Sailor Moon R: The Movie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (August 2006) |
| Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon R The Movie | |
|---|---|
 Movie Poster |
|
| Directed by | Kunihiko Ikuhara |
| Written by | Naoko Takeuchi, Sukehiro Tomita (screenplay), Lisa Lumby-Richards (English adaptation) |
| Starring | Kotono Mitsuishi, Tôru Furuya, Hikaru Midorikawa, Yumi Touma (Japanese version) Terri Hawkes, Toby Proctor, Joel Feeney, |
| Music by | Takanori Arisawa |
| Cinematography | Motoi Takahashi |
| Editing by | Yasuhiro Yoshikawa |
| Distributed by | Toei Company, Ltd.  JapanWalt Disney Pictures (U.S.) Pioneer Entertainment (U.S.) Optimum Productions (U.S. and Canada) |
| Release date(s) | 1993 December 5 ; 1994 July 4  |
| Running time | 61 min. |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese, English |
| Preceded by | Sailor Moon (anime) |
| Followed by | Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S The Movie (1994) |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Sailor Moon R: The Movie is the first of three theatrically released Sailor Moon movies. Its full name in Japanese is Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon R The Movie (劇場版 美少女戦士セーラームーンＲ Gekijouhan Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R?). The English dub is called Sailor Moon R the Movie: Promise of the Rose. It debuted in Japanese theatre on December 5, 1993. It is named for the second arc of the Sailor Moon anime, Sailor Moon R, as it was released around the same time. The events portrayed seem to take place somewhere in the middle of the second part of the series, as Chibiusa can still be seen.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
As the movie opens, Mamoru, Usagi, Rei, Ami, Makoto, Minako and Chibiusa are visiting a public nursery-garden. Suddenly the sky becomes stormy, and a young man appears in a flurry of pink petals. He addresses Mamoru by name and acts very friendly to him - too friendly for Usagi's liking. The man, Fiore, pushes Usagi over and threatens the girls, then vanishes.
Later, back at Rei's temple, the group (without Mamoru) discuss an asteroid that was coming to Earth and that Artemis had discovered traces of vegetal life on it. The talk degenerates into gossip about Mamoru's and Fiore's possible relationship, while Usagi thinks about how Mamoru had told her he had no family and was alone, and she had promised him she would be his family from now on.
Fiore sends a flower monster, Glycina, to Tokyo where it begins draining the life energy from the populace. The Guardian Senshi free the people, but are injured. It is revealed that Fiore is working with a Xenian flower. Fiore resumed his attack and was about to kill Sailor Moon by impaling her on his claw-like fingernails but Tuxedo Mask jumped in front of her and took the hit himself. Mortified, Fiore took Mamoru's limp body back to his lair on the asteroid that was rapidly approaching Earth and began to revive him in a crystal filled with liquid. Mamoru remembers a young Fiore, who had made friends with him just after his parents died. Mamoru had assumed that the boy was an imaginary friend. Fiore had had to leave Mamoru as the Earth's atmosphere was unsuitable for him, but before they parted, Mamoru gave Fiore a rose. After that, Fiore wandered the galaxy, searching for a worthy flower of Mamoru, and found the Xenian blossom. He then returns to Earth, seeking revenge on the humans who'd made Mamoru lonely. It's made clear that the Xenian blossom is somehow enthralling Fiore. Meanwhile the Senshi had found out that the energy from the asteroid matched the evil energy of the flower monster, and concluded Fiore must be hiding there and keeping Mamoru prisoner too. After being told by Luna and Artemis about an old legend regarding the Xenian flower and how it destroyed planets by using weak-hearted people. Usagi is losing heart after thinking on what Fiore said, but the Senshi teleported to the asteroid to battle Fiore and rescue Mamoru. Chibiusa and the cats stayed on Earth.
The asteroid is covered with hundreds of flowers. Fiore confronts the Senshi and tells them of his plan to broadcast flower seeds all over the planet, draining humanity's energy. The Senshi then fight hundreds of flower monsters. The monsters then combine into one and ensnare the Guardian Senshi, leaving Sailor Moon alone. Fiore tells Sailor Moon that unless she stops fighting, her friends will suffer. They urge her to fight, but she drops the weapon and begins to cry. Fiore crumples and the flower monsters disappear.
The Xenian blossom possesses Fiore. Mamoru breaks free as Fiore begins to drain Sailor Moon's energy. Fiore accuses Usagi of not being able to understand his loneliness, causing the Guardian Senshi to remember their own loneliness. The Guardian Senshi tell Fiore that without Usagi, they all would have been alone, and beg him not to kill her. Fiore goes to stab Usagi, and Mamoru throws a rose and collapses. Usagi is safe. The rose embedded in Fiore's chest blooms and causes the Xenian's possession of Fiore to break. Fiore feels betrayed by Mamoru and the flowers vanish. The asteroid hurtles towards Earth. Usagi wakes up and uses the Ginzuishou, despite her friends' warning, to try to change the course of the asteroid. Usagi remembers that she gave Mamoru the flower that he then gave to Fiore when they were all children. Shocked by this realisation, Fiore cries and the Xenian blossom is destroyed. Fiore vanishes, and Mamoru and the Guardian Senshi lend Princess Serenity their powers to sustain the Ginzuishou as the asteroid descends towards Earth. The Ginzuishou breaks, the asteroid breaks up, and Usagi dies. The girls and Mamoru cry over Usagi, but Fiore reappears and thanks Mamoru. He gives Mamoru a nectar-filled flower with Fiore's life energy. Mamoru wets his lips with the nectar and kisses Usagi, reviving her.
[edit] New characters
[edit] Fiore
Fiore (フィオレ Fiore?, Lit. Flower (Italian)) is one of the main antagonists in Sailor Moon R: The Movie. Fiore is a lonely alien who takes great strength from his friendship with Mamoru Chiba, spending many years searching for a worthy flower for Mamoru. He had arrived on Earth at around the same time that Mamoru's parents had died. The two boys became close friends at this time, but Earth's atmosphere was unsuitable for Fiore to breathe, so he had to leave Earth. Mamoru gives him the gift of a rose, and Fiore resolves to return some day with a worthy flower for Mamoru. This quest for a flower puts him in the path of the Xenian flower.
Fiore is Italian for "flower." According to the Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn R Movie Memorial Album, director Kunihiko Ikuhara noted that Fiore's full name is written in Japanese as Fiorieiru (フィオリエイル Lit. Fiore (フィオレ) + alien (エイリアン)?)[1]
Fiore's character was similar to Ail and Ann, the Makaiju children from the first arc of Sailor Moon R. His clothing, which changes several times during the course of the movie, greatly resembles that of the afforementioned characters and he shares a similar history as well as an aversion to the environment on Earth.
In the Japanese version, he is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa as an adult and Tomoko Maruo as a child. In the English version, he is voiced by Joel Feeney as an adult and Mary Long as a child.
[edit] Xenian Flower
The Xenian (キセニアン Kisenian?) Flower is one of the main antagonists in Sailor Moon R: The Movie. In the English dub, she is known as the Kisenian Blossom. Its name is based in the botanical term "xenia," which according to the OED is a term for a specific action of hybridization which refers to "direct action or influence of foreign pollen upon the seed or fruit which is pollinated." The word itself is based on the Greek concept for hospitality.[2]
The Xenian Flower has to destroy stars and planets to survive. Alone, she holds no power. Thus, she needs a host, preferably someone with a 'vulnerable heart' (like Fiore). Luna calls the Xenian the 'most dangerous flower in the universe', and Artemis says that hundreds of planets have been destroyed in this galaxy due to a Xenian Flower.
Once picked, the Xenian Flower begins pouring 'hatred' into the weak heart of her victim, causing them to fall under her spell and carry out her every whim. Eventually, through her subject, she will have grown powerful enough to destroy the entire planet along with the unfortunate individual whom she had deceived. After the flower has destroyed any star or planet, she sits and waits once more for the next unsuspecting person to come along and succumb into her allure.
In the original Japanese, she is voiced by Yumi Toma. In the English dub, her voice performer is currently unknown.
[edit] Reception
 |
Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
The Sailor Moon R movie has been said to be an ideal introduction to Sailor Moon,[3] and the best of the three Sailor Moon films plot-wise,[4] although one critic said it is essentially "a solid long episode", rather than a movie.[5] Another critic disagrees, saying that although the movie is true to the Sailor Moon formula, it has "real drama and emotion".[6] Ikuhara's direction has also been praised, and the artwork in the film is superior to that of the series, although it has deteriorated slightly, and that the pacing is good.[7][8]
[edit] Trivia
|
|
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- In one of the releases of the movie, there are several visual errors. This happened to be the version Toei gave to Pioneer to use for dubbing and the television/DVD releases in the United States, and is 4:3 full screen, complete with field blending, poor saturation, and very poor overall quality throughout. Some of the more prominent errors are:
- When Fiore tries to take the crystal from Usagi (on the meteor), Fiore talks while Usagi's lips move.
- When Usagi jumps to save Chibi Usa and they fly through the store window, the right most window turns completely black.
- When Fiore is trying to attack Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask is fighting him off, his sword goes flying and can be seen stabbing into the ground landing right between the legs of a very scared Artemis. However, in the very next scene where we see Fiore's nails extending to stab Sailor Moon, Artemis has somehow turned into Luna.
- There is an animation error during the scene on the meteor shortly before the Silver Crystal shatters, Sailor Venus's back ribbon is yellow (its correct color), but then after a piece of the meteor flies past it has turned blue.
- On the Region 2 Japanese DVD release, however, none of these errors exist, and the film is presented in its theatrical 16:9 wide screen format, with very rich colors, a well-defined picture, and no notable errors.
- The film was soft matted for its theatrical release, as it was animated in 4:3 full screen. The same was done with the Sailor Moon S Movie and the Sailor Moon Super S Movie.
- The names of Fiore's flower minions are Glycina, Campanula, and Dahlian,[9] but in the movie, Fiore does not call them by name.
- At the beginning of the movie, when Mamoru hands Fiore the rose, it's closed, meaning that it symbolizes both innocence and friendship, as it deals with the childhood love of Mamoru and Fiore. Later in the movie, during a flashback, when Sailor Moon shows Fiore her memory, the rose is seen full bloomed. The full bloomed rose is a symbol of the deep bond between them, their love, throughout the series. It may also be symbolic of the change/maturation in Fiore's feelings.[10]
- During the scene when Rei, Ami, Makoto, Minako, and Chibiusa are spying on Usagi and Mamoru, when Chibiusa crashes on the others, there is a very short deformed picture of her face. If you pause on that scene, look carefully: you will be able to see a small Umino lodged inside Chibiusa's mouth.
- Fiore looks very similar to the Makaiju aliens, Ail and Ann, sharing their character designs and the voice actor of Ail. The Xenian Flower shares her voice actress with Ann.
[edit] Make Up! Sailor Senshi
Shown in Japanese theatres as a trailer before the Sailor Moon R movie was a 15 minute short named Make Up! Sailor Senshi.[11] Usagi and Chibiusa overhear two girls talking about the Sailor Senshi after they see a poster. As the girls discuss which is the smartest, most elegant, strongest, and the leader of the Senshi, Usagi grandly claims those titles for herself. Chibiusa shakes her head at Usagi's delusion. Clips are shown from the debut of each Sailor Senshi, and that girl's image song is played in the background. When even Tuxedo Mask has been mentioned, and the girls are about to leave, Usagi butts in on their conversation and asks them directly about Sailor Moon. The girls give a series of glowing compliments about Sailor Moon, but unlike they did for the other Senshi, they also list her faults. After the girls leave, Usagi sarcastically apologises for being a clumsy cry-baby and then bursts into exaggerated tears.
The poster the girls see is the poster for the R movie, with a new background and sans logo.
[edit] References
- ^ Etymology Information from Dies Gaudii by Ian Andreas Miller.
- ^ OED Online (subscriber license required to access) See also: Xenia on Dictionary.com
- ^ Sailor Moon R: Promise of the Rose DVD - Review - Anime News Network
- ^ Animetric.com >> Anime Reviews >> Sailormoon R the Movie: Promise of a Rose
- ^ AnimeOnDVD.com >> Disc Reviews >> Sailor Moon R Movie: The Promise of the Rose
- ^ DVD Verdict Review - Sailor Moon R: The Movie: The Promise Of The Rose
- ^ Anime Jump :: We put the 'dumb' in anime fandom!
- ^ The Anime Critic - Sailor Moon R: The Movie Review
- ^ RED TATTOO >> Characters >> The New Characters
- ^ Anime-Myth.com v. With You
- ^ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=3832 at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
[edit] External links
- Fiore - The Wandering Alien and Slave to Kisenian's Will
- Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Etymology
- The Tour >> Mare Ingenii >> Ancient Texts >> Bad Seeds >> Fiore
- Xenian @ The Oracle - Information and pictures
- Red Tattoo - Information about the Sailor Moon R movie
|
|||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codename: Sailor V | Manga (chapter list) | Anime (episode list) | Stage musicals | Video games | Live-action | English adaptations | Parallel | |||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
