Sailor Moon: Personal 16th Anniversary

Last year, the Sailor Moon manga (comic book) and anime (animated series) franchise celebrated its 20th anniversary and announced that a new series would premiere in Japan during the summer of 2013. Since I completely missed the chance to commemorate it, I thought it would be nice to celebrate a more personal anniversary. It’s been sixteen years since Sailor Moon came into my life and introduced me to the awesomeness of manga and anime.

It was 1997 and I was six years old and in elementary school. I’m not sure of the exact date I started watching Sailor Moon or if I watched the series from its premiere date. All I remember is coming home from school one afternoon and turning on Cartoon Network. The next thing I know, I’m sucked in by a blonde crybaby and her friends as they transformed from ordinary schoolgirls to superheroes.

Out of all the characters known as Sailor Scouts, it was Sailor Moon that I admired the most. Even though she was a crybaby and lazy, she was also kind and protective of her friends and family. At times, the latter qualities combined with her looks to make her beautiful inside and out. I could relate to Sailor Moon because I could be a lazy crybaby and enjoyed doing the same leisure activities she did. More importantly, Sailor Moon’s kind and caring nature made me want to be the kindest person possible.

Sailor Moon was the first cartoon from Japan I ever watched. I loved it and I wanted more. Soon, I was watching Pokemon too. As the years went by, I became exposed to another shojo (girl-targeted) anime called Cardcaptors. When I became good friends with a few guys, I started watching shonen (boy-targeted) anime like Yugioh!

Meanwhile, I started reading manga thanks to Shonen Jump!, a magazine filled with action-adventure Japanese comics aimed at boys. Another influence was boys and girls bringing manga to school. I ended up buying at least one volume from some  of my favorite series. Of course, one of them was Sailor Moon.

Since the original Sailor Moon anime ended in the United States in 2000, I’ve discovered many aspects of manga and anime. Some of the artwork is gorgeous and some of the themes and lessons are memorable. Recently, I’ve rediscovered shojo manga after not having read it for many years. I’ve even managed to finish the Sailor Moon manga series where the English anime left off. Sailor Moon isn’t my number one favorite manga or anime, but it holds a  special place in my heart.

Here is a fan-made AMV (animated music video) tribute to the character Sailor Moon