Like Dragon Ball Z that also aired about the same time. Sailor Moon also received a great deal of censorship and alteration to relate better to US culture.
For example, many of Sailor Moon's characters names were changed. Sailor Moon's name in Japan is Usagi Tsukino, but in the US they changed her name to Serena Tsukino. Many of the translation were also changed or not added to the first English dub. In USA they were called Sailor Scouts, but In Japan they are called Sailor Guardians. Transformation is also slightly different, for example when Sailor Jupiter transformed she would call out in Japan, "Jupiter power makeup!" While in the first English dub the "makeup" part was subtracted from the translation. There are many other difference I could put down, but it would take too long to list in this review.
Now Sailor Moon finally gets the HD Blu Ray treatment and I am happy with it. Sailor Moon season 1 is split in 2 parts. Each part consists of 6 discs each. 3 Blu Ray and 3 DVDs consisting of 46 episodes. There is an all new English cast for this Blu Ray edition, and at first it took me some time to get used to it, but I kept an open mind when watching this new English dub. The best part is the dialog closely matches the Japanese dialog better. All the translations have been kept in the English dub. The only thing that might be a turn off is the price and that the season is split into 2 parts. Each part cost about $59.99 depending where you buy it. However, you are buying both Blu Ray and DVD in one package. (There are also a Limited Edition Sailor Moon Season 1 Part 1 that comes with a booklet and other things, but this review is off the slandered edition of both part 1 and 2.)
Story:
The story is about a young high school girl named Usagi Tsukino turn super hero, but Usagi is a lazy clutsy girl that at first glance would not make a great super hero, but in a pinch proves her self as a reliable hero and friend towards other Sailor Guardians.
The first season is tasked for Sailor Moon to defend the Earth from queen Beryl and the dark forces of the Negaverse, and to find the princes of the moon kingdom and the silver millennium crystal.
Like many other first seasons, the story gets slow to start before it gets better. It also takes a while for all 5 Sailor Guardians to get together. Both Sailor Jupiter and Venus come at the last half of the season, but the entire season is full of silliness and is one of the fumiest anime's I've seen. It can also be series when it needs to.
Pros:
- Great Characters
- Silly and funny story line
- Story doesn't take it self to seriously.
- Not just for female fans.
- The story tackles subject matters that were taboo back then.
- Uncensored.
Cons:
- Very slow start.
- Takes ages for all the Sailor Guardians to get together.
- Repeating the same transformation animation and super power animation over and over each 46 episodes can get a little tiring.
Video Quality:
Sailor Moon has been remastered and it keeps its original 4x3 ratio, but it's not the best that I have seen for an anime this old.
Dragon Ball Z is an older anime and it's HD treatment was much cleaner and better.
This is why I was surprised that Sailor Moon didn't get an equal HD remastered treatment to Dragon Ball Z. I mean, both Blu Rays come from Toe Animations. But overall its the best picture quality the entire Sailor Moon series has been since the original airing. Colors have been enhanced and sharpened, but there are some senses that show it's age.
Pros:
- Retains it's original 4x3 ratio.
- Color is clear and sharper
- It's the best that it's bin since it's original airing on standard definition TV.
Cons:
- Still shows its age.
- Original opening and ending really shows it's age.
Audio And Sound Quality:
The new English dub is good and they retain better translation from Japanese. The voice actress are great, but I do miss the original voice actress from the first English dub.
What I really like is that the new English dub already has the original Japanese music in the back ground. There are no separate audio setting to have both English dub + Japanese music.
The Japanese dub is sill in mono though.
Pros:
- English dub mirrors actual Japanese translation better.
- Retains original Japanese music and sounds in English track with out changing a setting.
- Voices actress and actors does a great job.
Cons:
- Again with the storage size of Blu Ray disc, they could have added the original still amazing English dub along with the new English dub.
- Japanese dub is still mono.
If you are a Sailor Moon fan, this Blu Ray edition is a no brainier. It's cute silly store is still great today, but the video quality could have been better. The price of each parts and the fact that it is separate into 2 parts could also be a turn off by some, but you are paying for Blu Ray and DVD together instead of it being separate even more.
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