Darth Wiki / Toei Cinematic Universe

Toei Cinematic Universe is a hypothetical Darker and Edgier cinematic take on several anime (mainly Magical Girl anime from Toei), including Sailor Moon, Cutey Honey, Tokyo Mew Mew, Pretty Cure, and Saint Seiya. This page covers what the hypothetical films in the franchise would be, up to and including any and all supplementary material.

The installments are as follows:

• Champion of Justice
• Warrior of Love
• Return of the Champion of Justice
• The Cat Girl
• Emissaries of the Light
• Guardians of Tokyo
• Legend of the Champion of Justice
• The Cat Girl: Pitch Black, Deep Blue
• Emissaries of the Light: The Dark Power
• Knights of the Zodiac
• Guardians of Tokyo 2

See also: Toei Cinematic Universe Cast Crew And Tech Specs, Toei Cinematic Universe Characters

The hypothetical franchise as a whole, including fictional happenings in "real life" relating to production, contains examples of:

• Ability over Appearance: A common trait of the cast.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The S in ACES stands for Science. As in, applied sciences.
• Canon Foreigner: There are several, including seasoned ACES spy Agent Bruce Holden, so named as a tribute to Christopher Nolan collaborator Larry Holden.
• Composite Character: Agent Louise Nash is based on Luna, but she not only has Luna's trait of a professional attitude (to say nothing of the British accent she acquired from the English dub of the anime), but also Haruka Teno's taste for menswear, Ichigo Momomiya's cat-like gymnastics skill, and Natsuko Aki's Stoic Spectacles.
• Five-Token Band: The ACES Board in all its incarnations.
• Fun with Acronyms: Guess which three activities this Agency partakes in.
• Genre Roulette: Depending on the franchise within the franchise, any film could fit within one genre... or several:
  • Champion of Justice is a realistic straightforward action film.
  • Warrior of Love is a martial arts/spy movie about a girl and her robot.
  • Return of the Champion of Justice is a crime thriller.
  • The Cat Girl is a Yojimbo clone wannabe, a Western as defined by Walter Hill, and a Spaghetti Western type with an environmental message.
  • Emissaries of the Light is more or less a Sukiyaki Giallo.
  • Guardians of Tokyo is a spy movie first, and an action movie second.
  • Legend of the Champion of Justice is a hybrid disaster movie/spy movie/action thriller.
  • The Cat Girl: Pitch Black, Deep Blue is a Sukiyaki Giallo with Spaghetti Western trappings and an environmental message.
  • Emissaries of the Light: The Dark Power is a more straightforward action film, but with zombies that are just as realistically treated as the ones in the original Night of the Living Dead (1968).
  • Knights of the Zodiac is an action thriller that would probably resemble a PG-13 Sam Peckinpah picture.
  • Guardians of Tokyo 2 is an action movie first, and a spy movie second.
• Government Agency of Fiction: ACES, an agency for the United Nations which has agents all around the world hailing from such real-life agencies as INTERPOL, MI-5, Her Majesty's Secret Service, the CIA, the NSA, NASA, the FSB, the SVR, and numerous smaller, local agencies.
• Mythology Gag: Plenty to go around in this universe.
• Not-So-Omniscient Council of Bickering: The ACES Board, to whom Luna, Agent Holden, and Professor Tomoe report. Of course, they don't bicker as much as most examples, but they still get their fair share in the course of the franchise.
• Rule of Three: The membership of the ACES Board totals three squared; also, ACES has three sectors, and the third member of the board is always American.

Champion of Justice contains examples of:

• Actor Allusion: After removing Makoto Kino's head bandages, Luna notices a lightning-shaped scar on her forehead and asks, "Didn't we go to school together?" This is not a reference to Makoto's actress, but to Luna's.
• Actually a Doombot: Makoto actually killed a decoy of Queen Beryl.
• Adaptational Heroism: Professor Souichi Tomoe is undeniably a good guy in this incarnation. One of the Witches 5, Mimete, also gets this. Nephlite here is depicted as more of a True Neutral type than anything. Numerous Youma from the first season of the anime also switch alignments.
• Batman Grabs a Gun: Sailor Neptune hates Good Old Fisticuffs and prefers She-Fu in combat, but when Emeralda taunts her about the death of her mother, that's when she really gets violent! And she would've killed her, too, if Emeralda hadn't warned her not do so and then taken cyanide.
• Calling Your Attacks: During one scene, as she unleashes her flamethrower on a couple of thugs that had infiltrated a film shoot, Sailor Mars does this in grand style.
  Sailor Mars: Fire! [she activates the Homemade Flamethrower] SOUL!
• The Cameo: Michael Caine as Mr. Edwards.
• Canon Foreigner: Hannah Rothschild, who serves as Makoto's mentor. Ultimately subverted.
• Casting Gag: Writer/producer Christopher Nolan as Agent Holden, an ACES veteran who's just as much a Sharp-Dressed Man as Nolan is, in addition to being the Espionage sector's leader.
• Costume Porn: The novelization goes into just as much detail about costumes as any Kinsey Millhone book.
• Creator Cameo: Naoko Takeuchi as a customer at the jewelry store that gets held up by Morga and several of her thugs early on.
• Crossover: Natsuko Aki from Warrior of Love appears in a supporting role as a police sergeant, and from the same picture, Chokkei Hayami is another member of ACES. Ryou Shirogane from The Cat Girl also appears as an ACES scientist.
• Cunning Linguist: Luna is shown to have learned several languages (and she claims to be fluent in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Chinese, Polish, Hebrew, Afrikaans, and Cherokee, each to varying degrees). She uses it to her advantage when conversing with the ACES Board. Lampshaded by Number 2:
  Number 2: We understand you perfectly well no matter what tongue in which you address us. Now please, stick to a single language!
  Luna: Perchè diavolo importa a lei? Loro cambiano lingue costantemente quando conversando gli uni tra gli altri!^{English translation} Why the devil does it matter to you? You switch languages constantly when conversing amongst each other!
• Deadpan Snarker: Luna has her moments. For example:
  Minako Aino: How about Codename: Sailor V?
  Luna: How about Codename: Go Figure?
  • Bunny's no slouch in the snark department either; see Exact Words below.
• Disney Death: Ray Hino is put in a coma by smoke inhalation after helping the other charity ball attendees escape Queen Beryl's fire. She recovers just as she's being put in an oven during her funeral, and with Bunny's help she makes it out all right.
• Evil Costume Switch: When Hannah is revealed to be the real (or at least current) Queen Beryl, she's wearing a The Golden Age of Hollywood-style gown. Given the color and the resemblance to Evanora's dress from Oz the Great and Powerful, it's more than likely an Actor Allusion.
• Exact Words: After Kunzite is killed by his own weapon, having been deflected by Sailor Moon, she explains to a stunned Sailor Mercury how she followed her "no killing" rule with this line:
  Sailor Moon: Well, he's the one that fired the laser.
• Five-Token Band: In this incarnation, these are the members of the ACES Board:
  • Number 1 is British.
  • Number 2 is Italian.
  • Number 3 is American.
  • Number 4 is Jewish with a Brooklyn accent.
  • Number 5 is Swiss.
  • Number 6 is Japanese.
  • Number 7 is a Spaniard.
  • Number 8 is South African.
  • Number 9 is Taiwanese... and a woman.
• Genre Deconstruction: This is probably the most realistic, if slightly futuristic, version of Sailor Moon, and it shows. For example, the Sailor Soldiers rely not on magic, but on applied sciences, martial arts and gymnastics training, intellect, and a utility belt for each Sailor Soldier when fighting the bad guys.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Makoto sustains a lightning-shaped scar after destroying Queen Beryl's temple.
• Heroic BSoD: Bunny goes through one of these immediately after killing Jedite and realizing that for all the evil things he had done, in the end he was no less human than she.
• Hot Librarian: Luna daylights as one; this is actually part of how Amy Mizuno, a frequent visitor, gets recruited as a Sailor Soldier.
• Idol Singer: Minako is one; her first scene even has her singing "Anata no Yume wo Mita wa" in concert while wearing a tutu.
• Large Ham: The Sailor Soldiers here apparently like to ham it up when Calling Their Attacks.
• Limited Wardrobe: Literally the only other outfit Luna ever wears outside of her suit is a white martial arts gi. Also, she only has eight pairs of shoes.
• Malicious Misnaming: Done by Zoicite to Sailor Jupiter.
  Zoicite: Who do you think you are, Harry Potter in drag?
  Sailor Jupiter: No. I'm Sailor Jupiter!
• Modesty Shorts: A universal part of the Sailor Solider costume in this incarnation.
• Mythology Gag: There's plenty to come across here.
  • Sailor Moon's catchphrase, "In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!", makes its return here when she reveals herself to Flau and Jedite at the radio station.
  • In the same scene, Sailor Moon floors Flau by roundhouse kicking her across the waist. Flau is the first demon Sailor Moon bisected in the anime.
  • The gymnastics leotards worn by the Sailor Soldiers during training have the exact same design as their ballet leotards from episode 145 of the anime, down to the colors and materials.
  • Kunzite is killed by his own weapon when Sailor Moon deflects it.
  • Jedite's death comes just after an attempt on Tuxedo Mask's life.
  • When Luna complains about the color of Bunny's gymnastics tunic, she remarks, "I think you'd look better in blue." Pink may be Bunny's canonical theme color, but her Sailor Moon costume always has blue as part of its color scheme.
  • When Zoicite threatens Naru, Nephlite once again comes to the rescue, just like in the anime. However, this time it's Zoicite who buys the farm.
  • When Minako is assigned the codename Sailor Venus, she remarks, "I've got a better idea: how about Codename: Sailor V?"
  • Like in episode 187 of the anime, Bunny is shown playing baseball.
  • Mr. Edwards once again has the bad luck of hosting a party that's crashed by the villains.
  • The first half of episode 1 is almost mirrored in the opening minutes of the film, after the opening credits; however, there are several divergences. What the two versions have in common are:
    • Bunny's alarm clock failing to wake her up on time.
    • Bunny encountering a group of young bullies picking on a cat (in this case, a seemingly unimportant Iriomote wildcat) and chasing them away.
    • Bunny Standing in the Hall and getting a 30 on her test.
    • Naru taking Bunny to her mother's jewelry store at the shopping center.
    • Bunny having a run-in with Sonny Chiba, who calls her "meatball head" and insults her low grades.
    • Bunny's mother sends her to the library after seeing her test score, and Shingo mocks her as he goes by, culminating in Bunny slamming her knee on the door while trying to strike Shingo, who dodges by slamming the door on her.
    • The proprietor of the jewelry store is actually Morga in disguise, having attacked Naru's mother.
  • The story of Princess Serenity is retold by Bunny's mother as a bedtime story during the opening credits.
  • When Bunny receives the standard-issue eye mask with her costume, it looks like it did in the manga. She even expresses her disgust with it after trying it on for the first time.
  Bunny Tsukino: Che... I hate this thing!
  Luna: Would you rather risk blowing your cover?
  Bunny Tsukino: [Beat] Fine.
  • Sailor Venus's eye mask also resemble the glasses she wore in Codename: Sailor V.
  • The supercomputer at ACES headquarters is called Artemis.
  • In an allusion to her debut episode in the anime, Ray Hino is transported to ACES headquarters for the first time in a bus driven by a woman resembling Kigaan, who used the same bus for more nefarious purposes in the anime.
• Playing Against Type: Gary Oldman as Professor Tomoe. Bonus points because of Tomoe's original manga/anime alignment.
• Prim and Proper Bun: Luna. She doesn't even let her hair down when teaching the Sailor Soldiers various martial arts.
• Production Posse: Though Christopher Nolan isn't directing this time, several in his posse make appearances in both cast and crew, including producer Emma Thomas, co-writer Jonathan Nolan, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould, stunt coordinator Tom Struthers, visual effects supervisor Paul J. Franklin, production designer Nathan Crowley, casting director John Papsidera, and performers Michael Caine, John Nolan, Miranda Nolan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Jeremy Theobald, and Lucy Russell.
• Product Placement: Sailor Mercury is more or less wearing Google Glass.
• Recycled Soundtrack: A remix/re-recording of a previous James Newton Howard track, "Macrotus, 1st Movement (or, The Wayne Family)" from Batman Begins, plays during the opening credits. The theme from Il Grande Duello plays as Makoto, having left Hannah in the care of a local doctor and covered up her new scar by wrapping bandages around her head, returns to Minato.
• Self-Disposing Villain: With the exception of Jedite, if a villain is killed, it's by his/her own hand. Even if someone else helped it along (as was the case with Kunzite).
• Sharp Dressed Woman: Luna with her three-piece suit, and Hannah and Flau with their more feminine skirt suits.
• Shout-Out: Zoicite notices Sailor Jupiter's lightning scar and asks if she's Harry Potter in drag.
  • Ray's funeral has hints of Kill Bill in the form of her punching through her casket after emerging from a coma.
  • In a reference to Sister Streetfighter: Fifth Level Fist, a film set–Toei's, no less–is used by the bad guys as cover for drug smuggling.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Nephlite survives Zoicite's attempts on his life; also, Flau lives to see the sequels.
• Start of Darkness: Losing her parents to a plane crash was this for Queen Beryl. Luna mentioning this is a Call-Back to an earlier scene where Hannah tells Makoto that her own parents died in a plane crash, as well as Foreshadowing.
• Superheroes Wear Capes: Again, the Sailor Soldiers. It doesn't matter what shape.
• Take That!: Attempt "ballet fu" in an office space, and you end up causing collateral damage. Sailor Moon catches on after flooring Flau and resorts to pushing Jedite out in the hall and using more basic hand-to-hand combat skills against him.
• These Hands Have Killed: After killing Jedite, Sailor Moon undergoes a Heroic BSoD, horrified at having shed human blood.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: Bunny sets this code for herself after recovering from her Heroic BSoD.
• Tomboy: Bunny is more of one here than in the anime; she's even on the local Little League baseball team and a surprisingly decent outfielder for someone who is naturally clumsy.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Part of Queen Beryl's characterization; all she wants is a world without suffering. However, she won't hesitate to wipe a city off the face of the Earth to rid it of crime; after all, the other cities she and her predecessors had attacked over the years had been reborn from the ashes, and she personally views it as a cycle of sorts.

Warrior of Love contains examples of:

• All Your Base Are Belong to Us: This is the first time ACES headquarters gets attacked.
• Anti-Climax Boss: Sister Jill died before Honey could get the chance to fight him. The next movie explains why. Also, he's only seen early on.
  • In a subversion, the actual final boss turns out to be Panther Zora.
• The Cameo: Bunny Tsukino appears at the end.
• Casting Gag: Former voice actress Michie Tomizawa appears as a member of the new ACES Board; she's mentioned to be acquainted with Ray Hino and her family.
• Creator Cameo: Go Nagai as a news anchor.
• Crossover: Commissioner Sakurada, Professor Tomoe, Hotaru Tomoe, and Mimete from the previous movie return here, and Hotaru even has a plot-relevant role as one of Honey's decoys. Bunny Tsukino also makes a cameo at the end.
• Dragged into Drag: One of the decoys Honey uses is a first-year boy in her junior high homeroom class... who had been conveniently recruited into ACES as a spy.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: The whole ACES Board buys the farm offscreen.
• Five-Token Band: After the ACES Board is shuffled off in a direct assault on headquarters along with Professor Kisaragi and several Red Shirts, a new board of this makeup takes its place:
  • Number 1 is Italian.
  • Number 2 is Australian.
  • Number 3 is American, just like his predecessor.
  • Number 4 is Dutch Afrikaaner.
  • Number 5 is Cherokee.
  • Number 6 is a Zimbabwean woman with a British accent.
  • Number 7 is a Japanese woman.
  • Number 8 is Scottish.
  • Number 9 is Polish with a Brooklyn accent.
• Made of Iron: Model 10-73, a cyborg built by Professor Kisaragi in his daughter's image.
• Master of Disguise: Honey's transformations in this film rely on theatricality and deception, something she claims to have learned from Makoto Kino (who had learned such tactics from Hannah Rothschild). This includes use of costumes, decoys, gadgets, and Model 10-73, which she refers to as "Cutey Honey".
• Mythology Gag: Honey and her decoys all use names following the form "[INSERT WORD OR PHRASE RELEVANT TO THE DISGUISE HERE] Honey" when disguised.
  • The user of the Cutey Honey moniker is a cyborg, just like in the original manga/anime.
  • In reference to Sister Jill being a Cross-Cast Role in the Live-Action Adaptation from Hideaki Anno, the character here is a Villainous Crossdresser.
• Rule of Three: There are always three decoys used in a fight against a Panther Claw gangster before Model 10-73 is deployed.
• Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: The original ACES Board fails to make it past the first act.
• Leotard of Power: Worn by Model 10-73.
• Villainous Crossdresser: Sister Jill.

Return of the Champion of Justice contains examples of:

• Bifauxnen: Alex Teno, once again.
• Cross-Cast Role: Alex Teno. Also an example of The Danza.
• The Danza: Alex Watson (the director's younger brother) in the role of Alex Teno.
• Death by Cameo: A color commentator portrayed by Sue Shiomi is blown up by Death Phantom and his henchmen.
• Disguised in Drag: Wait a second, the number 7 driver's race queen isn't your average everyday... that's a man!?
• Driven to Suicide: Alex Teno, after the death of her father at the start of the film. Fortunately, Luna talks her out of it.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: Sister Jill's death is this for those that hadn't seen Warrior of Love.
• Man of Wealth and Taste: Death Phantom styles himself as one.
• Monumental Damage: Fuji Speedway is trashed by the villains in the prologue.
• Mythology Gag: When leaving the phony Sailor Soldiers and Flau and her gang to be picked up by the police, there's an exchange taken directly from episode 11 of the anime, except Sailor Venus says Sailor Moon's catchphrase, not Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars.
  Sailor Venus: In the name of the Moon, all of you are punished!
  Sailor Moon: Hey, That's My Line!
  • Wearing the same tutu she wore during her introductory scene in the first film, Minako sings "Moon Revenge", the closing theme to the Sailor Moon R movie, as Sailor Uranus goes on a Yakuza boss hunt during her concert.
  • Ray's race queen disguise in the prologue bears more than just a vague resemblance to the costume she wore in episode 52 of the anime.
• Precision F-Strike: When the phonies show up and attack Flau and Rubeus, Flau says she knows Sailor Moon when she sees her, and the leader of that pack is definitely not her. Rubeus responds by yelling, "No shit!"
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Death Phantom is a villainous example.
• Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Commissioner Sakurada is killed by Death Phantom during the second act.
• Villain Opening Scene: The attack on Fuji Speedway orchestrated by Death Phantom.

The Cat Girl contains examples of:

TBA

Emissaries of the Light contains examples of:

TBA

Guardians of Tokyo contains examples of:

TBA