Is it Ever a GOOD Idea to Buy Bootleg Merchandise?

With the influx of Sailor Moon products hitting the shelves, copycat fakes were destined to make their way onto the market. You can finally find amazing prices for that figure you've been wanting, and it's completely affordable! Are you being fooled? The answer is yes, yes you are. I can say without a shadow of a doubt in my mind that if the price is less than half the regular price of the item, you're buying yourself a Saban Moon; when it arrives at your doorstep a wave of disappointment will quickly set in. I have an article all about how to spot a fake item versus legitimate merchandise, so check it out here if you haven't already. But today I'm asking, is it ever a GOOD idea to buy flea market figures? Keep reading to find out why it might be worth your while to check out some made in China goodies.

Video Premiere! Sailor Moon Crystal - What Went Wrong?

My first video premiere is here! Please watch my Sailor Moon Crystal - What Went Wrong? video where I diagnose the problems with the new series.

Sailor Moon Short Stories Review

I'm finally reviewing these two books! I just recently picked up the second volume, so now my collection of Sailor Moon manga is complete! Now I'm waiting for the artbook which is going to be amazing! But back to these two manga volumes, if you're curious about them keep reading for the review. I'll answer the question about whether they're worth purchasing or not; are they worth the extra $30 that they cost together? Is it necessary for every Sailor Moon enthusiast? Keep reading to find out!

Short Stories Volume One

If you're unaware, each volume contains chapters involving each of the inner senshi where they're each featured in their own little snippet story. The first volume contains seven small chapters, with four featuring Chibi-Usa (one with Hotaru included), one featuring Makoto, one featuring Ami, and one featuring Rei and Minako. I believe Minako never gets her own true short story because of the two large Sailor V volumes which catalogue her own story in better detail. And speaking of Sailor V, that's what these manga read like, especially this first volume. They feel like they're taking a vein from the Sailor V formula, having minor enemies appear and disappear within the span of 30 pages or so. Don't expect much depth, and don't expect any sort of real canon here either. This first volume in particular feels more like filler than genuine development. The stories are flimsy and are only held up by the characters that take part in them. I won't go into too much detail about each chapter because honestly, there isn't much to say about any of them. Nothing particularly interesting happens, no character development is done, it was mostly a waste of my time reading these. The main driver of each plot is the enemy rather than the characters themselves, so the story revolves around their reaction to the enemy rather than any sort of development on their side of the spectrum. I didn't particularly enjoy the Sailor V series, and I didn't particularly enjoy this volume either. It's nice to see Chibi-Usa in the spotlight, but I would've liked to have seen her with her own troupe rather than her being the kid once again.

I'd recommend this volume if you're looking to finish your collection, but not if you're looking for more Sailor Moon entertainment. The stories don't develop any of the characters in particular, save for the story involving Rei and Minako. I felt especially disappointed by Ami's and Makoto's stories that featured them as desperate teenage girls looking to feel bad about themselves. This volume felt like a way to bring in a little more money before the series finished, and I was disappointed at how empty it was. Volume One gets a 4.0 out of 10 from me. I know this is a low score, if you disagree with me I'd love to hear your responses so send me a message or put a comment down below! I'd love to hear your opinions!

Short Stories Volume Two

Volume Two offers a different set-up than the first one, having only three chapters, with one long chapter featuring Luna. Finally the little feline gets a story of her own, and she deserves it! There's one chapter that features Rei afterward, as well as one final chapter looking into the future of the senshi, with their children. This time the chapters (save for the last one) read nicer, having more integrity than just pumping out empty stories expecting us to buy it because Sailor Moon is on the cover. The story featuring Luna drags out a little bit, but overall I enjoyed it. The enemy is more menacing, and the love story is really cute (especially because Luna cannot act out on her impulses because she's a cat!). The story featuring Rei is also much more interesting as we get to see into Rei's persona rather than just featuring her feeling bad about herself. Her pride gets in the way of her love life, and it's nice to get in her head for once. The Rei in this manga is much different than the Rei I come to know from the anime growing up, and I prefer this character who is independent and a little bit heartbroken from a difficult childhood. It was finally a backstory that I was looking for, rather than dealing with the same fare I already knew about her. The last chapter is called "Parallel Sailor Moon" and takes a jump into the future where all the inner senshi's children become Sailor Scouts. Honestly, it's really dumb, and their children all have curvy bodies despite being 9 at the oldest (their bodies rival their parents' in terms of physical development so I really didn't understand this choice at all). It doesn't actually provide a look ahead, as all the inner senshi are exactly the same save for the fact that they talk about their "hubbies" briefly. I really just didn't understand the purpose of this chapter at all. What about Chibi-Usa's troupe of senshi that were suggested to exist in the past volumes? Apparently they're never brought up again after that. The chapter doesn't ruin the book, but it definitely ends the series on a bad note, which really wasn't necessary.

Overall the second volume was a much better read than the first, making it a 7.0 out of 10 for me. If you're not sure which volume to pick up first then perhaps you should skip out on the first volume entirely. I wasn't quick to buy the second volume because of the poor quality of the first short story volume, and thankfully I was pleasantly surprised with the change in tone for this one. Luna's story as well as Rei's are both worth reading so I suggest picking this volume up if you want more Sailor Moon goodness!

TL;DR, My Consensus

And that's the review. It's unfortunate that only half of this series was worth it, but I guess if you total it out of chapters, only two out of ten are worthwhile reads. Maybe three if I include the final chapter in the first book which was more entertaining than the other chapters in that volume. So if you're collecting the manga then the books are nice to own, with nice cover art, but if you're looking for a good read skip to the second volume.

What are your guys' thoughts? Am I being unfair to this short story series, or do you agree with me? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

How to Prepare for the Sailor Moon Anime Reboot

So the Sailor Moon anime reboot is upon us, and you’re probably thinking “I’m not ready!”. Fear not, I have devised a list to rid of your worries and prepare you for the awesomeness that is Sailor Moon 2.0. This is the decisive list for how to get your mind mentally prepared for the new anime that will shake our senses and reinvigorate us with Sailor Moon love!

1. Break out your Sailor Moon toys

These are my old toys, no joke. What’s with them being so… chesty?

You know you have them… somewhere. You played with them when you were 8 and now you must play with them again! Sure Sailor Moon’s face has some blue marker on it, but she is just as amazing now as she was a decade ago. Play out some battles and your mind will be ready for the epic battles to come.

2. Read the manga front-to-back as many times as possible

This is no easy task, but you have to read the manga as many times as possible to prepare for what is ahead. This anime is going to follow the manga more closely and you don’t want any tear-jerking surprises. What is this?! Momo-chan is going to America for university!? You won’t cry about it.

Sailor Moon Underwear. I WANT THEM ALL

With Sailor Moon returning to television early next year there's been tons of merchandise flooding the scene. I've reviewed one of the figures here if you'd like to check that out! I have to admit, this is my favourite addition yet. Sailor Moon underwear. It looks gorgeous! I just don't know how keen my boyfriend will be about it... Too bad there isn't a Tuxedo Mask matching set!!!



They cost 4,980 Yen, roughly $50 USD which is a steal for a set but are all soldout! They went on pre-order yesterday and flew off the shelves. I'll be on the look out for the second release and I'm sure they're going to do it because they're such a hit. You can check out the collection at Peach John's website.

S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon Figure Review

My S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon Figure arrived today! I ordered it off of Amazon while it was on for a great deal and paid about $50 USD including tax! Needless to say, this figure is amazing for the price! But let’s get into the nitty gritty details about what makes this figure so awesome, and perhaps talk about the not so awesome things… Anyways, to the review!

So this is how the box shipped to my house, it appears that I got the limited first run bonus!! That made me super happy as I wasn’t sure if I’d be getting it or not. Secondly, it appears to be the Japanese release even though it was being brought over to America which means that there won’t be any truly localized product for North America, so don’t expect to see it in your local hobby store. If you want this item get ASAP and get it with the bonus faces that come with the first time limited run. It includes her winking face and crying face. Both are really nice to have as we all know Usagi is a bit of a cry baby.
One more comment is how stunning this box is. If you’re a collector this piece in the box is a really nice display just as is! It’s also very ecologically friendly as there’s barely any wasted space in there. The box is 7” tall, or 18 cm for all my Non-U.S. readers out there. The figure itself is just a few hairs shy of 6” or roughly 14 and a half cm. She’s pretty small, but that accommodates for her lower price tag. Still a nice centerpiece for sure despite its less than average height.

Collecting Sailor Moon Video Games for the Super Famicom

I’m a collector of many things, and among my collection is a few Super Famicom (SFC) Sailor Moon games. When I was younger I emulated the games and played them a lot (terrible I know! but they weren’t available in North America). So for nostalgic reasons I began purchasing the physical games, so today I’m posting about my experience buying these games as well as giving some advice on how to pick them up for yourself! I also have a trick involving the region lock on North American & European Super Nintendo games that can be undone so you don’t have to pick up a Japanese console to play these awesome games!

I’ve picked up 3 SFC games through Ebay, and they’re among some of my favourites from the roster of Sailor Moon games available. Above is Sailor Moon SuperS: Fuwa Fuwa Panic, a balloon popping puzzle game that feels like a cross between Bust a Move and Bejeweled. You pop balloons of similar colour and send over unpoppable gray balloons in a sort of backwards tetris. Intermixed with it is the Sailor Scouts who have different special attacks that can help your board or hinder your enemy’s board. The sprites are colourful and the game is a lot of fun to play through, whether solo or against friends. See gameplay of it here. There’s also Sailor Moon Sailor Stars: Fuwa Fuwa Panic 2 which is the same thing but much more difficult to play solo. It is also hard to find, and probably expensive to purchase if you do. Check out its gameplay here. Both games are fun so if you see either for a decent price then pick them up! Any puzzle game fan would have tons of fun playing these games.

S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon Figures *News*

I have always been an avid Sailor Moon fan. Ever since the show began airing when I was younger I was hooked, and I’m still hooked, persistently buying the Kodansha re-release mangas (coverage here) as well as frequenting news for the upcoming anime revamp. So along with all this moonie madness comes beautiful figures from S.H. Figuarts. When I saw that they finally were making new Sailor Moon merchandise, and on top of that beautiful figures I made pre-orders immediately! This post is covering all the news thus far involving the figures, where to pre-order and when to expect new figure releases.

Unfortunately for those who missed out, the Sailor Moon has already released in Japan, but there’s already a bunch of articles circulating on the figure. I pre-ordered my own from Amazon, which will be released in October. Luckily I didn’t miss the Japan release for Sailor Mercury which is also releasing this October, so I’ll be getting the two scouts together! Both figures feature 3 changeable faces, multiple hands for different poses, as well as scout accessories pertaining to the first season of the show. Legend Studio however is doing figures based off Sailor Moon S, so those figures will feature different costumes as well as accessories.  They will be doing the whole cast of Sailor Moon, outer senshi included! Click for photos here. It’s unknown if S.H. Figuarts will also be releasing the outer senshi, but here’s hoping! They do have a statue of Sailor Moon from the Sailor Moon R season, as it features her moon scepter. Click here for a photo. So they could be releasing figures from other seasons in the future.

There aren’t any pre-orders available for Sailor Mars yet, but she will be available come December. So anticipate a pre-order date soon. The other two scouts do not have coloured versions out yet, but they look stellar. The likenesses of each shout are captured beautifully in these figures. Their facial expressions look very much like their anime counterparts. Also, if you notice in this photo Sailor Mars has joints in her hair for posing. Sailor Moon’s pig tails do have some flexibility but not nearly as much so as Mars. It seems like Sailor Venus will also have poseable hair like Mars, but not the entire piece of hair is flexible, only 2 strand chunks in each figure. It is also noticeable that Sailor Jupiter’s pony tail is moveable, so her hair can flow in the wind like the other scouts.

Something of note with these figures is also their stands. It’s nice that we don’t have to worry about sticking a peg into their back (which at times can be frustrating) but we get instead is these clamps that stand out and make for an eye sore. On another note of concern with this is that it will probably take patience to work it properly. I imagine it needs a sweet spot to hold the figure effectively. I could foresee it buckling under the weight if it doesn’t hit a spot that it nestles into comfortably. However, the design of the base of these figures is quite nice. I like the attention to detail. I’m bargaining that the other scouts feature similarly designed bases.

I’m heavily anticipating receiving my figures this October. As soon as I receive them I will be doing reviews so keep posted until then! You can still pre-order Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury on Amazon if you’re interested. Links here and here. Also anticipate pre-orders for Sailor Mars in the near future. I usually go to Hobby Search and frequent the homepage almost every day. I’ll attempt to give more news on the figures and their pre-order dates, release dates etc. as soon as they’re announced! Keep posted, and happy collecting!
Christina

Codename:Sailor V Manga Review

Along with the re-release of the Sailor Moon Manga (which has been fully released into 12 volumes, I cover it here if you’re interested) was the re-release of 2 volumes that make up Naoko Takeuchi’s preceding series to Sailor Moon, Codename: Sailor V. For those who need a bit of background to this, Takeuchi began work on Sailor V before Sailor moon. This series was serialized in Kodansha’s magazine Run-Run, but a year after its development she began work on her Sailor Moon series as well. As her second series progressed she slowly faded this storyline and segued it in to feature her Sailor Moon manga, leaving Codename: Sailor V a short series of 16 installments. It features Minako Aino who’s character is unchanged from her character in Sailor Moon, the only difference is her change in costume. However, in this series she is in the forefront, introduced into the series as a peppy and easily excitable young teen. She dreams of being an idol and finding a boyfriend, the typical young teen attitude. You get to learn about her past as a Sailor Guardian before she is introduced later on in the Sailor Moon series, as well as learn about her struggles growing up and accepting responsibility along with finding her first love (this side-story is well worth reading if you’re a huge Sailor Moon fan, it has a big twist to it that fans of the series will not expect!).

If you read the manga you will soon realize how this manga has a very different tone to it when compared to the Sailor Moon franchise. It takes a very lighthearted look at being a teenager magical girl whereas Sailor Moon is filled more with emotional struggle. The only real struggle Sailor Venus has to deal with is her own clumsiness preventing her from making an idol debut; it’s kind of silly, it never delves very deep into her emotions. The manga has a very shoujo feel to it, so those looking for a dynamic deep story will not find it here. The manga feels a lot like the Sailor Moon anime, it’s repetitive with little character development in each chapter. The only mover in the story is Minako herself, her friends and family make no impact or lasting impression. You can argue Minako herself doesn’t leave much of an impression either, but she does show some development by the end of the final volume.

Kodansha's Sailor Moon Manga Re-Release

If you’re the around josei age like myself (young 20’s) then you’ll probably remember growing up watching Sailor Moon. I remember fondly being completely obsessed with this show (arguably I still am). So when to my delight I got to my local bookstore to see Sailor Moon Volume 1 sitting on the shelf for sale I snagged it so quickly I left a trail of moon dust in my wake. That was over a year ago, and all volumes have been released. For those who haven’t watched Sailor Moon, or for Sailor Moon fans this is a must pick up, and any shoujo fan as well.


This manga is being released right in time for the re-release of the Sailor Moon anime which is getting totally redone for this summer anime season (It’s been re-scheduled to 2014, I have shed many tears over this). This time around the anime is supposed to follow the manga more closely, and if you are anything like myself, growing up you did not know how different the manga truly is when compared to the anime (especially the North American dub). The manga has a more serious tone, and even alludes to sex and the like. I would really recommend this manga to young adults over children. That’s what made the anime so different in contrast to the manga I’ve been reading. They’re two different experiences entirely (and the manga is far more enjoyable in comparison). The anime also stretched a 12 volume series into 200 episodes along with 3 movies, making it a huge franchise. The anime had a lot of formulaic episodes whereas the manga gets to the point; there isn’t that repetitious plot of Monster appears-oh no!-transform-destroy monster-repeat. The main villains are defeated within at least a volume and a half, with the end of each volume ending of a cliffhanger. Intermixed is the main story about the Moon Princess, the clash of future and past, and ultimately the survival of the Sailor Guardians and the Moon Kingdom. Even if you feel like you know the anime well the manga offers something fresh and more appropriate for those who grew up watching the show. There is a boxset of 1-6 already, so save yourself some money and pick it that up, as well as the 7-12 boxset scheduled for October of this year. Or if you’re like myself and can’t wait, all the manga is out and purchasable at Chapters or Amazon.