#pgsm 20th anniversary countdown

[real-life-senshi]

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

A countdown to the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Reason 5: The captivating story!

Ultimately, I would say the live-action stayed true to the essence and intention of the original source material when concerning the Dark Kingdom arc.

I’m choosing to use the word “essence” though, because it is also factual that in multiple aspects, the story does diverge from its source material, but with the intention of further amping up the stakes and angst for drama, and possibly even pulling in elements from story arcs beyond the manga’s Dark Kingdom arc into the one season we (sadly) only have.

Sometimes those differences could be due to limitations of CGI and execution methods in real-life filming, while others could be due to updating the content to appeal to the newer generations of viewers in the early 2000s.

Regardless of what's faithful or not faithful to original source material, I think PGSM did really well striking a balance of making it a kid’s show, and also adding some complexities to appeal to viewers who were kids or teenagers that grew up reading the manga or watching the '90s anime, who would be in their late teens or adulthood or even parenthood by the time the live-action aired.

Warning: Going forward these series of posts will contain minor spoilers to introduce some live-action only elements. It will only be at the introductory level though!

Staying true and delving deeper into source materials

Personally, I can’t speak much to the ’90s anime, but I can confirm the live-action pulls many elements from the manga source material where possible. Here are just a few:

Introducing the Sailor Senshi!

The story of how Usagi and Ami discovered their Senshi power largely follows the same story, while Rei and Makoto's intro episodes heavily reference the original manga chapter and use the same theme behind the attacks that lead to them accessing their transformation. There's no magic bus to whisk victims away in Rei's case, and there's no wedding dress ghost story in Makoto's, probably due to the feasibility of recreating those scenes.

The Forbidden Love & the Past Life lore

The live-action definitely deep-dived into the 'forbidden love' concept when it came to Usagi and Mamoru, and further created a whole complexity of the storyline to justify WHY it's forbidden. In the manga/anime, it felt like the idea of their forbidden love was purely political and mostly glossed over since the past life kingdoms were dead, but in the live-action, there were actual stakes and consequences to consider even for the present.

And the ABSOLUTE MOST AMAZING THING and by far my favourite twist to the live-action storyline is they actually ventured into exploring the impact of making teenagers soldiers of war! There is actually ample screen time and dialogues AND monologues dedicated for us to see individual Senshi AND the team together grappling with the pros and cons and exploring both extreme sides of the need to follow the past life mission to avert tragedy regardless of the sacrifices made, versus the necessity of making one's choice and finding ways to live in the present in spite of the past life lore! Do they support Usagi's and Mamoru's love for each other or not???? Do they know for sure whether their love WILL cause misfortune again or not or can they trust Usagi to know what she's doing????? FASCINATING AND ANGSTY STUFF RIGHT THERE!

Rei’s Personality

More as an FYI, but Rei’s personality is much more similar to the manga Rei’s personality, instead of ‘90s anime Rei. More cool beauty and calm, less aggressively hotheaded and abrasive. And very importantly, NOT boy-crazy.

New, original dramatic elements

On the other hand, here are some live-action exclusive dramatic elements that I'd like to highlight:

Aino Minako the idol

Even many who haven't watched the series would have heard about how Minako's character is drastically changed in the live-action. Indeed, Minako is an acclaimed teenage idol and singer with best-selling songs in the show!

It's basically as if the live-action screenwriter pulled in the Outer Senshi elements from the Mugen arc into Minako's character: she's famous, experienced, and serious. Minako has full access to past life knowledge and is ultimately mission-driven like Haruka and Michiru are in the Mugen arc, which causes some of her decisions to maybe not be as morally white as we'd expect her to be (I think her costume style of white and black is a nice nod to the idea of her double life and her sense of moral).

Now, that's not to say live-action Minako is completely a new character, you can certainly see manga/anime Minako's character traits here and there if you pay attention - pun-loving, prank-loving, mischievous. For god's sake, the girl named her album Venus, and one of her most iconic songs is called C'est La Vie, which sounds exactly like "Sailor V" pronounced in Japanese. Just imagine this girl playing a vigilante life, and having a chuckle every time she sings her best-selling song that basically announces her identity to the world and no one realizes. lmao

Basically, Minako's character embodies the extreme result of what happens if a teenager is burdened with all the knowledge of the Past Life war and has the weight on her shoulders while working alone.

If you can get past Minako's changed character setting in the live-action, you'll find there are still plenty of Dark Kingdom arc manga/anime Minako elements in there, just some more exaggerated while others are more subtle. (Coz to be fair, Minako didn't start becoming Usagi's twin until after the Dark Kingdom arc.) And her relationship with Artemis is absolutely heartwarming to see in the live-action.

Who's in the wrong? Who's an ally, and who's not?

While our Senshi team is clearly the heroine, and the Dark Kingdom the villains, the live-action takes a more interesting take on what's considered "good" versus "evil", and more importantly, who's in the wrong on how things ended badly in the past life. Who is actually the person the Senshi needs to protect the world from? And that drives the story into a direction that is more complex than what you'll ever find in manga or anime, and certain characters react accordingly and act more grey than black or white - from both the heroine side and the villain side!

Shitennou & Endymion

Something we didn't really get to see as much in the manga and anime, while we know who the Shitennou are, we don't really see the Shitennou and Mamoru interacting until after they... became their name-sake rocks (okay, technically, GEMS). And we don't get many hints on what their past live relationships were, so for many years fans have taken to pen/paper/tablets/keyboard and filled the gaps with their amazing imagination and creative work instead.

In the live-action, we get a much more expansive and interesting take in seeing the Shitennou - technically still under the Dark Kingdom's influence, interact with Mamoru as they all grapple with what happened in the past life.

How would the prince's ex-guardians act seeing their master again? How would Mamoru react? Choosing to accept his responsibility for his past life or not? After all, they had such fond memories of arm-wrestling each other! (Spoiler alert: Nephrite won.) :P

I must once again emphasize that I love what they did with the Shitennou's characters and gave each of them a different story trajectory. They are written so well they pull at your heartstrings!

If you want some canon-material for writing the Shitennou in the age of Elysion Kingdom, definitely give the live-action a go!

Power up! The Senshi Needs Training

Because the live-action only gets one arc, there's no room for us to see the Senshi team (conveniently) get upgraded transformation like they do in each arc in manga or anime. Instead, the live-action takes a different, and I dare say, a more realistic approach, where the Senshi learns that their initial access to their transformation isn't the full access to their powers as they expected. They are put through some legit, and some questionable training of the body, mind and spirit, and each of them has to overcome something within themselves across the series to access their power!

This approach highlights and solidifies each Senshi's strengths AND ties in really well into the girls' character development throughout the series. As well, it makes it feel like the Senshi did have to put in work to get strong and gain access to their power, instead of relying on the plot to get them new powers at the right opportune time, seemingly out of the blue.

Remember: THEY ARE IN SCHOOL!

Yep, sometimes in the manga and in the anime, it's so easy for us to forget that the Senshi are kids in school when they are in the thick of a crisis or fighting evil. Somehow, it always seems quite clean and convenient that the Senshi could separate their school life and their heroine life, doesn't it? How the responsible adults in the world may wonder... "Gosh, where did that kid go in the middle of [insert context]????" Or for a fellow peer in school to wonder - "How the hell did this random group of girls come together like an odd band?"

The live-action takes time to make room for some reality checks in their episodic storylines to explore all the different repercussions our heroine's double (or triple) life has on their normal life, and with that ties in personable and relevant topics and themes into their episodic plots:

Family relationship

Peer relationship

Romantic relationships

Moments that remind everyone how awkward and tough it is to be a teenager.

The toll of lying through your teeth to keep a secret, etc

I cannot emphasize enough that the screenwriting is superb in the series! Not one thing is referenced only once and left out the window, everything that happened builds up into a moment of learning or lasting impact for our characters!

To people who've not watched the live-action, PLEASE GIVE IT A CHANCE! At least give it 6 episodes, and you'll probably be hooked!

You can watch the subbed versions of the series at:

Miss Dream Fansubs

Sea of Serenity Fansubs

The series is also on other online streaming sites, but be cautious to only visit them with good adware and firewall installed.

6 days till the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

[real-life-senshi]

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

A countdown to the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

There are many things worth unpacking and appreciating in the live-action series, as long as one can overlook the tackiness of the action scenes and repeated use of questionable CGI sequences. (The real-time CGI isn't bad though, and the action scenes get better as the series runs!) Context to remember: the live-action is a low-budget Tokusatsu series, and it was the debut work of most of the cast in the acting industry! As we approach the show's 20th anniversary, I hope to spread some love and get more people exposed to watching the series!

Reason 1: Ongoing character & dynamic development for EVERYONE!

It is without question that Tsukino Usagi deserves all the love fans of the overall Sailor Moon franchise have for her! However, for those whose favourite character may not necessarily be the titular character, many may find there's just not much space in most iterations of Sailor Moon for their favourite character to shine with the depth of their character well explored, and most character development does not contribute long-lastingly to the plot of the story. It can almost feel like Usagi/Moon seems to often hog all the attention (besides side story chapters in the manga)!

The live-action series solved that issue beautifully, by focusing only on the Dark Kingdom arc in a 49-episode series, the screenwriter Kobayashi Yasuko with Takeuichi Naoko-sensei's input, did a stunning job of building a multi-faceted, linear storyline filled with colourful character development for each Senshi AND Shitennou characters. The Shitennou each have their own defined personality, depths and motivation that are all different from each other's.

Each main heroine character and villain character has their own thematic focus to their story, and they all actually converge and contribute to the storytelling of the series!

The most amazing thing? It dares to render Usagi/Moon into the ensemble cast on episodes when it doesn't make sense for Usagi to hog the screen time. Sometimes, our beloved princess is simply the comic relief in an episode! That's not to say that Usagi's character is disrespected, but Usagi is shown to be as flaw-filled as any other character in the series, and sometimes she herself needs to do some growing up and reflection, so she isn't always the sensible choice to be catalyst for her fellow Senshi' needed growth.

Usagi is undoubtedly loved and cherished and the definite lynchpin of the team, but each Senshi is allowed to have their own dynamics with each other, and let their personality shine... or clash with each other's.

Frankly, I've always been amazed at how much said dynamics were explored between each pair of Senshi. The only one I felt was underdeveloped was Ami and Minako. :(

Here is my rough table of how the character focus is spread across the series. (Many episodes actually have an A plot, B plot and C plot, but I'm not expert enough to parse them all down. This is by memory. lol)

You can watch the subbed versions of the series at:

Miss Dream Fansubs

Sea of Serenity Fansubs

The series is also on other online streaming sites, but be cautious to only visit them with good adware and firewall installed.

10 days till the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

[real-life-senshi]

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

A countdown to the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Reason 10: The three live-action original Senshi!

Technically introducing these 3 Senshi would count as a spoiler, but not introducing them would mean I'm not doing justice in convincing people to give the live-action a try! SO I'M GOING FOR IT.

Still, anything I share here would be introductory, and I won't go into the story surrounding these characters at all. And as I mentioned basically this whole time in this series of posts, the storytelling is where it counts when it comes to the live-action!

Without further ado, I'm starting off with the most iconic original Senshi of them all:

Sailor Dark Mercury - more well-known as Darkury

Yes! We get a villain version of a Senshi! ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS!

Ami-chan in the live-action is basically the most even-tempered person out there. So imagine the sweetest, MOST kindhearted girl going absolutely apeshit, then you are probably not too far off imagining Darkury's behaviour. And imagine the smartest person you know working against you... now that's one adversary you'd want to avoid!

The unique story surrounding Darkury holds a special place for many fans of the live-action. It's proof of the live-action's amazing writing and unapologetic differences to its original source material, and marks a joy only audience of live-action get to enjoy in the whole Sailor Moon franchise!

Princess Sailor Moon

Princess Sailor Moon is the only alternate/upgraded Senshi form the audience gets to see in the live-action series, since the show only covers one arc so there are no new forms of transformation for the Senshi. Not only she has a harp, but she also has a SWORD instead of a magic wand! HOW COOL IS THAT??!!!!! Senshi with swords/actual weapons and looking fierce is like my favourite thing!!!

She is undoubtedly powerful, and this costume of this form is stunning! I personally really love the pastel pink matched with the midnight blue!

To new viewers of the live-action, don't let the official promo picture of a smiling Princess Sailor Moon or your pre-existing knowledge of the overall franchise fool you into a sense of security of knowing what’s coming though. She is so much more than what meets the eye, and her first appearance in the show is absolutely EPIC!!!!

Sailor Luna

Yes, that is cat ears and a cat tail... Yes, this is Luna.

Luna eventually gets a human form AND a Senshi form in the live-action. It's arguable how powerful she actually is, but she certainly has her moments of cleverness, sneakiness, and... comedy.

My best guess is, that the live-action screenwriting made this version of Luna by pulling in elements from ChibiUsa's early Senshi days - where ChibiUsa often overestimates her strength, and her inexperience puts her in awkward and unhelpful positions for the rest of the Senshi. Even the actress originally thought she was cast as ChibiUsa during the audition process.

In this case though, because Luna fills the role of a trainer and adviser to the Senshi team, so as a Senshi, we see her choice of action feel less amateur in terms of battle instinct and strategy, but her actual strength is certainly secondary to being a true Senshi. The imbalance often causes some unexpected and hilarious results in battle, and no one really knows what to expect and how to react - to be impressed or to laugh!

You can watch the subbed versions of the series at:

Miss Dream Fansubs

Sea of Serenity Fansubs

The series is also on other online streaming sites, but be cautious to only visit them with good adware and firewall installed.

1 last day till the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

[real-life-senshi]

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

A countdown to the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Reason 6: A more developed ✨Miracle Romance✨!

How can one ever talk about Sailor Moon without discussing the most iconic and legendary couple in history that rivals Romeo and Juliet - Usagi & Mamoru?

Had the live-action done this couple's story dirty, they might as well chuck the whole project out the window! Thankfully, they didn't screw it up, and in fact, I personally think their love story got a further glow-up!

A more well-rounded developed relationship

The live-action gave more space and time to develop Mamoru and Usagi's relationship, making it more believable, and realistic, and proving to the audience their feelings for each other are genuinely mutual! It started off with an almost antagonistic, pigtail-pulling relationship, developing into what seems to be a "one-sided" crush because they are both so oblivious, to mutual love and respect.

Like seriously - this is how Usamamo meets in Act 1 (shhhhhh, it's Act 1, barely a spoiler):

While technically this is also another spoiler, I'm going to say it anyway to highlight the difference here: Basically, Usagi falls in love with Mamoru AND comes to terms that she's in love with Mamoru and "not Tuxedo Mask" before finding out Mamoru's true identity and their shared past life. I think this is such an important, and much better narrative because it leaves no room for debate that Usagi is in love with Mamoru for the right reasons, instead of being in love with the idea of him because he's Tuxedo Mask and it's romantic. In fact, how romantic it is to consider Usagi fell in love with the same person twice without realizing it???? I think that’s romantic!

To me, there's a difference between "they are bound to fall in love with each other because it is their destiny" versus "they fell in love with each other just as it was foretold by destiny". The live-action strictly falls into the latter category. It's all a matter of choice and agency from the characters!

More dramarama!

The live-action seriously amped up the drama between the two of them, on both fronts regarding their personal lives and also their heroic lives! The additional dramatic elements (that I will NOT spoil) created a heightened "will they, won't they" tension that will make UsaMamo fans anxious to watch. There's quite a bit of mutual pining for Usamamo fans to look forward to in the live-action!

Angst is also a must in the live-action universe, and it's a treat to watch these two coming together trying to defy the odds. Even the filming angle and post-production editing go all out to amp that up!

Minimal "damsel in distress" routine, reverse or otherwise!

I know... it's a running gag in the manga and anime universe that Mamoru always gets kidnapped or brainwashed. Thankfully, the live-action took a different trajectory with their storytelling.

That's not to say there's zero kidnapping/held hostage-type situation, etc. But even in such scenarios, the Prince of Earth always is still in control and does everything he can to ultimately come to a resolution in his own way.

Personally, I don't care much for Mamoru in manga and anime verse, thinking he's just there to make Usagi look good, but I actually like Mamoru's character in the live-action. No matter as Tuxedo Kamen or Prince Endymion, he has quite a bit of involvement in battle scenes. And he is ACTUALLY competent and pairs up really well with Usagi as a couple and with Sailor Moon as a fighter. Some of their duo fight scenes are really cool!

Oh. And there's none of the "kissing you while you are asleep/unconscious" stuff. I'm not going to argue it wasn't romantic in the manga, etc. But times have changed since the original material was written/drawn, and I don't think that's something that will fly well with people in this current age and time. The live-action caught on with the time and used other techniques to make the romance pop instead, and for that I am thankful!

Opposite attracts

Mamoru is written a bit differently than manga and anime. Mamoru's more aloof, prickly, and definitely tsundere. He becomes awkward when he warms up, which is really adorable to see. Also, he wears leather jacket and rides a motorcycle, which amps up his "cool" factor by... A LOT!!!

Usagi is mostly the same as manga and anime, but less crybaby. Like I mentioned before in part 2 of this, Usagi is not exaggeratedly "stupid", just slower, and appropriately immature and innocent for someone her age who hasn't experienced much adversaries until the Senshi business. (No, butt-heading with your little brother doesn't count. lol)

So all's to say in the live-action, they really build up this whole opposite-attracts kind of deal with Usamamo, and where Usagi had to work to see through Mamoru's prickly exterior and soften him up.

Also, I think they cast Mamoru and Usagi really well. Just look at their height difference! Another thing that makes them look so good together????

You can watch the subbed versions of the series at:

Miss Dream Fansubs

Sea of Serenity Fansubs

The series is also on other online streaming sites, but be cautious to only visit them with good adware and firewall installed.

5 days till the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

[real-life-senshi]

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

A countdown to the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Speaking of the casting of UsaMamo, let's actually talk about the live-action cast!

Reason 7: The cast!

If you become a fan of the series, despite the show approaching its 20th anniversary and sadly not being greenlit for more than one season, your joy DOES NOT end there.

The love the Senshi cast have for the show and for each other is ABSOLUTELY legendary. If one dabs into Japanese entertainment news even for just a little bit, then it's pretty impossible for them to forget this show existed because it gets brought up yearly, especially because Rei's actress Kitagawa Keiko' is 's career took flight and became insanely famous in Japan's acting industry a few years after the live-action.

Seriously, please see the following clip subbed by me and hear how Ayaka (Venus/Minako) talks about the live-action Senshi team. <3

Without further ado, please see some other examples of their lovely ongoing love for the series, the overall franchise, and each other.

Cast Reunions/Gatherings

Senshi Reunion "戦士会" A well-known term coined for the live-action 5 Senshi gathering. As Ayaka said, it includes birthday parties, Bonenkai and Shinenkai, engagement parties, and more!

My record of their gatherings dates as far back as 2006, and that's NOT counting the times when any of these ladies meet up in pairs or smaller pods and post about them on their social media and then practically. yell into the writing that they want all five of them to meet up soon. lol For a more "structured" Senshi reunion, usually they manage to get at least four of them together, if not all 5, due to work scheduling clashes.

At Keiko (Mars)'s wedding ceremony, the Senshi cast also all sang the show's insert song Friend together. :')

The girls have so much fun together, they are also known for taking blurry photos because they laugh themselves silly. (Adorable!)

PGSM 10th Anniversary Cast & Crew Celebration (2014) *Logistics of the event organization and individual's work schedule delayed them from actually celebrating in 2013 October.

2016 Super Moon Sighting (Cast & Crew Gathering)

The Senshi-exclusive reunion (2015) The gang claimed all the news of the Senshi reunion was making them jealous and feel left out, so they chose to have their own gathering without the Senshi. For a while that led to a hilarious back and forth between them and the Senshi on Twitter about making it a regular thing and maybe they'll invite a Senshi one at a time for further gatherings. lol

Here is hoping we get a 20th anniversary celebration cast and crew gathering. If the 10th anniversary celebration was anything to go by, the event might not necessarily happen right on the dot of the anniversary. Still, if not the day-of, this weekend, or this coming weekend will still be a key period for live-action fans to monitor the casts social media and blog accounts for any celebratory posts!

Supporting each other's work

The Senshi cast, Naoki (Shingo), Akira (Kunzite), and Jouji (Mamoru) show support for each other's stageplay appearances across the years.

Miyuu guest starred in Ayaka's live broadcast, and Ayaka promoted Miyuu's stageplay as part of the broadcast

Ayaka joining Miyuu on her Japanese shave ice eating and promo Youtube videos. (Twice!)

The cast members are always excited when they get to guest star in a JDrama Keiko (Mars) is a main cast of.

Ayaka in Buzzer Beat (2009)

Miyuu and Jouji in Iie ru Onna (2016)

The Senshi cast sending flowers and showing up in person to Ayaka's own unisex apparel brand - 502EASY's popup store!

Ongoing Mentions of Their Time in PGSM Lovingly

Last but certainly not least, there is no lack of ongoing mentions and positive reminiscing of their filming experience from this cast!

Keiko (Mars) fangirling over meeting Usagi's anime voice actress!

Video here! (Tumblr keeps giving me error when embedding...)

Usagi, Mamoru and Motoki reunited in Ryusoulger

Miyuu's PGSM Viewing Party

Sawai Miyuu (Usagi/Moon) does periodic live broadcasts on her Youtube channel, and has been hosting viewing parties of her rewatching the live-action. She's done Act 1 - Act 18 already!

Ayaka's talking about PGSM and Senshi team in multiple of her Youtube Q&A videos

Ayaka at Brazil ANIME FRIENDS CON 2019

Ayaka & Miyuu as Guest in Sailor Moon events

Director Suzumura's Glasses Night Talk - Ayaka (Venus), Jouji (Mamoru), Mew (Jupiter)

Director Suzumura’s Glass Night Take.017 (Feb 26, 2022) - Komatsu Ayaka (Summarized Translation here)

Director Suzumura’s Glass Night Take.034 (July 7, 2023) - Shibue Jouji (Summarized translation to come!)

Director Suzumura’s Glass Night Take.037 (Oct 17, 2023) - Azama Mew (UPCOMING SOON!!!!)

Kitagawa Keiko spoke about her relationship with Sailor Moon franchise and the Senshi Team when promoting her voice role as Sailor Cosmos

And you can also find multiple fan-translation of Keiko's interview articles here on my blog!

This post got really long, but it's not even near all of the mentions and references this amazing cast have made, speaking positively and endearingly of each other and the show!

You can watch the subbed versions of the series at:

Miss Dream Fansubs

Sea of Serenity Fansubs

The series is also on other online streaming sites, but be cautious to only visit them with good adware and firewall installed.

Additionally, if you ever want to receive info about the PGSM cast without being bogged down by content with fanart, fanfic posts like this blog, I recommend following @pgsm-gal!

4 days till the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

[real-life-senshi]

PRETTY GUARDIAN SAILOR MOON (LIVE-ACTION) 20TH ANNIVERSARY - MASTER POST🌙

Act 1 of PGSM aired in Japan on October 4, 2003! As a blog dedicated to sharing my love for the live-action series, I did a few things to celebrate this occasion. I will keep adding to this post as more content comes in, and have this pinned on my blog!

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

This is a series of introductory, appreciation posts. They were scheduled to post daily from Sep 25th to Oct 3rd as a 10-day countdown to Oct 4th, 2023!

Reason 1: Ongoing character & dynamic development for EVERYONE!

Reason 2: The humour

Reason 3: The side characters

Reason 4: The costumes*

Reason 5: The captivating story!

Reason 6: A more developed ✨Miracle Romance✨!

Reason 7: The cast!*💖💙❤️💚🧡

Reason 8: The insert songs!*

Reason 9: The shipping! 🚢

Reason 10: The three live-action original Senshi!

*Reasons 4, 7 & 8 include newly fansubbed or translated official or behind-the-scene content from me! I kinda went all out with the countdown posts lol

My work to celebrate the 20th Anniversary!🥳

(I got behind schedule though...)

Full translation of the PGSM Visual Book (2004) Senshi Talk!

Thank you PGSM! (gif set)

Another gif set... (WIP)

Celebratory illustration... (WIP)

PGSM Cast's Celebratory Posts

Takeshi Naoki (Tsukino Shingo) & Koike Rina (Sailor Luna)

Sawai Miyuu (Tsukino Usagi / Sailor Moon)

Shibue Jouji (Chiba Mamoru / Tuxedo Kamen)

Komatsu Ayaka (Aino Minako / Sailor Venus)

OCT 5th, 2023 SENSHI REUNION

SENSHI REUNION Instagram stories

CBC Special Program - Sailor Senshi 20th Anniversary Alumni Reunion (セーラー戦士 20年目の同窓会) 🌙

Dec 25th, 2023 11:10pm - 11:40pm JST

Program announcement

Cast social media announcements

Full video (TV version) - Fansubbed

Sawai Miyuu's behind-the-scene video - Fansubbed

Happy 20th Anniversary to Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon! Thank you for gifting fans a wonderful and memorable story! 🎊🍾🎉🥂

[real-life-senshi]

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

A countdown to the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Reason 4: The Costumes!

Yes, I'm serious. No, I'm not necessarily talking about the Senshi costume, though they aren't bad especially once you can appreciate the bulkiness is due to the necessity to protect the cast wearing them - let's be honest, wearing a skimpy sailor fuku isn't that realistic for battles (yes, I said it). And they get points for being more faithful to the manga material than ‘90s anime was.

Thematic, colour-coded, stylistic choices for the Senshi

Many fans know that Takeuchi Naoko is a fan of high fashion, just look at many of her official art that uses runway fashion! While the live-action isn't about that, the costumes team was certainly phenomenal in providing the Senshi with a stylish and thematic selection of everyday clothes that speak to their respective personalities. And frankly, the girls' daily wear feels pretty timeless for a series that's 20 years old.

Their costume choices were even explored in the "PGSM Complete Edition Memorial Book". As a treat, I translated the comments here:

In addition to this, generally speaking, Usagi, Ami and Minako's outfits are pretty feminine, next is Rei's which is a bit more of a mix of feminine and unisex, and Makoto's is mostly unisex, though I wouldn't go as far as say it feels masculine.

Symbolism in colour!

While the girls supposedly are matched with their own signature colour and stylistic choices for casual wear, they do switch up the colours often. The girls' costume per episode is occasionally symbolic of their dynamic and relationship when there's significant character interaction in the episode's plot. Some examples:

I’d also say that Minako's general style of black and white is quite symbolic as well given her character story in PGSM. But I'll leave that for another time when I introduce PGSM's spin to Minako's character later.

Seriously, this show is one where you can rewatch time after time, and you'd still find MORE symbolistic things slipped into the product, either subtly shown right in front of your face or hidden in the background. It brings me much joy when I feel like I caught another glimpse of symbolism in costume choices.

Past life Earth Kingdom style(?)

The Shitennou, Queen Beryl and Prince Endymion's costumes all got a huge upgrade in their design. The overall designs are a lot more ornate with golden or silver trims, and the intricacies seem to be of the same design, suggesting that royalties and guards of the Earth's Kingdom from the past life get their uniforms designed by the same designer?

I truly love that they colour-coded the Shitennou! The original manga/anime design was so plain it almost makes me think they feel more like foot soldier's uniform, only Kunzite had a cape to be fancy. In the live-action, all of them have capes and they are well-used! There are many mighty and flashy cape-flicking in the series!

I especially appreciate Beryl's costume, the ornate design just seems a lot more befitting of the queen. They managed to make the costume sensual but not sexual and also found ways to make the random horn on her shoulders stylish without making it seem like she's grown horns. Honestly, it was an amazing casting choice too!

Fun random costumes:

Similar to Usagi's gadgets allow her to transform into different costumes and personnel for sneaking into situations in the manga/anime, all Senshi have the means to copy any costume/clothing for situations as needed.

This leads to some hilarious and generally awesome scenes with the ladies dressing up in all sorts of random clothes. Some examples:

Like I said, the show doesn't take itself too seriously, despite some twists and turns they added to the storyline!

You can watch the subbed versions of the series at:

Miss Dream Fansubs

Sea of Serenity Fansubs

The series is also on other online streaming sites, but be cautious to only visit them with good adware and firewall installed.

7 days till the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

[real-life-senshi]

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

A countdown to the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Reason 3: The side characters!

The love the screenwriter put into building the PGSM main cast - Senshi, Shitennou and Endymion is something to always celebrate as a fan of the series. Still, they are not the only ones who benefited from the live-action writing.

Many recurring side characters in the manga/anime had their characters further fleshed out / altered to have their personalities shine in the show. And even better, instead of being a background character most times, most of them actually have significant contributions to the brilliant storytelling PGSM gives us!

Tsukino Ikuko

Speaking of PGSM humour in part 2 of this series of blog posts, it is impossible for one to not discuss one of the most iconic changes and side characters in the live-action series - Usagi's mom!

In the manga and anime, Tsukino Ikuko is a sweet, caring, and typical mother in a Japanese household, except she has questionable lavender hair...

In the live-action, with the exception that Ikuko is a brunette which is quite a normal hair colour, everything else about her is... well, anything but normal. For lack of a better word, she is... eccentric, and is actually the person responsible for many of the shenanigans that occur in the Tsukino family. After watching PGSM, you can definitely tell from where Usagi inherited some of her traits...

Tsukino Ikuko, the yoga practitioner and creator of questionable omelette sauce, is great fun to watch. Her time on screen is not long, but whenever she appears, she SHINES and steals the show with hilarious antics and an amazing grasp of comedic cues worthy of a professional comedian! Not a minute of her screen time is ever wasted!

Tsukino Shingo

In the manga and anime, Tsukino Shingo is basically a smartass brat who loves butt-heading and teasing his older sister Usagi.

In the live-action, Shingo retains the smartass personality, but not much of a misbehaving brat. Instead, his character is further fleshed out that he is actually intelligent, sarcastic, sassy and... perpetually so done with Usagi and Ikuko.

Seriously, this kid is the responsible AND sensible one in the Tsukino household and the holder of all Tsukino brain cells. It is absolutely glorious and a wonder to see how all the sass could fit into his tiny body!

With Shingo and Ikuko together, any scenes of Usagi's home life is bound to leave you in stitches watching the chaos that goes on within its walls!

For a taste of live-action Tsukino family dynamics, please enjoy the following two scenes:

Present day the actor of little Shingo - Takeshi Naoki is (of course) all grown up, and an acclaimed and prominent stage actor in many musicals and stageplays, especially in the 2.5D world. (Manga/Anime adapted stage productions.)

Some examples are:

Hyper Projection Play “Haikyuu!!” - Nobuyushi Kai

My Hero Academia The “Ultra” Stage - Iida Tenya

Black Clover the Stage - Yuno (main)

Furuhata Motoki

Motoki in the live-action takes in both roles from the manga and the 90's anime, where not only does he work in the location that doubles as the Senshi's secret base (manga), but he is also Mamoru's best friend from school (90's anime). But otherwise his involvement in the story kinda just ends there.

In PGSM, Motoki's character is more fleshed out in that besides being a pretty face (because let's be honest, Kikawada Masaya is good-looking!), but he also provides some ongoing comic relief for being a huge turtle fanatic.

BUT! He is so much more than just comic relief! His easy-going, kind and caring nature also helps him become a buffer/translator and insight-provider on certain aspects of Mamoru's character for Usagi when it comes to his best friend. He helps Usagi see past Mamoru's tsundere tendencies, getting past the prickly exterior and seeing the caring side of her eventual fated lover.

... And that's not even the main involvement when it comes to our Senshi team. He has a much more significant role late series. But I shall not say more to keep this spoiler-free!

For long-time Tokusatus fans, Motoki's actor Kikawada Masaya has also continued his tenure in Tokusatsu in other well-known franchises:

Kamen Rider The First (film) - Hongo Takeshi (main)

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger - Master Red

Ultraman Decker - Captain Murahoshi Taiji

Osaka Naru

Across the manga-verse and anime-verse, Osaka Naru is well-known to be a Youma-magnet, rumourmonger extraordinaire, and Usagi's best friend outside of the Senshi team.

In the live-action, Naru continues to play both roles! But her character is a lot more three-dimensional, where she is both sweet and empathetic, but also territorial when it comes to holding her position as Usagi's best friend. So much so, she got bitchy and possessive and caused some teenage drama when she felt her position as Usagi's friend got threatened as Usagi becomes more and more embroiled in the Senshi business. Personally, that was one of my favourite storylines, where it just feels so much more personable and relatable regarding highschool drama and friendship issues. It is one that's close to my heart!

On the other hand, when Usagi encounters adversaries in her school life or love life, Naru is always here as a protector or to cheer Usagi up!

For those who don't now, another fun fact is Naru is played by Sailor Mercury/Mizuno Ami in one of the original Sailor Moon musicals!

The original side characters & villains

There are 2 other original side characters that have recurring appearances and an original villain character that is exclusive to the live-action that I'd love to introduce. (Well, technically there are 2 original villains, but one I'll actually introduce later). But since I said I'll make this mostly spoiler-free, I'll leave them out for now. haha

In my humble opinion, all of them are very well written. They are either there to cause drama - which the live-action has done well to amp up on the angst in the storyline, or there to cause chaos, which frankly is absolutely entertaining and a joy to watch!

And for the record, I especially ADORE the character with the sparkles in the middle. :P

You can watch the subbed versions of the series at:

Miss Dream Fansubs

Sea of Serenity Fansubs

The series is also on other online streaming sites, but be cautious to only visit them with good adware and firewall installed.

8 days till the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

[real-life-senshi]

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

A countdown to the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Reason 2: The humour!

The live-action series is great that it doesn't take itself TOO seriously. Almost all if not all episodes have some comedic moments, finding a balance of seriousness and moments of relief. After all, life goes on even in the midst of crisis!

Everyone can be funny!

Throughout the series, each character has its comedic moments, some overt and others subtle, but the opportunity gets passed around. Not one character is the sole comedic relief person, even if some characters are naturally funnier than others.

I very much appreciate the types of humour the show brings, as when each character has their own comedic moment, it's done by capitalizing on the awkward side of their personalities, or the role they may play in certain dynamics. It's important for me to emphasize this because no one gets disrespected or dumbed down for the sake of humour! It makes the comedic moment not only believable, even if sometimes cartoonish, but more importantly, it's not forced or cringe.

The editing!

The post-production crew did a phenomenal job with the background music transitions, sound effects and visual effects to optimize the delivery! I think PGSM humour gets to me so much because as a video editor, the timing or certain SFX or VFX transition is just spot on, multiplying the effects of the comedy.

Here's a small selection of such comedic moments. These are all more overt, so it didn't require too much context building (or subtitling), and most are early series, as I had to be very picky to make sure it's spoiler-free.

The last one in the clip is my favourite one by far. Unlike Ami-chan in the manga or anime, Ami-chan in the live-action series, while still smart with a high IQ, isn't actually the brain-cell holder in the team dynamic. lol

While most of the clips I shared show Usagi being the butt of the joke or the ones creating humour, it's EXTREMELY important for me to note that Usagi ISN'T actually written as "dumb" or "stupid" in the series. This re-emphasizes my earlier point. Usagi in PGSM is written to be good to a fault, naive, innocent, immature, naturally overreactive (thus awkward) and sometimes slow to the uptake, but never stupid. Her grades are not great because she's lazy and leaves things to the last minute, not because she's "dumb". When it comes to Senshi business, while Usagi may act according to her heart and not necessarily with facts, she does arrive at the correct conclusion and puts clues together well on her own. Even if mistakes were made, they were actually reasonable mistakes. That's what I love about PGSM's writing, the screenwriter really gets the characters and doesn't disrespect or devalue them for ANY reason!

You can watch the subbed versions of the series at:

Miss Dream Fansubs

Sea of Serenity Fansubs

The series is also on other online streaming sites, but be cautious to only visit them with good adware and firewall installed.

9 days till the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

[real-life-senshi]

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

A countdown to the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Reason 8: The insert songs!

Following the trend that started sometime in the early 2000s (I think), where many voice actors/actresses started doing character songs in anime, the live-action also followed that formula and had our Senshi cast sing character songs called "Image Songs". Many of them are also featured as insert songs in the show itself!

Aino Minako's Best Selling Songs! (In-Universe)

Minako has the most songs because her character is a pop singer in the live-action, and 6/7 songs actually are used in the show itself. Only I'm Here wasn't.

C'est La Vie

Katagoshi ni Kinsei

Romance

Kiss!2 Bang!2

Sayonara ~ Sweet days

I'm Here

Happy Life, Happy Times

By far the most famous is the first song you'll hear in the series (hilariously as Usagi's alarm clock...), and with the most brain-washing tune eve: C'est La Vie.

Most of Minako's songs have very catchy tunes. And hidden within are references to her Senshi identity or the motif of love. In fact, the name C'est La Vie is a pun for "Sailor V" pronounced in Japanese. No matter what universe we're in, Minako is still not known for subtlety. lol

It's actually fun to find all the in-universe references in the song titles and the lyrics. You can practically make a game out of it. lol

My personal favourite is Kiss!2 Bang!2

Other character songs

Besides Minako, each Senshi cast member has 2 Image songs.

Tsukino Usagi

Over Rainbow♡Tour (insert song)

Here We Go! Shinjiru Chikara (insert song)

Mizuno Ami

Yakusoku (insert song)

Mi Amor

Hino Rei

Sakura Fubuki (insert song)

Hoshi Furu Yoru-ake

Kino Makoto

Lovely Yell (insert song)

Miracle Dance Night

Some of these songs are also performed at the live-action musical performance Kirari Super Live.

THE MOST IMPORTANT SONG OF ALL!

The stage event also introduced the insert song sung by all 5 Senshi - Friend, and it's a song that holds a special place to the Senshi cast, as the song was written by the producing staff with the 5 Senshi cast's real life dynamic in mind.

Don't believe me? Please see my translation of what Ayaka - Sailor Venus/Aino Minako has to say about this song.

And with that, please give this song a listen! It would be even more powerful if you watch and hear this song where it plays. ;)

You can watch the subbed versions of the series at:

Miss Dream Fansubs

Sea of Serenity Fansubs

The series is also on other online streaming sites, but be cautious to only visit them with good adware and firewall installed.

3 days till the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

[real-life-senshi]

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

A countdown to the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Reason 9: The shipping! 🚢

Yes, you've read this right. This is no joke!

If you are looking for new pairings to ship, watch PGSM!

If you already have your ship(s) in the franchise and are looking for more materials to get new headcanons going, watch PGSM!

In the live-action, you will very likely find the pairing you loved seeing in the manga or the anime making an appearance in the live-action too! (As long as you don't ask the impossible for characters that aren't in the Dark Kingdom arc...)

MakoAmi? AmiRei? ReiNako? Most definitely have their key moments and even episodes.

Even MakoRei and MakoMina have their moments! And I can confirm Usagi is still pretty much a bisexual disaster. lol

And if you never shipped any of the characters before, you might just find yourselves starting to ship some of them after watching the live-action! If not the Senshi, you certainly have the Shitennou to explore your interest as well. All of them also have their moments, with each other, with a Senshi or with Endymion. haha

I know I definitely became a multi-shipper thanks to the live-action! Seriously. The characters are so well written, almost all if not all characters have good chemistry with each other in any duo scenes, and it can definitely jump-start your mind into shipping mode. Some of them aren't even subtle! The filming angles, the editing, it's all in the subtext.

And I can confirm that UsaMamo is NOT the only canon pairing in the live-action!

No matter if you like het, slash, femslash, or polycule ships, there's certainly something for you.

You can watch the subbed versions of the series at:

Miss Dream Fansubs

Sea of Serenity Fansubs

The series is also on other online streaming sites, but be cautious to only visit them with good adware and firewall installed.

2 days till the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10