Sailor Moon FAQ
By Ken Arromdee (19 OCT 01)
<arromdee@rahul.net>
http://www.rahul.net/arromdee
Which episodes were not shown in Korea?
Is Mixx still referring to manga as "motionless picture entertainment"?
Is the Eye on Mixx site still around?
Are all the mailing lists still around?
I still need titles and air dates for the rest of the SuperS episodes,
particularly for Canada, and note that some were aired out of sequence.
I need information about attack name changes in SS and SuperS.
What American names did the Amazon Quartet have?
[Last modified 10/19/01, posted 10/20/01]
The Sailor Moon FAQ!
--------------------
1) Introduction
2) Air Times/Channels
3) Japanese television series
4) Names: characters (original and dub), attacks and transformations, ages
5) Theme song
6) Japanese myths and cultural elements
7) Cuts, Censorship, and Changes
8) Questions about plot elements
9) Questions about the show itself
10) Movies, comics, etc.
11) Video games
12) Episode availability
13) Character personal information
14) Episode list
15) Other internet resources
Appendix: Why does everyone hate Mixx or SOS?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Introduction
Sailor Moon is a cartoon about teenage sailor-suited superheroines,
aimed at young girls, which began broadcast in North America on September 11,
1995 (August 28 on YTV in Canada). In Japan it was produced by Bandai. The
English language version was produced by DIC Entertainment and aired in syndi-
cation (not Fox, though one episode was shown on Fox as a special). The
series is a dub of a Japanese cartoon (anime) whose name (Bishoujo Senshi
Sailor Moon) is usually translated as "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon"; this
cartoon is based on a manga (Japanese comic book) created by Takeuchi Naoko.
(Note: All Japanese names in this FAQ are listed Japanese style, with family
name first.)
The last TV episode aired in Japan on February 8, 1997; the last manga
was the March 1997 Nakayoshi (which became the end of volume 18 of the
collected manga). The replacement for the TV series was a shojo-style Cutey
Honey remake (named Cutey Honey Flash) worked on by many of the same people
working on the Sailor Moon series. Cutey Honey Flash lasted one year. The
manga was replaced with "Mizuiro no Tamago", a completely unrelated manga.
In North America, DIC made 65 episodes available in 1995-1996. There was
apparently a big falling-out between Bandai and DIC, and a lot of rumors
abound.
17 more episodes were dubbed mainly for Canadian release. They were first
shown in the US long after their original run in Canada. The voice actors for
Darien and Sailor Mars had left (or were fired) for these episodes. Adding the
17 newer episodes takes the series up to Japanese episode 89, and the end of
the R storyline.
S and SS were dubbed by Cloverway Inc. (CWI) in 2000 and are shown on
Cartoon Network, starting June 12, 2000. Pioneer has released the movies and
is releasing the S and SS seasons on tape and DVD. AD Vision is releasing the
DIC dub episodes on video.
Note: There are lots of spoilers here. Read at your own risk.
Thanks to everyone on the Internet (far too many names to list, even if
I had kept the list) for helping me produce this FAQ.
* Requests that I send you a new version of this FAQ "when it comes out" will
be deleted with no reply. *
* Requests for the current version will be deleted with no reply. Especially
"I missed part 2; please send me another". This is recursive; messages that
say "I asked you for part 2 and didn't get a reply" won't get replies. *
* Requests for Sailor Moon files or merchandise, or for where to get them, will
be deleted with no reply. *
* Requests to put up HTML versions of this FAQ will be deleted with no reply.
If you want to put one up, go ahead, but _please_ update it often. I don't
like to see errors perpetuated forever. (I'm also not a fan of rewriting
files in html and making them impossible to print out, repost, or otherwise
handle outside the Web.) *
There are millions of people on the net. I can't respond to everyone's
requests, especially not to a request that takes just a minute or two--per
person.
This also means that you *must not expect that anything you write to me will
get a reply*. If you wrote to me with a suggestion and I didn't reply, I
probably decided not to use it.
* If you want to print the FAQ in a fanzine or newsletter (not a large
commercial magazine!), go ahead, but please send me a copy of your newsletter
if you can. My address is on my web page. *
2) Channels/Versions. (This is not as accurate as the rest of this FAQ,
because I've collected these from the net.) I am no longer listing air times;
they are hopelessly out of date.
Cantonese version (TV):
Episodes released: Up to Sailor Moon SuperS, plus the R movie.
Censorship:
Violence: None.
Lechery: There may have been a small cut in episode 2.
Nudity: None.
Homosexuality: None.
Misc: The 'elephant' routine in episode 104 was cut.
Cuts for time:
Pink Sugar Heart Attack was cut from episode 107.
Music:
First season: new opening and ending.
R: Original opening and ending.
S: First half, new opening and ending. Second half, original opening and
ending with new music. Changed at episode 100. (?)
Original music used during the show. Most Japanese songs stay as the
originals too.
Names:
The names are the original ones translated into Chinese.
Cantonese version (video):
Episodes released: Up to Sailor Stars. Most movies and specials not done.
The R movie was released by Victor Video.
Censorship:
Violence: None.
Lechery: None.
Nudity: None.
Homosexuality: None.
In the Snow White episode, Mako-chan says "I am tall, big and elegant on
stage." instead of referring to her breast size.
Cuts for time:
Music:
All the music is the original, including songs. When characters sing, they
suddenly go to Japanese....
Names:
The names are the original ones translated into Chinese. Both Cantonese
versions use the same names except for the translation of "Michiru".
English version
Episodes released:
Up to the end of SuperS. Pioneer has released the movies. Almost none of
the rest of this listing is true for the movies.
Censorship:
Violence: characters are not even allowed to slap each other, and episodes
45-46 are combined into one episode where nobody dies. (Up to the end of R.)
Lechery: Episode 2 does not appear at all. References to Rei's grandfather
being a dirty old man are rewritten.
Nudity: lines are covered up or removed, scenes sometimes changed.
Homosexuality: Zoisite and Fish Eye have been changed to women. Uranus and
Neptune are "cousins".
Cuts for time:
Often cut for time (to the end of R). Further cut for time in Australia,
and on USA network. CGI scene transitions are added.
Misc: The scenes where the Senshi were hung on crosses by Rubeus were cut.
Music:
Does not use the original music for the most part. The theme song uses new
words for a version of the Japanese theme song; the end theme just repeats
the start theme. Episodes with songs usually use random songs (once Japanese,
usually not) with new words. The S series uses the original music but not the
songs. Cartoon Network generally doesn't use the opening at all.
Names:
Some names are similar to the original, some are not.
Filipino (Tagalog) version:
Episodes released:
At least to Sailor Moon S.
Censorship:
Violence: No censorship?
Lechery: No censorship?
Nudity: No censorship?
Homosexuality: No censorship.
Cuts for time:
A few.
Music:
The opening theme song was kept in Japanese but in newer episodes is
translated; the ending is still in Japanese.
Names:
Usagi is named Bunny (only before the S season). Other names were kept.
French version:
Episodes released:
Up to the start of SuperS in France. Canada is strange; they released 9
episodes and stopped, then started again in 1997 with the Earl/Ann episodes.
Some episodes have been completely removed (different ones than in English, so
it still may be worth it for Canadians to try to see the series).
Censorship:
Violence: No or very little censorship.
Lechery: Episode 2 has the scene with Umino looking up Ms. Haruna's skirt,
cut, but the episode itself was kept.
Nudity: In episode 7, a scene with the monster attacking Mikan in the
shower was cut.
Homosexuality: Zoisite and Kunzite are brothers. Sailor Uranus started out
with a female voice actor, but got a male one for her civilian form after
a while. It was explained that she was disguised as a man to protect her
identity and that Neptune was helping by pretending to be "his" girlfriend.
Cuts for time:
Yes. Also, some episodes have been completely removed (different ones than
in English)
Music:
Attack and transformation use same music. The theme song music and words
are both changed. In episode 7, with a song, the Japanese music was used with
new words. The song was removed from SMR episode 3 (49?) The song was kept in
episode 54.
Names:
Most names are different. Usagi is named "Bunny".
Special note:
The French manga is _much_ better.
German version:
Episodes released:
All episodes planned, except episode 89 was skipped. Up to 46 on ZDF,
everything on RTL1-2. The movies were shown; the Ami special was not.
Austria showed up to episode 127.
Censorship:
Violence: Cuts were made in episodes 45-46, on the ZDF version only, not on
RTL2.
Lechery: No censorship.
Nudity: No censorship.
Homosexuality: Zoisite changed to a woman. Haruka and Michiru's
relationship was toned down (?). Fish Eye wasn't changed, and they kept the
chest scene.
Cuts for time:
None.
Music:
Start and end themes and words not kept. The original background music was
kept. Songs were removed in the first series, kept in Sailor Moon R.
Names:
Usagi named "Bunny Tsukino", most other names kept.
Greek version:
Episodes released: reached SMS as of 1996-1997, will do whole series. Movies
not released.
Censorship:
Violence: No censorship.
Lechery: No censorship.
Nudity: No censorship.
Homosexuality: No censorship.
Cuts for time:
None.
Music:
There is a single start and end theme in Greek used for all the series.
Names:
Usagi named "Bunny", most other names kept. Some of the names were changed
to Greek names (i.e. Sailor Ares, Sailor Aphrodite).
Italian version:
Episodes released:
The entire series. The movies and specials were aired, though out of order.
Censorship:
Violence: Some scenes with blood cut from Sailor Stars.
Lechery: No censorship.
Nudity: A few seconds were cut from episode 151. (Ami nude.) #200 was
heavily modified.
Homosexuality:
Any lines suggesting Haruka and Michiru were romantically interested were
removed or changed.
Zoisite and Fisheye were changed to women. (Fish Eye's bare chest scene was
cut, of course.) The Starlights were explained by saying that they're replaced
by their identical twin sisters. (Bleccch.)
Cuts for time:
The beginning of several episodes near the end of the first series, plus
the beginning of 56-57, had cuts.
Music:
Background music is the same as Japanese; opening/closing songs and songs
within the series are changed to Italian ones.
Names:
Most names are changed. The four generals have different names, and Alan
and Ann have different school names. Cooan is "Kermesite" (!). Usagi is
named Bunny, Ami is Amy, Rei is Rea, Makoto is Morea, Minako is Marta.
Korean version:
Episodes released: Everything except the first half of SuperS and some
episodes about traditional Japanese themes.
Censorship:
Violence: Several cuts, including removing the scenes where the mirrors
come out of people.
Lechery: The episode where Rei's grandfather gets attacked for his crystal
was cut, and he seems to be toned down. The breasts line translated as
"talents" in the US says that Makoto has the fairest skin.
Nudity: Transformation scenes have been cut or replaced by parts of other
transformations. The detransformations were edited, as well as nudity in
#199 and 200.
Homosexuality: Zositie is a man, but his flowers are "for his mother" and it
is implied he's close friends or brothers with Kunsite, but they're not gay.
The couples contest was changed to not be specific to couples. Some Haruka
and Michiru scenes, such as them holding hands, were cut. The first half
of SuperS was not shown, possibly because of Fish Eye, and the Starlights are
female in both costume and civilian ID.
Cuts for time: None.
Music:
Most songs have been removed or replaced with Moonlight Densetsu, except for
Minako's audition in Sailor Stars, and the Starlight concerts.
Names:
The names are changed.
Malaysian version:
Episodes released: Reached somewhere in SMS. Released on satellite only.
Censorship:
Violence: None.
Lechery: None.
Nudity: None.
Homosexuality: None.
Cuts for time: None. (?)
Music: ???
Names: No changes (?)
Mandarin version (Is there more than one version?):
Episodes released: Up to Queen Beryl's death.
Censorship:
Violence: No known cuts.
Lechery: No known cuts. Umino still stares up Haruna's skirt.
Nudity: Transformation scenes have been cut.
Homosexuality: Zoisite is still male.
Cuts for time:
Music:
The opening song was modified.
The song from episode 6 has been removed.
Names:
Most but not all names are changed. (I have no idea whether the original
names are just translated.)
Note:
This information is from Singapore. The series was apparently not cut in
Taiwan; I don't know if they had the same version or not.
Polish version:
Episodes released: 197 episodes (45, 46, and 132 skipped). Subtitled.
Censorship:
Violence: No changes (?)
Lechery: A few changes to Rei's grandfather, I'm not sure what
Nudity: No changes (?)
Homosexuality: Zoisite's last words were "I loved you like a brother".
Cuts for time:
Music:
Names:
Portuguese version (Brazil):
Episodes released: First series (1-46), R series
Censorship:
Violence: No censorship.
Lechery: No censorship.
Nudity: No censorship.
Homosexuality: Zoisite is female. This seems to be because the series is a
redub of the Spanish version.
Cuts for time:
Music:
Theme song is in Portuguese. Other music/songs are original? Later
episodes have the opening in Spanish.
Names:
Mostly DIC names are used. Non-DIC names include Nicholas for Yuuichiro,
Lua for Luna, and Sanjouin Masato.
Note:
The series uses Spanish episode titles and is probably a redub of the
Latin America Spanish version.
Portuguese version (Portugal):
Episodes released:
Entire Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R and S series.
Censorship:
Violence: No censorship.
Lechery: No censorship.
Nudity: No censorship.
Homosexuality: No censorship.
Cuts for time: None.
Music:
Theme song and some other music is changed.
Names:
A few names changed, Usagi is Bunny.
Misc:
They got the cats' sex wrong.
Russian version
Episodes released: All (?)
Censorship:
Violence: No censorship.
Lechery: No censorship.
Nudity: No censorship.
Homosexuality: No censorship.
Cuts for time: None.
Music:
Opening and closing uses original Japanese music, but no words. Songs
during the shows are still in Japanese, though in one episode the song was
also explained in Russian.
As of SMS the opening and closing are in original Japanese.
Names:
Usagi is renamed Bunny, other names are unchanged.
Spanish version (Latin America):
Episodes released:
All of the series. R and S movies released on video.
Censorship:
Violence: No censorship.
Lechery: No censorship.
Nudity: No censorship.
Homosexuality: Zoisite is made a woman. This was apparently because they
were working from the US version, not due to censorship per se, and Haruka
and Michiru are not changed. Zoisite does have a male voice in his first
few episodes. Fisheye is a guy (with a female voice actress, but then Japan
does that too). There were cuts in the episode showing his chest.
Cuts for time:
Each station receives the episodes uncut, but sometimes cuts them locally.
Music:
Keeps most of the original music. The start and end themes are translations
of Moonlight Densetsu and Heart Moving (even in later seasons where the original
doesn't use those songs). Songs in the series are usually not translated
and stay in Japanese. The S season uses the R opening at the start and the
original S opening later. Sailor Stars uses a mix of the first two Japanese
openings.
Names:
Mostly uses the same names as the DIC version, including Serena, Lita,
Malachite, and Negaverse. Minor characters may be different. One episode
goofed and used the names "Usagi" and "Dark Kingdom"; Chibi-Usa was called
by that name a few times.
Spanish version (Spain):
Episodes released:
At least reached Sailor Moon S.
Censorship:
Violence: ???
Lechery: ???
Nudity: ???
Homosexuality: ???
Cuts for time:
???
Music:
Names:
Swedish version:
Episodes released:
Episodes 15 and 18 shown later (apparently because they were damaged).
Censorship:
Violence: No censorship.
Lechery: No censorship. Rei's grandfather is still a dirty old man.
Nudity: No censorship.
Homosexuality: Zoisite changed to a woman. Allegedly because the station
can't show gays who are evil, rather than because they can't show them at all.
(Wonder what they'll do with Haruka and Michiru then?)
Cuts for time:
None.
Music:
Original music kept. Start and end tunes kept but lyrics not kept. No info
about songs.
Names:
Most, but not all, original names kept. Beryl is renamed Morga, Usagi is
renamed Annie.
Thai version:
Episodes released:
To SMSS? Sailor Stars available in Japanese.
Censorship:
Violence: ???
Lechery: ???
Nudity: ???
Homosexuality: Haruka shown normally, the rest unknown.
Cuts for time:
None (?)
Music:
Opening and ending themes kept.
Names:
Inner Senshi and three Outers kept the same.
3) Japanese television series
Japan does not have television seasons like the US does. However, Sailor
Moon was divided into several different series, each aired weekly and lasting
a year:
Sailor Moon: 3/7/92-2/27/93 (episodes 1-46): The appearance of the five
Sailor Scouts and their fight against the Dark Kingdom.
Sailor Moon R: 3/6/93-3/5/94 (episodes 47-88): Episodes 47-59 have as
villains two space aliens Earl (Alan) and Ann. 60-88 are a fight against the
Black Moon family, also introducing Chibi-Usa (Rini), a young girl from the
future. Sailor Pluto first appears (but only briefly) here. Episode 89,
3/12/94, was a special (and a clips episode).
The only explicit reference I got for the meaning of the R is from the
Sailor Moon Memorial Song Box: "R wa ROMANCE ya RONDO, RETURN nado, samazamana
kotoba wo imi suru mono to sareteiru." ("R is intended to mean various things
like ROMANCE, RONDO, and RETURN.")
Sailor Moon Super: 3/19/94-2/25/95 (episodes 90-127): Villains are
Professor Tomoe and the Witches 5 (the Death Busters). Chibi-Usa first be-
comes Sailor Chibi-Moon, and Sailors Uranus and Neptune first show up (and
later Saturn).
Sailor Moon SuperS: 3/4/95-3/2/96 (episodes 128-166): Villains are the
Dead Moon Circus and Nephelenia. Heavily based around Chibi-Usa. The Outer
Senshi don't appear at all except in an (unnumbered) special.
Sailor Moon Sailor Stars: 3/16/96-2/8/97 (episodes 167-200): The first 6
episodes (167-172) finish off Nephelenia and are often considered the real
ending of SuperS. After that, a new storyline begins with the villain Galaxia
from Shadow Galactica, whose henchmen are Iron Mouse, Aluminum Siren, Lead
Crow, and Tin Nyanko (the Sailor Anima-mates). Heavy Metal Papillon was
another, appearing only in the manga. Introduction of the Sailor Stars, who
are male in normal IDs and change to female as Sailor Senshi. Introduction
of Chibi-Chibi, an even younger kid character. Chibi-Usa doesn't appear at all
except for cameos, and Tuxedo Mask shows up in 173 leaving for Harvard, and
then not until the end. The Outer Senshi appear sporadically.
4) Names: characters (original and dub), attacks and transformations, and
character ages
(I'm sorry. I'm not going to put the Sailor Stars villains here just because
they have 'Sailor' in their name.)
First Episode
Japanese Name NA Name Identity Birthday Planet (J) (NA)
------------- ------- -------- -------- ------ --- ---
Tsukino Usagi Serena Sailor Moon June 30 Moon 1 1
Chiba Mamoru Darien*5 Tuxedo Mask August 3 Earth 1 1
Mizuno Ami Amy** Sailor Mercury September 10 Mercury 8 5
Hino Rei Raye*** Sailor Mars April 17 Mars 10 7
Kino Makoto Lita Sailor Jupiter December 5 Jupiter 25 21
Aino Minako Mina ` Sailor Venus October 22 Venus 33 29
Chibi-Usa* Rini S. Chibi-Moon June 30 Moon 60/103 54/R
(named Sailor Mini-Moon in English)
Meiou Setsuna Trista*6 Sailor Pluto October 29 Pluto 64/75 58/68
Ten'ou Haruka Amara*6 Sailor Uranus January 27 Uranus 89/92 82/85
Kaiou Michiru Michelle*6 Sailor Neptune March 6 Neptune 89/92 82/85
Tomoe Hotaru Hotaru*6 Sailor Saturn January 6 Saturn 110/125 --
[The Sailor Quartet (the asteroid senshi) are senshi only in the manga. They
first appear in the anime in episode 149, in non-Senshi forms.]
Cerecere ? Sailor Ceres ? Ceres N/A N/A
Pallapalla ? Sailor Pallas ? Pallas N/A N/A
JunJun ? Sailor Juno ? Juno N/A N/A
VesVes ? Sailor Vesta ? Vesta N/A N/A
[The Sailor Stars are, in the anime, guys in civilian ID and change into girls
as Senshi. They've been shown topless, confirming this. They are _not_
related, and "Kou" is not their family name. This must be one of the most
persistent rumors around. If they were brothers, do you think they'd have
birthdays three months apart? Takeuchi Naoko was asked if they're related,
at the San Diego Comics Con in August 1998. No, they're not.]
Seiya Kou N/A S. Star Fighter July 30 N/A 173 N/A
Taiki Kou N/A S. Star Maker May 30 N/A 173 N/A
Yaten Kou N/A S. Star Healer February 8 N/A 173 N/A
Chibi-Chibi Riri*7 S. Chibi-Chibi ? N/A 182/187 N/A
Princess Kakyuu N/A S. Kakyuu (meaning 'fireball')"Kinmoku" *4
Sailor Stars, manga only: Phi, Chi, Lethe, Mnemosyne, and no doubt others
which I'm not going to bother looking up.
* This is a nickname; chibi is Japanese for "short". Her real name is also
Usagi. (According to the manga it's "Usagi Small-Lady Serenity". Uh, right.
The video game Another Story calls her "Lady Serenity".)
Note: Please do not confuse "Chibi" and "Chiba". I'm really tired of this.
Yes, Chiba is her father's name. No, she doesn't get her father's last name.
** Last name "Anderson" used in episode 37. She answers the phone with
"Anderson Residence" when she said the equivalent of "Mizuno residence"
in the original. (It has been said that she lives in a "mansion", but the
Japanese word "mansion" comes from the French and means an apartment house,
not a big house owned by rich people.) Her last name is "Mizuno" in episode
115.
*** The dub keeps "Hino".
*4 Princess Fireball becomes a Sailor Senshi only in the manga. "Kinmokusei"
is a Japanese pun on the word for "sweet olive", which explains her scent.
*5 Last name "Shields" in Mixxzine only.
*6 The Irwin toys use "Corinn", "Nerissa", and "Celia" for Haruka, Michiru,
and Setsuna. Mixx once used "Alex" for Haruka and "Jenny" for Hotaru, but
later admitted these were mistakes.
*7 Mixxzine name only. Even Mixx is using ChibiChibi later on.
The double entries are because Pluto, Uranus, and Neptune first appear sha-
dowed, and Chibi-Moon, Saturn, and Chibi-Chibi appear in their normal
identities first.
Note that the birthdays are appropriate, astrologically, for the planets.
The Japanese language uses kanji (written characters derived from Chinese)
for the Japanese equivalent of root words. The Japanese family names of the
Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask all contain the same kanji as the corresponding
planet (not necessarily pronounced the same), except for Venus.
The kanji used in the Japanese names of the planets include the five
Asian elements (fire, water, wood, metal, earth). The days of the week also
include the kanji for the elements, so the days of the week, the planets, and
the elements are all somewhat related. (The day of week/planet relationship
is the same one that exists in the West.) The Sailor Scouts thus could be
considered an elemental-based team if you want to count Tuxedo Mask as the
element earth (though Saturn's is usually used for the element).
The Sailor Scouts' special attacks usually fit the kanji associated with
the planet. (For instance, the name of the planet Mars uses the kanji for
"fire", and Sailor Mars has fire attacks.) Sailor Venus is an exception; she
was named early before Takeuchi started the naming pattern. The kanji in her
name means "love", associated with the goddess Venus; her later attacks, how-
ever, involve gold/metal and the Japanese name for Venus does use the kanji for
"gold" or "metal". Sailor Jupiter's early anime attacks are associated with
the god Jupiter, but she does have some attacks associated with wood.
(Actually, oak is also associated with the god Jupiter).
Planet, etc. Day of Week Kanji Used Character
------------ ----------- ---------- ---------
Sun Sunday sun *
Moon Monday moon Sailor Moon
Mercury Wednesday water (element) Sailor Mercury
Venus Friday gold (element) Sailor Venus
Earth -- earth (not the element) Tuxedo Mask
Mars Tuesday fire (element) Sailor Mars
Jupiter Thursday wood (element) Sailor Jupiter
Saturn Saturday earth (element) Sailor Saturn
Uranus -- heaven king Sailor Uranus
Neptune -- sea king Sailor Neptune
Pluto -- dark king Sailor Pluto
* It has been suggested to me that Tuxedo Mask is partly associated with the
sun, which his birthdate supposedly fits with in astrology. Also, Helios (an
obvious sun-based name) from Sailor Moon SS is his protector.
The names for the Sailor Starlights don't fit the same naming pattern as the
names of the Senshi from our solar system. Their names are all alternate
Japanese pronunciations of the kanji used to mean various types of
astronomical light. They translate roughly as "starry night light",
"atmospheric light", and "night sky light". And no, "Kou" is not their
family name, and they're not siblings.
Ages and grades:
Unfortunately, a bit complicated. (Note: I am using the notation 'age 14-15'
to mean starting the school year at 14 and having their 15th birthday before
the next school year).
First, note that in Japan you can count your age as being 1 year old when you
are born, making your age 1 higher than in the West. But this is an old
custom and isn't done much nowadays. It also doesn't fit the information
we've seen. Now, ignoring that....
In Japan, junior high goes up to grade 9, and high school is 10-12. (In the US,
junior high goes to either 8 or 9, depending on the local school system.)
In the Japanese version, the main five characters start at age 14, in second
year junior high (grade 8). They actually have to be 13-14 for things to work
out right later on.
The first two years in the manga only occur during one story year. In the
anime, there are hints that they lose a year after the Dark Kingdom battle.
Hints that they didn't lose a year:
-- Jupiter is in Serena's school though she didn't transfer until well past the
start of the year
-- Molly likes Melvin even though that didn't happen until past the start of
the year
Hints that they lost a year:
-- Episode 45 (original 51) is a cherry blossom episode that happens in April,
and the Japanese school year starts in April
-- The end of original episode 46 has a repeat of the test paper scene from
episode 1, suggesting that things are happening all over again
Assuming that they lost a year after the battle with the Dark Kingdom, the
the anime happens in real time up to the end of Sailor Moon S. Sailor Moon
has her 15th birthday in Japanese episode 101 in Sailor Moon S, which was aired
near her birthday in real time, so as of Sailor Moon S, they are 14-15 and in
grade 9.
In the next season (SuperS), they enter high school--in the manga only. The
scene of them entering high school does not appear in the anime until the
start of Sailor Stars, but Takeuchi Naoko has stated (manga #12) that this
was an error, and they _are_ supposed to be in high school during SuperS. This
makes them age 15-16 and grade 10 during SuperS.
Sailor Moon says she is 16 in the last episode. This means that Sailor Stars
cannot possibly happen in real time, although they _might_ be in grade 11 if
only a few months of the school year have passed.
Sailor Uranus and Neptune were born in the same year as the main five, but
before April, when the school year starts. So they're one school year ahead
of the others (15-16/grade 10 in Sailor Moon S, etc.)
Tuxedo Mask's age is not simple. In the manga, he starts in second year high
school, where he would be 3 years older than Usagi, and thus age 16-17 while
Usagi is 13-14. (You can bump Usagi up to age 14-15, and Tuxedo Mask to
17-18, but this causes problems: first, it means college freshmen are 19-20;
second, if it applies to the anime, episodes 51-101 would have to happen in
under 3 months total; third, Usagi keeps saying she's 14 even after her 15th
birthday would have passed around episode 16, which was aired near her
birthday in real life.)
In the TV series, Tuxedo Mask starts in college. He also goes to America for
college in Sailor Stars; I haven't yet heard of any explanation for this. He
must be at least age 18-19 at the start of the series.
Sailor Pluto is in her first year in college in the manga corresponding to S.
In the anime, she has not been reincarnated and is thousands of years old.
Rini (Chibi-Usa) is 902 in the manga corresponding to the end of S. The
"explanation" is that she is the first half-human, half-Silver-Millennium
person so there are a lot of unknowns. (This implies that Usagi is not an
Earth human even after being reincarnated. The closest the manga comes to
saying that she is one is when Queen Serenity calls her a normal girl.) She
was born when Usagi was 22, so she was born June 30, 2002 or 2003.
In the anime, the Senshi are called Earth humans, and Rini's age is not given,
which means she's probably really her apparent age (not counting any years in
suspended animation).
Sailor Saturn goes to the same school as Uranus and Neptune, but this doesn't
mean she is as old as them. According to the manga, the school goes all the
way from kindergarten to past college. She is also supposed to be small and
weak, which makes it hard to guess her age from her appearance. In the manga,
she starts in 6th grade, so would be 11-12 as of S.
The Sailor Stars are stated to be age 16, and are in the same class with the
others.
To summarize: Under the assumption that the series ends at the end of 10th
grade for Usagi, everyone is the following ages:
Sailor Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter: 16
Tuxedo Mask: 19 (manga), 21+ (anime--20 if he went to college a year early)
Sailor Uranus, Neptune: 17
Sailor Pluto: 20 (manga), ancient (anime)
Sailor Saturn: 13 (chronologically, ignoring deaging/reaging)
Sailor Starlights: 16
Sailor Chibi-Moon: 903 (manga), unknown but young (anime),
Sailor Chibi-Chibi: N/A
If Usagi doesn't round birthdays up, she cannot say she is 16 in the last
episode unless it happens before her 17th birthday. Then the latest the series
can end is 11th grade, June 29 (when Mars and Star Maker are a year older than
above). The early limit would be 10th grade, after September 28 (the date is
mentioned in episode 189), when everyone except Mars, Mercury, Star Fighter,
Star Maker, Moon, and Chibi-Moon are a year younger than above.
If Usagi rounds birthdays up, then Sailor Stars is slower than realtime and
the last episode must take place before she is 16 1/2 (10th grade, end of
December). Then the latest the series can end is 10th grade, end of December
(when Star Healer, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are a year younger than above),
and the earliest is 10th grade, after September 28, when everyone except Mars,
Mercury, Star Fighter, Star Maker, Moon, and Chibi-Moon are a year younger
than above.
Note that if you believe the first episode is aired in real time, Usagi must
be rounding birthdays up. Also, she says she'll write one letter a day to
Mamoru and writes her 30th letter in #182, which pretty much shows the series
is slower than realtime.
The dub contradicts itself in the first Alan/Ann episode. That episode places
Alan (Earl) in grade 10 (instead of 9) and Ann and Serena in grade 9 (instead
of 8), and calls it high school (instead of junior high). Ignore it--it's a
mistake, probably because that's a pilot episode. The error is repeated later
at least once.
The dubbed episode 15 has a mistake which put Serena's brother in Crossroads
Junior High too, which is ridiculous.
Note: The main characters exist in the present because they are reincarnated
(a word which the dub refuses to use). However, reincarnation is unrelated to
why they are still alive 1000 years in the future. The anime explains (ep-
isode 83) that everyone on Earth fell into suspended animation because of some
catastrophe and Neo-Queen Serenity restored them in the future. (It isn't
stated whether Usagi or Chibi-Usa were in suspended animation too.) In the
manga, V5 says they lived 1000 years because of the Silver Crystal, which gave
"almost" everyone long life. (Queen Beryl also says in V3 that she can get
immortality from the Silver Crystal.) Also, the Silver Millennium family's
lifespan is 1000 years (which doesn't quite fit).
Supporting characters:
Luna: Sailor Moon's magical cat. In the manga (only) comes from planet
Mau.
Artemis: Sailor Venus's magical cat. In the manga (only) comes from planet
Mau.
Darien (Mamoru): Serena's boyfriend, and Tuxedo Mask. I listed him above,
but must point out another DIC screwup. His name as a prince is originally
Endymion; this is taken from mythology, where Selene loved Endymion. It was
different from his regular name, Mamoru. Changing both to Darien not only re-
moves the reference, but causes two problems: First, when he's under the con-
trol of the Negaverse, Serena asks him to remember the name Darien--he claims
never to have heard the name "Darien" before, but he's calling himself Prince
Darien at the time! Second, Rini knows that her parents are Serena and Darien
and manages not to figure out that the Serena and Darien of the 20th century
are the same people (because the names weren't _really_ the same in the
original).
Sam (Shingo): Serena's younger brother.
Molly Baker (Osaka Naru): Serena's best friend.
Andrew (Furuhata Motoki): Darien's friend; runs the video arcade where
everyone hangs out. Andrew's family owns the arcade (manga only).
Lizzie (Furuhata Unazuki): Andrew's sister. Miraculously, the dub of
the later seasons remembered her name and called her Elizabeth, but forgot
that Andrew was supposed to be her brother....
Melvin (Umino Gurio): Classmate of Serena and Molly.
Ms. Patricia Haruna (Haruna Sakurada): Serena's teacher. (Switched last
name for first name and mispronounced it.)
Sailor Moon's parents (Ikuko and Kenji).
Sailor Mars' grandfather.
Diana: cat whose parents are Luna and Artemis. Doesn't show up until
Sailor Moon SS.
Chibi-Chibi: girl apparently younger than Chibi-Usa, with unknown
background (until the end of Sailor Stars).
Some of these supporting characters fade into the background after a while.
Villains: Many villains are named after various gems and minerals. The dub has
an odd mixture of recognizing that they are mineral names (renaming Kunzite to
Malachite had to be done by someone who _knows_) and total cluelessness as to
the source of the names (Nephrite is called "Neflyte" in the dub, for
instance).
Generally names are either the same as the Japanese name of the mineral, or
are a shorter version of it. Notation is as follows:
No stars: not mineral-based
* Same as the Japanese and English mineral name
** Shortened version of the Japanese mineral name; not necessarily
an exact shortening of the English name (calaverite is literally 'Calaveras
stone', for instance).
*** Other mineral name
Sailor Moon: Queen Beryl*, Jadeite*, Nephrite*, Zoisite*, Kunzite*
(Malachite* in the dub), Queen Metallia (Negaforce in the dub). There are
several guesses about why Kunzite was changed; I've heard that it was changed
for legal reasons since it was named after a living person, but I haven't seen
that confirmed.
Sailor Moon R, part 1: Earl/Ail/Eeru (Alan in the dub) and Ann(e). Their
names seem to be a pun on "alien". I won't get into the debate of how to
spell Earl's name. In the original, Earl and Ann use _different_ names (Ginga
Seijuurou and Ginga Natsumi; ginga means "galaxy" or "Milky Way" and was
[mis]translated in the dub as "Granger") in school, while keeping the names
Earl and Ann as villains, so Sailor Moon has less of a reason to think they're
the same people.
Sailor Moon R, part 2: Kooan** (kermesite; the name of this mineral in
Japanese is kooankou) (Catzy in the dub), Beruche***/Berthier** (berthierite)
(Bertie in the dub, though it's obviously really meant as Birdy), Calaveras**
(calaverite) (Avery in the dub), Petz** (petzite) (Prizma in the dub) (these
four aren't guesses, but are from the Japanese merchandise.), Rubeus*** (Latin
for 'red'; I don't know if it directly means 'ruby' in any language) (Rubbeus
in the dub), Esmeraude*** (old French for 'emerald'), Saphir*** (French for
'sapphire') Demand*** (old German for 'diamond'), Black Lady, Wiseman.
Note: The name Berthier is French, and "Berthier" would be the correct
spelling in Roman letters (with the closest kana being 'beruche') but the
Japanese apparently do use the Roman letters "Beruche" on their merchandise.
Sailor Moon S: Professor Tomoe, Kaolinite*, Eudial** (eudialyte), Mimete**
(mimetite) (Mimet in the dub), Tellu** (tellurite), Viluy** (viluite),
Cyprine* (shown in the manga V8 page 77), Ptilol** (ptilolite) Mistress 9,
Pharaoh 90. Villiaumite, sapphirine, and puchirite are not correct.
Sailor Moon SS: Zirconia*, Hawk's Eye*, Fish Eye*, Tiger's Eye*, CereCere,
PallaPalla, JunJun, VesVes (named after the first four asteroids, Ceres,
Pallas, Juno, and Vesta). "Nephelenia" would be the proper spelling if she is
named after the mineral nepheline, but there is a theory that she is named
after the goddess Nehellenia.
Sailor Moon Sailor Stars: Galaxia, Iron Mouse, Aluminum Siren, Lead Crow,
Tin Nyanko. (And Heavy Metal Papillon in the manga). They actually use
"Seiren" for "siren", which is derived from Greek.
The following lists some early, unused, Sailor Moon US names. The first
version was announced soon after Sailor Moon's US release was announced. The
second version appeared on the English Kodansha WWW site (Kodansha published the
Japanese comic) and the third is the DIC dub version.
Identity Japanese Name First Kodansha DIC dub
-------- ------------- ----- -------- -------
Sailor Moon Tsukino Usagi Victoria Celeste Serena
Tuxedo Mask Chiba Mamoru ? Mark Darien
Sailor Mars Hino Rei Dana Rae Raye
Sailor Mercury Mizuno Ami Blue Amy Amy
Sailor Jupiter Kino Makoto Sara Maggie Lita
Sailor Venus Aino Minako Kari Monica Mina
Note
1. "Amy" and "Ami" are not pronounced the same.
2. The name "Serena" is obviously derived from Usagi's Japanese name as a
princess, which can be spelled "Selenity" or "Serenity". In Japanese, there
is no distinction between the sounds "l" and "r", and the name has two ori-
gins. The first is the reference to the Sea of Serenity on the moon, where
the moon palace was located (manga volume 3). The second is to the moon
goddess Selene. Japanese merchandise that uses Roman letters spells it with
an "r".
In the original version, Usagi's regular name wasn't the same as her name
as a princess. On the other hand, in it her mother on the moon was also named
Serenity, giving her mother and her the same name. (So the original has Queen
Serenity and Usagi/Princess Serenity, while the dub has Queen Serenity and
Serena/Princess Serena).
3. Before even the first set of names was announced there was a rumor that
Usagi was going to be named Darrien.
4. "Minako" is a Japanese pun, sort of. "Mi" and "ko" can also be pronounced
as "Bi" and "su", making it "Binasu", a Japanese pronunciation of "Venus".
The "no" in most of the names is a pun. It literally means "field", but is
pronounced the same as the word "no" meaning "of", so the names sound like they
mean "<name> of <planet/element>". ("no" works backwards compared to the
English "of".)
Other original names and versions:
Sailor Scouts: The Japanese term is Sailor Senshi (meaning Sailor Soldiers
or Fighters)
Negaverse: originally "Dark Kingdom" (in English.) The later villains were
not from there; tying them all together was a dub invention.
"Meatball Head": originally "odango atama" (roughly "dumpling head", but
odango really don't exist in America). For some inexplicable reason the
English manga translation in Mixx changed this.
Sailor Mars' anti-spirit attack, when she chants and tosses a magic paper
(ofuda) is done with the words (in the original) "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai,
jin, retsu, sai, zen. Akuryou taisan!". The characters on the ofuda are also
"akuryou taisan"; they mean "evil spirit, begone". She gets this "attack",
which shows up in other anime unrelated to Sailor Moon, from being a priestess,
not from being Sailor Mars, and she used it before becoming Sailor Mars and
when she had amnesia in episode 42. The dub tries to explain it as "I call
upon the power of Mars fireballs charge", although not only does it have
nothing to do with being Sailor Mars, there are no fireballs in it! The dub
attack has also been visually edited to remove a silhouette. (It is
excruciatingly obvious that the dubbers were afraid Americans would see it as
Satan. A reader has suggested to me that this figure is actually Fudo Myo-o,
a god of fire.) In episode 42 (where it obviously couldn't be changed to Mars
fireballs) the attack was dubbed differently ("I banish you monster, now!",
which could be a translation) and keeps the silhouette.
Star Crystal: Originally the Black Crystal (kurozuishou). The second one
that Zoisite has is called the Black Crystal in both the dub and the original.
Silver Crystal: Called "maboroshi no ginzuishou" in the original (meaning
something like "legendary silver crystal", with maboroshi literally meaning
'illusion'). The dub can't seem to decide what to call it, so it becomes the
Silver Empyrean Crystal one episode, the Silver Moon Crystal another, and
eventually the Empyrean Silver Moon Crystal.
Doom Tree: originally the "Makaiju". (Ma=evil/magic, kai=world/land,
"makai"=netherworld, ju=tree).
Schools:
Crossroads Junior High (Juuban in the original): Sailor Moon, Mercury, and
Jupiter go here. "Juuban" means "number 10" and the Japanese symbol for 10
is a + sign, sort of like a crossroads.
Brookdale Private School (T*A Private Girls' School): Sailor Mars goes
here. It is a Catholic school; we see it in a later Sailor Stars episode.
Apparently, her father wants her to go there even though she's a Shinto shrine
maiden.
Grass Valley Junior High (Shibakouen): Sailor Venus goes here.
Harvard Elementary (Juuban Elementary School): Chibi-Usa (Rini) goes here.
Mugen Gakuen: Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune go to school here up until the
end of S, where it's destroyed.
Juuban High School: Everyone high school-aged except for Mars goes here
after the end of S. (Having them enter high school at the start of Sailor
Stars was a mistake--stated so by Naoko--and they should be in high school
during SS and were in the manga. Uranus and Neptune also go here [shown only
in the manga] because Mugen Gakuen was destroyed.)
Original and dub attack, etc. names: (most of these are in English; only
rarely does an attack include a Japanese word)
ep. ep.
Sailor North American attack Japanese attack dub Japan
------ --------------------- --------------- --- ---
Moon Moon Tiara Magic Moon Tiara Action 1 1
Moon Tiara Action (102)
Moon Tiara Vaporize? (4)
(not used--episode cut) Moon Tiara Stardust -- 5
Moon Healing Activation Moon Healing Escalation*4 21 25
Moon Crystal Healing Activation
Moon Sceptre Elimination Moon Princess Halation 45/54*** 51
Moon Sceptre Activation (67)
Moon Spiral Heart Attack Moon Spiral Heart Attack 84 91
Rainbow Moon Heart Attack (123)
Rainbow Moon Heart Ache Attack Rainbow Moon Heart Ache 107(?) 112
Rainbow Moon Heartache Reform (S movie)
Rainbow Moon Heart Attack (115)
Super Moon Target (121-2) Moon Gorgeous Meditation 121 128*6
Moon Gorgeous Meditation (123)
-- Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss- 168*7
-- Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss -- 187
[I am not making these up.]
Mercury Mercury Bubble Blast Shabon Spray* 5 8
Mercury Ice Storm Splash (66)
Mercury Ice Bubbles FreezeShabon Spray Freezing* 47 53
Mercury Ice Storm Splash Shine Aqua Illusion 56 62
Shine Aqua Illusion (69)
??? Double Shabon Spray Freezing* -- 80
-- Mercury Aqua Rhapsody -- 151
-- Mercury Aqua Mirage -- Special
Mars Mars Fire Ignite Fire Soul 7 10
Mars Firestorm Flash (57)
Mars Firebird Strike Fire Soul Bird 48 54
Mars Celestial Fire Surround Burning Mandala 57 63
Mars (89)
Mars Fire Surround (92,95,102)
Fireballs Blast (113)
Mars Fireballs Flash (116)
Mars Fire Ignite (117)
-- Mars Flame Sniper -- 152
Jupiter Supreme Thunder Crash (21)Supreme Thunder 21 25
Jupiter Thunder Crash (22, 24+)
Jupiter Thunderbolt Crash (23)
Supreme Thunder (95)
Jupiter Thunder Dragon Supreme Thunder Dragon 49 55
Jupiter Thundercrash Zap Sparkling Wide Pressure 59 65
Sparkling Wide Pressure (83,92)
Jupiter Thunder Power (86)
Supreme Thunder Crash (89)
-- Super Supreme Thunder -- 147
-- Jupiter Oak Evolution -- 154
Venus Venus Crescent Beam Smash Crescent Beam 29 33
Venus Venus Shower (46)(?)Crescent Beam Shower 46 52
(I know I and a lot of other people have heard it as 'Venus Venus'. We'll
probably never know for sure.)
Venus Meteor Shower (47+)
Venus Love Chain Encircle Venus Love Me Chain *9 59 65
Venus (89)
??? (95)
Venus Love Chain Harness (106)
Venus Love Chain Whip (107)
Venus Love Chain (111, part of 116)
-- Venus Love and Beauty Shock -- 154
Chibi-Moon Pink Sugar Heart Attack Pink Sugar Heart Attack 96 103
Crystal Twinkle Bell Twinkle Yell 123(?) 131
Uranus Uranus World Shaking World Shaking 85 92
World Shaking (88,95,97,101,103,115)
-- Space Sword Blaster *8 -- SS Mv.
Neptune Neptune Deep Submerge Deep Submerge 85 92
Deep Submerge (91,103,106,115)
Waters of Neptune, Deep Submerge (100)
-- Submarine Reflection -- SS Mv.
Pluto Pluto Deadly Scream Dead Scream 105 112
Saturn -- (not shown) *5 -- 125
-- Silence Glaive Surprise -- 172
-- Silence Wall -- 172
S. Star Fighter Star Serious Laser -- 173
S. Star Maker Star Gentle Uterus -- 174
[I am not making this up either. No, it doesn't actually use a uterus.]
S. Star Healer Star Sensitive Inferno -- 175
Miscellaneous: Lead Crow got her powers by stealing the "Sailor Crystal" of
a Sailor Senshi named Sailor Coronis. Note: In mythology, Coronis was
Artemis's brother's lover (Artemis's brother was Apollo), who Artemis killed
for infidelity.
Transformations:
Moon Moon Prism Power Moon Prism Power, Make Up 1 1
Moon Prism Power Transform (42)
Moon Star Power (54-57) Moon Crystal Power, Make Up 45/54*** 51
Moon Crystal Power (45-53,58+)
Moon Cosmic Power Moon Cosmic Power, Make Up 84 91
Moon Cosmic Power Transform (116)
Moon Crisis Power Crisis Make Up 105 112
Super Moon Crisis Power (S movie)
Moon Cosmic Dream Action Moon Crisis Make Up (w/C-M) 123 130
-- Moon Eternal Make Up -- 168
Mercury Mercury Power Mercury Power, Make Up 5 8
Mercury Prism Power Transform (42)
Mercury Star Power Mercury Star Power, Make Up 56 62
-- Mercury Crystal Power, Make Up -- 151
Mars Mars Power Mars Power, Make Up 7 10
Mars Prism Power Transform (42)
Mars Star Power Mars Star Power, Make Up 57 63
-- Mars Crystal Power, Make Up -- 152
Jupiter Jupiter Power Jupiter Power, Make Up 21 25
Jupiter Prism Power Transform (42)
Jupiter Star Power Jupiter Star Power, Make Up 59 65
Jupiter Thunder Power (93)
-- Jupiter Crystal Power, Make Up -- 154
Venus Venus Power Venus Power, Make Up 32 36
Venus Prism Power Transform (42)
Venus Star Power Venus Star Power, Make Up 59 65
Venus Crystal Power (92,114)
-- Venus Crystal Power, Make Up -- 154
Chibi-Moon ??? Moon Prism Power, Make Up 96 103
Mini Prism Power (114,123)
-- Moon Crisis Make Up (w/S.Moon) -- 130
Uranus Uranus Star Power Uranus Planet Power, Make Up 99 106
Uranus Planet Power (103)
Neptune Neptune Star Power Neptune Planet Power, Make Up 99 106
Neptune Planet Power (103)
Pluto Pluto Star Power Pluto Planet Power, Make Up 104 111
Saturn (Saturn does not transform on camera)
S. Star Fighter Fighter Star Power, Make Up -- 176
S. Star Healer Maker Star Power, Make Up -- 177
S. Star Maker Healer Star Power, Make Up -- 178
S. Chibi-Chibi -- -- 187
Miscellaneous:
Moon Disguise Power Moon Power 2 3
Moon (no words used) Sailor Moon Kick 14 17
Moon (no words used) Sailor Body Attack 54 60
Chibi-Moon Kitty Magic Luna-P Henge** 54 60
Luna Ball Kitty Magic (55)
Kitty Power (56)
Luna Sphere Kitty Magic (66)
Chibi-Moon Kitty Power Luna-P Magic 56 62
Moon+Chibi-Moon Double Sailor Moon K. Double Sailor Moon Kick 100 107
(combined) Scout Power Sailor Teleport 40 45
Sailor Teleport Sailor Teleport 67 74
(combined) Sailor Planet Power Sailor Planet Power 65 72
(combined) -- Sailor Planet Attack -- 82
(combined) -- Silver Crystal Power -- S Movie
* Shabon translates to "soap" or "soap bubbles". The Japanese word apparently
comes from Portuguese, so it could also be spelled "Shabao". The Sailor Moon
SuperS movie memorial book spells it as "Sabao".
** meaning "Luna-P, transform".
*** First episode chronologically, and first one aired, respectively (the
episodes were aired out of order).
*4 Also translated to "Cosmic Moon Power" in the dub when used as a powerful
attack in the last few episodes of the first series.
*5 Her manga attack is "Death Reborn Revolution". It is possibly a pun on
"ribbon" (though contrary to earlier versions of this FAQ, the katakana for
"ribbon" and "reborn" are not the same). It really is "Death Ribbon
Revolution" in the guide to the Another Story game and in some other games.
*6 First used in #128 but named and fully shown in #130.
*7 First used in #168 but named and fully shown in #173.
*8 One fansub translates this as "Crystal Attack". It's really badly pronounced
and sort of sounds like "Crystal Attack", but it's not. The SuperS movie
memorial album even has it as "Space Sword Blaster" in English.
*9 Yes, it's "Love Me". It's in English in the Sailor Moon SuperS movie
book, as well as being a manga attack with katakana that can be read as
"Love Me" but not as "Lovely". No, I don't care what your VKLL sub says.
Serena's original speech was "For love and justice, I am the pretty
sailor-suited soldier Sailor Moon! In the name of the moon, I will punish
you!" It often follows a more episode-specific speech, and is sometimes
parodied (for instance, the teaser for the episode with the priest had "in the
name of God, I will punish you!")
The dub, obviously, can't use it all because "Pretty Soldier" isn't in the
English show name. The dub speech started as "I am Sailor Moon, champion of
justice! On behalf of the moon, I will right wrongs and triumph over evil,
and that means you!" It later did use "In the name of the moon, I will punish
you!", usually (but not always) when there were few other changes to the
scripts.
The dub sometimes rewrites the speech such that it looks like Serena is
introducing herself several times in a row. If you were puzzled by this, well,
now you know who to blame.
5) Theme song
The North American version (from the CD lyrics):
Fighting evil by moonlight
Winning love by daylight
Never running from a real fight
[ed: did whoever wrote that line _watch_ the show?]
She is the one named Sailor Moon!
She will never turn her back on a friend,
She is always there to defend,
She is the one on whom we can depend,
She is the one named Sailor...
Sailor Venus!
Sailor Mercury!
Sailor Mars!
Sailor Jupiter!
With secret powers
All so new to her
She is the one named Sailor Moon!
Fighting evil by moonlight,
Winning love by daylight,
With her Sailor Scouts to help fight
She is the one named Sailor Moon!
She is the one named Sailor Moon!
She is the one ... Sailor Moon!
The original version (translated by Theresa Martin), "Moonlight Legend":
(Lyrics in parentheses aren't used in the opening, but are part of the song
and appear when it's on CDs and such):
"I'm sorry, I'm not gentle.",
I can say if it's in my dreams.
My thoughts are about to short circuit.
Right now, I want to meet!
Making me want to cry, moonlight.
I can't telephone either, midnight.
Because of my naivete, what will i do?
My heart is a kaleidoscope.
Led by the moonlight,
we meet by chance many times over.
The number of twinklings of the constellations
foretell love's whereabouts.
Born on the same earth, a miracle romance.
(Once more, a weekend with you.
God, grant me a happy end.
In the present, past, and future
I'll be completely devoted to you.)
(I won't forget your dear look when we met.
Out of [tens of] millions of stars, I can find you.
Changing even serendipity to opportunity,
I love this way of life!)
(A wondrous miracle growing close,
we meet by chance many times over.
The number of twinklings of the constellations
foretell love's whereabouts.
Born on the same earth, a miracle romance
that I believe in, a miracle romance.)
"Moonlight Legend" (and the US song) are sung to a melody swiped from "Sayonara
at the End of the Dance", by Chieko Baishou. This song was written in 1965 in
Japanese.
There is a newer theme song for Sailor Stars, written by Takeuchi Naoko.
6) Japanese myths and cultural elements
Sailor Moon's Japanese name (Tsukino Usagi) means "rabbit of the moon",
specifically referring to an Asian legend of a rabbit on the moon pounding the
mochi (a rice cake). There are several jokes based on this name: she wears
and uses rabbit designs all the time; her hair visually suggests rabbit ears;
Luna's computer password is "the rabbit on the moon pounds the mochi"; Chibi-
Usa is referred to as "the rabbit" by villains (DIC even kept this a few
times); Usagi's _least_ favorite food is carrots, etc. The jokes mostly go
over the head of audiences who don't know about the original, though the North
American version does claim (on the doll boxes) that her favorite animal is
the bunny rabbit.
Some dubs in other languages translate her name to keep the jokes; for
instance, in the French, German, and Italian versions she's named "Bunny".
The Mixx comic book version also uses "Bunny".
Japanese schools: The Japanese school system is uniformly 3 grades of mid-
dle school and 3 of high school, so Serena is in the equivalent of 8th grade
when in second year middle school.
Uniforms are standard for Japanese public schools, including sailor suits
for girls in many places. Both boys' and girls' uniforms were derived from
the uniforms worn by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Meiji era (1868-1912).
There is a fierce high school and college entrance exam competition in
Japan, and what college you go to ultimately determines a great deal of your
standing in your whole life. The exams are nothing like entrance exams in
America; they are long and involve a lot of regurgitation. Many students go
to special cram schools (juku) for years solely to study for these exams; Amy
goes to one (explained as "computer class" in the dub). School is very
difficult, and students get hours of homework a day (having much less time for
socializing than usually shown in Japanese animation), up to college; college
itself is often easier than in America.
All Japanese students study English for years, but the English teaching
system is one of the worst foreign language teaching systems in the world, and
most Japanese can speak little English.
Sword, mirror, and jewel: These items are based on the myth of the
legendary three treasures which the sun goddess Amaterasu brought to Japan.
They appear a lot in anime, showing up at least in Yuu Yuu Hakusho, GS Mikami,
and Samurai Troopers (Ronin Warriors).
7) Cuts, Censorship, and Changes
Transformations and attacks:
The first few appearances of Sailor Mercury and Mars either cut some
of the transformation sequence or change it to remove the breast and body
lines. Later episodes fairly consistently remove the lines for all four
Scouts (Serena's already doesn't have any lines, and isn't altered).
Sailor Mars' attacks from above, which give brief panty shots, have been
cut, except in a flashback in "The Past Returns".
Homosexuality:
Zoisite and Kunzite (Malachite) in the original were male homosexuals.
The dub changes Zoisite to a woman. (Awfully flat-chested woman.) Yes, he
disguised himself as Sailor Moon. (They were only gay in the anime, not the
manga.)
Sailor Uranus and Neptune were originally lesbian lovers, not cousins.
They were not, of course, boy-crazy in the original. (But no, they weren't
shown kissing in the original.)
Fish Eye was really a guy.
Miscellaneous:
There are cuts seemingly made for violence: Raye slapping Serena (twice),
Serena spanking Rini, Rini shooting Serena with a toy gun, and one episode
where a monster strangles Serena.
Episodes 45-46. These episodes end the first series. In them, all the
Sailor Scouts are killed (though they're revived in time for the next series).
Japanese TV stations were deluged with calls from angry parents when the ep-
isodes first came on. (Though I'm a little skeptical, since nobody has
reported calls from angry parents in other countries which kept the ending.)
The dub combines 45-46 into one standard length episode where nobody dies.
By some stroke of luck, or maybe by someone sneaking them through, the
Sailor Says segments use the cut scenes rather often.
General Japanese culture and religion. Some signs that used Japanese
writing have been cut (though most still aren't). The school's sign has been
edited to read "Crossroads Junior High" in English. (It's Juu-ban, or Number
10, in Japanese; the Japanese symbol for 10 sort of looks like a crossroads.)
Various occurrences of staring up skirts, leering at women, etc. Episode
2, where Melvin (Umino), under mental influence from a villain, stares up the
teacher's skirt, was deleted. Raye's grandfather was a dirty old man.
Other changes, not from censorship:
The North American version doesn't use the original Japanese opening or
ending credits. It uses the original opening melody (though not the original
music) as both the opening and closing, with new words. (see section 5)
The computer graphics scene changes don't exist in the original.
Essentially all music in the series has been removed, including the music
used when Tuxedo Mask appears, the music used for the transformation scenes,
and the flute used by Alan (Earl). The flute is especially weird because the
replacement flute music is the same for about 8 notes, then suddenly mutates.
All the dialogue has been completely rewritten, as if the person writing
it just had a 5 line synopsis and had to make everything up. There doesn't
seem to be much of a pattern; it can change a serious scene to a joke or the
reverse. Some episodes seem to change dialog *much* less than others.
The dub adds a moral at the end, titled "Sailor Says". (FCC regulation
96-335, in 1997, based on the Children's Television Act of 1990, requires that
broadcasters air three hours per week per channel of educational material.
It doesn't require that any specific show contain it, though.)
Any scenes where Queen Beryl sees a scene in her crystal ball were dub
inventions (except episode 29). Likewise, any scenes which are shown framed
did not have frames in the original.
Episodes in the dub with songs in them _did_ have songs in the original.
The exception is dub episode 17, where the song was deleted. The dub songs are
sometimes from the series, but not necessarily from the same episode.
Zirconia was really a woman. Nobody's sure why they made this change.
Cuts/changes; Japanese episodes are in parentheses. Full synopses for most
of the episodes can be found on Hitoshi Doi's WWW page.
(This episode list is almost obsolete--I don't have good information for the
S and SS dubs.)
Additional cuts were made in the versions that were broadcast on USA Network.
Mostly very sloppy. Often the Sailor Says was removed.
Episode 1: An announcer explaining things we're not supposed to learn for
dozens of episodes yet, has been added at the start. Serena's waking-up scene
at the start was cut; also the scene with Serena standing in the hall after
she's late for school was cut; also the scene with her and her brother
outside, and her kicking "Sailor V Kick!" and hurting herself on the door. In
the original, she says that Darien is weird, not that he's cute.
Contrary to what you saw, this episode is the first time she has heard of
Sailor V. Also, her mother sends her out of the house, but doesn't tell her
to go to the library.
(Episode 2): Completely deleted. The monster of this episode is a fortune
teller who tells Melvin (who wants to date Serena but is too shy to ask) and
his classmates "you are a servant to a great demon, you can do whatever you
want". The Tarot card the fortune teller has depicts the Devil. Melvin comes
to school in a suit and tie, and looks up the teacher's skirt, breaks a school
window, and bluntly asks to kiss Serena. The reason why this was not shown is
probably obvious.
The episode also features the first appearance of the Sailor V video game,
Serena tossing her shoe in the air instead of a coin and having it land on
Darien's head, and Serena forgetting her magic words.
The episode was shown censored in France, and uncensored in Germany.
Episode 2 (3): The scene where Serena's parents mention their wedding
anniversary originally had them talking about the sleeping sickness. "The
Love Line" was originally named "Midnight Zero". A scene with Haruna jumping
up and down when she heard her letter read was cut. (Apparently only partly.)
In the original version, Jadeite uses the name "J. Daite" as the host of
Midnight Zero, and Serena learns his name. When the teacher chases Serena and
Molly because she thinks Serena's love letter is homework, she originally knew
it was a love letter and wanted to read it.
Episode 3 (4): The first scene with Jadeite and Queen Beryl was moved
(it was originally attached to the later scene). The waterline in the tub was
moved up a few inches to avoid showing Serena's cleavage (?--someone told me it
was just recolored). Serena's dream scene didn't have Andrew offering her
food, but talking about the energy of love. A joke with Luna telling Serena
to fight the bad guys because she might lose some weight doing it was changed
to reminding her about Haruna. In the final scene, the bathroom scale wasn't
boobytrapped.
The doughnuts were originally nikuman.
(Episode 5): Completely deleted. In this episode Serena's brother is
shown to dislike Luna. We learn that he hates cats because he was bit on
the nose as a baby by a cat. This leads into the monster of the episode's
control of a pet shop, releasing creatures called "Chanels", which hypnotize
their owners with their scent. Sailor Moon defeats the enemy and things
return to normal. Later, Serena's brother is feeding Luna breakfast.
The episode also features a one-time-only technique (Moon Tiara Stardust),
an absence of Tuxedo Mask (Luna tells Sailor Moon not to depend on other peo-
ple), and Serena hiding from her brother to protect her identity (an idea that
seems to have been dropped in later episodes.) In this episode, Serena gets
permission from her mother to keep Luna.
(Episode 6): Completely deleted. The subplot this episode involves a
music writer/player named Amade Yuusuke who writes one of his professional
songs for his girlfriend Akiko; Jadeite's monster tries to replace the tape
with one containing subliminal music. The scene that likely got it deleted
was one where Serena changes into an adult and follows Yuusuke. She tries to
order cream soda at a bar. Also, it would be difficult to change the Japanese
names in this one because they're written down.
Episode 4 (7): The star's name was originally Mikan. Melvin was not
talking about the Internet. The scene with Serena and Molly trying to sing
the opening song from the show did use the opening song in the original.
Serena did not say she wasn't scared immediately before running away, and
although she did shout for Luna, she didn't address the question to the
nonexistent audience. The knock-knock joke comment wasn't there.
A part with Serena entering a men's restroom was cut.
In this case, the scene with Queen Beryl looking in her crystal ball didn't
even _appear_ in the original.
The contest was called "Cinderella Caravan".
The scene with Melvin getting hit by Serena's streamer was cut, but was
left in the "Sailor Says" segment.
They cut out a scene where Serena imagines being choked by her mother
using a dog collar.
Episode 5 (8): The subplot about thinking Amy was working for the
"Negaverse" did exist in the original.
The gossip over Amy's introduction had no reference to being rejected from
"Brainiac Academy". The scene of the Sailor V video game was edited. The
screen was originally blue, not pink, and showed "GAME OVER" in a different
font, on a slightly different background. (It was still in English; I don't
know why they changed it.) When Amy left, it wasn't game over; her game was
still going on. Luna's password was "the rabbit in the moon pounds the mo-
chi". A clip of Serena imagining her mother angry at her was removed. A
scene edited to remove Japanese writing caused the loss of a joke where Darien
asked if Serena was talking to her cat, to which she replies that that's silly
because cats can't talk. The original "computer course" was juku (cram
school) and was _not_ only twice a week, but every day. (Someone managed to
sneak in a reference to "cram school" anyway.) Darien did not say Serena is a
strange girl. The monster did not leave Amy in charge, and its speech was in-
stead the monster introducing itself.
The monster did ask questions, but it asked why Newton's apple fell, not a
math problem, and its first attack disappeared when Luna answered the question
(no explanation is given in the dub for why the first attack disappeared).
The second question was to explain gravity in 50 words or less, not "you have
2 choices".
Luna said nothing in the final scene.
Episode 6 (9): The watches with the price tag of 4000 were 4000 yen, and
were "inexpensive" and not "expensive" in the original. The bill with the 10
on it was really a 1000 yen bill.
The scenes on the bus with the bus driver were reversed, to put him on the
opposite side of the bus.
A scene was partly cut where a passenger tries to strangle the bus driver.
The Robocop joke in Sailor Mercury's computer was kept, but the original
said "Suspect: Mash" (not J. Smith) and had "innocent" misspelled. (You can
still see a few frames with the misspelling.)
They cut the scene where the enemy hits Sailor Moon with her spear and
draws a bit of blood, as well as where Sailor Moon is trying to dodge the spear.
Episode 7 (10): Lots of stuff. In the original, Serena wonders if Raye is
the princess. The scenes of the bus are partly reversed so the driver is on
the left side like in America, but this isn't done consistently. The scene
where Raye consults the flame has been partly cut.
Episode 8 (11): A shot of the shrine gates and pillar with the name written
in Japanese was replaced.
A bit of the scene after Tuxedo Mask appears was cut.
The scene where Mars puts the paper on the enemy was cut to remove a panty
shot.
Episode 9 (12): A brief cut of the ship at the start.
The flyer advertising the cruise was cut, probably for Japanese content.
Serena got tissues, not soap, when she was trying to win the tickets.
The dialogue when Raye and Amy were talking was changed. In the original,
Raye said that there are bound to be couples that get into fights and they can
steal their guys. In this version, Raye wanted her pictures taken with the
crew.
Amy said they couldn't transform when surrounded by monsters because it
would reveal their identity. It was changed to sticking together so they have
more of a chance.
Sailor Moon says, after she transforms, that it's wrong for the monsters to
go after two pitiful girls without boyfriends (which is why Rei is grimacing).
Episode 10 (13): Surprisingly, not a whole lot--the first really
accurate one. The script was reasonably (for a dub) close to the original,
right down to the paying for the damaged airplanes joke, the men made of mud
scene (which was _not_ a Gatchaman-style rewriting of the original), and the
use of "in the name of the moon, I will punish you". One exception is that
dialogue about not being able to fool girls, which was once reported in US
media as meaning the Sailors are fighting sexism, was removed. Two constella-
tions were cut in the first scene, probably for time. When Serena imagines
Andrew as Tuxedo Mask, DIC cut the "I love you!"
Episode 11 (14): Mostly unchanged. Nephrite was not "president of his own
company". They cut a scene where the first boy hit by the tennis ball
introduces himself (bowing Japanese style). Luna's password was still the
same as before (not new). When Amy said she couldn't play tennis because
they have to make plans to fight the Negaverse, she really said she had to go
to cram school.
The speech included "punish you" but timed a little oddly in the dub (in
the original, it ends with that, not has it in the middle).
Molly calling the tennis player her sister was in the original, but it's
the translation of a cultural nuance that doesn't work well in English, using
the title "big brother/sister" for an unrelated older person who is admired.
Episode 12 (15): [changes thanks to Mr. K] There was no reference to a
karate class. Rei and Andrew were talking about Darien living by himself in
an apartment and going to the same college as Andrew.
Rei thought her "dream" about Darien was possible, not that she'd die if
it happened.
Darien wasn't meeting anybody later.
The end dialogue is almost completely different. Rei thinks that Mamoru
is Tuxedo Kamen, but Usagi says he can't be. Mamoru asks who Tuxedo Kamen is,
but they won't say. As the camera panned up, everyone didn't say "Sounds like
a date to me!", although Mamoru did.
Episode 13 (16): Some scenes at the start were cut a bit. The sign
reading "DRESSMAKAR" was spelled properly in the dub version. A scene showing
the sign for the wedding dress contest in Japanese was removed. The building
is the Juuban district meeting hall, not a wedding chapel. The prize was not
a trip to Hawaii; the prizes were a video deck, CD player, and "small gift".
A shot of Raye hitting her grandfather with a broom was cut.
Serena calls Tuxedo Mask Darien in a daydream by mistake.
(Information from Mr. K):
The girls weren't mad at Melvin, they were surprised that the teacher was
getting engaged.
Ms. Lambert was named Higure Akiyama.
Ms. Lambert didn't say anything about buying cheap fabric. She said she
hadn't found the silk she liked.
The pie Usagi's mom made was storebought.
Ms. Lambert wasn't quite as mean to her fiance as the dub made it seem.
She told him not to come back until she finished the dress or the wedding was
off.
Ms. Lambert wanted to win the contest, not draw energy from everyone and
make them "negaverse" slaves.
Serena called Luna a pervert (ecchi?) for looking up her dress.
Episode 14 (17): Yet another bento box scene was cut, as well as a scene
with Amy doing math homework while eating lunch. The scene of Amy on the
communicator was extended by adding video noise and repeating the end.
The scene with Serena's brother and the picture was edited, pausing before the
original end and superimposing a circle and a slash to create the same effect
as in the original, but with no kanji.
Serena, in the original, was practicing proper speech while walking. The
final scene did not, in the original, have any references to a princess, just
a wonderful girl--it should be obvious that it _can't_ have had any, because
Sailor Moon didn't _say_ anything about coming from the moon or being a prin-
cess.
Episode 15 (18): The "DOLL EXHIBITION" sign was redrawn, being in Japanese
in the original. The attacking doll did so without a lightning special ef-
fect. More noteworthy was a cut in the fight scene; the doll monster had
strangled Serena with its detachable hands. Raye was unable to get it to let
go (you can see a second or so of her fire here; it was cut), and Tuxedo
Mask's attack finally freed her. Serena was starting to turn blue from being
choked. The last scene did _not_ take place at Crossroads Junior High (Sam
doesn't go to school there).
Referring to "Sailor Venus" was an error. We're not supposed to know yet
that she is really Sailor V.
The script otherwise seems to follow the original. Mika's Japanese name
was even kept.
Episode 16 (19): Yup, back to the rewritten scripts this episode. The
letters all said Tuxedo Mask, and weren't unsigned. Haruna was upset over not
getting a love letter, not over having to chaperone the kids. Serena did not
turn around and say she should really be helping; she said "Look out, Tuxedo
Mask!". The elevator dialog was different, and Serena once asked if Tuxedo
Mask was Motoki (Andrew). At the end of the episode, Nephrite said nothing
about a memory wipe.
In the dub, Serena blows Raye's secret identity in front of Tuxedo Mask.
(Apparently, in the original, Rei blew Ami's identity....)
When I saw this episode, it had lots of ads for Sailor Moon dolls in it,
even though advertising a show's products during the show is prohibited in
the USA.
(Thanks to Jason Huhn:)
Haruna told the girls with invites not to go to Shinjuku and meet with
Tuxedo Mask.
There were only 4 rules, not 5, in the original on things to remember
before a date.
1) Wear clean underwear, and clean clothes.
2) Put one perfume on that is not too offensive.
3) Complete oral hygiene just in case.
4) Light pink for lipstick.
And Serena didn't say Ooooooh Irresistible! when she fantasised on being
about to be kissed by Tuxedo Mask, she really said, "Naah. Too embarrassing."
Molly did know the voice when she saw Nephite dressed as Tuxedo Mask,
saying to him that he is Maxfield. (Or Masato Sanjoin)
When the real Tuxedo Mask arrived, he really told Nephrite, "Have you sent
love letters under my name to lure out Sailor Moon? You will pay for this",
rather than telling Sailor Moon that it wasn't him who sent the letters.
Yes, Nephrite did mention telling them they'd be flat as a pancake in the
original and Sailor Moon did say "I don't wanna be pancake!"
Sailor Moon didn't tell Tuxedo Mask oh we have to get out of here. She
really said, "What is your hobby? Your favorite food? I'm so dumb. All
those stupid questions! I can't believe myself!"
When Mars and Mercury arrive Mercury told Sailor Moon, "Look what you
can get into if you don't tell us." rather than it's going to be all right.
Mercury told the others that they have to take Molly to a hospital.
Tuxedo Mask really couldn't stand the girls quarrel than saying they'll be
the end of him.
(Episode 20): Completely deleted. This episode features the Sailor Scouts
staying overnight at a haunted house. The episode starts out with fake mon-
sters (disguised servants), but later they find a man living at the house
wants to unlock his daughter Sakiko hidden supernatural powers, by getting her
to release a (real) spirit, then making her destroy it.
The episode is also a swimsuit episode.
This is one of the few episodes where the monster of the episode has
nothing at all to do with the main plot.
Episode 17 (21): The Sailor V TV scene was changed to not show Japanese.
A joke was deleted, where Serena wished they'd make an anime of her. Amy had
to go to juku, not do her homework. There was no "animation school".
Nephrite didn't tell Ami the Sailors are pathetic; rather, he bragged about
hiding a monster. Serena wanted animation cells (not to meet Sailor V), and
Raye wanted autographs of people doing the animation, not of Sailor V. They
removed a joke where Serena is eager to go to the studio, Raye says anime is
for kids, and then Raye shows up with the autograph boards anyway. Luna
didn't say Amy shouldn't have challenged Nephrite on her own. Raye was not
accused of cutting class, and Haruna wasn't mentioned. The Sailor Scouts made
a speech, they didn't introduce themselves 3 or 4 times.
I saw more Sailor Moon doll ads here.
Episode 18 (22): Serena originally claimed to be the Princess of the
Ivanovich Kingdom. This matters because of the irony in Serena being
disguised as a princess.
In the original, Serena's father _did_ say she looked like his daughter.
The original had no reference to the princess's standin.
They cut out a scene which had Serena dropping from the roof with Tuxedo
Mask, Luna throwing her umbrella down to her, and her floating down with the
open umbrella. My guess is that this is censorship due to fear that kids
would try it (curiously, they didn't worry about kids jumping off roofs when
they left in the scene with the Sailors jumping after the princess).
The final scene was rewritten. In the original, Tuxedo Mask _really_
kissed Serena (and said it brings back back memories). It was not a dream,
and nobody said anything about princesses. (More censorship, likely--Serena
got drunk.)
Episode 19 (23): This episode was accurate (including "in the name of
the moon, I will punish you!"), except for the usual name changes, and it even
took care to refer to Zoisite as "that person" without mentioning gender.
Episode 20 (24): Another accurate one! Changes that _were_ made, though,
include cutting Nephrite's first scene (probably for time), cutting the scene
where he sees through Molly's body (probably because she's nude), changing the
phone scene to put Serena and Molly on the same split screen, deleting a re-
mark where Serena says she can't run fast because she's not a cat, deleting a
comment where Nephrite says he doesn't care for Molly (right before he burns
the note), changing "Sunday" to "holiday", and changing the line where Zoisite
says that Nephrite should be happy to die with the one he loves (it became
"... you lose your girlfriend too!") (These are minor changes compared to
any of the other episodes.) And they did use "in the name of the moon, I'll
punish you!" again.
Zoisite was referred to as "Madame Zoisite" here (hah!).
Episode 21 (25): A joke where Serena introduces Raye as "the mean Rei"
was changed to arguing over a different reason. There was no reference to
giving the toys to the poor. Lita suggested that using power to get the toys
is cheating; Joe didn't suggest it. Nobody thought Zoisite was a jealous
girlfriend. :-) They edited the video game again.
Joe was named Joe in the original.
And those were rice balls, not muffins.
Episode 22 (26): The original actually called the priest a priest.
Melvin's remark that made Serena slap him was asking to go eat chocolate
parfait, not saying that Maxfield Stanton is missing. Melvin did not refer
to the Internet (they must really hate us out there), nor did he say anything
about inchworms or bugs. The piggybank scene actually happened and wasn't
just Luna's guess. Everyone went out to eat, not to see the Sailor V movie.
Serena didn't ask what a rainbow crystal is.
A scene was cut with Serena throwing a punch at Melvin.
Episode 23 (27): Another episode very much like the original, though in
the last scene Amy said nothing about having her mouth open like Serena.
(Greg was originally named Urawa.)
Cut a scene where Greg imagines himself as a monster attacking Amy and
removing her uniform.
Episode 24 (28): Not like the original. Melvin did not offer to list the
chemical elements in paint. Serena, in the original, got a strange feeling
from the painting, but didn't compare her hair to it, and it didn't say it
was about a moon princess, though I'm not sure. Lonnie (Yumeno Yumemi) kept
her identity a secret so people would think she's pretty, not because her
paintings wouldn't sell--sheesh, that's totally inconsistent with the rest of
the episode.
In the scene walking in the street, Lonnie said Serena might want to walk
with Darien. When Serena met Luna, she said she dropped the stick when she
was thinking about Tuxedo Mask; the entire scene's dialogue is nothing like
the original. Lonnie said Zoisite was pretty, not an art thief. :-) Serena
didn't say "it's me, Serena, I'm Sailor Moon".
When Serena says that Tuxedo Mask is cold like Darien, and then is shocked
that she'd think they're similar, the original dialogue was like "Tuxedo
Mask... <shocked expression> Oh, no, the battle's not over yet!"
Sailor Jupiter's attack got yet a third name this episode.
Episode 25 (29): May as well ask what they didn't change. Andrew in Lita's
daydream didn't offer free tokens. Lita originally said she was going to come
clean house as well as cook, and when she finally came she did not ask him to
do the dishes. (Making it more PC?) The Andrew/Darien dialogue was massively
different; there was no reference to karate. When Serena and Lita were
talking, she briefly thought Andrew loves Lita in the original. The Sailor
V video game went from blue to pink again, A scene was cut where Serena
daydreams kissing Andrew and instead nearly kisses Lita; when Luna tells them
to relax because it's just cooking, this is what Luna's really making that
face for. The reference to potatoes was carrots (Lita was even holding a
carrot), and I must conclude that some writers change things only because
they can. The phone call was not about being heartbroken, but Rita deciding
she was going to go to Africa. The final scene of the episode was reversed
in meaning; in the original, Lita and Serena _were_ going to go after Andrew.
They partly cut a scene where Lita tries to choke Darien.
By the way, Rita was originally named Reika. Calling her Rita, when you
already have a character named Lita in love with the same guy, is a testament
to bad dubbing.
Episode 26 (30): Chad was originally named Yuuichiro, he wasn't a singer,
and the dialogue wasn't even close in other ways. The chocolate cakes were
daifuku. (Chad is _not_ homeless, however; see episode 34.)
Episode 27 (31): I missed this episode, but heard that it was good, and
that it did use "in the name of the moon, I'll punish you", implying an
otherwise good translation. (Incidentally, Hercules' original name was
Rhedd Butler, a pun. The girl was named Ohara.)
Episode 28 (32): The password was originally the same password as before,
with the same pun (though the new dub password is closer to it than the
first one was). Luna's speech over the computer didn't say anything about
crystals. The meeting of Scouts was mostly about the princess of the moon and
the kingdom of the moon. The shrimp was not "coconut fried". (I'm surprised
they left the bento box in.) There was no reference to studying for math
tests and none to the Internet (Melvin has _got_ to be from AOL. :-)). The
"Wacky World Wrestlers" was really Redman, and Andrew didn't want to go be-
cause it was too childish, not because he was expecting a phone call from
Rita. (Note: Toei, which produced the Sailor Moon animation, is also
responsible for the Sentai series, from which the Power Rangers were derived,
and many Sentai series are named _____man, so it's _not_ a coincidence that
Redman looks like a Power Ranger.) They changed the lines where Zoisite men-
tions he's changing the crystal to work on ordinary humans, which matters for
the plot--as it is, you're wondering "hey, it can't do that!" Melvin was not
outside Molly's door for the whole night. Serena's first attack was "moon
tiara action... just a little bit", and the latter phrase was removed, re-
placed with a reference to Redman which was probably a nod to the original.
Episode 29 (33): This one was hard to change because it was mostly action,
but they tried. :-( When Serena said she wanted to find out who the fake
Sailor Moon was, she really said she couldn't stand to see Sailor Moon suffer.
Malachite's speech viewing the city, about waiting for Tuxedo Mask, actually
had him saying that he wants to see the darkness instead of the light of the
city. In the final scene, Sailor Venus _didn't say anything_ when asked if
she's the princess.
They also mangled one specific idea in this episode: Sailor Venus, until
well into her appearance, is referred to as Sailor V. As Sailor V, she wears
the mask that she threw away in this episode, and Serena was so excited about
her being there because Serena is a fan of Sailor V, not just because they've
finally found the fifth member of the team. The dub of this episode doesn't
use the name Sailor V at all except in the title.
Episode 30 (34): Unfortunately, this particular critical episode _wasn't_
done by the good writer.
In the first scene, Sailor Venus was (in the original) asked if she's the
princess. Also, they made the same goof as before in not saying "Sailor V"--
Serena thought it was really cool to meet her because she is Sailor V.
The Malachite/Zoisite scene had them asking Queen Beryl why they had to
retreat, not talking about the crystals.
The scenes with Serena and Darien in the street had different dialog, with
no reference to bees, karate classes, or first aid.
Mina's line about not being able to recognize the Scouts in their normal
identities was an addition for the dub.
Darien had not promised not to call Serena "meatball head".
The scene where Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask reveal their identities had a
bunch of extra dialog. The scene at the end where Sailor Moon becomes the
princess had a voiceover ("Me, Serena, the princess...") added for the dub too.
The scene where Tuxedo Mask gets attacked from behind not only was partly
cut, but the DIC dialogue made it sound like the crystal was originally aimed
at Tuxedo Mask instead of Sailor Moon.
Episode 31 (35): The voiceover at the start was nonexistent.
The "Cosmic Moon Power" attack really had no name.
Serena wasn't suddenly talking without contractions once she realized
she's the moon princess, and there was no voiceover in the flashbacks.
The Zoisite/Malachite dialogue had Zoisite telling him that Serena is
the princess, not commenting about the crystal.
When Zoisite said not to forget him/her, Zoisite really said he wanted to
die pretty. A scene was cut where he says he loved Kunzite.
Serena's question over whether the Scouts abandoned Tuxedo Mask was really
asking if he died.
In the flashback, the Earth was taken over.
The other four girls weren't said to be princesses on their home planets.
(There is a bit of evidence of this in the Sailor V manga and the later Sailor
Moon manga, but it isn't in the animation and certainly not in this episode.)
They censored out a scene where Raye slaps Serena, as well as a brief
flashback to Tuxedo Mask falling, in silhouette, with a crystal in his back.
(For some reason, the slap was left _in_ in the preview.)
In the original, Serena, when she said she wanted to be normal, added that
she didn't want anyone else to be hurt like Darien. This dialogue was deleted.
She also didn't say that everyone hated her.
There was no reference to getting burgers in the original.
Episode 32 (36): Not changed as much as most "bad" writer episodes.
There was no reference to repairing toasters at the start, and Serena did
not say anything about bad hair days. Later references to burgers and fries,
and programming VCRs, were absent from the original.
Tuxedo Mask said he didn't like fighting girls.
He also didn't ask why he wasn't sent as the Prince instead of Tuxedo Mask.
At the end, Serena said she'd change Tuxedo Mask back with her love.
Episode 33 (37): Apparently this one got the "good" writer. Most things
were the same, although a scene of Serena being late for school was cut,
probably for time. The cocoa was really coffee, and Artemis did not say that
what makes someone a princess is in the heart (a bit of thought should convince
you this isn't true :-)).
A scene was cut showing Serena with knives in her hair.
The dub made a rather half-hearted attempt at "... punish you".
Episode 34 (38): A scene of Raye imagining herself winning the contest was
cut. There was no reference to Chad singing, of course. There was no hunk
instructor. Serena did _not_ say "hey, I'm Sailor Moon", though she did say
the monster was wrong about Raye. In the ending scene, Raye said that the
Sailor Scouts saved them, not Chad. The contest was called the moon princess
contest, and that house did belong to Chad's parents.
Episode 35 (39): Nothing significant changed here. "In the name of the
moon, I'll punish you" did not appear, but neither did the dub speech.
Episode 36 (40): Heavily changed, even though "punish you" was used.
A scene at the start with Luna awakening to find that Serena left a note
and a bowl of cat food was cut.
Serena didn't say the hot springs are for whackos, and in general the
original didn't try to explain away the hot springs, which are less unusual in
Japan than in North America.
Darien saying he didn't remember the name "Darien" was absurd in the dub,
because he was constantly called Prince Darien. In the original, he said he
didn't remember the name Mamoru, and he was called Prince Endymion, so it made
sense there.
There was no reference to water sprites, and if you listen carefully,
you'll realize that the dub legend was awfully confused about which one of
the women in the legend was the water sprite.
There was no joke about Serena coming from another planet.
In the original, Sam stole Serena's lines when the Scouts appeared.
The ending was changed. Serena originally asked why the others came, and
they replied that Luna had told them she was there.
Episode 37 (41): A scene was cut where Greg said that he planned to ask
Ami for help, but he shouldn't keep relying on Ami.
Some dialogue was changed when the girls were in Rei's room. Originally,
Mina said "I don't understand very well, but do Urawa's predictions come
true often?", and Ami replied yes.
Luna and Artemis said that the future of the Sailor Senshi looked very
dark, they didn't wish that the girls had that much enthusiasm against the
Negaverse.
In the original, Greg referred back to Ami's plea for Greg to make his own
future when Darien was confronting him.
They changed Greg's dialogue when he shouted "A murderer! Help!"
In the original, when Darien was ready to punch Jupiter, she screamed, and
Darien said "As I thought, it's no contest with you alone!". But in the NA,
she didn't scream, and Darien said something different.
When Ami had tears in her eyes asking Darien why they wanted the Rainbow
Crystal carriers, she actually said she'll never forgive him.
Luna didn't say "It's working!" during the
"MOOOOON...HEALING...ACTIVATION!", she told SM to raise the energy level.
In the NA version, at the end, Serena was angry at Ami for taking so long
on the Ferris Wheel. In the original, she was worried that Ami would forget
about their mission and then they wouldn't have a leader.
(Episode 42): Completely deleted. This episode had Sailor Venus meeting
a woman (Katarina) who was a friend when she was Sailor V. They had finally
separated when Sailor V appeared to die in an explosion; Sailor V really
survived, but let her think she died because Katarina had fallen in love with
a man named Alan who Sailor Venus also liked.
Katarina becomes the monster of this episode, but most of it is a
flashback.
The episode has nothing objectionable in it, but is unnecessary for the
main plot and was probably cut for time.
Episode 38 (43): The monster didn't say the jewels are "perfect for my
little black dress".
They censored out a scene where Sailor Mars kicks Sailor Moon.
The news reporter's business card (all Japanese) was removed from the dub.
They censored out _another_ kick, though the dialogue still referred to it.
The line "they're fighting for real" was changed to "anyone got a bottle
of aspirin?"
Another shot of the business card was cut when Serena goes to the
reporter's house.
Note: the synopsis is wrong about the time being 10:00.
The speech where Serena says she doesn't care about Mars was changed.
The explanation for Mars having the wand was _completely_different_. She
was _given_ the wand by Sailor Moon, and pointed out to the other Scouts that
if they really hated each other, Sailor Moon would never have trusted her
with it. Sailor Moon certainly did not leave it in her room by mistake,
and they were _not_ arguing over this at the end of the episode. Yes, this
means that Mars doesn't hate Moon, exactly the opposite from what this _bad_
dub implied. The joke used at the end of the episode had Sailor Mars saying
that Sailor Moon cried, and when she asked when, she replied "11:16:28".
There was no reference to getting ice cream or not inviting Raye and Serena.
Episode 39 (44): There was a scene cut from the start, probably for time.
The reference to Central Control was a _big_ dubbing goof. Central
Control's voice was shown to be Artemis before, and Central Control doesn't
really exist. Oh, and Serena doesn't talk without contractions as a princess.
Not much of this episode was like the original, either, though the overall
plot was the same.
Episode 40 (45-46): I'm not going to go into details. Get Hitoshi Doi's
synopses. The episode was hacked and slashed to shreds.
The hospital scene is wrong. What _really_ happened is that Serena tossed
a test paper at Darien just like when they first met.
OUT OF ORDER EPISODES: The 13 episodes with the two aliens (episodes 41-53)
were shown out of order, after episodes 54-65.
Janice Sonski (Sailor Moon co-executive-producer) has explained: "We hoped
we would be able to place the Alan and Ann story on a network and so we held
them out as 13 exclusive episodes, but no decision has been made and we needed
to run them." In reruns, the episodes appear in the proper order. (Most of
the time, anyway. Canwest Global kept showing them out of order.)
Episode 41 was also shown out of sequence as a special on Fox on September
2, 1995, before the regular series started.
Episode 41 (47): The episode starts with some Star Wars-style text before
the opening animation. This text doesn't appear in other episodes, and along
with the 9th/10th grade goof, the appearance on Fox, and the lack of a "Sailor
Says" segment suggests that the episode is a pilot. When the episode was
shown later, the text was removed, but the rest was still there. The episode
is _much_ more inaccurate than most of the Alan/Ann dubs.
An announcer was added, explaining the past episodes.
The episode claims that Alan and Ann were sent by Queen Beryl, which is
nonsensical and invented purely for the dub.
A few seconds were cut at the start where Artemis tries to cuddle with
Luna and gets a paw across the face. The entire scene with Serena at school
was cut, so after she's late to school she's suddenly home again.
The ending was different. She originally walked away saying "to the
normal Usagi, bye-bye..." This was changed to a joke.
Episode 42 (48): Accurate, and it starts a long run of accurate ones.
Luna didn't say that Darien would be getting his memory back soon.
The TV station's Japanese sign was replaced with a shot of the Tokyo Tower.
When Molly asked Serena to come with her, she really told Serena that
since she has a lot of weird things happen to her she's afraid it might be
another.
Episode 43 (49): All I could find was:
The pool of blood scene was cut short (though they didn't delete it).
Scenes of Ken taken to the hospital in an ambulance were cut.
The dialogue between Alan and Ann about pretending to be brother and sister
at the high school was a dub addition (as well as perpetuating the "high
school" goof), and right after that a scene of them kissing was cut.
Episode 44 (50): As far as I know, the reference to Serena not liking war
games was a dub addition. Her episode-specific speech was different, and at
the end of the show she was wondering about her tiara as well as Darien.
They cut out Serena hitting Sammy.
Episode 45 (51): Accurate except for the cuts and the speech (I don't
know _how_ the speech got that way).
The day wasn't part of their environmental studies.
They deleted the scene where Molly closes the sleeping bag with Melvin
inside as a prank.
Melvin's lunch had no prunes in it. :-)
They also deleted the scene where Serena puts extra mustard on Raye's
food and Raye runs around screaming with fire coming from her mouth.
The nude scene was a bit cut to remove a breast shot.
Episode 46 (52): Mostly accurate except for the speech. Oh, and the
kids were actually singing the opening theme (which wouldn't make sense in
the dub because the dub version of the opening theme talks about Sailor Moon,
which the original version doesn't).
They cut a part where Mina throws her clothes on Artemis at the beginning,
calling him a pervert for watching her change.
They cut a scene where Mina lands on Artemis and we see up her skirt.
Episode 47 (53): (mostly thanks to Julia Dickens)
In the beginning Usagi and Ami did not know who the lady with the baby was,
and simply told her that they thought her baby was cute. Usagi thought the baby
was a girl (I guess 'cause it had a unisex name) and the dub cut out a scene
where Usagi is changing his diapers and is shocked that the baby is a girl but
has a penis. Mamoru points out that it's a boy, and yeah, you do see the
baby's dick. When Usagi & Mamoru are walking the baby, Ann thinks that it's
Usagi and Mamoru's baby. Minako & Ami tease Usagi, asking if Usagi had had
Mamoru's baby (it's obvious why they changed THIS dialogue).
A scene with the baby pissing on Ann was changed to him throwing up (but
was left in in the Sailor Says, though the whole Sailor Says was left out in
the rerun in some areas...)
Episode 48 (54): A scene was cut at the start with Mina and Lita selling
good luck charms at the temple.
Episode 49 (55): Here, the _bad_ scripts start again. Though some of it
was inevitable, since the bento boxes and lunch sharing are pretty Japanese-
culture-specific.
They removed the reference to Moonlight Knight reminding Lita of her old
boyfriend.
Molly didn't ask Melvin if he was showing her inchworms. Melvin wasn't
making the food for an anniversary.
They cut the scene where Serena was late and forgot her lunch.
A joke was removed where Amy asked Lita if Alan looks like her old
boyfriend, whereupon she said no, but they did both like music.
They censored out the end of the Lita/Amy scene, where Lita slaps Amy
hard before running off to share lunch with Alan.
There was no voiceover "what's that guy got that we haven't got?"
&n