With the recent reboot of Sailor Moon it seems like an appropriate time to reevaluate why its so popular. For the uninitiated, Sailor Moon is the story of Usagi, a fourteen year old Japanese schoolgirl who is destined to fight forces of evil known as the Dark Kingdom, under the disguise of Sailor Moon. And, along the way, she meets other Sailor Scouts (yes, that’s what they’re called) who she becomes close friends with. Its basic premise is very typical of the ‘Magical Girl’ sub-genre, in Japanese animation, that it belongs to.

There will be a lot of people who love and loathe the changes in the reboot (Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal). It will supposedly follow the original manga incarnation of the story a lot closer. I don’t know what that entails exactly, but I’m interested in finding out. For most people, though, this is just the perfect excuse to revisit the good ol’ days. It will remind them of childhood, days of being innocent, ice-cream and lollipops. All that sort of stuff. There is a chasteness and romantic quality to something like Sailor Moon. It’s about good triumphing over evil and the importance of friendship and caring. Its qualities are in direct opposition of the merits of a show like Game of Thrones, where cruelty and calculated decision-making rule the roost. In Sailor Moon, the most important thing is love.

I know I’ll be watching it for those exact reasons. To cling or return to something more wholesome and earnest, something that seems long forgotten in our present age of entertainment. Because, despite the cruel and bleak qualities of a lot of the stuff I watch, sometimes you just want to escape from the real world. Sometimes being reminded about mankind’s failures and poorer qualities seems a bit unnecessary.

So, welcome back, Sailor Moon!

You can watch the first episode of the reboot online at crunchyroll.com here.