Sailor Moon Eternal Edition 1 review – the classic magical girl manga gets the deluxe treatment.

One of the key titles in the successful rise of anime/manga in the west, Sailor Moon is regarded by many as the definitive entry in the magical girl genre. Its success in Japan led to several anime series, live action shows, musicals and a ton of merchandise. It is only fitting that the original manga gets the premium treatment as Kodansha Comics bring the Eternal Editions to English speaking fans.

Teenager Usagi is not the best athlete, she’s never gotten good grades, and, well, she’s a bit of a crybaby. But when she meets a talking cat, she begins a journey that will teach her she has a well of great strength just beneath the surface and the heart to inspire and stand up for her friends as Sailor Moon!

There’s not really much to say about Sailor Moon that hasn’t already been said. It’s line-up of characters including the Sailor Guardians headed up by the klutzy yet lovable Usagi, the enigmatic Tuxedo Mask and talking cat Luna have become archetypes in the genre. The plot manages to blend comedy, high school drama and superhero action to perfection whilst Naoko Takeuchi’s visual storytelling and iconic character designs are some of the best you’ll see in any manga, let alone magical girl titles. What can be talked about is how this is new edition is the treatment this series deserves and why any fan of the series should own it.

Based on the Perfect Editions released in Japan, the manga is presented in an oversized format with premium white paper which is a far better showcase for Takeuchi’s stunning artwork than the standard manga paper stock. As well as featuring all-new cover art (with holographic coating) by Takeuchi, this edition also includes colour illustrations for the first time in an English language release, a newly revised translation and even French flaps. To put it shortly, Sailor Moon has always looked great, but it has never looked this great.

Manga fans that have yet to read Sailor Moon have no excuse now to not check it out and established fans who already own the series should not hesitate to add this to their collection. This is without a shadow of a doubt the definitive Sailor Moon manga experience.