SMF

My Semi-Filler Free Guide to Season 1 of the Classic 90s Sailor Moon Anime.

[Both the Viz Sub and Viz Dub of the first 3 seasons can currently be watched legally for Free on Yahoo.
https://view.yahoo.com/show/sailor-moon
 Update: Well this option is ending on June 30th 2019 so take advantage of it while you can.  It'll still be on Hulu if you're subscribed to them.]

I would recommend new fans start with the Viz Dub, the DiC Dub isn't likely to appeal to anyone today if they aren't nostalgic for it.  Yet I'll be including DiC alternate titles and numbering for the sake of completion, like if you wanted to do this via an old VHS/DVD collection you happen to already have.

Each episode has two numbers, first the Japanese/Viz order and then the DiC order.  Except that any episodes DiC completely skipped will have 00 in place of a DiC number.

Remember, skipping a lot of filler on your first viewing doesn't mean you can't return to them later once you decide you like the show.

Episodes that are in Bold are ones I personally feel can't be labeled Filler at all, though some might disagree.

Episodes that are Underlined are the ones that are at least partially a direct adaptation of something from the Manga, some are more faithful then others.

Episodes that are in Italics are ones that were directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara, being the most important director associated with the 90s Sailor Moon Anime.  In case anyone has eye trouble where it's difficult to tell if something is in italics or not, I'll help you out by saying Ikuhara typically did two episodes per arc.

Episodes with none of those three indicators are ones I see some particular value in not skipping (of course I kind of see value in almost every single Sailor Moon episode I've seen), but I either can't really justify it or can do so based on only one small detail about it like say introducing the Lunar Pen.

Upon my starting this project I only really have the Jadite and Neprhite arcs worked out, though that may not be true anymore by the time I make this public.

Jadite Arc
01/01: "A Moon Star Is Born"/"Crybaby Usagi's Beautiful Transformation".
02/00: "Punishment Awaits: The House of Fortune is the Monster Mansion"
03/02: "Talk Radio"/"The Mysterious Sleeping Sickness: Protect the Girls in Love".
06/00: "Protect the Melody of Love: Usagi Plays Cupid".
08/05: "Computer School Blues"/"The Girl Genius Is a Monster: The Brainwashing Cram School of Horror".
10/07: "An Uncharmed Life"/"The Cursed Bus: Enter Mars, the Guardian of Fire".
11/08: "Nightmare in Dreamland"/"Usagi vs. Rei: Nightmare in Dream Land".
13/10: "Fight to the Finish"/"Girls Unite: The End of Jadeite".

Nephrite Arc
14/11: "Match Point for Sailor Moon"/"A New Enemy Appears: Nephrite's Evil Crest".
15/12: "An Unnatural Phenomena"/"Usagi's Panic: Rei's First Date".
18/15: "Dangerous Dollies"/"Shingo's Love: The Grieving Doll" ".
19/16: "Who Is That Masked Man?"/"Usagi's Joy: A Love Letter from Tuxedo Mask".
21/17:  "An Animated Mess"/"Protect the Children's Dreams: Friendship Through Anime".
22/18: "Worth a Princess's Ransom"/"Romance Under the Moon: Usagi's First Kiss".
23/19: "Molly's Folly"/"Wish Upon a Star: Naru's First Love".
24/20: "A Friend in Wolf's Clothing"/"Naru's Tears: Nephrite Dies for Love".

For the Nephrite arc the Bold ones are basically the Nephrite/Naru story-line.   You might think this guide isn't very filler free when all categories together I drop only 3 from the Nephrite period.  That's why I put things in categories, those who consider the Manga the sole arbitrator of what is and isn't filler can know what to watch.  And singling out Ikuhara ones means not only do his fans know what to look for, but if you outright dislike his style you can know to skip those if that's the only category they have.  And some of this depends on how much you personally trust my opinion.

In my experience watching a 40+ episode show isn't that difficult once you're hooked, my objective here is getting people hooked on Sailor Moon.  And indeed the most expendable filler is the pre Ami (second bold episode) stuff.  Even the first Ikuhara one is more interesting as an early example of his developing style then as a Sailor Moon story.

After this point it becomes more difficult for me to decide what is and isn't expandable. For example, post Nephrite there are some episodes that might be useless to the proper Sailor Moon story-line moving forward but make nice epilogues for Naru/Molly.  I'm trying to think of an easy way to mark those.  For now know the first of those happens to be the next Ikuhara one.

It's also pretty difficult to find a solid equivalent to Act 6 of the Manga/Crystal in the 90s Anime. I guess you can kinda argue the entire Rainbow Crystal Arc is Act 6.  On the one hand it is possible to argue there is more filler post Mako's introduction then before it, but I don't like that being the case when there are less episodes total to begin with. Mako is my favorite character and in the Manga there was still more after her introduction then there was before it.

I'm hesitant to suggest the Rainbow Crystal Arc has no filler on the basis of the Crystals themselves.  I'm fine with allowing such things to sometimes happen off screen.  But plenty of these episodes do have other developments.

Rainbow Crystal Arc
25/21: "Jupiter Comes Thundering In"/"Jupiter, the Powerful Girl in Love".
26/22: "The Power of Friendship"/"Restore Naru's Smile: Usagi's Friendship".
27/23: "Mercury's Mental Match"/"Crushing on Ami: The Boy Who Can See The Future".
28/24: "An Artful Attack"/"The Painting of Love: Usagi and Mamoru Get Closer".
29/25: "Too Many Girlfriends"/"Total Chaos: The Messy Love Rectangle".
30/26: "Grandpa's Follies"/"Grandpa Loses Control: Rei in Danger".
31/27: "Kitty Chaos"/"Love and Chased: Luna's Worst Day Ever".
32/28: "Tuxedo Melvin"/"Umino's Resolve: I'll Protect Naru".
33/29: "Sailor V Makes the Scene"/"Enter Venus, the Last Sailor Guardian".
34/30: "A Crystal Clear Destiny"/"The Shining Silver Crystal: The Moon Princess Appears".

Moon Princess Arc
35/31:  "A Reluctant Princess"/"Returning Memories: Usagi and Mamoru's Past".
36/32: "Bad Hair Day"/"Usagi's Confusion: Is Tuxedo Mask Evil?".
41/37: "Tuxedo Unmasked"/"I Won't Run Away from Love Anymore: Ami vs. Mamoru".
42/00: "Sailor Venus' Past: Minako's Tragic Love".
43/38: "Fractious Friends"/"Usagi Abandoned: The Falling-Out of the Sailor Guardians".
44/39: "The Past Returns"/"Usagi's Awakening: A Message from the Distant Past".
45/40: "Day of Destiny"/"Death of the Sailor Guardians: The Tragic Final Battle".
46/40: "Day of Destiny"/"Usagi's Eternal Wish: A Brand New Life".

I'm gonna include the Doom Tree Arc even though that's technically season 2 (Sailor Moon R), but it still had the same series director as season 1 (Junichi Sato, who more recently directed Hugtto!PreCure) and it shows, it definitely feels like an epilogue to season 1 rather then a prologue to the Black Moon saga. Ikuhara directed only one episode in this arc, but seems to have drawn on it when he directed the Sailor Moon R Movie.

But what's the point of making a filler free guide to a filler arc? You may ask.  Indeed for the most part I'd say if you really want to experience this arc you should skip nothing, especially since the ending emotionally depends on spending a lot of time with these new antagonists.  But the definition that allows some episodes to not be filler even when they aren't based on something from the Manga makes the gist of the Doom Tree necessary to get from where Season 1 ends to where the Black Moon saga begins.

Doom Tree Arc
47/41:"The Return of Sailor Moon"/"Moon Returns: The Mysterious Aliens Appear".
48/42:"So You Want to Be in Pictures"/"For Love and for Justice: Sailor Guardians Once Again".
49/43:"A Knight to Remember"/"For Whom is the White Rose? The Moonlight Knight Appears".
50/44: "VR Madness"/"Usagi's Crisis: The Tiara Stops Working".
51/45: "Cherry Blossom Time"/"A New Transformation: Usagi's Power-Up".
52/46: "Kindergarten Chaos"/"The Targeted Kindergarteners: Venus to the Rescue".
55/49: "Food Fetish"/"Is Seijuro the Moonlight Knight? Mako On Fire".
56/50: "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall"/"Steal a Kiss from Mamoru! An's Project Snow White".
57/51: "Detention Doldrums"/"After School Trouble: Usagi is a Target".
58/52: "Secret Garden"/"Disconnecting Love: The Raging Makai Tree".
59/53: "Treed"/"True Love Awakens: The Makai Tree's Secret".

I'm not particularly familiar with or a fan of any incarnation of the Black Moon saga (or the Dream Arc) so I'm not the one to make a filler free guide for them.  I can at least inform you that Ikuhara additionally directed episodes 60 and 68 (14 and 22 of R as an individual series), but it's also with episode 60 he took over as series director so his style is kind of everywhere at that point.

I may try to do one for Sailor Moon S someday, but that's way more complicated to break down.

I have decided to add S.

It's deciding what to Underline that is most complicated because of how much even the sequence of events is changed for this saga.  An argument can be made that the story the Manga/Crystal is telling doesn't start till over half way through Sailor Moon S, but plenty of early HaruMi stuff is based on scenes from the Manga.  Just know that this is not like season 1 where more or less each Underlined episode equates to a specific chapter or act of the Manga (and episode of Crystal).

I'll still be identifying the episodes where Ikuhara was episode director with Italics, but remember he was the series director for S so his touch is arguably in every episode.

There is no more alternate numbering for the old Dub, Cloverway never used DiC's numbering.  This time the second smaller number for each episode is it's number in Sailor Moon S on it's own, which is the numbering some unofficial streaming sites use as well as My Anime List.

The Cloverway Dub has less redeeming qualities then the DiC Dub even though I personally have more nostalgia for it (it was renting old Pioneer DVDs that truly got me into Sailor Moon, my earlier catching of the show on TV was just a mild curiosity).  Every character recast was for the worse and "Amara" sounds horrible, and unlike DiC they kept the elevator Music of the original Japanese, no new soundtrack besides a few English language covers that were not part of the DVD release so I assume not the rips used on most steaming sites.

Opening Arc
90/01: "Star Struck, Bad Luck"/"Premonition of the Apocalypse: The Mysterious New Guardians Appear".
91/02: "Crystal Clear Again"/"The Rod of Love Is Born: Usagi's New Transformation".
92/03: "Driving Dangerously"/"A Handsome Boy? Haruka Tenoh's Secret".
93/04: "Bad Harmony"/"Usagi's Idol: The Graceful Genius Michiru".
96/07: "Lita Borrows Trouble"/"Coldhearted Uranus: Makoto in Danger".
98/09: "Friendly Foes"/"To Save Our Friends: Moon and Uranus Join Forces".
100/11:"Individual Happiness"/"I Want to Quit Being a Sailor Guardian: Minako's Dilemma".
101/12:"Birthday Blues, Part 1"/"Usagi in Tears: a Glass Slipper for My Birthday".
102/13:"Birthday Blues, Part Two"/"The Stolen Pure Heart: Usagi's Crisis".

Eudial Arc
103/14:"Hello, Sailor Mini Moon"/"The Arrival of a Tiny Pretty Guardian".
105/16:"People Who Need People"/"I Want Power: Mako Lost in Doubt".
106/17:"Related By Destiny"/"The Bond of Destiny: Uranus's Distant Past".
107/18:"Art Appreciation"/"Art Is an Explosion of Love: Chibiusa’s First Love".
109/20:"No Turning Back"/"The Shocking Moment: Everyone’s Identities Revealed".
110/21:"Destiny's Arrival"/"The Death of Uranus and Neptune: The Talisman Appear".
111/22:"The Purity Chalice"/"The Holy Grail's Mystical Power: Moon's Double Transformation".

Mimete Arc
112/23:"Show Stoppers"/"Who is the True Messiah? Chaos of Light and Darkness".
113/24:"Rini's Risky Friendship"/"A House Filled With Evil Presence: The Beautiful Hotaru’s Secret".
114/25:"Mimet's Mess"/"I Love Idols: Mimete's Dilemma".
115/26:"The Shadow of Silence"/"Shadow of Silence: The Pale Glimmer of a Firefly".
116/27:"Thorny Weather"/"Sunny Skies After a Storm: A Friendship Dedicated to Hotaru".
117/28:"Heightened Hazard"/"Higher and Stronger: A Cheer from Usagi".
118/29:"It's In The Cards"/"The Battle Inside the Demonic Space: The Sailor Guardians' Gamble".
119/30:"Goodness Eclipsed"/"The Messiah of Silence Awakens? Stars of Destiny".
120/31:"Next In Line"/"An Invasion from an Another Dimension: Mystery of Infinity Academy".

Final Arc
121/32:"Fiendish Ferns"/"A Bewitching Flower That Steals Hearts: Tellu, the Third Witch".
122/33:"The Science Of Love"/"Believe in Love: Ami, the Kindhearted Guardian".
123/34:"Wake Up Call"/"Shadows of Destruction: the Messiah of Silence Awakens".
124/35:"Who's Really Who?"/"The Coming Terror of Darkness: Struggle of the Eight Guardians".
125/36:"Darkness, My Old Friend"/"The Shining Shooting Star: Saturn and the Messiah".
126/37:"Second Chance"/"A New Life: Parting of the Stars of Destiny".
127/38:"Tough Kindness"/"A Guardian’s Realization: Strength Lies Within a Pure Heart".

Remember, this is a work in progress.

Update 2020: I made this little not really related project on Tumblr.
https://jaredmithrandir.tumblr.com/post/624564691000311808/sailor-moon-episodes-that-could-have-been-poison