Welcome to the PGSM section of IKK. This features information concerning the latest reincarnation of the great shoujo manga, Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon.

       Naoko Takeuchi wowed her fans when she announced in 2003 that Sailor Moon would indeed return, but this time as a sentai (live action) called Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (PGSM). Auditions for the role of the soldiers of justice were held but in the end these five girls made the cut:

Miyuu Sawai- Sailor Moon

Chisaki Hama- Sailor Mercury

Keiko Kitagawa- Sailor Mars

Myuu "Mew" Azama- Sailor Jupiter

Ayaka Komatsu- Sailor Venus

      This version of Sailor Moon enjoyed the same success as its predecessor on a smaller scale. Unlike the anime, however, PGSM  was based and designed in style much closer to the manga even though it still followed a different story arch. This time, there was more focus on character development as you got to see how the girls interacted with each other in more realistic situations while still having that good old Sailor Moon fun.

       PGSM begins with Usagi Tsukino, the typically ditzy Japanese girl who, one day while running late for school, runs into a talking stuffed cat named Luna. In a later meeting, when Usagi's best friend, Naru was attacked by a Youma (monster) Luna introducers her to her role as the senshi of love and justice, Sailor Moon. As the story progresses, Usagi is joined by the brainy Ami Mizuno (Sailor Mercury), bad tempered Rei Hino (Sailor Mars), and the motherly tom boyish Makoto Kino (Sailor Jupiter). As the four girls battle with Youmas sent by the vicious Queen Beryl (who spends most of her time watching and waiting) and her Shintennou (Jedite, Nephlite, Zoicite, and Kunzite) they try to come to terms with their past lives, awakening powers, and the mysterious pop star Minako Aino (Sailor Venus).

         Aside from all of that, there is the tension and love between Usagi and her lover in her past life Mamoru Chiba (Tuxedo Mask) who at one point in the series is dating another girl. And right when they seem to finally be together, Mio, an extension of Queen Beryl's self adds to their already complicated love life. Let us not forget dear Princess Sailor Moon, the soul unification of Princess Serene (Usagi's past self) and Sailor Moon. The result is a vengeful warrior that for once brings the airy all loving Usagi to a more human level. Yeah, even the bad guys blow up. Many important issues are brought up. Which is more important, the past or the future? With so much arguing and drama, it's a wonder these girls were able to put aside their differences and save the world. In the end, after battling  it out with Princess Sailor Moon and failing and then having to watch as she destroys the world and THEN joining up in the end for a heart warming embrace just makes you want to smile.

          For such an interesting series, I must say it had one of the worst endings I've ever seen in my life! There were so many plot holes and the ending just seemed sort of rushed. Also, the concept of Princess Sailor Moon destroying the world and bringing it back all in the name of her love for Mamoru forces you to refrain from rolling your eyes. The whole concept of PGSM was unity among the senshi so why not ended it that way? Then again, in the manga Sailor Moon DID stand alone, but not under the same circumstances that are presented in the sentai.

        Yes, the CG animation sucked, and not all the actors were a sight to behold but the five actresses held their parts down and brought a little treat for fans and non fans everywhere, while getting a little fame themselves. It was quite obvious that the castors chose looks over talent but over time the girls began to grow into their characters and play them really well! PGSM ended with 49 episodes in 2004 and followed up with 2 DVD movies, the Special Act (which tells the story of what happens to the Sailor Senshi 4 years after they defeat Metalia), and Act Zero (Codename: Sailor V brought to life.)
 

BISHOUJO SENSHI SAILOR MOON

         In order to  fully understand PGSM you have to understand what it's based on. In 1992, Naoko Takeuchi first created her manga Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon) as a spin off from Codename wa Sailor V (Codename: Sailor V) for Kodansha comics. It was about a 14 year old girl named Usagi Tsukino who just happened to be a sailor-suited super heroine called Sailor Moon. With the help of her talking pet cat named Luna, she and the other Sailor Senshi, fought evil in order to protect the earth. Naoko cleverly intertwined Greek, Roman, and Japanese mythology to get her desired effect. Throughout the story you can see each character grow more into soldiers of justice as they faced off with heavy duty villains. A simple concept that  when told right, became a regurgitated manga. In other words, there would be many other manga after Naoko's imitating the style that is Sailor Moon. This wasn't Naoko's first manga work but Sailor Moon became Naoko Takeuchi's most popular and well known manga. Sailor Moon was an instant hit. It became an anime almost automatically. The animators ended up adding a whole made up part of a season just so Naoko could catch up in the manga.

       Never before was a manga really able to create so much attention so fast, especially a shoujo magical girl styled manga. Sailor Moon lasted 5 anime seasons (200 episodes) and 18 volumes of manga. The whole series became a Sera Myu (a musical), and merchandise went off the wall. Sailor Moon didn't come to the U.S. until 1995, where the success was almost as equivalent. The manga was licensed by Tokyopop and is, in the words of the CEO Stuart Levy, what helped boost that company's popularity and the manga/ anime revolution in America as a whole. Dubbing for Sailor Moon only went up to 4 seasons (as the whole concept of the Sailor Starlights in the final season was hard to account for) on Cartoon Network but was taken off the air after their contract with Pioneer ran out. But at that time, Sailor Moon was slowly beginning to lose popularity so it's chances of ever coming back on air is very slim (unless you have the anime channel).

      In spite of all its successes, Sailor Moon had its down falls particularly in the conversion from manga to anime. Anyone familiar with manga will agree that the story presented through the anime is almost completely different from the manga from storyline, characters, and even costuming. When Sailor Moon was dubbed in English, Sailor Moon lost almost all sense of its original Japanese background, from changing of the names to sound more American, to down playing the Japanese culture. Many can agree without a doubt that Naoko wasn't too happy with the anime, she didn't allow Sailor Moon to have an OAV series or show any sign of continuing the series once it ended. For then, Sailor Moon was gone. Naoko seemed to miss her characters herself. She created other manga after Sailor Moon, but none of them seemed to get off the ground, even with a manga creator for a husband. So ultimately, as of now, Sailor Moon is Naoko Takeuchi's greatest work, and one of the greatest shoujo mangas of all time.