Hey everyone! How's it going? I'm doing well. It's Thursday and I finished reading the first volume of Codename: Sailor V, which is the prequel/predecessor to the popular Sailor Moon manga series by Naoko Takeuchi. So that's what I'm here to review today. There isn't alot to talk about because this volume is more episodic. I'll have alot more to talk about with volume 2, because it leads up to the beginning of Sailor Moon. Right now though let's dive into Volume 1 of Codename: Sailor V.
As I mentioned, Codename: Sailor V is the prequel manga to the Sailor Moon series. However it also acts as a prototype to the Sailor Moon series. Instead of five heroes, we have one, but Minako's personality and life is basically what Usagi would become later on when Naoko Takeuchi modified the premise into what we now know as Sailor Moon. As a result there are alot of familiar places and themes in this book. The game center, with the Sailor Guardians's secret hideout is there, as well as the premise of the villains stealing energy from people. Though here the reason for it is actually unknown. Sort of how it was at the beginning of the original Sailor Moon anime. There are even some cameos from Motoki Furuhata (Andrew in the original English dub), Naru (Molly), and Usagi (Serena) herself, though you don't actually know who she is at this point. In the final chapter, Kunzite (Malachite) is mentioned, though he's not shown.
One of the things I like about this book is that there aren't tons and tons of characters that keep getting introduced and Minako's supporting cast doesn't have a whole lot to do except be the supporting cast. Which is nice, because when I was reading it, I didn't have to think about too many characters at once, unlike with Sailor Moon. The last time I read the Sailor Moon manga, I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters just because so many of them were very important.
I also like how funny the book is too. There were several points where I laughed because of something funny that happened in a panel. Usually it ends up being something that happens to Minako because of her incompetence as a new superhero. Plus her dynamic with Artemis, who is probably just as scatter-brained as Minako is, is hilarious.
This series doesn't feel as compressed as Sailor Moon does. That's probably because each chapter is very episodic with the monster of the week formula, used to great success in live action Tokusatsu series such as Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, being extremely effective here. Which is pretty cool.
The one thing that I don't like is that the book feels slow in places. Mainly because it is so episodic and there are chapters where it doesn't feel like nothing's happening even though there are things happening. I also don't like Minako's contrary attitude when Artemis is trying to remind her that she's supposed to be on a mission. Also, what's up with her using the disguise compact when all she's going to do is transform into Sailor V? Usagi does that a couple of times, but not as often as Minako does. It feels pointless. Especially when she uses it to disguise herself from a friend, family member, or someone else she knows so she can transform into Sailor V. But I guess this manga operates on the same kind of logic that our comic books do when it comes to hiding the identities of pretty much everybody in the DC Universe whose identities aren't public knowledge.
Overall this is a pretty good book. If you're into manga and anime, and are a Sailor Moon fan, I would definitely recommend reading this prequel series, if you haven't done so before. I own the two volume 2011 English translation edition rather than the original three volume edition from 2004, which I don't think has an English translation version. The 2011 edition is probably the one that's going to be the easiest to find if you don't own it already.
There's one more thing I want to cover before I wrap this review up. When I get to reviewing Sailor Moon I'm going to review the manga as a series, rather than by volume or by story arc. That way I can just talk about everything all at once without having to repeat myself with certain things. I'm also planning on doing the same thing with the anime so I can just talk about the anime instead of each season individually.
That's it for me for today. I will be back tomorrow though for my review of Bedknobs and Broomsticks. So until then have a great evening and I will talk to you all later. Take care.
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