At Anime NYC VIZ Media announced that Sailor Moon Sailor Stars would be debuting in May of 2019.
Sailor Moon has been around for a while, and Sailor Stars has been around for 20+ years now. So why is everyone so excited that VIZ announced this last weekend that they were releasing the DVDs in spring next year? Well that’s because as long as it has been around, no one has ever dubbed it.
Sailor Moon was first released in the USA dubbed by DIC in 1995. After trying to make it something of their own, and failing thank goodness, they decided they were better off to just dub the original Japanese version. Audiences were hooked on these pretty girls in sailor outfits, saving the universe and falling in love. The problem was that when they dubbed it they stopped less than half way through.
Cloverway was the second company to pick up where DIC left off and they were only able to dub up to Sailor Moon Super S. Many fans were dissapointed because when they changed companies, they also changed voice actors. Serena/Usagi went through around four different voice actors throughout the course of both dubbings. It was an annoying problem but it was something that at the time, you just had to put up with. If you wanted to see it in English and sometimes if you wanted to see it at all, those dubs were your only option.
Stars was never touched.
There were rumors that they left it out because of the fact that there were male pop idols transforming into girls. They were afraid of the connotation of dubbing something that may have portrayed trans characters. They just didn’t know how to handle it. It wasn’t the same as being able to color over the fact that Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus were a lesbian couple. They could just make them ‘caring’ cousins. Regardless of the reason why, it was never done and fans had to seek alternative sources to finish the show.
Some fans were able to order subbed video tapes. Others who did not know how to do that were able to go online and read the episode synopsis. In my case, while I also read the summaries available to me online and scoured the internet for pictures, I was also able to download an episode or two. Piece by piece.. VERY SLOWLY. Remember Real Player? Remember having to download codecs when your video wouldn’t play on the computer? Yeah I did THAT.
Merchandise was hard to find. They just didn’t sell it here in America like you would have liked to see. There was a good 15 years when you were so happy to find ANYTHING you would end up buying the worst looking stuff. All of these reasons, everything that the fans had to do to be able to access this amazing season of one of the most iconic shows in anime history, is why now we are so excited to be able to have it.
VIZ Media may not be everyone’s favorite dub, but they do a damn good job. They took the original show and dubbed the entire thing. The consistency for voice actors alone is a commendable thing, not to mention the picture quality and clean up of the show. The DVD sets that they release are always beautiful and they include extras that you won’t find anywhere else. They have handled this entire project so well from start to finish. VIZ has kept true to the script and never had to deviate. Finally in the VIZ dub we can see Uranus and Neptune shine as a true couple. We are excited to see what they do with Stars. Truly excited to be able to buy the show and watch it in English for the first time.
Are you excited for this? Do you know anyone who loves the show? Tell Nerdbot in the comments and get the conversation going!
