REAL SAILOR MOON FANS DON'T SKIP THE MOVIES

Sailor Moon is an iconic magical girl shojo based on a manga series that covers five story arcs. Those story arcs are split into five seasons in the original anime from the 1990s. The mangaka, Naoko Takeuchi, also wrote some amazing mini-arcs that were adapted into three movies that dovetail into the main Sailor Moon anime timeline.

While the three movies from the original Sailor Moon anime are technically filler arcs, they shouldn't be skipped by true fans. Not only are they highly enjoyable bonus content, they have some key character moments. It's even more crucial for Sailor Moon fans to watch all the movies from the anime reboot, Sailor Moon Crystal, because they cover main story arcs from the manga.

Filler Arc Movies Have Amazing Art Style & Bonus Stories

Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie, Black Dream Hole Is a Whimsical Fairy Tale

Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie, Black Dream Hole is a total filler arc, but the plot and characters do come from Naoko Takeuchi's imagination. It takes a lot of inspiration from fairy tales--specifically "Hansel and Gretel" and "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," and combines dark fairy tale drama with shojo superhero magic. Even Sailor Moon audiences who are mostly interested in the main plots and don't care for filler will find this movie interesting, because it expands on key Sailor Moon themes. Dream worlds, nightmares, and a person's dreams (or aspirations) for the future are a strong theme in the later Sailor Moon seasons.

That theme tends to revolve around Sailor Chibi Moon, who is called the beautiful dreamer. Her dreams (meaning her imagination and her motivations), are so pure-hearted that she attracts powerful and kindly allies, like Pegasus in the Sailor Moon dream arc. It also makes her a target from evil entities who would exploit her dreams, like Queen Nehelenia and Wiseman.Black Dream Hole expands on that theme, and Queen Badiane of Marzipan Castle targets Sailor Chibi Moon. Her henchman, Poupelin, is inspired by the Pied Piper fairy tale character, and he lures her into Badiane's world. Not only does this movie tap into key series themes and further explores Sailor Chibi Moon as a character, it has a gorgeous and whimsical art style that fans of the later seasons' art style will enjoy.

The Movies Explore Key Side Characters

Luna Has a Great Story in Sailor Moon S: The Movie, Hearts in Ice

Sailor Moon S: The Movie, Hearts in Ice is based on the 135-page manga short story by Naoko Takeuchi, "Princess Kaguya's Lover." It's a fantasy sci-fi retelling of two fairy tales, "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter" and Hans Christian Anderson's "The Snow Queen." Naoko Takeuchi worked with the anime team closely with this movie, unlike with the first Sailor Moon movie, where she was a bit more hands-off. Takeuchi also drew inspiration for the movie's villain from the art deco movement.

Princess Snow Kaguya is as beautiful and ethereal as she is threatening. The plot and characters have a lot of winter imagery, which also makes it a really fun watch around the holiday season. The best part about Hearts in Ice is its focus on Luna. Luna is a key character, but as a mentor and backstory-revealing character, she doesn't take center stage often. Hearts in Ice is Luna's time to shine. Readers of the manga know that Luna has a human form, and she gets a gorgeous human transformation scene in this movie, as well as an encapsulated romance arc.

The First Sailor Moon Movie Has Key Romance Information

Sailor Moon R: The Movie, The Promise of the Rose Sheds More Light on Mamoru Chiba

Sailor Moon R: The Movie, The Promise of the Rose isn't exactly based on anything from Naoko Takeuchi's manga, but it's one of the most romantic pieces of Sailor Moon lore. Many fans adore the first Sailor Moon movie because it focuses on Usagi and her relationship with Mamoru. It also has some gorgeous music and truly inspirational transformation scenes. Fiore is a really compelling villain character. He's tragic and likable, and he's only present in this one movie. Fiore and Mamoru knew each other long ago — they were once close childhood friends because they were both lost orphans. His storyline sheds a lot of light on Mamoru Chiba's past. Mamoru lost his parents at a young age, which is common knowledge in the main series, but The Promise of the Rose really captures what it must have felt like for him to be so filled with grief and loneliness as a child.

Many fans understandably speculate about the feelings Fiore and Mamoru likely have for each other. There are very strong romantic overtones in their relationship, and the Sailor Guardians also wonder whether Fiore was Mamoru's first love. The end of the movie also shows that Usagi and Mamoru met each other as children, then seemingly forgot about each other. Usagi is in the hospital when her little brother is born, and that's when she meets Mamoru as he recovers from the car accident that killed his parents. It's a very bittersweet moment that adds even more depth to their relationship.

The First Sailor Moon Crystal Movie Covers an Integral Manga Story Arc

Sailor Moon Eternal Is a Vital Two-Part Movie

Many fans criticized the new Sailor Moon Crystal reboot, especially because of the clunky art style and transformation scenes in the first season. By the time the reboot hit its third season and started the movies, the series really hit its stride. There are many pros to the Sailor Moon Crystal reboot: it's loyal to the manga story line and characterizations, and it has very streamlined storytelling.

Sailor Moon Eternal is a two-part movie, and it's so long because it covers an entire season of Sailor Moon: the Dream Arc. The Dream Arc covers Queen Nehelenia's story, the Dead Moon Circus, and Helios' story with Sailor Chibi Moon. There's less of a focus on Lemures fights, but there's ample screentime given to iconic side villains, like Zirconia, the Amazon Trio, and the Amazon Quartet. Sailor Moon also has one of her strongest transformations as she uses the Golden Crystal to level-up into her Eternal Sailor Moon form.

The Final Sailor Moon Crystal Movie Closes the Loop

Sailor Moon Cosmos Has Amazing Series Closure

Sailor Moon Cosmos was released in Japan earlier in 2024, and very recently for American audiences through Netflix. The fans who got to watch it so far rave about it on social media and on anime review sites. Cosmos covers the Sailor Stars Arc, the very final arc of the Sailor Moon manga.

The original Sailor Moon anime also covered the Stars Arc in its fifth season, but there are some key differences. Sailor Moon Cosmos is incredibly faithful to the manga. It doesn't gloss over one of the series most powerful and enigmatic characters, Sailor Cosmos. It also has a gorgeous romance scene between Usagi and Mamoru that fans have been waiting for years and years to see adapted into an anime.

More Sailor Moon Lore Is Always Welcome

Sailor Moon Fans Will Never Say No to More Sailor Moon

While it's true that not all Sailor Moon movies are created equally, they each have something great to offer the audience. Filler movies like The Promise of the Rose and Hearts in Ice have great character work and do deep dives into key characters, like Mamoru Chiba and Luna. The third original anime movie, Black Dream Hole, sheds more light on integral Sailor Moon themes like pure dreams and timeless fairy tale-inspired lessons. The Sailor Moon Crystal reboot movies not only perfectly tell main story arcs, they retain vital characters and scenes from the manga, which is an improvement from the original anime's fifth season.

2024-09-01T14:37:46Z dg43tfdfdgfd