A YouTuber specializing in lost media has finally uncovered footage of the unreleased American "Sailor Moon" series pilot.
MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND - JUNE 18: Cosplay enthusiast Katie Beckett, age 15, dressed as Super Sailor Moon poses as she attends the North East Manga and Anime Convention (NemaCon) at Middlesborough Town Hall on June 18, 2011 in Middlesbrough, England. Hundreds of Manga, Anime and Cosplay enthusiasts gathered for NemaCon 2011. Cosplay is short for Costume Play where players dress and perform roles from Japanese culture, Anime and Manga art characters . Many subcultures have also evolved inspired by video games, American cartoons and comics. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
For a couple of decades now, fans of the widely popular "Sailor Moon" anime series have been scouring the internet for clues about the shelved American Sailor Moon series, which combined both live action and animation into one show. Now, one YouTuber has taken the time to investigate and unearth actual footage of the pilot episode of the Westernized version of the famous Japanese anime from the 1990s.
The story of this investigation into the American Sailor Moon traces back to 1993, just two years after the dubbed "Sailor Moon" anime came out, The Verge reported. Back then, an animated studio called Toon Makers made an agreement with Renaissance Atlantic Entertainment, which produced the original hit series "Power Rangers" to make an English version of "Sailor Moon."
The result of that collaboration was a the American Sailor Moon that would feature both live action and animation. However, the show was never picked up, but a pilot still exists out there in the world. What remains is footage from what appears to be a trailer that was shown at an anime convention back in the 1990s.
How a YouTuber Found the American 'Sailor Moon' Pilot
YouTuber Ray Mona specializes in uncovering lost media. In her channel, she took on the challenge of finding the lost pilot of the American Sailor Moon and had gone through great lengths to find it. In fact, she recently uploaded a two-hour long documentary that shed light on the things she had to go through just to find the footage of the lost pilot.
In Ray Mona's journey to get her hands on the actual American Sailor Moon pilot, she got in touch with Kotaku reporter Cecilia D'Anastasio, who in 2018 also did some digging for herself. With assistance from D'Anastasio, Ray Mona was able to get the approval of former Bandai America president Frank Ward to get a copy of the original American Sailor Moon pilot from The Library of Congress, which she included in her video.
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The American Sailor Moon and Its Many Aliases
The long lost American Sailor Moon was also known as Saban Moon because of the involvement of Haim Saban, who produced "Power Rangers," AV Club reported. Those close to the pilot series actually called it "Project Y."
Moreover, another project called "Team Angel" was established by some of those who worked on Saban Moon to try and salvage the concept. The report described the American Sailor Moon as a hybrid live action and animated series about a 16 year old girl who "hangs out with her friends as a real person" in the live action part of the series and then transforms into the super hero Sailor Moon for her animated adventures."
In 2018, Ward described the idea of the American Sailor Moon live action and animated series as a "bright idea" featuring "American girls doing American things'' until they "morphed into their animated versions." But after the pilot was completed and gained the approval of Fox, Saban, and Bandai, Toei Animation decided to give the animation rights to another entity, concluding what would have been the American dream for "Sailor Moon."
Watch the American Sailor Moon pilot at 1:43:48 in Ray Mona's new video.
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