Summary

• Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Short Stories offers fans a playful and lighthearted spin-off with focus on other beloved characters.
• The volumes provide a deeper dive into the lives and backstories of the Sailor Scouts, adding more layers to the iconic series.
• Despite no new projects announced, Sailor Moon's legacy remains strong, influencing genres and pop culture worldwide.

concludes the rebooting of the series. Both the 1992 and 2014 anime adaptations are charming and entertaining, with the latter one being slightly more faithful to the manga. Fortunately for fans, there are even more stories featuring the Sailor Scouts that might just quench the thirst for more Sailor Moon content after Cosmos.

"Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Short Stories" is a spin-off manga with only two volumes that expands on the lives and stories of some of the Sailor Scouts. The original Japanese manga were released 20 years ago, but the official English translation of both volumes was published by Kodansha in 2013. These stories remain manga-only, so they are definitely a good taste of Takeuchi’s original style for someone who has only watched the anime versions of Serena and company.

Backstories, Comedy, and Romance: Short Stories Have a Little Dose of All

Created by Naoko Takeuchi

The main story in Sailor Moon is by itself one of the peaks of shojo anime, and it already has a fair mix of ingredients in its story. Romance, drama, action, and slice-of-life are pillars throughout it all. In Short Stories, it’s a bit more of Takeuchi having fun with her characters without the consequences of adhering or affecting one main plot. And while the main Sailor Moon story has an evident focus on Serena, all of the short stories focus on other characters instead.

Aside from being its own physical volumes, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Short Stories are now also included in the third generation of the manga's re-edition Sailor Moon Eternal, within its 10 volumes.

The short stories are not directly linked to the main one, however, it still is a better idea to read them after having finished the plot because most of the main characters appear, and it is much more enjoyable when there is context of some situations and running gags. The outer ring Sailor Scouts also make an appearance in one of the stories to help defeat a bad guy, which is very rewarding to read. In general, this spin-off manga is a playful change of pace after saving the galaxy in the main storyline.

The Spin-off Stories Put the Other Sailor Scouts in the Spotlight

Amy, Lita, Raye, and even Luna the cat are all the main characters in their own stories. Mina shares another, very fun one with Raye, which is fair, considering she already has her own manga: Codename: Sailor V, and Rini is the protagonist of no less than three short stories in volume one. In general, both volumes carry a lighthearted tone, but it’s also true that some stories, like “Casablanca Memory", which extends deeply into Raye’s past, is a much more mature tale than the one with Rini and Serena’s struggles with cavities.

The first story in volume 2, “The Lover of Princess Kaguya”, has the same plot of 1994’s Sailor Moon S: The Movie. It is Naoko Takeuchi’s take on the classic Japanese folklore tale of Princess Kaguya, with elements of Hans Christian Andersen’s “Snow Queen”. It is the only one of the stories to have some form of adaptation. The author has also explored the idea of the Sailor Scouts as mothers in the last story “Parallel Sailor Moon”, which is also the silliest of all the short stories.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon’s Unfading Legacy Continues To Impress

The Franchise Has Not Lost Its Appeal After Three Decades

In general, the short stories depict the same energy and cute, girly visuals of the general Sailor Moon series, with added notes of fun and unseriousness. Both “Short Stories” volumes are an addition to the global phenomenon that the series already is, and it wouldn’t be an unrealistic idea to hope to see all of these lively bits in animation form one day. No new projects have been announced since the release of Cosmos’ second part last year, but given how many classic anime have been brought back in the past decade, Sailor Moon might not be ready to leave the stage just yet.

Even if no new Sailor Moon content is released, the series will never be forgotten. It’s become a pillar for the romance and magical girl genres, both of which are seeing a revival in the current era. Not only other anime and manga series are heavily influenced by Sailor Moon, plenty of western cartoons, like Star vs. The Forces of Evil and Bee and Puppycat show clear inspiration on Takeuchi’s creation. Aside from entertainment, Sailor Moon has also become a strong icon for women’s empowerment.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade since Sailor Moon Crystal started airing. Seeing the story conclude once again might trigger strong nostalgia feelings for some fans, but luckily, some lesser-known pieces of media like the "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Short Stories" volumes remain for fans who won’t let go of the Sailor Scouts just yet. Serena and her friends are so charming that they make readers wish they were their friends, much like Naoko Takeuchi herself said.