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Sailor Moon Eternal

Overview

Sailor Moon Eternal

director	Chiaki Kon
producer	Ruka Tanaka Hideharu Gomi Yōsuke Asama (Part 2)
screenplay	Kazuyuki Fudeyasu
based on	Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi
starring	Kotono Mitsuishi Hisako Kanemoto Rina Satō Ami Koshimizu Shizuka Itō Misato Fukuen Kenji Nojima Junko Minagawa Sayaka Ohara Ai Maeda Yukiyo Fujii Ryō Hirohashi Taishi Murata Shoko Nakagawa Yoshitsugu Matsuoka Naomi Watanabe Nanao
music	Yasuharu Takanashi
cinematography	Shigemitsu Hamao Takashi Yanagida (Part 2)
editing	Keiko Onodera
production companies	Toei Animation Studio Deen
distributor	Toei Company, Ltd.
runtime	160 minutes (total, 80 minutes per film)‡R1R‡‡R2R‡
country	Japan
language	Japanese

Sailor Moon Eternal is a 2021 Japanese two-part animated action fantasy film directed by Chiaki Kon and written by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu based on the Dream arc of the Sailor Moon manga by Naoko Takeuchi, who also serves as a chief supervisor. Co-produced by Toei Animation and Studio Deen and distributed by Toei Company, Eternal is a direct continuation and a "fourth season" for the Sailor Moon Crystal anime series.[3] The two-part film stars Kotono Mitsuishi as the voice of Sailor Moon alongside Hisako Kanemoto, Rina Satō, Ami Koshimizu, Shizuka Itō, Misato Fukuen, Kenji Nojima, Junko Minagawa, Sayaka Ohara, Ai Maeda, Yukiyo Fujii, Ryō Hirohashi, Taishi Murata, Shoko Nakagawa, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Naomi Watanabe

Plot

Part One

Six months after the Mugen Academy incident, Usagi Tsukino and Chibiusa receive a vision from a pegasus named Helios asking for their help, and Mamoru Chiba gets a stabbing feeling in his chest. The Dead Moon Circus arrives on a flagship and its members conjure a dark barrier around the area where the circus tent is. That night, Chibiusa dreams of riding Pegasus, who tells her that he needs the Golden Crystal to save his home realm of Elysion. When Chibiusa tries returning to the 30th century with Diana, the dark barrier stops her and prompts the Amazoness Quartet to send a tiger to investigate. Usagi and Chibiusa's brooches are upgraded, allowing them to transform into Super Sailors Moon and Chibi Moon. The Amazoness send some Lemures to fight the Super Sailor Guardians, but they quickly destroy them.

The circus' ringleader Zirconia is instructed by her master, Queen Nehelenia, to let the Super Sailor Guardians' nightmares take hold of them so she can obtain the Silver Crystal. PallaPalla sends the Amazon Trio members Fish Eye, Tiger's Eye, and Hawk's Eye to trap Ami Mizuno, Rei Hino, and Makoto Kino in their respective nightmares, one Guardian at a time. However, the girls break free of them and transform with their respective Sailor Crystals into their Super forms, enabling them to destroy the Amazon Trio. Helios reveals that Mamoru's incessant chest pain are caused by Nehelenia's curse on Elysion, a sacred place within Earth, which also caused Helios to turn into a pegasus, imprisoning him in a cage from which he is astral projecting. Sailor Moon promises to heal Mamoru and hugs him, but is given the same curse as Mamoru.

Minako Aino is unable to transform, and the Amazoness VesVes sends two knife-throwing twins, Xenotime and Zeolite, after her. In the ensuing conflict, VesVes sends Minako falling to her death, but Artemis intervenes and gives Minako her crystal, enabling her to transform into Super Sailor Venus and destroy Xenotime and Zeolite. PallaPalla then traps the four Sailor Guardians in vines. Usagi then falls ill from a black rose inside her, and Zirconia brings darkness to Earth with the nightmare energy she has accumulated.

Part Two

Sailor Saturn's spirit talks to young Hotaru Tomoe, and restores her memories of her previous life. Hotaru then gives Haruka Tenoh, Michiru Kaioh, and Setsuna Meioh their crystals, allowing them to transform into Super Sailors Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn. Dhey then free Sailors Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus from PallaPalla's vines. Sailor Chibi Moon, Sailor Moon, and Tuxedo Mask arrive to help, but Zirconia mortally wounds Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. Helios teleports Usagi and Mamoru to Elysion to save their lives with what little purification power it has left. Sailors Chibi Moon and Saturn confront the Amazoness Quartet inside a tent, and Saturn reveals the Amazoness Quartet were corrupted by Nehelenia's nightmare power. As the Amazoness Quartet start to come to their senses, Zirconia imprisons them inside orbs, and traps Chibi Moon and Saturn inside shards of glass, before putting all six inside Nehelenia's mirror.

In Elysion, Helios explains to Usagi and Mamoru that the Golden Kingdom used to exist in Elysion, and the Golden Crystal is Earth and Elysion's counterpart to the Silver Millennium's Silver Crystal. Usagi then realizes the Golden Crystal is inside Mamoru, just as the Silver Crystal was sealed inside her. After Helios sends Usagi and Mamoru back to the surface, Zirconia incapacitates them with a fog around Jūban. In a dying act, Helios sends Elysion's purifying crystals to Earth, blocking Zirconia's fog, and heals the group. Zirconia attacks Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, and spreads nightmares, but Tuxedo Mask breaks himself and others free from the nightmares, and the Sailor Guardians use their combined powers to blast and weaken Zirconia who flees into Nehelenia's mirror. Sailor Moon follows her inside and frees Sailors Chibi Moon and Saturn, with the latter taking the four orbs containing the Amazoness Quartet with her. The others break the mirror and free them all, but Nehelenia disappears and Zirconia remains inside the mirror.

The Dead Moon Circus disappears, but the darkness remains throughout the city. The Sailor Guardians and Tuxedo Mask teleport to Elysion, where Nehelenia appears inside her mirror and deflects Super Sailor Moon's attack, sending everyone into a flashback of Nehelenia's past: Nehelenia had arrived uninvited at the party celebrating Princess Serenity's birth.

Production

Development

On January 25, 2017, it was announced on the official Sailor Moon 25th anniversary website that the Sailor Moon Crystal anime would continue.[19][20] Later, on June 30 of the same year, it was revealed that the fourth season based on Dream arc of the manga was to be produced as a two-part theatrical anime film project. Additionally, Chiaki Kon, who was a series director for its third season, reprised her role as a director for the two-part film.[21][22] Kon revealed in an interview that she was thrilled to return, and was excited when it was being produced as two films,[23] as she first found out when she was storyboarding for the season finale for the third season.[24]

On June 30, 2018, it was announced that the film's production had begun, and Kazuko Tadano, who handled the character designs for the first two seasons of the 1990s Sailor Moon anime series and Sailor Moon R: The Movie, was chosen as a character designer for the film. Tadano had commented: "'I never dreamed that I'd be able to participate in this work that I had been involved with 25 years ago. I'm very happy to be involved as character designer once again for this work, which is beloved around the world. I feel anxious, because this is my first time working as a character designer for the latter part of the series, which makes me wanna work even harder. Please continue to support Sailor Moon!'[25][26]" Tadano received no additional instructions from Kon or the producers other than "follow the manga closely as possible", so she made sure the art style was "reminiscent to the past with a modern nuiance while closely following original creator Naoko Takeuchi's imagery".[27][28]

At the time of production, the film's original name was Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal The Movie -Dead Moon arc- (劇場版「美少女戦士セーラームーン」＜デッド・ムーン編＞).[27][29]

On June 30, 2019, more staff has been revealed: Kazuyuki Fudeyasu served as a screenwriter, original creator and manga artist Naoko Takeuchi chief supervised the films' production, Studio Deen co-animated and produced the films with Toei Animation,[30] and the name for the two-part film was decided as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie (劇場版「美少女戦士セーラームーン」).[31]

Casting

Most of the main voice actors from Sailor Moon Crystal had returned for the two-part film, but, for unknown reasons, Taishi Murata took over Yohei Oobayashi's role as Artemis.[14] In April 2020, it was announced that Yoshitsugu Matsuoka will voice Pegasus/Helios for the film.[15] In August 2020, it was announced that Shouta Aoi, Satoshi Hino, and Toshiyuki Toyonaga were to voice the Amazon Trio: Fish Eye, Tiger's Eye, and Hawk's Eye. The following week, Reina Ueda, Sumire Morohoshi, Yuko Hara, and Rie Takahashi were cast as the Amazoness Quartet: CereCere, PallaPalla, JunJun, and VesVes. In September 2020, it was announced that the Japanese comedian, fashion designer and actress Naomi Watanabe was cast as Zirconia. The following month, Japanese model and actress Nanao was cast as Queen Nehelenia.[17][16]

Music

Yasuharu Takanashi returned to compose the music for the two-part film. The theme song for the two-part film is "Moon Color Chainon" (月色Chainon), performed by Momoiro Clover Z with Sailor5Guardians. The song's lyrics were written by Naoko Takeuchi (under the name of "Sumire Shirobara"), composed by Akiko Kosaka, and arranged by Gesshoku Kaigi.[32][33][34] The ending theme for the first film is "Wanting to Be Together with You" (私たちになりたくて), performed by Yoko Ishida, and the ending theme for the second film is "I'll Go As Myself" (“らしく” いきましょ), performed by Anza.[35] The eleven-track character song collection album, titled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie Character Song Collection: Eternal Collection, was released on February 10, 2021, and the eleventh track, titled "Moon Effect", performed by the voice actresses for all ten Sailor Guardians, is used as an insert song for the second film.[36]