According to the publisher's website the versions of the manga that are currently in print are available in Japanese, English, French, German, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Italian, Thai, and Portuguese.

Sailor Moon Volume 1: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 1, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 248 pp.

Sailor Moon Volume 2: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 2, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 244 pp. 

Sailor Moon Volume 6: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 6, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 240 pp.

Sailor Moon Volume 7: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 7, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 240 pp.

Sailor Moon Volume 8: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 8, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 232 pp.

Sailor Moon Volume 9: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 9, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 264 pp.

Sailor Moon Volume 10: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 10, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 248 pp.

Sailor Moon Volume 11: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 11, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 248 pp.

Sailor Moon Volume 12: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 12, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 280 pp. 

Sailor Moon Volume 13: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Short Stories Volume 1, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 200 pp. 

Sailor Moon Volume 14: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Short Stories Volume 2, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 208 pp. 

Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon follows 14-year-old Usagi Tsukino, a klutz and crybaby who receives the power to transform into a magical warrior named Sailor Moon, Soldier of Love and Justice. Transforming not only changes her clothes, but grants her access to supernatural powers to fight enemies. The story is set in Tokyo, Japan. There are five primary arcs to the series, plus several short stories that accompany the core narrative. The arcs reflect the primary antagonists and themes the protagonists face in those chapters. The five story arcs are: The Dark Kingdom Arc, The Black Moon Arc, The Infinity Arc, The Dream Arc, and The Stars Arc. This entry focuses on Black Moon Arc. The series draws extensively from Classical mythologies, as well as fairytales and other folktales.

Black Moon Arc (Volume 3, Volume 4, Volume 5): 

While Usagi and Mamoru are on a date, a little girl falls out of the sky. Because she resembles Usagi, she is nicknamed Chibiusa (akin to calling her “Small Usagi”). Meanwhile, evil clones are being unleashed on the people of Tokyo. The Sailor Soldiers discover the threat is coming from the future, which is also where Chibiusa travelled from—to find Sailor Moon and save her mother. Chibusa leads the Sailor Soldiers through a portal where they meet Sailor Pluto (Soldier of Space-Time and Guardian of the Underworld), who is Chibusa’s only friend, and who guides them to the future. Upon arrival in the 30th Century, they learn Chibiusa’s mother is the future Usagi, named Neo-Queen Serenity. At age 22, she ascended to the throne of Crystal Tokyo, a global utopia she created after a terrible battle. However, a generation of radicals known as the Black Moon Family, whose ancestors were banished to the prison planet Nemesis, have since tried to destroy Crystal Tokyo. Neo-Queen Serenity lies in a coma, along with King Endymion (the future incarnation of Mamoru, and Chibiusa’s father), whose spirit is able to speak to them. They meet Chibiusa’s cat, Diana, who is the future kitten of Luna and Artemis.

The Black Moon Family launches several plots against the Sailor Soldiers. The leader, Prince Demand, kidnaps Sailor Moon, who he attempts to assault. Against the odds, Sailor Moon manages to use her magic and escape. However, Prince Demand’s sinister advisor, Wiseman, kidnaps Chibiusa and turns her into a brainwashed adolescent girl named Black Lady, so called for the darkness of her emotions rather than any relation to skin colour. He also kidnaps Mamoru and brainwashes him to be evil. During a clash between the Sailor Soldiers and Wiseman, it is revealed that the Black Moon Family were finally able to successfully attack Crystal Tokyo and harm Neo-Queen Serenity because Chibiusa stole the future Illusionary Silver Crystal to try and grow up faster, to be as strong and beautiful as her mother. Despite the pleas of the Sailor Soldiers, they are unable to return Black Lady to being Chibiusa; and Wiseman reveals himself as the monster Death Phantom – who is in turn revealed to be an extension of the living Planet Nemesis – and begins to destroy the future. However, when Sailor Pluto arrives and is inadvertently killed, Chibiusa’s grief at losing her only friend restores her to herself. Chibiusa transforms for the first time, becoming Sailor Chibimoon, and aids the Sailor Soldiers in defeating Death Phantom and restoring peace to Crystal Tokyo. Usagi and her friends receive a blessing from Neo-Queen Serenity to increase their powers, and return to the past – with Chibiusa in tow, who wishes to keep studying on how to be a soldier with Sailor Moon.

Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon draws on Greek and Roman mythology, Japanese folklore and traditions, and fairytales to establish its worldbuilding. The series has a strong focus on the theme that peace and happiness are always worth fighting for, even though they can never be permanent, because hardship is part of human existence. The Black Moon Arc introduces the figure of Sailor Pluto. There are several references to Sailor Pluto being the daughter of the Greek God Chronos, the personification of time; however, it is unclear whether this is merely a reference to her powers over space-time, or if Chronos actually exists as a figure within the narrative’s universe.

The Black Moon Arc is predominantly set in 20th Century Japan or the futuristic 30th Century. As such, it has fewer references to Greek or Roman mythology, or images of the past. Instead, the Black Moon Arc actively rejects fantasies of returning to the past. At the end of the previous Dark Kingdom Arc, when the Moon Kingdom is restored, Usagi was offered the opportunity to travel there and rule over it as she should have done as Princess Serenity. However, she declined because she believed her future is on earth. It is in the Black Moon Arc’s vision of the 30th Century, and the world of Crystal Tokyo, that readers see the future that Usagi will go on to create as Neo-Queen Serenity. In Crystal Tokyo, the architecture is sleek and modern, with buildings made of reflective crystal and reach skyward in a manner similar to contemporary high-rise apartments. This is a stark contrast to the rounded domes and columns of the Moon Kingdom, suggesting that while the past should be remembered, it is not always something to be returned to. Further emphasising this is the incorporation of future generations, including Usagi and Mamoru’s daughter, nicknamed Chibiusa, and Luna and Artemis’ daughter named Diana; her name a reference to the Roman goddess of the moon.

Fujimoto, Yukari, “Sailor Moon! The Treasure Box All Girls Want” in Masami Toku, ed., International Perspectives on Shojo Manga, New York, NY: Routledge, 2015, 32–39.

Nozomi, Masuda, “Shojo Manga and Its Acceptance: What is the Power of Shojo Manga?” in Masami Toku, ed., International Perspectives on Shojo Manga, Routledge, New York, NY: Routledge, 2015, 23–31.

Originally serialised in Nakayoshi Magazine: December 28, 1991 – February 3, 1997.

First Japanese compilation of 18 volumes: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Volumes 1–18, Kodansha Comics, 1993–1997.

Second Japanese compilation of 12 volumes: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Volumes 1–12, Kodansha Comics, 2003–2004.

Third Japanese compilation: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volumes 1–10, Kodansha Comics, 2013–2014.

Editions used for entry:

Sailor Moon Volume 3: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 3, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 240 pp. 

Sailor Moon Volume 4: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 4, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 240 pp. 

Sailor Moon Volume 5: Naoko Takeuchi, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 5, Kodansha Comics, 2014, 256 pp.