If you felt a sudden wave of nostalgia in the air recently, it may be because your favourite pretty guardians have finally landed in London.
Playing at HERE at Outernet on Tottenham Court road and KOKO in Camden, Sailor Moon: The Super Live is a musical play bringing everything we ever loved about the original Sailor Moon series to the stage. The glittering London rendition of the show brought us Yui Yokoyama as Sailor Moon, Yui Oikawa as Sailor Mercury, Marisa Yasukawa as Sailor Mars, Rii Tachibana as Sailor Jupiter, Yu Nakanishi as Sailor Venus, Mayu Tsuyuzume as Queen Beryl and finally Sufa as Tuxedo Mask.
The play was performed in Japanese, with subtitles clearly projected onto the screen behind. The show followed an abridged version of the Sailor Moon story we are all familiar with, from the discovery of the guardians through all the twists and turns that shocked us when we first read the series. Yet this time, complete with fun and evocative musical performances peppered through. While the story wasn't new, seeing it play out live and in the flesh lended something unique, a touch of realism amongst the glitter, as if we were experiencing it again for the first time.
From comically oversized failed exam papers haunting our dearest Usagi, to clever stage lights and props, the play itself was built on a combination of deliberate stage design paired with creative projections, topped off by the tonally appropriate acting from the talented cast to maintain the anime-like uniqueness of the original series. The cast overall did well to maintain the mannerisms of the animated characters, yet did not over-do it to the point where it felt odd or broke immersion seeing it on a real life human. The stage direction and choreography executed by both the main and ensemble cast was also artful and direct, with a purposeful flow that did not distract or confuse the audience.
The characters and sequence of events felt as real as they could - for magical moon guardians anyway - with the costuming vastly surpassing the years of Sailor Moon cosplays that had graced many a convention hall. Queen Beryl's costume in particular, caught many an eye, with the intricate cuts and beading as well as the strategically placed padding to stay true to the original character's more hourglass form. Just by silhouettes, each and every character could easily be spotted.
The show ended with a "concert" segment, where the audience were prompted to wave their specially branded lightsticks as the cast performed a series of songs from the show, including the iconic "Moonlight Densetsu". The cast continued their performances as they descended the stage and flooded around the crowd, interacting with the audience in a final hurrah before taking their final bows on stage.
Overall, Sailor Moon: The Super Live was pretty, bright, glittery, and tragic. Basically, everything we loved about the original series. It's not everyday that you see your childhood play out before you, and it was definitely worth the watch. Tickets are still available, with the final show on March 19th 2025. While the pretty guardians didn't give me any powers of my own - at least they gave me a weapon for the ride home.
Thank you Dawbell for the invite.
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