Sailor Moon R: The Complete Second Season (BD) [Blu-ray]

Sailor Moon R is an odd bird of a series. Coming in between the classic first season and the fan favorite Kunihiko Ikuhara helmed Sailor Moon S, Season two is frequently overlooked. While fans may have very polarizing opinions towards the later SuperS and Sailor Stars, R is just greeted with a collective shrug. This is in part due to having been hobbled at the start with a filler arc that isn't talked about all that much. So instead of plunging the Guardians straight into a year long battle with the nefarious Black Moon clan, we instead get two months of plant based space aliens Ail and En (GET IT!?!?) trying to harvest energy to save their "mother", the so-called "Makai Tree" (old subs used to translate this as Hell Tree, but Viz decided to chicken out). Meanwhile Usagi, Ami, Rei, Mako, and Mina are forced to regain their memories of the previous season because fate (and more importantly Toei having to backtrack away their anime only ending) demands it. There's also a new love interest in the form of the Gekko Kamen knockoff Moonlight Knight, whom the show banishes to the ether once Mamoru is back to normal.The Makai Tree arc, while no masterpiece, does what it needs to do though. Undo all the changes made to the end of season 1 that weren't reflected in the manga, and start introducing elements of the new status quo. For instance it now takes several episodes for Usagi to get her new Moon Crystal Compact that she got immediately at the end of Naoko Takeuchi's version of the Dark Kingdom arc. But once the Manga reached a point where the anime could kinda sorta adapt it (R is still pretty loose overall but not nearly as loose as how S handled the Infinity Arc), we immediately hit the wrap up button and never speak of it again.Anyway... the actual meat of the season: The Black Moon and Crystal Tokyo arcs. Last year it was enemies from the distant past returning to the present day to reek revenge on Serenity and Endymion's reincarnations. Now...ITS THE FUTURE! A mysterious pink haired girl weasels her way into Usagi's life searching for the Silver Crystal. She is pursued by a cadre of sadistic women wearing the latest French fashion plates, and their leader/boyfriend/pimp, who intends to destroy the last remaining stronghold of humanity in the future by corrupting its source of power in the past. Who is Chibi-Usa and why is her mother in danger? What is the Black Moon's real goal and who is the one really holding their chain? Will Usagi and Mamoru EVER have time for romance? All these questions and more to be answered...but possibly not in a way that can be contradicted later on. Because Toei sure loves their plot holes.Now most US fans will probably remember how much of a bumpy ride this was to watch back in the day. The original DIC syndication package only covered up to the end of the Phantom Sisters battles, stranding the conclusion up in Canada for about three years until Cartoon Network's then new Toonami block picked it up as "The Lost Episodes" in the fall of 1998. And its a shame too because those 17 (well actually 16 really, the final show was actually a trailer/clip show for Sailor Moon S and they still dubbed it anyway!) episodes were some of the best in the whole series. And it would not surprise me if the increasingly dour and apocalyptic tone the series takes from this point on (and subsequently carried into S) is most likely responsible for getting male fans like myself into the show after dismissing it in its syndication run. Oh that and Black Lady. For...reasons.Of course that was all 20 years ago. Now we can enjoy Sailor Moon R in its original intended broadcast order, with a proper dub that doesn't distort the overall tone and intent of the original Japanese script in one blu-ray volume. Being an old Toei show made on 16mm with a tiny budget, the PQ is just..ok and its actually upscaled from 480p sd scans instead of being newly retransfered for this set (the exception to this is the infamous "bonus" episode 89, which was created on analog videotape). That being said, this is NOT the awful HD version current rights holder Viz Media did themselves from even worse SD sources, and is wholly watchable. Also Audio (in stereo for English and the OG Japanese Mono) does not suffer from the "Tin Can Toei" quality that shows like DBZ and Saint Seiya often do. All in allm it works for what it is.Extras are basically the same as the season 1 set: fluff interviews with the then-new dub cast recorded at various mid-2010s anime conventions, clean intros and outros (which look really bad and seem to have been sourced from a laserdisc), and art galleries. That's probably more than Sailor Moon deserves TBQH and expecting a deep dive into an anime from 30+ years ago's themes and narratives is probably asking too much (especially one that gets as lost in the shuffle as Sailor Moon R does).All in all, Sailor Moon R,for all its faults. definitely deserves another look. If not just for nostalgia, then because its just good solid magical girl anime.

If you’re a fan of sailor moon you already know what to expect. If you’re new to the series you can start here but it’s recommended you start with the first arc.

Growing up as a boy in the 90s, I never watched Sailor Moon because it was a "girls show". I tried to watch Dragon Ball Z but I was still pretty young and it was hard to follow a show that had an actual story line, so for me watching episodically it was really confusing to be dropped straight into a Goku Vs Freiza battle not knowing anything that was going on prior. Sailor Moon also had that aspect and to tell you just how little I really understood of Sailor Moon from the few times I watched glimpses of it, I could never tell Usagi and Minako apart, and most telling of all, I thought they were in Paris because of Tokyo Tower. But I have always loved animation and really that is all I watch anymore because I hate watching live action actors, so fast forward to 2024. I'm tired of the same ol anime that is being churned out with bland stories and static characters that all seem to be lifted from on series to the next, so I start rewatching older shows and looking for older shows that I never watched. Sailor Moon popped up and I thought that I wouldn't care for it but I decided to give it a chance. I will say my preconceived notions were wrong about the show in general, and while it certainly isn't perfect, it has been extremely good. I really enjoy the characters and the story has been pretty good. As far as the action goes, if that is what you are looking for then you will be disappointed. The fights are filled with boring recycled animation and all pretty much follow the same progression, and if that was what you are looking for, look elsewhere. It is very predictable in that aspect and almost laughably bad how the battles play out. But everything else is really good. The episodes as a whole(until you get towards a climatic finale) all play out as slice of life first half then delve into a battle, and the slice of life is really enjoyable. As a matter of fact I think that is partly why Sailor Moon seems to hold up so well. Compared to other older anime like Dragon Ball Z that really don't hold up as well in my opinion, Sailor Moon has more to offer than just battles. The boy crazy stuff is hilarious to me watching now, but I would have absolutely hated it when I was younger. Ultimately, even filler episodes are really good and while I can really pick them out, even the Makai Tree arc I felt was filler and confirmed later, but it was enjoyable. I've heard R is not considered one of the better seasons, but I really enjoyed it. I love Mako, she is definitely my favorite, and that being said it would be better if she was given more screen time.

Recommend.

Excellent picture quality and a big step up from the previous "part" blu-ray sets. Colors are very vibrant and overall the presentation is great. For this being a 1993 anime, I feel they did a terrific job. I look forward to eventual new season sets of "S" and "Super S". For anyone who is new to the magical girl genre, another show that I highly recommend is Cardcaptor Sakura.

So happy to get the release picture Quality is beautiful.

I love VIZ media translation. And I love the fact that they put the whole season in one box! Also they improved video quality as well (even comparing to what's on Hulu). Happy to have it for my collection!

Wish words n songs were in English like it was when I was a child