Sailor Moon, Vol. 1

美少女戦士セーラームーン [Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon] #1

by Naoko Takeuchi

Librarian's note: There is an Alternate Cover Edition for this edition of this book here.

One of the most-beloved of all Japanese manga titles, Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon has enthralled millions of readers worldwide since its debut in book form in early 1992. When Usagi Tsukino adopts a stray cat, she gets more than she bargains for The talking cat, Luna, informs Usagi that she is actually Sailor Moon, a magical princess from the future and protector of the Solar System. With the help of her new friends, the Sailor Scouts, and the mysterious Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Moon embarks on a quest to save us all from the evil powers of the Negaverse.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Romance, Young Adult, Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 1992

About the author

Naoko Takeuchi (武内直子, Takeuchi Naoko) born March 15, 1967, a manga artist (mangaka), lives in Tokyo, Japan. Takeuchi's works have a wide following among anime/manga fans. She has become a well-known mangaka worldwide. Her most popular work, Sailor Moon, rose to become one of the most recognized manga/anime figures to date.

Takeuchi is married to Yoshihiro Togashi, the author of the YuYu Hakusho series and Hunter × Hunter series.

Please note that anime related books are listed under Kōdansha.

Reviews

[Lainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The nostalgia is so real. I'm reading the '98 English translation versions because that is what I grew up with. So as I re-read this, essentially all of them will be 5-star because 7 year old Lainey won't allow me to rate them any less.

[Hayley ☾ (TheVillainousReader)]

FIGHTING EVIL BY MOONLIGHT *Sailor V kick and strikes a pose*



I've been worshipping Sailor Moon pretty much my whole life. I remember watching it on Saturdays and picking the movies out at the movie store (when those were still a thing). Safe to say, I'm a Sailor Moon freak and while I love the anime (the Japanese version of course, though they did redo the english version and took out all the censorship, their American names, etc, which I'm very happy about) I knew to be a true sailor-moon-is-my-heart-and-soul-fan I had to read the manga.

And like most books I've heard the manga was way better and more fleshed out, especially when it came to Mamo-chan and Usagi's relationship which even though I loved it, I always felt like it was a little.. off balance..? Like.. I knew he loved her but he kind of treated her like a child...? And not really like a partner...? Like he was a little bit, always annoyed with her...? Which I get because she is pretty ridiculous but I wanted to see that partnership.

Short winded response in regards to that long winded mini rant, I feel like I'm going to get that from the manga and I'm so excited!. This was so fun and cute and funny and I loved it. It was exactly what I was hoping it would be and I'm crazy excited to continue onnnnn.



***
I haven't read a lot of manga so I don't really feel like I can rate this at the moment. But I loved it.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sailor Moon Video Discussion: https://youtu.be/C2NGg1z2c4k

[Jo (The Book Geek) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll admit, I went into this first book of the series with average expectations, but I have been rather pleasantly surprised.
Sailor moon, for me, is like eating a vanilla cream cupcake. The story was light, and kind of fluffy, but the powers the girls had, made me enjoy it more. It was like the icing on the cake. I mean, what girl wouldn't want to wake up finding she had those kind of powers?

I didn't think Sailor Moon was in no way representing a fourteen year old. I mean, she didn't look, or, even act like one. I would have been happier if she was actually a couple of years older. However, I haven't let that ruin the overall experience for me.
I enjoyed how the author kind of played around with space and time, and there were pretty good explanations for everything that was happening. I loved the power of the girls friendship in this, and the romance that seemed to be blossoming. The last thing, was the artwork. It was beautiful. With any Manga, the artwork is important to me, and this one didn't let me down. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment. MOON PRISM POWER! (less)

[Starbubbles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got all 11 Sailor Moon books in the mail on the 14th, and when i was finally able get around to reading them, I devowered them. I loved every moment of every single book. It was just as good, if not better than the anime. Though, everytime I saw "In the name of the moon, you're punished," I read it as "On behalf of the moon, I will punish you!" Ah, good ol' Sailor Moon! Plus, the theme song is one of my all time favorite theme songs. Now, if they could coordinate playing the theme song when you open the book, I think it would then become beyond perfect.

[Kate♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5stars

I'M SORRY.

this was just SO young. I'm sure I woulda absolutely LOVED this if I'd read it when I was 10... but as a 23 year old woman with no nostalgia for this series, this was incredibly young, repetitive, and honestly just boring.

[Irena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I watched Sailor Moon right when I returned from Hungary to live in the post-war Bosnia. We didn't have electricity so my father would start up the electricity generator so that sis and I could watch Sailor Moon. I've seen the German, dubbed version and I think they did a great job. Sailor Moon was called Bunny and it sounds OK to me even now, so many years later.
Apart from teaching me right from wrong, it was a really well done anime perfectly suitable for little girls: romance, friendship, fight against evil, cute talking kittens, prince in the..black tuxedo with a rose that seems deadly enough to pawn enemies (back then we didn't question such things!)



As far as the manga goes..I didn't like it so much. Volume 1 is so fast paced that it allows absolutely no character development and all it keeps repeating is: "I'm Usagi Tsukino. A 14-year-old girl who is most happy when she's snoozing <3" or "Sailor Mercury. The brain of the group. The Genius Girl with an IQ of 300, Amy-chan." The way that all the other scouts accept their destiny and Luna's missing explanation as to what the hell just happened to them is just silly.
Be as that may, I still enjoyed the whole feelgood story, the dreamy art and the back of the manga explanation regarding the translation.

Listen to this below! :D
German Sailor Moon Intro

[Δανάη Ιμπραχήμ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah the nostalgia ♡

[Rowan]

I can’t believe she’s married to Togashi 😭 ffs he wrote hxh!!!!!

[Bibliothecat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for complete series



Sailor Moon is a fundamental series of manga. Most manga fans and readers will have read it or at the very least be familiar with the character and plot. I was one of those who did not grow up with Sailor Moon; I never really saw the anime episodes and by the time I started to read the manga the Sailor Moon series was long out of print. Nonetheless, I had an idea of what the series was about, the characters and of course the fact that it was famous and very popular. By now I have watched the first season and have read the series. Prior to reading it my expectations of this series were not too high – sure, there must be something about it that so many people would love it. But I also thought that a lot of its high praise must come from that air of nostalgia that Sailor Moon will always have. Despite my doubts, after having read it I feel that this manga truly deserves all the praise it receives!

There are a few things that I did not like – but that holds true for most things. For one thing, Sailor Moon does, in no way, look or act like a 14-year old. I would have been much happier if she were just a few years older. Mamoru is a nice character but the poor guy is pretty much the only representative of males. All other male characters that appear are only around for a couple of chapters, villains, minor characters or women disguised as men. And then, although it is typical for magical girl manga, the name of their attacks. I do not mind them having hearts and whatnot all over their costumes – but all the spells with sugar heart rains and the like were too much for me.

However!

Sailor Moon was so much more than what I expected of a magical girl series. Magical girl types of series often leave me with a lot of disbelief and hardly ever do more than just provide a bit of entertainment. I always thought of Sailor Moon to be just like that but the author delivered such beautiful and logical explanations to all the events happening. I loved the whole concept of the story and it let the characters be true guardians of the earth rather than teenagers in sparkly costumes. I am no big fan of science fiction but I loved how the author played with time and space. Because she managed to make Sailor Moon's role so much more believable for me, it was so much easier to route for her and feel with her through all the hardships.

I loved the power of friendship in this work and the romance between Sailor Moon and Mamoru was beautiful. I watched the first season of the anime before reading the manga: the relationship between Sailor Moon and Mamoru was ridiculous but the manga version just made my heart feel warm. The beautiful artwork of the author helped, of course. But all scenes between Sailor Moon and Mamoru were so gentle and warm. I loved how their memories of their past lives slowly returned to them.

The other thing is the art. The artwork is one of the most important things for me when reading a manga and Sailor Moons is just so astonishingly beautiful. Sailor Moon as a character was also very nice – she grows so much throughout the series and she is nowhere as annoying as she was in the anime adaption. It is also nice how the author goes into the other characters dreams and wishes and does not only focus on Sailor Moon – another thing that many magical girl manga do.

The series delivers many lovely and also comical scenes which is good because it also has many (to me unexpected) dark scenes. I probably enjoyed the middle arcs the most. However, I was very interested in the final arc about Sailor Galaxia and was rather disappointed that it fell so short. I think there could have been a lot more about that arc and I would have liked to have learned more about Sailor Galaxia’s motives and origins as well as the purpose and system of the Cauldron and how it creates the stars and planets.

All in all: nothing but the highest praise for Sailor Moon! I liked this series so much more than what I always what I always thought I would and I think it is never too late to become a fan!

[Belen (f.k.a. La Mala ✌) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ya tengo 23 años pero todavìa la amo .
Idola en el manga como en la serie .

[&#x1065a;₊•bennett⋆˚ᡣ&#x10b69;°˖ (reading slump) · Rating 3 out of 5]

rtc!!

⌗ 02/06/25 - pre read .ᐟ ౨ৎ

im so excited to read this omg🥹 i love love love the anime so it's obviously time i read this!!

[Curious Madra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Right so I decided to try out reading Sailor Moon after being dissatisfied with “Sailor V” in my mid 20s because basically, i didn’t grow up with much from childhood nor have I ever attempted to watch the tv series (nor watch the new version) .I only read it in a GirlTalk magazine once and that was it.

Anyways as much as I hate to admit it but the story was rather off and cheesy. It’s pretty much exactly like Sailor V but it’s more detailed. I did like the scenes with Usagi and Tuexdo man, although it was rather odd that they straight away embraced each other without getting to know each other properly. I just felt the storyline didn’t give them enough time to fully evolve actually and it looked to be rather forced. Don’t get me wrong, I fully respect Sailor Moon stans who love this series like it is a fun cutesy old skool gem to go “aww” to but whether I’m not a kid anymore or just prefer deep dive stories, it’s just not for me chaps! It’s disappointing cause I really tried to connect with it and join the “Sailor Moon club” but fraid not!

I will still enjoy rocking out to “Moonlight Densetsu”, such a tune man! 👌🏻🤟

[Canette Arille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sailor Moon. This book is awesome! I recommend Sailor Moon to everyone, not only to her fans. It is very pretty book and style of drawing? Is so divine! <3

[Moon_child31 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5⭐️

[julia ☆ [owls reads] · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reads differently a couple of decades later? But it's still wonderful ♡

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story: Who does not love/want to be a young girl that one day out of the blue discovers you have magical powers and are going to fight the forces of evil to help the world? I know I certainly did! Serena, a somewhat whiny and dim witted girl is able to transform herself into Sailor Moon and along with the help of her friends is able to fight Queen Beryl and the rest of the goons. She also sparks up a love interest with Darien, a much older and smarter guy who seems miles out of her league! There are of course a great deal of cheesy lines spread throughout the whole series making for some dorky moments however, the plot itself progresses nicely throughout.

Drawing Style: The features of the characters were all realistic in appearance with enhanced details and interesting lines and styles for the villains.

Characters: The backgrounds of each of the characters was clearly developed throughout ongoing chapters and each character had their own distinct personalities that contributed to the series as a whole. The multitude of different types of character personalities also gives the series a more realistic nature with clashing attitudes and emotions everyone does not always agree with one another but there is also the voice of reason to figure everything out.

Overall: This family friendly, romantic comedy brings in a new element to the powers of righteousness and teaching kids what is right and wrong.

Note: This review was completed after reading volumes 1-3.

[Petros · Rating 4 out of 5]

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 8/10
Ah, good ol’ pretty sailor warriors! Despite being the series most other mahou shoujo copied thereafter, it remains in the tops because very few managed to have its variety and vividness. Plus, I like it too.

ART SECTION: 7/10 [Bishoujos in Sailor Suits.]

Following the trend, the artwork is extremely shoujo, that means very breezy sketches and loose borders between frames. It looks very amateurish in the first part but along the way it improves considerably and towards the end it now looks splendid. You just have to get used to the idea that the plot is driven by dialogue and mostly cinematics, rather motion or action. The battles are to the most part very short and unimpressive but what happens in between is plain wonderful.

Despite its girly looks there are parts with quite the disturbing graphical violence. The way most people die in it is bordering occult horror, as they are either turned to mummies or dust (and this applies to many innocents as well). There are also lots of illusions and psychedelic sceneries that make this rather inappropriate for too young readers. For the same reason I liked it even more, heh.

STORY SECTION: 8/10 [Once upon a time, there was a princess on the moon...]

The story is basically separated into five arcs and in each we have the stereotypical tale of superpowered girls fighting demons who want to take over the world. The plot is extremely fast for manga standards and in each chapter there will always be something new to further the plot. Although it gets repetitive and predictable after awhile, the events that happen in-between the battles are quite captivating so it is not that annoying.

Despite the cheesy premise, there are several overtones in each arc which don’t allow things to be too black or white, or even good or evil. To some extent each character has its dark side, some villains have more reasons than just being born evil, and every challenge is attacking the mind as well as body. Thus the story is more psychological and even philosophical that your typical superpower fighting formula. Although it always amounts down to using the power of love or friendship, it is still quite creepy and exciting most of the times.

There are also several themes that go far beyond the notions of good and evil. What is happiness, how it feels to be immortal, how can you live as nothing but a vessel for everyone’s grief. Also the scale of the battles escalates to encompass entire worlds and eventually the whole galaxy, making you feel like you are watching a story that is bigger than life itself. So although the basic idea is that of a fairy tale, it constantly expands to various serious matters that make it appear to be far more than just that.

CHARACTER SECTION: 8/10 [Although there are no original characters, their quirks and decent coloring makes up for it.]

The characters are the rather standard bunch of people you expect to see in such a tale. The teenage girls who do girly stuff by day (school, romance, hobbies) and battle demons by night. The thing is that they are colorized a lot along the way and each one becomes a distinctive personality, despite usually being grouped together in battles as a unit. So you are not supposed to criticize them in battles, which as I said they are very fast and unexciting, but rather of what they are doing, saying or feeling between battles. They are still 2 dimensional to the most part but they are very distinctive for their stereotype and easily become likable and memorable.

A thing which I didn’t like that much is how most of the villains weren’t given much attention. Most were nothing but generic one-chapter enemies and were killed right away before we get the time to even understand why or who or when. The anime version deliberately prolonged the plot with lots of stand-alone episodes where you could get to know them but here they come and go in a few pages. The big bads are otherwise nicely colorful and make delightfully evil adversaries.

VALUE SECTION: 10/10 [I find no reason for not considering it amongst the best of what this genre has to offer.]

Sailor Moon is neither the first nor the best Mahou Shojo on the block. But it became famous enough, thanks to:
-its likable characters. Since all of them are stereotypes, every viewer can easily find someone he/she likes and thus root for.
-its long duration, easily becoming the longest Mahou Shojo ever made. More than enough time to bind with the characters.
-its evolving story.
-its romance. It is quite stereotypical most of the time but the visual effects and the metaphysical plot make it more interesting than that of a typical slice-of-life romantic scenario.
-its several name allusions. Every Sailor Warrior has the basic element she controls in her surname, villains are always named after a specific category (minerals in the first season, crystals in the second, animals in the fourth, metals in the fifth), and special effects are tied to their user’s personality.

VERDICT: 8/10
Very naïve and repetitive but its heart is pure and intact.

[Natalia Bas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sagas manga leídas: ''Sailor Moon'', y ''Sailor V'', de Naoko Takeuchi. Glénat, edición española. 18 y 3 tomos. Heroínas, superheroínas, magical girls, cómic, aventuras, acción, romance...
Otro de los mangas que compré en cuanto se editaron en España.
La serie de televisión la descubrí, en verdad, después...
El dibujo es precioso, detallado, divertido y elegante... Entre el manga clásico y moderno de hace una generación.
Debo aclarar que antes que ''Sailor Moon'', va ''Sailor V''. Una especie de 'episodio piloto' de 3 tomos, que ya avanza la trama de la serie.
Quizás inspirada en una época en la que las mujeres se hartaron de ser consideradas las 'segundonas' en un mundo más bien lleno de mallas masculinas...
En un Japón rodeado de seres malvados, unas estudiantes con traje de marinera, nos van a demostrar de lo que son capaces entre familia, amigos, colegio, chicos monos, gatos misteriosos, videojuegos, y que no se nos olvide el almuerzo... para que triunfen la paz, la justicia, la amistad y el amor.
Aparecerán muchos personajes, con una historia personal cada uno: los buenos y los malos.
La luna, siempre presente, nos mostrará sus varios rostros y secretos...
Buenos que se transforman en malos y extraños que se transforman en familia. Y máscaras que ocultan rostros que a veces no pueden ocultar el amor.
¿Quién no conoce ''Sailor Moon''?

[Bibliophile Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

God!! it reminds me when I was young! a little girl who's fan of Usagi . I remember watching this manga series and everytime when Usagi goes in a mission or when she fights I act like her. Moving just like her hoping my clothes will change. Ah!! I really miss those days.

So that's why I decided to read this series to remember my childhood's days. to refresh my memory 😍😍

Moon Prism Power

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

People on this site seem to have a real love/hate relationship with Sailor Moon.

Personally, I've always been a fan. I watched the DIC dubbed anime when I was a kid, a few years ago I picked up the English subbed one to experience it in a new manner, and now that I am introducing to my 6 year old daughter, I picked up a few volumes of the manga. For nostalgia purposes. The art is beautiful, the story is as fun as I remembered, and the characters are loveable. It's a great fast read.

[Andre Teixeira · Rating 1 out of 5]

0🌟
Red flags:
🚩She's 14 and he's 17-18
🚩Always changing to unnecessary revealing clothes
🚩He kissed her while she was drunk/unconscious
🚩Male characters (one of them a grandfather) calling "sexy" and "hot" to 14 years old girls

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nostalgia read. I blame Sailor Moon Crystal.

[Mika_books_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

HABLEMOS DE MANGAS
"Sailor moon" de la mangaka japonesa Naoko Takeuchi 🇯🇵
☆Editorial:Ivrea.

☆Reseña:
Tener la oportunidad de leer una de las historias más emblemáticas del mundo del manga fue sin duda una experiencia invaluable y emocionante.
La primera vez que conocí a las Sailor Senshi fue de pequeña, inmediatamente había quedado enamorada de los personajes y su travesía por el universo. Ahora, ya de adulta tengo la posibilidad de rememorar las aventuras de Usagi Tsukino, una bella y legendaria heroína con un inmenso poder místico, en su lucha contra el mal; acompañada de sus amigas y guardianas:
Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars (es mí favorita, tiene una personalidad que contrasta y marca una diferencia como sacerdotisa) Sailor Mercury y Sailor Jupiter. Cada una de ellas cuenta con la protección de un planeta del sistema solar. Juntas deberán enfrentarse a peligrosos enemigos que querrán apoderarse de la tierra, mientras a la vez intentan equilibrar su vida como estudiantes de secundaria.
❌ Detalles que no me hicieron disfrutarlo al 100%: Trama predecible, al haber visto la serie hace años ya conocía la mayoría de los giros. Por otro lado también me hizo ruido el
"Complejo de Electra" que uno de los personajes siente por su padre.
🎨La calidad de las ilustraciones es encantadora, con trazos detallistas y delicados, refuerza la idea de ternura que expresa el texto.
🎬El manga y el animé tienen ciertas diferencias, en el primero la trama es más compacta y directa, en el segundo hay más relleno y la extensión es notable. También se puede lograr apreciar cambios en las edades, como el de Mamoru Chiba (prospecto amoroso de la protagonista), en el libro él es menor de edad y en la pantalla lo muestran como alguien mucho mayor, es una brecha importante ya que sale con una chica de 14 años. Felicito a la autora por hacer que las edades en el texto original sean equilibradas y sanas. Más allá de eso, el animé es fiel como adaptación.
♥️El romance es adorable, probablemente saque más de un suspiro a cualquier lector con vena romántica o sin ella, nadie se salva de sucumbir.
🌈Amor, aventura y acción, es un manga fresco ideal para todas las edades.
Puntuación 4/4🌟

[Yasmin Halliwell Fraser Bower · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING! Sailor Mars is such a badass!
I have been wanting to read this series for a long time now, so I'm glad to finally pick it up.

[Delaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of my favorite pages:



THANK YOU NAOKO TAKEUCHI FOR INSPIRING A LIFETIME OF MAGICAL GIRLS IN MEDIA AND IN REAL LIFE. This is pure genius and, truthfully, if I read it when I was little, I would have been in awe...some pages I am in awe by the creativity, thought, and skill that goes into them. I think because I've read other manga, reading this now feels lacking in character developments (especially the relationship between Mamoru and Usagi). It's probably because it jumps from arc to arc without much of a break, BUT I still respect and appreciate the series.

Truthfully, it translates so much better in anime form because of all the colors and animation and being so VISUAL itself. But, there wouldn't have been an anime if there wasn't a manga and for that, Naoko Takeuchi deserves all the praise for her genius. Thank you for my childhood and being one of my first anime, this is still one of my favorite series.

[elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5! This is a safe rating when the premise is just being set. I watched Sailor Moon when I was really young, and I can only remember very few parts so in all honesty it’s almost like knowing the story for the first time. Nothing seems wrong or off about this yet and I like how it kept me on edge along the read. It still confuses me, but I believe that will be fixed soon!

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never really tried reading manga and I wanted to give it a fair shot. For me, learning to read the panels and navigating some peculiarities in translation is the hardest thing. If I push through, it was an entertaining story about a young girl discovering hidden powers/history and earning the responsibility of saving the world with some friends. It's cute, and though I'm not completely converted yet, I'll keep going.

[Magdalena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fajny powrót do dzieciństwa :) ale redakcja tego tomu - lekka masakra, mam nadzieję, że kolejne wydania po tym pierwszym, które mam, były poprawione, hehe

[zuzia Korni · Rating 4 out of 5]

wspaniale wrócić do czasów dzieciństwa <3