Sailor Moon R: The Movie

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Sailor Moon R: The Movie
Sailor Moon R The Movie poster.png
Theatrical release poster
Japanese 劇場版 美少女戦士セーラームーンR
Literal meaningPretty Soldier Sailor Moon R: The Movie
Revised Hepburn Gekijō-ban Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn Āru
Directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara
Screenplay by Sukehiro Tomita
Based on
Sailor Moon
by  Naoko Takeuchi
Produced by Iriya Azuma
Starring
CinematographyMotoi Takahashi
Edited byYasuhiro Yoshikawa
Music by Takanori Arisawa
Production
company
Distributed by Toei Company
Release date
  • December 5, 1993 (1993-12-05)
Running time
61 minutes [1]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office¥1.3 billion [2]

Sailor Moon R: The Movie [a] is a 1993 Japanese animated superhero fantasy film directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara and written by Sukehiro Tomita based on the Sailor Moon manga series by Naoko Takeuchi. Produced by Toei Animation, it takes its name from the second season of the anime series, as Toei Company distributed it around the same time. It centers on the arrival of an alien named Fiore on Earth, who has a past with Mamoru and wishes to reunite with him, but is being controlled by an evil flower called Xenian Flower, forcing the Sailor Guardians to save Mamoru and the Earth from Fiore's destruction. The film stars Kotono Mitsuishi as the voice of Sailor Moon, alongside Aya Hisakawa, Michie Tomizawa, Emi Shinohara, Rika Fukami, Tōru Furuya and Hikaru Midorikawa. It was released in Japan on December 5, 1993, alongside a 15-minute short recap episode titled Make Up! Sailor Soldier (メイクアップ!セーラー戦士, Meikuappu! Sērā senshi; later as Make Up! Sailor Guardians) and an unrelated short film based on the anime Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai . [4]

Contents

Pioneer Entertainment released it in the United States on February 8, 2000. On January 13, 2017, Viz Media re-released the film re-dubbed and uncut for the first time in US theaters. [5] The Sailor Moon R: The Movie redub also included the English dubbed 15-minute short Make Up! Sailor Guardians. It was later premiered in Canada on March 1, 2017. [6]

It is the first film installment for the series, and was followed by two standalone sequels, Sailor Moon S: The Movie (1994) and Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie (1995).

Plot

Make Up! Sailor Guardians

Usagi and Chibiusa overhear two girls talking about the Sailor Guardians after they see a poster. As the girls debate over the smartest, most elegant, strongest, and the leader of the Sailor Guardians, Usagi grandly claims those titles for herself. Chibiusa shakes her head at Usagi's delusion. Clips appear from the debut of each Sailor Guardian, and that girl's image song plays in the background. When even Tuxedo Mask has been mentioned, and the girls are about to leave, Usagi butts in on their conversation and asks them directly about Sailor Moon. The girls give a series of glowing compliments about Sailor Moon, but unlike their analysis of the other Sailor Guardians, they also list her faults. After the girls leave, Usagi sarcastically apologizes to the viewers for being a clumsy cry-baby and then bursts into exaggerated tears.

Sailor Moon R: The Movie

A young Mamoru Chiba hands a mysterious boy a rose before he disappears, vowing to bring Mamoru a flower in return. In the present, Mamoru visits the Jindai Botanical Garden with Usagi Tsukino and the Sailor Guardians. The stranger appears from the garden's fountain and takes Mamoru's hands into his own. Uncomfortable, Usagi tries to break the man's grasp from Mamoru but is knocked down. The man vows that no one will prevent him from keeping his promise before disappearing again. Mamoru tells Usagi that the stranger's name is Fiore (フィオレ, Fiore). At Rei Hino's temple, the Sailor Guardians discuss an asteroid that has started to approach Earth and on which Luna and Artemis have discovered traces of vegetal life.

Fiore sends his flower-monster henchwoman, Glycina (グリシナ), to Tokyo to drain the population's life energy, but the Sailor Guardians free them and destroy the monster. Fiore appears and uses a flower called a Xenian (キセニアン, Kisenian) before severely injuring the Sailor Guardians. Mamoru attempts to dissuade Fiore from fighting, but the Xenian controls Fiore's mind. After Mamoru intercepts his attack to save Usagi, Fiore takes an unconscious Mamoru to the rapidly approaching asteroid and begins to revive him in a crystal filled with liquid.

While inside the crystal, Mamoru remembers finding Fiore outside the hospital where he was staying after his parents died in a car accident. Mamoru had previously assumed that he had made up the boy as an imaginary friend. Fiore explains that he had to leave Mamoru because he cannot survive long on Earth's atmosphere; Mamoru gave Fiore a rose before disappearing. Fiore searched the galaxy to find a flower for Mamoru, finding the Xenian in the process. Seeking revenge on the humans for his loneliness, Fiore returned to Earth.

Luna and Artemis tell the Sailor Guardians that the Xenian can destroy planets by possessing weak-hearted people. Ami Mizuno discovers that the energy from the asteroid matches the flower monster's evil energy, deducing that Fiore has hidden there. The Sailor Guardians set out to rescue Mamoru. After the Sailor Guardians fly to the asteroid, Fiore reveals his plans to scatter flower seeds to drain humanity's energy on Earth. The Sailor Guardians fight hundreds of flower monsters, but Sailors Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus are captured. When Fiore orders Sailor Moon to surrender, she does so, unable to watch her friends suffer. Surprised, Fiore is persuaded by the Xenian to fuse with him and drain Sailor Moon's life force. Mamoru escapes and saves Sailor Moon by throwing a rose at Fiore's chest, freeing him from the Xenian's control.

The flowers on the asteroid disappear, but it changes its course to Earth. When Fiore announces plans to crash the asteroid into the Earth, Usagi uses the Silver Crystal to transform into Princess Serenity and redirect the asteroid. Fiore attempts to stop Usagi, but upon coming into contact with the Silver Crystal, he sees a vision that reveals to him that the rose Mamoru gave him as a child originally came from Usagi, who had brought a bouquet of roses to the hospital to celebrate her younger brother's birth. Stunned by this revelation, Fiore allows the Xenian and himself to be vaporized by the Silver Crystal's powers. Serenity, Prince Endymion, and the Sailor Guardians combine their powers to divert the asteroid away from Earth. The Silver Crystal is shattered, killing Serenity.

With the asteroid now safely drifting in Earth's orbit, the Sailor Guardians and Tuxedo Mask are devastated by Sailor Moon's death. The spirit of Fiore reappears and thanks Tuxedo Mask and his comrades for freeing him. Using a nectar-filled flower with Fiore's life energy, Tuxedo Mask wets his lips with the nectar and kisses Sailor Moon, reviving her, restoring her transformation brooch, and repowering the Silver Crystal. Fiore, reduced to the form of a child again, ascends to the afterlife to live in peace. As Sailor Moon awakens, she says she told them she would protect everyone. The Sailor Guardians smile through their tears and collapse into her arms.

Voice cast

CharacterJapanese voice actorEnglish dubbing actor
(Pioneer/Optimum Productions, 2000)		English dubbing actor
(Viz Media/Studiopolis, 2017)
Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon Kotono Mitsuishi Serena Tsukino Stephanie Sheh
Terri Hawkes
Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury Aya Hisakawa Amy Anderson Kate Higgins
Karen Bernstein
Rei Hino/Sailor Mars Michie Tomizawa Raye Hino Cristina Valenzuela
Katie Griffin
Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter Emi Shinohara Lita Kino Amanda C. Miller
Susan Roman
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus Rika Fukami Mina Aino Cherami Leigh
Stephanie Morgenstern
Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask Toru Furuya
Megumi Ogata (young)		Darien Shields Robbie Daymond
Vincent Corazza
Julie Lemieux (young) [7]
Luna Keiko Han Jill Frappier Michelle Ruff
Artemis Yasuhiro Takato Ron Rubin Johnny Yong Bosch
Usagi "Chibiusa" Tsukino Kae Araki Serena "Rini" Tsukino Sandy Fox
Tracey Hoyt
Fiore Hikaru Midorikawa
Tomoko Maruo (young)		 Steven Bednarski
Nadine Rabinovitch (young)		 Benjamin Diskin
Xenian Flower Yumi Tōma Kisenian Blossom Carrie Keranen
Catherine Disher

Make-up! Sailor Guardians

CharacterJapaneseEnglish
YuiChieko NanbaCarrie Keranen
Aya Rumi Kasahara Cherami Leigh
Garoben Hiroko Emori Megan Hollingshead
Katarina Yūko Mita Veronica Taylor
Queen Beryl Keiko Han Cindy Robinson
Alan Keiichi Nanba Wally Wingert
Queen Serenity Mika Doi Wendee Lee

Production

The film shared several production staff members with the Sailor Moon R television series, including Kunihiko Ikuhara, who directed the film, and Kazuko Tadano, who handled character design and animation direction. Sukehiro Tomita wrote the screenplay. [8] [9]

Ikuhara later described love as the film's central theme. He had noticed the frequent use of flowers as imagery in the television series and decided to use them in the film as a representation of love. According to Ikuhara, Fiore initially understands love as something in which the affection one gives should be returned equally, while the story gradually distinguishes this from the more selfless form of love represented by Usagi and her relationships with the other Sailor Guardians. [10]

Ikuhara said that although the film was made primarily for children, he did not want to simplify its ideas for its young audience and instead wanted to give viewers an experience that would surprise them. He also used the theatrical format to attempt techniques that would have been impractical on television, including an approximately 20-second sequence without dialogue or sound. Ikuhara regarded the placement of the song "Moon Revenge" during the climax as particularly important in directing the audience's emotional response toward supporting Sailor Moon and the other Guardians. [10]

Release

Japanese release

The film was released in Japanese theaters on December 5, 1993. [11]

The Japanese Blu-ray collection of the three films was released on February 7, 2018, with this film titled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon R: The Movie. [3]

French release

The film was released theatrically in France on 15 May 1996. [12] The June 1996 issue of French magazine Mega Force covered the release and featured a promotional competition organised with AB Films Distribution, offering cinema tickets and Sailor Moon T-shirts as prizes. [13]

Following its French theatrical release, the film was released on VHS by Shuriken on 8 April 1997. [14] [15] On 24 September 2014, Kazé released the film on DVD in France under the title Sailor Moon R: Le Film. The release featured Japanese and French audio tracks, French subtitles and the short film Make Up! Sailor Guardians as a bonus feature. [16] The DVD was promoted as containing an uncut version of the film. [17]

English release

The film was first released in North America on VHS by Pioneer Entertainment on August 31, 1999, in Japanese with English subtitles. [18] Pioneer later released the film to uncut bilingual DVD on February 8, 2000, alongside another VHS release containing an edited version of the English dub. [19] [20] Pioneer re-released their DVD on January 6, 2004, under their "Geneon Signature Series" line. [21] The original English-language dub was produced in association with Optimum Productions and featured several voice actors from the earlier English-language television adaptation. [22] The dub also first aired in the United States on November 7, 2001 on Cartoon Network's Toonami block.

In 2014, the film (including the "Make-Up! Sailor Guardian" short) was re-licensed for an updated English-language release in North America by Viz Media, who produced a new English dub of the film in association with Los Angeles-based Studiopolis and re-released it to DVD and Blu-ray on April 18, 2017. [23] It has also been licensed in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. [24] In addition, Viz gave the film a limited theatrical release in the United States, beginning January 17, 2017, in association with Eleven Arts. [25] The 2017 theatrical re-release was screened at more than 300 theaters across the United States and included the North American theatrical premiere of Make Up! Sailor Guardians. [26] The redub premiered in the United Artists Theater at the Ace Hotel, where it retained just the original title of Sailor Moon R: The Movie, rather than the subtitle The Promise of the Rose. The theatrical release included the "Make-Up! Sailor Guardian" short, and was available in both dubbed and subtitled screenings. The film was screened in North American theaters again nationwide with one-day showings as a double feature with Sailor Moon S: The Movie in association with Fathom Events. Dubbed screenings were on July 28, 2018, and subtitled screenings on July 30. [27]

Reception

Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network gave the film's Viz Media dub an "A−". She praised the animation, stating that it was "several cuts above what we typically see in the TV series". She also praised the film for distilling the franchise's themes effectively, its soundtrack and use of imagery relating to flowers. [28] Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times also reacted positively to the film's portrayal of the main characters' "sisterly friendship" and praised Viz Media's dub for not censoring Fiore's implied feelings for Mamoru, unlike previous English translations. [29]

Commercial performance

The theatrical programme comprising Sailor Moon R: The Movie, Make Up! Sailor Guardians and a short film based on Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai earned ¥1.3 billion in distributor rentals. According to the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, the programme ranked seventh among domestic Japanese films in its 1994 annual rankings. [30]

Legacy

The film played a role in the casting of Megumi Ogata as Shinji Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion . Ogata, who voiced Mamoru Chiba as a child in Sailor Moon R: The Movie, later recalled that Evangelion director Hideaki Anno personally approached her during a Sailor Moon staff trip and asked her to audition for the role. Retrospective accounts have attributed Anno's interest in Ogata to her performance as the young Mamoru in the film. [31] [32]

In 2020, Sailor Moon R: The Movie ranked first in the favorite episode category of NHK's All Sailor Moon Anime Grand Poll, ahead of episodes from across the television anime and the other theatrical films. The film's insert song "Moon Revenge" ranked third in the poll's song category. [33]

Notes

  1. ↑ Originally released in Japan as Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon R: The Movie (Japanese: 劇場版 美少女戦士セーラームーンR, Hepburn: Gekijō-ban Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn Āru), and later as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon R: The Movie. [3] Released in the U.S. as Sailor Moon R: The Movie – Promise of the Rose on the Pioneer Entertainment dub in 2000, and simply Sailor Moon R: The Movie on the Viz media re-dub in 2017.

References

  1. ↑ "Sailor Moon: The Movie (2017)". Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  2. ↑ "1994年 (1月～12月)". Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  3. 1 2 初回生産限定「美少女戦士セーラームーン THE MOVIE Blu-ray 1993–1995」. Sailor Moon Official (in Japanese). July 11, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  4. ↑ McCarthy, Helen (1997). The Anime Movie Guide. University of California: The Overlook Press. p. 191. ISBN   978-0-87951-781-6. POINTS OF INTEREST: Appeared on the same bill as Make Up Lovely Soldiers, the Sailor Moon R Movie.
  5. ↑ "Viz Media Hosts Sailor Moon R Screening Event in Los Angeles on January 13". Anime News Network . December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Viz Media and Eleven Arts Announce Sailor Moon R The Movie Canadian Theatrical Premiere". Anime News Network . February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  7. ↑ Unplugged Expo (September 7, 2013). "Unplugged Expo Welcomes Julie Lemieux" . Retrieved August 31, 2014– via Facebook.
  8. ↑ "美少女戦士セーラームーンR – スタッフ". Toei Animation (in Japanese). Retrieved October 13, 2026.
  9. ↑ "美少女戦士セーラームーンR – スタッフ". Toei Animation (in Japanese). Retrieved October 13, 2026.
  10. 1 2 "三石琴乃さん、幾原邦彦監督が20年ぶりに語りつくす！「劇場版『美少女戦士セーラームーンR』応援上映＆スペシャルゲストトークイベント！」をレポート". Animate Times (in Japanese). July 2, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
  11. ↑ "美少女戦士セーラームーンR". Toei Animation (in Japanese). Retrieved October 13, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Sailor Moon - Film 1 : Les fleurs maléfiques". AlloCiné (in French).
  13. ↑ "Sailor Moon". Mega Force (in French). No. 51. June 1996. pp. 45–46.
  14. ↑ "Sailor Moon R, Le Film La Fleur Maléfique". Planète Jeunesse (in French). Retrieved October 13, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Le film Sailor Moon R chez Kaze". Manga-News (in French). June 6, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Sailor Moon R : Le Film". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved October 13, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Le film Sailor Moon R chez Kaze". Manga-News (in French). June 6, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Sailor Moon R [VHS]". Amazon.com . August 31, 1999. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Sailor Moon R - The Movie". Amazon. February 8, 2000. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Sailor Moon R The Movie - The Promise of the Rose VHS". www.amazon.com. February 8, 2000. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Sailor Moon R: The Movie - Geneon Signature Series". www.amazon.com. January 6, 2004. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  22. ↑ Sailor Moon R: The Movie – The Promise of the Rose (DVD). Pioneer Entertainment. 2000.
  23. ↑ "Viz Licenses Original Sailor Moon Franchise". Anime News Network . May 16, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Madman Entertainment Acquires Sailor Moon Series and Sailor Moon Crystal". November 28, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Viz Media Plans To Release Sailor Moon R Anime Film In U.S. Theaters In January". Anime News Network . November 11, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  26. ↑ "VIZ Media Partners with Toei, Eleven Arts for 'Sailor Moon' U.S. Theatrical Premiere". Animation World Network. November 17, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Viz Media to Screen Sailor Moon S The Movie, Sailor Moon SuperS The Movie Films in N. American Theaters". Anime News Network. May 19, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  28. ↑ Silverman, Rebecca (January 19, 2017). "Sailor Moon R: The Movie - Review". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  29. ↑ Solomon, Charles (January 19, 2017). "Girl power and pratfalls prevail in new dub of 1993's 'Sailor Moon R: The Movie'". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  30. ↑ "1994年（1月～12月）" (in Japanese). Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
  31. ↑ Narita, Orie (March 23, 2021). "「庵野さん、卒業おめでとう」緒方恵美が振り返る、庵野秀明と碇シンジとの25年". Movie Walker Press (in Japanese). Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  32. ↑ "劇場版『セーラームーンR』30周年 『エヴァ』にも影響を与えた「歴史的」キャスティングとは". Magmix (in Japanese). December 5, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  33. ↑ "『全美少女戦士セーラームーンアニメ大投票』ランキングまとめ。キャラはセーラーウラヌス、エピソードは劇場版 美少女戦士セーラームーンR、歌はムーンライト伝説". Famitsu (in Japanese). December 5, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
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