I have watched Sailor Moon for a long time. I originally got into it back in the 90s as my first every acknowledged anime series. I had worked hard to get hold of the ADV releases of the series and was saddened when I knew that Sailor Stars wouldn't make it to the shelves and had to do with a poorly subtitled Chinese Bootleg copy. When I heard the news that not only Sailor moon was going to be re-released in Region 1 format and that it would go all the way It was great! Then they released the news that much Like with Dragonball Kai and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood it was going to have a closer to the Manga New Series. I did this review originally on Rightstuf.com and had to greatly shorten it due to restrictions not applying here. I now have the release and here is the review of Sailor Moon Crystal Part 1.
Usagi is your typical clumsy and intellectually impaired Japanese school girl. Chance had it that a magical cat from the moon fell into her lap and informs her that the Earth is in danger because and Evil Queen wants to burn it all down. The girl decides to fight the evil (or at least it is decided for her) and now she will fight the evil doers as the fabulous Sailor Moon.
This series does have a lot of good points to it. The art style takes a little getting used to but for lovers of the manga the style is spot on. The original look is that whispy nature that we know so well from the Sailor Moon and Sailor V Manga. The story is also much truer to the Manga than the original animated series and this is another nice nod to the fans. Finally the voice acting is spot on yet again for such a series. The voices were picked appropriately and there are a few nods to the original therein. The Music was ok overall and the theme was enjoyable.
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| Season III v Season I |
Much like the series title character Usagi this series gets up late for school takes off running and then falls flat on its face. There are many issues I have with this portion of the series but it comes down to two areas: The Art and The Story. The art for the series while Manga appropriate was kind of poorly animated. It is jerky at times and you can see where the lack of money is. The computer animation is abysmal and I have a hard time every time I sit through the transformation sequences. I had expected better of this series in this regard but I guess more money is needed for perfection. The story is also a problem. It is very much like the Manga but it is as if they decided to tear a lot of important character development out in exchange for getting through the first arc in 12-14 episodes. This makes development rocky and leaves the scouts to little if any personality. The story was also rushed so you really didn't get the buildup needed. The original series may have had its flaws but on all points it was better in the end than this one.
This is the start of a new but long lasting series. I have been watching from the beginning and the series is now in its 3rd season. I can tell you that these mistakes while terrible have served as a learning curb for the creators and the series has improved dramatically with the 2nd season being around even with the original and the 3rd thus far coming out even better. Stick with this series don't let this season get you down.
Rating: 6/10
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