Trivia / Sera Myu

• Actor Allusion:
  • In Starlights - Ryuusei Densetsu and Kakyuu-Ouhi Kourin, the Sailor Animamates impersonated a female dance troupe, with Sailor Lead Crow posing as the group's choreographer. Endou Ado, the actress who played Crow, choreographed the show as well.
  • This one takes place over two different musicals: In "Sailor Busters" from Sailor Stars, the Inner Senshi wear trench coats matching their colors while investigating a crime. In "Kick Out A Bloody Mystery" from Eien Densetsu, they again wear the coats while investigating a crime (joined by Setsuna and ChibiChibi) except for Rei, who was framed for the crime. Instead, her coat is worn by Setsuna (played here by Saitou Rei), so Rei is wearing Rei's jacket!
  • In Shin Densetsu Kourin, Hawk's Eye (played by Ono Hikari), under the alias Toriatama Hikari, sings a few bars of "Chasin' After You" in a Call-Back to Ono Hikari's previous role as Sailor Star Maker.
  • Tiger's Eye, played by Andou Chihiro, complains that they don't know their gender and that they're playing a man's part, calling themselves an ''otokoyaku''. Chihiro was an otokoyaku in Star Troupe, under the stage name Hyuuga Ran.
• Adaptation Sequence: Manga —> Better known sequel —> Anime —> Musicals —> Non-canon video game —> Live-action television series —> Another anime —> Second Set of Musicals
• Ascended Fanon: Relationships between the Shitennou and the Inner Senshi are canon in a few of the musicals (most notably in La Reconquista). Likewise, the idea Sailor Pluto has unrequited feelings for King Endymion is confirmed in "Onna no Ronsou (The Women's Dispute)" from Eien Densetsu and carried over to the new musicals in "Todokanu Omoi (Unconveyable Feelings)" from Petite Etrangere.
• Book Ends: The 4th Sailor Moon, Kuroki Marina, was introduced with a performance of "LINK" from Kaguya Shima Densetsu at a Fan Kansha event. Four years later, she graduated after performing in its remake, Shin Kaguya Shima Densetsu.
• Casting Gag:
  • Kawasaki Mao was one of the first Chibi-Usas in the First Stage and returned in the Second Stage to be the first Black Lady.
  • Yuuta Mochizuki played Tuxedo Mask in the First Stage, then returned to play King Endymion in the Second Stage.
  • Manami Wakayama, played Berthier in Black Lady and then played Berthier's Senshi counterpart, Sailor Mercury, in Mugen Gakuen.
  • Hikaru Ono and Riona Tatemichi both went from playing Hawk's Eye (Yume Senshi Kaiteiban and Amour Eternal) to playing Sailor Star Maker (Sailor Stars/Eien Densetsu and Le Mouvement Final).
  • Satomi Ōkubo played Usagi from La Reconquista to Un Nouveau Voyage and then returned as Sailor Cosmos in Le Mouvement Final.
  • Naoko Takeuchi based Haruka and Michiru on otokoyaku (male role actress) and musumeyaku (female role actress) in Takarazuka theatre. In the musicals, they have often been played by former Takarazuka actresses, including former otokoyaku Nao Takagi and Shuu Shiotsuki as Haruki and former musumeyaku Sayaka Fujioka as Michiru.
  • Mikako Ishii (Pluto from Petite Étrangère through Le Mouvement Final) returned to play Tuxedo Mask in the Nogizaka48 musicals.
• The Cast Showoff:
  • In the Kaiteiban Fan Kansha event for "Tanjou! Ankoku no Princess Black Lady", Hikari Ono (Demand) and Kasumi Suzuki (Manna) tap danced together during a short scene after they finished singing "Gondola no Koibito-tachi (Gondola Sweethearts)".
  • "Kaze no Shijin (Poet of the Wind)" in "Starlights - Ryuusei Densetsu" lets Yuu Shirota (Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask) show off his ability to play the guitar. He did it again in a Fan Kansha event where he and Marina sang "Mitsumeteite yo".
• Cast the Expert: The 20th anniversary run of the musicals - the first to feature all-women casts - is filled with alumnae of Takarazuka Revue, to the point of causing fans to call this a Takarazuka revival. ^note It's not, because actual Takarazuka shows are affiliated with Hankyu Railway, and are done by their five troupes. More information is available on Wikipedia and the Revue's article on TV Tropes. Overlapping with Evil Sounds Deep, the vast majority of OGs (retired Takarazuka actresses) in Sera Myu are otokoyaku (male role actresses) and play villains. ^note Or part-time villains, in the case of Yuuga Yamato (Tuxedo Mask).
  • Yuuga Yamato (otokoyaku) - Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask
  • Midori Hatsukaze (otokoyaku) - Queen Beryl
  • Ryou Saika (otokoyaku) - Zoisite (originally cast as Kunzite)
  • Erika Mahiro (otokoyaku) - Dimande (Zuka stage name Shun Mahiro)
  • Sora Manami (otokoyaku) - Saphir
  • Shuu Shiotsuki (otokoyaku) - Haruka Tenoh/Sailor Uranus
  • Sayaka Fujioka (musumeyaku) - Michiru Kaioh/Sailor Neptune (Zuka stage name Himeka Tsukino)
  • Yuuki Kaon (otokoyaku) - Professor Tomoe
  • Kei Oogi (otokoyaku) - Kaolinite (Zuka stage name Megumu Ougi)
  • Sayu Ootsuki (musumeyaku) - Queen Nehellenia
  • Chihiro Ando (otokoyaku) - Tiger's Eye (Zuka stage name Ran Hyuuga)
  • Coco Isuzu (otokoyaku) - Sailor Galaxia (Zuka stage name Hikari Isuzu)
  • Iriya Yuuto (otokoyaku) - Sailor Lead Crow
• Corpsing: Kenji Urai (Tuxedo Mask) cracked up during a skit with Yoshiya Yukimura (Shintarou) in a Mugen Gakuen Fan Kansha event.
• Cuteness Overload: In the 10th Anniversary talk show, Anza Ooyama (1st Moon) described having a real-life case of it when she met Marina Kuroki (4th Moon). Anza compared Marina to a puppy during one of the filmed talk show segments.
• Cut Song:
  • "Itsuwari no Forevermore (False Forevermore)", "Mizusakiannainin no Game (The Pilot's Game)", "Tenkuu no Utage (Banquet of the Heavens)", and "Oitsumerarete (Cornered)" were all cut from the Kaiteiban of "Eien Densetsu".
  • "Traditional the Grace" and "La Soldier" were cut from the Kaiteiban of "Tanjou! Ankoku no Princess Black Lady".
• Milestone Celebration:
  • "Shin - Henshin - Super Senshi e no Michi ~Last Dracul Jokyoku~" celebrated the 500th Sera Myu performance.
  • "Kakyuu-Ouhi Kourin" celebrated the 777th Sera Myu performance.
  • La Reconquista celebrated the 20th anniversary of Sailor Moon.
• Missing Episode: The Gaiden Kaiteiban, Henshin - Super Senshi e no Michi, the Henshin Kaiteiban, and the Sailor Moon SuperS Musical Show were never released on home video. The lack of a recording of Henshin is especially unfortunate, since that was the show in which Super Sailor Moon and Sailor Pluto made proper appearances in the musicals.
• No Export for You: Played straight with the original musicals, but averted by the new ones. Petite Etrangere and Un Nouveau Voyage were both performed in Shanghai, China. In those productions, non-Japanese speakers could rent glasses that provided live subtitles. The international anime industry has also come a long way in 30 years, and fans outside of Japan have been able to purchase DVD and Blu-Ray releases of the more recent musicals.
  • A modified version of Amour Eternal was the first Myu performed in North America with subtitles provided on a screen for non-Japanese speakers.
• The Other Darrin: Happens a lot, which is not unusual for long-running theater productions. Some notable examples:
  • Basically every actor in a main role graduated after Eien Densetsu, so Shin Densetsu Kourin started with a fresh slate of actors.
  • Unusually for Sera Myu, some major cast changes occurred between the first run of Mugen Gakuen and the Kaiteiban: Tuxedo Mask (Kenji Urai -> Yuu Shirota), Mars (Megumi Yoshida -> Aiko Kawasaki), Uranus (Nao Takagi -> Asako Uchida), Neptune (Yuuka Asami -> Tomoko Inami), Mistress 9 (Tomoko Inami -> Chinatsu Akiyama)
  • Amour Eternal marked the debut of five new actresses in the roles of the Inner Senshi.
  • Surprisingly averted by Airi Kanda and Kokoru Kuge, who were double-cast as Chibi-Usa in Petite Étrangère and Un Nouveau Voyage. Airi Kanda would go on to play Chibi-Usa in Amour Eternal and Le Mouvement Final, where the role was no longer double-cast.
• Overtook the Manga: Usagi - Ai no Senshi e no Michi was created and performed while the Infinity Arc was still being written, but the musical needed to tell a complete story. This is likely the reason why Super Sailor Moon, Sailor Pluto, Sailor Saturn, and various members of the Death Busters were not included, although Super Sailor Moon and Sailor Pluto were eventually introduced in Henshin - Super Senshi e no Michi.
• Promoted Fanboy: Many of the actors and actresses were fans of the series. The original run of Sera Myu was over 11 years long, allowing some to go from watching the show as children to performing in it. One notable example of this is Marina Kuroki, the 4th Sailor Moon.
• Recycled Script:
  • Queen Beryl has been brought back from the dead seven times (Gaiden, Gaiden K, Eien Densetsu, Eien K, Shin Densetsu Kourin, Starlights*Ryuusei Densetsu, Kakyuu-Ouhi Kourin).
  • The Stars arc has been done eight times (Sailor Stars, Stars K, Eien Densetsu, Eien K, Shin Densetsu Kourin, Starlights*Ryuusei Densetsu, Kakyuu-Ouhi Kourin, and Le Mouvement Final).
• Role Reprise: Takeda Keiko, the original Hotaru/Saturn, was not in Eien Densetsu, but she returned for Eien Densetsu Kaiteiban.
• Team Mom: Yuuko Hosaka, the longest-running Sailor Pluto, was often affectionately referred to as "mom" or "motherly" by other cast members, especially the younger ones.
• You Look Familiar: In addition to the examples listed under Casting Gag, Ado Endou is the single longest-running Myu performer. She played various Mooks in dance-focused roles throughout the First Stage and gradually moved into singing roles in the Second Stage. She was also the choreographer. At the end of the Bandai musicals, she had played thirteen different characters in twenty-seven productions.
  • Hikari Ono, another long-running Sera Myu performer, played some major roles in the First and Second Stages: Hawk's Eye (Yume Senshi Kaiteiban, Shin Densetsu Kourin), Sailor Star Maker (Sailor Stars, Eien Densetsu), Loof Merrow (Kaguya Shima Densetsu), Bloody Dracul Vampir (Transylvania no Mori, Last Dracul Saishuu Shou), and Prince Demande (Black Lady, Ai no Sanctuary).
  • Tomoko Inami went from playing Mistress 9 in Mugen Gakuen to playing Sailor Neptune in the Kaiteiban. Chinatsu Akiyama played Mistress 9 in the Kaiteiban and then went on to play Sailor Star Fighter in the next production, Starlights*Ryuusei Densetsu.
  • Riona Tatemichi played Rubeus in Petite Étrangère, Hawk's Eye in Amour Eternal, Sailor Star Maker in Le Mouvement Final, and Mamoru / Tuxedo Mask in the Super Live.
  • Yuka Kobayashi played minor Mooks in La Reconquista and Amour Eternal, Queen Serenity in the modified U.S. performance of Amour Eternal, and Sailor Aluminum Siren in Le Mouvement Final.