"Sailor Moon Crystal" Series Talkback (Spoilers)

[aegisrawks]

OR a really awesome yet tediously long attack for Sailor Moon.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Whelp we've gone from biweekly to TRI-weekly with this show. Goddammnit Toei... >_<

 

[KYO'NYUU IMOUTO]

I do believe it was said that the episodes would only be released on the first and third Saturdays of the month. The problem is that some months have five Saturdays. I forgot about this snag when I woke up myself, but at the end of the day nothing is different from what was promised.

Well, other than the 'high quality' part.

 

[GWOtaku]

Looks like it gets back on the two week schedule in September. I thought this was a delay, but I was reminded of the fact that when they announced this it was actually for the first and third Saturdays of the month (as Jacob just pointed out above, I see). A regular schedule would make more sense but sure enough, that's what they said and that's what they're sticking to. Oh well. November is the one other five week month left this year.

Nice screengrabs from the episode preview, ICYMI. I'm thinking back to comments about how Makoto is has both a softer and a tough side and is likely to be acted just that way, & there's signs of that visually in this version too. Transforming with lightning, which is pretty fierce, while "Flower Hurricane" is her first attack.

 

[Looney Tunes Fan]

Well this sucks. I was really looking forward to a new episode today too. I forgot as well about the 1st and 3rd Saturday schedule.

 

[Light Lucario]

I remember the first and third Saturday of the month schedule they mentioned. It's still too bad since we'll have to wait an extra week to see this episode, but I suppose that they wanted to keep a more specific release schedule for this series instead of just every two weeks.

 

[Doguineta]

Aw man, I was looking forward to Sailor Jupiter's debut.

 

[zoombie]

Episode 5

So Sailor Jupiter at last. I tell you this was an awesome episode, the manaquin coming to life that was legitmatly creppy. And I love that in this universe, people could tell Sailor Moon and Usagi without having to be told,.

Makoto stepped up, and showed why she is Sailor Jupiter. And the team is just about complete.

 

[KYO'NYUU IMOUTO]

Episode #5

Episode #5 was outsourced entirely to Studio Add, the studio from Episode #2. Episode #6's animation supervisor is from Wanpack. Expect a few dozen key animators. Whatever cuts Shida Naotoshi is working on must before Episode #6, too, given he usually doesn't Tweet about something until it's nearly aired.

Enter, Transfer Student Matoi Ryuuko...age fourteen?! Eh?! Mako-chan? This is just plain confusing! Of course, should wind up being perhaps the most girly despite her supposedly beastliness.

Takanashi's score is pretty good when he relies on a chorus.

I can't quite think of anything to say regarding the story. It's very much a Point A-to-B story. This happened, so now that has to happen.

 

[GingaDaiuchuu]

Re: Episode #5

Okay, that's enough of that. An annoying schedule, terrible production values, and an pretty obnoxious show in general can't keep me around for any longer no matter how curious I am. I'll miss you, Moon Pride.

 

[Mandouga]

With all due respect, GingaDaichuu, what exactly were you expecting from this show? It does exactly what it sets out to do: it tells an all new version of the story that (mostly...) stays true to the original manga. I have to ask: is that really it, or are you just looking for any reason to criticize this show? Now, I don't mean to imply that you're concerns aren't valid, but I honestly don't think you're being fair. Ever heard the phrase "Don't judge a book by a cover"? I may have rough idea what the answer may be, but I'll ask anyway. Isn't it enough that this is a (mostly) truer adaptation of the manga?

Sent from my iPod touch using toonzone

 

[Jave]

But Mandouga, GingaDaiuchuu is not judging the book by its cover. He chose to watch five full episodes before deciding it wasn't for him. I think that's more than fair.

 

[O-chan]

I felt this was the most balanced episode of the show since the first episode. It really had good pacing, great animation, and the characters felt like they had some weight to their personalities. I also like how this version of the anime is taking things in it's own direction by keeping the Four Kings alive and making more allusions to them potentially being connected to the Guardians. Similar to the Jadeite/Mars allusions when I saw how Nephrite was referring to Makoto/Jupiter I went to look at "that" poster and sure enough those two were paired (I don't think this is a spoiler since "that" poster isn't canon but so far each King feeling a connection to a Guardian is paired with them in the poster). It's interesting since they are avoiding killing the bad guys how this is going to play out over the next few episodes.

 

[KYO'NYUU IMOUTO]

Not that Ginga can't tie his own shoes, but I've got to interject.

With all due respect, GingaDaichuu, what exactly were you expecting from this show? It does exactly what it sets out to do: it tells an all new version of the story that (mostly...) stays true to the original manga.

That is ultimately irrelevant to making an engaging television work. Ginga (and myself, although I didn't bother to mention it this episode) is not engaged. If one has to rely on a completely separate work, the comic, to enjoy this cartoon then something is devastatingly wrong.

I have to ask: is that really it, or are you just looking for any reason to criticize this show? Now, I don't mean to imply that you're concerns aren't valid, but I honestly don't think you're being fair. Ever heard the phrase "Don't judge a book by a cover"? I may have rough idea what the answer may be, but I'll ask anyway.

I have not the slightest clue what you are trying to say. If you're going to shrug off Ginga's attitude you might want to at least precisely explain what you are trying to say.

That aside, we're five episodes into the series. This isn't 'judging a book by its cover' it's having it's core cast and story introduced and feeling entirely disconnected from them based on the manner in which they are depicted through visuals and sound.

Isn't it enough that this is a (mostly) truer adaptation of the manga?

No. The idea is to write, direct, storyboard, animate, score, and voice perform a work that is entertaining on all levels. If somebody wants to read the comic they'll read the comic. We're here to watch engaging serial storytelling through the animation medium. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Crystal's faults or strengths are on it, not the comic it is adapted from.

 

[Tohya]

I think Mandouga is just put off by the obnoxious tone. I mean its kind of unnecessary to actually come on to a talkback just to announce your done with the show as if anybody would actually care. Regardless, I think its a fair question to ask as to what he was expecting from this show? Production value aside, Sailor Moon was what it was from the moment it aired. If you didn't find the first episode engaging, and the second episode didn't do anything for you then it doesn't require a monstrous amount of insight to realize that this show isn't for you. To come into a talkback and complain about the same things every week makes it seem like there are other agendas involved.

 

[ensatsu-ken]

There's nothing wrong with giving your opinion on something that you've watched. All GD was doing was that, and he was being honest about his opinions on each episode. Opinions don't have to be positive all of the time on a thread for a show in order to be valid and worth posting. I myself have criticized shows when I think it's warranted (even ones that I like and praise most of the time, like Hunter X Hunter, for example). I also don't view his tone as "obnoxious," from my perspective. Obnoxious would be something directly off-putting and possibly insulting to people who like the show. GD just talked about the show; he didn't say anything demeaning about anyone who actually enjoys the show. If complaining about it every week is what you're worried about, then let it be noted that he did say that he's giving up on the show, hence he won't be coming on here to complain about it any longer, so that's a moot point, now.

 

[Tohya]

Clearly there is nothing wrong with someone giving a negative opinion, the thread is littered with them and nobody is going to war over it. But GD's post were more "ok I'm giving it one more chance", and "I don't know how much more I can take" or "my patience is running short" etc etc then about actual critique. If I went into the Hunter X Hunter thread (where the consensus seems to be the opposite of Sailor Moons) and posted stuff like that somebody would probably say something to me. Just because GD's posts fit in with the general opinion of the show doesn't make them any less off putting [to somebody]. Anyways it is a moot point, and honestly i was just trying to give more insight since I felt like I knew what Mandouga was trying to say.

 

[Light Lucario]

Okay, that's enough of that. An annoying schedule, terrible production values, and an pretty obnoxious show in general can't keep me around for any longer no matter how curious I am. I'll miss you, Moon Pride.

I can understand being annoyed with the schedule and the production values can be questionable at times, although I thought that the last couple of episodes looked fine, but I'm not really sure how the show itself is obnoxious. I don't get that impression from the tone or its characters. Still, I can understand why this show might not be appealing, especially when it does seem to expect the audience to be familiar with the source material. It also doesn't help that the manga takes awhile to really become interesting. The early chapters were fine, but it becomes much more interesting after the five Sailor Guardians come together. I think that one of the biggest problems with Crystal is the release schedule since having to wait twice as long for these introduction episodes really hurts its pacing and could make it more difficult for the audience unfamiliar with Sailor Moon to wait that long.

You could try watching the rest of the series after it has finished its run, or at least after they cover the Dark Kingdom arc, to see if it's more appealing to you then. You could also check out the original Sailor Moon to see if that is more appealing for you. Viz Media has the first twenty-three episodes dubbed on Hulu for awhile and they're up to episode thirty-six with the subbed version.

As for me, I thought that this episode was pretty good. Makoto is probably my favorite of the Inner Sailor Guardians and I liked how they handled her introduction. They did a nice job in showcasing that she felt alone due to how other people saw her. The whole not believing in love near the end was a bit much, but I could understand why she'd feel like that given how lonely she seemed to have been before Usagi came along. Their interactions were quite nice and helped to flesh out Makoto 's personality a bit more. Her transformation sequence looked nice and I especially liked how her attacks looked during the battle. They are still going for some connection between the inner Guardians and the Four Kings by keeping them alive, which is pretty interesting. Overall, I thought that it was a pretty good episode.

 

[GWOtaku]

So it turns out that Crystal is in fact getting revised substantially for its home video release. A 13 minute "digest" video came out that basically abridges the first two episodes as a way of promoting the first Blu-ray release in Japan, and fans are already picking up on differences compared to first versions that were webcast. A handful of highlighted contrasts are tagged below:

Spoiler

[video=youtube_share;m1Nlp4tkfXk]http://youtu.be/m1Nlp4tkfXk[/video]

 

[KYO'NYUU IMOUTO]

Episode #6

Another week, another Wanpack episode. The forty-four credited Wanpack key animators are weak and Animation Supervisor Tanaka Miho hardly does much to bolster them. In fact, there is no credited Chief Animation Supervisor. Normally Sakou Yukie is credited as chief animation supervisor. She is not here. Perhaps she was busy correcting the first two episodes for the home video release? Either way, with forty-four key animators an extra hand to correct the poor work would have been nice. I can't imagine how hard a time Episode Director Ikeda Youko had working with so many different key animators. That seems like it would be a meeting nightmare. I bet she only really had hands-on dialogue with Animation Supervisor Tanaka and then let her work with her peers at Wanpack, given they would all be at the studio working together.

Surprisingly enough, the legendary Yama'uchi Shigeyasu storyboarded Part B of the episode. Yama'uchi is fresh off of performing the role of episode director and storyboard artist for HappinessCharge! PreCure Episode #32 (14 September 2014), which was his first work at Toei Animation in a good ten years, I believe. Yama'uchi's signature framing of shots helps give some life to the episode.

Any polish from Animation Supervisor Tanaka seems to only appear during Part B. There was one cut with somewhat nicely drawn water. Yama'uchi gave the combat a somewhat Dragon Ball-esque flair, which is likely thanks to his experience with the franchise (he directed Episode #232 of Dragon Ball Z from which Yamamuro Tadayoshi did his best key animation). Nevertheless, it's been another groan worthy episode. Usagi wiping her eye during Part A looked hideous. The stiff doll figures that are the characters of this series was horrible decision making on Series Director Sakai Munehisa's part.
If Luna was from the moon she ought have been a rabbit!

I wonder if Venus ever collects royalties for that video game?

The audio director keeps drawing out some Naruto Shippuuden-esque music from Takanashi Yasuharu.

Tuxedo Kamen reveals his identity! I wonder if Usagi will be stupid enough to refuse to believe it is Chiba, though?

EDIT: Whoops, it's late where Archah lives. Sakou did receive a credit as the chief animation supervisor.