Paladin here, taking over for Miss M for this months Vintage Toy—yeah I sold her out…just kidding…

Anyhow, with Sailor Moon making a revival; Usagi and friends need a little…oh…wait…Well, I guess Serena and friends…::sigh::…

All right, so in the U.S. about 20 years ago we were cheated—uh—treated—to the Magical Girl Anime, Sailor Moon which consisted of five teenage girls who were actually princesses of the planets and moon of the Earth. These girls had the job of protecting humanity all the while, going to school, hanging out and growing up.

Although Go Lion (Voltron) was probably one of the most hacked and censored Anime’s that came to the States, I believe that Sailor Moon gets at least one of the top 3 spots.

So, what was hidden, removed and re-written? Well, Serena’s name is actually Usagi. The little pink-haired girl, called “Rini” is not Serena’s cousin, she is actually her daughter from the future, her name was actually Chibiusa, meaning “Little” Usagi, as ‘we’ would name our children after us.  Who was the father? None other than Tuxedo Mask or Chiba Mamoru—family name is Chiba.

Now, I can go on forever about this, so I’ll end with: Sailor’s Uranus and Neptune were lovers, not close friends or cousins…man the message boards in the late 90’s had some poor uninformed fans…I wonder how they felt when they found out that Haruka dressed like a guy because…well, you know.

Anyhow! The dolls.

Made by Bandai, copyright 1995—have seen better days, I was able to get 4 out of 5 at the time and as the photos show, they were $11.95 each from a comic shop in the city—I wonder what they really cost?

Although most of the boxes are shot for being from 1995 the dolls with-in are mint and new! Each doll has fabric clothing in their color scheme and rooted hair which is styled as it was in the cartoon. The only accessory was a Moon Scepter—that’s right, they are all exactly the same, but they are cool because of the gold vac-metal.

Let’s start with Sailor Jupiter!

Sporting green on white with a golden tiara at her forehead and a green brooch with a pink bow at her chest, this Sailor Scout loved to cook and be a bit of a tomboy, but unlike Haruka (Sailor Uranus) she was into guys.  Also, I found Makoto to be pretty in an elegant way–she also wore earrings that looked like roses, so even though her story line had her depressed about if she was feminine or not, she was–that’s all there is to it.

The back of the box has a ‘clip and save’ bio card—or stat card really. Her real name is Makoto Kino, not Lita Kino—at least they kept something original. The rest seems to match the Anime.

Next on the chopping block—I mean list…is Sailor Venus! In the Anime, she was the famous Sailor V until Sailor Moon met her and she joined the Scouts or Senshi (Soldiers). Sailor Venus has her Orange which appears yellow or golden on white with a gold vac-metal brooch and blue bow at her chest. There is a red bow tied in her hair and a golden tiara at her forehead. Sailor V has rooted yellow hair that seems to have taken on some frizz in the bangs, but, other than that, the doll is fine.

Sailor Venus was joined by Artemis, a white cat with blue eyes who could talk—mainly because he was actually a person at one time…Anyhow, I loved how Artemis would lay over her shoulders and so, I adopted a white cat with blue eyes myself and gave him the name Artemis. He had passed away a few years ago, but I’ll always remember him—and how he wouldn’t lay over my shoulders…

Or, you can go with this…

Taking a look at the card for Sailor Venus shows that her name is close to her real name, she is Minako Aino—so they dropped the ‘ko’ at the end. The rest is as it is written.

My favorite—after Haruka is Sailor Mars. Rei was a great character in many ways; I think what I liked the most about her was the fact that until the final battle of season one she was trying to take over as leader of the Inner Senshi (Guardian planets) and she was always so bitchy because she couldn’t stand how stupid Usagi was. However, there is a lot more to it because it was Rei’s job to protect The Moon Princess and with Usagi being such a weak leader, it was all she could do—wanting to take over.  as the seasons progress, Rei and Usagi’s relationship becomes that of sisters fighting, but also sisterly love.
Another fact is that although Rei lives and works at a Shinto Shrine, she goes to a Catholic school, unlike the other girls who go to the same school which I think is interesting because it keeps her separate from the others most of the time—maybe she needed time away from the rest of them???

Sailor Mars wears red on white with a red brooch and purple bow at her chest, she has a golden tiara and black rooted hair.

Her card…well, they kept Raye—but it’s Rei Hino. The other stats really give some insight to her personality and beliefs though, because she is usually focused on her duties and spiritual, so if anything, the stats are interesting.

Finally, “I am Sailor Moon and I am going to teach you a lesson!” I bet you will because we know Sailor Moon fights for love! Yeah, I know, I watched Sailor Moon too much when I was younger, and that is why I spent hours finding out the truth behind the censorship, so I make fun of the English version all the time because I feel like I’ve been slapped in the face—don’t you?  Now, the reality is, she would say “In the name of the Moon, I will PUNISH you!”  Can’t say that around little kids in the States now can you!  Jeez–censorship drives me crazy!

Anyhow, Sailor Moon is dressed in blue on white with a gold vac-metal brooch and red bow at her chest. She has boots where the other girls have shoes, on her feet and long flowing, rooted twin tails. ‘Meatball Head’s,’  “meatballs” were created with red ball, ponytail holders and she has a golden Moon Tiara at her forehead.  In the Japanese version, she is referred to as Dumpling Head or Buns Head because of the two balls of hair at the top of her twin tails.
So if she has Moon Crystal Power! OR, Moon Prism Power! That is up to you…do you even know what I’m talking about?

Anyhow, her card states that her name is Serena, but as I said before its Usagi Tsukino—the rest of the information seems accurate though.
Like Sailor Venus, Usagi had a talking cat that would use her body as a bed as she lay on her shoulders or head. This cat’s name was Luna and like Artemis, she was a person too. Later in the series, Luna and Artemis did the nasty and had a little Gray cat named Diana who acts as a guide to Chibiusa—Sailor Mini Moon (Sailor Chibimoon). All three cats are human, but let’s be realistic, if you would get a plush of any of them, you’d want them to be the cats.

The full back of the box has a showing of all the dolls in the line including Sailor Mercury (Ami Mizuno) who I don’t have and even the villain, Queen Beryl. There is a bunch of information and of course the clip and save card.  The photo of the figures appears to be the prototypes because obviously, they all don’t appear the same as the actual dolls–but, its interesting if anything.

The side of the box has the English story that except for a few things needing to be changed—is the same as the Japanese story.

All in all, the dolls are very low end for someone like me who collects the perfect Figma action figures; however, for their time they were a big deal. A lot of interesting details adorn the dolls which you can see in the photos and they tried to keep the faces different although, I think all of the bodies are exactly the same; but, it was 1995, so I won’t complain because I bought them because I liked them, I am a huge fan of Sailor Moon. After all, this is the Vintage Toy(s) of the Month.

Miss M returns next month with a new vintage toy for your reading pleasure!

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