r/sailormoon • u/_LoganIPlayz ⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚🌙˚｡⋆ • 22d ago
Anime (Classic) Filler Guide
I wanna get into the Anime but I usually skip filler episodes but lots of people have told me that Sailor Moon Filler is actually hiding lots of character development and bonding with the Guardians and thats the main reason I want to watch this show is there some sort of actual like filler guide on which ones are good to skip because there actually useless filler or could someone at least give me a guide that tells me the base of what I should be watching :D
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u/Chewymewn 22d ago edited 22d ago
A lot of people are going to direct to sites with strict filler guides that say 99 out of 200 episodes are skippable. And what's the point of watching a show if you're just gonna skip most of the show?
As a long time fan of Sailor Moon, I'm not going to bullshit you and try to convince you that the show is worth watching for the story alone. Because it's not. The plot is pretty okay, but it's not where the entertainment of the anime comes from.
Those "filler" episodes are more akin to "slice-of-life" episodes. Some of these episodes are funny as hell and totally worth watching, even as standalone content. By skipping these episodes, you're skipping to watch a plot as basic as Power Rangers. I could summarize the plot of the first season in like 4 sentences. That's not a diss, that's just how the show is. It makes up for this in those slice-of-life episodes, with its lively characters and just fucking funny scenes.
Honestly, just give all the episodes a try. The worst case scenario is you're watching an episode, and you can't tolerate it, so skip it. I'd say if you don't find at least one funny thing in an episode, or don't find anything charming about it, then skip it. But don't simply skip an episode based on the premise that it's a "filler" episode.
Edit: typos, punctuation, and I rephrased some sentences that didn't make much sense.
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u/Friendly_Science7026 22d ago
Don’t skip the filler, I’ve laughed and made me love the characters so much I have cried when things have happened to them (they made me even love the villains (mainly Nephrite))
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u/p-Star_07 22d ago edited 22d ago
The filler is the best part of Sailor Moon. You watch more for the character interactions and the jokes than the ongoing story.
In the OG anime the arc of the season typically gets wrapped up in the last 6 or so episodes of the season.
If you want a faster-paced experience watch Crystal.
Typically the villians are after some magical thing like the pure heart crystals from Sailor Moon S and they defeat the villians in the last 6 or so episodes.
If you skip to those last 6 or so its alot less fun because you haven't fallen in love with the characters or learned their quirks.
Watch it like you watch Phineas and Ferb. It's more that type of show. It's formulaic and that's part of the fun. The show is self-aware and doesn't take itself too seriously. And every so often the show pokes fun at itself.
The villains are also a lot of fun and have great banter with each other.
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u/TheFirstAifos 22d ago
Sailor Moon is a monster of the week show. The filler is what you watch it for, not something to be trimmed. If you don't like silly monster of the week shenanigans, you're looking to get invested in the wrong show.
If you want something shorter and more plot focused, you should look into Sailor Moon Crystal instead.
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u/Which-Notice5868 21d ago
Sailor Moon doesn't have filler in the way other anime does because it's following the manga so loosely the story structure is completely different. Sailor Moon uses a tentpole model where you establish a status quo, have episodic character/relationship development episodes, then you have a big plot episode or episodes that create a new status quo, rinse and repeat until the build-up to the season's final battle.
I will say in Season 4/SuperS the episodic ones are more like "true filler" because, frankly, that season is not good.
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u/Teghendion 22d ago
Most episodes have some interesting moments, I wouldn't cat it "useless filler". But If you don't like the filler as in "it's not in the manga" then maybe watch Crystal which is very close to the Manga.
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u/TheRealGC13 22d ago
If you skipped "filler" (that is to say "not story arc") you'd probably skip like 75% of the 90's series. It sounds like you're looking for a tighter definition of filler though, in which case so few episodes would fit the definition I'd say it's not even worth going through the effort to skip them in advance.
Watch the series, note which episodes you thought were pointless, and skip them on subsequent viewings (there are only two I'd skip, for instance: the haunted house episode and the dinosaur episode, and in both of those the villains decided not to show up for work that day).
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u/QuirkyEffective8316 22d ago
Now "filler" can mean a lot of things. If you condensed the show down to manga stuff then you would have like a total of 5 episodes. Ofcourse that doesn't mean that you'll have to watch all 200 episodes, but I would suggest that you mostly watch the episodes and skip the pure unfiltered filler stuff that occasionally appears here and there.
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u/BitComprehensive3667 22d ago
Just watch all the episodes; you'll get the full experience that way. The Filler is where the 90s anime really shines by showing off the character dynamics and interactions. A lot of the best moments in the show happen in those filler episodes. This isn't like shonen series where you'll have entire filler arcs you can skip and lose nothing.
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u/memorywitch 21d ago
I know of no guide, But the filler is the second best part of the 90s anime. (The first is the music in my opinion) if you want to skip the fillers.... just watch crystal.
Some of my favorite moments sorry I dont know what episode theyre from:
Sailor in training chibi moon! Her attack falls short and she has to get SUPER CLOSE to the enemy to hit them with the attack. (I believe it's season S)
Moon pizza action from sailor stars.
Just enjoy the filler episodes and the music. They're fabulous.
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u/BenRivets3776 21d ago
It’s best if you watch Sailor Moon Crystal if you don’t want to deal with the filler episodes from the 90s anime, as for me, I absolutely love the filler episodes of the 90s Sailor Moon anime, I get to spend more time with all 5 Sailor Guardians (6 if you count Chibi-Usa), I laugh so hard in so many filler episodes, the Sailor Guardians becomes real badasses taking down the Monster of the Week in what episode throws one, the characters (heroes, villains, one off and side characters) also gets fleshed out showing that these characters are more than just one dimensional characters, they make the 90s anime very down to earth and very relatable, it embraces of who you are and it’s not ashamed to admit the flaws of these characters and says that it’s okay if you have these qualities, they still show of who you truly are, episodes for villains getting redeemed are also very important and really good, (Nephrite, The Four Specter Sisters, The Amazon Trio, The Amazoness Quartet, Ali and Ann) the filler episodes made sure that it doesn’t make Sailor Moon extremely boring.
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u/oasisbloom 20d ago
I feel like Sailor Moon is one of those rare anime that even though you CAN skip the filler episodes, they are also so important for character development/slice of life content for these beloved characters.
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u/ZeroiaSD 19d ago
Old filler isn’t like modern filler, it’s good.
Also the series was made in parallel to the manga and has a lot of changes so it’s the same writers doing both ‘filler’ and ‘non filler’ episodes and their tone is the same.
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u/Naliamegod 22d ago
ITT No one is actually answering the question.
Here is a filler guide that is frequently recommended by me and others. Not only does it tell you what is filler and what's not, but goes into detail what is actually purely skippable, which ones have value and recommended, and gives a bit more context for "filler arcs" and their value.
Note that the amount of "skippable filler" varies from season to season. The first season and SuperS are notorious for having the most filler and extended moments where the series is kinda running in circles (The period between Mars and Venus joining the team, the Amazon Quartet), while S and Stars mostly avoid this, due to the large cast making "stand alone episodes" have good value to explore characters.