Ask John: Why Did Sailor Moon Take So Long to Get License Rescued?
Question:
I was overjoyed to learn that the original Sailor Moon anime had finally had its license rescued by Viz and is getting the full treatment for its release including an uncut English dub in which the original author herself will be approving the voice cast. As well as for the first time having the Sailor Stars portion of the anime released in North America. While I have good memories watching Sailor Moon on Toonami back when it was a weekly block, I’ll look forward to how Viz handles the release.
I was wondering though why did it take so long to rescue the license for Sailor Moon? One theory that I have is that Toei wanted to get English speaking audiences (both older and potential new fans) familiar with the original anime while new Sailor Moon Crystal anime is being simulcast along side the release of the original.
Answer:
Relatively few people know for certain why roughly six years passed before the Sailor Moon anime franchise was re-acquired for American release. Sometimes, however, the simplest explanations are the most likely. The development of the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon reboot anime television series was doubtlessly inspired partially by the success of the 2003-2004 live-action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon television series and awareness that 2014 would mark the 20th anniversary of Naoko Takeuchi’s original Sailor Moon manga. Furthermore, Kodansha’s successful re-publication of the Sailor Moon manga in English and the aggressive moves that Japanese anime distributors have made into international streaming distribution were certainly also determining factors contributing to the decision to relaunch the Sailor Moon anime franchise with an international series. A re-release of the original 1992-1997 anime series would be an ideal way to generate advance publicity for the new franchise. After all, the sales and profit potential of the original anime series is limited because the anime itself is limited in amount. But the new Sailor Moon Crystal series offers an unlimited, expansive future potential for new merchandising, broadcast rights, additional animation, music rights and publicity, and more. Doubtlessly Toei Animation will want to do everything in its power to ensure that the upcoming Sailor Moon Crystal series becomes a blockbuster success.
Fans can certainly speculate that the original American distribution licenses for the Sailor Moon anime expired around 2008 and didn’t get relicensed until 2014 due to Japanese anxiety over American brand management and the introduction of gender-switching characters in the Sailor Stars season, or dissatisfaction with the limited domestic success of the original home video releases, or frustration over the heavily censored, edited American broadcast release. But the most likely explanation for the lapse in the American distribution was likely due to a combination of Toei Animation being preoccupied with other more current projects and a lack of a compelling American interest. Sailor Moon is a big, tentpole franchise for Toei and Kodansha, so arranging an American distribution license may not have been worth the required Japanese time and effort unless an American license rescue promised a great deal of success and revenue. Now that Toei has a brand new Sailor Moon anime series to promote, Toei itself has a vested interest in seeing the original ’92-97 anime series resurrected, and the most ideal American licensor would be a Japanese-owned company with experience in manga, merchandising, home video, and streaming. Viz Media is the only domestic distributor that meets all of those criteria. For example, Viz Media’s current authentic & faithful Blu-ray re-release of the Ranma 1/2 anime franchise should provide much greater reassurance that the company could also handle a similar faithful re-release of the comparable Sailor Moon franchise than FUNimation’s failed release of an authentic & faithful version of Dragon Ball Z on Blu-ray and its current far less authentic Blu-ray release of Dragon Ball Z.
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“that 2014 would mark the 20th anniversary of Naoko Takeuchi’s original Sailor Moon manga. ”
I thought the original manga came out in ’92. What’s this 20th anniversary thing about? The show?
“the aggressive moves that Japanese anime distributors have made into international streaming distribution were certainly also determining factors contributing to the decision to relaunch the Sailor Moon anime franchise with an international series.”
It’s a shame that Toei and TakeuchiPro were the only companies willing to allow their hit anime to be pirated for the better part of 20 years, rather than make it available legally in some form.
“But the new Sailor Moon Crystal series offers an unlimited, expansive future potential for new merchandising, broadcast rights, additional animation, music rights and publicity, and more.”
But only if it’s well received. There’s always the risk of it becoming the franchise’s Dragon Ball GT.
“and a lack of a compelling American interest.”
I personally think the fanbase is trolling anime companies promising to buy the show if it gets picked up. But there should at least be some compelling American interest, given the history of that series here.
“so arranging an American distribution license may not have been worth the required Japanese time and effort unless an American license rescue promised a great deal of success and revenue. ”
Yeah, if that’s true, I hope Viz is not going to regret that. I guess they hope they can make Sailor Moon their next Inu Yasha, but they really have to get the word out on this property. They’re a little too comfortable assuming that the manga re-release sales will immediately translate into DVD re-release sales.
“For example, Viz Media’s current authentic & faithful Blu-ray re-release of the Ranma 1/2 anime franchise should provide much greater reassurance that the company could also handle a similar faithful re-release of the comparable Sailor Moon franchise ”
The thing about Ranma is that it was always a series which was bigger here than in Japan. Basically, the opposite of Urusei Yatsura. American fans were willing to buy every effing volume of manga or tape/disc, even though the story kept relying on Gilligan’s Island levels of tedious repetition. Sailor Moon, on the other hand, is a series which fans try to pretend was bigger here than it really was, when Fruits Basket was way more popular.
“than FUNimation’s failed release of an authentic & faithful version of Dragon Ball Z on Blu-ray and its current far less authentic Blu-ray release of Dragon Ball Z.”
I thought DBZ still makes money for FUNimation, but if it doesn’t, I’m going to blame it on diminishing returns, rather than the actual release of the show. It would explain why the company hasn’t gone to the trouble of acquiring the new film, though.
The Sailor Moon manga and anime both premiered in 1992. Although 1992 was technically 22 years ago, the Sailor Moon Crystal series is still being promoted in Japan as a “20th Anniversary Project” production.
John: I guess Sort of like how A Woman Called Fujiko was lumped into a “40th anniversary” for Lupin, even though it was at least a year off? And three, if you count the pilot. ^_-
Has Jon ever answered a question pertaining to ADV’s attempt at releasing this show? As a former owner of the original season one set, I remember how terrible the quality of the DVDs were both in the audio and video department. When season two was announced, not only would the quality be just as bad, but ADV was prohibited from including all the episodes.
With this recent announcement, Viz looks to be releasing the “complete” series with quality that’s even better than the original remastering work done by Toei themselves. See my confusion? How the heck does one distributer get such poor resources with massive studio restrictions and the other given everything and taking it a step further?
Jeyl: “How the heck does one distributer get such poor resources with massive studio restrictions and the other given everything and taking it a step further?”
Easy answer: Money. Though I imagine ADV overpaid for the crappy source materials it got, too. Toei not only fine with its shows being bootlegged, but thinks its legal releases should have the same quality. They and Bandai Visual have the worst management in the biz, but they make too much money off key properties to give a damn.
“Sailor Moon, on the other hand, is a series which fans try to pretend was bigger here than it really was, when Fruits Basket was way more popular.”
I’m not so sure about this. Sailor moon came out several years before FB. I watched it at 5 AM every morning.
I could ask almost anyone about Sailor Moon and they would know what I’m talking about. Ask the average person about Fruits Basket and you’ll get a puzzled look.
“Sailor moon came out several years before FB. I watched it at 5 AM every morning.”
Watching it isn’t the same as buying the effing DVDs.
“I could ask almost anyone about Sailor Moon and they would know what I’m talking about. Ask the average person about Fruits Basket and you’ll get a puzzled look.”
Numbers don’t lie, though. It was the best-selling shoujo title here.