Posted in: Anime, Pop Culture, TV | Tagged: sailor moon

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live NA Tour Preview (VIDEO)

With the North American tour now underway, check out our video and image gallery preview of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live.

Sailor Moon is no stranger to adaptations from the original manga (which started publishing in 1991); throughout its 33 years, there have been anime series, movies, merch, and a few stage shows and musical adaptations—but Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live is the first of its format and the first to bring a stage show spotlighting the beloved franchise from Japan on a North American tour.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live is not an ordinary musical: it features elements not found in original musicals or stage shows, like live subtitles, concert elements, and incorporation of 2D anime and effects, prompting the "2.5D" designation. The show incorporates traditional and staging lighting and effects as well as new, unique effects and cues to highlight the action and best show the stories and heroism of the Sailor Scouts.

The show's storyline follows the first story arc of the Manga, the Dark Kingdom arc, as the Sailor Guardians Sailors Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus, joined by Tuxedo Mask, fight Queen Beryl and her dark minions to save the universe and restore peace and love. The story is basic but shown in a new and exciting way that feels fun for all audiences.

The show is presented in spoken Japanese, with English subtitles on the screen for dialogue and songs, but the actors and creative team do a fantastic job of bringing the story to life through movement and staging. This makes for an experience that transcends language barriers and delivers action and fun, with a side of friendship, peace, and love, of course.

"At its very basic, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is about 5 girlfriends banding together to fight for what they believe in… that's timely," said writer and director Kaori Miura. "Sailor Moon and her fellow guardians are equipped with powers that help them defeat evil and the characters are imbued with the self-determination to have agency and make their own confident decisions. In short, they are the ultimate example of 'girl power.'"

The live event features an all-female Japanese cast: Riko Tanaka (Sailor Moon), Kanon Maekawa (Sailor Mercury), Rei Kobayashi (Sailor Mars), Kisara Matsumura (Sailor Jupiter), Marin Makino (Sailor Venus), Sayaka Okamura (Queen Beryl), Riona Tatemichi (Tuxedo Mask), Ayano Nagasawa (Ensemble), Ayumi Sagisaka (Ensemble), Minami Watanabe (Ensemble), Izumi Niihashi (Ensemble), Kana Yanagihara (Ensemble), Suzuka Osawa (Ensemble).

The full tour schedule, which opens this weekend in Austin, TX, can be found on the official website. The final show is set for NYC during the final weekend of April.

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