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For true fans, the Americanized version of Sailor Moonwas just the tip of the iceberg. It was adapted for an international audience by DiC Entertainment via Bandai, and brought to the U.S. in 1992 by Cartoon Network. Originally a shoujo manga series called Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, the series was created by legendary manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. The U.S. version opened up an entire world of Japanese manga and anime to a new audience. For that reason alone Sailor Moon’s greatness can’t be underscored.
Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon’s 18 volumes have sold over 1 million copies worldwide. But what sets it apart from other “magical girl” series like Magical Princess Minky Momo and Magical Idol Pastel Yumi is that the Sailor Soldiers were always kicking ass and saving the planet while we waited to see what evil monster Queen Beryl of the Negaverse conjured to retrieve the magical Legendary Silver Crystal from the Sailor Soldiers—Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Jupiter. Was Darien Shields, otherwise known as Tuxedo Mask, going to help? Would he ever discover that Serena was his long-lost bae from the Moon Kingdom? Would Luna and Serena have another come-to-Jesus moment? So much suspense! So much intrigue!
Visually stunning, and widely critically acclaimed, Sailor Moon changed everything for manga and anime fans in America. It was, and still is, the archetype. So, to celebrate the anniversary of its original run back in 1991, here are the 10 Reasons Why Sailor Moon Is the Greatest Ever.
Angel Elliott is a freelance writer for Complex. Follow her on Twitter at @angelelliott.
It introduced many in the U.S. to the wonderful world of anime.
Of course we had Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh, but Sailor Moon was really the one that took the U.S. and UK by storm. Mention Sailor Moon, and for many you’ll see nostalgic looks of ‘90s childhood glory pass over their face. Two hundred episodes, a decade of live-action adaptations and musicals, and a reboot later, Sailor Moon continues to dominate the world as one of the most influential anime series of all time.
Sailor Moon was the anti-Disney princess.
No shade, Disney, but when Sailor Moon came on the scene in the United States, Disney’s princess movie-making was at an all-time high (think Princess Belle, Princess Jasmine, and Princess Ariel, although Ariel pre-dates SM a bit.) These ladies were gorgeous, had perfect singing voices, perfect morals, were without personality flaws, and their biggest problem was they had to fight to date the man they wanted. Enter Sailor Moon, a.k.a Usagi, a.k.a Serena. She wasn’t the perfect fighting warrior from the jump, no, she was a reluctant hero—more concerned with boys, eating everything in site, and playing video games at the arcade. She had terrible grades and was a ubiquitous crybaby, but she had a heart of gold. She had to overcome all these flaws to become Princess Serenity and discover her destiny. She was more appealing and relatable than any Disney princess ever was.
Naoko Takeuchi's animation is unparalleled.
For every story arc, Sailor Moon creator and artist Naoko Takeuchi seems to animate the series better. Gorgeous, vibrant colors, long, clean lines, audacious transformation sequences, Sailor Moon was, and is visually stunning. Rebooted in 2014 by Viz Media, Sailor Moon Crystal’s new animation is closer to the manga, and features a more grown-up looking Sailor Moon, without losing the dream-like, magical quality of the original.
Sailor Moon was a no-frenemies zone.
Yes, as hokey as this sounds, this is one of the reasons why Sailor Moon is the greatest ever. Today’s popularity of reality shows featuring scantily clad women with fake breasts and butts flying everywhere as they fight has definitely reached a fever pitch—the more ratchet, the better. A central theme of Sailor Moon though was friendship. Yes, Serena and Raye might have had the occasional spat, but it was the power of their friendship that helped them fight villains and ultimately conquer evil. Some of these reality show ladies could learn a thing or two from this dynamic. Their friendship and bond was at the forefront of the series and that’s pretty dope.
Sailor Moon created the Magical Girl Warrior genre.
The Magical Girl or mahou shoujo genre was created in response to the popular American sitcom Bewitched. Pioneered by Toei Animation, the mangas and animes featured main heroines whose job was to look cute and super feminine (whatever that means), have magical power, and use them to combat all sorts of mishaps and fluffy complications like, how do I go on a date with both the guys I like? My nail broke, oh no!
But then, along came Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon. Usagi and her Sailor Senshi were using their powers to fight for love and justice, kick ass, and save their planets from the evils of the Negaverse. Oh, and go on those dates, too. They had real personalities, real issues, and overcame these with strength, like warriors. Why is this important? After Sailor Moon, other shows followed suit, and so was born an age of dope, female, warrior anime.
Usagi and Mamoru knew true love.
Before there was Bey and Jay, Kim and ‘Ye, Steebie and Joseline, there was Usagi and Mamoru. Even though Mamoru was considerably older (Usagi is 14, Mamoru is a senior in high school) than Usagi, and, due to a magic-induced amnesia, didn’t remember his moon boo-thang, their epic romance couldn’t be denied. In their first life, before coming to earth, Princess Serenity of the Moon and Prince Endymion of Earth were star-crossed lovers from dueling kingdoms. They’d eventually rediscover each other and rule Crystal Tokyo of the future together. A big reason why many of us tuned in every day was to see what plot twist would unfold and how much closer these star-crossed lovers would come to a P.G. kiss. And the greatest thing about their romance? It lives on in perpetuity.
Sailor Moon ripped the runway on the regular.
Unlike most generic cartoon outfits, Sailor Moon and her Sailor Senshi rocked everything from thigh high boots with leather shorts to mini, body-con dresses to Chanel-inspired ball gowns. Manga artist Naoko Takeuchi made sure every accessory was in stunning detail. From jewel encrusted sneakers to high-waist denim jeans with crop tops, she made Usagi and her gal-pals look damn good.
Gotta love that Sailor score.
Whether it was the Japanese or American version of Sailor Moon, award-winning Japanese composer Takanori Arisawa composed some beautiful and sweeping background musical scores for the series. From the creepy, dark Negaverse theme music, to the chime-laden, magical music that played when Sailor Moon transformed, the Spanish guitar-playing when Tuxedo Mask’s rose would come cutting across the screen, or the powerful base-driven background music for Sailor Jupiter's transformation, this music was more than catchy—it was epic.
We learned more than a few things from those PSAs.
Today's cartoon characters bang, curse, fart, and fight. It really makes us miss those old Sailor Moon PSAs. In the American version, after every episode a PSA would come on, giving kids generic advice like, “Believe in yourself,” “Friendship first,” and “Don’t fight your friends.” Even though we often fast-forwarded through those joints, the occasional one would catch us slippin’, and we like to think we actually learned a thing or two.
It was a trailblazing LGBT cartoon.
Although DiC scrubbed out the gay and lesbian relationships in the American and Canadian versions for whatever reason, older fans of the series knew that Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune were lovers. In the American version they were, ahem, "best friends." But you couldn’t ignore Sailor Uranus' fashionable Ellen Degeneres-esque stylings, and of course, we can’t forget how hard Haruka flirted with Usagi. Another LGBT relationship was that of Zoisite. In the American series, this ultra-hard-nosed evil villain of the Negaverse was a woman, but in the original Japanese version, Zoisite was a super-fab man in a relationship with a fellow male villain, Kunzite. And we can’t forget about the Star Fighters who were male but transformed into females. Seiya (one of the star fighters), had an unrequited love for Sailor Moon, no matter what gender he/she assumed. The Sailor Moon anime was trailblazing in showing these types of relationships, at least where westerners are concerned.