Sailor Moon Returns to Cartoon Network Uncensored for the First Time

After more than 20 years off the air, Sailor Moon will return to Cartoon Network under Adult Swim.

Adult Swim is launching a new Friday block of programming called Toonami Rewind this month, per an announcement on their Facebook page. The two-hour block will feature classic shōnen anime shows, including Dragon Ball Z Kai and Naruto.

However, the real highlight of the announcement is the grand return of Sailor Moon and, for the first time, being aired uncensored with its new English dub from Viz Media.

As explained by Popverse, the original English dub of Sailor Moon, which was produced by the now-defunct DiC Entertainment and then Cloverway for later seasons, was heavily censored and edited objectionable content to be more suitable for children back when it aired on Cartoon Network’s original Toonami after-school programming block between 1998 to 2002.

Sailor Moon’s original English dub altered character names, removed cultural Japanese references, and cut entire episodes. The 90’s dub also altered LGBTQ+ storylines with Sailor Neptune and Uranus, originally written as lovers, to be depicted as cousins.

Prior to Viz Media’s redub, Sailor Moon’s fifth season, Sailor Stars, was never dubbed in English in the nineties over licensing issues at the time. According to the Michigan Daily, some fans theorize that this happened because the Sailor Starlights characters are men in civilian form but then “transform” into women when it’s time to fight the villain of the day.

Viz Media acquired the dubbing rights to all 200 episodes, movies, and specials of the original Sailor Moon series and its reboot Sailor Moon Crystal in 2014, according to Crunchyroll.

Fans can look forward to watching Sailor Moon make its grand return to the airwaves on Adult Swim every Friday beginning May 31 at 5 p.m. ET.