Moonies around the world rejoiced when Viz Media announced that Sailor Moon’s fifth and final season, Sailor Stars will finally be getting its own official Blu-ray/DVD release worldwide, as it was the only season that did not have an official international release. A few days after the highly-anticipated release of the 1st disc set for the new dub, however, some Moonies took to social media to raise their concerns about an error made in the booklet included in the Blu-ray release.
In the booklet (pictured below) which details the interconnections between characters in the series, it is noticeable that the relationship between Haruka Tenoh and Michiru Kaioh, aka Sailor Uranus and Neptune, was labelled as “friendship”.
Most Moonies were disappointed to see this, as both Uranus and Neptune are canonically in a romantic relationship with each other. Some also thought that the franchise has already gone past the stage where the two Sailor Senshi’s relationship is being censored—if you remember the 90s Sailor Moon dub by DiC (which is how most American fans got to know the series), the two were consistently referred to as “cousins” to make them less scandalous for TV (remember, this was the 90s). This, however, somehow backfired on DiC, as their very blatant romantic body language towards each other instead made some think that they were cousins in an incestuous relationship.
Thus, most fans were disappointed with this error made by Viz Media. I mean, we all know they’re in a romantic relationship, so what was the point of labelling them as “friends”? Is this the 90s all over again?
Fortunately Viz was quick on the uptake, and immediately issued an apology via their official Twitter account. The tweet, which was also posted in their official website, reads:
”The team here at VIZ was very excited to take on the honor of localizing Sailor Moon, especially acknowledging that Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus are not friends, but in fact, partners.
We made a mistake in the SAILOR MOON: SAILOR STARS booklet, and we deeply apologize for the implications of our error. We have initiated a reprinting of the booklet with updated language.
Thank you to the SAILOR MOON community for bringing this to our attention. We have been proud of our work supporting the series and will continue to do so in the future.
More details to follow about how to receive a replacement booklet.”
Now that this issue of “straightwashing” is fixed, it’s time to wait for the other Blu-rays to come out. Honestly, I’m excited to see Seiya and the other Starlights go shouting, “Star Gentle Uterus”! lol
Source: IGN