Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 5

美少女戦士セーラームーン [Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon] #5

by Naoko Takeuchi

A new edition of the Sailor Moon manga, for a new generation of fans! Featuring an updated translation and high page count in a more affordable, portable edition, perfect to go wherever you or the magical guardian in your life want to take it.

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! The original Sailor Moon in a new, affordable edition.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Romance, Young Adult, Comics, Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2014

About the author

Naoko Takeuchi (武内直子) born March 15, 1967, a manga artist (mangaka), lives in Tokyo, Japan. Takeuchi's works have a wide following among anime/manga fans. She has become a well-known mangaka worldwide. Her most popular work, Sailor Moon, rose to become one of the most recognized manga/anime figures to date.

Takeuchi is married to Yoshihiro Togashi, the author of the YuYu Hakusho series and Hunter × Hunter series.

Please note that anime related books are listed under Kōdansha.

Reviews

[Eleanore · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's crazy to realize just how wildly progressive Sailor Moon was for its time; that as far back as 1991-7, Takeuchi was illustrating and examining not just the lives of heterosexual girls, but that her primary heroine was heavily implied as bi, another was staunchly asexual, the male partner of the protagonist was entirely devoted to supporting his girlfriend in whatever way possible (even seeing it as his primary purpose), and then she introduced a lesbian couple -- one member of whom is literally described as being gender non-conforming.

"Haruka-san... Are you... a guy? Or a girl?"
"Guy, girl... Is it really that important?"

"[Sailor] Uranus... is both a man and a woman. She is a guardian of both, with her attributes and strengths limited to neither."

Early-to-mid-'90s, y'all! I mean, holy shit!

(It's going to really suck to wait on the staggered release of the remaining volumes of the series now, dammit.)

[Tomasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are so back, uwielbiam tę część historii pomimo tego, że nadal schemat jest podobny do wcześniejszych, ale ten przesadzony patos, mrok, chrześcijańska symbolika, lesbijki i Saturn. Kocham.

[Sarah Ryder]

****DNFed on page 129 & Skimmed to the End****

So I’m officially done with Sailor Moon and I’m very sad about it. ☹️

A few good things though before I get into the stuff that made me quit: The plot was MUCH better and slower giving the characters time to make active decisions and each have their own thing they’re doing which helped a lot and was great. I also laughed at the scene where Chibi Usa ropes Usagi and Mamoru into making her school project for her without her lifting a finger to help, lol! By far the best part of the volume.

Unfortunately that’s all the good I can really say about it. First off, there’s a female/female couple and lots of lesbian vibes I was NOT a fan of and honestly made me cringe, especially Sailor Uranus who was both mean and flirty with Usagi while also basically “leading her on” even though they both have a boy/girlfriend. Just ugh, ew, what the heck?!?! You’re cheating on your own significant other, Uranus! Uranus also kisses Usagi for some bizarre reason which both creeped and grossed me out which is when I said I’m out and skimmed the rest of the volume. Not to mention even if the above stuff wasn’t in here I wouldn’t have continued because Uranus and Neptune frustrated me to no end because why are they so bloomin’ MEAN?!?! It makes no sense!

So I quit. I’m sad about it because I LOVED (and will continue to remember fondly) the first two volumes and Season One of the Sailor Moon Crystal anime, but ever since then it’s been going downhill and has now crashed into a boulder with no hope of returning to the living for me. I just can’t stand how mean the Outer Guardians are, don’t agree with the gay stuff, and just plain hate Sailor Uranus, not to mention the whole girl-is-still-crushing-on-her-future-dad-ew thing, plus this series needed to be longer to flesh out these characters more which is probably why the ‘90s anime did all those filler episodes.

The series isn’t bad, it just depends on what you can tolerate/ignore and depends on your convictions, and my convictions said get the heck out so that’s what I’m gonna do.


‼️Content (up to roughly page 129 and a bit beyond)‼️

Violence: fighting with magic, weapons, and hand to hand (PG); a snake like monster explodes (PG); injuries and blood (PG)

Sexual: a character is called hot; a female/female lesbian relationship; a character is said to be both male and female; outlines of naked women and girls; kissing; a girl lands a surprise kiss on another girl

Other: magic; magical abilities/objects/creatures; reincarnation; mentions of evolution and devolution; people and animals are being turned into monsters; daemons; both witches and a Sailor Guardian use water/a mirror for divination; witches; witches try to possess/steal the souls of humans

[Daniela González · Rating 4 out of 5]

Está bueno este arco

[sunkissedmiranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars.

While not my favorite arc of the entire series, the conflict between all the characters is EXCEPTIONAL. I love the introduction of the Outer Senshi and I'm especially fond of the dynamic between Haruka and Usagi. Chibiusa and her relationship with Hotaru is cute and affectionate, and makes the conclusion of this volume all the more heartbreaking. Takeuchi also uses the arc to focus on one inner senshi per chapter, contrasting with the villain-of-the-day. This helps keep the inner senshi relevant even as the mystery of the outer senshi remains the focal point.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite volumes in the series. In this fifth volume of the infamous Sailor Moon manga series, the outer senshi are spotlighted and we get to learn about Sailor Pluto, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Saturn, and Sailor Neptune.

WHY THIS BOOK?

When thinking of books to read for the Hello Spring/Autumn readathon, this was a clear winner! However, it took me longer to read this book than expected. I did not finish it until June and I’m so glad I did because it ended up being my favourite volume of the entire series!

Read this if you are a fan of the Sailor Moon manga/anime and want to discover more about all the Sailor scouts!

[Leah Rachel von Essen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best volumes of Sailor Moon - the introduction of the Outer Planets is consistently superb, and the queerness is more blessedly obvious in a new, more honest translation in which Uranus’s genderfludity is made explicit (and in which Sailor Moon is suuuuuper into it).

[. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outer senshi... my beloveds.....

[vaishnavi ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠* · Rating 5 out of 5]

someone once said - no girl should be down bad for a guy - and I stand firmly by this belief. cause WHAT has Mamoru done that Usagi is so jealous of anyone he pays a grain of attention to?? he's saved her multiple times, they're destined to marry, they're reincarnations of a failed love. say what you want, the continuous jealousy gets boring after a while. especially when Usagi's kissed(!!) someone else twice - that's cheating is it not?

This book does a good job with pacing and the story's development. After the mess that was Vol.3 & 4, I appreciate it. I had doubts reading the first few chapters, but this deserves 5 stars. The story becomes interesting and is much better than the Black Moon arc.

we're also introduced to the outer Senshi 🥹🩷

[beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

An introduction of some new characters—including Haruka and Michiru, our lesbians—and some more moral ambiguity this volume in regards to how our Sailor Soldiers will fight. I liked bringing Chibi-Usa into the story more as Hotaru’s friend, and though some of how Haruka was written made me uncomfortable—I really don’t like the trope of kissing someone under false pretences—I’m going to assume Takeuchi just wanted more gay kissing in her manga, so. Fair enough. I found some of the alternative pronoun usage for Haruka (after they’ve already figured out her identity) fairly gender essentialist, ironically enough for an ultimately progressive character; I wasn’t quite sure how many false identities she had going or when exactly our main cast realised her civilian identity was Sailor Uranus, so I’m glad the translation notes helped clarify. I did find it hilarious just how long it took everyone to work out Haruka and Michiru were the two new Sailor Scouts; I find these sorts of ‘looks the same, but now, in a mask!’ tropes in these kinds of stories really amusing.

The villains are still mostly ridiculous but this is why, much like in volume 4 with Chibi-Usa, I was glad our heroines were brought into the mix as semi-villainous; it just makes for more complex storytelling for a manga that is often very ‘good versus evil’. None of the art yet has quite lived up to the peak of volume 4, but I think it’s about to all kick off next time, so we’ll see.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

We meet the remaining Guardians here, and I love it! The outer senshi have always been my favorites, and it's great to learn a little about them here, and see them in action.
I'm very intrigued to learn more about Sailor Saturn as well! Unfortunately, I have to take a short break because my library only has 2 copies of each volume, and the others are all checked out.

Check out my YouTube channel for bookish videos and monthly wrap ups!

[Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

持續流水帳小感：
1.看到第五集還是覺得會被完全版的彩圖給吸引（雖然有時候也會對於腿部的失衡有點不習慣XD）
2.天王星的設定以當時的年代來說真的還蠻厲害的...很喜歡這集他與小真對打時說的話：「因為是女人，所以贏不了男人，你覺得這是理所當然的嗎？那種想法，能保護好重要的人嗎？」
3.這集看到不少小兔和小小兔去小衛家過夜的畫面，覺得有趣。其中一段兩人在小小兔睡覺時牽手的畫面讓人特別有種細膩感
4.很喜歡聖杯覺醒時是由王國一家三人一起團結所有戰士的設定。
5.看到外部戰士描寫當年（？）只能遠遠看著自己的故鄉走向毀滅（第一部劇情）還真的是還蠻哀傷的事情
6.好喜歡冥王星轉世後在生活中整個知性爆棚的樣子。

[Dubzor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow start but when it gets going you have everything you could ever want. Queer Sailor Scouts, mostly forgettable enemies of the week, and a whole lot of bonkers shit involving robots and harbringers of destruction.

Chibi is much more tolerable this time around, thank god, but the redt of the scouts kind of take a back seat to introduce Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn.

Good stuff, but nothing more than what you'd already expect at this point.

[☠︎︎ A.K. ☠︎︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 ✩

• I love the introduction of the new guardians and setting, the number of characters was well-balanced
• the serious tone was very engaging - there were still lighthearted, silly moments, but they never took away from the overall plot
• I thought I would hate that Chibi-Usa was so important to this plot line, considering that her character isn't very serious, but it actually worked well, and I'm so curious to see what happens next

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

easily my favorite so far. loved the expansion of the lore and the introduction of the outer senshi (haruka my love). also felt like the story was finally maturing with the characters.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s taken me forever to pick this back up again but I finally have and I’m loving it all. There’s a reason Sailor Moon is such a huge success and popular series. It’s all just so wonderful. It’s heartbreaking and real while being light hearted and fun. I’m really glad we’re finally getting the rest of the guardians. Growing up with the US show while I knew about Uranus and Neptune this is my first time really seeing how gender-fluid Uranus is and more of their relationship. Great volume.

[MissMajuu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neptune and Uranus are so gay it’s going to end the world. Many such cases, tragic

[meghann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, this was so much better than the last two volumes. I'm glad I kept with it. No creepy interactions, and we got more sailor scouts. Definitely excited to see what happens with one of the more powerful characters introduced at the end. The translation notes did make me feel old as dirt, however, when they explained to the reader what payphones and film cameras were back in the ancient times of the 1990s.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this volume Chibi-usa is back from the future to train to be a Sailor Scout. The girls are in their 3rd year of middle school facing high school entrance exams. And of course a new enemy appears, The Death Busters.

Along with new friends or are they enemies? Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, Sailors Uranus & Neptune. What do they all have in common? And why does everyone keep having the same foreboding dream?

[kerrycat · Rating 5 out of 5]

other people: why do you read those cutesy little kids' comic books?
me: let me show the part where the high school pop idol is searching for a "fresh harvest" of human sacrifices for her supernatural master.

[Jane Lebak · Rating 4 out of 5]

The storyline got weird because the enemy doesn't actually know what's going on either. I liked that dynamic. This volume ends on a cliffhanger, so I need to track down Volume 6 now, assuming it's been published.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m obsessed with Sailor Uranus

[Mélaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immense BANGER, ce tome à tout pris et rattrape largement les deux derniers

Déjà, c'est ENFIN l'apparition des lesbiennes LETSGO
C'est le come-back de Pluto et l'arrivée de la mystérieuse Saturne!!

Bon, je suis complètement paumée car j'ai aucun souvenir de ce méchant là, il me semble que c'était pas tout à fait pareil dans l'anime. Je pense qu'ils ont facilité l'histoire dans l'anime car pour être honnête j'ai rien compris, si ce n'est qu'il y a une méchante qui s'appelle Cyprine bref la honte

Déjà, il faut noter que pour un manga des années 90, le traitement de Haruka est hyper précurseur. Je ne sais pas si c'est moi qui sur interprète, mais il me semble qu'on sous-entend qu'elle est non binaire mais she goes by she/her car je suppose que "iel" était pas encore un débat.

L'intrigue de ce tome est hyper prenante (alors que je sais comment ça fini ptdr). On parle de mystérieux talismans, on sait pas si les sailors du système solaire externe sont ennemis ou alliés, et il y a des méchants en plus, la mystérieuse Hotaru et son étrange père
Mars est également teeeellllement plus intéressante dans le manga vraiment ça confirme ma théorie.

bref, c'était trop cool et je n'ai d'yeux que pour Haruka. Michiru laisse moi ta place

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh snap! Shit just got real!

Okay so a good chunk of the book was the usual fight sequences and day to day lives of the guardians, and it was entertaining enough; cute and funny with enough mystery to be enjoyable. But it wasn’t anything special until the end, when timelines and fates began to intertwine and the stakes shot way up. Saturn’s storyline is super interesting, and the dynamic between the inner and outer senshi is really intriguing as well. And Usagi’s character development up to this point has been very well done in my opinion.
Just when I was starting to get a little bored, the story picked back up again, and became way less predictable. I’m super exited to read the next one!

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely more intriguing than the last one. Less focus on Usagi being jealous of her own child. There’s still a jealousy plot here. Gotta say, Haruka was giving Mamoru cause for being jealous. I also was in love with her when I was growing up. It’s a little mean how she was messing with Usagi. Let it be noted, while Usagi had questions about Haruka’s gender, she still clearly found her attractive. I also think the manga was kind of progressive for its time regarding gender fluidity and gender presentation.

This introduced Hotaru, who I loved. Also, the end confused me in terms of what Pluto’s purpose is.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah my favorite part of the Sailor Moon Saga... the introduction to Neptune and Uranus! Pretty sure that Uranus is a transmale in the manga, which makes me so happy for how progressive Sailor Moon was in the early 90s!

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was surely my favorite volume of Sailor Moon yet, filled as it is with fun interactions, with further development of existing characters as well as many exciting newcomers, finally filling out the main roster of Sailor Guardians. I do find that I tend to especially enjoy the first parts of the story arcs such as this one, grounded as they are on earth-based plots mixed with mystical elements before the tales eventually go farther into space and time, leaving the concerns of everyday life behind.

This edition of the Eternal Edition includes chapters 27-33 of the original manga.

[Anxious Bibliophile Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love the Outer Senshi so much.

[Ilaria Massariol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anche qua, finalmente viene spiegata meglio l'apparizione di Sailor Neptune, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Pluto e di Sailor Saturn 🪐🔥

[Kat Galvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more like it! The last book was so strange but this one was so entertaining! Definitely a page turner! Not the cliff hanger at the end!