After nearly about half a year of Sailor Moon fans beginning me to check out PGSM since I was disappointed in Crystal, I've finally watched the first five episodes. I thought I'd share my thoughts with you guys as someone who has never been interested in television dramas or this show in particular.

I'd ask that responses are kept spoiler free in accordance to the episodes I talk about.

Episodes 1 Through 5:

Wow.

Already I'm very impressed with what I'm seeing. The story is absolutely phenomenal. This is what I wanted out of Crystal this whole time. Many of the elements are the same, but it's updated to fit the story better. Princess D's ball is turned into a Halloween party for example. And guess what! Tuxedo Mask doesn't awkwardly kiss Sailor Moon afterward! Yay! Improvement! And what's this about Minako being a pop star? That's a really interesting adaptation. Her included sequences as Sailor V are absolutely incredible.

I love the villains too. It's interesting that they're keeping (at least so far) the Four Generals alive. I'm excited to see what they'll do with them.

Also, I adore the actress for Naru. She's honestly one of the best in the show imo. I'm wondering if she originally auditioned as a scout. Her reactions to events are very geninune and she has some of the cutest moments in the show. Unfortunately, it took me a while to get used to Usagi, but she's proven to be quite enjoyable too. Ami and Rei are spot on.

Of course, the effects are absolutely atrocious. The CGI is pretty pitiful. I mean, just look at Luna. It's interesting that they were interested in converting the arcade to a karaoke but they didn't think about maybe turning Luna into a person or a computer program. Nope. She's a stuffed cat. This is really me just nitpicking though. Luna's otherwise a fine character so I don't mind this one glaring issue.

The other effects can be attributed to the fact that this is a low budget television program in the early 2000's. Sure, it's aged a lot but it holds up very well in the story and that's the most important.

So far:

Favorite character: Naru
Least favorite character: Luna

Favorite senshi: SAILOR V~ OH MY GOODNESS
Least favorite senshi: Sailor Moon. (CGI pigtails! What!)

Favorite episode: Episode 4. The bear hug was too amazing, though Ami's struggle through discovering what friendship really means in Episode 5 was solid as well.
Least favorite episode: 1, if only for the atrocious amounts of Luna.

I'll likely add more categories as I go on. I can't wait to see how they'll change.

Have you discovered the true meaning behind C'est La Vie yet? Or have you been spoiled for it?

That song got old really fast for me in the early episodes tho.

Unfortunately I haven't been paying a lot of attention to the lyrics, but I know that C'est La Vie sounds incredibly like "Sailor V" when said in a Japanese accent. I'm excited to see what it all means, though I agree that it could be incredibly annoying if they keep singing it.

Honestly I have always attributed the effects to the fact that PGSM is technically a tokusatsu Series I believe and well the special effects aren't all that great in any Toku series at least the ones I've seenm (and I've been watching the newer sentais and Kamen riders). As for Naru's actress the funny thing about her is Cheiko is a former Sera Myu Mercury in fact her myu run ended right before PGSM started so that would attribute to the fact that it seems as if she tried out for a scout role first as she was technically a scout at one point. 

and yea C'est la vie was getting pretty old pretty quickly.

Welcome to PGSM! I hope you enjoy your ride! To me this is best version of Sailor Moon. I really need to rewatch it.

I really loved the Ami friendship episode. It gave great insight on her character. Makes her friendship with Usagi more meaningful.

Nah, it was just the title like you said. Basically Minako the super serious still trolling everyone subtlely (or not-so-subtlely) and I loved it.

NaoUranus wrote:

Honestly I have always attributed the effects to the fact that PGSM is technically a tokusatsu Series I believe and well the special effects aren't all that great in any Toku series at least the ones I've seenm (and I've been watching the newer sentais and Kamen riders). As for Naru's actress the funny thing about her is Cheiko is a former Sera Myu Mercury in fact her myu run ended right before PGSM started so that would attribute to the fact that it seems as if she tried out for a scout role first as she was technically a scout at one point.

Yeah, I don't really blame them for the effects since they likely didn't have a very high budget. The story and characters easily make up for the lackluster action sequences. And wow! I guess I was a bit right about Cheiko. She's really good at Naru and is probably my favorite version of her thus far.

Goddess Yami wrote:

I really loved the Ami friendship episode. It gave great insight on her character. Makes her friendship with Usagi more meaningful.

I was begging for episodes like that in Crystal. I really regret not getting out this series earlier.

I'm finally caught up to Episode 10! What does my chart look like now?

Favorite character: Makoto, what an adorable badass.
Least favorite character: Luna, still.

Favorite senshi: CEST' LA VIE.
Least favorite senshi: None!

Favorite episode: EPISODE 8. WOW. I thought they were going to adapt Casablanca Memory but NOPE! Makoto busts in and tells her to forget about it if she truly doesn't love her father. As someone who grew up in a family with abuse, this scene and the scene following where they run through the hotel made me legitimately cry. I absolutely adore these characters. What a great show.
Least favorite episode: Still 1, if only for the atrocious amounts of Luna.

I really like the direction they're going with The Four Generals. They really are characters in their own right. Also, I was stunned to see Usagi crying over the revelation that she and her friends are from the moon. I'm not sure if there has ever been a version so far that has had them crying over speculation before they got their memories back. It was very touching to see Usagi worry that she wasn't her mother's daughter. I love her mom in this version. It seems like PGSM really does minor characters best of any adaptation.

The best version of the generals are in PGSM. The flesh them out without taking the story away from the girls. I really love how they are more invovled with the story. This is where my love for them came from.

I can't wait until you get more into the series. There's so much I want to gush about.

Sailor CJ wrote:

The story is absolutely phenomenal. This is what I wanted out of Crystal this whole time. Many of the elements are the same, but it's updated to fit the story better.

Same here - I was dreaming of Crystal to be another PGSM with creative take, twists and fresh ideas

What did you think of Naru being able to discern something is wrong with her "mother" in ep.1?

What do you think of the costumes?  I love the costumes for all the Sailor Soldiers, especially for Jupiter and V-chan.  Tuxedo Mask could use a less dorky looking mask and the Shittenou's costumes are a mixed bag for me.  Jaedite is passable, Zoisite is fairly cool, and Kunzite I guess is all right, but Nephrite just looks like a bad copy of Rubeus.  I just don't know why they couldn't have gone with a guy in a general outfit with long dyed red hair or something.  And what is your thoughts on PGSM's portrayal of Mamoru?  In some ways, I love Mamoru more in PGSM but in other ways I feel like he's even more of a jerk here.  Like "Usagi the piggy?"  That's just mean Mamo-chan.

Still watching PGSM?