Review of Sailor Moon: Vol. 13

Introduction

Another month, another Sailor Moon disc, and I think that the series may be starting to grow on me. Sailor Moon is synonymous with anime. In the 90`s especially, while Akira was the first name on anyone`s lips, the long running television series wasn`t far behind, and a cult following soon built up that is reflected in the extensive Internet community that still follows the series.

It`s always hard coming to these shows in the middle of a run, and it`s equally hard trying to figure out what`s going on, but with a little bit of research and a lot of web surfing, this is the rough outline I came up with. Five girls and two cats must protect the Earth from the Dark Kingdom (Negaverse). Heirs to the power of the ancient moon kingdom, they have been sent to modern day Earth, where by day they go to high school, but by night they use their special powers to battle demons. They are the Sailor Scouts, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter and of course, Sailor Moon.

Volume 13 sees the threat of the Negamoon come to a head, and the Sailor Scouts rise to the occasion to defeat the menace on its own turf. There are only five episode on this disc, 73) Smart Payoff, 74) Child`s Play, 75) Future Shocked, 76) Legend Of The Negamoon and 77) Jealousy`s Just Rewards.

After Emerald attacks Rini`s friend, she decides finally to go home to the 30th Century and rescue her mother from the onslaught of the Negamoon. The Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask decide to go with her, and with the aid of Sailor Pluto, they enter 30th Century Crystal Tokyo, where there are some stunning revelations to be heard. Meanwhile the Negamoon family`s plans have changed regarding Rini, and Diamond has designs on Serena.

Video

A simple 4:3 picture reflects the TV roots of the series. The transfer is adequate, with no glaring problems. The animation is simplistic and rather rough and ready, as you would expect from a TV series as opposed to a feature length animation. I did notice a glitch in one frame of the second episode of this disc, other than that the transfer is problem free.

Audio

This is a DD 2.0 English dub, which is adequate once again, if annoying, but the dub is just the symptom of far deeper problems with this release of Sailor Moon. There are no subtitles by the way.

Features

The Sailor Moon disc actually shows a Sailor Moon jacket picture when the disc isn`t spinning. It`s cool, but that`s all there is.

Conclusion

It`s more of the same as another Sailor Moon disc makes its way through my DVD player. Oddly enough, I think that Sailor Moon is beginning to grow on me, working its way into my affections by sheer banal repetition. But my complaints still remain from the last disc I saw. It follows the Power Rangers blueprint to perfection, the dubbing is sufficiently laughable to provide much of the entertainment value, and the kid friendly edit has taken the heart out of the story. But I can imagine, that after watching a few hundred of these episodes, even this version of Sailor Moon could become enjoyable. The story is still miles better than most of the serial anime that makes its way onto British television and the characters are certainly more interesting.

The story is certainly beginning to get exciting, especially as the Sailor Scouts journey forward in time, and the truth about Rini`s origins, pretty much telegraphed by earlier episodes is confirmed here. The motivations of the villains are far from simplistic, and it`s a shame that the censorship of Sailor Moon has done away with some of the nuances.

In the end, I`m still not going to recommend this and for exactly the same reason that I have failed to do so previously. Sailor Moon as it is on this disc is of some entertainment value, but I can`t condone the hack and slash job that`s been done to it. And I am heartily sick of the trite "Sailor Moon Says" moralisation at the end of every episode, more often than not having nothing to do with what has just happened.