Check Out This Blog!

There isn't a lot happening in the Sailor Moon world right now, but for those of you who are craving the revival through a fan's perspective in Japan, I recommend you check out the blog "Moon Light". I've been following this blog for a while now, as this blogger was one of the few that blogged about her experience at the DVD Collection Launch Event in December of 2009. She was also there at Anza Ooyama's recent concert, and just visited the Toei Animation Gallery and has lots of photos of the cels there (Sailor Moon and Pretty Cure included) as well as figures. Kind of a neat blog to check out for anyone who wants to know what the fans in Japan are experiencing!

Halloween 2010: A Story of Cosplay and Crafts

Hey Moonies, sorry for being a bit late getting this put together for you. Between waiting to see if we would get a few more submissions and real life getting a bit hectic for a while, there was just no time for me to post.

Without further ado, we present your Halloween stories!

Daniel writes:

ok so ever since i was little i always loved sailor moon. I lived in Portugal at the time, and the dub there included ALL 200 episodes, and sailor moon S was always my favourite season. I loved it so much, and i loved the crisis transformation the most, so i decided that i wanted the Holy grail for myself. At first i searched for an official one, but since this was 2009, they were 200-300 dollars AND the werent brand new. So i afterwards i searched thorugh youtube and the net for someone that could make one themselves. I saw many handmade ones but none were close to the original- so i got my butt over to micheals and bought materials to make my own...by the time i finished it, it was close to halloween so i decided-why not get some of my friends to dress as Sailor Moon ?...sadly none of my friends are sailor moon fans like me so i finished it and said "hey why not make it a pumpkin top?"...so now i have a mini pumpkin thats ready to be carved and if the weather here isn't too windy i will put the grail on top of the pumkin (:
For the design on the pumpkin, i am thinking of doing a moon designed like sailor moons (: or maybe even a black cat with a moon for Luna (:

Liz writes:

I really should have cut some bangs into my hair but I'm pretty scared of changing my hair style. Perhaps by next Halloween/NYCC I'll do it.
Anyway, this costume cost me 50 or more dollars to make since I used high quality spandex and crepe, and well over 20 hours to construct it since I made a rough draft out of really cheap fabric before I used the good stuff. :-D I <3 Sailor Mars. I think I'm going to make her seifuku for next year.

Juan writes:

Well I had read your article earlier that day and we were going to carve pumpkins that night. I have a picture of sailor moon as my desktop background (I'll attach it for you) with her possing in front of the full moon. I could totally envision what it would look like on a pumpkin so I said "heck why not." I printed out a copy of the picture and taped it the front of the pumpkin trying to get it as close to the surface as possible so as to get a good likeness of her. I knew I wanted to cut out the white parts from the picture so that all that would be left would be the image of sailor moon. I started by VERY carfully and slowly cutting along the line and this worked for a little bit, but soon the juice from the pumpkin started making the picture a little soggy. So it was suggested to me that I should use a needle to poke holes through the cutting lines making a pre-cut line that could be seen even without the paper. I had my sister poke the holes and I cut out the rest of it trying pay close attention to detail. In the end, after a while of hard work, we have the image of sailor moon, her head is attached to the top of the circle so it is rather delicate. Needless to say, I kept the pumpkin. :)

Ashlei writes:

Sailor Saturn has been my favorite scout since I was younger, and this year was actually the first year I've ever dressed up for Halloween. So why not choose my favorite? I used a bunch of pictures of Saturn from Google to make the costume, from the anime series to cosplayers. For the tiara, I used gold wired fabric with an elastic band attached. It stayed well. I actually bought the star from southernmooncreation's Etsy page. It's made of clear acrylic. And for the boots, I dyed a pair of white knee-high socks and used black puff paint to make the laces. I was just lounging around the house with my family on Halloween, so I decided to just wear socks instead of making boots.

A big thanks to Daniel, Liz, Juan and Ashlei for sharing your Halloween stories with us! And remember everyone, we're always happy to feature your creations, just drop us an email with a picture and a little about your creation at com[DOT]gmail[AT]moonchasers (just remember to flip it around the right way) and include "Fan Work" in the subject so it goes to the right place!

Magic Lessons Dark Kingdom Fanart Contest

This contest is being run by Kir-tat on deviantART. Kir-tat (or Tata) is a Russian artist who often creates detailed fanart digital paintings of the Dark Kingdom villains from Sailor Moon. Feel free to browse through her Dark Kingdom works in her deviantART gallery, to get an idea of her style. There are a few pages of work to browse through, and we think many of our readers will be impressed!

We are advertising Kir-tat's contest because we think our readers may be interested in participating (or at least seeing the results!).

Note: The information below is largely the contest details written by Kir-tat in her deviantART journal.

The themes of her contest are magic lessons or show me magic. These themes suggest various scenarios – serious, romantic, or humorous. You can interpret and understand the theme freely, your imagination is not limited by anything, save for a few rules...

The Rules:

• You must include at least one of the following five characters: Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, Kunzite, Beryl (from Sailor Moon).
• Anime (or manga) version of the character(s), not live-action.
• You can also include any other SailorMoon/original/other series characters.
• Drawings done in any media and style are accepted – realistic or manga, traditional or digital...
• Works that will not be accepted: collages, copies or tracings, old images (that were not made for the contest), works that would hurt someone's feelings, and other works that would break the rules established by deviantArt.
• No more than 3 works from one author
• Contest pieces should be posted in your DA gallery and links submitted as comments to Kir-tat's journal entry about the contest.
• Submitted pieces will be added to Kir-tat's journal entry about the contest as they are received (and as she has time).
• All works will afterwards be published on a special contest page of the site darkkingdom.ru (Kir-tat's website), with links to the contestants' pages.
• Kir-tat will be picking the winners. Personal favoritism is not possible, in fact she hopes her firends will help her with the judging. So don't be shy about participating and good luck everyone!
• Last day for submission: December 20th, 2010
• The results will be published no later December 27th, 2010

Prizes:
1st place – Kir-tat's artbook (see image on the right) + a surprise (she will mail to any part of the world, but only after the 10th of January)
2nd place – coloring of your sketch/lineart (1-2 characters)
3rd place – coloring of your sketch/lineart (1 character)

Character info:
Reference info
Screenshots by Stayka

Just in case:

in Russian fandom, the demons are often believed to have the following magic: Jadeite - demon of Dreams and Illusions, Nephrite - demon of Stars and Destinies, Zoisite - demon of Fire and Wind, Kunzite - demon of Ice and Chaos. You are not required to use this information, but perhaps it will inspire someone. And if you like, you can comment on the journal entry about the contest to connect with other contest entrants.

And here's the cover for her artbook, featuring the four generals:

We hope our readers enjoy Kir-tat's artwork and encourage our artistic readers to consider entering the contest. We will definitely be keeping an eye on the results!

A BIG Thank You!

Hey Moonies! We'd like to thank every single person who took the Operation Moonrise Phase 5 survey on the first day and of course, everyone who has taken it since and will take it in the month to come!

Our very first survey had just 15 responses on the first day, and our second only 30. Phase 4 (survey #3) did much better at 72, but this survey just takes the cake! 221 surveys in just 24 hours! We're already past 300 at the moment!

We're confident we can reach our goal of 500 by the end of the weekend, but don't worry, the survey will still be available until Monday August 29th at Midnight, so keep those surveys pouring in! All together, we'll not only show our opinions, but just how many Moonies there are who still care and still want the series back!

THANK YOU!

Monday Moon Tunes!

Hey Moonies! We thought you could use a little pick-me-up for the start of the week, and we happened to find these gems on nico video for you over the weekend!

First up, we have Ai no Senshi, played on an interesting little high tech gadget!

Link:

Next, we have a medley of several anime tunes at a high school concert! In addition to the first Pretty Cure theme right after it, at 3:05 they play the quintessential Moonlight Densetsu!

Link:

And finally, we have a much longer and larger high school band performing at the Shizuoka Hobby Expo 2010 about a month ago and playing a lot more anime tunes! Their rendition of Moonlight Densetsu is a whopping 15:50 in, but the whole video is definitely worth watching!

Link:

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask Become Zombies in Toronto

Happy Hallowe'en, Moonchasers!

Saturday, October 24th, 2009 was the date of the seventh annual Toronto Zombie Walk. The walk began at Trinity Bellwoods park and progressed along various streets of Toronto until the end point on Bloor street near Bathurst station.

Before the walk began, zombies gathered in the pit bordered by Dundas street and Gore Vale avenue, where organizers made some announcements and one organizer (Adam Pearson) even proposed to another organizer (Thea Munster)!

The walk began with zombies being directed to Dundas street to exit the park, and it wasn't long before it was clear that even Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask had become zombies!

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask lurched along with the crowd, barely noticing curious onlookers taking photographs. Groups of zombies were soon throwing themselves at bus shelters to scare the odd victim, while other groups took greater interest in stopped traffic, moaning and grasping at streetcars, buses, and cars, trying to claw their way through the windows to scare people traveling in Toronto that afternoon. A local news vehicle was even stopped by zombies who smeared blood on the outside and piled on the hood of the vehicle. The driver, like many spectators in Toronto that afternoon, seemed to find the event enjoyable to watch.

Other costumes included a group cosplaying as characters from the Legend of Zelda, pirates, medical staff in scrubs, Mr. T, Billy Mays, conjoined twins, a 1950's housewife with anger issues, brides, and zombie movie extras (they had signs explaining their lack of costume!). Unfortunately for the odd zombie hunter, they were vastly outnumbered by the zombies.

The organizers wore Umbrella Corporation uniforms, a very fitting tie-in to Resident Evil, one of this year's sponsors. It also reminded me of the 2004 movie, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, which was filmed in Toronto and the surrounding area.

Many of the zombies were very well behaved, groaning for brains and randomly moaning, but obedient when organizers controlled pedestrian traffic around busier intersections.

Following the walk, there was a showing of zombie films at the Bloor Cinema, which seemed to attract a massive lineup.

The zombies were everywhere in Toronto last Saturday. The zombie slayers were hopelessly outnumbered, and it was interesting to see even Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask become zombies. They weren't the first Sailor Moon zombie cosplayers, but it's definitely an unusual way to cosplay characters from the series.

Have you ever dressed as a zombie version of a Sailor Moon character? We'd love to see your costume and share it on the site!

Thanks to Derek Haecker for providing photos.

Sightings in Fan Land: Lunch Edition

Hey Moonies, The Me here with some more fan creations that we've come across.

This first one was sent into us by an anonymous fan:

It's a very cute homemade Chibi-Moon doll and we thank the fan who sent it in for making it and sharing it with us! EDIT: The fan who created this is Sailor Mini Moon on our forums!

Now, onto lunch! Here are a couple of Sailor Moon related bento we found!

This Luna-P bento is a large colored rice ball, surrounded by pico de gallo with some provolone, nori, tomato and jalapeño to make up the face.


The creator of this Sailor Moon bento doesn't mention what it's made out of, but it looks very pretty and delicious!

Sightings in Fan Land

Hey Moonies, it's been a while, but The Me is back with some fun tidbits for you. We came across these gems in various corners of the internet.

First up, a custom bedroom in Morrowind:

This would definitely be a fun room to have in any game, or even out here in the real world.

Next is an interesting crossover:

In case you can't identify her at first glace, that is Hatsune Miku, dressed up as Super Sailor Moon and yes, her Moon Kaleidoscope is actually a leek. And if her name still doesn't ring any bells, she was the first release from Crypton using Yamaha's Vocaloid2 singing synthesis software. Which explains her musical note motif and the 01 on her brooch. The significance of the leek is a much longer, non-Sailor Moon related story, but if you come ask me on the forums, I might just tell it to you!

But, the fun with the Vocaloids isn't quite done yet. Last up is another Vocaloid, Kagamine Rin, singing and starring in the Sailor Moon OP: Moonlight Densetsu!


Rin's twin brother Len is consigned to play Luna, and Miku and an older Vocaloid1 character, Meiko play Ami and Rei.

Whatever you do, though, do NOT watch the version of Miku singing Moonlight Densetsu that shows up under the related videos. While Rin's rendition is very good and a nice example of the music you can make with the Vocaloid software, it is much, much easier to make things that are not so nice. Don't take that as a slight against Miku, though. In capable hands, she is a very good singer.