On Friday Viz Media announced that its company would begin streaming the classic anime series Sailor Moon via Hulu "uncut and uncensored," reports Variety.
The show focuses on an unlikely heroine named Usagi Tsukino, who transforms into Sailor Moon in order to become a protector of love and justice. The Japanese import originally aired in the United States throughout the 1990s but was subject to numerous cuts and edits that saw, among other things, lesbian characters being redubbed as cousins.
In a trailer released online Friday, Viz celebrated not only the return of the series to American television, but also that it would be able to screen all 200 episodes "absolutely uncut." The preview features two female lovers, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, holding each other in a warm embrace. When the series first ran in the United States, their relationship was changed to that of cousins, so as to avoid any controversy with media watchdogs.
Sailor Moon originally ran for five seasons and the fifth, titled Sailor Stars, never saw any official translation in the United States. In addition to being the North American premiere of that season, it will also give audiences a chance to meet the Sailor Starlights, a group of female scouts who hide their true identity as male pop singers.
Hulu will release two episodes of Sailor Moon, initially subtitled, each week beginning on Monday. English-dubbed episodes and Blu-ray/DVD releases are scheduled for later this year.
