Viz Media’s Moon Panel 2016 at Otakon 2016 was filled with exciting announcements for Sailor Moon, a sing-along, trivia and a Q&A with some of the cast for Sailor Moon/Sailor Moon Crystal. Hosted by Charlene Ingram, the talented Senior Marketing Manager at Viz Media, the panel was packed with eager fans. There were plenty of exciting announcements and discussion to keep any moonie thrilled for weeks.
She let everyone know that as usual, Viz Media was hosting a Sailor Moon scavenger hunt in which Otakon goers needed to find official cosplayers roaming the dealer’s room. This year the prize was a Sailor Moon water bottle in white or pink. Additionally, Viz had plenty of free Sailor Moon posters and postcards available at the booth. They also brought out the prize wheel to celebrate their 30th anniversary. Prizes ranged from a Sailor Moon lanyard to a Haikyu hand towel.
It also wouldn’t be Otakon without an awesome new Sailor Moon shirt and a cool new (free!) bag to go with it. This time, the shirt has even more glitter! Charlene explained that this shirt is better than ever because the glitter is not only more intense this year, but it won’t come off due to the nature of the ink. It’s washer and dryer proof glitter!
Charlene announced the official home release for Sailor Moon Crystal. The Limited Edition packaging is absolutely gorgeous and loaded with glitter. Anyone who purchased it from Viz Media/ pre-ordered from Right Stuf received a very limited edition Sailor Moon Crystal sun catcher. She also showed off the physical packaging of Sailor Moon Crystal – a glittery box containing the Blu-ray edition and an 88 page art booklet. The set will also include art cards. The official release date is August 16th. Fans at the panel were treated to a preview of the Crystal dub, which definitely looks and sounds better than the stream on the internet. I have high hopes that all of the hiccups with the Internet version of Crystal have been cleaned up in the retail release from Viz.
Charlene then brought out some very special guests: the voices for Sailor Moon(Stephanie Sheh), Tuxedo Mask(Robbie Daymond), and Sailor Neptune(Lauren Landa). It goes without saying that all three were fantastic and funny. Charlene had some prepared questions from the cast, to which all three gave great answers.
Due to the length of the Q&A, you can check that out in our forthcoming post. Stay tuned!
Also stay right here for our review of Sailor Moon Crystal, coming as soon as we get our hands on it!