Quote Originally Posted by tomamar04
Sailor Moon = Crap.
Die please.



It's quite an amazing thing really. It started out as a (rather extensive) manga, which Toei Animation (responsible for some of the more popular anime, including Dragonball/Z/GT) picked up and turned into what is one of the most popular anime in the world. The anime consist of five different series (or seasons...whichever you wish to reffer to them as): Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon R, Sailor Moon S, Sailor Moon Super S, and Sailor Stars, as well as three movies: Sailor Moon R: The Promise of the Rose, Sailor Moon S: Hearts in Ice, and Sailor Moon Super S: Black Dream Hole, some TV specials, and an ongoing musical (yes, like, a broadway musical) based upon it, usually reffered to as "Sera Miyu". The series is still shown on television in several countries, has been translated/dubbed/subbed into just about every major world language, has too much merchandise behind it to keep track of, and has a huge fan following.

In about 2003 I think (roughly six or seven years after the anime ended) someone decided to make yet another series; this time however, a live-action series, titled "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon". It spanned 2 seasons, with a total of 49 TV episodes, two special DVD exclusive episodes, and two or three very short "mini" episodes.

Something that needs to be kept in mind is that the manga, the anime, and the live action series are all separate entities; none of their stories go together...they just parallel each other in alot of ways...it's like an alternate retelling of the story, which is pretty neat (I'm just watching the live action series, and it's pretty interesting). All of them pretty much appeal to a wide range of age groups, but it's clear that each of them targeted different age groups (the manga being the most mature of them, then the anime being pretty universal depending on which point you were at, and the live action series more for the kiddies, though if you're a fellow moonie you love it anyway).

Personally, as many people already know, I'm a huge Sailor Moon fan...I'm currently watching the live-action series now that I got a fast connection (seeing as it will never see it's way outside Japan anyway), and it's quite nice to see something that I've never seen in the Sailor Moon universe. It's a great anime/manga really, and I think it has something for everyone...it has romance, it has comedy, it has action, it has it's really dramatic points, and it's extremely lighthearted points. I highly recommend it to everyone, though I know it's not for everyone, especially if magical girl stuff isn't your cup of tea.