We're getting a (Japanese) novelization of the Sailor Moon story ?!?

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Memento

Stella Nova
Mar 8, 2012
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Thing is: how many people will choose a book over the manga when they are pretty much the same and the manga is more approachable in the first place.

They really wasted a good oportunity to create a different, more detailed version of SM story with some new aspects and instead gave people what they already had in better form anyway
The problem is not only did they not get Naoko to write or at least cowrite it, they hired someone who was entirely unfamiliar with the series. While such a person may have brought a new perspective to the series, instead she seems to have played it safe/lazy and just done the most basic summary instead. Truly a wasted opportunity, but I guess it's better than those Tokyopop novelizations of the anime that they crammed with pop culture references.
 

Yinggirl

Solaris Luna
Jul 21, 2003
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Well, the light novels of How to Not Summon a Demon Lord on Kobo do have some manga images but reads like a novel.
I know Meyer wanted to write Twilight like that. But I guess it fell flat since no one bought her graphic novels.
Oliver Bowden who used to do the Assassin's Creed novelizations had caused his stories about UbiSoft's series to fall flat with inconsistencies and by boring the reader with lengthy descriptions of each action/character/plot.

Not all of us can buy the whole manga again, so getting someone to retell Sailor in a book might seem intriguing and more people feel comfortable reading a book in public than a manga/graphic novel.
 
May 18, 2016
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I found a scan on MissDream.org, and from what I can tell, this novel (is it a light novel?) is just text with pictures from the original manga (dunno if Ikeda got Takeuchi’s permission), and book 1 just goes up to the first manga arcs, just that in text form, similar to how Crystal’s just a shot by shot adapation. :(

I mean, I'm sure it's more accurate than Crystal's version, and obviously better than those novels from the 2000s with all their strange hybrid of the Japanese and English versions and product placements galore, but still, what's the point if you're telling the same story again? Why not try new unique things, think up new enemies/characters that weren't in the original manga/both anime series, and think up new challenges/struggles Usagi Tsukino, Ami Mizuno, Rei Hino, Makoto Kino, and Minako Aino have to go through in what is basically their first few days, weeks, and months as Sailors Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus. Otherwise it'll just look like a cash grab. I mean, I may be wrong, but we'll just have to wait and see.

If you want links to the scans, here it is: Sailor Moon Novelization Volume 1 – Miss Dream
 
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sapphire91

Stella Nova
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I don't think we really need new characters or enemies - we hae a huge lore which needs expanding and a noel would hae been perfect for that.
 
Oct 11, 2003
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Just for curiosities sake it appears the second novels release date has slipped.

When I have more time I will try to trnslate properly a chapter or two but I'm just so busy with work right now.
 
Likes: Starlight
May 18, 2016
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Just for curiosities sake it appears the second novels release date has slipped.

When I have more time I will try to trnslate properly a chapter or two but I'm just so busy with work right now.
OK, thanks for letting us know. Oddly I do want to see it licensed in the US too (possibly by Kodansha most likely)...

I don't think we really need new characters or enemies - we hae a huge lore which needs expanding and a noel would hae been perfect for that.
This is the only possible image as its the only Princess Serenity image done in this style. Tjey are running out of these though, so there will be lots of inconsistency. Naoko is so lazy... Really lazy. One title is her main source of stable income for decades and she is too lazy to lift a finger about it
Hopefully we'll get something like that, and maybe if they eventually, IF they get to the Stars arc...and looking at that, why not just use Mercury on the cover or something? Otherwise it'll have one of the same critical flaws the first two seasons of Crystal had: making it seem like it's all about Usagi/Sailor Moon and no one else (I know she is the protagonist but it was the appeal of the Sailor Team altogether that helped make Sailor Moon popular).
 

Memento

Stella Nova
Mar 8, 2012
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I thought I'd try translating a little more. Here are the first few pages of Moon VI. TUXEDO MASK:

Someone is calling to me in my dream.
Who are you?
A sweet smell lingers in the fog.
Long hair and a platinum dress.
Repeating that one phrase and nothing else.
"The Imperium Silver Crystal."
I always wake up before seeing their face.
Who are you?




"Morning, Mama!" Luna greeted Usagi's mother, Ikuko Tsukino, in the kitchen.
Mama only heard her cry, "Meow," of course.
"Well, Crescent Kitty, aren't we the sleepyhead today? Usually Usagi's the one who oversleeps, but it seems today, she's beat you out the door."
"Maybe Usagi has a little awareness as a soldier."
Again, Mama only heard, "Meow."
Maybe I'll read the newspaper.
Luna sat on the paper that Papa had left spread out on the table and began quietly reading.

"What is the 'Imperium Silver Crystal'!?"

Mystery Man Tuxedo Mask
Confesses to Crimes in Search of a Lost Treasure
Current Value 100 Billion Yen!?


Reading the giant headlines splayed across the front page of the newspaper, Luna nearly fell off the table from shock. What she read next in the report only startled her further.

Are the mysterious activities of these two also linked to the "Imperium Silver Crystal"!?

Moreover, a close-up photograph of Sailor Moon was printed next to one of Sailor V.
"I wonder when that was taken..."
Luna was frustrated.
Sailor Moon and the "Imperium Silver Crystal" were now public knowledge.
We must do whatever it takes to stop the true identities of the sailor-suited soldiers from being revealed.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Still pretty much just a direct summation of the manga, but I did find it interesting that Princess Serenity's gown is described as a "platinum dress," and I think it's cute how Luna calls Ikuko "Mama" and talks to her (albeit in meows). I also like how Luna wonders about Sailor Moon's photo in the paper.
 
(I know she is the protagonist but it was the appeal of the Sailor Team altogether that helped make Sailor Moon popular).
I have to agree, this is my issue with Crystal as well. This reminds me of another series.
 
Sep 6, 2014
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So they’re just straight forward novelizations of the manga?

I didn’t approve of every change that was made by the Digimon Adventure Light Novels but there was some interesting changed made at least
 

Memento

Stella Nova
Mar 8, 2012
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So they’re just straight forward novelizations of the manga?

I didn’t approve of every change that was made by the Digimon Adventure Light Novels but there was some interesting changed made at least
Yeah, which is disappointing since the La Reconquista novel made a few changes to the plot (some significant, some not), and added so much more detail to the story. I wish that author (who was also the musical's playwright) had been able to novelize the manga. But I'm not going to place the blame on Miyoko since for all we know she was told to do a super-direct novelization. The blame for how lazy the novel is really rests on Kodansha and probably Osabu and Naoko as well.

Anyway!

Since the novelization is 99% just a direct summation of the manga, I'm not going to do a complete translation. Instead, here are just noteworthy things from the rest of Moon VI. TUXEDO MASK:

- The Dark Kingdom is described as a "dark organization," which makes me picture it as a sinister conglomerate :lol:

- Kunzite is described as "a cold-blooded person with beautiful silver hair"

- The girls are almost exclusively referred to as the セーラー服戦士 sailor-suited soldiers instead of simply the セーラー戦士 sailor soldiers.

- The Sailor V arcade game is entitled 『伝説の戦士・セーラーV』"Legendary Warrior: Sailor V."

- The Moon Stick is referred to as a magic wand. In regards to its Sailor V game counterpart, it's described as "blasting enemies with glittering powder."

Arbitrary Minor Change Alert:
In the manga, when Zoisite starts draining everyone's energy through their TVs, Mamoru is at school studying in the library. In the novel, Tuxedo Mask is in his apartment when all the power goes out. Yet later, when Usagi collapses in the street, he comes upon her as Mamoru. Continuity!!!

- As Usagi transforms, she hears Luna's voice come over her communicator, telling her to go to TV Station X.

The scene of Usagi using the Moon Stick for the first time is as follows:

"You can do it. You and you alone."
As if responding to Tuxedo Mask's words, the Moon Stick started to shine.
The memory of the Sailor V game flashed through Usagi's mind.
Sailor V used her Moon Stick like a magic wand. Maybe I can use it that way, too? But... Luna hasn't told me how to use it yet.
Nervously, Usagi grabbed the Moon Stick.
An overflow of power poured forth.
A flood of......dazzling light.
I... I can do it.
Holding the Moon Stick tightly, she closed her eyes and screamed.
"Please, everyone! Everyone, come back to life!"
Glittering... Sparkling... Like a magic wand, a shower of light poured forth from the Moon Stick.

The chapter/book ends with Usagi lifting the mask to Mamo's face, which happens in Act 7. The book seems to take a bit of a "Crystal Season III" approach to changing where each chapter begins and ends.
 

MariaTenebre

Systema Solare
Jul 22, 2009
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I don't think we really need new characters or enemies - we hae a huge lore which needs expanding and a noel would hae been perfect for that.
New characters and enemies could expand on the lore though and make it more fresh and new.
 

sapphire91

Stella Nova
Jul 6, 2018
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New characters and enemies could expand on the lore though and make it more fresh and new.
Not with the friend of the day and monster of the day, though. They already have a massive cast and huge world to develop, without Narus best friend that nobody heard about like never.
 

Memento

Stella Nova
Mar 8, 2012
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Here is everything noteworthy from MOON V. MAKOTO - SAILOR JUPITER:

- Miyoko is either color blind or she's never seen any Sailor Moon color artwork. First she put Queen Beryl in a jet black dress; now she describes Makoto's earrings as red roses.

- You know how some people love to complain about how the old dub unnecessarily Americanized a lot of things? Well Miyoko has done something akin to that. When the girls are at school looking at the photos of Naru wearing a wedding dress, Miyoko has given Naru dialog explaining that she had the photos taken on her smart phone and then printed them out.

- When Naru and the other girls see Makoto at school, they say she looks like a model and more like an adult than a middle schooler.

- When the teacher yells at Makoto for not wearing the right school uniform, Mako explains that the uniform she is wearing was custom made. Why she wouldn't have a uniform that looks like the regular Juuban Junior High uniform custom made for her is unexplained. The teacher also reprimands her for having pierced ears.

- In the manga, Mako's lunch bag is shown as having flowers on it. In the novel, it's described as looking like a cute strawberry. Her lunch is also described as consisting of heart-shaped croquettes, and weiners and tamagoyaki (Japanese omelets) cutely decorated like a flower garden.

- Usagi's philosophy: No one who can cook tasty things can be bad.

- Mako's described as being better at the Sailor V game than Ami. (Though actually, it's never specified that she's playing the Sailor V game.)

- "Before awakening as Sailor Mercury, Ami had been very shy, but under Usagi's influence, she was recently becoming cheerful and outgoing."

- Usagi tells Ami about Naru's cousin's missing fiance

- Grandpa Hino does not appear in the novel. First PGSM, then Crystal, now this. Will Grandpa Hino ever be heard of again?

- In the manga, Rei responds to the story of Naru's cousin's missing fiance by saying, "Ghost or no ghost, if he gave in to temptation, it's his fault."
In the novel, she says, "Men are like that. Even if they have a fiancee, if there's a pretty woman around, they lose their heads."

- It's midnight when the ghost bride appears to Motoki.

- Before running after Tuxedo Mask, Usagi takes a moment to wonder if he's come to her bedroom window before, and to appreciate the "sweet, refreshing scent" he left behind. She then jumps out of her window to chase after him while still barefoot.

- Instead of "Moon Power! Turn me into a(n)..." Usagi simply yells "Change!" to transform into a groom.

- Motoki then gives the ghost bride some roses. No, this is not explained.

- While doing her intro speech, Ami "sprays water like a water fairy." The flame background seen during Mars's intro speech is likewise apparently real.

- The "green pen" Luna gives Makoto is described as being the same as Usagi's, Ami's, and Rei's transformation item pens, even though Usagi's pen looks nothing like Ami's and Rei's.

- The pen releases rainbow colored light, transforming Makoto into Sailor Jupiter

- "Flower Hurricane" releases flowers from Jupiter's fingertips, rather than from her belt

- "Jupiter Thunderbolt" is described as a sword of light, then as an iron hammer of lightning, with which Jupiter splits Nephrite

- Rather than Nephrite's corpse teleporting to the Dark Kingdom as in the manga, in the novel, Kunzite and Zoisite simply witness his death in a crystal ball

- The chapter ends with the character review from the start of Act 6.
 
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Sep 6, 2014
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- Miyoko is either color blind or she's never seen any Sailor Moon color artwork. First she put Queen Beryl in a jet black dress; now she describes Makoto's earrings as red roses.
Artistic license?



- You know how some people love to complain about how the old dub unnecessarily Americanized a lot of things? Well Miyoko has done something akin to that. When the girls are at school looking at the photos of Naru wearing a wedding dress, Miyoko has given Naru dialog explaining that she had the photos taken on her smart phone and then printed them out.
Wait wha..?

What would even be the point? Naru just can’t show the girls photos she took on her smart phone like a normal teenager?





.
- When the teacher yells at Makoto for not wearing the right school uniform, Mako explains that the uniform she is wearing was custom made. Why she wouldn't have a uniform that looks like the regular Juuban Junior High uniform custom made for her is unexplained. The teacher also reprimands her for having pierced ears.
I guess the idea is Mako is too tall to fit into regular middle school uniforms so she has to have hers custom made?
 

Memento

Stella Nova
Mar 8, 2012
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Here is everything noteworthy from MOON IV. MASQUERADE:

- When Usagi talks to Motoki about Princess D, she calls him "Furu-chan," even though she doesn't learn his name until the next chapter. Oops!

- Rather than Umino showing up at Crown with his ultra-rare poster of Princess D, Motoki shows Usagi, Ami, and Rei the photo of Princess D from the newspaper.

- Princess D is described as such: "More than half of her face was covered by big glasses. Because of the thick, retro lenses, her eyes were like watermelon seeds."

- Papa Kenji is completely omitted from the chapter. A moment of silence, please.

- So instead of Usagi being jealous that her dad gets to go to the embassy party, in the novel, she just starts pestering Luna to go once she gets home from the arcade. When asked what she's going to do there, Usagi tells her, "Wear a dress, eat something delicious...and check out Princess D and the D Kingdom's National Treasure." Luna's reluctant to go because Rei had said she had a bad feeling about the party. Usagi points out, "We're sailor-suited soldiers; we'll be fine!" Luna reluctantly agrees to go and contact Ami and Rei. It was weird, but sort of refreshing, for Usagi to be the reasonable one and Luna the scaredy-cat.

- "Three cute princesses" arrive at the embassy: Princess Usagi (in a baby pink dress with roses), Princess Ami (in a light blue dress like a neat goddess), and Princess Rei (in a passionate crimson dress matching her powerful beauty).

- Princess D wears a brilliant blue dress. Atop her golden hair rests a tiara that reflects the light of the chandelier, shining seven colors

- Princess D and her aides speak in a foreign language, so Luna has to translate what they say for Usagi. I thought that was kind of neat.

- After they defeat Nephrite's shadow, Ami goes around checking all the unconscious partygoers' pulses. We also learn that Ami understands foreign languages, such as the one Princess D speaks.

- As they wake up, the party guests all wonder why they'd fallen asleep, but chalk it up to collective hypnosis (um, okay...)

- Tuxedo Mask DOES NOT kiss unconscious Usagi!