May I be added to the club and Discord?

Yep! Adding you now. ^_^

A couple of club announcements!

In case you missed it, the Manga Club recieved the Best Club award during GC's Lucky 7th anniversary! Congratulations to us! Thank you everyone for making this club a success for every volume we read of our favorite series.

All members who were a part of the club from Aug 2017-2018 may claim the signature and stamp below!







Second, I hope you are almost done reading Vol 2 of Sailor V as the live chat is...


See you there!

I'm going to be away for the live chat, unfortunately...

But I did enjoy reading the manga!  I'm grateful to the club for getting me interested!

That's alright. You can chat at anytime. The scheduled one is more of an event, but if you have anything on your mind about the volume, or any of them, feel free to chat on Discord or post your thoughts here.

W00T! Go us!! XD See you Friday night! Hoping to get to the discussion question soon ^^;.

I look forward to everyone's thoughts whether its during the chat or in the thread!

I'm hoping to be able to participate to the live chat! I can't wait to hear your guys' thoughts about it

Quote :

Sailor V paved the way for Sailor Moon to take off and wow the entire world, but how do you think Sailor V would have continued if Sailor Moon never became a thing?  Would Sailor V have stayed a one shot or continued on a different story?  Discuss! Head canons welcome!

Like you guys have said, it's definitely hard to imagine it without Sailor Moon!  

Brit-chan wrote:

If Sailor Moon had not become a thing, firstly there would be no cameos or possibly Sailor V awakening her memories.

But then again we see Magellan Castle so early on! Like in chapter 1?? I wonder if possibly her "identity" would have been more focused in Roman mythology and the *Goddess*, Venus rather than as a planetary guardian if that makes sense.


Interestingly, when I read Toki*Meca a few years ago (one of Naoko's later works) I was really reminded of Sailor V! The tone and pacing as well as the personality of the main character, Meca all make me think that perhaps that was basically how Sailor V would have turned out if there was no Sailor Moon. The premise is slightly different of course (she's a robot for one lol) but basically it follows Meca and a normal girl through escapades that Meca gets them into because of her pursuit of 1000 friends and idolship.

In Sailor V, I could totally see Naoko moving to flesh out Hikaru more (especially after the mosquito pet chapter) and having her be a more central part of the plot and take on a similar role to Meca's friend in Toki*Meca. Hikaru's do-gooding could lead her into a mediating type role between V and the police perhaps? Maybe she'd be the true identity of "Boss" lol. And with the police, I think there was definitely more room for development as well... It would have been really interesting to see how the Dark Agency part resolved without reference to V's duty to the Moon Kingdom! Perhaps the irony of Sailor Venus, incarnation of the Goddess never knowing love would have been a funny fate she ends up just rolling with instead of a tragic one. Maybe Artemis with his feminine name (which V makes fun of) turns out to be a girl after all XD. Anyways, point being I think it would remain light and funny. Toki*Meca had a sweet ending but I actually don't remember what the main conflict was XDDD. There is a translation of all the additional chapters out there, so it might be good to read with the club if I can find it again and you guys are interested!

Brit-chan wrote:

Perhaps Naoko and other higher ups, would've wanted more and maybe she would have introduced more of a plot beyond V defeating the Dark Agency?

Oh man... That would be awesome XD. Like you say though, I can't imagine it getting that popular on its own. One of the best parts of Sailor Moon is that there are multiple heroines for lots of girls to identify with. Minako isn't exactly a common personality in Japan from what I've read, so her popularity can only rise so high even if there was a well-crafted plot to go along with her OTL. But yeah... I would've loved more Sailor V!!!

Here are my thoughts on Sailor V Vol. 2

Pretty much it continues onward from Vol. 1 with almost the exact same tone and formula. Mostly light-hearted and fun. I did like seeing the side character Natsuna Sakurada in her quest to recruit Sailor V and one of the few civilians to actually figure out her secret identity. Would've been a great character to see in the 90s anime or even make a brief appearance in Sailor Moon manga for one of Minako's chapters. (It was also funny to learn that the Japan-based special police force had a branch in Siberia, where she banished transferred Wakagi).

It was weird that in one ongoing arc, the MOTW were all "pet" siblings. A cat, a dog, and a...mosquito? The last one was a little out of place, unless I'm missing something.

And then there is the finale of the series. The last two chapters really make a big shift from the carefree nature of Sailor V and begins to take on a serious tone, somewhat similar tone akin to Sailor Moon. I guess it is understandable, since it is a finale, so there had to be a send off to the series. There are still some unanswered questions, though, that were never resolved by the end, and it is a shame none of the side characters made it to appear after the comic ended (though quite a few resemble SM characters so I'd understand not wanting to confuse readers with who's who).

It was a good, entertaining manga and I had fun reading it. How you enjoyed it as well. Feel free to post you thoughts either here or on Discord.

I really enjoyed reading this volume, I think more than the first one. The apparition of Ace, the Pet Stories; they all made me laugh. I think that this volume, even if it's the conclusion of the series, was way more comedic and helped in the making of the character development. Starting out with chapter 9, I really enjoyed how Wakagi and Minako almost made a relationship but omg he was really sent to Siberia XDDD The next chapter wasn't my favorite, seeing that Minako almost quit being Sailor V. Then we move on to the Pet Chapters. All of them were nice and well thought, my favorite of them being the one with Wan-Wan. Oh poor Artemis, he almost found his love. The chapter with Otonaru was sad and beautiful at the same time. I was just like "GO MINA GO!!!SING FOR YOUR TWO-THOUSAND-SOMETHING FIRST LOVE'S ILLNESS" The ending had me almost on tears though. The last two chapters who were the series' conclusion were both really beautiful, especially the last one. Seeing Minako learn the truth about herself and Ace was absolutely teary to the eye. It was a great ending, even for such a short series like Sailor V. Btw did anyone notice Mako in the bus Minako was at the end?

Question of the month wrote:

Sailor V paved the way for Sailor Moon to take off and wow the entire world, but how do you think Sailor V would have continued if Sailor Moon never became a thing?  Would Sailor V have stayed a one shot or continued on a different story?  Discuss! Head canons welcome!

I don't think that Sailor V would have ever been as successful as the Sailor Moon series. Agreeing with the others, without Sailor Moon Sailor V would haven't gotten much international popularity and no anime either. It would have probably ended with a cliffhanger in a more dramatic version of chapter 9.

I've gotten two quizzes in and another claim to the Sailor V stamp! Congratulations CrystalBunny, you've now earned the Sailor V completionist stamp!


In case you didn't know, you've also earned the Short Stories due to your participation the last time we read them. So that means you just need to get the main manga stamps and you're that much closer to that super shiny stamp. ;D

September's Question wrote:

Which character would you like to have seen get their own short story?
Bonus: Come up with a side story idea for said character.

Definitely either Mamoru or Setsuna! Or heck, a whole short stories showing fun family time with the Outers. I think for Setsuna, something set between Dream and Stars, maybe her first day as a nurse at Juuban elementary?

I don't have any ideas for Mamoru but I think it definitely should be comedic, along the lines of the exam battles.

Ooh another short story idea could be about Minako's adventures between the ending of Sailor V and her intro in Sailor Moon.

CrystalBunny wrote:

Btw did anyone notice Mako in the bus Minako was at the end?

Yes! Actually this came up during the livechat. I was wondering about the timing of it all. Like, was Mako just moving to Juuban so it would be happening right before her awakening as Jupiter? It would sort of make sense because in the SM manga, not long after Jupiter awakens, when theres some panels with Umino talking about Sailor V, they all note she had been quiet lately. I think it may have lined up with that because not long after Venus introduces herself to the group.

CrystalBunny wrote:

Question of the month wrote:

Sailor V paved the way for Sailor Moon to take off and wow the entire world, but how do you think Sailor V would have continued if Sailor Moon never became a thing?  Would Sailor V have stayed a one shot or continued on a different story?  Discuss! Head canons welcome!

I don't think that Sailor V would have ever been as successful as the Sailor Moon series. Agreeing with the others, without Sailor Moon Sailor V would haven't gotten much international popularity and no anime either. It would have probably ended with a cliffhanger in a more dramatic version of chapter 9.

I don't think it would have been as successful either, however it would have at least gotten a one season anime! From what I've always read in translated interviews, the proposed anime was originally for Sailor V but then there was the suggestion for making it a team instead of one girl and you know the rest. ^^;

But yeah, I don't think it would've gone far outside of Japan and the magical girl genre might've stayed kind of stuck until someone else decided to do a Sentai styled team of girls.

Hey can I join this club please

You've been added!

Hey thanks Brit-Chan

Brit-chan wrote:

Discussion of the Month:
Which character would you like to have seen get their own short story?
Bonus: Come up with a side story idea for said character.

I probably would have liked to see a short story with Naru as the lead. My idea is that she is attacked by a monster, one or a few of the Senshi arrive to save her. They are temporarily knocked out and the Naru gets the monster to chase her around an area, and she sets up obstacles to slow it down maybe 'Home Alone-style until then Senshi come to and defeat the monster.

In response to the question of the month and wow, I haven't been very active since getting the completionst stamp. Sorry guys.  I'd have to say I'd like a short story having to do with Usagi's family. Something like how they've been taking their daughters' mysterious late-night outings during quote-on-quote-"narutral disasters" (or at least what I assume the rest of the world thought those catastrophic things were, with the rebirth and memory-resetting and all that). 

Or, even better-how did her family react once she became NQS? No really-they would have HAD to have found out one way or another about the entire moon kingdom/princess serenity thing. Heck, it could instead focus on one of her family members instead of them as a group. Would her brother Shingo have handled it much differently then their mother, Iuko? What about her father-I mean, he DID at one point have the silver crystal IN HIS POSSESSION to have it made into a necklace. How would he react learning it was this super-all-powerful thing that basically gave birth to the new world? I know I'd be freaking out.

There's a lot of wiggle room for this kinda thing, and I've been mulling these possibilities in my head for a while now, and am glad to finally get these ideas written down lol.

I would like to rejoin! I have read the entire series.

Oh boy I thought I added you when you posted. Worst club leader everrrr.

That said...I hope everyone is enjoying the volume so far. These short stories definitely give me more of a Sailor V feel so far. Which brings me to...live chat date!!

The short stories are some of my favorites. Would I be correct in assuming that there is a quiz after each volume is read and then you gain stamps and such? And will the club be re reading the manga after it has been completed by some of the members?

Princess Luna wrote:

The short stories are some of my favorites. Would I be correct in assuming that there is a quiz after each volume is read and then you gain stamps and such? And will the club be re reading the manga after it has been completed by some of the members?

Yep! Usually we hold the trivia game at the live chat, depending on turnout. The past couple of chats have been small (3 people) so we decided to post the trivia here instead.

However, the quiz is not necessary to earn the stamp! The stamp is merely another pretty thing to earn after you've read all the volumes required for it. If you cannot make the live chats, that's ok, because as long as you discuss the volume here, you'll get credit towards the stamp. ;D

We haven't officially decided on if we'll be rereading the manga quite yet. Usually we take a break come Nov/Dec due to the holidays and all the other forum events that go with it, then we'll regroup and restart in January. We've discussed reading doujin or other works by Naoko. I've been personally toying around with the idea of reading Mangaka-chan's "Future Reunion" doujin! Buuut its all a bit up in the air right now. We will probably hold more discussions about it once we finished the two short stories volumes. :3

Okay thanks Brit!

I'll be out for this discussion again, I'm afraid.  Besides, I didn't actually read the short stories, as I felt I would get more out of them if I finished reading the main manga first.

You're probably right that you'd get way more out of the short stories after reading the main series or at least the Acts that came out before each story - they weren't all released at once originally~.

Sadly, this was one of the things that fell by the wayside for me this month ;_;. I hope I can still read it and post by month end... Anyways, looking forward to the chat tonight! I've read it before so I'm happy to spectate haha.

Second news is...Magic and I would like to hold a stream of the 90s anime Specials and episodes that were based off of short stories! The plan is for this Friday 9/28/18, probably at night but if that's not a good time. Let us know! I'm a bit flexible with it (as I have family coming in this weekend xD).

and that's it for announcements so...

I'll ask everyone: what was your favorite short story in this volume? For me, I think I enjoyed Makoto's Exam Battle story the most and probably because she gets the least screen time of everyone, so I really appreciate Naoko writing a short for her. <3

Yay!! So excited for the stream! Hopefully my daughter cooperates and goes to bed for this one XDD. I'm down for an earlier evening time as well if that works for others.

A silly question maybe but uh.... any chance you're still accepting trivia answers for Sailor V volume 2 as well? ^^;;

And YESS Makoto's is one I find myself re-reading the most!! Something about seeing all the yummy food she makes and just the general feel of the story being very whimsical, which is a mood I sort of love <3. She's such a great character - I agree she doesn't get enough screen time. I don't know if it's because she's pretty much an open book? But yeah, reading that story with some nice tea at my side is just bliss haha.

However, I have to say I think I learned the most about the characters in Minako & Rei's Exam Battle. It really gave me some depth I was missing from Minako. Her motivations typically are very much moving forward towards the future/her goals, etc. but this story revealed a point of uncertainty in herself that the Sailor V manga could never quite capture. I think it was there in small hints (like how she wanted to dress like that other classmate in chapter 1 maybe?) but this was a great exposé. And they almost kiss XD! *bloodspurt*

By far the most amusing is Hammer Price Hall XD. Between the brand name puns and the characters I literally smile the whole way through reading it!

I remember from reading through some of the livechat history there was a question about whether people prefer reading all the stories together like this or with the other chapters of the main storyline, the way they originally appeared... I think after the 3rd (4th??) re-read now, I do appreciate them being all in one because it makes it easy to just pick up a little hit of Sailor Moon canon without having to dig around much for something self-contained. It's satisfying going back to these stories in that way! On the other hand, I think for complete re-reads, next time I'll want to read them in the original order. There's just something about the timing of them that I think was natural for the writer and by extension the story itself and so each short story informs the chapters that follow after in a way, you know? So taking them out can kind of lose that little bit of context when going through the main arc. It's not a major difference to the reading experience probably, but when you're on the 4th re-read the beauty is in the little details and nuances after all :3. For a first read-through I'd totally recommend the original order as well to get that complete picture of the characters properly. Plus I think it breaks up the seriousness nicely ^^.

OH! Also the original discussion question for the month XD.

Quote :

Which character would you like to have seen get their own short story?
Bonus: Come up with a side story idea for said character.

Goodness... Any of the Starlights I think or Setsuna because how is she both a school nurse and a physics PhD candidate????. The Starlights get main character status in just one arc with their birthdays and all that, so especially since they're introduced so late in the game, it would just be nice to have a moment to breath during that arc and see what they're up to as humans. (Though no moment to breath is soooort of the point with that arc? Gah... STILL.) This was one instance where I was VERY VERY grateful (instead of just like "oh hey, that's cool") for filler eps in the 90s anime! But yeah, a side story with all of them actually would be great. I feel like when they're together in the manga it's always in the context of talking with Usagi? My memory is short sorry lol. So it would just be nice to have a full story to themselves to see how they interact - what commonalities and differences they have, how they work together as a team, in what areas they each lean on each other for support or provide expertise, etc. I know we get that in the anime but it just would be nice to have seen Naoko's take on their dynamic. Especially when there's character differences like with Rei between the mediums.

I... have no time for a story idea sadly XD. Loving the ideas thus far though!!

Just FYI! The stream is scheduled for tonight at 9:30 pm CST if you can make it! We will be guinea pigs for the GC livestream's new home. You can find the link here: https://cytu.be/r/Juuban-Video

With that said, you will need to install the browser add-on Tamper Monkey (Found here: https://tampermonkey.net/) It is available for both Firefox and Chrome! It's a quick install and once that's done you won't have to really mess with it anymore afterwards. ^^;

Diagnosed wrote:

A silly question maybe but uh.... any chance you're still accepting trivia answers for Sailor V volume 2 as well? ^^;;

Hmmm sure! Why not! I don't mind. Haha. I've been tinkering with the idea of coming up with a way for people to go back and do past trivia or do an overall manga trivia. Not sure yet, just toying with ideas. xD

Also I've gotten a PM with Short Stories quiz! I just haven't had the chance to check it yet. Sorry! Busy busy week. X_X

Diagnosed wrote:

And YESS Makoto's is one I find myself re-reading the most!! Something about seeing all the yummy food she makes and just the general feel of the story being very whimsical, which is a mood I sort of love <3. She's such a great character - I agree she doesn't get enough screen time. I don't know if it's because she's pretty much an open book? But yeah, reading that story with some nice tea at my side is just bliss haha.

However, I have to say I think I learned the most about the characters in Minako & Rei's Exam Battle. It really gave me some depth I was missing from Minako. Her motivations typically are very much moving forward towards the future/her goals, etc. but this story revealed a point of uncertainty in herself that the Sailor V manga could never quite capture. I think it was there in small hints (like how she wanted to dress like that other classmate in chapter 1 maybe?) but this was a great exposé. And they almost kiss XD! *bloodspurt*

By far the most amusing is Hammer Price Hall XD. Between the brand name puns and the characters I literally smile the whole way through reading it!

I think you're right about Minako & Rei and especially about their friendship together. I think I like the exam battles in general just because its a first good look at the girls outside of THE MAIN ENEMY. Sure they fight enemies in it but its not part of the main arcs where there is usually less focus on them

And Hammer Price Hall is pretty funny! XD I love all the puns and how Hotaru acts all jealous. Super cute <3

I haven't been keeping up with the club even though I'm part of it.  Can I get the quick version of where we are? (It's been a crazy few months lately)

We just finished Short Stories Vol. 1!  Work has been a bit crazy this month so I probably will be updating the thread later this week (like probably the weekend x_X) so we will most likely not have a livechat until the end of the month or early November!

If you still haven't read Vol. 1, you still have time to do that and do the trivia quiz (that's posted a few posts up) and can earn participation points and the nifty bumper!  Also, everyone feel free to post any thoughts or answer Sept's monthly discussion while we wait for Short Stories Vol. 2. ;D

Thanks everyone! <3