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"Make-up! Pretty Guardian Sailormoon" Special

Title: Make-up! Pretty Guardian Sailormoon
Episode: Special
Series: Pretty Guardian Sailormoon
Running Time: 30 minutes
AirDate: Sept. 27, 2003, 7:30 AM
Description: This Special aired prior to the series premier. It features behind the scenes footage, actress interviews, production crew interviews, as clips from important events. These events include the June 2003 tryouts, July 31 Press Conference in Yokohama, the Pre-acting test, and "Crank in." The special is done documentary/gossip column style and is hosted by a female narrator.

Summary:

Usagi transforms for first time Opening Scene:
        The "Make-up! Pretty Guardian Sailormoon" Special begins with a clip from episode one of Usagi yelling out, "Moon Prism Power," followed by a clip of Sailormoon saying her speech, "Pretty Soldier of love and justice, Sailormoon! In the name of the moon, I will punish you!"

All 18 of the original BSSM Manga History::
        The next part of the special discusses the history of the series. To background shots of the black and white Manga, the narrator explains the plot of the Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon series by Takeuchi Naoko. She then explains that the series began in 1991 in Kodansha’s Nakayoshi Magazine (shots of the magazine covers). The series then expanded into 18 volumes of Manga and sold a record of 12 million copies. It was even made into Musicals and an Anime. The popularity of the series is still strong; the Sailormoon.Channel official website, opened this year, receives 90,000 hits per day.

Title Screen - 'Make-up! Pretty Guardian Sailormoon' Live Action Introduction:
        The camera focuses on the Senshi posing together as a group then walking outside, as the narrator explains that the new series begins broadcasting on October 4 [2003]. The next set of clips show the production crew filming Usagi right after Luna had fallen on her head, Ami sitting in the classroom, Rei waling through the Shrine, Makoto playing catch in the park, and Minako surrounded by fans. The a shot of the main title, "Make-up! Pretty Guardian Sailormoon" over a director's board.

Pretty Guardian Sailormoon Tryouts Tryouts:
        Tryouts for the series began in June 2003 and lasted for one week. (Shot of outside of production building) A total of 1152 participants applied. The camera then shows a large group of people sitting at a large wooden table facing the "stage" area, followed by clips of the casting discussions. In the end, five girls were chosen for the series. Each of the girls is introduced: Sawai Miyuu as Sailormoon says that her friends told her to try out for the part of Usagi. Hama Chisaki as Sailormercury says she will do her best not to disappoint everyone. Kitigawa Keiko as Sailormars says that she read all of the Manga and has seen all of the Anime. Azama Myuu as Sailorjupiter and Komatsu Ayaka as Sailorvenus both say they will do their best.

Senshi pose at press conference Press Conference:
        On July 31, 2003, a Press Conference (Production Announcement Meeting) was held in Yokohama, Japan. Within the auditorium are people sitting at metal desk-like tables and many journalists along with camera crews. This is the girlsEfirst debut. Backstage, in Room 315, the girls are getting ready and practicing their poses for the big event. Sawai, in her full Sailormoon costume, is standing in front of a mirror going over her speech. The five girls, in costumes, stand in a circle with their hands in the middle and say "do our Best." Next the girls head out on stage and the conference starts. Sailormoon stands in front, with Mercury, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter standing directly behind her. She does her speech and then the other girls move to her sides and they all pose for the cameras. After this, are shots of the girls answering press questions, followed by more posing. At the end on the 50-minute press conference, the five Senshi walk off stage. Backstage, the girls chat about the completed debut.

Girls read scripts in preparation for their pre-acting test Pre-Acting Test:
        The next obstacle for the five young actresses is the dreaded "pre-acting Test." This is the girls first time performing in front of the director. Without costumes, the girls must perform an act from one of the early scenes. After quickly looking over their lines, the girls get in their places. Sawai gets to play Usagi and Hama gets to play Ami. However, the other girls must play parts that aren't those of their characters. Komatsu plays Naru and Azama and Kitigawa play Usagi's classmates. In this scene, Usagi and Naru look at the grade board. Naru-chan is in 15th place, but Usagi didn't do so well. The girls point out that Mizuno is once again first. The other classmates come up and start bad-mouthing Ami, as she stands nearby and listens. When the actresses finish the scene, the director says that they each have things to work on and then he gives them suggestions on preparing the script. After the Pre-Acting test is finished, Sawai talks about having read the script many times and having tried her best.

--Commercial Break--

Sawai starts filming one of her first scenes "Crank in:"
        On August 11, 2003, "Crank in" or filming on the live-action series began. The day is 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit) and the crew has to film outside. The scene being shot is from Act 1, when Usagi is crossing the bridge and Luna falls on her head. The director is not satisfied, and it takes seven takes for Sawai to get it right (the previous 6 takes were all "NG" [No Good]). After all that moving around in the sun, Sawai is very hot and has to sit down. The final version of this scene is then shown, however, CGI (computer generated image) Luna is blocked out, so as "not to ruin the surprise." The director says Sawai has a lot of guts, but feels that she has a shallow grasp of the character.

On the set of Usagi's bedroom Inside the Studio - Usagi's Room:
        The next part of the special travels to the studio and examines the set. The go to Usagi's room. There is lots of pink and yellow everywhere. On the left in the far corner is Usagi's bed with pink plaid sheets and a yellow bunny. Above her bed is a poster of the idol, Aino Minako. Next to her bed is a shelf with books and trinkets. Across the room is a desk and in the middle of the room is a table. Sawai comes in and counts all of the "usagi" [bunnies] in the room. There are 43, not counting her.

Filming on Juuban Classroom set Filming on Set:
        On August 20, 2003, the "Make-up! Pretty Guardian Sailormoon" crew visits the set where then are shooting a classroom scene. The classroom in 2-1 and all of the desks are pink. The kids are eating bento boxes. Clips of Ami-chan are shown, and Hama is interviewed. She is asked if it's lonely, and she says yes, it's lonely and hungry (in this scene she doesn't have any friends and the other classmates are eating lunch). The next scene that the crew goes to is on location in a cave. This cave (a real cave in the woods) is the main base for the Dark Kingdom. Inside, the production crew is filming Queen Beryl. Then, when filming is finished, Sugimoto Aya introduces herself to the Special crew.

Sawai works on the transformation scene with choreographer Location Shoot:
        By September 2, 2003, the production crew is in the final stages of filming episode one. Each of the five actresses are taken to a different local to film their scenes from the opening credits. Kitigawa is at a temple. A clip of Rei is shown as she sits in front of the fire. Then Rei is shown as she walks through the temple's paths. After filming, Kitigawa uses the temple's bell to make a wish. She wishes to be a good Sailormars. The next on location shoot is of Azama playing Makoto. Makoto is in the park and is playing catch; in the background, a song plays: "My Little Red Car." After shooting, Azama tells the Special crew that she hopes that she got the boyishness of Makoto down. The next scene is of Komatsu playing Aino Minako, the idol/singer. As Minako gets out of a car, she is swarmed by fans.
        The "Make-up! Pretty Guardian Sailormoon"crew then heads to Toei Tokyo Filming Studio #18. There, the special moves and transformation sequences are being shot in front of green screens. Sawai is shown practicing her transformation scene with a choreographer. However, the Special crew is shut out of the studio, so as not to reveal the transformation scenes. However, they do "secretly" show the final transformation scene of Sailormoon, when she transformed in the first episode.

Last shot of Sailormoon The End of the Special:
        The end of the special shows clips of the Senshi posing, clips from earlier parts of the special, and the final pose of the Senshi from the opening credits. Following this, are clips of the five Senshi surrounded by a pink vignette. The five Senshi are shown in this order: Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Moon, and they tell everyone to watch the show. On the screen is the show's premier time 10/4 at 7:30 AM and the web address of the Official PGSM page, http://hicbc.com. The show ends with a quick ad for the new Manga re-releases, with cover shots of volumes 1 and 2. The narrator says that Takeuchi Naoko has drawn new covers and the Manga has been collected into 13 volumes.

Credits: This summary was based on the TV-Nihon Sub.
The screen caps were made by SailorJupiter244 from the JapanDog Raws.