New Sailor Moon in Summer 2013

If you've read my post here, you'll know that I'm a HUGE fan of Sailor Moon (and yes that HUGE was worthy enough of bold, italics, caps, and underline).  However, did you know that they are going to be bringing back the anime in Summer of 2013?  Yes, you heard right.  I had to double check with other forums and blogs to confirm what I heard the first time, and I also waited a little bit longer before I could finally accept it myself.  I mean this is HUGE (and yes, I know, I did it again)!  2012 marks the 20th anniversary of Sailor Moon, and now we find out that there's going to be a new anime?!  O.O  I could just faint and die (but not before I watch it first, of course. ^_^;).

While it's not going to be a continuation of the anime after Sailor Stars, it is going to be a "fresh rebot."  Not much yet is known about the new series, but you can find updated information here in English.  They will also be releasing a new artbook for Sailor Moon.  There will be some different bonus content that will be released in 7 different countries, so if you're a collector, you're going to have to buy all 7 different versions.  As for me, I'll just be happy with getting my hands on one.

With that, I'll leave you with a clip with another one of my favorite songs from this series, The Power of Love.  It's fitting, don't you think? ;)

Sailor Moon

I can't talk about all the anime or mangas that I love without talking about Sailor Moon.  I actually started out collecting Sailor Moon cards even before I knew what Sailor Moon was.  Then, they started broadcasting the show early in the morning on weekdays.  I would get up super early right before going to school just to watch a repeat episode.  If you know how I absolutely hate (and that's putting it mildly) getting up early in the morning, then maybe you can begin to understand (just a bit) how much I love this series.

The video above is the actual Japanese opening to the series.  The American version has pieces of it cut and put together.  It wasn't until much later that I found out that the American version had cut out a lot of the original Japanese version.  They apparently did that because they wanted to make it more age appropriate for girls, since the main character, Serena, is only 13-14 years old.  Although even as a child, I noticed that some scenes didn't appear quite right.  Nevertheless, I was hooked to the show.  I loved the amazing artwork and songs, even the American ones.  One of my favorites is probably during the last battle with Queen Beryl called Carry On:

It's very cheesy, I know, but I love it anyway.  Among my other favorite songs are: Rainy Day Man, The Power of Love, and She's Got the Power (all of which are currently on my mp3 player).

While there were many series to Sailor Moon, my favorite was probably Sailor Moon R (which stands for Romance).  Like the title suggests, it mostly deals with the romance between Serena, or Sailor Moon (aka the Moon Princess), and Darien, or Tuxedo Mask (aka the Prince of Earth).  They also get to travel to the future to visit their future selves, and although I didn't think it was possible before, I loved Neo-Queen Serenity's dress even more than the Moon Princess one.

It wasn't until I discovered the manga that I completely appreciated the artwork that went into this series.  Check out the pictures below (some of which are from the artbook).

The official artbooks (there's four of them) easily sell for over $100, and it's not hard to see why.  Sailor Moon will always be my hero and fashion inspiration.