Sailor Moon Vol 1 A Heroine is Chosen (G)   DETAILS:
DETAILS: DVDs $24.95 each Region 4. Running time 135 mins Videos - $19.95 each ( English language) PAL VHS Available in Australia from Madman. Episodes: 01 - A Moon Star is Born 02 - Talk Radio 03 - Slim City 04 - So You Want to be a Superstar 05 - Computer School Blues 06 - Time Bomb SYNOPSIS: Warning! May contain spoilers... To stop the evil Queen Beryl from taking over the Earth, Luna the magic cat seeks out 14 year old Serena and reveals that she has the powers of Sailor Moon! Although she’s unsure of herself at first, Serena quickly learns that if you believe in yourself, anything is possible. Together with Luna, the mysterious Tuxedo Mask and her many other friends, Sailor Moon leads the fight for good and justice! And when Sailor Mercury joins the battle, Queen Beryl and her Negaverse won’t stand a chance! Earth has a new protector, and her name is Sailor Moon!
REVIEW: My brother, bless his cynical little heart, has a word which he likes to apply liberally in instances just like this. This word is 'twee'. And yes, it actually is a word. Apparently the 4th Edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language lists the definition as: adj. Chiefly British Overly precious or nice. This is pretty much Sailor Moon down to its cute little mini-skirts.
However, there is something to be said for resisting the urge to dsimiss something merely because it is twee. Sailor Moon is, for a start, hugely popular with the age group it has been aimed at (4 to 12 years) and almost inexplicably popular with many people above that age group - in some cases waaay above that age group (if you don't want to know, do not under any circumstances subject yourself to cosplay of any sort. You have been warned).
Secondly, not only is it delivering some uber-sweet, wholesome values to the masses, but it is in actual fact even occasionally subversive. Don't believe me? Try explaining to a 12 year old within hearing distance of a real responsible grown-up how, in Season 5, the Sailor Star Lights are only girls when they're fighting crime. And no, as the popular rock band the Three Lights they aren't wearning suits because they're pretending to be boys. They actually are boys...
Maybe it's not subversive for those of us reasonably well versed in the tendency for manga/anime characters to err somewhat on the side of andgrogeny (and as the old saying goes, if you have to ask, it doesn't matter), but to those unfamiliar with gender-bending cartoon characters (among other things) the concept might understandably come as a bit of a surprise, to say the least. But that's not where the fun stops, oh no. Sailor Moon was when it was initially released subversive enough in places to warrant censorship. Yep, you heard right. Name one other cartoon that any ten year old girl would be likely to watch that's been subject to censorship. Bet you can't. Ergo, the reason why bad girl Zoisite in the US version is so oddly lacking in the kinds of curves normally attributed to anime women - she was originally a he, but censorship dictated that his (her?) relationship with uber-buff bad-guy Kunzite was entirely not appropriate for viewing by children.
This first volume of the series doesn't offer anything nearly so challenging and is, despite my words of defence, basically just twee. Of course, that's not to say that it's not funny. In fact, you may even find yourself laughing rather loudly in places (me, I found the whole silly, slapstick, Buster Keaton-ness of it extremely entertaining). The Sailor in question, one Moon aka Serena, is an amusing, delightfully well rounded character. She's clumsly, slack, cries a lot and would much rather be shopping or thinking about becoming a movie star than save the world. She may be made for kids, but as an anime watching adult you just can't help but like her. And if you find yourself wondering about that hair, her Japanese name Tsukino Usagi means 'rabbit of the moon'. If you keep your eyes open you'll catch a ton of joks and puns constructed around the fact. It's just one of the show's little idiosyncrasies that lift it that little bit above 'kids only'.
The DVD itself is almost bare bones - there's no extra audio tracks, no chapter selection, no extras. Make the navigations super-easy, and makes up for the things that irritate as they accumulate. Following are my recommedations for parts to fast forward after the first viewing:
The opening sequence (although admittedly the song is a little catchy). Sailor Moon's transformation scene (the only one worth watching is the initial transformation, purely for her reaction to it afterward). The 'I'm about to kick your arse' tailor-made Hero Speech, unless of course you really dig Voguing in which case you may want to watch those bits. Any fighting tactic with 'Moon'in the titile eg Moon Tiara attack.. Again, they're the same scenes every time, it's only the results that change. The Jerry Springer conclusion (moral of the story, blah blah blah. I get it already).
The repetition of scenes might mark Sailor Moon as a bit thin on the old budget, or it may just be an age-group thing (seems like all these kids shows have an easily repeatable action scene of some kind - I wonder why that is?). This is light entertainment at it's lightest, handicapped from being anything more thanks to the cencorship (personally I'd use that word lightly) issues and the lack of provision for a Japanese made, English subtitled version on the DVD. A shame but at least it's not offensiive, and it's entertaining enough if you're in the mood for a little brain-candy. It would be worth following for the story line developments and the interest value of the bad guys and you can rest assured at least that if you do get addicted to all that sugar, there's only 5 seasons with which to rot your teeth (be warned though, Season 5 isn't being screened at all in the States, for the reasons I mentioned earilier. If there's any justice in the world, the series will at least conclude in DVD).
All in all, I might recommend this series if you've got absolutely nothing better to watch, or if (like me) you happen to be getting up at 6 to get ready for work). There's a lot to be said for starting your day with a little bit of twee...
Rating: 6 Sailor Star Transformation Scenes out of 10 Reviewed by Deni Stoner
PLACES OF INTEREST: Article on Shoujo (Girl) anime at Akadot by Sandy Yang   The rather extensive Sailor Moon FAQ where you'll find everything they didn't want you to know about Sailor Moon...

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