Sailor Moon Volume Two is a manga with the story and art by Naoko Takeuchi. Kodansha Comics has the North American distribution rights for the manga, and their English adaptation was released in 2011. Sailor Moon is rated “T” for teens age 13 and up.
The main character of Sailor Moon is Usagi Tsukino, a clumsy 14-year-old crybaby girl. After meeting a mysterious black cat named Luna, Usagi discovers that she has been chosen as a guardian. Luna gives Usagi a brooch that has the ability to turn her into an alter ego named Sailor Moon. As a guardian, it’s Usagi’s responsibility to gather allies, defeat enemies, and discover the location of the Princess and the Legendary Silver Crystal.
In the first volume of the series, Usagi found three allies: Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter. Usagi also keeps encountering a high school boy named Mamoru, and as Sailor Moon, she keeps encountering the mysterious Tuxedo Mask. During the second volume, Usagi learns Tuxedo Mask’s true identity, as well as hidden information about their pasts. Usagi and her allies also find another ally, and they all learn the truth about their previous lives in the Moon Kingdom. They also learn about the evil group that is also searching for the Legendary Silver Crystal.
The art style and tropes that Takeuchi utilizes for the Sailor Moon series is very influenced by the style of 1970s shojo manga; this is especially evident in the facial design of Usagi/Sailor Moon, which bears a strong resemblance to Candice “Candy” White Ardlay from the Candy Candy manga series. I personally enjoy this kind of art style in manga, but it can potentially be jarring to younger readers who have more of a familiarity with the styles and tropes of modern shojo manga series.
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