International Sailor Moon Day brings out Sailor Mercury’s punk

June 30th is not only Sailor Moon’s official birthday. It is also a real-life celebration of the annual International Sailor Moon Day. To celebrate, a talented anime cosplayer has magically transformed into an alternate version of Sailor Mercury.

Anime cosplayer Olga (@/carioka_go) celebrated International Sailor Moon Day 2024 by dressing up as Ami Mizuno, better known worldwide as Sailor Mercury. However, this is not a traditional Sailor Mercury cosplay. This punk rock version of the character is based on fan art by an artist named @/soo_k_0070 on Instagram. In addition to Sailor Mercury, @/soo_k_0070 has drawn several alternate versions of the Pretty Guardians, including Sailor Neptune and Uranus, Sailor Pluto, and Sailor Moon herself along with Black Lady, an adult evil version of Chibi Moon.

Sailor Mercury gets an iconic punk rock makeover in new Sailor Moon cosplay

Olga uploaded another impressive Sailor Mercury cosplay to her Instagram account. The similarities between Olga’s Sailor Mercury cosplay and the fan art by soo_k_0070 are undeniable. All the key elements are there, like the Sailor Mercury lower lip piercing, the petaled (and dark) tattoo on the right side, the spiked collar around her neck, and the small rose tattoo on her upper right cheek. Sailor Mercury’s punk rock hairstyle isn’t all that different from the original, but it looks and feels more lively than before. This interpretation of Mercury is so fun because in the original Sailor Moon series, Ami is shy and gentle, petite in build and confidence, not characteristics you would normally associate with a hard-core rocker, making this a fascinating direction to explore in the excellent Sailor Moon series.

Naoko Takeuchi’s “Sailor Moon” had a deep influence on pop culture from the 1990s onwards.

There’s a lot to love about the Sailor Moon series, but one of the many reasons it remains a favorite among fans new and old is its majestic art style. Series creator Naoko Takeuchi has designed the world of Sailor Moon in a beautiful and elegant way. But the dreamlike aesthetic of the original 1992 Sailor Moon anime continues to influence pop culture with shows like Adventure Time: Fiona, Cake, Bee, and Puppycat. Ironically, Sailor Moon’s iconic pink filter was not intentionally used during the original television broadcast, but rather is the result of poor film storage and color degradation caused by home media transfer.

Kodansha, the British publisher of the Sailor Moon manga, plans to release a collector’s box set of volumes 1 to 6 in 2024. The original Sailor Moon anime is available on numerous streaming services, including Crunchyroll and Hulu, and currently airs every Friday on Cartoon Network’s Toonami Rewind slot. Sailor Moon Cosmos, the two-part theatrical finale of the Sailor Moon Crystal anime series, will be exclusively distributed worldwide on Netflix on August 22, 2024. Sailor Moon Crystal is also available to stream on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Netflix.

Source: Instagram