Thyrza brought this observation to me over the course of watching the new Sailor Moon Crystal. While I  don’t mind weird cat anatomy that much when watching the show, it sure was fun to draw this comic. I relish in any opportunity I get to have fun goofiness when drawing. Additionally I really needed to introduce the third cat of our family, Loki, and this seemed like the perfect subject to do that. I’ve written a couple Sailor Moon comics now as I’ve enjoyed watching the new Sailor Moon anime. Now I just have to wait until the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure anime returns from break and I can have both sides of fabulous in my life!

Yuji, out!

Tea here!

Luna and Artemis in Sailor Moon Crystal really bother me. When I watched the first episode I had this annoying feeling in my mind that something was wrong, but I could not figure out what it was. This particular annoyance took root, and with each passing episode it grew….

This comic began with a simple unrelated question. I approached Yuji and asked him if he had any ideas for his next comic. He quietly shrugged, and looked up at me

“Not yet.” He responded “Do you have an idea?”

“Yeah” I responded “Its been a while since we did another cat introduction comic. Why don’t we find a way to introduce Loki?”

“Hmmm…” Yuji responded. After a few quiet moments, the annoyance had blossomed into a beautiful flower of fan frustration. At that very instant I understood! YES! OF COURSE!!! SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL!!! YOU HAVE FAILED ME!!!

I understand that Luna and Artemis are cartoons and cartoons are not required to be anatomically accurate.  That being said, cartoons can mimic real life by tricking our brains to accepting the reality it creates.  Sailor Moon Crystal did a good job melding anime and manga but failed to do so with Luna and Artemis.

This is Luna and Artemis as they appeared in the original Manga…

This is how they appeared in the original Anime..

One of the reasons I love Sailor Moon is because its a beautiful example of what comic book art can be.  In both the original Manga and the original Anime, Luna and Artemis were lovely simple negative shapes.

Then Sailor Moon Crystal happened…

I’ve found that looking at the comparisons makes all the difference…

If this was not Sailor Moon, I would just think the cartoonists had never seen a cat before.  Certainly I would not be so picky.  This is Sailor Moon and when your working off of an artistic legacy like that, there is simply no excuse.  Sometimes less is more.