Sera Myu

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Sera Myu is a common abbreviation referring to a series of Sailor Moon musicals staged in Japan between 1993 and 2005. Many of the productions were based on plotlines taken from the anime and manga, while others were based on original stories. To date, the Myu has had 29 separate productions with over 800 total performances.

General Information

The name, Sera Myu (セラミュー / seramyū) is an abbreviation of the words, Sailor Moon Musical (セーラームーン・ミュージカル / sērāmūn myūjikaru), as they appear in katakana.

The Sailor Moon musicals' stories are based upon the original anime and manga version, but sometimes draw upon totally original ideas, such as the Kaguya Shima Densetsu (Legend of Kaguya Island) musicals, and the Dracul series. Frequently the producers flesh out concepts from the anime or manga that were never fully explained, such as a relationship between the four "Inner Senshi" and the Shitennou (Four Heavenly Kings), as well as the unrequited love between Sailor Pluto and King Endymion.

It is common for songs to be reused in later musicals, or for some to appear in every musical. For instance, La Soldier is performed in every show. The Kaiteiban (Revisions) are another major aspect of the musicals. Generally, new musicals run in the summer, and then a Revision is performed the following winter. The basic plot stays the same, but Revisions often have rearranged scenes or songs, small plot elements are expanded upon, and actresses who are "graduating" (a term used when a cast member leaves) often have more solo parts and/or speaking lines.

The most recent production, Shin Kaguya Shima Densetsu (Kaiteiban) concluded in January of 2005. According to BMO, the official fanclub, the musicals are currently on a "short hiatus," but as of yet there have been no signs that any new musicals will be made.

Musical "Stages"

The musicals are divided up into separate stages, which are usually determined by actresses who "graduate." Western fans usually divide up the musicals into four separate stages, coinciding with the actress who played Sailor Moon. Anza Oyama was the original actress for Sailor Moon, and is also the longest running (1993 Summer to 1998 Winter). The next stage was Fumina Hara, the shortest running Moon, who appeared from the Summer of 1998 until the Summer of 1999. The following stage was Miyuki Kanbe's stage, from Winter 2000 to Spring 2001. And the fourth, and possibly final stage, was Marina Kuroki, the second longest running Moon, from Summer 2001 until Winter of 2005.

The official stages, as broken down by the producers of the musicals, are quite different, and there are only three stages. The first is the same as Western fans' interpretation, with the First Stage ending when Anza Oyama graduated. The second stage began in Summer 1998 and ended in Winter 2004, with a revision of the Final First Stage musical, Eien Densetsu. Yuuko Hosaka, the longest running Sailor Pluto, also graduated at the end of this stage. The third stage is the current stage.

List of Musicals