If you’re anything like me, you have fond memories of returning from home after school, sitting down in front of the TV, and seeing Sailor Moon was on. Then, if you’re even more like me, you remember waiting impatiently for it to end so you could watch Pokemon. But I was a young fool who thought that a show was either meant for boys or for girls, and Sailor Moon being marketed towards girls meant it wasn’t something I, a boy, should watch.
Oh how wrong I was. (Fortunately, I fixed that mistake later in life.)
There’s no denying that Sailor Moon has had a significant impact in the anime world, both in Japan and America, as well as pretty much anywhere else it aired. The monumental influence that the series has had continues to be felt to this day, with “mahou shoujo” anime continuing to use Sailor Moon as an influence, fans of all ages citing it as their gateway series, and near-constant reprints of the manga being sold long after the series has ended.
That brings us to now. The Sailor Moon Crystal anime attempted to re-tell the story using more modern art and animation, while sticking far closer to the original manga’s plotline and cutting out the original anime’s many filler episodes and arcs. How well that went has… varied, but it brings us to now, with two movies adapting the Dream Arc (previous shown in the Sailor Moon SuperS anime).
There will be some spoilers, but the anime and manga have been around for decades, so… you’ve had time to catch up.
General Overview
Sailor Moon Eternal: The Movie is really two movies telling the whole story. Both of them, viewed together, still won’t take more than a few hours to get through, so we can look at them as a whole story. Together, they tell the story of the Dead Moon Circus, Queen Nehellenia’s evil plot, Helios’ noble attempts to protect Elysion, and Chibi-Usa’s growth into a Sailor Guardian in her own right.
The movies accomplish this by using the first one as the setup, the second as payoff. So the first movie hits a few key points. First, it establishes who the antagonists are, although not necessarily what their goals are. Secondly, it sets up Helios, in his pegasus form, as he appears before Chibi-Usa. Thirdly, it re-establishes each of the central Sailor Guardians: what their personalities are like, what their dreams are, and what they’re currently struggling with.
Think of the first movie as the character spotlight film. Each of the guardians gets a story (one after another, in order of their introductions) where they think about their dreams or personal struggles, encounter an antagonist, nearly fall victim to their plot, then get a new power-up and transformation so they can defeat the villain and win. It’s textbook Sailor Moon, but it works. Plus, it carries on the theming about dreams, both actual dreams and aspirations for the future.
During those stories, there were a few little differences here and there that made them feel more uneven than distinct. For instance, in Sailor Mercury’s fight, she defeats the villain only for Sailor Moon and Chibi-Moon to show up just in time to deliver the finishing blow (or as I like to call it, steal her kill), whereas everyone else gets to defeat their enemies themselves without Sailor Moon needing to step in. In other cases, some of the Sailor Guardians get their power-ups from miniature representations of their powers, whereas Sailor Mars gets hers from… her pet crows appearing as tiny girls that talk to her (a point that does not come up again in this movie) while Sailor Venus gets hers from Artemis the cat turning into a human (a point that does come up again but is not fully explained).
All the while, Chibi-Usa gets visited by a pegasus named Helios, who sometimes shows up in dreams, and sometimes teleports in for just a moment. We also have ongoing drama as an unknown lung illness suddenly affects Mamoru, and he tries to hide it from Usagi. Overall, Chibi-Usa is the one who gets the most focus between the films, as it explores her feelings of inadequacy, her anxieties about returning to her time, and builds her future relationships (both romantic and team-focused).
Continued belowInconsistencies aside, this does a fine job giving each character a moment in the spotlight and building their characters. Some moments (like a pop idol tryout involving running through a jungle in swimsuits to save children) are ridiculous when viewed with a skeptical eye, but it all comes down to: it’s Sailor Moon, that’s just how these things go sometimes.
It’s sometimes crazy, sometimes overdramatic, occasionally has to be hand-waved with “moon magic,” and always entertaining.
The second movie brings back in the “Outer Senshi” (Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Pluto) and brings the characters together for the final battle against Dead Moon.
Before I say anything else, let me just mention this: Sailor Moon is often praised for the Sailor Neptune and Uranus relationship, which of course is fantastic. But what is often overlooked and not mentioned in the original anime is how Sailor Pluto also joined them so the three could raise a reborn Hotaru (Sailor Saturn) together, matching rings for the three of them and all. That’s pretty awesome too.
With that said, this movie is heavier on the lore and the buildup to the final battle. It expands on who Helios is and the story of Elysion, including more information about the kingdom Prince Endymion ruled, the Golden Crystal, and how the characters are all connected through multiple planetary kingdoms, reincarnations… it gets a little convoluted. In fact, it gets a lot convoluted, to the point where the average viewer will just go “Okay, space kingdom magic stuff, got it, moving on.”
The final battle itself is what we’ve come to expect from Sailor Moon. The villains fire off some blasts of evil energy, the world is in danger from a generic all-consuming evil, and Sailor Moon defeats her with the power of love and a new transformation. In this case, that also involves the rest of the Sailor Guardians getting new transformations, although they also magically switch back and forth between their sailor outfits and princess dresses, depending on what’s more appropriate for the scene. It all happens very quickly within the last part of the film, making it unclear what purpose the different outfits held other than providing new material for cosplayers and some neat visuals.
With all that said, if it sounds like I’m hating on this film, the truth is far from it. While I will call out these moments, there’s not necessarily anything wrong with them. It’s all part of the magic that is Sailor Moon. Speeches about dreams for the future and the power of love and friendship are all part of the package, as are magical outfit changes. It all feeds into the dramatic moments that make Sailor Moon as memorable a series as it is.
Now then, let’s get into the specifics.
Storytelling
As mentioned, there’s a lot that Sailor Moon Eternal needs to fit into its two movies. It manages to balance the time between each character nicely, while still dedicating enough time to Usagi and Chibi-Usa. Chibi-Usa’s character arc is particularly key to these movies, so she gets the most growth overall, but everyone gets a good moment or two.
Credit should also be given to a moment where Minako/Sailor Venus knows she’s walking into a trap from the Dead Moon Circus, but goes anyways because it’s her duty to stop them, whether or not she can transform. Good character moments like that add to the movie while still helping the plot along.
As far as the villains go, the first movie doesn’t use them for much more than a series of encounters. The second, however, provides more backstory. Queen Nehellenia starts off as a generic evil force the villains are serving, but by the end of the movie gets much more story that connects her to the Moon Kingdom of the past and her role in its fall.
The fact that she shows up uninvited after Princess Serenity’s birth adds a real Maleficent-style flare to her, which I can appreciate.
(Also, Helios’ powers and how much he can do as a pegasus trapped in a cage are very inconsistent. Basically, he can only help as much as would be convenient for the plot.)
One issue the Sailor Moon Crystal anime had was balancing the dramatic storytelling with the more lighthearted moments of the manga. Everything was so serious, whether it was Usagi staring in awe at how beautiful anyone was or the end of a dramatic boss battle. Fortunately, the Sailor Moon Eternal movies fixed that up nicely, bringing back in the more comedic or lighthearted effects. We get the big wide anime eyes when Usagi and Chibi-Usa are asking Mamoru to buy things for them, goofy moments where they’re running in circles after realizing they can’t transform, and even manga-style pop-up images indicating a character talking off-screen.
Continued belowOverall, these moments help the atmosphere significantly. It’s easy to watch and enjoy, and the balance of more comedic moments make the dramatic ones hit even harder.
Now, the pacing may be where the Sailor Moon Eternal movies fall short. They’re trying to fit ten chapters of the manga into under four hours, complete with time for transformation sequences and proper dramatic moments. This means that, where the original anime had time to explore each moment and even add filler, the movies have to trim.
This is most noticeable in the moment where Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi-Moon get their ages switched. While the original anime had time to explore how that impacted the characters, as per typical “Freaky Friday” formula, the movie doesn’t really do anything with it. Characters are surprised momentarily, then once Usagi and Chibi-Usa transform again, they return to their normal ages. It goes nowhere and doesn’t do anything for the characters, so it could have just as easily been cut from the movie without losing anything.
Similarly, the final act also has to deal with needing to deliver a lot of information in little time, without making the battle seem rushed. At some moments it accomplishes this, like with the flashback to the Moon Kingdom that establishes Queen Nehellenia’s past as an enemy of Queen Serenity. At other times it seems to rush from one key moment to another, like Usagi realizing where the Golden Crystal is more or less instantly.
Fortunately, most key moments are still given proper time to have a full impact. They don’t skip over key character moments, or even cute scenes like Haruka noticing a sale on diapers and formula while driving with Michiru. So overall, it still provides the content that matters in the time it has.
Music & Animation
Surely with an anime movie budget and less time to fill, Sailor Moon Eternal would have better animation than the Sailor Moon Crystal anime, right?
Absolutely! The animation was smooth the entire way through, particularly for the characters’ transformation sequences. While the Crystal anime tried to fit CGI into the transformations to limited success, the movies keep them fully animated and looking great.
The same can be said for the rest of the film, of course. The animators really got to show off with the Amazoness Quartet, making the most out of their acrobatics in every scene. Even in the moments where things aren’t moving quickly, the artwork still has time to really show off and sink in, combining the classic style of the manga with modern animation styles and techniques.
As for the soundtrack? Look, it’s Sailor Moon, there’s a few things we expect from the music. Yasuharu Takanashi composed the music, having done the same for the Sailor Moon Crystal anime, so it comes from someone with experience bringing important scenes to life through their scores.
Transformation sequences and fight scenes get the best songs, invoking both whimsical magic and dream-powered determination. Once the music picks up, you know things are about to get exciting, and the soundtrack effortlessly feeds into the mood of each scene.
Dub vs Sub
Some of you may have read that header and immediately shuddered with memories of old flame wars. Well, good news: both the sub and the dub are great, and you can enjoy it either way.
In the Japanese version, Kotono Mitsuishi returns to voice Usagi/Sailor Moon, because she is the iconic voice for the character. Accept no alternatives… unless you’re watching in English, in which case, Stephanie Sheh is great too. She brings the same energy to Usagi, striking that great balance between the lighthearted and the heartfelt moments, and really embodies the character.
The same can be said for the rest of the voice cast, no matter which language you watch it in. After multiple seasons of the anime, they all feel right at home with their characters. Some came into the roles during the 2015 re-dub of the anime or Sailor Moon Crystal, while others (like Kotono Mitsuishi) have been voicing the characters since the first anime. For those that are newer additions, there’s a good chance they grew up watching the original anime (yes, even the ’95 DiC dub, complete with “Sailor Moon Says”) and bring the love of those characters to the roles.
Continued belowRemember how I started by mentioning the 90’s and the Pokemon anime? Well, it all comes full-circle with Veronica Taylor, who voiced Ash Ketchum. Now she’s voicing Setsuna/Sailor Pluto, and it really shows off her amazing range. She brings an excellent level of power and emotion to Setsuna.
Similar praise can be given to the rest of the voice cast. Robbie Daymond, who voices Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask, does an amazing job bringing a sense of maturity and caring to the character, with subtle touches to his delivery that make each line feel sincere. (And I’m not just saying that because I met him while cosplaying Prince Endymion shortly after his casting was announced.) Brian Beacock as Helios/Pegasus brings a noble, almost wistful tone to the character, whether he’s looking for a “sweet maiden” or lamenting his inability to protect his prince.
One thing that stood out to me in the dub is the inclusion of Japanese honorifics. I’m not just talking about calling Chibi-Usa “Sailor Chibi Moon” instead of “Sailor Mini Moon,” I’m talking about characters addressing each other as “Setsuna-san” and “Mamoru-sama” even in English. It’s something we don’t often see in localization – normally they’d just drop the honorifics, unless they want to include a prefix like “Mr.” – but in a world where fans are often demanding as accurate a translation as possible, well, this is what the result is.
Overall
So, what to make of Sailor Moon Eternal: The Movie 1 and 2? If you’ve come this far in Sailor Moon, you know what to expect: the powers of love and friendship, lots of power-ups and outfit changes, over-the-top villains, and lots of lore drops related to past lives and space kingdoms. The movies deliver all that and more.
Despite some pacing hiccups and the lore getting overly convoluted at times, the movies are still good fun. They provide vital development for many characters, particularly Chibi-Usa, and hit the key moments when they need to. With top-notch acting for both the sub and dub, Sailor Moon fans will get exactly what they’ve come for out of it.
If you’re not a fan of teams of magical girls shouting out their transformations and attack names while fighting over-the-top villains, you might not enjoy it as much, but then, why would you expect anything else from Sailor Moon?
