It was originally serialized in Kodansha's shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into 52), along with several side stories, were compiled in 18 volumes.

The series follows the adventures of a schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino as she transforms into the eponymous character to search for a magical artifact, the "Legendary Silver Crystal" (「幻の銀水晶」, Maboroshi no Ginsuishō, lit.

The entire anime series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release in North America and by Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand.

One day in Juban, Tokyo, a middle-school student named Usagi Tsukino befriends Luna, a talking black cat who gives her a magical brooch enabling her to transform into Sailor Moon: a guardian destined to save Earth from the forces of evil.

In the first arc, the group battles the Dark Kingdom, those members attempt to find the Silver Crystal and free an imprisoned, evil entity called Queen Metaria.

Usagi and her team discover that in their previous lives, they were members of the ancient Moon Kingdom in a period of time called the Silver Millennium.

[11] Recurring motifs include astronomy,[8] astrology, gemology, Greco-Roman mythology,[12] Japanese elemental themes,[13]: 286  teen fashions,[12][14] and schoolgirl antics.

[14] Takeuchi said discussions with Kodansha originally envisaged a single story arc;[15] the storyline was developed in meetings a year before serialization began.

[21] Other examples of westernization referenced by Sailor Moon's audience included flipping scenes of traffic to have cars drive on the right side of the road along with the English dub changing any conversations between characters that contained lesser-known (in North America at the time) Japanese cultural references.

[23] Written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi, Sailor Moon was serialized in the monthly manga anthology Nakayoshi from December 28, 1991, to February 3, 1997.

The manga was first published as a serial in MixxZine beginning in 1997, but was later removed from the magazine and made into a separate, low print monthly comic to finish the first, second and third arcs.

[33] Pages from the Tokyopop version of the manga ran daily in the Japanimation Station, a service accessible to users of America Online.

[43] At Anime Expo 2017, Kodansha Comics announced plans to re-release Sailor Moon in an "Eternal Edition", featuring a new English translation, new cover artwork by Takeuchi, and color pages from the manga's original run, printed on extra-large premium paper.

[49] In November 2020, Kodansha Comics announced plans to re-release the Sailor Moon manga again as part of their "Naoko Takeuchi Collection".

In the winter, musicals toured to other large cities in Japan, including Osaka, Fukuoka,[81] Nagoya, Shizuoka, Kanazawa, Sendai,[82] Saga, Oita, Yamagata and Fukushima.

[83] The final incarnation of the first run, New Legend of Kaguya Island (Revised Edition) (新・かぐや島伝説 <改訂版>, Shin Kaguyashima Densetsu (Kaiteban)), went on stage in January 2005, following which, Bandai officially put the series on a hiatus.

[85] The 20th anniversary show La Reconquista ran from September 13 to 23 at Shibuya's AiiA Theater Tokyo, with Satomi Ōkubo as Sailor Moon.

[96] The companies' work is believed by Solotoff to have been handed over to Raymond Iacovacci, one of the producers on the project, who stored the pilot script and animation cels in a storage facility.

[96] The project was rediscovered in 1998 when the music video was screened at the Anime Expo convention in Los Angeles,[98] where it was met with laughter by onlookers.

[104][105] The proof of concept video was widely considered to be lost media and director Solotoff reported that he was frequently contacted by people searching for the pilot.

[97] In 1998, Frank Ward, along with his company Renaissance-Atlantic Entertainment, tried to revive the idea of doing a live-action series based on Sailor Moon, this time called Team Angel, without the involvement of Toon Makers.

[108][109] Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon featured Miyuu Sawai as Usagi Tsukino, Rika Izumi (credited as Chisaki Hama) as Ami Mizuno, Keiko Kitagawa as Rei Hino, Mew Azama as Makoto Kino, Ayaka Komatsu as Minako Aino, Jouji Shibue as Mamoru Chiba, Keiko Han reprising her voice role as Luna from the original anime and Kappei Yamaguchi voicing Artemis.

[118] It featured Sailor Moon and the Inner Guardians arriving at the theme park, only to discover and stop the Youma's plan from stealing people's energies.

[130] The group made their debut under the name F5ve with the single "Lettuce" in May 2024, also celebrating Pride Month in a special tiktok message with an international audience in the same year.

[134] By the series's 20th anniversary in 2012, the manga had sold over 35 million copies in over fifty countries,[135] and the franchise has generated $2.5 billion in worldwide merchandise sales as of 1996.

[144] It was later aired in Russia, South Korea, the Philippines, China, Italy, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong, before North America picked up the franchise for adaptation.

Durand said "the sense of tragedy is greater" in the manga's telling of the "fall of the Silver Millennium," giving more detail about the origins of the Four Kings of Heaven and on Usagi's final battle against Queen Beryl and Metaria.

[153][154] Gemma Cox of Neo magazine said part of the series's allure was that fans communicated via the Internet about the differences between the dub and the original version.

[167] Sailor Moon also influenced the development of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, W.I.T.C.H., Winx Club, LoliRock, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Steven Universe, and Totally Spies!.

[174] In honor of Sailor Moon's 30th anniversary, brands like Sanrio, Uniqlo, and Maison de FLEUR launched a collaboration in January 2022.