Pretty Soldier Sailormoon originated as a Japanese manga (see: japanese comic) series written by Naoko Takeuchi in 1992. It was originally run in Nakayoshi magazine which is a shoujo, or girls magazine. Side stories were printed in Run Run. All of these stories were later published in compilations called tankoubon (see: graphic novels or trade paper backs) by Kodansha Comics. The series was picked up by TOEI Animation who decided they wanted to turn this sailor suited girl warrior manga into an anime (see: animated) series to run on television.

The romanization of the series title is Bishoujo Senshi Seeraamuun which roughly translates to "beautiful girl soldier sailormoon". The people in charge of this series decided the English translation of the story to be Pretty Soldier Sailormoon.

Manga Detail
The original manga series ran for 52 Acts (see: chapters or issues) in the shoujo magazine Nakayoshi. There were also side stories that were printed in Run Run magazine. They were later collected into eighteen tankoubon and released by Kodansha Comics. The series ran from 1992-1997. The "Codename: Sailor V" manga started in 1991 and ended in 1997.

GENGASHUU - Five gengashuu, or artbooks were released in follow-up to each of the five sections of the story, the Dark Kingdom (Volume I), Black Moon (Volume II), Infinite (Volume III), Dreams (Volume IV), and Stars (Volume V).

INFINITY - A small range release (maybe 500-1000 copies) was brought out by Naoko Takeuchi herself in 1997 which was called "Pretty Soldier Sailormoon Artbook Infinity". It was a compilation of works not released and the works & notes from everyone who contributed to the show, including the seiyuu (see: voice actors) and other famous artists.

SETTEI SHIRYOUSHUU - In August 1999, there was one Materials Collection book released which included character sheets, poster ideas, colored art, and the Parallel Sailormoon short manga (which has caused much controversy and debate).

Anime Details
There were five seasons to the Pretty Soldier Sailormoon anime that ran for 200 episodes. It aired from 1993-1997 on TV Asahi. It continued to air on TV Asahi in re-runs even though the station normally does not air re-runs. Three movies and a handful of specials were also created.

TV SEASONS
Pretty Soldier Sailormoon [episodes 001-046]
Pretty Soldier Sailormoon R [episodes 047-089]
Pretty Soldier Sailormoon S [episodes 090-127]
Pretty Soldier Sailormoon SuperS [episodes 128-166]
Pretty Soldier Sailormoon Sailor Stars [episodes 167-200]

MOVIES
Sailormoon R: Theatrical Release
Sailormoon S: Theatrical Release
Sailormoon SuperS: Theatrical Release

SPECIALS
Make Up! Sailor Senshi
Dreaming Moon - Sailor Moon to X'mas
SuperS: Ami-chan's First Love (played with SuperS movie)
SuperS: TV Special (aired between ep 131 and 132)

Live Action Details
In October of 2003, a new live action version of the popular tale made it's debut. It has breathed new life into the story, bringing with it new elements and twists to this drama. It is currently still airing in Japan and is planned to run for approximately fifty episodes.