Debut of New Sailor Moon Stage Musical to be Delayed to 2020

Unfortunate news for fans of Sailor Moon musicals, more known to fans as Seramyu: the franchise’s 5th musical stage play will be delayed to summer 2020, as opposed to the original plan to debut the musical this summer 2019. Perhaps to make it up to fans, the announcement of the delay included the title of the musical, which is Kaguya-hime no Koibito. This is also the title of the short manga on which the Sailor Moon S: The Movie was based on.

The Sailor Moon musicals actually started in 1993. In 2005, their official fanclub announced that the musicals would go on a short hiatus. Seramyu only returned in 2013 with the staging of La Reconquista featuring Satomi Ookubo in the lead role. Since then, fans have commonly classified Seramyu into two eras: the Old Myu (1993 to 2005) and the New Myu (2013 onwards). Other ways of categorizing the musicals are by dividing the periods based on who plays Sailor Moon, with Anza Ooyama (the first Sailor Moon) and Marina Kuroki as fans’ most common favorites.

The New Myu, also referred to as the 20th anniversary stage (since its launch coincided with the franchise’s 20th anniversary) has currently staged 5 musicals: La Reconquista, Petite Etrangere, Un Nouveau Voyage, Amour Eternal, and Le Movement Final. Since 2018, the musicals have been produced by Nogizaka46, with the musicals starring members from the idol group. They recently performed the Nogizaka46 Ver. Musical Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, which ran from June 8 to 24 and September 21 to 30, 2018. Their performances have two versions, with each featuring a different cast from the idol group.

Sailor Moon was first launched and serialized in 1991 in Nakayoshi. Naoko Takeuchi’s work has since earned critical acclaim, numerous accolades, and has become one of the most lucrative and enduring anime franchises, selling over 35 million manga copies worldwide and earning an estimated $5 billion from merchandise sales alone.

Source: Anime News Network