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Madman Entertainment Acquires Sailor Moon Series and Sailor Moon Crystal

Madman Entertainment started the week by teasing fans over both their own and AnimeLab's facebook pages and madman.com.au about a special announcement to be made on Friday at the Brisbane leg of Supernova Pop Culture Expo.

This special announcement (also revealed via press release) states that Madman Entertainment has licensed Sailor Moon, which includes;

• Sailor Moon
• Sailor Moon R
• Sailor Moon S
• Sailor Moon Super S
• Sailor Moon Sailor Stars

The five series listed above add up to exactly 200 episodes. The release will be Viz Media's 4:3 uncut and uncensored release in both original Japanese with English subtitles and the new English dub with the new 2014 voice cast.

The first 12 episodes of Sailor Moon will premiere on AnimeLab today and subsequent episodes and series will be added to AnimeLab in 2015.

Madman went onto mention they have licensed three feature films and the additional specials;.

Films

• Sailor Moon R Movie: Promise of the Rose
• Sailor Moon S Movie: Hearts in Ice
• Sailor Moon SuperS Movie: Black Dream Hole

Specials

• Make-Up! Sailor Senshi
• Sailor Moon SuperS (special)
• Sailor Moon SuperS Plus - Ami's First Love

The press release states that the series will be released in deluxe collections of both Blu-ray and DVD home video releases at some point in 2015 and that further details will be released in the near future.

And on a final note, Madman Entertainment have licensed the 2014 adaptation, Sailor Moon Crystal, which will begin streaming on AnimeLab today and receive a home video release at some point in the future.

©Naoko Takeuchi/PNP, Toei Animation

Sailor Moon

Lazy middle school student Usagi Tsukino just wants to sleep, eat and play video games. But when Usagi takes in a stray cat called Luna, she quickly discovers that Luna can talk, and more importantly needs Usagi's help locating the fabled Moon Princess. And while Usagi prefers to avoid hard work, Luna gives Usagi the ability to turn into the champion of love and justice, Sailor Moon, which comes in handy when she is forced to fight against the Dark Kingdom of Queen Beryl. And Usagi had better hurry up, more destined girls with similar powers are waiting to be awakened and help in her quest.

Naoko Takeuchi launched the original magical girl team manga series in the shōjo monthly manga magazine Nakayoshi in 1992. It soon spawned anime, a live-action television project, musicals, and other adaptations and it also sparked a worldwide boom. The 20th anniversary project began in 2012 and featured the first musical in eight years at the AiiA Theater Tokyo in September 2013. Kodansha has been republishing the original manga in a complete edition since last November, and Kodansha USA Publishing's Kodansha Comics imprint has been publishing the manga in North America.

Viz Media licensed the Sailor Moon franchise in May this year with plans to produce a completely uncut edition of the original anime adaptation. This included an entirely new English dub cast which was personally approved by original manga creator Naoko Takeuchi.

Viz Media's English dub premiered on Neon Alley and Hulu on the 5th of September 2014, the cast is as follows;

Main Cast

• Stephanie Sheh as Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon
• Kate Higgins as Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury
• Cristina Vee as Rei Hino/Sailor Mars
• Amanda C. Miller as Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter
• Cherami Leigh as Minako Aino/Sailor Venus
• Robbie Daymond as Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask

Supporting Cast

• Michelle Ruff as Luna
• Johnny Yong Bosch as Artemis
• Danielle Nicole as Naru Osaka
• Ben Diskin as Gurio Umino
• Tara Platt as Ikuko Tsukino
• Keith Silverstein as Kenji Tsukino
• Nicolas Roye as Shingo Tsukino
• Cindy Robinson as Queen Beryl
• Todd Haberkorn as Jadeite
• Liam O'Brien as Nephrite
• Lucien Dodge as Zoicite
• Patrick Seitz as Kunzite

The first part of Viz Media's home video release was shipped on the 11th of November 2014. We have included a video of Viz Media's North American release including the dub cast and details of their first deluxe collection below;

© Naoko Takeuchi / PNP / KODANSHA / TOEI ANIMATION

Sailor Moon Crystal

From the Sailor Moon Crystal website

Usagi Tsukino is a second-year middle school girl who is a little clumsy and a crybaby, but she is full of energy. One day, she meets Luna, a black cat with a crescent moon on her forehead, and she transforms into Sailor Moon, a sailor-uniformed pretty guardian of love and justice! As a chosen guardian of justice, Usagi seems to have a mission to find the Illusionary Silver Crystal with the other guardians and to protect the princess. Meanwhile, the queen of the Dark Kingdom, Queen Beryl, also sends minions to the town where Usagi lives to obtain the Illusionary Silver Crystal, which has immense power. This causes strange events to unfold….

Can Sailor Moon really find the Illusionary Silver Crystal with the other Sailor guardians, and protect the princess…!?

This new adaptation was originally announced as part of the Sailor Moon manga's 20th anniversary in July 2012. The series producer confirmed that Crystal was not intended to be a re-make of the original anime series but rather a new adaptation of the original manga.

Original series Japanese voice actor Kotono Mitsuishi is reprising the starring title role. The cast also includes Hisako Kanemoto as Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury, Rina Satou as Rei Hino/Sailor Mars, Ami Koshimizu as Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter, and Shizuka Itou as Minako Aino/Sailor Venus.

Munehisa Sakai (One Piece, One Piece: Strong World, Suite Precure) is directing this new adaptation of Naoko Takeuchi's original manga at Toei Animation, the studio behind the first anime. Yūji Kobayashi (scripts on Saint Seiya Omega, Smile Precure!) is in charge of the series scripts, and Momoiro Clover Z is performing the theme song with lyrics by the manga's creator, Naoko Takeuchi (you can view the theme song here).

Yukie Sako (chief animation director on Majestic Prince, Nyan Koi!) is designing the characters, and Yasuharu Takanashi (Naruto Shippūden, Fairy Tail, Precure franchise) is composing. The art directors will be Takashi Kurahashi (Mononoke, Gatchaman Crowds, Hakaba Kitarō) and Yumi Hosaka (Mononoke, Gatchaman Crowds). King Records is producing the soundtrack.

Sailor Moon Crystal has new episodes broadcast on the first and third Saturdays of each month on NicoNico, Crunchyroll and Hulu and is subtitled in over 10 languages.

Sailor Moon Crystal will reach the end of season 1 with the broadcast of episode 13 later this year. The series has been confirmed to continue with season 2, an additional 13 episodes in 2015. Sailor Moon Crystal's second season will include the story from original manga's "Black Moon" arc and feature Chibiusa, you can view the key visual below;.

Sailor Moon Crystal season 2 key visual

Viz Media has also licensed Sailor Moon Crystal in North America, the English dub cast for Sailor Moon will reprise their roles for Sailor Moon Crystal.

Gabriella Ekens has been watching Sailor Moon Crystal for Anime News Network, you can read her thoughts on the series here.