Sightings

This page features the sightings from music sources only.

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Singer: Rivers Cuomo (lead singer of the band Weezer)

Rivers is apparently a Sailor Moon fan as he owns not one, but TWO guitars which feature Sailor Moon stickers. One features the Inner Senshi in kimonos (located near the bottom of the guitar base) and the other features the Sailor Moon logo (just above his thumb on his Fender Stratocaster).

Since Mr. Cuomo is a celebrity, it is unlikely that a yes or no answer to "are you a Sailor Moon fan?" will come anytime soon since we can't just call him up and ask. Yet, I think it's safe enough to assume he at least has an appreciation for the show.

Thanks SOS, Miss Kitty Fantistico, and Novadestin!
Band: The Chubbies

The band, which consists of Christene Kings on drums and Jeannette Kantzalis doing guitar/vocals, made a punk rock cover of the English theme song for their CD 'Play Me.' It was released on August 27, 1996 and the track is called 'Sailor Moon.' It's number 4 on the CD and runs 01:18 minutes long. Also, while the majority of the lyrics are pretty similar, they did change some of them (last pic).

Download it here! Thanks SOS and Novadestin!!
Band: Barenaked Ladies

The song 'One Week' holds a very special place in Sailor Moon sighting history. Not only did it fueled the Barenaked Ladies to stardom in the USA, but it also fueled the concept that is Sailor Moon sighting (it certainly began my interest in it!). It is definitely one of the first sightings in the USA and the biggest sighting of its time, people to this day hear the song and go "hey they mentioned Sailor Moon!".

Ed Robertson (2nd pic), one of the founding members of the group, wrote the ideas for the non-rap 'choruses' with the concept being 'the structure of a fight where the protagonist knows they are wrong and is just trying to save face'. He wanted to come up with a rapping verse for the song but all attempts failed. Bandmate Steven Page suggested he simply improvise the rap as the two commonly did onstage every night. Robertson heeded the advice and set up a video camera. He improvised the song at a slower pace to make rhyming easier and arrived at about four minutes of rap. He sent it to Page who told him not to change a word. Two minutes of the improvising was almost directly compiled (with very little, if any, tweaking) into the verses of the song. As it is improvised, it is not intended to directly have any relation to the plot of the chorus sections.

The lyrics, which pertain to the sighting, read: "Gotta get in tune with Sailor Moon, Cause that cartoon has got the boom anime babes, That make me think the wrong thing." The interesting part about these lyrics is that they feature the only time in the song when any part of the improvised lyrics have a relation to the chorus plotline, as the line suggests that the "anime babes that make me think the wrong thing" might've been part of the reason for the argument.

The song is number one on their July 7, 1998 CD 'Stunt' (running for 02:52 minutes) and recently the band has also made an acoustic version. Download both versions of the song as well as the music video here. Thanks SOS, Novadestin, and Wikipedia!
Band: U2

Released on the 12th of November 2002, their 'The Best of 1990-2000' CD featured a sighting in the booklet that came with it. The booklet has photos of the band in different locales and on the eighth page there is a shot of them in front of a poster for the Sailor Moon R movie.

While it doesn't say explicitly, it seems obvious that this picture was most likely taken in Japan during their 1992-1993 Zoo TV Tour. The tour ended in Tokyo, Japan on December 10, 1993 and the movie was released on December 5, 1993. What's most interesting about this sighting is the choice of using the image of a Sailor Moon poster instead of say, the Tokyo tower (which most people would not recognize), as 'proof of travel & acclaim' in Japan. It's as if the band were saying, "Hey look everyone! We're in Japan! Can't you tell?"

Thanks SOS, clownpuncher20, Novadestin, and Wikipedia!
Video: Akihabara Majokko Princess

Shown from October 1, 2009 to January 17, 2010 at London's Tate Modern museum as part of the 'Pop Life: Art In A Material World' exhibit (and later in other places), this video was a collaboration between two Sailor Moon fans and a prolific Japanese artist (who is probably a fan as well as the video was his idea). It stars Kirsten Dunst (a fan of Sailor Moon since she was young - see 'Publications'), featured Joseph "McG" McGinty Nichol as the director (who publicly admitted his love for Sailor Moon during filming), and sprang from the mind of artist Takashi Murakami.

Joseph McGinty Nichol, better known as McG, started out directing music videos before moving on to direct the blockbusters Charlie's Angels and Terminator Salvation. Takashi Murakami is known for blurring the boundaries between high and low art, working with both fine arts media as well as digital and commercial media. He is often considered the Andy Warhol of Japan. Lastly, Kirsten is well-known to most Sailor Moon fans, not only for her love of the show, but also because she was the front runner to play Serena back in 1991 when there were plans to make an American live-action movie (rumors about such a movie have popped up periodically every since).

The video features Kirsten, in full cosplay (costume play) mode, performing a cover of "Turning Japanese," the most well-known song by The Vapors from their 1980 album New Clear Days. Filming was done over just a few days in Tokyo's Akihabara otaku shopping district with Kirsten wearing a Japanese "street fashion" style sailor suit costume and sporting a blue wig set up to look like Sailor Moon's trademark odangos without actually copying the style (this is seen much more clearly when looking at artwork made for the piece rather than the video itself). It's basically one big homage to pop otaku culture with Sailor Moon as the backbone.

This sighting caused a big media stir and many article headlines read things like "Spider-Man Meets Sailor Moon?", "Kirsten Dunst and McG Make a Breast-Filled Sailor Moon Cosplay Video", and (my favorite) "Kirsten Dunst Is Your Magical Nerd Princess." Articles about the video even appeared in such places as the Wall Street Journal (though that specific article made no reference to Sailor Moon). There are numerous other anime sightings within the video as well, some in the form of actual advertisements and others in the form of cosplayers featured in the video.

Pictures: Shots of Kirsten in costume, artwork made for the piece, the Pop Life exhibit site on the Tate Modern museum webpage, McG's statements regarding Sailor Moon, the four articles mentioned above, and one example of other animes within the video.

Download the video and a tour of the Pop Life exhibit here. Thanks Moon Chase, Novadestin, and Wikipedia!
Singer: Sifow

'Gal Son Anime Trance Party' is a compilation CD/DVD set that was apparently self made by Sifow and her friends. On it, Sifow (Shiho Fujita) does a techno remix of Moonlight Densetsu. The video features Sifow and her friends Mori Maya, Yamamoto Yu-Ki, Miyagi Mai, and Li Misaki standing around in a room with a club like atmosphere (and that's it). It was released on September 28, 2005, the song is track 2, and it runs 04:03 minutes long.

Download the song and the music video here. Thanks Novadestin!
Idol: Shoko Nakagawa

Known as Shokotan the Otaku Idol (and as 'the never-ending sighting' by me), Shoko has been a diehard fan of Sailor Moon since she was very young and is responsible for tons of sightings all on her own (for an otaku idol who has stated that Sailor Moon is her #1 favorite anime, this is no surpirse). As a multi-talented woman, she is an idol, a singer, a model, a comedian, a TV personality and presenter, an actress, a seiyu (voice actor), and a mangaka (manga author).

In an interview by Anime News Network while at the 2008 Anime Expo, Shoko stated that Sailor Moon is what started her on her cosplaying path. She couldn't afford a Sailor Moon costume when she was young, but dreamed of wearing one, so she spent her first paycheck on it and has been living her dream ever since. At various times she has been seen as Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Chibi Moon among other characters from different animes. She has also worn Sailor Moon related costumes as part of her concert events (see below).

Because of her cosplaying, Shoko was invited to be a Guest Commentator for the World Cosplay Summit in 2007 (by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs no less). This event, the end-all of cosplay competitions, features top cosplayers from all over the world. Shoko was excited about the opportunity and did her signature pose as Sailor Moon when the announcement was made (she even got the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs to join in!). She said she wanted to cosplay as Sailor Moon for the Summit but for one reason or another she didn't. Those same cosplaying ways, however, have also gotten her into hot water. Some members of the press treat her as something of a joke and in 2008, after posing with top transexual model Ayana Tsubaki in Sailor Moon costumes, she caused a stir as some people did not like her choice of photo partners.

Her singing career also features a vast number of Shoko's sightings. From cover songs to album art to stage costumes, Shoko has made Sailor Moon a staple in her music. 'Shoko-tan Cover: Anison ni Koi o Shite', released on May 02, 2007, features 'Otome no Policy' from Sailor Moon R as its second track (running 03:14 minutes long). Luna makes an "interesting" appareance in the accompaning booklet as well. The cover was also preformed live as part of her 'Magical Tour 2009: Welcome to The Shoko Land.' During the tour she wore two dresses modeled after (meaning not exactly the same) Sailor Moon outfits; one like human Luna's dress (which she has also worn at other events) and one like Princess Serenity's.

On April 24, 2009 at NHK Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo (NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization) Shoko performed a cover of 'Moonlight Densetsu', that featured four Sailor Mercury's and two female Tuxedo Kamen's, during the 2009 BS Eien No Ongaku: Anime Shudaika Daizenshuu ("Broadcast Satellite Eternal Music: Anime Theme Song Great Complete Collection") concert.

On March 10, 2010, she released 'Shoko-tan Cover 3: Anison wa Jinrui o Tsunagu.' As part of the CD+DVD set, two Sailor Moon songs were covered as bonus tracks. Track 15 features a short version of Moonlight Densetsu (at 1:26 minutes long) and track 16 is a short version of Sailor Stars Song (at 1:37 minutes long). Luna was featured directly in the middle of the CD+DVD set cover this time. The Sailor Stars Song cover was performed live during her 'Prism Tour 2010.'

When it comes to her home life, she has a black (albeit male) cat named Luna (who is named after Luna just to be clear) whom she often jokes with on her blog about how he should give her magic items and powers. She is also constantly doing Sailor Moon's signature pose and saying signature phrases (even when she is cosplaying as a character from another anime!). She even sang Moonlight Densetsu at Anime Expo 2008 while dressed as Haruhi Suzumiya from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

And on top of all that -nope not done yet-, she and her cosplaying ways have become so popular that someone even released a look-a-like porn movie of what is supposed to be her dressed as Sailor Jupiter! I would certainly not be surprised if I came across more sightings by her in the future! And, being the celebrity that she is, I am also certain there are probably other sightings out there that we just don't know about... she is always posing after all.

Pictures: Shoko, a picture of human Luna she drew, Chieko Kawabe and Jyoji Shibue, her various cosplays, Magical Tour DVD cover, human Luna dress, Princess Serenity dress, post from her blog on her cat Luna, her posing, Anison ni Koi o Shite covers (CD+DVD set cover first than CD cover), a shot from her Moonlight Densetsu live performance, and the porn movie cover.

Download both songs and the live performance here. Thanks Moon Chase, Kotaku, Shoko Nakagawa Fanclub, Anime News Network, and Novadestin!
Group: Idoling!!!

This Japanese female idol group, created by Fuji TV in October 2006, has their own program in which they do skits and musical numbers. In their 351st show on May 15, 2008, they preformed the song 'Moonlight Densetsu'. The participating members were Sayaka Kato, Rumi Koizumi, Mai Endo, Phongchi, Rurika Yokoyama, Hitomi Sakai, Ami Kikuchi, Hitomi Miyake, and Michelle Miki.

Download this episode here. Thanks Novadestin, Wikipedia, and Acchi Muite Pie!