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118-425: While there are differences in adaptations, the main theme of Kouhei protecting Hazuki from harm is present in both. The OVA storyline though has very little to do with the original series outside of having some of the same characters, and has a completely different storyline which does not fit into anything which came before it. Tokyopop published an English-language version of the manga but stopped at volume 12 due to

236-958: A 'new incarnation' of the company. Partnered with ' Right Stuf on Demand', they began offering ebooks of various titles for which they retained the rights. Their company blog article stated: Luckily new technologies that have only very recently become practical are enabling us to re-emerge. Conventional publishing has irrevocably changed, and it is impractical for all but the largest and most established companies to pursue publishing as it has gone on for centuries. But by embracing ebook and print-on-demand technologies, we believe we can move forward and continue to produce some amazing manga as well as bring you Asian Pop Culture in many forms. A letter from Levy on January 6, 2013, stated: Digital technology has transformed many industries including publishing. This hit TOKYOPOP very hard since we didn't have ebook rights to most of our series (except OEL). Unfortunately our Japanese licensors did not move fast enough to provide

354-540: A few months prior, accompanied by her talking feline companion Artemis . Additionally, they befriend Mamoru Chiba, a high school student who assists them on occasion as Tuxedo Mask . In the first arc, the group battles the Dark Kingdom , those members attempt to find the Silver Crystal and free an imprisoned, evil entity called Queen Metaria. Usagi and her team discover that in their previous lives, they were members of

472-646: A group of both corrupted and false Sailor Guardians and led by Sailor Galaxia , who have been rampaging across the galaxy and killing other Sailor Guardians to steal their Star Seeds, Sailor Crystals—the essence of their lives. After Mamoru and all of the main Solar System Guardians are killed by Shadow Galactica, Usagi travels to the Galaxy Cauldron, the birthplace of all Star Seeds of the Milky Way , in an attempt to revive her loved ones and to confront Chaos ,

590-659: A growth rate of 29% in 2014. This compares with Egmont Ehapa at 6.5% and Carlsen Verlag at 1.8%. In 2004, Tokyopop set up a division in the United Kingdom based in London that mainly imported books from its original American counterpart and distributed them to bookstores in both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland . Tokyopop released an anime collection in both countries in late 2006, including titles such as Initial D and Great Teacher Onizuka . Vampire Princess Miyu

708-739: A legitimate alternative to piracy, and piracy shows no mercy. As a result, TOKYOPOP had to shut down its LA office and the licenses to Japanese titles expired, reverting to the Japanese licensors. What that means is TOKYOPOP is evolving as a company. I know many fans would prefer us to return to being a manga publisher like we were for most of our history. However, manga will never disappear – we will do what we can to deliver manga. I plan on experimenting with new ways to bring you Asian pop culture. Please keep an open mind – and give feedback (not just negative when you don't like something but also positive when you like something) so we can tweak our approach. Throughout

826-672: A magical artifact, the "Legendary Silver Crystal" ( 「幻の銀水晶」 , Maboroshi no Ginsuishō , lit. "Phantom Silver Crystal") . She leads a group of comrades, the Sailor Soldiers, called Sailor Guardians in later editions, as they battle against villains to prevent the theft of the Silver Crystal and the destruction of the Solar System . The manga was adapted into an anime series produced by Toei Animation and broadcast in Japan from 1992 to 1997. Toei also developed three animated feature films,

944-533: A new Rising Stars of Manga 25th Year Anniversary edition was announced. Tokyopop became one of the biggest manga publishers outside Japan , and as such, was attributed with popularizing manga in the United States . By 2004, it boasted the largest market share of manga sales in the U.S., reaching as high as 50% of manga exports to the United States, according to Nissei Weekly. Tokyopop was also instrumental in

1062-659: A new, free publication called Manga (originally Takuhai ) to feature their latest releases. Tokyopop secured newspaper distribution in the form of Sunday comics , featuring its titles Princess Ai, Mail Order Ninja, Peach Fuzz, and Van Von Hunter. In March 2006, Tokyopop and HarperCollins Publishers announced a co-publishing agreement in which the sale and distribution rights of some Tokyopop manga and books, under this co-publishing license, would be transferred to HarperCollins in mid-June 2006. The agreement enabled Tokyopop to produce original English-language (OEL) manga adaptations of HarperCollins' books. Meg Cabot 's books were

1180-605: A number of original German-language manga, including Gothic Sports , winner of a 2007 Sondermann award. Tokyopop GmbH continues to operate as a publisher of German-language manga for the international market after the closure of the US publishing office. In addition to publishing popular manga titles, Tokyopop GmbH also expanded the market by producing new and exciting cross-media content, including licensing popular video game franchises such as Assassin's Creed and Zelda and bestselling novels such as James Patterson and Warriors . In 2013,

1298-485: A range of content and formats. In 2021, Tokyopop GmbH was one of Germany's Top 100 publishing companies. The first manga and manhwa by Tokyopop Germany were published in November 2004, and the first anime in the fall of 2005. In 2006, Tokyopop GmbH entered a "strategic partnership" with the Japanese publisher Shueisha , allowing them to publish popular titles such as Death Note and Bleach . The company has also released

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1416-399: A single story arc; the storyline was developed in meetings a year before serialization began. After completing the arc, Toei and Kodansha asked Takeuchi to continue the series. She wrote four more story arcs, which were often published simultaneously with the five corresponding seasons of the anime adaptation. The anime ran one or two months behind the manga. As a result, the anime follows

1534-866: A television special, and three short films based on the anime. A live-action television adaptation, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon , aired from 2003 to 2004, and a second anime series, Sailor Moon Crystal , began simulcasting in 2014. The manga series was licensed for an English language release by Kodansha Comics in North America, and in Australia and New Zealand by Random House Australia. The entire anime series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release in North America and by Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand. Since its release, Sailor Moon has received universal acclaim, with praise for its art, characterization, and humor. The manga has sold over 46 million copies worldwide, making it one of

1652-490: A time when most competitors charged $ 12.99 to $ 16.99 per book. Tokyopop was the first U.S. publisher to adopt such a sweeping policy. While some Japanese manga artists had required that the English versions of their manga be published from right to left, Tokyopop was the first American publisher to unilaterally announce that it would maintain the original format for all of its future manga titles. An "authentic manga" how-to guide

1770-531: A two-part theatrical anime film project, titled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos The Movie . The two films are directed by Tomoya Takahashi, and was released on June 9 and 30, 2023. There have been numerous companion books to Sailor Moon . Kodansha released some of these books for each of the five story arcs, collectively called the Original Picture Collection . The books contain cover art, promotional material and other work by Takeuchi. Many of

1888-412: A whole, Tokyopop, Inc., laid off eight more employees, including three editors, and noted that the company would have to rearrange some of its upcoming publication schedules. Licenses from the Japanese manga publisher Kodansha , historically, were a large part of Tokyopop's catalog. In the years leading up to 2009, the number of Kodansha titles licensed by Tokyopop decreased. The final new Kodansha title

2006-479: Is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi . It was originally serialized in Kodansha 's shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into 52), along with several side stories, were compiled in 18 volumes . The series follows the adventures of a schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino as she transforms into the eponymous character to search for

2124-487: Is an imprint under which Tokyopop published shōnen-ai and yaoi manga titles. The imprint was launched in 2005. Initially, the company denied that it owned Blu, stating that it was only distributing for another company. The company released no editor names, nor company contact info out of fear there would be backlash and hate mail from "moral crusaders". In 2006, Tokyopop confirmed Blu was their own imprint. Blu Manga considered that their "non-girly" branding had enabled

2242-402: Is believed by Solotoff to have been handed over to Raymond Iacovacci, one of the producers on the project, who stored the pilot script and animation cels in a storage facility. The logo created for the pilot was kept for the English dub, and Bandai released a "Moon Cycle" as part of its merchandise for the show, based on vehicles designed for the pilot. The project was rediscovered in 1998 when

2360-525: Is co-managed by LDH Japan Inc. and Three Six Zero. On March 1, 2023, SG5 released their debut single "Firetruck" on streaming platforms alongside a music video with references to the manga. The group made their debut under the name F5ve with the single "Lettuce" in May 2024 while celebrating Pride Month . Their follow-up single, "Underground", was released in July 2024 through Three Six Zero Recordings . Sailor Moon

2478-527: Is in Hamburg, Germany. Tokyopop was founded in 1997 by Stuart J. Levy . In the late 1990s, the company's headquarters were in Los Angeles . Tokyopop published a manga magazine called MixxZine which serialized four classic manga including Sailor Moon , Magic Knight Rayearth , Parasyte , and Ice Blade . Eventually, MixxZine became an Asian pop culture publication entitled Tokyopop Magazine . Additionally,

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2596-434: Is now her servant, but Kouhei continually refuses to obey her, especially when he thinks her requests are unreasonable. Despite their fighting, the relationship between the duo progresses over time—even in the face of repeated attacks by opposing vampires—until Kouhei becomes determined to protect Hazuki from the vampire servants of her family, who are determined to retrieve her by whatever means necessary. Tsukuyomi Moon Phase

2714-538: Is one of the most popular manga series of all time and continues to enjoy high readership worldwide. More than one million copies of its tankōbon volumes had been sold in Japan by the end of 1995. It has been described as iconic. By the series's 20th anniversary in 2012, the manga had sold over 35 million copies in over fifty countries, and the franchise has generated $ 2.5 billion in worldwide merchandise sales as of 1996. By 1995, Sailor Moon toys used to bring in more than $ 250 million per year in Japan. The manga won

2832-554: Is the editor of an occult magazine. At the castle, Kouhei meets Hazuki, who feeds on Kouhei's blood and claims him as her unwilling servant. Although this "blood pact" is supposed to bind Kouhei to Hazuki as her obedient slave, her act has no effect on Kouhei. Following an action-packed sorcerers' battle in which Kouhei and his cousin manage to free Hazuki from her captivity in the dreary castle, Hazuki travels to Tokyo, and takes up residence with Kouhei in his grandfather's house in Japan. Hazuki claims that, because she fed on his blood, Kouhei

2950-586: Is to guard the Solar System against external threats. Physics student Setsuna Meioh, Sailor Pluto's reincarnation, joins Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune in their mission to kill a mysterious girl named Hotaru Tomoe, whom they identify as the Guardian of Destruction Sailor Saturn . However, when Saturn awakens she joins the final fight against the main antagonists of the arc, the Death Busters , sacrificing her life in

3068-411: Is turned into Serena. The love interest of Sailor Moon, Mamoru Chiba, is turned into Darien Shields. Other examples of westernization (or Americanization ) referenced by Sailor Moon 's audience included flipping scenes of traffic to have cars drive on the right side of the road along with the English dub changing any conversations between characters that contained lesser-known (in the United States at

3186-460: Is very clearly focused." During the restructure, Tokyopop laid off 39 positions, equating to 35%–40% of its American workforce. Most of the positions cut were those involved in the direct publication of its books which resulted in a scale back of publication output from Tokyopop, Inc. Tokyopop reported that it would be cutting the volumes released per year by approximately 50%, to an average of 20–22 volumes per month. Tokyopop's Japan division

3304-605: The Kodansha Manga Award in 1993 for shōjo . The English adaptations of both the manga and the anime series became the first successful shōjo title in the United States. The character of Sailor Moon is recognized as one of the most important and popular female superheroes of all time. Sailor Moon has also become popular internationally. Sailor Moon was broadcast in Spain and France beginning in December 1993; these became

3422-720: The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. . In 2003, Toei Company produced a Japanese live-action Sailor Moon television series using the new translated English title of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon . Its 49 episodes were broadcast on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting from October 4, 2003, to September 25, 2004. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon featured Miyuu Sawai as Usagi Tsukino, Rika Izumi (credited as Chisaki Hama) as Ami Mizuno, Keiko Kitagawa as Rei Hino, Mew Azama as Makoto Kino, Ayaka Komatsu as Minako Aino, Jouji Shibue as Mamoru Chiba, Keiko Han reprising her voice role as Luna from

3540-505: The Nintendo DS . The Dyskami Publishing Company released Sailor Moon Crystal Dice Challenge , created by James Ernest of Cheapass Games and based on the Button Men tabletop game in 2017, and Sailor Moon Crystal Truth or Bluff in 2018. A Sailor Moon attraction, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Miracle 4-D , was announced for Universal Studios Japan . It featured Sailor Moon and

3658-1005: The SATs . Tokyopop has released several series based on American games, films, and characters, such as Warcraft , the Kingdom Hearts video game series, and Jim Henson films. They released the first volume of a series based on the Hellgate: London video game in April 2008. TOKYOPOP pioneered the Cine-Manga format, which took popular animated and live-action series and films and turned them into colored print editions. Titles included popular Nickelodeon cartoon series like Avatar: The Last Airbender and SpongeBob SquarePants. As well as franchises such as Star Wars, Akira, Lizzie McGuire, Card Captor Sakura, Kim Possible, Family Guy, Hannah Montana, amongst many others. In June 2008, Tokyopop announced that it

Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase - Misplaced Pages Continue

3776-573: The Sailor Moon manga again as part of their "Naoko Takeuchi Collection". The company described the new edition as a "more affordable, portable" version of the Eternal Edition. The first volume was published on April 5, 2022. Sailor Moon has also been licensed in other English-speaking countries. In the United Kingdom, the volumes are distributed by Turnaround Publisher Services. In Australia,

3894-582: The ancient Moon Kingdom in a period of time called the Silver Millennium. The Dark Kingdom waged war against them, destroying the Moon Kingdom. Its ruler Queen Serenity sent her daughter Princess Serenity, reincarnated as Usagi, along with her protectors the Sailor Guardians, their feline advisers Luna and Artemis, and the princess's true love Prince Endymion, who in turn was reborn as Mamoru. At

4012-464: The best-selling manga series , as well as one of the best-selling shōjo manga series of all time. The franchise has also generated $ 2.5 billion in worldwide merchandise sales. One day in Juban , Tokyo , a middle-school student named Usagi Tsukino befriends Luna , a talking black cat who gives her a magical brooch enabling her to transform into Sailor Moon: a guardian destined to save Earth from

4130-774: The Earth and owner of the Golden Crystal, the sacred stone of the Golden Kingdom. Mamoru and all ten of the reunited Guardians combine their powers, enabling Usagi to transform into Eternal Sailor Moon and defeat Dead Moon's leader, Queen Nehelenia . In the final arc the Sailor Starlights from the Planet Kinmoku, their ruler Princess Kakyuu , and the mysterious little girl Chibi-Chibi join Usagi in her fight against Shadow Galactica ,

4248-514: The Inner Guardians arriving at the theme park, only to discover and stop the Youma's plan from stealing people's energies. The attraction ran from March 16 through July 24, 2018. The sequel attraction, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Miracle 4-D: Moon Palace arc , ran from May 31, 2019, to August 25, 2019. It featured all 10 Sailor Guardians and Super Sailor Moon. In January 2022, a new attraction

4366-574: The People's Choice award, where the top-20 finalists had their entire entries judged by the fans on the Tokyopop website. "We are really pleased to open up the Rising Stars judging to the fans," commented Tokyopop editor Rob Valois. "Since so many people have been vocal on the message boards and at industry conventions, we're offering them all a chance to shape the future of manga. I'm personally excited to see how

4484-564: The Time-Space Door. During the climactic battle of the arc, Sailor Pluto dies trying to save the sailor soldiers and Chibiusa was brainwashed by the enemy and turned into the Black Lady, but was eventually reformed and awakens as a Guardian herself—Sailor Chibi Moon. The third arc introduces two characters in a romantic relationship, car-racer Haruka Tenoh and violinist Michiru Kaioh, who appear as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune . Their duty

4602-435: The Tokyopop website, which continued to promote its publications. According to representative Mike Kiley, the divisions would allow the company to "set things up in ways that would very clearly and definitively allow those businesses to focus on what they need to do to succeed. The goals in each company are different and the achievement of those goals is more realistic, more possible if everyone working in each of those companies

4720-616: The addition of Sailor fuku . When Codename: Sailor V was proposed for adaptation into an anime by Toei Animation , Takeuchi redeveloped the concept so Sailor Venus became a member of a team. The resulting manga series became a fusion of the popular magical girl genre and the Super Sentai series, of which Takeuchi was a fan. Recurring motifs include astronomy , astrology , gemology , Greco-Roman mythology , Japanese elemental themes , teen fashions, and schoolgirl antics. Takeuchi said discussions with Kodansha originally envisaged

4838-584: The anime and manga. A short story, Parallel Sailor Moon is also featured, celebrating the year of the rabbit . Sailor Moon was also adapted for publication as novels and released in 1998. The first book was written by Stuart J. Levy . The following novels were written by Lianne Sentar. In mid-1993, the first musical theater production based on Sailor Moon premiered, starring Anza Ohyama as Sailor Moon. Thirty such musicals in all have been produced, with one in pre-production. The shows' stories include anime-inspired plotlines and original material. Music from

Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase - Misplaced Pages Continue

4956-432: The anime omits information that makes the story easy to understand, but judges the anime as more "coherent" with a better balance of comedy and tragedy, whereas the manga is "more tragic" and focused on Usagi and Mamoru's romance. For the week of September 11, 2011, to September 17, 2011, the first volume of the re-released Sailor Moon manga was the best-selling manga on The New York Times Manga Best Sellers list , with

5074-497: The anime. In 1999, Kodansha published the Materials Collection ; this contained development sketches and notes for nearly every character in the manga, and for some characters that never appeared. Each drawing includes notes by Takeuchi about costume pieces, the mentality of the characters and her feelings about them. It also includes timelines for the story arcs and for the real-life release of products and materials relating to

5192-483: The artwork. Tokyopop's decision to use the original right-to-left format allowed the artwork to keep its original form and also enabled Tokyopop to release most graphic novel series on a frequency three-to-six times faster than the industry standard at the time. Tokyopop volumes hit the shelves monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly versus the six months or longer typical of competitors. It also allowed Tokyopop to sell books for an industry-leading price point of $ 9.99 per book, at

5310-457: The beginning of the second arc, the Sailor Guardians meet Usagi and Mamoru's future daughter Chibiusa , who arrives from a 30th-century version of Tokyo known as "Crystal Tokyo", which is ruled by Neo Queen Serenity, Usagi of the future and has been attacked by the group of villains known as the Black Moon Clan . During their journey, Sailor Moon and her friends meet Sailor Pluto , Guardian of

5428-422: The blending of shōnen and shōjo styles and said the combat scenes seemed heavily influenced by Saint Seiya , but shorter and less bloody. He also said the manga itself appeared similar to Super Sentai television shows. Thompson found the series fun and entertaining, but said the repetitive plot lines were a detriment to the title, which the increasing quality of art could not make up for; even so, he called

5546-439: The business from HarperCollins . Tokyopop did not name a replacement for Parker. Parker's departure left only three remaining executives: the founder and CEO, Stuart Levy; Publisher, Mike Kiley; and Vice President of Inventory, Victor Chin. On March 1, Tokyopop continued to lay off workers, removing many high-profile employees such as long-time manga editors Lilian Diaz-Przyhyl and Troy Lewter. Tokyopop's management also eliminated

5664-413: The chapters were re-released in a collection of 12 shinzōban volumes to coincide with the release of the live-action series . The manga was retitled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon and included new cover art, and revised dialogue and illustrations. The ten individual short stories were also released in two volumes. In 2013, the chapters were once again re-released in 10 kanzenban volumes to commemorate

5782-465: The company launched a prestige project called Manga Library, which adapted classic literary novels into manga. According to GFK Entertainment , as of 2014 in the core segment of manga, Tokyopop GmbH is currently the second largest provider, with a market share of 27%. Additionally, in the last two years, Tokyopop GmbH had the fastest growth rate out of the big three manga suppliers in the German market, with

5900-476: The company on Power Rangers . The proof of concept video was widely considered to be lost media and director Solotoff reported that he was frequently contacted by people searching for the pilot. In 2012 multiple animation cels from the pilot, along with the script, surfaced on the internet after a storage locker, believed to be the one owned by Iacovacci, was sold. In 1998, Frank Ward, along with his company Renaissance-Atlantic Entertainment, tried to revive

6018-404: The company published a manga and tech magazine entitled Smile Magazine . Cultural anthropologist Rachel Thorn praised Stu Levy for opening up an untapped market for animation with the publication of Sailor Moon and other. Before Sailor Moon , the belief among entertainment executives was that "girls don't watch cartoons." Due to Sailor Moon's immense popularity, Tokyopop discontinued

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6136-560: The company shutting down its North American publishing division which left the series unfinished. For the anime, Funimation released an English-language version under the name Moon Phase . The story is about the relationship between freelance photographer Kouhei Morioka and Hazuki, a young girl who descends from a royal vampire lineage. At the beginning of the story, Kouhei travels to a castle in Southwest Germany to take photographs of paranormal phenomena for his friend Hiromi, who

6254-502: The completion of those titles from other companies. ICv2 reported that Tokyopop would continue to publish light novels from Kodansha and that Kodansha appeared to be planning to publish its own titles through its partnership with Random House. In February 2011, the president and chief operating officer, John Parker, resigned from the company and took the position of vice president of business development for Diamond . This came shortly after Diamond became Tokyopop's new distributor, taking

6372-416: The drawings are accompanied by comments on the way she developed her ideas, created each picture and commentary on the anime interpretation of her story. Another picture collection, Volume Infinity , was released as a self-published, limited-edition artbook after the end of the series in 1997. This art book includes drawings by Takeuchi and her friends, her staff, and many of the voice actors who worked on

6490-640: The fans' favorite will compare to our own." Tokyopop held eight Rising Stars of Manga competitions between 2002 and 2008, as well as one in the UK in 2005. Several Rising Stars of Manga winners went on to publish full-length graphic novels with Tokyopop, including Josh Elder with Mail Order Ninja , M. Alice LeGrow with Bizenghast , Mike Schwark and Ron Kaulfersch with Van Von Hunter , Lindsay Cibos and Jared Hodges with Peach Fuzz , Wes Abbot with Dogby Walks Alone , Felipe Smith with MBQ , and Nathan Maurer with Atomic King Daidogan . As of July 2022,

6608-424: The fifth and final season. The series premiered in Japan on TV Asahi on March 7, 1992, and ran for 200 episodes until its conclusion on February 8, 1997. Upon its release, the show quickly rose to be Toei Animation's highest ranked TV series. Most of the international versions, including the English adaptations, are titled Sailor Moon . On July 6, 2012, Kodansha and Toei Animation announced that it would commence

6726-487: The film. After Disney put the project on turnaround , Universal Pictures acquired the film rights. In 2017, it was revealed that Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal anime's fourth season would be produced as a two-part theatrical anime film project, adapting the Dream arc from the manga. On June 30, 2019, it was announced that the title of the films will be Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie . The first film

6844-470: The final battle with the Dark Kingdom, although they were revived. Takeuchi resented that she was unable to do that in her version. Takeuchi also intended for the Sailor Moon anime adaptation to last for one season, but due to the immense popularity, Toei asked Takeuchi to continue the series. At first, she struggled to develop another storyline to extend the series. While discussing with Osano, he suggested

6962-519: The first countries outside Japan to broadcast the series. It was later aired in Russia, South Korea, the Philippines, China, Italy, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong, before North America picked up the franchise for adaptation. In the Philippines, Sailor Moon was one of its carrier network 's main draws, helping it to become the third-biggest network in the country. In 2001, the Sailor Moon manga

7080-684: The first run, New Legend of Kaguya Island (Revised Edition) ( 新・かぐや島伝説 <改訂版> , Shin Kaguyashima Densetsu (Kaiteban) ) , went on stage in January 2005, following which, Bandai officially put the series on a hiatus. On June 2, 2013, Fumio Osano announced on his Twitter page that the Sailor Moon musicals would begin again in September 2013. The 20th anniversary show La Reconquista ran from September 13 to 23 at Shibuya's AiiA Theater Tokyo, with Satomi Ōkubo as Sailor Moon. Satomi Ōkubo reprised

7198-509: The first to be adapted into the manga format, along with the Warriors series by Erin Hunter . The first line of Tokyopop-HarperCollins OEL manga was released in 2007 with the goal of publishing up to 24 titles each year. Tokyopop entered a licensing arrangement with Kaplan , a leading provider of educational and training services in 2007, to help students study vocabulary words in preparation for

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7316-532: The first volume of Codename: Sailor V in second place. The first print run of the first volume sold out after four weeks. In English-speaking countries, Sailor Moon developed a cult following among anime fans and university students. Patrick Drazen says the Internet was a new medium that fans used to communicate and played a role in the popularity of Sailor Moon . Fans could use the Internet to communicate about

7434-426: The forces of evil. Luna and Usagi assemble a team of fellow Sailor Guardians to find their princess and the Silver Crystal. They encounter the studious Ami Mizuno, who awakens as Sailor Mercury ; Rei Hino, a local Shinto shrine maiden who awakens as Sailor Mars ; Makoto Kino, a tall and strong transfer student who awakens as Sailor Jupiter ; and Minako Aino, a young aspiring idol who had awakened as Sailor Venus

7552-420: The group began in 2020, with the official lineup and overall concept finalized in 2022. As part of the process, the group had to seek the approval of Naoko Takeuchi by performing in front of her and giving a presentation. Four of the group members, Sayaka, Ruri, Miyuu, and Kaede , had previously performed together as part of the idol group Happiness . The group was officially debuted in July 2022 at Anime Expo and

7670-421: The idea of doing a live-action series based on Sailor Moon, this time called Team Angel , without the involvement of Toon Makers. A 2-minute reel was produced and sent to Bandai America, but was also rejected. In August 2022, the proof of concept was showcased for the first time on YouTube in a documentary by Ray Mona. Ray Mona obtained both the pilot and its music video, as well and its related materials, from

7788-415: The imprint, in a genre stereotypically created by women for women, to reach out to a male and gay audience. Early titles published by BLU were Earthian , Love Mode , and Shinobu Kokoro . Sailor Moon Sailor Moon ( Japanese : 美少女戦士セーラームーン , Hepburn : Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn , originally translated as Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon and later as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon )

7906-481: The inclusion of Usagi's daughter from the future, Chibiusa. After the Sailor Moon anime was released in North America and dubbed in English, fans and academics alike noted that the dub had westernized Sailor Moon from how it had been released in Japan. In the 1995 English version of Sailor Moon , the westernization of the characters is seen in how a majority of the character names are changed from Japanese to English names. Sailor Moon's civilian name, Usagi Tsukino,

8024-524: The introduction of manhwa to western audiences. Brad Brooks and Tim Pilcher, authors of The Essential Guide to World Comics. London , said that Tokyopop "published many Korean artists' work, possibly without Western fans even realizing the strips don't come from Japan. Series like King of Hell by Kim Jae-hwan and Ra In-soo, and the Gothic vampire tale Model by Lee So-young are both Korean, but could easily be mistaken for manga." In 2005, Tokyopop began

8142-737: The magical girl genre. After its success, many similar magical girl series, including Magic Knight Rayearth , Wedding Peach , Nurse Angel Ririka SOS , Saint Tail , Cyber Team in Akihabara , Corrector Yui and Pretty Cure , emerged. Sailor Moon has been called "the biggest breakthrough" in English-dubbed anime until 1995, when it premiered on YTV , and "the pinnacle of little kid shōjo anime". Cultural anthropologist Rachel Thorn said that soon after Sailor Moon , shōjo manga started appearing in book shops instead of fandom-dominated comic shops. The series are credited as beginning

8260-465: The main storyline ends, and shows the wedding of the two main characters. "Act Zero" is a prequel showing the origins of Sailor V and Tuxedo Mask. The Sailor Moon franchise has spawned several video games across various genres and platforms. Most were made by Bandai and its subsidy Angel; others were produced by Banpresto . The early games were side-scrolling fighters ; later ones were unique puzzle games , or versus fighting games . Another Story

8378-729: The manga ( Dark Kingdom and Black Moon ). A third season based on the Infinity arc on the manga premiered on Japanese television on April 4, 2016, known as Death Busters arc in this adaptation. Munehisa Sakai directed the first and second season, while Chiaki Kon directed the third season. Three animated theatrical feature films based on the original Sailor Moon series have been released in Japan: Sailor Moon R: The Movie in 1993, followed by Sailor Moon S: The Movie in 1994, and Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie in 1995. The films are side-stories that do not correlate with

8496-528: The manga and anime, Sylvain Durand thought that the manga artwork is "gorgeous", but its storytelling is more compressed and erratic and the anime has more character development. Durand said "the sense of tragedy is greater" in the manga's telling of the "fall of the Silver Millennium," giving more detail about the origins of the Four Kings of Heaven and on Usagi's final battle against Queen Beryl and Metaria. Durand said

8614-567: The manga is distributed by Penguin Books Australia. The manga has been licensed in Russia as well as the CIS for distribution by publishing company XL Media. The first volume was released in 2018. Toei Animation produced an anime television series based on the 52 manga chapters, also titled Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon . Junichi Sato directed the first season, Kunihiko Ikuhara took over second through fourth season, and Takuya Igarashi directed

8732-416: The manga they licensed would revert to their original owners, who may license the titles to other companies. In October 2011, Tokyopop's official Twitter account released a message stating that its "ultimate goal is to start publishing manga again." On December 10, 2012, Tokyopop's website relaunched with a letter from management stating that the company was down to a few select employees who were starting

8850-485: The manga's 20th anniversary, which includes digitally remastered artwork, new covers and color artwork from its Nakayoshi run. The books have been enlarged from the typical Japanese manga size to A5. The short stories were republished in two volumes, with the order of the stories shuffled. Codename: Sailor V was also included in the third edition. The Sailor Moon manga was initially licensed for an English release by Mixx (later Tokyopop ) in North America. The manga

8968-516: The manga's original run, printed on extra-large premium paper. The first Eternal Edition volume was published on September 11, 2018; the tenth and final volume was published on October 20, 2020. On July 1, 2019, Kondasha Comics began releasing the Eternal Editions digitally, following an announcement the day before about the series being released digitally in ten different languages. In November 2020, Kodansha Comics announced plans to re-release

9086-560: The music for the show. The show was set to debut in early June 2020, but was first postponed to June 2021, and later to June 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and finally cancelled on February 23, 2023, due to an "unstable world situation", following the Russo-Ukrainian war . A Japanese idol pop group named SG5 , short for Sailor Guardians 5, was announced in June 2022. Early plans to form

9204-673: The music video was screened at the Anime Expo convention in Los Angeles, where it was met with laughter by onlookers. A congoer recorded the music video and the audience response, which would later resurface on video sites such as YouTube . The pilot and the music video would go on to be discussed at conventions such as the 2011 Gen Con and 2012 Anime Expo . It was given the monikers of " Toon Makers' Sailor Moon" and "Saban Moon" despite having no connection with Saban Entertainment save for Renaissance-Atlantic Entertainment, which worked with

9322-410: The original anime and Kappei Yamaguchi voicing Artemis. The series was an alternate retelling of the Dark Kingdom arc, adding a storyline different from that in the manga and first anime series, with original characters and new plot developments. In addition to the main episodes, two direct-to-video releases appeared after the show ended its television broadcast. "Special Act" is set four years after

9440-502: The position of director of sales operations. In an interview with ICv2, Stuart Levy revealed that the layoffs were due to Borders Group , Tokyopop's largest customer, filing bankruptcy in March 2011, no longer carrying Tokyopop stock, and not paying debts that the company owed to Tokyopop. On April 15, 2011, Tokyopop announced that it would close its Los Angeles, California–based North American publishing operations on May 31, 2011. According to

9558-561: The process. With her newly obtained powers as Super Sailor Moon, Usagi restores the Earth and Hotaru is reincarnated as a baby. The fourth arc explores the Sailor Guardians' dreams and nightmares when the villainous group Dead Moon Circus exploits the Guardians' deepest fears, invades Elysion (which hosts the Earth's Golden Kingdom), and captures its high priest Helios , who turned into a Pegasus and tried to ask Guardians for help. This storyline also addresses Mamoru's relevance as protector of

9676-578: The production of a new anime adaptation of Sailor Moon , called Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal , for a simultaneous worldwide release in 2013 as part of the series's 20th anniversary celebrations, and stated that it would be a closer adaptation of the manga than the first anime. Crystal premiered on July 5, 2014, and new episodes would air on the first and third Saturdays of each month. New cast were announced, along with Kotono Mitsuishi reprising her role as Sailor Moon. The first two seasons were released together, covering their corresponding arcs of

9794-475: The publishing closure, Tokyopop Media remained open for business, continuing its efforts to produce film and TV adaptations of Tokyopop's manga, as well as reinvigorating the Tokyopop YouTube channel, launching several original web series and adding trailers for Japanese film and TV. In 2013, Tokyopop partnered with MondoMedia to release an animated short film based on the Tokyopop manga Riding Shotgun , which

9912-403: The release dates for three new properties: Konohana Kitan , Futaribeya: A Room for Two , and Hanger . Additionally, TOKYOPOP initiated "International Woman of Manga" to showcase non-Japanese female manga writers with the publication of five titles: Ocean of Secrets , Goldfisch , Kamo , Undead Messiah , and Sword Princess Amaltea . Tokyopop's "Nightmare Before Christmas: Zero's Journey"

10030-580: The release, Tokyopop's film and television projects, as well as European publishing operations and global rights sales, would not be closing. The UK branch would cease to operate after May 31 due to their reliance on the importing of the North American branch's product. Stuart Levy, Tokyopop's founder, released a personal statement reaffirming Tokyopop's role in introducing manga to the mainstream North American audience and thanking fans, creators, and employees for their dedication. On May 24, Tokyopop stated that

10148-474: The role in the 2014 production Petite Étrangère which ran from August 21 to September 7, 2014, again at AiiA Theater Tokyo. During the 1990s, Disney was going to adapt Sailor Moon into a film under the Walt Disney Pictures banner but it was cancelled immediately. In 1993, Renaissance-Atlantic Entertainment, Bandai and Toon Makers, Inc. conceptualized their own version of Sailor Moon , which

10266-860: The same as they used to be." On August 31, 2009, Tokyopop announced Kodansha was allowing all of its licensing agreements with both the North American and German divisions of Tokyopop to expire for reasons unknown. Due to this loss in licensing, Tokyopop was forced to leave several Kodansha series unfinished, including the popular Rave Master , Initial D , GetBackers , and Life series. It would be unable to reprint any previously published volumes, rendering all Kodansha-owned Tokyopop releases out-of-print. Several other titles licensed and published by Tokyopop, including best sellers Cardcaptor Sakura , Chobits , Clover , and Magic Knight Rayearth , were reacquired by Dark Horse Comics , though two other titles Kodansha licensed to Dark Horse had since transferred to Random House by then. Samurai Deeper Kyo

10384-481: The serial from its magazines, and released it separately as its first manga graphic novel. They engineered prominent book distribution via retail stores, standardized book trim size, created a basic industry-wide rating system, and developed the first-ever retail manga displays and introduced the world of graphic novels to an audience of teenage girls. Also, together with Diamond , Tokyopop offered retailers free spinner rack displays for Tokyopop manga, thereby increasing

10502-403: The series "sweet, effective entertainment." Thompson said although the audience for Sailor Moon is both female and male, Takeuchi does not use fanservice for males, which would run the risk of alienating her female audience. Thompson said fight scenes are not physical and "boil down to their purest form of a clash of wills", which he says "makes thematic sense" for the manga. While comparing

10620-692: The series has been released on about 20 memorial albums. The popularity of the musicals has been cited as a reason behind the production of the live-action television series, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon . During the original run musicals ran in the winter and summer of each year, with summer musicals staged at the Sunshine Theater in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo. In the winter, musicals toured to other large cities in Japan, including Osaka , Fukuoka , Nagoya , Shizuoka , Kanazawa , Sendai , Saga , Oita , Yamagata and Fukushima . The final incarnation of

10738-942: The series incomplete. Hyper commends the anime for its "character design and animation which are uniformly quite good and the series boasts some very nice Gothic background art". The scripting is criticised for being "too cluttered to allow any immersion". Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP ; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment ) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime , manga , manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga , as well as original German-language manga. Tokyopop's US publishing division publishes works in English. Tokyopop has its US headquarters near Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California . Its parent company's offices are in Tokyo, Japan and its sister company's office

10856-436: The series, organize campaigns to return Sailor Moon to U.S. broadcast, to share information about episodes that had not yet aired, or to write fan fiction . Gemma Cox of Neo magazine said part of the series's allure was that fans communicated via the Internet about the differences between the dub and the original version. With their dynamic heroines and action-oriented plots, many credit Sailor Moon for reinvigorating

10974-432: The source of all strife in the galaxy. Naoko Takeuchi , after working on the 1991 Nami Akimoto manga Miracle Girls , redeveloped Sailor Moon from her 1991 manga serial Codename: Sailor V , which was first published on August 20, 1991, and featured Sailor Venus as the main protagonist. Takeuchi wanted to create a story with a theme about girls in outer space. While discussing with her editor Fumio Osano, he suggested

11092-414: The storyline of the manga fairly closely, although there are deviations. Takeuchi later said because Toei's production staff were mostly male, she feels the anime has "a slight male perspective." Takeuchi later said she planned to kill off the protagonists, but Osano rejected the notion and said, "[ Sailor Moon ] is a shōjo manga !" When the anime adaptation was produced, the protagonists were killed in

11210-778: The time) Japanese cultural references. According to Bandai America , the company in charge of Sailor Moon merchandise in the western hemisphere, the approach to advertising Sailor Moon was to make the show and super-heroine "'culturally appropriate' for the American market". Written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi , Sailor Moon was serialized in the monthly manga anthology Nakayoshi from December 28, 1991, to February 3, 1997. The side-stories were serialized simultaneously in RunRun —another of Kodansha's manga magazines. The 52 individual chapters were published in 18 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha from July 6, 1992, to April 4, 1997. In 2003,

11328-576: The timeline of the original series. A one-hour television special was aired on TV Asahi in Japan on April 8, 1995. Kunihiko Ikuhara directed the first film, while the latter two were directed by Hiroki Shibata. In 1997, an article in Variety stated that The Walt Disney Company was interested in originally acquiring the rights to Sailor Moon as a live action film to be directed by Stanley Tong & Geena Davis set to star as Queen Beryl, along with Winona Ryder & Elisabeth Shue planning to star in

11446-469: The twelve volumes of Sailor Moon simultaneously with the two-volume edition of Codename Sailor V from September 2011 to July 2013. The first of the two related short story volumes was published on September 10, 2013; the second was published on November 26, 2013. At Anime Expo 2017, Kodansha Comics announced plans to re-release Sailor Moon in an "Eternal Edition", featuring a new English translation, new cover artwork by Takeuchi, and color pages from

11564-1181: The visibility of the medium in bookstores. Tokyopop also licensed and distributed Japanese anime. In 1996, Mixx Entertainment acquired the rights to the anime biopic of Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa , and Stu Levy produced and directed the English version of the anime film, entitled Spring and Chaos . The film was directed and scripted by Shōji Kawamori , who created Super Dimension Fortress Macross and The Vision of Escaflowne . Taste of Cinema ranked "Spring and Chaos" thirteenth in its list of Top "25 Weird Animated Movies That Are Worth Your Time." From 2000 to 2004, Tokyopop released multiple film and television projects such as Street Fury , which Stu Levy created, GTO (English version for Showtime TV), Rave Master (English version for Cartoon Network's Toonami), and Reign: The Conqueror (English version for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.) Tokyopop also released English version DVDs for: Initial D , Marmalade Boy , Saint Tail , Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School , Vampire Princess Miyu , Brigadoon , FMW , High School Ghostbusters . In 2002, Tokyopop launched its line of "100% Authentic Manga", which

11682-434: The winning works. The grand prize winners were also given the chance to pitch full-length manga projects to Tokyopop for a chance to become professional manga-ka . Tokyopop launched its first "Rising Stars of Manga" contest on August 15, 2002, and ended it on December 16, 2002, with more than five hundred American artists submitting their 15–25 page, English-language stories. The 5th Rising Stars of Manga competition added

11800-402: Was Tokko by Tohru Fujisawa , and the final batch of volumes of Kodansha titles appeared around March 2009. Around that time Kodansha began to consistently give licenses to its manga to competitor Del Rey Manga . Deb Aoki of About.com said "Well, more or less. You get the idea. If you're the type who reads the tea leaves of the manga publishing biz, you kinda sensed that things weren't quite

11918-474: Was Tokyopop's best selling property, outselling the next-best selling titles by at least a factor of 1.5. In Diamond Comic Distributors 's May 1999 "Graphic Novel and Trade Paperback" category, Sailor Moon Volume 3 was the best-selling comic book in the United States. Academic Timothy J. Craig attributes Sailor Moon 's international success to three characteristics. First was the show's magical girl transformation of ordinary characters into superheroes. Second

12036-467: Was a turn-based role-playing video game . The only Sailor Moon game produced outside Japan, 3VR New Media's The 3D Adventures of Sailor Moon , went on sale in North America in 1997, They were developed in association with DIC Entertainment , which held the rights to the game and the TV series. A video game called Sailor Moon: La Luna Splende ( Sailor Moon: The Moon Shines ) was released on March 16, 2011, for

12154-414: Was also to be split, with one unit operating under Tokyopop Media and the other becoming a subsidiary under the overall Tokyopop Group. In response to Tokyopop's restructuring, declining sales, and losing 20% of its manga market share, Tokyopop UK cut its publication release schedule from approximately 25 volumes a month to 20. In December 2008, citing "dramatically low sales" in the publishing industry as

12272-522: Was announced as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: Prism on Ice , as well as the additional casts, with Anza from the first Sailor Moon musicals to play Queen Serenity, and the main voice actresses of the Sailor Moon Crystal anime series to voice their individual characters. Takuya Hiramatsu from the musicals was to write the screenplay, Yuka Sato and Benji Schwimmer were to be in charge of choreography, and Akiko Kosaka & Gesshoku Kaigi were to write

12390-402: Was announced titled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Miracle 4-D ~Moon Palace arc~ Deluxe . The attraction features the same storyline as the last and feature the Sailor Guardians in their princess forms. It ran from March 4, 2022, to August 28, 2022. An ice skating show of Sailor Moon was announced on June 30, 2019, starring Evgenia Medvedeva as the lead. The name for the ice-skating show

12508-409: Was being restructured, with its name being changed to Tokyopop Group, a holding group for several new subsidiaries. The Tokyopop operations in the United States were split into two subsidiaries: Tokyopop, Inc., and Tokyopop Media. Tokyopop, Inc. consisted of the company's existing publications business, while Tokyopop Media focused on the company's digital and comics-to-film works. Tokyopop Media managed

12626-478: Was directed by Michael Davis and starred the voices of Yuri Lowenthal and Jessy Schram . The short film garnered over a million views in its first month, and led to an IndieGoGo campaign to finance a full animated series. In 2015, at Anime Expo and San Diego Comic-Con , Tokyopop announced that it would be relaunching its publishing operations in North America in 2016 and hinted that its first major licensor would be Disney . In January 2018, Tokyopop announced

12744-559: Was first published as a serial in MixxZine beginning in 1997, but was later removed from the magazine and made into a separate, low print monthly comic to finish the first, second and third arcs. At the same time, the fourth and fifth arcs were printed in a secondary magazine called Smile . Pages from the Tokyopop version of the manga ran daily in the Japanimation Station, a service accessible to users of America Online . The series

12862-435: Was half live-action and half Western-style animation. Toon Makers produced a 17-minute proof of concept pilot and a two-minute music video, both of which were directed by Rocky Solotoff, who also worked on the pilot's script. Renaissance-Atlantic presented the concept to Toei, but it was turned down as their concept would have cost significantly more than simply exporting and dubbing the anime adaptation. The companies' work

12980-542: Was included in each graphic novel to keep readers from accidentally reading the final page first, and the authentic manga also featured special packaging. Tokyopop launched their Global Manga publishing program in 2003 via the introduction of its " Rising Stars of Manga " talent competition. The competition called for American manga artists to submit 15–25 page English-language stories of any genre. The top 10 entries, as judged by Tokyopop editors, received cash prizes (between $ 500 – $ 2500) and were published in an anthology of

13098-427: Was later collected into a three-part graphic novel series spanning eighteen volumes, which were published from December 1, 1998, to September 18, 2001. In May 2005, Tokyopop's license to the Sailor Moon manga expired, and its edition went out of print. In 2011, Kodansha Comics announced they had acquired the license for the Sailor Moon manga and its lead-in series Codename: Sailor V in English. They published

13216-511: Was nominated for two 2018 Diamond GEM awards in the categories "2018 Best All Ages Series" and "2018 Licensed TP or HC of the Year". In 2021, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurants agreed to sell specific Tokyopop Manga by offering Disney's The Nightmare Before Christmas adaptation by Jun Asuka in its North American in-store gift shops. Tokyopop's European entity is located in Hamburg, Germany and publishes both print and digital titles across

13334-449: Was originally to be released on September 11, 2020, but was postponed and released on January 8, 2021, and the second film was released on February 11, 2021. Chiaki Kon returned from Crystal ' s third season to direct the two films. In 2022, it was announced that a sequel to Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie , covering the Stars arc of the manga would also be produced as

13452-400: Was printed in the original Japanese right-to-left format and included the original Japanese printed sound effects. In Japan, most published manga is written to read from right to left, but when an English translation was published in the U.S., however, the common practice was to use computer-reversed or mirror images that allowed the books to read from left to right. As a result, this distorted

13570-899: Was released on DVD by MVM Entertainment and the Toonami television channel aired the first half of Rave Master in early 2005. It was announced on the official Tokyopop Facebook page that because the British division mainly imported the North American branch's translated titles, it would become defunct with the only open branch being the German division. Tokyopop distributed some of its titles to Australia and New Zealand via Madman Entertainment /Funtastic and in Greece , Tokyopop properties were licensed by Anubis Comics . Tokyopop partnered with IDW International in February 2018 to license its original intellectual property (IP) and manga in overseas markets. Blu Manga

13688-405: Was relicensed by competitor Del Rey Manga , a division of Random House, which published the remaining volumes of the series. Tokyopop said that it expected the loss of the licenses to have minimal impact on the company economically due to its diversification of their holdings over the last few years, though they acknowledged the loss would hurt fans of the ongoing series who face uncertainty about

13806-410: Was the ability of marketers to establish the international audience's connection to characters, despite their culture being Japanese. The third was that the main superhero was female, something which was still rare in pop culture in countries like the United States during the 1990s. In his 2007 book Manga: The Complete Guide , Jason Thompson gave the manga series three stars out of four. He enjoyed

13924-542: Was written by Keitarō Arima , and originally published by Wani Books. The manga series ran from March 2000 to March 24, 2009, in which sixteen volumes were published. The manga was later licensed in Taiwan by Sharp Point Press . Tokyopop and Madman Entertainment both had English releases for the manga but due to financial trouble, Tokyopop postponed some of the dates. On May 31, 2011, Tokyopop announced that all of their licensed titles would revert to their Japanese owners leaving

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