Forum - View topicEpisode Review: Sailor Moon Crystal
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SailorTralfamadore
 Posts: 499 Location: Keep Austin Weeb |
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It is interesting to see how all the Sailor Moon adaptations do something wildly different with Minako. She's similar to Usagi because, of course, she is a proto-Usagi; she was the star of Takeuchi's Codename: Sailor V! manga that predates Sailor Moon, and the latter came about when her editors were like "can you do the same thing, but with a team?" So she put most of Minako's personality into Usagi while trying to fit Minako into this new universe where she was no longer the main character.
I'd like to see this version do something a little different from the manga, but when it does, it seems to suck out everything that made that manga distinctive. Like how Gabriella correctly points out that it completely deflates Rei. She wasn't as argumentative in the manga as she was in the first anime, but she still HAD a personality. Her tension came more from being aloof and not knowing what to do with someone as boisterously extroverted as Usagi. You don't see any of that here. They all blend into the group seamlessly. It's very weird and, as the review said, makes it really hard to relate to in any sense. |
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SailorTralfamadore
Posts: 499 Location: Keep Austin Weeb |
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Well, idk if you're talking about DVD or Blu-ray, but Yellow Submarine's been out on the former for a long time before Zemeckis's remake was slated to come out. I got my copy of it that I still have when I was in middle school, which was like, early 2000's. And likewise, correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't the Sailor Moon anime always been available in Japan? It was here (and in some other international markets) where the license was pulled. I'm not really sure why that would factor into a Japanese company's decision to do a reboot version. I think they just knew that Takeuchi as well as many fans regretted some of the changes the anime made, so since there was fan fervor for a 20th-anniversary they figured it was about time to do a Sailor Moon: Brotherhood. |
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EricJ2
 Posts: 4016 |
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Much of even the domestic licensing "radio silence" of the anime, I'm not sure whether it was caused by, but was certainly timed to coincide with, the 00's live-action version. Which, like every other reboot of a well-established property, claimed it was either going to be "More faithful to the original", or "A new take to update the canon", and there was rumored talk of whether it was going to be groomed to permanently replace the original. FWIW, it, um...............didn't. 
Last edited by EricJ2 on Sun Aug 31, 2014 5:48 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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SailorTralfamadore
Posts: 499 Location: Keep Austin Weeb |
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Well, yeah, I wasn't suggesting that it actually is better than the original or that I thought the original needed "replacing". I was just explaining why some fans felt that way, and I also know Takeuchi took issue with some of the specific changes the anime made (e.g. making the Starlights into "men who transform into women", rather than crossdressing women, since she was very big on "only girls can be Senshi").
Honestly, these things rarely seem to "replace" the original. FMA:B was very successful but people still talk about and love FMA 2003, including me. Chances are if an anime was popular and beloved enough to get a reboot, it's not going to be easily "replaced". Last edited by SailorTralfamadore on Sun Aug 31, 2014 6:17 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Gehirn
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I feel like reviewing the characters relationships like two episodes after they have arrived is ridiculous in expecting anything more then it is now.
Also this series gets a lot more criticism then it warrants, but because of it being Sailor Moon and the wait to see something new it has an impossible bar to reach in people's minds. |
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3489 Location: Back stateside |
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As someone who watched the "Essential Sailor Moon" (i.e. Sailor Moon while skipping a lot of the filler based on a helpful list someone posted), all I can say about the new series is... it needs more filler.
I don't mean as much as the first series (which was 25-50% filler depending on how you count it), but a few more adventures in between introducing the characters. Episode 4 was probably the first I've really liked in this series because it slowed down and let us see the character it had been introducing one after another solving problems and saving the day. I don't really feel like I've gotten to know these people the way I did in the first series; every episode has a new character who barely get fleshed out before the next person shows up. I know that may be more "faithful" to the manga (I've only read the first two or three volumes myself), but in this one instance the original anime improved on it. This series needs a few stand-alone adventures that aren't part of the big narrative just for some character building. |
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SailorTralfamadore
Posts: 499 Location: Keep Austin Weeb |
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I actually like a lot of the first series' "filler" episodes. It seems like they used them as a way to let directors like Ikuhara or Sato try out some cool ideas they had within the Sailor Moon universe (which is why you can see a lot of what would become Utena in Ikuhara's SM episodes, for instance). So I haven't been skipping very much at all while I've been re-watching it on Hulu. Of course, now the Hulu stream is into the Rainbow Crystals stuff so there isn't very much in the way of filler anymore anyway, but I'd say people should be careful about those "filler-free" Sailor Moon guides. You'll miss a lot of really fun stuff that helped give that old series its charm. |
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Wyvern
 Posts: 1559 |
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This is my main beef with the show, too. I actually am fine with the animation, aside from some trouble spots, but the girls' individual voices seem to be drowned out in favor of having them function as a united group. The fourth chapter of the manga, for example, has a great scene where Rei asks Luna a bunch of really logical questions about their mission: who is this princess we're supposed to be looking for? What country does she have authority over? What makes her worthy of our respect? Are we supposed to just risk our lives for someone we don't know because she has a fancy title? When Luna has no real answers, Rei makes it clear that if her work as a Sailor begins to conflict with her moral principals, she'll quit. It's a great moment that establishes Rei as the no-nonsense, pragmatic member of the group, but it's completely missing in Crystal. In the corresponding anime scene, Rei doesn't ask anything and just seems pleased to be part of the group. I hope Crystal begins to remember that one of the keys to this franchise's appeal is that we get to see five very different girls working together as a team, without losing what makes each of them individuals. |
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LUNI_TUNZ
 Posts: 809 |
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One thing I've mentioned before is also that Crystal seems to skimp on the very expressive faces of the characters. Even the manga had more emotion and expression in the character's faces.
This seems like a minor thing, but it really adds character to the characters. Hell, look at how many image macros from the original series are all over the internet, of one of the characters making some goofy face. |
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SailorTralfamadore
Posts: 499 Location: Keep Austin Weeb |
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Yeah, really! A lot of what made Sailor Moon so popular with girls is that it had such a variety of female characters who all fit a "type" and yet were interesting enough that you could find one to relate to and look up to, to fit the kind of person you were. Kind of like Digimon did in Adventure, for instance, but where the cast was specifically all-female so they didn't fit into gendered stereotypes. If you were an athletic tomboy, you had Sailor Jupiter. If you were a girly klutz, you had Sailor Moon. For me: when I was a little girl I was both a high-achieving bookworm and really feisty and argumentative, so I related to both Mercury and Mars and they were my favorite characters. The manga did give them somewhat different personalities, and was a lot more protagonist-focused than the anime was, but you're right, that doesn't mean they never had any chance to show off who they were there. Rei's personality there was not the same as in the anime, but still very distinctive. It's really bland here, even with the characters like Ami who do clearly fit more into a "type". And while it might be unfair to judge the show here on only four episodes, it still is consciously deciding to cut some of those character-establishing manga scenes, like you said. It's quite frustrating. |
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Stuart Smith
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Minako was my favorite in the old anime. The girl who was upset she was the only senshi not to be targeted by the Death Busters, so she went out of her way to act and be a target. Then when she finally got attacked and had her pure heart ripped out of her body, she didn't freak out or panic, she was ecstatically happy. That's the Minako I fell in love with. Funny, ditzy, and lovable. But that would seem out of place in Crystal given what I've seen so far, so I'm not sure I'm prepared to see how she is handled. -Stuart Smith |
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tygerchickchibi
 Posts: 1448 |
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Man, I oddly feel the opposite about everyone's opinions, but I do agree that their reservations about Crystal is valid.
My only gripe is the inconsistency of the animation, which seems to falter worse with every coming episode. I don't remember too much of the comic, but I think maybe I'm holding out on everything until I see the Sailor Jupiter episode, because I don't remember her being so head over heals over guys. In fact, I think that...spoiler[wasn't Motoki supposed to be the one head over heels over Makoto?] They have a good 3 weeks to tell us that they're going to make this better. |
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EricJ2
Posts: 4016 |
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Yes, I've frequently joked about Utena looking like Sailor Uranus and Neptune got their own "spinoff series" (with cameos by Usagi). In the Sailor Moon R Movie, we see the other four remembering TV-flashback moments with Usagi that meant the most to them--Ami taking a beach break, Rei arguing, Minako enjoying her celebrity--and those mostly come from "filler" episodes that just let the characters play off each other while hunting down the MOTW. Which is pretty much what fans liked about the Classic series; they were best friends but not necessarily expert sentai. |
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SailorTralfamadore
Posts: 499 Location: Keep Austin Weeb |
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That's not really where I'd make the comparison; I don't think Haruka and Michiru have much in common with Utena and Anthy other than both being lesbian couples where one is more masculine and one is more feminine. Personality-wise and in terms of their relationship dynamics, I'd say they're quite different. It's more with the symbolism and direction you see in his episodes. Also, the Shitennou kind of seem like a blueprint to some of the male characters in Utena. Nephrite even kinda looks like Saionji (and drives a super-fast red convertible just like Akio!) |
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Lili-Hime
 Posts: 569 |
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God I'm loving this thread
 I'm so happy I'm not alone, the consensus on Tumblr is always 'Crystal is awesome solely because it's more like the manga'. TBH Ikuhara, Sato, Enokido & Ikuko Itoh are far more talented than Takeuchi. Takeuchi is still awesome for giving us the concept, but still- the Anime team refined it into something special.
Everyone here gets why the first anime was such a smash hit; it wasn't the ridiculous monsters or plots- it was the friendship! And let's not forget the music... 90's SM had hundreds of cues from a full orchestra & choir... Crystal has a few tracks of the Naruto composer banging on his synth keyboard.
This is why I didn't care for PGSM. They made Minako uptight and mean (and gave her the cheap heartstring tug of an unexplained illness). Manga Minako starts out pretty serious when she's playing the princess role, but she's pretty close to the anime version of her (slightly less boy crazy, more just generally idol crazy regardless of gender).
Don't count on it  According to some recent interview, they're wedging the Black Moon (R) arc into Crystal as well. In that arc spoiler[Ami,Rei & Makoto spend the better part of it captured by the Black Moon villians. Remember when Rubeus kidnapped them? Yeah in the manga they stay kidnapped for like 7 acts/episodes.]
TBH from the promo art & writing choices it seems like they're going to focus a ton more on the Usagi X Mamoru relationship. Good because Mamoru was kind of a jerk in the 90's anime, but bad in that the senshi probably aren't going to get much development. IDK Crystal seems to be focusing more on the wish-fulfillment aspect of the manga.... i.e. plain, spazzy girl ends up with a hot boyfriend for life and 4 beautiful, cool friends 'destined' to protect her (and help her with her homework(Ami)... and make her lunches(Makoto)...) Not to mention her idol (Minako) is like her main servant / right hand woman. If this isn't a fantasy I don't know what is
The 90's anime wisely chose to counter this with reality: i.e. if someone like that existed, wouldn't people resent them for having it 'too easy'? A lot of villians brought up this point- as did allies (like Rei.) In the 90's anime Usagi had to earn the trust of her teammates- while in the manga (and Crystal so far) it's just handed to her. Sure people tease her and complain, but no one outright rebels against her leadership due to her gross incompetence. Another huge factor for me at least in the anime vs manga was that Anime Usagi didn't outright annihilate evil (as male heroes typically do)... instead she reformed it, transforming evil into good. spoiler[A perfect example, in the manga the senshi outright killed the 'Four Sister's in the Black Moon/R arc... in the anime they were reformed and lived normal lives. Of course, it's best portrayed in the Stars finale with Sailor Galaxia] This has always struck me with the message that the emotional depth of young girls gives them a power different (but no less powerful) from that of young guys. It was kind of a perfect blend of masculine/feminine principles (i.e. stand up to wrongdoers, but if possible try to understand them and make some good out of it instead of just blindly destroying it). It had a very good message that people aren't just inherently evil; they become that way from a variety of circumstances... and if that's the case, they can change their ways. |
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