LIBERATION 31: GIOCHI PREZIOSI SAILOR MOON

The romantic story of Sailor Moon has won the hearts of fans everywhere since the manga (comic book) and anime (animated tv show) first appeared in Japan. Sailor Moon dolls have been manufactured by the Bandai company in Asia, Europe, and North America. This doll is unusual because she was produced only in Italy, by the Italian company Giochi Preziosi, using their own molds, which differ from the Bandai molds. In my mind these are some of the most beautiful of all the Sailor Moon dolls! These are also almost impossible to find- I finally got mine on eBay.

Since this is an unusual doll, I’ve included a ‘before’ picture to help differentiate this doll from the many other versions of Sailor Moon out there.

The Doll

This face mold is unique to the Giochi Preziosi Sailor Moon dolls. The face mold is exactly on model- the huge blue anime eyes, the cute pointy chin, the pert nose. Sailor Moon’s lips are light pink, and her hair is the same gorgeous lemon yellow as on the show. Her unbelievably long hair is pulled up into her traditional two long pigtails. She has small gold crescent moon earrings that are not removable. She also has two tiny pegs in her forehead to hold her tiara, hidden behind her bangs. My only complaint is that in the back, most of the hair went to one side of the part, leaving the thin looking place seen above.

This body is also unique to the Giochi Preziosi dolls. Instead of wire legs, like Jenny dolls, this mold features clicking knees. There is also an angled waist, similar to that of mod era Barbie dolls. Poor Sailor Moon has big hips, but a very small bust for a fashion doll. Her feet are similar enough to Barbie’s that she can wear some of her shoes. The skin has a soft pink tone and a very shiny finish, so much so that it almost looks unnatural.

Doll Scorecard
Face: A+
Body: B+
Hair: A
Overall: A

The Outfit

This is a special glitter outfit, and is a mix of the original Sailor Moon outfit and the Super Sailor Moon outfit. The sailor suit itself is the classic outfit. This is the best I’ve ever seen it done… the pleats are present, and the tiny cap sleeves are padded to make them puff out at the right angle. There is even a white and gold ribbon that appears to have been hand-stiched onto the collar! The pink bows and heart shaped brooch are from the Super Sailor Moon outfit. As far as I know, Sailor Moon never wore pink boots as shown with this outfit. My biggest complaint is the fit of the boots: they fit very tightly in place over the doll’s calves, and a ridiculous amount of tugging is necessary to get them on or off.

Outfit Scorecard
Fabric: A- (although I bet kids love it)
Style: A
Execution: A
Overall: A

The Accessories

There are lots of accessories included here, mainly additional costume pieces. Next time I complain about Mattel’s gloves, remind me of these… they are poorly shaped and fit worse. There is also a small plastic choker with a crescent moon, Sailor Moon’s tiara, the Super Sailor Moon wand, and the red plastic hair beads Sailor Moon wears. There is also a pair of plain white nylon undies. The other accessories are large crescent moon clip on earrings with big pink ‘jewels’ for the kids and two trading cards.

Accessories Scorecard
Concept: A-
Style: A-
Playability: B
Overall: B+

Generation Girl Tori always struck me as a Sailor Moon wannabe, so I gave her the chance to show her stuff in this week’s redressing. Sailor Moon is modeling a Teen Skipper fashion with a cute frog sticker on the front pocket. Despite the fact that it’s made for the slimmer Teen Skipper body, it’s pretty darn big on her.