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View Full Version : How cliched and generic is Sailor Moon by today's standards?


Lumpy Dog
11/13/14, 08:32 PM
aving finished S yesterday, I was absolutely blown away. Its technically cliched as hell but its execution was simply so well done it felt like an original story and I admit I had tears dropping from my eyes.

I just came across a blog about Puella Madoka Magica criticizing Sailor Moon for being all generic and cliched that it bored him. I also came across another anime blog where the writer admits it was the first time he saw Sailor Moon and his previous experience were with other series like Tokyo Mew Mew and Princess Tutu and he felt the show was so cliched he can't get whats a masterpiece about it. He even expressed irritation with the monster of the week formula and such.

I admit I'm not as familiar with magical girl as you all are here but even expecting some cliches I seen from newer series like a Goddess-like heroine (I'm looking at you Madoka) and the series getting darker as it runs on (like how darker Magic Knight Rayearth got as it began its second part), the show's overall quality convinced me as though its new. For all the criticisms on its generic plot by modern standards, the character development was such a masterpiece it blows away many new stuff like Madoka Magica IMHO and the only series I can think of that I seen so far that can compete is Magic Knight Rayearth. I'm not even counting production values like the voice acting and musical score (outstanding and some of the best I ever heard in fiction period).

So IMO Sailor Moon's TV adaptation may be rife with overused tropes but it executes them well enough that they don't feel cliche despite being much older than many of the new popular stuff like Madoka.

I won't comment on the manga because I haven't started it yet but I'm curious how it ages compared to Princess Tutu and other new stufff?

But the main thing I look to discuss is if the TV show is outdated as the modern anime fandom bash it to be or if its superior to all successors like Madoka Magica and Tokyo Mew Mew?