Manga
Written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi, Sailor Moon was serialized by Kodansha in the manga anthology Nakayoshi from December 28, 1991, to February 3, 1997.[7] The side-stories were serialized simultaneously in RunRun—another of Kodansha's manga magazines.[7] The 52 individual chapters were published in 18 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha from July 6, 1992, to April 4, 1997.[25][26] In 2003, the chapters were re-released in a collection of 12 shinzōban volumes to coincide with the release of the live-action series.[27] The manga was retitled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon and included new cover art,[28] and revised dialogue and illustrations. The ten individual short stories were also released in two volumes.[29][30] In 2013, the chapters were once again re-released in 10 kanzenban volumes to commemorate the manga's 20th anniversary, which includes digitally remastered artwork, new covers, and color artwork from its Nakayoshi run.[31] The books were enlarged from the typical Japanese manga size to A5.[32][33] The short stories were republished in two volumes, with the order of the stories shuffled. Codename: Sailor V was also included in the third edition.[33]
The Sailor Moon manga was initially licensed for an English release by Mixx (later Tokyopop) in North America. The manga was first published as a serial in MixxZine beginning in 1997, but was later removed from the magazine and made into a separate, low print monthly comic to finish the first, second, and third arcs. At the same time, the fourth and fifth arcs were printed in a secondary magazine, Smile.[34] Pages from the Tokyopop version of the manga ran daily in the Japanimation Station, a service accessible to users of America Online.[35] The series was later collected into a three-part graphic novel series spanning eighteen volumes, which were published from December 1, 1998, to September 18, 2001.[36][37] In May 2005, Tokyopop's license to the Sailor Moon manga expired, and its edition went out of print.[38]
In 2011, Kodansha Comics announced that the company had acquired the license for the Sailor Moon manga and its lead-in series, Codename: Sailor V, in English.[39] They published the twelve volumes of Sailor Moon simultaneously with the two-volume edition of Codename: Sailor V from September 2011 to July 2013.[40][41][42] The first of the two related short story volumes was published on September 10, 2013;[43] the second was published on November 26, 2013.[44] At Anime Expo 2017, Kodansha Comics announced plans to re-release Sailor Moon in an "Eternal Edition", featuring a new English translation, new cover artwork by Takeuchi, and color pages from the manga's original run, printed on extra-large premium paper.[45]
Sailor Moon has also been licensed in other English-speaking countries. In the United Kingdom, the volumes are distributed by Turnaround Publisher Services.[53] In Australia, the manga is distributed by Penguin Books Australia.[54]
The manga has been licensed in Russia as well as the CIS for distribution by publishing company XL Media. The first volume was released in 2018.[55]
Anime series & films
Sailor Moon
Toei Animation produced an anime television series based on the 52 manga chapters, also titled Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon.[4][5] Junichi Sato directed the first season, Kunihiko Ikuhara took over the second through fourth season, and Takuya Igarashi directed the fifth and final season.[56] The series premiered in Japan on TV Asahi on March 7, 1992, and ran for 200 episodes until its conclusion on February 8, 1997. Upon its release, the show quickly rose to be Toei Animation's highest-rated TV series.[57] Most of the international versions, including the English adaptations, are titled Sailor Moon.
Sailor Moon
Toei Animation produced an anime television series based on the 52 manga chapters, also titled Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon.[4][5] Junichi Sato directed the first season, Kunihiko Ikuhara took over the second through fourth season, and Takuya Igarashi directed the fifth and final season.[56] The series premiered in Japan on TV Asahi on March 7, 1992, and ran for 200 episodes until its conclusion on February 8, 1997. Upon its release, the show quickly rose to be Toei Animation's highest-rated TV series.[57] Most of the international versions, including the English adaptations, are titled Sailor Moon.
Sailor Moon Crystal
On July 6, 2012, Kodansha and Toei Animation announced that it would commence the production of a new anime adaptation of Sailor Moon, called Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, for a simultaneous worldwide release in 2013 as part of the series's 20th anniversary celebrations,[58][59][60] and stated that it would be a closer adaptation of the manga than the first anime.[61] Crystal premiered on July 5, 2014, and new episodes would air on the first and third Saturdays of each month.[62] A new cast was announced, along with Kotono Mitsuishi reprising her role as Sailor Moon.[63] The first two seasons were released together, covering their corresponding arcs of the manga (Dark Kingdom and Black Moon). A third season based on the Infinity arc of the manga premiered on Japanese television on April 4, 2016, known as Death Busters in this adaptation.
Films and television specials
Three animated theatrical feature films based on the original Sailor Moon series have been released in Japan: Sailor Moon R: The Movie in 1993, followed by Sailor Moon S: The Movie in 1994, and Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie in 1995. The films are side-stories that do not correlate with the timeline of the original series. A one-hour television special was aired on TV Asahi in Japan on April 8, 1995.[65] Kunihiko Ikuhara directed the first film, while the latter two were directed by Hiroki Shibata.
In 1997, an article in Variety stated that The Walt Disney Company was interested in acquiring the rights to Sailor Moon as a live action film to be directed by Stanley Tong and Geena Davis set to portray as Queen Beryl, along with Winona Ryder and Elisabeth Shue starring as well.[66] After Disney put the project on turnaround, Universal Pictures acquired the film rights.[67]
Companion books
There have been numerous companion books to Sailor Moon. Kodansha released some of these books for each of the five story arcs, collectively called the Original Picture Collection. The books contain cover art, promotional material, and other work by Takeuchi. Many of the drawings are accompanied by comments on the way she developed her ideas, created each picture, and commentary on the anime adaption of her story.[1][75][76][77][78] Another picture collection, Volume Infinity, was released as a self-published, limited-edition art book after the end of the series in 1997. This art book includes drawings by Takeuchi and her friends, her staff, and many of the voice actors who worked on the anime. In 1999, Kodansha published the Materials Collection; this contained development sketches and notes for nearly every character in the manga, and for some characters that never appeared. Each drawing includes notes by Takeuchi about costume pieces, the mentality of the characters, and her feelings about them. It also includes timelines for the story arcs and for the real-life release of products and materials relating to the anime and manga.
Novels
Sailor Moon was also adapted for publication as novels and released in 1998. The first book was written by Stuart J. Levy. The following novels were written by Lianne Sentar.[79] From 2018–2019, the novelization of the first story arc of the manga was adapted by Miyoko Ikeda into three volumes.[80][81][82][83]
Stage musicals
In mid-1993, the first musical theater production based on Sailor Moon premiered and starred Anza Ohyama as Sailor Moon. Thirty such musicals in all have been produced, with one in pre-production. The show’s stories include anime-inspired plotlines and original material. Music from the series has been released on about 20 memorial albums.[84] The popularity of the musicals has been cited as a reason behind the production of the live-action television series, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.
During the original, run musicals ran in the winter and summer of each year, with summer musicals staged at the Sunshine Theater in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo. In the winter, musicals toured to other large cities in Japan, including Osaka, Fukuoka,[85] Nagoya, Shizuoka, Kanazawa, Sendai,[86] Saga, Oita, Yamagata, and Fukushima.[87]
Live-action film & series
Cancelled Disney film adaptation
During the 1990s, Disney had plans for a Sailor Moon film adaptation under the Walt Disney Pictures banner, but it did not make it far into development. Not much was known, except for the fact that they had intended for Geena Davis to portray Queen Beryl and that Stanley Tong was to direct it. Winona Ryder and Elisabeth Shue were also supposedly in talks for the roles of the Sailor Scouts.[90][91][92][93][94][95]
Cancelled Disney film adaptation
During the 1990s, Disney had plans for a Sailor Moon film adaptation under the Walt Disney Pictures banner, but it did not make it far into development. Not much was known, except for the fact that they had intended for Geena Davis to portray Queen Beryl and that Stanley Tong was to direct it. Winona Ryder and Elisabeth Shue were also supposedly in talks for the roles of the Sailor Scouts.[90][91][92][93][94][95][96]
Unrealized American adaptation
In 1993, Renaissance-Atlantic Entertainment, Bandai, and Toon Makers, Inc. conceptualized their own version of Sailor Moon, which was half live-action and half Western-style animation.[97][98] Toon Makers produced a 17-minute proof of concept pilot and a two-minute music video, both of which were directed by Rocky Solotoff, who also worked on the pilot's script.[99] Renaissance-Atlantic presented the concept to Toei, but it was turned down, as their concept would have cost significantly more than simply exporting and dubbing the anime adaptation.[100] The companies' work is believed by Solotoff to have been handed over to Raymond Iacovacci, one of the producers on the project, who stored the pilot script and animation cels in a storage facility.[101] The logo created for the pilot was kept for the English dub, and Bandai released a "Moon Cycle" as part of its merchandise for the show, based on vehicles designed for the pilot.[100]
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
In 2003, Toei Company produced a Japanese live action Sailor Moon television series using the new translated English title of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. Its 49 episodes were broadcast on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting from October 4, 2003, to September 25, 2004.[112][113] Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon featured Miyuu Sawai as Usagi Tsukino, Rika Izumi (credited as Chisaki Hama) as Ami Mizuno, Keiko Kitagawa as Rei Hino, Mew Azama as Makoto Kino, Ayaka Komatsu as Minako Aino, Jouji Shibue as Mamoru Chiba, Keiko Han reprising her voice role as Luna from the original anime, and Kappei Yamaguchi voicing Artemis. The series was an alternate retelling of the Dark Kingdom arc, adding a storyline different from that in the manga and first anime series, with original characters, and new plot developments.[114][115] In addition to the main episodes, two
Video games
The Sailor Moon franchise has spawned several video games across various genres and platforms. Most were made by Bandai and its subsidiary Angel; others were produced by Banpresto. The early games were side-scrolling fighters; later ones were unique puzzle games or versus fighting games. Another Story was a turn-based role-playing video game.[117] The only Sailor Moon game produced outside Japan, 3VR New Media's The 3D Adventures of Sailor Moon, went on sale in North America in 1997. They were developed in association with DIC Entertainment, which held the rights to the game and the TV series.[118] A video game called Sailor Moon: La Luna Splende (Sailor Moon: The Moon Shines) was released on March 16, 2011, for the Nintendo DS.[119] A mobile game, titled Sailor Moon Drops, was available in Japan on September 3, 2015, and released world-wide on April 12, 2016, for iOS and Android. The mobile game was ultimately shut down on March 28, 2019.[120]
Tabletop games
The Dyskami Publishing Company released Sailor Moon Crystal Dice Challenge, created by James Ernest of Cheapass Games and based on the Button Men tabletop game, in 2017, and Sailor Moon Crystal Truth or Bluff in 2018.[121][122][123]
Theme park attractions
A Sailor Moon attraction, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Miracle 4-D, was announced for Universal Studios Japan.[124] It featured Sailor Moon and the Inner Guardians arriving at the theme park, only to discover and stop the Youma's plan from stealing people's energies. The attraction ran from March 16 through July 24, 2018.
The sequel attraction, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon The Miracle 4-D: Moon Palace Chapter, ran from May 31, 2019, to August 25, 2019. It featured all 10 Sailor Guardians and Super Sailor Moon.[125]
In January 2022, a new attraction was announced titled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon The Miracle 4-D: Moon Palace Chapter Deluxe. The attraction features the same storyline as the last and features the Sailor Guardians in their princess forms. It ran from March 4, 2022, to August 28, 2022.[126] The same attraction is expected to release in Universal Studios Hollywood in April 2026 as part of Universal Fan Fest Nights.[127]
Ice skating show
An ice skating show of Sailor Moon was announced on June 30, 2019, starring Evgenia Medvedeva as the lead.[128] The name for the ice-skating show was announced as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: Prism on Ice, as well as the additional casts, with Anza from the first Sailor Moon musicals to play Queen Serenity, and the main voice actresses of the Sailor Moon Crystal anime series to voice their individual characters. Takuya Hiramatsu from the musicals was to write the screenplay, Yuka Sato and Benji Schwimmer were to be in charge of choreography, and Akiko Kosaka & Gesshoku Kaigi were to write the music for the show.[129] The show was set to debut in early June 2020, but was first postponed to June 2021, and later to June 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[130][131][132] and finally cancelled on February 23, 2023, due to an "unstable world situation", following the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Idol group
A Japanese idol pop group named SG5, short for Sailor Guardians 5, was announced in June 2022. Early plans to form the group began in 2020, with the official lineup and overall concept finalized in 2022. As part of the process, the group had to seek the approval of Naoko Takeuchi by performing in front of her and giving a presentation. The group consists of five members: Sayaka, Ruri, Miyuu, Kaede, and Rui. They officially debuted in July 2022 at Anime Expo.[134][135][136] On March 1, 2023, SG5 released their debut single "Firetruck", alongside a music video with references to the manga.[137] The group re-debuted under the name F5ve with the single "Lettuce" in May 2024, ceasing their association with Sailor Moon.[138]
