Sailor Moon Crystal - Anime Spoilers & Speculation [for experienced SM fans only]

[Kairin]

This thread is for the experienced Sailor Moon viewer (i.e. those of you who are familiar with potentially all the manga and the classic anime series), its purpose is to allow free discussion of theories and speculation over the Sailor Moon Crystal anime series, it therefore will contain unmarked spoilers. If you are a Sailor Moon virgin, then do not read this thread unless you want to be spoiled.

Since posters are expected to be familiar with the manga/classic anime series, there is no real need for spoiler tags, but feel free to include them if you so wish.

Adding a Spoiler tag:

Just highlight your spoiler and click the button found on the "Quick Reply" and "Reply to Thread" forms. Make sure that you include a title that clearly identifies the specific source of the spoiler!

Finally, please remain on-topic and do not use this thread if it's just discussion about the current or previous anime episodes. Also remember that this isn't a manga or original anime discussion thread, if you do want to discuss them, then please use the appropriate thread.

[cyth]

We needed this with Mahouka. I'm glad people are realizing a need to separate the anime discussion.

[minaku]

Thank you for the new thread We really needed it. Have you guys seen the synopsis for the act 3 Rei Sailor Mars?
"Episode 3: Rei – SAILORMARS
Preview Synopsis 1: A rumor is spreading in Usagi’s class about the “Cursed 6 o’Clock Bus”. The rumor is that those who board the 6 pm bus from the Sendai Hill will disappear forever…and so it would seem. After Usagi tells Ami that “A super hot guy is riding on the bus”, the two of them go to the Sendai Hill bus stop to go aboard.

Preview Synopsis 2: The 6 PM bus from Sendai Hill is rumored to be spiriting people away. Usagi decides to go check out this “Cursed 6 PM Bus” along with Ami. She also hears that the bus driver is a really handsome guy. So Usagi goes off to Sendai Hill in search of this handsome driver, but instead meets a maiden from the Hikawa Shrine named Rei Hino."
It smells like Jadeite on grill... So they are really gonna use the horrible pacing, after all. To bad, I really like his new design... Hope they won't kill him off so early...

[Faerie]

Thanks, Crow/ mods much appreciated!

Sounds much like manga pacing indeed, yes. I really love the current design of the shitennou, shame they won't be around much by the looks of it. I wish that what they're going to do is rush through the introduction of the team as they are doing, but then slow down a bit. There really isn't too much of interest happening in the first four or so episodes, apart from introductions, so I'm glad they're not dragging this part out.

[minaku]

Originally Posted by Faerie

Thanks, Crow/ mods much appreciated!

Sounds much like manga pacing indeed, yes. I really love the current design of the shitennou, shame they won't be around much by the looks of it. I wish that what they're going to do is rush through the introduction of the team as they are doing, but then slow down a bit. There really isn't too much of interest happening in the first four or so episodes, apart from introductions, so I'm glad they're not dragging this part out.

Yup, it is nice to speed it up for now, showing the girls. I am really curious to hear their new voices.

[White Manju Bun]

Honestly if they kill off Jadeite early Ill be fine with it, he dragged far too long in the first series, IMHO. I want to see Zoycite and Kunzite so the faster we get there the better

[minaku]

Originally Posted by White Manju Bun

Honestly if they kill off Jadeite early Ill be fine with it, he dragged far too long in the first series, IMHO. I want to see Zoycite and Kunzite so the faster we get there the better

Too bad they won't be all lovey-dovey again, I will be a sad fujoushi

[PreSage]

I've been wondering for a long time but is there any merit to the idea that floated around with the 4 Earth Generals pairing up with the Inner Senshi? There were even official drawings of them paired with each other but I can't ever recall any of the possible relationships ever mentioned in the manga.

Whoa, just thought whether Tuxedo Mask's La Smoking Bomb attack will be animated in Crystal? It was omitted in the original anime series.

And I'll just re-post here but I really look forward to seeing how they will animate Princess Selenity's murder and suicide scene. That ending was totally changed in the original animation. It's an action that the manga!Usagi would do but definitely not the old-animated!Usagi.

[JagdPanther]

Originally Posted by minaku

Thank you for the new thread We really needed it. Have you guys seen the synopsis for the act 3 Rei Sailor Mars?
"Episode 3: Rei – SAILORMARS
Preview Synopsis 1: A rumor is spreading in Usagi’s class about the “Cursed 6 o’Clock Bus”. The rumor is that those who board the 6 pm bus from the Sendai Hill will disappear forever…and so it would seem. After Usagi tells Ami that “A super hot guy is riding on the bus”, the two of them go to the Sendai Hill bus stop to go aboard.

Preview Synopsis 2: The 6 PM bus from Sendai Hill is rumored to be spiriting people away. Usagi decides to go check out this “Cursed 6 PM Bus” along with Ami. She also hears that the bus driver is a really handsome guy. So Usagi goes off to Sendai Hill in search of this handsome driver, but instead meets a maiden from the Hikawa Shrine named Rei Hino."
It smells like Jadeite on grill... So they are really gonna use the horrible pacing, after all. To bad, I really like his new design... Hope they won't kill him off so early...

So they're going to move as fast as to introduce Mercury and Mars within the first 3 episodes? I wonder if they'll go 5-for-5 to start. It took a really long time to get all 5 inners introduced in the original. Didn't Minako not get introduced until something like episode 25?

[AP24]

Originally Posted by JagdPanther

So they're going to move as fast as to introduce Mercury and Mars within the first 3 episodes? I wonder if they'll go 5-for-5 to start. It took a really long time to get all 5 inners introduced in the original. Didn't Minako not get introduced until something like episode 25?

The original anime was very different from the manga. Ep 3 synopsis is consistent with what happens in chapter 3 of the manga so obviously the new anime is following the manga and going at a 1 episode per chapter pace. So episode 26 will cover chapter 26 of the manga which is the final chapter of the Black Moon arc.

[BloodyKitty]

The main storyline of manga consists of 60 chapters and covers 5 main arcs according to the Japanese version of the manga:

Dark Kingdom arc: chapter 1 - 14.5
Black Moon arc: chapter 14.5 - 26
Death Busters arc: chapter 27 - 38.5
Dead Moon arc: chapter 38.5 - 49
Sailor Stars arc: chapter 50 - 60

I guess that the new anime is following the manga 1 episode = 1 chapter and the 26 episodes we currently have will cover the Dark Kingdom arc and Black Moon arc. If the anime truly goes with this pace, Sailor Jupiter will appear in episode 5 and "Sailor V" will appear in episode 7.

It would be ideal if we will get a 2nd season (around 24-26 episodes) for the Death Busters and Dead Moon arc, then the 3rd season (around 12-13 episodes) for the final arc.

[Sakuya]

Don't get your hopes up too much. The same thing happened in PGSM the live action tokusatsu where the first few episodes were exactly the same as the manga but eventually it stopped following and became its own thing.

[minaku]

Originally Posted by Sakuya

Don't get your hopes up too much. The same thing happened in PGSM the live action tokusatsu where the first few episodes were exactly the same as the manga but eventually it stopped following and became its own thing.

Some people, me included, want them to stick close to the manga for the main story ( suicide, silver millenium, beryl's background), but add some situations and episodes for character development. 26 episodes can encompass the Dark Kingdom Storyline, leaving enough time to polish and extend the story ( Naoko gave them some indications, although she didn't have time, making some interesting facts brief and fitted in a panel or two), without make it heavy filler. We will know for sure after episode 3 I also find it very strange for them to make two arcs in one season, it is not impossible, but they have long ago stated 26 episodes for Crystal ( at least long before the premiere, so it was decided beforehand and intentionally) , so if they wanna cover two arcs they decided it long ago, which is really strange, at least for me. If they are not sure about its success and want to try with one season for now - they should either cover one story arc or make it two core, covering two arcs. It is strange to cover the first two arcs and stop, when the manga was in its high in the 3rd and 4th arcs, at least in Japan. My guess is just like Faeri said - they want to bring the girls early in the series, because they have 26 episodes only for now and they want to have time for each girl. I speculate that after the introduction of Mako-chan they will slow down a bit, showing more Sailor V, instead of play the events involving Venus so early in the story. I hope they won't mess up with the development as they messed up on many levels so far.

[Horse]

All this "long ago" talk when I personally think they only started working on this show around march/april at best.

[Frumix]

Originally Posted by Sakuya

Don't get your hopes up too much. The same thing happened in PGSM the live action tokusatsu where the first few episodes were exactly the same as the manga but eventually it stopped following and became its own thing.

I wouldn't call PGSM intro "exactly the same", yeah they introduced the girls one after another but the stories were quite different (Rei's in particular!) on account of different characterization approach and a different medium.
Shame we don't have episode 4 name yet because that could certainly break that fence down.

[minaku]

Originally Posted by Frumix

I wouldn't call PGSM intro "exactly the same", yeah they introduced the girls one after another but the stories were quite different (Rei's in particular!) on account of different characterization approach and a different medium.
Shame we don't have episode 4 name yet because that could certainly break that fence down.

I am 99% sure it is going to be Act 4 - Masquerade and Act 5 Will be the introduction of Makoto, if that turn out true and Jadeite dies in Act 3... At least we are going to see Pluto sooner

[White Manju Bun]

Originally Posted by minaku

At least we are going to see Pluto sooner

THIS! I will fangirl to the extreme

[jhpace1]

Sailor Moon Crystal is an obvious attempt to bring in all the old fans, and their children, into a new moneymaker for the production company. It's not even Macross Remastered, or when Macross Frontier came out as the 25th Anniversary series. This is Sailor Moon Manga Reboot. It's not going to be like the 200-episode original Sailor Moon. Above in this thread people have talked about 5-for-5, I'm seeing 1-for-7 with the very next episode being Ami-chan's introduction. So it's going to be fast and furious, people.

That said, I've read numerous complaints about the quality of the anime and CGI for a 2014 production. The "pastels" look is reminiscent of the original 1990s anime, to get the old fans to remember how the original Sailor Moon looked, while the CGI was for "special" scenes, like Usagi's transformation into Sailor Moon. You can argue the quality of the CGI-enhanced scenes, but remember, this is to bring back the old fans and get a moneymaker with the new fans. It's not "Sailor Moon Perfect Edition". The "core" fans are those in Japan who have the original mangas and figurines. Keeping these fans happy is job #1 at the production company, followed by the past anime viewers in Japan and then to the rest of the world. This is why there's a rush to introduce all the Senshi/Sailors from the original SM in just 5-7 episodes. If everyone recalls, the author of Sailor Moon said that she originally only wanted Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon R, and the movie Sailor Moon R. The entire SM franchise would have stopped with SMR, in her opinion. So I can see the original Sailor Moon/Sailor Moon R squeezed into 26 episodes, with an OVA to replace Sailor Moon R the movie, or to start Sailor Moon S. I wouldn't count on seeing the Outer Sailors past Sailor Jupiter at all, or maybe just a cameo of Sailor Pluto.

All that being said, the new Sailor Moon Crystal is at least hitting the highlights of the original Sailor Moon, with the focus on Usagi vs. the Dark Kingdom. I am looking forward to seeing the other Senshi and their interactions with Usagi both in battle and in life.

What will determine if we get Sailor Moon Crystal R, or SMC Supers, is if this anime takes off in the same way SM did back in the 1990s. Which means it has to be picked up by the States, France, etc. Maybe on Netflix. But it's clear the production company is looking for a money gusher with SM figurines and anime, much like the Star Wars fans, Star Trek reboot, etc.

[PreSage]

Originally Posted by minaku

At least we are going to see Pluto sooner

I was just thinking this yesterday. If they don't animate beyond the Dark Moon arc, then Pluto will be the only Outer Senshi we'll get to see in the new SM version (but we won't even get to see her attacks, if I remember the arc correctly). I really hope they'll animate all the arcs - and stick to the manga - because I really, really want to see Sailor Cosmos (...and I'm sure most diehard SM fans from the old want to too) - I'm sure they'll probably sell a smack load of merchandise if they animate Cosmos; she's been the elusive last/version of SM Sailor Senshi in the manga that never saw the light of an anime day (...and her shadow does not count! ).

[White Manju Bun]

^ and I wanna see Sailor Kakyuu