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One of the most iconic and classic anime series from the 1990s is Sailor Moon, which found itself as an international hit once overseas dubs began airing. The North American market in particular was incredibly receptive to Sailor Moon, with many young boys and girls tuning in to catch the show every week.
However, as with many anime exports and dubbings, there were some aspects of Sailor Moon which weren’t as appropriate internationally as they were in Japan. One of the most famous examples of this is the romantic storyline between Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune (more on that later) being censored for American Sailor Moon audiences.
Here are 10 Sailor Moon moments and storyline aspects that were deemed too much for American audiences to handle. These include censoring of a lot of the LGBTQ+ themes that are a part of the Sailor Moon storyline.
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1) Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are “just cousins”
One of the most iconic censorship instances from the series comes from Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune’s romantic relationship. The original Japanese dub of Sailor Moon saw the two as lovers, involved in a committed relationship which was given plenty of screentime to, successfully, legitimize itself.
However, when imported to North American markets, and in the USA specifically, the relationship was censored due to LGBTQ+ themes being deemed unfriendly for the youth. Instead, the dub changed them to being “just cousins,” which is pretty problematic since some clearly flirtatious moments were still left in for the two.
2) The entire final season being cut
One of the most prominent censorship changes to Sailor Moon involved the entire final season being unadapted by the American studio. This was due to the introduction of the Sailor Starlights, a group of Sailor Warriors who, in the manga, cross-dressed as men to disguise themselves on Earth.
However, the anime took it a step further, with the Starlights actually being biological men transformed into women. Unfortunately, this transgender theme and motif for the final season was deemed much too inappropriate for the young American audience the series had cultivated. Since it couldn’t be edited around, the final season of the original series simply wasn’t adapted.
3) All nudity was erased
Given the prejudice with which LGBTQ+ themes were censored by the American market, it’s no surprise that Sailor Moon’s plethora of nudity was censored. Even in scenes where no full-on nudity was displayed, anything that resembled or suggested a sexual characteristic or image was heavily censored.
This was done in a number of ways, with one of the most prominent examples being bath scenes where the translucent water was made completely opaque. There were plenty of other methods too, such as drawing in dresses and outfits for certain scenes or making nude characters shine brighter than the sun.
4) All the blood was changed to be green
One of the most recognizable and hilarious censorship changes was the changing the blood from red to green for the American version of Sailor Moon. While many series will eliminate blood altogether, the importation team's decision to change the color of the blood is somewhat confusing and unique.
Even more confusing is that many of the series’ fatal attacks were left as they were in the original Japanese dub, with only the blood being changed. If the focus was on not promoting violence to children, it may have been more prudent to censor the injuries themselves, rather than the biological consequences.
5) Sailor Mars abusing Sailor Moon
The original Japanese dub of Sailor Moon saw Sailor Mars being particularly aggressive towards the eponymous celestial warrior, both verbally and physically. While this is a character trope in anime and manga which is very well-documented and well-known, this didn’t translate as well for American audiences.
As a result, many of the instances of physical abuse by Sailor Mars were removed from the English dubbed, American version of the series. This was most likely done to make the two seem more catty and playful, rather than genuinely abusive.
6) Body and food shaming
One of the few worthwhile censorship changes to Sailor Moon involved plot lines that centered around the eponymous character worrying about her weight. Despite never appearing to significantly gain weight throughout the series, she herself and other characters would often comment on her eating habits.
In an effort to promote healthy relationships with food, the American English dub of the series removed these scenes, and rightfully so. Even today, many young American children - both male and female - struggle with their opinions on their weight and relationship with food. This made it one of the few good censorship choices the show made.
7) Japanese culture being censored
One censorship choice that is far from unique to the Sailor Moon series is the change of Japanese cultural references to American ones. Scenes featuring cars and drivers were mirrored to show them driving the American way, and Japanese writing was replaced with English.
This censorship approach has a storied history, dating back to Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy anime and its importation. NBC had asked Tezuka to reanimate scenes referencing Japanese culture to instead Americanize them. This eventually became a trend that continued through 1990s. Thankfully, though, it has been contemporarily phased out.
8) Perverted characters
Understandably, a show that focused around young women with transformations into skimpy, school-girl outfits featured tons of characters playing into the pervert trope. One of the most iconic of these characters from the series is Sailor Mars’ grandfather, who constantly pervs out over women in general and his granddaughter’s comrades.
There are plenty of other characters like this in the series, all of whom were censored in the American version for their actions being considered too indecent. Like the censorship of body and food shaming, this is one censorship choice which was probably for the better in hindsight.
9) The Negaverse
Much like Yu-Gi-Oh! seeing its villains sent to the Shadow Realm in the American version rather than dying, Sailor Moon had the Negaverse. The Negaverse was where the series’ villains were said to reside. This was also where fallen Sailor soldiers were captured upon their defeat.
As expected, this is much different in the Japanese version, which sees fallen warriors killed instead of held in the mythical Negaverse. It’s understandable to want to avoid the topic of death in a children’s show, resulting in the American adaptation team coming up with this interesting idea.
10) Usagi gets wasted off of food poisoning
Sailor Moon’s English version has an episode which sees protagonist Usagi Tsukino, also known as Sailor Moon, attending an extravagant party with her friends. In both versions, she’s seen being incredibly nervous over the cute boys there, sneaking off to brush up on her vocabulary and have a drink to calm her nerves.
However, the Japanese version sees her drinking a spiked punch, causing her to act drunk in the aftermath. Instead of removing the scene altogether, the American version cites her silliness as being from food poisoning rather than promoting teenage drinking to its audience.
Although it was an understandable censorship choice, it may have been better to eliminate the scene altogether.
