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Sailor Moon Crystal New Series 2014 Impressions

Tagged under Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

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Blue-Crescent

Blue-Crescent

The Wandering Moonchild.

Well, since the new series of BSSM, which is SailorMoon Crystal already aired a few episodes so far, I guess, it will be nice to make a forum to hear from the fans what they can say about the remake of the series.

I'd like to ask the Minitokyans, especially the fans, what are do they think the strengths and weaknesses for both the older version, way back 1992, and the 2014 version. I also would love to hear what they love about new series and their reactions over the transformations.

SailorMoon fans or not. All Minitokyans are welcome to post something about this forum.

BLUE-CRESCENT:
For starters, I honestly love the art of the new series because they made the settings very dreamy. It's indeed highly improved! Maybe because the technology nowadays is also very high compared the early 1990's. I love the transformations and I love the harmony of the colors. The transformations I think are more realistic by nature and the art is not already crude. It will only have 26 episodes and the story so far follows a good plot compared to the older version where there are lots of filler episodes, losing me to the tracks and interfering me from understanding the deeper points of the story. On the other hand, the art may be great but for the characters, the girls are indeed prettier and even the other characters are now well-designed, but I am not really impressed with the slender legs. I mean, yes, Sailor Senshis have slender legs ever since, but not as slender as now which I find not realistic. For me, this is one strength of the older version I'd like to point. The girls in the older version has voluptuous ad curvacious body which I find more realistic than the art of the 2014 version. I also love the battle screams of the older version as they unleash their powers compared the new version. 2014 version has wonderful effects for the powers but I guess, I am afraid I am not that contented with the scenes as they summon their powers.

I also love the fact that Usagi's original Japanese voice actress is still the one dubbing Usagi's voice for the 2014 version. Her talent is indeed undeniable! She dubs Usagi now like it's not 22 years ago! For this I give Miss Mitsuishi Kotono a standing ovation.

So far, this is what I can say about the SM Crystal. Have a great day ahead everyone!

" A mind full of bitter memories , a past drenched in sadness and watered with my tears,
A heart nurtured by the littlest spark of hope, a present fed by the wildest dreams,
A body scarred by the savage adversities, a future that holds the greatest uncertainties,
These are the deepest parts of my blue soul, armored and shielded by an indestructible fortress. " Signature Image

I see a lot of people complaining about the art and CGI use for the transformations. I don't really see the problem really.

I think one of the problems is that people are STILL expecting the older anime series, but merely updated. Well, if they want that, then they can wait until the remastered series (including Sailor Stars from what I've heard) comes out on DVD/Blu-ray.

Otherwise, Sailor Moon Crystal was always said to have the art and follow the manga version, so the fact that people are belly-aching about stuff that they should've known about months in advance is a bit stupid. From what I recall, it's following the manga quite nicely.

Blue-Crescent

Blue-Crescent

The Wandering Moonchild.

@HalfDemonInuYasha: Yo! My good friend and co-avid fan of InuYasha. :D I totally agree with you. I've also read lots of negative comments about it but honestly, I love the 2014 version compared the older version. I hope people can move on with the improvements brought about by the high technology in the anime industry. And I love that it's following the manga too. The story has a clearer plot and I don't get lost like what happened to me when I watched the older version. Thank you for your wonderful post and have a great day ahead!

" A mind full of bitter memories , a past drenched in sadness and watered with my tears,
A heart nurtured by the littlest spark of hope, a present fed by the wildest dreams,
A body scarred by the savage adversities, a future that holds the greatest uncertainties,
These are the deepest parts of my blue soul, armored and shielded by an indestructible fortress. " Signature Image

pandemonium91

Retired Moderator, Tagger

pandemonium91

It was enjoyable overall, but I'm not articulate enough at this hour of the morning to write entire paragraphs so I'll make a list:

PROS:
- holy moly, half of the budget for the first episode must've gone to Usagi's hair! it's gorgeous;
- not too much reused animation, aside from the transformations, of course;
- the backgrounds don't seem as static and lazily drawn as in the '94 version;
- thank god for only being 26 episodes long for now. The 40 in the original first season nearly killed me to get through.

CONS:
- yeah, it's visibly digital in parts, especially in the OP and during Moon's transformation (after her collar appears in particular). I think people complain because the anime - aside from the transformation (TS) and attack (AS) sequences - is obviously digitally animated, but the shading in the TS and AS is so smooth it ends up making the girls look like poorly done 3D models. Compare these screencaps: regular show, TS hair shot (hair looks...broken and bent unnaturally). The animation itself sometimes looks too smooth to be realistic.
- remember the Mythbusters episode where they brought in an opera singer to see if they could crack a glass with her voice, and failed? Pretty sure that experiment would've succeeded had they used Usagi during the first episode. So much high-pitched wailing. Though, hilariously, it's a plot point;
- girls = 70% legs, 5% lip gloss, 25% everything else. They look so thin too.

Overall it's interesting, I'm definitely going to watch it until the end.

If you can't handle me at my best, then you don't deserve me at my worst!

Blue-Crescent

Blue-Crescent

The Wandering Moonchild.

@Pandemonium: It's great to read such reaction from you Pandemonium! The art is gorgeous, indeed! I have problems with the number of episodes of the older version. The background are well-drawn too and are not crude like before. Also, I love the effects for the transformation and honestly, it's only applicable for Rei's part. For some reasons, I don't know why I don't like Ami's transformation for the 2014 version. Yes! I don't know why on earth they made the girls look so thin. I mean, the faces and even the dresses, backgrounds, etc, are really nice and way more beautiful than the what the older version can offer but I really have problem with the extremities of the girls. They look like anorexic individuals. As if all that's left in them are bones and skin. That's why I like how extremities are drawn in the older version.

Yup! I will still definitely follow this series as far as I know. It's way better even if it has it's flaws. Besides, there's only few of them which will be insignificant to the over all output for the 2014 version. ^^ Have a nice day ahead Pandemonium and thank you for the wonderful post. ^^

" A mind full of bitter memories , a past drenched in sadness and watered with my tears,
A heart nurtured by the littlest spark of hope, a present fed by the wildest dreams,
A body scarred by the savage adversities, a future that holds the greatest uncertainties,
These are the deepest parts of my blue soul, armored and shielded by an indestructible fortress. " Signature Image

pandemonium91

Retired Moderator, Tagger

pandemonium91

I haven't seen the third episode yet, just the first two. Just watched Mars's transformation sequence and it's definitely the most, uh, exciting? It fits her personality.
Someone compared the animation to that of Code Geass and CLAMP in general: long, thin limbs, slender bodies and bigger/wider eyes. Yes, it is close to the manga's style but I wasn't too crazy about that to begin with either - especially the long, skeletal fingers and forever missing noses.

Oh, to add another pro to the list: I wasn't impressed with the OP song ("Moon Pride") at first, it sounded like some run-of-the-mill synthpop to me. But I can tolerate it now, though I couldn't even hum it or remember any of the lyrics (it didn't stick with me THAT hard).

I remember liking Ami when I watched the '94 version as a kid, though in the old show she's kind of dull most of the time. And I still feel she got the short stick with her mostly defensive (read: useless in real battle) powers - spraying bubbles? Creating mist that lasts for about 5 seconds? Yeah, good luck fending off those tentacles/glass shards/pieces of concrete flying at you. She still hasn't done much (from what I've seen) aside from looking surprised, nodding and smiling, but I'm hoping she'll get more screentime than her manga counterpart (heard the manga kinda shoved everyone to the side to make room for Usagi and Mamoru).
But I like the water that splashes away from her (around 0:16 in the video below) :D

For future reference:
Sailor Moon's transformation sequence
Sailor Mercury's transformation sequence - "Douse yourself in water and repent" sounds so corny, lmao.
Sailor Mars's transformation sequence (skip to 0:54 for the actual transformation) - oh my god Rei has HUGE eyes. And she'd probably be doing some splits if she had her legs any more apart during the final pose, ouch.

*salutes Blue :D*

If you can't handle me at my best, then you don't deserve me at my worst!

Blue-Crescent

Blue-Crescent

The Wandering Moonchild.

@Pandemonium: Go and watch it Pandemonium! ^^ Mars is indeed prettier this time and CALMER, I guess. Haha. You gave me a good laugh Pandemonium.
Pandemonium, honestly, I love your honesty in giving comments. I really freaked out too the first time I saw the original art of Naoko Takeuchi of Sailormoon. Gosh! The fingers look like string beans in a group of five to me. They're just straight and unrealistic. I never noticed the noses, not until now. You are indeed absolutely right. Some are drawn like a "comma" punctuation mark.

For some reasons, I like the opening song but I really miss the original one, Moonlight Densetsu. DALI did a good job over Moonlight Densetsu. Also, I think the Peach Hips members back then sing better than Momoiro Clover Z. Mitsuishi Kotono and the rest of the original voice actresses of the inner senshis were the members of Peach Hips. I always love how they sound in the songs Tuxedo Mirage and Moon Revenge. Another personal favorite is Rei's Eien no Melody. Momoiro Clover Z's voices are a little annoying. In my opinion, they sound sharp in some parts of the song and sometimes they are like "shrilling" and not singing at all. Haha.

Well, I am not much of an Ami fan but I really like her because she's intelligent and calm, and even for some reasons, I have a gut feeling, she's created to be the brains of the group but I guess, she's way too considerate sometimes, making her not that useful as a Sailor warrior. I always am Jupiter's biggest fan. She's sexy, cool and strong. Just my ideal girl.Haha. The "5 seconds bubble spray" made me laugh hard Pandemonium. I really love, love your frankness and honesty, Pandemonium! :D
Like yes, that power has no use at all. Just to blind enemies. I really don't like that attack until the Soap Bubble Spray Freezing appeared. The one that freezes enemies but STILL, not too offensive and powerful to defeat an enemy. You are absolutely right again Pandemonium, the water that splashes away from her is really cool. I hope this time they'll make Ami a stronger attack like controlling water cyclones or whirlpools. Anyway, Ami really looks so cool with her attack in the opening of each episode. I was really expecting that attack but it didn't show up, so far.

Thank you for the links,Pandemonium! I appreciate it.
I have no problems with SailorMoon's transformation so far. She's always the most movable and hyper one every time they need to transform. Haha
Ami's signature script sounds like as if she's a priestess or acolyte, using holy water to exorcise evil. Haha. It's indeed corny hearing it from a girl who wears a very short skirt.
Mars is indeed cool in her new transformation. I was like, "Am I sensing favoritism here?" as I watched her transform. Her eyes are really expressive and beautiful.Then the bizarre hand movements came and the final pose. It's a little awkward seeing them after a breath-taking transformation. Haha.
But I am happy too seeing those red high heels again with her. She really looks so sexy and feisty with it.

*Salutes you back by dear good friend, Pandemonium. I admire your frankness and honesty very much, my good moderator and the CODE GODDESS OF MINITOKYO* ^^
Take care and have a great day ahead!

" A mind full of bitter memories , a past drenched in sadness and watered with my tears,
A heart nurtured by the littlest spark of hope, a present fed by the wildest dreams,
A body scarred by the savage adversities, a future that holds the greatest uncertainties,
These are the deepest parts of my blue soul, armored and shielded by an indestructible fortress. " Signature Image

AZD-A9S

AZD-A9S

AZD the Collector

Hello Blue.

Olivia made some great points above.
As for me...

I have gotten used to the designs now.
In episode 4, there were certain shots that made Usagi REALLY cute than her old Anime design (despite me disliking her in the first Anime).

Look forward to more...yes even Usagi. She's not as bad as I thought. Maybe it's because of the first Anime or I have gotten older.
Then again I'm only at episode 4.

Hino Rei is the biggest surprise I have witnessed. Compared to the first, she couldn't stand Usagi at first. It's very different in Crystal.
Mizuno Ami is somewhat the same more or less.

I wonder how Kino Makoto will turn out? I didn't care much for her in the first Anime. I wonder how she is in Crystal?

There's so many things I'm looking forward to that won't be present in the old Anime since this is Manga based...and hopefully it stays on it.

The galaxy of AZD is in progress...

Blue-Crescent

Blue-Crescent

The Wandering Moonchild.

@AZD: Hello my brother! Long time no chat! ^^
Indeed, Pandemonium is a wise and good commentator. So true! Usagi is beautiful now and I am surprised too to like her now more compared to the older version. And her princess look is just so dazzling. I also love the fact that Rei is softer now in dealing with Usagi's childishness .Haha. Rei is indeed SUPERB now! Just a little awkward with the hand movements. ^^'

My, my! I am way too excited for Makoto's appearance!I just can't wait for her! And the spoiler for her transformation, I honestly can't sleep thinking about it. I just can't wait how will she wield her lightning and thunder powers. ^^

Count me in brother! I definitely am following this series. ^^

" A mind full of bitter memories , a past drenched in sadness and watered with my tears,
A heart nurtured by the littlest spark of hope, a present fed by the wildest dreams,
A body scarred by the savage adversities, a future that holds the greatest uncertainties,
These are the deepest parts of my blue soul, armored and shielded by an indestructible fortress. " Signature Image

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