Collecting Sailor Moon: Bandai Toys, Figures and the Moon Stick
The first Moon Stick was designed on a napkin. Naoko Takeuchi, the manga's author, wanted to design the heroine's first weapon herself but was short of time; the toy's moulds had to start the next day if it was to reach the shops for the year-end season. She sketched it late at night in a café, and a Bandai employee carried the paper to a maker in Osaka on the first bullet train of the morning. The toy sold well enough to overturn an industry rule of thumb that goods for girls' anime could only sell so far.
Our thesis: Sailor Moon is collected in eras, and the era is the first thing to read. A toy from the original 1990s broadcast, a reissue made for an anniversary and a figure made for adult collectors in the Crystal years can show the same character and be entirely different objects.
At a glance
| Manga | Naoko Takeuchi, in Kodansha's Nakayoshi, 28 December 1991 to 3 February 1997 |
|---|---|
| First anime | Toei Animation, broadcast 1992 to 1997 |
| Stage | Musicals from mid-1993 |
| Live action | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, 2003 to 2004 |
| Second anime | Sailor Moon Crystal, from 2014 |
| Merchandise | Over 2.5 billion US dollars in worldwide sales |
The series in brief
Sailor Moon was written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi and serialised in Kodansha's girls' manga magazine Nakayoshi from 28 December 1991 to 3 February 1997, collected in 18 volumes. It was written alongside an anime by Toei Animation, broadcast from 1992 to 1997, and it follows a Tokyo schoolgirl, Usagi Tsukino, who transforms into Sailor Moon and leads a team of Sailor Guardians. Musicals began in mid-1993; a live-action series ran from 2003 to 2004; a second anime, Sailor Moon Crystal, began in 2014. The franchise has generated over 2.5 billion US dollars in worldwide merchandise sales.
Three eras on the shelf
The broadcast years, 1992 to 1997
The original toys were made for children watching the first anime. After the Moon Stick, Bandai's own staff designed the later transformation items; for the second and third seasons the company chose Yoichi Fukano, a former industrial designer who had worked on railway carriages. A 1994 Bandai Excellent Doll M Sailor Moon, made in Japan and unopened is a piece of this era. In our handling, original boxes from these years are scarcer than the toys, because they were made to be opened.
Reissues and anniversaries
The series has been reissued for anniversaries, and the reissues are collected in their own right. From 2013 a 20th anniversary programme brought premium capsule toys, adult-orientated cosmetics and toys through Premium Bandai, and collaborations with outside brands. A Bandai Moon Stick, World Edition reissue is an example; we describe a reissue as a reissue, with its date where the box gives one.
The Crystal years and adult figures
Sailor Moon Crystal brought new character designs and a run of figures made for adults. A Figuarts Zero Chouette Sailor Neptune of 2017, unopened and a set of ten Banpresto Glitter and Glamours figures show the range, from display figures to prize figures. A one-off painted garage kit of Usagi and Luna belongs to a different world again, explained in our Lexicon entry on the garage kit.
How we read one
- Maker and line. Bandai, Banpresto or another maker, and the line name, such as Figuarts Zero or Excellent Doll. It is printed on the box.
- Date. The copyright line on the box or base usually gives a year; a toy and its box can differ, and we say so.
- Original or reissue. In our handling, reissues often say so on the box, and their packaging differs from the originals in size, language and print.
- Completeness. Inserts, accessories, batteries covers and instruction sheets. For sealed pieces we use the word deadstock only when the seal is factory original.
- Working parts. Transformation toys often have lights and sounds; we test them and report the result, as we did with the Moon Stick above.
- Condition. Yellowing of white plastic, sun-fading of pink and loose glitter are the usual faults.
The stage and the screen
Thirty musicals have been produced. During the first run they were staged in winter and summer, with summer shows at the Sunshine Theater in Ikebukuro; Bandai put the series on hiatus after January 2005, and new musicals began in September 2013. In our reading, programmes and stage goods from these productions are a quiet corner of the field, and a complete Crystal Blu-ray box set sits beside them as a document of the second anime.
What we checked and left out
Dates and figures come from the sources below; the Moon Stick story and the 20th anniversary programme come from the Japanese-language source, in our translation. We give no prices.
Further reading
- Anime cel, in the Lexicon: the painted sheets behind the 1990s broadcast.
- Collecting Studio Ghibli: another studio's objects, read the same way.
- The anime art and merchandise shelf.
Looking for a particular toy, doll or figure? Tell us what you are looking for, and we will look for it in Japan.
Sources
- Sailor Moon, encyclopaedia entry, for the manga, Nakayoshi dates, volumes, the Toei anime, the musicals, the live-action series, Crystal and merchandise sales. wikipedia.org
- Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn, Japanese-language encyclopaedia entry (our translation), for the Moon Stick, Bandai's later item designs and Yoichi Fukano, and the 20th anniversary programme from 2013. ja.wikipedia.org
Last reviewed 15 November 2026. The Japonista Curation and Concierge Team, Tokyo, Japan.