Back on 7th January I caved and bought the medium Sailor Moon Lucky Pack from aitaikuji.com and I received it last weekend so let's see if I managed to get lucky!
It came in a neat little package with an invoice and an 'about us' leaflet alongside the actual lucky pack. It is extremely red as expected!
The contents. There are 4 things in this lucky pack - good things come in pairs right? Let's take a closer look!
Two very cute flannels! These are totally too cute to use, I will most likely end up keeping them as merch because they're so pretty!
It is time to live out my magical girl dreams! Though it's not one of Usagi's transformation brooches (let's be realistic, I'm not THAT lucky!) I'm really pleased with these!
Final Thoughts
Overall a great Lucky Pack experience! Good service, nice neat packaging and lovely content!
Price: $25 + postage
Verdict: 10/10 would buy again!
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I'm really pleased with my first Lucky Pack experience! How was yours?
Welcome to a very honest review of Sailor Moon Crystal - the Cantonese dub!
First things first, let's talk about the OP!
Moon Pride by Super Girls
While the original that I shared in my previous post is my life, I don't mind this new opening theme! I'm very out of touch with artists in Hong Kong now but I think this group gave the OP a youthful and refreshing feel and I liked the lyrics. I also like that they're a five piece, one for each inner senshi and all that! At the moment I'm quite neutral but I think I might grow to like the OP.
Episode #1
Act 1 - Usagi
While I was half expecting the original title image, I was pleasantly surprised to see this! While it's extremely different to the original image, I think this is super pretty and I'm totally on board with it!
The original for comparison
Episode Summary
Usagi oversleeps, trips over Luna on her way to school and is made to stand in the hallway because she's late for class. She is scolded some more when her teacher finds her eating her bento and she is handed her test results. Moving on, they go to Naru's mother's jewellery store where everything is discounted and Naru later finds out that a Youma has replaced her mother. In the meantime, Usagi has hit Mamoru on the head with her scrunched up results and when she gets home she's shut out because they were so bad. Eventually she transforms into Sailor Moon to save Naru and meets Tuxedo Mask.
Thoughts
In the beginning I thought that the colours seemed a lot more pastel compared to the original and both Usagi's mum and her teacher look younger. I also noticed is that Umino is a lot shorted with wackier hair . Mamoru wasn't wearing a tuxedo when we first meet him in the original - really though, who just goes out in a tux like that???
I've already shared my thoughts on the transformation sequence here and I much prefer the look and animation of the original moon tiara.
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Episode #2
Act 2 - Ami
Episode Summary
Unlike in the original anime, we very swiftly meet Ami this episode! Her classmates describe her to be very intelligent but antisocial but Usagi invites her to Game Center Crown and tries to befriend her. Ami beats the high score on the Sailor V game and a pen falls out which she claims as her prize. Usagi wants one too and shakes the machine until another falls out. Realising how late she is, Ami leaves for the Crystal Seminar. It turns out the teacher is a Youma and gives the students Crystal Disks as part of the curriculum. Accidentally finding out that the disk contains a brainwashing message, Usagi fights the Youma as Sailor Moon and Ami eventually transforms into Sailor Mercury to help her.
Thoughts
Ami didn't really sound as I had expected but can we just talk about how cute Usagi's laptop is and that she is STILL useless with computers, even in 2014?! Another difference that stuck out to me is how Usagi acquired the transformation pen by abusing the machine rather than Luna giving it to her. The thing that bothers me the most about this episode is Ami's hair in her transformation sequence, how is it so... I'm not sure how to describe it, flat???
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Episode #3
Act 3 - Rei
Episode Summary
We're also meeting Rei hella early in comparison to the original and her voice is also very different, if anything, more feminine. This is like the original where 6pm bus causes people to disappear. A lot of mother's suspect Rei, a young miko who possesses spiritual powers and hearing that she's beautiful, Usagi goes to investigate and Luna wonders if she is possible the Moon Princess or perhaps the third senshi. Usagi finally gets herself on the bus, transforming herself into a stewardess. Being about to locate her from the power emitted during transformation, Ami joins Usagi and transforms into Sailor Mercury. In the end Rei transforms into Sailor Mars and helps them fight Jadeite.
Thoughts
This is pretty much the same as the original except we don't meet Rei's grandpa, Jadeite isn't 'working' at the shrine and we meet Mamoru on the bus and I know we're only three episodes in but I think it's safe to say he makes better fashion choices in 2014. Ami also joins them for the battle which doesn't happen in the original.
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All in all, I'm actually pretty happy with Sailor Moon Crystal so far. Despite the voice differences (I like Mamoru's voice) I think they might grow on me. The only major thing(s) so far are the transformation sequences and Sailor Mercury's hair in the transformation sequence.
When Sailor Moon Crystal came out in 2014 I shot it down quite quickly, deciding it wasn't for me, because I was hyped up for nostalgia that I didn't feel. I was also very undecided about how I felt regarding the new art style and definitely did not like the CGI transformation sequence, I didn't even get half way through the first episode(I saw the transformation on YouTube).
Sailor Moon Crystal vs Sailor Moon
So if I disliked it so much, why am I watching it now? Because nostalgia.
While browsing YouTube, I came across the Cantonese Sailor Moon OP from the 90's by Vivian Chow and it hit me right in the childhood and made me feel an overwhelming sense of something (I'm not sure what the something is) that made me want to watch Sailor Moon. Unfortunately the old Cantonese dub is REALLY hard to come by (I've tried searching using both languages) and in the end I could only find a few clips.
Sailor Moon OP from TVB J2
Then I had a sudden thought... Since it's recent in comparison, what if I could find Sailor Moon Crystal? I suddenly wondered if the problem to begin with was that I was watching the original Japanese version whereas I was nostalgic for the Cantonese dub. Would I enjoy enjoy Sailor Moon Crystal in Cantonese?
It's time to find out!
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Are you a Moonie? How do YOU feel about Sailor Moon Crystal compared to the original?
