Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal: O Filme

Let me start out by stating that I am mostly a fan of the classic 90s series of Sailor Moon, having loved the characters, humor and gorgeous artstyle for as long as I can think. With that being said, I unfortunately have to admit that I found the newer Crystal series a bit lacking in each of this three categories - at least up to the much improved third season - which meant that the series overall was somewhat of a disappointment for me.

As with these earlier entries, the two new Eternal movies, continuing the story, were to follow the manga, which had me slightly worried that the same mistakes that already made the first two season hard to watch for me would be repeated: Not only was there another artstyle change, some earlier trailers seemingly implied that the animation, despite the long wait, would again be sloppy. Even worse than that, the plan to cram a whole story arc into barely two hours of film suggested that many of the smaller scenes that make Sailor Moon for me might again have to be scrapped, leaving no time for characterization, humor or heartfelt moments.

However, after watching the long anticipated movies twice now, I can gladly say that my worries were unfounded - at least for the most part.

First of all, the story follows the manga to a tee, with only a few very minor differences. While that indeed means that the pacing is pretty hectic at some points, I still felt that they left enough space for genuine emotions and funny scenes to not make it feel too rushed or bland. Despite that I would have appreciated if certain scenes were given just a few more moments to breath, and, as someone who knows the corresponding manga chapters pretty well, I am not entirely sure how well first-time experiencers of the story can follow the movies' plot.

On another note, the animation (for the most part) is some of the best the franchise has ever seen, and I am not only talking about the Crystal series, but also the 90s anime. Expect no Studio Ghibli, but I think if you liked any animated Sailor Moon content so far you are more likely to be delighted than disappointed. There certainly are a few noticable flaws (like some wonky transitions and faces) to find if you really want to look for them, but I can say that they did not influence my personal enjoyment, what did however (in a positive way) were the many gorgeous panels taken straight from the manga, as well as some really appealing attack animations.

In summary, these are two very nice movies to watch if you go into them open minded and with the right expectations. If you only know the 90s anime so far, this is maybe not exactly your childhood cartoon in which crybaby Serena "fights evil by moonlight", but it contains many of the elements that made the series so special for many people, including me. If you already know the manga story, I can honestly not see you hating these entries unless you expect god-tier animations or lots of added content.

Ultimately this makes the movies a very solid 8/10 for me, although I am sure many will enjoy them even more than that.

For anyone who has watched classic sailor moon, Crystal keeps doing it better, this adaptation does justice to the essence of the story. It's way more mature and places sailor moon in a higher place along manga and anime most successful of the world such as Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, One punch man, Naruto etc. The dream arc is truly redeemed.

This movie is a good combination of 90's version and Sailormoon Crystal. The old one was childish but had some fun anime parts, also Mamaru was really annoying. In Crystal, the chracter drawings were unrealistic and disturbing yet it was more mature. This one combines the good parts and more loyal to manga. I hope we watch Sailor Stars season too, either movie or a whole season.

Following the defeat of the Death Busters, Usagi and Mamoru prepare to send their daughter Chibi-Usa back to the 30th century. When Chibi-Usa's departure is delayed due to a lunar eclipse, the trio decide to view it for themselves and catch a glimpse of something coming out of the eclipse followed by appearances of a talking Pegasus who pleads for their help. The arrival of the mysterious Dead Moon Circus soon brings with it phenomenon based around nightmares and the Sailor Guardians soon find themselves up against a new enemy.

Following Season three of Sailor Moon Crystal which covered the Death Busters arc, it was announced one year afterwards that a fourth season covering the Dream arc would be produced with the announcement later stating the arc would be presented in a two part theatrically released film making it the first such theatrically released Sailor Moon property since 1995's Sailor Moon SuperS: The 9 Sailor Soldiers Unite! Miracle of the Black Dream Hole! (Think there's enough words in that title?). The films were picked up for international distribution by Netflix continuing with the same dub cast as previous Sailor Moon Crystal installments, and most of the characters of the Dream arc voiced by the same dub actors who played them in the redub of Sailor Moon Super S (with the exception of Helios). The series has received mostly positive reviews from both critics and fans, and having watched both the Super S adaptation as well as this adaptation, I can say Sailor Moon Eternal continues Sailor Moon Crystal's streak of taking the foundation arcs and offering a different experience on the material, but at the same time I really have to question why it was necessary to put this arc in two films rather than letting it play in TV format.

Unlike previous Sailor Moon films such as Sailor Moon R: The Promise of a Rose or Sailor Moon S: Hearts in Ice that are designed to be self-contained stories with your "beginning, middle and end", Sailor Moon Eternal are not films for those who haven't seen the previous three seasons of Sailor Moon Crystal as Eternal directly follows on from the cliffhanger ending of Season Three and expects you to be familiar with prior events. While The Promise of a Rose or Hearts in Ice acknowledged developments or characters from the series continuity, the storylines were specifically designed as jumping on points to the series for the uninitiated so it made sense for them to be feature films as they allowed established fans to revisit characters in one off adventures and also served as jumping on points for the those unfamiliar with the franchise. While it's not unheard of for something like a TV series to get a theatrical film treatment, it's rare you have one that's a direct follow on to a series with three seasons worth of material its expecting the audience to be familiar with.

In terms of how Eternal approaches the Dream arc, much like the other three seasons of Crystal it does it well, but it doesn't feel like it's designed in mind for film format and feels like several TV episodes joined end to end and presented as a feature film (sort of like compilation films done for the likes of Guren Lagann or Madoka Magica films). The Dream arc covers 11 chapters in the manga, and Sailor Moon's previous approach to adapting the manga was a ratio of 1 episode for every manga chapter which some had an issue with, but I personally didn't mind it due to the different approach to tone and character. However with the combined run time of both Eternal films clocking in at a collective 160 minutes and accounting for TV standards of opening intro, recap, animation and opening credits giving a generous estimate of 18 minutes of story per episode, Eternals total runtime really only allows by the standards of the established ratio 8 chapters maybe 9 if you want to be extra generous and stretch. Eternal feels like its trying to keep the same structure as the events in the manga, but because it has less time to space out these events like it did in Sailor Moon Crystal you're getting the plot details but they don't resonate as well because it keeps moving without allowing moments to sink in.

Sailor Moon Eternal still boasts the strong animation and music of Sailor Moon Crystal, and the dub cast does as good a job as ever bringing their characters to life. I did like the addition of a ticking clock element for both Mamoru and Usagi that added some desperation to the stakes, and I also enjoyed following up with the characters of the Outer Guardians following the departure at the end of Season Three, but the way in which the story rushes through every point didn't allow me to enjoy these elements to the extent I wanted and I really feel this goes back to the underlying issue of cramming this story arc into two feature films rather than allowing it to be a TV show as it clearly wants to be.

Sailor Moon Eternal has all the elements you've come to expect from the Sailor Moon Crystal series with gorgeous animation, engaging action, lovable characters, and strong relationships both romantic and platonic, but they're not giving the breathing room needed to get the full impact of the story. As is, Sailor Moon Eternal is fine, and if you're invested in the Sailor Moon Crystal continuity (as I am) you'll find all that you've come to love from this incarnation of the series, but it really wasn't designed to be told in feature films. There is talk that the Stars arc will be adapted next and when it is I'll gladly see it, but I really hope they return to TV in the next incarnation rather than creating a feature film gauntlet.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal is the continuation of the Sailor Moon Crystal series and is a direct adaptation of the Dream Arc of the original Manga. Like most of Crystal; it follows the Manga very faithfully but there are some changes that mostly work out for the better. In the Manga the weapons "spoke"; it would have been a little cheesy for that to be pulled off even though that as a lifelong Sailormoon fan, even I can admit.

The animation is a huge improvement from Season III. Although some of the original 1995 Transformation and Attack scenes were more polished; they certainly looked better than last earlier seasons. The Moon Crisis Make Up sequence is not as polished and somewhat glamorous but the music is better.

The subtitles are mostly accurate; I was hoping that they would have been as accurate as Netflix did with Neon Genesis Evangelion; but oh well... The film is two parts and the total running time is 140 minutes.

There is no pacing issues, in my opinion. If you were disappointed in the earlier episodes of Crystal, Eternal may bring back faith for a very likely adaption to the Stars Arc.

Rated TV-14 for Fantasy Violence.