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I've been thinking of intermittently watching the original _Sailor Moon_ anime
(with subtitles) to get a sense of the plot (and to have _something_ decent to
watch).

Since I've already seen _Sailor Moon Crystal_ and I've noticed that the first
two seasons of the original anime seem to more or less cover the same material
(and since _Sailor Moon_ isn't a high priority series for me), I'm thinking of
starting from _Sailor Moon S_.

If I start from Sailor Moon S, will there be any important plot points /
character details that I will not know of because I won't have seen the first
two seasons?

I did view the final recap episode of _Sailor Moon R_ (and I could follow what
was going on), but there wasn't enough detail that I'm completely certain I
won't miss anything.


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sailor-moon
After seeing Sailor Moon Crystal, will I miss anything by skipping the first two seasons of the original anime?


Great question!

## After seeing _Sailor Moon Crystal_ , will I miss anything by skipping the
first two seasons of the original anime?

**No... and yes.**

**No:** You are correct that _Sailor Moon Crystal_ 's 26th episode leaves off
at the same point in the storyline as the end of the classic anime's _R_
season. If you go straight into the _S_ season, you will not have missed out
on any essential plot points, characters, or character details.

**Yes:** _Sailor Moon Crystal_ is its own canon. It follows the manga more
closely than does the classic anime, but also has points where it veered away
from the manga content in ways that conflict with _both_ manga canon and
classic anime canon. So there are 1) aspects of the classic anime's first 2
seasons which follow the manga in areas where _Crystal_ did not, and 2)
aspects/characters that are original to the classic anime canon and thus not
covered in _Crystal_. The details about 30th century Crystal Tokyo differ
significantly between the classic anime version and _Crystal_ , but this will
not affect jumping in from season 3 much since that material doesn't get
mentioned again much from _S_ onward. Likewise, the _R_ season contained a
plot arc that you'll have missed about the Makaiju tree and aliens who came to
Earth, and the _R_ movie contained an original story involving Mamoru's
backstory, but as they are not referenced again later, you won't notice this
at all. However, you will notice that some characters you met in _Crystal_ are
not in the classic anime (for example, Ittou Asanuma is absent from the
classic anime until a tiny cameo in season 5, whereas Kumada Yuuichirou is a
love interest for Rei original to the classic anime starting in the 1st
season). So there will be moments where you'll notice things like, "I guess
I'm supposed to know who this person is," or "I see that Mamoru actually
transforms by magic into Tuxedo Kamen in this version," etc.

**Recommended:** Watch the first episode of the classic anime, then watch
episodes 8, 10, 25, and 34 (the first appearances of Ami, Rei, Makoto, and
Minako) so you can meet them in their classic anime personalities (Ami and
Makoto are pretty similar to how you know them, whereas classic anime Rei and
Minako are fairly different in personality from the personas given to them in
_Crystal_ ). Then jump ahead to episode 90 (a.k.a. episode 1 of the _S_
season).


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Plot-wise the only big thing you'll be missing is the "Hell Tree" arc, which
comprised the first 13 episodes of Sailor Moon R. This storyline doesn't exist
in the manga or Sailor Moon Crystal. Character-wise you'll be missing a lot of
character development that happens in the original anime. Sailor Mercury,
Venus, Mars and Jupiter are all pretty much bystanders in the reboot. In the
TV series they had much bigger roles.

But no, you don't need to see any of it before watching Sailor Moon S. It was
a TV series aimed at preteens. It's not very deep and is meant to be
accessible. It's not the sort of show that assumes you've watched the show
religiously since episode 1.

Sailor Moon S is also, in my opinion, the best season of the original anime,
so it's not a bad place to start watching even if you haven't seen any episode
of Sailor Moon before and don't know anything about it. On the other hand the
next season, Sailor Moon SS, I'd consider to be the worst. It has its moments,
but there are a lot filler episodes. After watching Sailor Moon S, you might
want to consider skipping back and watching one of the first two seasons.


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