“Sailor Moon” is a classic in anime. I am sure when you say ‘anime’, this is the show that people think of, even if they can’t recall the title. I remember my daughter watching this endlessly when it first came out (that was during my Sixth Attempt at anime and this show helped push me away from anime at that time).

Someone decided to do a reboot of it. Why? Perhaps they felt the show could use an upgrade from the rather flat style into something more modern. Well, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal” (“Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn Kurisutaru”) might bring a new generation into wanting to see the older version, but it still falls short on a lot of areas for the newer approach.

Brief recap for the 27 people in the universe who do not know of this show: A middle school student named Usagi Tsukino (middle) befriends Luna, a black talking cat, who gives her a magical brooch, enabling her to become Sailor Moon, a pretty soldier destined to save Earth from the forces of evil. Luna and Usagi assemble a team of fellow Sailor Soldiers to find their princess and the “Legendary Silver Crystal.” They encounter the studious Ami Mizuno, who awakens as Sailor Mercury (blue skirt); Rei Hino, a local shrine maiden who awakens as Sailor Mars (red skirt); Makoto Kino, a transfer student who awakens as Sailor Jupiter (green skirt); and Minako Aino, a young aspiring idol who operates as Sailor Venus (orange skirt), accompanied by her talking feline companion Artemis (a white cat). Additionally, they encounter Mamoru Chiba, a high-school student who assists them as Tuxedo Mask on occasion throughout their journey. OK, take five.

It’s just that everyone is too cartoony, especially the villains. The bad guys remind me of Snidely Whiplash or Dick Dastardly in the caliber of their attack and the scope of their evilness. And there is never a thought to perhaps put two or three plans into effect at once to keep everyone off guard. But the real drag is the artwork.

Everyone seems too tall, too leggy, too gangly, and the transformation sequence has been given over to the CG people, so it lacks a real flow and grace. And since there is at least one time-consuming transformation per show, we, again, have the attitude of not having to write that deep of an episode, as you will give up two or three minutes to run the whole sequence from student to guardian. Plus, Usagi is too much of a pain in the patootie. Why she was chosen, I don’t know. Perhaps she didn’t win the 7-11 Attack on Titan contest and this was a runner-up prize. It may be much too expect a lot from a 14-year-old, but there has to be some degree of maturation.

An opportunity to make things better has eluded people again and we are stuck with another pointless reboot. Why not just trot out the original in all its glory and let THAT speak for itself? As it stands, the stories may allow for a better presentation of the events, so we can get things going sooner, but a lot of the actual events that occur seem thin, almost as if each story is independent of the one before it and the one that follows. Or it could be the age-old story that I am not the target audience and I would be better suited watching something else. The fact that my daughter bailed after the initial 13-run arc bespeaks more to me than anything else.

On a scale of 1 to 10:

Artwork           6 (Something is really off)
Plot                 6 (An overall idea, but no solid specifics)
Pacing             6 (Comes off a bit too turgid at times)
Effectiveness   6 (Everyone seems so immature)
Conclusion      2 (It reaches a ‘coupler point’, but hasn’t ended)
Fan Service     0 (A similar show would be “Honey and Clover”)

Overall            6 (The cupboard was bare)

And remember, it’s first run until you’ve seen it. Moon Power Makeup!