It's been 30 years since the premiere of the Sailor Moon anime in Japan. The beloved anime, adapted from Naoko Takeuchi’s manga of the same name, follows teenage protagonist Usagi Tsukino as she becomes a Sailor Guardian to combat evil and search for a reincarnated moon princess.
It was one of the few titles responsible for the propagation of anime in the United States. It also inspired a whole new generation of cartoonists like ND Stevenson and Rebecca Sugar.
With over 30 years of Sailor Moon content, navigating the watching order for the series can be tricky, especially when each season has its own name. It also doesn’t help viewers that the anime had a reboot back in 2014, alongside several other movies which have been added over the last few years.
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The original series and 2014 reboot have distinct viewing orders. The original series completed the manga story with bonus additions, while the reboot just finished theirs recently. Both are filled with fantastic action scenes and fun-filled stories.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Sailor Moon Series
Best order to watch the Sailor Moon series in
Finding the ideal order to watch the Sailor Moon series can be challenging, due to the number of the number of stories and series available. The following is the best order to watch the series in:
- Season 1
- Season 2
- The Movie – Promise of the Rose
- Season 3
- Sailor Moon S: The Movie
- Season 4
- Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie
- Sailor Stars (Season 5)
- Sailor Moon Crystal (Reboot)
- Sailor Moon Eternal Part 1
- Sailor Moon Eternal Part 2
- Sailor Moon Cosmos Part 1
- Sailor Moon Cosmos Part 2
Those veteran viewers looking to skip the very early stages of the Sailor franchise or those who would rather watch an anime series that’s all killer and no filler, can instead focus on the remake, Sailor Moon Crystal, which adapts Takeuchi’s original manga from the start.
The anime adaptation began airing in 1992, and it ran for 46 episodes until 1993. It introduced the world to Usagi, the Sailor Guardians, and the villains they faced in the Dark Kingdom. The series was followed up with Sailor Moon R, which features the Guardian's fight against the Black Moon Clan. It was a brand new story that didn’t take its ideas from Takeuchi.
They followed up with Sailor Moon S, which ran for 38 episodes in total. This series showcases the darker side of the story as the team faces off against the Death Busters.
Super S came next, though the story was aimed at a younger audience and thus had a much more light-hearted story than the seasons before it.
Sailor Stars was the final series in the original version of the franchise, bringing it to five seasons. Here, the anime returned the story to a darker tale, including the highly anticipated Sailor Wars.
The anime was given a reboot in 2014 with the anime Sailor Moon Crystal, which ran until 2016. It featured the Dark Kingdom, Black Moon, and Infinity arcs again and is more closely tied to its source material.
There were a lot of movies which aided the telling of the story. Each movie follows its respective series title.
The reboot also featured several movies which adapted the Dream arc from Takeuchi’s manga. There were four films in total, the first two were titled Sailor Moon Eternal Part 1 and 2, and the second set is titled Sailor Moon Cosmos Part 1 and 2.
