If 2017 was a year of improvements, then I want 2018 to be a year of facing new challenges. Yes, challenges. There are a lot of exciting new things coming to Tuxedo Unmasked this year, and I hope you’ll join me along for the ride!

So, what new things are coming? Glad you asked!

• A Tuxedo Unmasked book covering the 90s Sailor Moon anime is in the works
• I’m translating Naoko’s liner notes from the original manga releases
• Translations of interviews with Naoko and others will now be a regular feature

Of course, as we all know, the devil is in the details. Read on to find out what excitement awaits us in 2018!

So without wasting too much of your time, let’s get straight into what’s to come.

Tuxedo Unmasked Book — Putting Sailor Moon Under the Microscope

Writing a book has been something I’ve wanted to do for quite awhile, but I was never exactly sure what about.

After giving it a lot of thought in late 2017, I finally decided to combine two things I’ve had on the backburner: review every episode of the Sailor Moon anime, and compile together all the little references, in-jokes, and cultural notes into one comprehensive resource.

My goal is to write and publish a comprehensive guide to the 1990s Sailor Moon anime, including episode summaries, trivia, a Monster-of-the-Day “bestiary” (covering their names and character designs), and more. If things go well, I’m hoping to even interview some members of the production staff for the book.

Since this will be a long-term project, the Patreon goals have been reflected to update this. As a reward for supporters, Patrons will have exclusive access to episode reviews. You can read the first episode review for free here:

Sailor Moon Reviews – Episode 1

Naoko’s Manga Liner Notes

One thing I absolutely loved about the original 90s release of the manga is that Ms. Takeuchi included long, sometimes rambling, liner notes about the story, her fans, her life, and everything else in between. Ever wanted to know what Naoko’s favorite emoticon was on early 1993 internet? She talks about that too!

But I was sad to see that the closest fans have ever gotten to seeing these in English were the Mixx/TokyoPop releases — and those are often rewritten and tend to deviate from the Japanese.

I’ll be posting one translation per week to Patreon (available to anyone pledging $1 and up), and then will re-post here as each volume is completed.

More Interview Translations

Up until now, it’s been my policy to only translate excerpts of interviews as needed. However, as I was going through the old anime magazines I’ve collected (and the plethora available online), I started to realize that the information contained in the interviews can be a huge resource — may not always what I’m looking for, but it may be just as meaningful to someone else.

So I set a goal for myself to translate one interview per month focusing on Naoko, one of the voice actresses, or anyone else involved in the creation of Sailor Moon.

Once again, this will be tied into Patreon in that supporters can vote on what they want me to translate next (or even submit an interview/article for translation!), though the translations will be posted here as well.

And that about sums up the exciting changes coming to Tuxedo Unmasked in 2018! In addition to the things mentioned above, the blog is still a priority for me, and I will continue plugging away at unraveling the various mysterious of the Sailor Moon universe, one article at a time. If anything, these additional projects are to serve as supplemental sources, for those who want to learn even more.

As always, I’m always open to feedback, so if there’s anything else you’d like to see on this blog, or questions you’d like to have answered, feel free to leave a comment below!