Viz Media made a huge announcement at its Anime Central panel on Friday, reveal that it had licensed the entire “Sailor Moon” anime franchise, with big plans to reintroduce the classic property to American audiences. The massive license deal includes all 200 episodes produced — across five series — as well as three feature films and various tie-in specials. It will mark the Noarth American debut of the final series, “Sailor Moon Sailor Stars.”
Also read: Disney is Bringing ‘Doraemon,’ the Iconic Anime Robot Cat, to American TV
Kicking things of right away, Viz plans to begin releasing the television series starting with the first four episodes on Monday, May 19. Episodes will be available via Hulu Plus or Viz’s own NeonAlley.com. Each subsequent Monday will see the release of the next two episodes in the series.
These episodes will be like North American fans have never seen, as Viz is releasing the series uncut and in its original 4:3 aspect ration, not changing character names, nor modifying any existing relationships. There will also be an uncut English dub produced with a new voice cast. The subtitled version begins releasing right away, while the dubbed versions are targeting a release in late 2014.
Also read: DreamWorks Animation Takes $57 Million Hit on ‘Mr. Peabody & Sherman’
Viz is also planning DVD and Bluray/DVD combo releases for the fall, in half-season sets each. The announcement was accompanied by a trailer featuring a teaser with the new voice actress for Sailor Moon herself.