Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

Series experience:


I just watched the original anime series, and I’ve read the Sailor V prequel

Short review: Sailor Moon is a well-known franchise, and has been a trailblazer for many a shoujo manga and magical girl series. The manga version, though quite different from the more well-known anime adaptation, tells an equally riveting tale of female heroes, weaving comedy, tragedy, and romance into a classic that still holds to this day. Takeuchi’s dream-like artwork and mythology-infused story is simple and straightforward, but definitely turns old stereotypes on their heads. A must-read, especially for shoujo fans.

Full review:

I did my best to make this spoiler free!

Sailor Moon is such a well-known series, I’d be more surprised to hear of an anime/manga fan who doesn’t know anything about it. Despite its iconic status, though, the original work is not as well known as its anime counterpart. Sailor Moon’s anime and manga are completely different experiences.

I believe a lot of the criticism for the manga is directed at the plot. It’s repetitive, riddled with plot holes, and a lot of it doesn’t actually make sense. But once we take into consideration that Sailor Moon is basically taking the formula of a sentai anime and just replacing the whole team with girls, it doesn’t really have to make sense. Still though, the heaviness of the events pile up and the scale gets larger really quickly, and it might be a bit much to digest in a go. I suppose its a series better read leisurely than binged.

Once you look beyond the basic arcs and the big bad guys, there are so many easter eggs, and that’s one of Sailor Moon’s greatest strengths. The manga compared to the anime takes itself seriously, and there’s a bunch of hidden lore that is only hinted at or shown through a flashback, and what we don’t see is what makes Sailor Moon so rich in terms of history. Theories and ships and headcanons abound!

Apart from the plot, Sailor Moon has a HUGE cast of characters for a 61 chapter manga. I believe the anime did a good job of stretching out the series, so we could appreciate each character more, but in the manga a lot of characters come and go, and because of the fast-pacing you hardly notice. Still, a lot of characters (especially the senshi of course) leave a mark and their strong characterizations have people picking favorites to stand by. The fact that there are a bunch of strong fighter characters and not just the main one is quite reminiscent of action shonen manga, but again, with girls instead. I believe this was a big deal at the time, and is quite refreshing for shoujo manga where a lot focus on the just a female lead and two suitors (and a friend or two).

In terms of character development, despite the number of chapters, we do get development, mostly for our main character family. The clumsy and childish Usagi Tsukino from the first chapter is almost completely gone by the end of a series, bearing the weight of a warrior of the universe. The other Sailor Scouts pretty much grow out of immaturity and into their roles as guardians as well. Compared to the prequel Code Name: Sailor V, this quickly evolves from a simple romcom into a heavy action fantasy story, ripe with losses and bittersweet farewells. Sailor Moon evokes a sort of nostalgia for your youth (gone or not), as through our lens we see these young kids have to grow quickly due to evils of older people.

spoilers in this paragraph!
There are a few things that could be called problematic of course, Mamoru and Usagi’s relationship as a college student and a middle school girl, the sexualization sometimes, the almost-incest that happens with Dark Lady, but suspension of disbelief is pretty much a must-have when reading this, as the reincarnation and magic explains away a lot of the incidents.

Regarding the art, I believe Sailor Moon's is something that no animation studio can properly capture. A lot of shoujo manga are absolutely gorgeous in their whimsy, with pastels and laces and gradients that just really look good as pictures and probably would look awkward on screen. In the artbook, Takeuchi describes her intent and processes and it’s really cool to see how open minded she is with things and how her ideas are so unique. I think the direction the 90s anime went with - which was completely different, was a good idea as it formed its own branding. Takeuchi’s style is magical, I was taking so many screencaps on my phone :<

Overall, I believe Sailor Moon is a must read for fans of shoujo manga (or magical girl manga). It might not be perfect, but sitting back and simply going with the flow could have you discovering the most amazing little facts and falling in love with all the characters. Straightforward and honest, the heart of Sailor Moon and the legacy it leaves behind will be eternal.

(For those looking for more fun facts/easter eggs, check out the tuxedounmasked website!! I could scroll through there all day…)

Plot 7/10

Art 9.5/10

Characters 8/10


Overall personal enjoyment 8.5/10

Top 3 fave characters

Kino Makoto/Sailor Jupiter - I still love her sm in this version, she’s strong, fearless, but also somehow such an independent lady and she cares so much for others
Aino Minako/Sailor Venus - maybe I’m biased because I read the Sailor V manga? idk but Sailor Venus’ growth as a character really made me feel for her. She’s committed to her role as guardian and that’s just so admirable
Tenoh Haruka/Sailor Uranus - omg I don’t even know what to say what an icon, and the way they’re so protective of Usagi and so strong and a race car driver? pls pls

Others: Hotaru/Saturn, Setsuna/Pluto, Helios, Luna (and I realllly wished we saw more of the Senshi x Shitennou!!)

Thank you for reading!

Review for the 90s anime: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Review