At Viz’s Moonlight Party streaming event over the weekend, company representatives announced the Sailor Moon R movie will be screened for a limited time in North American theaters in January. Precise details regarding screening locations and the dates of the release are yet to be determined.
Sailor Moon R: The Movie was released in Japan in 1993, and in North America in 1999. It is the first of three standalone films released during the original series run of the 1990s Sailor Moon anime series, the English versions of which have been out of print for many years.
On its YouTube page, Viz describes the film as follows:
“Long before Mamoru found his destiny with Usagi, he gave a single rose in thanks to a lonely boy who helped him recover from the crash that claimed his parents. This long-forgotten friend, Fiore, has been searching the galaxy for a flower worthy of that sweet gesture long ago. The mysterious flower he finds is beautiful, but has a dark side- it has the power to take over planets. To make matters worse, the strange plant is tied to an ominous new asteroid near Earth! Faced with an enemy blooming out of control, It’s up to Sailor Moon and the Sailor Guardians to band together, stop the impending destruction and save Mamoru!”
You can watch the teaser trailer below:
The reissue of Sailor Moon R: The Movie is a great sign for old-school Sailor Moon fans, suggesting that Viz will finally bring back all three of the Sailor Moon movies (perhaps at a glacial pace, but still). The official North American Sailor Moon Twitter account confirmed that both subbed and dubbed versions will be available, and that the film will be coming to Blu-ray/DVD (though did not provide a release date for the home video release).
More news later, but we plan to offer both versions. <3
— Sailor Moon (@Sailor_Moon_NA) November 12, 2016
The film will be screened in an uncut, newly HD-remastered format and shown alongside the "Make Up! Sailor Guardians" theatrical short, which accompanied the film in Japan but has not previously been seen in North America. According to Sailor Moon News, “The basic story of this has Usagi and Chibiusa sitting in a cafe overhearing some girls talk about the various Sailor Guardians as we see clips from the first two seasons. There is some new animation but most of it is a rehash of stuff we’ve seen before.”
Will you be heading to theatres to watch Sailor Moon R: The Movie? Which of the three standalone Sailor Moon films did you enjoy most? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
