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♫ A new legend is starting right now... ♫note 

"Across time...A new light of destiny is unleashed."

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal (Sailor Moon Crystal outside of Japan) is the 2014 Animated Adaptation of Naoko Takeuchi's seminal Magical Girl Warrior manga Sailor Moon. In a nutshell, Crystal follows the plot of the manga more closely than the 1990s anime and updates the franchise for the 21st century. Toei Animation announced the series in 2012 in time for the 20th anniversary of Sailor Moon.

The series premiered on July 5, 2014 on Nico Nico Douga, Crunchyroll and Neon Alley and the first two seasons consists of twenty-six episodes. It was simulcast worldwide on a twice-monthly basis (the first and third Saturdays of each month).

Toei announced in September 2015 that it would produce the third season based on the "Death Busters" arc; these episodes aired on Tokyo MX in Japan on Wednesdays, beginning in April 2016.

On January 25, 2017, another continuation of the series was announced during the series' 25th anniversary. In June 2017, it was confirmed that it will consist of two movies that cover the Dream arc. On June 30, 2019, it was revealed that the movie duology would have the title Sailor Moon Eternal. Directed by Chiaki Kon and written by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, the first and second parts were released on January 8 and February 11, 2021, respectively.

On April 28, 2022, a special program celebrating the series's 30th anniversary announced a two-part film adaptation of the manga's final arc, titled Sailor Moon Cosmos. Directed by Tomoya Takahashi and once again written by Fudeyasu, the duology was released on June 9 and 30, 2023, respectively.

Kotono Mitsuishi is the only Japanese voice actress reprising her role from the '90s anime, as Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon. The English dub (handled by Studiopolis for the first three seasons and VSI Los Angeles for the Eternal films) uses the same voice cast as the 2014 redub of the original anime.

Note: Only tropes unique to Sailor Moon Crystal should be placed here.


Crystal contains series-exclusive examples of:

    open/close all folders 

    A–D 
  • 2D Visuals, 3D Effects: The Cel Shaded 3D animation used during the opening and the Transformation Sequences in the first two seasons was generated on computer.
  • Adaptational Attractiveness:
    • While Usagi's father Kenji was always considered to be reasonably good-looking (though more in a dorky way) by fans of both the manga and the first anime, when he showed up in Act 4 of Crystal the fans went all "WHOA THERE, SINCE WHEN IS HE HOT?!"
    • Same applies to practically any of the male characters. While Mamoru, Saphir and Demande were already considered pretty good-looking, even in the '90s anime, they became even better looking than before.
    • A lot of female characters went up a few bra sizes from the manga. Black Lady in particular went from a modest B cup to smuggling grapefruits in her dress.
  • Adaptation Distillation: While Crystal mostly follows the manga closely (and was advertised specifically as a manga adaptation and not a remake of the old anime), a number of scenes were still dropped or changed around for various reasons, mostly for the sake of timing. However, since this adaptation lacks the copious Filler of the 90s version, Season 3 ended up stretching the story by one episode compared to the manga and moving around some scenes, producing a better story flow than in the first two seasons.
  • Adaptation Dye-Job:
    • Downplayed. Generally, secondary and tertiary characters have had their hair and eye colors mildly to moderately desaturated as compared to the '90s anime, (and sometimes colorized manga art) in keeping with the series tendency towards a pastel, watercolor-influenced palette.
    • The Four Heavenly Kings uniforms are changed from black to white.
    • Princess Serenity has Mystical White Hair in color art for the manga, but in Crystal, she remains blonde. This is most likely carried over from the '90s anime, which made the same change. (A shot of Queen Serenity in the opening sequence showed her as blonde as well, but this turned out to be an error rather than an example of the trope; Toei corrected her hair color to her classic white as of Act 6, and all of her actual scenes in the series show her with white hair.)
    • Neo-Queen Serenity had pure white hair in the manga, but the Black Moon arc changed it to a very pale blond that could be mistaken for white. The third season went even further and made her blonde like in the first anime; whether this is an oversight or a deliberate change is currently unknown.
    • Makoto's hair, which is typically pink in the original manga's color artwork, was changed to brown in the '90's animenote . In Crystal her hair is a lighter reddish-brown shade that is a middle ground between the two previous versions.
  • Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole:
    • In Act 6 of the manga, Zoisite devises a plan to steal everyone's energy using TV broadcasts. Usagi watches one of the TV broadcasts and falls under a Mind Control spell. After a while, Usagi feels weak and faints on the street. Crystal has changed it so it'd be Usagi's mother who fell under the spell, but due to Crystal's status as a Shot-for-Shot Remake, the scene of Usagi fainting on the street shows up later with no explanation.
    • Still in Act 6, Sailor Moon faints after using her powers too much, and Tuxedo Mask carries her to his home. In the manga, she is still transformed when she wakes up, and detransforms at will, which is consistent with other scenes in that arc, where the guardians remain in uniform even when unconscious. In Crystal, she wakes up in her normal school clothes, despite still wearing the brooch, with no explanation why her transformation was undone.
    • Act 13 reveals that, as in the manga, the stones that the dead Shitennou were transformed into saved Mamoru from Sailor Moon's sword by acting as a Pocket Protector, and their spirits advise him on how Metalia can be defeated. However, in this version all four Shitennou are alive up until Act 12 and are killed elsewhere just before Sailor Moon strikes down evil-Mamoru, with nothing shown to explain how the stones containing the four's spirits ended up in Mamoru's possession.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: Genderflipped. Chibi-Usa is much more mature and level-headed here than in Sailor Moon R.
  • Advertised Extra: In the first episode, Usagi gives an introduction to Ms. Haruna, who is never seen again.
  • Ambiguously Bi: Usagi is infatuated not only with Tuxedo Mask and Mamoru, but with every single guardian's looks as well. It's less intense with the guardians (likely due to it being Mamoru that she ends up with), but definitely still there; she even follows Rei home specifically because of how pretty she is. There is no confirmation of whether she's actually bisexual.
  • Art Shift:
    • Notably averted in the first two-story arcs. While otherwise Truer to the Text, Crystal lacks the manga and first anime's shifts to broader comedy tropes like Chibi and Wingding Eyes, and dispenses with some associated Graphical Tropes, (Visible Sighs, large Sweat Drops and the like). While not lacking in slapstick, the result is a less Zany Cartoon tone. Played with in Act 19, where comedic elements were finally accompanied by the animated comedy tropes, such as Sailor Moon being shocked to hear that Chibi-Usa's a princess, or when Mamoru blushes wide-eyed when Usagi tells him that Chibi-Usa loves him, among some examples.
    • Played straight with the third season, which has a different art style due to Akira Takahashi replacing Yukie Sako as character designer, and employs more of the comedic exaggeration art tropes that the previous seasons did not.
  • Art-Shifted Sequel:
    • In general, improvements in animation technology (specifically the use of RETAS and its successor Clip Studio Paint, as well as Autodesk Maya) allow for more detailed character designs than in 1992. Toei also put deliberate effort into making the show resemble the manga more than the original anime, at least in the first two seasons; as a result, all the characters look taller and thinner than their '90s anime versions.
    • Crystal itself had this happen in the third season which had a new production team at Toei and addressed a lot of the issues with the first two seasons. While the new designs are based on the ones from the previous episodes, they are noticeably rounder and simpler, resulting in much fewer off-model shots than the previous ones.
  • The Big Damn Kiss:
    • Act 8 features Usagi finally kissing Mamoru after he saves her from an untimely death. This kiss is featured in the manga, but it's made more epic in the anime. There's even sparkles.
    • Not a romantic one, but Season 3 gives us one between Haruka and Usagi.
  • Bland-Name Product: In Act 7, Ami is looking up info on Sailor V on her 'Fine' Pad tablet.
  • Bloodless Carnage: While the manga wasn't shy of using High-Pressure Blood and messy death scenes all the way to Body Horror and the '90s anime did include some blood, all instances have been removed from Crystal. This becomes really noticeable at the end of Act 12 when Sailor Moon kills both the possessed Mamoru and herself with a sword.
  • Bowdlerise: The censorship in Crystal is present due to Japanese censorship laws having become more strict in the past 22 years since the first anime was broadcast.
    • Scenes of blood and children dying in painful ways in the manga were significantly reduced in Crystal.
    • Usagi getting drunk at the masquerade party was removed.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy:
    • Mamoru, twice. First, at hands of Queen Beryl and the Dark Kingdom. Later, he is hypnotized by Black Lady in the Black Moon arc.
    • Chibi-Usa, who is corrupted by Wiseman and turned into Black Lady.
    • In Act 32 of the Infinity saga, both the Inner and the Outer Guardians, who are forced to fight one another due to Cyprine's mind control.
  • Break Them by Talking: Nephrite almost gets Makoto with this lecture in Act 5, mocking her for being fooled by appearances and for believing in love. Unfortunately for Nephrite, Sailor Moon saves the day with a well-timed counter-argument that inspires Makoto to fight back.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Minako - and Makoto and Usagi to a lesser extent - act this way in the third season. She tends to act immature and boy-crazy in her civilian form, but as Guardians she proves being very competent and effective as The Leader of the Sailor Guardians.
  • Call-Back:
    • During the music video for "Moon Pride" as the guardians are doing their Team Power Walk, Mars is the first guardian to be featured walking alongside Sailor Moon before the others appear, as if in accordance to the bond the two had in the first anime. Mercury is added next, and it is these three walking together before both Jupiter and Venus are included. The shot of the three guardians together also appears to refer to the first anime, when it was just Moon, Mars, and Mercury for the first half of the Dark Kingdom arc up to Act 25. Said walk is also similar to the one made by the aforementioned first three guardian in the first opening. This may also be a reference to the 90s anime, in the eyecatches of which the order of the Inner Guardians to appear is Mars - Mercury - Venus - Jupiter.
    • The beginning of Act 5 has a small nod to a subplot from the 90s anime where Nephrite seduces Naru. Nephrite explains to Beryl that his plan for this episode involves taking advantage of "humanity's greatest weakness" — love. The plan doesn't involve Naru at all, but the scene does cut over to a picture of Naru in a wedding dress that Usagi and her friends are fawning over immediately after he's done talking.
    • This first ending for Season 3 recreates the intertwining hands scene between Haruka and Michiru from the first anime.
  • Casting Gag:
    • The Japanese version brings back some of the voice actors for the 1992 anime, albeit in different roles. Mami Koyama (Esmeraude) voices Queen Serenity and Daisuke Sakaguchi (Kyusuke Sarashina) voices Itto Asanuma.
    • Like in Koumajou Densetsu, Rina Sato (Rei) voices a Miko.
    • This is also apparent in the Viz Media English dub version where Cristina Valenzuela (Rei/Mars) voiced another similar character in the person of Homura Akemi. Both are antiheroic aloof dark haired girls whose names have a fiery meaning.
    • Like in Smile PreCure!, Misato Fukuen (Chibi-Usa) voiced a pink-haired magical girl.
    • The Latin American Spanish dub brings back three voice actresses from the '90s anime, albeit in different roles. Alejandra de la Rosa (the original voice actress for Ikuko Tsukino and third voice for Petznote ) voices Esmeraude, Ruth Toscano (the second voice for Ikuko Tsukinonote ) voices Queen Metalia and Magda Giner (the original voice actress for Zoisite and Calaverasnote  as well as the second voice actress for Petz) voices Queen Beryl.
  • Clark Kenting: Zig-zagged. In her introduction episode, Rei recognizes Sailor Moon as Usagi, and an episode later Mamoru recognizes a disguised Usagi as Sailor Moon and finds out her real identity. On the other hand, nobody recognizes Usagi as Princess Serenity until she awakens, Chibi-Usa conveniently does not recognize her parents in school uniforms, and no one at school recognizes the guardians, who do not even wear masks, as their classmates.
  • Clothing Damage: Unlike the original anime, this is averted with the most happening is Mistress 9 triggering Sailor Chibi Moon's transition form when she steals her brooch and heart crystal.
  • Continuity Reboot: Given that it's a Truer to the Text adaptation of the manga, Crystal has no connection to the first three seasons of the Sailor Moon anime.
  • Contrived Coincidence:
    • A few, given the way the guardians all meet, but there is a conspicuous aversion in Act 5 when Nephrite attacks Motoki and Makoto. None of the others are aware of this except for Tuxedo Mask, who then has to run to get Moon and bring her to the scene of the fight.
    • In Act 8, Minako runs into the other Sailors just as she's resolved to keep them out of what she knows to be a trap by Kunzite. The girls do explain that they were coming to find Minako in order to invite her to join them for dinner at Makoto's, but it's still highly convenient that they managed to run into her out on the sidewalk at that particular moment.
  • Creative Closing Credits:
  • Custom Uniform:
    • Ami wears a grey sweater over her school uniform, which serves to make her look slightly more modest and reserved as compared to her classmates.
    • Sailor Mercury's and Sailor Pluto's uniforms are sleeveless, while all of the other girls have short padded sleeves.
    • Each of the Shitennou has a different color lining his uniform. Kunzite in particular stands out among the four, as he is the only one with an open collar, cape, drop earrings instead of plain studs, and shoes as opposed to tall boots.
  • Darker and Edgier: The show's tone (especially in the first two seasons) is more serious and somber than the 1990s anime, reflecting the largely straight-faced mood of the original manga; even when humor does show up, it is more restrained than the first anime, lacking its cartoonish zaniness and slapstick.
  • Department of Redundancy Department: The third season's first ending theme is called "Eternal Eternity".
  • Deus ex machina: Not new to this series, but one example that stands out is when Sailor Moon and Tuxedo barely touch hands, and a new wand pops out of their combined power. Note that this happens while they're focusing all of their attention stressing out on how to save Sailor Mars, and they do not come up with any ideas of how to do this, it just happens.
  • Dies Differently in Adaptation: The Shitennou. In the manga, Jadeite was burnt to death by Sailor Mars's Akuryou Taisan attack in Act 3, Nephrite suffered a similar fate in Act 5 thanks to Sailor Jupiter's extremely powerful combo of Flower Hurricane and Jupiter Thunderbolt, and Zoisite died to Sailor V's Crescent Boomerang at the end of Act 7. Crystal recreates these scenes, but has Jadeite and Nephrite teleport away before the guardians' attacks cause enough damage; Zoisite is only slightly scratched and escapes at the beginning of Act 8. In Crystal's version of Act 12, all four of the Shitennou are killed at the hands of Queen Metalia this time around.
  • Does Not Like Men: Unlike the 90s anime adaption, Rei's open distrust of men carries over from the manga into Crystal.
  • "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune:
    • One of the singers for the third season's opening was Mitsuko Horie (Sailor Galaxia's VA from the 90s anime).
    • Also from the third season, the ending themes were sung by Junko Minagawa and Sayaka Ohara (Uranus and Neptune's VAs), "Otome no Susume" was sung by Misato Fukuen (Chibi-Usa's VA) and "Eien Dake ga Futari o Kakeru" was sung by Kenji Nojima
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: The Four Generals are brought out of their brainwashing by the guardians, only to be killed in the next frame by an energy wave sent by Queen Metalia.

    E–L 
  • Early-Bird Cameo: The end of Act 1 shows Ami's fleeing the rain away from the camera and the end of Act 2 finds us with Rei and her candles.note  Act 4 ends with an appearance of Makoto, and Act 6 includes a brief shot of Sailor V (who was never seen in person previously) towards the end.
  • Elaborate Underground Base: Shown off by Luna in Act 6. It's located under the arcade and the entrance is under one of the Sailor V game machines.
  • Ending Theme:
    • The ending of the first two seasons is "Gekkou" (Moonbow) by Akiko Kosaka, (a composer from both the 1992 anime and musicals) and performed by J-Pop group Momoiro Clover Z. It's a sedate, wistful romantic ballad that serves to counter the OPs J-Pop / Progressive Metal anthem.
    • Season 3 has three ending themes: "eternal eternity," which focuses on Sailors Uranus and Neptune, "Otome no Susume" (Maiden's Advice), which focuses on Chibi-Usa, and "Eien Dake ga Futari o Kakeru" (Only Eternity Brings the Two Together), which focuses on Mamoru. All three songs are performed by the characters' respective voice actors Junko Minagawa, Sayaka Ohara, Misato Fukuen and Kenji Nojima.
  • Enhanced on DVD: The Blu-Ray release fixes a lot of off-model shots and animation errors.
  • Episode Title Card: Crystal's card has a reverse painted silhouette of Usagi accented by pastel roses, (two of which are in her hair) and pink ben-day dot ribbons. Her long pigtails frame the episode number and title at right.
  • Ethereal Choir: A mixed-gender choir wordlessly sets the mood during dramatic or heroic scenes, ominous during villainous activity, grandiose and sweeping during Sailor Moon's transformation and attack sequences.
  • Everybody Cries: Sailors Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus all cry when the four generals were destroyed by Queen Metalia's death beam after having their memories restored.
  • Evil Is Deathly Cold: The Dark Kingdom's castle is located in the Arctic, and snow is periodically shown flurrying in through the colonnades. None of its denizens seem remotely bothered by the wind or cold, despite being generally underdressed.
  • Evolving Credits:
    • Starting from Act 15, the opening sequence includes the Black Moon Clan, Chibi-Usa, and Sailor Pluto in place of the Dark Kingdom and Queen Serenity.
    • The opening sequence of Season 3 undergoes slight changes over the course of the series, first adding a split-second shot taken from Super Sailor Moon's transformation, then upgrading the final Team Shot to include Super Sailor Chibi Moon and, eventually, Sailor Saturn.
  • Eyecatch:
    • The pre-break eyecatch has the series logo against a baby blue starry sky, with the earth below it. At right, in pastels, a reverse painted silhouette of Sailor Moon is tangled in draped ribbons, along with the moon and inner planets.
    • The post-break eyecatch has silhouettes of Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon beneath a large roman column, accented by red rose petals, as the Earth hangs in a white sky with the series logo at right.
    • Season 3 replaces them with silhouettes of Uranus, Neptune, and both together, holding their respective Talismans. Later episodes added Pluto and Saturn.
  • Feminist Fantasy: The quintessential Magical Girl series returns, and even the first theme song references the celebration of feminine strength. This is emphasized in the first episode with the fact that this time Tuxedo Mask doesn't rush to Sailor Moon's aid like in the Nineties anime, and only tells her to stop crying and fight.
  • Forced into Evil: It turns out the Four Generals were once knights in service to Endymion in their previous life, and were tricked into serving Queen Beryl before they remembered their past. She proceeds to brainwash them completely to prevent them from defecting from her.
  • Foreshadowing: For a very brief second Luna's human form could be seen praying.
  • Forgotten Fallen Friend: Mamoru remembers that the Four Kings of Heaven were knights in his service and the Inner Guardians remember that they and the Kings were lovers in their past lives. When Metalia kills the Kings, the Guardians briefly mourn them and then forget about them and while Mamoru collects their remains to summon their spirits for counsel, he only does it once.
  • Forgotten Phlebotinum: At the end of Season One, the Silver Millennium is restored to its former glory but Usagi declines to retake the throne so she can go back to her normal life. After that, the place is never seen or mentioned again.
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus: In Act 9, while the other guardians are being blinded by the appearance of the Legendary Silver Crystal, Ami promptly pops up her visor to shield her eyes.
  • Gigantic Moon: Photorealistic but massively oversized full moons feature prominently in the Title Sequence and Closing Credits.
  • Girliness Upgrade: Oh, and how...With the taller, skinnier bodies, longer hair, and makeup, this definitely applies when compared to the 1990s anime.
  • Gratuitous French: Despite being more prone to English borrowings, Crystal's To Be Continued card in the first two seasons contains the French phrase, A Suivre to go along with Alphonse Mucha-esque Art Nouveau imagery
  • Heel–Face Door-Slam: In Act 12, the Shitennou regain their memories and break free of their brainwashing thanks to the Sailor Guardians' efforts, only for Metalia to promptly annihilate them now that they're no longer useful to her.
  • Heroic BSoD:
    • Makoto's heart was broken by her sempai, and when she feels it's happened again with Motoki she emotionally collapses and stops fighting.
    • Usagi has a brief one after seeing Tuxedo Mask collapse in her arms, and regaining the memories of her past life.
  • Holding Hands: The first set of Closing Credits, which detail a romantic rendezvous, open with a close-up on Serenity and Endymion's clasped hands as they walk to the ocean shoreline, while the Ending Theme's first lyric is "Let's hold hands"
  • Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Following the practice of the manga and tokusatsu versions, individual episodes are termed "acts."
  • Image Song: Each of the guardians, Mamoru, and even the Shitennou quartet got one for the series' character song collection CD.
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Usagi, once again. In Act 32 of the Infinity saga, she is the only Sailor Guardian —along with Chibi-Usa and Mamoru— able to resist Cyprine's mind control, partially thanks to the Silver Crystal.
  • Interface Spoiler: The To Be Continued card depicts Neo Queen Serenity holding a staff-length version of the Cutie Moon Rod as a sceptre, well before the story arc that introduces both her and the weapon.
  • Kissing Discretion Shot: The very end of the original Closing Credits shows Serenity and Endymion clearly reflected in shallow water as they lean in for a kiss, only for luminescent water ripples to disrupt the image.
  • Knight of Cerebus:
    • Queen Metalia, once she appears on screen, everything starts getting more serious, with the comic relief gradually fading away. The Reveal about the Shitennou being brainwashed, which unlike in the manga, does have a huge effect on the guardians, and Mamoru's capture and brainwashing.
    • The Black Moon Clan quickly show their malice. Koan kills an innocent man along with a nun in the first episode of the new arc.
    • Mistress 9 in the third season, whose first act after awakening is to kill Chibi-Usa. From that point on, the season's tone becomes entirely serious, without any of the comic relief or exaggerated Art Shifts of the previous episodes, and it doesn't let up until the epilogue.
  • Late-Arrival Spoiler:
    • Contrary to the manga and first anime, Crystal isn't shy about blatantly foreshadowing the identity of the princess and her prince for the sake of Dramatic Irony, whether in Act 1's Teaser Dream Sequence, the Closing Credits, or the parallelistic artwork on its various Title Cards.
    • Momoiro Clover Z's music video promo for series Opening Theme "Moon Pride" openly spoils their identities as a matter of course during new animated footage, despite premiering the same day as Act 2.
    • The promo materials related to the Black Moon arc feature Chibi-Usa in her Sailor Chibi Moon costume. In the manga, Chibi-Usa doesn't become a guardian until near the end of the arc (with her lack of powers being a plot point), and the first anime only introduces her guardian form partway through the third season. Sailor Pluto, whose existence is supposed to be a mystery in-story, even gets prominently shown in the trailer, albeit remaining nameless.
      • Likewise, as of Act 17 they're not exactly hiding the fact that Chibi-Usa's parents are a future version of Usagi and Mamoru.
    • The first visual for the Death Busters arc shows the entire Solar system guardian team together, spoiling the introduction of Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune and Sailor Saturn, as well as Sailor Pluto being Back from the Dead.
    • In Season 3, the on-screen action maintains the impression that Haruka is male not just to the characters but to the audience, going as far as drawing her eyes differently when she's not transformed (her transformed design has long eyelashes, where when not transformed her eyes are drawn similarly to those of Mamoru and Motoki). The prominence of Uranus and Neptune in the promotional art, eyecatches, and end theme sequence make this pretense entirely pointless even to first-time fans who've somehow avoided being spoiled for any previous media, though it does match the orginal manga; as Takeuchi herself mentions in arbooks she draws Haruka more masculine when she's cross-dressing.
  • Lighter and Softer: The manga which Crystal uses as the base had much more graphic violence and controversial material. There were quite a few instances where children got killed a la Body Horror and many, if not all, of the bystander-turned-monsters didn't survive the final blow. Also, editing laws in Japan have gotten much stricter since the '90s anime was broadcast; some of the blood had to be cut out. It's, basically, what happened to Dragon Ball Z when it was turned into Dragon Ball Z Kai.
  • Living Emotional Crutch: Usagi has Mamoru/Endymion. If she can't have him, then she'll either spend weeks in deep depression or kill herself.
  • Love at First Sight: Serenity's four Guardians with Endymion's four Knights when they followed her to Earth one time and ran into them.
  • Lucky Charms Title: The font used in the word Crystal has two ornamental typographic quirks. The "C" is a stylized, overextended crescent moon, while the "t" is oversized and pointed at both ends of the vertical, with a curving flourish on the bar, suggesting the crossguard of a sword.

    M–S 
  • Magic Skirt: This is more in line with the original manga (where there were no upskirt shots) than the original anime (where it was more common).
  • Melancholy Moon: In a variation, Crystal's Creative Closing Credits have the ending "Gekkou", (Moonbow) where a princess muses on the her romance with a prince, and her sudden sadness at the sight of a moonbow, making her regret that they must soon part, though she hopes to see him again. Since moonbows can only happen during a full or nearly full moon, an oversized, bright moon is reflected in the shallow waters where they walk, set to lyrics that speak of how dreams are delicate and fleeting.
  • Mood Whiplash:
    • The more dramatic episodes sometimes begin with last episode's cliffhanger and with abundant angst... which is soon followed with Moon Pride's upbeat tune.
    • Season 3 has its second ending theme, "Maiden's Advice" which is upbeat and cheery despite how dark a note the episode ends on. Special mention goes to Act 33, where said ending's singer, Chibi-Usa, has her Silver Crystal stolen and is dying.
  • More than Mind Control: Cyprine uses her powers to amplify the Inner and Outer Guardian's distrust and suspicion between them to force to fight one another.
  • Multiple Demographic Appeal: Crystal targets the adult women who grew up with the prior incarnations of the Sailor Moon franchise along with new viewers, with director Munehisa Sakai pointedly saying they want the older fans attention, not just their nostalgia.
  • Mundane Utility: Count the number of times you see Ami writing... specifically using her transformation pen.
  • Mythology Gag:
    • The Transformation Sequences contain iconic elements and choreography from the those of the 1992 anime, and are essentially elaborate, CG recreations. The poses during the In the Name of the Moon speeches are also taken from the 1992 anime, but this time with more elaborate backdrops.
      • The third season takes it even further by more or less reanimating the stock footage for any attacks that appeared in the '90s anime, including lesser-known ones like Mercury Aqua Mirage, and the scene where the Daimon Egg implants itself in the first episode is very similar to the animation used in Sailor Moon S.
    • Within the fandom and various dubs, the transformation devices were called 'rods', 'wands' and 'pens' by various people, creating inconsistent terminology. In the second episode, Ami gets hers... and promptly reveals, outright, in this adaptation, they're most definitely Transformation Pens, with the gold topper being the pen's cap.
    • During a flashback when we see Professor Tomoe consume the Diamon seed, his face looks exactly like it did in the 90's anime, framed in shadow with Scary Shiny Glasses and a red Slasher Smile.
    • Chibi-Usa’s Image Song from the third season has similar animation to the ending to Sailor Moon R (Namely, the main focus starts off walking leftwards, before evolving into a sprint).
  • Noodle People: This is especially pronounced in the first two seasons, where Yukie Sako's character designs hew closer to manga-ka Naoko Takeuchi's original willowy, leggy bishoujo look, but also lack the source material's periodic lapses into cartoonier, Super-Deformed states.
  • Oblivious Guilt Slinging: Inverted. When Usagi starts spending time with Makoto she is extraordinarily complimentary of all the things Makoto is usually uncertain about, including both her strength and her femininity. So it’s more like Oblivious Confidence Building.
  • Opening Theme: For the first two seasons, the opening is "Moon Pride" by Progressive Metal composer Revo and performed by J-Pop group Momoiro Clover Z, is a message of hope and female empowerment featuring electric guitar riffs courtesy of Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman. Season 3 debuts a new OP, "New Moon ni Koi wo Shite" (In Love With the New Moon) sung by Etsuko Yakushimaru.
  • Open-Minded Parent: When Usagi told her father she had a boyfriend, he gets shocked for a minute, then just happily accepted that she was growing up rather than freaking out.
  • Orbital Shot: Crystal has a fairly elaborate and protracted one in its Transformation Sequence, where the spinning is paired with dizzying zooms and zoom-outs that give a three-dimensional view of the sparkly, prismatic CGI void the heroine transforms in.
  • Orcus on His Throne: Averted in Act 6. When Zoisite starts having some trouble in his fight against three of the guardians, Queen Beryl shows up in person to stomp them flat.
  • Out of Focus:
    • Sailors Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus have very little of consequence to do during the Infinity arc. While they are shown investigating Mugen Academy, they stop being able to have any effect even on enemy Mooks after the second episode of the arc; the main focus of the plot is Usagi's interactions with Haruka and Chibi-Usa's with Hotaru, most of which the Inners simply aren't present for and have very little input on. By the time matters come to a head in Act 33 - Infinity 7, they're barely even shown reacting to the unfolding events when they're present at all, that role being mostly taken over by Chibi-Usa and the Outers. This is true to the manga, but becomes much more obvious in animation as compared to the generally sparser storytelling of the manga's panel format.
    • Compared with Haruka Tenoh/Sailor Uranus, Michiru Kaioh/Sailor Neptune has a less prominent role and less amount of screen-time in the Infinity arc.
  • Pictorial Letter Substitution: In the title logo, the font used in the word Crystal has two ornamental typographic quirks. The "C" is a stylized, overextended crescent moon, while the "t" is oversized and pointed at both ends of the vertical, with a curving flourish on the bar, suggesting the crossguard of a sword.
  • Pietà Plagiarism: A villainous version occurs in Act 6 when Beryl carries Zoisite away Pieta-style after he's hit by Moon Healing Escalation.
  • Plot Hole:
    • Sailor Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter instantly recognize Neo Queen Serenity, despite having spent the explanatory episodes unconscious in a dungeon.
    • Rei was wearing civilian clothes before transforming into Sailor Mars in Act 15. When she de-transforms, she is seen wearing her school uniform. It happens again with Usagi in Acts 23 and 24.
  • Potty Dance: In Act 31.5, Usagi does the wriggly sitting-down variant.
  • Rays from Heaven: Appear as a visual accent shortly before Sailor Moon's tiara manifests during her Transformation Sequence, in an aesthetic nod to her royal nature.
  • Remake Cameo:
    • Ai Maeda (Setsuna Meioh/Sailor Pluto) previously played a Three Lights fan in Sailor Stars.
    • Rumi Kasahara (Berthier) previously voiced Ptilol in S.
    • Mami Koyama played Esmeraude in the '90s anime and Queen Serenity in Crystal.
    • Yoko Matsuoka played various Monsters of the Week in the '90s anime before playing Queen Metalia in Crystal.
    • Houko Kuwashima, who played Esmeraude in Crystal, voiced a female student in the '90s anime.
    • Takaya Hashi (Phantom 5) voiced Sergei Asimov in S and the ventriloquist in the SuperS special.
  • Scenery Porn: The original Creative Closing Credits feature a particularly scenic nightime vista, panning over painterly cliffs with multiple waterfalls, a moonbow and a shooting star. A detailed skyscape is likewise featured as a reflection in water, with a gigantic full moon, sparkling stars, and even a few nebulae.
  • Sealed Evil in Another World: Neo-Queen Serenity banished the Arc Villain Wiseman/Death Phantom to the Planet Nemesis. This backfired hard, as he merged with it and became powerful enough to get revenge.
  • Sealed with a Kiss: The first set of Closing Credits ends on a kiss between Serenity and Endymion as they're reflected in water, with the precise moment their lips touch obscured by ripples.
  • Sequel Hook: Season 3 ends right at the very start of the solar eclipse at the beginning of the Dream Arc.
  • Setting Update: Crystal is set in present-day 2014, compared to the manga and original anime's 1992, and features updated tech, including cell phones, flat-panel monitors and Usagi's pink bunny-decal laptop in Act 2, and Ami's "FinePad" tablet in Act 5. Act 7, featuring a video rental store, has the store renting DVDs instead of video cassettes.
    • Crystal does retain the original Game Center Crown, (2003's tokusatsu version updated it to a karaoke bar) but though the industry is contracting, arcades remain relatively popular in Japan, unlike the west. However, the actual Sailor V video game is something of an aversion, looking like an early '90s platformer, which is somewhat odd considering the reason the game was created. Notably, the design of the arcade cabinets is much more in-line with modern basic cabinets for Japan.
  • Sexy Soaked Shirt: The third version of Season 3 ending credits, which focuses on Mamoru, includes a prominent shot of him standing in the rain.
  • Sexy Surfacing Shot: The first time we see Michiru she is swimming in her apartment and climbs out of the pool in a swimsuit while throwing her head back.
  • Ship Tease:
    • Every time Usagi sees a pretty girl or meets a new main character, she acts like she just fell in love. Of course she does this with guys too.
    • Usagi calls Ami really cute several times in Act 2 of the manga, while in Act 2 of Crystal there's a bit of Luminescent Blush as she does it, with Ami also blushing profusely when Usagi effusively hugs her, and again shortly after, when Usagi tells her that she's cuter when she smiles, while obliviously using the -chan honorific.
    • In "Sailor Mars", Ami uses "you can see a beautiful girl" as an incentive to get Usagi to come with her to the cram school. Usagi's naturally excited, and when she actually sees Rei, gets hearts in her eyes. Ami tells her it's rude to stare. And then when Rei gets off the bus, Usagi does too just so that she can follow her.
    • "Sailor Jupiter" starts off with Makoto saving Usagi, and after she walks off, Usagi's in love again and muses that the other girl smelled really good.
    • Chibi-Usa musing about how beautiful and pale Hotaru's skin is. Usagi agrees with a knowing expression.
    • Hell, the entire 3rd season has lesbian undertones all over it. The opening sequence shows both Chibi-Usa and Hotaru naked around a bed of flower petals, and there's an entire ending dedicated to Haruka and Michiru's relationship using the same imagery.
    • In Act 36, Hotaru tells Chibi-Usa she loves her right before dying. This didn't happen in the manga.
    • In Act 28, Minako's gift to Rei for her birthday is Casablanca Lilies, the same flowers Rei always got from her first love. Minako also says she brought them because she knew how important they are for her.
  • Shot-for-Shot Remake: Despite some details, Crystal is pretty much exactly a replication of the manga.
  • Shut Up, Hannibal!: Sailor Moon gives a particularly good one to Nephrite when he tries to demoralize Makoto. It works.
  • Special Effects Evolution: In Crystal, Cel Shaded CGI Sailor Guardian models are used in the Team Shots that open and close the Title Sequence and in the Transformation Sequences, which are elaborate CGI remakes of those from the 90's anime.
  • Spoiler Opening:
    • Not as coy as its anime predecessor's Evolving Credits, Crystal's first Title Sequence shows all of Usagi/Sailor Moon's superheroic supporting cast both in-costume and out, as well as Queen Beryl, her generals and Big Bad Metalia. Queen Serenity is also briefly shown at her Moon Castle.
    • The To Be Continued insert for the first season also does this, showing off the Cutie Moon Rod before it's introduced in the show proper.
    • Once they move to the Black Moon arc, Queen Beryl and co. are replaced by the Black Moon and Wiseman. Likewise, Serenity is replaced by both Chibi-Usa and Sailor Pluto.
    • Season 3's opening shows Usagi with her Super Sailor Moon transformation, and also spoils that Pluto is Back from the Dead.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Heavily downplayed and Played for Laughs; the first time that Usagi meets Rei, she follows her home on the bus because of how infatuated she is with her looks.
  • Standard Female Grab Area: In Act 7, Zoisite grabs Sailor Moon in this way after getting clocked by Tuxedo Mask, although he quickly switches to a more effective arm around her throat.
  • Stock Sound Effects: A non-public domain example. Some of the sound effects for the first two seasons come from Hanna-Barbera's sound archives (for example, the "bongo run" is heard after Usagi trips over Luna in Act 1). The third season also borrows some of the original sound effects from the 90's anime (oddly enough, both series have the same sound effects artist, Yasuyuki Konno).
  • Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: At the end of the third season, Makoto mentions they had to do a lot of cramming for their high school entrance exams due to having been busy fighting the Death Busters.

    T–Y 
  • Taking the Bullet:
    • In Act 6, Zoisite leaps into the path of Sailor Moon's Moon Healing Escalation to keep it from hitting Beryl.
    • Act 8 ends with Tuxedo Mask shielding Sailor Moon from an enemy attack, getting mortally wounded in the process, like it happened in the manga.
  • Talking Is a Free Action:
    • Averted in Act 7. Zoisite interrupts Sailor Moon right in the middle of her standard "I will punish you" speech to attack her.
    • Played straight in Act 12. After Sailor Moon tries to break Queen Beryl's necklace with the sword and fails, they remain in the same position for nearly 30 seconds. Instead of doing something useful, like pushing her away, Queen Beryl just talks about how futile it is to do it.
  • Team Power Walk: Momoiro Clover Z's "Moon Pride" music video features the CGI Sailor Guardians joining each other one-by-one in a synchronized walk towards the camera, stopping to form a V-Formation Team Shot.
  • Team Shot: CGI group poses of the five guardians in a field of blue flowers with a humongous full moon overhead begin and end the first Title Sequence.
  • The Teaser: The '90s anime either ran exposition/recaps before the opening or started with the opening. Crystal follows the more modern practice of a cold open with a story hook (at least until Season 3, at which point it switches back to recaps).
  • Technicolor Fire: Blue-green flames with strangely dark nimbuses light the sconces and torchieres of the Dark Kingdom, and are at least partly responsible for its Unnaturally Blue Lighting.
  • Thematic Theme Tune:
    • The opening "Moon Pride," while not literally expository, is pretty explicit as feminist group battlecry fitting a set of Magical Girl Warriors.
      "We all have unshakable wills.
      We will fight on our own,
      Without leaving our destiny to the prince."
    • The opening for Season 3, "Fall In Love With The New Moon", is all about a new beginning, fitting as Season 3 represents a new lease on life on a series whose first 2 seasons were were generally panned for its art issues, bi-weekly ONA format, etc. almost all of which the new season addresses. The title can be interpreted as literally asking people to fall in love with the new season of the show.
    • The ending "Gekkou", while a typical romantic ballad, fits Princess Serenity thinking on her romance with Endymion, scenes from which play as the credits roll.
    • Season 3's first ending, "Eternal Eternity", is a duet between Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, singing about how their love for each other transcends the boundaries of time and space.
  • To Be Continued: The intertitle that closes out each act has the Gratuitous French phrase A Suivre at left, and a painted silhouette of an Alphonse Mucha-inspired princess at right, haloed with an outer ring of planetary signs and inner painting of the Moon Castle, accented by white lilies and stenciled doilies.
  • Trailers Always Spoil:
    • The promo for Act 3: Rei - Sailor Mars spoils her whole Transformation Sequence. The promo for Act 5: Makoto - Sailor Jupiter does the same.
    • Though Crystal treats it almost as a Foregone Conclusion, Momoiro Clover Z's promotional Animated Music Video for "Moon Pride" makes explicit the identities of Usagi's dream prince and princess, and it spoils all of the guardians' Transformation Sequences.
    • The preview for Act 25 reveals Black Lady has reverted back to Chibi-Usa.
  • Transformation Sequence: A Cel Shaded 2D Visuals, 3D Effects variation on its predecessor, with ten more seconds worth of mid-air twirling, flying hair and additional sweeping Orbital Shots, accompanied by an Ethereal Choir and capped off with a spray of red roses climbing the standard stylized crescent moon background. Season 3 transformations dropped the 2D Visuals, 3D Effects, but the choreography remained mostly similar.
  • Translation Train Wreck: The Niconico and Hulu streams of the first 24 episodes contain quite a few liberal translations like "cat can talk" and "bump head". Averted for the Crunchyroll streams starting with episode 3 and the English dub.
  • Truer to the Text: Just like Dragon Ball Z Kai (also produced by Toei Animation) was to Dragon Ball Z, Crystal is a more direct adaptation of the original manga than the 90's anime or live-action show, albeit with a Setting Update from 1992 to 2014. To this end, Toei Art Shifted the character designs closer to Naoko Takeuchi's Noodle People aesthetic, and the plotting and pacing follow the manga's structure closely, recreating some panels scene for scene. As with the manga's chapters, episodes are called "acts", and each episode takes its title from the chapter it adapts. There are some deviations from the manga, particularly involving the increased presence of the Shitennou, but the sequence of events remains mostly the same.
  • Unusual Chapter Numbers: The show's episode numbering gets complicated in the third season. Up until that point the adaptation ran one episode per manga chapter, but Act 27, the first chapter of the Infinity arc, is instead adapted into two episodes - both titled "Act 27". The arc also separately numbers each episode of the arc, again according to the corresponding chapter of the manga, so the 28th episode of the series is officially "Act 27 Infinity 1 Premonition –Part 2–".
  • V-Formation Team Shot: Momoiro Clover Z's "Moon Pride" video has the CGI Sailor Guardians pose in a V-formation with Sailor Moon at center at the end of their Team Power Walk.
  • Villain Has a Point: Prince Demande tells Sailor Moon that his desire to use the Silver Crystal to remake the world how he thinks it should be is no different then what Neo-Queen Serenity did with it which is true, especially when you consider the deeper ramifications that a population that lived for thousands of years and still reproduces as fast as humans do would have for the planet.
  • Vocal Evolution: Compare Kotono Mitsuishi's Japanese voice of Usagi from the original series in 1992 and compare that to the voice in Crystal. Playing the role for over 20 years works wonders.
  • We Are "Team Cannon Fodder": Outside of their introductory episodes, the Inner Guardians spend more of their combat time in the first two seasons incapacitated than actively fighting, leaving most of the decisive action to be taken by Sailor Moon. Some of this comes from the manga, but the adaptation also exacerbates the problem both by spending more screen time on the Inners' helplessness and by at least once depicting Sailor Moon delivering a killing blow which in the manga was performed by another guardian.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Usagi constantly gives herself one of these for being jealous of Chibi-Usa.
  • Weird Moon: While it tends to follow the lead of its predecessors, in particular the series logo features a yellow, stylized crescent as a background element, and a white one as the "C" in "Crystal".
  • Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: In Act 8, Kunzite is thrown off when Minako starts to say something about his "true self". However, Queen Beryl's voice comes in to interrupt any possible revelations, saying, "What are you doing, Kunzite? Just finish her!"
  • You Have Failed Me: Just after the Shittenou get their memories back, Metaria kills them for failure.


Alternative Title(s): Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal

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Sailor Moon Crystal

The third ending theme from Sailor Moon Crystal.

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