Seasons 1-3
On July 6, 2012, Kodansha and Toei Animation announced that it would commence production of a new anime adaptation for a simultaneous worldwide release in 2013 as part of the series' 20th anniversary celebrations.[18][19] The idol group Momoiro Clover Z would perform the opening and closing theme songs, "Moon Pride" and "Gekkō" respectively.[20] In April 2013, it was announced the new anime had been delayed.[21] On August 4, 2013, it was confirmed the new anime will be streamed late in the year.[20]
On January 9, 2014, it was announced the anime would premiere in July,[3][22][23] and on the same day, executive producer, Atsutoshi Umezawa announced that the new anime is not a remake of the previous anime, but a reboot by adapting Naoko Takeuchi's original manga from scratch.[4] On March 13, 2014, the new anime's official website was updated to show a countdown beginning on March 14 for an announcement due to occur on March 21.[24] That day, Toei's website showed an image displaying the key visual art, synopsis, and staff for the new anime. It also revealed the anime would be called. The series was directed by Munehisa Sakai at Toei Animation, Yūji Kobayashi handled the series' scripts, Yukie Sakō handled the character designs, and Yasuharu Takanashi composed the music.[25]
The cast and premiere date were announced at the 20th Anniversary Project Special Stage on April 27, 2014. The anime would premiere on July 5, 2014. Episodes would premiere on the first and third Saturdays of each month.[26] The new cast were announced, along with Kotono Mitsuishi reprising her role as Usagi Tsukino.[27] On April 30, 2014, Toei confirmed the series would run for 26 episodes and streamed worldwide on the video sharing Niconico website with subtitles in 12 languages on the first and third Saturdays of each month.[2] It debuted on July 5, 2014, and ended on January 17, 2015.
On November 8, 2014, it was announced that the latter half of the 26 episode-run will be the second season, covering the Black Moon arc of the manga.[28] During a special screening of the Dark Kingdom finale on December 27, 2014, the new cast for the second season were announced.[29] The second season debuted on February 7, 2015, and ended on July 18, 2015. The Blu-ray updated version of the first and second season aired on Japanese television in April 2015.[30]
On September 28, 2015, the day in which the final episode of the second season was aired on Japanese television, it was announced that production for the third season of Sailor Moon Crystal was given the green light. The third season covered the Infinity arc of the manga (known as Death Busters arc in Japan).[31] The name for the season was announced as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal Season III (美少女戦士セーラームーン Season III). Chiaki Kon replaced Munehisa Sakai as the series director, and Akira Takahashi took over Yukie Sakō's position as a character designer. The latter returning staff and new cast for the third season were announced in a live webcast on January 27, 2016.[15] The first episode of the third season was previewed at a special event held at Animate Ikebukuro store in Tokyo on March 6, 2016.[32] The third season began its regular airing on Japanese television on April 4, 2016,[33] and ended on June 27, 2016, with a total of 13 episodes.
Sequels
On January 25, 2017, it was announced on the Sailor Moon 25th anniversary website that Sailor Moon Crystal would receive a sequel,[34] revealed as the fourth season covering the Dream arc of the manga, but being produced as a two-part theatrical anime film project opposed to a television season. Chiaki Kon returned as a main director,[35][36] while Kazuko Tadano handled the character designs, who took over Akira Takahashi's position from the third season.[37][38] Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, replacing Yūji Kobayashi, wrote the scripts, original creator & mangaka Naoko Takeuchi was credited as a chief supervisor, Yasuharu Takanashi returned to compose the music, and Studio Deen co-animated and produced the films with Toei Animation.[39]
