#pgsm visual book

[real-life-senshi]

PGSM Five Performers Special Talk Session - Fan Translation

In celebration of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Live-Action)'s 🎉 20th anniversary🎉, I present to you the never-been-done-before, full translation of the Senshi talk (3 pages long) from the "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Visual Book" (first released on April 30, 2004)!

Some notes & disclaimer:

I'm not a fluent Japanese speaker, but I do know Hiragana, Katakana, basic Japanese grammar and kanji, and a few good tools to use for translation. All's to say, all mistakes are mine. Sorry if there's any!

I'm also not a professional translator. Due to the grammar differences between Japanese and English, some sentences will sound awkward in English for the conversation to make sense.

Hama Chisaki is the old stage name Izumi Rika used when working on PGSM. She changed her stage name to Izumi Rika after changing production company and returning to the entertainment industry after a hiatus where she focused on school.

Please note that everyone's name is written in the order of (Family Name) (First Name) in Japanese style instead of Western style.

You can find scans of the full Visual Book at Miss Dream.org! I own a copy of the Visual Book, so I made some of my own scans for some of the images and was able to double-check the text outside of Miss Dream's scans.

Without further ado...

No matter in transformation as a Sailor Senshi or out of transformation, all 5 girls are incredibly busy in their daily lives.   Although there are not many opportunities for all the members to get together, but just like their development within the drama, the bond between them seems to be deepening day by day.

Here is a guest-talk session with all 5 of them. In fact, this is a "first in history”!

Kitagawa: Among the 5 of us, don’t you seem the most feminine and lady-like? Azama: Is that so?

—For this round of work, the 5 of you are gathered to do this photo shoot for the Visual Book, but you rarely get to all come together in a full group when you're shooting for the drama, right?

Sawai Miyuu (Sawai): That’s true. I think the first time all 5 of us got to shoot together in the drama was the assembly hall scene (Act 18)?

Azama Mew (Azama): And after that, there were a couple more times.

Hama Chisaki (Hama): But for the other times I'm the only one that's not really there. (laughs) Right now I’m Dark Mercury (Editor note: this is how everyone calls Sailor Mercury on site while she’s under the enemy’s control). Because of this, I’m all alone. (laughs)

—From “Crank In” (= Japanese term for starting film shoot) till now, over half a year has passed already.

Sawai: That’s so quick!

Hama: Eh, that means it’ll be farewell soon? (laughs)

Kitagawa Keiko (Kitagawa): But you can also think of it as there’s still another half a year to go.  It’s kind of like a turning point for us.

Hama: I see. From that perspective, it feels like we still have a long way to go. (laughs)

The truth of the 5 girls! Would you want to go back to that day?

—In reality, among the 5 of you which of you is most unlike the character you portray?

Sawai: Isn’t everyone quite similar to their character?

Kitagawa:  Not me.

Hama:  I don't think so either.

Kitagawa: (without hesitation) Yeah, you’re not.

Hama: Hey now. (laughs) But Mako-chan (= Azama Mew) also isn’t, so isn’t everyone quite unlike their character besides Usagi (= Sawai Miyuu)?

Sawai: Wait, what?

Azama: You really are just the way Usagi is.

Sawai: What? …… But one of us is more mature?

Hama & Azama: (in unison) Who?

Sawai: Me! Sawai Miyuu!

Everyone: ……

Sawai: Eh, why? That’s how everyone thinks of me?

Azama: Fashion sense, hairstyle, etc. is different though.

Sawai: Not like that! I meant my personality, my way of thinking, etc. (laughs) …… But, I still think with the 5 of us, we all are like our characters in individual unique ways……

Kitagawa: We look similar.

Komatsu Ayaka (Komatsu): What do you mean by that? (laughs)

Kitagawa: Like our aura, I think we all give off a similar vibe to the original characters.

Komatsu: Ahh, you’re right, we do fit the vibes.

Azama: I don’t think my vibe fits though?

Everyone else: You fit—!

Sawai: Such as the part where you’re both feminine.

Kitagawa: Among the 5 of us, don’t you seem the most feminine and lady-like? 

Azama: Is that so? 

Sawai: Then we’re fine up until the last episode, Minako is alive! Komatsu: Got it. I’ll do my best. I won’t die. (laughs)

Hama:  Seriously though, even for the people who have not seen the show at all, if they see the 5 of us, I think they probably can figure out which character each of us plays (just then, a sound of “pop” came from beside her.) …… Usagi-chan, stop popping your bone. (laughs)

Sawai: Ah, please transcribe the sound you heard just now in a cool* way.

「シャキーン！」(Shakin) was the word Sawai used to describe her request. Which is an onomatopoeia commonly used in manga to describe something done looking cool and eye-catching, like a character's victory pose. What a Usagi-like behaviour... lol

Azama:  That makes no sense. (laughs)

—Now that we’ve gotten to the punchline (laughs), I'd like to ask which of the 5 of you do you think gave a first impression that is the most different from the reality.

Everyone: Chisaki!

Hama:  Me, because I’m shy……

Azama: When we first met, I thought she was not talkative at all. Then before I knew it, she started talking a lot. ....... I don't remember how it happened in between. (laughs)

Kitagawa: But we’ve all changed [since the time of establishing first impressions].

Sawai: That’s true. At first, we wouldn’t even joke with each other.

Hama: Yeah. And before, they wouldn't ignore me or anything like they do now.

Azama: Eh? We would ignore you now?

Hama: I didn’t mean it like that. (laughs) Before, when someone made a [bad] joke, you wouldn't just let it slide, or say something halfheartedly like "yeah, yeah", right? I wish I could go back in time.

Kitagawa: I don’t want to go back.

Komatsu: Yeah, you’d want to move forward. (laughs)

Kitagawa: Yeah, let’s keeping looking forward. Because we’ve all done such hard work to get here already.

Hama: And I don't want to go through that winter again (laughs)……

The Senshi team divided? What would Minako’s fate be?

—As mentioned earlier, it took quite a long time for all 5 of you to get together in the show, hasn't it?

Sawai: I was really happy about it.  It was like, "Finally, all five of us are here!"

Azama: My friends laughed at that assembly hall scene though.

Komatsu: My family too. (laughs)

Hama: Eh? Why?

Azama: Y’know, we paused to pose a few times didn't we? And after all of that, we end up not fighting as a full team after all. (laughs) They said, "Aren’t the 5 of you supposed to fight together?"

Sawai: Speaking of, Venus has a lot of cool-looking arrival scenes.

Kitagawa: Halation*. (laughs)

Halation: (photography/filmography terminology) It means a halo-effect when additional lighting is added.

Komatsu: Come again?

Kitagawa: It's what Director [Sato] Takemitsu said. “This is the scene where the princess appears, so we'll need some halation,” he said.

Sawai: He really did say that quite a few times.  “Halation, more halation”, he’d say.

Kitagawa: He'd say, “It’s an iconic scene. So give me more halation!”  It's strangely still ringing in my ears. (laughs) But by the time this book came out......

—Everyone would’ve found out that Usagi is the real princess, and Venus is the leader (Act. 25~26).

Komatsu: That’s true. (At Kitagawa Keiko) “You’re the substitute”. (laughs)

Azama: And, the rest of us are like the other 2 spares. (laughs)

Hama: The princess, the leader and the sub, and then blue and green, it does feel like that. (laughs)

—No way! (laughs) By the way, do you guys have time to watch the show at all?

Sawai: I watch it. After all, sometimes it’s hard to imagine how I would look on TV. Even with commercial shoots, you never know how it's going to look until the final product is finished .......

Kitagawa:  I’m the opposite. I’m afraid to watch it.  At first, when I watched it on the On Air* date, I felt frustrated and thought, "I could’ve done much better now.” I guess I watch it mostly when I don’t appear much on screen.

On Air: Japanese filmography terminology for the first official footage release of a program, typically means the first episode of a series.

Azama: There was a time when I didn't have enough time to watch it, at its peak I'd miss the show for up to a month's time. So I'd binge-watch all 4 episodes in one go the moment I can instead, and I’m still 2 episodes behind right now. (laughs)

—Excluding your own scenes, what scene has left a memorable impression on you?

Kitagawa:  There are so many that I can’t decide on one.

Hama: It’s practically impossible to say our lines when suffering from pollen allergies. Sawai: It’d be like “In the name of love and justice… achoo!” (laughs)

Azama: For me, the scene where Akumi-chan (Editor’s note: During the time as Dark Mercury, Hama Chisaki’s character Mizuno Ami is referred to as “Akumi”, merging “Aku” (evil) with “Ami”.) was on the merry-go-round was great.

Sawai: That sideway glance was really intense. (laughs)

—Speaking of intense, the confrontation between Rei (=Kitagawa Keiko) and Minako (=Komatsu Ayaka) was also very exciting.

Sawai: And ever since then, I notice those two (Kitagawa & Komatsu) have become very close. (laughs)

Azama: And, those two (Sawai & Hama) are also really close with each other, so I’m left all alone……

Sawai: That’s not true!

Azama: Odd numbers are not good to work with after all. (laughs) From now on, I'll get closer to Luna (Sailor Luna = Koike Rina) instead. (laughs)

Hama: Lately, most of my time is spent in the company of the Shitennou. (laughs) I feel like it's been a long time since I’ve met everyone like this.

Sawai: I've also been spending a lot of time with Mamo-chan (Chiba Mamoru = Shibue Jouji) lately. And most of the scenes are done with gloomy expressions. (laughs)

Komatsu: Minako’s also suffering from time to time...I wonder what will happen?

Sawai: She did say there’s only six months left.

Hama: Let’s make a decision now?

Komatsu: About my illness? (laughs)

Hama: Wouldn't that make it easier [to act]?

Sawai: In talking with the collective staff-san, the story is supposed to be that Sailor Moon protects Minako from dying using the Silver Crystal......

Azama: Eh? Mamoru* dies from the Silver Crystal?

“To protect”( 守る) is pronounced “mamo-ru” in Japanese. Azama mistook Sawai's choice of saying “protect” with “Chiba Mamoru” the character.

Sawai: That’s not it! (laughs) To use the Silver Crystals to "protect" Minako.

Kitagawa: I guess that'll be in the last episode……

Sawai: Then we’re fine up until the last episode, Minako is alive!

Komatsu: Got it. I’ll do my best. I won’t die. (laughs) But before the last episode, I might die a bit.

Azama: Die a bit?

Komatsu: No, I meant to say, “I might die a bit before”. (laughs) (At Sawai Miyuu), Well, I’ll be counting on you then. (everyone laughs)

Sawai: But six months is quite a long time, isn't it?

Komatsu: …… So you want me to die sooner? Even though I just bowed at you. (laughs)

The Sailor Senshi’s message to their fans

—Since Crank In in the summer, winter had come and gone, and now spring has arrived……

Sawai: Crank-in was so hot! And I was running all the time.

Hama: At first it was just the two of us, me and Usagi. And Naru-chan (Kawabe Chieco) too.

Kitagawa: And I joined in September.

Sawai: It would have been rough to wear a shrine maiden costume in August.

Kitagawa: No, because there’s the fireplace, it actually always feels like midsummer for me.

Sawai: Oh I see. But even though I’m really glad winter’s over, now there’s pollen allergy to deal with in spring. (laughs)

Hama: It’s practically impossible to say our lines when suffering from pollen allergies.

Sawai: It’d be like “In the name of love and justice… achoo!” (laughs).

—To wrap us up, would you please give a message to your fans?

Hama: This kind of thing is so hard to do. (laugh)

Azama: Let’s go in the order of the day of the week*.

Japanese days are named according to the elements. From Monday – Sunday: moon, fire, water, wood, gold/metal, earth, and sun. This means Mercury's and Mars's order is flipped when compared to the Senshi lineup.

Sawai: The order of the day of the week. (laughs) So I’m first? …… Hm~mm, it has already been six months since the program started and the 5 of us have come together, please support us until the very end. We will also do our very best!

Kitagawa: For purchasing this book, thank you very much.  It's very much appreciated.

Hama: You can see the 5 of us outside of our usual roles in this book. And you can also see how we spent our New Year's (laugh), so please enjoy this book!

Azama: When thinking about how things will unfold moving forward, I think everyone will be looking forward to how things turn out, so let’s all be excited and watch each episode together! (laughs)

Komatsu: They said everything already. (laughs) I don't know what to do……

—It's the closing of this segment, so please end it with style.

Komatsu: …… Only six more months left.* (everyone laughs)

OMG, she legit just quoted her own line, THAT line from Act 18. lol

—Thank you very much. (laughs)

[sailormoonsub]

So you've watched a lot of different shows through the patreon and kori donations

If it's not too time consuming I was wondering how you would summarize those shows in a sentence or two

Or maybe just do the most memorable ones?

Not a bad idea! Here’s a one-sentence summary and a one-sentence personal note on every show I’ve reviewed more than one episode of on this blog. TLDR I’ve pretty much enjoyed everything that appears on this blog, though for different reasons. Links to all my posts about these shows can be found here! 

This is turning out to be a rather long post so I’m going to throw the list under a Read More. 

ANIME

Sailor Moon: I feel compelled to list it here but, like, I think you know enough about Sailor Moon by now.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun: Group of high schoolers write and draw a romance manga while simultaneously living the most chaotic reversal of common romance tropes. SO happy this was recommended to me because I never would have picked it up on my own but it’s officially a new favorite!!!

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard: Gem expert and his assistant solve rock-related mysteries while engaging in homoromantic behavior. A lesser known franchise that I think deserves more love!

Snow White with the Red Hair: Herbologist in a medieval fantasy environment escapes her oppressive government and starts a new life in a neighboring kingdom where SHE makes decisions about her life. I’m not even that far into the series but I am OBSESSED with the premise and all the character dynamics are so genuine and honest in a way I can’t describe.

Penguindrum: Himari dies of Glamorous Victorian Illness but is resurrected by the Penguin God in exchange for a favor. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen so far, although it is Ikuhara so it’s often confusing and abstract and all the characters need therapy.

Madoka: Being a magical girl is bad actually due to the amount of sacrifice involved. Reviewing this one is so effortless because there’s SO much material to talk about and it has such a well-established presence in the mainstream pop cultural consciousness.

My Next Life as a Villainess: Girl is reincarnated as the villain in an otome game and rewrites the script by being nice. I’ve compared it to the Good Place which is one of my favorite shows, and I cannot get enough of these characters, especially, of course, our angel queen, Catarina.

Cardcaptor Sakura (and Clear Card): Sakura has to capture all the cards. I LOVE the low stakes, slow pace, sweet and friendly vibe of this show, which might frustrate some people, but for me it’s the very definition of a comfort anime.

Zenonzard: Speaking of cards; apparently a witch created a card game to get revenge on humanity and now it’s the future where everything is neon, there’s humanoid robots all over the place, and card games are a gladiatorial sport. The visuals are amazing, the world is fascinating, and overall I’m impressed with an anime that’s based on an app.

Princess Tutu: Duck turns into a ballerina and uses unconditional kindness to save everyone from sad feelings, while ALSO working against the author who is writing her fairytale. I can’t describe how much an impact this show left on me!! A Big Fave!!

Revolutionary Girl Utena: High schoolers with swords fight each other for a shot at finding something eternal. If you read this blog, you already know I had a delightful time with this series.

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!: Three girls use their skills to make a hand-drawn anime. I only reviewed the first two episodes, but I had watched it while it was airing. I love series that delve really deep into a niche subject, and this one tackles the animation process in a fun accessible way while ALSO having a wonderful trio of protagonists with wildly unique personalities.

Fruits Basket 2019: Professional Cinnamon Roll Tohru collects friends who can turn into the zodiac animals. From what I’ve seen, the characters and relationships are a huge strong point in this series. I want to give them all a hug. This fell by the wayside a little while ago but I would love to get back into it!

CARTOON

Gargoyles: They are gargoyles, who come to life at night. Never got into it as a kid, but certainly appreciate it now!

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Girl from futuristic underground city arrives on the surface to find out that animals have taken over and have developed arts and culture. It’s so refreshing to see a post apocalyptic world that’s NOT a dystopia! It’s not earth as we know it, but it’s still bright and colorful and full of art.

LIVE ACTION

PGSM: I don’t think I need to list a summary, but WATCH PGSM OH MY GOD. Sailor Moon but with soap opera levels of drama, a killer soundtrack, an incredible cast, puppets, and a really cool reimagining of the Silver Millennium mythos.

Tokusatsu Gagaga: Office lady tries to hide her obsession with tokusatsu shows and makes friends who have similar interests. I fell fast and hard for Gagaga; if you’re a nerd who has tried to function in a non-nerd environment, you WILL relate to this 7-part series!!

Russian Doll: Natasha Lyonne relives the same day over and over and has to make connections in her life. First introduced to me when it won a Patreon vote, and even though it was different from my usual content, I was enraptured by the dark comedy and surreal vibe. Thursday, what a concept.

Good Omens: An angel and a demon low-key turn their backs on Satan and God in order to prevent a war between heaven and hell. I can’t even think of an adjective that’s good enough to describe how well this miniseries was translated from the book. Legendary casting, satisfying plot twists, hilarious commentary on religion.

Cutie Honey The Live: Robot girl fights off an organization that turns people into living weapons through various wacky schemes. Over-the-top in all senses of the phrase. I love a show that’s extremely silly, but takes itself seriously.

Gokushufudo: Former yakuza member becomes a househusband. Only just started this series but man, with a premise like that, how can you NOT fall in love.

[thefloatingstone]

I downloaded the PGSM Visual Book from MissDream.org and I’m obsessed with this photo of Ami/Rika Izumi chasing pigeons.

[ffamranxii]

I draw a manga/write a light novel series based on that manga, which is essentially an amalgamation of my favorite series and giving some of my favorite characters, who I feel were shafted in their source material, a better ending. That series is called C’est la Vie 5, because it originally featured five fandoms that I LOVED enough to have created an original character for.

Now, like many people, I’ve created a fuckton of OCs for a fuckton of series. However, unlike, say, Dragonball Z and Pokemon (RIP to Son Mei and Cissy the Eevee breeder), I still use these characters. I am still active in these fandoms. Some of these characters are nearly as old as I am. Some have gone through so many iterations that they’re nearly unrecognizable from their original forms (looking at you, Haruhi, Suzuka, and Kinoko). But they have ALWAYS been there.

C5 the way it is now started as a fun little project in college to help me memorize my Japanese vocabularly. It was a series of one shot or 4koma doodles in the margins of my notebooks, featuring PGSM+Hina. Then the doodles got mutated. I replaced Makoto with an original character named Sun Hwa, who then was replaced with Ayumi Yamada from Honey and Clover. I added in Hagumi Hanamoto from H&C too. Ami was renamed Moeco, and her appearance changed. I ended up splitting Ami in two, because I loved her Dark Mercury arc so much, and ended up with Moeco and Akumi. I added Mio Kuroki but called her Arisa Kuroki, because my Usagi at the time was called Mio. I added Mikasa from Attack on Titan. Misa Amane (named Erika after her actress in the live action). And it spiraled from there. C5 went through a TON of iterations as well over the past ten years. There was a character called Haruhi, but she was from the Haruhi Suzumiya series.

Now it’s pretty ironed out. The cast is so big I’ve split the series into a set of volumes into one big volume, so it doesn’t become Naruto. Each volume has a set of plots, two of which are contained within that volume. It’s pretty easy and I like it.

HINA is a mishmash of three fandoms (two if you count PGSM and Sailor Moon as one fandom). I fell in love with Boys Over Flowers (the Korean version) after discovering the live action Sailor Moon, and had a complete fit the entire time that Jandi chose Junpyo. (WHY, Jandi. WHY. Jihoo was BETTER for you. BETTER!) I had a Korean friend in my Japanese class, and it was at this period that my Makoto doodle was replaced with Sun Hwa (another Korean) and that Hina Kusaka (who is exclusive to PGSM, and whose name I stole for my OC) became Hina Ku (after the actress who played Jandi, not Goo Junpyo). Hina and Sun Hwa had small side conversations in Korean that my friend taught me, while the group as a whole reinforced my Japanese lessons. C5 has plenty of Boys Over Flowers characters (a mix of the Korean, 2019 Chinese, and Japanese versions), but I never made an OC for the series. Hina filled both roles. In PGSM and Sailor Moon I kept her name as Kusaka, but in C5 it’s Ku, and she is a zainichi - Korean-descended. Hina also plays a different role depending on which series I’m using her in. In PGSM, I used her as Sailor Sun. Sailor Sun has been a character I’ve had since I was five years old. She’s changed style and looks considerably over the years, but she’s always been there. In every other iteration of Sailor Moon, I prefer the theory that Naru and Unazuki are Sailors Earth and Sun, and Hina is one of Usagi’s many friends. In the pre-C5 era, she, Usagi, and Erika were part of the 3 Bakas, for their bad grades. 

AKIHO is my newest OC and holy shiiiiit I have cleaved to the Persona series hardcore. Rather than create a new OC for each entry in the series (though I may change my mind when Person 6 comes out), Akiho’s look, style, and role in the story changes (I reconcile this to be something akin to Clara Oswald in Doctor Who). In P5, which she was created for, she’s a Phantom Thief. The idea came to me when I learned there has never been a playable character of the Temperance arcana, Hifumi was supposed to be a PT, and the general consensus that Mishima and Shiho should have been PTs. Akiho has been through several iterations herself but her general look is based on Tae Takemi from @scruffyturtles ‘s Adult Confidant AU. Her personality seems very calm and serene, but she is a secret metal head and a huge fan of Eikichi Mishina’s band Gas Chamber. Her PT mask is based off a butterfly. Her role in C5 is a shrine maiden, where she gets along with Rei (Sailor Moon), is the sister of Akira Kurusu (who is a separate person from Ren Amamiya), and the daughter of a pair of mobsters.

KINOKO is my second oldest OC, having been around since I was twelve. Her original name was Cherry (like every other Tokyo Mew Mew OC) and her original animal is lost to the sands of time. Luckily, my favorite animal is a red data animal, so she can be fused with that now! Kinoko has been through so many iterations it isn’t funny. In the TMM world, her hair is an auburn, a dark brown with red undertones, mimicking how some mushrooms (where her name comes from) appear. (It’s a callback to her original name). Her Mew outfit has also changed considerably and I still haven’t settled on it completely. The Mew Mews are not a unit in C5. Zakuro is a model with Ann and dating Minto, Ringo (LOVE Ringo) is a middle schooler who hangs out at an arcade and is best friends with Bu-Ling, Ichigo is a waitress with Berii, Retasu works with Ryou. And Kinoko works at a karaoke bar, chasing troublemakers like Bu-Ling out. She also interacts with the new Au Lait boys.

SUZUKA is also an old OC, her name having originally been Meiling. She’s from Fushigi Yuugi, which I was obsessed with as a child. She’s nearly as old as Kinoko - I was introduced to the series at around the same time. Suzuka’s original role as Meiling was Miaka’s attendant and general Mary Sue, and she was one of my first attempts at exploring fanfiction (along with Kagami the cat demon and Teiten the Thunder Sister from Inuyashs, RIP), because I couldn’t decide which of the original Suzaku warriors I loved most. Everyone had such a wonderfully tragic, lovely backstory, and I needed to give them all blankets and hugs, and Miaka was just a dumbass, okay? (I think I settled on Tasuki. Love me some Tasuki.) Anyway. Suzuka eventually morphed into the Priestess of Kouryuu once I learned that Fushigi Yuugi was based on real Chinese legends, and one legend sometimes included Koryuu, the Yellow Dragon of the Center. (Fun fact: There’s a video game that explores this option, but in it, Kouryuu, is treated as a false god.) In my OC world, Kouryuu is the Great Unifier, only able to be summoned once the first four priestesses have summoned Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko, and Genbu, and it is he that will stop the war that threatens the four countries of the Book of the Universe of the Four Gods. In C5, Suzuka works at a bookstore owned by Hifumi Togo that specializes in rare books.

HARUHI is the last old OC, but she’s also new? Haruhi was, for the longest time, existant in a stage of limbo. Fruits Basket was introduced to me as a teenager, when I was about thirteen or fourteen, and I didn’t quiiiite embrace the message, behind it. I couldn’t get past the art style (I was very picky about what I visually consumed back then), I couldn’t get into the anime for the same reason, and I couldn’t quite get past the whole “it’s called Fruits Basket wtf and also they turn into animals? And it’s not a magical girl anime? What in the actual fuck?” But like many things I of course loved the characters, I adored my baby Kyo, and I of course made an OC specifically for him, because I back then did not ship Kyoru (sacriligious, I know). I don’t even remember what Haruhi’s original name was. I just decided that she was a Sohma and the rooster, because the curse of the original rooster was broken, and broke a long time ago, so it was entirely possible for Kyo to have a love interest who was a Sohma and the rooster who was around his age (in my teenage mind). That old Sohma OC, is of course, RIP. I can’t even. And recently, I discovered Fruits Basket Another, and I somewhat resurrected that OC in the form of Haruhi, but as the child of the OG cast. Sawa needs more friends, more protectors, and there’s no tsundere besides Hajime. It always bothered me that Kagura never got any canon love interest or story wrap up after she let go of Kyo, and then in Another she doesn’t have children. :( I love Kagura, so Haruhi is hers! I’m also sad that no one in Another dresses in kimonos when so many in Furuba did (Ritsu, Akito, Shigure, Kazuma, Kunimitsu), so Haruhi dresses in them when she isn’t in school. 

KEIKO is special. Not only is she the newest, but she is also the only character exclusive to C5. While the other characters in C5 are based on characters from other fandoms and have their personalities and such shaped by the new series, Keiko is entirely unique. Her name is a combination of the two things that birthed the series: Sailor Moon and Persona 5. Keiko is for Keiko Kitagawa, the actress who played Sailor Mars in PGSM; and Makigami is for Kazuya Makigami, a major character in Persona 5 the Daybreakers. Kazuya is also Keiko’s brother in C5 and he is... not a great person lol. Neither is Keiko. Her appearance is based on how I wear my hair irl and the clothing of Jim Hawking from Outlaw Star, my favorite anime of all time. (I sadly never made an OC for that series. I tried but I am not good at space opera.)

None of the OCs ever cross paths in C5. It would create a temporal paradox and probably result in one of them fainting or dying lol. Since they’re all essentially the same person. Fun fact: I, Ffamran (known in-universe as Bideru the author) also occasionally make cameos, and I also cannot cross paths with the OCs. Luckily Tokyo, where C5 is set, is a very big place. 

If you stuck with me through this very long post about OCs, thank you! I just really wanted to go off about them since I’ve been in a writing mood and I’m on volume 2 of C’est la Vie 5 now. 

[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]

All the recent PGSM cast news is making me VERY happy and I’m so excited for the broadcast on July 7 I kid you not. 😭

It’s also amazing how much Japanese I’m learning as I continue to dabble at translation work. I’m planning something special for the upcoming 20th anniversary of PGSM air date. I’m gonna translate the PGSM Visual Book’s Senshi group interview. So far I’ve not seen anyone translate the the Visual Book, so I wanna give it a shot.

If anyone has any other ideas, feel free to reply or drop me an ask/submission and I’ll see what I can do.

[real-life-senshi]

Hi friend!

I first watched PGSM on Dailymotion too, way back in 2006. lol The subbed version floated around in Dailymotion was either uploaded from TV-Nihon, or from Ryuusei; I remember they were two sets of subs floating around then, and each sub had a few episodes missing for whatever reason so I bounced between subs. hahaha

I'm jealous you have the DVD sets! But I did get my hands on a copy of the Visual Book, which also cost a fortune. lol

The one I've really wanted and will probably throw money to get if I'm ever lucky, is the music box set that came with a copy of Minako's I'll Be Here Album CD! I tried but couldn't find a hard copy of it floating around even on ebay though.

@hikamaus OMG you got to watch them, it's such a hilarious time seeing the girls talk about the show and their filming process. The source I pulled the subbed DVD specials from are not available now, but definitely look around to see if there's any new source just floating online. Dailymotion seems to have at least 3 of them reuploaded that I can find.

[real-life-senshi]

Many thanks to the lovely @hikamaus for tagging me!

Post your WIP file names (no matter how nondescript or off the wall), let people ask about them, and reply with a snippet or description or other related blabbering!  

I have so many WIP files it’s not even funny at this point. The file name are all pretty much nondescript. lmao.

Fanart

Quad set

Jupi & Serenity

Mars & Serenity

Shock

Nap Time

princess carry

shared drink

3 OTPs

senshi onesies

popsicle

group hug

chain

cold

final act hug

gloves

final act calling (color)

Gif set

reinako things i want to yell about

sayonara sweet days

pgsm mentions

reading eyes

Ayaka & Suzumura talk

cold like burning

the rest of the world vanish

Fanvideo

History Has Its Eyes on You

Dynasty

True Love

What If I Told You

I’ll find a way

Belle Medley

Dream

We Might Fall

Realize

This is War

Losing Your Memory

Bokutachi

Moment

Forever

Fanfiction (series)

Echoes of Time (rewritten)

Start of Echoes

Option 3

Simplify the Complicated

Translations

visual book interview

Ayaka & Suzumura talk

I realize I don’t necessarily follow many Sailor Moon content creators because I’m mostly only interested in PGSM things... I’m gonna tag @sirazaroff, @sailorfailures, @sailorsunspot and @its-decido. But any content creator reading this regardless of the fandom, please feel free to count as being tagged by me if you’d like to do this as well. :)

[real-life-senshi]

So 1 BIG reason I decided to take a Japanese class was to start learning to read Japanese so I can read the PGSM Visual Book.  Hilariously, I did a class in 2019 and then never tried to go back reading the Visual Book until now.

I’m definitely nowhere near fluent, but it’s absolutely amazing to realize I CAN understand what the 5 Senshi cast were saying in the Special Talk Session.  Maybe one day I’ll try to actually do a full translation and share it here! :O

[real-life-senshi]

AHHHHHHHHHHHH LOOK WHAT ARRIVED!!!!!!! 

I CAN’T BELIEVE I OWN A COPY OF THIS BEAUTY NOW! IT’S BEEN A DREAM FOR OVER 10 YEARS NOW!

Real talk though, is there any recommendation on how I can get this text translated, or has anyone translated the interviews and Q&A sections so far? 

I would try google translating the crap out of it extremely slowly as a summer project, but if there’s a way to do it quicker, I’d do it!

[real-life-senshi]

I’m too brain dead today to make any gif set or liveblogs, but my WHOLE head is just reinako coz I’m STRESSED.  So here I am, just wanting to rant about my 2nd favourite photo from the PGSM Visual Book.

THIS PHOTO.  

This photo accompanies the Senshi cast’s interview in the visual book, but the whole composition just screams slumber party vibe with the cast actually in character. 

Between how comfortable and giggly Usagi, Ami and Makoto looked, how Rei and Minako are trapped in between their three friends, Minako’s head ON REI’S SHOULDER, and the cushion thrown off to the ground in the bottom of the photo, it makes my whole imagination go wild that this was a group photo taken when Minako treated the girls to an overnight retreat in some nice hotel or Airbnb for a slumber party.  

Usagi demanded wanting another nice group photo, and Rei’s uncooperative because Usagi already insisted and took many more group photos before that, so as a compromise (and also then Rei can’t just run away), they all crowd themselves onto the couch around Rei instead. Usagi plonked herself in front of Rei first, not letting the miko run away, and then Minako took the other side to take away all options of escape. Posing with her head on Rei’s shoulder on a whim definitely shut the miko up because she was too mortified by the contact. Makoto flopping down onto the idol’s lap is a representation of how comfortable and close the two have become, especially after their shared understanding from Act 45 and 46. Ami climbed and sat on the top of the couch because she was just too busy giggling at everyone’s behavior, especially knowing seeing how awkward Rei initially looked from having the idol so close to her.  Luna in her human form took the photo for them. 

[real-life-senshi]

omggggggggggggggggg that is so amaaaaaaaaze!!!! sosososososo happy for you!!!! the best "senpai notice me" story ever and so happy that it happened for you!!!!!! (btw was there any parts that you wanted help translating? just lmk the time stamp!) going back to flailing for you!!!!!

Hi jt! :D

Thank you ahaha. Yeah, Director Suzumura definitely knew what to do. I do have the visual book, but really appreciate the gesture none the less!!! XD

OMG yep. I definitely totally went "senpai notice me", didn't I? I didn't even realize that. *embarrassed*

Ooooo thanks for the offer with translation! I might take you up on it! Also, if you ever actually open the tumblr account, please let me know! haha

I think I'm gonna try compile a bunch of time stamps for pgsm mentions out of the 2hour video first, and then decide which one I want to sub for making gif set. Making gif set on Video Editor app isn't ideal, I only use it for simply gifs with no editing for pgsm rewatch liveblogs, so I'll probably need to wait for a bit to do the gif set. haha

[real-life-senshi]

Oh wow there was a liveblog! I forgot about how the Naru vs Ami thing happened - I remember when it first aired, I thought just how realistic it all felt and how cool it was that they decided to explore this. Also linguistics and semantics sounds like such an awesome field of study! And I'm definitely appreciating your attention to the translations and word choice - it's something I'm always curious about as well!

Oh wow, another "ask"???? What's been going on! :O

Thanks for dropping by and sending me something, anon! Yours and the other asks I've been receiving are all very, VERY pleasant surprises! I feel like I don't usually get more than 5 ask per year. lol

Yeahhhhh!!!! PGSM really does the storytelling so well. It has such a strong capacity for exploring character dynamics in a realistic way, including creating believable pathways for character development and personal growth to happen!

While I alluded to how Act 15 and the starting of Act 16 made me "hate" Naru, I immediately loved Naru for how she was in the ending of Act 16, and she remains cool and loveable in my books for the rest of the series as well. Due to personal experiences of being bullied/intentionally alienated from peers in school for a period of time, I really related to Ami, Rei and Makoto's story in PGSM, and how Naru got jealous/possessive in pulling Usagi away from Ami in Act 15 especially struck a chord in me when I first watched the series, reminding me of what happened in my own experience, so I'm extremely happy with how PGSM handled the whole situation so well, and willing to explore the emotional impact and significance this all have on its characters. I've very excited to get to the iconic scene in Act 16 where Rei/Mars confronts Ami/Mercury!!!!!!!! (Rei my fave!)

Yeah, I love interpreting and understanding languages, so to know I can study something called "Linguistics" when I got to uni was extremely exciting for me! (Though my work now doesn't have anything related to my undergrad degree).

I also took a university class in Japanese (the most basic level) to help me read Japanese better. I will unashamedly admit it's because I also want to be able to read the PGSM Visual book. :P

It certainly helped me a lot with live blogging as well. hahahahaha

It's strange to think how much my love for PGSM influenced my life choices in minor but significant ways. I mean, it's also why I created this blog in the first place. LOL

Anyways, hope my future content will continue to interest you and others. If there are things I can do to keep the love for PGSM going, I'm all for it!

[real-life-senshi]

its-decido replied to your post “I’m getting a weird burst of reblog and likes of the PGSM visual book...”

The tumblr gods have shine upon you friend. Question not when this hell site is actually working XD

LOL I have conflicting feelings about this when the photo is only tagged as “autumn” or mixed in art blogs with no Sailor Moon content. 

[real-life-senshi]

I’m getting a weird burst of reblog and likes of the PGSM visual book Senshi princess attire photo image I posted, and it seems to be by non-sailor moon related blogs and I don’t know if I should be concerned or not?

They don’t seem to be bots though????

[real-life-senshi]

Guys I’ve been debating forever! While I couldn’t afford purchasing and shipping the PGSM DVD boxset that includes a copy of “I’ll Be Here”, I decided to at least own the Visual Book, and I just bought it! 

Its secondhand but apparently in very good condition... *FINGERS CROSSED*