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"Winx your hand in mine will give more strength
The taste is that we'll win together
Winx a smile is a magic that will give us light
Just a gesture and we'll fly again
If you want it, you'll be one of us!!!"
Seeing my niece running around the house, shouting this little jingle at the top of her lungs has always given me a sense of absolute sadness.
You see, I tried to understand the Winx phenomenon... I sat there with my little Sara, trying to grasp the beauty of this series, what could excite little girls. Useless, I couldn't find it. There's nothing that could catch on, that could even remotely be considered educational. The floozies only think about going dancing, the latest mini-skirt, the hairstyle, the right lip gloss to match... And I'm not kidding. Then we wonder where the inherent sluttiness of today's generations comes from. Faced with such desolation, such sad and lackluster characters, I made up my mind... I took my niece, pulled out my trusty external hard drive, and connected it to the DVD player..... And there she was... In all her glory!
"Power of the Moon Crystal, come to me!!!"
There she was, my Bunny, and Tuxedo Mask, and Rei, and Morea, and Ami, and Marta... All those characters that really made a difference in the beautiful years of my childhood, when I would rush home from school to watch the new episode, with two nice slices of bread and Nutella in front of me. Those were the years of the most beautiful series, but I'm not saying this as a nostalgic, I'm saying it as a fan. Orange Road ("Almost Magic Johnny"), Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Slayers ("An opening incantation" etc.), Rayearth ("A half-open door" etc.), Batman and........ Sailor Moon.
Seeing those characters so beautifully characterized, with their detailed personalities and pastel colors... Watching Bunny/Usagi running frantically because she is late for school, or seeing her being punished, outside the classroom or finding herself faced with her poor grades at school gave me incredible relief... And seeing my little one getting passionate lifted my spirits.... I don't want her to become one of those 12-year-old floozies who already talk about sex and smoke in the bathrooms as soon as they start middle school....
I downloaded the entire Sailor Moon series about a year ago, in a splendid version with dual audio (Italian and Japanese, featuring the "dear good" old Mediaset dubbing, with the master video taken directly from the Japanese DVDs) but I never found the time or inclination to rewatch it... It was more about having a piece of childhood always at hand than really revisiting a piece of history... Well, with my little niece as an excuse to start, I returned home in the evenings, and in three weeks, I rewatched the entire saga, with one episode leading to another, and then another, and then another..
Born in ' 92 by Toei Animation and brought to our screens in 1995, the first series of Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon tells the story of Usagi (Bunny), a clumsy, whiny, and lazy middle school girl who, after meeting a talking cat named Luna, discovers she is a warrior with great powers, tasked with stopping the forces of evil and finding the princess of the Silver Millennium, an ancient kingdom created on the Moon and now destroyed.... Tuxedo Mask (Milord), a handsome man in a tuxedo and cape, and four other warriors help her in her mission Ami - Sailor Mercury, Rei - Sailor Mars, Makoto (Morea) - Sailor Jupiter and Minako (Marta) - Sailor Venus. During the battle, our heroine discovers she is herself the reincarnation of the princess of the lunar kingdom and possesses within her the miraculous silver crystal, the object of the wicked Queen Beryl's (Periglia) power ambitions. The battle will continue fiercely, leading to an unexpected conclusion.
The second series, Sailor Moon R (where R stands for Return), is divided into two sagas. In the first, our heroines must confront two aliens Ail and Anne, who come to Earth hoping to find a place to live peacefully. The only problem is that the tree from which they draw their vital sap is drying up and needs to be revitalized with the energy of earthlings. In the second part, we are introduced to Chibiusa, a little girl who drops from the future into Usagi's life, soon turning it upside down. The little one is pursued by the Black Moon family, which in the future has attacked the city of Tokyo, almost bringing it to complete destruction. To complete their work, they need to seize the silver crystal, which should be in the hands of the little one. But Usagi too possesses a silver crystal, which Chibiusa herself desperately seeks to seize and return to the future to help her mother, psychologically supported by Sailor Pluto, the guardian of time, making her first, albeit fleeting, appearance in this series.
In the third season, Sailor Moon S, the warriors find themselves confronting an organization searching for three talismans capable of appearing a sacred chalice with infinite powers, which, once in their hands, would allow awakening a powerful creature, enforcer of an even darker and more malevolent entity that would be drawn to Earth. As if that weren't enough, another major problem is that these talismans are contained within the pure hearts of three humans and that using them would lead to the death of the holders. Within the struggle, two new warriors Haruka (Elles) - Sailor Uranus and Michiru (Milena) - Sailor Neptune appear, also in search of the talismans and willing to do anything to possess them, even at the cost of destroying the lives of the carriers. This view conflicts with what Usagi and her companions believe, so the tension between the quintet and the duo becomes palpable, and the two warriors declare themselves enemies of the Sailor Team. Meanwhile, Chibiusa meets Hotaru Tomoe (Ottavia), a very ill and mysterious child, creating a wonderful friendship. However, the little one hides a secret, which will make Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (arriving directly from the future) want her dead.
In the fourth season, Sailor Moon Super S, the new enemies facing Usagi & company are the inhabitants of the Dead Moon Circus, a mysterious circus that sends its minions to search for Pegasus among people's dreams, a winged horse with incredible powers that, as we soon discover, is hidden among the splendid dreams of the little Chibiusa, who by now has become a full-fledged warrior.
The last series, Sailor Moon Stars, sees humans attacked by alternative Sailor warriors attempting to steal their Star Seeds, hoping to find the pure one to bring to their new queen. With her in the fight, albeit initially unintentionally, Usagi finds three new warriors from another galaxy, the Sailor Starlights. Events will take an unexpected turn, and Usagi will seek within herself the optimism and strength that have always characterized her, as by now Chibiusa has returned to the future, and her beloved Mamoru (Marzio) is in the United States studying and seemingly has forgotten about her entirely...
Personally, even though everyone knows fairly well the plots and subplots of the anime, I just didn't feel like recounting them in detail... First, because it would indeed be a really long task and might make this review infinite, and second, because even if the plots may appear all the same, they're nonetheless excellently conceived and deserve to be appreciated through viewing.
The basic structure of the series is as simple as one can imagine. Every episode of Sailor Moon is standalone. There is the victim of the day, the monster of the day, the battle of the day with the recycling of the same sequences (transformations and special moves) and most importantly, the psychological development of the characters. Most episodes indeed present us with small glimpses of the protagonists' daily lives, examining certain aspects. The whole is spiced with an exaggerated dose of silliness, with the protagonists' faces deforming in every conceivable way, with large drops inexorably trailing behind the characters' heads, with Usagi crying and despairing over punishments, delays, or reprimands from her mother, Rei, and Luna. This structure alternates very cleverly with episodes dominated by the plot, creating a ticking mechanism that does not seem too reheated porridge.
The true core of the whole anime, however, is its protagonists. Everyone is beautifully characterized, having complex psychologies, ways of thinking, and reacting to situations perfectly believable relative to their character, and they're full of flaws as well as ideals, dreams and values so each type of viewer can relate to one rather than another. For example, Sailor Venus is an egocentric by nature, Sailor Jupiter is one of those girls who loses her head over the first boy she meets, Sailor Mercury an incurable shy, very reserved, Sailor Mars a natural leader who always judges everything and everyone. Yet they all visibly grow throughout the series, even if in a completely natural way without the slightest force. There are also those who regress, like Sailor Venus, who from a great leader (she was the first Sailor warrior and operated solo long before joining the others) becomes simply a girl ready to shrug off too many responsibilities she previously had and prefers to focus on dreams she had to set aside for a greater good. Usagi, instead, undergoes a radical transformation, understanding the meaning of her responsibilities, discovering within herself a courage never known before, carrying ideals and thoughts larger than herself, and giving herself entirely for these. In short, I don't think I could be contradicted in stating that the Sailor warriors are undoubtedly one of the best-characterized teams in the entire Japanese animated landscape.
Even the main enemies have the same characterization, and experience strong feelings like love and rivalry, envy, and... Friendship. They thus do not appear as two-dimensional figures for their own sake but by their interpersonal relationships further enrich the work.
This latter, in the transition from manga to anime, becomes less violent (in the manga, indeed, almost all enemies are KILLED by the Sailors, they do not repent, do not become human, etc.) and far less fast-paced, as events follow one another frantically in the paper version, yet neglects precisely that affection for the characters which decreed the animated adaptation's success. Needless to say, I consider the anime far superior despite the less beautiful, less detailed drawing, and even if certain choices may seem a bit more "childish" and prudish.
Analyzing in more detail the narratives of the sagas into which Sailor Moon is divided, it's impossible not to notice how the First, Third, and Fifth are really beautiful, detailed, filled at times with grand pathos and drama that sometimes surprises (always within the genre's limits... We're not talking about Evangelion, Escaflowne, or Death Note!!). The other two, on the other hand, are simpler in terms of plot and less loaded, but still very enjoyable as well. The peaks of excellence are surely reached in the third season, probably thanks to the passing of the baton as director from Junichi Sato to Kunihiko Ikuhara who will direct the last two seasons as well. The change in direction is sharp, impossible not to notice. The series becomes darker, and the fights and situations more extreme. A factor undoubtedly influencing everything is the introduction of the series' quintessential couple: Haruka and Michiru (Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune).
Many, even as children, probably did not believe much in the story of the strong friendship between the two... Well, you were right. For those unaware, this saga was one of the first to introduce a lesbian couple, and what a couple! Haruka and Michiru are still idolized in Japan today, and merchandise featuring them is the best-selling among those linked to the Sailor brand. This is probably due to the intrinsic charm that their love, relationship, and psychologies evoke in the viewer. Unlike the other Sailors (with the exception of Sailor Pluto, who indeed often keeps them company and Sailor Saturn who is a separate chapter) they do not have adolescent traits, they are women, women in everything they do or think. Their keeping to themselves, their sufficiency to each other, their rationality, their accusing Sailor Moon of upholding utopian theories, their ideology that the end justifies the means underlying their actions, completely unlinks them from the other team figures, giving them a completely different aura.
On the technical side, we have, regarding the first two series, a standard perfectly in line with the qualitative average of the series of the period, without excessive peaks, although in the first series one notes an increasingly detailed and expressive chara as the episodes go on and the initially rough animation, which in the final episodes appears much more polished. The music is good, although only the opening theme Moonlight Desentsu, the same track in music box version, and the music of transformations and special attacks stand out. The second series will stay on these standards without exponentially growing as happened with the previous one. The third series instead has a very high quality level. The new Chara by Ikuko Itoh is more beautiful, detailed, and more plastic and dynamic than Kazuko Tadano's previous one, the animations result fluid and natural. Overall, we're on OAV levels, only in a few episodes is there a noticeable drop or flaw, but nothing particularly serious. The direction is at another level, constantly giving emphasis to the most dramatic scenes and better timing comedic and peak moments. The music takes on more of a protagonist role, with songs inserted within episodes and exceptional instrumental tracks, like that of Uranus and Neptune performed with violin and cello. Everything is really excellent under every aspect. The fourth and fifth continue along the same lines, only strengthened by a higher technical level due to the ever-increasing base budget.
Regarding adaptation, here are the sad notes. At the level of dubbing, nothing to say about the choice of characters, the voices all result perfectly matching the characters (impossible not to recall with enthusiasm Elisabetta Spinelli as Usagi!). The problems stem from something else. In the adaptation phase, Mediaset indeed has sanitized many contents and, in some cases, performed real magic!! Openly homosexual male characters becoming women (but the breasts, they forgot in the bedside drawer?), the love of the already mentioned Uranus and Neptune becoming a very strong friendship (and consequently all double-entendre lines exchanged between the two are censored) and the Sailor Starlights who are basically Drag Kings in Italy become men calling for help from phantom twin sisters from another dimension!! In short, a mess.... Not to mention the last episode of the fifth season completely cut up for showing throughout the episode a naked Usagi with angel wings!
Fortunately, the unrestrained love for this series has allowed the birth of versions with the Mediaset dubbing on original scenes so that one can enjoy the last episode edited in an original way, free of subtitles.. Even if indeed viewing in the original language is highly recommended, as even many important dialogues are distorted, rendering certain transitions a bit illogical.
Having said this, it is impossible not to observe how much I owe to this series, how attached I am to it, and how much love I foster for it. Sailor Moon is a piece of animation history, but for me, it is a piece of heart.
Sailor Moon has a great virtue, today as then. It is direct, sincere. And this today, with anime more and more striving for the cerebral at all costs, is a rarity. Rewatching it was like diving into the past and surrounding oneself with dear friends never forgotten. The nostalgia is strong, and indeed, to hear myself talk like this about just an anime, moreover, such a simple one.... I smile to myself and am a little embarrassed.
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