GUIDE TO WATCHING SAILOR MOON
Welcome to our spoiler free guide to starting Sailor Moon! We’re here to clear up any confusion, and help you figure out the best way to watch it.
Sailor Moon has lived four lives - firstly, as a Manga, then the 90s anime, the 2000s live action, and finally in the rebooted anime Sailor Moon Crystal.
And that’s not counting the various different dubs, either!
Add in movies which may-or-may-not be canon, and the series’ habit of giving seasons names, rather than numbers, and many people will find it difficult to know where to start.
Instead, this post shows what order to watch each season/arc in, where the movies fit in, and where to watch it.
In the 90s, several different companies dubbed different parts of Sailor Moon into English, Spanish, and other localisations. These dubs have more issues than we care to think about, like cultural erasure, anti-LGTBQ+ issues and more erasure, who storylines and character arcs are removed, and you’ll not be able to watch most of the movies as they aren’t all dubbed and often follow the original storyline rather than the dubbed alterations.
As such, we strongly encourage new viewers NOT to watch the 90s dubs. Most people who enjoy them do so only out of nostalgia or in ignorance of what is missing.
In the late 2010s, VIS re-dubbed the entire series in English, including the movies, and left it uncut. This resulted in some of the best quality translations, as the dubs is visually identical to the original Japanese. They are also the ones dubbing Crystal in the same manner.
VIS Dubs and Subs are the ones you should be watching.
You can officially watch the VIZ dub free on VIZ.COM (US only), or buy it on Amazon.
Unofficially, you can find all the dubs and subs on
https://sailormoontv.com/
WHAT SERIES SHOULD I START WITH?
If you’d like to go in publication order, go Manga, then 90s anime, then Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (the live action series,) and finally Crystal.
However, each series is entirely self-contained
you don’t need to see the others to understand the plot at all,
so you can really start anywhere you like!
To narrow it down, here are the advantages and disadvantages of each one:
Starting with the Manga means you get the best perspective on why the anime and live actions adaptions are all so different. You get to see the evolution of the characters as Naoko originally intended them, and it’s completed and concluded. However, certain aspects have not aged well - particularly the romance - and some translations are quite rough around the edges.
The manga shares its order with the reboot series, Sailor Moon Crystal, which is detailed down below.
Officially, there have been many different additions and publications of the manga, with differing translations. These are available at most manga retailers but don’t appear to have any official English ebook forms to date, though fan scans do exist.
This is the series most people are familiar with, and thus is what you’ll be able to talk about with fellow fans, and find merchandise for. It’s completed, concluded series with tons of episodes to binge!
There’s more development of the inner scouts’ personalities and friendships than other adaptions. Sadly, it’s plagued with a terrible dub that’s filled with plot holes, cesorship, and cultural erasure, as well as never being completed. Luckily, this is difficult to access as Naoko took it out of publication. Yet, some will still cling to this dub due to nostalgia, if nothing else.
This, along with the older animation style, can put some people off. There’s also the fact that most seasons have names (we’ve ordered them below,) rather than clear numbers, which is confusing to new viewers.
If you wish to watch the movies, we’d recommend doing so immediately after watching the respective season. Otherwise, just skip them until after you’ve seen the whole show.
Most of the movies were released in the middle of the series, and often appear to take place on alternative timelines, sometimes even going against established canon, and their events often do not relate to or affect their respective seasons.
The VIZ dub and original with subs are available on different platforms depending on your regional access, such as TubiTV, Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll and Viz. This dub, including all movies, is also readily available on DVD and BluRay.
Manga & 90s Anime Seasons In Order:
Sailor Moon / Season 1 - the Dark Kingdom Arc
Sailor Moon R / Season 2 - the Black Moon Arc
Sailor Moon S / Season 3 - Mugen/Infinity Arc
Sailor Moon SuperS / Season 4 - Yume/Dream Arc
Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie
Sailor Moon Sailor Stars / Season 5 - Stars Arc
Sailor Moon Crystal (Reboot Series)
This adaption is the closest to the manga. It has significantly less filler episodes than the other shows, and arguably has more villain development, and has a less controversial take on the romance. The dub is practically perfect, at least compared to previous versions. However, it’s overall shorter, incomplete, and there have been many issues with the animation, which changes in the third season. Currently, the series is incomplete compared to the others on this list.
Of all the options, this is arguably the most accessible, with the VIZ dub and original Japanese, with subtitles, being available on Netflix in most countries as well as various anime streaming platforms.
Season 3 of Crystal has a unique name compared to the previous incarnations. Otherwise, they use the Manga arc titles instead of the anime series titles.
In 2021, the first part of the Sailor Moon Eternal movie was released, and is the Crystal equivalent of a fourth season.
Sailor Moon Crystal Season 1 Dark Kingdom
Sailor Moon Crystal Season 2 Black Moon
Sailor Moon Crystal Season 3 Death Busters / Infinity
Sailor Moon: Eternal Movie
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon / PGSM
(2000s Live Action TV Show.)
If you want a series that’s on youtube, has real people, and sometimes feels like Japan’s version of Wizards of Waverly Place, PGSM is for you! It’s very different from the others (but we can’t explain without spoilers!) and is generally the least well-known, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a go! It’s very funny, incredibly relatable, and fun, as well as being a great starter show for anyone who likes the magical girl idea but isn’t fond of animation, or just enjoys a classic sentai show. Another advantage to starting here is that it’s a single season, rather than an entire series.
Of course, there’s no official dub, and the old school CGI is out in full force, which can come off as either hilariously campy or just plain bad at times. The disconnect between this series and the other three can also put off old-school fans, and may make transitioning into watching the OG and Crystal a little harder.
Unlike the other series, this one is simple - there’s only one season. no movie, and no arc names!
So just search for season 1, episode 1, and don’t worry about anything else.
(Technically, there’s an episode 0 prequel, but that can be watched at any point as it’s more of a promo than a cannon episode!)
Believe it or not, there are several other Sailor Moon adaptions and spin-offs, such as the Musicals and Sailor V manga. However, they’re best enjoyed when you’ve got context, as they are largely conscidered to be sideplots or spinoffs of anime/manga arcs, so we recommend skipping them until you’ve got some experience under your belt!
We hope that cleared up any confusion, and no matter where you start, we wish you luck on your Sailor Moon viewing journey!
If you’d like to read an in-depth timeline of the 90s anime and manga, check out Tuxedo Unmasked’s breakdown post HERE.
