Sailor Moon

As with many others, Sailor Moon was the first anime I watched. At first, there was the horrible, horrible dubbed version. The real version is MUCH better, but nothing compared to the manga. Unlike the anime, the manga arcs all flow into each other amazingly well. For example, Sailor Moon and the others get their power ups at the end of each arc, through much better means than in the anime. The manga is darker, but not without humour, and tells a much deeper and better story. Most notably is SuperS. The anime turned this into a cheesy, fluffy story, where in the manga itis very dark. Neherenia is a much more notorious villain, the amazoness quartet holds a far greater fate. Also, the golden crystal (and the silver crystal, for that matter) are much more important. The anime also ignores the manga specials, save one. They animated "Ami Chan's first love", but not the stories focused around Jupiter, or Venus & Mars. The main characters are much more developed individually in the manga, whereas most of their growths (save Usagi) are ignored or forgotten about in the anime. (For example, the Starlights in the anime each interact with other senshi, and have experiences that change them, but this is later forgotten about. Most notably, Ami's words to Taiki, and Minako's to Yaten) The anime also changed many of the characters, most notably the outer senshi, Venus and Mars. Sailor Venus is a much more important character in the manga, where she was sold short in the anime. She is the leader of the inner senshi, and participates much more than in the anime. Especially in the Dark Kingdom and Black Moon arcs. Mars in the manga is a much more elegant and serious character. She and Venus are both portrayed well in the live action, but not the anime. The anime also ignores the relationship between Venus and Mars, which is very powerful, whether you regard it as romantic or not. Sailor Saturn is also sold short in the anime. She is in S, SuperS and Stars arcs, as a major character. She interacts with the other senshi a lot more, and has a much bigger purpose. The outer senshi are much more important to the story, and never vanish like they do in the anime. Uranus is also somewhat different, mostly in that she shows her more feminine side much more in the way she dresses. Pluto also has a bigger role, especially during the Black Moon arc. Chibiusa is also much less annoying, mostly because you can't hear her talk, and she doesn't try and steal the spotlight so much. And, Tuxedo Kamen is actually useful! Instead of waving a cane around and throwing flowers, he actually is granted real powers by his four generals! The four generals also change a lot from the manga to the anime, and not in a good way. The art in the manga is very elegant, and the artbooks are beautiful. I promise that if you are a Sailor Moon anime fan, you'll love the manga. I think it is far greater, and I wish the anime had stuck to it more. The live action stayed closer, but created it's own story, but even that was better than the anime. I still appreciate the anime, but the manga is by far the better story. (I wish they would do what Fullmetal Alchemist did, and release a new version that's true to the manga!)

Just like many people,I have a special bond with Sailor Moon considering it was the very first anime I was exposed to at the tender age of 3.I might not have many clear memories of that time but it did make an impact on me.Of course after than time it has been broadcasted on TV here again and again,though not always making it to the last episode.I've always loved this,I'd wake up at 6 in the morning just to watch it every time. So for my love about Sailor Moon I feel it is my duty to write a review for the anime or the manga.Ipicked the manga cause it is more straightforward and direct than the anime,which spans 200 episodes or something he majority of which are uninspired enemies that don't even exist in the manga. Upon reading the manga a sort of nostalgia overwhelmed me,I'm sure it's the same case for most people.I was enjoying my time reading and the first arc was pretty nice but it's after that when this manga exposes its true weaknesses.Which is...Tsukino Usagi is a Mary Sue character.I can already imagine everyone of you staring at me with horror as if uttered something unthinkable,but it's the truth no matter what.That's this manga's drawback and it's a serious one one.I know Usagi is the main character...but she could always share some of her spotlight and important role with the rest of the characters.They're her soldiers but honestly what's the point if she overpowers them all EVERY SINGLE TIME? I like the character designs and abilities,but unfortunately,if we don't take into account the first arc where they are introduced they end up being pretty much useless.Usagi is another important person so she saves the day while the rest have fallen.I'm very bothered by this cause.I can't even believe it took by surprise when she defeated another antagonist,I was thinking..."This cannot be happening,is this what I loved so much?" See,because the manga is a lot shorter than the anime this weakness is pretty apparent,whilst in the anime it is covered by the fillers that make the rest of the characters have more story and be useful. After touching on this very important drawback that takes away so much I'd like to proceed to the following: As far as the art is concerned I cannot say much since I hardly have much experience with manga of that year.I've rated it a 6 cause...it's Sailor Moon...and it's not that bad...and you can tell what is going on. Moving on...Sure the story has been done many times considering the popularity of Sailor Moon and how successful it's being.I'm sure at the time it was pretty much ahead of its time.Heck I still enjoy watching unfold(on the anime).That should be a 7. I already touched on the topic about the characters,really big mistake to put the focus on Usagi the whole time even if she is the main character.Gets a 3 from me. Enjoynment...would have been more but like I mentioned earlier what was done with the characters really bothered me and took away from the experience.Perhaps I had other characters I liked besides Usagi who didn't act on their full potential or on a role that suited them way better than Tsukino. Above average,6. Overall,I feel it deserves a 6.It offered many things to the anime/manga world and it has establish itself as the representative of the genre(magical girl).We should not be blinded by the fact of how much we loved it when the truth is it has not aged well at all from many aspects(1.characters,2.art,3.story) I was a tiny bit influenced by my own childhood memories though I feel the anime is superior to the manga despite its never-ending fillers for reasons mentioned above. Thank you for taking the time to read my review.

Whoever loved the Sailor Moon anime, would love reading it's manga. So much detail and backstories were left out in the original anime that it's shocking for anyone that is only familiar with the anime storyline. The Classic first season plot in the manga had none of the yaoi present, and there was much more to enemies backgrounds. S Season- Haruka is shown as more then just being the manly girl she was seen as in the original anime. The manga's plot in S was also much darker and traumatic. SuperS Arc- Probably a favorite of mine in the manga. While still centering on Chibi-Usa(Rini), it hasplenty more to reveal about the mysterious Tuxedo Mask's past and future Stars- This season had so many changes made to the anime it's hardly the same story. Genders, personalities and even relationships were completely different. ChibiChibi herself is a whole different character. Despite all the detail and improvements the manga had compared to its anime, there is still one flaw. The manga is much shorter, causing entire season plots to be finished in only a few chapters. This makes the manga feel rushed while the anime took its time to really make us love it's characters. Naoko's art is classically beautiful, there's so much to love about it. To any newcomers, this is a classic magical girl series, and you should give it or the anime a try if you haven't already.