Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		1.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Sailor Moon: Season 1, Part 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Apologies for the rant...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown November 21, 2014

Well, that just happened. I dig Sailor Moon. Always have. Always will. I'm sure you dig it too. Chances are if you're reading this, or itching to pick up a copy of Sailor Moon: Set 1, you know you love it and you know exactly why. So let's skip the usual "history of the series" and "still holds up all these years later" praise and cut to the chase: VIZ Media has done its fans a disservice. While Ranma ½ continues to stand tall three gorgeously remastered releases in, Sailor Moon falls flat. And not because it's upscaled from a standard definition source. VIZ has made matters much worse with heavy-handed attempts to clean up an already problematic source, polish away several issues with DNR and other debilitating techniques, and somehow transform lead into gold using... more lead. (Additional details about the presentation can be found below, in the Video section.)

Usagi Tsukino is a cheerful 14-year-old schoolgirl who often finds herself in unwanted trouble. One day, she saves a talking cat named Luna from some mean kids, and her life is changed forever. Luna gives Usagi a magic brooch that transforms her into Sailor Moon, defender of love and justice! Now Usagi must work with Luna to find the other Sailor Guardians and the Moon Princess, whose Legendary Silver Crystal is Earth's only hope against the dark forces of the evil Queen Beryl.

Adding insult to injury, VIZ reps -- chief among them Senior Manager of Animation Marketing Charlene Ingram -- are refusing to acknowledge the subpar quality, pointing to the age of the series, the limited source elements at their disposal and, well, the age of the series. (They've been mentioning that one a lot, as if remastering mistakes and poor decision-making in 2014 are somehow a necessary evil inherent to tackling '90s anime. Upscale or no, that isn't the case.) Not that anyone on Team VIZ is offering much more insight than "it looks fantastic!" More crucially, Ingram and company have yet to answer a key question: why release Sailor Moon on Blu-ray at all if this mess is truly as good as it can possibly get? In a May 2014 interview with Anime News Network, Ingram said:

"We all took some good hard looks at the assets available, what type of Blu-ray restoration could be done, from key scenes to casual scenes to transformation scenes, just doing all kinds of Blu-ray tests on them and being brutally honest in deciding whether or not to even attempt it. It had to be a beautiful restoration that does it justice and doesn't make it look like something it's not. We didn't want to futz with the animation at all, we just wanted to make it as clear as it possibly could be. The first couple versions we tried were not-so-much, and we said "Mm. No." Then the teams went back and came up with some more workflows, more refinements to take it very slow and detailed instead. For that last Blu-ray test, we all watched it in the QC room and I was amazed. I said "Wow, this looks like a Sailor Moon Blu-ray, I'm sold." So that's when we all made the decision."

Most fans, though, will not be so easily sold. In my Ranma ½ reviews, I referenced the recent Dragon Ball Z Uncut debacle, quipping "FUNimation could learn a thing or two from VIZ." Now I'm not so sure either distributor has a complete handle on wooing classic anime fans or honoring iconic series. Time will tell if the Sailor Moon sets improve, but hope is dwindling and dwindling fast. The overwhelming likelihood is that we're in for more of the same.

Sailor Moon: Season 1, Part 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

So where'd it all go wrong? Ingram and company are at least partially justified in laying some of the blame elsewhere: the 2009 master utilized here is extremely problematic and far from ideal, and the fact that the source had to be upscaled entails its own complications. But source issues are only one small sliver of the fiasco. Noise reduction has been applied liberally and egregiously, smearing and sometimes wiping away far more than grain and scratches. Background textures, thin lines, falling rain, sparks, beam trails, nuances and subtleties... gone or reduced to a smudge. Every last missing detail will only be apparent to those poring over screenshot comparisons between the BD and international DVD sets, sure, but brace yourselves. Sailor Moon's troubles hardly end with DNR. Severe and persistent mosquito noise and a pulsating blockiness are present at all times. Ungodly ghosting and instances of color bleeding pop up throughout. (The ghosting is particularly annoying.) Aliasing, ringing and macroblocking aren't uncommon. Too many lines aren't as crisp as they are in the previously released Japanese DVD sets. Softness has been exacerbated. And most issues become more noticeable with each passing episode.

Is there a silver lining? Color and contrast have been rejuvenated, and the episodes are uncropped and uncut. In these regards, VIZ's Blu-ray presentation shines I suppose. But a vibrant image with faithful framing can't make up for the damage that's been done. There will no doubt be an outspoken camp of apologists who shrug off such complaints; who see a perfectly adequate upgrade where others see a 21-issue pileup. I'm guessing those fans are the same people who tend to shake their heads at negative video reviews, wondering what all the fuss is about. For those of us who are cursed to forever notice these problems, though -- problems that once seen can never be unseen -- we'll have to shelve our disappointment and hope that, despite all the dodging and dismissive responses, VIZ will eventually address the concerns and complaints of consumers. Will word of mouth harm sales to the point that VIZ will have to take action? Or will the "it's good enough for me!" crowd drown out legitimate criticism?

Sailor Moon: Season 1, Part 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sailor Moon: Set 1 offers four DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options: English without subtitles (featuring a complete dub with a new voice cast), English with English subtitles, English with English songs and signs (via new alterations to the original animation), and Japanese with forced English subtitles. (In other words, the series can't be viewed in Japanese without English subs. Not that very many fans will care.) It comes as little surprise that the English tracks are superior in technical quality to the Japanese mix, as the new dub allowed VIZ to sidestep inherent issues in the Japanese audio mix (most of which trace back to the age of the series and the condition of the original audio elements). The remastered Japanese audio is serviceable enough, mind you. It just isn't very remarkable and occasionally suffers from prioritization and fidelity mishaps. The English dub is crisper, clearer, brighter and more carefully balanced. Voices are more stable than music and other effects in the soundscape, as is to be expected, but it rarely amounts to a distraction. Bottom line? No big complaints here.

Sailor Moon: Season 1, Part 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Sailor Moon Announcement Panel (HD, 14 minutes): Viz Media Senior Manager of Animation Marketing Charlene Ingram makes a surprise announcement to a room of anxious con attendees. Included is the series' Blu-ray announcement video, crowd reaction to the promo, and the informational panel that followed.
• English Dub Behind the Scenes (HD, 13 minutes): A behind-the-scenes look at the English-language recording sessions, complete with interview segments with the dub crew, visits with voice actors Stephanie Sheh and Robbie Daymond, and a few brief glimpses at cast rehearsals and production meetings.
• Official Announcement Trailer (HD, 3 minutes): The same trailer/announcement video that kicks off the "Sailor Moon Announcement Panel." Pretty redundant.
• Fan Reactions (HD, 4 minutes): Anime fans geek out after the Anime Central announcement.
• AX Sailor Moon Reel (HD, 2 minutes): A highlight reel from Anime Expo.
• Clean Opening & Closing (HD, 3 minutes): With optional English and Romaji subtitles.
• Galleries (HD): Three small galleries of high definition artwork.
• Trailers (HD, 4 minutes): Additional releases from VIZ.

Sailor Moon: Season 1, Part 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sailor Moon fans rejoice! Then lower your expectations and brace for impact. Far from the Ranma-level remaster many have been pining for, the latest fan-favorite anime series from VIZ isn't going to elicit much praise. Set 1 arrives with a problematic, disappointing video presentation rife with issues, which has ignited the Sailor Moon thread and left diehards reeling. The set's audio tracks are solid, so that's a plus, but not enough to overcome the video misfire and slim supplemental package. For a premium price, anime fans deserve a premium release. And this is not a premium release. Proceed accordingly.