A long time ago there lived a great and magnificent kingdom on the moon.  This kingdom served as the central political hub for all of the people from each of the planets circling the sun.  It was a time of unparalleled prosperity and near peace, a time known as the Silver Millennium.  The only remaining threat to the kingdom was from the Earth below which was rife with war and rebellion.  A malevolent force called Metalia was at work down there through it's proxy Queen Beryl.  Queen Beryl struck out at the kingdom on the Moon destroying it and killing it's defenders.  In a desperate final bid the Moon Kingdom's Queen Serenity used the power of the mysterious ginzuishou (silver crystal) to condemn all of the evil forces to another barren dimension.  The act left Queen Serenity near death and with the last of her strength she used the crystal to send the fallen protectors of the kingdom, her beloved daughter, and the Earthman who lost his life to protect the princess, into the future to be reborn on Earth.

The story jumps forward to the present day (1992) Usagi Tsukino (Serena in the dub from DIC) is your average fourteen year old girl living in Juban (10th) District.  She likes video games, manga, and eating.  One day she runs across a black cat with a band-aid on its forehead being pestered by some little kids.  She shoos them away and peels away the band-aid to find a crescent moon shaped mark underneath.  The cat gets away from her and later in the day shows up in her room, and it speaks to her.  It says its name is Luna, and that it has been looking for her, for she is Sailormoon champion of the moon.  She tells Usagi that she must help her to find the Moon Princess.  So the adventure begins.

Sailormoon is a typical (some may argue defining) magical girl anime.  It is certain the stick by which most people compare all others simply because of its pervasiveness.  Sailormoon is a total mega-hit the world over.  This is something that it entirely deserves.  It has all of the elements in all of the right proportions.  Aside from being a magical girl anime Sailormoon is also on some fronts a horror story, at least in greater measure than other shows in the genre.  Terrible monsters are attacking the citizens of Tokyo and a mere child is the only one who stands in the way of a total invasion.  It is more than this very horrorish premise that fuels this idea.  Much of the pacing, and the flourishes given to the anime bring home the horror to the audience, the first season particularly.

This review will be for the dubbed version as created and shown by the American company DIC. The first season of Sailormoon moves along at a really good pace as it goes along introducing all of the characters who will be important to the story, filling out the plot, and then building upon everything.  There is great character depth, varied and interesting stories in both the spotlight and the background.  While keeping with the typical monster of the day format and use of stock footage (using the same scene repeatedly, like the transformations) Sailormoon provides a strong back story of self-discovery, personal growth, interpersonal relationships, and love.  The musical score is moving and well put to use.  The lyrical soundtrack varies from fair to amazing.  The animation has a great pastel and watercolour feel to it with good motion and beautiful backdrops.

The first season of Sailormoon is one of those great television shows that comes around not often enough.  Even cut down and dubbed into another language it shines through with the quality that was put into it.  It is also the anchor and the kick off point for a much longer run.  Everyone has their favourite season of the series but it all began here.  For your reference I place this as number three on my list.  You'll have to read on to see what I felt did better.  Please use the main column navigation below if you wish to return to the main Sailormoon page.

( Thank you for reading my review.
Bob Male)

All ideas, opinions, and information are from the reviewer and are not representative of any company or group involved with the creators and/or staff of the materials being reviewed.