Editing Sailor Moon (section)

== Reception ==
''Sailor Moon'' is one of the most popular manga series of all time and continues to enjoy high readership worldwide. More than one million copies of its ''tankōbon'' volumes had been sold in Japan by the end of 1995.<ref name="Schodt"/>{{rp|95}} It has been described as iconic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gill |first=Katie |date=2022-06-13 |title=Sailor Moon at 30: Looking Back at the Iconic Series |url=https://www.tor.com/2022/06/13/sailor-moon-at-30-looking-back-at-the-iconic-series/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=Tor.com |language=en-US |archive-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616170538/https://www.tor.com/2022/06/13/sailor-moon-at-30-looking-back-at-the-iconic-series/ |url-status=live }}</ref> By the series's 20th anniversary in 2012, the manga had sold over 35 million copies in over fifty countries,<ref>{{cite web|title=Happy 20th Anniversary to Sailor Moon!|url=http://kodanshacomics.com/happy-20th-anniversary-to-sailor-moon-special-live-event-at-nico-nico-on-july-6th/|work=[[Kodansha Comics]]|date=June 29, 2012|access-date=July 28, 2015|archive-date=December 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217063642/http://kodanshacomics.com/happy-20th-anniversary-to-sailor-moon-special-live-event-at-nico-nico-on-july-6th/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the franchise has generated {{US$|2.5 billion|long=no}} in worldwide [[merchandise]] sales as of 1996.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/153395855/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816160441/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/153395855/|title=Rise and shine with Sailor Moon|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|page=39|archivedate=August 16, 2024|date=May 15, 1996|accessdate=August 21, 2024|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> By 1995, Sailor Moon toys used to bring in more than $250 million per year in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|first=T.R|last=Reid|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sun-news/131324025/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230908091825/https://www.newspapers.com/article/sun-news/131324025/|title=Superhero Moon on the horizon|newspaper=[[Sun-News]]|page=7|archivedate=September 8, 2023|date=July 24, 1995|accessdate=September 8, 2023|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> The manga won the [[Kodansha Manga Award]] in 1993 for ''shōjo''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/kodansha.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021040252/http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/kodansha.shtml |archive-date=October 21, 2007 |first=Joel|last=Hahn |title=Kodansha Manga Awards |work=Comic Book Awards Almanac |access-date=August 21, 2007}}</ref> The English adaptations of both the manga and the anime series became the first successful ''shōjo'' title in the United States.<ref name="Thompson">{{cite book|last1=Thompson|first1=Jason|title=[[Manga: The Complete Guide]]|date=2007|publisher=[[Del Rey Books]]|location=New York|isbn=9780345485908|page=309}}</ref> The character of Sailor Moon is recognized as one of the most important and popular [[female superheroes]] of all time.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/09/can-sailor-moon-break-up-the-superhero-boys-club/244648/|title=Can Sailor Moon Break Up the Superhero Boys Club?|last=Berlatsky|first=Noah|date=September 7, 2011|magazine=[[The Atlantic]]|access-date=October 20, 2016|archive-date=November 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122201329/http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/09/can-sailor-moon-break-up-the-superhero-boys-club/244648/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=110&dat=19950214&id=UjRQAAAAIBAJ&pg=6121,3715639|title=Sailor Moon superhero may replace Power Rangers|date=February 14, 1995|publisher=[[Ludington Daily News]]|access-date=October 20, 2016|archive-date=May 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522042716/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=110&dat=19950214&id=UjRQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UFUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6121,3715639|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Misiroglu|first1=Gina|last2=Roach|first2=David A.|title=The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-book Icons and Hollywood Heroes|date=2004|publisher=[[Visible Ink Press]]|location=Detroit, Michigan|isbn=9781578591541|page=711|edition=1st|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IDlEHGKj8JgC&q=sailor+moon+superhero&pg=PA711|access-date=October 20, 2016|language=en|archive-date=February 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220045803/https://books.google.com/books?id=IDlEHGKj8JgC&pg=PA711&lpg=PA711&dq=sailor+moon+superhero&source=bl&ots=AeVTUswtGV&sig=GUgCJvkwmPOHJTHCq2UyiztTz5c&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BjXLU_m_PIGryAS89oDQCg&ved=0CDMQ6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=sailor%20moon%20superhero&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Comella|first1=Anthony|title=Grrrl Power: Why Female Superheroes Matter|url=http://www.popmythology.com/grrrl-power-why-female-superheroes-matter/|website=Pop Mythology|access-date=October 20, 2016|date=March 24, 2013|archive-date=August 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805220509/http://www.popmythology.com/grrrl-power-why-female-superheroes-matter/|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Sailor Moon'' has also become popular internationally. ''Sailor Moon'' was broadcast in Spain and France beginning in December 1993; these became the first countries outside Japan to broadcast the series.<ref name="SMhist93">{{cite web|url=http://sailormoon.channel.or.jp/ayumi/1993.html|title=Sailor Moon History 1993|publisher=Sailormoon. Channel|language=ja|script-title=ja:セーラームーンのあゆみ 1993年|access-date=October 20, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715233422/http://sailormoon.channel.or.jp/ayumi/1993.html|archive-date=July 15, 2009}}</ref> It was later aired in Russia, South Korea, the Philippines, China, Italy, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong, before North America picked up the franchise for adaptation. In the Philippines, ''Sailor Moon'' was one of [[TV5 Network|its carrier network]]'s main draws, helping it to become the third-biggest network in the country.<ref name="Drazen"/>{{rp|10–11}} In 2001, the ''Sailor Moon'' manga was Tokyopop's best selling property, outselling the next-best selling titles by at least a factor of 1.5.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/625.html|title=Sailor Moon Graphic Novels Top Bookstore Sales – Demonstrates Shoujo's Potential|last=Flinn|first=Tom|date=August 14, 2001|publisher=ICv2|access-date=October 20, 2016|archive-date=July 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720152319/http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/625.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In [[Diamond Comic Distributors]]'s May 1999 "Graphic Novel and Trade Paperback" category, ''Sailor Moon'' Volume 3 was the best-selling comic book in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|title=MIXX'S SAILOR MOON MANGA IS THE NUMBER 1 GRAPHIC NOVEL OR TRADE PAPERBACK IN AMERICA!|url=http://www.mixxonline.com/mixxonline/company/press_releases/pr_990618_sailor_tops.html|website=Mixx Entertainment|publisher=Wayback Machine|access-date=2017-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001029221527/http://www.mixxonline.com/mixxonline/company/press_releases/pr_990618_sailor_tops.html|archive-date=October 29, 2000|date=June 18, 1999}}</ref>

Academic Timothy J. Craig attributes ''Sailor Moon''<nowiki/>'s international success to three characteristics. First was the show's magical girl transformation of ordinary characters into superheroes. Second was the ability of marketers to establish the international audience's connection to characters, despite their culture being Japanese. The third was that the main superhero was female, something which was still rare in pop culture in countries like the United States during the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Craig, Timothy J. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1295917706 |title=Japan pop! inside the world of Japanese popular culture |date=2000 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=0-585-38331-6 |oclc=1295917706 |access-date=February 27, 2022 |archive-date=February 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206163232/https://search.worldcat.org/title/1295917706 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In his 2007 book ''[[Manga: The Complete Guide]]'', [[Jason Thompson (writer)|Jason Thompson]] gave the manga series three stars out of four. He enjoyed the blending of ''[[shōnen manga|shōnen]]'' and ''shōjo'' styles and said the combat scenes seemed heavily influenced by ''[[Saint Seiya]]'', but shorter and less bloody. He also said the manga itself appeared similar to ''Super Sentai'' television shows. Thompson found the series fun and entertaining, but said the repetitive plot lines were a detriment to the title, which the increasing quality of art could not make up for; even so, he called the series "sweet, effective entertainment".<ref name="Thompson" /> Thompson said although the audience for ''Sailor Moon'' is both female and male, Takeuchi does not use [[fanservice]] for males, which would run the risk of alienating her female audience. Thompson said fight scenes are not physical and "boil down to their purest form of a clash of wills", which he says "makes thematic sense" for the manga.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/house-of-1000-manga/2011-03-03|title=Sailor Moon – Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga|last=Thompson|first=Jason|date=March 3, 2011|work=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=October 20, 2016|archive-date=November 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112024016/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/house-of-1000-manga/2011-03-03|url-status=live}}</ref>  Venita Blackburn of ''[[The New York Times]]'' opined that ''Sailor Moon'' is a "transformative experience" about friendship and liberation that does not match the world's expectations of femininity, adding that its "iconic status" within the [[queer community]] was "no accident". She stated that the world of ''Sailor Moon'' is "interested in transformation, in upsetting expectations of presentation and value related to girlhood, masculinity, strength and gender roles",  further adding that in ''Sailor Moon,'' the concept of transformation is "about light, magic and power hidden in the ordinariness of living", concluding that "there is nothing queerer than that".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Blackburn|first1=Venita|title=I've Never Watched Anything as Transformative as 'Sailor Moon' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/12/magazine/sailor-moon.html |access-date=April 13, 2025 |work=[[The New York Times]] |publisher=[[The New York Times Company]] |date=December 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250410001050/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/12/magazine/sailor-moon.html |archive-date=April 10, 2025|url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

While comparing the manga and anime, Sylvain Durand thought that the manga artwork is "gorgeous", but its storytelling is more compressed and erratic and the anime has more character development. Durand said "the sense of tragedy is greater" in the manga's telling of the "fall of the Silver Millennium," giving more detail about the origins of the Four Kings of Heaven and on Usagi's final battle against Queen Beryl and Metaria. Durand said the anime omits information that makes the story easy to understand, but judges the anime as more "coherent" with a better balance of comedy and tragedy, whereas the manga is "more tragic" and focused on Usagi and Mamoru's romance.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Durand|first=Sylvain|date=March–April 1996|title=Sailor Moon: Manga vs Animation|journal=[[Protoculture Addicts]]|issue=39|page=39}}</ref>

For the week of September 11, 2011, to September 17, 2011, the first volume of the re-released ''Sailor Moon'' manga was the best-selling manga on [[List of The New York Times Manga Best Sellers|''The New York Times'' Manga Best Sellers list]], with the first volume of ''Codename: Sailor V'' in second place.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2011-10-02/manga/list.html|title=Best Sellers – The New York Times|last=Taylor|first=Ihsan|date=October 2, 2011|newspaper=NY Times|access-date=October 20, 2016|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202604/http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2011-10-02/manga/list.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-09-23/new-york-times-manga-best-seller-list-september-11-17|title=New York Times Manga Best Seller List, September 11–17|date=September 23, 2011|work=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=October 20, 2016|archive-date=August 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809094347/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-09-23/new-york-times-manga-best-seller-list-september-11-17|url-status=live}}</ref> The first print run of the first volume sold out after four weeks.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-10-14/kodansha/sailor-moon-1-reprinted-after-50000-sell-out|title=Kodansha: Sailor Moon 1 Reprinted after 50,000 Sell Out|date=October 14, 2011|work=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=October 20, 2016|archive-date=September 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920000536/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-10-14/kodansha/sailor-moon-1-reprinted-after-50000-sell-out|url-status=live}}</ref>

In English-speaking countries, ''Sailor Moon'' developed a cult following among anime fans and university students.<ref name="Grigsby" /> Patrick Drazen says the [[History of the World Wide Web|Internet]] was a new medium that fans used to communicate and played a role in the popularity of ''Sailor Moon''.<ref name="Drazen" />{{rp|281}} Fans could use the Internet to communicate about the series, organize campaigns to return ''Sailor Moon'' to U.S. broadcast, to share information about episodes that had not yet aired, or to write [[fan fiction]].<ref name="Internet Moonies">{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Lousie |date=July 27, 1996 |title=Sailing the Internet It's a treasure trove of trivia for Sailor 'Moonies' |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/437515836 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201224918/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/doc/437515836.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:&type=current&date=&author=&pub=&edition=&startpage=&desc= |archive-date=February 1, 2017 |access-date=October 20, 2016 |website=pqarchiver.com |publisher=[[The Toronto Star]]|id={{ProQuest|437515836}} }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Matsumoto |first=Jon |date=June 19, 1996 |title=Fans Sending an SOS for 'Sailor' |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-06-19-ca-16327-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707135249/http://articles.latimes.com/print/1996-06-19/entertainment/ca-16327_1_sailor-moon |archive-date=July 7, 2012}}</ref> Gemma Cox of [[Neo (magazine)|''Neo'' magazine]] said part of the series's allure was that fans communicated via the Internet about the differences between the dub and the original version.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cox |first1=Gemma |date=January 2005 |title=Shôjo Classic - Sailor Moon |url=http://www.neomag.co.uk/article.asp?IntID=9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080101180249/http://www.neomag.co.uk/article.asp?IntID=9 |archive-date=January 1, 2008 |access-date=August 5, 2009 |website=[[Neo (magazine)|Neo]]}}</ref>