Sailor Moon manga or anime

[Skeeter Muppet]

I have to say that I'm more of a fan of the Cloverway (or CWi) English dub than I am of the DiC English dub. The dub of S and SuperS is, IMO, superior to the dub of SM and R.

Why?

The main reason is that CWi didn't make nearly as many edits or cuts to the series as DiC did. In some sequences, certain exposed body parts were given the "bikini treatment", or were just snipped out completely (like Sailor Uranus' brief nude flash as she transformed back to Haruka). Whereas DiC went a little overboard in the editing room - at least three episodes were chopped out of the first season, including an important episode that revealed part of Venus' otherwise mysterious background. And then there's the episode that focused on the defeat of Queen Beryl - that was actually two episodes that DiC cut the [CENSORED] out of, then slapped together and passed off as one episode.

Second of all, CWi didn't go as name-change crazy as DiC had. The three Outer Senshi were the only main characters to have their names changed from the original Japanese (although I'm still wondering what they were thinking changing Haruka to Amara, and Setsuna to Trista). But by the time the second half of S was reached and Hotaru was introduced, a majority of the characters kept their original Japanese names, including Hotaru. Granted, there were some name changes I didn't agree with, such as changing Usagi and Chibiusa's transformation call from "Moon Crystal Power" to "Moon Crystal Dream Action" (*gag*). And then there's the "cousins" thing, which I am not going to get into here.

Finally, CWi kept in the original music. DiC's songs and BGM was okay, but nothing beats hearing those violins in the Outer Senshi transformation sequence.

In particular here is my question to you: Do you prefer the original manga meaning Japanese comic version of the saga or the anime cartoon version? And you may even prefer the English dub or the original Jap. version with subtitles.

You're forgetting the live action television show (Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon) and the SeraMyu musicals, both of which have a continuity of their own that's nearly separate from the manga or the anime (and each other).

-Kim

 

[MartyMuppets]

Ah yes I was only listing what I was personally familiar with but anybody please feel free to comment upon these other versions

 

[MartyMuppets]

I thought it would be interesting to describe my thoughts upon the dic series I'm familiar with.
The original storyline has a mafia like society with Queen Beryl like the Godfather kind of figure. Her primary minions are her four generals while all her secondary minions that follow the generals orders are scary monsters who are either destroyed as in the first half or the kind who are able to possess human beings and need to be driven out as in the second half.
The sequel storyline has a strange alien couple with no minions other than figures on cards they bring to life.
And the third storyline has a different sort of mafia led by Prince Diamond who is betrayed by his own advisor Wiseman.

Sailor Moon has a sort of split personality. On the one hand she's a cold-blooded killer who destroys many of her enemies with no mercy whether they are attacking her, merely surrounded or even with their back un knowingly turned to her.
But if they survive long enough to reform as some of them do she's very caring towards them.
She technically threatens characters like Neflite, Katzi and Anne with termination and even tries to kill them but she changes her attitude very affectionately

Funny isn't it? But still three very good animated serialized stories. I hope I get the chance to see the fourth one someday.

 

[Skeeter Muppet]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it right there.

Sailor Moon is a lot of things, but a cold-blooded killer is not one of them. Neither are any of the other Sailor Senshi. To say that Sailor Moon, and possibly by extension Usagi/Serena, is cold-blooded is to say that she lacks feelings and emotions, or that she fights as a Sailor Senshi without feelings or emotions.

That is 100% untrue.

Yes, she and her Senshi destroy some monsters by killing them. But only some. Sailor Moon didn't kill the Rainbow Crystal carriers when they got turned into youma; she healed them, turning them back into their real selves. She did the same thing with the Sailor Animates in the Stars season, because the Animates were really people who had been turned into monsters after having their star seeds stolen. Would a cold-blooded killer have healed someone who was once an innocent person but is now a monster?

As for her major enemies, Sailor Moon has only destroyed three out of the six she has battled: Beryl/Metallia, Wiseman/Death Phantom, and Pharaoh 90. Everyone else (Doom Tree/Ail & Ann, Nehelenia and Galaxia) was healed by Sailor Moon. And when she's seen someone who was her enemy die, like Neflite or Prince Diamond, she has cried at their deaths. Genuine, moved to sadness tears.

I'd especially like to draw attention to Nehelenia and Galaxia, the two major enemies who, if Sailor Moon had killed them, she would have been justified in doing it. Nehelenia had taken control of Mamoru's mind, and by threatening his life and Usagi's relationship with him, basically erased Crystal Tokyo and Chibiusa from existance. Nehelenia had captured the other Sailor Senshi and threatened to kill them all before Usagi, so that Usagi could know the pain that Nehelenia had felt for being alone for so many years.

But Usagi held very little anger towards Nehelenia; instead, she pitied the other woman because of the lonely existance she'd endured growing up. She even offered to be Nehelenia's friend! In the end, Sailor Moon healed Nehelenia and returned her to childhood, basically giving her a second chance at life.

Next is Galaxia, who IMO comes closer to being cold-blooded than Sailor Moon ever did. Galaxia wanted to become the most powerful Sailor Senshi in existance, so she went around stealing the star seeds of other Senshi in the universe to basically eliminate the competition. She felt no remorse for her actions, only joy the closer she got to her goal. Galaxia even released Nehelenia from her mirror to awaken Sailor Saturn again, because she didn't want to harvest Hotaru's "immature" star seed. She killed the Inner Senshi, she killed the Starlights' princess, she turned the Outers against each other and got Uranus and Neptune to kill Saturn and Pluto, and she killed Mamoru. Again, Sailor Moon would have been completely justified if she had killed Galaxia.

But she didn't.

She couldn't, not even when she was presented with a sword with which to run Galaxia through. Instead, Sailor Moon looked into Galaxia's heart and found one tiny glimmer of hope, a small part of the good person Galaxia used to be. And she called out to that part of Galaxia, and she drove Chaos away and she healed her.

Sailor Moon is, by nature, not a very violent person. She will fight when she needs to yes, but generally tries to avoid it (and not just because she's kind of lazy). At the end of the S season, when Neptune and Uranus confronted her and basically called her a fraud, denying she was the Princess and the Messiah, and then attacked her, Sailor Moon did very little to fight back. And she wound up proving to be who she was by not fighting back.

It doesn't matter what language or version you watch it in - Sailor Moon is not a cold-blooded killer. She wouldn't be Sailor Moon, Princess or Neo-Queen Serenity if she was.

-Kim

 

[MartyMuppets]

Actually though you sharply disagree with me Skeeter Muppet I do agree with you in some ways. Please let me try to explain. I didn't really mean to imply that Serena was cold-blooded in the full sense for I acknowledge that she doesn't fit the complete definition.

All I meant was she destroys her enemies like it's her duty too but she doesn't harm them if they reform.

Let me make it clear that I class all the monsters she kills and the recurring enemies and the head honchos like Queen Beryl as her enemies.

Beryl's four generals were the head of her evil society under her as supreme boss. While they were more or less human in appearance her other gang members were monster-like in appearance and she did fight against them a little unfairly in the case of two of them when they had their backs turned to her. But because they were depicted as monsters kids wouldn't worry about it. They'd be just glad to see the scary beasties disappear. And when Neflite turned traitor from Beryl's mafia and Zoicite's allies killed him like you said the Scouts all cried for him. So they were not cold-blooded towards him. If any more of Beryl's three remaining generals or secondary monstrous minions had turned over to the good side I have no doubt The Scouts would have treated him or her kindly but since they were enemy they made it okay to fight them without pity though it's true the monsters in the second half of season one were possessed humans and so they had to heal them for the sake of those innocents but Queen Beryl herself definitely needed to be terminated in the end. She was totally beyond reformation I'm positive.

 

[MartyMuppets]

As for the other storylines well I don't really see any possible definition of killing applied to Alan and Anne's Cardians cold-blooded or not. The way I saw them they were not true living being's. Only pictures magically brought to life by the alien couple to do their bidding. So no drama at all to be read into destroying what was never truly "alive" as I see it. And Alan and Anne it turned out just didn't know any better so they were worthy of the Scout's sympathy in the end. Fortunately Sailor Moon didn't succeed in the couple of times in the series she came close to executing Anne before the end of the Doom Tree saga.

As for the third storyline of Dics serial trilogy again Prince Diamond didn't really know better either. The Wiseman was the truly evil one as it turned out who was only bolstering the Prince's ego for revenge and conquest to suit his own sinister ends for the Doom Phantom.
The secondary minions known as Droids who worked for the primary members of the conspiracy were more human like than monster-like and they were destroyed one by one in battle with Sailor Moon. Some of them were destroyed while attempting to attack Sailor Moon but others were only surrounded helplessly by all the Scouts and though we never heard them do say they could have been pleading for mercy while Sailor Moon turned a deaf ear and zapped them with her scepter. By not hearing any such pleas audibly spoken the intenseness of the situation is cleverly concealed over so it's okay for the Scouts to reduce the numbers of Prince Diamond's conspiracy with no remorse.

And of course out of the main conspiracy the 4 sisters reform and are healed but Rubeus and Emerald harden their hearts and eventually go to their destruction. The Prince's own brother Sapphire realizes that the Wiseman has been brainwashing the members of the conspiracy and Wiseman kills him when he tries to warn his brother. Who seems to be on his own now with no primary or secondary members of his team by his side.
Then he sacrifices his own life to save Sailor Moon from the Wiseman.
He begs her forgiveness as he's dying and though he doesn't outrightly say it he says in effect "Maybe all of us Rubeous, Emerald and all the people you had to fight and kill might have lived in peace with you on earth."

So I hope you can understand a bit more clearly what I really meant to say.

 

[ReneeLouvier]

I just really liked the first season, to tell the truth. I think the only seasons I've ever seen were the very first season, and the later season where there was Chibi Usa (Sailor Chibi Moon) and the Soul Snatchers. Which also had apperences by the Outer Sailors. Other then that, I think I pretty much missed every other season.

 

[MartyMuppets]

Incidentally has anybody heard at all if there are any plans to release the english dub by Clover whatever they're called of the sequel series to the original dubbed by Dic?
I would love to buy them as well as the set I currently have.

 

[Skeeter Muppet]

Incidentally has anybody heard at all if there are any plans to release the english dub by Clover whatever they're called of the sequel series to the original dubbed by Dic?
I would love to buy them as well as the set I currently have.

The CWi dubs of S and SuperS have already been released onto DVD, for quite some time now actually. You could probably find them at anyplace that sells anime DVDs, like Best Buy or Borders.

-Kim

 

[MartyMuppets]

The CWi dubs of S and SuperS have already been released onto DVD, for quite some time now actually. You could probably find them at anyplace that sells anime DVDs, like Best Buy or Borders.

-Kim

My DVD set of Dic's series is by a company that specializes in releasing anime called Madman. I haven't heard of them or any other company releasing Cloverway's dub here in Australia yet but hopefully it will be soon.

Thank you Kim and please call me Marty. I like to encourage my forum friends to call me that.