Hey now, Crystal is a barely finished anime and it doesn't even reach the half point of the manga yet. Yes, the first arc (Episode 1 to 13) were all focused on Usagi and Mamoru, which is true to the manga and that was mostly focused on it to establish them and give them a happy ending.
The other girls all have their moments in the spotlight. It's just unfortunate that several of them only occur later on in the manga (like the Dream arc) and that the anime is not there yet, and might not proceed past the Black Moon arc.
I do agree that several of the changes were unnecessary. Like Usagi being the one to defeat Beryl when it was originally Venus, the romances being made canon and built up went nowhere when the manga quite obviously stated that Naoko never intended there to be a romance, though it's hinted at (and stated in Sailor V) that Venus had a crush on Kunzite. Though whether it was reciprocated is another issue.
I don't enjoy the first anime that much. Rei was turned more into a tsundere, Minako became just plain dumb and none of them really were interesting, even if they had the spotlight at times. Too much focus on comedy at times. It was nice that they did something with Naru and Nephrite, but you kinda knew nothing would come of it. But for the most part... really, only part of the original anime I like compared to the manga is the fourth season and its emphasis on Chibiusa and Helios. (I don't like Moon that much, she seems too pure and perfect)
What's the point of watching the anime if I can't identify with any of the characters? The /only/ reason I can identify with them now is because I know their back-story from the first anime and manga. For new viewers, they'd probably be wondering why it was so important to find the other scouts int he first place
I actually liked the original Moon. She wasn't pure and perfect, she was just a good /person/. She did the best with what she had and won not only because of her own powers and "Destiny", but because she had her friends supporting her. Witness the original where she killed her boyfriend because she needed save her planet and had her friends give her strength from beyond the grave, compared to her Crystal counterpart where she basically gives the world the middle finger and kills herself before the bad bad gets to her.
Anime Usagi sucked at school, was hardly the best fighter, got angry and jealous at various times and most of all, loved her friends, family and life. The last three are something that I think everyone should aspire for. The Crystal Usagi, on the other hand - is very much Mary-sue it hurts. In three episodes she went from healing one person to healing a planet, while her friends and bodyguards serve as little more than meat shields.
Even PGSM, which had only a few more episodes than Crystal will finish with had more character development because they took the time to do it, and did a fantastic job covering the first arc in that time.
With Crystal, it feels as if they are speeding through arcs so fast I should be suffering whiplash, all in an effort to show as many characters as possible, in an effort to sell more toys.
If they plan to make this version go on through to the Dream Arc, where the other characters will get a chance to shine, I'm sorry, but I'll have long lost interest, as I already have.
This version gives fans nothing new to explore or see; they can just as easily go to the manga and rest assured they ain't missing much aside from solid character design (the original manga is too...wispy... for my tastes). The original anime gave us character (for good or ill), the musicals gave us an EU, PGSM gave us Dark Mercury. As far as I can see, this version only serves to bring new fans in, so they can go watch something better.
Watching anime only cause you identify with the characters? Why not watch it for the sake of seeing a good story being told?
Also, of course they are "speeding through arc", they are being somewhat-close-to-the-manga. (After all, getting about 20 minutes worth of an episode out of a 20 - 30 page chapter takes some work) Which yes changed a few things, but overall is still close to the manga.
And Crystal is supposed to appeal to both: Old fans who watched the first anime, but wanted to see an anime that's closer to the manga and New fans who only now get to know Sailor Moon. (Though that contradicts in how they sometimes not even try to hide plot twists, but hey, Sailor Moon being the Moon Princess was never a twist... it's the name)
And Usagi still sucks at school, it's just that school is not as important compared to trying to prevent people from taking over the world, killing people or trying to obtain the ultimate power of the crystal. So that part doesn't get much shine and, honestly, I LIKED Usagi in the manga more. She actually bothered to mature and take her responsibility as a soldier, and eventually queen. Better than the original anime that played up her ditzyness to the point that Usagi felt like she didn't mature at all in all those 200 episodes, practically ending the final episode with the same speech except she's now 2 years older. And didn't change.
If I am supposed to bother to watch someone fight for the world, I wanna see them mature and change. Look at Gohan from Dragonball. He was a child, toughened up, ultimately was among those that killed Cell, he "got weaker" cause he decided he wanted a more quiet life, but when it was necessary, he trained again and even took over his father's role by wearing the same gi that Goku fought in originally.
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Sailor Moon is Pretty...and thats about it.
SMC follows very faithfully the manga, to much so in some places.
Sure, the graphics are mindblowing and CGI tolerable, but what made the previous series so much fun for me is lacking in this series; characterization. No one really changes, at least, we don't see anyone change.
Besides Usagi, every other senshi is a joke; they serve no purpose beyond screaming for the heroine and dying, beyond their introductory episode. When Mars got kidnapped, my first thought was "Wait, when was her last important scene?"
The original series, even though it followed a monster of the week formula, at least let the audience get to know these girls and when they died I genuinely cried, because I identified with Amy, I wanted to be like Makoto or Rei.
When Usagi cried about being alone, I felt her grief and was inspired when she killed her mind-controlled boyfriend and continued on because she had a planet to save, with the implication she will join him AFTER her remaining family and friends are saved.
In Crystal, its a disgrace against the feminist vibe Sailor Moon has always had that the moment her boyfriend dies, she kills herself and basically DOOMS the rest of the planet just because she can't be with her love.
Growing up, Sailor Moon was a favourite because it showed young women overcoming challenges, mundane and supernatural through love, friendship and teamwork. even the live-action version, which has only 10 or so more episodes than Crystal, still had enough time to develop the relationships between the girls, so I call bullshit on them not having enough time.
Why couldn't they focus on that, instead of tacking on a romance between the girls and the Generals that leads NOWHERE, because unless your name is Usagi, you don't get a happy ending? If you are going to put something new in it, at least let it go somewhere!
Basically, what I am saying is that Crystal is all style and no substance - it might as well be Miracle Whip Lite, I can't even get a guilty pleasure from it.
The original Sailor Moon may have had a few issues, but it's still the better of the two. This wasn't made for fans of the original series or manga (though they would be the only ones to follow this pathetic excuse for characterization); this was made in order to get money.
If you'll excuse me, I'm going to watch DV Ds of the better series!