Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Explained

Season Number:5
Bgcolour:
  1. 9FFCFD
Num Episodes:34
Network:TV Asahi
Prev Season:Sailor Moon SuperS
Episode List:List of Sailor Moon episodes

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, or simply Sailor Stars, is the fifth and final season of Sailor Moon, a Japanese magical girl anime series based on the Sailor Moon manga series by Naoko Takeuchi; the season was directed by Takuya Igarashi and produced by Toei Animation. Like the rest of the Sailor Moon series, it follows the adventures of Usagi Tsukino and her fellow Sailor Guardians. The season is divided into two story arcs, with the first 6 episodes consisting of a self-contained arc exclusive to the anime in which the Sailor Guardians encounter Queen Nehelenia again.[1] The remaining 28 episodes adapt material from the "Stars" arc of the manga, in which the Sailor Guardians meet up with the Sailor Starlights, led by Princess Kakyuu. They discover that Sailor Galaxia, the leader of the "Shadow Galactica" organization and a corrupted Sailor Guardian, plans to increase her powers and rule the Milky Way.[1]

The season began broadcasting on TV Asahi on March 9, 1996 and ended on February 8, 1997 for 34 episodes. It was later released on DVD in six compilations with five episodes, by Toei, from September 26 to November 21, 2005.[2] [3] Sailor Stars was not dubbed during the initial English-language dub of Sailor Moon in the early 2000's. In May 2014, Viz Media announced that they licensed the series from the start for an uncut release, and also that they plan to release the fifth season on Blu-ray and DVD after Cloverway Inc. and Optimum Productions lost their licenses to the English-language adaption of Sailor Moon when they decided not to renew it. (It would have also been challenging to produce a dub at the time, due to the show being aired on TV, while being targeted towards younger children and the show needed to adhere to FCC regulations, which this season would have struggled with, due to the Sailor Starlights switching genders and showing same sex affection). On December 14, 2015, Viz Media streamed the first episode of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, along with the series finale of Sailor Moon SuperS, on Hulu in the United States, followed by a streaming release of the entire show on Tubi TV in Canada on July 15, 2016. The first 17 episodes of Sailor Stars were released on Blu-ray and DVD in a dual-language format on June 18, 2019. The rest were released on November 12, 2019.

Three pieces of theme music were used: one opening theme and two ending themes. The opening theme, titled "Sailor Star Song", is performed by Kae Hanazawa. The ending theme, used for the first 33 episodes, is "Kaze mo Sora mo Kitto..." performed by Alisa Mizuki. The second and final ending theme that was used for the final episode is "Moonlight Densetsu", performed by Moon Lips.

Episodes

Release

Bandai released two video games in 1996 to promote this season: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Sailor Stars for Sega Pico, and Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Sailor Stars: Fuwa Fuwa Panic 2 for Super Nintendo Entertainment System.[4]

Home video releases

Japanese

Blu-ray

Toei Video (Region 2)
VolumeEpisodesRelease dateRef.
美少女戦士セーラームーンセーラースタズ BLU-RAY COLLECTION1167-183November 13, 2019
2184-200January 8, 2020

English

Blu-ray + DVD combo

Viz Media (Region 1)
VolumeEpisodesRelease dateRef.
Season 5 Part 1167–183June 18, 2019[5]
Season 5 Part 2184–200November 12, 2019[6]
The Complete Fifth Season 167-200May 28, 2024[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Whitbrook . James . For the First Time Ever, Sailor Moon Stars Is Getting a Home Release in the U.S. . . . March 6, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230227155023/https://gizmodo.com/for-the-first-time-ever-sailor-moon-stars-is-getting-a-1830547495 . February 27, 2023 . November 19, 2018 . live.
  2. Web site: 美少女戦士 セーラームーン セーラースターズ vol.1 DVD. Toei Animation. June 9, 2014.
  3. Web site: 美少女戦士 セーラームーン セーラースターズ vol.1 DVD. Toei Animation. June 9, 2014.
  4. Web site: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars Fuwa Fuwa Panic 2. GameFAQs. October 21, 2019.
  5. Web site: Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, Season 5, Part 1 . . March 11, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220930132554/https://www.viz.com/watch/tv-series/sailor-moon-video-season-5-volume-5/product/5978 . September 30, 2022 . live.
  6. Web site: Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, Season 5, Part 2. Viz Media. October 9, 2019.
  7. Web site: VIZ: See Sailor Moon Sailor Stars: The Complete Fifth Season . June 25, 2024 . www.viz.com . en-US.