"I Am the Moon" Re-Watch: "Sailor Moon R: The Movie"

 Sailor Moon R: The Movie

"Sailor Moon R: The Movie" is the first of three "Sailor Moon" films. It was originally released in Japan on December 5, 1993 and in the United States on February 8, 2000. On January 3, 2017, Viz re-released it re-dubbed and uncut for the first time. If you're wondering where the film fits in continuity, it is sometime right before the final confrontation with the Black Moon Clan since Mamoru and Usagi are back together and Chibi-Usa knows the identities of the Sailor Guardians.

Girl Power.

"Sailor Moon R: The Movie" is basically an extended episode of the show. This isn't a knock against it. I watch a lot of anime movies and sometimes they overstay their welcome. Do the "Naruto: Shippuden" movies need to be ninety minutes? They definitely don't. I think sixty minutes is a great amount of time. There are enough changes though that it doesn't necessarily feel just like an extended episode. It feels like its own thing. It feels special, which is what it needs.

The plot of "Sailor Moon R: The Movie" is relatively simple. The girls and Mamoru Chiba are at a botanical garden when Mamoru is confronted by a strange boy named Fiore. It turns out that Fiore is someone that Mamoru had met in the hospital after his parents were killed in a car crash. Fiore left to find a flower for Mamoru and he succeeds. He finds the Kisenian flower. It's an alien flower that is sentient and has plans to take over the Earth with the help of Fiore. And the only people standing in their way is Sailor Moon and the rest of the Sailor Guardians.

The episode begins with a brief recap of who the Sailor Guardians are and what their mission is. It's quick and fun and its perfect for something like this. It's good to operate on the assumption that there are going to be folks watching this movie who are maybe unfamiliar with "Sailor Moon" so giving them that brief bit of background will give them just what they need to enjoy the film. I love how they still play the theme song but instead of doing the usual credits, we see the girls, Chibi-Usa and Mamoru all exploring the botanical gardens. 

Love at first sight.

I have to start off by talking about the quality of the picture and the sound for this release. I watch "Sailor Moon" using the limited edition blu rays that I watch and its supposed to be fully remastered and don't get me wrong, it looks and sounds better than it did back in the nineties, but it's still not great. That is not the case here. The picture is crystal clear. It looks fantastic. The sound quality is phenomenal. I couldn't believe it. I saw this in the theater when they released it, but this was my first time watching the blu ray and just really, really good. There is one sequence where the remaster doesn't help and that is when they show the "asteroid" that is actually Fiore's ship opening. It is clearly computer animated and this is like early 90's computer animation. So, the remastering and HD of it all actually makes that sequence look really janky now when it was probably super cutting edge when the movie was originally released. 

Can we talk about how Fiore is basically Ail from the Makai Tree Arc at the beginning of "Sailor Moon R?" The character design is pretty much exactly the same. The ears. The hair. Identical. They made some slight changes like the color scheme. Ail has blue skin and hair, but Fiore has green skin and hair. They both have the same pink streaks though. Even their human incarnations look the same with the main difference being that human Fiore's hair is longer than human Ail's. This case of same identity has befuddled "Sailor Moon" fans forever especially since no one comments on it even though this movie is canon to the anime. There have been a ton of fan theories as to why they look so much the same. The fan theory that seems to have the most credence is that Ail, An and Fiore are all part of the same alien species. Well, I did some research aka I Googled and I have the answer and it's really not that exciting. The movie is basically just rehashing the basic elements of the Cardian arc. I told you it wasn't that exciting.

A devil's three way.

Sometimes the action in "Sailor Moon" can be a little lame and a little repetitive. We are basically just seeing the same special attacks over and over again. One of the things that makes this movie different than the show is that the action is much more fluid. While we do so those classic attack animations, we also get to see the girls really throwing their attacks and Fiore and his flower monsters. It's great to see the girls moving and tossing their attacks. It is a lot more dynamic than what we see on the show usually. 

There are two main action sequences in this movie. The first is when Fiore's flower henchwoman, Glycina, attacks the Guardians. We get to see the girls throw down in their school uniforms which is pretty cool. And Usagi is pretty badass throughout this entire film but maybe her most badass moment is when she throws herself in front of an attack to save Chibi-Usa and they go through a plate glass window with Usagi using her body to shield Chibi-Usa. I think it really showcases how far Usagi has come since she became Sailor Moon. The other action sequence is on the "asteroid" that is covered with Kisenian flowers. It's awesome to see Sailor Moon using her "Moon Princess Halation" to mow down these flowers.

I will say that "Sailor Moon" is not necessarily known for it's disturbing images and body horror, but there is some of this in "Sailor Moon R: The Movie." It is extremely weird when we see these human arms shooting out of flowers. Or when the human sized Kisenia flower woman is draped all over Fiore. Those are images that I will always remember when I think of this movie and I... don't love it.

I want to shout out Sailor Moon one more time. I think that sometimes people who don't know a lot about the show think that she is just someone who constantly need saved, but I want to believe that watching this movie will disavow you of that notion. Aside from the aforementioned saving of Chibi-Usa, Sailor Moon is a total badass on this asteroid. She sacrifices herself to save the world and her friends. Sure, she comes back to life at the end, but she still did it.

Crystal power, indeed.

I'm definitely saving the best for last here. My favorite part of this movie is that it makes Mamoru Chbia bisexual. Now, I know, there's a lot of talk about how Mamoru and Fiore are just good friends, but come on. No one is buying that. Fiore is fully in love with Mamoru. He scours the galaxy for the perfect flower to give to his boyfriend. He is insanely jealous of Usagi who is not sure what to do when Fiore first shows up. She doesn't want this guy to steal her boyfriend, but she also seems kind of intrigued at first, which is very Usagi. Even the girls are not surprised and kind of convinced that Mamoru is into it. I love when Ami says the quiet part out loud. What I love about this conversation is that it never comes off as homophobic which it definitely could. It feels like real teenage girl talk and I love how as the scenes are shifting the girls are heard saying that if Mamoru was gay or bi it would be totally OK. Fiore and Mamoru even kiss in a roundabout way when Mamoru drinks from the flower that contains Fiore's life essence to bring Usagi back to life. I can see some of you rolling your eyes but it definitely counts. If you are a consistent reader of this "Sailor Moon" feature, you know I hate Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask and this development makes him like 10% more bearable.

And, I didn't want to, but I did think it was kind of cute that they showed that Mamoru and Usagi met in the hospital when they were young. She was there because Shingo was being born and Mamoru was there because his parents were dead. Young Usagi actually gave Mamoru the rose that he ended up giving to Fiore. Full circle moments. We love them.

The movie also had a fifteen minute short called "Make Up! Sailor Guardians" that is a bonus feature on the blu ray. It is nothing. It's Usagi and Chibi-Usa listening in on two girls talk about each Guardian after seeing a poster of them hanging up and Usagi desperately trying to get them to acknowledge Sailor Moon and when they do they also mention all of her thoughts. It's primarily clips from the past episodes, but the show knows we love seeing Usagi get humiliated and that is definitely in this short.

Next up, we begin "Sailor Moon S" with the appearance of new Sailor Guardians and a new transformation for Usagi.

What do you all think of "Sailor Moon R: The Movie?" Out of the three "Sailor Moon" movies how does it rank for you? Mamo is totally bi, right? Let me know in the comments.