Favored Version and Why?

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Apr 14, 2021
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#1
Between the manga, the sub, and the various dubs, which is your favorite and why?

For me, honest, it has to be the VizMedia dub, despite having been around since the beginning (I'm 52). I own some of the manga and have watched all versions that I'm able to understand audibly or by reading text/subtitles.

As for why... I'm not entirely certain. I think, in part, my attraction to the series had a lot to do with the style of the artwork in the original, and of course, the dub was easier to just watch without having to multitask reading and watching. For whatever reason, I find the artwork and portrayal of the characters more to my liking. The goofy expressions especially, whenever something silly happened.
 

Memento

Stella Nova
Mar 8, 2012
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#6
I love the Japanese '90s anime, but it also has a lot filler and a lot problematic aspects to it. I love the original English dub, but it definitely has some consistency and quality problems (especially with respect to S) and obviously is incomplete. I love the manga, but that has a lot of its own problems too. Then there are the musicals, which are fun and campy but also kind of grating and really confusing, and the live action series, which is fantastic, but only covers the Dark Kingdom arc. Crystal and the Viz dub are things that exist.

So, if I had to choose... I'd say the manga is probably my favorite version, followed by the live action series, then the Japanese '90s anime, then the original English dub.
 

Nadia

Aurorae Lunares
Jun 30, 2010
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#9
My favorite always has been and always has been the DiC dub of the 90's anime. While some of it is due to it being the first version I saw, much of it is due to the characterization within it, and the plot holes and flaws that the dub created actually made the universe a lot more richer than it was originally. I never would have gotten into Sailor Moon had it been presented the way the Viz dub did; I like my media cheesy.
 
Apr 14, 2021
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#10
My favorite always has been and always has been the DiC dub of the 90's anime. While some of it is due to it being the first version I saw, much of it is due to the characterization within it, and the plot holes and flaws that the dub created actually made the universe a lot more richer than it was originally. I never would have gotten into Sailor Moon had it been presented the way the Viz dub did; I like my media cheesy.
I also saw the DiC dub first, but I am in love with Stephanie Sheh's Usagi from the VizMedia version. Her voice suits Usagi to me.
 

foenyanko

Solaris Luna
Sep 21, 2010
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#12
PGSM -> Manga -> 90s anime. I don't really feel like adding Crystal/Eternal to the list until it's completed.

I love the manga, because without it, where would the rest of it be? But PGSM had the best characterization and fleshed out the characters the most, IMO. I love the show. It's cheesy as heck but just the drama parts alone are so worth it.

I still like the 90s anime but it's definitely showing its age in terms of visual quality and the quantity of filler doesn't work for me. Still some gems there, though, and I love the first two movies. The OG English dub will always be special to me, but I have zero interest in the new dub.
 

Jawshx

Aurorae Lunares
Dec 1, 2020
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#14
None of them are perfect. However,

The 90’s anime. It’s not perfect but it impacted me so much that I cannot not put it first. Especially Classic and S. Ikuhara and Junichi Sato really worked magic within the confines of children’s television. Not every episode is a gem and there certainly are some weaker seasons but it’s overall the most well rounded for me.

Second would be the manga. I think Naoko is a genius for coming up with the whole idea of Sailor Moon in the first place. My favorite thing about it is the lore and universe. Especially a lot of the concepts introduced in Stars. However it’s very rushed and many of the more interesting points never really materialize into anything concrete. I do like how it’s more ‘mature’ compared to the anime however I’m not a huge fan of the UsaChiba romance that dominates a lot of chapters. It feels like a lot of wish furfillment on Naoko’s part.

My third choice would probably go to PGSM. It’s very hammy and camp to the nth degree. It looks cheap and the acting is.. well, not great. HOWEVER, character development for everyone? Check. Introducing fresh, exciting ideas? Check. It felt like what (in my opinion) Crystal’s reboot should have been only in live action form. It doesn’t feel like it’s stuck in the 90s nor a slave to the source material but despite its diversions feels authentic to its source material.

Then.. I’m sorry guys. But Crystal. I could go on and on about what I feel is wrong but it would make this even longer than it already is. It just feels.. lifeless to me. A 1:1 adaptation is not always bad, at least when the source material is extremely solid. However we all been known that Naoko was rushed and that there were things she wanted to include and couldn’t. So what to they do? Excluding the universally despised Senshi/Shittenou sub plot.. nothing. And on top of this the animation was terrible. It just felt soulless for me. Now, has it improved? YES. Both season 3 and Eternal are both pretty decent. Do they achieve greatness? No. And I feel like a big part of that is due to the fear of taking more risks and lack of creative freedom.

As for the dub, DiC is high camp and I love it as a time capsule of my youth and the 90s in general. It’s still funny to watch clips just for the outlandish dialogue that you’d never hear in a dub nowadays. But that’s about where my stanning for it ends.

Anyway, there’s never been and probably never will be the ‘perfect’ adaptation. I feel like each adaptation has its different strengths and weaknesses and if somehow they could take the good parts of each and stir them together in a (galaxy) cauldron then we would have a masterpiece. But alas that had yet to happen
 

Sakuranbo

Aurorae Lunares
Feb 10, 2019
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#17
My favorite versions of Sailor Moon are:

. The 90s anime because that's the version of Sailor Moon that I grew up with and it's the version that got me into liking Sailor Moon in the first place.

. The Manga because it's the original story and it explains things better than the 90s anime did.

. The Crystal anime because it's faithful to the manga and follows the manga storyline.

. PGSM because it has a very interesting storyline that is different from the manga and the characters have more development too.
 
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sapphire91

Stella Nova
Jul 6, 2018
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#18
For me it was the manga, because I grew up with the 90s show and the manga was everything the 90s anime was not. I was a simple guy, I loved my stories, I never cared much about the character moments, I was like when will something actually happen. The manga gave me that, and I had the pre-knowledge of the characters.
 

Deniz87

Luna Nova
Jun 11, 2020
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#19
I prefer the 90s anime (japanese + subs).
I grew up watching Sailor Moon with the italian dub (which wasn't bad I think), but I was angry to know about its censorship.
Why the 90s anime?
I have three main reasons why I prefer it over the manga and Crystal.
1) As some of you may have already noticed, my favourite characters from the whole series are Fish Eye and U-Ikasaman. These two characters have "benefited" a lot from the 90s filler episodes (the former having more character development and the latter exisisting thanks to them).
2) As SailorCeti said, the style of the artwork. I prefer anime artstyle from late 70s to 90s. Nowadays, many characters look almost anorexic.
3) The comedy was great in the original anime.

I don't even mention PGSM. Never been a fan of live-action adaptations. The only live action I can barely watch is Asterix.
 
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Likes: SailorCeti
Jun 17, 2019
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#20
I love all versions of Sailor Moon equally except the first 15 episodes of Crystal. (Though even there there are some parts I liked)

I don't even mention PGSM. Never been a fan of live-action adaptations. The only live action I can barely watch is Asterix.
You're missing out, PGSM is easily the best iteration of the Dark Kingdom arc. it has the best Shittenou & Beryl, best character development, best Miracle Romance, pretty much best everything! It's only downside is that it's just the Dark Kingdom arc.


I’m not a huge fan of the UsaChiba romance that dominates a lot of chapters. It feels like a lot of wish fulfillment on Naoko’s part.
Mamoru was said to be created in the image of Naoko's ideal man and is her personal favorite, but I think if you look at the Miracle Romance within the context of the lore & mechanics the manga sets up it works quite well and helps add to the tragic deconstructive elements it has going on[[/QUOTE]
 
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