Ask John: Will Sailormoon Sailorstars Be Released in America?

Question:
I’ve got a question about the Sailor Moon Stars series. Is their any chance that it will get dubbed into English and sold for commercial release soon? I’ve heard a lot of things on the internet about it. The only reason I think they might not is that the Starlights transform into girls from guys, but they could dub it badly like always or put it on Adult Swim.

Answer:
Rumors of every imaginable type surround the final season of Sailormoon. All I can say for certain is that at the present time there is no confirmed American distribution license for the Sailorstars season of Sailormoon; although it wouldn’t surprise any of us here at AnimeNation to see Pioneer decide to license and release SailorStars once they finish the Super S season.

As the rumor goes, the odds of new Sailormoon episodes being broadcast on the Cartoon Network are probably quite slim because the gender-switching Sailor Starlights could be a controversial element in an animated program intended for American children. But an overlooked second and potentially more significant reason why Sailorstars may never show up on the Cartoon Network is because Sailormoon simply doesn’t fit the image that the Cartoon Network is now trying to build for itself. The Cartoon Network originally stopped broadcasting Sailormoon because the series was getting a bit worn out and over-played in America. Especially now with the creation of the Adult Swim block and the emphasis on the connection of Toonami to the Toonami Reactor website, the Cartoon Network seems to be clearly aiming for a progressive attitude and appearance. Broadcasting Sailormoon would do nothing so much as suggest a return to the less experimental and more conservative Cartoon Network of the past. Furthermore, while late night and Adult Swim programs like Outlaw Star and Cowboy Bebop were intended for mature and adult viewers in Japan, Sailormoon, even with the gender bending characters of the Sailorstars season, is still a series intended for 13 year old Japanese girls and not a particularly well matched fit for either the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim or their non-threatening, non-controversial moral majority friendly afternoon broadcasts.

Since the current home video release of the Sailormoon S and SS seasons is selling well for Pioneer even without current television broadcast support, it’s reasonable to believe that Pioneer will want to continue to farm this success by licensing the Sailorstars season for direct to home video release. Times have changed, and Sailormoon is already an old show getting older by the day. Especially for that reason, it’s not too wishful to expect to see Sailormoon’s fifth season released to American home video eventually, but probably not to television.