Sailor Moon Crystal: Act 1 impressions
I just watched Sailor Moon Crystal! NicoNico was the only website a Brit could watch it on officially and I'm thankful to them for actually allowing a worldwide service! Cruncyroll, Hulu and Neon Ally didn't allow anyone from Britain to view their videos so NicoNico was awesome for delivering where they failed.
My first impressions? Well, I was struck by how closely it followed the manga! In fact, it was pretty much EXACTLY like the manga. It really was like watching the pages of the manga come alive so I know a lot of manga purists are going to be happy. This also makes me super excited about future possibilities for the series. I've been dying to see a manga-faithful adaptation of SuperS and StarS ever since I was a kid! Words can't express how fucking disappointed I'll be if SMC stops after the first arc!
As for this episode's specifics, these are the moments I loved/stood out to me:
* Usagi falling down the stairs and hitting each step with her butt on the way down was so cute and funny! XD
* Usagi kissing Luna after stepping on her and getting her face almost scratched off. Again, so cute and funny! I'm so glad they included this scene as it was one of my favourites from the manga.
* Mamoru is so incredibly and ridiculously handsome and I can guarantee that my childhood self would've fancied the pants off of him. Hell, my childhood self fancied manga!Mamoru. SMC!Mamoru looks more like manga!Mamoru and considering how faithful SMC's story is to the manga, I have plenty of faith that he will act more like manga!Mamoru. This makes me happy. Manga!Mamoru was awesome.
* Usagi blushing every time she met Mamoru. This was a HUGE step up from the original 90s anime (as much as I love it) where, in my opinion, they kind of fucked up the Usagi/Mamoru romance. I feel like I'm going to be shipping these two hardcore in this series!
* Speaking of Usa/Mamo romance, I really liked the Silver Millennium scene where Prince Endymion was running (to safety I presume) with Princess Serenity. It was haunting and really stays with me.
So those were the strong points. Based purely on first impressions, these are the things that disappointed me/worry me:
* Everyone is really, really thin. This is the thinnest they've ever been in Sailor Moon. And yes, I know they've always been thin but compare Usagi in the 90s series with this one. Fourteen-year-old SMC!Usagi looks more like sixteen-year-old 90s!Usagi. I've been a member of the Sailor Moon fandom long enough to know that the thinness bothered a lot of people and actually affected some fans negatively when they were young girls. I can see this version definitely bringing up those discussions again. The thinness of SMC!Usagi seems really pronounced. In the first SMC promotional image, Sailor Moon's waist was practically non-existent and there were criticisms of it. And Usagi was supposed to be "chubby" - I really, REALLY hope no one makes fun of Usagi's weight in SMC because that would be even more fucked up than it was in the 90s anime! If it sounds like I hate skinny people, I don't. I was skinny when I was Usagi's age but it does bother me that EVERY character is super skinny. A little diversity would've been better. Hell, there are different TYPES of skinny and that would've been cool, like athletic skinny, curvy skinny (girls with wide hips), "thigh gap" lacking skinny, short and skinny - as opposed to typical Barbie-doll tall and skinny. SMC had the opportunity to make things better and in this case, they failed.
* I'm a little worried about pacing if it's going to follow the manga faithfully. I know they've confirmed 26 episodes so far. I wouldn't mind if they put in a few orignal/"filler episodes" as long as they expand on characters and their relationships. The manga was lacking in that, especially compared to something like PGSM where character relationships were well developed.
As for my neutral comments (neither good or bad):
* The new transformation is nice and unique enough for the new series. I don't hate the CGI either unlike some of the fandom. They obviously wanted to do something new and I respect that. I'll miss the glitz and disco music from the original though. That was one of the most iconic and memorable things about Sailor Moon. Even PGSM went along the same lines as the 90s series. While this change isn't particularly bad, I feel that it's a bit bland. Usagi using 'Moon Tiara Boomerang' in SMC was pretty boring, too.
That's all for now. I liked it overall and can't wait to see the next episode! ^_^
My first impressions? Well, I was struck by how closely it followed the manga! In fact, it was pretty much EXACTLY like the manga. It really was like watching the pages of the manga come alive so I know a lot of manga purists are going to be happy. This also makes me super excited about future possibilities for the series. I've been dying to see a manga-faithful adaptation of SuperS and StarS ever since I was a kid! Words can't express how fucking disappointed I'll be if SMC stops after the first arc!
As for this episode's specifics, these are the moments I loved/stood out to me:
* Usagi falling down the stairs and hitting each step with her butt on the way down was so cute and funny! XD
* Usagi kissing Luna after stepping on her and getting her face almost scratched off. Again, so cute and funny! I'm so glad they included this scene as it was one of my favourites from the manga.
* Mamoru is so incredibly and ridiculously handsome and I can guarantee that my childhood self would've fancied the pants off of him. Hell, my childhood self fancied manga!Mamoru. SMC!Mamoru looks more like manga!Mamoru and considering how faithful SMC's story is to the manga, I have plenty of faith that he will act more like manga!Mamoru. This makes me happy. Manga!Mamoru was awesome.
* Usagi blushing every time she met Mamoru. This was a HUGE step up from the original 90s anime (as much as I love it) where, in my opinion, they kind of fucked up the Usagi/Mamoru romance. I feel like I'm going to be shipping these two hardcore in this series!
* Speaking of Usa/Mamo romance, I really liked the Silver Millennium scene where Prince Endymion was running (to safety I presume) with Princess Serenity. It was haunting and really stays with me.
So those were the strong points. Based purely on first impressions, these are the things that disappointed me/worry me:
* Everyone is really, really thin. This is the thinnest they've ever been in Sailor Moon. And yes, I know they've always been thin but compare Usagi in the 90s series with this one. Fourteen-year-old SMC!Usagi looks more like sixteen-year-old 90s!Usagi. I've been a member of the Sailor Moon fandom long enough to know that the thinness bothered a lot of people and actually affected some fans negatively when they were young girls. I can see this version definitely bringing up those discussions again. The thinness of SMC!Usagi seems really pronounced. In the first SMC promotional image, Sailor Moon's waist was practically non-existent and there were criticisms of it. And Usagi was supposed to be "chubby" - I really, REALLY hope no one makes fun of Usagi's weight in SMC because that would be even more fucked up than it was in the 90s anime! If it sounds like I hate skinny people, I don't. I was skinny when I was Usagi's age but it does bother me that EVERY character is super skinny. A little diversity would've been better. Hell, there are different TYPES of skinny and that would've been cool, like athletic skinny, curvy skinny (girls with wide hips), "thigh gap" lacking skinny, short and skinny - as opposed to typical Barbie-doll tall and skinny. SMC had the opportunity to make things better and in this case, they failed.
* I'm a little worried about pacing if it's going to follow the manga faithfully. I know they've confirmed 26 episodes so far. I wouldn't mind if they put in a few orignal/"filler episodes" as long as they expand on characters and their relationships. The manga was lacking in that, especially compared to something like PGSM where character relationships were well developed.
As for my neutral comments (neither good or bad):
* The new transformation is nice and unique enough for the new series. I don't hate the CGI either unlike some of the fandom. They obviously wanted to do something new and I respect that. I'll miss the glitz and disco music from the original though. That was one of the most iconic and memorable things about Sailor Moon. Even PGSM went along the same lines as the 90s series. While this change isn't particularly bad, I feel that it's a bit bland. Usagi using 'Moon Tiara Boomerang' in SMC was pretty boring, too.
That's all for now. I liked it overall and can't wait to see the next episode! ^_^