The Announcement of the Century

YEEEAAAAHHHH!!

Today, there was a special event in Roppongi commemorating Sailor Moon's 20th anniversary.  The promotional materials spoke of an "announcement" that had the fandom trembling with excitement.  I, however, didn't give it much thought.  Not much has been going on with Sailor Moon in Japan, and I figured the announcement would be something novel but not groundbreaking, like a blu-ray release or Sailor Moon noodle cups up for sale exclusively at Lawson's convenience stores.

How could I have guessed the announcement would fulfill one of my greatest wishes?  We are getting a brand new Sailor Moon anime next summer.  That's right, in a year's time, we will have a freshly animated series based more closely on the manga, and set a simultaneous global release, meaning fans all over the world will get to take part.

I'm caught between speechlessness and screaming ecstasy.  It sounds too good to be true.  I...I just....I have to make a numbered list about why this is going to be soooooo awesome!!

1. There will likely be new content.  Even if there isn't, and it ends up following the manga panel-by-panel like Dragonball Z often did, how incredible will it be to see Princess Serenity's tragic suicide, Black Lady return to her true self after Pluto's sacrifice, and Saturn swing her glaive down in color, sound, and motion?  It'll be, like, staring into an eclipse incredible.
2. The Sailor Moon anime is 20 years old, and it looks its age.  That doesn't mean it isn't still beautiful and charming; it certainly is.  But there are times when I watch Sailor Moon and I just think, "Damn.  This is an old show.  And why did they choose the shitty animator who makes Ami's hair look like plastic to draw this pivotal episode??"  Now we'll get to see all our beloved characters come to life in the hands of modern animation that will (theoretically) be consistent, fluid, and vibrant.  When the first image leaks....oh my gaaaahhhd.  I'm gonna print it out and paste it my fiance's face.
3. At the live event, Osabu expressed his wish to see fans who grew up with Sailor Moon enjoy this production.  This might carry the implication that the new anime will be geared a bit more to older fans.  I love Sailor Moon for what it is, but let's have some real talk for a sec.  There are plenty of times when some stupid little kid shenanigans happen, including half-baked plot points:  so anime Chibiusa turned against all of humanity because she thought her friends forgot to celebrate her birthday once, and her parents didn't pick her up from a puddle that one time?  Ok.  It's a bit disappointing because I'd like to see some more plot threads that remain slightly more complex, mature, or innovative than "the Ginzuishou saves the day all day errday and we're all <3 friends <3 except for that pile of corpses made up of Monsters of the Day and certain mid-boss villains who fucking deserved it(^0^)/ ."
4. NEW MERCHANDISE.  Dolls.  Figures.  Gashapon.  Plushies oh my God.
5. It's set for a simultaneous worldwide release--not sure how exactly how that's going to play out yet, but we'll see--meaning old fans, new fans, and everyone in between will share in this new Sailor Moon experience.
6. The year leading up to this release is going to be the best ever.  Every once in a while, a new detail will emerge, and the excitement will build.  We'll be checking news sites, blogs, and forums to find and discuss each new piece of information.  It will be like a really, really long Hannukah with gifts being delivered to us at intervals, and we are gonna shake the shit out of those gifts and try and guess what's inside, and then we're gonna rip them open and scream and jump up and down when we see what we got.  YES.

So I'm excited.  You?

The other thing I want to address is something said on Kotono Mitsuishi's blog.  It sounds like she's going to reprise her role as Sailor Moon, but there has been no "official" confirmation of this yet.  Moreso than that, a potential spoiler she released about the anime needs to be addressed, because it caused some intial confusion.

早く演じたくてうずうずしてる！
しかし、敵はダークキングダムではない！
あの頃のがむしゃらだった自分！

My translation:
I'm itching to hurry up and play this role again!
But this time, the enemy isn't the Dark Kingdom.
It's my reckless past self.

The second line was construed as a revelation about the new anime--that the Dark Kingdom won't be the villain.  This assumes that the second line and the third line aren't connected thoughts, but they actually are.  She's making a more personal statement.  When she played Sailor Moon before, she poured her heart into it.  Now, her challenge is to surpass that prior performance.  Her use of ano koro (that time) and  gamushara datta (was reckless) to modify jibun (myself) proves this.


Links / references:
Anime News Network's summary of the announcement
Kotono Mitsuishi's blog post
Full video of the event on Miss Dream.  Miss Dream will also be subtitling this video.