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REVIEW: Sailor Moon SuperS Part 1 Limited Edition BD/DVD


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Wyvern



Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Posts: 1555
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 9:28 am Reply with quote
This season doesn't deserve all the fan hate it gets. It's rough around the edges, yes, and not as good as S, but it's not bad by any means, and on balance it's better than season 1 and arguably Stars.

This is the season where the show's weird sense of humor really comes to the forefront, so while it has the least complex storyline out of all of them, it has some of the most rewatchable individual episodes, and SuperS eps tend to be the ones I come back to the most. It also helps that the Dead Moon Circus are the best villain group in the entire series.

Of course, if you dislike Chibi-Usa that'll greatly diminish your enjoyment of this season. But I've found that most of the hate she gets tends to come from western fans who remember her behavior in the original DiC dub.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2606
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 9:49 am Reply with quote
Wyvern wrote:
the Dead Moon Circus are the best villain group in the entire series.


Agreed - they're sinister AND funny, and the whole circus of the damned thing they've got going on is very effective.

Quote:
I've found that most of the hate she gets tends to come from western fans who remember her behavior in the original DiC dub.


I would agree with you - Sandy Fox's version of her is much less aurally grating and the character comes off much more sympathetically in general. She's actually my favorite character from the manga, something I nearly got ripped to shreds over back in the Bad Old Days. Laughing
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the green death



Joined: 28 Jul 2015
Posts: 128
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 9:56 am Reply with quote
My gf and I are watching this bd for the first time and are loving it. The humor is strange and hilarious, it’s actually one of our favorite seasons because it’s so darn funny. Great villains too, just wish part two of the set was out!
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mangaka-chan



Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 283
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 10:42 am Reply with quote
I agree with Wvyren. A lot of people like the S season for its grittiness, but I like the dream-like atmosphere of Super S far more. And like dreams, there are both magical, scary, and some truly hilarious WTF moments in the fourth season, thanks in large part to the Dead Moon Circus and the trio. I think Super S is a bit more of a “standard” magical girls anime compared to the other seasons, in that there are a lot of pastel colors, crystals, fairy tale elements, and of course, a magical talking Pegasus. That will appeal to some viewers, but invariably it’s not gonna be everyone’s cup of tea.
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Coup d'État



Joined: 29 Dec 2017
Posts: 179
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 11:02 am Reply with quote
This was my favorite season as a kid, not least due to me having the biggest crushes on both JunJun/ Sailor Juno and Fish Eye. I was so disappointed when I read the Manga and discovered how minor Fish Eye was in there, poor guy =/

I never heard the American dub, but the same what you described with Chibi-Usa happened to Shinji in NGE. That dude isn't nearly as grating in the original, either.
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belvadeer





PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 11:26 am Reply with quote
I always found the Dead Moon Circus to be one of Sailor Moon's more unique enemies (the music for the circus tent and the Lemures battle theme are catchy highlights), especially when spoiler[the entire organization's backstory gets revealed down the line]. What really bugs me about SuperS is the same problem I had with S: that Mercury and the others are still struggling far more with battles due to the fact they haven't had a power upgrade since R. Meanwhile, Sailor Moon has already received two power upgrades. True, they finally upgrade to Super Sailor Guardians in this season, but it's not even spoiler[their true upgrade till much later on in SuperS].
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Cardcaptor Takato



Joined: 27 Jan 2018
Posts: 4816
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 11:45 am Reply with quote
SuperS is one of my favorite seasons as well and contrary to popular fan belief, the first season has a lot more filler in than SuperS and I feel like the filler in in SuperS stands out a lot more. Some of the best filler ins are in this season, like the aforementioned Minako two timing episode, the Ninja Usagi episode, the episode with Ami at the beach, and I'm surprised the review didn't mention the episode with the gay fashion designer couple. I remember the original Cloverway dub tried to censor the episode by making the fashion designer couple "brothers," so I was glad to see their sexuality left in tact in the Viz dub. I personally feel like SuperS has the best animation and music of the series. The OST is especially beautiful and Rashiku Ikimasho is one of my favorite theme songs. I also think the Amazon Trio are effectively creepy villains and Fish Eye has always been a favorite of mine.

I would say the biggest drawback to this season to me is the lack of the Outers as I would have loved to see them interact in more goofier scenarios, especially after some of their hilarious comedy scenes in Stars, and it would have been the perfect chance to show more development of Chibiusa and Hotaru's friendship. I'm glad for the inclusion of the SuperS specials which was never released in the US before for some reason, even on the original uncut Pioneer DVDs. The Haruka and Michieu special is still the best but I love how hilarious the vampire episode is with the Sailor Guardians using their "Sailor Garlic Attack" and Tuxedo Mask complaining about how expensive Korean BBQ is. It should also be pointed out SuperS is the last season of the anime that Kunihiko Ikuhara of Utena fame would direct. Whole Ikuhara typically gets a lot of deserved praise for the S season, I feel like he doesn't get enough praise for SuperS, which is the season I feel like you can really start to see his trademark surrealism really start to show it's influence, especially with the visual aesthetics, the whacky monsters of the day, and the overall dream like atmosphere of the season. I can't wait for part 2 is released which will have some of the Amazon Trio's best moments in the show and introduce some of the best villains in the series with the Amazoness Quartet and Queen Nehelenia.
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zfunk



Joined: 05 Nov 2016
Posts: 245
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 12:10 pm Reply with quote
Agreed, this season is not so bad. Not as good as the manga version, I mean this version does give the Amazon Trio more stuff to do, so that is a trade off.

Though the best is yet to come in the Amazoness Quartet, not to mention Queen Nehelena, who will be voiced by Laurie Post, the voice of the main villain in Kill la Kill. Too bad Uranus is going to interact with her, until Stars.

I love the Quartet in the anime and their personality quirks, though I love the backstory in the manga, if we have the anime Quartet with the manga backstory and the manga Chiiusa, that would be a interesting balance, because manga Chibiusa she became Black Lady because she wanted to be and adult, while the anime Quartet are the opposites, they never want to grow up. That would be a dynamic for a future story, about Chibiusa's team with Chibi always trying to act mature, go to grown up parties, etc. while her team mates they want to embrace their youth and do stuff kids and teenagers would do, that would be good dynamic.

I think the Chibiusa hate is not just from the DIC dub, but also R in general. Chibiusa was an unlikable brat most of the time, no mater what language you watch it, especially early on. But when she came back in S, she was a whole different character.
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tygerchickchibi



Joined: 29 Sep 2006
Posts: 1448
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 12:16 pm Reply with quote
Yeeaaah I'm gonna have to disagree about the dub bring the primary factor.

I tried to watch the new dub and I still couldn't get into it.

I've already seen the subbed too. Basically, I can rewatch any of the seasons but that one, and tbh I was never a fan of her to begin with.

R,S, and SuperS to me is more of Chibi-Usa and the gang more than anything and I was glad that she was gone in Stars lol. Granted, I already know that was the point in R, and I understand her development in the S series, but I could care less about Season 4.

(Side note, Tracy Hoyt will always be my favorite voice)
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Cardcaptor Takato



Joined: 27 Jan 2018
Posts: 4816
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 2:25 pm Reply with quote
Even in regards to R, Chibiusa was only bratty in the first half but she pretty much started to mature after the Guardians saved her from Rubeus. One of my favorite moments in R was when Chibiusa finally trusts in Usagi and she uses Moon Rod to block the sycthe of the Grim Reaper monster. Chibiusa's brattiness is exaggerated in the anime compared to the manga but her immaturity is understandable because she's just a little kid alone in a strange time separated from her parents with her life being threatened constantly, so of course she's going to act out for attention when she doesn't know any better.
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Haterater



Joined: 30 Apr 2006
Posts: 1727
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 3:35 pm Reply with quote
Hated DiC voice for Rini, but love Stephanie Beard doing it in the S seasons. But I still hate the character herself. Find her to still be mean towards her mom and causing trouble after knowing the fact. Needs more spankings and all that. As for the this season, wasn't really feeling the villains nor alot of the filler.
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Cutiebunny



Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 1746
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 3:44 pm Reply with quote
SuperS is awesome, particularly if you're a fan of Miho Shimogasa. She's the one who gave the Inners and Chibiusa some of their best comical expressions. She's also the character designer for 'Ami no Hatsukoi'. SuperS filler episodes are my personal favorites.

I disagree with the article about Usagi in this season. I don't find her lack of maturity troubling. I find it welcoming, particularly as both she and Chibiusa act as siblings. It's a nice change from Chibiusa's unfriendliness in R and her tag-along attitude in S. They have a great relationship and it leads to some of the more comedic moments in this season, such as the episode where PallaPalla makes all the kids get cavities or where she causes Usagi and Chibiusa to switch places (episode 158).

Animation has always been a mixed bag when it comes to Sailor Moon. I feel like the author of the article is trying to make this a point, especially as the first two Crystal seasons were nightmares when it came to wonky animation. There's a big difference though. Animation with cels is a lot more time consuming to produce than with CG. If a cel is not correct, either a new layer will be made to cover over the mistake or, if the cel is not salvageable, an entirely new cel will be made to replace the mistake. You really can't compare the wonky animation in certain episodes of the original to the wonky-across-the-board animation of the first two Crystal seasons.
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whiskeyii



Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 2245
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 4:07 pm Reply with quote
Weirdly, I find this half of the season hardest to watch as an adult. As a child it never bothered me, but nowadays I can't shake the strange impression that the "mirror-peering" scenes are intended to be a very kid-friendly version of something akin to sexual assault, at least as far as the voice direction is concerned. Something about those scenes always struck me as jarring and dissonant, and I always get this twinge of unpleasantness when I watch it. I think it's that, by and large, the victims just seem to strike me as far more distressed than they do in other "oh no, someone save me~" scenes in previous seasons.
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tygerchickchibi



Joined: 29 Sep 2006
Posts: 1448
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 7:30 pm Reply with quote
^

Actually, I agree with all of that too....I have to say that bothered me too when I watched it for the first time as a kid. I picked up on it too, and also, I never personally liked the relationship between Helios and ChibiUsa...perhaps it's the visible age difference? Actually....

I don't know how old Helios is tbh.
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grooven



Joined: 16 Aug 2006
Posts: 1424
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 8:41 pm Reply with quote
I'm also a fa of this season. I love the villains in this they have so much personality and are so much fun. I haven't seen this in years, but I recall some episodes and they still make me laugh.

I never had an issue with Chibiusa and I loved the whole idea with Pegasus/ Helios. This is also my favorite sailor moon outfit too.
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