Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal (commonly referred to as Sailor Moon Crystal) is a next-generation Sailor Moon anime series adapted more faithfully to the manga. It is the second animated adaption of the series and, like the previous animated adaption of the 1990s, it is made by Toei Animation.

Season One: Dark Kingdom (2014-2015)
Usagi Tsukino was an average fourteen-year-old girl who, after rescuing a black cat, Luna, realizes she is the legendary Sailor Guardian, Sailor Moon, the Soldier of Love and Justice. Luna tells Usagi that she is a champion of justice and she needs to find the Moon Princess and the legendary Silver Crystal before the enemy, known as the Dark Kingdom, finds it.

In her fight against the Dark Kingdom, she meets new allies; Ami Mizuno, Sailor Mercury the Guardian of Knowledge and Water, Rei Hino, Sailor Mars the Guardian of Fire and War, and Makoto Kino, Sailor Jupiter the Guardian of Thunder and Bravery. She also meets the mysterious Tuxedo Mask, who is searching for the Legendary Silver Crystal. The four Sailor Guardians are later joined by Minako Aino, the famous Sailor V, more commonly known as Sailor Venus the Guardian of Love and Beauty, and who claims to be the long-lost Princess of the Moon.

As the battles continue, Usagi begins to get closer to Tuxedo Mask, and after he is mortally wounded in one battle, the seal on the mighty Silver Crystal is broken and released from to Sailor Moon, revealing her to be the real reincarnated Moon Princess, Serenity, and Mamoru revealing to be the reincarnation of Serenity's love, Endymion. Shortly after, Tuxedo Mask is kidnapped and brainwashed by the Dark Kingdom. Sailor Moon and the Senshi locate the Dark Kingdom and after freeing Tuxedo Mask from their control, Sailor Moon is able to use the Silver Crystal to destroy its leader forever, bringing about a seeming peace, until a little girl appears from the sky.

Season Two: Black Moon (2015)
The mysterious girl called Usagi, or Chibiusa, demands the Silver Crystal from Usagi and later incorporates herself into Usagi's family using hypnotism. Meanwhile, a shady group, who call themselves the Black Moon Clan appear as well. Following the advise of a shadowy figure named Wiseman, they plan to invade Earth and find and kill Chibiusa. Sailor Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter get abducted by Koan, Berthier, and Petz of the Black Moon Clan, respectively, while trying to stop them. Sailor Moon, Venus and Tuxedo Mask are told by Chibiusa that she is from the future and only they can save her home from the Black Moon Clan. Chibiusa uses the Time Key to open the path to the future, where they meet the guardian of the Time Gate and Chibiusa's friend, Sailor Pluto. When they reach the future known as Crystal Tokyo, they find it in ruins from the Black Moon Clan's attacks.

Sailor Moon is kidnapped by Prince Demande of the Black Moon Clan, who is obsessed with her unmistakable resemblance to Neo Queen Serenity. King Endymion, Tuxedo Mask's future self reveals the history of the Black Moon Clan, its base on Nemesis, the tenth planet, and that Mamoru and Usagi are married and Chibiusa is their daughter. Chibiusa runs into the Time Gate with Tuxedo Mask following behind, causing them both to be lost in the time stream, and Chibiusa is eventually brainwashed by Wiseman. Sailor Moon is able to free herself and her fellow Senshi from Nemesis and they escape to Earth. Chibiusa, now Black Lady, believing she was not loved in her home, attacks Crystal Tokyo and Wiseman's true identity is revealed as an evil entity known as Death Phantom, who had merged with Nemesis years ago. Demande, having gone mad, was able to obtain the Silver Crystals of past and future and threatens to touch them together, which would end all existence. Pluto shows up and stops time, but at the cost of her own life. Seeing her only friend die causes Chibiusa to break free from Death Phantom's control and she transforms into Sailor Chibi Moon. Sailor Moon, and Sailor Chibi Moon use their power to destroy Death Phantom. Chibiusa goes back to the future but returns shortly to receive proper Sailor Senshi training, and gives Usagi a present from her mother: the Heart Moon Rod.

Season Three: Death Busters (2016)
A few months have passed since the defeat of Death Phantom, and Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto, Minako, and Chibiusa have all enjoyed their daily lives in peace and harmony. With the third evolution of their standard Sailor forms and much stronger elemental abilities, the four Inner Sailor Senshi are prepared for anything. Chibiusa is glad to train in order to become the sixth Sailor Senshi of the team by transforming into Sailor Chibi Moon. With the mystical Cosmic Heart Compact in her possession, Usagi now transforms into the third evolution of her regular Sailor form and is even stronger than ever with the Heart Moon Rod as her newest weapon. However, new forces arise out the blue, using vile monsters called Daimon. In addition to this new threat, two new mysterious Sailor Senshi appear, but have ambiguous intentions. To make matters worse, Mamoru and Rei begin to have vividly recurring nightmares about the annihilation of the world, where the Messiah obliterates everything and everyone with a long sickle-like weapon.

As new mysteries and disturbing secrets are brought to light, these new villains (who are called "the Death Busters") are gradually harnessing a great power within someone that will lead the Earth toward annihilation. In addition, a tenth Sailor Senshi is introduced; one who is considered the strongest and most feared of all.

In the climax, Sailor Chibi Moon evolves into Super Sailor Chibi Moon (with the sacred power of her very own Holy Grail), and combines her new-found Super Sailor abilities with those of Super Sailor Moon to annihilate Mistress 9. Unfortunately, their efforts prove futile as she merges with Pharaoh 90. Super Sailor Moon seemingly sacrifices herself to exterminate Pharaoh 90 by entering him directly and releasing the immense powers of both the Holy Grail and the Silver Crystal against him. It is then that three talismans glow and resonate; therefore awakening the last and strongest of the Sailor Senshi- Sailor Saturn, the Guardian of Death and Destruction.

Once awakened, she unleashes her supremely powerful destructive and deathly abilities upon Pharaoh 90, and ultimately brings about the complete annihilation and nonexistence of the entire world by dropping her Silence Glaive down on its edge. Fortunately, Super Sailor Moon appears unscathed; thus giving the four Inner Sailor Senshi and three of the Outer Guardians to evolve into their own Super Sailor forms. Reveling in the agony and disintegration she has brought upon Pharaoh 90, Sailor Saturn assures everyone that "always with the end comes hope and rebirth" and that the only one capable of bringing such holy power forth is Super Sailor Moon herself. The Guardian of Death and Ruin then urges Super Sailor Pluto to forever close the door to the forbidden realm, even though she would be taken as well. Super Sailor Pluto calls on the mighty power of her guardian deity, Chronos himself, and seals the Door; thus sealing both Pharaoh 90 and Sailor Saturn away. Super Sailor Moon then becomes Neo Queen Serenity and uses the great healing powers of the Spiral Heart Moon Scepter to revitalize the Earth and reverse all that was wiped out by Pharaoh 90 and Sailor Saturn's supreme deadly powers. It is then that a bright purple light emanates from the ruins, where the cries of a newborn are heard by Super Sailor Neptune, who realizes that it is indeed Sailor Saturn; her spirit once again reborn and reincarnated as Hotaru Tomoe. She, along with Super Sailor Uranus and Super Sailor Pluto make the vow to raise her as their own daughter due to her being all alone in the world. The trio part ways with the others, stating they will surely meet again someday, as they are all allies and friends. To symbolize that promise, Super Sailor Neptune gives her mystical Deep Aqua Mirror to Super Sailor Chibi Moon and tells her to look in it for guidance, and to become an even stronger Guardian of the Future Moon by the next time they meet.

A few days later, Usagi, Ami, Makoto and Minako have all enrolled in High School and discuss their respective interests and future careers, with Mamoru as a first-year university student. Chibiusa and Diana appear, ready to return home to the thirtieth century. In the papers, a solar eclipse is occurring that day, which sparks Usagi's curiosity. Using eclipse glasses, she and Chibiusa look on at the Moon beginning to cover the Sun as the place gets darker, then they both hear a sound of a bell. As they turn around, rose petals fly across them and the screen turns pitch black, ending the season.

Main Characters

 * Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon - Kotono Mitsuishi - Stephanie Sheh
 * Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury - Hisako Kanemoto - Kate Higgins
 * Rei Hino/Sailor Mars - Rina Sato - Cristina Valenzuela
 * Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter - Ami Koshimizu - Amanda C. Miller
 * Minako Aino/Sailor Venus - Shizuka Ito - Cherami Leigh
 * Luna - Ryo Hirohashi - Michelle Ruff
 * Artemis - Youhei Oobayashi - Johnny Yong Bosch
 * Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask - Kenji Nojima - Robbie Daymond
 * Chibiusa Tsukino/Sailor Chibi Moon - Misato Fukuen - Sandy Fox
 * Sailor Pluto/Setsuna Meioh - Ai Maeda - Veronica Taylor
 * Sailor Uranus/Haruka Tenoh - Junko Minagawa -Erica Mendez
 * Sailor Neptune/Michiru Kaioh - Sayaka Ohara - Lauren Landa
 * Sailor Saturn/Hotaru Tomoe - Yukiyo Fujii - Christine Marie Cabanos

Dark Kingdom

 * Queen Beryl - Misa Watanabe - Cindy Robinson
 * Queen Metaria - Yoko Matsuoka - Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
 * Jadeite - Daisuke Kishio - Todd Haberkorn
 * Nephrite - Kosuke Toriumi - Liam O'Brien
 * Zoisite - Masaya Matsukaze - Lucien Dodge
 * Kunzite - Eiji Takemoto - Patrick Seitz

Black Moon Clan

 * Prince Demande - Mamoru Miyano - Matthew Mercer
 * Saphir - Tsubasa Yonaga - Greg Felden
 * Rubeus - Hiroki Takahashi - Steve Cannon
 * Esmeraude - Houko Kuwashima - Rena S. Mandel
 * Wiseman - Hiroshi Iwasaki - Steve Kramer
 * Koan - Satsuki Yukino - Eden Riegel
 * Berthier - Rumi Kasahara - Cindy Robinson
 * Petz - Wasabi Mizuta - Jessica Gee
 * Calaveras - Tomoe Hanba - Cassandra Lee Morris

Death Busters

 * Souichi Tomoe - Takuya Kirimoto - Keith Silverstein
 * Mistress 9 Yukiyo Fujii- Christine Marie Cabanos
 * Pharaoh 90 - Takaya Hashi - Michael Sorich
 * Kaolinite - Hikari Yono - Tara Platt
 * Eudial - Chiaki Takahashi - Erin Fitzgerald
 * Viluy - Rina Honizumi - Julie Ann Taylor
 * Mimete - Yuki Nagaku - Kira Buckland
 * Tellu - Naomi Ohzora - Laura Post
 * Cyprine & Ptilol - Umeka Shouji - Johanna Luis

Supporting and Recurring Characters

 * Ikuko Tsukino - Yuko Mizutani - Tara Platt
 * Shingo Tsukino - Seira Ryu - Nicolas Roye
 * Kenji Tsukino - Mitsuaki Madono - Keith Silverstein
 * Naru Osaka - Satomi Sato - Danielle Judovits
 * Haruna Sakurada - Akemi Kanda - Julie Ann Taylor
 * Motoki Furuhata - Hiroshi Okamoto - Lucien Dodge
 * Gurio Umino - Daiki Yamashita - Ben Diskin
 * Yumiko - Hyang-Ri Kim - Michelle Ruff
 * Kuri - Yukiko Morishita - Julie Ann Taylor
 * Mayumi Osaka - Sanae Kobayashi- Wendee Lee
 * Queen Serenity - Mami Koyama- Wendee Lee
 * Princess Serenity - Kotono Mitsuishi - Stephanie Sheh
 * Neo-Queen Serenity - Kotono Mitsuishi - Stephanie Sheh

Staff

 * Original Creator - Naoko Takeuchi
 * Director - Munehisa Sakai
 * Series Script Supervisor - Yuuji Kobayashi
 * Animation Producer - Toei Animation
 * Theme Song Performance - Momoiro Clover Z
 * Character designer - Yukie Sako
 * Series composer - Yasuharu Takanashi
 * Art directors - Takashi Kurahashi and Yumi Hosaka
 * Animation directors - Kozue Komatsu
 * Soundtrack production - King Record Company, Limited
 * Color Design - Kunio Tsujita and Tomoko Kobiki
 * Director of Photography - Takeo Ogiwara

Announcement of the Anime, First Delay, And First New Estimated Premiere
The newly modified anime series was first announced at a 20th anniversary event streamed on niconico on July 6, 2012. There, it was announced that it would premiere in the summer of 2013. It was also announced that Momoiro Clover Z will be singing the theme song for the anime.

It was officially announced in spring 2013 that the Sailor Moon anime that was supposed to start airing in the summer of 2013 was going to be delayed until further notice.

In July 2013, the new Sailor Moon anime was officially estimated to premiere in November 2013 - January 2014. Nakayoshi Magazine announced that the series was officially in production followed by those dates of expected premiere.

Second Estimated Premiere, Second Delay and Third Estimated Premiere
During the second 20th Anniversary event on August 4, 2013, it was revealed that the new Sailor Moon anime will air in December 2013, and that it would be streamed internationally online via niconico. It was also revealed that Momoiro Clover Z will be doing both the opening and the ending for the new anime. Later, it was announced on October 17 that the anime will be subtitled in 10 languages.

It was confirmed January 9th that the anime will be premiering in July 2014. Before the announcement, Atsutoshi Umezawa confirmed in a press release that the new anime will not remake the old anime, but adapt from the manga.

Black Moon Clan
At the Animate Girls Festival on November 7, 2014, the second half of Sailor Moon Crystal was announced and a key visual was shown as well. The second half, which premiered in January 2015, covers the Black Moon Clan saga of the manga.

Later, Chibiusa's voice actress and Sailor Pluto's voice actress, as well as the new ending for the second half of the anime, were all announced on December 27, 2014, during an event. On January 26, 2015, the character designs and the cast for the members of the Black Moon Clan (excluding the Spectre Sisters) were all shown and announced on the official website for the twentieth anniversary project.

Toei Plans Announcements After Last Episode
At the end of Act 26, in place of the "To Be Continued" screen card, a "See You Soon" message was displayed instead. Following the episode itself, a staff member posted an image on the official Sailor Moon Twitter account, reading: "Regarding future developments, we plan to post sequential announcements on the 20th Anniversary Project's official website! Please look forward to it!!". The Twitter account added that the television broadcast of the second season (the Black Moon Clan arc) is still continuing.

Toei Animation Europe had posted a news article in April that said, "A second season is currently under production in Japan where the broadcast will start this summer." Toei Europe did not say if the "second season" it was referring to is the television broadcast of the second 13 episodes of the original series (which just ended its online stream) or a brand new season. Toei did not respond to ANN's requests for clarification at that time.

Sailor Moon Crystal Renewed
On Monday September 28th at 11:30pm JST at the end of the TV broadcasting in Japan, Toei announced that the 3rd phase of Sailor Moon Crystal which will encompass the third arc of the manga, Infinity, so far. Just as the official site had stated, a special screening of the first episode on Sailor Neptune's birthday took place on March 6 in Japan. However the official broadcast started on April 4, 2016.

The series has a new opening and ending theme for the Infinity arc. The new opening is “New Moon ni Aishite” (In love with the New Moon) by Etsuko Yakushimaru. The new ending theme is “Eternal Eternity” and will be sung by the voices of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, Junko Minagawa and Sayaka Ohara.

A notable information from the screening of the first episode is that it contained only half of the story of the first manga chapter of the Infinity arc, the next half continuing in the second episode. The Infinity arc of the anime has thirteen episodes, each manga chapter equaling to one episode in the anime, except the first chapter, which equals to the first two episodes of the third season.

Sailor Moon Crystal Continuation Confirmed
On January 25th, 2017 it was announced on the Sailor Moon 25th anniversary official website that a sequel of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal was in production.

On June 30th, 2017, it was revealed that the Dream Arc of Sailor Moon would be adapted into a 2-part film instead of an entire season.

Trivia

 * This new anime follows closely to the manga with only a few differences.
 * Unlike the manga, "Premonition," was released as a two-part episode.
 * Unlike the first and second seasons, Season 3 episodes has three different ending themes; one with Haruka Tenoh and Michiru; one with Chibiusa, and one with Tuxedo Mask.
 * For the 25th Anniversary it has been confirmed that the Dream Arc is in production as a sequel to Sailor Moon Crystal. More information will come via the official website.
 * Viz released the English version of Sailor Moon Crystal Set 1 in North America on August 16, 2016. Sailor Moon Crystal Set 2 was released on February 21, 2017. The English version of set 3 was released in North America on Blu Ray and DVD December 5th, 2017.

Merchandise
Main article: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal Merchandise