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The , commonly referred to as , are a series of live theatre productions based on the ''Sailor Moon'' manga by Naoko Takeuchi. The series consists of 31 musicals which have had more than 800 performances since the show opened in the summer of 1993. The producers generally follow and expand upon plot concepts presented in the anime and manga, however there are also several original plot lines. == Overview == The series was staged by a division of the Japanese entertainment company Bandai and generally ran three times a year〔Sailor Moon Musical, 500kai Kouen Kinen Video〕 to match with the holidays of Japanese schools.〔''Ninja Yell'', a fan tribute musical by Ono Hikari (who is a major cast in the Sailor Moon musicals) contains many jokes referring to Hikari's past musicals. In one of the scenes, where a ninja commented that "its nice that you (referring to Nao Takagi, the second Sailor Uranus and Ninja Orange) get to see people every spring, summer and winter in the musicals (referring to the Sailor Moon Musicals dates matching to the school holidays)〕 It became the practise that in the winter the only venue for would be the Sunshine Theatre in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo; however in the summer it would also tour the larger cities in Japan. After was staged in January 2005, the actresses for Moon, Mercury, and Jupiter "graduated" with the final performance, and the series then entered into, what BMO (the official fan club) called, a "short hiatus", In June 2013, Takeuchi's editor Fumio Osano, revealed that a new ''Sailor Moon'' musical would open in September 2013. It is said that Takeuchi personally auditioned actresses for the cast. The musical featured Satomi Ōkubo as Sailor Moon, Miyabi Matsuura as Sailor Mercury, Kanon Nanaki as Sailor Mars, Yū Takahashi as Sailor Jupiter, Shiori Sakata as Sailor Venus, and Yūga Yamato as Tuxedo Mask. This is the first time that all characters are played by women. The musical, named ''La Reconquista'' is a new story, recounting the battles between the Sailor Guardians and the Dark Kingdom over the search for the Silver Crystal. Takuya Hiramitsu (SeraMyu Director from 1995 to 1998) produced, wrote, and directed the new musical with music by Toshihiko Sahashi, and Dwango and Nelke Planning co-producing the musical's run from September 13 to 23 at Shibuya's AiiA Theater Tokyo. Tickets were ¥6800 ($54.81) each. In April 2014 a new musical,''Petite Étrangère'', was reported based on ''Sailor Moon R'', it ran again at AiiA Theater Tokyo from August 21 to August 31, 2014, before moving to Osaka for performances from September 5 to September 7. In August 2014, it was announced that a version of ''Petite Étrangère'' would be staged in Shanghai, China, in the January of 2015. Opening on 16 January at the Shanghai Theatre Academy Theatre for a run of five performances, it marked the first time that an official Japanese production of Sailor Moon musical opened outside of Japan. The musicals have a few elements in common: a theme song, usually used in battle when the Sailor Soldiers defeat the antagonist; sight gags (characters in drag, puns, etc.); and songs generally tailored for the same characters or groupings of characters: romance songs between Usagi Tsukino and Mamoru Chiba, outer Sailor Soldier attack songs, Sailor Soldier civilian songs, and villain songs. "Revised Versions" are another major aspect of ''Sailor Moon'' musicals. Generally new musicals are staged in the summer and then are revised for the winter. Major plot elements stay the same but tend to be more fleshed out in revised versions. Parts of the show are generally rearranged; villains who were only partially defeated in the original version of the show are fully defeated or healed, and actresses who are "graduating" (leaving the show) are often given more solo parts or speaking lines. In the musicals, the producers generally follow and expand upon plot concepts presented in the anime and manga. For example, a collective romance between the four Sailor Soldiers and the ''Shitennō'' from former lives was taken from a manga image picturing the two groups paired off in romantic couples.〔, Naoko Takeuchi quote about it from the artbook: "This is the title page for the conclusion of the first series of Sailor Moon. It had a great deal of impact on the first series. Probably because the four couplings on the right side were very unexpected. I was thinking of love stories of the previous lives of these couples. I'd like to be able to draw that someday..."〕 In addition to borrowing from the anime and manga versions of ''Sailor Moon'', the musical series also has two mostly original plot lines: and the ''Last Dracul'' series. The sets and backdrops range from simple (only some set pieces, no backdrop or backdrop with uncomplicated paintings) to mid elaborate (a greater number of small set pieces, and some bigger ones, for example, a painted wall over the whole width of the stage with a few attached stairs and a big door), more detailed set pieces, with heavy use of different stage levels, trapdoors and hidden doors. The Sailor Soldiers' attacks are represented by colored lights hitting their targets, and sometimes minor explosions and other small pyrotechnics (for example "flame paper", special paper stripes which the actors ignite in their hands and then throw to create the illusion of a "fireball") are used. The Sailor Soldiers mostly transform off-stage (or just appear already transformed), while their transformation phrases can be heard.〔Sailor Moon musical, 2000 ''Last Dracul Jokyoku'', after ''Chou Bi! Uranus to Neptune''〕 Only Usagi transforms on stage. This is done with the help of a body double and the "black out" of part of the stage〔Sailor Moon musical, 2001 ''Tanjou! Ankoku no Princess Black Lady'', after ''Minna no Ai Kaesanai''〕 or set pieces moving in front of her while the actors switch places.〔Sailor Moon musical, 2001 ''Transylvania no Mori kaiteiban'', during ''FIRE''〕 The only real "transformation sequence" that ever occurs is a pre-filmed video sequence projected onto a scrim showing the actors "morph" (with some pink ribbons) into their transformed versions.〔Sailor Moon musical, 1996 ''Sailor Moon SuperS - Yume Senshi - Ai - Eien ni... Saturn Fukkatsu Hen!'', after ''Tuxedo Royal''〕 Most shows end with an extended curtain call, especially if an actress was "graduating", during which a number of songs are performed as fan service. These songs, such as "Moonlight Densetsu" and "La Soldier", are fan favourites which would not otherwise make sense appearing in the show. The ''fankan'' deriving from "fan thankyou" were special shows, composed mostly of fan service numbers, they were used as season finales, to introduce new shows and to introduce new actresses to the audience. Songs from the series have been compiled in some 20 music albums, and many of the musicals have been released on DVD. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sailor Moon musicals」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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