Let me just preface this review by saying I am a huge fan of Sailor Moon! However everything in this review is just my opinion. I am a fan of the 90’s anime over Crystal. I was of the opinion that S 1-2 were not that great but that S3 was a great improvement. That being said, don’t kill me if my opinion is something you don’t like
FIRST, the overall adaptation. For die hard fans of the manga, I am sure you will be pleased! The adaptation is almost completely faithful to the source material. There were added scenes here and there like discussions in the command center, a few added bits between the Amazoness Quartet, too. Things like Mamoru coughing black blood were kept in. There is also a scene near the end of the film that made me gasp, involving Artemis. But I won’t spoil it
On a slightly more negative note, the faithfulness to the source material is also one of the movie’s downfalls, in my opinion. The movie rushes by at breakneck speed trying to fit everything in and it at time feels like there is no time for the characters or story to breath. In my opinion, it would have worked better as a TV series like Crystal, as scenes happen in a pretty episodic manner anyway. Atleast I think it would have benefitted from an extra 10-15 minutes of run time. Characters like Hawk’s Eye felt like their character had some added development compared to the manga. However Fish Eye is perhaps the one with the least screen time. The scenes they retraced from season 3 of the girls? It was very ‘blink or you’ll miss it’, probably it was under a minute long? I would also say PallaPalla and VesVes had the most screen time, with JunJun the least. There were flashbacks of both Ami and Rei as children added, a long with Rei’s grandpa and Ami’s mom.
Despite the pacing issues however it was an enjoyable watch. Especially if you’re already a big Crystal fan.
Animation:
Well.. it wasn’t what I was expecting. Let me just say, anyone expecting animation like the 90’s movies, prepare to be disappointed. It’s not TERRIBLE, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not the beautiful masterpiece that the trailers made it out to be, either. It is a competent enough standard TV anime quality production with some added flairs in terms of filters and blur. The character designs are probably the best part of the switch to a movie format. They are very cute and feel like a mix between the 90’s, season 3 and very slight Yukie Sakou vibes at points. I feel special attention was paid to Chibi Usa as she has probably has the most beautiful scenes. Her ride with Pegasus probably only lasted about 20 seconds but was gorgeous none-the-less. The other standout was probably Ami’s awakening scene. The quality took a noticeable improvement in quality and It looked gorgeous, with fluid hair movement and was the one moment that I can say was ‘movie quality’. The rest is pretty much Crystal season 3 quality. However the quality of the character designs this time around really lift up the average production. Sailor Mars’s attack is probably the nicest looking. There is a gorgeous moment of her not shown in the trailer of her strands of her against her face while pulling the arrow. Mercury’s attack is probably my second favorite, she does play the harp, but it’s different to the 90s. As far as henshin go Mercury was probably the best and most changed and it really captured her cute side! Jupiter’s was the most disappointing as it was almost exactly like Season 3. Venus was decent but.. at the end of her attack she is off center? It’s hard to explain but it’s like her feet are cut off and she is not center frame.
Furthermore, fight scenes are very straight full forward and are all one hit K.Os. Anyone who was expecting Precure hand to hand combat or some interesting fight chereography, I’m sorry to disappoint you but there is none
Overall not bad. The characters emote a lot and feel alive thanks to Tandano. I feel the movie excels in the smaller moments. However, Anyone coming into this expecting a sakuga action fest will be sorely disappointed.
FIRST, the overall adaptation. For die hard fans of the manga, I am sure you will be pleased! The adaptation is almost completely faithful to the source material. There were added scenes here and there like discussions in the command center, a few added bits between the Amazoness Quartet, too. Things like Mamoru coughing black blood were kept in. There is also a scene near the end of the film that made me gasp, involving Artemis. But I won’t spoil it
On a slightly more negative note, the faithfulness to the source material is also one of the movie’s downfalls, in my opinion. The movie rushes by at breakneck speed trying to fit everything in and it at time feels like there is no time for the characters or story to breath. In my opinion, it would have worked better as a TV series like Crystal, as scenes happen in a pretty episodic manner anyway. Atleast I think it would have benefitted from an extra 10-15 minutes of run time. Characters like Hawk’s Eye felt like their character had some added development compared to the manga. However Fish Eye is perhaps the one with the least screen time. The scenes they retraced from season 3 of the girls? It was very ‘blink or you’ll miss it’, probably it was under a minute long? I would also say PallaPalla and VesVes had the most screen time, with JunJun the least. There were flashbacks of both Ami and Rei as children added, a long with Rei’s grandpa and Ami’s mom.
Despite the pacing issues however it was an enjoyable watch. Especially if you’re already a big Crystal fan.
Animation:
Well.. it wasn’t what I was expecting. Let me just say, anyone expecting animation like the 90’s movies, prepare to be disappointed. It’s not TERRIBLE, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not the beautiful masterpiece that the trailers made it out to be, either. It is a competent enough standard TV anime quality production with some added flairs in terms of filters and blur. The character designs are probably the best part of the switch to a movie format. They are very cute and feel like a mix between the 90’s, season 3 and very slight Yukie Sakou vibes at points. I feel special attention was paid to Chibi Usa as she has probably has the most beautiful scenes. Her ride with Pegasus probably only lasted about 20 seconds but was gorgeous none-the-less. The other standout was probably Ami’s awakening scene. The quality took a noticeable improvement in quality and It looked gorgeous, with fluid hair movement and was the one moment that I can say was ‘movie quality’. The rest is pretty much Crystal season 3 quality. However the quality of the character designs this time around really lift up the average production. Sailor Mars’s attack is probably the nicest looking. There is a gorgeous moment of her not shown in the trailer of her strands of her against her face while pulling the arrow. Mercury’s attack is probably my second favorite, she does play the harp, but it’s different to the 90s. As far as henshin go Mercury was probably the best and most changed and it really captured her cute side! Jupiter’s was the most disappointing as it was almost exactly like Season 3. Venus was decent but.. at the end of her attack she is off center? It’s hard to explain but it’s like her feet are cut off and she is not center frame.
Furthermore, fight scenes are very straight full forward and are all one hit K.Os. Anyone who was expecting Precure hand to hand combat or some interesting fight chereography, I’m sorry to disappoint you but there is none
Overall not bad. The characters emote a lot and feel alive thanks to Tandano. I feel the movie excels in the smaller moments. However, Anyone coming into this expecting a sakuga action fest will be sorely disappointed.