Overview
Production for this season took place concurrently with that of the second story-arc (Black Moon) of the manga by Naoko Takeuchi, closely following the story of the manga. Sailor Moon was originally intended by Takeuchi to run only one season, but the first became so popular that Toei asked Takeuchi to keep drawing her manga. At first, she struggled with developing another storyline to extend the series. The premise she settled on, introducing the daughter of Sailor Moon from the future, came from her editor, Fumio Osano.
Because the production of both manga and anime occurred at the same time, Sailor Moon R begins with a 13-episode sub-arc that does not appear in the manga, created to give Takeuchi time to catch up. This story features the Sailor Senshi regaining their memories and encountering the Makaiju aliens: it has become known as the Makaiju arc (or "Doom Tree" in the English-language dub). The main story arc explores the future of all the Senshi in a utopian city called Crystal Tokyo, ruled over by Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion. New characters introduced include Chibiusa, Sailor Pluto, and (in the manga) Diana. The Black Moon Clan, led by the Wiseman, function as the primary villains.
The English-language dub, produced by DIC Entertainment and Optimum Productions, included an educational segment called "Sailor Says", at the end of each episode — to teach a moral based on the story shown. In its first airing, the English Sailor Moon series consisted of just 65 episodes, 40 of them taken from the first season. The 12 completed episodes of the Chibiusa/Black Moon arc were shown first, then the 13 Makaiju episodes from the start of the season. The remaining 17 episodes of the Black Moon arc were not released for another three years, billed by Cartoon Network as "the lost episodes." One episode from the season, involving Chibiusa's friendship with a dinosaur, was omitted from the dub and is not included the subtitled DVD releases.
In the 1994 "favorite episode" polls for Animage, "Protect Chibiusa! Clash of the 10 Warriors" came in eighth place. The following year, "The Final Battle Between Light and Darkness! Love Sworn to the Future" came in seventh place.
The arc used "Moonlight Densetsu" as its opening theme music, with a closing theme of "Otome no Policy" ("Maiden's Policy"), performed by Yoko Ishida. There were 2 versions of the opening theme, the first having more generic visuals, the second more closely following and representing the story of the R season, as it features Crystal Tokyo, Neo-Queen Serenity, King Endymion, Chibi-Usa, Sailor Pluto, and the Black Moon Family,
The subtitled DVD set bears the name "Sailor Moon - Season Two" rather than "Sailor Moon R".
Read more about this topic: List Of Sailor Moon R Episodes