The Sailor Moon series is one of the most iconic in all of anime and manga. This series set the stage for other magical girl anime and manga that followed behind it and birthed an entire array of tropes. Being a very popular series it, of course, spawned films as well.
These three films are Sailor Moon R: The Movie, Sailor Moon S: The Movie, and Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie. Each film has a lot going for it that many fans of the series may have missed.
10 SAILOR MOON R TOOK PLACE AFTER EPISODE 77
Many fans may not know when the film Sailor Moon R took place but there are actually a few pieces in the film that show that it took place post-episode 77 and before episode 82. This was basically confirmed by Chibiusa being included in the film.
Not only did her being featured in the movie confirm this placement but her knowledge of the Sailor Senshi's identities, Mamoru and Usagi still having a relationship, and Chibiusa still being in the present confirm it as well.
9 SAILOR MOON R HAD A BIT OF AN ERROR
In one of the scenes of Sailor Moon R during Moon's revenge, Venus's bow is actually miscolored for a great part of the scene. Instead of the usual yellow color, it is blue. It remains its usual yellow color until part of the planet that is breaking away completely covers the Sailor Scouts.
After this part, it is blue for the rest of the scene. Before the end of the film and the credits, it goes back to being its actual yellow color.
8 SAILOR MOON S IS THE ONLY MOVIE BASED ON THE MANGA
The Sailor Moon story "The Lover of Princess Kaguya is the first short story in the series. It appeared in volume 11 of the original manga. It was a side-story and was actually adapted into animated material.
The movie Sailor Moon S was the second Sailor Moon film and is in fact, based on this short story. It is the first and only Sailor Moon movie to be based on a piece of source material like the manga. This is very surprising considering that the series has so many more short stories that are manga exclusive.
7 LUNA HAD A HUMAN FORM IN SAILOR MOON S
Luna is Usagi's sidekick. This mystical talking purple/black cat many times acts as an advisor to the young Sailor Scout as well as the rest of her team throughout the Sailor Moon series. She is an alien from planet Mau and is seen as a cat throughout the entirety of the series until the film Sailor Moon S when it comes to the anime.
Sailor Moon S is the only time in the anime run of Sailor Moon that Luna is seen in her human form. In the manga she is seen as a human many more times.
6 SAILOR MOON S FEATURES AN EXCLUSIVE POWER
Silver Crystal Power is a very powerful attack that was used to finally defeat Princess Snow Kaguya and her Snow Dancers. This attack features all the Solar System Sailor Guardians combining their powers to unleash it, which of course, makes it one of the most powerful in all the series.
Super Sailor Moon used the extra power of this crystal to transform Luna into a human for a limited time. This power was completely exclusive to the film Sailor Moon S.
5 SAILOR MOON S TAKES PLACE AROUND EPISODE 122
Much like in the case of Sailor Moon R, the presence of a few different characters and concepts lead to the conclusion that the film takes place around a specific episode. This time around the presence of Outer Sailor Guardians, Chibiusa, and the Holy Grail was the big confirmation.
It can be further concluded that this is the case due to the fact that winter break was mentioned. It also takes place before Hotaru Tomoe was revealed as Sailor Saturn's reincarnation.
4 SAILOR MOON SUPER S FEATURED AN EXCLUSIVE SCOUT
The film Sailor Moon Super S actually featured a movie exclusive Sailor Scout by the name of Sailor Pluto. While she was nearly exclusive to this film when it came to the anime she actually has a very different role and level of importance in the manga counterpart of Sailor Moon.
This character wouldn't be seen again in the world of the anime until the release of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars along with Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune.
3 SUPER S MAY BE NON-CANON
The Sailor Moon Super S film may take place in a different canon due to the complications of the concepts that are featured within the film. At first glance, it seems that the film takes place after the SuperS season of the anime due to Pluto, Uranus, and Neptune fighting together.
However, this can't be the case due to it contradicting Pluto's arrival in the first episode of the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars season of the anime.
2 SUPER S HAS THE ONLY ANIME APPEARANCE OF AMI'S MOTHER
Throughout the anime continuity of Sailor Moon Ami Mizuno, aka, Sailor Mercury's mother never shows up on-screen and is mostly only mentioned and sometimes heard in the series.
However, in the film Sailor, Moon Super S Ami's mother actually has some screentime. Saeko Mizuno has a very small cameo appearance in the opening of the film from behind showing her daughter how to make cookies. In fact, her name only comes from the live-action Sailor Moon series.
1 THE STORY OF SUPER SHAS A LOT OF REFERENCE TO GERMAN FAIRYTALES
Sailor Moon Super S features a lot of shoutouts to old German fairytales such as the Pied Piper of Hamelin and Hansel and Gretel. This is shown in the starting scene featuring the timber-framed houses which are common in Europe and Germany but rarely seen in Japan.
The Hansel and Gretel influence shows up during the gingerbread house part which of course is a heavy feature in that tale.