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Saturday, January 14, 2012

Manga Review: Sailor Moon vol 1


Plot:
The protagonist of Sailor Moon, Usagi Tsukino (Serena Tsukino in the English dub), an ordinary, ditzy, 14-year-old girl — or so she thinks — discovers a talking cat named Luna, who reveals Usagi's identity as "Sailor Moon", a special warrior with the destiny of saving the planet Earth, and later the entire galaxy.

Usagi must now find the Moon Princess and protect Earth from a series of villains, beginning with the Dark Kingdom that had appeared once before, long ago, and destroyed the kingdom of the moon.When the dark nemesis attacked the kingdom, the Queen sent the Moon Princess, her guardians and advisors, and her true love into the future to be reborn, as a result Sailor Moon must help Luna awaken members of the court of the kingdom of the moon, and the people dedicated to protecting it.

As Usagi and Luna battle evil and search for the Moon Princess, they meet the other Sailor Senshi, incarnations of the Moon Princess' protectors, and the mysterious Tuxedo Mask.As the series progresses, Usagi and her friends learn more and more about the enemies they face and the evil force that directs them. The characters' pasts are mysterious and hidden even to them, and much of the early series is devoted to discovering their true identities and pasts. Luna, who teaches and guides the Sailor Senshi, does not know everything about their histories either, and the Senshi eventually learn that Usagi is the real Moon Princess. The Moon
Princess' mother had her reborn as a Sailor Senshi to protect her. Gradually Usagi discovers the truth about her own past life, her destined true love, and the possibilities for the future of
the Solar System.

Yes, I do have a girly side when it comes to some manga and anime. I have loved this series since it first hit the states back in 1995 and I was thrilled when I read that it was
making a comeback in 2011. For those who do not know about this series, it is pretty lengthy at 18 volumes. Series only see this number when it is highly popular.

The first volume introduces the reader to Usagi first, she seems to be a bit of a flaky teenager who would rather sleep in late and play video games instead of doing her homework. Usagi learns that she has been chosen to be the Sailor Guardian of the moon, and she needs to find the other Sailor Guardians in order to find the Moon Princess.

Along the way the reader is introduced to other characters that have major ties to the Moon Kingdom some are on the side of saving it and others intent on destroying it. Most of the characters don't know that they are going to be playing a major role later on.

Ami is the second girl to discover she is one of the guardians, she is the Sailor Guardian of Mercury. Ami is the brains of the group , it's rumored that her IQ is over 300.


Rei, the third girl, discovers she is the Sailor Guardian of Mars. Rei has limited precognition and can dispel/nullify evil using special Shinto scrolls, even in her civilian form. She also takes care of two crows of the shrine that just happen to be named Phobos and Demios (just like the 2 moons of Mars)

Makato is the fourth girl, she is the Sailor Guardian of Jupiter. Makato is the tomboy of the group. She enjoys baking and making food for the other girls.

The rest of the scouts do not show up until the later volumes of the manga. I would have to say this was my main introduction into an all female hero team, instead of the female being the one that is always rescued (ok, Serena does need alot of saving, but it's still a kick ass all female team). Alot of what was missed in the anime is here in the
manga, there are many scenes in the books that never made it to the anime (US version at least). The names were not changed this time around, they were left in thier Japanese form instead of Americanizing them.

I missed out on adding this to my collection when it first came out, and I am so grateful that it is out again, so this time I will not miss out! I would highly recommend adding this to your reading collection, even if it's your first manga. There is alot of action, drama, romance, and humor. Pretty much anything that you can find in an Urban Fantasy type of book you can find in here.

This manga gets 5 sheep
~DD~

4 comments:

  1. Now you've done it! I have to finally break down and read one of these. I successfully ignored the whole Sailor Moon phenom when it first came out. The artwork still doesn't appeal to me, but I have to admit, the premise of the story as you've described it is fascinating.

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  2. I love Sailor Moon! I have never read Manga, but I followed this television show religiously. I think I might have to give reading this a shot.

    Great review. :)

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  3. When my first daughter was 4, she was a Sailor Moon fanatic! My mom even made her a little outfit . She had all the dolls too. maybe I need to check out the manga too!

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  4. one of the first manga i read, and one of my fave :)

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