Haruka and Michiru in Sailor Moon Crystal
Alright, the preview is out and I couldn't resist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DBdV2r9FDM&ebc=ANyPxKqPCa-U-ICnCFwp_NxiJ_fKqqn16CISA5uaUKB8KIhSJQHLyl87W59q2c9qOCBhx9ZsEF0S
Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiL05_gvRak (Hotaru-Chibiusa fans (Claude, I'm looking at you) will love this).
First Ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu6m5mAe5CI (which is an ultimate tribute to the Haruka-Michiru couple. I like it although the music is nice but not very impressive.)
The designs of the Inner senshi are much, much better than in the previous seasons of Crystal although the sparkly transformations still hurt my eyes. (But I remember I hated the double-Usagi's transformations in the original anime as well. It seems that Sailor transformations are simply not my cup of tea although I loved Haruka's World Shaking attack.) I really dislike the new fluffy hair at the back of all the short-haired character's heads (Ami, Mamoru, Motoki) and, consequently, hate Haruka's hair as well. Her hair in the original anime was so nice to look at. Why didn't they keep that? Her present hair doesn't even look like the manga version. It has something very Utena-esque to it (just as the sharp angles of the faces), which I don't really mind but which looks overdone when the hair is fluffed out like that). Also, while I like the new seiyuu's voice, I desperately miss Megumi Ogata, Haruka's old voice. (I'm afraid I will feel the same in the fifth season if they really intend to remake Sailor Stars. Since Seiya's seiyuu has already died, I'll have to make do with the replacement, which will be difficult since Shiho Niiyama was so great at changing her tone of voice and I loved how Seiya's, Yaten's, and Taiki's voices sounded when they sang or talked at the same time. They were so distinctly different from each other and complemented each other so well. I also miss the music of the original series since nothing which I've heard in Crystal comes even close apart from the theme which appeared when Minako made her entrance. But I'm making an effort to watch the new version with an open mind).
Michiru is absolutely gorgeous, though (despite the emaciated look all the girls got since Crystal as if the original anime hadn't made them thin enough), and the new design suits her very much, just as her hair, which is longer than in the original anime. She is the perfect mix of gentleness and wickedness, and I like the detail in the ending when Uranus and Neptune look into each other's eyes and Michiru gazes directly into Haruka's eyes while Haruka gazes down to her but also slightly past her (or rather through her; also, Haruka doesn't blush). I don't know if it's intentional but it matches the couple's dynamic in the manga, in which Michiru is devoted to Haruka but Haruka--the elusive Wind--always stays unreachable, unhappy, and intensely attracted to Usagi's happy nature although she is possessive about Michiru, her supposedly "true love". Their relationship seems very open and slightly unbalanced although they are a very committed couple just like they are in the anime. (Seriously, who would ever get the idea to exchange Michiru for an airhead as Usagi? You only want her because you can't have her, Haruka...)
I dislike the frequent pink blush on the girls' cheeks whenever they flush, but I'm happy that the partnership between Michiru and Haruka has been kept intact. It would have been horrible if they had changed that.) Also, there is a slight Hotaru-Chibiusa which resembles their intense, almost romantic friendship in the manga and in the original anime. I also appreciate the fact that Haruka's height has been kept as well. In the original anime, her height changed all the time (fluctuating between Makoto's and Mamoru's, which is distracting). Edit: They have also changed Haruka's eye colour from the original anime's cold blue/turquoise/sea-green into a clear blue, which I don't mind although I liked her teal/turquoise eyes.
Anyhow, I'm watching this in the hope that it's not as bad as the previous Sailor Moon Crystal episodes. Plot-wise, it's very close to the manga again, and I don't know if it's a good thing since it's hard to feel anything for the characters if the plot moves so fast. But this time, I'm content with the look of the first episode of the Infinity Arc and hope that the plot won't be so bad that it's unwatchable like it was with the first seasons of Sailor Moon Crystal.
Edit: I've forgotten to mention something I prefer in the new version of the anime: Haruka's Space Sword looks so much better now, not like the machete-like Space Sword she had in the old version.
Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiL05_gvRak (Hotaru-Chibiusa fans (Claude, I'm looking at you) will love this).
First Ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu6m5mAe5CI (which is an ultimate tribute to the Haruka-Michiru couple. I like it although the music is nice but not very impressive.)
The designs of the Inner senshi are much, much better than in the previous seasons of Crystal although the sparkly transformations still hurt my eyes. (But I remember I hated the double-Usagi's transformations in the original anime as well. It seems that Sailor transformations are simply not my cup of tea although I loved Haruka's World Shaking attack.) I really dislike the new fluffy hair at the back of all the short-haired character's heads (Ami, Mamoru, Motoki) and, consequently, hate Haruka's hair as well. Her hair in the original anime was so nice to look at. Why didn't they keep that? Her present hair doesn't even look like the manga version. It has something very Utena-esque to it (just as the sharp angles of the faces), which I don't really mind but which looks overdone when the hair is fluffed out like that). Also, while I like the new seiyuu's voice, I desperately miss Megumi Ogata, Haruka's old voice. (I'm afraid I will feel the same in the fifth season if they really intend to remake Sailor Stars. Since Seiya's seiyuu has already died, I'll have to make do with the replacement, which will be difficult since Shiho Niiyama was so great at changing her tone of voice and I loved how Seiya's, Yaten's, and Taiki's voices sounded when they sang or talked at the same time. They were so distinctly different from each other and complemented each other so well. I also miss the music of the original series since nothing which I've heard in Crystal comes even close apart from the theme which appeared when Minako made her entrance. But I'm making an effort to watch the new version with an open mind).
Michiru is absolutely gorgeous, though (despite the emaciated look all the girls got since Crystal as if the original anime hadn't made them thin enough), and the new design suits her very much, just as her hair, which is longer than in the original anime. She is the perfect mix of gentleness and wickedness, and I like the detail in the ending when Uranus and Neptune look into each other's eyes and Michiru gazes directly into Haruka's eyes while Haruka gazes down to her but also slightly past her (or rather through her; also, Haruka doesn't blush). I don't know if it's intentional but it matches the couple's dynamic in the manga, in which Michiru is devoted to Haruka but Haruka--the elusive Wind--always stays unreachable, unhappy, and intensely attracted to Usagi's happy nature although she is possessive about Michiru, her supposedly "true love". Their relationship seems very open and slightly unbalanced although they are a very committed couple just like they are in the anime. (Seriously, who would ever get the idea to exchange Michiru for an airhead as Usagi? You only want her because you can't have her, Haruka...)
I dislike the frequent pink blush on the girls' cheeks whenever they flush, but I'm happy that the partnership between Michiru and Haruka has been kept intact. It would have been horrible if they had changed that.) Also, there is a slight Hotaru-Chibiusa which resembles their intense, almost romantic friendship in the manga and in the original anime. I also appreciate the fact that Haruka's height has been kept as well. In the original anime, her height changed all the time (fluctuating between Makoto's and Mamoru's, which is distracting). Edit: They have also changed Haruka's eye colour from the original anime's cold blue/turquoise/sea-green into a clear blue, which I don't mind although I liked her teal/turquoise eyes.
Anyhow, I'm watching this in the hope that it's not as bad as the previous Sailor Moon Crystal episodes. Plot-wise, it's very close to the manga again, and I don't know if it's a good thing since it's hard to feel anything for the characters if the plot moves so fast. But this time, I'm content with the look of the first episode of the Infinity Arc and hope that the plot won't be so bad that it's unwatchable like it was with the first seasons of Sailor Moon Crystal.
Edit: I've forgotten to mention something I prefer in the new version of the anime: Haruka's Space Sword looks so much better now, not like the machete-like Space Sword she had in the old version.