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This was written mostly for Anthony's contest but should also be useful for anyone interested in learning a little bit about Sailor Moon.Due to some of the subject matter, I have age rated this as 16+.
Also, forgive me if some of this information is inaccurate. I believe it to be accurate, but you never know...
Sailor Moon, the cartoon, was first broadcast in Japan in 1992 and was released in North America in 1995.
Likely, there are two main versions of this show you will encounter. The 'sanitized' English version and the Japanese version. It has been translated into several other languages, but these are the main two versions available in America.
The English version is very appropriate for kids of all ages and they even threw in a little 'lesson to be learned' at the end of each episode. The story revolves around a fourteen year old girl named Serena. With the help of a talking cat named Luna, she discovers she is really a princess from the moon with the power to transform into Sailor Moon.
As Sailor Moon she fights the evil forces of the Negaverse (and other villians as the story progresses.)
She eventually discovers four other girls, all princesses of their respective planets, and all with special powers.
They fight evil together all the while dealing with the normal problems of youth; school, falling in love, tests of friendship...
This show is also a love story between Serena and darien. They are destined to be married in the future and rule Tokyo as King and Queen. Darien is a college student and although he is really too old for Serena (She's fourteen and he's in his twenties) their relationship doesn't really get inappropriate and doesn't get any farther than holding hands and the occasional kiss.Their future daughter Rini also visits them from the future.Rini is also a Sailor Scout.
One of the cool parts about Sailor Moon is the continuing story aspect of the show. Many cartoons are contained in one episode, however, this show actually continues its stories and subplots from episode to episode, making it much more interesting.
Here is a short character summary of the five main Sailor Scouts.
Sailor Moon:She is a clumsy girl but filled with ideas of romance. She is very loyal to her friends and though at first she was reluctant to be a Scout, she eventually accepts her role.
Sailor Mercury:She is my favorite Scout. She is a super intelligent genius and is the brains of the group. She is very kind and understanding.
Sailor Venus:She's a boy crazy girl who dreams of being a super star. She was actually fighting evil before becoming a Sailor Scout using the secret identity of 'Sailor V'
Sailor Jupiter:The strongest of the Scouts with a gift for cooking. She never really got over the fact that her first boyfriend broke up with her.
Sailor Mars:Hot headed and quick to temper, she often doesn't get along with Serena. She is a priestess at a temple and has psychic powers.
Now, I mentioned that the English version had been carefully sanitized for the American public. Here are a few main things that they edited out or changed between the English version and the Japanese version.
Firstly, several episodes were never translated into english. A couple of these are because the Scouts are in swimsuits for most of the episode and I guess they felt it wasn't appropriate.
Several scenes from many episodes were cut out such as when Melvin looks up his teacher's skirt and a lot of the violence like the many times Mars slaps Sailor Moon across the face and when Serena spanks Rini(her daughter who came to her from the future).
However, the main change was used to hide the sexuality of some of the characters.
In the original Japanese, Malachite and Zoicite were both males. However, since they often holds hands and are snuggly with each other in the show, the American translators changed Zoicite's character to a female.
Sailor Neptune and Uranus were lesbians in the original Japanese, but their relationship was changed drastically for the English version.
And the reason they will never translate the Sailor Stars season into English...The three new Scouts in that series (The Sailor Starlights) are some sort of hermaphrodites. They are male when not transformed, but become female when they transform. Also, one of the starlights sort of falls in love with Serena which makes it more complicated.
I guess The Japanese people are more open minded about this sort of thing than we are. Personally, I have nothing against this sort of thing, but they must have felt that the US market wasn't ready for it.
So, while I would highly recommend the English version for kids of all ages, I think the Japanese version might be for a slightly older audience.
Also, there is a Live action version of Sailor Moon that was broadcast in Japan last year. It is very well done with real actresses portraying the Scouts. This live action version is appropriate for all ages, although it can get very emotionally intense at times.
Anyone thinking of watching this show should definitely give it a try. If anyone is unsure whether their younger kids should be watching this show, I would recommend you watch a few episodes yourself first just to make sure that it is appropriate for your child.
Good luck, and may Sailor Mercury be with you.
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