(L+CR) Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal [Anticipation]

[T-6000]

Originally Posted by JagdPanther

In replying to someone in a PM just now, I figured out what seems "off" about the images.

They, to me, look like graphics from a mid-late 90s-era visual novel, eroge or otherwise.

Anyone else see them that way?

Oh, and, as for the Minako/Venus discussion... definitely prefer the manga version. That's why she's my favorite character, far and away.

The Black and White sketches on the page scan (in the latest link) for the Sailor Soldiers actually look quite nice. I think it's the coloring that we're not too use to, which is why it looks off.

[Mazryonh]

Originally Posted by Miraluka

Actually she said that because she isn't an airhead in the manga she read.

I wouldn't be surprised if the newer show took on some of the liberties that the original anime took with the original source material. Besides, seeing stuff like Minako air-headedly blow up Rei's cassette player by randomly pressing buttons on it (how does that even work?) is pretty funny from time to time.

As for "drawing on her past experience," here is one bit of Shizuka Itou's previous experience from her time portraying Koko Hekmatyar from Jormungand, that she likely won't be drawing on for this remake of Sailor Moon for her portrayal of Sailor Venus.

I don't ever recall the original anime getting into "skinship" and the like. Can anyone translate what Shizuka Itou is saying here?

[JagdPanther]

Originally Posted by T-6000

The Black and White sketches on the page scan (in the latest link) for the Sailor Soldiers actually look quite nice. I think it's the coloring that we're not too use to, which is why it looks off.

Not sure I am looking at the right link.

If it's on the official page, it lags my computer so much that I effectively can't view it.

[T-6000]

Originally Posted by JagdPanther

Not sure I am looking at the right link.

If it's on the official page, it lags my computer so much that I effectively can't view it.

This was the link I was refering to (which Elior was kind to provide):

http://24.media.tumblr.com/95f862b77...yh7o1_1280.jpg

The black and white sketches look pretty good, which is why I was wondering if it's the style of color we're not use to.

[Daniel Lind]

Originally Posted by T-6000

This was the link I was refering to (which Elior was kind to provide):

http://24.media.tumblr.com/95f862b77...yh7o1_1280.jpg

The black and white sketches look pretty good, which is why I was wondering if it's the style of color we're not use to.

26 episodes
30 minutes over 24, too.
Odd format. Way too long for one arc, not long enough for all.
I guess our best bet if this has two seasons, 1st is 1+2 and 2nd is 3+4+5. Eh that could work.

[Sakuya]

Originally Posted by Daniel Lind

26 episodes
30 minutes over 24, too.
Odd format. Way too long for one arc, not long enough for all.
I guess our best bet if this has two seasons, 1st is 1+2 and 2nd is 3+4+5. Eh that could work.

Where was that scan from? I'm still confused why they're only broadcasting on Niconico and not on Japanese TV as well (or are they?). You would think something so popular would be distributed on TV, too, right? But if they're really going to do all the story arcs, wouldn't it be a waste to just show it on Niconico? I mean, isn't that why they hired mostly all new voice cast to breathe new life into this show? If it was only a one-off thing, they could've just used the original cast...

[Ithekro]

Maybe they are using Sailor Moon's popularity to expand Niconico into something that can rival TV?

[Daniel Lind]

Originally Posted by Sakuya

Where was that scan from? I'm still confused why they're only broadcasting on Niconico and not on Japanese TV as well (or are they?). You would think something so popular would be distributed on TV, too, right? But if they're really going to do all the story arcs, wouldn't it be a waste to just show it on Niconico? I mean, isn't that why they hired mostly all new voice cast to breathe new life into this show? If it was only a one-off thing, they could've just used the original cast...

I think they're shooting for international.
Ten translations from the get go and this flyer and pretty indicative of that.

[Konja7]

Originally Posted by Daniel Lind

26 episodes
30 minutes over 24, too.
Odd format. Way too long for one arc, not long enough for all.
I guess our best bet if this has two seasons, 1st is 1+2 and 2nd is 3+4+5. Eh that could work.

I suspect it will be just the first arc because the synopsis of Dark Kingdom arc appears. I guess they would have announced only 13 episodes with that synopsis, if the Dark Kingdom arc were 13 episodes,

One possibility is that Crystal will have differences with the manga, because it was never announced that Crystal will be exactly like the manga.

I guess Crystal will be more similar to the manga than it was the original anime, but I think the new anime will still have differences with the manga.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

Maybe they are using Sailor Moon's popularity to expand Niconico into something that can rival TV?

Sadly chances are you are right. I say sadly because they could have made deal$ all over the world to show the new show in broadcast TV (or at the very least in cable TV, or maybe both since broadcast would have higher censorship), but they are tied to nico now in the hopes that millions of users inside and outside Japan will get an account and become frequent nico users.

As for me, I got my nico account years ago, but haven't used it for months at a time and have since uninstalled flash from my pc since it is a security risk (I can still watch youtube, thanks to greasemonkey) so I will not watch it there, if at all.

Originally Posted by Sakuya

But if they're really going to do all the story arcs, wouldn't it be a waste to just show it on Niconico?

At this moment in time no one know for sure if there is going to be another batch of episodes, but with recent trends *cough* rozen maiden *cough* it is better to lower your hope coefficient.

I mean, isn't that why they hired mostly all new voice cast to breathe new life into this show? If it was only a one-off thing, they could've just used the original cast...

They hired new talent because it is cheaper than hiring professionals with two decades of experience. I bet the production committee wanted new voice actors for all roles, but Naoko pushed for having at least the original voice actor for Serena.

BTW, I have no doubt the new voice actors cast can do a wonderful job. Sadly my expectations for the quality of Toei's animation ... well, you heard it here first .... Sailor Moon: The Picture Drama ( + high quality transformations scenes, of course).

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Mazryonh

I'm a fan of Itou-san myself, but the funny thing is, according to the subtitles I've seen for the "cast message" video, she says that she sees Sailor Venus as a "firmly reliable" girl. Those of us who have seen the original show know that there are episodes where her ditziness and clumsiness come to the fore (such as the one where she tried and failed spectacularly to nurse the other Senshi back to health during a strange disease outbreak), and that she has a lot of times when she's bubbly and airheaded.

But if we go by the manga, isn't she supposed to be the reliable Senpai character, given that she was a Sailor Scout before the others? And if we go by reliable, we know she has that plus a bit of clumsy covered from just Hina.

Originally Posted by Ithekro

So that would be a year long run then.

What? 26 episodes is 2 cours, which is half a year.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by GDB

What? 26 episodes is 2 cours, which is half a year.

Remember there will be a new episoder every two weeks (no doubt because they have a half-sized animation staff), that is the reason it will end on summer 2015.

[Konja7]

Originally Posted by GDB

What? 26 episodes is 2 cours, which is half a year.

It has been announced that Crystal is biweekly. So, in this format 26 episodes last 1 year.

[Faerie]

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

Remember there will be a new episoder every two weeks (no doubt because they have unpaid interns instead of animation staff), that is the reason it will end on summer 2015.

Fixed that for you

I'm guessing this will cover only the first arc as well- with some filler or expansion on existing plot if there's time.
I'm also guessing this is all we will be getting.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by T-6000

This was the link I was refering to (which Elior was kind to provide):

http://24.media.tumblr.com/95f862b77...yh7o1_1280.jpg

The black and white sketches look pretty good, which is why I was wondering if it's the style of color we're not use to.

Those black and white sketches look very good. The artstyle looks fairly contemporary, but it's also close enough to the original that fans of the original will probably embrace it.

[Daniel Lind]

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

They hired new talent because it is cheaper than hiring professionals with two decades of experience. I bet the production committee wanted new voice actors for all roles, but Naoko pushed for having at least the original voice actor for Serena.

Koshimizu Ami is a prolific VA that has been in business since 2003.
Same to Shizuka Ito and Sato Rina.
Hisako Kanemoto is fresh-ish, but opposing these people to "professionals" is doing them injustice at best.

Originally Posted by SkullFaerie

Fixed that for you

That's nice, care to provide a citation, or are you just trying to be smart with no ground?

[Faerie]

Originally Posted by Daniel Lind

That's nice, care to provide a citation, or are you just trying to be smart with no ground?

I don't know, care to chill out a bit?

it's called a joke, no need to get yourself all worked up. Inspired by precedent of low animation quality, if you have to be that way.

----

Btw, the designs indeed look better in black and white. May be a question of adjusting the saturation, ultimately. Rei still has a very strange face for some reason. Not sure what it is.
I'm intrigued by the 30min episode length though.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Daniel Lind

Koshimizu Ami is a prolific VA that has been in business since 2003.
Same to Shizuka Ito and Sato Rina.
Hisako Kanemoto is fresh-ish, but opposing these people to "professionals" is doing them injustice at best.

I did not simply said "professionals", I clearly said "professionals with two decades of experience", reading comprehension problems much? one extra decade of experience means a higher pay and this is not the first time I have seen this kind of behavior, check the Genshiken anime thread to see the production committee did the same thing.

[Kismet-chan]

I will join the chorus in saying that the designs look better as pure lineart. (I think everyone except Rei's eyes look a bit too close together for my tastes, though. Just by the tiniest lil' smidgen.) The colors could have been handled WAY better, though there are some things that are more accurate to the manga that I prefer -- like Usagi's hair being pale blonde as opposed to a darker golden, and her bows/boots leaning a bit more towards a pinkish red.

[Mazryonh]

Originally Posted by GDB

But if we go by the manga, isn't she supposed to be the reliable Senpai character, given that she was a Sailor Scout before the others? And if we go by reliable, we know she has that plus a bit of clumsy covered from just Hina.

Combat experience isn't very translatable to experience at living life and keeping your head outside of combat. If indeed Sailor Venus' backstory as Sailor V will be included (and I would like to see how Shizuka Itou handles all that should it all be made into animation), then yes, she would be one of the more experienced in "magical girl combat." Still, it doesn't change that she's still 14 years old in the story and not one particularly wise beyond her years. Her previous version's "boy-craziness" might be toned down, but I'm sure they'll still include some of her "starstruck fangirlishness" this time around. Shizuka Itou is pretty good at making that kind of voice, as you can hear in the opening lines of this song from Amagami:

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

They hired new talent because it is cheaper than hiring professionals with two decades of experience. I bet the production committee wanted new voice actors for all roles, but Naoko pushed for having at least the original voice actor for Serena.

BTW, I have no doubt the new voice actors cast can do a wonderful job. Sadly my expectations for the quality of Toei's animation ... well, you heard it here first .... Sailor Moon: The Picture Drama ( + high quality transformations scenes, of course).

People with enough power, selling something people will usually buy loads of, tend not to encounter a lot of naysayers and resistance (because people want to get on their good side instead of daring to speak their minds and thus likely get on their bad side). Most of the time this goes to their heads, and thus they will charge the highest price they can get away with, while putting in the least amount of money/effort. This is reflected in the Japanese anime industry, which you can see in the following article where it argues that for the most part, seiyuus/animators are slaves, not stars.

Here's an excerpt mentioning someone who once worked closely with the new seiyuu for Sailor Venus:

Seiyuus are paid around 2,000-3,000 yen per episode. That means, even if you have one line or hundred of lines, you are still paid the same amount. Almost every seiyuu that is tied to a talent agency is paid around that price. Once you are famous enough to make out on your own, you are your own boss so you can haggle your own price. A good example of how poor seiyuus are can be best exemplified from YuriC’s (Ochiai Yurika) personal blog – that she didn’t have enough money to pay the electric bill so her electricity was cut off, she almost had her mobile phone disconnected because she couldn’t pay that bill.

Yurika Ochiai (now Yurina Hase) portrayed Konomi Yuzuhara, the main heroine in the various To Heart 2 media titles, but that obviously didn't translate into lasting success for her (Shizuka Itou portrayed Tamaki Kousaka in that media franchise, and she is certainly the most popular heroine there).

According to this link, Kotono Mitsuishi has spoken out about this issue too:

Actually, at the moment conditions in the industry are very harsh.

Production budgets are low, so the only seiyuu who get used are young, cheap ones, and the more experienced ones don’t get called upon at all.

In short, there are no “experts” in place. There aren’t the kind of opportunities I had to experience moving performances by senior seiyuu. As a result, new seiyuu can’t grow.

Even young seiyuu who do manage to improve find themselves no longer called upon as soon as their fee rises a little.

You can’t make a living on such low wages, it’s a vicious circle.

Kotono Mitsuishi is fortunate that her fame and acclaim was earned in the 1990s, which so far has showed no signs of abating thanks to her talents, and she's freelance so she doesn't have to deal with a possibly-problematic agency. Maybe what Japanese seiyuus/animators need is their own version of the Screen Actors Guild or the like to get better working conditions for them all.