Breaking News: Sailor Moon says “Salem Kazakhstan!”

Hey Moonies! Breaking on Toei Animation Europe’s website on Monday was the news that the complete Sailor Moon series is on its way to Kazakhstan! The Kazakhstani company Kino Company via the Eastern European Country (EEC) Territory Plus Licens will soon approach free television channels in Kazakhstan to propose the entire series. Though this release was short, it left us with some questions, and we will keep you posted if we learn any more. We did a little digging though to find answers around our answers…

1. What channel might they approach with Sailor Moon?

From what we have been able to learn, free Kazakhstani TV consists of channels owned by the Khabar Agency. These channels have some kind of ruling influence from President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s daughter, Dariga Nazarbayeva. We poked around at the program listings and it seems that all animation on this channel is Kazakhstani (or based on their culture). There is no sign of any other cartoons from anywhere else on these channels. These channels are largely devoted to news, sports, and Kazakhstani drama, lifestyle and reality shows. Something tells us these might not be good candidates for the show. We did find another channel digital service provider, and this is Alma TV. Alma TV carries Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Nickelodeon, and others on their “Kids” channel. We could only spot one anime on the schedule, and that is Bakugan. We wonder if this channel will be the one that is approached with the series. At this time we are unable to confirm if this channel is free or part of a paid specialty service. We would love to hear from our Kazakhstani readers or anyone else who knows anything about TV there.

2. Will this be a new dub?

We do not know for sure, but all signs are pointing towards “possibly”. Some shows in this country air in Russian, so there may be a chance that the existing Russian dub will air. Russian is the second most common language spoken in Kazakhstan, so this does not present a problem to the majority of the population. However, we also read that there is now some anime being dubbed into Kazakh, so just like Israel saw Sailor Moon for the first time in Hebrew recently, it could well be possible that a Kazakh dub could happen. Kino Company, is Kazakhstan’s largest film production company. Though they have only produced a handful of films since 1989, many have been critically acclaimed. In 1994, Kino Company produced their first (and only) full-length animation film called “Dragon’s Island” which was based on classical Japanese literature. The movie won an award at the Ankara International Film Festival in 1994! If this company is successful in their pitch and dubs the series, we think that it is in good hands. That being said…

3. Will there be censorship?

Maybe. While there isn't a whole lot of information about what exactly the Kazakh film censors actually censor, we do know that there does exist some censorship in the country. The government frequently censors news stories. Fans may remember the controversy surrounding the movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan from a few years ago. The controversies in the movie caused the government to issue many statements about the inaccuracies portrayed in the film. While the movie was not banned, the government did make a request to 20th Century Fox’s central European distributor Gemini Films, not to distribute the film there. They complied. Many have in turn sought their own copies from other European countries. When looking at the cartoon landscape, it seems mostly male oriented. The only cartoon for girls on Cartoon Network’s schedule is The Life and Times of Juniper Lee. On Nickelodeon, the following shows air: iCarly, Victorious, Dora the Explorer, and Ni Hao Kai-Lan. Now Sailor Moon is a pretty harmless cartoon, all things considered. But the government attitudes surrounding issues of nudity, gender identities, and other perceived controversial issues in the series remains up to debate. We also dug up an old interview from 2008 with Kazakhstan’s Director of the National Art Academy Arystanbek Muhamediuly, where he condemns cartoons like Sailor Moon and Spongebob Squarepants (as well as others by name) and demands there be more cartoons for children based on Kazakhstan’s rich cultural history. It’s a bit of a shaky situation. We invite any fans who know of how productions are censored in Kazakhstan to contact us with what they know!

At the very least, we do know that those in Kazakhstan who have wanted to watch Sailor Moon probably have. We found several Kazakhstani fan-run anime sites that featured episodes and movies streaming for free of the Russian dub, or Japanese version with Russian subtitles. If it comes to their country, it gives them the chance to watch and possibly purchase a legitimate release.


We congratulate Toei Animation Europe, Kino Company, and Plus Licens on this new venture into Kazakhstan with Sailor Moon, and wish them the best of luck on continuing to spread Sailor Moon’s message around the world!

Breaking News: New Sailor Moon Merchandise Licenses:

Via Sailor Moon World Italy (and some fans’ messages, thanks!), some new companies involved in merchandising have acquired licenses for Sailor Moon. These include two companies with US branches and one for France; Topps (Germany, Italy and America), Namco Bandai Games America, and Giochi Preziozi France. It is probably safe to infer that Topps will be releasing sticker books (and possibly cards), Giochi Preziozi France will release some (if not all) of the toys made in Italy, and NBGA is likely going to bring La Luna Splende to North America eventually. But, nothing is confirmed, and everyone should have waited for a press release. We have been advised from the companies to play it safe and wait for official word before posting anything like this, but given the criticism and heat we have had to face from some fans, we’re addressing it now as safely as we possibly can. We’ve featured a large photo below filled with cropped screenshots from Kazachok’s Web Guide.

What remains to be known (especially in France and North America), is if this is a sign that the release of the anime is imminent in either of these regions. There are a few other regions in the world that don’t have Sailor Moon either (Russia and Ukraine, to start). In a Japanese press release announcing the return of Sailor Moon to North America, Kodansha made note of how especially in North America, that without the release of the anime and other merchandise, that the manga may not experience the same “big boom” of the past*. We can’t speculate on the progress being made on the anime, due to certain statements made in the last 2 months from companies and representatives all around. We have to wonder if these new merchandising deals are some kind of a placeholder in between that will ultimately aid the anime when the time is right for it to return, while also tiding the release of the manga. Usually, the pattern in Sailor Moon licensing news has been anime first, merchandise and manga second. What do you think, Moonies?



*We had read this the day it was posted but didn’t post anything about it on Moon Chase because you fans were in such a happy mood and we didn’t want to damper the situation! Instead, we all discussed it amongst ourselves for a while and once again, wondered why Sailor Moon was having such a turbulent resurgence.

Toei Animation Beams Sailor Moon Towards More Trade Shows in Europe in 2011!

Last week, Toei Animation Europe announced that they will appear at 3 different entertainment branding trade shows over the next couple of months. These are:


☾Prague’s World Content Market, from February 21-23
☾Paris’ Kazachok Forum from March 31st to April 1st
☾Cannes’ MIPTV April 4-7.

All of these are pretty big events that are attended major players in licensing and broadcasting from around the world. Sailor Moon will be marketed at all 3, as will other properties that Toei Animation shopped around last year. We didn’t notice any new properties on their exhibition lists this year.

We encourage fans in European countries that are still waiting for Sailor Moon to write not only Toei Animation Europe (pick Sales License and make sure you write in your letter what country you are in), but also any anime licensing companies that you want to see release Sailor Moon. Also, make note that Toei Animation will be featuring Sailor Moon as a part of their exhibition booth at the events we’ve listed above. Companies all over the world are aware of Sailor Moon’s resurgence, but it never hurts to put a face to the fandom who wants to enjoy it again!


Oh yeah, and just for kicks, we think you fans might want to see this. Kazachok has a gallery available of all the exhibitors from last year, and we finally found a shot of Toei Animation's Booth! And look who the booth is themed around?

Picture Credit: Kazachok Photogalerie 2010

BREAKING NEWS: Sailor Moon hits Pay TV in Portugal, and Makes Way to Africa for the Very First Time!

Toei Animation Europe announced that Portugal's Dreamia Group has a broadcast license for all 200 episodes of Sailor Moon in Portuguese! The show will be part of their Childrens' Pay TV channel, Canal Panda. The show will premiere on March 7th, airing at 1:00 PM and 8:30 PM on weekdays, and 1:00 PM and 9:00 PM on weekends. But the even more surprising part, is that Dreamia also has the rights to bring Sailor Moon to Africa's shores for the very first time! We here at Moon Chase are all very excited about this. The Portuguese speaking countries of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, and the Republic of Cape Verde will all be experiencing Sailor Moon later this year in Portuguese. Finally, almost 20 years after first being broadcast in Japan, Sailor Moon will have touched every continent on Earth (minus Antarctica). Congratulations to Sailor Moon on your continued success worldwide!

Image Credit: Toei Animation Europe

BREAKING NEWS: Sailor Moon Finally (Officially) Announced for Eastern Europe, Minus Manga

Now, we can finally report this to fans since there is a press release! Sweden’s Plus Licens has renewed their friendship with Sailor Moon years later in a new partnership with Toei Animation Europe. From 1996-2002, Plus Licens held the license for the franchise and led Sailor Moon through Sweden, Finland, Russia, Poland, and Hungary. It also appears that for Sailor Moon’s branding and identity, they will be using the same style guide created in Italy under the guises of creator Naoko Takeuchi. Plus Licens is happy to work again with Sailor Moon, as Maria Ornyd (Category Head of Media) says that the series was the very first Japanese property in Plus Licens’ portfolio. The press release makes special note that they will be working with the series from the broadcast and publishing perspectives, excluding the manga. As of this writing, we are unaware of Kodansha and Princess Naoko Planning’s (PNP) future plans with the manga. Publishing (in Plus Licens’ case) includes television, merchandise, and DVD rights for all 200 episodes throughout their territories in Eastern Europe. Congratulations to Plus Licens, Toei Animation, and Naoko Takeuchi/ PNP, and we wish you continued success with Sailor Moon wherever she may be in the world!

Image Credit from Plus Licens

(And on another note to the companies, can we keep with the pretty press releases? It’s always nice to see an image or two of Sailor Moon rather than reading text with all-too-familiar shades of blue seen on nearly every licensing and release site we monitor!)

Sailor Moon Industry News Europe: Fall 2010 Update

A lot has been going on with Sailor Moon in Europe in the last months, so let's catch up on the situation in the Moon Kingdom!

☾ First, let's start off with some only-interesting-to-some-and-boring-to-others industry briefs. Toei Animation Europe (TAE) has been exhibiting at lots of different places, and is not letting the work of their brand licensors go unnoticed. At the first of these appearances at Brand Licensing Europe 2010, the animation giant hosted a special event where they handed out three awards honoring companies that they have worked with in the past year with the most success. Winning for Best Licensing Program was Backstage Licensing of Italy for their work with Sailor Moon. Best Promotion went to TFI Enterprises of France for their work with all the Dragon Ball franchises, and Best Involvement went to Plus Licens of Sweden for their work with all the Dragon Ball franchises as well as One Piece. Kanji Kazahaya, President and COO of TAE was grateful, saying: "We are very delighted to start with this first edition of Toei Animation awards for our European brokers... as a Japanese company, it is a great time to share our motivation and challenges with our European partners." We are so happy to hear of Toei Animation's continued successes in Europe! Next, they appeared at Hyper Japan in London from October 1st-3rd, and exhibited their Toei Animation Theatre where for the first time in years Sailor Moon was shown officially in English! Not the dub though. The first episode was shown with English subtitles alongside the first episode of Pretty Cure and Yes! Pretty Cure 5 (also subtitled). We are officially jealous of our London readers who got to attend the screening! And if that wasn't enough, TAE also exhibited their properties at MIPCOM in Cannes, France from October 4th-8th. TAE did not exhibit at MIPJr. this year (a showcase just for childrens programming).

☾ Sailor Moon continues to leave everyone in her moondust in Italy! Backstage Licensing reports that Sailor Moon has peaks of viewers nearing the 1 million mark, and an average market share of around 9% (if the words "market share" confuse you, read our article from last week). What surprised us the most was reading about the girls' 4-14 demographic in Italy (preschoolers, young kids, and tweens) where the article said that Sailor Moon was maintaining a strong appeal with a share close to 40%! Once again, odango-atama/meatball head continues to defy industry expectations.Not bad for an "old show" that is proving to be a timeless classic. Everyeye Italy pointed to a new interview on the Metal Robot Forums with Carlo Cavazzoni, Executive Director of Dynit Italy, which will be releasing Sailor Moon on DVD. Here, is a translation of the Sailor Moon portion of the interview:

METALROBOT: The following questions discuss the issues of the series "Sailor Moon".

METALROBOT: The news of the acquisition of the home video rights for the series "Sailor Moon" has now been confirmed through Dynit's website. Why was a series like this chosen to be added to the Dynit Catalog?

Dynit: The brand was relaunched on an international level, and there are many companies involved in this project in Italy, Dynit Home Video has acquired the rights for the traditional channels (video stores, comics, etc ...). It is a series that has been very successful, and which we hope will conquer a new generation.

7. Was the aquisition of the rights for this series complicated? How did it happen that for a long time, years, the sale of the rights of the series for foreign countries was blocked?

Dynit: We do not know what the motivations were, it often depends on the rights situation in Japan. Sometimes, just to boost yourself up you need to disappear for a long time.

8. METALROBOT: Can you reveal a few more details in type? Will the releases cover all of the series and movies?

Dynit: It will cover the television series.


METALROBOT: Will the releases have a redub or will there only be the original dub with subtitles faithful to the original series?

Dynit: We did not expect to redub the series, we acquired the home video rights of the original dub. The series will be unedited in its entirety, we are now working with subtitles.

METALROBOT: When will the releases be listed for sale on the home video market?

Dynit: We plan to release them in early 2011, in singles and DVD boxsets.

Fans in Italy who were expecting a redub, it appears that there will not be one. We are most surprised reading that the movies will not be re-released with the series. If we remember correctly, the fans loved the movies just as much as the series?! Here is hoping that there will be some hope for releases of the movies in the future. We were irked by Cavazzoni's comment about disappearing just for attention - this really wasn't the case at all. This is almost like all the rumors we read about Yoshihiro Togashi only going on hiatus to get attention for Hunter X Hunter. We can understand feigning off interviewers for keeping the real reason for the rights disappearing under wraps, but to say something like this even in the independent press, is pretty low.

BREAKING NEWS: Italian Manga Rights On The Way, But Who Has Them?

Not Star Comics, that's for sure. Fansite MetalRobot of Italy conducted an interview with representatives of Italy's Star Comics, and a question was asked about Sailor Moon. Here it is, translated into English:

MR: Italy was the country picked for the foreign relaunch of the series, Sailor Moon, when this happened the rights to the anime were unblocked and it has come back on the air. Also in the news these days are the future release of the rights for the manga series. Is Star Comics going to publish this?

SC: The news of the release of the rights of Sailor Moon is true, but it isn't Star Comics that will have the rights in Italy. We have no problem admitting that someone else has bought the rights, if it has not been released openly it is because nobody has asked J (NOTE: more on J later). We are certainly not happy with the situation, especially the circumstances that led to the decision to entrust the series to another publisher, even though Star Comics invested a lot in the series in the past. Star Comics was never supported by any 'parent', we got where we are thanks to our efforts... but sometimes that is not enough.

Now, we have some shocking news to share with you. We can't name the companies involved (please don't ask us, we have to respect everyone involved), but in late June we learned that the international manga rights were in limbo. We got an email on a Monday along with a request for the manga report, we reworked the report and sent it off late Thursday night, and on Friday afternoon we learned that the rights had in fact just been resolved (after months of issues) as of that morning. This more than explained why there was nothing happening with the manga release in Italy to coincide with the broadcast on Hiro, and we all expect to hear some good news from there any time now. Up until that day, no company has had any rights for the international release of the Sailor Moon manga. Nanoda of Italy has also published that the rights were just recently resolved.

We certainly weren't given any indication about the rights being in limbo in February when we sent off the manga report. From the tone of the representative's voice over the phone, we all assumed that everything was in place. Fans, do not worry about your efforts going down in vain! All of your comments were forwarded in this updated report with a note to excuse the references and to continue read the comments sent in by fans (all of the other companies we have sent copies of the report to have enjoyed reading what you all have to say). We feel for Star Comics though since they put in a lot of effort into the manga (which by all accounts that we have read was a very successful release), and they will not be allowed to continue their legacy for a future release. In the future though, we may post a short section that we included in this updated manga report that showed a few examples where the Tokyopop translations got sluggish.

As far as "J" goes? No one knows who they are referring to, not even us. ComicsBlog.it has a few theories, but we wonder if the J actually means "Japan" and is meant to be something vague. We can tell you that it is most definitely not the case of anyone not asking to license the manga. We deal mostly with the English side of things although we try to cater to as much international news as we possibly can, and during that week in June there was every indication that there were a lot of companies interested in a license for the updated manga. We don't know of any companies in Italy that start with the letter "J" that have anything to do with manga or comic releases, but we would not be surprised if Giochi Preziosi were to acquire the license, since they have been at each licensing meeting etc. since the beginning. This would have given them an advantage in bidding for the manga since they have already been working with Toei Animation and PNP/Naoko Takeuchi on the Sailor Moon revival.


Also: We know that the series is returning to Eastern Europe, but we have been asked by a representative of Plus Licens to wait for a different release. The ones that are being posted around the internet were meant for corporate readers only. What we can tell you is that Plus Licens has the rights to manage the series licenses for broadcast, merchandise, etc. to different companies, but they will not be releasing the series themselves. Think of it as Toei Animation and PNP/Naoko Takeuchi as being the "Grandparents", Plus Licens as being the "Parents" and the children that are going to "play" with Sailor Moon are the ones that will be getting licenses for actual releases. Make sense? Again, we understand that these are exciting times to be a Sailor Moon fan, but with this excitement comes some waiting!

*** And a personal note from me, Sailordees: I apologize for the lack of updates in the last little while - believe me, I wish for nothing more than to have time to work on these blogs, but on June 28th, I got some great news in my personal life that has forced me to prepare for some big changes. I can't share much more, except for the fact that these big changes are requiring a lot of my time. I will probably not be able to return full time to either Moon Chase or We Got the Solution until September, but rest assured our staff members will do their very best to keep you guys updated as much as they possibly can. Thanks to all for your continued support and patience!

Toei Animation to Expand Mobile Offerings and AnimeBB Even More Around the World?

A recent article which we have been able to read a part of on C21Kids has us wondering if Toei Animation is going to expand their digital anime services to North America. In a piece featuring Kanji Kazahaya, the General Director and President of Toei Animation Europe, the challenges facing the delivery of anime are discussed, and there is a statement about how the digital switchover has created new opportunities for Japanese production companies. We are really hoping *fingers crossed* that this means that their hugely AnimeBB service could be expanded around the world through cable providers and the internet, as well as their popular mobile ANIMO service spread around as well. Some of this was hinted recently at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona by some of Toei Animation’s other representatives. Late last year, SFR launched Captain Harlock and Fist of the North Star through a video demand service in collaboration with Toei Animation. Episodes (or better known as “mobisodes”) are shortened down to 3 or 5 minute clips, and are available to subscribers of Vodaphone’s Live Portal. French Otaku also have access to the episodes on their VOD service Club Video.


The article then takes a short look at Toei Animation’s first foray outside of Japan – Europe. When they started, the concept of anime was foreign to Europeans so they would first ask their customers to watch an entire series instead of just a short clip to understand its value. This proved to be a huge success, and set up Toei Animation for international recognition. There were a couple other really interesting things that we saw in the article, in reference to DragonBall Z. He noted that the “show’s high level of acceptance in the global market stimulated cultural protectionism”. Watching the show episode by episode, he remarks, you can also find some negative and/or controversial elements but the backbone of the show is still very important for kids, teaching them important lessons about values like friendship and trust. Hmm… Can we say that about Sailor Moon too? We wish we could read the rest of this article but subscription fees even for one month are a little high (and with reports and projects going out by the end of May, we’re on a bit of a tight budget). Nonetheless, if we hear any more about this new development, we will let you know!

BREAKING NEWS: European Sailor Moon Revival Imminent, Still No Word About The English Version

In this month's Kazachok Licensing Magazine (which we presume was handed out at their recent conference), there is an article about the return of Sailor Moon. We've patched together the image here large enough for you all to read - and everything in the pink box says nothing different than what the black text in French says (click the image to view). One note though - when they say "textiles" they mean "clothing". Here's hoping they have a lot more t-shirts etc. available for us older fans!

Anyway, back on topic. There is nothing mentioned here for the UK or any other English language territories, but the article does confirm a return for the following countries for the Winter/Spring TV Season in 2011: France, Germany, and Scandinavia. As of this writing we don't know which Scandinavian countries will be included (we have gotten a lot of responses from Finland, on our last survey - did you Finns not get it?). It also said that new merchandise will be available in Italy from Backstage at the end of the year, including luggage, clothing, accessories, stationary, and books. As of this writing, we are unsure if "Books" includes manga. Bandai, is also going to be manufacturing some toys such as dolls, plushes, playsets, and figurines. We hope to see a return of the gashapon in Japan! It is important to note that it is possible that not every market will get all of Sailor Moon if they did not get it before. Many Sailor Moon fansites are reporting this but they are forgetting this key piece of information - this is why we started our latest campaign.

And, a word to the fandom around the world - please try to keep your sites updated with all the different versions of Sailor Moon with as much information as you can find (such as a cast list), now that the revival is happening this should be a lot easier. There have been so many times when our site (and several others) have been in a pinch for information about a different version and it simply could not be found. Your readers will thank you :).

BREAKING NEWS: Italian Press Release Shows Potential of International Revival of Sailor Moon!

Finally, after many months of waiting, Toei Animation Europe finally posts an official press release announcing the return of Sailor Moon! As we reported not too long ago, Italy's Backstage Licensing and Toei have signed an exclusive deal to resurrect Sailor Moon on the Italian market. Backstage, will be managing the TV, publishing, merchandising, and theatrical release rights of the franchise (Sacre Bleu, does this mean the manga as well?). The press release also says "The feasibility of this project also relies on a close collaboration with the original author of SAILORMOON, Mrs Naoko Takeuchi." This is echoing what the licensing reporters were speaking of before with the Style Guide. But the best part of this press release is a quote from Mr. Kanji Kazahaya, the General Director of Toei Animation Europe:

"We are very happy, to have Backstage as the licensing partner of SAILORMOON. It is one of the most important factor of success. We are certain that strategically Italy is the ideal country to initiate a global re-launch of the classic Japanese animated series, such as SAILORMOON. The Italian public has traditionally been passionate about ‘anime'."

Perhaps, this strategy chose Italy first to "test the waters" since it is not necessarily one of the bigger markets that Sailor Moon has been successful with (a Spanish dub for example, would be shown in various markets in Europe, South, and Latin America, and the English dub would go to Australia and the UK, aside from North America). Best to see what happens in a smaller market in case it doesn't go well (but we can't imagine Sailor Moon not doing well)!

Unfortunately, the press release also announces that the series is delayed to air again, this time listing it as Autumn 2010. Another website, MangaForever, has posted a new image and this may be from the style guide considering the copyrights posted below. We have to say, we love this new logo (if it will be a new logo) - it is a LOT better than the old titles which just appeared to look like drab colored text during the show openings. We have featured this new image above - what do you all think?


We recommend all of our Italian readers, send Toei, Mediaset, and Backstage licensing their most heartfelt "Grazie Tanto!" This was a long time coming, Italia!

Sailor Moon Cultural Mentions, Summer & Fall 2009!

The Modern Day Definition of Moe

This month's TVBros Magazine features articles on a few dating sims, and how they have affected gaming addictions, and an article on how the definition of Moe is changing. It's not just about basing them on anime girl prototypes! Today Moe is starting to be based a little more on idols! The article briefly talks about the origin of the word 'Moe' and makes mention that it may have stemmed from the names of anime heroines. One popular theory is that it came from a shortening of Hotaru Tomoe's (Sailor Saturn) name. This magazine preview even argues that Moe is dead. Japanese Idol Yuki Nae is also featured prominently in this article as an example of the "new Moe". For more information, check out TVBros. official site!

Anime Tourism Experiences Boom in Japan!


While the recession has hit Japan's tourism industry, anime tourism is seeing a boom. Intermixi of Los Angeles reports that many fans are still saving their money to go on tours of landmarks and other sites in Japan that are featured in anime. The article also featured a quote from Genvid.com's Jay Navok, who spoke of his own tour to coincide with the site's book about Japanese cultural references in Sailor Moon, Warriors of Legend. While this article only talks about the tours that Intermixi runs, there are other options for fans who want to experience "Otaku Tours" in Japan. One of them is Pop Japan, which also features tours that cater to different interests such as music and manga!


Norwegian Animated Show's Leading Role to be Played By Sailor Moon Fan!

Saki Fukuda is a Japanese idol who has appeared in many dramas, and has had a few voice roles. A CGI cartoon from Norway called Elias: The Little Rescue Boat is being dubbed in Japanese and Saki will be the voice of Elias! This show from the pictures looks a little similar to Theodore Tugboat. While she says that one day she would like to play an adult female role, she is just as excited about this role because Elias will be a character that young children will enjoy. When she was a young child, she was a huge fan of Sailor Moon and Anpanman, and she still has strong feelings about all of the shows she enjoyed back then! She hopes that this show will be one that all ages can enjoy! To read more about her thoughts on her new role in English, click here!

Other Short Sightings:

☽Recognize these girls? These are the Nakano Fujoshi sisters, a 7-girl idol unit that sometimes also performs as a boy band, Fudanjuku (which "broke up" last year). The group has been around since 2006 and has performed at many events in Japan. They aspire to perform at a con in the United States! They were featured in Otaku USA's August Issue, and their colored costumes reminded us a lot of the Sailor Senshi. We've scanned the article - click the image for more information! Who do you like better? Fudanjuko or the Fudanshi sisters?

☽ Otaku USA's August Issue also featured an interview with the current leader of Morning Musume, Ai Takahashi. She talked about their latest album, excitement surrounding their first time performing in America at Anime Expo, and also what it is like behind the scenes of the popular group. But one of the best parts of this article was when she revealed what her favorite anime was - Sailor Moon! Yes, this was a small mention, but the more that we report anyone's love for this show, it's sure to speak volumes to readers from all walks of life just how much the show was, is, and will continue, to be loved. Click the image on the leftt to enlarge!



☽ NeoUK's June Issue highlighted TokyoToys' new shop in London's Trocadero, which not only specializes in anime merchandise, but also in cosplay! They were selling a dress that looks very similar to Aino Minako's school uniform for $62 USD, but this one has since sold out. The store does ship worldwide, and has a lot of neat stuff for order! The shop also hosts parties and game launches, so our London readers who are looking for a good time should definitely check them out!

More Definite Proof Sailor Moon is NOT on the Air!

Case Closed!

We were sorting through emails a few hours ago, and it turns out we missed a very important one which arrived on Friday morning! In fact, if we had read this, we probably would have been spared our efforts later that evening - apologies to the England Correspondent who had to wake up very early on a Saturday! On Monday of last week, we emailed ITV, Toonattik, and whoever we could with questions about Sailor Moon, linking them to the video and asking if the show was on the air, if there was a contest (as claimed by the user on YouTube) for fans to make a commercial, and probably the dumbest question of all, if they would air if without having the rights - we had reminded them that there is a lockdown on Sailor Moon all over the world except for Japan. A fan suggested that perhaps if it was on the air it could have been aired illegally. We feel this letter is the 'Smoking Gun' which proves that the rumor was in fact a hoax.

Dear Viewer:

We regret to inform you that Sailor Moon is not currently on the Toonattik schedule, nor has it been on our schedule for the last month. It has not been on our schedule for many years. ITV does not hold the rights to air Sailor Moon, and we would not air it illegally. Our website is extremely secure and we can confirm we are not having any contest of any kind where viewers could make a commercial for an upcoming TV show.

Sincerely,
ITV Viewer Relations

**********************************************************************
Please visit the official ITV website at www.itv.com
for the latest company news.

This email and any files transmitted are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are
addressed. If you have received this email in error, please notify
********** at itv.com

Thank you.
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There you have it, folks. The claims behind that YouTube video are false. In fact, if the ITV website was really hacked, we're guessing that user would have been caught pretty quickly by the cops (or even Scotland Yard). There is no contest for fan-made commercials, and the show is not on the air anywhere in the world.

EDIT: Due to some fans disproving the authenticity of this email that we received, we have now added the official ITV signature that was sitting at the end of the email. It is against Moon Chase's site policy to post an email address directly on this site other than our own. We do this because we wish to protect others from getting spam from our readers. While we understand that this email was meant for our eyes only (RE: ITV disclaimer) we asked questions that all the fans were asking and since they were answered we posted the message - it was intended for everyone questioning the show's return.

Update (April 24th, 2008): It seems that GMTV has finally gotten the video pulled from YouTube, and we have a feeling it was probably because the user was using their logo to advertise a show that was not on their schedule, or because the user claimed to have hacked their site. Playing hoaxes doesn't pay, hoaxer. We hope that this now closes the door on this rumor.