This article is about the media franchise in general. For the title character, see Usagi Tsukino. Sailor Moon 美少女戦士セーラームーン (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon) Genre shōjo, mahō shōjo Manga Authored by Naoko Takeuchi Publisher Kodansha Tokyo Pop Editions Montjoie and Glenat Semic Interprint Egmont Manga & Anime Japonica Polonica Fantastica (JPF) Serialized in Nakayoshi Mixxzine and Smile Magazine Original run February 1992 – March 1997 No. of volumes 18 TV anime Directed by Jun'ichi Satoh, Kunihiko Ikuhara, Takuya Igarashi Studio Toei Animation Network TV Asahi TVB ABC 5 Cartoon Network, Syndication YTV, Global, TVA TV4, Kanal 5 SubTV TF1 ABC, 7, Ten Rede Manchete, Cartoon Network, Rede Record ATV, TRT ZDF, RTL II Fox Kids, ITV Polsat Canale 5, Italia 1, Rete 4 Antena 3, K3 Catalonia SIC, TVI TV Azteca VT4 Yorin TV2 Original run March 07, 1992 – February 08, 1997 No. of episodes 200 Musical Series •Sailor Moon Musicals (Seramyu): 25 musicals based on the Sailor Moon franchise were released between 1993 and 2005. Movies •Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon R: The Movie •Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon S: The Movie •Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie ~ The 9 Sailor Soldiers Get Together! Miracle in the Black Dream Hole •Ami-chan's First Love (Theatrical short) Live Action tokusatsu Series •Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon - a 49 Episode live action series directed by Ryuta Tazaki ran from October 4, 2003 to September 25, 2004. There were also two direct-to-video releases: a sequel Special Act, and a prequel Act Zero. Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン, Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn?, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon) is the title of the famous series originally authored as a manga by Naoko Takeuchi, as a sequel to her manga Codename wa Sailor V. It is generally credited with popularizing the concept of a sentai (team) of magical girls (mahō no shōjo), as well as the general re-emergence of the "magical girl" genre itself. The story of the metaseries revolves around the reincarnated defenders of a kingdom that once spanned the solar system, and the evil forces that they battle. The major characters--called soldiers (senshi)--appear as Japanese teenage girls who can transform into heroines named for the moon and planets--Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, etc. The original manga resulted in spinoffs into many other types of media, including a highly popular anime series, musical theatre, video games and a live action series. Although most concepts in the various series overlap, there are often notable differences, and thus there is no real continuity between the different formats. Contents 1 Story 2 Manga 3 Anime adaptations 3.1 Sailor Moon series 3.1.1 Sailor Moon 3.1.2 Sailor Moon R 3.1.3 Sailor Moon S 3.1.4 Sailor Moon SuperS 3.1.5 Sailor Moon Sailor Stars 3.2 Movies and Specials 4 Musical stage show adaptations 5 Televised "live action" drama adaptation 6 Video games 7 English adaptations 7.1 English-dubbed anime 7.1.1 "Saban Moon" 7.2 English-language manga 8 Characters 8.1 Major protagonists 8.2 Notes on antagonists 9 References 10 External links Story Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. Fourteen-year-old junior high student Usagi Tsukino discovers that she is the reincarnation of Princess Serenity, the princess of a mystical, utopic kingdom on the Moon. She, along with several of her friends, (known as the Sailor Senshi) are granted powers to defend the Solar System against an evil force. This evil force originally destroyed her kingdom, the Silver Millennium. Usagi fights using the identity of Sailor Moon, alongside her friends and her destined true love, Tuxedo Kamen, who is the reincarnation of Princess Serenity's love Prince Endymion. There is a noticeable difference in the story and presentation of the anime and manga. The manga was more complex and darker in tone whilst the anime was simple and had a much brighter outlook on the story, at least in the earlier parts of the series. Manga Sailor Moon is considered shōjo manga. Its main series was serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi in Japan, and the side-stories were serialized in Kodansha's Run Run. Naoko Takeuchi, the story's creator, devised the idea when she wanted to create a cute series about girls in outer space. Her editor, Fumio Osano (whom Takeuchi calls "Osa-P"), asked her to put them in Sailor Suits. This resulted in Codename wa Sailor V, a prequel to Sailor Moon which stars one of its secondary protagonists, Minako Aino. When Codename wa Sailor V was slated to become an anime, Takeuchi decided to merge in plot elements from the popular sentai genre, most notably the concept of a team of five heroes, consequently remaking the manga into Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon, with a new central character. Thus Usagi Tsukino and her friends were born. After the completion of the first series, Takeuchi was asked to continue, and so four more story arcs were produced. The original manga spanned 18 volumes. Starting in 2003, it was re-released as the 12-volume "renewal" manga. It still consists of the same arcs, but the reprinted series contains more chapters per book, and has some new art.[1] Takeuchi amalgamated many themes in the creation of her story, combining her love of space with Greek myth, Roman myth, geology, Japanese elemental themes, and Meiji period sailor fuku school uniforms. Sailor Moon is a fusion of the popular magical girl and sentai genres, one of the first series ever to combine the two. The five major manga arcs are as follows: Sailor Moon Introduces Sailor Moon, and the Senshi from the Inner Solar System, as well as the major plot arc for the series. Corresponds to the first anime series as well as the live-action television series. Sometimes also called the Dark Kingdom arc. Takeuchi intended to write only this story before Kodansha requested that she add more arcs to the storyline. Black Moon Introduces Chibiusa, Crystal Tokyo, Sailor Pluto, and the possible future of all the characters. Corresponds to the second anime series. Infinity Introduces Sailor Uranus, Neptune and Saturn. Corresponds to the third anime series. Dream Introduces the concept of Sailor Crystals. Corresponds to the fourth anime series and the first few episodes of the fifth. Stars Explores the origins of the Sailor Senshi and introduces a great many new senshi from distant parts of the galaxy. Corresponds to the fifth and final anime series. Sidestories and Specials The Lover of Princess Kaguya (Kaguya Hime no Koibito) In the original manga, this special appeared in Volume 11. It coincides with the S movie. Casablanca Memories In the original manga, this special also appeared in Volume 11 and featured Rei Hino. Chibi-Usa Picture Diaries There are 4 of these short stories about Chibiusa's adventures. They also reveal her true age (902). In the original manga, these specials appeared in Volumes 5, 10, 15, and 17. The Exam Battles There are 3 Exam Battle stories originally contained in Volume 13. The only one of these to become an animated piece was the one about Ami Mizuno, which became Ami-chan no hatsukoi (Ami's First Love). Parallel Sailor Moon This short 19-page black and white manga originally appeared in the Sailor Moon Materials Collection Artbook in 1999 - the year of the rabbit. It follows the adventures of Tsukino Kousagi, the second daughter of Usagi, in a humorous alternate reality. (In the main storyline, Usagi will only ever have one child.) Anime adaptations See also: Sailor Moon media and release information With 200 episodes originally airing in Japan from March 1992 to February 1997, Sailor Moon is one of the longest magical girl anime series. Currently it has been surpassed only by the Ojamajo Doremi metaseries with 214 episodes. Although many other shows have followed the same formula as Sailor Moon, most are generally considered to be relatively uninspiring and none have ever been the marketing giant that this anime has become. As it has been translated into many languages and distributed widely, Sailor Moon is arguably one of the most famous anime properties in the world. The anime's first two series contain stories that vaguely revolve around the backdrop of the Silver Millennium and the future Crystal Tokyo. The third series is quite dark in comparison, while the fourth is sometimes considered overly light and silly. Sailor Moon enjoyed renewed interest in its final fifth series, although its reuse of many plot devices (and not including some of the darker points of the corresponding manga arc's story) bothered some fans. The five Sailor Moon anime series are listed below. All of Sailor Moon was animated traditionally. Sailor Moon series Sailor Moon Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon) Japanese version: 46 episodes, from #1-ja through #46-ja. English version: 40 episodes, from #1-en through #40-en. In this series, we are introduced to Usagi, her friends and family, and how she becomes Sailor Moon. We are also introduced to the Inner Senshi (Sailors Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus), as well as Usagi's ally and future husband, Mamoru Chiba, a.k.a Tuxedo Mask). This series corresponds to the Dark Kingdom arc of the manga. Sailor Moon R Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn R (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R) Japanese version: 43 episodes, from #47-ja through #89-ja. English version: 42 episodes, from #41-en through #82-en. Sailor Moon R is actually two story arcs. According to the Memorial Song Box booklet, "R" can stand for "Romance," or "Return". The first arc of R, the Makaiju arc (episodes 47-59) was developed by the show's animators as filler and was not part of the manga. The second arc of R contains episodes 60-89. It corresponds to the Black Moon arc in the manga. The 1995 English-language adaptation only dubbed through episode 72 of R (omitting one of its episodes, #67), and the remaining 17 episodes of SMR were not adapted into English until 1997. The break in the adaptation was halfway through the Black Moon arc, at no particular point in the plot. Two recurring characters, Chibiusa and Sailor Pluto, are introduced during this series. Sailor Moon S Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn S (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S) Japanese version: 38 episodes, from #90-ja through #127-ja. English version: 38 episodes, from #90-en through #127-en. Episodes #83-en through #89-en do not exist. At the start of S, the English version's episode numbers were adjusted to match those of the original Japanese version. The "S" stands for "Super". In this arc, the Death Busters are trying to bring about an apocalypse. They must gather the three Talismans from the pure hearts of innocents to control the Holy Grail. The remaining Outer Senshi are introduced in this series (Sailors Neptune, Uranus and Saturn). Sailor Moon SuperS Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn SuperS (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon SuperS) Japanese version: 39 episodes, from #128-ja through #166-ja. English version: 39 episodes, from #128-en through #166-en. The second "S" after the "Super", contrary to popular belief, does make it plural. It is pronounced [súːpāzŭ]. In this arc, the Dead Moon Circus are trying to find the Golden Crystal of Earth. The keeper of the crystal, Helios, must hide in people's dream mirrors. Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Main article: Sailor Stars Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn Sailor Stars (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Sailor Stars) Japanese version: 34 episodes, from #167-ja through #200-ja. This series was never shown in English. An English version of Sailor Stars is unlikely to be produced. In this arc, the Shadow Galactica try to kill all of the Sailor Senshi so that their leader, Sailor Galaxia, can rule the galaxy. This arc shows that there are innumerable Sailor Senshi, and it introduces the Sailor Starlights. Takeuchi was shocked by some of the changes made to the final series. The most infamous of these is the identity of the three supporting characters, the "Starlights", from women disguised as men in the manga to men who change into women in the anime.[2] This change is also largely cited as the cause for the last series being withheld from the English-speaking Western market. It has, however, aired in Germany, Spain, Italy (with alterations), Poland, Portugal, Latin America and the Philippines. Movies and Specials There are three Sailor Moon movies, all of which have stories that are independent of the series. The movies fall in the general timeline of each of the three middle series (R, S, and SuperS). Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon R: The Movie Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon S: The Movie Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie ~ The 9 Sailor Soldiers Get Together! Miracle in the Black Dream Hole There are a few specials as well: Make-Up! Sailor Senshi, shown as a summary of the Sailor Senshi before the Sailor Moon R Movie, and the later Sailor Moon SuperS Special, and Sailor Moon SuperS Plus: Ami-chan no Hatsukoi (Ami's First Love), both of which take place around the SuperS series. Musical stage show adaptations Main article: Sailor Moon Musicals The musicals, usually referred to collectively as Seramyu, were series of live theatre productions that played over 800 performances in some 26 musicals from 1993 to 2005. The producers generally expand upon plot concepts presented in the anime and manga; however, there are several original plot lines. The series ran twice a year, in the winter and in the summer. In the summer, the only venue for the musicals is the Sunshine Theatre in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo; however, in the winter it did go on tour to the larger cities in Japan. The final incarnation of the series, The New Legend of Kaguya Island [Revised Edition] (新・かぐや島伝説 <改訂版>, Shin Kaguyashima Densetsu (Kaiteban)?), was staged in January 2005. After the January 2005 show, the series went on a "hiatus", according to the current producer, BMO. There have been no signs that the show will continue. Televised "live action" drama adaptation Main Article: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Ratings Snapshot from the Newtype USA magazine Act 14 January 10, 2004 - 4.0%* (*Near death of a main character) Act 15 January 17, 2004 - 3.2% Act 16 January 24, 2004 - 3.2% Act 17 January 31, 2004 - 4.7%* (*Introduction of a new character) Act 18 February 07, 2004 - 3.8% A live action version of Sailor Moon was broadcast from October 4, 2003 through September 25, 2004. The series lasted a total of 49 episodes, and the broadcast originated from the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Another 28 television stations in Japan retransmitted the series, though some of them were weeks behind the TBS schedule because they started airing the series late. The series is known officially as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (usually abbreviated by fans to simply PGSM), and it is the first series in the franchise to have an official English title. The show more closely followed the original manga than the animated metaseries in its first few episodes, but proceeded to follow a significantly different storyline than those of the manga and anime later in the show. There were also several radio programs called "DJ Moon" based on the show that originated from Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting radio and were broadcast on other radio networks in Japan. The shows were a combination of a radio drama and promotional tool for the TV series, often foreshadowing upcoming events. These shows were later sold on CD. The live action broadcast's ratings were not as high as those of the original show. The show had a high start, but then the ratings slid. They picked up in January of 2004 and then again at the end of the series. In addition to the broadcast television show, there was also a stage musical performance by characters on the show. Some footage from the filming of the stage show was used in the television broadcast. There was also an instructional video released. Additionally, there were two direct-to-video releases after the show ended its television broadcast: The "Special Act" (the wedding between Tsukino Usagi and Chiba Mamoru), set several years after the series ended and "Act Zero", which showed the origins of Sailor V and Tuxedo Kamen. Video games The Sailor Moon console and arcade video games were originally released only in Japan. They have never been released in any other country (with the exception of the Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon game developed by Angel, which was released in France in 1996). The games are hard to find outside of Japan, although the ROMs can be found on various websites. Bandai produced a small number of Sailor Moon games, but the majority were handled by a Japanese game company called Angel. Early games were side-scrolling fighters, whereas later games were unique puzzle games, and even later titles chose to go a versus fighting game style. Another Story was the only game to stand out, being a role-playing game. Panic in Nakayoshi World was also released, an overhead Adventures of Lolo-style puzzle game featuring characters from various Nakayoshi-printed manga. Sailor Moon and Chibi Moon are playable characters. The games mainly saw release on the Super Famicom, with the first side-scroller being ported to the Sega Mega Drive. A separate arcade side-scrolling fighter was also released. In addition, two side-scrolling adventure games were produced for the Game Boy (Sailormoon and Sailormoon R), and a side-scrolling game was also produced for the Game Gear (Sailormoon S). The first versus fighting game from the series was released for the 3DO. However, as the 3DO did not sell well outside of Japan, this game has gone largely unnoticed. Produced by Bandai themselves as opposed to Angel for the other two, this game is considerably different. A final versus fighting game was released for the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation. A game was released in the US for the PC. It was a minigame compilation titled The 3D Adventures of Sailor Moon. Aside from the theme, the games did nothing to tie in to the series. English adaptations English-dubbed anime Main article: Sailor Moon (English version)#Anime After a bidding war between Toon Makers and DiC Entertainment, DiC (which at the time was owned by The Walt Disney Company) acquired the rights to the first 72 episodes of Sailor Moon, consisting of the entire first series and two-thirds of Sailor Moon R. Through the omission of 6 episodes and the merging of two others, the total episode count was reduced to 65, the minimum number of episodes required for strip syndication on US television. The remaining episodes were each cut by several minutes to make room for more commercials, to censor plot points or visuals deemed inappropriate for children, and to allow the insertion of "educational" segments called "Sailor Says" at the end of each episode. The remaining 17 episodes of Sailor Moon R were adapted later, and were treated in much the same way. The English adaptations by Cloverway of Sailor Moon S and Sailor Moon SuperS (the third and fourth series) stayed relatively close to the original Japanese versions, and no episodes were skipped or merged. "Saban Moon" Toon Makers wanted to acquire the rights to the name of the show and transform it into a live action American animated hybrid series that would have no resemblance to the anime, as evident through a video file that was distributed on the Internet. For many years, the video file was erroneously referred to as "Saban Moon"/"Saban's Sailor Moon", and had been believed to be by Saban Entertainment, but it has since been revealed to be created by Toon Makers and Renaissance Atlantic. [3] The misunderstanding is likely due to the fact that "Saban Moon" was extremely similar to the treatment given to Super Sentai and Power Rangers. English-language manga Main article: Sailor Moon (English version)#Manga The manga was translated into English in 1997 by manga publisher Mixx (now renamed Tokyopop). The US comic was released as three series: "Sailor Moon", which collects the first three arcs (the Dark Kingdom, Black Moon, and Infinity arcs), Sailor Moon SuperS, which collects the SuperS arc, and Sailor Moon Stars, which collects the Sailor Stars arc. While they feature all of the content from the original manga collections, the volumes also contain the occasional new sketch and "thank you" commentary from series creator Naoko Takeuchi. As of June 2005, Tokyopop's license to the Sailor Moon manga has lapsed, and the English-language manga is out of print. Characters Major protagonists See the individual articles and the article on the Sailor Senshi for more detail. Usagi Tsukino - The main character of the series, Usagi is a carefree schoolgirl with a heart of gold. She transforms into Sailor Moon. Mamoru Chiba - Usagi's boyfriend and destined true love reincarnate. He transforms into Tuxedo Mask. Ami Mizuno - The 'smart and sweet' genius of the group. She transforms into Sailor Mercury. Rei Hino - A slightly short-tempered miko who attends a Catholic private school, although she is Shinto. She transforms into Sailor Mars. Makoto Kino - The very tall tomboy who lives alone because her parents died in an airplane crash. She transforms into Sailor Jupiter. Minako Aino - She acted on her own as Sailor V before joining the other Sailor Soldiers. She transforms into Sailor Venus. Note: The family names of the Sailor Senshi are the Japanese equivalents of their powers' themes, as well as homonymic puns. Tsukino is a Japanese homonym for "of the moon" (tsuki = moon, and while no is written with the character for "field", which is a common usage in Japanese names, it can also be read as the possessive marker) hence Tsukino Usagi is a pun on "rabbit of the moon". Similarly Mizuno translates to "of the water", Hino translates to "of fire", Kino to "of the trees" and Aino to "of love". The senshi's first names may also be part of the word play in Japanese: usagi is a rabbit (the rabbit in the moon from Japanese folk belief), and ami is a net (which is used in water), and while the parallels would seem to extend to the rest of the senshi, the exact puns are much more obscure (for instance, makoto means literally truth, but joined with Makoto's last name, explained above, it would make no sense at all). Notes on antagonists In the North American dub, the antagonist groups of the first two series (namely the Dark Kingdom, Makaiju, and Black Moon Clan) are lumped together under the generic term "Negaverse." This changes somewhat by the S and SuperS series, where the antagonists are of each arc are clearly shown as distinct from those previous. References ^ The Oracle. Retrieved on 2006-08-31. ^ Naoko Takeuchi, BSSM Original Picture Collection Vol. V Manga Style!. Retrieved on 2006-08-25. ^ Animefringe: Features: Sailor Moon à la Saban: Debunked - An Interview with Rocky Solotoff - Adam "Omega" Arnold. External links (Japanese) Sailormoon Channel - The Official Website (Japanese) Sailor Stars website: TV Toei website (using web archive). DMOZ Sailor Moon Directory A directory of many Sailor Moon sites. Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon at the Internet Movie Database Sailor Moon (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia Sailor Moon (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia Project WikiMoon Sailor Moon series edit Codename: Sailor V | Musicals | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon | English adaptations | Media information | Actors Story locations | Sailor Moon R movie | Sailor Moon S movie | Sailor Moon SuperS movie Protagonists (including Sailor Senshi) Usagi Tsukino | Chibiusa | Mamoru Chiba Ami Mizuno | Rei Hino | Makoto Kino | Minako Aino Setsuna Meioh | Michiru Kaioh | Haruka Tenoh | Hotaru Tomoe Luna | Artemis | Diana | Chibichibi | Sailor Starlights Princess Kakyuu | Queen Serenity | Sailor Cosmos | Kousagi Supporting cast Tsukino Family | Other humans | Other Antagonists Dark Kingdom | (Shitennou/Generals) Makaiju Aliens Black Moon Clan | (Ayakashi Sisters) Death Busters | (Witches 5) Dead Moon Circus | (Amazon Trio | Amazoness Quartet) Shadow Galactica | (Sailor Galaxia | Sailor Animamates) Chaos Search Term: "Sailor_Moon" Categories: Manga series | Anime series | Media franchises | Anime dubbed into English | Fantasy anime | Romance anime | Magical girl anime | Magical girl manga | Romance manga | Moon in fiction | Sailor Moon | Shōjo | Shows on Toonami | Tokyopop | Anime of the 1990s | Manga of the 1990s

Here's our top rated sailor moon links for the day:

Valentine's Day Guide: Around the world in four D.C. dates 

Thank you for reading the sailor moon page - sailor moon. 

1. sailormoon
2. salor moon
3. sailer moon
4. sailor mon
5. sailor moom
6. sailoor moon
7. saior moon
8. sailor mooon
9. sailor moo
10. saikor moon