Completing the diaries for the week from the official Live Action Sailor Moon page.

Sailor Jupiter (4/1)

Today we had a school function: a chorus concert. Our class... didn't win a single prize. We were last in the chorus contest from the start... kind of sad, huh?

But I'm sure you can lip-synch with the best of them (i.e. Kitagawa) so maybe you should have suggested that. It's not cheating if they don't find out.

Sailor Venus (4/2)

Today, for the first time in a while, I met with some local friends and we chattered the whooooole time. Having been with them for the first time in so long it made me think over again how necessary friends are. This was Ayaka, who was thinking that she's really happy to have been able to make such good friends. Everyone, please take care of me from now on too.

This diary brought to you by the letter C. C is for cookie, and that's good enough for me!

(Although apparently not good enough for NHK. So TV Tokyo took up the helm.)

Another actress' webpage has leaked info that she'll be an upcoming character in the Sailor Moon live action series. Here's her page, as linked to in this thread. For those who prefer rampant speculation in English, this thread ought to deliver.

Some other newsbits: As mentioned a few days ago, Dosei's going to be busy again this weekend and will be unable to write a synopsis. If you've got the translation and writing skills, as well as the free time to get one done by Sunday, be sure to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . In return I can throw one of our shirts back at you. Or mail it; either way. Also, I'm preparing a review of the newly released R2 DVD, so that should be up in a few days.

An update by Heavy Cat Studios on their Gemini Project page, for those following their quest to develop a new Sailor Moon videogame in the US. Some good news, some bad, but be sure to check out the whole thing. A brief quote:

It should be noted that from a business point of view, Sailor Moon is slowly becoming less and less valuable. With no broadcast series, DVD or manga available, licensed products like video games are very difficult to get funded . . .  a video game or series of video games could form their own basis for marketing, but that would put the entire advertising burden on the publisher of those games, something which would be enormously expensive. Publishers, as a rule, don't like the phrase "enormously expensive."

The shrinkage of the US fanbase is getting pretty serious. The anime will be off the air in television markets and hard to find or relegated to the discount bins on home video (with the exception of Geneon's upcoming boxset re-releases of S and SuperS). On the manga front it's trickling out of print and into obscurity. While that hasn't stopped some other media franchises from getting games produced on them years after their fall from the airwaves, it's far more difficult for a show with a perceived niche audience (young and early teen girls) to garner such funding.

Admittedly to many it makes no difference what impact the show has in the American market as long as it's been made available on video subtitled. (Except Motoki, he didn't take things so well. See above.) But thinking about what the show's fandom was like during the DiC dub height in 1996/1997, then considering how it is today, paints a rather sad picture. Worst of all, it means you can't find cans of Sailor Moon pasta in supermarkets anymore. Mmm... evilly delicious Metallia tomato sauce.