Sailor Moon : Just A Childrens Cartoon?

This issue has been brought up many times by non-fans of the show. Sailor Moon, i will point out, is an anime: a Japanese Animated series. There is a very big gap between the North American Cartoon of the Hanna-Barbera Variety and a Quality Anime. Cartoons, in the Western World, are seen as Childrens shows, through companies such as Hanna Barbera, which produced (in my opinion) low quality cartoons with cliched sound effects, tedious and repetitive storylines and no character development.

Sailor Moon is an Anime, not a Cartoon. There is a difference.

Anime is Japanese Animation. Anime is (usually) a high quality production, which is very popular in Japan. The Anime and Manga ( Japanese Comics ) Industry is extremely large in Japan. Just as children can distinguish between quality and inferior animation, so can adults. Many Animes are made for adults. These "adult cartoons", as the unknowing observer classifies them, are not suitable for children. This is the background which Sailor Moon comes from: a country in which animated features are made with depth.

Sailor Moon, however, is not an "Adult" show. Although you can see the obvious changes made by DiC, the company which translated Sailor Moon for english speaking audiences, are made to entice children to watch the show, there are many strong points in the series which put it in another category of animated features. The characters in the show are not simply 2-dimensional caricatures starting each show the same way, with no character development, they grow, they learn how to deal with their emotions, they struggle . The series shows us how to deal with our problems, to face our fears, and shows us that growing up is not easy. The characters learn from each other, they grow, and become better people. They make friends, they may lose friends, but they show you the reality of life as a teenager.

Many Animes that I have seen rely on special effects, and gory or explicit scenes to gain popularity. Sailor Moon has believable characters, and doesnt need to resort to shock tactics to gain it's audience.

After viewing Sailor Moon regularly, the characters become familiar, you may even see your friends attributes in one or another. You can see the characters learning, growing and becoming better people. The show teaches you to confront your problems, to trust in your friends, and to always be optimistic, and that a peaceful approach is the best one.

You also have to remember that the show has been 'sanitised' for the English Market. Most references to Evil, Sex, Violence and other such themes have been altered, but the majority have been cut.

The show also has a very good soundtrack to it. You have the uplifting melodies, the sad themes, the happy themes, and the atmospheric build-ups to the climatic scenes are first rate compared to other American Cartoons. According to friends, the Japanese music is even better quality than the English music. You have to remember that all the sound has been changed in the English version. According to what i have heard, the Japanese version has very dramatic and believable voice acting, where the Engish version can also sound just that little bit corny at times. I recently received my soundtrack CD from CDnow.com, and it is very good.

Sailor Moon's engrossing storyline is also a strong point against the non-fan. The storyline, with all it's little plotlines culminating towards the end of the series, is too complex for the younger viewer to fully comprehend. The storyline has been very highly convoluted by the translation, however, with scenes being dropped, and the fact that DiC had to make 65 episodes, which actually finished at a small climatic scene corresponding to about 3/4 of the way through the Second Series of Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon R. (For a description of this, and the seasons of Sailor Moon, Click HERE) The true storyline of Sailor Moon, in it's entirety is a very powerful one.For example, the North American version has edited out many death scenes, due to their concerns that it would become too emotional for young children, it's supposed audience.

Because of the believable and growing characters, their friendships and struggles, the detailed storyline and quality music, Sailor Moon is only fully understood by a mature person, which I think would be a mature 15 and older audience.

The popularity held by fans is amazing, if this series is called a "Childrens Show". Millions of fans around the world would not agree. Most of the fans are not children at all. The show was a highly successful show in Japan, running for 5 seasons, and getting very respectable ratings.

The original series ran in 1991 (?) , which means that the original fans are now young adults.

Campaigns such as Save Our Sailors ( Now Support Our Sailors ) were very successful in their work. This can only serve as a strong plus for Sailor Moon : The fans are there, and they are making their voices heard. I have seen that many fans are "secret" fans, who are too shy to admit they enjoy the show, due to their peer's opinions. Due to it's ratings in Australia, and it's immenent 3rd repeat in a year, it is also likely their peers watch the show.

Parents in English speaking countries are also very particular about what their children watch. They have grown up with the American Cartoons, which are shallow, good for a quick laugh, and have next to no character development. They do not expect an animated feature to present these attributes, and as such designate the show the 'cartoon' status it has been plagued with. DiC included sections such as "Sailor Says", which is a little section played after the show which presents a point shown during the episode and emphasises ways in which we can improve ourselves. I despise these, because it degrades the show to have a little "This can make you a better person" section tacked onto the end of it. You may also notice the 'girly' scene changes, such as where the tiara flys into the camera, or the card rotates. This is how the show has been given 'cartoon' status by many people, because of the added scenes tacked on to the English version.

Sailor Moon, is simply a popular animated series which teaches us that life isnt simple: that we must deal with our problems, believe in ourself and struggle to achieve the best we can do, and does it much better than any other series I have seen yet.