What makes Sailor Moon one of the best shows offered to kids are the somewhat serious plots, it has enough totally off the wall characters so the show would not grow stale too quickly, and the best aspect being that the series is full of almost all of the best anime clichés* (examples of anime clichés: giant heads when characters are angered and the giant sweat drop when characters are nervous).

Perhaps the fact that you could not obtain loyal to the original Japanese translations versions is why it was not considered to be anime. From viewing some of the original Japanese episodes with subtitles by the show's fans, I do know that the show may have been aimed at a much more mature audience before Time Warner and Disney owned DiC (the original distributor for U.S. TV) got a hold of it. Personally, I think that those who do not consider Sailor Moon to be anime are just bitter that their favorite shows have not crossed over to the American audience (anyone offended by this comment can e-mail me about it at bitemeotakus@animeflow.cubs).

If you have not seen any of the Sailor Moon episodes on American TV to allow you to pass judgment, I advice that you do not. It maybe an expensive recommendation, but I advice you go out and buy one of the subtitled videos to determine if the series is or is not an anime. 

NOTE: Rarely do I recommend spending the extra $5 to $10 to buy a subtitled version of an anime, but I do feel that this is the best way to view Sailor Moon. Otherwise, I will always recommend saving money until companies like A.D.V. Films, Pioneer, and Central Park Media pay me to do otherwise.

It is Winter in Tokyo and the weather is not the only thing cold. Luna, Usagi's (alter-ego Sailor Moon) talking cat and advisor/pet, is acting cold towards Artemis, Minako's (alter-ego Sailor Venus) talking cat and advisor/pet, and it also seems like she has a cold. In her ill state, she decides to find her way home by herself after an argument with the other cat.

While she tries to make it home, she is nearly hit by a car, but is rescued by an astronomer. Her hero takes her to his home to help her recover, and Luna gets pretty attached to him making her ponder what love truly is.

We also find out three things about her savior:
*Yes we do find out his name, but when I am also trying to remember the names of the 10 heroines, I cannot remember everything.*

1. He has a piece of a strange comet.
2. He believes in a moon princess.
3. He is suffering from some strange illness.

Is he suffering from Luna's cold, or is his illness related to the other unique items about him? Also, could this be connected to the new ice demonesses who are attacking Tokyo?

With the weird plot point of the interspecies love concept Luna has, Sailor Moon S is definitely too far out for anyone consider this title to be Americanized.  Despite this rather wild element, the focus on the cat's quest for knowledge really makes for a good story.  Still, like all other Japanese TV series' movies, the plot is extremely dark when compared to the source material.

A unique, solid story is about the only recognizable improvement in this theatrical film from its preceding TV show.  The animation quality is not any more admirable than the original show with the exception of a few cool looking computer effects.  Also, all other technical elements about this film are only equal to its TV show.  Being a Sailor Moon fan, I appreciate the new opening credit sequence, but it cannot be thought highly of by those unfamiliar with the series.

For a theatrical feature, Sailor Moon S does not measure up to most films, but it does show the full potential of the possible stories that can be written for this series.  Ignoring the lack luster animation, Sailor Moon S should be found enjoyable by most anime fans.