Stop all the speculation, it’s official: the rebooted Sailor Moon Crystal will have a sequel, just in time for the franchise’s 25th anniversary. Well, they’re calling it a “sequel,†but savvy fans know exactly what to expect — after all, there are still two important storylines of the original manga to adapt, and since Crystal ended with the Infinity Arc last summer (directed by the amazing Chiaki Kon), it’s a safe bet that the show will pick up right where it left off with the Dream and Stars arcs.
Of course, despite its mostly faithful adherence to the manga, Sailor Moon Crystal has made some changes to the source material in the past, some of which was… questionable (I’m not bitter about the way the first season handled the Shitennou, NO!). So while we’re pretty sure a good chunk of these fan-favorite moments will make it into the series, it can’t hurt to point out just how much we love them:
The Golden Crystal
If you’ve been watching Crystal up to this point, it shouldn’t surprise you that Mamoru’s role in the manga is much more pronounced than it is in the anime going forward. In the manga’s Dream Arc, he even gets his own crystal! It’s not as powerful or interesting as Sailor Moon’s Silver Crystal but hey, he’s here and he’s in the mix and there’s something to be said for that.
Human Cats!
Remember in the Sailor Moon S movie how Luna got to be a human so she could mack on her weird astronomer boyfriend? Naoko Takeuchi liked that design so much that she ended up creating human forms for Artemis and Diana as well, and retconned them into being aliens from a cat planet. There’s no way Crystal would leave that out if given the chance.
The Happy Outer Family
At the end of Crystal — just like at the end of the Infinity arc of the manga — Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna decided that they were going to do right by baby Hotaru by raising her themselves. The Dream Arc picks them back up living together in domestic bliss in a giant mansion, which is pretty much the dream — I mean, who doesn’t want to grow up with three superhero moms who can give you violin and helicopter-flying lessons? More of that, please. In fact, there should be an entire episode devoted to a normal day in their life.
Sailor Saturn’s Transformation Sequence
In the original Sailor Moon anime, poor Hotaru was the only senshi not to get an official transformation sequence, which is some hot garbage because she’s clearly the coolest one out of all of them. Not only do I wish for a lavishly animated henshin for her, but I would also dearly love for her second awakening to be just as it was in the manga: a young girl of indeterminate age creepily reciting W.B. Yeats’ “The Second Coming†from memory until she becomes a goth teenager with witch powers. Not that reading that scene was formative for me or anything. Nope. Nothin’ to see here.
The Sailor Quartet
Let’s face it, the anime versions of Sailor Moon villains are always way more fun than their manga counterparts, if only because they get more screentime and need more concrete personalities to match. But there’s one thing the manga version of the Amazon Quartet has going for them: they’re actually Sailor Senshi who were corrupted by Nehelenia and then saved by Sailor Moon. In fact, they later become Chibiusa’s team, which is pretty cool because that girl deserves to have a few friends in the 30th century too, you know?
Princess Gowns For Everyone
If you’re a hardcore Moonie, you’ve probably seen this art of the Senshi all wearing gorgeous dresses, right? These outfits are from a specific moment in the Dead Moon Arc, and given that Crystal’s already used some of the gowns in promotional material, it’s safe to say that this moment will be an important one in the sequel. One thing, though: if y’all wanted to go ahead and give Haruka an expertly tailored suit instead of a dress, I would be extremely amenable to that. I’m just saying, it’s probably what she’d prefer.
The Starlights, Especially Seiya, Especially Seiya Gettin’ Cozy With Usagi
Your mileage may vary on whether Seiya/Usagi is a ship worth shipping, but if you ask me, the manga versions of the characters are way more sympathetic, especially because Seiya’s pushiness isn’t quite as gross in context. I don’t care whether Crystal goes the anime route and has the Starlights switching bodies from male to female, or whether it stays closer to the manga and portrays them as women in drag — I just want them to handle the relationships between everyone with some nuance. Except when it comes to Haruka. She hates Seiya no matter what. I don’t make the rules.
Rei and Minako Aren’t Here For Your Male BS
If I’m being honest, Sailor Moon Crystal, I am still extremely mad at you for that Dark Kingdom arc episode where the Sailor Senshi couldn’t bring themselves to fight the Shittenou because ~they were in love~ or whatever. You know what you could do to completely win me over? A faithful adaptation of the scene where Rei and Minako proudly proclaim to the Starlights that they don’t need any men to protect them, or maybe even at all. That’d do it. Make sure it’s very sensual.
All Of The Sailor Animamates The Anime Didn’t Get To Use
The anime did a great job with a few of Galaxia’s henchmen (Aluminum Siren x Tin Crow forever), but there were a lot of gorgeous characters we never got to see— like Lethe, Mnemosyne, Chi, Phi, and Heavy Metal Papillon.
Kakyuu Gets To Be A Senshi Too
Poor Princess Kakyuu doesn’t get to do much in the anime but stand around, look pretty, and then die so the Starlights can feel bad. In the manga, she’s actively helping Sailor Moon get to Galaxia to save the universe. She also gets a much more badass (re: violent) death in the manga, too, so be on the lookout for that too.
The Appearance Of Sailor Cosmos
This is, hands down, the moment that every manga fan has been waiting for since it became clear that Crystal would follow the same story beats. Sailor Cosmos is, true to what her name implies, a complete and unknowable enigma: she might be a descendent of Sailor Moon’s from the future, or she might be Sailor Moon herself. Either way, she’s got one of the most gorgeous designs of the entire series and we’ve never seen it animated before, so get to it, Toei!
An Elaborate Wedding Gown Finale
All I am suggesting, Crystal, is to do what Naoko Takeuchi herself would have done: marry all the Senshi to each other at the end of the series (technically it’s just Usagi and Mamoru’s wedding but let’s be real, he knows what he’s signed up for). Once again, I will only accept changes to the original costume designs in the form of Haruka wearing a suit instead of a gown. Also, it must have a cumberbund. No exceptions.
What do you think, are there any parts of the Sailor Moon manga that you’re dying to see animated? Let us know in the comments!
Images: Kodansha Comics USA/Toei Animation
