9) Questions about the series itself
Q: What about this "live action version" I've heard of?
The half live action version was a really horrible idea that indeed was one
possible plan for a North American Sailor Moon. All they made was a brief promo
(lucky for us). The promo was shown to the public at Anime Expo in summer 1995.
The animated part was _American_ animation. And yes, Sailor Mars was in a wheelchair.
Someone digitized this clip and it can be found on the web.
Q: Why does everyone look American if this is a translated Japanese show?
It's the style used in Japanese animation. The large eyes date back to artists
partly inspired by Disney. The hair is not 'really' colored the way you see
it; normally, the hair color of Japanese characters in anime is always brown/black
no matter what you see on the screen, and is shown as something else only to
visually distinguish between the characters. (An exception is Chibi-Usa, whose
hair is described as pink in the text.)
Q: Are there male monsters-of-the-episode?
The monsters of the episode are mostly female, but there is a point where Zoisite
is turning ordinary people (reincarnated youma) into monsters, which includes
several males (a priest, Raye's grandfather, and Amy's boyfriend). Still, it's
usually pretty rare. Also, in episode 18 the monster is formless but has Nephrite's
voice, and might be considered male (this episode was adapted from a manga story,
so the monster is a little unusual) and in episode 35 two skaters, one male,
are changed into monsters. And in Sailor Moon SS, Fish Eye's monsters are male.
The gender of the monster of the episode seems mostly random in Sailor Stars.
For those who are interested, the original names of the monsters of the episode are as follows:
Q: American voice actors/actresses (I'm not going to bother trying to phrase
this as a question):
| Serena/Sailor Moon: | Tracey Moore (eps. 1-11, 13, 21, 41) Terri Hawkes (all others) |
| Ami/Sailor Mercury: | Karen Bernstein |
| Rei/Sailor Mars: | Katie Griffin (up to 65) Emilie Barlow (66+) |
| Lita/Sailor Jupiter: | Susan Roman |
| Darien/Tuxedo Mask: | Rino Romano (1-11) Toby Proctor (12-65) Vince Corraza (66+) |
| Mina/Sailor Venus: | Stephanie Morganstern |
| Luna: | Jill Frappier |
| Artemis: | Ron Rubin |
| Sailor Pluto/Luna Ball: | Jill Frappier (58) Sabrina Grdevich (61+) |
| Molly: | Mary Long |
| Melvin: | Roland Parliament |
| Andrew: | Colin O'Meara |
| Rini: | Traci Hoyt |
| Queen Beryl: | Naz Edwards |
| Jedite [sic]: | Tony Daniels |
| Neflite [sic]: | Kevin Lund |
| Zoycite [sic]: | Kirsten Bishop |
| Malachite: | Dennis Akayama |
| Queen Metallia/Negaforce: | Maria Vacratsis |
| Alan: | Vince Carraza |
| Ann(e): | Sabrina Grdevich |
| Doom Tree/Tree of Life: | Liz Hannah |
| Catzy: | Alice Poon (54-60) Mary Long (61+) |
| Avery: | Jennifer Griffiths |
| Birdie: | Kathy Laskey |
| Prizma: | Norma Dell'Agnese |
| Rubius: | Rob Tinkler |
| Wiseman: | Tony Daniels |
| Emerald: | Kirsten Bishop |
| Prince Diamond: | Robert Bockstael |
| Prince Sapphire: | Lyon Smith |
| Wicked Lady: | Liz Brown |
| Queen Serenity: | Wendy Lyon |
| Sammy: | Julie Lemieux |
| Serena's Mom: | Barbara Radecki |
| Serena's Dad: | David Hubard |
| Patricia Haruna: | Nadine Rabinovitch |
| Grandpa: | David Fraser |
| Chad: | Steve Bednarski |
| Announcer: | Chris Wiggins |
| Monster of the Day: | Harvey Atkins, Lindsay Collins, Lisa Dalbello, Tony Daniels, David Fraser, Terri Hawkes, Elva Mai Hoover, Loretta Jafelice, Julie Lemieux, Allison Sealy-Smith, Maria Vacratisis |
| Background voices: | Steve Bednarski, Chris Britton, Lindsay Collins, Tony Daniels, David Fraser, Hillary Goldhar, Loretta Jafelice, Julie Lemieux, Roland Parliament, Alice Poon, Nadine Rabinovitch, Greg Swanson |
| (one-shots) | |
| Mr. Baxter: | Chris Wiggins |
| Game Machine Joe: | Rino Romano |
| Jordan (baby): | Tony Daniels |
| Peter Fisher: | Joel Feeney |
| Greg: | Eric Kimmel |
| Peggy Jones: | Katherine Trowell |
| Misha: | Jeff Lumby |
| Jenelle: | Tracey Hoyt |
| Mika: | Kathy Laskey |
| Mika's Mother: | Wendy Lyon |
| Chess Tower owner: | Roland Parliament |
| Countess Rose: | Wendy Lyon |
| Herbert: | Greg Swanson |
| S and SS only: | |
| Serena/Sailor Moon: | Lynda Ballentine |
| Ami/Sailor Mercury: | Liza Balkan |
| Rei/Sailor Mars: | Katie Griffin |
| Mina/Sailor Venus: | Emilie Barlow |
| Rini: | Stephanie Beard |
| Trista/Sailor Pluto: | Susan Aceron |
| Michelle/Sailor Neptune: | Barbara Radecki |
| Amara/Sailor Uranus: | Sara Lafleur |
Q: Do we ever see the Scouts transform back?
In episode 115, Sailor Uranus transforms back normally.
We also see Sailor Moon transform back twice when she loses a previous transformation before getting powered-up, but these might not necessarily look like normal detransformations.
Q: Do we ever see Tuxedo Mask transform?
Episodes in which he transforms are 16, 22, 30, and 62 (19, 26, 34, 69, and
113 for Japanese versions.)
Q: Why do we see [something] a few times and then we never see it again when
we logically should? [something] meaning: Sailor Moon's parents and other relatives,
Greg (Urawa), Rita (Reika), Queen Serenity's ghost, Moon Tiara Stardust, Lizzie
(Unazuki), Molly (Naru), Melvin (Umino) and Molly together, Chad (Yuuichiro),
etc.
The anime was partly based on the manga, but was weekly instead of monthly,
so had to be stretched out a lot. This means that one shot characters or minor
characters from the manga got major roles in several stories, and it also means
that several characters and subplots were completely invented for the TV series.
This made it look like something was a big part of the series when it really
never was.
Q: How do I get past that boss on Ami's level in the Another Story RPG?
The fastest way is to use a manicure to raise your attack power, then
attack and heal when you start running low on hit points. (Don't bother to
cure yourself of freezing.) Many monsters around this level provide healing
items. Unfortunately, I know of no way to get a manicure there -- you'd have to
buy it in advance at home before knowing you need it. Raising your level a
little bit helps, too.
Alternatively, raise your level to an ungodly amount so that you're doing around 10 points of damage per round, then attack and heal constantly.
The only special attack that works on this boss is Shabon Spray. The boss can be killed using Shabon Spray plus healing items, but this takes much longer because of the Shabon Spray animation.
In any case, be sure to wear both special accessories, and buy another one to fill the third slot. Also, change the formation to arrow (with Mercury in front) or cluster (with her in the center) to increase her attack power.
Q: How do I get all the puzzle pieces on the Another Story RPG?
There are four missing from the ones you get when killing monsters. You
can get one of the missing ones early in the game in Makoto's stage in a
hidden area; later in the game you get sent directly to the area and can find
about the other three.
A complete list of puzzle pieces is available at (???--it used to be on the web)
Q: How do I get the second ending on the Another Story RPG?
You get divided into two groups. Usagi's group fights the final boss. If you
lose with Usagi's group, Chibi-Usa's group comes in, and defeating the boss
with her (which is hard, since you don't get a chance to control how your characters
are arranged in the formation) gives you a different ending.
Q: What does "talent" mean (as a joke used on the Internet)?
This refers to a line in the Snow White episode. Sailor Jupiter said that
she should be Snow White because she has the largest breasts. In the dub,
it was changed to having the most "talent". So people on the net will
sometimes refer to breast size as "talents".
Q: Why are the attacks in the Mixx translated manga different from the ones
shown in the dub?
The dub uses different attack names from the original TV episodes. Also,
the original comics were sometimes different from the original TV episodes.
The Mixx version is different for both of these reasons. For instance, the
original manga (and Mixx) uses "Moon Frisbee", the original TV uses "Moon
Tiara Action", and the dub uses "Moon Tiara Magic".
This does not apply to "cow tails", and considering Mixx's recent record, I don't know if it applies to anything else in the future.
Q: Where do the movies take place, chronologically?
It isn't really possible to fit the movies into the series continuity.
In the R movie, Chibi-Usa (Rini) appears. She leaves at the end of the R series, which means that the R movie could only happen if the Black Moon villains are alive but for some reason not doing anything during the movie. If that is true, then it happens between episodes 77 and 82, because Mamoru and Usagi don't reconcile until episode 77, and nobody has found out that Usagi is Chibi-Usa's mother, which happens in 82. 77-82 happen during winter, and it's summer in the R movie.
In the S movie, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto appear. Pluto is gone before the end of the S series, which means that the S series villains would also have to be alive but not doing anything. Furthermore, Hotaru does _not_ appear in the movie, yet in the series she appears before Pluto reappears. (This movie was based on a manga story. Unfortunately it doesn't quite fit manga continuity either for similar reasons....)
In the SS movie, Pluto appears, yet in the Sailor Stars series, the Senshi are surprised to learn that she is alive. Also, Uranus and Neptune get versions of their new attacks in this movie before they actually do for real in Sailor Stars. (And in Sailor Stars they not only get the attacks, but also new transformations, which aren't used in the movie.)
Q: Why is Pluto associated with time and Saturn with death? I thought it
was the other way around?
Part of it is probably that astrology does have some of these associations,
and part of it is that the myths themselves weren't completely consistent; there
is some mythological precedent for doing it either way.
Q: Why is Jupiter considered an inner Senshi when Jupiter is outside the
asteroid belt and is one of the outer planets?
"Inner Senshi" and "Outer Senshi" are fan ideas. No Japanese source claims that
the Senshi that protect the princess must all be associated with planets that
are in the inner solar system.
I have also heard that astrologers consider Jupiter to be an inner planet even though it's not really.
Q: Is Pluto really a planet? (Or: why are some people saying that Pluto shouldn't
be considered a planet? If so, what is it instead?)
Some astronomers have suggested that Pluto should be considered to be, not a
planet, but the largest member of the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is a group
of objects orbiting outside Neptune. It was only a theory, until the first one
was discovered in 1992.
The objects in the Kuiper Belt are similar to both asteroids and comets (they are officially numbered as asteroids). They don't give off vapor and dust like comets do, because they are too far from the sun, and many of them are much larger than normal comets. But they are probably icy, like comets (regular asteroids are made of rock or metal), and some normal comets might have once been part of the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt objects are probably made of the same material as Pluto, share a similar origin with Pluto, and some have orbits in a 3:2 resonance with Neptune, like Pluto's orbit. (This means that they go around the sun 3 times when Neptune does 2 times.)
Pluto is, however, large enough to be round due to gravity, and to hold an atmosphere, which is not true of asteroids (except perhaps for the few largest ones being round) or comets. It has a bright surface which may be due to melting and refreezing (or vaporizing and recondensing) of ice, a process that doesn't happen on asteroids or comets.
There was a proposal from the Minor Planet Center (of ??) to classify Pluto as asteroid number 10000. This proposal has not been accepted, and the Small Bodies Names Committee of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the International Astronomical Union has decided not to classify Pluto as a minor planet (i.e. asteroid). The IAU considered whether to classify Pluto as a "trans-Neptunian object", but in a way which would give Pluto a dual status. The IAU claimed that there was no proposal to demote Pluto to not being a planet. (I don't know, the minor planet one sounded like that to me, since it'd be silly to have Pluto be a planet and a minor planet at the same time.)
Q: Wasn't another planet recently discovered? Or a moon?
Planets in other solar systems and in interstellar space have recently been
discovered. None have been given a real name.
In mid-1997, the orbit of asteroid 3753 was shown to be in a complicated pattern related to the Earth's orbit. It's not another moon, and pretty sophisticated calculations are needed to show that there's anything at all odd about its orbit. The press release called this asteroid a "companion to the Earth", which is misleading.
Two new moons of Uranus were discovered in late 1997; they have been named "Caliban" and "Sycorax", after characters from Shakespeare's "The Tempest". Another was found in 1999 on old Voyager II images. And in July 1999, two more. Four new moons of Saturn were discovered at the end of 2000, as well as a bunch of moons of Jupiter (and more in 2001).
Asteroid 2001KX76 (28978), an object in the Kuiper Belt (see above) was discovered in 2001 and is estimated to be 1200 kilometers in diameter, larger than the biggest regular asteroid, Ceres, and larger than the previous record holders, Varuna (20000) and 1999TO66. Pluto is 2300 kilometers in diameter. Asteroids are sometimes called "minor planets" or "planetoids".
