Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (click for source)
By Gemma Williams
The Sailor Moon manga was originally penned between 1991 and 1997, in 18 books and 52 individual chapters. The anime really helped to bring more attention to the books, written by Naoko Takeuchi. The show is a love of mine as I grew up watching it, and I finally thought it time to buy the books. The comics were re-released by Kodansha Comics in 2011, and are both more affordable and more visually appealing. They have also combined the 18 books so that they now fit into 12, with a couple of companion novels on the side.
The Sailor Moon manga was originally penned between 1991 and 1997, in 18 books and 52 individual chapters. The anime really helped to bring more attention to the books, written by Naoko Takeuchi. The show is a love of mine as I grew up watching it, and I finally thought it time to buy the books. The comics were re-released by Kodansha Comics in 2011, and are both more affordable and more visually appealing. They have also combined the 18 books so that they now fit into 12, with a couple of companion novels on the side.
Click for source
The cover change has gone from candy, sickly sweet coloured to a simple and attractive white with a colourful character on the front and their adorable chibi on the back; simple, but oh so effective. It made me so grateful that I waited such a long time to buy these, as they have been on my list for many years. The manga is in the typical format: black and white pages and read from right to left. The first five to six pages are coloured and printed on lovely glossy paper in this new edition and the re-mastered artwork is stunning and beautiful. Life is really brought to the characters in the images, especially in their faces. You can see their eyes shimmering and their faces are so realistic and emotional.
The story follows five young girls and two cats in their quest to find and protect both their Moon Princess and the Legendary Silver Crystal. Their mission goal is repeated so often, and within a few lines of each other, that it gets highly frustrating and you start to question the intelligence of the characters. Sailor Moon is repetitive and, as a typical 14-year-old, is obsessed with boys. However, when she has the weight of the Earth and the Moon on her shoulders, you would think she would find time to think about anything but boys. All she does is think about Tuxedo Mask, food and sleep.
There has been a small amount of character development. Sailor Moon / Usagi has been covered the most, naturally, and I imagine the other characters will be focused on in future books. Usagi is annoying but lovable. It is not necessary for her reiterate who she is and her hobbies (eating, sleeping and playing games) at the beginning of every chapter and to introduce her friends the same way. This gets boring really quickly. Small facts are known about her team which will hopefully be expanded upon in the future. The 1990s anime covered a lot of character development quickly, but they also extended the six chapter story from book one and a little of two into about 30 episodes, and also strayed from the source material so they had the freedom to do so.
The story follows five young girls and two cats in their quest to find and protect both their Moon Princess and the Legendary Silver Crystal. Their mission goal is repeated so often, and within a few lines of each other, that it gets highly frustrating and you start to question the intelligence of the characters. Sailor Moon is repetitive and, as a typical 14-year-old, is obsessed with boys. However, when she has the weight of the Earth and the Moon on her shoulders, you would think she would find time to think about anything but boys. All she does is think about Tuxedo Mask, food and sleep.
There has been a small amount of character development. Sailor Moon / Usagi has been covered the most, naturally, and I imagine the other characters will be focused on in future books. Usagi is annoying but lovable. It is not necessary for her reiterate who she is and her hobbies (eating, sleeping and playing games) at the beginning of every chapter and to introduce her friends the same way. This gets boring really quickly. Small facts are known about her team which will hopefully be expanded upon in the future. The 1990s anime covered a lot of character development quickly, but they also extended the six chapter story from book one and a little of two into about 30 episodes, and also strayed from the source material so they had the freedom to do so.
The artwork is stunning but sometimes seems illogical and confusing. Scenes will change with no warning, or Sailor Moon will use a power and the next few panels seem irrelevant until you read on, but not in the way that will make you smile as understanding dawns. No, this will have you flipping back several times as you try to get your head around what it happening. Despite there being battles in every chapter, they are underwhelming and disappointing. Not only are they over quickly, but hardly any of the action is seen. There will be the odd panel of action and then the fight will be over in an instant.
The story feels rushed, though this is being compared unwittingly to the 90s show which was slower but had a lot more action and development. It is good as it means we can get to the point quicker, but sometimes, especially in such a beautifully drawn piece of work, I would really like to be able to stop and smell the roses, or gaze at the moon for a while. This would have benefitted from spending more time on developing both the story and characters more fully, but overall I enjoyed the book and can’t wait to read the rest. It didn’t quite live up to my original expectations, but this did not take away from the enjoyment.
Does Sailor Moon sound right up your street? Are you keen to see more Manga on I'm With Geek? Whatever your views, let us know below!
The story feels rushed, though this is being compared unwittingly to the 90s show which was slower but had a lot more action and development. It is good as it means we can get to the point quicker, but sometimes, especially in such a beautifully drawn piece of work, I would really like to be able to stop and smell the roses, or gaze at the moon for a while. This would have benefitted from spending more time on developing both the story and characters more fully, but overall I enjoyed the book and can’t wait to read the rest. It didn’t quite live up to my original expectations, but this did not take away from the enjoyment.
Does Sailor Moon sound right up your street? Are you keen to see more Manga on I'm With Geek? Whatever your views, let us know below!
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