The long await reboot for Sailor Moon is here and it’s good. All is well in the world. Be it that I haven’t watched the original episodes in years and they’ve been painstakingly difficult to obtain here in the States (that changes this year though!) I went in pretty fresh on this series. It is a true reboot though meaning you’re basically watching it all over again from the beginning, but the nuances and style is different. The animation is far cleaner and there is just something about seeing it modernized and styled differently that really works in its favor. Usagi which is still a little strange for me to call her having grown up on the dubbed version is the same as she ever was. Actually that’s not true. I don’t think she’s been crybaby Sailor Moon nearly as much as in the original which is a good thing.

The episode follows Usagi as she encounters Luna and unlocks her destiny while saving her friend Naru from a monster that has replaced her mother. It’s pretty cut and dry and I will admit that there was one scene that came across as dated material, but at the same time it played on my nostalgia so I couldn’t hate it.

Tuxedo Mask had an awesome introduction. He’s far more of a jerk, but he’s kind of suave about it so it’s hard to dislike him. He really is just too cool for his own good, but that was okay because it worked with the story.

I don’t really have much to say about it other than the fact that it put a huge smile on my face. It’s working with the same material and practically the same art direction so it stands to reason that some might be put off on it if they weren’t that into Sailor Moon in the first place or are purist. For me I couldn’t help but enjoy it and just appreciate it for what it is. It was great the first time so why wouldn’t it be great the second time around? In a lot of ways Sailor Moon is like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; they can exist in many forms and tell the same story over and over, but they’re enduring and when done right I want to hear it again.

Score: 5/5

Creator: Naoko Takeuchi Director: Munehisa Sakai Studio: Toei Animation