This Is The Correct Order In Which To Watch The Sailor Moon Franchise

"Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon" is a Japanese manga by Naoko Takeuchi that ran in the young women's magazine Nakayoshi starting in 1991 (via The Mary Sue). It was first adapted into anime in 1992, and the series ran alongside the manga until 1997.

However, if you want to read the manga along with the anime, you're better off starting with the newer series, "Sailor Moon Crystal," which follows the manga more faithfully. It also streamlines its storytelling — if you just want the story, "Sailor Moon Crystal" has a lot less filler. On the other hand, the shorter runtime means less time spent with the individual Sailors and their adversaries. If you want to really revel in the character development, alongside every step of their powers and evolution, the original 1992 anime is a better bet.

Of course, a completist wants to see both versions, so that's the order we're going to explore: First, the reboot series, then the original anime. That way, you can get the full story and then enjoy the more discursive route the older cartoon takes. Both series are five seasons long, but the length of the seasons varies. A lot of the movies that occur throughout the anime series fall out of sequence and are usually disconnected from the main plot, as is the live-action "Sailor Moon" that retells the story (via Kotaku) — which is why we're focusing here on the anime only. So let's dig in and find out the best order to watch "Sailor Moon."

A little pink-haired girl who looks like Usagi — and whose name is also Usagi — falls from the sky at the end of the "Dark Kingdom" arc, and she is the focus of the next story. She seems to be a "chibi," or "little," version of Usagi, which is why she is eventually nicknamed Chibiusa.

Chibiusa uses hypnotism to make herself part of Usagi's life and family because she's on the run from the Black Moon Clan, a collection of far-future villains who have pursued Chibiusa, whom they call "Rabbit" ("Usagi" means "Rabbit"), through time from the 30th century. After the other Sailors are abducted by the Black Moon Clan, Sailors Moon and Venus learn that Chibiusa is from the future and that only they can save her future home, Crystal Tokyo. Chibiusa opens a path back to her future, where they meet Sailor Pluto. Pluto is the Guardian of the underworld and the Protector of the Space and Time Door.

Things certainly are different in Crystal Tokyo, which is in ruins thanks to the Black Moon Clan. King Endymion (who is Tuxedo Mask's future self) explains that in the future, he is married to Usagi — and that Chibiusa is their daughter!

There hadn't been a "Sailor Moon" movie in theatres in over two decades when "Sailor Moon Eternal" was released (via Crunchyroll). It came out in two parts, released in January and February of 2021, and these two halves form what is essentially the fourth season of "Sailor Moon Crystal." It involves the Sailor Guardians' defense of Elysion, a sacred site on Earth, from a large group of circus-themed villains called the Dead Moon Circus.

The Dead Moon Circus' major power is summoning lemures to fight the Sailor Guardians. These lemures use various techniques and schemes to take the Guardians apart physically and mentally. For example, at one point the Dead Moon Circus magically switches Usagi and Chibiusa's ages, and later they trap Sailor Venus using a fake pop-idol audition.

The Amazoness Quartet of Dead Moon villains creates the Amazon Trio, which is composed of three animal-based lemures, to trap the Guardians in nightmares one at a time. A former priest named Helios, now in the form of a pegasus, arrives to help as the team looks for the Golden and Silver Crystals the Dead Moon Circus seeks. They are opposed by an old witch named Zirconia and an evil queen named Nehelenia, the leaders of the Dead Moon Circus.

Now that you've experienced as much of "Sailor Moon Crystal" as you can, it's time to go back to the beginning and see where the whole saga started. That said, if you're more into the retro style and '90s vibe of the original, you might even start here, as they both tell the same basic story.

"Sailor Moon" originally ran from 1992 to 1997 on TV Asahi. There are 200 episodes in all, as well as three movies and various other spin-offs. Where "Sailor Moon Crystal" focused mainly on plot, these episodes sometimes open up the focus to spend more time with different characters.

In each episode, the season's main villains try to steal some precious resources from humanity such as Heart Crystals, Dream Mirrors, Star Seeds, and other valuable items. A monster, sometimes a transformed victim of the episode's villains, attacks. Sailor Moon eventually takes care of things with her special attack, which changes each season as her power grows.

As is common in the manga and anime industry, the first 13 episodes of the 2nd Season were an original story since the manga needed time to catch up, which means that big parts of the season can be skipped if you would rather avoid filler episodes. In fact, much of "Sailor Moon R" has no equivalent in the comic.

According to Tuxedo Unmasked, the "R" in the title can refer to "Romance," "Return," or "Rabbit," all of which have deeper meanings as the season continues. For example, Usagi and her friends have lost their memories of being Sailor Guardians when the season begins, so the early episodes are about reawakening those memories — a "Return" indeed.

It begins with the attack of the Doom Tree aliens, who seek to harvest human energy, much like Queen Beryl, to revive the Doom Tree. They infiltrate Usagi's high school, forcing Luna to restore Sailor Moon's memories. Another attack, this time at a movie casting call, necessitates bringing back the memories of the rest of the Inner Guardians.

Eventually, the Doom Tree attacks and breaks Usagi's brooch during a cherry-blossom viewing party. This leaves Sailor Moon and her friends helpless until Queen Serenity, Usagi's future self upgrades Sailor Moon's talismans. The Doom Tree starts going after younger and younger victims. Soon, Usagi discovers the truth about the Doom Tree: it's supposed to thrive on love, and not life energy.

After you see this season completely, it's time for "Sailor Moon R: The Movie" — in this one, an old acquaintance of Tuxedo Mask appears and drives a wedge between Mamoru and Usagi.

"Sailor Moon S" is known as the darkest season of the original anime. The villains of this season are the Death Busters, who are searching for three talismans they can use to end the world.

The season begins with an attack by a new monster called a Daimon, which takes away Usagi's ability to transform into Sailor Moon, and therefore her ability to fight. The team must rely on the powers of a heroic lesbian couple, new Sailors Uranus and Neptune, who are Guardians of the sky and sea. Eventually Usagi and Mamoru are able to rekindle her powers with the strength of their love, and later Usagi must rescue Tuxedo Mask at the same time the rest of the time is facing down the Death Busters.

Soon Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, along with Sailor Pluto, become part of a plot to protect the pure hearts of Infinity Academy from the Death Busters and their ultimate leader, Pharaoh 90. "Sailor Moon S: The Movie" follows, although, like any of the movies besides "Sailor Moon Eternal," it's optional and doesn't play into the main canon storyline, instead revolving around an alien ice entity named Princess Snow Kaguya.

"Sailor Moon Sailor Stars" is the final season of the original anime. The Queen Nehelenia storyline from "Sailor Moon SuperS" wraps up over six episodes, with Mamoru falling under her spell again, threatening Chibiusa's very existence. 

The remaining and final 28 episodes are all about the Sailor Wars, in which corrupted Sailor Guardians called the Shadow Galactica arrive in Tokyo to steal Earthlings' Star Seeds. Their leader, Sailor Galaxia, is a dark and twisted version of Sailor Moon who wants to rule the whole galaxy. 

The Shadow Galactica's arrival is preceded in the story by a pop idol group called the Three Lights, who are men in their civilian forms but become women when they transform into the Sailor Starlights. Refugees from Sailor Galaxia's onslaught, the Three Lights, become on-and-off love interests for some of the Sailor Guardians, making much of the season into almost an identity farce. Of course, the fun and games are over once Sailor Galaxia comes calling, setting up a showdown that will shape the "Sailor Moon" universe and end the original saga.