So! We often talk or ask people what their favorite version of Sailor Moon is, or what their favorite arc is, or even what their favorite arc of a particular version is, but! I think most people would agree each version has its own strengths and weaknesses, and deals with particular arcs better or worse! So I made this thread!!

My favorite versions for each arc are...

Classic: PGSM! The obvious choice! To me, PGSM is the best telling of the classic arc because it takes character development the extra mile both for villains and senshi, and yeah like. That's pretty much it?? Because that's super important?? The reason I love the first arc is you get to meet everyone and get to know them, and PGSM you really see not just that they become friends, but how they become friends, and its not direct and immediate friendship. Plus there's a turtle.

Black Moon: Tanjou! Ankoku no Princess Black Lady! I refuse to specify original or kaiteiban because I love them both!! In addition to great music, Hikari-Demande, and Urai-Tux, this show... I love how it deals with the relationship between Usagi, Chibiusa, and Mamoru, which is something super important for this arc. It also pulls mostly from the manga version of the arc, which i generally prefer. Also, 

Spoiler:

Infinity: ok so idk what my problem is but I somehow keep skipping infinity arc on all my rewatches and rereads of everything, so. To Be Continued. 

Dream: The manga! Whoohoo! So the manga dream arc has it all. The trio, the quartet, outers, development for mamoru.... no other version of the dream arc has all of these things. Plus, to me, it's an arc that really suits Naoko's art style...

Stars: Le Mouvement Final! While I really like some of the other musicals as well.... this is the one that captures Stars best to me. The deaths are heartwrenching, the starlights are dealt with amazingly (I could write a whole paragraph on just that, honestly), and Cosmos is there and just!!!!!!! There are individual aspects of Stars which are done better in other versions, but I feel like LMF is the best representation of the arc as a whole, giving proper amount of development and good characterization to everyone, and telling the story neatly. 

I don't really know what I was expecting from this, but I ended up with a pretty diverse mix... I really don't know how I keep skipping infinity arc in all my rewatch/reads, though.... in any case, what are yalls favorite versions of the arcs?

Here's my thoughts:

Classic: I'd say I like the original anime as the best. I haven't seen any Myus yet, and have not finished PGSM, so I can't judge those ones yet. 90s anime had some great pacing and was fun to watch and had episodes, both filler and story, that help us see these new heroes develop. Ideal for a season filled with introducing characters. There is some great development and story in the original manga, but the drawback is that it is not really a story to read all at once. The pacing is very quick so it feels rushed, particularly in the first half of the arc.

Black Moon: Honestly, I like both anime and manga equally but for different reasons. With the Doom Tree arc, I'm pretty neutral about it, though the villains do seem minor compared to the others. I guess I will say manga, since it doesn't have the b-u arc debacle and has Pluto's more significant role (I really forget that she was introduced in R when she appears in S as far as anime is concerned). But the manga arc really makes me very uncomfortable at times (Demande's obsession and abduction of Usagi, Usagi's jealousy of Chibiusa, Mamoru brainwashed again along with Chibiusa as Black Lady). The ending is really its saving grace for me.

Infinity: S is my favorite season of the 90s anime, but Infinity is also awesome as well. It's a close call, but over all, I am going to go with manga, because I like the Outers portrayal there, and I can sympathize with their motivations as to why they distanced themselves from the Inner Senshi. With the show, while the Outers still had understandable motivation, they seemed more hostile towards the other Senshi. Another reason I like manga better is more time and awesomeness that is Sailor Saturn. We see her actually hurting Pharaoh 90 and about to end the world (reaffirming the Outers' concern about her awakening) as oppose to her awakening and jumping into a fireball where all the action is off-screen.

Dream: No difficulty here, manga. I see the appeal that is Super S, but the manga had so much more in the development and story, and I loved the pacing and the finale of the whole story. We see Chibiusa growing, Mamoru having a bigger role, the Senshi trying to overcome their own insecurities, the Outers raising Hotaru, more backstory from the Silver Millennium, and the "coronation" of Usagi and Mamoru. The drawback of the 90s anime is that while SuperS episodes are fun, the season overall can feel like a chore when it moves at a snail pace (this is not a season with binge-appeal). Plus it doesn't help that the Jupiter/Venus power up episode is a recycled storyline from R.

Stars: My least favorite manga arc and I do not like 90s anime so much. Now with that said, this is the only arc I saw Myu of, in its entirety, and I definitely will say that the Myu (specifically the "1998 Winter – Eien Densetsu (Kaiteiban)") is my favorite version (haven't seen other Myus of it yet, but whatevs ). Primarily the deciding factor that made my day was the last scenes, but so much of the Myu, in general, was fun to watch and I am glad to have finally seen a Stars I enjoy. The manga really just leaves me either angry or depressed; and anime makes me miss the focus of the Inner Senshi.


Edit 10/31: Added more details

Oooh what a fun thread idea! I have a hrad time picking favorites in general when it comes to SM...so I'll do my best. XD


Classic: Definitely, PGSM! I think after that the anime then manga. Cardea pretty much nailed it on the head for my reasons too. Character development, relationship development, villain development...and turtle!  Plus it just does things with SM and turns them upside down on their head. It really becomes it's own entity and I absolutely love it for that.  Not to mention, it really subverts some magical girl tropes, especially ones I think SM created on its own. xD

Black Moon: Hmm..I think I'm torn between the manga and Black Lady musicals. Though, the anime has aspects of it that I really love too, like the Ayakashi Sister's arc and then the Saphir's death. Good stuff there. It's lack of Pluto and giving Chibiusa her proper henshin time brings it below the manga though. The Black Lady musicals are both extremely good and add in their own new plot points and characters that really add to the story. Aaron and Manna are perfect for fuel for tricking Chibiusa. Honestly, it even makes more sense to have some child villains in there to appeal to Chibiusa. (And then they just end up being the saddest anyway, right next to Pluto's death. ;_; )

Infinity: I think I gotta go with the 90s anime on this one. I like the manga and thus I like Crystal's version of this too, but i think there are more elements of the 90s anime that I prefer over this. At the same time, there are parts of the manga that I prefer over the anime. Soooo....¯\_(ツ)_/¯ As far as the musicals go, while I like the ones that involve this arc, I don't find them to really out do the anime or manga like some of the others shows do.

Dream: Manga AND Anime!  I LOVE SuperS. It's my favorite season and coincidentally Dream is probably my favorite arc of the manga. I love how both handle the story with the exception of perhaps how the anime handles the finale. I think I prefer the manga when it comes to that, BUT the anime's is good too! Super Sailor Moon jumping off to save Chibi Moon is probably one of my favorite scenes in the anime (i have a lot of favorites actually...so yeah. xD).  I also like how it got us a great mini arc in the beginning of Stars though I wish it could've led to human cats and coronation like scene. I MEAN PRINCESS DRESSES AMIRIGHT?

Stars: I think I'll have to go with Eien Densetsu. The anime is alright but has some issues, meanwhile as much as I like the plot of the manga there are things that I wish were done better there (even tho its the source material but whatever XD) so that leave Eien Densetsu (because I can't really place any of the Nelke Myus on my lists for anything, even if I like them a bit XD). I particularly like how it is a completely different take on Stars while still retaining elements of the manga and anime. The return of Queen Beryl is A++++, not to mention it's line up of spectacular music. Also the final day recording is so full of feels, I probably cried more than I did when I finally completed a full viewing of the 90s anime.

IM GOING TO TALK FOR A SECOND about stars and why I chose Le Mouvement Final, even though in some ways I prefer eien...and in some ways i prefer SailorStars...and probably any stars musical could be my fav stars musical....

Spoiler alert for every stars musical ever.

SO, before LMF, when there was only banmyu versions of Stars, I was eternally conflicted... i love all of them, but I could never chose a favorite.

SailorStars has the music festival which I absolutely love, great villain songs (chou very bad & star hunter especially), LOVELY DISTANCE (, the edo period, and the pairing up of inners and outers (and that UraNep scene which i love). But then, it also doesn't have kakyuu... which i love from a it-makes-the-starlights-even-more-dramatic standpoint, but don't love from a general-telling-of-stars standpoint.

Then there's eien!! KAKYUU HAS ARRIVED!! And it also has amazing music, I MISS YOU (, kyaos, and that UraNep scene... but then... ok first of all it doesn't have bokutachi no jidai which is my fav song, and doesn;t have the paired inners and outers and like. I get from a logical standpoint you can't have both of the dramatic UraNep scenes but they're both so good??? And then it has beryl&co. and like. its another i love that from an it-makes-things-super-interesting stand point, but don't love from a general-telling-of-stars standpoint. 

and the there's Shin Densetsu Kourin which I LOVE FOREVER but also refuse to acknowledge as a stars musical. like foreal this musical is what made fumina my favorite, but still. it's not stars.

and then there's Ryuusei/Kakyuu, which combine a lot of the good things from both SailorStars and Eien that i love, and also add their own things (Haruka being both stupidly competitive and more talented than mamoru, Chibiusa's interactions with the starlights, Kawasaki Miki's ridiculous Kunzite laugh), and has probably my favorite Galaxia actress.

SO, before LMF came out I was always very conflicted about which my favorite version was because while each one had a lot of things I loved, each one also felt like it was distinctly lacking something and each one also had at least one way in which it felt like it was fundamentally changing the story (either by not having kakyuu, adding extra villains, or in the case of Ryuusei, both!). 

so while there are things LMF doesn't do as well as some of the bandai myus, what it does have is it provides a version of Stars to me that i feel like represents the full story and that i can say i like every aspect of. there's some things that i can say i wish they did in addition, but nothing seems missing, and there's also nothing I dislike present. 

La Reconquista and Un Nouveau Voyage both, to me, have things i dislike in them. And with both Petite Etrangere and Amour Eternal, it feels like there are certain things missing... LMF is by no means perfect, and i still prefer banmyu's stars music in general (like. you cant beat bokutachi no jidai.), and eien might actually still make me tear up more than Le Mouvement Final. BUT! to me, it's the version of stars that leaves me most satisfied, so that's why it's my favorite!

i just really love all of the stars musicals. it's like how i feel about uranus actresses.

Oh man so you're whole post (bless u, ilu cardea) just made me think of another aspect of the musicals that I didn't think about earlier.

If we dismiss PGSM when it comes to Classic/Dark Kingdom arc and only consider live actions, I think the best telling is the Nogizaka46 Sailor Moon musical. They managed to fit in an introduction for each character and keep a decent amount of the manga plot while doing its own thing and being really good. Like, it feels like the first proper telling of the DK arc in musical form and that just makes me so incredibly happy. And it still has that full circle anime feel with it's opening and ending and just...;-: I adore this musical and I think it can rank of there with my favorite version of Classic/DK arc.

Oh... i love when there are so many point of view...

Brit-chan : You can't dismiss PGSM it's so sad  !!!  But i love what you say about nogizaka46. I want to show this !

For me:

Classic: PGSM For all reason you say, and for Zoisite xD

Black Moon: Manga. I don't really know why. It's just more full

Infinity: Anime and sera myu. I love that the two oh them make a bigger sailor moon's universe. It's difficult to explain sorry. And i specify i have not a favourite sera myu, it's a set of all.

Dream: I don't know... it's my least favourite's arc. In anime it's too long. In sera myu.... often the same. So i think it's the Manga.

Stars: The manga and sera myu. I love Manga version with galaxia and the different final. But... i fall in love with 2 sera myu : Eien densetsu, who are just wonderful with princess Kakyuu song, and lots of others things. And the second is LMF. Just awesome. They change the final, sailor comos is fantastic, it's one of my favourite sera myu...and cardea explain all xD I am just so ok with you !

emrys wrote:

Oh... i love when there are so many point of view...

Brit-chan : You can't dismiss PGSM it's so sad  !!!  But i love what you say about nogizaka46. I want to show this !

You definitely can't dismiss PGSM, that's why its an if. I was just being theoretical. XD Glad you agree tho! Nogimyu is just wonderful. <3


And not picking on you personally, but since you brought it up... A complaint that I see in this fandom quite often is that SuperS is too long. But is it really too long? I went to double check! The actual longest season is... the first one! Classic has 46 episodes, R has 42, S has 38, SuperS has 39 and Stars comes in with the least at 34. Feel free to go and count them on the episodes list on wiki like I did. XD

That said... I think for most people it feels long because it feels like long drawn on filler....but ya know this thread isn't the right place to go on a defense of SuperS so I'll leave it at that. XD

I really mostly like anime versions, though I have to say I prefer manga version of Dream arc. It just felt like more stuff was happening while in SuperS, not much was happening, as the Dead Moon Circus felt like simply bad neighbors who moved into town.

I haven't seen all the various adaptations yet, so I'll just say for the ones that I have:

Classic: I haven't seen PGSM, and it seems like I really should, but regarding the others I'd say the manga version, as my first serious forays into Sailor Moon was when I first started reading the manga. I had seen some episodes of the anime, but at that time I wasn't as enamored of the filler episodes.

Black Moon: Manga, Chibiusa was actually pretty likeable in her manga incarnation during the second arc, and the manga's story felt more well paced.

Spoiler:

Infinity Arc: The Sailor Moon Super anime season. Well, all the adaptations were pretty enjoyable. I really like the relationship between Haruka and Michiru, the one with Hotaru and Chibiusa, and the craziness of Professor Tomoe. All the adaptations had those, but I think that the anime did those best of them.

Dream Arc: This isn't exactly my favorite arc; the manga story probably went a lot better, but the anime visuals were well done, and it had that Ikuhara directing, and there was good stuff about the adaptation even if the season itself felt kind of disconnected. I think I'd say I like them both equally.

Stars Arc: Oh, this one is difficult to say really. The manga was pretty awesome in its conclusion, and Sailor Kakyuu and Cosmos were pretty nice, but the anime had the Seiya and Usagi relationship done very well, and also HEART moving ending. I've also recently watched the musicals, and I really liked those also.

Spoiler:

I will probably not answer this one, until I have seen the other musicals maybe.

Classic: Manga. It was so well paced and full of action and progression unlike its anime adaptation. There's no unnecessary complexities that exist for the sake of filler such as Rainbow Crystals-- it constantly kept me on my toes and wanting to keep turning the digital pages. One after the other, the rest of the Senshi are introduced and I didn't have to wait 33 episodes to get to my favorite one, Sailor Venus, who by the way in this telling got the honors of not only reminding the other Senshi about their pasts but putting an end to Queen Beryl as well.

Black Moon: Manga, for the same reasons as above, including Venus fanservice as she's the only Inner not to get captured by the Black Moon. Not to mention, Pluto is utilized best here.

Infinity: I have no strong preference either way. The manga, as always, may have been straightforward plot-wise... but I don't really care for the plot of this arc much. I'll go with the anime for this because it best touches on the elements I like about Infinity; those being Mimete and Dr. Tomoe antics, and Outer Senshi focus.

Dream: Anime. It may come as a shock that I break my steady manga preference here of all places, at the on-average least liked Sailor Moon anime season notorious for copious amounts of "forgettable" filler. But this is because a key selling point of this arc to me is its filler silliness, in large part due to the Amazon Trio and all their antics which are absolutely nowhere to be found in the manga. We don't get any measure of serious development with them either, they're just quickly shoved aside like most other villains and instead the Amazonesses, whom I don't care for much, get the spotlight.

Another thing I really liked about the anime version of this arc was how it brought an extra theme to the table that really resonates with me other than just dreams, which is a fear of growing older/wanting to be young forever that shows through Nehelenia's desires among other things. On the topic of Nehelenia, she was a lot more relatable and had a better backstory in the anime.

Stars: Manga. In all mediums, this arc is a favorite of mine. I watched the anime version first as with every other preceding it, but everything I loved about the anime version the manga did 10 times better. They turned the dial up to 11 on epicness, Galaxia's villainy, everything.