Amazon.com
High-pitched, relentlessly fast-paced, and filmed in eye-gouging, gumball color, this video series collects dubbed episodes of the Japanese animated series about a group of schoolgirl superheroes. In Japan, it's a lighthearted kiddy variation on a popular sub-genre--stories of alienated, but supernaturally gifted adolescents granted paranormal powers and enlisted in apocalyptic struggles between the dimensions. Imported to the United States in an attempt to create a
Power Rangers-style mega-hit for girls,
Sailor Moon hasn't become a mainstream phenomenon on that scale, although it has passionate, even obsessive fans, many of whom are much older than the intended demographic. (A
Sailor Moon Web search can be a truly surreal experience.) The chirpy, giggly tone may be off-putting for some, but the level of visual imagination (and the self-sufficient courage of the young heroines) is exhilarating, especially when kids and parents watch together. This is this fifth volume in the video series: Serena, as Sailor Moon, has by now enlisted the support of a high-powered troop of Sailor Scouts--Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, et al. In the first of these two episodes, "A Crystal Clear Destiny," secret identities have to be revealed in a crisis, always a sticky wicket for a superheroine. In "A Relunctant Princess," Serena's moon force gets a power boost. (Running time: 44 minutes)
--David Chute
From the back cover
Serena, an ordinary 14-year old, discovers that she is really SAILOR MOON, a superhero with an extraordinary past that goes back 1,000 years! But the evil forces she escaped on the Moon have followed her, and each day Serena must battle them to save Earth! A Crystal Clear Destiny. Serena and Darien have a fateful showdown with Zoycite, but she tricks them into giving her the seven rainbow crystals. Trapped in a crumbling tower of ice, Serena and Darien must reveal their true identities to each other in a desperate attempt to save their lives! A Reluctant Princess. To everyone's surprise, Serena's second secret identity is revealed! Her moon power ha doubled, but is it strong enough to save an unconscious Darien who has been cosmically kidnapped and brought to the feet of the super powerful Queen Beryl?
