Sailor Moon, Vol. 1 by Naoko Takeuchi Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Sailor Moon, Vol. 1
Book Review: An Enchanting Beggining
Summary: 4 Stars
Konnitiwa!(hello)(you might want to know some Japanese before reading this ^.~)This is the first Sailor Moon manga, and for a first, it's pretty good ^_~! Naoko Takeuchi draws the pics herself.They're very kawaii But people who like the N.A. dubbed version, probably will be easily bored and mabey even lost by this: the drawings are drawn by Naoko Takeuchi,and have a difference; the plot go by the Japanese manga(comics)ect. Bunny gets yelled at by her sensei(teacher),Miss Patricia Haruna,for being late. And you can tell that Bunny isn't all that bright by seeing her score a 30 on her English test^_^. Her friends get introduced"Hey Bunny How'd ya do on the quiz?"Melvin pops up @_@,"Here's our class nerd Melvin.He's gross(Bunny)."I can't believe how much you pork out, Bunny.You're like a guy!"Molly interupts. they start chatting about the test, when they overhear that there was another jewelry robbery last night...(skipping sone lines)...Molly and Bunny go to the jewelery shop, which Molly's mom owns. There's a big holiday sale, and they look at some rubys and yellow diamonds wishing they could afford it(it's not on sale). Molly's mom come greets her, but little do they know that she's a daimon from the negaverse trying to steal energy *.*!Bunny wanted some jewelery, but realized her dad wouldn't buy her that with a 30. She gets all depressed again and starts walking home, throwing her quiz away. It hits a shonen(boy)(guy in this case) on the head(I wonder who *.*) He calls Bunny cowtails which steams her up and she says they're called pigtails stupid. . He sees her score and replies "Who's calling who stupid,pigtails" she gets so annoyed and leaves. He sees the jewelery shop and says mabey he can find the silver imperium crystal here.
Bunny stops at the arcade and starts playing a game when the guy who works there,Andrew, says hi.(and surprisingling she has a crush on him)the neko she met this morning comes up to them. It curiously stares at Bunny, and she gets freaked out and goes home. Her mother greets her and asks what score she got on her quiz. Bunny shows her the 30 and her mother gets so mad that she kicks Bunny out of the house(literally^_~) Her little brother, Sammy, starts teasing her and slams the door in her face. All of Bunny's whining bribes her mother to let her in.
The daimon from the jewelery shop is holding a container full of minna's(everyone)energy.Molly comes into the room and sees her "mother". A smirk comes on the daimon's face.
Bunny says how all that crying made her tired and lays down onher bed.She falls asleep and starts dreaming. Right when it was getting to the good part something scratches Bunny's face and wakes her(hysterically)up. She yells that that hurt and sees the neko, which just talked. The neko introduces herself as Luna. Luna thanks Bunny for removing the bandaid, since she couldn't talk or investigate with it on."I'm glad I found you. I was becoming concerned that I wouldn't."
Bunny thought it was all a dream and tried to keep sleeping. Luna says she''l prove it's not a dream and she tosses Bunny a brooch. Bunny says it's so pretty and admires it in the mirror, while Luna is trying to get her attention.
Luna announces to Bunny that she is the chosen warrior, and it's her mission to find her team and defeat the enemy. The brooch starts glowing, which Bunny points out. Luna tells her to yell out Moon Prism power, which she does. Bunny is extremely surprised to find what she is wearing.Unlike in the anime, Bunny has goggles like Sailor V's and they start showing Molly being attacked by a daimon. Luna tells bunny that she has to go help her and they start running over to Molly's.
Molly is being choked by the daimon and says her mom is chokinh her. The daimon says she's not her mom, her mother is tied up in the basement. All of a sudden Sailor Moon appears above them on the windowsill and makes her speech about her being a champion of justice and defender against evil. The monster summons her slaves to wake up and fight against Sailor Moon. Bunny's true clutziness shows as she gets beaten up by them. Luna says she has to fight, and Sailor Moon says she doesn't want to, she just wants to go home and starts screaming and whining. The slaves faint because of Sailor Moon's shreiks with the help of her odango's(pigtails)red jewels. A man in a cape comes and tells Sailor moon not to cry and that now is her chance. Luna tells Sailor Moon to use her tiara and shout frisbee. Sailor Moon says Moon Frisbee and destroys the monster.
The masked man in the cape says he didn't find the silver imperium crystal but did enjoy the show, and flies off. Sailor Moon instantly fell in,love with him ^_~ Minna wakes up and have no clue to what happened. Luna tells Sailor Moon the enemy has begun it's strategy, but she's just dazed off thinking about that man.
in a distant land, a man is peering through a crystal ball and says he must hurry up, the silver imperium crystal has become indispensable...
Back at school Molly is talking about how Sailor V's partner saved her and would have seen her face if she hadn't passed out. Her friend tells her to face that it was only a dream. Luna sees Bunny is worrying about something and asks what's wrong. Bunny replies that it seemed it wasn't a dream. The story continues on to Act 2,where a new girl has come.Her name is Amy and has the highest IQ at Bunny's juku.She's considered the girl genius. Luna is suspecious and suspects she's an enemy...But the real enemy is revealed...Sailor Moon is in trouble! She needs help, but who! And who is this new girl, Amy? Read and see for yourself!
In Act 3 there have been dissapearances from Sendai Hill.And there's this mysterious preistess...could she be connected with the disapearances?And what is the Silver Imperium Crystal? Who is Darien Sheilds?What does the enemy want? The story continues... Act 4-Princess D and her secret treasure have arrived.Is the treasure the Silver Imperium Crystal? Bunny and the scouts sneak in for a look. Someone else is there though...more than one...it looks like the enemy is going after the d-land treasure as well.The scouts are in major trouble this time...Sailor Moon gets a new power as well.Read on moonies!
Act 5- As Bunny lazily goes juku some girl saves her from almost being hit by a car! The same girl is new at Bunny's juku. They say she got kicked out of her old school for fighting, and her name is Lita.And at the same time there's a haunted mannequin that's possesed Andrew! Lita's in trouble!Continue reading to Sailor Moon #2! Now to look at the negative things-it's not all perfect.Some text runs off the pages and there are gramer and spelling mistakes, too.Otherwise all's good ^_~ Review by LitaMoon32 E-mail:litamoon32@aol.com The book's review: Everyone's favorite school-girl-turned superhero!Join Bunny,Luna,Tuxedo Mask and the scouts in their exciting adventures. This is the ORIGINAL SAILOR MOON COMIC from Naoko Takeuchi that launched the mega-hit TV show everyone loves! Designed to be pocket-sized so Sailor Moon can go everywhere you go!
Book Review: An absolute must-have!!
Summary: 4 Stars
Other than the fact that Mixx translated 'Usagi' as 'Bunny', I loved this book!! On the cover is one of the coolest Usagi/Mamoru (Serena/Darien) pics I have seen. In addition, many of the pics in the book are better than the pics in the anime. I can't wait for volume two to be released!!Book Review: An excellent read for anyone who wants to know more about SM
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is really good it is the FIRST book even before the anime sereies. Which is actually pretty different. and the drawings are so beautifully done! It is a must have for any "moonie"Book Review: An honest and thorough review of Mixx's Sailor Moon
Summary: 2 Stars
BISHOUJO SENSHI SAILORMOON, typically shortened to the simpler "Sailor Moon" in the United States, an epic, 18 volume tale depicting the exploits of a reincarnated moon princess who transforms into a sailor-suited warrior and her companions, was serialized for some five years in Kodansha's NAKAYOSHI Magazine for elementary school girls in an mixed-media merchandising strategy intent upon raising NAKAYOSHI sales. Indeed, Sailor Moon is a true industry brainchild; a corporate board decided the general plot and story outcome a year before its actual telling.So, it would be wrong to credit Naoko Takeuchi, the woman whose name appears on the cover of all Sailor Moon manga, with the sole creation of her most popular work. Rather, it would be better to call her a creative cog in a massive and powerful money-making industry.
Nonetheless, the innovative marketing strategy was a huge success, boasting sales of NAKAYOSHI to unprecedented heights and metamorphosizing in a fad that far surpasses US phenomena like Beanie Babies, pogs, Pokemon, or Power Rangers. Still, this was not mere coincidence. It does not really matter whether the story of Sailor Moon is the product of one woman's active imagination or of the collective consciousness of Kodansha's marketing machine; Sailor Moon is a charming, albeit at times predictable tale perfect for young girls aged 6-12 years old.
So, Sailor Moon has debuted around the world, speaking several universitys' worth of languages and delighting people the world over with its poignant, teary, yet ultimately triumphant story. Takeuchi's art, often called "gorgeous", is more appropriately labeled: the quirky, fine-lined style of a woman with no formal art training. It is clear, however, that her skill improves significantly in technique and detail as Sailor Moon progresses.
Perhaps Sailor Moon is truly deserving of the rave reviews that it has recently received in the US...or perhaps not. Nonetheless, Sailor Moon, like fads everywhere, has lost popularity in Japan. So, it probably cannot be called a true manga classic on par with the works of Osamu Tezuka or great shoujo manga artists Keiko Takemiya or Moto Hagio. Still, it is an entertaining, emotional magical-girl-meets-action-team manga with truly life-affirming messages to share with its readers. I give it a solid "4 stars".
Why, then, do I give it only "2 stars"? Though I really would have liked to have given this book an overall rating of "4 stars", I cannot in good conscience.
Note that I said I was reviewing Mixx Entertainment's version of Sailor Moon. In one fell stroke of the pen, Mixx has mannaged to transform Takeuchi's enjoyable story into an abomination of sloppy translations that are poor at best and illogical at worst. The register is consistent only in its inconsistency, and at times the text bubbles are filled in the incorrect order. Grammar errors are pervasive and intrusive to the reader. In addition, Mixx chose to preserve all the English names established in the TV show except for the protagonist's name, "Serena", which Mixx chose to return to feminist nightmare, "Bunny". (Had Mixx wanted to return to the Japanese names, they should have done so. "Usagi" in particular would have been far preferable; then the name would be less offensive, and those who know the true meaning can appreciate it for the folktale to which it alludes.) It is absolutely amazing that it is possible to enjoy the story at all after Mixx is through with it.
Even worse than the terrible translations is the quality of the book itself. Entire text bubbles are hacked off through an unprofessional page layout, and the paper quality is exceptionally poor. The original Japanese tankoubon released by Kodansha (graphic novels) are much higher in quality...yet cost significantly less.
Apparently, Mixx is eager to complete the Sailor Moon series in the space of another three or so years, but, sadly, quantity simply does not replace quality. I must conclude that Mixx's Sailor Moon merits only "1 star".
So, upon averaging the "4 stars"and the "1 star" together, I get "2.5 stars". If you, gentle reader, carry anything away from this review, please, let it be this: Sailor Moon is a good tale, but not when Mixx Entertainment is doing the telling.
Book Review: Awesome Manga, Awesome Storyline
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the few comic/manga books i like that I would recommend to anybody, any age. It is really nice and you can't easily put it down.Here are some key info about this book:
It is a collection that conbsists of five different animated stories:
1. Bunny a.k.a. Sailor Moon: We are introduced to Serena, usually called Bunny by her friends, in this story. She meets a talking cat, named Luna, who also intorduced her to her new powers, such as destroying the evil. Will she ever succeed?
2. Amy a.k.a. Sailor Mercury: We are introduced to Amy, Sailor Mercury in this chapter. She is a hard working student and she is powerful enough to take a part in the fighting against eveil. But is she ready?..
3. Raye a.k.a. Sailor Mars: We are introduced to Raye, Sailor Mars in this chapter. She is a beautiful, quick-tempered priestess. Will she and Bunny get along well together in this battle against evil?
4. Masquerade: Bunny's pathetic love for Tuxedo Mask, reveals itself in this chapter. Bunny decides to go to a Masquerade to chase the evil. What will happen there? Will Tuxedo Mask run to her help as always?
5. Lita a.k.a. Sailor Jupiter: A new scout joins the team.
Buy this book if you enjoy romance with action it it. I know you all do!!!