Sailor Moon Sightings: Comic Edition

There are hundreds of thousands of websites dedicated to Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, more doujinshi than you can shake a stick at, several webcomics, and as of this post, 23,838 fanfiction - and that's on Fanfiction.net alone, without crossovers! It's easy to see that Sailor Moon fandom is active, even though the show's English run finished just over three years ago. Through this series of articles, we will explore the more exotic tendrils of the Sailor Moon English-speaking fandom vine.

What better way to start a tribute to fandom than by looking at the medium of the original series? Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon began serialization in Nakayoshi in December of 1991 and ran for five years. It is only fitting to see how Sailor Moon shows up in manga and other comics.

In the 10th and 12th volumes of the Keroro Gunso manga, released as Sgt. Frog by Tokyopop, a set of unnamed maids appear in the mansion of an heiress. They look strangely similar to the five inner senshi! Known as the Nishizawa Maid Brigade in the English translation, they appear with a flourish, a pose, and a smile. These are only small cameo appearances, but the resemblance is undeniable.

A manga-styled comic from Italy that enjoyed brief success in the US is W.I.T.C.H. Novels, graphic novels, and a TV show depicted the magical lives of five young girls. In the first volume of the graphic novel, a tiny figurine in a pink dress poses on top of Hay Lin's computer. The figure's blond odangos lead me to believe it's Usagi! I wish I had one for my computer. You can visit the Jetix W.I.T.C.H. site for games, or the Wikipedia article for more information.

Print comics are not the only sources for hidden and not-so-hidden references. Many webcomics have placed Sailor Moon allusions within their panels! One of my favorite webcomics, ConScrew, has had many mentions of Sailor Moon. There's a full arc centered on a villain who cosplays as Tuxedo Kamen at every convention! Another villain is defeated by the two main characters in Sailor Saturn and Sailor Chibi-Moon cosplay. There are many more mentions of Sailor Moon throughout other story arcs as well.

Sailor Moon cosplay is the focus of another comic's references. Real Life Comics, a gaming-oriented webcomic, once tried to introduce new costumes to the lineup -- sailor fuku! Needless to say, with a mostly-male cast, it didn't go over too well. This is one of the more unusual examples of a reference, because for the most part, "girly" shows like Sailor Moon don't show up in RLC!

These are only a few of the many Sailor Moon sightings in popular culture. Have you seen something we missed? E-mail us at moonchasers@gmail.com with "sighting" in the subject, and we'll take a peek!