General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20264 min read

Sailor Moon R: The Movie (劇場版美少女戦士セーラームーンR)

Sailor Moon R: The Movie (劇場版美少女戦士セーラームーンR) is a 1993 Japanese animated film, the first theatrical feature based on Naoko Takeuchi's manga Sailor Moon, in which Sailor Moon and the four Sailor Guardians fight the alien Fiore and the flower demon Kisenian to save Mamoru Chiba and the Earth. It was directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara, produced by Toei Animation, and released in Japanese theaters on December 5, 1993, with a running time of 60 minutes and distribution by Toei.¹^•²

Key fact	Detail
Japanese release	December 5, 1993; 60 minutes; distributed by Toei¹
Position in series	First theatrical film of the Sailor Moon manga, which was serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine²
Director	Kunihiko Ikuhara, later known for Revolutionary Girl Utena³
Main staff	Script: Tadao Tomita; character design and animation direction: Kazuko Tadano; music: Tetsuji Hayashi²
Principal cast	Kotono Mitsuishi (Usagi Tsukino / Sailor Moon), Tohru Furuya (Mamoru Chiba / Tuxedo Mask), Hikaru Midorikawa (Fiore), Yumi Touma (Kisenian)⁴
Theme songs	Opening: "Moonlight Densetsu" by DALI; ending: "Moon Revenge" by the five Sailor Guardian voice actresses⁴
Box office	Final distributor income of 1.3 billion yen⁵

Spoilers

Story

The film opens with Usagi Tsukino, Mamoru Chiba, Chibiusa, and Rei spending a holiday at a botanical garden, where a mysterious beautiful young man appears. He is Fiore, an alien who has returned to Earth to fulfill a friendship with Mamoru from Mamoru's boyhood, when Mamoru had given him a flower. Fiore's heart, however, has been taken over by Kisenian, a demonic flower that attaches itself to weak hearts, amplifies hatred, and drains energy; Kisenian grants Fiore great power and intends to use him to destroy the Earth.¹¹^•²

Fiore comes to see Sailor Moon as the demon corrupting Mamoru's heart and tries to kill her. At the climax of the battle, as Fiore moves to deliver the final blow to Sailor Moon, Mamoru shields her and falls. Fiore carries the gravely wounded Mamoru away, and the Sailor Guardians teleport to the asteroid where Kisenian is, to save Mamoru and seal the demonic energy.¹¹^•⁴ After a fierce battle with Kisenian, Fiore falls, and peace returns to the Earth.¹

Production and place in the series

The film adapts the Sailor Moon manga, which Naoko Takeuchi serialized in Kodansha's shōjo magazine Nakayoshi, and it was the first Sailor Moon theatrical movie.² It followed the second television series, Sailor Moon R, which ran on the TV Asahi network from March 6, 1993 to March 12, 1994 in 43 episodes; the first series had ended after one year and a sequel was commissioned after the program became a hit.⁶^•⁷

The production company was credited as Kodansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Animation, and the film was shot on 35 mm film in color at an aspect ratio of 1:1.85.⁸ Kunihiko Ikuhara directed; this was his first film as director, and he later became known for Revolutionary Girl Utena.³^•⁹ Tadao Tomita wrote the script, Kazuko Tadano was character designer and animation director, Junichi Taniguchi was art director, and Tetsuji Hayashi composed the music.²

The theatrical release was paired with the short feature Make Up! Sailor Guardians, directed by Harume Kosaka with a script by Tomita, and with Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai.¹⁰^•⁵

Cast and music

The television cast reprised their roles: Kotono Mitsuishi as Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon), Tohru Furuya as Mamoru Chiba (Tuxedo Mask), Aya Hisakawa as Ami Mizuno (Sailor Mercury), Michie Tomizawa as Rei Hino (Sailor Mars), Emi Shinohara as Makoto Kino (Sailor Jupiter), and Rika Fukami as Minako Aino (Sailor Venus). Hikaru Midorikawa voiced Fiore, with Tomoko Maruo as the boyhood Fiore, and Yumi Touma voiced Kisenian. Kotono Mitsuishi also voiced young Mamoru's counterpart role casting note aside, Megumi Ogata voiced the young Mamoru, and Araki Kae played Chibiusa.⁴^•²

The opening theme was "Moonlight Densetsu" performed by DALI, and the ending theme, "Moon Revenge", was performed by the five voice actresses of the Sailor Guardians: Mitsuishi, Hisakawa, Tomizawa, Shinohara, and Fukami.⁴

Reception and home video

The film earned a final distributor income of 1.3 billion yen.⁵ On the review aggregation site Filmarks it holds a rating of 4.0 from about 5,550 user reviews.¹² U-NEXT's editorial summary highlights the focus on the bond between Usagi and her four companions and the climax, in which an inserted song is layered over flashbacks.³

Home video releases followed over the years: an LD and VHS release on July 21, 1994, a DVD on December 10, 2004, and a Blu-ray box, Sailor Moon THE MOVIE 1993–1995, collecting the first three theatrical films, released on February 7, 2018.⁵^•¹⁰ The film remains available on Japanese streaming services, including U-NEXT and DMM TV on unlimited plans and Prime Video and FOD by rental.¹³

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026