As someone who deeply loves nostalgic anime, Sailor Moon remains incredibly precious to the magical girl genre and the young girls who grew up watching the Sailor Soldiers adopt their duties and grow alongside one another to become capable, loyal friends and fighters for justice. The series was only able to air in the U.S. in 1995 after the license and dubbing of the original anime went through a strict regime of adaptation for Western audiences, which included the main cast’s name changes, removal of Japanese references, and revised scripts that even extended to the opening song.

Written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi, Sailor Moon is an incredible story that is cited as being far ahead of its time with its themes of self-discovery, gender identity, and LGBTQ+ representation. Although it’s classified as a shōjo, a genre typically reserved for girls and young women, there are rather insightful messages within its narrative that aren’t afraid to delve into heavier topics, such as the loss of a loved one, the consequences of failure, and how confusing growing up can be for adolescents, making this a series that could be appreciated by just about anyone.

Sailor Moon’s Opening Theme Song is Completely Different in the English Dub

The Revision Isn’t Even Close to the Original Japanese Lyrics

Pray tell, how was I supposed to know that the original was vastly different (and superior) to the reworked opening song? For those who grew up with the dubbed English versions, while the music largely remained the same, the lyrics were more centered on the achievements of Sailor Moon and her duties as a Sailor Soldier. In comparison, it’s still a catchy tune, especially with that guitar riff centered just after the chorus.

"Fighting evil by moonlight

Winning love by daylight

Never running from a real fight

She is the one named Sailor Moon

She will never turn her back on a friend

She is always there to defend

She is the one on whom we can depend

She is the one named Sailor..."

Even the opening’s visuals themselves were altered and spliced to feature more scenes from the anime rather than the dedicated opening that centers focus on the starting cast traversing both city life and their previous ones on the moon. The animation provided for the opening is meant to resemble a kaleidoscope of memories, and the introspective feelings of the girls and Usagi (or Serena as she was referred to in the English dub), who looks melancholy in contrast to her usual upbeat personality, are only used in small snippets where the lyrics aren’t even performed.

Sailor Moon’s original Japanese opening theme song is a beautiful arrangement that explores both Usagi’s thoughts and wishes, but also a bit of her background troubles that are in motion even before the viewer has seen the first episode. Composed as a love song, there are still lyrics like “Sorry, I’m not being honest” are already hint at her secret identity as Sailor Moon. And the opening makes a clever double meaning for “God, grant us a happy end. Present, Past, and Future” while also featuring the other Sailor Soldiers, who are in the same fate as Usagi, being reborn on Earth.

"Sorry, I'm not being honest

I can say it in my dreams

My train of thought is about to short-circuit

I want to see you right now

The moonlight makes me want to cry

It's midnight when I can't even call you

Well, I'm naive. What shall I do?

My heart is a kaleidoscope

Guided by the light from the moon

We will meet over and over

Counting the twinkling constellations, I divine our love's future

We were born on the same Earth. It is a miracle romance"

When solely considering the opening theme song, fans who grew up with the English dub aren’t missing nearly as much when it comes to the revisions. There are far greater changes that were made to Sailor Moon before it was aired to a Western audience. Yet it is quite disappointing that so much of the opening’s original soft and somber tone is lost, given the context of the anime and its conclusion.

Funny Enough, Japan’s Lyrics Could Have Been Adapted into the English Opening

It’s Worked in Other Languages and Has Faithful Covers That Keep the Classic 90s Aesthetic

By now, Sailor Moon has branched off to more than just the U.S. and an English version. Its dubbing has cast a wide net to include many variations of the classic magical girl tale that is widely known. Other dubs, such as Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, still faithfully adhere to the lyrics translated from the Japanese OP. Musicians and artists who have grown up with the classics also have their own spin on it, taking what they know from childhood to sing English covers of Japan’s version rather than the dubbed opening.

The English dub could have adapted Japan’s lyrics and implemented them properly into the opening soundtrack. Others have proven that it isn’t too difficult to do so. Whether it was to cater the program to kids by including a superhero theme song, or producers found it easier to make a new song, Sailor Moon’s opening is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic takeaways from the franchise. No matter which way you sang it, it was still a tune that helped bolster thousands of childhoods.