Sailor Moon Crystal: Where to Watch + Mini Review

The first episode is finally up! :D

You can check it out at the following hosts!

NicoNico - http://ch.nicovideo.jp/sailormoon_English

CrunchyRoll - http://www.crunchyroll.com/sailor-moon-crystal

Hulu – http://www.hulu.com/sailor-moon-crystal

Kotaku’s article on reactions to this first episode was fun to read, too. - http://kotaku.com/the-internet-reacts-to-sailor-moon-crystal-1601014716

Review:

So far it seems to be faithful to the original manga. It’s also atmospheric, more so in some places than others. It beautifully underscores the difference between Usagi’s everyday life and her duties as Sailor Moon.

The character’s expressions are mostly a lot more nuanced, but are not as extreme as they were in the previous anime. (except for poor Umino – he still came out very cartoonish)
Some folks were not quite as happy about that, but I think that the more restrained expressions of emotion fit the setting better than the much more over-the-top mannerisms of the 1992 anime (though those were a lot of fun to watch). Usagi in particular is a bit more believable – she has flaws but she also has virtues. She isn’t merely a vehicle for humor.

Although the new show does take several cues from the previous anime, it has a more complex ambiance. In addition to the humor, there is also wonder and menace contrasting with the usual cadence of Usagi’s everyday life.  

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I am still developing the next part of "My Side of the Story".

Updates and freebie news

There’s been a lot going on here. As you may have guessed, Mom and I had plans for last Christmas, but we ended up setting them aside when she had an emergency visit to the hospital. Thankfully, she came out it a lot better off than when she went in, even had some concerns allayed. She’s recovering quite nicely.

Christmas was unsurprisingly quiet, but pleasant. We pretty much took things slow. New Year’s Eve went the same way; the most exciting events of the night were home-made egg nog and a movie.

I’ve been on a huge Kingdom Hearts kick lately. I had been given the handheld games over the years, but hadn’t gotten around to playing them until now, because I didn’t know that they were fully fledged sequels and hadn’t been too thrilled with Chain of Memories. Birth by Sleep was interesting, fun, and answered several questions raised by the first three games. The story was a bit dark, but given its nature, that is to be expected. 

I’ve finally finished 358/2 Days. It’s pretty much an answer to the fans’ question “What happens when a new guy/gal is introduced to the Organization?” The answer seems to be that the poor sap gets showered in catty remarks and sarcasm, if they like him… or ends up running for her life if the Organization decides that she’s not human “enough” to respect. Roxas REALLY didn’t enjoy working for Xemnas. Needless to say, it probably explains Sora’s fury when he encountered Organization XIII’s remaining members; his anger was Roxas’s (and maybe Ventus’s?) anger. 

I played Birth by Sleep before playing 358/2 Days. Some scenes in 358/2 have a much more powerful punch if you play the games in that order. I think that Roxas really DID have a heart of his own, possibly two – specifically his own newborn heart, plus Ventus’s (hehe, does that make him a Time Lord?). He could have also just been Ventus, who would have been thoroughly disoriented from being forcefully separated from Sora when Xemnas/Xehanort found him.  

There are a few oddly realistic details in this colorful fairytale. However that's a topic for another day.

Speaking of which, all of that left me with a strong urge to build a few things, including a keyblade. 

I haven’t forgotten about the freebies. The two uniforms are pretty much together. I had to set back the release date because, in addition to the aforementioned hospital visit, the motion controls needed a serious overhaul. My original plan involved more body handles than these two currently have and came out very badly. I removed all but one handle and supplemented it with morphs. The tunics use the same maps. That should give you more options. You’ll see what I mean. :)

In any case, the Kunzite uniform is done and I’m fine tuning the other suit.( I will need to post an update, but it’s pretty much functional and you’ve been waiting a very long time) There are other goodies to enjoy, too. :) I wanted to post this stuff two months ago, but better late than never, right?

Sailor Moon freebies - Preview

Here's video showing a few of the things I've been working on. :)

Sailor Moon Suit - Done!

The suit is finally done! I added morphs where I thought they might be useful; such as to add motion to the skirt and collar.

The delay was because I had an inspiration for making the collar work much more conveniently than that version in “Under Moonlight”. (The mapping on that alpha version drove me nuts!) The downside was that I had to build it from scratch. It came together quickly, thankfully.

All of the goodies are in the “Cosplay Closet” folder. They are on my family’s website. (click this link to get at it – It’s under Downloads>Cosplay Closet)

This first set contains the leotard, the 1st season skirt, sleeves, collar, and gloves.. There are also matposes and materials to make the stuff easier to use. I’ve also uploaded the tiara, neckbands, and earrings in a separate pack to make downloading easier. (combined, the two sets have quite a large filesize)
They are up at our family’s website – Wryter’s Fyre.