How Sailor Moon R Almost Ruined The Anime 

I loved how they handled the villains in R. They humanized them, and several of them found redemption. Saphir/Sapphire is actually my favorite male character, and I wish he wouldn't have died. I agree, though, that the whole breakup plot was unnecessary and cruel. King Endymion's excuse of a test was ridiculous, and I would say that Mamoru failed--at least, until he came to his senses.

R had great potential to explore the dangerous threat that Demando presented after he set his sights on Usagi. Mamoru's future self could have had the chance to show his fierce protection of Usagi's future self. Same with present day. Instead, there's no interaction between the future king and the psycho stalker.

One of the worst things about it is that when he breaks up with he says, "Why should my life be dictated by who I was in a previous life!?" and you know...that's actually interesting! I would love to see that explored because it's a really valid point and it would create another dynamic. But I wouldn't trust the 90s writers to pull that off properly. Kunihiko Ikuhara who directed the Black Moon arc of R has openly talked about how he disliked Tuxedo Mask a lot and would frequently try to have him killed off. I dislike 90s Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask as characters since he's just a big jerk to Usagi and becomes a token boyfriend in S moving forward with little relevance. But I adore manga/Crystal Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask, he's got character development and has way more importance in the story especially in the Eternal movies compared to SuperS. I'm a fan of Usagi and Mamoru as a couple in the manga and Crystal, don't like their relationship at all in the 90s.

Toei took a romantic manga and made the romance an afterthought lol. About them nerfing Tuxedo Mask, not only are the roses he throws inconsistent in power (it can stop a deadly attack but sometimes can't damage anyone) but there is an episode (about the shoe crystal, I think) where he creates a freaking barrier with his roses out of nowhere, and he never does it again.

ON TOP of the FORCED Fake age gape they gave them he is ONLY 2 years older then her but the 90s anime made him a COLLAGE student!

Very good video. I love Tuxedo Mask purple design as Endymion in 90s but I hate how he behave and hurt Usagi so much with the plot twists of R. Was very forced.

What sucks about all this is King Endymion is really cool and even cooler in the manga but they made him and Tuxedo Mask so out of character in R

Yeah it didn't help that the 90s anime made Chibiusa insufferable on top of Mamoru dragging out the will they won't they

Okay so R is "The End" of Sailor Moon's 90's anime for me because... well after R it feels like the story started in the first series is over and almost everything after feels superflous but that's just my opinion. Regardless R is my favorite season of the show for a lot of reasons but I can see where the frustration lies. I wish I could find it because just before Crystal came out in 2014 I rewatched up to episode 108 and had my own frustrations with R, to the point I grabbed a yellow notepad and story boarded a huge amount of pages and random notes for like... a comic that "Fixes" R for me. I think all the papers got recycled but from the top of my head I remember: -Keeping the break up but changing it to a 5 episode thing -Prior to the break up they get to have episodes as a couple but it's highlighting Mamoru having premonitions that are coming true within the episode for setup. -Mamoru breaks up with her but it's far gentler than the dick he was in the anime, but doubling down on the "Why should our past lives define our futures?!" angle. Usagi can tell he's not being completely honest with her but he won't elaborate more which almost hurts more than the break up because at least have a good excuse? -The Senshi actually want to kick his ass for breaking up with her without a very good excuse. -Ami convinces everyone to chill out and the senshi act like good friends to Usagi. -Ami is the one who takes matters into her own hands and confronts Mamoru, weaseling the truth out of him, but as we've had episodes to setup him having predictions come true Ami isn't sure how to deal with the idea that Usagi and Mamoru being together will somehow lead to Harm coming to Usagi. -Ami decides to try to help Mamoru and Usagi by slowly bringing the other Senshi into the secret to try and figure out if the premonition is being misinterpreted while also trying to walk the line between telling Usagi "Forget about Mamoru he sucks to break up with you!" and "But maybe don't forget about him toooooo much because this whole thing might be a big whoopsy poopsy misunderstanding" -The Senshi also gauging whether to tell Usagi about the premonition early because she at bare minimum has a right to know the truth. -This gets Usagi an extra scoop of confused because now everyone around her is acting weird except maybe chibiusa who is also out of the loop. -The premonitions still come from Future!Mamoru but instead of some bullshit that proves even in 1000 years he's still a prick, it's more about Chibiusa opening a link between the two time periods and King Endymion is kinda a ghost with his body crystal sealed, but because Mamoru is super premonition sensitive he's basically seeing bits and memories of King Endymion so Whoopsy Poopsy that last premonition was just his body dreaming and reliving it's last conscious moments with Prince Dimande's invasion and what happened to his wife. Now I wish I still had those they were like 80 pages worth of comic storyboards plus notes on how still existing episodes would play out with these changes did I mention the break up was only 5 episodes long now?

The way they handled the romance was always my biggest problem with the 90's Sailor Moon series. The love between Usagi and Mamoru was supposed to be so deep and strong that it carried across their past lives, but they don't really spend much time actually as a couple or bonding for most of the first two seasons. I don't know if I'd go as far as to say that the writers of the Toei series hated Mamoru. It felt more like they just wanted more drama with the will they/won't they as opposed to just having them be a couple. This is a big reason why I prefer how the romance was handled in the manga and Crystal. They didn't have forced/contrived drama, started to develop feelings for each other even before they learned about their past lives and their romance felt a lot more genuine than it did in the 90's series. I also liked how Mamoru felt more like part of the team with his own set of powers and more involved in the fights than just throwing roses. There are still plenty of good aspects of the 90's series and I can understand why its held in high regards after all this time, but the romance just shouldn't have been handled like that for a lot of reasons.

All of the mamoru hate by the writers and how terrible he is on this season can be explained by the fact that Ikuhara, one of the season's directors, really, really, really disliked him. I read somewhere that Ikuhara wanted to permanently kill Mamoru, nut didn't get permission. He went on to create an anime to do everything he wasn't allowed to do on Sailor Moon: Shoujo Kakumei Utena. I looooove Utena, but I like Mamoru haha

Crazy how the filler arc was handled better than elements of the actual main arc of that season

11:20 Just say Naoko-sensei or Takeuchi-sensei if you want to use honorifics. Sensei is used to refer to teachers, but also works for mangaka and other professions.

The thumbnail's Wanted poster 😂

You wanna know the worst thing about this? Kunihiko Ikuhara (the anime’s director up until S) stated he hated Mamoru so much that he tried to have him erased from the anime by killing him off but no matter how much he tried he failed to do so, which only made him angrier. Which means that the whole stupid breakup arc in R was probably HIS idea. No wonder Takeuchi-sensei is so picky about her original vision of her story, it’s because of old-fashioned men like Ikuhara.

AHHHHH YES MORE SAILOR MOON CONTENT!!😭💖💖🫶

I agree. What sucks is Crystal has issues too with pacing and then with locking movies behind Netflix so it’s a matter of choosing what flawed anime you want to watch.

Well said. What did you think of how they changed Minako and Rei? Minako started out like a leader, but then became very flighty.

I speak Japanese and have researched the series very well. I'm happy to explain anything you'd be interested in! First, all vowels have the same sound. (A is "ah", I is "ee", E is "eh", O is "oh" and U is "ooh") so Naoko is pronounced Na-Oh-Koh 🙃

Great video Jill! 🎉🎉🎉 10/10 made me Sailor in my Moon.

The editing was very well done on this video keep up the good work guys

I LOVED this video! You covered all the points I've pondered about R and the desecration of Mamoru in the 90s. (I still in enjoyed R for the Ayakashi Sisters tho and the season finale, but thats about it.) I am an independent manga-ka so I totally imagine the feelings of a situation where "a company tainted my character" that Naoko mustve felt. Anyway you guys are sooo cute and I enjoy ur discussion style. I WILL be watching more of your content and I sincerely would love to discuss Sailor Moon with u guys anytime!!

Great vid. I was a kid when the original anime came out and I remember being sooooo over the breakups and how mean he was to her

I'm not really a fan of Mamoru in the 90s anime as a whole. He's just kinda there, and even in Super S, he's still kind of just a "meh" boyfriend. I think he's much better in the manga, Crystal and even PGSM. For the 90s anime, I actually wish Seiya and Usagi could have been a thing.. And a husband and wife that bond over Sailor Moon? Wow, that's so cool!

Nah-oh-ko Tah-kay-oo-chee. :) Just for future reference. Completely agree with everything you guys said! I tend to skip a lot of R in rewatches because I just don't need to see this nonsense again and again! For them to act like there's only interesting plot potential between Usagi and Mamoru when their love is threatened is just... ludicrous. There's ENOUGH going on already with these kids constantly having to save the world, why deprive Usagi of a valuable source of support?! Not to mention, the way the anime (in my opinion anyway) HEAVILY implied that the reason Usagi thinks Mamoru left her is because he'd rather spend time with Chibiusa...?!??! Just, ?!!??! When Usagi sees the shoes and is like, "SHE'S here, isn't she", like... why are they playing this up?! Manga Usagi had a similar sense of jealousy but IIRC she quickly realized she was being ridiculous, that there is no way to compare his affection for his future daughter to his love for his future wife. I just can't.

Good video😃 Yeah , sailor moon R were hit or miss season . I feel like the only thing I like about this season is the villain , Dark Moon Clan . They got themself an improvement from the manga/crystal .

The change in Mamoru is largely due to the anime writers looking at other popular works and making the existing characters fit that mold. It looks like they mostly turned him into Glass Mask's Masumi Hayami, which explains the aging up and the more... acerbic personality. The episode where they reveal the moon princess the scene resembles 70's Glass Mask finale.

THANK YOU. Even as a 10-year-old binging all the episodes I thought the breakup plotpoint was stupid. I mean, they literally DIED loving each other and got together after a damn rebirth, would a vague dream threat be enough to separate them? As much as I love the 90s anime, Mamoru was definitely one of its weakest points and he was a million times better in the manga. Honestly, there I can buy the info that he's supposed to be Naoko Takeuchi's ideal man.

Not mention Usagi is a whole eighth grader until stars. Mamoru is a whole adult in college. I think their relationship is disgusting in the anime.

Husbo and I are on a Sailor Moon kick and love the main couple to bits, I cannot stress how refreshing it is to see someone vouching for our man Tuxy in spite of how dirty he was done in that arc. Really felt it when you pointed out how hard it is to voice some love for him, so I wanted to thank you for going ahead and sharing it anyways. Felt really vindicated🔥 ❤

While I can see your point of view, tuxedo mask is by far the lamest character so it never really bothered me to have their romance sidelined a bit. The friendships between the girls were always so much more important to me than the main romance.

i admit that R almost made me drop the series, but i skipped the filler and i'm glad i did because S is so GOOD! it's totally a different experience than R. by the way, if you wanted to adress Naoko with a honorific, i think it would be appropiate to use -san at the end. if you wanted to be extra polite, you could adress her by her last name with -san instead. great video!

🎉hope u do more videos on sailor moon like this it we as a fun watch

For me, Chibiusa was the most annoying aspect of this season, but yeah, the breakup was so stupid. I understand that Mamoru just wanted toprotect Usagi, but the reason why Endymion did this is just ridiculous. As if they were like "Oh yeah, we still need to make up a reason for this story, right? Quick, we need ideas, the season's almost over!" So King Endymion wanted to test their love... by making them break up? I guess he wanted Usagi and Mamoru to realize that their love is stronger than death or other threats. But come on, of course Mamoru wouldn't wanna risk Usagi's death. And as you said, it even got her in more danger. I heard that Kunihiko Ikuhara, who directed season 2-4 (and already worked on the show in season 1) didn't like Mamoru. Maybe that was a reason. It's so sad what they made of his character in the anime. By the way, I still prefer him over Seiya. xD

I also remember in the 90's anime where Mamoru rebounded onto Rei for some reason? Memory of this is vague and IDR if it was during season 1 or during this 13 episode stint in R, but I remember this being REALLY shitty. 90's Mamo and Rei were actually just awful.

Thank God I only saw just enough of R before starting on S as a kid. Best season ever inho

Cool Jewelry. Might have to pick something up for my baby mama

The demom tree arc filler felt like such a drag to get through as well

You bring up how out of character Rei is in this season and I can't help but agree and that further more, since Rei did date Mamoru in the anime during the first season for a while and basically stepped aside so he and Usagi could be together after the past life lovers thing was revealed, you would think Rei would be double pissed at Mamoru for him acting like that. Also, I hate how because of people hating on Mamoru due to this season, I could never really get into any ships involving Usagi with someone other than Mamoru in this fandom, especially back in the 00s, because everyone would bash on Mamoru and turn him into a domestic abuser to drive her into the arms of whoever they were shipping her with. Especially Seiya after Stars came out.

I am new and I watched Sailor Moon R and enjoyed it as much as season 1. The characters all felt perfectly in character in my opinion. I knew that they would get back together and they always had kind of a will they won't they. Also, I always saw Tuxedo Mask as kinda there and prefer the Sailor Guardians.

Iirc, the director of the 90s anime (sans SuperS and Stars) has said that he didn't like Mamoru. This is why, imo, he completely omitted his special powers and attacks in the show, portayed him as a jerk when possible and pretty much made him into an audience surrogate in case the show got a male young adult following. He really played favorites in his direction; Rei is just another member of the group in the manga, in the anime she is pretty much Usagi's deuteragonist because she was the director's favorite character.

Sailor moon crystal is based off the manga

I think the whole break-up plot could have worked if there were actual stakes and consequences involved. I always had this idea on a rewrite of this season itself. How I would have written it: Mamoru gets visions of Usagi getting imprisoned, and he sees a version of himself doing it. (My idea would be this would have been King Endymion sealing away Queen Serenity so that way she would keep herself protected and put Neon Tokyo in a status so the villains wouldn't be able to get the silver crystal.) But to Mamoru, he would believe this to be himself somehow hurting Usagi in the future. Let's not forget, he did get brainwashed by Queen Beryl one season prior, so it's not out of left field for him to think he could be under someone else's control again. Because of these visions, he decides to break up with Usagi and keeps her at a distance so he can keep her safe. But he would also be looking into the nightmares, and still have mixed feelings about it. Meanwhile, while Usagi is broken up she is heartbroken. The villains come to the past to try and find the silver crystal, and Wise Man realize that Usagi is actually sailor moon and future Queen. Diamond, who has an infatuation with Usagi, would want to get to know her. When Wise Man and Prince Diamond find out that Usagi isn't with Tuxedo Mask, they realize they can use this as a means to win the future. Diamond would try and get close to Usgai by becoming her new boyfriend in disguise, acting like a human and picking her up after her break up. If Diamond can get Usagi to fall for him, then Wise Man can influence her, so she would be with Diamond, thus ensuring Neon Tokyo's reign to Prince Diamond. As Diamond is getting close to Usagi, he seems like the perfect boyfriend. He shares her interest with her, helps her with her homework and she improved in her classwork (Going from 30 percent on tests and works to maybe 60-70), he even makes a good impression on her family, who see him as their son-in-law. While Usagi is none the wiser, maybe the other sailor scouts and Luna would be wary of Diamond, like Mars having a bad feeling about him. But Usagi would brush it off because she feels happy since her breakup with Mamoru. And, to Diamond's surprise... he starts to fall in love with Usagi as a person rather than her queen self. He could have doubts about tricking Usagi as he begins to truly care for her, but Wise Man would remind him that she would never truly love him if she knew who he was and what he wanted. Everyone goes to the future, Diamond's true identity is revealed, and this is where I would change the story. Instead of Chibi Moon becoming wicked lady (Because that was just a last minute plot point let's be real), Diamond would capture Usagi and have Wise Man turn her into Sailor Dark Moon, basically an evil version of Sailor Moon. She would use her silver crystal and it would be tainted, making her fight the sailor scouts and Tuxedo Mask. In this fight, Chibi Moon would try and call out for her mother, and in this fight scene, I would have Chibi moon turn into a sailor scout. (Since she becomes one later on in the series, but here it would have a bigger impact). She uses her powers to heal everyone, and try and save Sailor Moon. I would also use this as a way to have a redemption of Diamond, by making him sacrifice himself to loosen Wise Man's control over Usagi, thus having her hear her friends, child and partner. They set her free with the magic of friendship and love, Usagi manages to defeat Wiseman and the future is saved. I like this rewrite because it still has the break up plot line, but it also shows the consequences and mistakes the characters make because of it. I'm also a sucker for plots where the main character becomes evil and the other supporting casts have to either stop them or snap them out of it. And I think this would be a chance to show character growth for Chibi Moon, realizing her mistakes of what happened and becoming a sailor scout to save her mother. Would it fix the whole season? Maybe not, but I wouldn't mind seeing a rewrite of the season with this premise.

I loved the anime but yeah they built on the love of Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon in the Macai Tree arc and then randomly threw it out in the next arc of R by having future Tuxedo Mask just make the dumbest choices ever.

I actually loved R!! Loved the drama....break up and make up situation! I love how Darien became enemy but looked like he was teasing Serena because of the brainwashing.

I always loved the manga ChibiUsa but Sailor Moon R and S ruined her character for me. The whole Black Lady arc was part of the original story yes, but afterwards ChibiUsa calmed down from her daddy issues and matured. I liked her a lot more afterwards. But in the anime it carried on and ON borderline inc**t at times. And her outright disrespect towards Usagi was uncalled for after the main arc in R. I know people love to hate on the new Sailor Moon show but at least it’s fixed after her Black Lady arc. She actually learns to respect Usagi as her future mother and comes into her own over time. That’s the ChibiUsa I enjoy more of.

I've noticed that anime staff (who are predominantly men) often have issues writing male characters in series aimed at girls and women. In Marmalade Boy, a non-action, high school romance series, for some reason Toei Animation wanted to kill off one of the male characters, which the manga author absolutely disputed. In Kodocha, I noticed that male lead Akito Hayama, who is usually pretty stoic, says even less than usual and plays a pretty small role in the series' anime-original filler episodes. And Mamoru becomes kind of a jerk in Sailor Moon. The staff on the show used to even joke about Tuxedo Mask appearing in random high places -- it's like they were trying to one-up each other about how ridiculous they could make him. I don't know if the reason shojo male characters sometimes go wonky in their anime adaptations is because male anime writers don't think the male characters are realistic or relatable to them, or if maybe there's some other reason.

This is CRAZY to listen to as an adult, I feel so weirdly validated right now 🤣! Even as a child I would find myself rolling my eyes at Mamoru/Darien because, while he was handsome and mysterious, it felt like he spent SO much time negging, belittling, and pushing away the main character. It’s not like I had the vocab/real-life context to label him “toxic” or anything, but up until recently I was just never able to appreciate the narrative intent of his character. I’ve finally gotten around to watching a few episodes of Crystal, and it legitimately threw me off when Mamoru was actually being kind and considerate to Usagi. I was like, “Oh snap…was this **always** a mutual romance 😯?” Hearing how he was changed for the anime feels painfully reminiscent of some other manga adaptations I’ve seen, and it feels bad to realize that they took a creator’s favorite character in the exact opposite direction that she intended 😩.

Amazing video Jill

It looks like this similar to Ron Weasley in books and movies. Director of the movies even admited he hates Ron.

I never had a huge problem and I commented on another video what I would do if I were to do the series and I did include the drama but I never mentioned how long it lasted and I think that is the problem…as you pointed out after an entire season and that Doom Tree arc another 16 episodes is too much…my version has shorter seasons so fewer episodes…I also had the four knights being saved by the wish and everyone does question what is happening…had they not messed with everyone and left their personalities alone I think this could have worked…also cut the drama to fewer episodes and acknowledge the test once they are in the future and Diamond enters the picture

In my honest opinion sailor Moon R was my favorite season of sailor Moon even though it was dark a bit scary and they actually kind of crossed the line when Prince diamonds tried to you know what to Serena against her will

Crystal dos it SO much Better, 90s sailor moon went off because when R was Made it was a FILLER for the most part because Season 1 was all there was going to be

honestly, while the breakup in R was a definite low point for me, and I never liked the tree arc, I still think the dark moon arc stuff balances it out overall to a good season. TBH, I think SuperS is my least favorite season in the 90's anime.

If I remember correctly, I think I stopped watching because I could only handle one character that I found annoying in the American anime - Sabrina. Once they added the pink haired girl I just couldn't handle to very annoying people that were the main focus of it. I watched because of the theme music, monster lore, and other characters, but there was only so much whining that I could take.

I can't believe that this season spawned one of the movies that made me interested on Sailor Moon since then.

Well, Mamoru was a jerk to Usagi in the first season until episode 34... So not a very likable character. Also really weird that the anime staff aged him up from 16 to 19. It's sad we never got to see them act like a couple until they get back together in episode 77 and after that Tuxedo Mask is often used as some kind of comic relief in S and SuperS. The whole explanation of the break-up is just bonkers. And communication would have been the key. Kunihiko Ikuhara, who was the showrunnner of Sailor Moon from the second part of R until the end of SuperS wasn't a fan of depicting a healthy relationship between his main character (Usagi) and Mamoru. He was bored of the romance. So in the 90s anime, the focus shifts from the relationship of Usagi and Mamoru to that of Usagi to her friends, her future daughter and to one-off characters. But at least we get some nice moments from the Miracle Romance in S and SuperS.

This is why I prefer the Sailor Moon manga over the 1990's anime. To me the manga story is the real story of Sailor Moon. And I'm Happy that Toei animation went back to tell the manga story thru Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, Eternal and Cosmos. If I was going to recommend Sailor Moon to someone who has never seen it, I would only recommend the Manga or Sailor Moon Crystal. I never liked the 1990's anime because Toei either changed the story or left some things out.

This was a very interesting video to listen to. I'm amazed that my past self didn't mind this back when I first watched it in 2014. I think the reasons for this are that the Black Moon Clan carried this season for me and the anime's comedic side kept me entertained. There's that one episode where Usagi literally chugs a humongous bottle of charm juice not once, but twice. It's one of the funniest things I've ever watched in anime.

Are you able to make Orochimaru's earrings from Naruto on commission?

Ha creato dei ragazzi per le guerriere Sailor

Se vi piace Sailor Moon segui ellepedre a scritto una Fanfiction oltre le stelle la prima volta di usagi e mamoru, bunny e marzio

The creators name is pronounced: Nah-oh-Ko Tah-Keh-oou-chee (the oou part is like the oo in Google kind of)

There's really no truly perfect version of Sailor Moon. (Unless you read the manga perhaps.) I still prefer the original anime, but I respect Crystal for fixing Mamoru. (I still find it boring compared to the 90's anime personally.) As much as I like R, both Chibi Usa and Mamoru's behavior frustrated me.

Sailor moon R wasn't that bad

No

My biggest issue with Sailor Moon R has been how the later seasons completely contradict it and by altering key things that are established to still be a thing in the future that never change despite the changes those future seasons introduced. Also, ignoring time Paradoxes except when they want to use them for the plot. In season 3, as Darren (yes, I'm using the DiC dub names because that's what I grew up on, so Sue me) is near death during the final events, Rini isn't the least bit effected by the flux in time this SHOULD be creating as, no Darren means no Her, yet she remains unaffected. However, as soon as Darren's Planet Egg is stolen in Stars, Rini immediately fades out of existence. You can't have it both ways. Either you ignore the Paradox or you acknowledge the Paradox. You can't do both at once. Also, notice the DiC dub made Serena a better mother than Usagi by giving her daughter some individuality with her name?

and stars

Su RU-vid

Amazing analysis on this, r was my least favorite season because of their breakup