Sailor Moon (1992)

Creator(s): Naoko Takeuchi
Air Dates: March 7th, 1992 - February 8th 1997 (Japanese); 1995 -1997 (English dub)
Seasons: 5
Episodes: 200
(source)

Sailor Moon is a magical girl anime about young girls that gain magical abilities (an cool costumes) and fight villains and monsters. It started out as a manga written by Naoko Takeuchi, and was given an anime that ran alongside it. I will be using the English names, with the Japanese names in parenthesis in this blog. I will mostly be talking about the original anime because I haven't seen the new Sailor Moon Crystal yet.

Sailor Moon is about a young schoolgirl named Serena (Usagi), who was just going about who normal life when a strange talking black cat named Luna. The cat gives her a locket that allows her to transform into Sailor Moon, and her job is to fight evil and find the Moon Princess and the Silver Crystal. She soon meets other girls who join her and become Sailor Scouts (Sailor Senshi), and she later meets Luna's partner Artemis. They also have an ally in Tuxedo Mask, a mysterious man who helps them out whenever they need help during battle.

Here is one of the opening sequences from the English dub:

It's still catchy. It's nearly impossible to listen to this song and not want to sing along (or have it stuck in your head for the rest of the day). 

Characters

Serena/Sailor Moon - The leader of the group, and usually the one that finishes off the bad guys with a special weapon or attack. In the anime, she is quite childish and lazy, but learns to get more serious and becomes a better leader as the series goes along. She has a major crush on Darien (Mamoru)/Tuxedo Mask. She meets Luna after saving her from some kids that were picking on the cat for having a crescent moon on her forehead. 

Amy (Ami)/Sailor Mercury - She is very intelligent and spends a lot of time studying. She enjoys reading and wants to be a doctor someday. She also has a bit of trouble making friends, due do some people thinking she's a snob because of how shy and smart she is. As Sailor Mercury, she has a small computer and a visor (similar to ones used in DBZ) that she uses to analyze monsters and villains. She has water-based attacks like "Mercury Bubbles Blast!" and "Shine Aqua Illusion!". 

Raye (Rei)/ Sailor Mars - She lives and works with her grandfather at a temple. She is hot-tempered, and she's constantly bickering with Serena. As Sailor Mars, she has fire-based attacks, along with spiritual and psychic abilities. She also uses ofudas (those little papers that are used to get rid of evil spirits) on monsters. Some of her attacks include "Mars Fire Ignite!" and "Mars Flame Sniper!"

Lita (Makoto)/Sailor Jupiter - She's pretty much the tomboyish one of the group. She's tough and has gotten into fights. She was expelled from her old school fro fighting and moved to Serena's school. Even though she's tomboyish, she still exhibits girlish qualities. She loves to cook, and she's a bit boy crazy. Lots of things seem to remind her of an old boyfriend. She's also really good at ice skating. She's the tallest of the group, and her height and toughness can come across as intimidating to some people, but she's really nice when you get to know her. As Sailor Jupiter, she has lightning and nature-based attacks. Usually when she's about to use a lightning attack, a small lightning rod comes out of her tiara to attract the lightning. Some of her attacks include "Jupiter Thunder Dragon!" and "Jupiter Thundercloud Zap!"

Mina (Minako)/Sailor Venus/"Sailor V" - She is friendly and sporty. She loves playing volleyball and she dreams of becoming an idol. Before Mina was revealed as Sailor Venus, she was "Sailor V", the super-heroine that had a manga, a video game, etc. Serena and her friends were her huge fans of her. Sailor V also served as a decoy, claiming to be the Moon Princess. Once the other scouts find out who she is, she ditches the "Sailor V" disguise and continues being Sailor Venus. She is accompanied by Artemis, a white cat with a crescent moon on his head, like Luna. Her attacks are love and light-based. Her attacks include "Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" and "Venus Love Chain Encircle!" Mina/Venus is my favorite out of the Sailor Scouts. I just always thought she was cool.

Other characters include the Outer Senshi, which consists of Sailors Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn. There's also Darien/Tuxedo Mask, Serena's school friends, and many other characters.

The Show

Sailor Moon was responsible for making the magical girl genre more popular. The series (and manga) were very successful at combining shojo with shonen together. It was like watching and all-girls version of Power Rangers. One of the things that drew me in the most were the transformation and attack sequences. It always so cool to see. Many fans considered Sailor Moon as their "gateway anime", the series that sparked their interest in anime. This, along with Digimon, was also my gateway anime. It was something about the style that was so interesting to me. It was different from the Western-style cartoons I was used to watching. 

And much like Powerpuff Girls, it was awesome seeing a show with female protagonists that kicked butt. The characters all have their own unique personality, and there's always someone you can relate to. 

Sailor Moon is a pretty great show. The dub could use a little work, but it's still okay. I know many fans hate the English dubs, which is understandable. But, it's the version I grew up watching, so it's the one I'm used to. I think I watched the Japanese one once, and it was much better. I believe it's totally up to the individual on which version they prefer watching.  

Recently, Sailor Moon was given a reboot called Sailor Moon Crystal. It is more faithful to the manga compared to the original anime. I actually haven't seen it yet, but I would like to see it sometime. It is available in English on Hulu and Neon Valley.