Does Sailor Moon’s Naru Have an Osakan Accent?

Naru "That's Molly to You" Osaka

Naru “That’s Molly to You” Osaka

Aah, the venerable Osakan/Kansai accent. Whenever a content creator needs a fun, boisterous, obnoxious, or otherwise non-conforming character type, this seems to be the go-to accent. Whether we’re talking about Card Captor Sakura‘s Kero-chan (voiced by none other than Aya Hisakawa, voice of Ami Mizuno!) or Azumanga Daioh‘s aptly-named Ayumu “Osaka” Kasuga, this accent is a Japanese media mainstay.

Considering the accent’s popularity, it should come as no surprise that Usagi’s staunch defender and occasionally bossy friend, Naru Osaka, should fall into this category… right?

There’s just one small problem: it’s not exactly clear if Naru even has the accent all.

Nande ya nen?!1 Stay tuned while we tackle the long-time rumor of Naru and the existence — or lack thereof! — of her Osakan accent!

Continue reading

Is There a Connection Between Rei Hino and Rei Ayanami?

Rei and... Rei?

Rei and… Rei?

When you consider the sheer volume of anime, manga, and videos games that produced in Japan every year, it’s really no surprise that you’ll run across characters that share the same name. The more popular or common a name is, the more likely you are to see it elsewhere, either in other media or even in the real world!

But when you stop and consider (1) the relatively short time period in which Sailor Moon and Neon Genesis Evangelion hit the market and (2) just how uncommon a name like Rei is in the first place, it’s a little harder to write it off as pure coincidence.

Today we’re going to take a look at the interesting, behind-the-scenes connection between these two juggernauts of anime!

Continue reading

What Happens When Google Translates Sailor Moon?

Google Translated Sailor Moon is truly a thing of beauty

Google Translated Sailor Moon is truly a thing of beauty

Between the anime, manga, games, musicals, live action TV show, audio dramas, and more, there’s a massive volume of Sailor Moon material still left untranslated, and there are many fans out there eager to try to pick up the slack and bring their favorite series to an even bigger audience.

So what’s a fan with all the passion, but not exactly the proper language skills, to do? Well, that’s where Google translation usually comes in.

Today, we’re going to take a look at several key scenes in the Sailor Moon manga and run them through our good friend Google Translate. While we look at the results, I’d like to discuss the pros, cons, and provide a few suggestions about how people can help out in bringing Sailor Moon to other fans in their own language.

Grab a cup of coffee, because things are gonna get a bit weird!

Continue reading

Where Did the Members of Shadow Galactica Get Their Names?

Just going out flying with the girls

Just going out flying with the girls

While admittedly not the most exhilarating topic out there, I really enjoy digging down into the names of the various characters, items, attacks, and villains in the Sailor Moon universe. Not only is it an interesting intellectual exercise, but it also gives you some insight into what Ms. Takeuchi had in mind when she was sketching out and creating the characters’ personalities.

Speaking of which, it’s pretty impressive just how much she was able to research when you consider that the series was created in an age before the internet had really hit its stride.

Today we’re going to be turning our magnifying glass to the members of the Shadow Galactica, and where the inspirations for their names come from. Stick around, this is gonna get interesting!

Continue reading

Where Did the Sailor Animamates Get Their Names?

Not the full team, but... close enough!

Not the full team, but… close enough!

I know that I’ve brought it up (many times) in the past, but I absolutely love the fact that when Ms. Takeuchi settles on a theme, she tends to stick with it. And stick with it she did in terms of having a unifying naming pattern — gems, minerals, elements, and metals — for nearly all of the primary villains in the Sailor Moon series.

Today we’re going to take a look at some of Sailor Galaxia’s minions, the Sailor Animamates, and see where their names came from. Though some of these are probably obvious on the surface, there are actually a few surprises worth sticking around for!

Grab some shovels and hardhats, kids. We’re digging deep!

Continue reading