Sunday, June 10, 2007

Cardcaptor Sakura


Cardcaptor Sakura (カードキャプターさくら , Kādokyaputā Sakura?), also known as Card Captor Sakura (with the space) and often abbreviated as CCS, is a magical girl manga series from the well-known all-female artist team Clamp. Cardcaptor Sakura is published in Japan by Kodansha and was serialized in Nakayoshi. The series consists of twelve volumes. It won the noted Seiun Award for best manga in 2001.

The anime television series (1998-2000) based on the manga consists of 70 half-hour episodes (spread over three seasons), two theatrically released movies, and several specials. Nelvana produced an English dub of the anime series, titled Cardcaptors, which aired in English-speaking countries.[1] An unedited English translation, entitled Cardcaptor Sakura, was broadcast in its English-language networks by the anime television network Animax. Cardcaptor Sakura has also been released in English-speaking countries in an unedited and subtitled DVD under its original title.

As the series progresses, there is a pattern of foreshadowing and dreams that lead to an unusual conclusion. Like Magic Knight Rayearth, one of Clamp's previous works, Cardcaptor Sakura is a new twist on an old genre.

Due in part to its animation and characterization, Cardcaptor Sakura has a wide fanbase on the Internet, particularly in the categories of yaoi, shōjo, yuri, and moé.

Most of the characters in Cardcaptor Sakura also appear in one of Clamp's later manga series, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.

Plot
The show begins as a simple girls' anime of the magical girl genre. Ten-year-old Sakura Kinomoto opens a mysterious book in her father's study and accidentally lets loose the magical Clow Cards. By her ability to open the seal, Sakura is revealed to have special powers, and it becomes her responsibility to retrieve the missing cards. The task involves finding each card, battling its magical personification, and sealing it away. She is assisted by Cerberus (Kerberos, also known as Kero-chan), the Beast of the Seal assigned to protect the cards, who was asleep when Sakura opened the Clow Book (He was on a "nap" at the time, which lasted 30 years).
Kero-chan, who looks like an animated plush toy throughout most of the series (his "borrowed" form), guides Sakura as she develops her Cardcaptor powers. In the first episode, he presents her with the Key of the Seal, which allows her to fight and capture the Clow Cards.

Clow Card Arc (クロウカード編 , Kurou Kādo-hen?)The first and second seasons of the anime and first six volumes of the manga focus on Sakura's attempts to capture the released Clow Cards.
Cerberus acts as her guide and mentor throughout the quest, while classmate and best friend
Tomoyo Daidouji (who is also her second cousin) assists in designing Sakura's battle costumes and filming her adventures. Sakura also competes with Syaoran Li, the descendant of the Clow Cards' creator, Clow Reed, in capturing the Cards. The first half of the series ends after the Final Judgment, in which those who have attempted to capture the Clow Cards are tested by the mysterious Yue for the right to become Master of the Clow.

Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie (劇場版カードキャプターさくら , Gekijōban Kādokyaputā Sakura?)Occurring between episodes 35 and 36 of the 1st and 2nd seasons, respectively, (or the middle of the 1st season in international releases), the first movie takes Sakura and company to Hong Kong during winter break. Still in her quest to capture all the Clow Cards, Sakura encounters new challenges, some of which take place in ominous dreams. Sakura must defeat a vengeful sorceress rejected by Clow Reed in the past or risk losing her family and friends.

Sakura Card Arc (さくらカード編 , Sakura Kādo-hen?)The third season of the anime and last six volumes of the manga introduce several new characters, including the enigmatic Eriol Hiiragizawa. Since Sakura has now become the new Master of the Clow Cards, she must transform them under her own magic into Sakura Cards. At the same time, new strange disturbances are occurring in Tomoeda, which adds further pressure to Sakura's task. Meanwhile, Syaoran falls in love with Sakura and tries to find a way to admit his feelings to her.

Cardcaptor Sakura The Movie 2: The Sealed Card (劇場版カードキャプターさくら 封印されたカード , Gekijōban Kādokyaputā Sakura Fūin Sareta Kādo?)Occurring after the end of the 3rd season (2nd season in international releases), the 2nd movie brings closure to the relationship questions between Sakura and Syaoran, which were left somewhat unanswered in the last episode of the TV series. Like the 1st movie, the 2nd movie does not follow or adapt from any events depicted in the manga and, therefore, closes the anime series in a different manner. Syaoran has already admitted his feelings to Sakura, but she has yet to answer him. Chances become good when Syaoran visits Tomoeda from Hong Kong over the summer and participates in a school play with Sakura during the Nadeshiko Festival. However, Sakura has more issues challenging her than finding the right moment to confess to Syaoran. A strange force begins stealing the Sakura Cards and erasing portions of Tomoeda. Sakura soon encounters a mysterious Clow Card called The Nothing, the antithesis of the 52 Sakura Cards with as much negative power as all their positive powers combined.

Characters and cards
While several character can be considered main characters due to their importance to the plot, Sakura Kinomoto is the protagonist of the story. Other characters who have supporting roles often have reoccurring appearances in the story.


Clow Cards / Sakura Cards
Main article: Clow Cards

Anime
Main article: List of Cardcaptor Sakura episodes
Main article: Cardcaptor Sakura media information
Main article: Voice actors of Cardcaptor Sakura
Cardcaptor Sakura was adapted into an anime television series, which was animated by Madhouse and directed by Morio Asaka. It premiered on NHK from April 8, 1999 and finished airing on March 21, 2000. Clamp were fully involved in the project, with head writer Nanase Ōkawa writing and composing the series's screenplay and Mokona Apapa overseeing the costumes and card designs.

Staff
Original creators: CLAMP
Director: Morio Asaka
Series Composition: Nanase Ōkawa
Script: Nanase Ōkawa, Jirō Kaneko, Hiroshi Ishii, Tomoyasu Ōkubo, Tomoko Ogawa
Character Design: Kumiko Takahashi
Art Director: Katsufumi Hariu
Director of Photography: Hisao Shirai
Sound Director: Masafumi Mima
Music: Takayuki Negishi
Editing: Harutoshi Ogata
Organization: Tatsuhiko Urahata
Animation Production: Madhouse
Animation Producer: Tetsuya Ono
Producer: Eizo Kondō
Executive Producers: Yasuko Uchizawa, Akira Watanabe

Video games
The series has also been adapted into multiple video games, developed for the Game Boy, PlayStation, WonderSwan, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance and PlayStation 2, each of them released only in Japan.

English adaptation

English manga
The manga was translated into English by Tokyopop (Formerly Mixx). Characters kept their Japanese names in the translated manga, however Yukito's nickname, Yuki, which is used by only Toya in the original version, is used by the entire cast in the English version. Plotwise, the manga is mostly unchanged from the original.

The earlier edition of the first six volumes were flipped to read left to right, while the later six volumes, released under the name Cardcaptor Sakura: Master of the Clow, read the original right-to-left way. The original six volumes were later re-released in the original right-to-left format with the same cover style as the latter six volumes.

Kodansha also published bilingual editions of the manga to help Japanese children learn English. Many English-reading fans preferred the paper quality and translations of these editions to the Tokyopop editions. Kodansha stopped publishing the editions when it was found that English-speakers in North America imported Kodansha's translations ahead of Tokyopop's releases and did not buy Tokyopop's releases. Therefore, only Tokyopop has all of the volumes translated.
The North American translation is imported to Australia by Madman Entertainment.

Cardcaptors
Main article: Cardcaptors
Cardcaptor Sakura was adapted into English by Nelvana and brought to the United States and other English-speaking countries under the name Cardcaptors.

Animax translation
The anime television network, Animax, aired an uncensored English translation and dub of the complete Cardcaptor Sakura series, entitled under its actual name Cardcaptor Sakura, featuring their own English dubbing team, and staying faithful to the original, retaining all of the original names, plot and dialogue, for broadcast across its English-language networks in Southeast Asia[2][3] and South Asia.[4][5]

References
Cardcaptor Sakura, anime TV series, (1998). Cardcaptor Sakura [Television series, DVD]. Japan: Bandai Visual.
Cardcaptor Sakura, manga series, Clamp (w), Cardcaptor Sakura 1996 Kodansha
Official Cardcaptor Sakura Website (NHK) (Japanese). Retrieved on 2006-11-19.
Official Cardcaptors Website. Retrieved on 2006-11-19.
Anime News Network – Cardcaptor Sakura (manga). Retrieved on 2006-11-19.
^ Poitras, Gilles (2001). Anime Essentials: Every Thing a Fan Needs to Know. Stone Bridge Press, 27. ISBN 1-880656-53-1.
^ Animax Asia's Page for their Cardcaptor Sakura (Season One) Dub
^ Animax Asia's Page for their Cardcaptor Sakura (Season Two - Last Two Seasons) Dub
^ Animax South Asia's Page for their Cardcaptor Sakura (Season One) Dub
^ Animax South Asia's Page for their Cardcaptor Sakura (Season Two - Last Two Seasons) Dub


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Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール, Doragonbōru?) is a Japanese manga by Akira Toriyama. It involves a young martial artist named Son Goku as he searches for the Dragon Balls, and becomes stronger.
Dragon Ball was originally serialized in the weekly anthology magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995, and originally collected into 42 individual books called tankōbon.

In 2004, the manga was re-released in a 34 volume collection called Kanzenban, which included a slightly rewritten ending, new covers, and color artwork from its Weekly Shōnen Jump run.

In the U.S., VIZ Media has released all 42 volumes (nearly matching the first Japanese set) in English. VIZ titles the second part of the manga Dragon Ball Z to reduce confusion for North American audiences.

The series is published in the United Kingdom by Gollancz Manga.



Plot
The story of Dragon Ball follows the life of Son Goku, a monkey-tailed boy loosely inspired by the traditional Chinese novel Journey to the West (西遊記). The Dragon Ball franchise continues until Goku becomes an adult. The franchise then changes to Dragon Ball Z. During his life, he fights many battles and eventually becomes the strongest martial artist in the entire universe. He is not without help, however, as the manga has a large ensemble cast of martial artist heroes and villains which provide the conflicts which drive the story.
The eponymous Dragon Balls are one component of the universe, but are not the focus for most of the plot lines. The Dragon Balls themselves are seven magical orbs which are scattered across the world. When assembled, they can be used to summon Shen Long, the dragon god who will grant one wish within its limit. After the wish is granted, the Dragon Balls are scattered again across the world and become inert for one year. In times past, it would take generations to search the world and gather the Dragon Balls. In the beginning of the story, however, a 16 year old genius girl named Bulma has created a "Dragon Radar" to detect the Dragon Balls and made the process far easier than it was originally intended to be.

Evolution
The story of Dragon Ball unfolded gradually over 11 years of publication. During those years, the tone and the style of the stories gradually changed to reflect the tastes of the readers and the editors of Japanese Shonen Jump.

The early volumes of the manga (Chapters 1-134) are primarily humorous fantasy stories, but containing some minor sci-fi elements, much like Dr. Slump. Notable fantasy elements include not only the monkey boy Son Goku and the Dragon Balls themselves, but also many talking animal characters, unlikely martial arts techniques, and characters identified as gods and demons. Despite the fantasy elements, the world does contain highly advanced technology including hoi-poi capsules, space-saving capsules which are pocket sized but can store almost any object, including flying cars, and similar "near future" objects. The overall mood of the earlier volumes is light with few deaths and an emphasis on adventure and humor.

A subtle but significant change in mood began after Son Goku's best friend Kuririn was killed (the first of many deaths in this arc). This began the Piccolo Daimaō arc (Chapters 135-194) in which the manga enters a darker tone compared to its earlier volumes.

Dragon Ball fully transformed into an action based shōnen manga at the onset of the Saiyan arc (Chapters 195-241). Starting with introduction of Son Goku's first son, things begin to take a much more serious and harder sci-fi approach. Many characters which previously had fantasy origins (Son Goku, Piccolo) are recast as aliens from other planets. Space travel, alien threats, and powerful cyborgs & androids take center stage instead of more fantastic villains.

After the defeat of Vegeta, and the conclusion of the Saiyan arc, the survivors of the vicious Saiyan attack head off to the Planet Namek to resurrect their friends. This begins the Freeza arc (Chapters 242-329). The Freeza arc is noteworthy for introducing the first Super Saiyan, now a staple of the series. It also set the tone for more awesomely powerful characters. For example, the antagonist Freeza has a "power level" (the series' futuristic measure of a fighter's speed and strength, i.e. one average human is listed as 5) of 530,000. He then transforms into a more powerful form, at which point his power level is over one million. After two subsequent transformations, he reveals that he is still only using a fraction of his full power.

The Cell arc (Chapters 330-420) introduced Trunks, a mysterious Half-Saiyan Half-Human from a destroyed future world where all of the Z Senshi have been killed by evil, seemingly invincible war machines called the Jinzōningen, and the enigmatic and villainous Cell who was made from the cells from most of the heroes as well as some of the villains. It was between this arc and the last arc that creator Akira Toriyama stopped measuring characters' power levels in the stories, deciding that it limited the stories.

After these arcs and Son Goku's death and staying in heaven is the Majin Buu arc (Chapters 421-519) which is the very last arc of the Dragon Ball manga. The Majin Buu arc features more of the humor and fantastic plot elements that were present in the very early volumes of the manga. The beginning of this final arc concentrates on a teenaged Son Gohan mostly. Son Goku makes his return after being dead for seven years. All the male saiyans manage to reach the level of Super Saiyan at least (including fusions). Super Saiyan 2 is reached by Son Gohan, Son Goku and Vegeta. And the ultimate level of the Saiyans, Super Saiyan 3, is reached by Son Goku and Gotenks. A considerable number of fusions also take place to add to the series, allowing Son Goten and Trunks to merge to form Gotenks, and Son Goku and Vegeta fuse to create the incredibly powerful, invincible Super Vegetto. During this series, Majin Buu manages to kill everyone on Earth including central characters like Vegeta and increasing his own power by absorbing Gotenks, Piccolo and Son Gohan. Majin Buu also succeeds where the villains Vegeta, Freeza and Cell had previously failed and destroys Earth. Majin Buu's evil side is destroyed by Son Goku's Genki Dama, and everyone (including Earth) is restored.

Majin Buu's evil side is reincarnated into a being of pure good called Uub. Son Goku and Uub fight at the 28th Tenkaichi Budokai, Uub enters to get money (zennie) for his village. Son Goku decides to train Uub to become even stronger than himself, the strongest fighter in the entire Universe. Uub's village will get money from Mr. Satan. To say goodbye every hero character to ever appear in the entire manga (except minors), all wave to the readers and a huge "THE END" sign floats above them.

After completing this series, Toriyama had a rest and then made another manga called Neko Majin. This manga featured many elements and characters from Dragonball, including Mr. Boo, Vegeta and even Son Goku himself.



Recurring themes
Karmic themes also pervade through Dragon Ball. The young Son Goku is sent to Earth to destroy it and in many ways he fulfills his mission. After Son Goku's arrival, dozens of villains come searching for him or encounter him by accident. Son Goku manages to save Earth numerous times, even at the cost of his life. The perils that Earth face reflect the karmic repercussions of Son Goku's ruthless Saiyan ancestors. In many ways Son Goku is paying for the sins of his forebears and by defending his adopted home, Son Goku is redeeming a lost race of mighty warriors.

For all its martial arts bravado, the story of Dragon Ball centers primarily around the value of forgiveness and love, kindness and compassion, generally conveyed through "pure" ideals of Son Goku and Son Gohan, and everyone whose lives they touch. Nearly every major character in the manga entered the series as a villain but was, through one method or another, converted to the side of good by being given a chance to live, as opposed to being deprived of it by death. Often, this would entail a temporary team up to defeat a greater foe, but somehow the former enemies rarely found the motivation to begin fighting again after the common enemy's defeat. This theme was evident from the beginning (with the conversion of Yamcha, Oolong, Pu'ar, Tenshinhan and Chaozu) and continued even to the last arc (with the exception of Cell and Freeza). Majin Buu however, splits into good and bad personalities, and the bad one is told to be reincarnated as a good guy named Uub. This style of redemption is not unique to Dragon Ball (It is often seen even in comic books of the U.S.), but it is significant that it persisted even through other major shifts in style and tone.

Dragon Ball is also significant in its theme of self-improvement and piety. Throughout the series, the protagonists never cease in their martial arts training. Son Goku remains the strongest martial artist through the series, and he trains for no other reason than for self-improvement. Furthermore, the downfall of most of the antagonists is their own self-importance — their belief that because of their power, they are untouchable.



Relation to Journey to the West
There are many parallels between Journey to the West and Dragon Ball.
In the original story, the priest, Xuanzang and his company search for the legendary Buddhist scriptures in the West. In Dragon Ball, Bulma and her company search for the legendary Dragon Balls.

The equivalent to Sun Wukong of the original texts is Son Goku in Dragon Ball.
The equivalent to Xuanzang of the original texts is Bulma in Dragon Ball.
The equivalent to Zhu Wuneng of the original texts is Oolong in Dragon Ball.
The equivalent to Sha Wujing of the original texts is Yamcha in Dragon Ball
The equivalent to Niu Mo Wang of the original texts is Gyū-Maō in Dragon Ball.
Some ideas from Journey to the West are borrowed later in the series.
Son Goku's Nyoi-bō comes from Sun Wukong's magic staff that can change to any size anytime he sees fit.
Flying clouds are driven by both protagonists.
The borrowing of the palm-leaf fan from the Gyū-Maō to put out the Flaming Mountains occurred in both stories.
Son Goku finds himself in a place reminiscent of the pillars of Buddha's palm, the location which Sun Wukong's rampage was finally put to an end.



Editing of the North American version
The Dragon Ball manga is published as both Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z in North America by Viz. Originally, both of these releases were censored for nudity and some graphic content.

By the end of 2004, all Dragon Ball manga had been released almost completely unedited, including rereleases of the previously edited volumes 1 through 3. One notable exception was the removal of Mr. Popo's lips as well as a few other dark skinned characters.[citation needed] Another notable edit is the changing of any hand that "gives the middle finger" into a fist.

As of 2006, Viz reverted to editing the Dragon Ball manga, with the majority of nudity and all profanity being removed. The Dragon Ball Z manga remains edited with Mr. Satan's name being changed to "Hercule" and nudity being removed, as well as gun edits in later volumes. This included changing a gun into a "laser gun" and by extension, the sound effects in Volume 24(U.S.)/40(Japanese), even though Volume 20/36 contained a scene in which Gohan stopped several robbers who used guns and shot a character.[citation needed] In addition, while profanity is retained in earlier volumes, the translation loosens in later ones, with such phrases as "Blast/curse you" instead of "Damn him/you," "shoot" instead of "damn," amongst others.

In the Viz English manga, Vegetto is named Vegerot (Volume 26 American, Volume 42 Japanese). This was Viz's attempt at sticking with original name puns while taking creative control. Vegerot comes from Vegeta and Kakarot. While this makes more sense as opposed to FUNimation keeping his original name, though spelling it "Vegito", this change was unwelcome with fans of the original version[citation needed], along with all of the other changes being made recently to the Dragon Ball Z graphic novels, including, but not limited to, slight zoom-in as a result of certain discrepancies within the English and original Japanese languages respectively, printing errors, mistranslations, removal of all profanity, references to alcohol and/or drugs, firearms, sexual innuendo, etc. This resulted in the series receiving an "A" (which stands for "All Ages") rating, a demographic which Viz generally targets its material at, in spite a great deal of criticism from fans.[citation needed]



Relation to the Anime
Both Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z anime are based on the same original Dragon Ball manga. Dragon Ball follows Son Goku's adventures as a child up until his marriage as an adult; roughly the arcs that had the most fantasy and humor elements. Dragon Ball Z takes up the story five years after where the Dragon Ball anime leaves off, with the introduction of Son Goku's young son and the arrival of a new, more powerful foe. Dragon Ball GT is the sequel to Dragon Ball Z, but is not based on the original manga by Akira Toriyama.








Influence on other series
In the Sonic the Hedgehog series, there are arguably a few references to Dragon Ball. Both the Chaos Emeralds and Super Sonic are nods to Toriyama's work. According to the Japanese strategy guide for Sonic Jam, the special stages in Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles were inspired by (North) Kaiō-sama's planet. The Jewel Radar, which bears a strong visual and functional resemblance to the Dragon Radar, is mentioned in the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Japanese manual and appears in Sonic Riders. The last reference is noted through the comparison of Sonic characters to Dragon Ball Z characters, with Sonic mimicking the role of Son Goku, Shadow taking on the role of Vegeta, Knuckles with the role of Piccolo and the time-travelling Silver to resemble Future Trunks. In Sonic Riders an Extreme Gear called 'Hovercraft' is a large cloud, similar to that of the Nimbus Cloud that Son Goku rides in appearance.

In an episode of the animated show The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Mandy eats a "Chicken Ball" which makes her transform into a Super Saiyan-like form. The episode is called "Chicken Ball Z"
Masashi Kishimoto states in his comic Naruto that he was influenced by Toriyama. Kishimoto included a picture of Arale he drew in elementary school. This can also be seen in the fact that the title character wears an orange gi (martial arts robe) similar to Son Goku 's. Also, in one volume of the manga, a mask resembling the face of Chaozu can be seen in the background.

Eiichiro Oda, the author of the comic One Piece, stated in an interview that he was a big fan of Dragon Ball. He stated that it was Toriyama that influenced him and that he holds Dragon Ball in high esteem. Toriyama in turn is a self-professed fan of One Piece, which he was introduced to by his children. Many similarities to Dragon Ball can be seen in One Piece, especially the similarity in personalities between Son Goku and Luffy. There have even been a few one-shot crossovers between the two series.

The Fairly OddParents TV movie Channel Chasers featured a fictional anime series parodying Dragon Ball. The series was called Maho Mushi (roughly translating to Magical Insect), and featured a Tenka-ichi Budōkai-like tournament; even the announcer was similar to the one in Dragon Ball. Also, the character drawing style was a direct reference to Toriyama's early style.

Timmy wears a white gi similar to Son Goku's orange gi, while Vicky wears a black cape with
shoulder protection,like Piccolo's. Also, Cosmo accidentally released two Kamehameha-style attacks from his hands, crashing into the walls of the stadium in the exact way, and spot that Vegeta did in the tournament just before the start of the Majin Buu arc.

In Robot Chicken, Son Goku and Gohan are used in an episode to help Santa battle against other foes.

On the November 11, 2006 episode of Saturday Night Live, the TV Funhouse segment featured a short where professional eater Takeru Kobayashi transforms into a Super Saiyan and utilizes his ability to consume massive amounts of hot dogs in order to perform good deeds. Many more references to Dragon Ball were present, including usage of sound effects and music from the anime, and the display of several DBZ clips in the background at certain points through out the short. Hirudegarn, Dabra, Dr. Gero, Android 19, King Cold, and off-color lookalikes of Freeza, Captain Ginyu, and Pui Pui make appearances during the short, and Bulma, Trunks, and Chaozu can be seen in the DBZ clips often shown in the background.

Akira Toriyama's previous television work was Dr. Slump, the story of Dr. Senbei Norimaki and his android daughter, Arale Norimaki, which he created, living in Penguin Village. In a few chapters of the Dragon Ball manga, Goku appeared in Penguin Village, where he found the atomic powered girl to be his match.

In an episode of Kids Next Door, when the team performs their separate objectives to protect a box, number 4 has himself turning into a Super Saiyan 3 like form to battle his foe


See also

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball (anime)
Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball GT
Dragon Ball (artifact)
Lists of Dragon Ball characters
List of Dragon Ball cast members
List of Dragon Ball planets
List of Dragon Ball video games
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Sailormoon

Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン, Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn?, officially translated as Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon) is the title of a famous media franchise created by Japanese manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. It is generally credited with popularizing the concept of a sentai (team) of magical girls, as well as the general (re-)emergence of the magical girl genre itself.
The story of the various metaseries revolves around the reincarnated defenders of a kingdom that once spanned the solar system, and the evil forces that they battle. The major characters—called Sailor Senshi (literally "Sailor Soldiers"; frequently called "Sailor Scouts" in the North American version)—are teenage girls who can transform into heroines named for the moon and planets (Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, etc). The use of "Sailor" comes from a style of girls' school uniform popular in Japan, the sērā fuku ("sailor outfit"), after which the Senshi's uniforms are modeled. Fantastical elements in the series are heavily symbolic and often based on mythology.

Creation of the original Sailor Moon manga was preceded by another, Codename: Sailor V, which centered around just one Sailor Senshi. Takeuchi devised the idea when she wanted to create a cute series about girls in outer space, and her editor asked her to put them in sailor fuku.[1] When Sailor V was proposed for adaptation into an anime series, the concept was modified so that Sailor V herself became only one member of a team. The resulting manga series was a fusion of the popular magical girl and sentai genres of which Takeuchi was a fan,[2] making Sailor Moon one of the first series ever to combine the two.
The manga resulted in spinoffs into other types of media, including a highly popular anime, musical theatre productions, video games and a live-action (tokusatsu) series. Although most concepts in the many versions overlap, there are often notable differences, and thus continuity between the different formats is limited.

Story

The protagonist of Sailor Moon is Usagi Tsukino, who lives as an ordinary schoolgirl until she is found by a talking cat named Luna. Through Luna, Usagi learns that the world is about to be attacked by a Dark Kingdom that had appeared once before, long ago, and destroyed the kingdom of the moon. Her dormant powers are then awakened to defend the Earth against the coming onslaught, and she is led to a number of friends who join her in the battle.
Usagi fights using the identity of Sailor Moon, and as the story progresses she learns more and more about the enemies which face her and the evil force that is sending them. Gradually she discovers the truth about her own past life, her destined true love, and the possibilities for the future of the Solar System.

The plot spans five major story arcs, each of which is represented in both the manga and the anime, usually under different names. These are the unnamed original arc, the Black Moon arc (Sailor Moon R), the Infinity arc (Sailor Moon S), the Dream arc (Sailor Moon SuperS), and the Stars arc (Sailor Stars). The anime added an additional minor arc at the start of the second series, and spent the first few episodes of Sailor Stars wrapping up the plot from the series previous.

Characters
See also: List of minor Sailor Moon characters

Usagi Tsukino
The main character of the series, called Serena in the English anime (nicknamed Bunny in the manga). Usagi is a carefree schoolgirl with an enormous capacity for love, and transforms into the heroine called Sailor Moon. At the beginning of the series she is portrayed as an immature crybaby who hates having to fight evil and wants nothing more than to be a normal girl. As she progresses, however, she embraces the chance to use her power to protect those she cares about.

Mamoru Chiba
A student somewhat older than Usagi, called Darien in the English adaptations of the series. As a young child he was in a terrible car accident that robbed him of his parents and his knowledge of who he is. During the series he has some precognitive ability, including dreams that inspire him to take on the guise of Tuxedo Mask and fight alongside the Sailor Senshi. After an initially confrontational relationship, he and Usagi remember their past lives together and fall in love.

Ami Mizuno
A quiet bookworm in Usagi's class, called Amy in the English adaptations of the series. She is hugely intelligent, with an IQ of 300, and can transform into Sailor Mercury, acquiring power over water. Ami's shy exterior masks a passion for knowledge and for taking care of the people around her. She hopes to be a doctor one day, like her mother, and tends to be the practical one in the group. Secretly, she is also a fan of pop culture and romance novels, and becomes embarrassed whenever this is pointed out.

Rei Hino
An elegant miko (shrine maiden), called Raye in the English versions. Because of her work as a Shintō priestess, Rei can sense and dispel evil even in civilian form. When she transforms into Sailor Mars, she can also manipulate fire. She is very serious and focused, but although easily annoyed by Usagi's flightiness, cares about her very much. Rei is portrayed as boy-crazy in the early anime, but is uninterested in romance in both the manga and live-action series. She attends a private Catholic school, separate from the other girls.

Makoto Kino
A tomboy who transfers into Usagi's school, called Lita in the English versions. Very tall and strong for a Japanese schoolgirl, she can transform into Sailor Jupiter, attacking with lightning and with some control over plants. Both Makoto's parents died in a plane crash years ago, so she lives alone and takes care of herself. She cultivates her physical strength as well as more domestic interests, including housekeeping, cooking, and gardening. She wants to marry young and to own a flower and cake shop.

Minako Aino
A perky dreamer who acted on her own as Sailor V for some time. Called Mina in the English versions, she has a companion cat called Artemis who works alongside Luna in guiding the Senshi. Minako transforms into Sailor Venus, Soldier of Love, and is the leader of Sailor Moon's four inner guardians. She also dreams of becoming a famous singer and idol and attends auditions whenever she can. At the start of the live-action series, she is already these things, but has poor health and separates herself from the other Senshi.

Chibiusa
A little girl from 1,000 years in the future, called Rini in the English versions of the series. She comes to the 20th century on several occasions, whether to seek help or to be trained as a soldier, and learns to transform into Sailor Chibi Moon (or, in the English anime, Sailor Mini Moon). Chibiusa co-stars with Usagi in certain story arcs, though they sometimes have an adversarial relationship. She considers herself much more mature than Usagi, and wants to grow up and become a lady in her own right.

Setsuna Meioh
A mysterious woman, called Trista in the English anime. She is first revealed as Sailor Pluto, the Guardian of Time, whose duty is to protect the Space-Time Door from unauthorized travelers. It is only later that she appears on Earth, living as a college student. She has a distant personality and can be very stern, but can also be quite friendly and helps the younger Senshi when she can. After so long at the gate of time she carries a deep sense of loneliness, although she is close friends with Chibiusa.

Michiru Kaioh
A talented violinist with some precognition, called Michelle in the English anime. She is a year older than most of the other Senshi and can transform into Sailor Neptune, channeling the power of the ocean. She worked alone for some time before finding her partner, Sailor Uranus, with whom she fell in love. Michiru is elegant and personable, already well-known for her music as well as her painting, but has given up her own dreams for the life of a Senshi. She is fully devoted to this duty and willing to make any sacrifice for it.

Haruka Tenoh
A good-natured, masculine girl, called Amara in the English anime. Haruka is the same age as her partner, Michiru, and transforms into Sailor Uranus, Soldier of the Sky. Before becoming a Senshi she dreamed of being a racer, and is extremely good at it. She tends to dress and speak like a man, especially in the anime, and is so friendly and genial that nearly everyone she meets is attracted to her. When it comes to fighting the enemy, she distrusts outside help and prefers to work alone with Sailor Neptune and later Pluto and Saturn.

Hotaru Tomoe
A sweet, lonely young girl whose name is unchanged in English (though pronounced slightly differently). Daughter of a possessed mad scientist, she is sickly and weak as the result of a terrible lab accident in her youth. After overcoming the darkness that has surrounded her family, she is able to become the Soldier of Silence, Sailor Saturn. She wields forces of destruction so powerful that she is rarely called upon to use them, and unlike the others, her Senshi and civilian personas seem somewhat disconnected. She is often pensive, and as a human has the inexplicable power to heal others.

Adaptations

Manga
Main article: Sailor Moon (manga)
The Sailor Moon series began as a manga written and drawn by Naoko Takeuchi. It was an evolution from her earlier Codename wa Sailor V idea, expanding the concept into a team of five girls rather than just one.[1] Recurring themes include astronomy, astrology, Greek myth, Roman myth, geology, Japanese elemental themes,[3] and schoolgirl antics.
Only one story arc was originally planned, but after it was completed Takeuchi was asked to continue. Four more story arcs were produced,[4] often being published simultaneously with the five corresponding anime series. The complete original manga spans 52 issues, known as Acts, as well as ten separate side-stories. Its main series was serialized in Nakayoshi, Kodansha's shōjo magazine, from 1991 to 1995; the side-stories were serialized in Kodansha's Run Run.

The entire series has been published in book form by Kodansha. The first edition came out as the series was being produced, from 1992 until 1997, and consisted of 18 volumes with all the Acts and side stories in the order in which they had been released. The second edition, called the shinzōbun or "renewal" edition, began in 2003 when the live-action series was running. The individual Acts were redistributed so that there are more per book, and some corrections and updates were made to the dialogue and drawings. New art was featured as well, including completely new cover art and character sketches (including characters unique to the live-action series). In all, the new edition consists of 12 story volumes and two separate "short story" volumes.[5][6]

Anime

The anime's original series logo, which officially translates to "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon"


The Sailor Moon anime was produced by Toei Animation, and started airing only a month after the first issue of the manga was published. With 200 episodes airing between March 1992 and February 1997, Sailor Moon is one of the longest magical girl anime series.[7] The anime sparked a highly successful merchandising campaign of over 5000 items,[8] which contributed to demand all over the world and translation into numerous languages. Sailor Moon has since become one of the most famous anime properties in the world.[9][10]
Strictly speaking, Sailor Moon is an anime metaseries. It consists of five separate series averaging around 40 episodes each, often referred to as seasons by North American fans because of the over-arching storyline. Each series roughly corresponds to one of the five major story arcs of the manga, following the same general storyline and including most of the same characters. There were also three theatrically-released movies, as well as four special animated shorts.

Music for the series was written and composed by numerous people, including Naoko Takeuchi. Most of the background music was arranged by Takanori Arisawa, who won several awards due to the popularity of the various soundtracks in Japan and other countries. Over 40 Japanese music albums based on the series were released, as well as some 33 CD singles. In North America, only three CDs albums were released.[11]
All of the Sailor Moon anime was animated traditionally, and was directed at different times by Junichi Satō and Kunihiko Ikuhara. Character design was headed by Kazuko Tadano and Ikuko Itoh, both of whom were also animation directors.

Musicals

Main article: Sailor Moon musicals
The musical stage shows, usually referred to collectively as SeraMyu, were a series of live theatre productions that played over 800 performances in some 29 musicals between 1993 and 2005. The stories of the shows include anime-inspired plotlines as well as a large amount of original material. Music from the series has been released on about 20 "memorial" albums.[11]
Musicals ran twice a year, in the winter and in the summer. In the summer, the only venue for the musicals was the Sunshine Theatre in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo; however, in the winter it went on tour to the other large cities in Japan.

The final incarnation of the series, The New Legend of Kaguya Island (Revised Edition) (新・かぐや島伝説 <改訂版>, Shin Kaguyashima Densetsu (Kaiteban)?), was staged in January 2005. After that show, the series went on a hiatus. There have been no signs that the show will continue.[12]
Live-action series

A live-action version of Sailor Moon was broadcast from October 4, 2003 through September 25, 2004. The series is known officially as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (usually abbreviated to PGSM by fans), and it is the first series in the franchise to have a fully English title. It lasted a total of 49 episodes, and the broadcast originated from the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Numerous other television stations in Japan retransmitted the series.[13]
The series' storyline more closely follows the original manga than the anime at first, but in later episodes it proceeds into a significantly different storyline from either, with original characters and new plot developments.

In addition to the main episodes, there were two direct-to-video releases after the show ended its television broadcast. These were the "Special Act", which is set four years after the main storyline ends and which shows the wedding of the two main characters, and "Act Zero", a prequel which shows the origins of Sailor V and Tuxedo Mask.

Video games


Numerous Sailor Moon console and arcade games were released in Japan, all based on the anime series. They were primarily made by Bandai and a Japanese game company called Angel, with some being produced by Banpresto.[14] The early games were side-scrolling fighters, whereas the later ones were unique puzzle games, or versus fighting games. Another Story was a turn-based role-playing game.

The games mainly saw release on the Super Famicom, with the first side-scroller being ported to the Sega Mega Drive. Two side-scrolling adventure games were produced for the Game Boy (Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R), and a side-scrolling game was also produced for the Game Gear (Sailor Moon S), as well as a game for the PC Engine. A final versus fighting game was released for the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation. The last Sailor Moon-related game to date was released in November 2001 - Happy Chibiusa World. There is a game for the Wii console in development by NAMCO with the working title of "Sailor Moon".[15]

The only original Sailor Moon game to be released outside of Japan was the Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon game developed by Angel, released in France as "Sailormoon" in 1994.[14] The other games are hard to find in any other country, unless downloaded from the internet as ROMs, some of which have been translated into languages other than Japanese.
A handful of games were produced in North America, including "The 3D Adventures of Sailor Moon".

English adaptations
Main article: Sailor Moon (English adaptations)

English-dubbed anime

After a bidding war between Toon Makers and DiC Entertainment,[16] DiC (which at the time was owned by The Walt Disney Company) acquired the rights to the first 72 episodes of Sailor Moon, consisting of the entire first series and two-thirds of Sailor Moon R. Through the omission of 6 episodes and the merging of two, the total episode count was reduced to 65, the minimum number of episodes required for strip syndication on US television. The remaining episodes were each cut by several minutes to make room for more commercials, to censor plot points or visuals deemed inappropriate for children, and to allow the insertion of "educational" segments called "Sailor Says" at the end of each episode. The remaining 17 episodes of Sailor Moon R were adapted later, and were treated in much the same way.
The English adaptations by Optimum Productions for Cloverway of Sailor Moon S and Sailor Moon SuperS (the third and fourth series) stayed relatively close to the original Japanese versions, and no episodes were skipped or merged.
The fifth and final series, Sailor Stars, has never been licensed for adaptation into English. As of May 2004, the rest of the metaseries has officially gone off the air in all English-speaking countries due to lapsed licenses which have not been renewed.[17]

English-language manga
The manga was translated into English in 1997 by manga publisher Mixx (now renamed Tokyopop). The US comic was released as three series: Sailor Moon, which collects the first three arcs (the Dark Kingdom, Black Moon, and Infinity arcs), Sailor Moon Super S, which collects the SuperS arc, and Sailor Moon Stars, which collects the Sailor Stars arc. They feature all of the content from the original manga collections (though the names of characters introduced in the first two story arcs were changed to those used in the English anime), as well as the occasional new sketch and "thank you" commentary from series creator Naoko Takeuchi.
As of May 2005, Tokyopop's license to the Sailor Moon manga has lapsed, and the English-language manga is out of print.[18][19]

Reception
The Sailor Moon anime was originally planned to run for only six months, but was extended repeatedly due to its popularity, concluding only after a five-year run.[20] In Japan, it aired every Saturday night in prime time,[8][21] getting TV viewership ratings around 11-12% for most of the series run.[8][22] The media franchise is one of the most successful Japan has ever had, reaching 1.5 billion dollars in merchandise sales during the first three years.[23] Ten years after the series completion, the series has featured among the top thirty of TV Asahi's Top 100 Anime polls in 2005 and 2006.[9][10]
Sailor Moon has also been popular internationally. The first dubbed version was made in France, premiering on Club Dorothée in December 1993.[24] Other countries followed suit, including Italy, Spain, and China (Hong Kong), before it was picked up for a North American adaptation.[23] It is credited as being the beginning of a wider movement of girls taking up shōjo manga.[25]
The anime series has been commended for its "memorable characters", "charm" and its ability to appeal on a wide level.[26] It is credited with changing the genre of magical girls—its heroine must use her powers to fight evil, not simply to have fun as previous magical girls had done.[27] In contrast, Sailor Moon is also sometimes considered campy and melodramatic,[26] and has been criticised for its use of formulaic plots, monsters of the day,[28] and stock footage.[29]
In the West, Sailor Moon was sometimes associated with the Girl Power movement and with empowering its viewers,[25] compared both favorably and unfavorably with Barbie and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.[8][30][31] Despite the series' apparent popularity among Western anime fandom, the dubbed version of the series received poor ratings in the United States and did not do well in DVD sales in the United Kingdom.[32] Anne Allison attributes the lack of popularity in the United States primarily to poor marketing (in the United States, the series was initially broadcast at times which did not suit the target audience - weekdays at 9:00 am and 2:00 pm). Executives connected with Sailor Moon suggest that poor localization played a role.[33] The British distributor, MVM Films, has attributed the poor sales to the United Kingdom release being of the dub only, and that major retailers refused to support the show leading to the DVD release appealing to neither children nor older anime fans.[32]

References
^ a b Takeuchi, Naoko (September 2003). Sailor Moon Shinzoubon Volume 2. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-334777-X.
^ McCarter, Charles. Public Interview with Takeuchi Naoko (Q & A Interview). EX:CLUSIVE. www.ex.org. Retrieved on 2006-11-30.
^ Miller, Ian Andreas. Introduction to DIES GAUDII. DIES GAUDII. Retrieved on 2006-04-27.
^ Takeuchi, Naoko (October 1999). Materials Collection. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-324521-7.
^ Glover, Alex (unknown). The Manga of Takeuchi Naoko - Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Manga Translations. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
^ The Oracle. Retrieved on 2006-08-31.
^ See Ojamajo Doremi, which holds the record at 201 episodes.
^ a b c d Grigsby, Mary (1998). "Sailormoon: Manga (Comics) and Anime (Cartoon) Superheroine Meets Barbie: Global Entertainment Commodity Comes to the United States" The Journal of Popular Culture 32 (1) 59-80 DOI:10.1111/j.0022-3840.1998.3201_59.x
^ a b TV Asahi Top 100 Anime Part 2 (2005-09-23). Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
^ a b Japan's Favorite TV Anime (2006-10-13). Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
^ a b The Compleat Sailor Moon CD List. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
^ eternal.legend. Retrieved on 2007-03-06.
^ Sailor Dream. Retrieved on 2007-03-23.
^ a b Ken Arromdee's Sailor Moon FAQ. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
^ Sailor Moon (Working Title) (Japan Version) - GAME - NAMCO - Free International Shipping. Games. YesAsia.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
^ A clip from the Americanized version of Sailor Moon that Toon Makers presented to Toei can be seen at Toonami Digital Arsenal. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
^ AnimeNation News - What's the Current Status of Sailor Moon in America?. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
^ Tokyopop Out of Print. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
^ The Comics Reporter. Retrieved on 2006-10-06.
^ Animazement Sailor Moon Voice Actors 2005 (May 2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
^ Johnson, Dany. "Q & A Rocking the Boat", Akadot, Digital Manga, Inc., 2001-04-21. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
^ Doi, Hitoshi. Hitoshi Doi. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
^ a b DiC promotional video. Available at Toonami Digital Arsenal. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
^ Homme de Verre (August 19, 2006). Sailor Moon. Fiches de Séries. Planète Jeunesse. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
^ a b Yang, Sandy. "Girl Power Make Up—The Beginning of Shoujo in the US", Akadot, Digital Manga, Inc., 2000-10-25. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
^ a b Harcoff, Pete (May 26, 2003). Sailor Moon R: The Movie Review. The Anime Critic. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
^ Ross, Christina. Sailor Moon. THEM Anime Reviews 4.0. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
^ Bertschy, Zac (August 10, 2003). Sailor Moon DVD - Review. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
^ Merrill, Dave (January 17, 2006). Sailor Moon Super S TV Series Complete Collection. Anime Jump. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
^ Allison, Anne [June 2000]. "Sailor Moon: Japanese Superheroes for Global Girls", in Timothy J. Craig: Japan Pop!: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture. M.E. Sharpe, 259-278. ISBN 978-0765605610.
^ Barry, Dave. "Forget about Sailor Moon; we love Barbie!", The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Journal Communications, 9 April 1995. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.
^ a b Cox, Gemma (Spring 2006). "Anime Archive: Sailor Moon - The Most Popular Unsuccessful Series Ever?". NEO (18): 98.
^ Allison, Anne (2000). "A Challenge to Hollywood? Japanese Character Goods Hit the US". Japanese Studies 20 (1): 67-88. DOI:10.1080/10371390050009075
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