Ask John: Can Naoko Takeuchi Make More Sailormoon Anime?

Question:
Is it possible for Naoko Takeuchi to produce more Sailor Moon episodes even some of the cast’s voice actors have passed away?

Answer:
The death of recognized voice actors or animation staff member is not necessarily a death knell for the animation he or she was involved with. Yasuo Yamada was famous for providing the distinct voice of Lupin III for over 2 decades before his death on March 19, 1995. Yamada was respectfully replaced by voice actor Kanichi Kurita, who has been the voice of Lupin for the past five Lupin films. In similar circumstances, director Kanada Takeyuki passed away early in the production of the Gundam MS 08th Team OAV series. His work on the series was continued by Umanosuke Iida.

Sailormoon has had two deaths in its cast. Shiho Niiyama, the voice behind Sailor Star Fighter Seiya Kou, died on February 7, 2000. Shiozawa Kaneto, the voice of Prince Diamond, passed away on May, 10, 2000. Respectful of their contributions to Sailormoon, neither of these actors played essential, primary Sailormoon cast members, meaning that neither would have to be re-cast for new Sailormoon animation.

However, the odds of there being new Sailormoon animation produced are relatively slim. Sailormoon broadcast its final, 200th episode on February 8, 1997. It’s relatively rare that anime TV series get sequels more than a year after their previous series’ conclusion, and it’s now been over five years since Sailormoon ended. There have been rumors that Naoko Takeuchi has plans for a new Sailormoon series, and rumors of a new animation series titled Sailormoon X have been floating around for quite some time, but neither rumor has yet materialized the slightest bit of supporting evidence. In fact, Naoko Takeuchi recently debuted a new manga serial titled Love Witch, which suggests that she has moved on to new projects since Sailormoon ended. And finally, contrary to what many fans may believe, original manga creators often have very little involvement with or control over the adaptation of their manga into anime. The determination of what manga become adapted into anime, and which series do and don’t get sequels, is generally made by animators and corporate sponsors rather than manga creators.