The latest trailer for the new series ofSailor Moonhas been released, and has revealed that the anime will be coming to an end. The last arc of the story will be released as a duology of movies in theaters, titledSailor Moon Cosmos. These films will be the conclusion of the story that began with theSailor Moon Crystalseries.
Sailor Moonoriginally aired from late 1991-1997, and waspopular all over the world.Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, a new anime adaptation that followed the original manga more closely, began airing in 2013. This new series had three seasons, covering the Dark Kingdom, Black Moon, and Infinity arcs from the original manga. Then, the Dream arc was adapted into two theatrical movies, calledPretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal the Movie.
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Sailor Moon Cosmoswill have a new director, Tomoya Takahashi. However, the character forSailor Moon Eternal(and the original anime series), Kazuko Tadano, and the scriptwriter forEternal, Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, will return forCosmos. The film will tell the final Shadow Galactica arc, and will follow the trend of the previous arc byreleasing as two moviesin the cinema instead of another anime series for TV. Shadow Galactica is the final arc in the manga, which means it’s very likely that these movies will also be the ending of the newSailor Moonadaptation.
Fans of the original series might remember this arc fromSailor Moon Sailor Stars, which was also based on it. Despite all the other seasons of the original series also getting an associated movie,Sailor Moon Sailor Starsnever had one as the popularity ofSailor Moonwas declining at the time.Sailor Moon Cosmosgives the Shadow Galactica arcanother chance to have its story told- and this time, on the big screen.
Sailor Moon Crystalhad a lot of hype leading up to its release, with fans across the world extremely excited to be getting new material. But when it actually came out, a lot of the hype died, and there was not a huge impact at first from the new series. Over time, though, it has gained more traction and positive press, and theSailor Moon Eternalfilms were well received.
Rather than dragging the series out and losing momentum at the end the waySailor Moon Sailor Starsdid, it might be a good idea to end the new series while people still feel positive about it and arehyped to see new material. Then the new adaptation ofSailor Mooncan have the positive ending that the original series deserved, without losing steam.
Sailor Moon Cosmoswill release in theaters in Japan in Summer 2023.
