Why Sailor Moon Deserves a Live-Action Adaptation

The Timeless Appeal of Sailor Moon

With the rising success of live-action anime and manga adaptations such as One Piece, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Alice in Borderland, it's a surprise Sailor Moon hasn't received a live-action update for modern audiences. Created in 1991 by Naoko Takeuchi, Sailor Moon follows the adventures of schoolgirl Usagi Tsukino as she transforms into the titular Sailor Moon to search for a magical artifact named the Legendary Silver Crystal. Considered one of the best anime for beginners, Sailor Moon was a massive success in the 1990s, with the manga selling millions of copies and its anime being broadcast worldwide. While Sailor Moon's success was unprecedented, its impact was undeniable.

The live-action cast for Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon do their respective characters' iconic poses

Sailor Moon is known for its depictions of girls and women, romance, and unique interpretations of a superhero, all of which are told from a female perspective. Although Sailor Moon received a live-action TV series from 2003 to 2004 titled, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon and a string of direct-to-video prequel releases, this adaptation in the form of a Tokusatsu TV show didn't quite work. With greater strides in diversity today and the success of anime adaptations like Netflix's One Piece, a live-action Sailor Moon adaptation is long overdue.

Sailor Moon winking and doing her signature pose for the DVD cover of Sailor Moon R series

The Challenges of Previous Adaptations

The Toei Company produced the live-action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon series. It ran for roughly a year from October 2003 to September 2004. While the show itself received generally favorable reviews from audiences, the timing in which it was released greatly limited the Sailor Moon live-action adaptation in terms of its scope and special effects. During the early 2000s, live-action anime adaptations were still fairly taboo, thus leading to many of the series rushing through key moments from the source material they were adapted from. However, the newer television model is more suitable for anime live-action adaptations than previously seen.

The more recent decision to adapt anime into live-action television shows works well because they usually have more time to develop the characters, arcs, and themes that anime typically sustain over many years. Even though some of the most popular anime has gone on for decades, like One Piece and Case Closed, Sailor Moon's original manga run was roughly six years, thus an adaptation would benefit from a slower approach because it wouldn't have to condense as much info. Although, understandably, most live-action anime adaptations have to condense info, One Piece's success has shown how to properly pace things.

Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy stretching his cheek in Netflix's One Piece live-action show

The Potential for Success

Despite One Piece season 1's success, there are plenty of live-action anime adaptations that ruined their source material because of how poorly made they were. One Piece's success has proven that live-action anime adaptations can work very well if those involved are committed to the source material, properly cast their leads, and implement careful feedback from the creators of the manga or anime they're based on. While One Piece offers audiences strong performances and clever call-backs to the anime and manga, perhaps its biggest takeaway is that One Piece's creator was involved with the live-action adaptation.

Steven John Ward as Mihawk stares at Red-Haired Shanks and his crew in Netflix's live-action One Piece

A Sailor Moon live-action adaptation is also overdue because of the shocking lack of proper representation of women in live-action anime adaptations. While the push for greater diversity in the film and television industry has improved significantly, studios could still do a better job of adapting female-led anime. With successful female-led anime like Kill la Kill, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, and other magical girl anime similar to Sailor Moon, there's plenty of quality material for producers to adapt. Sailor Moon would be a great place to start because of its impact on anime, worldwide appeal, and wealth of material to adapt.

Iñaki Godoy as Luffy smiles while thinking of his dream to become king of the pirates in Netflix's One Piece