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Exclusive Interview: Viz Media's Charlene Ingram and Josh Lopez on Sailor Moon

Of all the dozen or so Mahou Shoujo girl anime back in the ninties, Sailor Moon is probably the worst. And it is horribly Un-Feminist*. Usagi is the leader and heroine not because of talent or skill but because she's a aristrocrat.

Why the rush to BD when you're clearly woefully unprepared anyway? Why not wait for the film materials and do a proper job on it? Sailor Moon fans have already waited this long, they can wait another year or so for something that isn't a rushed hackjob.

rainbowrabbit wrote:

I'm excited just like everyone else. But the whole "Sailor Guardian" thing worries me if that's what they're using for the original anime.

The name Sailor Guardian has actually been used for a while now, especially in the new Kodansha edition rerelease of the manga. IIRC replacing the "guardian" for "soldier" was was translation change that was approved by Naoko Takeuchi.

I'm fully aware of that. But those books also contained translations such as "Spark Ring Wide Pressure" and "Champion of justice." There was also censorship at times. So we don't really know the extent of what was approved by her. Can you offer proof that she specifically said she approved "guardian" in the rerelease?

If 15 years worth of stories about Takeuchi's legendarily tight leash on this franchise ain't enough proof for you then fine, but that's how it is and how it's always been. Viz is sending stuff for this release directly to her for approval, as is stated in the interview.

If 15 years worth of stories about Takeuchi's legendarily tight leash on this franchise ain't enough proof for you then fine, but that's how it is and how it's always been. Viz is sending stuff for this release directly to her for approval, as is stated in the interview.

Josh: It's fantastic actually, some of our approvals go directly to the creators of the show as well.

Charlene: Yeah, quite a few.

Yeah. I don't think anybody who knows the backstory of all this is surprised by that.

Charlene: Even though it makes for a longer lead time, it's actually very heartwarming to me that the upper echelon of a title really cares about the other versions of it.

Well yeah, you just get to spend the rest of your life living in fear of the creator!

Charlene: They know their show, they know what they want, they have the vision. That's all it is. ...

does this mean that viz also licensed both the new and the tv series from the 90's?

it would definitely make my day if they were able to pull that off especially if they were able to finally get Toei to allow a US license of the Stars series.

While I do understand your position and want those BD's to look amazing, this interview has calmed some of my fears of how Viz Media is handling the video upgrade/upscale. I am willing to give Viz the benefit of the doubt and believe that their re-release will at least look better than the old DVD releases.

I will be disappointed if the video in the BD's looks just good, but not great. But I think I can live with that, especially if all the 200 episodes only cost me $350-400.

There's no way the BDs will be of good HD quality if they're not working with a new film transfer, so just buy the new DVDs to save yourself from disappointment.

That's a waste. And watch, early next year Toei announces their BD releases made from the original film negatives.

rainbowrabbit wrote:

I'm fully aware of that. But those books also contained translations such as "Spark Ring Wide Pressure" and "Champion of justice." There was also censorship at times. So we don't really know the extent of what was approved by her. Can you offer proof that she specifically said she approved "guardian" in the rerelease?

Maybe this isn't common knowledge or something but Takeuchi controls Sailor Moon with an iron fist. There is nothing in that Kodansha release that she didn't approve, I can guarantee you that.

If 15 years worth of stories about Takeuchi's legendarily tight leash on this franchise ain't enough proof for you then fine, but that's how it is and how it's always been. Viz is sending stuff for this release directly to her for approval, as is stated in the interview.

To anyone who's like "Well I already have all of that, I'm just gonna wait for Sailor Stars," I would say "No, please consider getting all of it just to see that true translation, uncut, with that really nice picture quality, consistent cast, everything."

Except the only thing they're going to be selling is Blu-ray/DVD combo packs, so like it or not, if you're planning to buy this rerelease, you're buying the Blu-rays.

There's going to be a combo pack that will be the limited edition, but there will also be the DVD version accessible to more mass-market retailers, that's going to be positioned for new fans that might not know anime.

Charlene: Speaking of the recording, the really cool thing about the cast, when Josh was casting all the Sailor Guardians, because it is a very musical series, he wanted to make sure that all the Sailor Guardians, should the need arise--

Josh: --could sing.

Charlene: Yeah, they all had to have pipes on them. All of our key girls that sing a lot, just wow. They are good singers. Sends little chills up my spine.