Anime fans FINALLY get Sailor Moon R: The Movie (subbed AND dubbed!)

Back in 2014, Viz Media announced they’d bought the rights to a huge chunk of Sailor Moon.

All 200 TV episodes, several specials, and 3 movies.

Including Sailor Moon R: The Movie, which came out in 1993. Senshi fans (that’s Inner Senshi and Outer Senshi) have waited a long, looooooong time for this.

The anime’s 25th anniversary is this year, 2017. There’s a ton of Sailor Merch coming over the next 12 months. You can see why there’d be a release now.

Grab your wands, the wait’s finally over

Shockingly, at one time no anime distributors outside Japan had the rights to Sailor Moon. How anyone could let that happen, we have no idea.

“Without the bad times, we wouldn’t appreciate the good times.”

Not only has Viz bought it all, they’ve sworn to re-dub it unedited and uncensored. Fans who watched the kid-friendly Sunday morning edits should be old enough to handle it now. And since that Senshi-themed underwear came out, nothing is sacred.

They’re also using the Japanese character names. ‘Serena’ made sense for Usagi, as homage to Princess Serenity. But calling Sailor Jupiter ‘Lita’ and Sailor Pluto ‘Trista’? That was always a little weird.

If that wasn’t awesome enough, the storylines and relationships will be true to the original series. Yes, that means we get the complete Uranus/Neptune love story. As if they were ‘cousins’ in the original dub, come on.

The Promise Of The Rose

That’s the English sub-title for the movie. Like Mad Max: Fury Road. Or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze. So you don’t get it mixed up with the ‘Sailor Moon R’ TV series.

The ‘R’ stands for ‘Return’ and ‘Romance’. But not for ‘Rose’. It’s the flower young Mamoru gives to a boy shrouded in mystery. Obviously this film needs action, so he doesn’t stay shrouded for long. He shows up, makes Usagi jealous, and tries to destroy the world. We won’t spoil the rest.

This movie’s rarely – if, in fact, ever – played in cinemas outside Japan before, so this is exciting for fans everywhere. Grab your popcorn and get ready to squee.

“In the name of the moon, I’ll punish you!”

A brand new cast means a fresh take on much-loved characters. Not that there was much wrong with the originals. Sailor Moon arguably helped make Japanese voice actress Kotono Mitsuishi into a legend. She was also Misato in Evangelion. Those 2 couldn’t be more different if they tried.

Naoko Takeuchi – the original mangaka for Sailor Moon – personally approved the whole English-speaking cast. They’ve been busy dubbing the show since 2014, and several series of the TV show have already aired.

The English voice of Usagi is Stephanie Sheh. You might be hearing her voice a lot more this year. She’s also playing Mitsuha in the dub for smash hit anime movie ‘Kimi no Na Wa’.

Artemis the cat is played by Johnny Yong Bosch. Wait… the black ranger from the 2nd season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers?! Well, he was also Ichigo in Bleach, Lelouch in Code Geass, and Kyouji in Sword Art Online.

It’s a big-name cast in anime circles. You’ll also be hearing the voices of Cristina Vee, Michelle Ruff, Robbie Daymond, and Tara Platt.

Where to find the one named Sailor Moon

Obviously the US and Canada are getting this new dub. The film’s already showing in American cinemas. Releases are also planned for Australia and New Zealand. The TV series started coming out on DVD there in 2015.

No news on other regions yet, but watch this space.

The original Japanese anime is also being re-released on Blu-Ray, as an anniversary edition. Look out for those in June and August.