I wanted to love this. After the waiting, the uncertainty, biblically-proportioned flood of 20th anniversary merchandise... this wasn't a case of hype killing an experience. Sailor Moon Crystal is an unmitigated disaster in almost every way imaginable.
Let's address the biggest, pinkest elephant in the room from the start: the artwork. I think what happened here was an ambitious idea (trying to mimic Naoko Takeuchi's elaborate manga style in animation) with poor planning and sloppy execution. Visually speaking, they missed the mark. Right from the teaser, people rightfully pointed out that something was off. The first episode looks mostly fine-- not amazing, but ok-- and then
...
it's like they animators gave up. The artwork flipflops between beautiful and cringeworthy. I've seen plenty of cheap animation in my life, but the bad art in Sailor Moon Crystal isn't just mediocre, it is painful to look upon. This is especially tragic because it's clear that this series could have been stunning. Seriously, go watch the Moon Pride music video and compare it to any scene in the anime. It could have all looked that good, if someone had cared.
But nobody cared.
Things move, but the only thing that really gets loving animation is Sailor Moon's hair. Nobody's walk cycles look quite right, ever, and a lot of the time, no one seems grounded in the environments. A lot of "animation" is accomplished by having still images pan across the screen or stretch/shrink, to unintentional comedic effect. Fight scenes show a bit more effort than the classic anime's JRPG-style "stock attack footage, villain reaction, rinse and repeat" fights, but still seem to cut away at moments that would be inconvenient to animate.
The excuses for Crystal's moldy potato quality are thin. The old series was low-budget, rush-it-in-a-week animation from the 90's. The manga was yet unfinished, and they pumped out filler episodes to compensate. Physical, painted cels would have to be completely redone to correct any errors. By contrast, Sailor Moon Crystal episodes were produced in two weeks instead of one. The source material is complete. The animation is digital, which allows for much quicker and easier corrections. Technology has given us better, more efficient ways to animate in the last 20 years. Even a lot of the art "fixes" for the Blu-Ray are mediocre at best. I feel like a decade down the road we might hear horror stories about animating on Sailor Moon Crystal, like that they were paid in ketchup packets and forced to work 23-hour shifts and every misshapen face is a scream of protest.
Also, the CG henshin sequences use these weird, rubbery 3D models of the senshi that look like they belong in a cheap video game. They don't quite look like their 2D selves, their faces are creepy and doll-like, and transformations are just low-effort rehashes of the transformation scenes from the first anime. They aren't fun. It's just not fun to watch a crappy CG senshi twirl around like a plastic bag in a breeze with mediocre special effects. Sailor Moon's henshin sequences are an icon-- of the series, of the genre, and of anime in general. I'd wager almost anyone that saw Sailor Moon, even if it was ages ago and they haven't thought about it since they were a child, probably remembers the henshin sequences. You put effort and budget into something like that because your viewers are going to see it every episode. That Crystal fails to deliver, even here, is a clear indicator that nobody took any pride in this mess.
Unfortunately, the story is as unsalvageable as the visuals. The 90's anime was notorious for its filler (though the filler is part of what endeared us all so much to its characters). Sailor Moon Crystal ran too far in the opposite direction, deciding to squeeze two story arcs into one 26-episode season. It's extremely condensed. One manga chapter can not always equal one anime episode; things just don't work that way. While it's true that the manga, which Crystal is heavily based on, is pretty fast-paced, the manga has a fairy-tale feel to it and still manages to be engaging and emotional though its much more expressive artwork. Meanwhile, most every character drawn in Crystal has the emotional depth and subtlety of an emoticon. The story itself is so excited to get to its next nostalgic plot destination and say, "Look how we did it THIS time!" that it forgets the journey, and the journey is the most important part.
Crystal takes no time to linger or to build its characters. Everyone but Usagi is a cardboard stand-up, pared down to their most basic traits. The inner senshi, after their introductions, are flattened so badly their dialogue becomes interchangeable, and by the climax of the first arc, they are literally just finishing every sentence together. It's like the writers wrote dialogue for one person and cut it up into little pieces so the poor things would all have lines, like a grade school play for a class with too many children. The senshi exist as little more than cheerleaders for Usagi, and any moments of personal achievement they were given in the manga are handed off to Sailor Moon. (Forget about this series as an adaptation of the manga: it diverges, pointlessly, all the time. Anyone who says it's "accurate to the manga" didn't read the manga.)
Because Crystal makes its characters strangers to us, drama comes off as melodrama, and any moment meant to be meaningful or touching flops. It lacks any emotional truth; it gives you no reason to care about what's happening. It's a series that sort of spoon feeds you what you're supposed to feel about the characters and the story, but never actually goes out of its way to create those feelings. Humor is almost absent, and feels forced or out of place when it happens. Characters pass the idiot ball around, with plot threads hinging mostly on their cluelessness-- especially Usagi, who we are meant to adore, and who the senshi praise mindlessly at every turn, even though this incarnation of her is annoying, selfish, and pathetic.
That's really one of the worst parts; Sailor Moon herself is no longer a good role model. The Sailor Moon I knew was a ditzy, clumsy, silly girl with a heart of gold and the capacity for infinite love and bravery, a person who lifted others up, drew them together, and still fought for them even when she was all alone. She started out childish and selfish, but she always came through for her friends and grew immensely over the course of the series. Crystal!Usagi is obsessed with Mamoru and frequently forgets about or outright ignores her friends while they get tossed around by baddies. The most she seems to be able to say about them is that they're beautiful. And while she's still an airheaded klutz, it's not cute or charming anymore, because she's so thoroughly unlikable. She doesn't seem to care about anything other than her own feelings and desires. She's just a witless, bratty child that never changes and never learns and gets exactly what she wants anyway. The senshi's unthinking devotion to her is downright eerie, like they've been brainwashed to worship her, because she is so obviously unworthy of their adoration. Even Rei, critical of Usagi and at first suspicious of the whole sailor senshi thing in every previous incarnation, doesn't seem to have a single doubt about Usagi as their leader. Sailor Moon Crystal successfully made me hate a character that I previously loved and would have defended until blue in the face. Sailor Moon is my least favorite character in an anime named after her.
Incidentally: there is also a hackneyed, half-assed romance subplot involving all of the senshi, executed poorly of course because Crystal doesn't have the time or the dexterity to handle 8 not-Usagi characters' subplots. The theme song claims they don't need princes to save them, but the senshi are more dependent on men than they have ever been. I don't think Sailor Moon has ever been the perfect flawless feminist holy grail that some people make it out to be, but this version is a step backwards in comparison to the others. For a specific example, a panel with a consensual kiss between Usagi and Mamoru is converted into an animated scene where Mamoru forces a kiss on Usagi while she tries to push him away. Miracle romance!
The main plot itself is ass pull after ass pull after deus ex machina. Admittedly, this is a staple of Sailor Moon, but with a rushed story, cardboard characters, downright ugly animation and basically nothing likable or exciting to hold on to, it's kind of the final nail in the coffin. There's no charm left to save it. The story itself hasn't aged that well-- it needed some updating that just didn't happen. Imagine Crystal under a different name, and you get a shabby imitation of the classic anime and a weak contender in a genre that it revolutionized. And that's terrible.
Also, other than the catchy OP/ED, the music is forgettable. Having heard some of the other soundtracks Yasuharu Takanashi has worked on, it sounds phoned-in. The music never strongly ties itself to any scenes, even the transformation sequences. Most of my music collection is anime soundtracks, and I can't say I even remember most of Crystal's.
I spent a lot of time being patient and forgiving with this series. I managed to convince myself I was enjoying it for about seven episodes. There are a select good moments that have made me smile or laugh, but they're chocolate chips in a pile of gravel. It makes me sad that this shallow, lifeless adaptation of the manga is how a lot of people are going to get introduced to Sailor Moon. The original manga story is a gem that could be easily polished, but nobody bothered.
This series was not given the respect or care that it deserves. Those two years of secrecy and delays were frustrating, but not nearly as frustrating as the result: a soulless, slapdash mess, a totally transparent cash grab (as clearly indicated by the ridiculous price gouging on the BDs). It's the anime equivalent of a cheap bath gift set-- presented like it's luxurious and classy, but it's just glorified hand soap. As a long-time Sailor Moon fan, it's hard for me to evaluate Crystal without comparing it to other incarnations, but as a reboot for such a popular, long-lived franchise, it's a massive letdown. Toei played us for chumps.
The best I can hope for at this point is that people will watch it, realize it's terrible, and check out the classic anime or the manga or PGSM.
WHAT I LEARNED IN BOATING SCHOOL IS: Sometimes the things you loved were fine the way they were. I didn't spend my days longing for a new Sailor Moon anime before I knew it was happening. And now that it exists, I mostly wish it didn't. Maybe it's ok for good things to be over. Maybe I'm wiser now. Maybe I just spent $15 on a gashapon Cutie Moon Rod. Don't judge me.
Alternative Titles
Synonyms: Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (2014), Sailor Moon Remake, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (2014), Sailor Moon Crystal
Japanese: 美少女戦士セーラームーン Crystal
More titlesInformation
Type:
ONA
Episodes:
26
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Jul 5, 2014 to Jul 18, 2015
Licensors:
VIZ Media
Studios:
Toei Animation
Source:
Manga
Demographic:
Shoujo
Duration:
24 min. per ep.
Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Statistics
Ranked:
#37702
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#1550
Members:
148,249
Favorites:
1,203
Available AtResourcesStreaming Platforms | Reviews
Filtered Results: 40 / 43
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Your Feelings Categories Dec 11, 2014
I wanted to love this. After the waiting, the uncertainty, biblically-proportioned flood of 20th anniversary merchandise... this wasn't a case of hype killing an experience. Sailor Moon Crystal is an unmitigated disaster in almost every way imaginable.
Let's address the biggest, pinkest elephant in the room from the start: the artwork. I think what happened here was an ambitious idea (trying to mimic Naoko Takeuchi's elaborate manga style in animation) with poor planning and sloppy execution. Visually speaking, they missed the mark. Right from the teaser, people rightfully pointed out that something was off. The first episode looks mostly fine-- not amazing, but ok-- and then ... Mar 15, 2015
I've given up on Sailor Moon Crystal. As a former avid Sailor Moon fan I made it to episode 17 of this series before just completely giving up. It is downright terrible. The art is ugly and everything is so static it reminds me of a low budget flash animation cartoon. Storywise the pacing is dreadful and you'd think that was because there was too much to fit into this condensed manga-esque chapter structure.. but no, 75% of an episode is Usagi crying or dramatic name shouting.
The characters seem braindead. For dramatic purposes in storytelling you often have to have the characters miss a ... Jul 24, 2015
Personally, I was a bit on the edge when watching the trailers. The first couple of episodes really put me off as I am a big fan of the older series and manga, a remake was music to my ears.
The artwork takes a load of time getting used to. Not to mention the 100% CG transformations making the characters look like rubber dolls being stretched to fit their costumes properly. There was really little effort put into every frame in terms of animation that I felt sick to my stomach just watching it, but... as a loyal fan, I swallowed that and continued anyway. As it progresses, ... Aug 2, 2015
I'm a big fan of the original series and the manga. This was a huge let down. The animation quality is dreadful, lazy, sloppy and ugly. I think this is best illustrated by Usagi's buns, they are consistently drawn on top of her hair when clearly they should be behind her hair and peaking out over the top; this looks so ugly. Considering major details of the main character are so badly drawn you know what to expect from the rest of the art.
The story in the original anime and manga also came across as very kitsch, I think this was a huge part of ... Dec 22, 2014
"Fighting evil by moonlight"
For decades now. Sailor Moon has been the legendary all mighty queen of anime, who has launched a million girls (And lots of boys, and hentai artists) fantasies. Sailor Moon finally returns to her awaited throne with the release of Sailor Moon Crystal. However.....question is. Will she fall off her rightful throne? Let's get to it then........ Basically Sailor Moon goes through the same story it has been going through since its own first release during the 1990's. This time around it follows the story from the manga as close as possible. The best thing about Crystal is that. Crystal finally opens ... Sep 14, 2015
I tried not to mind it. I tried to overlook the always-changing faces, the weird camera angles, the god-awful direction. I tried to stay optimistic, and episode after episode I just told myself I'm overreacting. But no more lies. Time to say it - this anime is bad.
Before anybody get's angry - don't get me wrong. Sailor Moon Crystal isn't bad because of the new look, CGI transformations, new voices or new theme music so many people are angry about. These things really don't matter, regardless whether you watched the original 90 version or not. Sailor Moon Crystal is bad because, to put it plainly, ... Jul 19, 2015
One thing that's good about this anime is that there's a story, but although things can be mixed, it turns out well in the end. I watched the whole series and it seems to be a good way of seeing off the past and start making plans for the future. That's one sentence for the story that I liked most.
I hope others watch this, and I don't mind if others would have a lot of comments no matter what side. The anime can have its own great moments and its flaws. Anyway, let's get to the story itself. First off, it's outstanding. The originality of ... Oct 23, 2015
I'm a big fan of Sailor Moon who's been into the series for years now as it was my gateway intro to anime. I've seen all of the original anime in both Japanese and English, read all of the manga, seen the live action musicals and live action TV show, and I have all of the Sailor V manga. I know there's a lot of cynicism towards Sailor Moon Crystal, but I honestly think it's actually very good and probably my favorite adaptation of the manga. I had always anted an accurate adaptation of the manga as that was always my favorite
...
Oct 24, 2015
I loved every little detail of this new remake. For me it was very faithful to the original resource the manga. As a very big fan of Sailor Moon, I can truly say I enjoyed this new series, I really loved that the manga is brought to life. Now Usagi may finally get her wedding in the anime. Stars in the manga is my favourite season.
The art is very beautiful, the character are not bland like some others say, it's just that the original story focus is Usagi and Mamoru. But it gets better when the next season mugen arc comes and later on. ... Jul 18, 2015
Some spoilers As a child I watched sailor moon on toonami with my other string of shows and it was a childhood favorite so I was really looking forward to this remake but Man this anime was a bumpy ride. I watched the original Sailor Moon series over as I was watching the 1st half of crystal and was comparing them. I had to step back and think of them as 2 separate works so I didn't let my nostalgia ruin what could possibly be a good series.
After I stopped comparing them and just look at this as a stand alone I still had one ... Dec 7, 2015
I tried... I honestly tried - and that's how I managed to get through 16 episodes of this show. The problem however... is that there was nothing to encourage me to continue forward.
The bottom line with me is that I focus primarily on characters and story line when dealing with fiction. Good characters will not excuse a poor story line, and a good story or plot will not excuse weak characters. Crystal had both poor characters and a fairly weak story line. The thing about the original Sailormoon anime is that the characters were solid enough that they could decently affect how the story was presented. ... Feb 24, 2016
Sailor Moon Crystal is in a word: Gorgeous
Let me just start by saying I still love the original Sailor Moon. It is a classic and very dear to my heart. However, I do not understand why everyone is complaining about this one. The three biggest complaints I keep hearing are 1. The animation 2. The characters 3. The story. *Side Note: I haven't read the manga so this is strictly comparing the old anime to the new. 1. I find the animation very visually appealing. Sure it may look like a video game during the transformation sequences, but I do not think it's because the animators ... Jan 6, 2017
Attn: might contain minor spoilers, not of the storyline but some features of characters.
At first, I was very sceptical. I tried a couple of episodes right after they came out, and I was like... ugh? What's that supposed to be? Why is Usagi so irritating? What's with these terrible transformations? So I gave up. Recently, I've been thinking about it and decided to give it a second chance. I got rid of the attitude of comparing it to the old version and focused more on the first and most classic version of the story - manga. And that's what you need to truly enjoy it! That's ... May 16, 2017
Sailor Moon Crystal is the 2014 reboot of the 1992 anime Sailor Moon. This anime is similar in a number of ways to the 90s anime, however this is in fact an anime that is much closer to the manga that was written during the time the anime was being produced - in the 90s the manga and the anime were both produced at roughly the same time, therefore a number of key differences and plot points have changed - please visit the synopsis for a full description of the story.
As a result of this the anime can in its own right stand alone to ... Jun 16, 2016
As someone who grew up watching the original Sailor Moon anime, I was hesitant to watch Sailor Moon Crystal. A huge fan of the series, I heard nothing but awful reviews from friends, YouTube critics, and fellow MAL reviewers. I expected SMC to be a mediocre to poor series. I was, however, surprised.
Story: 8 SMC contrasts with the 1990s anime series as it attempts to more closely the original manga series. The story is therefore more of a translation than an adaptation. As a translation, SMC feels like much closer to its source material than the original anime series. Unnecessary filler and "villain of the week" ... Aug 23, 2018
I loved the original sailor moon,I read the manga,I bought the merch,I drove my parents up the wall with the screaming constantly blaring from my tv.
But this one anime,turned the other one around completely for me. I heard about sailor moon crystal because of it's HORRIBLE ratings,so I decided to watch it and have a laugh. But when I finished season 1 my first thought was, WHY DO PEOPLE HATE THIS ANIME?! In my opinion,this one top'ed the original.at least this usagi wasnt annoying. And it was the same character,and person,so how is that even possible? this sailor moon kicked butt! The only thing I didnt like about this anime,was ... Mar 3, 2016
Sailor Moon has won fans all over the world, and everybody loved both the anime and the manga. Love for this eponymous magical girl series festered on decades after its inception. When a reboot of the original anime was announced, fans were excited. Two years later, we finally got Sailor Moon Crystal...unfortunately, nowadays, Crystal is seen as spoiled goods, a blemish on what made Sailor Moon great, and nowadays, people hail the 90s anime as being the better adaptation despite it having just as many problems, if not more. Despite it being a straight adaptation of the manga, people have lambasted it left and right,
...
Feb 7, 2016
I'm just gonna say it right now. I hate Sailor Moon Crystal and don't get me started on just simply saying, "Well, probably because you've only seen the original anime and didn't read the manga." Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I have ZERO interest in the manga. In fact, I barely; even read any manga's, except Monster Musume since that's a slice of life manga and I'm very well enjoying it. In fact, I just pre-ordered the next volume that came out this week but we're not here to talk about that. My point is, is that I have no interest in the
...
Aug 21, 2015
The video review is up, but here is the written review.
A remake of well-beloved series with more homage to the plot than the original, but animation slows it down. Story - 6/10 Usagi Tsukino is just your normal average clumsy, whiny and happy middle schooler girl. Who runs into a cat with crescent shaped moon on her forehead, named Luna. Now this cat magically turns Usagi into Sailor Moon to fight evil. At first Usagi is more shocked and disinterested in fighting, because she is whiny, however becomes use to it eventually. Sailor Moon’s mission is find the other Sailor Guardians, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus, assemble ... Aug 9, 2015
So Sailor Moon Crystal just ended today so here's a review on it :3 (I won't give a summary this time bc SMC had two seasons in one) (maybe minor spoilers)
-----------✿My Opinion✿ When I heard there was going to be another Sailor Moon celebrating the 20th Anniversary, I was so excited but then I saw the voice actresses and the transformations and it reminded me way to much of Pretty Cure. But when it was actually started airing I was super excited and I couldn't wait till the next episode! Sadly they made us wait 2 or 3 weeks for the next episode which completely killed ... |