Sailor Moon Video Leaks Ahead of Reboot’s Debut

Anime character Sailor Moon is getting a new look, on the eve of the new series’ debut.

Sailor Moon Crystal is set for release this Saturday, but scenes from an advanced screening have already leaked online.

Most notably, the leaked video shows Sailor Moon’s transformation from a normal teenager to her superhero alter ego.

The first sequence shows Sailor Moon in the original series, which debuted in Japan in 1992. After the 0:44 mark, fans can see how the character is being reinterpreted in the new series.

On Monday, the first episode of the anime series was screened for fans in Tokyo, Japan. Meg Sawai of the website RocketNews24, shared her first impressions of the new Sailor Moon:

To our delight, Sailor Moon’s trademark transformation scene… [is] very much a part of the new series, perhaps even with more power and energy than before. In fact, many in the crowd seemed to sigh in content to see the spirit of the first anime well and alive in Sailor Moon Crystal.

Gaming website Kotaku has already criticized the characters’ redesign. After viewing early artwork from Sailor Moon Crystal, they wrote :

All the Sailor Scouts have impossibly long legs. The sorts of legs that make Girl’s Generation seem laughable, really. It’s also hard not to note just how slender the new Sailor Scouts are.

Sailor Moon has been a cult hit since its debut in a manga comic book in the early 90s. It was quickly developed into an anime series and dubbed in English for audiences in North America. The franchise has since inspired three feature films, a musical, video games and figurines.

Among the series’ super fans: actress Megan Fox. In April, she talked about her willingness to star in a live-action Sailor Moon adaptation.

“That could feasibly be made into a live action movie. I don’t know how many Americans were into that. I was into that, but I don’t know how huge it was here. That’s not actually a bad idea.”

The series tells the story of Serena Tsukino, a lazy and spoiled Japanese teenager. When she learns to harness her magical powers, she transforms into Sailor Moon. Along side her eight Sailor Sisters, Sailor Moon defends the world from countless villains.

Episodes from Sailor Moon Crystal will be available this Saturday, starting at 6 am EST. In the meantime, fans can catch up on classic Sailor Moon episodes on Hulu.

[Picture source: YouTube]