One of my comfort movies for sure.

Even though it has only like 1% of the Trix (but they look cute)

It also makes a big difference in the German dub that Bloom got another voice actress (a German actress and singer to promote the movie actually). She's faaar less annoying with Janette Biedermann voicing her.

And I love the animation. How the wings are done ✅

Mandragora is such a weird villain but in a good way, in this house we stan the bug lady.

And the soundtrack is a wonderful.

Yes, I'm getting emotional.

I still remember watching it at the age of 13 with my friend Viktoria in the cinema. Vicky if you read this, wherever you are today, I hope you're fine. 💖

As a lifelong Sailor Moon fan, it is sometimes difficult for me to believe that there are whole corners of the fandom that I did not explore until recently.

I skimmed the surface, sticking to the anime and manga, while missing out on wonderful additions to the franchise like PGSM and the Sera Myu. Thankfully, I’ve started to rectify that oversight.

In the course of my little Sera Myu “side project”, I’ve finally encountered Miyuki Kanbe, who performed as Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon in a series of vampire-themed musicals. It’s so wonderfully out there; I love it.

Kanbe has proven to be a personal favorite; she really nailed Usagi as a character. Her voice and cadence is instantly iconic. I was heartbroken to learn that she passed away in 2008.

What’s particularly frustrating is that her wonderful performance is stuck on VHS, of all places. The Dracul series of musicals has never been released on DVD and has been out of print for decades.

So…about that “special project”…

VHS poses a particular challenge for a hobbyist like me. Turns out, there’s not a whole lot of THERE there. I spent a week just experimenting with various approaches, poking at the edges of what could be done, trying to find the limits of what is possible.

Ultimately, I settled on an approach. Is it perfect? By no means. Is it better?

As I dive deeper into the world of Sailor Moon musicals, I’ve begun to bring some of my humble know-how and skills to bear on that corner of the franchise.

For fun, here are some before-and-after screenshots of a little side project I’ve been working on.

I think the difference is pretty striking…

…and not just in close-ups…

…but other shots, as well.

Like I said, my skills are humble; I’m a hobbyist.

Sailor Moon: The Super Live (2025)

Even though the Sailor Moon musicals have been around since the 90s, this year The Super Live made history by bringing Sailor V on stage for the first time ever!

I could watch it in Italian tho. XD

Oui, the upper left corner rulez. The trix are the only good things in this movie