The show centered on a young high school girl, Serena (Usagi in Japan), a mild mannered regular girl during the day and a super-powered heroine by night, fighting off evil and protecting the hearts of young girls from evil-doers. As a regular girl, she's not very bright, doing poorly in school and chasing after a boy (Darien/Mamoru). As Sailor Moon, she uses a make-up case to transform into a flying girl in a skimpy outfit, wielding a powerful magical scepter, and leading her group of friends, Amy, Ray, Lita and Mina to fight a horde of similarly powered demons, also usually female. There were a couple of other heroines that seemed to fight along side Serena and crew as allies but they were slightly older and standoffish, Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus (I'll refrain from the adult jokes for now), although they had a mission to obtain some jewels that sometimes put them in conflict with the Sailor Scouts (Sailor Warriors in Japan). Each gal has a special power and when used with teamwork, prove nearly undefeatable. Joining the cast is a talking cat, Luna, and a male hero, Tuxedo Mask (guess who he is) to round out the regulars.

Each episode has it's own theme but the general formula revolves around one of the cast having some sort of domestic crisis, an enemy attacking someone to steal their pure heart, and then the Sailor Scouts fighting off the bad guys (usually gals) to save the day. There were threads in the episodes but the series was like so many others in the use of a formulaic approach. The up side is that it provided something for the young female audience whereas most anime before this one showed women in passive roles and rarely as leads. It was popular enough to spawn a host of copycats both here and in Japan, expanding the choices of young gals everywhere. Here's a list of the seven(!) episodes in Sailor Moon S TV Series Volume 1, also known as Season Three of the long running show:

1) Premonitions Of World's End? Mysterious New Warriors!
2) The Rod Of Love Is Born! Usagi's New Transformation
3) A Beautiful Boy? The Secret Of Haruka Tenoh
4) Usagi's Idol! The Graceful Genius Michiru
5) Protect The Pure Heart! A Three-Way Battle
6) Leave It To The Moon For Love Aid
7) Cold-Hearted Uranus? Makoto In Trouble

Okay, the characters evolved a bit as the season went on and those who never watched the show before will be able to keep up with most of the material. The DVD provided the uncut version of the episodes and had both language tracks, something fans are sure to like. Another factor in the value factor here is that the series is being re-released in the new Geneon Signature Series product line, just like Serial Experimental Lain and Akira, which, when combined with the fact that there were seven full episodes on the DVD, gives you a tremendous bargain. I'm going to rate this one as Recommended for fans of the show as well as those in the target audience, young girls. It wasn't the most interesting anime series I've watched of late but it did address a number of themes that females will enjoy.

Picture: The picture was presented in the usual 1.33:1 ratio full frame color, as expected since that was the original aspect ratio of the series. There were some print scratches and grain as well as some very minor mosquito noise. Considering the episodes were the better part of ten years old, they looked pretty good though. The anime style was fairly limited as well but that never stopped the intended audience from enjoying it.

Sound: The sound was presented with a choice of the original Japanese monaural track with optional English subtitles or a 2.0 Dolby Digital stereo English track. I listened to both tracks and found the original track superior in terms of the voice acting and "feel" of the show while the special effects and music sounded better on the dubbed track. For the most part, the dub suffered from what appeared to be an attempt to dumb down the material (no small feat considering the content) and it came off as exploitative at times.

Extras: There were seven full episodes on the DVD so anything in the extras department is just that, extra. There was a short biography of Serena, a textless opening with a sing along feature, and some credits.

Final Thoughts: As an older male, the series was never intended for me to watch but it was a cute enough diversion. With nearly three hours of episodes at a low cost, it is the type of show that many fans will like. The technical values and uncut episodes will also appeal to those who liked it when it aired locally so check it out if you'd like to see the uncut version.

Check out DVDTalk's Top Anime of 2003 for more hints on good anime to watch.