Sailor Moon Super S Part I Review

Sailor Moon the anime series that helped introduce the art medium to millions of American children. In the 90s, Sailor Moon started and defined the magical girl genre. So it is no surprise that Sailor Moon Super S Part I would hit viewers with nostalgia. The Blu-ray / DVD combo pack offers both the original Japanese and English audio. It also has English subtitles that is able to appease the sub vs dub battle for fans. In the current day, Sailor Scouts may enjoy either or both versions.

Super S is the fourth season of the original Sailor Moon series. It focuses more on Chibi-Usa. Within the first episode, she awakens from a beautiful dream starring a gorgeous Pegasus in the anime world. In a landscape of pastel blues and purples, the winged unicorn sadly looks at Chibi-Usa and begs her to keep their meeting a secret. Shortly after their encounter, a dark circus lands from the clouds in Tokyo intending to capture Pegasus. The circus goones go about capturing the mystical creature by peering into the dreams of young girls.

Much of these season fills out the time by featuring a villain of the week. Several of the once-a-week villains are bland circus freaks. The real fun lies within the Amazon Trio: Tiger Eye, Fish Eye and Hawk Eye. Each one of these “triplets” has their own villainous personality. They will stop at nothing to peer into the secret dreams of girls and women by order of the circus’ leader. To go over their plots of which unfortunate female will be their next victim, they meet at a bar.

The very idea of Sailor Moon villains meeting at a bar to plot is both comical and real. Magical villains in anime are usually depicted in their hideouts plotting while pacing back and forth. Instead we have the three Eyes looking through photographs at a bar to choose their victims. The coolness found in the Guardians’ enemies in Season Four are far more creepy than other seasons.

Since these three were originally animals and not born as villains, their personalities do reflect their animal’s persona. The Dead Moon Circus is of course working for the great goal of capturing Pegasus, yet the process of getting to that goal takes more time than in the manga. It would be better if the original animation elaborated more on the history of the Dead Moon Circus and how they obtained so many “circus creeps” instead of the villain of the week episodes. Still, the overall story of the first part of Season 4 is essential for the entire Sailor Moon series.

My absolute favorite character from Super S is actually Pegasus. His beauty, grace and elegance fits in so seamlessly within this series. The crystal forest of Elysion really seems as if it comes from the dream world. Many of the forest’s images are so calming and peaceful that it makes the time it’s featured throughout the season not enough. Another plus to this portion of the story is Chibi-Usa. She is less annoying in this part of the Sailor Moon series and she takes her responsibility of helping Pegasus more seriously while still being true to her child self.

Sailor Moon Super S Blu-ray / DVD combo set is a must for Sailor Scout fans. The quality of the discs are amazing. The episodes are both crisp and clear along with the audio. This edition offers a smooth and crisp quality of video and audio that enhances the overall experience of re-watching the season years after it was originally released. Extra time and hard work must have been put into this set to make the original show this vibrant. Even the villains, who usually are forgettable solely due to the fact that so many exist within the Sailor Moon universe, are incredibly clearer making it easier to binge watch the season.

A copy of the Sailor Moon Super S Part I Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack was provided by Viz Media for the purpose of this review.