Sailor Moon (anime)

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Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン; officially translated as "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon" or "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon") refers to two anime series based on the Sailor Moon manga by Naoko Takeuchi.

The original anime series ran on TV Asahi from March 7, 1992 to February 8, 1997. In the fall of 2009 it began airing again on Animax. The series spanned 200 episodes, three feature films, five specials, and five memorials.

The second series was announced at the 20th anniversary of Sailor Moon in July 2012 by Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha, with an expected release in the summer of 2013. The release date was pushed back several times before it began July 2014.

Sailor Moon "Classic"[edit | edit source]

TV Series[edit | edit source]

Sailor Moon (First Season)[edit | edit source]

The first season of the Sailor Moon anime aired on TV Asahi at 7:00pm on Saturdays from March 7, 1992 to February 27, 1993. It consisted of episodes 1-46.

This season was dubbed into English by DiC, and was eventually released on DVD by ADV.

A subbed version is currently available through Hulu and Viz Media's Neon Alley service.

A second dubbed version by Viz Media was released on home video in two installments, with Part 1 released on November 11, 2014 and Part 2 released on February 10, 2015.

Sailor Moon R (Second Season)[edit | edit source]

The second season of the Sailor Moon anime aired from March 6, 1993 to March 12, 1994. It consisted of episodes 47-89.

Because the series was not developed with a second season in mind, the first 13 episodes (quarter season) of the series was an original story produced by Toei, allowing Naoko Takeuchi to release more of the manga before the anime returned to follow its storyline.

This season was the last to air in the UK on Fox Kids (now known as Jetix).

This season was dubbed into English by DiC and eventually released on DVD by ADV, though episode 67 was not dubbed nor released on DVD in the U.S. and Canada.

A subbed version is currently available through Hulu and Viz Media's website. A second dubbed version was released on home video in two installments, with Part 1 released on July 14, 2015 and Part 2 released on October 27, 2015.

Sailor Moon S (Third Season)[edit | edit source]

The third season of the Sailor Moon anime aired from March 19, 1994 to February 25, 1995. It consisted of episodes 90-127.

This season was dubbed into English by Cloverway, and released on DVD by Pioneer.

A subbed version is currently available through Hulu and Viz Media's website. A second dubbed version was released on home video in two installments, with Part 1 released on November 15, 2016 and Part 2 released on June 20, 2017.

Sailor Moon SuperS (Fourth Season)[edit | edit source]

The fourth season of the Sailor Moon anime aired from March 4, 1995 to March 2, 1996. It consisted of episodes 128-166.

This season was dubbed into English by Cloverway and released on DVD by Pioneer, and was the last season of the series to air in the U.S. and Canada during the original license period.

A subbed version is currently available through Hulu and Viz Media's website. A second dubbed version was released on home video in two installments, with Part 1 released on April 24, 2018, and Part 2 released on November 13, 2018.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars (Fifth Season)[edit | edit source]

The fifth season of the Sailor Moon anime aired from March 9, 1996 to February 8, 1997. It consisted of episodes 167-200. The original series concluded with this season.

On the anime timeline at the Toei Animation Gallery, "Sailor Stars" is listed separate from "Sailor Moon," which on their timeline concludes with the fourth season. In addition, the opening song changed from "Moonlight Densetsu," which it had been for the first four seasons, to the "Sailor Star Song."

Until 2015, none of the episodes in this season had aired in English-speaking countries, and many rumors persisted as to why Toei Animation had not allowed any company to license the last series for distribution in English. The most persistent rumors were that Toei wanted more money for licensing than anyone was willing to pay, and that Toei was afraid of hurting Sailor Moon's "family friendly" image due to some content in Sailor Stars (such as the nudity in the last episode, Haruka and Michiru's relationship, and the gender-transforming Sailor Starlights). Despite this, however, this season aired in other foreign countries with little or no controversy. In 2014, Viz Media licensed the series in the United States and Canada, and the subtitled first episode of Sailor Stars was released to Hulu's Neon Alley service on December 24, 2015. Episodes were posted on Hulu at a two-a-week pace through to April 2016, when episode 200 was posted.

A subbed version is currently available through Hulu and Viz Media's website. A dubbed version was released on home video in two installments, with Part 1 released on June 18, 2019, and Part 2 released on November 12, 2019.

Sailor Moon Tokyoma Gaiden (First Season of New Series set in the 90's universe, Fifth Season in the dub)[edit | edit source]

The First Season of a new anime taking place in the original Sailor Moon anime universe aired on TV Asahi on Sundays at 10:30 AM (The last three episodes airing Mondays at 7:00pm) From September 18, 2022 to February 27, 2023, the episode count restarted due to being a new series, going from episodes 1-23.

This season was dubbed into English twice, the first version seen being a dub consistent with the original English dub produced by DiC which was produced by its successor, DHX Media, This version did not restart the episode count, and thus is considered to be Season Five of the original dub, consisting of dub episodes 160-182.

The second version, produced at the same time, was an uncut dub featuring the same voice actors, and is consistent with the newer Viz Media Dub, this dub being produced by Carisle Studios.

Sailor Moon Tokyoma Gaiden: Knights & Guardians (Second Season, Sixth in the dub)[edit | edit source]

The Second Season of Tokyoma Gaiden aired from March 3, 2023 to September 4, 2023, keeping its Monday Night timeslot. It consisted of episodes 24-50 (183-209 in the dub).

This season received TV and Uncut English dubs simultaneously, with the TV Version once again done by DHX Media and the Uncut dub being done by Carisle Studios.

In this season, the focus changed from a typical Monster of the day series, to one focusing on an ongoing plot, in this case, Pinako and her friends' journey to Battler's Paradise. The theme song also changed once again from "Moonlight Densetsu" to "V O I C E". The opening would change back to "Moonlight Densetsu" during future filler arcs. this would be the final season to hold the Sailor Moon title for a few years, with the season after this one dropping the "Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon" moniker to focus on the "Knights & Guardians" aspect that has become synonymous with the spin-off series.

Tokyoma Gaiden: Knights & Guardians (Third Season, Seventh in the dub)[edit | edit source]

The Third Season, and first full year season aired from September 18, 2023 and continues to air currently.

Films[edit | edit source]

  • The Sailor Moon R movie - Theater run was from December 1993 to January 1994. The film's first English dub subtitle was "The Promise of the Rose." The Viz dub of the film was given a theatrical run in early 2017, and the DVD and Blu-ray were released on April 18, 2017.
  • The Sailor Moon S movie - Theater run was from December 1994 to January 1995. It was based on the short story "Kaguya-hime no Koibito" that preluded the Dream story arc in the manga. The film's first English dub subtitle was "Hearts in Ice." The Viz dub of the film was given a theatrical run in 2018, and the DVD and Blu-ray were released on October 2, 2018.
  • The Sailor Moon SuperS movie - Theater run was from December 1995 to January 1996. Of the three films, this was the only one to have a Japanese subtitle, called "The Nine Sailor Warriors Get Together! Miracle in the Black Dream Hole." The film's first English dub subtitle was "Black Dream Hole." The Viz dub of the film was given a theatrical run in 2018, and the DVD and Blu-ray were released on February 12, 2019.

Specials[edit | edit source]

Memorials[edit | edit source]

Sailor Moon Crystal[edit | edit source]

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal premiered on July 5, 2014, with simultaneous streaming broadcasts around the world. A new episode aired every first and third Saturday of each month for a year, for a total of 26 episodes in the first two seasons. Season III began on April 4, 2016, with a new episode aired on television every week until the end of June that year, for a total of 13 episodes. The next story arc was released in the form of the two theatrical movies entitled Sailor Moon Eternal, released in theaters in Japan on January 8 and February 11 of 2021, then later available streaming worldwide on Netflix. The final story arc will be released in the form of another two theatrical movies entitled Sailor Moon Cosmos, in Japanese theaters in summer 2023.

Sailor Moon Around the World[edit | edit source]

The Sailor Moon series quickly found favor internationally, and was bought by various TV companies across the world and dubbed into numerous different languages. For more details, see:

See Also[edit | edit source]