And now, guest writer Yosenex Orengo brings us his review of Sailor Moon: La Reconquista!

Sailor Moon has been presented in various forms of media. While the anime is the most well known, Sailor Moon began as a manga series and has also inspired a live action drama, video games and musicals. The last Sailor Moon Musical, Shin Kaguya Shima Densetsu, was held at the Ikebukuro Sunshine Theater. It was a pretty enjoyable performance, especially when Tuxedo Kamen dropped his cane, but managed to still smoothly battle his enemies. After that the Sailor Moon musicals, or Sailor Myu, went on hiatus.
This past June, it was announced that a new Sailor Moon musical known as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon La Reconquista, will be held in September at the Aiia Theater. This revival of Sailor Myu is part of the 20th Anniversary of the series and a new Sailor Moon anime is also on the horizon.

I had the honor of attending the opening night of La Reconquista and was immediately impressed by the turnout. The event appeared to be sold out, consisting mostly of adults and a few high school students, my group didn’t notice any children present. There were quite a few gaijin present as well, I counted about 8 including the 5 members of my group. Brad of moonkitty.net was part of my group. Prior to the beginning of the musical, there was some goods for sale, including a programs for 2,200 yen, some post cards, posters and shirts. Osabu, the manager of Sailor Moon creator Naoko Takeuchi was present and very approachable.

We had seats in the front row and noticed that the stage had some game controllers and giant displays of buttons you would find on a Playstation controller. We thought there may have been a video game event of some sort at the venue. The play began shortly after 7pm.

Spoiler Warning, from here on I will go into details about the plot, if you do not wish to be spoiled please do not read beyond this point. The music began with these strange group of individuals presenting a gameshow, singing and dancing while describing a video game event. Moments later, Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako are present and play various video games related to them. Rei plays a fake fighting game similar to Guilty Gear and easily wins, Makoto plays a punching game on a Wii-like system, defeating her opponent, and Ami plays a version of Tetris making lines at super-human speeds. The games were pretty recorded, but still impressive and added a layer of realism. There was even a fortune telling game, with pre-recorded messages from the leader of Momoiro Clover Z. Eventually, Usagi and company were presented with a game that is a sort of dating simulation with handsome men.

Of course if you know Sailor Moon, these handsome men were none other than Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite and Kunzite, the Shitennou. After Usagi and her gang exited the stage, the leader of a group of Lemures (Lemres) presented Queen Beryl with her plan to gather energy from the Sailor Soldiers using the dating simulation game. Queen Beryl then emphasized the need to obtain the Silver Crystal to gain an unlimited source of energy.

The next scene treats us to something rarely seen in previous versions of Sailor Moon, a date between Mamoru and Usgai. Yuga Yamato’s portrayal of Tuxedo Kamen/Chiba, Mamoru, was excellent, and received a ton of cheers throughout the play. Usagi and Mamoru, were playing catch together and Mamoru broke into a song pointing out Usagi’s strengths and flaws. He also foreshadows events by singing about what would Usagi do if he becomes an enemy, which Usagi just cutely ignores. I laughed so hard when Usagi revealed that playing catch is boring and pointless, instead she wanted Mamoru to try out her new dating sim game. After describing the game, and reveal that she had been playing it all night, Usagi was scolded by Mamoru and the rest of her gang came along to support Mamoru, causing Usagi to run off upset.

The members of the Shittenou appeared and sung their way into the hearts of the Rei, Makoto and Minako, while Ami shied away at Zoicite’s advances. Fans of the manga, will be happy to know that each senshi was paired with her respective Shitennou member as depicted in manga art. Usagi was comforted by the Game Show host after some funny dialogue about romance. Unfortunately for Usagi, the comfort was short lived when the host revealed herself to be an enemy and summoned minions to attack her. Usagi shouted, “Moon Prism Power Make Up!” but was unable to transform due to her energy being drained from playing the video game. Usagi was cornered and suddenly, in his best intro in Sailor Moon history, Tuxedo Kamen appeared and stylishly defeated the Lemures minions and even used his famous rose attack.

Meanwhile, Mars, Jupiter and Venus appeared off stage in the center of the seating of the Aiia theater ready to battle Jadeite, Kunzite and Zoisite. Some attacks were exchanged including Venus Love-Me Chain, and Akuryo Taisan and the Senshi won the battle for now. At that same moment it began to rain and Zoicite sought an umbrella to protect Ami, revealing that his initially false feelings for her became genuine. This also leads to Ami being captured by the Shitennou.

In a scene reminiscent of the manga, Tuxedo Kamen calls upon the power of the Earth and provided Usagi with energy. This allowed Usagi to transform when Beryl and her minions attack. Sailor Moon, along with Mars, Jupiter and Venus try to fend off Beryl and her cohorts, while attempting to rescue Ami, but they are powerless. Sailor Moon uses an attack known as Moon Tiara Flash, which is reminiscent of the manga version of Moon Twilight Flash. Seeing that there is no hope of victory, Mamoru offers himself to Queen Beryl in exchange for the lives of Sailor Moon and her allies. At some point prior to this, it was revealed that Mamoru had a connection to the Shitennou and even called out Zoicite’s name while Zoicite was with Ami. Beryl is satisfied with Mamoru’s offer to go with her, and respects his wish to have everyone spared.

After losing all hope, the remaining Sailor Senshi hear a voice from Queen Serenity, who reveals that they are reincarnated from a past life on the Moon. The remaining Sailor Senshi decide to go to teleport to the Moon and meet with Queen Serenity for answers. After landing on the Moon, the Sailors discover a sword in stone. They each try to pull the sword and eventually Jupiter does it with ease. Queen Serenity appears and gives them more details on their past lives, while Beryl tells her version of the story to an unconscious Endymion. This scene is beautifully done, with the Moon being presented on the left side of the stage and the Earth on the right. Queen Serenity reveals that the Silver Crystal is a part of Sailor Moon, and that she will need that to avoid repeating the past. The first half of the musical ends and the audience is given a 15 minute break.

After the break is over, many familiar characters appear in white dresses. It turns out, that this scene is on the Moon during Silver Millennium and everyone is preparing for a dance party with the Prince of Earth Endymion, who is the past incarnation of Tuxedo Kamen/Mamoru. Venus, Mars and Mercury in their princess attire, tease Princess Serenity, Sailor Moon’s past incarnation, about her love for the prince of Earth. Additionally, Mercury is teased about her crush on Zoisite, one of Endymion’s generals. After some light-hearted dialogue, it is revealed that the Dance Party is actually a trap by Beryl of the Earth Kingdom. Zoisite reveals this to Mercury, but it was already too late and Zoisite is killed by his allies for betraying them. Beryl appears in armor, sword in hand ready to kill the Princess of the Moon Kingdom in order to steal the love of Prince Endymion. A pretty cool sword fight begins, with the guardians of the Princess wielding swords. Just a Beryl is prepared to kill Princess Serenity, Endymion get in the way and is instead killed by Beryl. Without a word, a hopeless Princess Serenity picks up Beryl’s sword and commits suicide. After witnessing a great deal of horror on the Moon, Queen Serenity uses the power of the Silver Crystal and wishes for everyone to be reborn in the future and for her daughter to find happiness.

Back in present day, Beryl prepares to marry a now brainwashed Mamoru, who claims to be Endymion now. During an awkward dance, Zoisite helps Ami escape, and is killed for his treachery. Right when Beryl is ready to kiss Endymion to confirm their marriage. Sailor Moon, Mars, Venus and Jupiter appear and battle Beryl’s forces. Sailor Moon brings out the Moon Stick and shouts “Moon Princess Flash” while pointing the attack to Beryl, the Lemures Leader is caught in the crossfire and is killed by the attack. Mercury transforms and joins the battle as well, and unleashes Mercury Aqua Mirage upon finding out that Zoisite was killed. Mars uses Burning Mandala which actually involved some cool pyrotechnics, wowing the audience.

Though the battle was going pretty for the Sailor Senshi for a while, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus are knocked out and Sailor Moon is forced to fight Mamoru/Endymion on her own. Endymion attempts to choke the life out of Usagi, causing her the cry. From her teardrop, the coveted Maboroshi no Ginzuishou, or Silver Crystal is revealed. Wielding both the Silver Crystal and the Holy Sword from the Moon, Sailor Moon tries to fight Mamoru, but hesitates to harm him. Her friends cry out that he is no longer the same person she knows and must be stopped. Sailor Moon recalls the song Mamoru had sung earlier, and slashes at him, killing him immediately. Sailor Moon then takes the Holy Sword and kills herself, echoing back to the distant past. A desperate Beryl attempts to take the Silver Crystal, but is interrupted by Jadeite, Kunzite and Nephrite, who are now freed from her mind control.

Beryl is subsequently killed, and the entity known as Metaria (Metallia) is revealed to be the true villain. Metaria swallows Endymion and Sailor Moon so that the Silver Crystal can be one with her. The remaining Sailor Soldiers use a Sailor Planet Attack on Metaria, but it has no effect. Venus suggests that they each sacrifice their lives in order to revive Sailor Moon. The Guardians, channel their energy and die as Sailor Moon reawakens inside of Metaria. Sailor Moon summons the Silver Crystal which is now suspended in the air, and has evolved to it’s lotus blossom form. Sailor Moon’s power is not enough, but Mamoru was also revived and provides support. Using wires, Sailor Moon is lifted into the air and sends energy through the Holy Sword, destroying Metaria from within. Sailor Moon and Endymion are victorious, but the Usagi is sad after having lost her friends. The remaining Senshi appear behind her, and Venus informs Sailor Moon that they were revived due to the power of the Silver Crystal. The world is saved and the audience is treated to some additional songs and an opportunity to see each cast member one more time.

It’s worth noting that no songs from previous musicals were used. After the main performance, the Sailor Soldiers did perform Moonlight Densetsu, the original theme from the anime, which leads me to believe that it may the opening theme for the upcoming new Sailor Moon anime as well. I apologize if I mixed the sequence of events a little bit. This musical was really fun, an impressed the audience. I hope that we can see more musicals in the future. If they eventually introduce the Outer Senshi, Jadeite’s actor, Root, should be considered for Sailor Uranus. If you are unable to attend, the performances are already being recorded for DVD purposes. There were so many amazing details, right down to Makoto wearing her rose-shaped earnings, to the details on the Holy Sword. The outfits were great, and the combat was pretty well done. The songs were memorable, and truly in the spirit of Sailor Moon. If you don’t give this musical a chance… 月にかわっておしおきよ！

DJ Ranma S

DJ Ranma S is cosplay veteran. He has won numerous performance awards with his friends over the years. He has staffed conventions in the past, ran panels, judged a couple of masquerades, a jack of all trades. He's worked dealer's room too! Running this site is his way of giving back to the cosplay community. He feels that it's his turn to give a future cosplayer their fifteen minutes of fame.

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