“Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” is enjoying another boom. The girls anime series became a phenomenon when it was first broadcast in the 1990s, and new products based on the manga and anime franchise are now being marketed one after another. Items priced at ¥10,000 (S$125) or more are flying off the shelves.
The anime (called “Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon” in Japanese) was based on Naoko Takeuchi’s manga of the same title. The anime series was broadcast from 1992 to 1997, attracting numerous primary and middle school girls.
The series has been broadcast in more than 40 countries, and has also been reproduced in live-action TV dramas and stage productions.
The heroine is a middle school girl named Usagi Tsukino who meets the black cat Luna, which bears the image of a crescent on its forehead and speaks like a human. This starts the heroine on a mission to protect the world from villains by transforming into Sailor Moon with four other girls her age: Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus.
Usagi’s killer phrase “Tsuki ni kawatte, oshioki yo” (I’ll punish you on behalf of the Moon), which she utters while in her distinctive pose, became all the rage.
Sailor Moon’s revived popularity is supported by women in their late 20s who were fans of the original anime series. Businesses are targeting these women, who have considerable purchasing power now.
In October last year, the Kiddy Land Osaka Umeda store in Kita Ward, Osaka, set up a section specialising in products based on Sailor Moon. It contains about 5,000 products, one of the largest such lineups in western Japan.
Cosmetics sold there are priced at ¥3,000 to ¥4,000 and include eyeliner modeled after the pen-like device used by the heroine to disguise herself.
Some products that went on sale on March 10 were so popular, customers were limited to two per person.
One of the products is modeled after the magical compact mirror that the heroine uses to transform into Sailor Moon. The store received orders for about 600 of these products, the most orders it has ever received.
“We’re surprised they’ve become that popular,” a member of the sales staff said.
Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. held an event featuring Sailor Moon-themed clothes and bags designed by famous apparel brands at its Isetan Shinjuku main store in Tokyo from March 16 to 22. The first such event was held in 2014. Products are sold mainly for ¥20,000 to ¥40,000.
The initial event attracted many people, so the store has held it regularly. Isetan Mitsukoshi also held similar events in Osaka and Nagoya around the same period.
Major apparel company World Co. enjoyed a 20 per cent increase of its total sales when it sold products based on the anime at the company’s Its’demo variety stores for a limited period in 2014.
In fiscal 2014, Bandai Co. saw sales of “Sailor Moon” products increase by 2.7 times from the previous fiscal year. The company is expecting a similar “Sailor Moon” effect for fiscal 2015.
The anime’s revived popularity was triggered by the Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Project that Bandai launched in 2012. Products based on the anime and remakes of past works have been released in rapid succession, targeting former fans.
