Sailor Moon was a manga series before it became an incredibly popular anime. The anime crossed the pond to get an English dubbed version in the mid-90s. The dubbed version had a lot of differences compared to the original Japanese series, but it still landed a lot of fans in the United States. It’s that 90s dubbed version that IMDb has over 10,000 user ratings for.
The Internet Movie Database allows registered users to rate any movie or television program on the site once they’ve been released to the public. Based on a scale of one (being the worst) and ten (being the best), users can assign a number of stars to individual episodes of a series. The 1995 series has an average rating of 7.7 stars. The 10 highest rated episodes of the series are a little higher than that, ranging from 8.2 to 8.6 stars.
Birth Of Wicked Lady - S2E38 (8.2)
Leading off the top 10 episodes of the first dubbed version of Sailor Moon is a classic villain reveal. Sailor Moon’s daughter from the future ended up falling prey to some mental manipulation from Wiseman. Thus, the villain Wicked Lady was born.
Wicked Lady was a fan favorite villain in the manga thanks to her gorgeous design and her deep issues of abandonment. While not everything made it into the anime, the heart of the story was still in tact. A little girl believed her parents didn’t really love her, and that made her vulnerable to corruption.
Final Battle - S2E41 (8.2)
Unsurprisingly, since the first episode of the Wicked Lady arc makes the top 10, so does the last. “Final Battle” featured the last appearance of Wiseman as the Sailor Scouts brought an end to his plan.
During the episode, Sailor Moon finally managed to convince her future daughter that she did care about her. Unfortunately, it was too late as Wiseman’s goal of opening a dark gate had already been achieved. Sailor Moon’s princess form, as well as Sailor Mini Moon’s possession of the future Moon Crystal, allowed the two to access greater power than they had in the past. They defeated the enemy and closed the gate with the help of a power up from the other four Sailor Scouts as well.
Cherry Blossom Time - S2E05 (8.2)
As often happens with anime inspired by popular manga series, Sailor Moon was in production as an anime while the manga was still being written. The result is that there are filler episodes in a lot of anime. With Sailor Moon, there was a whole filler arc.
The filler arc involved a tree that absorbed energy and a pair of aliens in charge of taking care of it. “Cherry Blossom Time” took place early in the arc. Sailor Moon found herself trapped and de-powered by one of their Cardians - monsters inspired by a tarot-like deck of cards. The spirit of Queen Serenity came to her when Sailor Moon needed her most, and allowed her to level up with some “Moon Crystal Power.”
Nightmare In Dreamland - S1E08 (8.2)
The only early episode in the English dub to make the list, “Nightmare In Dreamland” marked a lot of firsts for the show. It was the first time the audience got a taste of how much Serena and Raye would argue. This episode was also the first time they combined their powers in a fight.
The way Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars argue in the English dub is actually very different from their manga counterparts. Sailor Mar was much more likely to go with the flow on the page than she was in animation. This episode marked the beginning of a bit of a power struggle between the two. Sailor Mars believed her fiery attacks were more powerful that Sailor Moon’s focus on love. It would be a theme throughout the first season of the series.
Sailor V Makes The Scene - S1E29 (8.2)
Sailor V was meant to be the star of her own series. As a fan favorite, it’s no wonder that her debut in the series ranks amongst the top rated episodes. Sailor V turns out to be Sailor Venus, and she’s got a great entrance.
The Sailor Scouts were fooled by a fake Sailor Moon. When they, and Tuxedo Mask, attempt to rescue the fake Sailor Moon from an attack, it turns out the fake was really a masquerading enemy trying to trap them. The trap worked. With zapped energy, the Sailor Scouts couldn’t fight back, and Tuxedo Mask was willing to give up his crystals to save them. Sailor Venus emerging onto the scene with an attack of her own saved the day. She managed to save all of her new teammates single handedly, showing how powerful of a fighter she could be.
The Past Returns - S1E39 (8.2)
“The Past Returns” was really the beginning of the end for the first story arc. The episode gave fans an extensive look at what the Moon Kingdom was like before it fell, and it propelled the Sailor Scouts into battle against Queen Beryl.
As they faced Malachite in battle, he revealed that he was present when the Moon Kingdom fell. Though Sailor Moon didn’t initially believe that Queen Serenity would have saved the lives of their enemies as well as members of the Moon Kingdom, his assertion was proven true. Fans watched as the Moon Princess and the Earth’s prince fell in love and tried to fight the evil coming for their kingdoms. After the vision of the past, Sailor Moon was able to defeat Malachite, the last of Queen Beryl’s generals, to go after the bigger threat.
Day Of Destiny - S1E40 (8.3)
“Day Of Destiny” actually merged two episodes of the Japanese anime together to create one massive confrontation. In it, the Sailor Scouts made their final stand against Queen Beryl.
Of course, Queen Beryl was ready for them, sending her Doom And Gloom Girls after them, a group of soldiers created for the anime. Each of Sailor Moon’s Sailor Scouts lost their lives as they protected their leader from the Doom And Gloom Girls. Ultimately, Sailor Moon had to face off against Queen Beryl (and a brainwashed Darien). Despite losing her friends, she still had the strength of their spirits, and her transformation into the Moon Princess, to help her save the day.
Treed - S2E13 (8.3)
This particular episode marked the end of the arc created specifically for the anime. The Cardians, the Doom Tree, and Alan and Ann left the series for good. In “Treed,” the backstory for the two aliens targeting humans was revealed by the tree itself. Known as the Tree of Life on its original planet, it needed the energy from love to survive, but it hadn’t been getting that on Earth. Thanks to a massive fight involving tree branches, Sailor Moon got all the details and healed the tree of the influence of fear and hate.
This episode also finally revealed the obvious to fans: the Moonlight Knight was just the part of Tuxedo Mask that wanted to protect Sailor Moon.
A Friend In Wolf’s Clothing - S1E20 (8.4)
In this season one episode, one of Queen Beryl’s generals had a surprising change of heart. Nephrite (renamed Nephlite in the dub, for some reason) fell for one of Serena’s friends.
The general began the episode thinking a normal girl named Molly might know Sailor Moon’s identity. She didn’t, but she did happen to be friends with her civilian guise. When Serena found out one of her friends was contacted by an enemy, she, of course, jumped into action. Nephrite, who originally intended to use Molly as bait, changed his mind when he developed feelings for her.
He did get to find out the identity of Sailor Moon when Serena transformed to save him from his former allies. Nephrite took her secret to the grave.
A Crystal Clear Destiny - S1E30 (8.6)
Considering Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask remain one of the most beloved couples in anime, it’s no surprise this episode ranks as the top of the pack. Thirty episodes into season one, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask found out one another’s real identities.
Queen Beryl lured Darien to a meeting with the intent of stealing his crystals. Serena, concerned that Darien wasn’t acting like himself, despite him often making fun of her, followed him. The two, of course, were attacked. When trapped in an elevator together, Serena had no choice but to transform into Sailor Moon to save their lives. Likewise, Darien had to transform into Tuxedo Mask to help her out. From that point on, the two grew closer.
Of course, during the fight, Darien’s crystals were transformed from Serena’s tears. Sailor Moon was revealed to be the true Moon Princess.
