I'm just going to come right out and say it: 'Sailor Moon' is my one childhood obsession I've never outgrown. It was my first real introduction to the idea of girl power, and the anime that first got me into anime.
'Sailor Moon' is like 'Power Rangers'. One similarity is its nostalgic charm far exceeds its cheesiness. Anyone who grew up in the 90's like I did will understand the power those kinds of kid's shows had in starting many roads to geekdom. Its place in pop culture history among anime fans is unmistakable.
I don't regard 'Sailor Moon' as a guilty pleasure, and neither should anyone who grew up watching the anime. While I now know that the English dub was rather rubbish - with so many edits, painfully bad dialogue and voice acting, and characters being Americanized - the original Japanese episodes I saw on the internet are heartily pleasurable for 90's anime. Not to mention dark and dramatic. I only wanted to know more about it as I got older.
Now, as a trainee writer, 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon' by Naoko Takeuchi is one of the things which influences me both consciously and unconsciously. As an adult, I hold it in great appreciation, and it earns a permanent place in my girl power-loving heart.
So what to say about the newly translated and uncut manga Vol 1 edition? Is it any good, even for non-'Sailor Moon' fans? Well, yeah. I think it's very good.
The artwork is beautiful and compliments the story with grace. Usagi Tsukino, our heroine of justice, really does develop throughout the first manga volume. She grows to think like a soldier, and not so much like a clumsy and love-struck teenager. Unlike the anime where she has to be saved and lectured all the damn time over a hundred episodes in. Since she does start out as a normal fourteen-year-old, it's realistic that at first she would be scared and crying over such a hard responsibility of saving the universe from frightening otherworldly monsters. Then she reluctantly but surely acts like a guardian should, and even her cat mentor Luna is impressed with her.
I never really liked Tuxedo Mask in the anime - yeah, not a fangirl, I'm afraid - and my opinion of him has not changed much in this manga volume. But he has a personality and goes through an arc like Usagi. Near the end though he does act recklessly and stupidly...
And because this is a shoujo manga, romance is one of its key aspects. The relationship between Usagi/Sailor Moon and Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask is predestined, however at least they start out not liking each other much in their civilian forms. It leaves time for their love to properly develop, just like a normal couple.
The rest of the Sailor Soldiers - Mercury, Mars and Jupiter - are also great in their own unique way.
Yes, the manga is cheesy, and there are plot holes. The villains of the Dark Kingdom are not so interesting yet, but there is time for their threat and menace to grow stronger throughout the series.
The nostalgic charm is there. And considering that 'Sailor Moon' was originally published in Japan in 1991, I'd say it still holds up. It influenced the Magical Girl genre greatly, and anime in general. Naoko Takeuchi created something special in 'Sailor Moon', right after creating 'Codename Sailor V', its predecessor.
Heartfelt, enjoyable and so much fun, with more to it than appearances suggest, I recommend 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Vol 1' to any fan of the anime - hardcore, old school or casual. Or to anyone who grew up watching it on TV on Saturday mornings.
In the name of the Moon, I love 'Sailor Moon'!
Anyway, Final Score: 4/5
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