Sailor Moon (English, Optimum Productions)

History
In 1995, DiC won the rights to Sailor Moon in North America. The series was a 65-episode package, with seven episodes cut for reasons unknown. The series did so poorly in syndication that, after the run had completed, DiC dropped the show and made no effort to bring the series to even the end of the second season.

The series became popular after being aired on Cartoon Network in the United States, and as it had been popular from the start in Canada, there was high demand for more episodes. After two years, DiC eventually purchased and dubbed seventeen more episodes, which would complete the unfinished second season. Syndication rights for the first two seasons were handled by The Program Exchange from 1997-2004.

The English dub of Sailor Moon was also aired abroad, such as in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

Censorship
There were many changes in the dub. Most of the main characters' names were changed and major plot elements were removed or altered.

In the first season, some of the content from the final episodes was added on to the first episode as an introduction, thus revealing many plot elements that were kept secret in the original. One character's gender was changed, and the dialogue was altered to add significant amounts of slang. The term "Sailor Senshi" was changed to "Sailor Scout."

Five episodes were cut entirely from the season, and footage was also cut from the episodes themselves. The final two episodes had so much footage removed that they were merged into one episode. The deaths of the Sailor Senshi were explained away as them having been "kidnapped" by the Negaverse, something which confused fans who had never seen the original.

The second season received much the same treatment, with one episode cut, bringing the number of episodes lost to seven. The story was also changed in that the primary villains were also from the Negaverse instead of the planet Nemesis.

Changes made in both the first two seasons included the elimination of any hint of violence and the elimination of breast lines in the transformation sequences; certain scenes were played twice (once forwards and once reversed) to avoid objectionable parts without losing time. There was also a "Sailor Says" segment after every episode, extolling a moral virtue of that particular episode. Also, many attempts were made to hide, cut, or erase any trace of Japanese writing originally visible in various scenes. Computer-generated images were added as transitions between scene changes, and several visual effects were added, such as a glint on Luna's forehead in her first appearance or sparks inside of Queen Beryl's crystal ball. Many of the scenes were sped up slightly, and some had contextual changes, like a scene of Usagi talking to herself being rewritten as though she were talking to the audience.

Main Cast

 * Karen Bernstein - Amy/Sailor Mercury
 * Katie Griffin - Raye/Sailor Mars
 * Stephanie Morgenstern - Mina/Sailor Venus
 * Susan Roman - Lita/Sailor Jupiter
 * Terri Hawkes - Serena/Sailor Moon (eps12, 14-20, 22-40)
 * Tracey Moore - Serena/Sailor Moon (eps1-11, 13, 21, 41)

Secondary Cast

 * Jill Frappier - Luna
 * Kirsten Bishop - Zoisite
 * Maria Vacratsis - Queen Metallia
 * Naz Edwards - Queen Beryl
 * Rino Romano - Tuxedo Mask (eps1-11)
 * Ron Rubin - Artemis
 * Toby Proctor - Tuxedo Mask (eps12-40)
 * Tony Daniels - Jedite
 * Wendy Lyon - Queen Serenity

Minor Cast

 * Barbara Radecki - Ikuko (Serena's Mother)
 * Chris Wiggins - Mr. Baxter, Narrator (ep1)
 * Colin O'Meara - Andrew
 * David Fraser - Grandpa Hino
 * David Huband - Kenji (Serena's Father)
 * Denis Akiyama - Malachite
 * Eric Kimmel - Greg
 * Harvey Atkin - Bumboo (ep23), Pox (ep26)
 * Jeff Lumby - Misha
 * Joel Feeney - Peter Fisher
 * Julie Lemieux - Sammy
 * Kathy Laskey - Yumemi Yumeno
 * Kevin Lund - Neflyte
 * Mary Long - Molly
 * Nadine Rabinovitch - Patricia Haruna
 * Rino Romano - Game Machine Joe (ep21)
 * Roland Parliament - Melvin
 * Steven Bednarski - Chad
 * Tracey Hoyt - Jenelle