Sailor Moon R movie

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Movie Data
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Original Movie
Name (kanji/kana): 美少女戦士セーラームーンR
Name (romaji): Bishoujo Senshi SEERAA MUUN R
Name (translated): Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon R
Movie Number: 1
Director: Kunihiko Ikuhara
Writer(s): Sukehiro Tomita
Animation Director: Kazuko Tadano
Release Date: December 5, 1993
Previous Movie: None
Next Movie: Sailor Moon S movie
North American Dub Movie
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Name: Sailor Moon R: The Promise of the Rose
Release Date: February 8, 2000

The Sailor Moon R movie was the first movie based on the Sailor Moon anime, and was originally released in 1993 in Japan. When shown in theaters, it was screened with the animated short Make up! Sailor Senshi at the beginning.

Viz Media produced a new dub of the film that was given a theatrical run in early 2017, and the DVD and Blu-ray were released on April 18, 2017.

Summary

Usagi and her friends meet up with Mamoru at the Jindai Botanical Garden.

In a flashback, young Mamoru emerges onto the roof of a building and offers a rose to another boy who is waiting there. The boy thanks him for the gift and promises to give him something in return, someday. Mamoru begins to cry after his friend disappears, but the other boy's voice echoes across the rooftop, promising to bring him lots of flowers when he returns.

Mamoru returns to the present as Usagi comments on a potted forget-me-not, and the meaning of the flower. She attempts to take advantage of the romantic moment to get a kiss, but Chibiusa and the other girls, who were spying on the pair from behind a row of flowers, interfere. Mamoru unobtrusively slips away as they tease his girlfriend, and once outside is surprised to find flower petals raining from the sky. The girls join him and are delighted by the sight.

An unfamiliar young man appears and approaches Mamoru, greeting him in a familiar way and declaring that he has brought flowers as he had promised. Mamoru does not recognize the newcomer, though, and Usagi becomes distinctly uncomfortable at the way he is treating her boyfriend. When she speaks up, though, the stranger becomes annoyed and shoves her out of the way. As Usagi's friends rush to her side the young man walks away; he again tells Mamoru that he will fulfill his promise, then disappears in a storm of petals. The girls stare in shock where he had been standing, and Mamoru wonders aloud if that could have been Fiore.

Later that night, the girls have gathered at the Hikawa Shrine, and are watching a news report about an asteroid that will be coming near the earth. Artemis turns to the computer and pulls up an analysis of the asteroid; he says that it isn't dense enough to do anything but burn up in the atmosphere, but he and Luna sensed plant energy coming from it. As the girls discuss the asteroid, they are distracted by Usagi fretting about the strange young man who appeared at the gardens. Usagi says that she knows very little about Mamoru's past, and the discussion quickly degenerates as the cats give up on getting anything else done that night.

Tuning out her friends' teasing, Usagi remembers finding a photo of Mamoru's parents and asking him about his family. In a flashback, Mamoru tells her that he is no longer lonely, because she is his family now. She promises herself that she will always be there for him.

In the present, Usagi quietly leaves the room and stares up at the sky, thinking about Mamoru.

In the meantime, a single plant seed drifts to the ground, landing at the base of a tree at the side of the road. The seed immediately takes root and grows into a large pink flower.

Usagi and her friends head to school in the morning, but Rei suddenly stops as she senses a strange aura. The girls run off in search of the source, but Chibiusa quickly falls behind. As they round a corner, they are stunned to find the entire street littered with unconscious bodies of people who had their energy stolen. The people suddenly move to their feet again as the girls approach them, and they quickly notice the vines wrapped around them are controlling their actions. Rei uses Akuryo Taisan to free the people of the plants' influence, but Ami realizes that the source is still there.

The pink flower suddenly springs up out of the ground, sprouting legs where its roots should be, and runs for Chibiusa, who has just arrived on scene. Usagi dives to push the girl out of the way just in time and they both crash through a store window. Before the others can do anything, the flower alters its form, becoming a humanoid Youma, and attacks; it grabs hold of Rei and Ami and begins to absorb their energy. While it is distracted, Minako and Makoto transform into Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter and attack, freeing their friends, who then transform into Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury.

Chibiusa revives the unconscious Usagi, who transforms into Sailor Moon and heads off to join the battle, with Chibiusa's encouragement. She arrives to find that the Dahlian has trapped the other Senshi, and uses Moon Tiara Action to free them. Sailor Mercury uses Shine Aqua Illusion to freeze the Youma in place, allowing Sailor Moon to destroy it with Moon Princess Halation.

As the smoke clears from the Youma's destruction, the strange young man from the day before appears, observing that he didn't know people like them existed on this planet. He is briefly surprised to recognize Sailor Moon as the girl from the gardens, but then shrugs it off and shows his true form. Luna is shocked to recognize the flower he wears as a Xenian Flower.

Fiore almost lazily attacks his new opponents, knocking out the four Inner Senshi before turning to Sailor Moon. He extends his fingernails into long spikes and moves to attack - but abruptly halts when a rose strikes the ground in front of him. Tuxedo Mask appears, and Fiore recognizes him as Mamoru, asking if he has remembered their friendship after all. Tuxedo Mask attempts to convince Fiore to believe in Sailor Moon, and for a moment it seems that he was successful, but then Fiore leaps high over him, drawing a sword as he lunges toward the girl. Tuxedo Mask blocks the sword blow, begging Fiore to leave her alone, but Fiore is convinced that she is only deceiving him and refuses to give up. He pushes Tuxedo Mask to the side and once more extends the sharp spikes from his fingertips toward Sailor Moon - but Tuxedo Mask manages to block the attack with his own body.

As Sailor Moon weeps over the mortally wounded man, Fiore stares at them in shock, wondering why Mamoru would think so highly of the girl. After a moment he shakes his head, then takes Tuxedo Mask's body and disappears in a swirl of petals, ignoring Sailor Moon's cries. After they disappear, the Senshi drops to her knees, weeping and calling Mamoru's name.

In Mamoru's memory, his parents' car skids off the edge of a cliff, leaving him orphaned in the hospital with no memory. As he cries for his parents, a young Fiore appears at his bedside, assuring him that he is no longer alone. In the present, Mamoru opens his eyes to find himself suspended in a crystal full of liquid, with Fiore watching him. He says that he remembers Fiore now; he'd convinced himself the other was just a figment of his imagination. Fiore replies that he remembers their time together like it was yesterday. He had wandered through space alone with no memory of his family or origin, and finally ended up on Earth when at the last of his strength. Young Mamoru found him outside of the hospital then, and Fiore says that was when he knew he would not be alone anymore. He couldn't stay on Earth, however, and was eventually forced to leave. Mamoru gave him a rose before he left, though, and unexpectedly pleased by the gift, Fiore promised to bring his friend even more flowers someday. Fiore says that he searched and finally found a flower worth giving to Mamoru - the Xenian Flower. He knew at that point that all the people of Earth who had left Mamoru to be lonely deserved to die. Mamoru says that he never wished for such a thing, but Fiore only says that he knows Mamoru will not leave him alone, because Fiore is the only one who can bring him flowers.

Back on Earth, the cats tell the Senshi of the legends of the Xenian Flower. It cannot act on its own, they say, so it finds a person with a weak heart to attach to. At that point, the flower will play with its host's emotions, creating a feeling of deep hatred that grows into a strong evil power and eventually destroy the planet on which it lives. Artemis says that there are countless planets that have been destroyed by a Xenian's machinations, and Fiore is likely possessed by one of them. Sailor Mercury says that the energy of the Flower Youma they fought earlier matches the energy signature of the approaching asteroid, and they realize the asteroid must be the Xenian's base and, thus, where Mamoru is being held.

The Senshi begin to make plans to go to the asteroid, but Sailor Moon speaks up and says that they can't, because she doesn't want anyone else to be hurt because of her. Chibiusa becomes upset at that, and tells Sailor Moon that if she becomes discouraged she will never be able to save Mamoru. The other Senshi chime in with words of encouragement, and Sailor Moon finally manages to smile.

The Senshi use Sailor Teleport to travel to the asteroid, and as they approach it opens up, revealing that the entire inside is completely covered with the pink flowers. A Campanula approaches them, and they use Sailor Planet Attack to destroy it, then come to a landing on the asteroid's surface. Sailor Mercury finds the crystal in which Mamoru is contained, but when Sailor Moon goes to run to him the others stop her, cautioning that it might be a trap. Fiore assures them that he would never use Mamoru as bait as he appears nearby, and says that he will return Mamoru to Earth in time. First, however, he says that the asteroid will send all of its seeds to Earth as it approaches, covering the planet with flowers that will drain the energy of all the humans. Sailor Mars declares that they won't let that happen and attacks, but Fiore disappears.

The flowers all around the girls begin to sprout into Youma, and the Senshi engage in battle. Fiore watches from afar, dismayed at the thought that his flowers might be destroyed so quickly. The Youma retreat and regroup, then descend in a massive wave upon the girls - just before they strike, Sailor Mars throws Sailor Moon out of the way, leaving her to watch as her friends are buried under the flowers.

Fiore taunts Sailor Moon for being a coward and leaving the others to die. She moves to attack him, but he shows her the Senshi bound by his Youma and tells her that if she hurts his flowers he will hurt her friends, and orders her to drop her weapon. Even though the Senshi order her not to give up, Sailor Moon drops the Cutie Moon Rod to the ground and tearfuly says that she can't fight because she can't watch her friends in pain.

At this sight Fiore doubles over in apparent pain; his Youma fade away and the Senshi are released. The Xenian, however, tells him not to be deceived by the girl, and offers to share her powers with him so that he can defeat Sailor Moon and allow Mamoru to remember their friendship once more. The Xenian Flower merges with Fiore and he attacks Sailor Moon, draining her energy and feeding it to the flowers. Seeing this, Mamoru struggles to break free of his confinement, and finally manages to break out of the crystalline structure.

As he drains Sailor Moon's energy, Fiore declares that she can never understand his loneliness, that she knows nothing of what it is like to feel worthless and misunderstood. In the meanime, the Inner Senshi think of how they have been lonely, shunned by their classmates for being different or strange. They push themselves to their feet and struggle to move closer.

Fiore releases Sailor Moon after draining her energy and allows her to fall to the ground, where she lies half-conscious. He prepares the final killing blow, but the Senshi beg him not to take her away from them, because she means so much them: without her, they all would have been alone. Fiore refuses to listen, saying that they and Mamoru are all being deceived by her, and in his anger fires a massive attack of sharp-tipped spikes at her.

Just as he does, however, Fiore is struck in the chest by a rose, causing all of his attacks to miss and strike the ground around the girl. He stares at the rose in shock, then looks up to see Tuxedo Mask slowly collapse to the ground, having used all his strength for that one attack. Cracks appear around the point where the rose struck Fiore, and the Xenian's power shatters as he slowly collapses. He has lost the will to fight, because Mamoru has abandoned him, and the flowers around him fade away, leaving the asteroid barren rock once more.

The Senshi see the flowers vanish and are relieved that the Earth has been saved, but their relief is short-lived: one piece of the asteroid breaks free and changes its course, as Fiore declares that they will all die with him when it strikes the Earth. Sailor Moon, however, says that she won't let that happen; she slowly rises to a kneeling position and summons the Silver Crystal from her brooch. The other Senshi tell her not to use the Crystal because it will kill her, but she insists that it will be all right.

As she starts to call upon the Silver Crystal's power, Fiore suddenly grabs hold of the brooch, saying that he won't let her use it. As her transformation fades to pink ribbons, Usagi gently takes hold of Fiore's wrist and assures him that it will be all right, that he is not alone. The Crystal gives off a flare of white light, and they both see a memory from the past.

As young Mamoru cries alone in his hospital room, a younger Usagi arrives and rests her head on his leg, telling him not to cry. He says that his friend is going away and there is nothing that he can do, but the little girl tells him that her mother had a baby and she is now a big sister, and she brought flowers as a gift. She takes one of the roses from her bouquet and offers it to him, and he smiles as he accepts it. Fiore realizes that the flower she gave to Mamoru was the same one Mamoru gave to him, and draws back in dismay. He sees the flower shape of the Silver Crystal and tears well up in his eyes, and despite her cries for him to pull himself together, the Xenian Flower disintegrates in the Crystal's light. Fiore himself staggers back and fades away completely.

The asteroid continues on its collision course with Earth, and Usagi focuses her will on the Silver Crystal, lifting it above her head as she transforms into Princess Serenity. The Senshi and Tuxedo Mask call out to her in dismay, but she only declares that she will protect everyone and begs the Crystal for the power to do so. Tuxedo Mask rises to his feet, transforming into Prince Endymion as he moves to help her. The Senshi join in, saying that they will all combine their powers and return to Earth together.

As the Senshi join hands, they think of how much Usagi means to them, and how she drew them out of their loneliness with her love and friendship. One by one, they call upon their powers, joining them with the power of the Silver Crystal. They succeed in diverting the course of the asteroid - just as the Silver Crystal shatters and Serenity collapses.

Down on Earth, Chibiusa and the cats wonder how the others are doing, and if they'll make it back all right. Chibiusa declares that they will definitely be fine, because Sailor Moon is everyone's mother and will protect them.

On the asteroid, now safely drifting in orbit, the Senshi and Tuxedo Mask mourn over Sailor Moon's still form, saying that it wasn't worth it to survive if they lost the one most dear to them. Fiore appears to Tuxedo Mask and thanks him, then offers a flower composed of his own life energy, asking him to give the nectar from the flower to Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Mask complies, and Sailor Moon opens her eyes again. She smiles weakly at them and says she told them she would protect everyone. The Senshi smile through their tears and collapse into her arms.

Cast

Trivia

  • Due to Chibiusa's inclusion in the main cast and her knowledge of the Sailor Senshi's identities, and also Mamoru and Usagi's intact relationship, this story most likely took place after episode 77 and before episode 82 since Chibiusa was still in the present.
  • When this movie was screened in theaters in France (as "Sailor Moon: La Fleur Maléfique" (Sailor Moon: The Evil Flower), the short Make up! Sailor Senshi was replaced by another short based on the anime Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai. The special was later included in the DVD release, though it was only subtitled and not dubbed.
  • In the French dub, the scene in which Fiore grabbed Sailor Moon's chest was cut for theatrical, TV, and VHS releases, but was kept in the DVD release. Also in the same dub, during Sailor Venus' flashback towards the end of the movie, Sailor Moon called her "Marcy," Makoto's dub name.
  • In Pioneer's R1 DVD release of the movie, the voice of young Mamoru was incorrectly credited as "Emi Ogata."
  • In the first English dub, the song "Moon Revenge" was originally replaced with "The Power of Love," though the original song was restored for the unedited DVD release. In the German and Hungarian dubs, the song was replaced with a translated version. The European Spanish dubs and the Shin Vision Italian dub retained the song intact, while the French and Mediaset Italian dubs removed the song entirely, without any replacement. In the Korean dub it was subtitled.
  • When the film first aired in Italy in the 90s, and in 2010 on Italia 1, it was split in three parts. Those were called "Uno strano ragazzo" (A strange boy), "La pianta malvagia" (The evil plant), and "Insieme per vincere" (Together to win). When it was distributed on home media and aired on Hiro in 2010, however, it was shown without any cuts.
  • Also in the German dub, the opening sequence was removed.
  • In its Japanese theatrical release, the film made ¥1.3 billion (US$13 million), and was the 7th highest grossing film in the country in 1994. (Japanese Wikipedia)