Sailor Moon Crystal

Adding this review to others, I've watched old and new many times. I feel people need to stop hating on this series. It takes a strong and dedicated person to make it through all the Sailor Moon series, and even then it's so drawn out that you lose sight of the plot.

Sailor Moon Crystal follows the original storyline and it is much more to the point. It even gave a new look to the anime by using the original art style. I put my kids in front of both and they're following Crystal's storyline better.

Don't get me wrong. I like the old one too. I was just sad to see people hate on this version. It's worth the watch.

I'm not gonna say it started as a big let down, because it wasn't at all. It was pretty good in many points: the soundtrack was "decent", the drawing trying to appeal to Naoko's originals were a nice update, also many background drawings were pretty nice. The hit also the right button by trying to keep make up sequences. The 2 things most of fans don't like and I kinda agree with them are: personalities (too weak, too little time on screen many of them) and 3D effects that didn't belong to the style. But they improved a lot going from 2nd arc (equivalent to SM R old series) to 3rd arc (INFINITY, SM S in the old series), then 3D was relegated to only exceptional cases, so make up sequences got really smooth, nice drawn, the look really really nice now, cannot complain. Sometimes the tone of the series gets dramatic, even EPIC, not gonna throw away any spoiler, but many but 2 or 3 moments surpassed old series level of execution, they passing, the personality threats, the time on screen got all better. So, to sum up I can say ARC 1 & 2 (SM SMR) were decent, while ARC3 "INFINITY" was AWESOME, better than the original in many points. Hope DREAMS gets even better.

Usagi Tsukino is a 14 year old middle school student who despite self-describing as a "crybaby" and "klutz" is a loyal and goodhearted person with strong friendships. After saving a black cat with a moon symbol on her forehead named Luna, Luna eventually reveals she can talk and bestows Usagi with magical powers that give her the powers and appearance as superhero Sailor Moon, which she uses to fight against monsters that prey upon humans and their energy. Usagi is often assisted by the enigmatic Tuxedo Mask and eventually recruits other Sailor Guardians to fight against foes that are magical, extraterrestrial, or interdimensional in nature.

Running from 1992-1997, the Sailor Moon anime based on the manga of the same name by Naoko Takeuchi became a breakout hit in Japan vastly exceeding its intended 6 month run by 5 years and becoming a staple of the anime scene alongside other noted entries like Dragon Ball Z and Saint Seiya. As is the case with many adaptations of shonen or shojo manga, the anime was in production alongside the Sailor Moon manga and due to considerations of budget, episode orders, and etc. The '92 anime often deviated from the Manga to suit its needs. In 2012, Kodansha and Toei Animation announced a new adaptation of Sailor Moon was in production with an intended launch in 2013 to coincide with the 20th anniversary celebrations of the series (which was missed and ultimately released in 2014). The series was initially viewed with mixed reception with some criticizing the pacing and animation errors (which were corrected in later releases) in the first two arcs, Dark Kingdom and Black Moon, but the series did find more positive reception with the adaptation of the Death Busters arc in season 3. I don't think this is a case of Crystal vs. Sailor Moon '92 because they are both two very different shows that tell the same (to a point) stories but with different approaches to tone, character and story structure, so it's really not fair to either show to compare one against the other. With that said, if you did enjoy the '92 Sailor Moon anime then this captures the characters you love while giving you a different experience.

One of the biggest distinguishing characteristics of the original '92 series was in its dilemma/monster of the day approach to its episodes where the show was very much a comedy first and foremost with the comedic situations tying in with some sort of monster/antagonist that would drive Sailor Moon and the other guardians to fight against in their alter egos with the status quo re-established at the end of the episode so the formula could be repeated once again using a different dilemma/monster. In Sailor Moon Crystal, the series is much less formula based and directly adapts storylines from the manga so that the show comes off as more serialized with each episode flowing into the next one and building upon the previous one. While Sailor Moon '92 was and remains an enjoyable show, in the age of Netflix, Hulu, and etc. One can't ignore that the series doesn't exactly lend itself to binge watching with the metanarrative often taking multiple episodes before having any noticeable movement forward and there are numerous episodes you could hypothetically skip altogether and still understand what's going on at key points in the story. SMC feels like it's designed with that in mind as every episode of the show is important and you really can't skip any episodes and expect to get the full impact of the show. While this is allegedly tied to the presentation of the manga (that admittedly I've not read), this could be seen more as an admission of the tastes of modern day audiences who view these shows end to end as driven by a connecting plot thread.

The characters are all still mostly as you remember them from the original series, but there is a sense of more weight and gravity to the storytelling in SMC than in the '92 series. If the '92 series is primarily a comedy with some tokusatsu/sentai elements thrown in, then SMC is a Fantasy/Romance series with some comedy elements thrown in. While Usagi is still a good natured air head who's both exuberant and excitable, the series dials back these elements of her character still keeping them as integral parts of her personality but rarely incorporating the slapstick or artistic distortions that were present in the original series. The show also gives more weight to the initial meetings of the other Sailor Guardians with Ami established as being a quiet isolated introvert and Rei's spiritual powers making her a subject of suspicion and prejudice. While the characters are the same as they were in the '92 show, they are framed in a manner that goes for pathos rather than comedy in their interactions (though comedy does still come through, but naturally in their interactions).

The animation has been a sticking point for people on this show as well. While the animation does sometimes have some errors of unmoving lips of static figures moving in unnatural positions, the show is much more dynamic with its fight scenes with considerably more movement and posing than the '92 series thanks to streamlined animation processes and the budget being less spread out among 40-50 episodes as had been the case with the original. The fight scenes look really good with the Sailor Guardians exhibiting dodges and acrobatics that had previously been mostly absent from the series (per necessity of production) and their special attacks have more definition and freedom rather than relying primarily on animation recycling (though that is still utilized to an extent). Series purists have been critical of the CGI present in the first two seasons, particularly for the transformation sequences. As a fan of this series since the Dic Dub days in syndication, I honestly didn't mind them. While the Sailor Guardian models aren't perfect during the transformation sequences, they look fine all things considered and frankly I've seen worse. Though they do remove most of the CGI elements in the Death Busters arc.

Sailor Moon Crystal revisits the iconic series readapting from the manga and creating a more serialized viewing experience that emphasizes the fantasy/romance elements over the comedic elements from the earlier adaptation. While there's debate to be had on which version is the "best" version, I think there's room for both since their approaches to the material are so different the experience of watching the '92 anime is vastly different from watching SMC. I fell in love with the characters and world all over again thanks to Crystal and I teared up many times here, yes the '92 series had its tearjerker moments too, but their lingering impact didn't often carry past the episodes they happened (and no, this isn't a slight against the '92 series). SMC isn't a replacement for the original series, but more a compliment that takes the same material and looks at it from another angle and I encourage every series fan to watch it for themselves and make their own decision. For me, I loved it.

I remember watching the original on CN's Toonami after school. Found this version on Netflix recently, and was a little confused if it was a sequel or some reboot, as it's been some 20+ years. The biggest let down I have of it so far, is it needs the original song. The characters appear much older than described too (not uncommon with anime's though). There are a lot of story problems, but that's not really the intent of the show though. It's meant to be fun and uplifting, especially for young girls.

After all the madness and politics of recent years, a cheesy nostalgic series is extremely welcoming. Usually, I'm not a fan of updating animation/film, but this one seems like it benefits from the newer technology. The heart and substance is still there. Got me binge watching anyways, and in a happy place. It's new, but feels like childhood.

I think this is a great remake of the original but In opinion its missing some important parts that were in the original but not in here. I love the music its amazing and in this series usagi isn't a crybaby that much lol. I love this new style and the transformations. If you don't want to watch like 400 Episodes of the original I would watch this even tho its missing some important parts its still a great option and it has 2 amazing movies.