Why This Sailor Moon Episode Was a Mystery for 19 Years (2024)

Sailor Moon

Why This Sailor Moon Episode Was a Mystery for 19 Years (1)

By Chloé McCormick

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Why This Sailor Moon Episode Was a Mystery for 19 Years (2)

The DiC English dub of the classic magical girl anime, Sailor Moon, is well-remembered for a plethora of reasons. Though fans appear to have mixed opinions on the quality of the dub, there is no doubt that the original dub brought about several hilarious moments that fans continue to share online. Despite this comedic relief, the DiC dub was also extremely prone to censoring the show, such as removing episodes they found inappropriate from their version. This method of censorship would also be the birth of the unusual portrayal of the many LGBTQIA+ characters in the series.

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An infamous example lies with Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, two of the Outer Senshi who are in a romantic relationship. The DiC dub censors their same-sex relationship by stating that they are "cousins", despite the animation often portraying the two in an incredibly romantic light; due to this animation trend, this decision would thus not convince viewers that Haruka and Michiru were not romantic partners. While several episodes of the first season were removed from the original English dub, only one episode was removed from the second season.

The episode, "The Beach, the Island and a Vacation: The Guardian's Break" was the 67th episode of the original anime and the 21st episode of Sailor Moon R. Because the episode was the lone piece of media not included from the second season of the show, many fans speculated that it must have been considered to be a rather violent episode or one that included inappropriate content that the DiC English dubbing team did not approve of. In truth, the backstory of the missing episode was not about the "controversial" media, but about an unfortunate mistake that took place.

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The Sailor Senshi, a Beach Vacation, and a Dinosaur

Chibiusa Befriends a Plesiosaur While the Others Have Fun in the Sun

A while after Chibiusa arrives in the present, the girls are sweltering in the hot summer heat. When Usagi and friends go to find Rei, they learn that she has gone out of town to a remote island for her priestess training. Loving the idea of a beach vacation, the girls all head over to the island, where a surprised Rei joins them. At first, everything seems peaceful, under a bright blue sky and cerulean waters. Chibiusa is especially happy to be on the island, as she missed Rei and wanted to hang out with her. When Chibiusa storms off after being told to eat her lunch (fish, which the child despises), she returns to the water on her inner tube, as she cannot swim. Things take a frightening turn when the girls notice that Chibiusa is nowhere to be seen, as Artemis points out. Much to the horror of Sailor Chibi Moon, the tide has pulled her out to sea, where sharks lurk by.

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Before a panicking Chibiusa drowns, a baby plesiosaur rescues her, while the others search for her on their boat. As the little dinosaur was bit by a shark, Chibiusa uses the power of Luna-P, her magic device from the future, to summon a first-aid kit. The girl then promises to be the plesiosaur's best friend while they wait for his mother to arrive, and gives him the name of Giraffe (Kirin in the original Japanese dub). As the Inner Senshi and the cats travel on their boat, they notice the smoke coming from the volcano, signaling an even greater danger for Chibiusa other than being separated from her friends. The Inner Senshi thus must hurry in order to rescue Chibiusa and the plesiosaur family in time before they are lost to the volcano's eruption and the earthquake it starts to cause.

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Whereabouts of the Lost Episode

The Episode Was Shown in Asia, South America and Europe

Why This Sailor Moon Episode Was a Mystery for 19 Years (5)

While the episode would not be aired in the United States for more than a decade, it was aired in other countries before VIZ Media gained the rights to the re-dubbing of the series for English-speaking audiences. The episode was originally aired on August 1st, 1993, in Japan. The episode was also re-dubbed in several other languages, and appeared in countries including France, Italy, and Spain. Toei Animation would give DiC the rights to dub the series, and unlike what the rumor says, the episode was not found controversial.

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The episode is actually one of the most gentle episodes of Sailor Moon, and a filler episode straying from the main storyline. There is no vulgar language, no extreme violence, not even a shred of fanservice. All the episode has to offer is a sweet short story about Chibiusa and the other Sailor Guardians going on a beach vacation, where Sailor Chibi Moon meets an adorable plesiosaur. Except for the dangers of an active volcano and the threat of violent sharks, the episode is completely family-friendly, even holding onto a narrative about the bond between mother and child.

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In reality, DiC lost the tape that the 67th episode was recorded on. Without the physical medium to work with, the dubbing team reached out to Toei Animation, yet the company refused. If they were to send a new copy of the beach episode, a new license agreement would have to be put in place. As they no longer were able to gain access to the episode, it was thus never included in the original run of the English Sailor Moon television show. ADV, who had gained the rights to the episodes from DiC, later released DVD sets that included English subtitles. Unfortunately, the sets were stated by consumers to be of poor quality, and the missing 67th episode was not included.

Things would take a change many years later when VIZ Media, one of the top companies publishing and licensing manga and anime for Western audiences, gained the rights from Toei Animation to distribute the original Sailor Moon anime and re-dub it. VIZ Media would not only keep every episode for their dub, but they would also properly showcase the LGBTQIA+ characters, especially by explicitly stating that Michiru and Haruka were lovers. Alongside the changes made in the new dubbing process, the legendary 67th episode was also dubbed, and distributed to fans eager to finally see what this episode had to offer.

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Differences Between the Sailor Scouts’ Vacations

Prehistoric Animals Versus Mysterious Spirits

Why This Sailor Moon Episode Was a Mystery for 19 Years (7)

As Sailor Moon is a science fiction/fantasy anime, the idea of a plesiosaur family miraculously existing on a remote island is not the strangest thing to occur in the storyline, though the inclusion of a prehistoric animal is rather different from the futuristic elements of the show. While love towards nature can absolutely work as a main element to the episode's narrative, the biggest theme of the episode is Chibiusa's homesickness and her wish to see her mother, who is still in the future timeline. As Chibiusa remains in the past during the course of Sailor Moon R, she is unable to see Neo Queen Serenity whenever she wishes, unlike future seasons and movies.

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Seeing Giraffe with his mother reminds Chibiusa of her beloved mother, and tearfully thinks about her during several moments of the episode. The vacation, thus, mainly surrounds Sailor Chibi Moon, as she looks back on her past and present loved ones. Her relationship with Sailor Mars, also known as Rei Hino, is also taken into consideration. While Chibiusa is close with all the Sailor Guardians, especially Usagi, she grows to see Rei as a role model due to her responsibility and serious personality, which Chibiusa does not find in Sailor Moon at first. Thus, Chibiusa and Rei appear to have a relationship like that of sisters. Rei herself cares deeply for the younger girl, looking after her like an older sister would when Chibiusa becomes stranded on another island.

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The 20th episode of the original Sailor Moon anime also takes place during a beach vacation, yet it is very different from Chibiusa's island adventure. For instance, Chibiusa is not present in the episode, as she only debuts during the second arc; Makoto, Minako and Artemis are also not present yet in the story. Meanwhile, this beach vacation episode does not have a theme surrounding nature and a plesiosaur family, but of ghosts and a little girl with immense psychic power. Luna wants the girls to focus on training, but Usagi is keen on having fun and relaxing at the beach.

The girls then stay at a mansion with a haunted house theme, much to the terror of Usagi. While the three employees themselves are normal people underneath their monster costumes, a sinster, Youma-related threat exists within the area. In the meantime, young psychic Sakiko is being used by her father to summon ghosts, as he utilizes hypnosis to awaken his daughter's abilities. Though both beach episodes have a theme surrounding family, Chibiusa's story is loving and bittersweet, while Sakiko's is somber with a happier ending.

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Why This Sailor Moon Episode Was a Mystery for 19 Years (9)

Sailor Moon

TV-PG

Action

Drama

Fantasy

Romance

A group of schoolgirls discover they are incarnations of super-powered alien princesses, and use their abilities to defend the earth.

Release Date
March 7, 1992

Creator(s)
Naoko Takeuchi

Cast
Kotono Mitsuishi , Aya Hisakawa , Michie Tomizawa , Emi Shinohara , Rica Fukami , Tôru Furuya , Keiko Han , Kae Araki , Yasuhiro Takato
Main Genre
Fantasy

Seasons
5

Creator

Main Characters

Production Company

Writers
Sukehiro Tomita

Number of Episodes
Streaming Service(s)
Hulu
Franchise(s)
Sailor Moon

Directors
Junichi Sato , Kunihiko Ikuhara
  • Anime
  • Sailor Moon
  • anime

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Why This Sailor Moon Episode Was a Mystery for 19 Years (2024)

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