Anime Expo 2014: The ‘Sailor Moon’ That Almost Was
This year’s Anime Expo was a celebration of all things Sailor Moon, from reminiscing about the old days with the original English cast, meeting the new actors for the re-dub and enjoying the debut of Sailor Moon Crystal in a room full of fan boys and girls. But not all of the memories were good, because the West ALMOST got what’s since been dubbed as “Saban Moon”, (for its similarities to their shows, not because Saban had anything to do with it), an adaptation that could have changed how the lucrative franchise is viewed outside of Japan.
Trying to capitalize off of the popularity of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Renaissance-Atlantic Entertainment and Toon Makers pitched what was meant to be the Americanized version of Sailor Moon. By simultaneously attempting to cash in on a Power Rangers for girls and lock in the debut of a popular Japanese series, what was attempted was a blend of live action and animation. Much like Rangers, the idea was to have a group of high schoolers act out live action scenes, only for the show to switch to its animated form when they transformed into their super hero alter egos.
The result… was this.
Ugh, the horrors.
Thankfully, Bandai rejected the idea, citing that this format would require paid live actors and brand new animation, which was way more expensive than just importing the Japanese series and dubbing it in English. It’s just crazy to think that instead of the series that served as many of our first introductions to anime, we could have ended up with the Sailor Moon version of the BK kids. Imagining Sailor Mercury in a wheelchair who could suddenly walk when transformed just doesn’t seem right.
That’s not to say nothing good came out of this worst case scenario adaptation. The logo that was used for the Western release is allegedly taken from “Saban Moon”, as well as one of the weirdest pieces of merchandise you’ll ever find related to the series. Because we’ve heard of the scepters and the tiaras, but imagine Sailor Moon on the Moon Cycle!
Even to this day, this urban legend of sorts refuses to die, and has become somewhat of an in joke amongst Sailor Moon fans to the point where “Saban Moon”, as it’s been called, has its own ironic following. In a recent liquidation auction, Toon Makers sold off some original art cells that were made for the show, creating renewed interest in the full pilot, which is said to exist, but has never been seen outside of those early meetings. Who has it? Does it still exist? And in the name of bad taste, can we watch it!?
So the next time you get into an argument with your friends over how good or bad the English dub is, whether or not episodes should have been cut or if Sailor Uranus and Neptune should have been stayed lesbians instead of being turned into cousins, let this be a reminder of how much worse it could have been.
