Sailor Moon got a remake one that was meant to be closer to the manga than the original 90s Anime. Expectations were high but it seemed to disappoint. It took years but after Sailor Moon Crystal ended it was able to continue and finish its story with a series of movies Eternal and Cosmos. Overall the remake had its ups and downs but overall I can say that it’s a short enjoyable way to watch Sailor Moon. Here is what is enjoyable, bad and worth talking about this version.
I’ll talk first in general about something that is for the most part true for the entire series, even if it does change over time and I’ll address those later, but here are some general thoughts. I like the art style, I didn’t like it at first but I got used to it works very well with the animation. When it launched it did have a worse art style that got corrected in the BluRay, for some reason some streaming services still show the original versions and not the updated ones. I watched the updated version so I think it looks fine and way better than the first airing. You should know that with each release (season/movie) it kept looking better and become more fluid since they aren’t enough at first..
I miss the filler of the anime, in general everything about the remake feels rushed and way too fast. I liked getting to know the characters. But for example they jump to Ami for the second episode. The music is decent and while I can’t say that it’s bad It’s also nowhere near as iconic as the original anime’s soundtrack. You don’t feel the same emotion and attachment to the characters so in a way it’s true that it lacks soul. It’s not even a straight manga adaptation, the manga has more style and this can be too wooden that doesn’t change much, so it lacks personality. Crystal was divided into three seasons of 13 episodes each to tell it’s arc. Later we got 2 two-part movies that tell their respective arcs so think of it like 6 episodes each.
Crystal Season 1: Equivalent to the original season. I do like the story is a bit different, it makes it more exciting not knowing what’s going to happen. It lacks emotion and the story goes fast, no time to breathe. it’s a different take of the og anime, not better in many ways but some twists are fun. The whole ending is a bit dumb as the original.
Crystal Season 2: Equivalent to R. Chibiusa is less annoying but the anime is still rather fast. Sailor Senshi episodes focus are here but kida odd since they get captured. SAince the storyline goes quick, there is no real developmenet. You don’t really get to see much of the villains and it rushes towards the end rather quickly. However it then kinda stalls there for a few episodes which is not exciting. The bad guys are like Kirby otherworld evil.
Crystal Infinity Season 3: Equivalent to S and now with a subtitle. There is new animation/character designs and it looks different and better in many ways. It feels more cartoony so in a way I’d like the preivous style instead it just needed more fluidity. Here it looks far more cartoony more like the og anime but it can also feel like an upgrade in some points. some parts are a bit boring but other parts are solid and great. Different from the original anime’s take though not better though some parts are good differences. the animation much better. It’s the best season overall.
Eternal: Equivalent to Super S. We see the movie budget reflected here and it feels better. I love the style, character designs. The animation and style is the potential that crystal had from the start. It’s far more interesting in movie form or is it the arc that is just more interesting? i don’t know but i’m far more engaged. you can definitely see how they coudl’ve been episodes instead of amovie. The endings in all the arcs are just awful lackluster so I won’t hold it against it here. Unlike the original anime that had a terrible Super S arc, this stuck closer to the manga and succeeded at making it interesting.
Cosmos: Equivalent to Stars. Darker than previous movie so not as interesting but at the same time not as fun. It is still good, just darker.. And that is not as fun but it’s fun if that makes any sense. A lot of stuff happens quickly so you kinda have to already know what’s going on. Sad cats from another planet meow. Too much stuff happens without knowing what’s going on, you really need to pay a lot of attention or be familiar with the arc. The ending is ok, it leaves a cliffhanger.
Overall a decent way to watch sailor moon, some things better than the original anime but it’ still an inferior adaptation despite trying to stick closer to the manga. It’s nice. I do miss the Dub names. The remake was more focused on the manga stories so it’s why it’s more focused on giving a story for the anime to adapt than making a compelling plot. This helped the original anime since Crystal was more focused on giving story for the anime to adapt than making a compelling story. Which is why the OG anime was able to exploit it, involve it, and further expand on it.