My one regret with the original run of Sailor Moon in the United States is that I was never consistently home enough to really follow the show. I'd see, at most, one episode in a week and never be able to follow longer story arcs. I appreciated the quality of animation and the universe. Now, in 2014, the much-awaited Sailor Moon Crystal re-adaptation will be simultaneously released around the world. The TL:DR on the show is that the creator of the manga, Naoko Takeuchi, had to sue the studio producing the original anime to get the rights to her series back. She did not like all the alterations to the series (including eliminating any non-heteronormative characters and relationships from the story on international release) and spent years in court to take back her creation. She won and this new series is being made to her specifications.
Here's everything we know for sure about the new anime so far. The series will debut worldwide on 5 July, 2014 through the streaming service Niconico. New episodes will air on the first and third Saturday of every month and be available internationally at 6AM EST.
The series is for sure going back to the manga to tell the story of Sailor Moon and all the Sailor Scouts. That also means new character designs that genuinely look more true to Naoko Takeuchi's style than the original anime. Take a look at the design for Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon. Click for Full Size
We also know that the original voice of Sailor Moon, Kotono Mitsuishi, will be returning to the series. That's pretty exciting. The original anime series debuted in 1992. Clearly the show believes Kotono Mitsuishi is important enough to bring back even as the rest of the cast is filled with actors new to the series.
There's a chance, obviously, that nostalgia is tinting my perspective of Sailor Moon. That's true of anything you first encountered as a child. Yet, with 200 episodes of the anime, 52 chapters of the manga, and more cosplayers around the world than you could imagine, I'm not the only person who found something to really enjoy in the show. Here's to a successful run of the new Sailor Moon Crystal.
This post is part of AniMAY 2014, a month-long celebration of anime and manga.