Sailor Moon Updates

Stardust Magic

2008-07-01T12:59:00.001-07:00

Minor update notice for the first of July! I've been working to get out as many new, updated gifs for the magic section as possible. I have about 1/2 of them done now, so there's only about 30 left that I need for the anime. Included in this update is gifs for some of the rarer attacks in Sailormoon; including Sailor Body Attack!, Sailor Moon Kick!, and Super Supreme Thunder!. I'm working on completing the entire set, though. I realize having 30 left seems like a high number, but really it is quite a bit fewer than before. The bulk of the ones missing are transformations, I have most of the attacks made into new gifs. After I've completed the general set, I'll go back and make gif files of secondary versions of the same attacks- for example, all the Starlights have two different transformation sequences and two different attack sequences. I'm putting the longer, more complete versions of these up first but plan on making the other versions on as a secondary link later.

The quality of these animations are higher than the previous ones were. I noticed on a lot of our old files, the whole thing was shortened significantly- like taking out all the ribbons in Moon Prism Power, Make Up! or leaving out the water vortex in Neptune Planet Power, Make Up!. All the animations I've made have the full versions and are also (fairly) large so that you can see everything much easier. The only down side to this is that the files are also larger, making them take a bit longer to load. This isn't a big deal for people with uuber-fast internet, but the warning is out there for people still stuck on dial-up.

Once the remaining gifs are created, I'll make up a policy for using them on your own sites. Until then, please just leave them be.

Manga FAQ it Up

2008-06-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

I cleaned the Sailor Moon Manga FAQ a little and added a bit more information. The file actually got smaller as I was editing. I traditionally edit it this time of year. This sweep mostly took out the long rambles and added in a section of the act summaries. I'll get to the Shinsouban eventually as well. However, I never got full translations of the Shinsoubon. My Japanese has improved a little though.

I went to Japan too and took pictures. I was supposed to learn PHP during that time, but unfortunately due to personal issues that I rather not disclose, I was unable to. I did take a picture of Shiba Daijingu which has some of the features shown in Hikawa Jinja in the manga. I have to pick those up today. (I had to use a film camera since my digital one broke.) A 360 view of the shrine is on the first page.

Given that I have to learn PHP 5 to fix up things like the character profiles, write quizzes, etc, and my college won't offer such a class, this might take a while to fix. Or if I can get in contact with my teacher, then maybe I can make it happen. I really do hope that I can learn PHP 5 and streamline this site more.

In the meantime, I'll try to find a way to fix the Sailor Moon Fan fiction section. I do need someone to help manage that section. If I can't find anyone... then it'll either have to be closed down or things will have to be posted manually.

Detail work...

2008-06-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

I've been working to make minor corrections to the site, but nothing too new is out. The summaries for the musicals have been updated with corrections for the titles of the songs used. I've also fixed some broken links and made some minor corrections on profiles (for a while Diana's information said 'Artemis' for some reason... -_-; probably just over-looked, I guess).

I'm tentative to choose a major project that I am working on specficially on the site. After busting so hard for over six months on the layouts and content update that we last had, I'm afraid to label anything specific as something I'm planning on getting done in X amount of time.

Things I'm hoping to accomplish, however, at some point:
1- Update the links out. Delete obsolete websites and add in some new ones. (For example, we don't even have a link to the Oracle on there yet, and that site is certainly the biggest Sailormoon-related website around today.)

2- Update animated GIF files in the magic section. This project is about 1/3 complete. I'm trying viciously to get all of them made by me so I can ensure the quality of the images and the length of animation. As a result, there are several new ones that have been updated that I created that are different and higher quality than previous ones. This project is tedious, however, because attention is paid to individual frames of the animation and I have to get screen caps myself. Some things aren't too bad (the inner senshi's attacks from the SuperS season, for instance, all were on average 6 seconds long.) but others are significantly longer (most of Sailormoon's attacks and transformations verge on almost 1 minute of length!) and just take a bit more time. An example would be these two recently updated GIFs - Mars Flame Sniper took about 15-20 minutes to complete, including screen cap time while Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss took about 2 hours. The length is just that much different. I'm trying to get a bit done with this every day (I promised myself one a day at least, but lately it's been more like 4-8 done a day) so this should be done relatively quickly, unless I completely burn out on it (which is totally possible.)

3- I want to create new individual layouts for the for the shrines. The layouts that are out now aren't compatible with all browsers, so I want to make sure to fix that preferably sooner than later. However, since they also tend to be a bit stagnant this isn't a major priority to me yet. Eventually, the whole of the site should be bustling and awesome.

4- Places guide. This is something that we are, believe it or not, working on. The thing is that most of this is occurring behind the scenes in the form of snapping up images and filing them away. Eventually, information will be available for all locations and images to support them. This will include not just places as seen in the anime, but also in the manga as well.

And that's about it. Sorry about the long-winded posting with no real meat for updates. I just wanted to let you know that I'm working, at least on my end, to ensure that this site is shaping into the best that it can be. In the mean time, hopefully Hitsuji will be writing articles in bare-bones HTML and sending them to me via email. I figure that I don't mind doing the leg-work to find the images, etc, to back it up. That is my job, after all, to deal with the visuals of this site.

Major Website Updates

2008-06-02T16:27:00.000-07:00

It was time to clean house. ^_^; So if you came to the site an hour ago and it was down, I'm sorry. It was a bigger update than usual this time (as you can probably tell. Just about everything is different!) so it took much longer to actually upload it than normal. ^_^; Gomen.

Okay, things that are updated:
1. Layouts. Well, obviously... *^_^* The main layout is completely different, but so are the layouts for the major sections- anime cluster, manga cluster, guardian star, musical star, and video games... all of those are brand new and made specifically to blend in with the rest of the site while retaining their own identity. More importantly, unncessary layouts have been cut out to make this all much more stream-lined and user friendly.

2. Stardust Magic. This section has significantly more images than before and now contains information on the PGSM side of the series as well. It is much better rounded, and I'm working on getting the few kinks left worked out ASAP.

3. Character Profiles. Goodness, this was a lot of work and I never did complete it... but it is significantly further along than before. The more subjective information I am leaving for Hitsuji's expertise, but certain things are fairly simple to look up in the anime or manga or to add into these. They are more complete than before and I have added a few bits of information that may be useful.

4. Musical Star. Well, not only is this site actually up period, it actually does have a bit of information available thusfar for you to enjoy. It is, like the rest of a site, a work in progress, but a decent dent is made out of it.

5. Gem Information. This section is about halfway completed with basic information. More will be coming soon.

Of course, all these things are bits and pieces of a major update, and there really is probably more out there but I think that's enough specifics. I'll be patroling the website for broken links for the next few hours, so if you find something don't report it until tomorrow (and then please double check to make sure it is still broken... -_-;) Now that the bulk of the site is up I can get started on more of the stuff that is needed. I'm hopeful that within about 5 years from now the site will be completed as far as the stuff that we have envisioned from the beginning being up. Hitsuji informed me that she has successfully gained some exclusive Takeuchi-related photos in Japan, and those will be up soon, too.

Sorry it took so long to get this up, and I hope it was well worth the wait. ^_^

Frivolous Updates

2007-12-29T00:11:00.001-08:00

I'm supposed to be doing info... right? Umm... Well I did make 4 new Sailor Moon tarot cards.

In truth I'm gearing up for the huge update for Takeuchi-sensei's B-day. As a tradition this website updates around March 15th... so I usually prepare her gift this far in advance...

Sailor Moon Manga Tarot Cards
The cards are:
- The Knight of Swords (Professor Tomoe)
- The Page of Swords (Sailor Lethe)
- The Knight of Cups (Pegasus)
- The Six of Cups (Vega) (Was hard to do)

Once I have the royalty up, you can cast such fortunes as when is Hitsuji going to update the website.

I'll add other stuff... I took a few screen shots of SMR that are critical to the series, such as Usagi with the wrong hair color and hair style, the '93 sign on the bridge, the final poses of attacks, the transformation pens, and locations, such as the Tsukino House, Tsukino Neighborhood, the top of Crystal Tower where Serenity Palace is. I'm hoping Mako-chan will "discover" them under captures in the picture section. I really do want to be one of the only websites that has pictures of all of the places in SM. But such things take lots of time to do.

I also have lots of personal crap this year that I need to get rid of.... so I may do more or less than expected, depends on how I decide how to deal with it.

I'm not dead! (I promise)

2007-12-26T13:59:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the php issues. ^_^" It's being dealt with. Honestly, it is.

I just wanted to let you all know that major work is happening, it's just all behind the scenes. Eventually there will be one enormous update, but it's just got more time on it before it's ready for the big unveiling.

There should be more image updates as well as general stuff being added that previously I couldn't contribute to. Even some of the more objective information I can add now just because I actually have the resources now. I'm not going to go into the details of the next update too much, just know it's a major one and I hope you all like it! ^_^;

So, I guess just sit tight for a couple more months. I'll work like a madwoman to get all of it done as fast as possible. And Hitsuji's promised new information and content updates when she gets to it, so I think she'll pull through with some new stuff as well.

Sailor Moon New Update Blog

2007-12-22T15:33:00.000-08:00

*bows*

Yes, it was my fault... and yes the server changed to php5 basically making it impossible for me to fix for a while. But what did we actually lose? Nothing! Why? 'Cause I sill have access to the old updates.

And Mako-chan was invited too. Someone should give me a whack and her a round of applause.

I'll add the updates from the database later... I'll try to fix the includes problem too. This was hell to figure out. Nothing lost at least. Let's bless the thing called MySQL. I'll try to make more info updates, but unfortunately for you guys I have lots of personal stuff to deal with. I also have a noel to finish off today... I'll keep you updated... If you would like to see more of my work, you can see it at Wikipedia where I've been working hard... which also deserves a thorough whack... I appreciate your patience and hanging in all this time. =P

Layout Updates
As you can see, this area has undergone yet another layout swap. In the end, the java + programming + design didn't agree with everyone, so it's been switched out. Hitsuji and I have both been tearing out our hair trying to #1 create a functioning and beautiful site as well as #2 trying to appease the masses. We're doing the best we can, people, but it does take time.

Updated areas of this site include new layouts for the manga cluster and the profiles section. There was a new Reading By Moonlight layout a while back, but I dont think it was ever mentioned and not much else has been updated in that area. ^_^; Since the ftp is finally functioning for me I don't have to send everything to Hitsuji to upload, which means (drumroll)... faster updates! There's bound to be a few bugs with all these new layouts and as thorough as I try to be, it doesn't mean it's perfect. Any broken links or other issues layout-wise should be taken up with me via email. Don't bug Hitsuji to correct my errors. She's got more than enough on her plate as it is.
-Mako-chan 2005-02-23 22:58:36

More Layout Updates
I redesigned the Moon Rabbit shrine in Moon Orbit. I keep trying to get the motivation to actually htmlize all of these layouts (I like to tinker a lot with the code until I like how EVERYTHING is) I've designed but I'm lazy, lazy... just like Usagi and less like Mako-chan. -_-; But eventually it will be finished. I promise. The when, however, is not so easy to promise. I'm in the process of moving out and starting school in the fall, so time is getting slimmer and slimmer for me. I also work... so I'm not exactly twiddling my thumbs now, either. Still, I apologize for the spaced out updates with the layouts and hopefully everything will be revamped within a year or so, but it's a long process and the tally of layouts that need to be made is over twenty (were talking the whole 9 yards, too!) so it will definitely take some time.
--Hitsuji Kinno 2005-05-26 00:24:07

Major Updates
Alright! I updated the website in several places.

I put up a fan fiction section that actually works! Ha! I think no one saw that one coming. Yes, you can actually post your fan fiction.

I put up a new Design for the following:
Stardust Magic- New Layout
Anime Cluster- New layout
Crystalized Stars (Astronomy section)-New layout
The Pleiades- new layout and connections.
Updates Section- phped
Index-Fixed the .css problems, etc.

I hope you like it. I'll be adding the image sections next.
--Hitsuji Kinno 2005-12-18 00:42:12

Anti Rumor Mill
"Not only that, but Toei Animation (major partner to the creator, and huge animation studio) is hell bent on pulling "Sailor Moon" out of America altogether for some unknown reason. People have said that Toei has no control over the manga, and that may be true to some extent, but they do have enough money to influence other companies (paticularly Kodonsha, which owns the manga rights to "Sailor Moon") to follow their lead, so I have my suspicions that there is more going on back stage then anyones letting on as to why we havent gotten the re-release we so desperately want to have!"

From:
http://www.thecomicbookguy.com/sailormoon.html

is false. Toei has no control over Kodansha and this is just a speculation. More like Kodansha has more pull over Toei, from my observations. (That or they are part of a Zaibatsu.)

In any case, PNP owns all rights to the Sailormoon manga and properties. The manga stopped because Tokyopop just did not renew the license (It was not profitable enough.)

-- Hitsuji Kinno 2006-02-27 18:56:11

Updates?
Uh... yeah... Well Mako is working on it while I'm umm.. trying to get ready to go to Japan in spring 2008?

Yes, yes, you can kick me, but the *plan* (if I should call it a plan) was that I'd try to get a degree sometime before the year 2010 in Computer Information systems, thus making it easier on me to update the website by doing a massive MySQL and PHP plan. However, things in this world are never as one... umm... plans. So deep apologies? And a round of applause for Mako-chan who stuck it out?

I've been *cough* working on wikipedia pages instead. *cough*

So hopefully the information will be typed out as soon as I learn enough database stuff to do the cool things I uh... promised. --;; Yes, I know it's encouraging. Which is why I say you should thank Mako-chan. 'cause her learning curve is apparently better than mine.

Bright side, I'm majoring in Computer Information Systems (with a double major in Cultural Anthropology) So when I'm ready it should get up to code and all those old and badly half-done projects should *finish* by then. Yup, no excuse.
--Hitsuji Kinno 2007-06-20 15:20:09

Sorry to keep you all waiting. ^_^; I've been doing an awful lot of updating, so I'll try to list it all here:

Main Page - Has been updated, cleaned up and generally more user-friendly. I'm going to try to swap the main layout to a different senshi once a month since I've made 10 separate main page layouts that are all extremely similar to this one. Some things were deleted, somethings I just changed the wording on, but all the really popular and used stuff is still here somewhere.

New Layouts but no new content: The Anime Page, Manga Page, PGSM, French Connection, Almost all of the Shrines, and Moon Dango have all been given fresh layouts. The content is still the same, but Hitsuji assures me she's working on it. ^_^;

Stardust Magic - This section is very time consuming but you all seem to like it (traffic-wise ^_^) so it is perhaps worth the extra effort. I changed the layout, hunted down some of the missing images and am trying to make broken links to images a thing of the past. The majority of time in this particular beast has been scanning, hunting down images, and organizing it but hopefully it will be finished at a bare-minimun so you can all at least look at the objects/attacks even if we don't have the summary up quite yet.

Image Gallery - This is more tedium than anything else, but I have managed to update some of it so that you can see a few sections completed. More will be coming soon, I have an absolute ton of images, it's mostly just time-consuming to get them thumbnailed and organized.

That's it for tangible updates (so far) there is plenty going on behind the scenes, however, so keep watching for new stuff, including a Sera Myu section which is about 30% complete so far.
-- Mako-chan 2007-07-03 16:37:03

4th of July Update!
Happy Independence Day! I updated the layout for the Miracle Romance Shrine, also corrected broken links and added new pictures linked to Stardust Magic.

--Mako-chan 2007-07-04 16:46:11

Image Updates
I've added more images to the image gallery, but I should be updating there frequently. (I'm trying to get it mostly completed so every character has at least one section done) That is my major project right now and I may or may not update the updates page as I do it, so if you're curious about the gallery check it out rather than waiting for this page to tell you to. So far I've added bits and pieces for Sailor Mars, Sailor ChibiChibi, and Sailor Pluto, but more is definately coming soon. (I also fixed the broken images in Sailormoon's section-- the only complete part of the gallery!) Enjoy!

-Mako-chan 2007-07-06 15:03:03

August Layout Swap
As you can see, I've changed the layout again. ^_^: A new one should be up in September. I think that there are really not enough layouts that showcase Haruka/Sailor Uranus. (Plus I promised a friend whose favorite character is Haruka that I'd put this one up).

Still working on the image gallery, but I've been cheating on this site with the PQ Angels one lately, too. Sorry about that. ^_^; I'll try to be more diligent!

--Mako-chan 2007-08-01 21:03:30

New Layout, Small Updates...

Switched out layouts again. This time Sailor Venus graces the main area.

I've been working on the image gallery more but it is slow going. I'm working on finishing up the villians right now and then I hope to just go through and scan out anything else that needs to be filled so at least there will be a base for further updates so there won't be any links that are not linked.

--Mako-chan 2007-09-04 00:09:44

Behind the scenes...

I promise stuff is happening. Sorry I haven't updated the layout in almost two months now. My computer went kaput on me and it was in the shop getting fixed for that time period (ahh, such speedy service, ne?)

I'm working on major, major updates to the site behind the scenes but it may take major, major time to accomplish them. But I am working on it every day so it isn't going too slowly.

I also don't have quite as much time as I had before to put into the site, though I am not giving up on it or quitting or letting it go static. The reason for the slight backing off is that I am engaged and planning a wedding, so please understand that I can't do everything at once.

Umm... I think that's it. There is massive amounts of work being done with the site right now, even if you can't see it quite yet. I'll try to get it up ASAP.

--Mako-chan 2007-10-28 14:00:07