The fourth season of Sailor Moon Crystal won’t be a “season” at all, but instead two theatrical films. And, surprise surprise, there’s no official word yet on a release date or international release. Toei Animation made the announcement at an event celebrating Usagi / Sailor Moon’s birthday.
It’s been more than a year since the most recent episode of Sailor Moon Crystal debuted. Those familiar with the original series and manga will remember Crystal ended with a teaser of the opening moments of the Dream Arc, or Sailor Moon SuperS. While the 90s anime adaptation of this Chibiusa-focused storyline is a low point of the series, the manga upon which it’s based is much better.
According to Sailor Moon News, Chiaki Kon, the director for the Infinity Arc (Season 3) of Crystal, will direct the two Dream Arc movies. The third season was far and away the reboot’s best, so this is a solid choice.
However, apart from Kon directing, this news is disappointing for two reasons. First, it means Sailor Moon fans, especially those of us outside Japan, are most likely in for a long-ass wait. Toei’s announcement doesn’t offer the barest hint of a tease of a release date, which suggests the first Dream Arc movie likely won’t hit theaters in Japan until either late 2017 or early 2018. It’s not clear if, like Digimon Adventure Tri, the new Sailor Moon movies will be broadcast online with English subtitles on the day of their domestic Japanese release. That’s been the case for previous iterations of Crystal too, so here’s hoping that’s still the case, even after this switch in format.
Second, the shift leaves little room for character development, which has always been a weak point for Crystal relative to the 90s anime. A 13-episode TV season of Crystal would provide a little more than four hours of content (assuming 20 minutes per installment), but it’s unlikely the upcoming Sailor Moon movies will be more than two hours apiece; 90 minutes each is more plausible. For reference, the 39-episode SuperS season clocks in around 13 hours, and while it's way more bloated than it should be, three hours or so doesn’t seem like enough time to properly introduce nearly a dozen new characters -- The Amazon Trio, Amazoness Quartet, Diana, Nehelenia, Zirconia and Pegasus. With 10 Sailor Senshi and Mamoru also in the mix, the stage is gonna feel mighty crowded, real fast.
One of my biggest complaints about the first two seasons of Crystal was the way it reduced the Sailor Senshi to interchangeable cannon fodder; mostly, their job was to weepily encourage Sailor Moon while crumpled in a heap on the floor. While Season 4 of Crystal allured me with the promise of more Outer Senshi goodness (they were left out of SuperS), they’ll likely take a backseat in these movies. Again.
What do you think of the news about the two-part Dream Arc movie? Would you rather see the next installment of Sailor Moon Crystal as a TV show, or are you glad to ditch the filler? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
