If you had to choose a version of Sailor Moon, which one would you say is your favorite? After finally getting to read a high quality presentation of the manga, I would have to say the manga is my favorite version of Sailor Moon. I love how the manga is faster paced and not bogged down by so many repetitive filler-ins and the plot is more complex to me. I think the Sailor Soldiers are a lot more mature in the manga and not as stereotypical as they are in the anime and I feel like Usagi and Mamoru's relationship is a lot more beautiful and heart-moving. I also feel like Takeuchi's art is a lot more consistent and more beautiful than the anime's art. The anime looked decent for its time period and it still has its impressive moments like in the movies but for the most part I feel like the anime relies too much on stock footage and the art styles are highly inconsistent from season to season.

The Shittenou were a lot more sympathetic and likeable to me in the manga whereas in the anime they were fairly typical anime badguys to me and I think Wiseman was a lot more threatening and terrifying in the manga. Another aspect I liked in the manga more was how the Sailor Soldiers' powers were stronger and they didn't have to rely on Usagi's finishing attack as much. The battles in general are ten times more epic and not as episodic as they are in the anime version. One aspect I'll say I still like about the anime version more was I've always loved the comedy in the anime and Supers and Stars still has some of the most hilarious moments in any anime series I've seen.

Personally I enjoyed PGSM a lot more than the anime. While PGSM deviated heavily from the manga in many ways, I feel like it stayed truer to the spirit of the manga, especially in how they presented the Sailor Guardian's personalities. I actually liked some of the original storylines they added in and while a lot of fans complain about the cheesy costumes and fight scenes, I think the special effects actually look pretty decent for a live-action Toei series and as a long time Power Rangers/Sentai fan, I liked the Sentaish elements of PGSM. But my favorite part of PGSM was finally getting to see Usagi and Mamoru's wedding shown and I loved Motoki and Makoto's relationship a lot. But I wish PGSM had lasted longer than just the Dark Kingdom arc and I wish we could have gotten to see the Outers in live-action. I haven't seen enough of Seramyu to form an opinion about it. So which version of Sailor Moon is your favorite?

Neon Genesis wrote:

Personally I enjoyed PGSM a lot more than the anime. While PGSM deviated heavily from the manga in many ways, I feel like it stayed truer to the spirit of the manga, especially in how they presented the Sailor Guardian's personalities. I actually liked some of the original storylines they added in and while a lot of fans complain about the cheesy costumes and fight scenes, I think the special effects actually look pretty decent for a live-action Toei series and as a long time Power Rangers/Sentai fan, I liked the Sentaish elements of PGSM. But my favorite part of PGSM was finally getting to see Usagi and Mamoru's wedding shown and I loved Motoki and Makoto's relationship a lot. But I wish PGSM had lasted longer than just the Dark Kingdom arc and I wish we could have gotten to see the Outers in live-action. I haven't seen enough of Seramyu to form an opinion about it.

For me, PGSM, hands down. Because of the spirit and the story. The character development is really good, also. And we got to really see Mamoru and Usagi falling in love with each other. It wasn't something so fast. And he isn't the douche from the anime or the perfect man from the manga.

The inner were also very well represented. The acting was really good. And I'm a sucker for Makoto/Motoki =)

As much as I love the purity and the darker parts of the Manga, and as much as I love the characterizations of PGSM, I would still rather watch the anime with all of its flaws than any other version, so I guess I would have to call the anime my favorite. (I still have not seen any of the musicals yet, so I can't say one way or another for those.)

I think that the anime has everything within it. It does have character development (even if it differs from the manga or PGSM's way of doing it) and it has a lot of emotion throughout the whole anime. I laugh when I watch it, and I cry, and I get sentimental and I giggle and I feel for the characters and I get really invested in what's going on. That's not to say the other version don't have this either, but I think the anime just has it *more*. I like series that have all kinds of things within them, rather than being just dark, or just humor, etc.

Even with all of the problems the anime had throughout it, I still think it has more good points than bad points. And I love all the wacky things that were added to it, like Mamoru's speeches and things. There are things I love more about some of the other versions, but for some reason the anime is still my favorite.

I think I like Myu best because it pulls together the best of the manga and anime while putting spin on its own. It has humour, darkness, sadness and all the rest and because its live, I can just take it alot more seriously and feel closer to the characters than I can when its animated. My main gripes with the others series i, in the manga, its quite rushed at times, but you can't blame Naoko because she was under alot of pressure to hurry. The anime meanwhile, has problems with characterisation, by the end of R, the girls have all fallen into a stereotype of themselves which they seem to have to rely on until the rest of the series. In particular, Ami and Minako. Michiru and Setsuna, I always felt were left with little to no personality, Michiru kept getting pushed out of the picture for me while everyone fangirls over Haruka. Though I still love the anime, sometimes I wish it would pay a little more attention to the main cast. I think the anime's problem is that it doesn't take the opportunities it has. We could have easily seen an episode about Ami and Minako or Rei and Makoto going to do things together. Rather than Makoto has problems not being strong. Minako is not sure she wants to be a Sailor Soldier. Ami has a hobby we haven't heard of until now. Rei is definitely the luckiest with her episodes, they have the most differentiation without changing her personality altogether, not that I think the anime is bad in anyway, I would score its very worst episodes still 6.5/10 (the worst one for me is that Photography episode in Nephrite's arc). As for PGSM, I love PGSM, its probably the most perfect of the versions, it has the wisdom of the other three and seems to have fixed up all their problems. But personally, i like Myu for its flaws, when its not perfect, it makes you want to cheer harder, or at least that's how I feel. Also whenever Myu does something another version did, it always seems to try and up it.

e.g. Princess Kakyuu arrives in SeraMyu



or the end of Black Lady

Verdandi wrote:

I think that the anime has everything within it. It does have character development (even if it differs from the manga or PGSM's way of doing it) and it has a lot of emotion throughout the whole anime. I laugh when I watch it, and I cry, and I get sentimental and I giggle and I feel for the characters and I get really invested in what's going on. That's not to say the other version don't have this either, but I think the anime just has it *more*. I like series that have all kinds of things within them, rather than being just dark, or just humor, etc.

The comedy is part of what I enjoy about the anime too but one of my problems about the anime is its mood swings are highly inconsistent at times. Like in the S season you get this super dark and angsty storyline with complex moral ambiguity and then Supers comes along and it suddenly shifts into a more episodic comedy show. The manga is more consistent in the mood its trying to present and PGSM has more even emotions but the anime just feels all over the map and I think Supers would have faired a lot better if they had gradually shifted the tone instead of just shoving a new mood on the viewers out of the blue like they did.

For the longest time the anime was favorite because I really enjoyed the filler. Plus I kind of like the anime personailites a bit better. However after rewatching PGSM I really like the live action more than any version. I like how the girls don't become friends instantly, and I love the personalities of the generals.

But what's up with Zoicite's piano obsession in PGSM? ^^;;

That's what I love about him in PGSM!

Neon Genesis wrote:

Verdandi wrote:

I think that the anime has everything within it. It does have character development (even if it differs from the manga or PGSM's way of doing it) and it has a lot of emotion throughout the whole anime. I laugh when I watch it, and I cry, and I get sentimental and I giggle and I feel for the characters and I get really invested in what's going on. That's not to say the other version don't have this either, but I think the anime just has it *more*. I like series that have all kinds of things within them, rather than being just dark, or just humor, etc.

The comedy is part of what I enjoy about the anime too but one of my problems about the anime is its mood swings are highly inconsistent at times. Like in the S season you get this super dark and angsty storyline with complex moral ambiguity and then Supers comes along and it suddenly shifts into a more episodic comedy show. The manga is more consistent in the mood its trying to present and PGSM has more even emotions but the anime just feels all over the map and I think Supers would have faired a lot better if they had gradually shifted the tone instead of just shoving a new mood on the viewers out of the blue like they did.

Thats probably because there's a difference between a Western concept of a "season" and a Japanese one. In the case of Japan, each of the five series of Sailor Moon is individual, although they are somewhat connected, it is more five series that follow a linear continuity rather than one series in five parts, i think im explaining it badly... Its one of the reasons a new subtitle is added in each series. Personally, I actually like SuperS better than S XD

Miki wrote:

Spoiler:

Can I pretty much say I agree with this post?? If you had asked me this question a year ago, I would have easily said Manga > Anime > PGSM. Myu wasn't even in the equation cause i had yet to watch much of it and had little knowledge. Well thanks to the PGSM rewatch and catching up on the amazingness of the musicals, I can say my opinions have vastly changed. I have a hard time actually deciding between Myu and PGSM. PGSM quite possibly does the best with character development on all sides of the table. Plus omg can I say i adore like everyone in PGSM? Especially Motoki!! And Naru and like...ugh its pretty perfect. Myu is quite possibly becoming my favorite thing EVER. The music is just beautiful and some of the musicals are probably the best Sailor Moon stories ever told (e.g. the Dracul Series and the Kaguya Island musicals). I still love the manga to death because I am in love with Naoko's artwork and even though the story is rushed, I love the story and her story telling. I only wish Naoko had not been so rushed, I think the manga could have benefited from that. And while I still hold the anime near and dear to my heart, it really does have the most problems as far as story, character development, the way it handles some of the storylines, etc. But at the same time, I do love the Sailor Moon anime. I love Usagi in it, its humor, Kotono Mitsuishi is the voice of animated Usagi for me.

But yeah, if i have to place them in order then PGSM = Myu > Manga > Anime.

I think you're right. PGSM is the best technically speaking, its the best made with the least amount of problems, but I like Myu because its accepts its issues and like LOVE ME STILL while the manga nad anime skip over and go "no im actual perfect brb" and then they dont actually brb.

Miki wrote:

Thats probably because there's a difference between a Western concept of a "season" and a Japanese one. In the case of Japan, each of the five series of Sailor Moon is individual, although they are somewhat connected, it is more five series that follow a linear continuity rather than one series in five parts, i think im explaining it badly... Its one of the reasons a new subtitle is added in each series. Personally, I actually like SuperS better than S XD

But even accepting that Japan has a different concept of a season than we do, the first two seasons of Sailor Moon were pretty similar to each other in terms of tone. S started out more comical but became progressively darker as the story became more complex. Then all of a sudden you get smacked in the head with Supers which seems to randomly takes us backwards in terms of the tone. Though even the early season 1 episodes had far more twisted MOTDs than Supers did.

Quote :

PGSM quite possibly does the best with character
development on all sides of the table. Plus omg can I say i adore like
everyone in PGSM? Especially Motoki!! And Naru and like...ugh its pretty
perfect.

One thing that did annoy me with PGSM was that obnoxious Kuroki Mio girl and I couldn't wait until they killed her off. I also wish we got to see more of Rei in the wedding special instead of her just being in one or two scenes and not anything important.

Neon Genesis wrote:

Quote :

PGSM quite possibly does the best with character
development on all sides of the table. Plus omg can I say i adore like
everyone in PGSM? Especially Motoki!! And Naru and like...ugh its pretty
perfect.

One thing that did annoy me with PGSM was that obnoxious Kuroki Mio girl and I couldn't wait until they killed her off. I also wish we got to see more of Rei in the wedding special instead of her just being in one or two scenes and not anything important.

i think this is because Keiko Kitagawa had a conflict in her agenda

I agree that PGSM is the best in terms of personalities and friendships and connections while still having its own story.

But, but, I still love the anime <3 Maybe it's sentimental and nostalgic because of it being the first thing that brought me into the fandom, but I still love it over all other versions (even though I still *love* other versions, if that makes sense :3 )

Verdandi, that makes prefect sense. That's how I felt about the anime until I rewacted PGSM. Who knows I might like the anime more again when I finish rewatching it.

my ranking at the moment:
1) PGSM
2) Anime
3) Manga

I didn't rank myu because I haven't seen many of them.

Yamichan16 wrote:

I didn't rank myu because I haven't seen many of them.

We will fix that! *evil laughter*

I personally think the manga slowly became my favourite continuity. The pacing may seems unnatural, but I think the story is slighly more mature. (Serenity commiting suicide, Civilians (AKA Endo, the little girls in the second arc, and many background characters) dying, Tomoe being purely evil instead of just possesed, etc.) while keeping the childish feeling we all know and love.
The villains themselves, even with very little time they were shown, at least were acting more like real villains. (My reaction to Eudial's death in the anime was "wtf")
There is also something I liked in the manga: All the "monsters of the day"-like episodes were revelent for the plot. Actually, there is no part of the manga you can afford to skip. This is what makes it more interesting for me.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love the anime as well. The filler episodes (especially in SuperS) are always entertaining to watch for me :The anime, as for most of the moonies, is what got me in the serie, and I love watching it, but I just feel like the manga has more of what Takeuchi-Sensei had to give throught her serie. (Which isn't only due to the fact she drew it herself).

As for PGSM, I sadly didn't watch many of it (yet!) but I liked it for what I've seen so far. Thought I don't really like the cats being plushies :/

And for some of the Myus , i think they (sadly) can't be watched separatedly of the manga or anime. (I'm thinking about the first Dark Kingdom musical, and Ai No Senshi e no Michi) can't be fully enjoyed if you never watched any other continuities. The original stories, however are awesome.

Neon Genesis wrote:

But what's up with Zoicite's piano obsession in PGSM? ^^;;

Hey, remember Casablanca Memories, in the manga? (Side story set between act 5 and act 6) Zoicite impersonated a pianist?

I need to see some Myus before I can pick. I meant to do that this summer but I got distracted/busy and yeah x.x

So far, my favorite is PGSM. I agree with what all of you said about it, plus I love that it totally has "anime-ish" moments. I also love that Usagi and Mamoru start to have feelings for each other before actually knowing their "identities"; in the anime, it seems really rushed. Plus, their love is portrayed much better in PGSM... in the anime it's so on and off.

Quote :

nd for some of the Myus , i think they (sadly) can't be watched separatedly of the manga or anime. (I'm thinking about the first Dark Kingdom musical, and Ai No Senshi e no Michi) can't be fully enjoyed if you never watched any other continuities. The original stories, however are awesome.

This is actual pretty much only true for the very first musical, Dark Kingdom, and that's because its a direct spin-off to the anime's first series. The rest are designed to be able to watched without knowing Sailor Moon, but it helps if you have seen the others.

I'm defenitely going to watch more of the musicals. ^^

oh and the Dracul Series must be watched in order with complete attention too otherwise you'll just get incredibly lost... not recommend for people with short attention spans.

Aah, that's so hard! XD Honestly, I couldn't pick. What's so great about Sailor Moon is that all the adaptations fill in the gaps the others left. Like, the manga is fantastic story-wise but lacks in the characterization department, especially with regards to the villains. While the anime's plots may not blow you out of the water the same way the manga did, it provides excellent characterization for the main characters and villains of the series. PGSM is awesome because, once again, it has great characterization and introduces some awesome plot points not seen in the anime, manga, or Sera Myu (Princess Sailor Moon, Dark Sailor Mercury, etc). I can't make any claims for Sera Myu because I personally haven't seen it (I really need to! XD) but I know it adds plenty to the table.

For me it's anime.

It's not without problems and I would like some things were different, but it is the Sailor Moon for me.

When I read manga I had this feeling that while it's a good story, it was not, what made for me Sailor Moon. It lacked that pure idealism I loved in that story. It helped me to assess decisions anime creators made, although I don't agree with all.

Manga has definitively more consistent mythology and wordbuilding.

PGSM has also good points, but others, which bugged - like Princess Serenity personality change, Dark Mercury or Sailor Luna.

Sailor Cosmos wrote:

Aah, that's so hard! XD Honestly, I couldn't pick. What's so great about Sailor Moon is that all the adaptations fill in the gaps the others left. Like, the manga is fantastic story-wise but lacks in the characterization department, especially with regards to the villains. While the anime's plots may not blow you out of the water the same way the manga did, it provides excellent characterization for the main characters and villains of the series. PGSM is awesome because, once again, it has great characterization and introduces some awesome plot points not seen in the anime, manga, or Sera Myu (Princess Sailor Moon, Dark Sailor Mercury, etc). I can't make any claims for Sera Myu because I personally haven't seen it (I really need to! XD) but I know it adds plenty to the table.

Personally I think the manga has a lot better characterization than the anime. In the manga, you actually got to find out more about the Sailor Soldiers' personal lives, like that Ami's father was a famous artist or about Makoto's parents dying in a plane crash and how she's living on her own. Those were elements the anime never expanded on with the Inners in the anime version. Minako also gets a lot more storylines like the subplot of her pretending to be the Moon Princess and her role being expanded in the Black Moon arc. I also felt like we learned more about what the past lives of the Sailor Soldiers in the Moon Kingdom was like and I felt like Chibi-usa was more sympathetic and less bratty than in the anime.

The anime. Really wasn't a hard choice for me because I love them all, but I tend to believe that the anime is basically what introduced me to the series. Plus, I feel like the filler, the characterization, the flaws of the relationships, etc. make the series. I know a lot of people don't feel that way but I've always just seen it this way.

Now of course some parts of the anime were better handled in a different version but as a whole, I like the anime better.

Oh and meant to add that I love PGSM too as well as some of the scenes I've seen from the musicals. However I still like the anime better.

Something about it just makes me feel......so fuzzy!

Neon Genesis wrote:

Sailor Cosmos wrote:

Aah, that's so hard! XD Honestly, I couldn't pick. What's so great about Sailor Moon is that all the adaptations fill in the gaps the others left. Like, the manga is fantastic story-wise but lacks in the characterization department, especially with regards to the villains. While the anime's plots may not blow you out of the water the same way the manga did, it provides excellent characterization for the main characters and villains of the series. PGSM is awesome because, once again, it has great characterization and introduces some awesome plot points not seen in the anime, manga, or Sera Myu (Princess Sailor Moon, Dark Sailor Mercury, etc). I can't make any claims for Sera Myu because I personally haven't seen it (I really need to! XD) but I know it adds plenty to the table.

Personally I think the manga has a lot better characterization than the anime. In the manga, you actually got to find out more about the Sailor Soldiers' personal lives, like that Ami's father was a famous artist or about Makoto's parents dying in a plane crash and how she's living on her own. Those were elements the anime never expanded on with the Inners in the anime version. Minako also gets a lot more storylines like the subplot of her pretending to be the Moon Princess and her role being expanded in the Black Moon arc. I also felt like we learned more about what the past lives of the Sailor Soldiers in the Moon Kingdom was like and I felt like Chibi-usa was more sympathetic and less bratty than in the anime.

Actually, Ami's father is mentioned in the anime. (anime creators seem to favour Ami?)

I'm not very thrilled with what anime did with Mina in later seasons , but in manga IMO her role was expanded to the detriment of other girls.

I think her role was expanded on just due to the fact that she was the original character Naoko came up with so I'm sure she had some personal attachment to her and wanted to give her a bigger role once it was suggested to her to make Sailor V about a team of girls instead of one girl. While, I wish there had been more characterization of the girls in the manga, there is enough to keep me satisfied and I also understand that Naoko was under lots of pressure to put out the manga very fast. :/

Yes, it was probably because she was first, still it seemed much unbalanced.

And why Sailor V didn't become main character in Sailor Moon manga?