On July 3, held at the JW Marriott Platinum Ballroom, the panel, joined by Sailor Moon editor, Fumio Osana, (known to creator Naoko Takeuchi and to fans as “Osabu”) and other staff from Kodansha Comics, discussed the new Eternal Edition of the manga, followed by a very special surprise guest. Before the panel initiated, raffle tickets were handed out for “cool Japanese exclusives.”
To prepare the audience for the special guest, the moderator, Ben Hathaway, director of publishing for Kodansha Comics, asked that after the guests says,“Tsuki ni kawate!” everyone yells: “I will punish you!”
Osabu started by greeting everyone, asking if any cosplayers in the crowd are dressed as Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, etc. Ben Hathaway revealed the name of the special guest: Kanae Yumemiya who played the eponymous heroine in Sailor Moon Super Live show, and it was Yumemiya’s first time at Anime Expo.
First to be addressed was the first five Sailor Moon Eternal Edition, the manga released as an e-book. Osabu weighed in on what was Takeuchi’s reaction when she heard the news about the Eternal Edition. “When I showed Takeuchi-sensei the Eternal Edition, she said, ‘This is huge!’” to which Osabu emphasized that hugeness was “an American size” much to everyone’s laughter. The Eternal Edition is in the size that was originally published in Japan when it debuted, so “fans in the US can enjoy it in the original size.”
Laura Scanlan, the editor of the Eternal Edition, assured fans that the goal was to create a definitive edition of Eternal Edition. “We had a load of discussions with localization team behind the book…we really wanted to give fans the iconic Sailor Moon experience.” Here are some of the pages from the upcoming Eternal Edition.
Next major news announced was of the Sailor Moon The Super Live show, which toured in Paris, France; Washington D.C., and New York, and surprise guest, Kanae Yumemiya who surprised everyone by running up to panel from behind the audience and wore Usagi Tsukino’s attire, with the theme of Sailor Moon playing in the background.
Her presence was met with applause. She recounts her favorite parts of performing in the show. “I enjoyed the dancing. The [show] is created for fans overseas, and because there is not as much dialogue, we wanted to show and express as much as possible to our movement, dancing, and singing…”
Yumemiya remarked on the differences between performing in Japan and overseas. “Overseas, everyone was cheering us on, and there was a lot of energy coming from [the audience], so that was really great!” Yumemiya describes her process of getting into the place of Usagi Tsukino, “a sparkling glittering kind of place.” She relates to Usagi because like her, she was a normal average girl, and because of this role, it allowed her to travel overseas, meet and perform in front of people. She is thankful for the opportunity to come to Anime Expo 2019 to greet fans who have a passion for the franchise and what she does. Here are some pictures that shows what the Sailor Moon The Super Live show had to offer.
As the panel reached its end, a raffle ensued, many winning Sailor Moon memorabilia. Be on a lookout for any upcoming shows of Sailor Moon The Super Live.
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