This is a translation of the recent (July 2014 issue) Sailor Moon Crystal article in Animage. Scans by MizunoCaitlin. Translation by ainomessage. Formatting by Galadan.
Guided by the light of the moonâŠ
âSailor Moon,â which swept up an entire generation in the 90s, is returning anew with modern animation. These pretty guardians are shining in a way no one has seen before. Moon Prism Power! Make Up!
The second of the new musicals is coming to theaters!
Tokyo shows will be from 8/21-31 and Osaka shows will be held from 9/5-7.
Details at the official homepage. http://sailormoon-official.com/musical
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal
Starting 7/5 at 7:00pm, airing every 1st and 3rd Saturday
Streaming on Nico Nico Douga and others (Time Shift viewing lasts 2 weeks)
© Naoko Takeuchi / PNP / Kodansha / Toei Animation
– STAFF
Original Manga â Naoko Takeuchi (Serialized in Kodanshaâs âNakayoshiâ)
Director â Muenhisa Sakai
Series Script Supervisor â Yuuji Kobayashi
Character Design â Yukie Sako
Art Directors â Takashi Kurahashi and Yumi Hosaka
Music â Yasuharu Takanashi
Theme Song â Momoiro Clover Z
Animation Production â Toei Animation
– CAST
Usagi Tsukino & Sailor Moon â Kotono Mitsuishi
Ami Mizuno & Sailor Mercury â Hisako Kanemoto
Rei Hino & Sailor Mars â Rina Sato
Makoto Kino & Sailor Jupiter â Ami Koshimizu
Minako Aino & Sailor Venus â Shizuka Ito
Luna â Ryo Hirobashi
Mamoru Chiba & Tuxedo Mask â Kenji Nojima
This anime will follow the manga exactly and is aiming for adult female viewers too.
âPretty Guardian Sailor Moonâ caused a huge boom 20 years ago with that memorable line âIn the name of the moon, Iâll punish you!â It is well known that this story about middle school girls who form a team, transform beautifully, and fight monsters had a strong influence all over the world.
And now as part of the 20th anniversary, a new anime âPretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystalâ is finally going to begin in July! The âcrystalâ in the title refers to a return to the beautiful, still shining original manga and was the idea of Yuu Kamiki (Toei Animation), approved by creator Ms. Naoko Takeuchi.
âI want to take the entire world of the series in an aesthetic direction so I think the name is perfect,â says director Munehisa Sakai.
This time the animation concept is to âkeep the original design of the manga as it is and turn it into an anime.â Theyâve also said âWe want grown women who watched the original anime to watch this!â, so it seems we can hope for that same splendor of our transforming heroines with a mature feel.


Sheâs an easily excited, energetic, clumsy crybaby who is in her second year of middle school. After meeting the mysterious black cat Luna she transforms into Sailor Moon. She fights against evil.
Sheâs a genius who attends school with Usagi. She transforms into Sailor Mercury. Sheâs quiet but has good judgment and speaks up when necessary.


Sheâs an only child living at a shrine and possesses spiritual powers. She has slender proportions like a model and speaks like a cool princess. She transforms into Sailor Mars.
Sheâs the most experienced guardian, having fought as Sailor V. She transforms into Sailor Venus. Sheâs reliable, but sheâs also an idol fangirl and can be a follower of the latest fads.


Sheâs tall and a strong power fighter. She transforms into Sailor Jupiter. Sheâs an open-minded, motherly figure but also has a girlish side.
A high school student who appears around Usagi. Heâs actually Tuxedo Mask, who helps Sailor Moon. Heâs a cool and mature guy with a calm disposition.
We Want to Portray a Realistic Girlsâ Drama
Director: Munehisa Sakai Character Designer: Yukie Sako
An anime that will make you remember the dreams from when you were a young girl
– Please tell us the details about when you were offered âSailor Moon Crystal.â
Born in 1971. Works for Toei Animation. âSuite PrecureâȘâ (Series Director), âONE PIECE FILM STRONG WORLD (Director), etc.
Yukie Sako
Freelance. Illustration Director for âGalactic Armored Fleet Majestic Prince,â âPrinceâof MusicâȘ Real LOVE 1000%â and more. This is her first time working as a character designer.
Sakai: Around the beginning of spring last year I happened to have the opportunity to go drinking with producer Atsutoshi Umezawa. As I was saying things like âIâm going to work even harder from now on at work!â he just casually said âSo how about working on Sailor Moon?â (laughs).
Sako: As if he were saying something like âYou free tomorrow?â (laughs)
Sakai: Yeah, and I ended up replying in the heat of the moment (laughs). Later he explained that this time we would be keeping with the style of the manga and starting a completed series over from the beginning as we turned it into an anime.
Sako: I was chosen by audition. I had never worked with Toei Animation before, so I wasnât sure exactly how they came to talk with me. When they first called in the summer of last year I had no idea it would be for a character design audition.
Sakai: This time weâre aiming for a girlsâ manga style, so from the very beginning we thought a womanâs delicate styling would be best. Then we heard about a woman named Yukie Sako who could draw really strong likenesses (laughs) and thought âIt would be interesting if Ms. Sako would illustrate Sailor Moon!â Thatâs how we had you come to the audition.
Sako: Thank you very much. It was a shock.
– Including the tokusatsu of 10 years ago, this will be the third time the series has been brought to life on film. What are your goals this time?
Sakai: Ever since the beginning our concept has been to bring the world of the manga just as it is to life on screen, so my thoughts were âLetâs aim this at the women who watched the show in real time years ago and offer them something that glimmered in their childhood.â I thought it would be good if we could make a show that made women in their late twenties think âHow beautiful!â or âHow cool!â or even âThis makes me nostalgic!â These women have become members of society, experienced their own hardships and have experienced a reality thatâs different from that childhood dream of âa prince on a white horse.â
Sako: In other words, itâs so that âjadedâ women who are tired of real life can forget it for a while? (laughs)
Sakai: Ahahaha. I hope theyâll remember the dreams they had when they were young girls. So I want to portray beauty, coolness, and aestheticism from a womanâs perspective. I hope to give them the delicate acting of a girlsâ anime, the beautiful flow of the clothes and hair and make every important detail beautiful.
– Ms. Sako, as you worked on your designs what things did you focus on?
Sako: For me, this isnât a remake; itâs âthe first anime based on the original manga.â The only thing is that the original manga is 20 years old, so I had to match Ms. Takeuchiâs illustration style while making it more modern and also more anime-like⊠the hurdles were pretty high (laugh). I started with the cover illustrations from the Perfect Edition manga as the base for my designs.
Sakai: I know you started with Sailor Moonâs design, but it took you a pretty long time to finish it, right?
Sako: Thatâs right. That was because it was essential that I decide the direction I was going to take the design in. I just couldnât achieve the balance of Ms. Takeuchiâs style. It was hard to notice it myself, but I kept drifting towards a more modern anime style so my aim was to figure out how to disrupt that. It took several months, but finally I arrived at âthe best balance to turn Ms. Takeuchiâs drawings into anime.â
– When we think of Ms. Sakoâs style, we also have high hopes for the beautiful male characters.
Sako: This time I had the large task of matching Ms. Takeuchiâs art, so please donât get any weird ideas about Mamoru, the Four Generals, or the other male characters. Iâm going to do them right! On other works I have been the âgo-to person for naughty pictures,â though! (laughs)
Every Voice Acting Audition Was Held with Ms. Mitsuishi
– Weâd like to hear from you about the casting process.
Sakai: Aside from Ms. Kotono Mitsuishi, all of the others were chosen by audition. They all came with a lot of excitement, but we had each and every person audition alongside Ms. Mitsuishi.
Sako: All of a sudden they had to work along with the real Usagi!?
Sakai: Exactly (laughs). First we had them read from the script alone and then Ms. Mitsuishi would come in and theyâd read dialogue together.
Sako: That sounds like a hidden camera show! (laughs)
Sakai: The final deciding factor was inspiration. As in whether or not they suited the character. For example, Ms. Hisako Kanemoto seemed to fit a calm, intelligent character.
Sako: In the manga Ami says things like âStudying is the only thing that matters to meâŠâ, doesnât she?
– Lastly, please share with us your enthusiasm about the upcoming premiere in July.
Sakai: Weâre aiming to do something new, so I would like it to align with a different vector than previous works aimed at girls. It will have a bit of a mature feel⊠so it will include a love story and also themes of not always being a âgood girl.â
Sako: The relationship between the five girls illustrated by Ms. Takeuchi is realistic. They complain about things, they donât always act super clingy, but theyâre still good friends. I also have vivid memories of how jealous Usagi got when Chibiusa appeared.
Sakai: One of the great things about the manga is how relatable it is for girls.
Sako: Anime are often made by men, so I think itâs pretty difficult to convey the nuances of a manga written by a woman⊠For example, Usagi and Mamoru have a very close relationship in the manga, so they must have a special way of talking and thinking about each other. Because weâre following the manga closely, I hope we can convey that sort of atmosphere correctly.
Sakai: Above all, I want to portray this drama properly. I want to focus on realistic emotions and I hope we can do a good job of portraying the life of normal girls who transform into magnificent guardians.
Synopsis page:

Every 1st and 3rd Saturday on Nico Nico Douga
Episode 1 âUsagi â SAILOR MOON â â
The person solving the repeated burglaries of jewelry stores is said to be Sailor V, a sailor suited friend of justice. Just after talking about this story, Usagi visits Naruâs house andâŠ.
Subtitle: Act. 1 Usagi âSAILORMOON- (7/5)
Script: Yuuji Kobayashi
Director: Munehisa Sakai
Storyboard: (Munehisa Sakai)
Animation Director: Kozue Komatsu
Art Directors: Takashi Kurahashi, Yumi Hosaka
I love it! I cant wait to see it here in America!
“Yeah, and I ended up replying in the heat of the moment (laughs). Later he explained that this time we would be keeping with the style of the manga and starting a completed series over from the beginning as we turned it into an anime.”
This sounds like they are doing the whole series again! Unless this is a typo?
It’s not a typo, but I don’t think I would take it to mean they’re doing the entire series. What they’re trying to say is that originally the anime was being made as the manga was being written, so there was often filler added or guesses made about the direction of the story because the anime was moving faster than the manga. This time they don’t have those same restraints, so they’re able to be more faithful to the manga, use foreshadowing, etc.
So they could again do the Darien-Rini-cousins thing? Please keep away that series from the US.
Oh My God! I just can wait for it! If they really following the manga it’s gonna be awesome!
I love it that they finally realized that a girl’s anime needs a woman in the team. That is what I disliked about the old anime. It was so obvious that it was made by men with their presumptions what girl like, do and think.
Oh my god yes, this comment, so much. <3
Soooooo excited. I am one of those 20 year old girls m they were talking about and this article makes me even more excited sailor moon opened me up to the world of anime. July can’t come sooner!!!
I’m so excited for this. It makes me tear up! This is going to be amazing I just know it. :)
Also are they going to add Jupiter’s belt and Mars’ Jewel on her skirt?
I guess I’m among a minority, being a 35 y/o man and planning to watch this. I’m thrilled that it’s making a comeback and not being watered down. Hoping the voice acting is good (unlike Serena’s in S3 of the original English dub).
That said, I have a small collection going…2 of the new (Italian made) backpacks, a shirt (would like more but would have to find them custom, as most aren’t made for men), and some plush.
Of them my favorite chars are Jupiter, Venus, and Luna.
Wow! Sailor Mokn was really one of the few things in life that ever compelled me to write letters (aside from the Rhythm Heaven game *cough*), but after watching the first episode, the director certainly hit his target. The staff at Toei all deserve a heartfelt letter of thanks!
And thank you for providing the translation for this article. (:
Is not like the manga 100% i notice how they edited and censored the cuts and blood parts and villain cut in half on act 2 by sailor tiara lots details was left behind wich make the manga more mature this far.