I opted to post this in its own thread given the content, and thus felt it apropos not to post it in the main SMC season 3 thread.

I was curious if any concept art for this season was released?

I know that they released a lot of the concept art for Crystal seasons 1 and 2 prior to its release, but I haven't such much in the way of that being the case with season 3, save for promo pictures.

Anyone have any idea why they might not be releasing it?

They may chose to release it afterwards. We already have some promo images so I don't think concept images are really necessary at this point.

But which are we to take as the *official* art for the series?

The poster that is currently the banner for the forums, or the one being marketed for merchandise?

I just can't wrap my mind around cuddly Sailor Saturn, and how relatively young she is in relation to the other senshi. She looks younger than Usagi in this:


Here she at least has a more solemn appearance and corresponds to her manga and 90's anime counterpart:

To me it looks like that first pic you posted, it looks almost like a post Infinity arc type group photo. Also Hotaru is suppsoed to be younger than Usagi if I recall, not by much though (someone correct me if i'm wrong tho?)

Not all art is going to have her looking solemn all the time, even in old anime and manga art, they gave her a more youthful look for promo pictures. And especially if its art for merch.

I think you're worrying too much about something that there is no control over when it happens. It's just a wait and see sort of thing. I feel the first image that was released will probably be closer to what the animation will feel like. That top group shot looks more like stuff for merchandise and print.

She's only supposed to be 12 years old, but I feel like she'll be less cutesy in the anime since her story is so dark. From what I've seen in the trailer, the promo art tends to slightly differ from the aesthetic of the animation. The characters appear somewhat shinier and more delicate in the trailer which is closer to the style of the second picture.

Wait, I thought the Mugen academy was for older students, which is why I always assumed that Michiru and Haruka were in a grade above Hotaru.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but that's the impression I've always been under in relation to Hotaru.

As to it being a post-Infinity group shot, I doubt it.

Sailor Saturn really only appears once in the manga within the Infinity arc (well she's alluded to in the flashbacks to Silver Millennium)

Spoiler:

Mugen Academy has grades kindergarden through college (an escalator school). She's 12 years old in the Mugen arc. Haruka is stated to be 16, Michiru assumed to be the same.

But Hotaru DEFINITELY looks older than she really is! Not sure why her body looks so mature in the manga, but I guess that's just Naoko's style.

Wow, I didn't know that.

Wait.

So that would mean that Haruka and Michiru would have been awoken as senshi when they were around 11 or 12 years of age?

I say that on the basis that Pharaoh 90 entered our solar system around the time that Hotaru was 7 years of age. She was made into an android-human hybrid following an experiment gone awry in her father's lab. How then does Setsuna fit into this?

Just FYI this is going WAY off topic now. Please keep it on the topic of concept art and posting it if any is released. Thanks!