Sailor Moon R Part 2 DVD Review
17th July 2016 at 1:46 am
See my review of Sailor Moon: Part 1 & Part 2
Sailor Moon R: Part 1
Dear Chibi,
About a week ago I received my copy of Sailor Moon R Part 2 on DVD (AU/NZ Madman release)! This is the 4th volume of the series and contains 21 episodes.
Sailor Moon R Part 2 is where it starts to get really good…and oh my the feels. I really enjoy just sitting down and watching the show. You might think it’s simply a case of nostalgia, but I’d like to think the charm and appeal of Sailor Moon is timeless. While this isn’t a Bluray disc, I never thought the video quality was poor, or outdated. For a show that’s made in the 90s, these remasters are great.
The packaging, like Madman’s previous Sailor Moon DVD releases, look wonderful. The colours are so pleasing to the eyes :D
In terms of story, the four Spectre Sisters are an amazing and well rounded bunch of characters. They start off being quite comical during the filler episodes in part 1, but that all starts to change. The Black Moon Clan are arguably the most interesting group of villains from the entire series, and it’s easy to see why. Then we have Chibiusa, the pink-haired brat from the future who you’ll either love or hate. I initially found her annoying, always trying to steal Mamoru from Usagi, but she later grows on you as her hidden motives become clear. Finally, we get introduced to Sailor Pluto, the mysterious lone soldier who guards the Gates of Time. It’s unfortunate she has very minimal screen time, so don’t expect a full transformation or an attack ;D (Otherwise check out Sailor Moon Crystal, where she’s 10 times more important).
The DVDs come with two audio options: original Japanese or Viz Media’s new English Dub. Sadly I don’t think the English voices suited the characters very well, especially the Spectre Sisters. It kind of threw me off and I never got used to it (I’m still not used to Luna or Artemis XD). I did enjoy Sandy Fox’s take on Chibiusa and several other characters (Cristina Vee as Sailor Mars, Stephanie Sheh as Sailor Moon and Amanda C. Miller as Sailor Jupiter). For maximum enjoyment of this series, I have to recommend the original Japanese version with English subtitles. It’s simply superior. But of course, if reading subtitles is not your thing, the English version still does an okay job. The dialogue is pretty faithful to the original and can be funny at times.
The bonus material is again a textless opening and closing clip along with some Madman trailers. If you purchased Sailor Moon R Part 1, you would already have this extra.
I did notice a few odd errors~ not sure if anyone else had the same problem. Subtitles would randomly appear on the screen which shouldn’t be there and are incorrect any way. I’m not sure if the same issues occur watching with Japanese audio (I sure hope not!) Here’s an example where the title screen has incorrect subtitles:
This should be episode 74 “Defeat Rubeus: The Battle in Space”.
I also noticed at the end of the first disc, the next episode preview for episode 75 was very low quality and different from the rest. What is this from?
What’s with the blurry black parts? o_O
Black bars seem wonky? :O
A strange screen…
Apart from some minor issues, I’m pretty happy with this release :D Again, very nice packaging. This is a solid release with a faithful adaption. There’s currently no release date for ‘Sailor Moon S’ but seeing as Viz Media has announced their US version, I’m hoping Madman will follow suit soon :D Check out my review for Sailor Moon S here.
If you’re interested in owning a copy, visit Madman’s website here. Note: These are region 4 only.
For other Sailor Moon merchandise, I recommend our Shopping Guide :D
Hope you found my review helpful and let me know if you have any questions :)