The latest trailer for the new series of Sailor Moon has 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, titled Sailor Moon Cosmos. These films will be the conclusion of the story that began with the Sailor Moon Crystal series.
Sailor Moon originally aired from late 1991-1997, and was popular 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, called Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal the Movie.
Sailor Moon Cosmos will have a new director, Tomoya Takahashi. However, the character for Sailor Moon Eternal (and the original anime series), Kazuko Tadano, and the scriptwriter for Eternal, Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, will return for Cosmos. The film will tell the final Shadow Galactica arc, and will follow the trend of the previous arc by releasing as two movies in 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 new Sailor Moon adaptation.
Fans of the original series might remember this arc from Sailor 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 Stars never had one as the popularity of Sailor Moon was declining at the time. Sailor Moon Cosmos gives the Shadow Galactica arc another chance to have its story told - and this time, on the big screen.
Sailor Moon Crystal had 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 the Sailor Moon Eternal films were well received.
Rather than dragging the series out and losing momentum at the end the way Sailor Moon Sailor Stars did, it might be a good idea to end the new series while people still feel positive about it and are hyped to see new material. Then the new adaptation of Sailor Moon can have the positive ending that the original series deserved, without losing steam.
Sailor Moon Cosmos will release in theaters in Japan in Summer 2023.
Source: Soranews24