Sailor Moon is a manga series created by Naoko Takeuchi. The stories revolve around 14 high school student Usagi Tsukino. Usagi is a typical high school student who likes hanging out with friends playing video games. She gets average grades and likes everything to go smoothly. All begins to change as Usagi meets a black cat named Luna who presents her with a special brooch that transforms her into titular character “Sailor Moon”. Sailor Moon is a guardian tasked with protecting earth from evil and to find a missing princess and a sacred jewel known as the Crown of the Legendary Silver Crystal.
(Chibiusa not even once.)
The series mixes science fiction with fantasy elements which gives it a unique atmosphere. Creator Naoko Takeuchi’s drew inspiration from her time in her school’s astronomy and manga clubs. Astrology, gemology, Greek and Romany mythologies, and Japanese elemental themes appear throughout the series.
(I'm the perfect villain for a magical girl series. I'd be basically like Alucard meets Vicious)
The action sequences were really good and each of the sailor scouts based on their planet and personality possess their own unique abilities. There were a lot of likable characters and just because there’s a focus on the female characters doesn’t mean guys are left out. Tuxedo Mask is a pretty interesting and very helpful character who helps the sailor scouts out. There was a lot of great character development for each of the cast members and the character chemistry especially Usagi and Minako was really good. The romance elements were pretty good as they seemed natural and not orchestrated.
(I had some pretty eyestraining times while reading this due to how messy the art could be at times)
The character designs are all unique and remain iconic to this day. The background designs were really well drawn. The sailor starlights in the manga were way easier on the eyes than so in the anime where they looked bizarre. There were plenty of heartwarming and memorable moments in the series as well.
(How many girls crushed on tuxedo mask and wanted to be a sailor moon character one wonders while i ended becoming the grim reaper of my family? )
The series does have some flaws. Usagi’s personality quirks get extremely irritating from her constant whining about insignificant things. Some characters weren’t given as much screen time or development as others. Chibusa was really annoying and very whiny and troublesome. The comedic element was cheesy and predictable because of its monster of the day formula. The artwork was inconsistent as it looked exceptional in some areas and lackluster in some, especially in the action scenes. The book was overall very good.
It gets about 4 out of 5 stars.
It’s a fairly long series but its paced pretty fast and things can be over really quickly before you even know it. For women getting into anime this can be a good choice to start with.