Sailor Moon’s Dub Should Be Streamable Despite Its Issues
The first English-dubbed Sailor Moon series, which had its U.S. premiere in the 1990s, should be accessible on streaming services despite its undeniable flaws. Although it was hardly a faithful adaptation, this early dub is too significant historically to be overlook.
Sailor Moon, produced by DiC Entertainment in 1995, introduced many kids to the series and even anime in general during its original morning time slots before gaining a much larger & older audience when Cartoon Network aired the show on its late-afternoon Toonami segment. Despite being a commercial failure in the U.S. However, since Viz Media obtained the rights to the property and produced a more accurate adaptation of the original manga in addition to the Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon anime series, which aired on Asahi Television in Japan, that version of Sailor Moon is no longer available.
Given that Sailor Moon is still unavailable on streaming sites, Americans who grew up watching it in the 1990s are missing it more than ever and feeling nostalgic. Despite its historical significance, it makes sense that the dub caused such a stir. DiC’s dub altered certain plot elements in ways that can be view as xenophobic and disregarding sexual preferences.
Ironically, many ’90s youth can’t let go of one of the pointless changes that needlessly disrespects Japanese culture, which makes it difficult for older viewers to relate to the main character of the new series. Usagi Tsukino is the authentic name of Sailor Moon, and while the DiC adaption retained her last name, they changed her given name to Serena. It is uncommon for a valid cause to change the name of the main character of a series, let alone just any character.
The Opening of The Original Sailor Moon Dub is Still Unmatch
DiC’s Sailor Moon Westernized the opening theme of the original anime, much like the original English dub of Dragon Ball Z did with “Rock the Dragon” in place of “Cha-La Head Cha-La.” Although the scoring is comparable, the singers (Americans Brynne Price and Nicole Price) sing in English and completely alter the lyrics. DiC’s entrance theme may not seem noteworthy to outsiders, but fans who were expose to it as children still sing the line “Fighting evil by moonlight/winning love by daylight” whenever Sailor Moon is discuss. While changing voice actors will always irritate viewers, it will never match luna’s DIC voice actress’s authentic English accent.
Do these modifications, however, suffice to justify streaming DiC’s production even though the original plot has been altered? The transformation of Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus from being lovers into near cousins was unquestionably the most heinous change that DiC made. Because of Sailor Moon’s first decision, the series became a trailblazer for problems of social justice and equality, and it now serves as an essential source of early LGBTQ+ representation.
If DiC’s original is brought back, it would be wise for the hosting streaming service to begin each episode with a statement similar to Disney+’s “stories matter” disclaimer about the harm of, in this case, censorship while noting the significance of maintaining the conversation about equal representation in exchange for airing hurtful content. In this manner, viewers can continue to appreciate the many amazing things Sailor Moon’s original dub did for ’90s youngsters and can continue for numerous future generations while being conscious of what DiC suppressed and the significance of equity.
