Sailor Moon was how I found out about anime, so I have been very worried about Sailor Moon Crystal. Many of the anime coming out recently for old titles have been good, so I had high hopes for the new anime. The show was overall pretty good and promises to show Sailor Moon as it was written.
Comparison to the Original Sailor Moon Anime
The most striking difference between Sailor Moon Crystal and the original anime are the expressions given to the characters. The original anime used very over the top expressions like hearts in the eyes and the huge sweat drops. Crystal tries to keep all the expressions more normal like what would actually be seen on a person. This could be due to the change in tone for the series or that the over exaggerated faces are really not used as much for this type of show. While the show does show more of a range of emotion than some people claim, it does mostly just show Usagi with a small smiling mouth or huge gaping mouth. A little more variety would be good.
The most annoying difference would be the change to CGI for the transformation sequence. Hands down the original Sailor Moon’s transformation sequence was better. People have said that it is not bad for CGI, but that is not saying much. CGI for human models is hideous and it really annoys me. There is no good reason not to stay with normal animation for the transformation sequence. The company is just going to reuse that animation for almost every episode, so at least make it look nice. The only part of the transformation sequence that is better in Crystal is the music. It was nice not to hear someone singing her name during that sequence.
Comparison to the Manga
Sailor Moon Crystal is actually pretty close to the manga. Sailor Moon’s outfit has been changed from the original anime to look just like in the manga. Also her moon tiara looks a lot more like the attack in the manga as well. Most of the things that are different from the manga make sense and do not make much of a difference. One thing is that Sailor Moon does not wear the mask she wears in the manga and because of that she has to find out about Naru being in trouble in a different way than in the manga. The original anime changed that as well. Makes sense since Sailor Moon does not wear a mask later on, so they do not just randomly get rid of the mask. Both the anime versions do not try to pretend Naru’s mom is dead like in the manga. Also they both add Sailor Moon saying that she will punish the villain, but fans would probably be mad if they got rid of that catch phrase. Overall the anime is mostly almost word for word the same as the manga so far.
More Romantic Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon Crystal so far seems to be taking a more romantic take on the series. Most of the stuff that is tacked onto the manga version is to hint at romance. The beginning of the show has a dream of the princess and prince together. So does Usagi’s dream that is only supposed to have the video game. Also the first meeting between Usagi and Mamoru was way more intense than in either the original anime or the manga. It was like she felt something between them from the beginning. These special things added to the show make me believe that the new Sailor Moon is wanting to focus on the relationship between Usagi and Mamoru.
