Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: Live Action

If you're a fan of the Sailor Moon manga or anime you will love this television series. It was a bit cheesy at first and it still is at times but it's so much fun to watch. It really captures the mood of the manga. However, I don't like some of the things they changed. For instance, Luna is now a talking stuffed animal. Thankfully she's not around too much. Crown Arcade is now a karaoke center. Usagi doesn't seem to have a father. And Minako is a popular teen idol. What's with that?! Anyway, I highly recomend it despite those things. You can find fansubbed versions online.

I've watched the entire season from episode/Act 00 through the Special DVD aka Act 50...including the two short mini dramas. In the beginning I thought that it was more on the cheesy side but decided to check out the original Manga before I made anymore thoughts and or comments unlike some people here who've pretty much ragged on it after seeing only 30 episodes. Let alone that this is originally a kid's show.

First of all someone said that the acting was horrible and that the girls are untalented. This is very SO not true. They are acting entirely to the Manga series. Usagi being all jumpy and funny, Ami being all monotone and serious about herself, Rei being serious on all levels and "bossy", Makoto being all protective over Usagi and kicking guy's asses across the blacktop, and Venus being extremely stern. If you actually check out the Manga you will see that though the characters are different from today's standards of Sailor Moon to the yesterday's standard of Sailor Senshi, the characters and acting is all the same. They did a GREAT job.

It's true that in the beginning that the special effects were less than "really cool"...but as a pilot the production crew wasn't entirely too sure if it was going to fly well when they made the first 5 episodes before it originally aired. But you will notice that the effects got better and again...the effects followed the Manga effects of boom, pow, and whoosh. And what do you want the kids to see??? BATTLE ROYALE EFFECTS??? I know I wouldn't want that.

I think that the puppets and CGI used to make Luna and Artemis was actually good from a kid's point of view. From an adult's point of view I think it was corny on a professional level. My reason of thought is this. If you make the cat look too real, who in their right mind is going to take the cat seriously...if you can with all the j-pop faces it makes. And I might add that towards the end the cats got better.

All in all, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is a great show for kids and adults with open minds alike. For one thing there isn't any blood and believe me, my friends and I watch a lot of movies with someone getting their hands, head, arms, legs, and necks blown off. It's nice to see something that is refreshing as PGSM. And one more thing about the acting. It is clear to me that some people just don't get how hard it is to act like the Manga series. Kitagawa Keiko did an awesome performance when a particular incident happened in episode 47. Above all else before you watch PGSM, you need to have an open mind as well as an intelligent one.

My sister first told me about the Live Action series when she got back from visiting Japan over the summer. She brought me back a sketch book with Live Action Sailor Moon on it. I found it interesting cause I've loved the anime series since like 3rd or 4th grade, so i looked it up on the internet and read a few transcripts and looked at some of the pictures. Next thing I knew I bought all the ep. on DVD over Ebay!! I even got my sister into it!!! It IS addictive!! Like subliminal messages or something!! But it's totally awesome and I liked how it followed more to the manga, and I thought it was neat that their hair changed when they changed as well. Very cool I love it!! Wonder if they'll come out with a S or SuperS version? I want to see what Neptune Uranus, Pluto, Saturn and Chibi-Moon look like!!! I give it a 10 out of 10!!!!

I have seen the first six episodes of this live action version of Sailor Moon. I think that it's really fun and creative. The girl that they got to play Sailor Moon is Miyu Sawai. She's cute and has the meatball hair. Sailor Mercury is played by Chisaki Hama and she plays Amy with the kindness and intelligence that is so likable in the anime. Mars is Keiko Kitagawa and she plays the mysterious beauty perfectly. Although, she doesn't have the comical arguments with Usagi that are an anime treat. Jupiter is Myuu Azama who plays the strong and lonely Mako-chan. Ayaka Komatsu is the real life super hero as the series begins Sailor Venus. All in all, the action is very interesting, with a funny and mad energy that is reminiscent of The Banana Splits. The costumes and make up are excellent. And the youma's are really fantastic creatures with wild designs. The transformation and the attacks of the sailor soldiers are colorful and well done. This series of Sailor Pumpkins gets two thumbs up and I hope they have a long running series.

This new version of Sailor Moon, as I comment, is only 13 episodes into the first season, and already, I can truthfully say, it has beaten the Anime version.

I have been a big fan of the Anime version of Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon since 1995. I have watched the show go from strength to strength, and have grown up with the characters.

Now, the new version; Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon comes along. Granted, I watch the first episode, and find myself thinking it is quite bizarre, but is deffinately worth watching again. I watch the 2nd episode, the 3rd episode, the 4th episode...I'm addicted.

I found there is much more character development, and a cleaner cut on-going story line (there is yet to be a filler episode, it seems something important happens in every episode). I can associate with the characters in this version much more then I could with the Anime version. I look at the characters, and their personalities, and see my friends aswell.

This version also keeps me guessing. Just when I think 'Oh yeah, in the Anime, this happened next, it'll happen like that here too', I tend to discover they do the complete opposite, and totally change the story arcs. It's a good thing! I never really wanted to see something I've already seen in 2 languages rehashed again.

The actors are very talented, and really do give it their all. I especially love Minako and Rei in this version.

Another thing; this version makes far more sense!! How many school girls do you see walking around the street with their pet cat in their arms? None. But, how many school girls do you see walking around the street with their stuffed-animal toy cat in their arms? Quite a few.

And to add to the sense-making-o-meter: When the senshi morph in this version, their hair totally changes color and style! This will deffinately help to keep their identities secret, as it was painfully obvious in the Anime who their identities were, they had simply changed clothes. In this they look totally different!

Now this series does have 2 low points:

MUSIC - Yes, the music in this series is quite catchy, but not much compared to the back ground music used in the Anime version. Alot of fans are upset over the loss of the original opening theme. That didn't bother me; the fact that we have 1 tune for fighting, 1 for the villains, 1 for the girls at school, 1 for Usagi at home, etc. We only have like 10 tracks, constantly reused. The Anime seemed to have an endless selection of tracks for background music! The live-action version fizzles here.

ACTION - The first episode's action had me confused. It was somewhat slow, and surreal. I didn't know what to make of it. As the season has progressed, I've come to notice there is virtually no action. All the Senshi do is twirl and dance about, while the monster ducks and jumps a bit. :S It looks rather silly, and I was really hoping the Senshi would kick major ass in this series, going by the way alot of people compare it to Sentai/Power Rangers, which is much more action packed.

Overall, I will say though, that Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is my favourite show at the moment. I cant get enough of it, ad I hope it has many more seasons then the Anime, as it is outdoing it for plot and character development.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon has alot of potential. Enough to be Japan's answer to Buffy in fact. It needs alot of polishing before it can get here, but it does have this sort of potential! Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is fun and enjoyable, and is the ultimate source of entertainment at the moment, in my opinion!

Watch and enjoy!