New character designs for SM Crystal, they say

[Té Rowan]

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2016/01/26/n ... nd-saturn/

The tl;dr: With a new designer aboard, the characters have been fleshed out a bit from the previous twiggies.

http://sailormoon-official.com/animation/

[Spica75]

Improvement.

A little bit more would be good though.

[Crescent Pulsar S]

The anti-Barbie agenda from the politically-correct wing continues?

[PCHeintz72]

I *do* like the sword Uranus has now *much *MUCH* better than the dreadful thing she had in the original series.

[LawOhki]

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2016/01/26/new-character-designs-revealed-for-sailor-moon-crystal-including-uranus-neptune-and-saturn/

The tl;dr: With a new designer aboard, the characters have been fleshed out a bit from the previous twiggies.

http://sailormoon-official.com/animation/

Too bad they can come up with the best promo images in the world but it still won't matter when the actual show has animation worse than Speed Racer, and this will be yet more smoke and mirrors.

[Spica75]

The anti-Barbie agenda from the politically-correct wing continues?

No?

Really, did you think the original SMC style was good? It´s not a matter of "politically correct", it´s a matter of not looking weird.
There´s still a major element of "stretched out" feeling in the new style, but it´s better at least.

[Crescent Pulsar S]

It was a joke, 'cause people were making an issue of their unrealistic/exaggerated proportions in a medium where that is normal. I mean, seriously.

It's not a matter of "good," as if something relative is going to matter. But, if you consider how bad things can be depicted, not even to the point where something can't be readily identified, it's still good art by comparison. Is it better after some changes? It just lost a distinctive feature and moved closer to the stock assembly line.

Animation quality and style isn't too much of an issue for me. The first two seasons of Sailor Moon Crystal reflected the manga style, and I was completely fine with that. I've heard complaints about the looks of the manga, and I agree to some extent (mostly on the action, and being able to tell what's going on), but I had no problem with the character's fanciful proportions: I could tell that a hand wasn't a turkey, after all.

Heck, compared to Space Pirate Mito's animation, which I also had no trouble with, the first two seasons of Sailor Moon Crystal are a silly notion as far as problems are concerned. Of course, if exaggerated proportions is an issue, there's an extensive boulevard of trees that one could bark up; Sailor Moon's hardly the first or the worst in this regard.

I *do* like the sword Uranus has now *much *MUCH* better than the dreadful thing she had in the original series.

Personally, I prefer the "lightsaber" she had in the manga.

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

I *do* like the sword Uranus has now *much *MUCH* better than the dreadful thing she had in the original series.

The sword she had in the anime looked like a plastic rich-pirate sword from a costume shop. (I haven't gotten around to the manga yet.) The one in the promo picture looks like a somewhat odd hand-and-a-half sword from the Renaissance. Not so sure about the crossguard, but the rest looks much more functional.

[LawOhki]

The sword she had in the anime looked like a plastic rich-pirate sword from a costume shop. (I haven't gotten around to the manga yet.) The one in the promo picture looks like a somewhat odd hand-and-a-half sword from the Renaissance. Not so sure about the crossguard, but the rest looks much more functional.

The promo image has the one from the manga.

[Spica75]

The sword she had in the anime looked like a plastic rich-pirate sword from a costume shop. (I haven't gotten around to the manga yet.) The one in the promo picture looks like a somewhat odd hand-and-a-half sword from the Renaissance. Not so sure about the crossguard, but the rest looks much more functional.

More like an oversized rapier?

I´ve actually seen a real historical rapier with exactly that style of crossguard on it.

S-shape crossguard. Most popular in 15th to 17th century, especially the more ornate variations (that also tend to include a full "basket" to cover the hand), but can be found on swords as late as 19th and even 20th century(though much less extreme).
They can also be made so that the shape is flipped sideways, so that the S-shape is seen when looking from the hilt down, or from the point towards the hilt.

With s-shape guard aligned along the length of the sword like on the pic, the backwards one is used to protect the hand, while the other is used for disarming your opponent, similar to how the crossguard on jitte and sai are used.

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

More like an oversized rapier?

I´ve actually seen a real historical rapier with exactly that style of crossguard on it.

The blade is too wide for a rapier, and too thin for a proper hand-and-a-half sword. The grip definitely has room for two hands, which rapiers do not. Probably Takaeuchi was thinking "sword" rather than something as specific as "rapier". Whatever. It's still far better than the one in the original anime.

[Spica75]

Whatever. It's still far better than the one in the original anime.

Just about anything is better than THAT. Looked like a damn toy.

The blade is too wide for a rapier, and too thin for a proper hand-and-a-half sword. The grip definitely has room for two hands, which rapiers do not.

Maybe i should have been clearer, my point was that it LOOKED mostly like a rapier, except too big, hence "oversized rapier".

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

Okay -- terminology.

[Cheb]

Probably Takaeuchi was thinking "sword" rather than something as specific as "rapier".

I was under impression it's actually a lightsaber. AFAIK, in the manga its shape and length varies (short/curved vs straight/long)