I'm just curious about what everyone thinks...

Personally, I prefer the manga as the girls' backstories were more fleshed out and they all had more depth of character. While I will concede that the anime spent had more time devoted to each senshi, the characters come out a lot worse. Usagi is a lot less mature, Minako loses a lot of depth, Ami is kind of :bunnypokerface, Rei also loses maturity and seems to serve as comedy, Mamoru is a douche, Chibiusa is much less developed, Haruka and Michiru are much more hostile toward the Inners, and Setsuna and Hotaru's roles are lessened.

(NOTE: I HAVE NOT SEEN PGSM AT ALL, SO MY OPINION MIGHT (AND PROBABLY WILL) CHANGE AFTER WATCHING IT)

I think the manga, despite being my favourite continuity story wise, is the weakest on this point.
It's true the girls often all have their time to shine, but their background stories and many others points is passed very quick. (I think the single characterization Mako had in the first arc was one tiny dialogue when she told about her sempai who broke her heart)

Minako might be the only of the Inner with a proper characterization. And that's because of the V manga.

Thanks god the side stories were here to give them the devellopment they needed!

PGSM is easily one of the best in this way. You see each girls building their relationship with each other, and get a story of their own. But the anime is great too! Even if some details were never explained (Mako had almost no backstory beside "sempai who broke my heart") but their personallities are all defined well and all the girls equally gets the spotlight, in what 60% of the fandom call "the useless fillers".

Anime outers? Hostile?
Wait...

PGSM is the best when it comes to Sailor Moon characters and character development. Everyone gets like their own episode or two to grow and episodes geared to like, each of them for the most part expanding upon their relationships with each other. That's why it's my favorite version of Sailor Moon. Well, that and it's funny and grips you so well into the story.

Mayonnaise wrote:

I think the manga, despite being my favourite continuity story wise, is the weakest on this point.
It's true the girls often all have their time to shine, but their background stories and many others points is passed very quick. (I think the single characterization Mako had in the first arc was one tiny dialogue when she told about her sempai who broke her heart)

Minako might be the only of the Inner with a proper characterization. And that's because of the V manga.

Thanks god the side stories were here to give them the devellopment they needed!

PGSM is easily one of the best in this way. You see each girls building their relationship with each other, and get a story of their own. But the anime is great too! Even if some details were never explained (Mako had almost no backstory beside "sempai who broke my heart") but their personallities are all defined well and all the girls equally gets the spotlight, in what 60% of the fandom call "the useless fillers".

Anime outers? Hostile?
Wait...

I guess hostile wasn't exactly the best choice of words-I think less inclined to work together fits my sentence better.

And I could be mixing up backstory with character.... Or it could be my dislike of fillers....

Easily, very easily, my favorite is PGSM followed by the Manga.  The anime ticked me off with how much less it all was. (though I never thought of Mamoru as a douche, but he does come off a bit blah over all. The Movie was good about his backstory somewhat though.) There really was no legit social problems the girls had except one defining characteristic that was always played on again and again. (and it got boring. How many times do we get that 'He looks like my old boyfriend' line or that 'OMGZ -insert poor male character- is cheating! HOW DARETH HE LOOK AT FEMALES?!..Wait, excuse me, I saw a pretty boy-drool fest!)

..yeah.. I didn't care for the extra silliness, even at that age the girls were. It annoyed me. greatly.

I DEFINITELY agree that PGSM had the best characterization. I feel like that goes without saying on my part. The characters didn't just meet each other and become best friends right away. They fought with each other and had much more realistic experiences. Especially with Ami. They actually showed her house multiple times and mentioned her backstory in a ton of episodes. Mako had her thing with Motoki. Rei and Minako had their disagreements and later became close. I definitely got to know the characters the best through PGSM.

Mayonnaise wrote:

Anime outers? Hostile?
Wait...

Well, in the next chapter in the manga, the Outers actually helped Ami when she was in danger as opposed to anime, where they leave the senshi to fend for themselves once they complete their mission (mostly the beginning of the season).


I think that in the manga, the heroes had the best characterization, but in the anime a lot of the villains had great characterization.

magic713 wrote:

Mayonnaise wrote:

Anime outers? Hostile?
Wait...

Well, in the next chapter in the manga, the Outers actually helped Ami when she was in danger as opposed to anime, where they leave the senshi to fend for themselves once they complete their mission (mostly the beginning of the season).


I think that in the manga, the heroes had the best characterization, but in the anime a lot of the villains had great characterization.

You mean Nephrite, or Nephlite, or whatever his name was, right? And the Naru/Molly thing?

I agree about that last point about the villain... Fisheye was such a cutie / an awesome villain / if not one of the best of the serie. As much as I love the manga, it kinda hurt to see his apparence resumed as

Did I forget to metion my beloved Palla Palla? 
She's so cute in the anime!!!

Im gonna have to agree with the heroes=manga and villains=anime. I think that was the intent of the animators, to give the villains a better story, which in turn gave less time for fleshing out out heroines ^^ 
I personally have a soft spot for the manga. But I think that's because I absolutely LOVE Naokos art style xD

Quote :

Well, in the next chapter in the manga, the Outers actually helped Ami when she was in danger as opposed to anime, where they leave the senshi to fend for themselves once they complete their mission (mostly the beginning of the season).

And in anime Ami helps them - it irritates me, how in manga Outers clearly outshine the Inners.


For me, anime wins definitively, in every category - heroes, villains and especially Usagi.

I'm going to agree on the Manga-Heroes and Anime-Villans


Wouldn't it be nice if the new anime combined all the versions into something amazing? I'm gonna wish they do that!

Quote :

 And in anime Ami helps them - it irritates me, how in manga Outers clearly outshine the Inners.

The outers technically outshine them in the anime as well. They are the more powerful and mature group in either version.

Outers may have slightly stronger attacks, yet it's only Usagi who can defeat enemies. Despite their powers they don't achieve much on their own and are constantly saved by Inners - to show the value of cooperation. And their attitude is very immature. In manga though they are role models.

Personally, I prefer the manga's characterizations as opposed to the anime.
Yeah, their background stories were short, but I love how mature they were compared to their anime counterparts, especially Usagi.

I'm hearing so many good things about PGSM, I really need to watch it next time I get a chance.

PGSM is the best by far in my opinion. I really recommend it to anyone and everyone. It might throw you off at first but by the first couple of episodes, you'll be hooked for huge rollercoaster of a ride <3 <3 <3

I think the anime is better than the manga though, in terms of characterization. I think we see the girls grow more as characters throughout the anime more than in the manga. Sure, there are times when the writing is poor, or pointless even, but there are SO many good things about it, so much growth between their friendships, such good things to be found if you're paying attention to them.

In the manga, I've always felt that only Usagi really gets to grow as a character, while the rest are mostly in the background waiting for the next fight.

Also, I agree that the anime has the best characterization for the villains. My love for the villains would never be as strong if it weren't for the anime. I loooove that they expanded on the villains stories later in the series (I just wish Beryl had been given some of that same love in Classic<3)

Usagi typically beat the boss in the anime, but sometimes it was a group effort. That being said, there were  times that the outer senshi defeated enemies (not bosses but then again the series IS called Sailor Moon so it's only logical) that the others could not. They didn't need Usagi to finish them off, and there were times the inners didn't need that either. That may have happened a lot but not every single time.

I always saw that Usagi grew in the anime verses the senshi because of the last season.

Usagi only matured in Stars, before that she wasn't really all that different and the only reason she had matured in StarS was because she was sad and she was trying to be strong and act like things were ok for the others sake :/ didn't really work though since they could see through it for the most part lol...

Minako seemed to go backwards in character growth and that backwards pedal sped up in the last season the most considering she went from a very mature and serious toned character with an authoritative air about her to a ditzy blond who got most of the things she said wrong while in the manga she was the carefree blond still but she still had her serious moments and she also took her leadership role very seriously. She also had an entire manga just for herself^^

Rei... hardly ever changed. In the beginning of the anime we got to see a bit of romance for her (anime only thing which I did like), and in the R saga slightly but that quickly became non existent, and her grandfather seemed to disappear as well. In the manga, she's a nearly completely different person. In the anime we knew nothing of her parents, in the manga we get a full background of her parents which contributes to her hatred of men and the reason why she holds herself up so ladylike and elegant and why she's such a diligent worker. We also got to see a LOT of her school, and she was admired. Sarashina really looked up to her and cared about her. When Rei returned at the end of the R saga in the manga, she hugged her and cried. In the anime, the only friend they really had was Naru, Motoki and his sister and Umino :/ and their appearances were far less in the anime as well (Except Umino I think he had more anime face time^^)

Makoto didn't really get much screen time either, she probably had the least amount of screen time for the inners in the anime. In the manga she gets more, but it's still the least of the inners in the manga as well :/ Poor Mako-chan. The manga goes more in depth with her parents accident, and how she lives at home alone and how much she loves flowers, cooking, shopping, and the idea of getting married. The anime may have given her some girly moments but for the most part she was a tomboy, and we only saw her friend in the Doom Tree saga and that episode that talked about her old love. The manga went more in depth about her heart having been broken and she had Asanuma(?) who was her friend and appeared often and seemed to care about her and about Mamoru too.

Ami had the Ami special but that was a manga special first so :/ the anime didn't go in depth about how truly rich Ami and her family is. Her mother is a doctor and the senshi even went to her mothers hospital a few times throughout the manger. Her father is a famous traveling painter and these were manga details. The anime may touch on these details, but they don't go as in depth :/ the anime did give her a bit more of a stronger and slightly more mischievous side though and it's probably due to how popular her character was^^

The outers had NO character development in the anime and in one season they completely vanished. It goes without saying that their development was far greater in the manga^^ Haruka like Rei is nearly a completely different person in the manga. She enjoys wearing feminine clothes and they all have their own condos and are apparently loaded.

Even Luna and Artemis had more development in the manga. Artemis has a human form too and we see more of the bond between him and Minako manga-wise^^

I think the anime gave more in-depth to the villains but come to think of it the manga did too, at least with Beryl. I think it wasn't that there wasn't character growth for the villains in the manga, I think it's just that the anime made them more sympathetic and less evil. Most of the villains having been purified in the anime, or having been good originally or turning good in the end and hardly any death :/

I really need to watch the live action, I've only seen a few episodes but I haven't seen the whole thing but the characterization in them is favored from what I can tell^^

I actually regard anime-Usagi as more mature than in manga.
All main characters got development in anime - Rei got friendlier, Ami more playful, Mako calmer and more feminine, Minako saw things beyond being senshi, Mamoru grow more tender, open and supportive.
Rei's grandfather appeared in manga maybe twice. And in anime there was also Yuuichiro.
Mako had also friend of old school in SuperS.
The scene with Ami cutting diamonds, because she is so rich was really ridiculous, IMO.
In anime there was less about girls' families, but it's pretty typical for series about teenagers.

Naru, Motoki and Unazuki were present still in SuperS, while they barely appeared in manga.

True, that the Outers never got to be the main characters in anime, but IMO it suited better not to have such a big cast. Haruka and Michiru in anime had the role of antiheroines.

Blasphemy! I hated that they turned Haruka and Michiru so vicious. In the manga they had a reason for the mean things they did but it was a much more friendly atmosphere and I hate that they were turned into side characters. Naoko and many other series manage to have lots of characters with a full cast but the anime for Sailor Moon apparently just couldn't handle it...

I didn't find the diamond scene to be ridiculous, it wasn't about how rich she was, it was about finding out just how tough the stone sword was and connecting the girls even more. They all learned something about Ami that they never knew before which show cased their growing bond, something the anime often left out.

All the things you listed for the anime is the same for the manga -.-

Motoki in the manga was my favorite considering it looks like he knew the girls identities, and I think Naru guessed at it too (Although I like anime Naru best because of her love with Nephite) but then again we got to see Naruru her little sister >.> although she doesn't look little lol

How do you find Usagi more mature anime-wise? Usagi in the manga showed a growing maturity since the first saga when she had somber and serious moments and she wasn't always afraid to fight or afraid to kill while anime Usagi didn't seem to mature until the StarS(of course during the final battles she had serious moments, but the was just it, it was only during boss fights anime-wise while manga-wise it was even in her civilian form) and she wasn't as much of a crybaby or late in the manga while in the anime they kind of blew it out waaay out of proportion and she never killed, she was saint-like anime-wise with the whole healing and refusing to kill :/

While I like both versions a lot, I still gotta say, manga characterization has everything the anime did but much more in depth for the main characters.

I haven't seen all of the live-action or musicals so I can't really make an opinion about those yet^^

I really liked the anime, but I loved the manga, and the PGSM surprised me because I tough I wouldn't like it as much as I do,  I really enjoyed that even with the changes to the main story, everyone stayed in character and played their roles, and like some of you have said before, the relationships didn't look 'forced'.

So for me it would be:
1- Manga
2- PGSM
3- Anime

In anime there are plenty of moments of Ami bonding with girls - espiecially with Usagi, but also others, Mamoru and Luna, even Shingo.
I much prefer role of Outers in anime - they were antiheroines, not another main characters. They were properly kept in background and even dissappeared in SuperS, where the enemy wasn't their domain.

nerf-or-nothing wrote:

 How do you find Usagi more mature anime-wise? Usagi in the manga showed a growing maturity since the first saga when she had somber and serious moments and she wasn't always afraid to fight or afraid to kill while anime Usagi didn't seem to mature until the StarS(of course during the final battles she had serious moments, but the was just it, it was only during boss fights anime-wise while manga-wise it was even in her civilian form) and she wasn't as much of a crybaby or late in the manga while in the anime they kind of blew it out waaay out of proportion and she never killed, she was saint-like anime-wise with the whole healing and refusing to kill :/

It's not true Usagi in anime never killed - she killed Kunzite and Beryl, Esmeralda and Wiseman - and to some extent was responsible for Villuy's death. But indeed in anime she was mature enough to see that fight isn't the best solution and even the opponents can be redeemed.
Usagi in anime was always ready to help others. Being a crybaby doesn't make you immature.

Personally for me I love PGSM the best as far as the first arc goes. I personally like the outers a bit more in the manga than the anime. The only outers that were antiheroes were really Uranus and Neptune. Pluto worked with the girls, albeit discreetly.
 

Moonlight Lady wrote:

It's not true Usagi in anime never killed - she killed Kunzite and Beryl, Esmeralda and Wiseman - and to some extent was responsible for Villuy's death. But indeed in anime she was mature enough to see that fight isn't the best solution and even the opponents can be redeemed.
Usagi in anime was always ready to help others. Being a crybaby doesn't make you immature.

Actually this brings up an interesting thought on anime!Usagi's maturity. She's still able to be true to herself and personality (even if its silly and sometimes crybaby, but thats just her) while having the strength to be a soldier and eventually Queen. I think that says a lot about Usagi. Cause by the end of the first season she doesn't shy away from the fights and continues to grow more mature. In the beginning of R, she has to accept her fate in order to continue on as a soldier. I think at that point it shows a lot for her character development.

I think the problem with the anime is that it comes across a bit shallow because of the slice of life/episodic nature of the series and the demographic its aimed at (remember the original anime was mainly aimed at younger girls, pre-teen and younger). When you watch it and really pay attention, there is some good character development in it.

IMO, there is too much emphasis put on being a senshi in discussion about maturity. But during everyday, normal life one also shows maturity. And maturity does not equal being serious and stoic. Usagi is still clumsy crybaby at the end, yet she is very mature with her strong values and beliefs, her altruism, her faith in people and emcompassing love.
In manga her weak points simply dissappear without reason, as they were flaws to be cured, not her traits.

Quote :

 The only outers that were antiheroes were really Uranus and Neptune. Pluto worked with the girls, albeit discreetly.

Yes, Pluto I wouldn't call a antiheroine - though she meet the Inner IMO mostly to convince them about the necessity of Outers' actions, she knew where to draw the line.