Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos: O Filme

So everyone was right in that the pacing for the films is truly not helping the story develop as it should and it's incredibly difficult to relate to characters when you can't even sit with them. Some cringe scenes occured in part I with no rationale behind them, such as a character I won't name switching from random dialogue to breaking out in song, also too many scenes occur on the same rooftop.

The star lights barely get any screen time, look I am sorry but that was the big appeal about this arc. They also took away the iconic music when they transform which is a shame. There is a bit of strange back and forth between "are these new fighters our enemies" and "omg the star lights have a concert tonight even though we just found out their real personas" fangirl moments in the same scenes and it's incredibly confusing. We also never get any closure whatsoever and it's the film's biggest flaw. It's fine to follow the manga but I don't get why not add a one-liner with an explanation at least. In the original version (sorry, yes I will mention it) we not only spend a lot of time to get a feel of their individual personalities but we also get closure, even though that respective ending was rushed and left the story largely incomplete. I feel as though you'd need to combine them to get any sort of satisfaction.

Ultimately, the animation in Part II is much improved, similarly to how Eternal films behaved. The final 15 minutes are really beautiful and well done, incredible use of colours and composition, the atmosphere is good, deep insight into characters. It was fantastic to see Galaxia and we got time to spend with her (unlike any of the other villains in Crystal) and understand her background and motivation a bit, which really helped with the world building and storytelling.

The OST was lacking yet again, apart from the intro music. Still largely choir music mixed with piano and some metal. I feel like 70% of the 90s atmosphere was the music composed by Takanori Arisawa, and the remainder 30% the voice acting. The original had a much much darker atmosphere and it was a bit frustrating to see this largely lacking yet again. It is a bit too vanilla when the manga clearly depicts various violent events. These were never translated into the Crystal remake. It can be quite bland in parts without this element.

The VA for Cosmos sounded bored, no idea what happened there. Still, I enjoyed the 2nd episode and thought it was the best the remake could do with the budget and attention. Nice closure and ending. It felt authentic.

It's sad we never got to spend some time with any of the girls and Usagi's friends in the remake, there could have been more scenes showing the girls bond and build on their friendship. You can't rush these things and just show character 1 cry over the death of character 2 with no background whatsoever and expect viewers to care.

The best thing the studio could do for Sailor Moon is remake the 90s version and get rid of the filler episodes.

I was lucky enough to get a copy of the Japanese Blu-ray. I was pleasantly surprised with the whole movie, the soundtrack was great. The tension that was missing in Sailor Stars, it's there! Finally the original story is told. Nothing was altered or had any other changes, so if you read the Manga, you're gonna get exactly what you're expecting. Visually, the movie is stunning. You get to actually see Sailor Galaxia, in all her glory. She's ruthless and doesn't sit around doing nothing. Characters that didn't make it in the Anime... they roar. Sailors Heavy Metal Papillion, Lerhe, Mnsonme, Kakyuu, Phi, Chi, Cosmos...and the Sailor Quartet has a cute little addition. I think (Megumi H) Galaxia's voice actress was perfect; she's most known for voicing Rei in Evangelion. This is true Galaxia, I think her having a more youthful voice fit her better.

All the spells and transformation scenes are half and half; Sailormoon has two different transformations; I didn't really like the first one, but I liked the second one a lot more. "Pink Moon Crystal Power, Makeup" was okay; I laughed at the adorable little "Chibi-chibi Crystal Power, makeup". Princess Kakyuu gets her transformation, it's elegant.

The battles are beautiful.

I don't wanna spoil anything, but I will be curious how they try to translate it and emulate these characters. It won't be easy.

Everyone is in top form, and this is the true Sailor War that you didn't get to see in the original Anime.

I watched it on Blu-ray at home. No complaints.

I'm making a general speech because otherwise it would be an endless review, then the drawings are much much improved from Eternal much more expressive and more detailed especially in the second part of the second film. The main characters even if for a short time were well characterized, Sailor Moon in this version is very determined and not fussy like in the anime of the 90s this is one thing that I have always preferred from this whole remake also Crystal, the background songs are perfect and perfectly describe the feelings that Usagi feels in the various scenes, my favorite soundtrack is definitely the one during the battle against her friends in the second film. The Finale made me cry a lot because in addition to representing a moment of joy at the same time it puts us in front of a worthy end for the remake series of Sailor Moon.

Now that Cosmos movie is on Netflix, for those who have been a fan for over 20 years, you should really not miss it.

I gotta say compared to Eternal Movies, Cosmos has better animation (particularly the last part of both films visually, intensity, and pacing are all cenematic worthy) and more compelling plots.

Critics: I do find that being 100% faithful adaptation left some parts of the movie less coherent to the stories. Given the limitted screentime, I which they could have skipped and expanded more on some of the parts to make the pacing of both films better.

As the Anime industry has been improving significantly both in production, contents, and viewership, I think it would have benefitted the new audience if they move away from stock footage of transformations and really focused on the cohesive story telling.

That being said, personally, this has a better ending compared to the 90's anime. It's beautifully done and I think the audience can feel invested in the finale. The backgrounds are stunning throughout the entire time for both films. There are many shots that really stand out not only among the Crystal franchise but the entire Sailor Moon Franchise.

Finally, Galaxia really is the star of the show. She has beautiful designs, backstory, lines. If you are a fan, you cannot miss this.

The stars arc is my favorite of the manga. The movie did a great job of telling it. Usagi sorrow and overcoming it was heartbreaking and beautiful to watch. Galaxia is a scary villain and her story id interesting. Usagi and Mamoru moments are sweet and romantic !! The moments with Usagi and the girls were sweet showing there strong friendship. Usagi with her family was touching. I got the blu est and even though it was only Japanese I understood it thanks to the manga, I'm so glad I got it!!! It's part of Sailor Moon shoeing how amazing she is and how important her friends and love are to her. Definitely recommend.