Welcome to Astral Animations, where we'll examine the imports of Japanese animation currently available in the United States.
This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the movie.
That said, on to the review!
Once upon a time there was a little boy named Mamoru. He was orphaned in a car accident. While recuperating at the hospital, he encountered a strange little boy with blue-green hair and paler blue-green skin. These two boys became very close, but circumstances forced the strange boy to leave the Earth. Crying at the loss of his friend, Mamoru presented the other boy, Fiore, with a single red rose. Touched by the gesture, Fiore promised to someday return with flowers for Mamoru. Then he vanished in a swirl of light, leaving Mamoru crying atop the hospital roof.
Now, in the present, Mamoru has grown up, and has set aside the pain of lacking a family by loving his "Usa-ko" and making her his whole world. Then, during a visit to the botanical gardens, the past and present collide as Fiore reappears, anxious to see Mamoru and give him his flowers. Usagi tries to intervene and is shoved away. Fiore disappears in a flurry of flower petals, vowing to return soon. However, it isn't he who returns but a strange seed that floats down from the sky. It burrows into some fertile earth and blooms...
It is on their way to school that Usagi and her friends--Rei, Ami, Makoto, and Minako--encounter the dark effects of that strange seed: a street full of unconsious people. When they investigate, those people lurch to their feet, with strange plants wrapped around them and controlling them! Struggling to survive without hurting the people to badly becomes a battle of the spirit as Rei destroys the plants with spiritual charms. Then it becomes clear who the real enemy is: the plant! But unbeknownst to the plant and its master, Usagi and her friends are more than they seem, namely, the Sailor Scouts! They battle the plant monster and succeed in defeating it, but they are hard-pressed to do so. And if the minion is so hard to defeat, what will its master be like? And what does that strange boy, Fiore, have to do with it all?
(Now, before I get into my analysis, let me apologize for mixing the Japanese version with references to the North American series release.)
Sailor Moon R--The Movie is an hour-long anime feature that seems to take place outside of the standard chronology of the series. On the other hand, it seems to also take place sometime after Chibi-Usa discovers that Usagi is her mother and that the other girls are the Sailor Scouts. At least, she doesn't seem surprised by their transformation into their alter egos. Given that we don't see any of Nemesis' minions around, it would appear that the story takes place after the Sailor Scouts defeat the Doom Phantom and before Chibi-Usa returns to the future and Crystal Tokyo. But you know...just accept it as involving characters you've seen before without worrying about the series continuity, okay?
I found that the subtitled version worked better for me than the dubbed version (yes, I have both). In addition to getting the chance to work on my Japanese, I also had the opportunity to experience the original personalities of the characters. They didn't seem wholly different from the North American version, but there were some differences here and there. It wasn't hard to adjust, though, so I thoroughly enjoyed myself the whole way through. Also, the voice actors were thoroughly enjoyable, with the emotion come across a bit more effectively in the Japanese rather than the English.
The relationship between Mamoru and Fiore might seem unusual--and possibly unorthodox and immoral--but I found it understandable and reasonable. Two lost souls bonded at one point, and then grew up separately under different circumstances. Mamoru came to terms with his loss and moved on while Fiore, floating alone through space, had only the memory of Mamoru's friendship to hold onto. Yes, it was entirely understandable.
Now, perhaps the best parts of all were the ending scenes, where Sailor Moon struggles to save them all from burning up in the Earth's atmosphere (you'll have to watch the anime to see how they got into outer space). Not only is this perhaps the first time (barring what he did under the influence of the Negaverse) that I actually saw him actively using his power as the Prince of Earth (transforming into Tuxedo Kamen doesn't count) to transform, but I also got to listen to perhaps one of the best pieces of Japanese music (modern) that I've ever heard. Some critics might call "Moon Revenge" somewhat inappropriate to the scenes, but I thought it was fine. That may be because I didn't wholly understand the meaning of the Japanese, but it sounded good!
Sailor Moon R--The Movie is available in an uncut English subtitled format. It is also available as Sailor Moon--The Promise of the Rose in an English dubbed format. Both the subtitled and dubbed versions are available on a DVD, and you can buy either, or, or both at you nearest video store that sells anime. You can also contact Pioneer Animation or The Right Stuf International to find out how to order it.
Interested in buying this video? You can! Just follow the links to order the subtitled or dubbed VHS versions, or the DVD version. You can also visit the Stellar Video Store for other titles.
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