If you were a young girl in the 90s you know Sailor Moon, or better known as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon in Japan. She was a middle school aged girl who was destined to fight evil by moonlight and win love by daylight. Originally airing in Japan starting in 1992, there were 200 total episodes that aired until 1997. After a bidding war with Toon Makers WildBrain licensed the first two seasons of the show for a North American release. Optimum Productions was hired on to do the dubbing (fun tidbit, they’re based in Mississauga, thanks Canada for the show that changed the lives of 90s babies forever).
The story of Sailor Moon follows a young Usagi as she discovers by way of talking cat, named Luna, that she is a sailor scout, destined to fight the forces of evil. Over the course of the first episodes of the show, she finds the other sailor scouts and together they work to defeat the Dark Kingdom, ruled by Queen Beryl. Queen Beryl sends out beings called Youma to suck the energy from humans to deliver to the evil entity Queen Metaria.
One of the major things to note about the North American release was how heavily edited it was. This editing cut out many scenes that were too risque for american television. They also edited characters to not be gay, making them cousins, or changing genders all together. Although when the show had a resurgence in Japan Viz Media, who had recently acquired the rights to the show and movies also re released it, without all the censoring.
In 2012, Kodansha and Toei Animation announced that they would be released a new adaptation of Sailor Moon calling it Sailor Moon Crystal. The show would now be aired worldwide starting in 2013 as a part of the 20th anniversary.
Sailor Moon impacted women all over the world. Changing the way we view strong women, who still cried and were still able to kick butt. Can you name all the Sailor Scouts?